Disclaimer: I don't own any of Mrs. Rowlings creations. Everything and everyone else however are mine.
The tiny raven-haired girl stormed out of the small ugly run down shack that she occasionally had the privilege of calling home. She barely ducked down in time to miss the cast-iron skillet that was lobbed in the general direction of her head. She let out a tired sigh and pulled her thin black cloak around her small shoulders. People on the sidewalk stopped to stare at her as she walked past, the cloak billowing out behind her. Her appearance was that of a miniature gothic doll. The black lace up boots, her favorite pair, stopped just short of her knees. A tattered black and purple skirt hung down to her calves and the matching shirt was decorated with silver chains and safety pins. A ratty messenger bad hung off of one shoulder. Her slate gray eyes were adorned with purple and black eye makeup and her tightly drawn lips were completely black.
A woman pulled her son close to her as the girl passed. The little brown haired boy was hatefully kicking his mother in the shins and screaming for her to give his toy back. Noticing this, her black painted lips pulled up into a sneer and she continued her trek though the grungy neighborhood. Had anyone taken the time to look they would have seen that her pale skin was an ashen color and that she was painfully undernourished. Nor did they notice the slight limp in her gait. If anyone had seen her before she put her makeup on and left the house they would have seen pale, almost blue, lips and a set of color changing eyes that were far too old to be looking out of a face that young. But no one noticed and she didn't bother to inform them. Her ears were ringing and her right shoulder still throbbed from the night before. It seemed that no matter how completely shit-faced Sharon got she was still a dead aim with anything she threw. Most of the time it happened to be liquor bottles or skillets. Not that the woman could cook, mind you; it just happened that cast-iron skillets hurt a great deal when aimed at the small teen. Last night it had been a rather heavy thick-glassed whiskey bottle. When it had caught her in the shoulder she had spared a moment of thought as to what kind it was before it became unimportant and the bottle shattered on the bare concrete floor. She had to wait until Sharon and her drunken fuck buddy of the week had passed out in the living room to clean the glass up off the floor.
She shook herself out of her thoughts as she approached the entrance to the small out of the way tavern. The owners were some of the select few adults that the abnormally small fourteen-year-old girl trusted. She looked around herself in habit before she slipped into the building. The sight of Ricky Alden with a red baby dragon sitting on his shoulder, serving beer to a man clad in the most horrendous assortment of clothing that had ever graced the small tavern didn't faze her. She walked over to the bar and waited for Ricky to return.
He soon walked up, took the dragon from his shoulder, and placed it down on the seat beside her. She and the dragon locked eyes. The outside edges of her slate gray eyes turned black as the little red dragon butted its head into her hand, begging to be petted. She petted it feeling content for the moment. She never knew how long the feeling would last so she savored it, even if she didn't show it.
Ricky smiled and walked into the kitchen. He returned with a small plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and a cup of orange spice tea. He set them down in front of the girl. She looked him over. He stood at about 6'1" with slightly tanned skin, bright blue eyes, and shoulder-blade length brown hair. He looked to be in his mid to late thirties but she knew his looks were deceiving. Both he and his wife were well into their nineties.
"I figured that you hadn't eaten breakfast so I saved you some." He paused and looked her over. She knew he could feel her nervousness and fatigue no matter what she did. He was one of the few that had strong enough empathy to get though her shields and that was mainly because of his healer abilities. The other was her balancer, Ivy.
"Are you alright Ebony?" He asked. She paused in her eating. After staring at her plate for a few moments she looked up. Her eyes had changed color again. Now they were a charcoal gray color. Ricky shifted uneasily on his barstool as she studied him. Ebony, it seemed, had the rare ability to completely unnerve a person with a simple gaze. It was a trait that she got from her father if what Grandpa Albus said was true.
"Truthfully?" Ebony asked, never breaking eye contact with him. He nodded. Looking down she sighed.
"I'm tired, I'm cranky, I hurt. My lips are starting to turn blue and I've been getting dizzy for the past three days. Ivy won't be back in state for another week so my health isn't likely to improve for a while. I need sleep but with Sharon's new man whore I don't think it's safe to fall asleep in that house. And to top it all off I have to go to Scotland to get my father to sign a paper for me."
"I thought you said he lived in London." Ricky said as he refilled her tea.
"Mmm. He does but he had to stay at the school this summer. Grandpa said that he was helping to train some students on defense. I think Grandpa said his words were quote 'Attempting to stuff advanced Defense against the Dark Arts into the brains of incompetent dimwitted dunderheads will be like nailing muggle Jell-O to a tree. It won't work.' End quote." She took a sip of her tea and snorted. Damn Grandpa Albus for getting her hooked on the shit. "He gave into Grandpa's orders eventually. Albus Dumbledore is most convincing when he puts his mind to it. Grandpa seems to think that one of said students is in fact my father's soul mate. That's the other reason I'm going. Maybe I can tell. I hope so for Father's sake. It'll do him some good to finally have someone around. He can't be happy being alone all the time. It's not healthy." She sighed and stood up. "What do I owe you for breakfast?"
ROA
"Hum… I'll have to think. Give an old man a moment." Ricky said and smiled at the sight of his baby mini-dragon, Arella, winding around Ebony's legs. Arella wasn't a normal 'Alden' dragon due to a birth defect that caused her to be extraordinarily small. His best guess was that she wouldn't reach five foot fully grown. Much like Ebony, to tell the truth. The teen just barely scraped four foot ten inches. He had come to the conclusion that Ebony's small stature was due to the mixture of alcohol and potions that Sharon had consumed while pregnant with her. He, along with his wife, had been the ones to deliver Ebony and even then her size had worried them. When he came to find out what else was wrong with the girl he had wanted nothing more than to strangle the self-centered evil bitch. As it were, there wasn't a lot that he could do. Besides no one would believe that Sharon had intentionally tried to miscarry Ebony. She was a wonderful actor in that regard and it never failed to piss him off.
It had been a shock when after a month had passed and Sharon still hadn't given the poor baby a name. When Karan, Ricky's wife, had asked her why Sharon had shrugged and said she couldn't decide. Karan could smell the whiskey on Sharon from five feet away. In all her seventy-nine years of life, Karan had never seen a mother treat her child that horribly. When she suggested naming her 'Ebony Raven', Sharon had just shrugged and stumbled out the door with the words 'Sure, go ahead. You wouldn't mind watching her for a while, would you? I have some people to visit.' She had left without even waiting for an answer.
That was how he and his wife had come to raise little Ebony for the first five years of her life. Sure, the girl had stayed with her mother sometimes but more often than not Sharon palmed her off on them. They hadn't minded really. At least they had been able to watch out for the girl when she was with them. And besides, Ebony had never been without a playmate as he and his wife at the time already had eleven children (and many grandchildren). Granted some of them were full grown by then, but they never passed up the chance to play with the little girl. Ebony had been four when they had realized that she, like Ricky and Karan, was a Baser (or Base Caster). Ricky was pulled from his thoughts by a small slender finger poking him between the eyes.
"Before I grow old, Ricky." Her eyes were a light gray color, showing her amusement. Her eyes were like a muggle mood ring, their colors changing with her moods. Again, the strange mixture of potions she was exposed to before her birth caused this. He sighed.
"Karan just received a letter stating that a wealthy Baser of some relation to her recently died. She left Karan a library completely full of books. Any kind you can imagine. Baser, Wizarding, and Muggle. Karan is going to have to go through and sort, catalog, and restore all of them. That is where you can repay us. Help her and the kids with that and I'll forget that you owe me for this breakfast and all the meals last week." Not that he would ever make her pay him back but she tended to feel the need to pay for things when she was staying with her mother. It didn't matter how much he told her otherwise. Ebony looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"That's it?"
"You'll think that now but I'm sure later on you'll want to strangle me. It has to be done by hand, no magic. And I know a certain six year old that will want to play instead of work and guess who her favorite playmate is." He said with a laugh. Ebony thought on it for a minute and then shrugged.
"It'll get me away from Sharon and the 'boyfriend'. It'll have to be next week though because I don't feel like it now. I may see if I can stay a few days at Hogwarts. Maybe I'll be able to finally get some sleep. It would be nice." She sighed. "I've got to go. Take care Ricky." She turned to leave but stopped when she heard the agitated chirping noise coming from behind her. Ebony chuckled softly.
"You too, Arella." With that she took a deep breath and quietly disappeared with a black puff of smoke.
ROA
He stood in the shadows, near shaking with anger. Even the air around him seemed to thrum with it. If it were possible, he would describe it as 'Dripping anger'. But it isn't possible. Well, maybe with a potion of some sort, he thought. If indeed there existed such a potion, he would have known about it. He wasn't the best Potions Master in Britain, possibly the youngest in the world, for nothing.
His sneer grew as his black eyed gaze rested on the object of his anger. Harry Bleeding Potter. Of course he would have to give up his summer of quiet brewing and reading to teach the brat how to take care of himself. It didn't help matters that Potter's relatives had kicked him out and now they had to live in the castle together. The headmaster even had the nerve to give Potter a room in his dungeons. Wasn't it enough that he had to put up with the boy during the last seven school terms? 'Now Severus, it won't hurt you to share the dungeons. There's plenty of room for everyone. He'll be closer to the training rooms and if he needs anything, you're close by.' Sometimes he really hated that man.
"Headmaster, what kind of tea is this?" Potter asked after taking a sip of his now lukewarm tea. Severus rolled his eyes.
"Orange spice. I have a guest coming that quite enjoys it and I thought why wait? It is very good if I do say so myself." Albus smiled. Severus paused halfway through a snort.
"Albus?" His deep voice was almost a growl.
"Yes, my boy?" Albus asked as he sipped on his own cup of tea.
"Why didn't you tell me she was coming? You only serve orange spice when she is coming." The air crackled around him. Potter looked confused.
"Well, if I knew the tea would get you this riled up I would have requested Oreo's too. At least make it worth it." A soft voice said from the doorway.
Severus spun to look at the tiny girl standing behind him. She had his facial structure, raven black hair, and natural grace. Her nose was smaller than his was and he supposed that was a good thing. Right now she was dressed in that outlandish clothing style that Albus called 'Gothic'. He glared at her and she just stared back. Slate gray turned to charcoal gray and she sighed. Pulling out a small piece of parchment, she held it out to him.
"Well? Are you going to take it or not?" she asked as she rolled her eyes. He took it from her hand.
"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to look at it. She sighed, closed her eyes,
and brought her hands up to rub her temples. That was another thing she got from him, her hands. Long, slender, and graceful.
"You're not even going to read it, are you?" She mumbled to herself. She looked up at him. "I have some tests that I have to take and I need your signature."
"What about Sharon?" Severus sneered. She laughed bitterly and it startled him to hear such a sound coming from someone so young. Not that he let it show, of course.
"She's currently… indisposed of at the moment. Please sign it. It's not like I ask much of you anyway." She pulled out a muggle pen from the small messenger bag slung around her shoulder and handed it to him. "At the bottom. Please." He glared at her for a moment. She didn't seem to be overly impressed. In fact, she only raised an eyebrow in a startling impression of himself so he turned around and used Albus's desk as a hard surface to sign the damned note. He spun back around, shoved both pen and paper at her, and stalked to the door. Pausing, he turned to Potter.
"Nine a.m. in the potions classroom. Do not be late, Potter." With that said he then proceeded to storm down to the dungeons and to the large bottle of Firewhiskey he had for occasions such as these. Drinking made him stop thinking and right now he really didn't need those memories replaying all night in his mind. Just seeing her was bad enough. Then he remembered that he had to teach Potter in the morning. Damnit. This was going to be a long night. Merlin, he needed a drink.
ROA
Ebony watched as the door slammed and sighed.
"That went well." She muttered still staring at the spot where her father had stood. Really though, what had she expected? It wasn't as if the man had ever shown her any form of affection, or tolerance for that matter. As far as she could remember, neither of her parents had ever willingly touched her. Sure her mother threw things, but she never actually touched her. She didn't have to. Her aim was good enough. As for her father, well, he avoided her like the plague. The only times she got to see him was when she caught him by surprise, like today. Not that she blamed them really. After what she had learned last spring during one of her mother's rare sober moments, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. She understood, though it still hurt like hell.
Shaking her head she turned to look at the boy sitting in front of Grandpa Albus's desk. He had messy black hair and bright emerald green eyes that seemed too old for a boy so young. Now that was something she understood. He was… small almost. Not abnormally small like her, but she doubted he would ever reach six feet tall. The dumbfounded look on his face was almost endearing. She sat beside him and accepted the cup of tea that Grandpa handed her.
"So you're one of the poor unfortunate souls who get to spend the summer with my father?" She asked, looking over the rim of the cup at the boy. His mouth dropped.
"Father?" He squeaked. She laughed.
"Does he do tricks too Grandpa or is parroting all he can manage?" She asked the old man sitting behind the desk. Today his robes were neon blue decorated with dark yellow stars. They were a bit painful on the eyes, truth be told. His long white beard and hair was tucked into his belt. He chuckled.
"Harry, meet Ebony Snape. Ebony, this is Harry Potter. He does do a rather good impression of a fish, right Harry?" The boy's mouth closed with a click. She giggled and held out her hand. He took it hesitantly and she rolled her eyes.
"I don't bite that hard. It's nice to meet you by the way." Her American accent seemed so out of place here, she noted absently.
"Snape's really your father?" My, he's thick, isn't he? She sighed and dropped his hand.
"Yes, however reluctant he is about it."
ROA
She said the last part so softly that Harry had to lean forward to hear it. This certainly would be interesting news to Ron. Who knew Snape would have a daughter? Maybe this could work out to his advantage. Watch it, your Slytherin stripes are showing, Harry. Her dark gray eyes narrowed at him as he thought that. He watched as her irises turned completely black, the line between color and pupil disappearing. The room started to vibrate with raw power. So much so that Dumbledore had to jump up and catch a crystal ball before it rolled off his desk. Power was radiating off her in violent waves. Cracks started to appear in the windows and various other glass objects around the office. Wow, so he wasn't the only one who did that to the Headmasters office.
"Don't you dare use this against him. He may not be overly fond of me but I will not have you fucking with him. Do you understand me?" She almost growled as the teapot on the desk next to him exploded into a million tiny shards. Can she read minds? He swallowed and nodded his head. She was bloody scary for such a tiny girl. She stared at him for a second before the power receded and she looked around the room. Taking in the damage she sighed and held out her hand. Within seconds, everything was repaired. Wand-less magic. Now there was something that would come in handy during battle. I wonder if Snape can do wand-less magic too? Harry made a mental note to ask later and turned his attention back to the girl.
"Sorry Grandpa." She said softly. Albus smiled sadly and placed the crystal ball back on his desk.
"I understand, Ebony. Just try not to lose control again." She nodded and looked back at Harry.
"Look, Harry. The events surrounding my conception are… disturbing to say the least and neither of my parents deserved what happened to them. I can't tell you what happened exactly as that's not my place. Just know it was traumatic for the both of them and it's affected them in ways that you couldn't even begin to comprehend. Or…" She tilted her head to the side. "Maybe you can. I ask that you don't bring this up with him. In fact don't tell anyone what I just said. He would be rather angry if he found out. I'm sure you've had enough classes with him to know about his temper." She smiled crookedly. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Boy, have I. Alright, I won't say anything. Promise."
"Thanks. Grandpa Albus, would it be okay if I spent a few nights here. I'm tired and I find I sleep really well here. Pleeeeasssse." She asked as she turned light gray puppy dog eyes towards Albus. Albus chuckled and nodded.
"Go ahead. Call the house elves if you need anything. I trust that you can find your rooms by now?" Ebony nodded.
"Yup! I'm fully capable of getting lost all by myself now. Bye Grandpa. Bye Harry. I'll see you both later." She stood up. "And by the way Grandpa, you're right. I can feel it." Ebony said and walked quietly out of the office.
ROA
Harry shook his head in an attempt to clear it after what had to be the most bizarre meeting he had ever experienced. Considering whom Albus Dumbledore was made the previous statement hard to believe.
He walked down the strangely empty halls. It was hard to associate this hollow, echoing castle with the noisy student-filled school that he had lived in for ten months out of the year for the last seven years. The differences gave the normally comforting school a stagnate lazy feeling. Harry didn't like it. It vaguely reminded him of his summers at the Dursley's. Well, minus the yelling and bruising, and the cuts and broken bones. Minus Vernon Dursley mostly.
Now those were some memories he could live without. The summer had started out as it normally had. Only the occasional fist or frying pans. In the past, pre-Hogwarts, things had been much more physical. After he had gotten his letter they seemed to lessen up on him. A little. Oh, they still didn't feed him more than bread and water every few days and of course he had to do all the chores around and outside the house, but at least they didn't hit him as much.
Until this summer, that was. It seems Vernon had caught wind that Sirius Black was, in fact, dead. Had been for over two years actually. That was when his uncle had done something that Harry had always thought he was too frightened to do. His uncle had raped him. He remembered that night with with a strange sort of detached clarity.
He sighed as he finished his chores for the night. His uncle had been watching him with a weird glint in his eyes all night. He had just opened the door and walked into his sad excuse of a bedroom when he felt the blow to the back of his head. When he woke up he was face down on the floor. Uncle Vernon loomed over him with that same strange gleam in his eyes and it sent shivers down his spine. 'What…' was all he got out before Vernon's foot made contact with his side. The following crack told him that at least one if not two of his ribs had just snapped. He was contemplating how he was going to explain this when he realized his problems had just gotten worse. Vernon was kneeling at his side. As his face was smashed down into the floor he heard the sound of a fly being unzipped. That was when he realized exactly what was happening. He started to struggle but then Vernon hit him in the side of the head and he fell limp. Harry's vision started fading and the last thing he could remember was the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside. Then his world went black.
It had been two days later when someone had finally found him. He wasn't sure whom it was that found him. He thought it might have been Authur Weasley. Well, whoever it was that had brought him to Hogwarts didn't know the full extent of his injuries. Madame Pomfrey told him that he had been bloody and bruised from head to toe. He had also had so many broken bones that it took her all night to get him back in some semblance of order. She hadn't told anyone, other than Dumbledore, about the rape. She said it was too personal and until he was ready to deal with it, it was really no one else's business.
He was in a hazy sort of denial, he knew that much. He still hadn't broken down but he knew that when he did it would be a sight to behold. Right now, it still felt like it had happened to someone else, not him. In fact he really wasn't feeling much of anything. Earlier today, in the Headmasters office, was the first he had truly felt anything since he had woken up in the infirmary. Ebony was strange to say the least and he wasn't sure how to react to her. The genuine surprise that he had felt at finding out that Snape of all people had a child had been refreshing. Then again the twinge of fear when said child let her magic loose had startled him. Now that he thought about it, she was the only one other than him, that he had ever seen do that in their anger. Sure, Dumbledore was quite the frightening character when enraged, but even his wild magic didn't threaten to bring down the entire castle. He was sure that had Ebony not gotten a grip on her fury that was exactly what would have happened.
He shook himself out of his thoughts as he walked into his quarters. He was grateful that the Headmaster had given him a dungeon room for the summer. It was a lot cooler down here. Harry sighed and started getting ready for bed. This summer would be bad enough with Snape having to teach him, he probably shouldn't make the man mad by falling asleep during his lessons. With that thought he crawled into bed and fell into a fitful slumber.