Dinner and Dorms

A few hours later

Snap's quarters 

The stone walls were lit by touch light that shimmered slightly. The fire was untamed and glowed, dancing on the walls casting shadows that seemed to follow the beat of the same drum. Natalie watched this with soft fascination as she wandered down to her father's room. Most students weren't aloud in the private quarters but, being as this was her father, am exception was made. Snape was setting the table when she walked in. 

He didn't look quite as unapproachable and perfect here, in his quarters. His cloak was laid over the back of a chair, folded in half, rather neat. His normal black robes swapped out for an white long sleeve and comfortable black jeans. However, his sleeves were pushed up on the white long sleeve and  the pants had white patches of flour possibly from making pasta. She smiled watching him for a moment before a soft crack sound announced the presence of their house elf. 

Reecy had found him after the last Prince had passed away and become a loyal servant to Severus and Natilee. "Miss Natilee!" Greeted the elf who curtsied, her big green eyes were innocent and happy. Her pillow case had long been replaced by a simple black skirt and white puffy sleeved top made for a toddler and tiny pink shoes. Natilee had insisted and her father… had been powerless to refuse that sweet grin. Now Reecy served them willingly, as if they had never presented her with clothes at all. It was odd but Natilee didn't mind as long as it was Reecy's choice.

"Hey Reecy. How are you settling in?" Natilee asked hugging the elf in greeting. 

"Very well but Master Snape insisted on cooking tonight." She pouted, Reecy enjoyed cooking quite alot and poured when she didn't get to. The issue was, Snape and Natilee both enjoyed cooking so some nights she didn't get the chance.

"Reecy." Snap's feather light warning tone was enough to stop the elf's chatter. He was not the patient type and that word seriously grated his nerves. 

"Sorry Professor." Reecy corrected her mistake and Natilee laughed walking over to hug her father. He put a hand on her head and smoothed her hair down into its braid again. Her touch took soothed the darkness for a moment. 

"I missed you." Natilee told him with a soft smile. He couldn't help but chuckle at her. For being 13, she still acted like she needed him, more than any other child he had seen. Then again… he was glad she did. 

"You saw me just a few hours ago, Natilee." He reminded her and Natilee laughed leaning up to kiss his cheek before pulling back, letting go of him. 

"I know, but still. I have a lot of lost time to make up for." She replied and his heart stung a bit. The hardest decision he ever made was to send her to Ilvermory. It had been the right choice, but it didn't make it an easy one. At least there no one would ask questions that would require lies to answer. 

"Well…" he cleared his throat unable to hide the slight twitch of a smile at the corner of his mouth. "Dinner will get cold." He pointed out pulling out her chair. Natilee thanked him and sat down, draping her cloak over the back of the chair so she just wore the sweater vest over the white collared shirt. 

"The meeting went well. We didn't actually make any potions but we made a future plan and set out how we want potions club to work. I would say it was successful for a first meeting." Natilee offered as Reecy spooned Alfredo onto her plate and topped it with the baked chicken slices. Snape raised a brow. 

"Really? I didn't think the four houses could get along." He replied a bit dryly and Natilee grinned softly. 

"To be honest, I didn't either.  If the slytherin representatives were anyone but Astoria and Me there may have been some trouble." Natilee pointed out with a shrug. He nodded. 

"Astoria and I. Speak properly." Snape corrected her as he began to eat. She nodded and are as well. The flavors melted in her mouth and left her smiling. Nothing was better than Daddy's cooking. 

"Yes, thank you. Astoria and I were able to get on the right track. She's become quite the friend. Are you sure there isn't anything we can do about the curse?" Natilee asked and Snape sighed as he took another bite. His expression was dark and brooding but Natilee knew by now he was just deep in thought. She let him think, focusing on her meal and a particularly tasty discovery of broccoli in the cream sauce. Her favorite veggie by far, no doubt that was why it found itself in this dish. 

"Astoria's curse is a blood curse set on her family long ago. It can not be removed because the one who cast the curse, and the one who received the curse are deceased. Chances are Astoria will live well into her 20s." Snape replied thoughtfully, his mind working out the variables. Natilee's face fell a bit saddened. 

"Why would anyone make a curse like this anyway?" Natilee growled slightly attacking a particularly stubborn broccoli with a vengeance. 

"There is a cost to pure blood thinking Natilee. You make enemies with a young witch like Miss Granger for example who is intelligent and skilled, but happens to be mixed or muggle born. Those enemies find ways of hurting you where it counts. For pure bloods who believe in small families,  a curse that could possibly destroy your line down the way is horrific." Snape replied his voice going into a slight lecturing tone that he had adopted long ago at Hogwarts but rarely used with Natilee. It always seemed to sneak out when the topic of pure blood supremacy came to the surface. 

"Stupid pure blood mentality." Natilee growled and Snape allowed the faint smile to show. He was proud of her, of what she had learned despite the states being less than accepting of muggle marriages. Sayer had done well in teaching his daughter to be accepting as her surrogate mother. 

"Yes, it can be dangerous to be on either side openly and treat others carelessly." Snape reminded her tactfully and Natilee nodded. 

"I have noticed that. Being placed in Slytherin has been interesting. I've had to very diplomatic. Its exhausting and Draco and Miss Pansy have taken an interest in me. I can't seem to deter them." She sighed deeply, knowing they were both troublesome. Life would have been so much easier in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Even Huffelpuff would have made her goal easier. 

"The sorting hat Sorted you because of what you needed, not what you wanted. You must put in effort if you wish to reap the reward, but bare in mind even with that effort things may not go as you hope. Sometimes… the best way to protect someone is to walk away." Snape reminded her but his voice was darker, there was a subtle undertone that drew her in. She knew that voice. She knew where his mind had ended up. 

"Is that what happened with my mother? To protect her you walked away?" Natilee asked the question burning in her mind. She regretted it instantly, the pain he struggled to conceal peaked out.

"With your mother, I pushed her away in school so the teasing I suffered would not be hers as well. I was cruel but… it was the only way I could protect her. Later when we… well when she and James had those issues and separated and everything happened I chose to walk away again. Only that time, I took you with me." Snape replied and Natilee blinked shocked he answered. 

"How?" Natilee asked curious as to how much she could get him to tell her. 

"Lilly and I agreed she couldn't have you. She was in love with him and that night was a moment of drunken weakness and wishful thinking. When she realized she was pregnant and told me, Sayer was visiting. I told her everything and she knew a way to save you and protect Lilly. Using magic I don't fully understand she moved you from Lilly's Womb into her own. We had agreed to tell James but… I couldn't watch him break her heart. I wiped her memory. She thought she was at my house for a drink and to meet Sayer. It was as if… nothing ever happened. She became your Godmother, you had every right to know her even if not as her daughter. So, she was there when you were born and as much as I hated James he adored you as a god child. When she died, Sayer and I decided you needed to know the truth." Snape explained figuring his daughter was old enough to know the truth. Hiding it for so long had gnawed at his heart just as much as that mind wipe had. He had done what was best for her… hadn't he? Even now he wondered if she would be alive if she had never given birth to Harry. 

Natilee sat quiet and still for a long time. Her heart wrestling with the information he gave her, with the truth she had wanted for so long. Trying to digest this information was more than she had expected at dinner tonight. "Did… did you regret it? Saving me? A constant reminder of her." She asked staring down at mostly eaten meal, it no longer being as appetizing. 

"Never, You are the most precious gift Lilly ever gave me. I will love you, Always." He replied simply his voice firm and unquestionable. There was a coldness in it, as if he was offended she even had to ask. That, somehow, made Natilee feel better. It wasn't pacifying or patronizing it was her father being her father. 

"Thank you, Daddy." She replied offering a gentle smile and finishing her meal. He nodded at her quietly letting this heart  quiet. His eyes flicked toward the clock on the wall. 

"You have 20 minutes till Curfew. Don't make me strike points from Slytherin by being late." Snape reminded her raising a brow. Natilee wiped her mouth and set her plate in the sink and her emerald green napkin in the wash basket. 

"Yes, sir. See you at breakfast." She gave him a hug and then dashed out the door. It wasn't far from his quarters to the slytherin wall. "Avery." She spoke the word to the bare strech of wall tapping her wand to the stones and waited a moment. Then the door shifted aside and the Slytherin Common room was revealed. 

The dim lights were accented by the green glass tinting the light in the rather luxurious room. The carved wooden chairs were mostly full this time of night. Everyone settling in to talk or play a game of chess while winding down from the day. Astoria and a few first years were working on homework work, while older students complained about teachers or other house students. Pansy was off on another anti Hermione tirade. 

"Natilee, come here a second." The voice made her cringe internally. She turned, and sure enough that stark white haired teen with those piercing blue eyes was calling her. Beside him were his faithful lackeys Crabe and Goyle. 

"Hello again Malfoy, how can I help you?" Natilee asked as politely as she could. He smirked at her in the self satisfied way she had become accustomed to.

"Call me Draco." He ordered as if it was a treat to have that option. The self confident wink he tacked onto the end was smoother than she expected. He was learning, but probably from a magazine judging by his skill.

"Alright Draco, what's up?" Natilee repeated turning on the charm a bit herself. She found that a sweet girl got less notice than a more strong personality. 

"Oh, I just wanted to ask if your ready for flight class tomorrow? We are playing a little game of Quidditch against Gryffindor for class and I am making sure all of us third years know how to play. Does Ivormory play?" He asked raising a brow at her. She took a deep breath and counted down in her head. 

"Yes, we played Quidditch at Ilvermorny. I also had lessons during summer camp so I am sure I will do just fine, Draco." Natilee reassured him and he nodded. 

"Good. I don't want to lose to those smug kittens." He laughed at his own joke and Natilee raised a brow. 

"And I thought you were high class." Natilee words shut everyone up and froze Draco's laugh. "Pure blood, proud Slytherins resulting to name calling rather than proving ourselves on the field. Pity. I expected better of a Malfoy." Natilee sighed and turned away walking back toward the girls dorms, all eyes on her. "I have no doubt we will beat them, but let's remember our manners… shall we?"

"She has a point, Draco." Wallace added with a bit of a chuckle. "She's a feisty little Python for sure." He added chuckling as he headed to his own dorm.