My Father, My Brother

Chapter 6: Defending Thine Family

'Can I defend my father's work?'

-Leaf Weidmann

Hermione sighed and tapped her fingers on the table. It was just like those boys to be late. They where going to miss the sorting hat if they didn't show up soon. She watched as the new students filtered into the great hall in the center of the room, all of them looking excited and curious. She listened to Dumbledore give his usual long speech before McGonagal began reading out names.

"Adam Bardey." She called out. A young short tubby boy moved up onto the seat his hands and face sweaty with nerves.

"Hufflepuff." The hat called out.

"Carly Bannerman." Another student moved up to the seat.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat cried.

"Carson Clayton."

"Ravenclaw."

And so it went on through the list of alphabetical names. Hermione's attention was glued on each student with the intent of knowing and greeting anyone who was in her house. One name in particular caught her attention more than the others.

"Sayora Snape." Everyone in the hall froze as a young girl moved up onto the stage. She was thin, her skin pale, her hair as black as the robes she wore. Her eyes where just as dark making her skin seem all the more pale. Her hair cascaded down her back just between her shoulder blades and she held herself with a serious confidence that none of the other students contained.

Sayora sat down on the chair and waited for the hats announcement.

"Ah yes, a Snape. I do remember your father well..." He said. "I know just the place to put you..." Sayora refrained from rolling her eyes as the sorting hat held out on his answer. "Slytherin!" It called out. The right side of her mouth pulled up in a slight smirk and she glanced at her father who smirked at her proudly.

Everyone in the great hall watched her, a few talking amongst themselves, as she sat down. Despite the chatter MacGonnigall moved onto the next name on the list.

"Silithus Snape." Hermione was shocked. She had no idea that Professor Snape had one kid let alone two. They could be... they had to just be relatives... his niece and nefew or... they couldn't be his kids...

Silithus moved up onto the stage with less confidence than his sister.

"Another Snape?" The hat asked slightly shocked. "Though... there's something odd about you..." The hat said. Severus moved up in his seat shifting uncomfortably. Dumbledore glanced at him before looking back to the hat. "Yes I see... Never the less..... Hufflepuff!"

A deafining silence rang throughout the Great hall. Evryone including Silithus had turned and looked at Professor Snape. The man's face which was usually unnaturally white seemed to have all its blood vessels bursting for it was as red as a tomatoe. Suddenly Snape stood and exited the hall through the teacher's entrance and Silithus lowered his head in shame as he moved to sit with his house mates.

Outside the hall Snape moved quickly towards his class room and office where he had seen Filch leading Potter and Weasley. All the way there he fumed about how anyone related to him could end up in Hufflepuff. "I knew that boy was useless" he kept thinking to himself.

His robes flew behind him as he entered his office. He glared at both Potter and Weasley and started ranting about the damage and issues that had been in the profit from their earlier escapades.

Meanwhile in the great hall the gossip was flying about a Snape being made a Hufflepuff. But Hermione was still trying to figure who these two children were and how they were related to Snape. There was no way he was their father.

Hermione wanted to ask either one of the students but looking at them neither looked inclined to talk. The girl... what was her name? Sayora? Seemed absolutely disgusted that her... brother? had ended up in Hufflepuff. Both of the kids looked like their father to be honest, but if they where twins they weren't identical. "what a stupid thought hermione" she thought to herself,"of course they aren't identical they're male and female". She just shook her head at the utter nonsence her brain came up with some days.

As the sorting progressed more students made their way to each of the tables but Hermione didn't pay much attention. She was focused on the girl, Sayora. Hermione was completely captivated with her mannerisms. The girl showed no emotions or almost no emotions anyway. All her actions were abreviated, very small and compact. If Hermione hadn't been paying attention to who she was watching she would have assumed it was Snape. Every action was him but on this petite female body. It was truly creeping her out. She even smirked like he did.

Though she had to admit, despite her looking like Snape who in her opinion was one of the ugliest men she had ever seen. Sayora was very pretty. She had Snapes features, facial structure, eyes hair colour and in every sense of the word was him... but she had a small slender nose, her hair was fine and silky and her skin smooth almost soft. Though she had to say if she kept frowning like that she'd end up with wrinkles before she turned twenty. Maybe that's what happened to Snape. Hermione laughed at that.

Soon enough dinner was over and the children started to leave and head for their own dormitories. Hermione still watched Sayora and noticed that unlike all the other first years she seemed to know exactly where she was going. And she walked off with a whirl of her cloak just like Professor Snape.

Hermione shook her head and headed up to Gryffindor tower. She hoped the boys would be there. Honestly how could they miss the welcome feast. They truly were reckless. She made it to the Fat LAdy and said, "Poppycock" which was the pass word to get into the commonroom.

She entered the room and plopped down on her bed, her stuff already in the rooms. Harry's and Ron's where there as well so they had to be somewhere in the castle. Probably getting into trouble for being late.

She wondered around the room collecting things for her first day as a second year student. She checked and re-checked that all her summer homework assignments were in her bag and alphebatized her text books in her trunk. Then she changed into her pajamas and went to bed to make sure that she was awake for all her classes.

_-_-_-_-_-_-

Sayora sat down on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room and picked up her potions text book. This, for her, was of course just review. With what her father had taught her already she could already get through the first two years potions lessons without even picking it up. And that was in the least.

He had tried to teach Silithus potions but... the boy seemed to not even try. She didn't even look up from her book as she felt a weight shift down on the couch next to her.

"Hello Malfoy." She said. She glimpsed his shining blond hair out of the corner of her eye and glanced at him a moment. She noticed that as he sat beside her he stared at her as if she had something on her face. Giving up on reading becasue his staring was getting annoying she glared at him and asked, "What do you want?"

"We haven't seen each other in nearly three months Sayora... I just want to talk." He said smirking.

"So talk, you have my attention" Sayora said in somewhat of a huff.

"Well that's no way to greet a friend." Malfoy said slightly put off. "Normal people respond with an 'how was your day?' in the least."

"Malfoy am I a normal person to you? Do I look like I care how your day went? What clue did I send out that said 'Please come talk to me I need to be annoyed'?" Sayora looked Malfoy in the eyes and quirked her perfectly shaped eyebrow waiting for him to reply.

"Wait till my father hears about this... your father is going to get an ear full when he hears how rude you have been to me." He said standing up. "You should be good to treat your superiors better than that half blood."

Sayora stood up as well and even though she only reached Malfoy's nose she seemed to dominate the room. "You, Malfoy, are definitely not my superior. If you speak to me that way again I can guaratee you will not be able to sit for a week. Don't push me. And don't insult my Father ever again. Your father may have money but at least mine has talent." With that being said she turned on her heal, picked up her text and headed to her dormitory.

Malfoy stood in the middle of the room furious as to how his 'friend' had just talked to him. Crab and Goyle had just walked in and had heard her little rant and was staring at her in utter shock.

Fuming, Malfoy pulled out his wand and shouted "incacerous" aiming straight for Sayora's back.

Sayora swung around with a swing of her wand and deflected the attack. "You... would dare attack a girl while her back is turned. You coward. You want to fight me do so like a real man..."

"A real man? A real man?" Malfoy spluttered. "I AM a real man. You're just so low you can't see that. A REAL woman would not speak that way to a man." Malfoy straightened his spine and snarled back at Sayora. "I will teach you some manners and the proper respect given to a Pureblood." Malfoy said raising his wand once again.

Sayora didn't even raise her wand in anticipation of the attack... she knew how the Malfoys faught and wasn't scared in the least.

Just as Malfoy was about to send his next attack the word just forming on his lips, he was suddenly tossed into the air and held there by his ankle seemingly by nothing. Everyone went absolutely silent. In the doorway stood Professor Snape, his wand out and pointed at Draco Malfoy.

The Professor, who everone already knew was in a bad mood, stared at him wide eyed. "Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked, his voice calm and controled.

"No problem at all, Professor." Malfoy replied and Snape dropped him none too gently on the couch. Snape scowled as Malfoy got up and adjusted his clothing. "My father will hear about this."

"I'm sure he will." Severus said not really caring about the boys rants. He could handle Draco's father. He turned to Sayora.

"I wish to have a word with you in private Miss Snape afterward. To all new Slytherin students welcome. You have a reputation to uphold and I will not tolerate you spoiling it. The older students will inform you to your obligations. If there are any issues I have an open door policy but keep in mind that I am not your mother I will not mollycoddle. Get some sleep you will need it." With that said he exited the common room, his robes flowing behind him and Sayora followed not far behind.

Severus made his way down the hall towards his office. He had classes to prepare for and he had a pop quiz for his second and third year students in their first classes.

Snape heard someone enter behind him and turned to see Sayora. "Sayora. I'm so proud of you making it into Slytherin." He said moving towards her and capturing her in a hug.

"Did you expect anything less?" Sayora replied. Snape shook his head and responded, "Not of you but Silithus managed to make it into the worst house there is. Gryffindor would have been better than Hufflepuff."

Sayora smiled and nodded. "Don't worry... I'll hex him later for it." She joked. Snape smirked.

"Did you finish reading that book I gave you?" He asked.

"Which one? You gave me about fifteen. Don't know why I'm just down the hall." She replied.

Severus smiled at that. "I know... I just want you to be the best you can be." He said. "With any luck you'll give that Granger girl a run for her money." He paused. "No... you don't need luck... you'd already be able to out shine her in a heart beat. You might find an enemy in that one. She challenges anyone she thinks is smarter than her."

"She's the bushy-haired thing at the Gryffindor table right? She watched me through the whole feast. It got really annoying." Sayora informed her father.

"You're as perceptive as I am... you were sorted well..." He said with a smirk. "Yes that was her... insufferable know it all. At least you know to only speak when you're spoken to in class. I swear is she interrupts me one more time..."

"oh daddy give it a rest. You know you love the challenge she represents. Though I do agree that she seems to be too nosy." Sayora grinned at severus. "And don't worry, of course I'll give her a run for her money when it comes to intelligence, how could I go wrong with you as my father?"

"Be that as it may, you could hold out on your own without me. But enough chatter, you need to sleep with classes starting tomorrow and I need to prepare." Severus pulled Sayora into a hug and kissed her on top of her head. "I love you."

"Love you too Daddy." Just as Sayora turned to walk out the door Severus stopped her.

"Be careful around Malfoy. He doesn't take rejection well and you humiliated him."

Sayora smiled. "I think you did more damage to his ego than I did..." She laughed. "So uh... watch your back." She laughed knowing full well that her father could handle both Draco and his father.

Sayora left her father behind, chuckling as she left. She made it back to her dorm where Draco sat on the couch awaiting her return.

"Does a real woman hide behind her fathers robes?" He asked as he lounged on the couch, one foot up on the cushion beside him, his arm on the back of the couch.

"No she doesn't. Nor will you find that I have even asked for my father to aid me at all." Sayora replied. "I can't say the same for you though. A real man wouldn't hide behind his father yet you have called on him twice this evening alone."

"What does it matter? My father has more power than yours ever will." He said standing up, a wide smirk on his face.

"Maybe its not my father that you should be concerned about, though your father should be." She replied. A small smirk gracing her lips.

"What is that supposed to mean you filthy mudblood?" He asked angrily. A few heads turned to watch them from random places in the room.

"It means that you should be careful what you say to me because I am not lenient. I will let that name slide once, call me it again and don't be surprised if I remove your eyeballs with a spoon. Don't test me I can do it." Sayora was seething for all his ignorance.

"I'd like to see you try it!" Malfoy said though seemed about ready to bolt if she did anything.

"Would you really? Because I can take away the reprieve and just go for it now." She said starting to remove her wand from her sleeve.

Malfoy reluctantly held his place as Crab and Goyle backed away from her not wanting to get involved anymore. They had backed up Malfoy as the fight started but now were a little reluctant to do so...

Malfoy pulled out his wand and held it pointed at Sayora. "You'll never get anything on me, Snape."

Sayora quirked her eyebrow. She then moved her wand and suddenly Malfoy was wearing a pink frilly negligee. She smirked. Crabbe and Goyle gawked at Malfoy before bursting out into laughter along with the rest of the common room.

Malfoy's face turned beat read in either anger or embarrassment before he ran for his dorm room. "This isn't over Snape!" He yelled.

"Ooooo, look at me shaking." Sayora replied a complete lack of emotion on her face.

Sayora laughed slightly and made her way to her room. She picked up one of the books her father gave her and sat down to read. Her room mate who sat on the bed across from hers, to say the least wasn't shocked at this.

"Are you... Professor Snapes daughter?" She asked. "Or just a relative?"

"Won't anyone let me read in this god foresaken place." Sayora mumbled to herself. Shifting her eyes to look at the girl she responded, "Not that its any of your business but he is my father."

"Wow.... I've heard so much about him. I'm kinda scared now to be sharing a room with his daughter." She laughed slightly. "Gonna tattle to daddy about everything we do like Malfoy does?"

"What my father doesn't know won't necessarily hurt him, however I don't like you insinuating that I am anything like Malfoy. In fact comparing myself to him is an insult to me." Replied Sayora not altogether kindly.

"Hmm.... alright your cool..." She said smirking her hands up in mock surrender. "So can I ask you a question? About your father? Everyone in school has been buzzing to know the truth but are too scared to ask him."

"I suppose you could." Sayora said hesitantly.

"Is it true that your father knew more curses before he even started school than most of the seventh years?" She asked. "I heard that from one of the sixth years that has been dying to know since he got here."

"Well I can't say definitely for curses," Sayora started off slowly, "but he definitely knew more general magic than most of the students in the school both of the darker and lighter varieties. My dad's a genius." Sayora boasted.

She scoffed. "Everyone thinks their dad is a genius." She said. "My names Vanora by the way."

"Sayora" she replied, "And i don't just think it, its true. He's the youngest potions master ever."

"And that makes him a genius?" She asked. "More like favored."

"You have no clue what you're talking about. You can't be favoured through a masters degree. If that were the case there would be a lot more dead people due to all the explosions daft people would cause with improper degrees." Sayora was ticked. This no good girl was dissing her dad.

"Hey no offence intended. I'm just can't see someone as young as your dad teaching potions for very long. He had to be really young... almost too young I'd say.... But I'll take your word for it. Your dads a genius... Though I'll have to see it to believe it."

"My dad's been teaching for nine years. Thats quite a long time for someone his age." Sayora said. She then decided she'd had enough conversation with this new girl and turned over onto her stomach with her text book and started to read.

"Nine years? So you where two when he started? You and your brother?" She asked. "Who took care of you? I mean you couldn't have been in the castle none of the older students knew of you two either."

"Are you stupid or just blind?" Sayora stated not turning back to Vanora. "When someone turns away it means they are done talknig to you. Plus you're a first year, how would you know if anyone knew about myself and Silithus.?"

"My brother is a seventh year student here. He talks about all his teachers all the time... I've heard a lot about your father."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sayora said flipping back over so that she could see Vanora's face.

"It didn't mean anything. I'm just stating that you'd think someone would have heard about you two before now." She said defensively.

"Why would anyone know about us?" Sayora asked. "Does everybody know about the teachers other lives? Or do they just try and intrude on my father?"

"I'm just curious you don't have to be all defensive about it." She said rolling her eyes.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Sayora replied and turned back to her book again feeling that the useless conversation had come to an end.