Chapter Five: The Truths Be Not Told
Author's Note: OK, I know the whole lot of you are going, "What the hell...how can she be Salazar Slytherin's granddaughter? Didn't he live around one to two thousand years ago?" Well, dear readers, that is very true and congratulations on your keen observation. BUT, once we get to chapter eighteen - twenty (or once I get off my lazy bum and write them), you will see that everything makes perfect sense. Or as much sense as it can make in the wizarding world. Anyway, have faith that it will all make sense soon!
Dumbledore sat in meditation at his desk. The silence was more troublesome to Snape than anything Dumbledore could say. Dumbledore sat staring at the papers and peculiar instruments on his desk. He let out a sigh that let Snape realize the severity of the damage he had done.
"Her father was the only thing she had in the world, you know.", Dumbledore said, looking emphatically at Snape, "Her mother is a stanch believer of the old ways, even though she was not a pure witch."
Snape furrowed his brow briefly and tried to find his voice.
"Natalia is not a pure blood?" he asked vigilantly in a soft tone.
Dumbledore leant back into his chair, wearied by the events of the night.
"Natalia is of pure magical blood, although not pure wizard blood. Her mother is part veela."
This time, Snape openly showed his doubt, raising both brows in question. Dumbledore looked at him slightly disappointed.
"Severus, you of all people should know that wizard bloodlines have dominant genes over all the other genus. If you remember, Strages Slytherin had the distinct Slytherin features of black hair and green eyes. It is no doubt that Natalia has the beauty of a veela and the aura of one, but she is still distinctly a Slytherin."
Snape rested his forehead on his hand, deep in thought. Everything fell into place; he now understood why she had been at lost when she needed the password for the Master Chamber. Strages would never teach his only child about the concept of supreme pure blood ruling. And her sudden look of astonishment as if someone had intruded into her thoughts was probably because her Father had spoken to her, probably for the first time in years. He sighed; this only made matters worse. Having her Father speak to her from the afterlife and then in the same evening to have another disgrace his name. He looked up at Dumbledore in hope that he would have a remedy for the amount of damage he had done. Instead, the headmaster looked sternly back at Snape and shook his head.
"You really should have held your tongue this time Severus. I understand that you were not aware of the circumstances, but that is no excuse for the grief that you have caused her. I will leave it to you to mend what has been broken."
With that, he waved a dismissal toward him.
Natalia ran to the bathroom down the hall from the statue of the gargoyle. She went into the first stall and what little there was of her dinner found its way into the toilet. She knelt there finally letting the tears get to the better of her. As she was lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice come near her.
"Oh! What's this? Someone to moan with Moaning Myrtle! Oh, how pleasant, we can share a toilet together!"
The same voice started giggling in an obnoxious manner. Natalia looked up to see a ghost floating in front of her.
"Oh, now whaddya know, you're all cried out. Well then, you're no good to me!"
The ghost flew away, wailing like a banshee caught in a trap. Natalia shook her head and got out of the bathroom before the ghost could pester her any longer. She went back down to the dungeons, hoping to not meet Snape on the way down.
She reached the Slytherin Common Room without encountering the dreaded Potions Master. A group of Slytherin girls had gathered around the fire and were talking tittle-tattle about the boys, who were apparently in their dormitory scheming pranks on the Gryffindors. Pansy Parkinson saw Natalia come into the room and sneered,
"Well, if it isn't the Slytherin Princess. Looks like someone broke her little heart. What's the matter dear? Not having fun in Slytherin? Well, maybe you should go back to the Ominous Trio, those little Gryffindors sure liked you on the train."
Pansy's mouth took a cruel turn, making her face look like a broken teacup handle. Fortunately, Natalia had reached the emotionless plateau that one reaches after crying for a while. She turned to Pansy and thanked her for the insightful observation and suggested that she take up the Divination position after Professor Trelawney retired. Poor Pansy took this as a compliment, for she thought that all of Professor Trelawney's fiascos were absolute truth.
Natalia passed the girls' dormitory into her own chamber, quickly whispering the password and locking herself in tranquil isolation. The fireplace lit with a quick "incendio" command from Natalia. She sank into a chair and stared into the fire, lost in lack of thought.
A sharp tap on her window broke her reverie. There seemed to be a very large bird pattering on her window, scraping at the frames with its claws.
"Albea!" Natalia exclaimed.
She went and opened the window, taking the miniature dragon into the warmth of her room. Albea chortled happily on her arm, happy to see her master again.
"Oh Albea, I almost lost you this evening. The Headmaster is not going to let me keep you. I'm going to have to send you back to Mother at the end of the week."
Albea affectionately nudged her neck, trying to comfort her.
"The most awful things happened today, Albea. I do not know if I can stand it here for much longer."
Albea looked at her intently with her light lavender eyes, as if to tell her that she will stand it, whether or not she wanted to, tough luck. Natalia smiled.
"If I did not have you to push me on, I do not think that I could go on."
Albea gave her the evil eye, saying that she would go on, whether or not she was with her. Natalia sighed and put Albea on her perch. She climbed into bed and sank into a deep dreamless sleep.
Author's Note: OK, I know the whole lot of you are going, "What the hell...how can she be Salazar Slytherin's granddaughter? Didn't he live around one to two thousand years ago?" Well, dear readers, that is very true and congratulations on your keen observation. BUT, once we get to chapter eighteen - twenty (or once I get off my lazy bum and write them), you will see that everything makes perfect sense. Or as much sense as it can make in the wizarding world. Anyway, have faith that it will all make sense soon!
Dumbledore sat in meditation at his desk. The silence was more troublesome to Snape than anything Dumbledore could say. Dumbledore sat staring at the papers and peculiar instruments on his desk. He let out a sigh that let Snape realize the severity of the damage he had done.
"Her father was the only thing she had in the world, you know.", Dumbledore said, looking emphatically at Snape, "Her mother is a stanch believer of the old ways, even though she was not a pure witch."
Snape furrowed his brow briefly and tried to find his voice.
"Natalia is not a pure blood?" he asked vigilantly in a soft tone.
Dumbledore leant back into his chair, wearied by the events of the night.
"Natalia is of pure magical blood, although not pure wizard blood. Her mother is part veela."
This time, Snape openly showed his doubt, raising both brows in question. Dumbledore looked at him slightly disappointed.
"Severus, you of all people should know that wizard bloodlines have dominant genes over all the other genus. If you remember, Strages Slytherin had the distinct Slytherin features of black hair and green eyes. It is no doubt that Natalia has the beauty of a veela and the aura of one, but she is still distinctly a Slytherin."
Snape rested his forehead on his hand, deep in thought. Everything fell into place; he now understood why she had been at lost when she needed the password for the Master Chamber. Strages would never teach his only child about the concept of supreme pure blood ruling. And her sudden look of astonishment as if someone had intruded into her thoughts was probably because her Father had spoken to her, probably for the first time in years. He sighed; this only made matters worse. Having her Father speak to her from the afterlife and then in the same evening to have another disgrace his name. He looked up at Dumbledore in hope that he would have a remedy for the amount of damage he had done. Instead, the headmaster looked sternly back at Snape and shook his head.
"You really should have held your tongue this time Severus. I understand that you were not aware of the circumstances, but that is no excuse for the grief that you have caused her. I will leave it to you to mend what has been broken."
With that, he waved a dismissal toward him.
Natalia ran to the bathroom down the hall from the statue of the gargoyle. She went into the first stall and what little there was of her dinner found its way into the toilet. She knelt there finally letting the tears get to the better of her. As she was lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice come near her.
"Oh! What's this? Someone to moan with Moaning Myrtle! Oh, how pleasant, we can share a toilet together!"
The same voice started giggling in an obnoxious manner. Natalia looked up to see a ghost floating in front of her.
"Oh, now whaddya know, you're all cried out. Well then, you're no good to me!"
The ghost flew away, wailing like a banshee caught in a trap. Natalia shook her head and got out of the bathroom before the ghost could pester her any longer. She went back down to the dungeons, hoping to not meet Snape on the way down.
She reached the Slytherin Common Room without encountering the dreaded Potions Master. A group of Slytherin girls had gathered around the fire and were talking tittle-tattle about the boys, who were apparently in their dormitory scheming pranks on the Gryffindors. Pansy Parkinson saw Natalia come into the room and sneered,
"Well, if it isn't the Slytherin Princess. Looks like someone broke her little heart. What's the matter dear? Not having fun in Slytherin? Well, maybe you should go back to the Ominous Trio, those little Gryffindors sure liked you on the train."
Pansy's mouth took a cruel turn, making her face look like a broken teacup handle. Fortunately, Natalia had reached the emotionless plateau that one reaches after crying for a while. She turned to Pansy and thanked her for the insightful observation and suggested that she take up the Divination position after Professor Trelawney retired. Poor Pansy took this as a compliment, for she thought that all of Professor Trelawney's fiascos were absolute truth.
Natalia passed the girls' dormitory into her own chamber, quickly whispering the password and locking herself in tranquil isolation. The fireplace lit with a quick "incendio" command from Natalia. She sank into a chair and stared into the fire, lost in lack of thought.
A sharp tap on her window broke her reverie. There seemed to be a very large bird pattering on her window, scraping at the frames with its claws.
"Albea!" Natalia exclaimed.
She went and opened the window, taking the miniature dragon into the warmth of her room. Albea chortled happily on her arm, happy to see her master again.
"Oh Albea, I almost lost you this evening. The Headmaster is not going to let me keep you. I'm going to have to send you back to Mother at the end of the week."
Albea affectionately nudged her neck, trying to comfort her.
"The most awful things happened today, Albea. I do not know if I can stand it here for much longer."
Albea looked at her intently with her light lavender eyes, as if to tell her that she will stand it, whether or not she wanted to, tough luck. Natalia smiled.
"If I did not have you to push me on, I do not think that I could go on."
Albea gave her the evil eye, saying that she would go on, whether or not she was with her. Natalia sighed and put Albea on her perch. She climbed into bed and sank into a deep dreamless sleep.
