Emily stared at the two people in front of her, wondering where she would ever find the courage to continue on with this day. A third mug appeared in front of the empty seat at the tall table, and Emily felt her stomach do a flip. The only sound then was Alex pulling the chair out for her, and all three then remained silent as she walked forward to the chair, climbing up and sitting rigidly straight. Her disheveled outfit from the night before looked somewhat out of place against the two men in their nightware. The professor had black silken night pants and a shirt on, as well as a black dressing robe that hung open at the front. Alex was dressed in in blue and white cotton pajamas, and Emily sat in her jumper and old jeans from the day before.

"Did you sleep well?" Severus asked. Emily stared at him, an ocean of emotion rumbling within her, and she nodded quietly at him. She was perhaps physically rested, but emotionally she still felt exhausted, the type of exhaustion someone felt after they cried for a long period of time. She looked to her side and met the eyes of Alex.

"So you're my sister." He said in a quiet voice, still full of disbelief. She managed a small smile. Glancing between the professor and the boy.

"Alex's identity as my son has been kept secret for safety reasons...there are a lot of people who would want to use him, and you, to get to me." Severus said, and Emily looked up at him finally understanding.

"So that's why you couldn't say anything." She said to alex, he nodded at her, and they both sat silently. With a pop breakfast appeared before them, complete with a place setting for Emily.

"It seems the houselves have already been made aware of your presence in our chambers." Severus said, his eyes meeting the girl's. Emily watched him and she kept bracing herself for the cruel potions professor to manifest himself, but the man before her was quite the opposite. The normally hard lines on his face were quite soft, and Emily felt a bit unsettled. She realized she was seeing who the real professor snape was, behind the walls he put up around himself in his classroom, but even so, she felt tense, wondering if it was all a dream.

"So dad said that you grew up in a muggle orphanage?" Alex said, breaking the silence that had followed. Breakfast began and the small group passed dishes amongst themselves.

"Yes… in Brighton." She said lamely. Snape watched her quietly.

"How have you found the magical world by comparison?" He asked. She thought on it for a moment, at the amazement and the wonder she had felt, and at how everything had come to pass.

"It's brilliant… much warmer… a bit more forgiving." Emily said, thinking about what she had felt during her few short months in the magical school, she looked at the potions master and then to the boy next to her. They had the same hair as her, the same black hair, and unlike the potions master, she had bright blue eyes, eyes that matched Alex's.

"We have our Mother's… our Mother's eyes? Don't we?" Emily said suddenly, staring at Alex. A sad smile crossed his face and he nodded.

"Yeah, but we didn't escape the Snape family hair." Alex chuckled and the potion's master's face revealed a small smile as well.

"I would expect nothing less, but at least I get to see your Mother when I look at you two." He said. Emily felt a shiver run through her spine as she listened to the reference of both of them. They were related, a family. It was incredible!

"What was she like?" Emily asked. Severus set his fork down on his empty plate and took a sip oh his coffee.

"Your mother was an amazing woman. Intelligent, but she was coy about showing it. She was a strong woman, and it was her strength that spared both of your lives, it seems." He said. Emily let herself float on the thought for a moment. She tried to connect herself to this woman, the woman she came from, who seemingly died for her, but it was a nearly impossible. She had no memory of her, and it made her desperately sad to realize that she would never have the chance to know her. They looked as an owl swopped into the room through an enchanted open window and Severus caught the missive before it landed in the eggs.

"It seems the headmaster wishes to meet with me this morning. I will return as soon as I am done. Alex, would you please give Emily the password to the quarters and instruct Vermeer to allow her to enter at will? He said as he straightened.

"We have much to discuss, and I imagine you have many questions. Once I am done with the headmaster we will have all the time we need." He said. Emily nodded. He regarded her and Alex for a moment, before disappearing down the hall. The two children looked to each other.

"This is really amazing." Alex breathed watching her. The tall boy stood and Emily slid off her chair as well.

"You're both so tall." Emily commented shyly.

"Don't worry, I was really small until I turned thirteen, then I just shot up like a bean stalk. I reckon I'll top dad by the time I'm in 6th year, you'll catch up too." He said. She smiled at him quietly..

"So how did this all come about?" he asked. They walked over to the couches and a fire sprung to life, warming the entire chamber. Emily laughed to herself at the sheer absurdidty of it all.

"Well, the sorting hat said that I had a brother in ravenclaw… and that my family was slytherin, but I don't have any family… well, I mean I guess at the time I didn't have any family…" Emily thought on her words for a second, her heart swelling with happiness at the sheer thought of her own words. "I told professor Dumbledore, and I guess they did some tests and found out." She said. Alex nodded.

"It makes so much sense now, that you can see threads… why I felt like I knew you." He said, watching her.

"You felt like you knew me?" She said. Emily addmited to heself that she had always felt fairly comfortable around Alex, which was interesting in its own right now that she thought about it.

"Well, I don't know, you seemed familiar I guess, it was just easy for me to talk to you."

"No, I get it, when I talked to you about the threads… I just sort of knew I could talk to you." She said quietly.

"He's not bad, you know." Alex said.

"Who?"

"Dad…our Dad."

"I… I'm just afraid of him I guess. He's only ever picked on me in class…" She said, looking down, feeling the conflicted emotions around the potions proffessor and the man who was suddenly her father.

"I think… I think you might have set him on edge. I mean, he knew that hazel would be coming to Hogwarts if she was alive… and you looked like her… well you are her…"

"Hazel?" Emily interrupted.

"Yeah, that's your real name… or at least what Dad named you. Mum named me." He said.

"So I reminded him… of his lost daughter?" She said.

"I think… and it wasn't you, I think it was more that you brought up those memories… I have to admit, I sort of felt like your older brother at times, like I was supposed to protect you." He said, looking off to the fire again.

"…and you did." Emily said quietly.

"What?"

"When I ran into that drumstrang boy. You saved me…" Emily said watching him. He looked at her and smiled. He got up from his chair and sat down next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him.

"So what do you and… Dad do over the summer?" She asked.

A/N ideas? thanks for your time! xx