The Era of Aria Snape

20

Chapter Twenty

ARIA STOOD ACROSS the desk from her father. He glared at her silently, as if contemplating a suitable punishment.

"I am extremely disappointed in you." Professor Snape muttered monotonously.

"Father, I swear-" Aria tried to defend herself but he cut her off immediately.

"Silence!" He stood up and began to pace. "I expect the utmost from you and when you do things like this, not only do you make yourself seem idiotic, but you embarrass me as well. You're lucky you're not in Gryffindor, you'd be serving time in the Forbidden Forest like that mudblood friend of yours."

He was speaking of Hermione, although Aria knew that her father wasn't keen on first-year Gryffindors, to hear him say that word was slightly offputting. He had never used it before.

"Malfoy is a fool, he deserves the detention, but no daughter of mine is going into that place. Let's go." He headed to the door of his office. "I have something better in mind."

Snape led her to an unused classroom. "Under that trapdoor, you will find a dusty room. Clean it." He grabbed Aria's wand. "No magic."

Aria wanted to complain as she slipped down through the trapdoor, but she knew he would only worsen her punishment and so she kept her mouth shut.

Fortunately, there were small windows that allowed the moonlight to shine through and illuminate the room. If not for that, she would have been in complete darkness unable to use her wand.

"How am I supposed to clean all of this?" She huffed to herself, turning her nose up at the multiple picture frames, old books, and broken trinkets that littered the floor.

She took a step forward only to come crashing down onto the dirty ground. A layer of dust lifted as she collapsed. "Merlin!" She reached for the picture frame that had tripped her up, planning on ripping it into two when something caught her eye.

The frame held a photo of a past Slytherin class. She turned it over, it read 1977 on the back, but that was the one word that wasn't worn out. She studied the photograph. Her father was standing on the edge with a strikingly beautiful blonde woman at his side.

Aria found herself wondering whether that lady was her mother or not, then again, she wondered if any woman in the photo was her mother.

She wished for her wand at that moment so that she would be able to make out the words on the back of the photo or at least get a better view of the picture.

Aria glanced around the room, searching for a source of light, and noticed the moon reflecting off of something against the wall. She walked towards it, careful not to trip, and noticed that it was a mirror.

She scrunched up her nose in disgust at the sight of her outrageous hair - it was pointing in every direction.

"Narcissa?"

The blonde woman stood next to Aria in the mirror, smiling into it. Aria glanced back, but she was definitely alone in the room. "Are you in the mirror?" She asked, but there was no response.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Her brows knitted together in confusion as she read the strange engravings on the mirror. She'd read about something similar, a mirror that revealed one's greatest desire. To make sure she was right, she read the engravings backward and was pleasantly surprised.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire."

It took Aria a moment to figure out exactly what her heart's greatest desire was and then it hit her.

She wanted nothing more than to know who her mother was.

Her mother was currently smiling into the mirror.

Narcissa was her mother.