Chapter Three - Definitely a Slytherin
Ariadne sat in the uncomfortable silence, sitting between her two sets of parents. Severus stood at the fireplace, and Hermione in the chair closest to him, while Harry and Ginny sat on a small sofa across from them; Ariadne watched the silent by-play between all of the adults. Harry would squeeze Ginny's hand in comfort, and Severus looked like he wanted to strangle Hermione. Ariadne stood, and threw her hands into the air. She paced between the two sets of parents, and every once and a while, she would find one to glare at. She stopped, and said, "Why don't you say something? I'm going crazy trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do."
Ginny opened her mouth, but closed it when Severus turned to gaze at Ariadne. She was surprised to see the hurt, but not to see the anger. He had trusted Harry and her, and they had primly kept their mouths shut about Ariadne.
"Come here, Ariadne." Severus held out his hand, and waited until her hand was clasped in his. He searched the girl for features that may have mirrored his. Her hair was black and thin with no curl in it whatsoever, and her lips were thin like his, but she had deep cinnamon-colored eyes, and her mother's small nose. Sparks of intelligence flickered through her eyes, and he could feel that her fingers were shaped exactly like his. He let out a breath, and looked at Ginny when he said, "I want to acknowledge her as mine."
Ginny stood, and shouted, "No! I don't want that! She has been mine for eleven years now, and I don't want to give her up." She jumped when Harry laid a hand on her arm, but she shrugged him off as she continued, "Don't you patronize me, Harry Potter! You can't say you have thought of her as anything, but your own. Especially, after everything we have gone through!"
Harry stood, and placed an arm around her. He said to her, "I have thought of her as my own, but Severus just learned of their relationship yesterday. He has always treated her better, even better than the Slytherins, and he has always been far more tolerable of her ways, than we ever were. I think, he always had some sort of inkling in the back of his mind that maybe she was his."
"But Hermione gave her to us!"
"Hermione never informed me of the child. If she didn't truly want her, she should have told me, and I would have taken her. I was never given that choice; neither was Ariadne. I would like to spend some time with her as her father, and I would like to have her name changed to Snape." Severus looked down at Ariadne, and continued, "However, as much as I want these things, I think the choice is ultimately Ariadne's."
Ariadne turned to Ginny and Harry. She could tell they were upset, but there were some things she needed to find out about her parents; that is, her biological ones. She stepped over to her father, and asked, "Away from the students, would I be able to call you 'Dad'?"
Severus took her hand, and said, "You can call me anything you want, but in public, you need to give me the proper respect, as your headmaster." He looked at Hermione, quietly standing apart from the group, and leaned to whisper in his daughter's ear. "However, you would need to extend the same courtesy to your mother."
Ariadne let go of his hand, and went toward Hermione. Severus watched as they whispered together, and the tears streak down Hermione's face. She wrapped Ariadne in a loose hug, and Severus could see the mischievous glint in his daughter's eye. He put a hand on the young girl's shoulder, and asked, "Have you made your choice?"
Ariadne pulled away, and said, "On one condition."
Hermione wiped at her eyes, and asked, "What would that be?"
Ariadne glanced at Ginny and Harry, and she gave them a small watery smile. They wouldn't like this.
"Well, young lady?"
Ariadne smiled at her father, and said, "Both of you have to live with me." She added, for clarification, "You and Hermione both have to live with me."
The silence following her request was deafening.
Author's Note:
This was originally a plot bunny I borrowed from emmakitty over at WIKTT. I saw it and decided that it would be fun. Her attempt is here titled "Both Your Houses"
Another Note:
I had origannly planned on being fairly regular with updates, but real life got away from me. My job ensures that I have almost no free time, therefore no writing time :) However things should (hopefully!) becoming regularly updated.
Next Time:
Living Together