"Dad?" Severus made a sound of acknowledgment from behind the newspaper. "Can I have coffee?" He put down the newspaper and met his daughter's eyes.
"No. Eat your breakfast." He said, giving a pointed look at the untouched eggs on Elodie's plate.
"But I don't like eggs," Elodie whined.
"That's unfortunate." He picked the newspaper back up again. "You'll not be excused until you eat at least half of your eggs." Elodie's fork dropped onto her breakfast plate with a tinny clang. She crossed her arms over her chest and pushed her bottom lip out into a pout. She stayed like that for a minute or so, trying to see if her father would look again. But as the silence continued, she gave up and dropped her arms back into her lap. She wasn't sure why she even tried anymore. Pouting never worked with her father.
Elodie continued to shoot murderous glares towards the yellow mounds of scrambled eggs on her plate, willing them to disappear. She sat there, staring at the back of her father's newspaper, today's issue of The Dailey Prophet. 10 minutes of trying to squint and read the quidditch section later, her father folded the paper and placed it to his right, next to his mug of black coffee. He narrowed his eyes when he spotted his daughter's full plate of eggs.
"Elodie, I believe I gave you an instruction." Severus sounded irritated now and Elodie bit her lip and averted her eyes, not really wanting to have her father upset at her this early in the day. Unfortunately, her temper got the better of her.
"But I don't want to eat them! They're gooey and yellow." She curled her lip up in disgust. "You didn't eat eggs."
"It's of little consequence what I decide to eat," he snapped, glaring at her, daring her to challenge him again. Elodie glared back, opening her mouth to retort, but she was interrupted by the living room Floo roaring to life. Out of a cloud of dust stepped a man with striking similarities to Severus: tall, pale, dark hair and eyes. The only major difference in appearance was that his hair was cropped short.
"Uncle Theodore!" Elodie slid off of the wooden dining room chair and rushed towards her uncle, who was standing just outside of the fireplace, dusting himself off.
"Hey, El," Theodore exclaimed, pulling his niece into a hug and kissing her on the top of her head. Ever since she was a really little girl, Elodie had always felt most relaxed around Theodore. And even now, as she hugged him and took in the scent of his wool traveling cloak, she could feel herself relaxing. It only lasted a moment though, because before she could start properly talking to her uncle, a booming voice sounded behind her.
"Elodie Jane Eileen Snape! Did I say that you could be excused?" Elodie turned slowly, frowning as she saw the angry look on her father's face. She didn't respond and Severus began to walk towards her. Elodie winced and backed up until her back was flat against her uncle, the top of her head not quite reaching his chest. "Elodie, stop moving away," Severus commanded, reaching out to grab his daughter's upper arm. "I told you that you weren't to leave the table until you ate at least half of your eggs. You haven't even touched them." The 8-year-old squirmed in his tight grip.
"And I told you that they were yucky! Stop being such a meanie all the time!" Severus narrowed his eyes, annoyance spreading across his face.
"Elodie, how do I feel about name-calling?" The little girl shrugged and scrunched up her nose at him. Severus felt frustration ripple through him. Where had his daughter developed such an attitude from? Severus yanked Elodie close to him and delivered five swift smacks to her bottom. Elodie yelped and tried to pull away, but Severus' grip only tightened. When he finally released her arm, he moved his hand to the small of her back and prodded her back into the dining room. When they reached her chair, Severus pushed his daughter to sit and handed her her discarded fork. "I better see some progress on those eggs when I get back," he said, shooting her another warning look. Elodie nodded, looking down at her most hated breakfast food. "A verbal answer, please." He tapped the bottom of her chin, implying that she ought to look up at him.
"Yes, sir," Elodie responded, meeting her father's eyes. Severus nodded in response and began heading back towards the living room, presumably to properly greet Theodore.
As soon as her father left the dining room, Elodie set her fork down again and reached behind herself to try and rub the sting out of her behind. Elodie knew that she hadn't even received a proper spanking, but her father's stingy swats still hurt her pajama-clad bottom and the hard dining room chair wasn't helping the situation. Although she really didn't want to push her father's limits further today, Elodie knew that there was no way she could possibly stomach those eggs. Besides, after a good twenty minutes of sitting on the table, the yellow chunks had grown cold. Elodie could hear the two men in the next room over, still exchanging pleasantries. The brothers could speak for hours sometimes and Elodie figured that it would probably be at least another fifteen minutes before her father came back into the kitchen to check up on her. Suddenly, Elodie was hit with a spectacular idea. Merlin, why hadn't she thought of it sooner? It was at last time to get rid of these nasty eggs! She carefully stood from her chair, stepping as carefully as she could onto the floor. Elodie moved as quickly as she dared, trying to avoid creaking the floorboards, making her chair squeak, and anything else that would alert her father to her movement. She gathered her breakfast plate in both of her hands and scooted her socked feet over to the kitchen sink. She placed the plate on the counter and stepped onto the stool that was situated on the floor to the side of the sink. Severus had transfigured it about a year ago for her so that she was able to reach the first couple of shelves without needing help. Although she could get to the faucet without it, standing on the stool gave her a better angle over the sink. Elodie picked up her plate from where she had placed it on the counter and used her fork to divide the serving of scrambled eggs into two even sections. She began sliding half of the eggs off of her plate and into the garbage disposal. There were just a few yellowy flecks remaining on the plate when she heard footsteps walking into the kitchen's entrance. She tried to hurry and finish, but it was useless. She had been caught red-handed. Severus towered in the doorframe, looking infuriated.
"Elodie Jane! Is this behavior that you think is considered appropriate, young lady?" Severus didn't wait for her answer. He strode across the kitchen to where his daughter was standing. Even though Elodie was standing on the stool, Severus was still considerably taller than her. He plucked the half-empty breakfast plate from her hands and smacked it down on the counter, causing Elodie to flinch. Next, he grabbed Elodie under her armpits, pulled her off of the stool, and sat her down on the countertop next to the sink. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of Elodie, effectively boxing her in. "I asked you a question, Elodie Jane. Do you seriously think that this is appropriate behavior?" Elodie looked to the side.
"No, Daddy."
"That's right. It's incredibly inappropriate and dishonest behavior and it is absolutely not acceptable in this household." Severus grasped Elodie's chin with his thumb and index finger, forcing her to look at him. "When you do naughty and dishonest things, it demonstrates to me that you're not responsible enough to be left alone. Even if it's only for a short period of time and I'm only in the next room over." Tears began to well up in Elodie's big, dark eyes as her father launched his lecture. "Do you think that it's fair that I cannot have a pleasant conversation with your Uncle Theodore because I have to ensure that you're not misbehaving?" Elodie was beginning to really cry now, fat tears running down her cheeks and splatting onto her floral pajamas. "I asked you a question, Elodie Jane. I'd like an answer now, please."
"No, Daddy," Elodie hiccuped out. "I know it's not fair. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you and Uncle Theodore angry! I'll eat all my eggs! I promise!" The little girl had now properly worked herself up and she began to bawl, bringing her pajama sleeves up to try and wipe her tears and hair out of her face. Severus sighed. It was difficult to remain upset with Elodie after she began to sob. Severus pulled out his wand from its sheath and wordlessly summoned a warm, damp flannel from the upstairs lavatory. When the cloth flew into his hand, he brought the warm fabric up to his daughter's face and began to clean the snot and tears that smeared her petite features. After cleaning her up, Severus banished the flannel and hooked his hands under Elodie's armpits, lifting her up off of the marble countertop and placing her on the ground. It would have been easy for Severus to hold his child in his arms for a while longer, to press her against his chest and rub her back until her sobs fully subsided, but Severus knew that that parenting strategy veered irresponsible. There was still the question of Elodie's punishment. Severus knelt down so that he was near eye level with Elodie.
"You are to go apologize to your uncle for ruining his pleasant morning with your naughtiness." Elodie sniffed and looked away, trying to hide the embarrassment that was blossoming on her cheeks. "And tonight we'll have a discussion in my study before your bedtime. Do you understand?" Elodie cringed at that. When her father said discussion, what he meant was a real, proper spanking.
"Yes, Daddy," Elodie responded, quietly, eyes still trained on the floor. Severus nodded in acknowledgment and prodded his daughter towards the living room.
"Go apologize to Uncle Theodore now, please."
As Elodie made her way into the living room, she used her sleeve to wipe away the last couple of tears from her face. She hadn't meant to make her father so upset with her. She just really didn't want to eat those terrible eggs. Surely he wouldn't make her eat them now, would he?
Theodore was sitting in a green armchair on the far side of the living room. Elodie slowly made her way over to him, dragging her socked feet on the floor. She stopped once she was standing in front of her uncle.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Theodore. I didn't mean to make you upset." Theodore scooted forward in his chair and reached out to put a hand on Elodie's shoulder.
"I appreciate your apology, El. I could never really be upset with you." Elodie smiled and moved closer to Theodore, allowing herself to be pulled into his lap. "But let's try not to make your father so upset, hmm?" Elodie nodded against his chest.