He would have said she was like her daughter - and she was certainly as dear to him as one - but there simply wasn't the aspect of dependence that was present in parental relationships. There never had been, even when she'd been five years old and he'd been a grieving twenty year old. He needed her just as much as she needed him, and she'd never tolerated any assertion of authority over her other than as a professor, certainly not any parental authority.
.
.
Right above
Right below
.
"You're dating Luna Lovegood?" Severus asked in astonishment, faltering in his chopping.
A flash of wary defiance appeared in her eyes. "Yes."
"Hm." An alarm went off over a cauldron, and he began stirring it clockwise. "Luna Lovegood… daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, Ravenclaw, very, ah, unconventional brewing methods…" he mused.
She was starting to scowl at him. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Hm? Oh," he looked up in surprise. "No, just surprising." I wouldn't have thought you needed my approval