Secret Daughter (A Harry Potter FanFic)

Chapter 17

The next morning, Elliana awoke to the sounds of her father moving about in the living room. In looking at the clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was only six thirty in the morning. Breakfast wouldn't even begin to be served until seven. She sat up in her bed and looked around the small bedroom. Besides the bed, there really wasn't much in this room, and it was completely devoid of any decorations. She sighed, thinking about her warm and inviting bed in the Slytherin dorms. She did wish that she could continue to stay there, but she didn't really spend much time with the first year Slytherin girls anyways, since she only had a couple classes with them. She realized that as embarrassing as it was to have to stay with her father rather than the dorms, that this was the opportunity she was looking for to build her relationship with him. And anyways, she heard that some families didn't even let their kids come back to Hogwarts from the break, so she was immensely grateful to even be at Hogwarts.

Elliana saw that her large trunk as well as her other belongings from her dormitory had magically appeared in her room. She took this opportunity to make her room a little more home-y, putting her Slytherin quidditch banner up on the wall and unpacking her school robes into the chest of drawers. The room had felt so empty and sterile with its stone walls and lack of windows, she threw some books around and tossed her used pajamas on the floor just to take up some of the space. After she was dressed in her robes, she looked around, feeling just a little better about the space.

Leaving her bedroom, she found her father sitting in his armchair with a cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet. "Good morning." She said quietly, uneasy at disturbing the heavy silence of the room.

Snape looked up from his tea, eyeing Elliana up and down to see that she was ready for classes. Satisfied, he gestured towards the loveseat and the empty teacup set on the table before it. "Morning" he said curtly, "There's tea if you'd like."

Elliana took a seat gingerly on the sofa, filling her teacup from the pot. Her father had returned to his reading as she did this. She wanted so badly to have a relationship with this man, she pushed through the awkward silence and asked, "Anything interesting in the Prophet?" Trying anything to start a conversation.

"Just the usual Ministry nonsense. And parents calling for Dumbledore to step down as headmaster." He said nonchalantly.

"Dumbledore, why?"

"A student has been petrified Elliana. Parents are worried about his ability to protect the school. These are dangerous times." Snape looked up from his paper, eyeing his daughter. She looked so small sitting there, so vulnerable. For the first time, he actually understood the parents he once thought radical for wanting to pull their child from Hogwarts. Had he been a normal parent, he might have pulled Elliana from school. She was only still here because he was here and he wanted to remain close to her.

Elliana squirmed in her seat under her father's gaze. She had no response to this as she already had heard about parents panicking on the train back to school. When her father returned to his reading, she asked, "Do you think I could read with you? Just until breakfast starts?"

Snape handed his daughter several pages of the paper that he had already read. He chuckled almost imperceptibly when he saw the eleven year old girl hold up the papers just as he had and begin reading, all while sipping her tea.

And thus began their new morning ritual, sharing the paper and having their morning tea before breakfast. Sometimes talking about the paper, sometimes saying nothing at all. But this routine became comfortable, and became something that they both grew to enjoy and look forward to.

* * *

One Saturday afternoon, Elliana was hanging out in the Slytherin common room with her friends. They had just been escorted back from lunch and had taken up the seats around the fireplace. It was late January, so the corridors in the dungeons were cold, and the students were grateful for the warmth of the fire. Elliana, Draco, and Pansy were already sitting in their usual chairs engaged in conversation when Crabbe and Goyle walked into the common room with the last of the Slytherins who had lagged behind in the Great Hall. This wasn't unusual for them, as everyone knew they enjoyed food more than most, but what was unusual for them was how they looked around at the common room when they entered. They looked nervous and slightly confused. They stood in the entryway staring slack-jawed around the room for a moment before Draco noticed them and called them over.

"There you insatiable idiots are. Did Snape have to peel you out of your seats at the table? Are you ever not hungry?" Draco called across the room mocking them.

Goyle kicked Crabbe under their robes and they hurried over to where Draco and his gang were sitting, bumping into each other as they fought over the same seat. When they were seated, they just looked at each other and then blankly stared at Draco.

"You two seem dumber than usual. What's going on with you?" Draco scrutinized.

"Uhhhh. Stomach ache. Ate too much." Stammered Crabbe.

"Whatever." Draco rolled his eyes and then went back to ignoring the pair. "So Ellie, how's flying class going?"

"I mean, I'm fine at it. After practicing with you over break, I'm a lot better, and much less afraid of leaving the ground." She chuckled, "But I certainly don't see myself playing quidditch anytime soon."

Pansy snorted, annoyed. Every time Elliana or Draco mentioned how they had spent the holiday break together, she made some remark or would rag on Ellie a little extra after. She really hated that Elliana had come in and stolen her best friend from her. Elliana glanced at Pansy, rolling her eyes and laughing to herself about her obvious jealousy. Ever since Pansy had brought up her blood status on the train, the two had been at each other any time they got the chance. The other Slytherins had enough respect for their head of house to not mention Elliana's blood status.

"Sooo... About the heir of Slytherin.." Crabbe interjected.

"We've been over this a hundred times already Crabbe. Honestly, I don't know why you keep bringing it up." Draco leaned back in his chair, draping his legs over the arm. "I don't know who it is, and no, my father hasn't told me anything."

"Well besides that part about the last time, but that was basically useless..." Elliana added.

"What do you mean the last time?" Asked Goyle.

"Honestly, do you two ever listen? Or are your brains too small to retain information beyond the timing of your next meal?" Draco looked annoyed. "The last time the chamber was open, fifty years ago. We talked about this weeks ago. Honestly.."

"But who did it last time?" Crabbe asked, his eyes wide, and honestly, more alert than usual.

"We don't know!" Elliana said, exasperated. "You two really are daft."

Pansy looked at Crabbe, and noticed his hair changing slightly reddish. "What's wrong with your hair?" She squinted at him, moving closer.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, mumbled something vaguely about feeling sick and ran out of the common room, faster than any of them had ever seen the pair move before.

"What's up their butts today?" Ellie laughed, but had a weird feeling about the encounter. "Ouch!" She felt a sharp pain in her temple and brought her hand up to hold it.

"What's wrong?" Draco sat up from his lounging position, looking concerned.

"No idea. Suddenly I'm feeling weird as well. Feels like I've got a headache coming on. Maybe there WAS something wrong with lunch."

"Stupid house elves." Draco muttered.