Snape's Criminal Daughter

Chapter 10

She looked like him Severus thought. Her short black hair hung around her face, not unlike his own. But her eyes. They were not obsidian black but piercing green like her mothers. As soon as he had disapparated, the image of her standing there, hand on her hip, had bored itself into his mind. Storming down to his office the minute he had returned, he had slammed the door in frustration. How was he, Severus Snape, supposed to break the news to her. The Dark Lord already knew that she was in Dumbledores care, as he had told him himself. 

Dumbledore had sent him a message once he had returned to the grounds. Not sure whether or not he should respond, he ended up walking slowly toward The headmaster's office. He would not be soft on her, no, he would act as though there was nothing between, them, he would act as though she was his student, not his own flesh, and blood. Perhaps he would treat her worse than normal. 

Opening the door, he strode into the office, only to find both of them standing, this time, she was dressed in robes. She looked like him, eager and curious to find things in the newly introduced magical world. No. He would not get sappy, he Severus Snape, was never sappy. 

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"Ah, our new student." His voice was judging, almost as though he already knew that she was to fail. Shrugging off his snide tone, she nodded in his direction. She hears him snarl, but she chooses to ignore it. If it's one thing that she learned on the streets, its pick your battles, and this is one that she's too tired to fight. Looking anywhere but the man in black, her eyes land on a shelf next to the bird stand. On the top shelf is an old, ratty hat, falling apart at the seams. The shelf below it holds a sword, rubies the size of golf balls encrusted on the handle. Following her eyes, the headmaster smiles, and walks over to the shelf, and picks up the hat. 

" I see you've found our sorting hat." The twinkle in his eyes never seems to vanish, she thinks, I could do without a twinkle. He walks over to her and hands her the hat. Confused for a minute, until the logical answer hits her. Raising the hat, and getting a look of confirmation from Dumbledore, she places it over her head. It almost reaches her eyes, and suddenly, she hears a voice in her head. 

"Hmm, yes I was wondering when I'd be seeing you miss Eileen, yes I know your name, I know quite a few people's names. I remember every person that I have sorted. Yes everyone, but that's not important, what to do with you. Plenty of cunning, oh yes! Plenty of resourcefulness too, ooh but plenty bravery. Yes very smart, ambition too, my you are a hard one. Perhaps Gryffindor?" No, she thinks, they sound like a bunch of dunderheads. The hat chuckled, out loud this time, earning a look from both men.

"Very well then. Slytherin!" It cries. She doesn't know what it means, but she's happy. Slytherin. She tests the word in her head, and she can see herself as one of them. Smirking, she pulls the hat off and hands it to the headmaster. He smiles back at her and places the hat back on its stand. 

"You will join the Slytherins in, what is now Severus? Four days? Yes, four days you will join the Slytherins, in their common room, at meals. You will be taught by a select number of professors, as I have already told you, you will not mention this to anyone. Professor Snape has agreed to teach you potions and professor McGonagall has offered to teach you transfiguration and charms. Severus, would you mind showing her the common room, good." Taking her by the scruff of the neck, near the top of the robes, and practically dragging her out of the office. They climbed down stairs after stairs, and the temperature drops as they go deeper into the school. They stop at a section of wall, and Snape stops her. 

"The password is "Salazar," tell this to anyone, and you will pay, no outsider has entered our common room in seven centuries." Tired of his snappy attitude, she snaps back.

"So you were in Slytherin?" She tries to make her question seem innocent.

"Yes, why do you ask?" With a sneer on his face, as though he want her to fight back. She does.

"It explains your snippy attitude." She snarls, almost evilly. Shock registered on his face, before it hardens again into a snarl, this on more prominent than the last. He grabs the front of her robes and lifts her off her feet, but suddenly, she's thrown into a memory. 

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He had followed her, even at eight, she was smart enough to know that someone was following her. Abandoning her bag, she dashes through the crowd, trying to get away. She turns a corner only to find him standing there, waiting for her. Her eyes widened in fear and he grabs her shirt, a loose long sleeve that's three sizes too big. She lets out a whimper as he drags her back to his brown pickup. Whimpering she sits down waiting for the punishment that's sure to come. 

The car ride is made in silence and only when they walk in the door does the punishment begin. Grabbing her by the front of her shirt, he begins to punch her, relentlessly. By the time three hours are up, every inch of her body is covered in bruises and cuts. It was one of her worst beatings, and it taught her something. 

Never get caught. 

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The memory ends and she is thrust back into reality. She can feel the fear creeping into her eyes, and he must see it too, because he hastily releases her and stalks off, cloak billowing around him. She doesn't want to stay here, he knows where it is, and even though he might not have meant to hurt her, she doesn't trust him. So instead of muttering the password, she has her bag up the stairs, as far away from the common room as possible. Stopping in a long corridor, she sits and leans against the wall. She doesn't know where to go, she won't go to the common room, she will sleep out here if she has to. 

Yes, that will have to do. She stands and grabs her bags, and begins to search for a spot that she can sleep. Before she can walk the length of the corridor, a door catches her eye, it wasn't here before and she had just come back this way. Hesitantly, she pushes the door open, only to reveal what looks like a bedroom. 

The room itself is oval and a four-poster bed sits across the room against the wall. A cushioned seat lay next to a table, and in front of both of them lies a fireplace, flames dancing merrily. The ceiling is a dome, holding an intricate chanelier in the center. A trunk rests in front of the bed, she opens it and it seems just the right size for her school things. Windows are scattered along the walls, letting in natural light. A green and silver hanging between two windows catch her eye. A snake emblem in the middle, surrounded by swirl designs. 

Slytherin, she thinks, so my houses mascot is a snake. Great. But overall, she's happy. She found a place where she just might fit in, with surprising rooms at every turn. But in this case, it might just be a good thing. And with happy thoughts roaming around in her head, she sits in the cushioned chair and watches the flames sweep through the already dying wood.