Snape's Daughter(a harry potter fanfic)

It was a dreary Christmas day in London, one in which snow had fallen outside only recently in the day, covering the streets and the houses in a white blanket that would no doubt bring joy to the children of the suburb in which I lived. I, unfortunately, felt no such joy within my heart. Though I enjoyed the snow, yes, and Christmas, indeed, there was simply the fact of my mother's health. Nearly a year prior to this day, she had been diagnosed with a form of leukemia. 

The cancer itself was relatively treatable, if it was caught early that is. Unfortunately, it seemed as though we had caught my mother's own case a short time too late, as all of the treatments that the doctors had prescribed for her yielded no effect. No matter what they did, chemotherapy, radiation, none of it worked, and I slowly watched my mother turn into a husk of her former self. 

I couldn't bear to be in her room for too long, seeing her as she was. Especially not on Christmas, a day which was usually such a happy event for the both of us. So I remained downstairs, curled up on one of the loveseats in our living room. We lived in a relatively simply apartment, two floors, two bedrooms, a bathroom. It wasn't luxurious, but it was home. My mother even did her best to decorate it in a sense that would make it feel relatively homely. Old pictures of her and the rest of our family were hung on the walls, happy smiles beaming out at all of the rooms from within their glass frames. 

As I laid on the couch I brought my knees up to my chest, curling into them as I felt the beginnings of sleep start to wash over me. It was a welcome sensation, as I just wanted to escape this day, escape this worry, if only for a little while.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though an unexpected visitor had other plans for me. There was a low, repetitive knock on our door that sounded as though someone with no real interest of being let in had come to our doorstep. I opened my sapphire blue eyes with a sigh of contempt, before standing and making my way to the door. The nightgown which I had changed into earlier in the night swept around me as I made my way to the door. Seeing how I was relatively short, even for a fifteen year old, I had some difficulty looking through the peephole, so instead I opened the door just slightly and peered out. 

Standing on our doorstep was a man dressed in a deep black cloak that fell the length of his entire body, it looked highly out of place in a suburban area, but there were always some strange people around I suppose. My eyes moved up to meet his, finding only pools of obsidian there. They held no emotion that I could discern, no true tell of his intentions. 

"Uh, good evening." I greeted the man, shuffling nervously as I stood there with the door still only partly cracked.

"Good evening to you." He replied to me as I opened the door just sightly more so I could observe the rest of him. There seemed to be no one else with him, a lone traveler who had lost his way, perhaps? 

"May I ask who you are?" I tried to sound as polite as possible, as I didn't know the mental state of this man. If it had been anyone that I was certain wouldn't murder me for my disrespect, I would have definitely have told whoever it was to go away at this moment in time. The man cocked a brow as though he were confused as to the fact that I didn't know who he was before he responded.

"My name is Severus." he replied simply. His voice was monotonous, holding no empathy or feeling behind it, just like his eyes. I started to respond but he continued before I could speak again. "Your mother called me here, she requested that I speak to her, and I suppose, to you. Would you please let me in?" I bit my lip. My mother had certainly never mentioned a Severus to me, but I suppose I wasn't too keen as to her doings anymore. 

"One moment." I replied before shutting the door in his face, with little more than another word I turned and calmly walked up the stairs, entering my mother's room once I reached it. Her pale blue eyes that matched mine in color instantly darted to me. They were duller now, filled with a constant pain, and sunken in slightly. She seemed like little more than a skeleton, lying in that bed. I didn't dare approach her, and so I spoke from the door.

"Mother, do you know a Severus?" I asked quietly, not wanting to disturb her too much if she had already taken her medicine for the night, which would no doubt have put her into somewhat of a stupor. However, at the mention of the man's name my mother's eyes widened and shock, and what looked like a ghost of a smile spread across her features. 

"Is he here?" she asked simply and I nodded in response, still curious as to who exactly this man was. However, knowing that he was now known by my mother, I did not question who he was or why he was here. The way that she smiled spoke of something that I couldn't possibly know. I mused that he was perhaps an old friend who had come to visit to help her endure her sickness, but I soon stopped my postulations, it didn't really matter to me. 

I tread back down the stairs, brushing some of my ink black hair away from my eyes as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I approached the door once more, and opened it. Unfortunately, I discovered that our guest had not decided to depart during my conference with my mother. I opened the door wide for him and, with nary a word, he brushed past me and ascended the stairs as though he knew exactly where he was going. I closed the door before following behind him, genuinely curious once more. 

When I reached my mother's room I found that Severus was already sitting on the bed next to my mother, one of her hands clutched in both of his own. In those pools of obsidian I actually saw emotion, though I couldn't place what it was. It appeared to be pain, if I were to speculate, but I couldn't be for certain. My mother noticed that I was there first, her eyes moving to me from across the room before she moved her other hand to beckon me closer. 

I approached silently, feeling like I was intruding on some kind of long overdue reunion, but, nevertheless, I did as my mother asked of me. When I reached the bedside my mother reached for my hand, which I dutifully took in my own. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze before looking back to the man seated across from her. 

"Severus, will you please tell her? I don't know how to exactly.....and you were always so much better with your words." Severus sighed quietly, as though he wished to deny her request, but would rather not at the risk of causing her some kind of disturbance. 

"Alena, my dear." he said, turning those obsidian optics in my direction now, meeting my own sapphire ones before he continued. "I know that you will most likely hate me for this, and that you won't want to hear much else of what I have to say, but you must allow me to explain." My eyes darted to my mother in a silent question, but she squeezed my hand in response, as though she were telling me to pay attention to the man seated next to me. Nodding, I turned my attention back to Severus, who sighed before he uttered the words that began the beginning of the biggest change of my life. 

"Alena, I am your father." 

//Author's Note: I am beginning to re-write this story, part by part. Some parts will be deleted as I see fit, other ones will remain but will be altered drastically, as this one was. Accordingly, if you are just beginning to read, then the next chapter will not make much sense due to the difference in the first chapter. So, if you are just beginning to read I advise you to wait until I update the next part. I hope anyone rereading enjoys this rewriting as I attempt to make this story a better one than it was.