𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 | 𝐃.𝐌

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑

»»————-　　————-««

Though it was usually dark in the Slytherin common room compared to other parts of Hogwarts, Isabella's dorm room was even darker. She stopped lighting candles at night and kept her curtains closed. Her robes hung in her wardrobe, untouched for weeks. Her green tie was draped over her chair and her shoes were left unaligned with each other on the floor. Her books were stacked on top of each other, unopened, on top of her desk. Isabella couldn't remember the last page she was on for any of the books for her classes. Eventually, she gave up trying out for fencing. Over time, she had lost her excitement for it, and for everything else. 

Isabella would only leave her dorm room to go for meals, only after the vast majority of the student body had already eaten. She would choose to go at the latest time possible to avoid any conflict with any of the students. Isabella barely had any appetite to begin with, but her father always made sure she ate. Even though they had a dispute a few days ago, he still came by and left a meal for her on her desk while she was asleep. Anytime Isabella started to look a bit ill, like she was losing meat on her bones, Snape would always get the most angry he'd ever been. Snape always got on Isabella about eating and making sure she stayed as healthy as possible. 

Isabella never understood why that was. Why it was her health that he was the most strict on. 

Snape rarely got angry with Isabella, no matter what it was. Despite his hard exterior, Snape was loose on his daughter. But it was also the fact that Isabella never gave Snape a hard time, not even when she was younger. Snape was always easy going when it came to raising his daughter, bur he always made sure she knew everything she was supposed to, especially when it came to her health. 

There would be days where Isabella didn't leave her bed. The most she would look forward to everyday was a meal left by her father on her desk. It made her think of how much she missed talking to him, and how she regretted lashing out the last time she visited his classroom. Sometimes, she wished he'd come back again, sitting by her bed and talk her into coming out of her dorm. But he stopped after several tries. 

Eventually, Isabella decided that she'd try again. She missed her father and wanted so badly to apologize to him. But she knew he was right. She knew that he'd rather her attend her classes again before she came to him, because he always taught her how to value herself and her wellbeing before anyone else, even before him. 

Isabella decided to slowly ease back into her life, and took the first step by properly getting ready for her classes. She got out of bed and made it, unlike other times where she'd get out and leave it messy. She went to the washroom and washed her face, combed her hair, and styled it. She decided to have fun for today, and do one of her favorite hairstyles, a long loose braid down her back and pulling two strands of hair in the front. She then put on her robes, picked up her wand and books, and hoped for the best. 

Draco dragged himself to his next class, one of which he shared with Isabella Snape. He noticed that maybe it wasn't his lack of sleep, but that he was actually seeing her back in her usual seat. He tried not to stare, but after weeks of her absence, he got used to being alone in the back of the class. He wondered if her being back today meant that she was actually back and would be in class every day from now on. But he also wondered if that meant he would still be needed by Professor Snape. 

He noticed that although she looked much more presentable this time, she looked defeated. He noticed that she appeared pale and skinnier, enough to where even he noticed a change in her appearance. She looked exhausted and would often zone out while the professor was giving an important lecture. 

As the days passed, Draco was somewhat glad to see that Isabella attended every class that week. He wondered if the notes he requested were of any help, or if she even looked at them at all. As he arrived to Snape's classroom, like he did every Friday after a day of classes, he looked around to see if Isabella came by, but he didn't see any sign of her. He didn't even know if Snape knew his daughter was back in classes.