Sweet Juliet

Bonus Chapter: My Little Girl

Lyrics are bold.

Memories are italicized.

Letters (as in the means of communication) are underlined.

(A/N: YES, there's song lyrics in this chapter. I've been wanting to do this since I started the story. Don't be hatin' :P This chapter is written a little differently, since it's written from Sev's POV...and we all know he's a little whacked. Enjoy!)

She's growing up so fast.

Gotta hold on easy as I let you go

Gonna tell you how much I love you

Though you think you already know

I remember when she was a little girl and I'd tuck her in for the night, kissing her softly on the head. Sometimes I'd sit there next to her bed and hold her hand, whispering away the nightmares, until she fell asleep.

I remember I thought you looked like an angel

Wrapped in pink so soft and warm

You've had me wrapped around your finger

Since the day you were born

I remember the first time I held her, there in St. Mungo's. That was back when I was a happier man, when Juliet's mother and I still loved each other.

Holding her in my arms like that...well, that's what made me a man. It's not the strength of my magic or the ingenuity of my potions, but my love as a father. That little girl, six pounds of perfection, gave me the strength that I have with me to this day. I would be nothing without her.

When she opened her eyes, so like my own, I saw those eyes for what they were. They weren't just something that I had inherited from my drunk of a father, but something I had passed on to the purest, most beautiful thing ever to live.

You're beautiful baby from the outside in

Chase your dreams but always know the road

That'll lead you home again

Go on, take on this old world

But to me you know you'll always be

My little girl

She's grown into a beautiful young woman already, at just fourteen. She resembles me in her eyes and pallid complexion, but she looks nearly identical to my maternal grandmother in every other way. I'm glad.

Aralina Prince was a beautiful woman, and an outstanding witch. If there's anyone in my family I want her to be like, it's my grandmother.

She's got the most rebellious spirit I have ever seen. She is strong and defiant, and not afraid to speak her mind. Her ability to fight for herself is something I couldn't be more proud of. I may not show it, but the pride I have for her goes beyond words.

Yes, it worries me. Scares the hell out of me, to be honest, but I can't protect her forever. You can't chain down someone like her. It's like trying to hold back the wind.

When you were in trouble that crooked little smile

Could melt my heart of stone

Now look at you, I've turned around

And you've almost grown

I felt like I was about to explode. How is it that an eight-year-old girl could be so utterly destructive? I'd been teaching her to control these magical outbursts. While I certainly didn't expect a witch of her age to be able to control herself completely, I certainly hadn't expected this.

"Daddy, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Sorry doesn't quite cut it, Juliet! I'm at my wit's end, here!" Raising my wand, I started to repair the damage, all of the shards of broken glass from our kitchen windows, which had recently exploded, floated back into place and merged together once more.

"We've talked about this Juliet," I said sternly, glowering and taking a step towards her. I felt my foot slip and before I knew it I was tumbling to the ground, landing right on my backside. Apparently some of the rain had come inside when the windows had been nonexistent. Juliet ran to my side, trying to look concerned, but I could tell she was biting back giggles, and with increasing difficulty, too.

"Are—are you all right, Daddy?" She bit her lip, hard.

"This is not funny, Juliet!" She stared at me for a moment and then, without warning, she burst into laughter, doubling over with mirth.

I couldn't help it. I smiled.

Oh, how I miss those simple, happy days. Now she's a teenager. She knows all my secrets, she's got friends to confide in instead of me...and she's even falling in love.

I wish she was a little girl again, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it.

Sometimes you're asleep I whisper "I love you"

In the moonlight at your door

As I walk away I hear you say

"Daddy, love you more"

When she still had her nightmares, I didn't know how to make them go away. There was no magical solution, so I did the only thing I could think of.

I took her in my arms and tried to comfort her—something I've never been particularly skilled at—until the fear subsided. Most nights, I would rock her back and forth, shushing her, until she fell asleep.

Eventually I would lay her back in her own bed, kissing her forehead. Often, I'd stand in the doorway just watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful that way, like she'd never suffered at all. I wished with all my heart and soul that it could be true, but the simple fact of the matter is—it wasn't. My little girl had been through so much, so soon. I hated it.

Sometimes I'd stand there for an hour, or longer, until my legs protested. As I'd turn away I'd whisper that I loved her.

I don't know how, but every time, every single time, she would respond.

"I love you too, Daddy."

She'd been so deprived of love for the first five years of her life she didn't want to miss even a second of it now that she had me. It broke my heart.

You're beautiful baby from the outside in

Chase your dreams but always know the road

That'll lead you home again

Go on, take on this old world

But to me you know you'll always be

My little girl

"Taking your class is the weirdest thing ever," Juliet commented, strolling into my office. "It feels like some sort of weird out-of-body experience or something."

"Thank you for knocking," I remarked sarcastically, but she knew I was happy to see her nonetheless. "An out-of-body experience, hm? That's a bit dramatic."

She flashed me that smile and I had to look back down at my paperwork to avoid smiling back. It just wasn't something I was used to, or comfortable, doing. Juliet knew that. She understood everything about me, and I loved her all the more for it.

"If you say so, Dad," she replied. "It's just weird calling you Professor Snape and sir. Just saying 'Snape' makes me feel like I'm talking in the third person. And let's face it, people who talk in the third person are just downright weird."

"Good thing you fit right into that category, then."

A laugh."Yeah, love you too, Dad."

Someday some boy will come and ask me for your hand

But I won't say yes to him unless I know

He's the half that makes you whole

He had a poet's soul

And the heart of a man's man

Here we are, right at the age I've been dreading since the day she was born. She's falling in love with the Malfoy boy, and there's nothing I can do to stop it.

At least it's not Potter.

I know he'll say that he's in love

But between you and me

He won't be good enough

I don't particularly mind Draco Malfoy as a student (or, at least, as much as someone like me can tolerate students), but do I want him dating my daughter?

Absolutely not.

He and I are going to have to have a nice, long talk.

You're beautiful baby from the outside in

Chase your dreams but always know the road

That'll lead you home again

I just love her so much. I'm scared to death of what's happening right now, what I know she'll have to live through, and it's a tall order to scare a man like me.

If something happens to her, I won't be able to go on. I know that. She knows that. Anyone with eyes knows that. I will do everything in my power to protect her, no matter what it takes, even if it's the last thing I ever do.

I remember every word of the letter I wrote to her this year, when she found out about my secret.

My beautiful daughter,

Words cannot describe how sorry I am that you found out this way, and they also cannot describe how much I love you. You are my world, my life. You always have been, and you always will be. I need you to know that before I go into any sort of explanation here. All right, here it goes. You know that I was, and, though I'll never admit it, still am in love with my one-time best friend, Lily Evans. You know that Lily and I had a falling out. It was after that day that I joined the Dark Lord. I was weak, and chose to serve him rather than face my anger. I'm sure you also know Professor Trelawney, who teaches Divination here at Hogwarts. Though she rarely shows it, she actually can give a good prophecy from time to time. One of these such prophesies was the one concerning your friend Mister Potter. I overheard Trelawney telling Dumbledore of a boy who would be powerful enough to defeat the Dark Lord. This was when I was still a faithful Death Eater. I told my master, and he took it to mean the Potter boy. I begged him to spare Lily, for I still loved her, and he granted me that request. But Lily was stronger than I. She stood in front of her son and took the Killing Curse for him. After that day, Juliet, I was a changed man. I could never serve a man who had killed the woman I loved. I went to Dumbledore and begged him to take me in. He gave me the job as Potions Master, and made me agree to be a spy for him. The Dark Lord could never know that I had defected from his ranks, or he would kill not only me, but you as well, and I could never let that happen. So, since that day, I have been the man you have always known. Juliet, my wonderful, strong, amazing daughter. What a beautiful young woman you have become. I could not ask for anyone better to be my child, my companion, and beyond all else, my best friend. I love you so much, even if I am not very good at showing it at times. Please, I hope one day you can forgive me for all of this.

With all the love in the world,

Your father

Go on, take on this old world

But to me you know you'll always be

My little girl