A Flower in Bloom
Laiet could hear Daddy on the other side of the door. She could always hear his voice for the first ten minutes. Then magic made everything go silent. She knew her Daddy was good at magic. Too good at magic. It made the pale ghost man come more often and make her Daddy do lots of stuff that took him away from her.
She loved her Daddy, had loved him for all the six years she'd lived. She loved how he called her Lai and how his voice became like a warm, snuggly blanky when he said it. That was the only time he ever sounded like that. Right now she heard the voice he always used with the ghost man. It was hard and had no fuzzy to it.
"Ahh, Severus I'm glad you were ready to welcome me into home so quickly this evening. So rare I get an invitation," hissed the ghost man. Laiet shivered, but huddled up closer to the key hole. Perhaps today she'd get to hear something before Daddy prevented what he called "eavesdropping" or something like that. He liked big words, but Laiet figured eavesdropping must mean curious.
"My home hardly holds any interest for my Lord. I need not waste my Lord's time with frivolousness."
"Yesss, but some might think you lack… enthusiasm."
"No, my Lord. My Lord always asks for what he desires." Laiet hated when her Daddy said 'My Lord.' It sounded sticky and pasty like one of his failed potions experiments. Daddy made lots of potions, but he also made lots of mistakes. He called them "researching." Laiet listened to that voice, figuring she wouldn't hear it much longer before Daddy's magic started working to stop her curiosity.
"Have you looked into the potions we discussed," asked the ghost man. She heard the soft thump of her father sitting in a chair before he spoke.
"The ingredients have been hard to procure, but I have been doing much researching," Daddy assured the man. He certainly had. Laiet had heard five boom-a-kabooms just yesterday. And she had ran downstairs to find him saying the words that he said she must never repeat, though she couldn't see why. He said them every time she heard the boom-a-kaboom. Perhaps they were an adult thing, 'cause adult talk sounded really different.
"I have given you far too much time all ready," the ghost man scolded. Laiet realized then that she could see her father and the ghost man through the key hole. Her daddy's face looked very blank and pale. They were both pale, but Daddy looked paler tonight.
"You have been merciful, my Lord."
"I am not merciful."
"No, my Lord," Severus agreed, glancing toward the door, ebony eyes focused. Laiet had to remind herself that they couldn't see her, because she almost shirked away, afraid Daddy would be mad that she wasn't in bed yet.
"You realize I must punish you?" the ghost man said, and odd, halfway smile on his face.
"I need full control of my faculties to do the required work, my Lord," Daddy said evenly. The ghost man laughed, a sort of high, not cheerful laugh
. "What is this? The great Severus Snape snaking away from a rightful punishment." Punishment. Hmm, Laiet didn't like that word.
"No, my Lord, but—"
"Oh, certainly not. You haven't become too good for me?" the ghost man mocked.
"No, my Lord, I only desire to serve you best. Shaking hands do not aid a Potion Master's work."
"I can only see selfish intent," the ghost man said decisively. Her father's eyes dropped, and he closed them for just a second before reopening them. Her father looked resolved about something.
"I will accept my Lord's remonstrations gladly," he whispered. Laiet watched her father stand up, and then kneel before ghost man. She felt something heavy settle into her chest, something that made her want to grab at the handle and run out to her father. She wanted him to hug her and tell her not to be afraid.
"Crucio," the voice drawled, wand pointed at her father. She watched her father writhing on the ground, lips pursed, eyes closed, and chest heaving. It looked so so wrong to her. Like her father hurt, like she wrinkled her face when she fell down and her father wasn't there to hear her cries. She felt the urge to throw up her stomachs contents, but all she did was stare in perfect, horrified silence.
Then her father screamed. The ghost man's wand was still on him. Her father's back arched in an unnatural way and he cried out. Laiet registered tears running down her face, but she could not move, could not make a sound. Her father made an awful sound, somewhere between a whimper and a moan. And then the man removed the wand and her father fell still. Laiet still could not move.
The ghost man left without another word and Laiet spit some bile out of her mouth. It settled in a corner near the door. Her father lay there for a minute and Laiet struggled with the door knob. Her father did not notice. Then she saw him lift himself up off the ground with a cry, fall into a chair. It took him another few minutes before he stood up to clumsily pull potions from the cabinet and down several in rapid succession.
He sat in the chair again, resting his head on his hands. It was ten minutes before he got up, waving his wand in the way he always did to remove wards. And then he walked to the door Laiet was hiding behind.
Laiet hurried away to her bed, tears still running down her face. She slid under her covers and wiped her eyes on her blanky. She knew with some uncanny sense that came to her that she had seen something she was not meant to see. And she was afraid her father would know. And that would be horrible because she wanted her father to be proud of her.
Laiet heard her father stumble into her room, crossing the room quickly. He kissed her forehead gently and she continued to pretend that she was asleep.
"Your mother was a flower in bloom, just like you my darling," he whispered, stumbling away and wincing.
Please let me know what you think. It really does make my day to get a review. What do you like? What don't you like?
If you liked this little background story, you should try reading my story Nightfall on . It's a little rough in the beginning, but it gets better and better.
Laiet is older and a little rougher, so it's lots of fun.