Flying Blind

Chapter 7 Snapes Detention

Severus let Ellenore sleep until noon due to the fact that it was a Saturday, and was considered by all students involved to be the start of the Christmas holidays. He went to her dorm room with a plate of chicken sandwiches and knocked before entering to find that she was sitting quietly at her desk with her quill zooming across the parchment. He quietly walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder at the parchment, cleared his throat and broke her concentration. The quill fell over and lay on the parchment lifelessly.

“So, I see what you told me about being able to read my mind is true Ellenore,” said her father as he placed the platter of chicken sandwiches on her desk. “I thought that you might be hungry, since you’ve missed breakfast completely. I am surprised that you took the initiative to start on the lines that I was considering having you write for part of your detention. Did you sleep, as I asked you to do earlier?” Ellenore swallowed the bite of sandwich before she answered.

“Yes, daddy, I slept until about nine. I’ve been awake ever since, writing lines.” Severus took up her parchment and read over it

carefully. Written, well over one thousand times, were the words, “I will never draw my wand on my father or any other person in anger again.”

“I am impressed, Ellenore. I have considered using legilimency on you as you asked, and have decided that if you will truly open your mind to me, that I will examine your memories. As you obviously know occlumency extremely well, you will not alter your memories or hide anything, is that understood?” Ellenore nodded and turned to face her father’s penetrating gaze. Severus attempted to penetrate her mind and was again surprised to see darkness. At first he thought that she was hiding her memories from him, but then he heard the teasing, taunting, and jeering of the older students. He oddly smelled everything, heard everything, and felt everything that Ellenore was experiencing in her memories. He pulled out of her mind shaking his head with confusion. Ellenore widened her eyes in shock when she felt her father’s presence leave her mind after one memory.

“What happened?” she asked, just as confused as her father. Severus ran his hands through his hair and paced the room, thinking hard on what he had experienced.

“Ellenore, are you certain that you fully opened your mind?” he asked as he leaned against the four poster bed.

“Yes, daddy, I’m not hiding anything from you anymore. It causes too much pain, mentally and physically. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just interesting; if you’re not blocking your memories and thoughts then why can’t I see what happened?” Ellenore shook her head and paced the room, thoughtfully.

“I don’t know, daddy. I honestly wasn’t blocking you.” Severus grasped her hand and proceeded to lead her from her room. “Daddy, where are we going? Did I do or say something else wrong?” she asked with a note of fear in her voice.

“We are going to the headmaster’s office.” he said as he guided her through one hidden corridor after another until he reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Professor Dumbledore’s office.

Once at the top of the moving stone stairs, Severus knocked on the door and waited for a response from the headmaster. Professor Dumbledore opened the door and smiled warmly at Severus and his daughter.

“Severus, Ellenore, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” asked Professor Dumbledore as he took his seat behind the large desk.

“Headmaster, do you remember our little conversation earlier this morning?” asked Severus as he guided Ellenore into a chair.

“Yes, Severus, I remember very well.” said Professor Dumbledore as he leaned back into his chair.

“I have attempted to use legilimency on Ellenore because she is unsure of exactly how to word what led to the event where I personally got jinxed. All I saw when I penetrated her mind was darkness. I could hear everything vividly clear, smell things that I would normally never have noticed before, and feel things that I didn’t like at all. It seemed like I was getting more her emotions and feelings than her visions.”