The photo was faded; the edges slightly grayed and the frame dusty from days upon a shelf. Bordered by dark mahogany wood and settled besides a single, overused candle, it seemed to glow. The two figures in the photo moved and smiled brightly as if locked in the moment when the photo had been taken. One was a young woman with a rosy and gentle face. Long waves of amber hair rolled down her shoulders and slightly concealed one of her pleasant green eyes as she waved to whoever happened to be looking at her.
She looked rather pretty in her sunny, flora print dress and sparkling bracelets. The little girl she stood with was grinning from ear to ear as she continued to try and keep an oversized sunhat from falling over her eyes. Her hair was the color of sleek raven feathers and hung down the length of her small back to somewhat offset the yellow of her dress, but she was as sweet and innocent as most infants should be. The mother and child laughed and smiled as they stood out in the bright sunlight; a small picnic set up in the background upon the grassy hill. Suddenly, the photo was snapped, facedown, upon the shelf.

The hand that did so retracted quickly as if to hide the deed and turned to observes the slightly cluttered room with stern and cold eyes. There wasn't much of interest; simply a child's room filled with toys, arts and crafts, and a multi-colored lamp set upon the bedside table. Lucious Malfoy smirked as his gaze finally fell upon the prospects of all his work. His onyx haired companion stared down at the two bodies and seemed to listen to the haunting melody of the music box to his left. No doubt, all that work had paid off. Lucious nudged the smaller of the two bodies with his foot and watched as it obeyed the movement lifelessly; the soft, pink and white polka dot pajamas rustling slightly against the carpet. "Cute kid…" he stated. "Or at least, she was."

Severus took his stoic midnight gaze from the bodies before him and moved slowly about the room without a word. He seem lost deep in his own wonderings. Lucious watched as he made his way toward a small wooden table and sifted through the small pile of crayon drawings. Rainbows, sunshines, and one in particular that caught Severus' eye.
Three people had been drawing together. One was a girl with red hair with the word 'Mommy' written about it, the next, holding the hand of the first, was a small person with long black hair with 'Me' over its head, and the last, set a few inches apart from the two, was a figured colored in black that read 'Daddy?' with 4 lines beneath it.He looked as if he might have been hit in the chest as grit his teeth a bit and set the drawing back upon the table. His attention was brought back to the two lying upon the floor with a gaze as solemn as a statue's. As if trying to make Severus feel better about the whole ordeal, Lucious cleared his throat and spoke. "Woman just don't know when to back down. She could have saved herself if she'd just answered the question."
This only succeeded in getting a dark glare from his partner. Seeing he wasn't wanted, Lucious turned and walked quietly out of the room. Alone in the gloom of the bedroom, Severus' eyes continued to traverse the layout of the scene.
His eyes were attracted to a small framed photo upon the bedside table that seemed to shine under the rays of the lamp. The photo was on him, though much younger. He could remember that day. She'd insisted on taking that picture before they left Hogwarts for good and told him it would help her think of him. How he wished he'd let her take it without such a fight. If he had only known. His thoughts were stolen when he noticed something that had been placed under the frame of the photograph. An envelope made of creamy material and sealed with a small star shaped sticker.

Written across the front in somewhat blocky letters was the word 'Daddy' where one would normally put an address or location. Without thinking, Severus opened the letter and pulled out the piece of parchment within. The handwriting was slanted, but fairly neat for the age of the child who had written it. He read silently.

"Daddy,

Mommy says you wont get this letter. She also said that you might not be who I think you are, but I'm writing anyway. I hope the owl knows where to bring this cuz I want you to read it as soon as possible. I suppose I'll start with who I am.
I'm Esmeralda and I'm seven years old. Mommy says you probably don't recognize me cuz we've never met, but I bet you'll remember after this letter. After all, keeping in touch is the best way to stay together. Well, I guess I can tell you a bit about myself. I've lived with Mommy all my life. Actually, just the other day we went on our first vacation in a long time cuz she's been sick and hasn't been able to leave the house. We went to the beach and collected some seashells, but Mommy says they'll break if I send them by owl in the envelope so I'll send them later."

Around here, she seemed to run low on ink as the letters grew a bit faded, but it quickly picked back up beside a few puddles from the quill's drippings.

"As for Mommy, she says you're really busy since you're a teacher now. She says if I'm really good, I'll get to go to Hogwarts and see you every day. She doesn't use magic very often actually. Most of the time, she just sleep during the day, but since last week she's been up a bit more. I think she's better cuz she heard I was gonna convince you to come home. I don't care what she says, I believe you're my Daddy and know you'll come back when you think it's the right time. And when you get here, we're going to do all sorts of things. But the first thing I want to do is tell you I love you, face to face. Then we'll go on a picnic like Mommy used to do. Well, I'll write more later cuz Mommy says I have to go to bed. I really hope you write back.

Love,
Esmeralda Marian Snape / Cross"

Severus felt his heart sink when he finished reading the letter. It was terrible. Seven years old, the prime of life, and now she would never see the world. Never see Hogwarts. Never know him. Pushing back the thoughts and holding back the tears, he folded the parchment and slipped it, along with the envelope, into the folds of his robes.
Once more, he turned his eyes upon the cold and pale face of the little girl who had been killed despite the effort of her dear mother. Her knelt once more and gently placed a kiss upon the frigid skin of her noble forehead. She was beautiful and innocent. She could have been great. "I would have been proud to be your father…" he whispered before moving over to the adult who lay lifeless at her side. Amber hair shielded her solemn face and he lightly brushed it away. After so many years, he never thought he would see her like this. He had seen her close to death, seen her demonic and unfeeling, and seen her cry, but this was the worst of all.
She was dead. "Minnie…" It was all he could say and even that caused the tears he'd been fighting to break free and stream down his cheeks. Without another word, he stood up, flicked off the lamp and left the room; shutting the door behind him to leave the mother and daughter to rest peaceful with the lullaby of the music box to sooth their restless spirits.