autumn | severus snape

nine

Seeing her house in the distance, Ophelia shivered. Her parents should be home by now, and Snape was the only one who could prevent her father lashing out at her. She stopped on the patio, her heart pounding in her ears, and it seemed like the sky was darkening.

"What is it now?" Snape sighed.

"Maybe you should come inside with me," Ophelia suggested.

"And why on earth would I do that?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, having more important things to tend to back in his own home.

She ran her hand through her hair, "well, shouldn't you speak with my father? You know, update him on my progress and such?"

Snape eyed her carefully. He didn't know what she was playing at, and being kept in the dark was not something he particularly enjoyed. He was, of course, intrigued. Everything the girl did seemed to make him drift further and further away from shore.

"Perhaps I should have a word with your father," Snape said slowly.

"Yeah, uh, that's what I'm saying, right?" Ophelia said, seeming relieved.

He walked by her side to the door, watched her take a deep breath, and then stepping inside.

"Ophelia!" Her mother shrieked, "where have you- oh." She paused, blinked once, and then twice, before a smile appeared on her face. "Severus, what a lovely surprise!"

"If I'm intruding, I apologize," he said politely.

"Not at all, not at all," her mother assured, "Tom will be thrilled to see you."

At the mention of his name, Ophelia's father appeared in the hallway.

"Severus, my boy!"

Snape flinched ever so slightly.

"Do come in," her father smiled and ushered them into the living room.

Ophelia stopped a few feet away from the rest of them, hands behind her back and biting her lower lip furiously.

"She hasn't given you any trouble, I hope?" Her father asked Snape, like she wasn't standing right there.

"Not at all," Snape glanced at Ophelia, catching the glimpse in her eyes.

"Good, good," he nodded slowly, "you may go, Ophelia, we don't want to bore you with our business talk."

He smiled at her, making it seem like he was doing her a favor, but Ophelia knew better. She knew when her father used flowery language to cover up some real bullshit. But she nodded anyway, smiled back, and left the room. The instant they heard her door close, her father turned serious again.

"My daughter would not approve of what we are doing, Severus," he started, "she's not like us."

"What are you trying to say, Tom?" Snape asked, frowning.

"My daughter does not see the world through my eyes, and trust me, I have tried to make her yield to me. But she sees things from a different perspective, she sees excitement and pleasure; I see danger and a world that needs to be fixed. She wants to walk out of the house after dark, and why should she not?" Tom raised his eyebrows, not expecting an answer to his question. "But if we are to succeed with our plan, she needs to know nothing, do I make myself clear?"

"And why do you suppose I would tell her anything?" Snape snarled, not appreciating the distrust.

"Ophelia is always honest, always sincere, she means what she says even if it is inconvenient," her father sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "She lives life with her emotions on full blast, not blessed with the same fine tuning we seem to have," he motioned between the two of them, like they were the same, and it made Snape sick. "On the plus side that makes a lot of things more fun, and as you're beginning to know her by now, you'll know that's true too."