PRESENT

I could feel the invisible cape blow in the wind behind me as I flew down the corridors of the Gryffindor tower to the hallway.

Quietly, I pushed the heavy, wooden door open and hurried through the halls and down the stairwells.

The journey felt longer than ever before. What felt like an hour of navigating through corridors, I finally came across the large door to Snape's office.

I shut the door silently behind me, so it wouldn't boom through the Slytherin tower as it usually did.

Swinging the cloak off of me, I placed it on my desk. I glanced around the room, trying to spot my father's black cloak wandering about the dark corridor.

Not seeing any sign of him, I decided to wait until he showed up. Who knows whenever that would be, but I was certain that he of all teachers would be getting ready for class the next day.

I walked up to the potions class and glanced inside.

"Hiccoughing Solution," I whispered. Glancing around once more, I opened the cabinet and reached a hand in.

"Don't touch the potion, unless you want to be hiccoughing for the next twenty four hours." Snape's slow voice sounded from across the room.

I jumped, knocking my head into the door of the cupboard. "Oh goodness, you scared the living daylights out of me."

He didn't respond. Just watched me from afar. After a few seconds, he started towards papers on his desk, still not uttering a word.

"How was your summer?" I asked, heading back towards my desk.

"Uneventful."

I rolled my eyes at his vague answer. "And Harry Potter's?"

I tested my dad to see if he would mention anything about Harry Potter's hearing. Apparently, he had been taken before the Ministry of Magic on behalf of performing magic outside of the school. Dumbledore had shown up as defense, and he was back today, so I couldn't have imagined it went horribly wrong.

"I presume it wasn't what he imagined it would be." Snape kept his eyes on his papers.

"Do you have any idea why dementors were after him?"

"It is none of mine or your concern. We all have concerns cut out for us."

I tried to hold in my huffs and puffs. My father had never been amazing at communication, but usually would give me something to work with. In frustration, I grabbed my cape and started heading to the door.

"You know, most Father's would ask how their daughter's summer was, ask questions, maybe even hug them."

Snape looked up at me, just staring.

"No?" Well, okay. I turned around and opened the door.

"Stay away from those Weasley twins."

I looked up to the ceiling, uttering a prayer that I wouldn't make any object in the room burst into flames.

"And while I'm at it, I'll have lunch with Draco Malfoy, too." I scoffed directly to my father. "Slytherin Prefect? I wonder who's doing that was." I raised my eyebrows at him before finally leaving the room.

I wrapped the invisibility cloak around me and leaned against the wall in the hallway. "Anyone else." I whispered to myself. I'm starting to realize how much I really talk to myself. "One-eyed Moody. Gilderoy Lockhart. No, it had to be Severus Snape." I groaned, shutting myself up before weaving around Prefects who were patrolling the halls.

FLASHBACK

"You desire to invest into our relationship." Snape said, writing on the chalkboard behind him for class the next day.

"I desire for you to ask me instead of read my mind. Invasion of privacy is what it is." I pointed my quill at him, emphasizing my point, before I went back to taking notes on the particular potion I was studying that week.

"If you don't want anyone to see your mind, you have to block them out." He glanced over his shoulder at me.

"I'm sorry, I don't have my walls up at all times like some wizards."

He turned around, pulling another paper from his tall stack. "At any rate of growing this—," he was searching for the word.

"— Relationship?" I finished for him. I think he was too scared to admit we had a father-daughter relationship. I mean, relationships usually come with emotion.

"Call it what you will, you can't let anyone find these moments in your mind."

"Thankfully, I come from one of the greatest Occulmens the wizarding world has ever seen." I smirked.

Severus caught eye contact with me. I didn't expect him to smile, but I knew when he made that kind of eye contact, he wanted to smile.

I didn't know then what kept him from doing it.