Severus Snape was an irascible and exceptionally difficult man. Most people didn't bother trying to ask him anything in person, preferring to owl him instead in the hopes that his cutting sarcasm lost some of its edge on paper (it didn't). No one dared argue with him.
No one, that is, except for his husband and his teenage daughter.
Harry had long ago learned to take Severus' moods in stride and had an entire arsenal of weapons to make Severus agree or at least see his side (some of them not discussible amongst mixed company). Despite Severus' irritability, the two of them got along quite well and were happy together.
Their teenage daughter, Nora, was headstrong (inherited from both fathers) and didn't see why Severus and Harry should have the last word in anything. Most teenagers don't.
Hence the current problem.
"Daddy Sevvy, I don't see why you let me!" Nora shrieked.
Severus sighed and rubbed his temples. He was too old for this. He adored his daughter, but he had absolutely forgotten, sixteen years previous – when he agreed to have a child – that she would be a teenager. And as daughter of two of the most powerful wizards of the time – not to mention the two most stubborn, irritating, headstrong bastards – she would be even worse than your average teenager.
He was sixty-one. He shouldn't be arguing with a fifteen-year-old about whether or not she could get a nose ring (emphatically no).
"Nora, Daddy Harry and I have already made up our minds. You're not getting a nose ring," he answered very calmly. Really, he should be awarded the Order of Merlin for keeping his patience this long.
"I want a nose ring!" Nora shrieked. "And I won't let up!"
Forget facing down Voldemort, there was nothing more tiring, exhausting, or annoying than dealing with a teenage girl.
"You asked Daddy Harry and me to think about it. We did. You're not getting one."
"I'm not gonna stop whining about it," Nora threatened.
Severus rolled his eyes.
"Nora, I've been teaching teenagers for forty years. I don't care how long you whine, you're not getting what you want."
"I'll drive you two nuts!"
Severus laughed. "I spied on Voldemort for twenty years. I faced him down. I was in the Final Battle. I taught teenagers with the same goal for years. There is nothing you can do which would drive me nuts. Nice try."
Harry entered. "What's going on?"
"Daddy Harry, I want a nose ring."
"You're not getting one," Harry answered immediately. "Didn't Daddy Sevvy tell you that?"
"Sure I did. Told me she'd drive us nuts."
Nora's magic filled the room and would've thrown lesser wizards against the wall. Harry immediately let his control slip slightly and pushed against her magic. Nora faltered.
"Nice try. I'm still more powerful than you. And I will be probably for all your life."
Nora stomped out, and Severus chuckled. It seemed he wasn't the only irascible one in the family.
Irascible – adj. Prone to anger; easily provoked to anger; hot-tempered. Word of the Day, January 31, 2008)