"Charlotte?" the voice made her turn from the box she had begun to tape up.

"What's wrong Eloise?" she stood up, walking over to the girl. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders onto her pink nightgown and brown teddy bear.

"Where is mommy?" she rubbed her eyes. "Mommy didn't say goodnight. She promised she would when she got home."

Charlotte picked the girl up and heading up the stairs, holding the girl's head to her shoulder.

"Mom is just a little busy. Let's get you into bed again."

She gave a small sound of protest as she was laid back down into the bed. She blinked up at Charlotte a few times, almost as if she was trying to figure out where she was.

"Why don't I have a daddy?"

Charlotte held her breath; she knew one day this question would come. She had started school, seeing other children dropped off by their dads, her little friends talk about how their mother and father took them away for the weekend.

"I…I don't know.' Charlotte couldn't find a better answer than that. To a small child, that would make more sense than the entire truth.

"Emily at school told me all these things her mommy does for her and mommy doesn't do anything like that for me. You do Charlotte. So how come you do all that stuff for me Charlotte? Are you really my mommy?"

Charlotte leaned down and kissed her softly on the head. She pulled back with a soft smile, not letting her worry show. "That is more of a question for when you're older. Your mom is your mother but I will always be here for you."

Eloise gave a small smile as her eyes fluttered.

"Always my Charlotte."

"That's right." Charlotte whispered, standing up slowly to leave the room. "I will always be here for you."


Charlotte was frozen to the spot, staring in shock at the ruby colored potion. It only took her a moment to turn her sights to the pair before her.

'Stay calm…' she told herself. 'Ellie just wanted to know…'

She knew there was no way she would ever be truly upset with Ellie, not about something like this. But when it came it Severus that was an entirely different situation. A familiar feeling ran through her, a feeling from a long time ago that knotted her stomach. The same feeling she had when she was told by Aubrey what had happened.

Her heart was racing wildly; she felt the heat rush to her cheeks but it wasn't out of embarrassment as usual. All the anger she had for him came back to her. Not just about in the past; he had used her when he walked into the classroom. He knew how Charlotte would react to him and knew he could use that to his advantage.

'Even if he didn't know. I wouldn't have said no to him.'

The anger within her boiled over.

"How dare you!" she screamed, marching up to him with her finger raised. "You….you…you…"

She let out a growl of frustration, unable to find the words.

"Charlotte it was me!" Ellie's voice made the anger simmer slightly. "I was going to make the potion today regardless if he helped me or not! I would have stolen the supplies from you if I needed too! He was helping me!"

She glanced at Ellie and then back to him. "Why didn't you come to me? Why tell her?" she was still yelling.

"Come to you?" Ellie moved closer to them, letting out a hollow laugh that reminded her of Aubrey. "You didn't even tell him I existed for almost fifteen years!"

Charlotte took a breath in, trying to stay calm with Ellie but her breath came out staggered. 'She doesn't understand, she doesn't get it.'

Ellie didn't give her a chance to say anything. "I found out myself Charlotte. I came to him and asked if he knew anything. He didn't know anything. Mom didn't say anything just like you."

She could hear the bitterness in Ellie's voice as she spoke. Each word sounding more and more like Aubrey's voice.

"God it's like you're as bad as her! You two have every reason to be best friends."

Charlotte knew Ellie irrationally lashed out when she was upset, that she didn't mean what she said. She didn't have to turn around to see the same fire in her eyes that Charlotte had minutes ago.

"I hat…."

"Ellie." Severus's tone made the two look towards him. "Please allow Charlotte and myself to have a conversation privately."

"But…"

"Now."

Charlotte watched as he spoke. He already cared about Ellie and was trying to be a father despite just finding out tonight that he was her father for sure.

Ellie never stopped glaring as she left the room. She turned back to Severus.

She wanted to be angry, lose her mind. She knew that it was so much more than this and it was so much easy to use that as an excuse to let her frustration with him out. She didn't want to feel guilty. Not right now.

'You should feel guilty. The minute you found about Aubrey being pregnant you should have picked up your quill and wrote him.'

Standing before him like this, remaindered her of the day she snapped on him. She had almost lost it then but she was older and less afraid of consequences now; she wished for years she would have stood up to him and just lost it. She wanted him to hurt like her, understood how she felt that last month at Hogwarts.

"Now,' he began. "Let's talk about this."

This was her chance.