chapter 7:

"Mum!" Adhara Siria Black shouted upstairs, "There's an owl here!"

"Then open the letter!" her mum shouted down the stairs. Adhara smiled, she had gotten her mother to shout, something she ridiculed others for doing, and walked over to get the letter.

"It's for me!" Adhara shouted joyfully.

"What?" her mum asked, causing Adhara to glare at her, "Oh, open it up Addie." Losing any anger she had for her mother, Addie opened the letter eagerly.

"I got accepted to Hogwarts!" she began jumping up and down with excitement. She had been hearing stories about Hogwarts from her Mum and her Uncle Sev since she was a baby.

"That's great Sweetie!" her mum said, "Where's the booklist? You and Sev can go to the store when he gets home today."

"Why can't you go mum?" Addie asked with disappointment. As much as she loved her uncle Sev, it wouldn't be the same without her mum.

"Can't go where?" Addie turned to see Uncle Sev standing in the back door, about to enter the kitchen where she was standing with her mum.

"I got my Hogwarts letter, and I have to get my supplies, but Mum doesn't want to come with me," Addie said it all in one breath, she wanted her Uncle Sev to tell her mum that she should come with them.

"Hermione," Severus said in a voice that many of his previous students would have flinched at, "You should go shopping with your daughter."

"To Diagon Ally? You know why I can't go there Sev," Addie wondered at the sad look on her mother's face.

"Very well," Severus sighed, "Adhara, when would you like to go?" Uncle Sev was the only one she allowed to call her Adhara, though her mum used her full name if she was in trouble.

"Now," Addie muttered, irritated that her mother didn't want to be with her for this. Hermione saw the look on her daughters face, and recognized it as the one that Sirius wore when he was denied something. Sometimes she marveled at how much like Sirius her daughter was. Adhara had curly black hair that was much more manageable than hers had ever been, and Addie had grey eyes with hints of blue that showed when she was excited or angry. Her skin was tan, like Sirius' had been, and she had his aristocratic features. However, her eyes where the same shape as Hermione's and she had the same petite form, even if she was already only six inches shorter. Addie also loved to play pranks, Severus often grumbled that it was as bad as when he had gone to school, and it was as though James Potter and Sirius Black had come back to life in Addie's body. Hermione was proud to say that her daughter had inherited her brain, but Sev had mentioned that in spite of his trouble making ways, Sirius had been quite smart.

SBHGSBHGSBHG

"Please, Uncle Sev, please," Addie begged Severus, "I want to get some stuff to prank mum for not coming today," Severus knew that he shouldn't let Adhara do this to him, but one look in her eyes always had him agree to whatever she wanted. It was ironic, whenever she used that puppy dog look that he found so revolting on her father, he agreed with her no matter what; he thought it was the cutest thing he had seen.

"Alright," he sighed, "but don't tell anyone that I went in here," he warned as he walked towards where Adhara was standing in front of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"Thanks Uncle Sev. This time I promise I won't use anything on you!" Sev hid a smile, and rolled his eyes. Every time that Addie dragged him into a joke shop she would say that, and it had yet to happen. If he had ever doubted Hermione's word about whom Addie's father was, unless James Potter had come back from the dead (which he didn't think possible) than Addie could only be Sirius Black's daughter.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard—" one of the twins began. Despite having taught them for nearly seven years, Snape still couldn't tell them apart, "Oh. Hello Professor Snape, what are you doing in our fine establishment today?"

"Professor Snape? What's he doing here Fred?" a voice called from somewhere along the right wall.

"I don't know George! You didn't give me a chance to ask," replied the twin that could now be identified as Fred as he walked up to Snape, "So? Why are you here in this fine establishment on this lovely morning?" Fred asked, eyeing Snape up in what was obviously a suspicious manner.

"Uncle Sev, look!" Addie came out of an aisle, and Severus reached out to stop her before she ran into Fred, and Fred just watched in amazement as Snape dealt with the child.

"What have I told you about running in store?" Snape was trying his best to be stern with Addie, but she just rolled her eyes.

"Not to do it, or we won't go back," Snape nodded his head, and opened his mouth to say something else, but Addie was faster, "Honestly Uncle Sev, you say that every time, but you never carry through with it."

"Are you suggesting that I should Adhara Siria Black?" Snape asked eyeing up his goddaughter. Fred was now watching the stand off with his mouth gaping open; he had never seen anyone stand up to Snape this way, especially not a young girl. And she was even acting like she liked him! Fred couldn't believe it. Adhara looked at the ground, she knew she was in trouble when her godfather said her full name, and even though she liked to bug her Uncle, she knew not to go too far.

"Sorry Sev," she mumbled scuffing her shoe on the floor.

"Now," Snape began after he had straightened up, and looked more like his usual intimidating self, "What was it that you needed to show me so bad?" he finished with a small smirk, he really did love the girl as though she was his own.

"Look!" Addie held up a box that said 'Packaged Hair Dye Charms – Tested for seven years, and never found out!' the box proclaimed in multicolored writing that kept changing. Severus had a weird feeling about this, the only person he knew of that had been subject to seven years of color changing hair had been him, and a few of his classmates. Had Severus not known Sirius Black to be dead, he would have suspected it to be his idea.

"Well Fred?" George asked as he rounded the corner to find his brother staring gape mouthed at Snape, who was holding a box of their newest invention, and a young girl who was looking up at Snape with a combination of pleading and glee. Sighing, George lifted his twin's mouth back into place, and said, "Well? Why is Professor Snape here?"

"'Cause I dragged him in," the girl said so bluntly, and in such a 'duh' voice that it was now George's turn to stare openmouthed.

"Adhara," Severus warned.

"I know, I know, don't disrespect you in public. We've been over it a million time," she said with a roll of her eyes. The twins were in awe of someone who would dare to blatantly show Snape anything but the greatest respect. Looking at each other, the twins began to literally bow down to Adhara.

"What do you want, Oh Gutsy One?" the twins asked as one, "You can have anything in the store that you want." These actions caused Snape to glare at Addie and the twins, and Addie to smirk.

"You can start by telling me stories about Uncle Sev," she stated, truly acting like the queen they were pretending she was. Hearing this, Snape bit back a groan, "Then you can get me at least fifty of these," as she said this, Adhara took the hair dye from Snape's hand, and he had to resist the urge of pinch himself to see if this was a nightmare.

"Of course—" said one twin.

"What would you like to know?" the other continued

"How about what he was like as a teacher?" Addie asked. It was one of the things that her mother and uncle never went into detail about, the other being her father. All she knew about him were some stories her uncle told about when he was in school, that he was a war hero, that he died the day she was conceived, and that he had black hair and grey eyes. The twins shared a look, then each put an arm around Adhara and steered her away from Snape.

"You want to know about the reign of the Great Black Dungeon Bat?" whispered the twin on her right. When Addie nodded, the other twin continued.

"Are you sure? It contains stories of many unpleasant and unjust detentions," he warned. Severus rolled his eyes, he knew how the Weasley twins liked to exaggerate, and even though he knew that Addie wouldn't believe everything they said, he didn't want her listening to their biased explanations.

"Don't forget to tell her what you did to get into those detentions," Severus warned, and the twins jumped, they had thought they were out of hearing range, "I wouldn't want to give her detentions for doing anything… unpleasant," Severus smirked as the twins shuddered, and even Addie looked a little fearful.

"You see," one twin began, there once was a Great Black Dungeon Bat—"

"-Who never wore anything but black-" the other twin added.

"-And he loved to terrorize young children, particularly Gryffindors."

"This Dungeon Bat had some super powers too—"

"—His greatest was how he was able to hear everything said in his classroom."

"You see, Bats have a great sense of hearing—" the twins finally walked far enough away, so that Severus couldn't hear them, and he smirked, he was glad that his previous students still feared him, it would make it easier when he went back.

SBHGSBHGSBHG

"Do you have everything?" Hermione Granger inquired. It was the first time her daughter would be away from her for more than a week. Hermione had no idea what she was going to do now that both of her housemates would be going to Hogwarts. One possibility was begging Dumbledore to let her teacher there, but Hogwarts held too many memories for her to confront at once. No, Hermione had decided that she would be moving in to Grimmauld Place. She knew that the protection wards where still in place, and that way she could be closer too her daughter.

"Mum," Addie groaned, "You already made me double and triple check last night, I don't think anything has vanished since then."

"She definitely has her father's patience," Severus' voice floated out from behind the Daily Prophet he was reading. Hermione groaned, she hated when Sev would say stuff like that, it always made Addie ask questions about her father. True to form Addie perked up at the mention of her father.

"Not now sweetie, please," Hermione begged, she didn't want the last few hours she had with her daughter to be tainted with unanswerable questions.

"Okay mum," Addie said as she hugged her mother, "I'm going to miss you."

SBHGSBHGSBHG

"Bye Addie!" Hermione waved while jumping up and down so that she could see her daughter waving to her from the train. Suddenly she felt Severus' hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look where he was pointing, and saw an older Remus Lupin then she remembered.

"Teddy is the same age as Addie," Severus whispered. Hermione nodded, she had told Sev that she didn't want anyone to see her at the train station that might recognize her. Quietly she slipped into the crowd and through the wall into Muggle London.