A Slight Change
Chapter 4- Finding Out
Disclaimer- Everything except the Kelsey's, Ratchell, and Reina belong to people who are not me. Even my He-Man toothbrush has been taken from me. Little brothers are only there to deprive you of your precious belongings.
I sat in the Gryffindor common room, curled up in the overstuffed chair with my nose in a book, which I wasn't really paying attention to. In front of me, Ron and Harry were playing Wizard's Chess. Ron was, of course, winning, but Harry was putting up a great fight. Both boys were concentrating way too hard on the stupid game, but it was cute. Ron's face was red with frustration as Harry's bishop attacked Ron's knight and Harry's green eyes shimmered with excitement.
Next to them, Hermione was busy drawing a diagram of Jupiter's moons for Astronomy. She was quickly glancing from her book to her parchment, checking measurements and brushing the end of her quill against her chin.
I marked the place in my book and told the three of them that I was going to Remus's office. Harry asked if I wanted him to come with me. I said no, but inside I was giggling like a schoolgirl. He lent me his invisibility cloak, however, so I wouldn't be caught roaming the halls.
I reached Remus's office a little past 8. I entered without being noticed and studied Remus as he read through parchments. He had apparently given himself a haircut (more like a trim) that made him look a few years younger than his 34 years of age. His amber eyes flitted across the parchment, sometimes re-reading a sentence for a second or third time before moving on. He seemed so absorbed in his studies, like he wasn't able to do anything else, which was totally unlike me. Five minutes into something, and I'll already be bored.
I removed the invisibility cloak and sat in a desk close to the door for a few minutes, watching him.
He looked up from his work and a smile jumped onto his face as he saw me.
"Lorelai! What are you doing here?"
"I just decided to drop in." I got up from my desk and went to sit in front of Remus. "So, whatcha doing?"
With a sigh, he shoved the parchments away from him. "I was grading first years' reports, but they can wait."
I grinned. "All right."
"How was your first day at school?"
"You're not going to believe this." I told him of all the day's events: telling off Trelawney, being appointed Snape's "assistant", and getting asked out by Harry.
"I knew he liked you," Remus said with a smirk.
"And how, exactly, could you tell?"
"By the way he looked at you. You can always tell someone is in love with you by the way they look at you."
"Do you think he's in love with me?"
"Give it time. So, Severus trusts you enough to let you help him?"
"Guess so. Do you know him well?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well, apparently, y'all are on a fist name basis. And, earlier today, he told me how you never laughed at him while you guys were at school."
"I never laughed because I matured faster than the others."
"Okay, but you and Snape are friends, right?"
"Professor Snape and I are coworkers. Nothing else," he said with a tone of finality. "It's late. You should probably get to bed."
"Probably. Night, Dad."
A small smile fell on his lips. "Good night, love."
Snape had been silent ever since I arrived in his office about ten minutes earlier. Not knowing what to do, I awkwardly sat next to him while he gazed at a letter in front of him. Not wanting to pry, I asked neither who it was from or what it was about. Glancing at it, the handwriting very much resembled Remus's. But why would Remus write Snape a letter?
Trying to get my mind off of that question, I looked at a photo on the corner of his desk. It was of a little girl with raven black hair and olive skin, looking a lot like Snape. However, she had golden eyes that glimmered with laugher.
"Her name's Reina," Snape said, still not looking up from the letter.
"Pretty name. Is she your daughter?"
"Yes. She'll be five on Saturday."
"She looks just like you. Except her eyes."
"She has, um, her mother's eyes."
"She must've been beautiful."
I caught Snape barely nodding. He had finally put the letter away and was now moving swiftly around the room. Still not knowing what to do, I continued staring at the young girl's eyes. They were vaguely familiar.
"She had Remus's eyes," I told Snape, who froze. Got ya.
He turned on his heel and strode towards me. I was afraid that he was going to hex me but once he had arrived in front of me, his face softened.
"Yes. She does have Remus's eyes."
"Was he the one who sent you the letter?"
"Yes."
"Was he the reason you chose me to be your assistant?"
"Partly."
"How long have you two been together?"
He sighed, a look of sadness shadowing his pale face. "We're not."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He waved it off. "Do you mind not talking about it?"
"Oh, sure. So, what do you want me to do? I mean, now that I'm your 'assistant'? Should I paint my nails bright pink and chew bubble gum obnoxiously while singing along to some boy band? You know, this 'assistant' thing needs a new name. Um… now that I'm your… um… 'assistant' works out well, dontcha think?"
I noticed Snape's mouth but he soon gave a sigh of annoyance. "Miss Kelsey, please."
"Okay, sorry." We were silent for a moment before I started to laugh. And I didn't even know what I was laughing at!
Soon, Snape was also chuckling. "Miss Kelsey-"
"Geez, man, lighten up! Call me Lorelai."
"Lorelai, what exactly is so funny?"
"I have no idea."
At that moment, Remus walked in. Snape immediately stopped laughing and stared at his former lover.
"Severus." Remus nodded a greeting before saying to me, "When you're done, can you come to my room?"
"Sure thing, Daddy-o."
He turned to Snape, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Instead, he smiled gravely. "Good night, Severus."
"You, too, Remus." He watched him leave the room and I, once again, felt pity towards him. "You may leave now, Miss Kelsey."
"Lorelai."
"Oh, yes. Sorry."
"All right. You have a good night, Professor."
"And you."
I began to walk away but decided against it. I turned back towards Snape and said, "Talk to him. He'll listen to you."
He nodded and I made my way to Remus's room once again. I know I've only known him for a little over a month but it would've been nice of Remus to tell me that he and Snape had a past so I wouldn't accidentally "stumble upon it". I mean, I have no problem with Remus being… "that way", ya know? I watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, gays don't bug me. Sure, it's a little weird knowing they have a daughter together, but I'll get over it.
"I wanna meet her," I announced as I entered Remus's room.
He looked up, startled. "Meet who?"
"Your daughter."
"Now, that would be a little tough, seeing as to how you're my only daughter."
"What about Reina?"
His quill froze mid-sentence. "Who told you?"
"Professor Snape has a picture of her on his desk. He said that she was his daughter. I could tell that but her eyes looked like yours. I told him this and he said that it was your daughter too."
He sighed, gazing off into space. "We thought that we were in love, so we decided to have a child. We found a woman who was willing to carry the baby for us. When Reina was born, the doctor put a simple charm on her eyes so that they were similar to my own. Merlin, I haven't seen her in over two years."
"You can see her when you introduce me."
"I don't think that's one of your better ideas."
"Come on, Dad. She's my sister! Well, half-sister, but still… I want to meet her."
He frowned, then moved over to the fire place. "Severus?"
Snape's head popped into the fire. The lines really stood out on his aged face against the flames. "Yes?"
"Where's Reina?"
"At the moment she's at my house with Trish." Who's Trish?
"Bring her to Hogsmeade."
"Why? She's fine at my house."
"Lorelai wants to see her and so do I."
Snape looked over Remus's shoulder at where I stood. His cold grey eyes stared into mine, almost daring me to blink. And I did. His eyes softened as he turned to Remus.
"Meet me at the Hog's Head at noon."
"You can't bring her to the Hog's Head!" Remus objected.
"Just be there." With a pop, his head vanished.
Remus stood, staring at the fire place.
"Who's Trish?" I asked him.
"Sev's house maid."
I felt so giddy the rest of the week. I was going to meet my sister! But when I saw Harry waiting for me the morning of our trip to Hogsmeade, it felt as if a ton of lead rested in my stomach. Our date. Damn.
"Um, Harry, can we talk?"
"Sure."
We began walking to the town and I glanced nervously at him. "I have to meet someone at the Hog's Head at noon. Do you think we can hang out until then instead?"
"Yeah, of course. If you don't mind me asking, who do you have to meet?"
"My sister."
"All right. Where do you want to go first?"
We went to the Owl Emporium just to marvel at the beautiful creatures and ooh and ahh over the magical animals. After that we stopped in at the Three Broomsticks, where we drank butterbeer and talked about what Ratchell was like, Quidditch, and families. I felt bad that Harry spent such little time with his parents, but my mood lightened when he began speaking of his current caretakers.
"They're brilliant!" He exclaimed. "Remus is the quiet one, who spends a lot of time in the study reading. But Sirius… He is so bloody funny! He is such a prankster. He can take any situation and find something humorous in it."
"Do you miss your parents?"
"Of course. But…" He sighed. "There's not much to miss, is there? I don't remember much about them. All I have are the pictures Remy gave me and the stories he and Sirius tell me."
"I'm sorry." I glanced at my watch, wishing I could freeze time. "Harry, I've got to go."
"Do you want me to come with you?'
"I wish you could but… I'm really sorry. I just… I have to go." I gave him a sad smile and ran down the street to the Hog's Head, ready to meet my little sister. I hope this goes well.
I hope I don't screw this up. I opened the door and braced myself for what's next to come.
A/N: A cliffhanger! Almost! Good news. I got my He-Man toothbrush back. Yay! I don't know if it's just me, but… does anyone else seem to find Gary Oldman sexy? I think it's his eyes. Ah, gorgeous! Anyways, there's chapter four. Next chapter, Lorelai meets Reina and comes to blows with Hermione. I'm sorry, I just never really cared for Hermione that much. She bugs me for some reason. Please REVIEW! Greatly appreciated. Even if it's just to talk about Gary Oldman or David Thewlis. Thanks a lot!
Chapter 4- Finding Out
Disclaimer- Everything except the Kelsey's, Ratchell, and Reina belong to people who are not me. Even my He-Man toothbrush has been taken from me. Little brothers are only there to deprive you of your precious belongings.
I sat in the Gryffindor common room, curled up in the overstuffed chair with my nose in a book, which I wasn't really paying attention to. In front of me, Ron and Harry were playing Wizard's Chess. Ron was, of course, winning, but Harry was putting up a great fight. Both boys were concentrating way too hard on the stupid game, but it was cute. Ron's face was red with frustration as Harry's bishop attacked Ron's knight and Harry's green eyes shimmered with excitement.
Next to them, Hermione was busy drawing a diagram of Jupiter's moons for Astronomy. She was quickly glancing from her book to her parchment, checking measurements and brushing the end of her quill against her chin.
I marked the place in my book and told the three of them that I was going to Remus's office. Harry asked if I wanted him to come with me. I said no, but inside I was giggling like a schoolgirl. He lent me his invisibility cloak, however, so I wouldn't be caught roaming the halls.
I reached Remus's office a little past 8. I entered without being noticed and studied Remus as he read through parchments. He had apparently given himself a haircut (more like a trim) that made him look a few years younger than his 34 years of age. His amber eyes flitted across the parchment, sometimes re-reading a sentence for a second or third time before moving on. He seemed so absorbed in his studies, like he wasn't able to do anything else, which was totally unlike me. Five minutes into something, and I'll already be bored.
I removed the invisibility cloak and sat in a desk close to the door for a few minutes, watching him.
He looked up from his work and a smile jumped onto his face as he saw me.
"Lorelai! What are you doing here?"
"I just decided to drop in." I got up from my desk and went to sit in front of Remus. "So, whatcha doing?"
With a sigh, he shoved the parchments away from him. "I was grading first years' reports, but they can wait."
I grinned. "All right."
"How was your first day at school?"
"You're not going to believe this." I told him of all the day's events: telling off Trelawney, being appointed Snape's "assistant", and getting asked out by Harry.
"I knew he liked you," Remus said with a smirk.
"And how, exactly, could you tell?"
"By the way he looked at you. You can always tell someone is in love with you by the way they look at you."
"Do you think he's in love with me?"
"Give it time. So, Severus trusts you enough to let you help him?"
"Guess so. Do you know him well?"
"How do you mean?"
"Well, apparently, y'all are on a fist name basis. And, earlier today, he told me how you never laughed at him while you guys were at school."
"I never laughed because I matured faster than the others."
"Okay, but you and Snape are friends, right?"
"Professor Snape and I are coworkers. Nothing else," he said with a tone of finality. "It's late. You should probably get to bed."
"Probably. Night, Dad."
A small smile fell on his lips. "Good night, love."
Snape had been silent ever since I arrived in his office about ten minutes earlier. Not knowing what to do, I awkwardly sat next to him while he gazed at a letter in front of him. Not wanting to pry, I asked neither who it was from or what it was about. Glancing at it, the handwriting very much resembled Remus's. But why would Remus write Snape a letter?
Trying to get my mind off of that question, I looked at a photo on the corner of his desk. It was of a little girl with raven black hair and olive skin, looking a lot like Snape. However, she had golden eyes that glimmered with laugher.
"Her name's Reina," Snape said, still not looking up from the letter.
"Pretty name. Is she your daughter?"
"Yes. She'll be five on Saturday."
"She looks just like you. Except her eyes."
"She has, um, her mother's eyes."
"She must've been beautiful."
I caught Snape barely nodding. He had finally put the letter away and was now moving swiftly around the room. Still not knowing what to do, I continued staring at the young girl's eyes. They were vaguely familiar.
"She had Remus's eyes," I told Snape, who froze. Got ya.
He turned on his heel and strode towards me. I was afraid that he was going to hex me but once he had arrived in front of me, his face softened.
"Yes. She does have Remus's eyes."
"Was he the one who sent you the letter?"
"Yes."
"Was he the reason you chose me to be your assistant?"
"Partly."
"How long have you two been together?"
He sighed, a look of sadness shadowing his pale face. "We're not."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He waved it off. "Do you mind not talking about it?"
"Oh, sure. So, what do you want me to do? I mean, now that I'm your 'assistant'? Should I paint my nails bright pink and chew bubble gum obnoxiously while singing along to some boy band? You know, this 'assistant' thing needs a new name. Um… now that I'm your… um… 'assistant' works out well, dontcha think?"
I noticed Snape's mouth but he soon gave a sigh of annoyance. "Miss Kelsey, please."
"Okay, sorry." We were silent for a moment before I started to laugh. And I didn't even know what I was laughing at!
Soon, Snape was also chuckling. "Miss Kelsey-"
"Geez, man, lighten up! Call me Lorelai."
"Lorelai, what exactly is so funny?"
"I have no idea."
At that moment, Remus walked in. Snape immediately stopped laughing and stared at his former lover.
"Severus." Remus nodded a greeting before saying to me, "When you're done, can you come to my room?"
"Sure thing, Daddy-o."
He turned to Snape, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't. Instead, he smiled gravely. "Good night, Severus."
"You, too, Remus." He watched him leave the room and I, once again, felt pity towards him. "You may leave now, Miss Kelsey."
"Lorelai."
"Oh, yes. Sorry."
"All right. You have a good night, Professor."
"And you."
I began to walk away but decided against it. I turned back towards Snape and said, "Talk to him. He'll listen to you."
He nodded and I made my way to Remus's room once again. I know I've only known him for a little over a month but it would've been nice of Remus to tell me that he and Snape had a past so I wouldn't accidentally "stumble upon it". I mean, I have no problem with Remus being… "that way", ya know? I watched Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, gays don't bug me. Sure, it's a little weird knowing they have a daughter together, but I'll get over it.
"I wanna meet her," I announced as I entered Remus's room.
He looked up, startled. "Meet who?"
"Your daughter."
"Now, that would be a little tough, seeing as to how you're my only daughter."
"What about Reina?"
His quill froze mid-sentence. "Who told you?"
"Professor Snape has a picture of her on his desk. He said that she was his daughter. I could tell that but her eyes looked like yours. I told him this and he said that it was your daughter too."
He sighed, gazing off into space. "We thought that we were in love, so we decided to have a child. We found a woman who was willing to carry the baby for us. When Reina was born, the doctor put a simple charm on her eyes so that they were similar to my own. Merlin, I haven't seen her in over two years."
"You can see her when you introduce me."
"I don't think that's one of your better ideas."
"Come on, Dad. She's my sister! Well, half-sister, but still… I want to meet her."
He frowned, then moved over to the fire place. "Severus?"
Snape's head popped into the fire. The lines really stood out on his aged face against the flames. "Yes?"
"Where's Reina?"
"At the moment she's at my house with Trish." Who's Trish?
"Bring her to Hogsmeade."
"Why? She's fine at my house."
"Lorelai wants to see her and so do I."
Snape looked over Remus's shoulder at where I stood. His cold grey eyes stared into mine, almost daring me to blink. And I did. His eyes softened as he turned to Remus.
"Meet me at the Hog's Head at noon."
"You can't bring her to the Hog's Head!" Remus objected.
"Just be there." With a pop, his head vanished.
Remus stood, staring at the fire place.
"Who's Trish?" I asked him.
"Sev's house maid."
I felt so giddy the rest of the week. I was going to meet my sister! But when I saw Harry waiting for me the morning of our trip to Hogsmeade, it felt as if a ton of lead rested in my stomach. Our date. Damn.
"Um, Harry, can we talk?"
"Sure."
We began walking to the town and I glanced nervously at him. "I have to meet someone at the Hog's Head at noon. Do you think we can hang out until then instead?"
"Yeah, of course. If you don't mind me asking, who do you have to meet?"
"My sister."
"All right. Where do you want to go first?"
We went to the Owl Emporium just to marvel at the beautiful creatures and ooh and ahh over the magical animals. After that we stopped in at the Three Broomsticks, where we drank butterbeer and talked about what Ratchell was like, Quidditch, and families. I felt bad that Harry spent such little time with his parents, but my mood lightened when he began speaking of his current caretakers.
"They're brilliant!" He exclaimed. "Remus is the quiet one, who spends a lot of time in the study reading. But Sirius… He is so bloody funny! He is such a prankster. He can take any situation and find something humorous in it."
"Do you miss your parents?"
"Of course. But…" He sighed. "There's not much to miss, is there? I don't remember much about them. All I have are the pictures Remy gave me and the stories he and Sirius tell me."
"I'm sorry." I glanced at my watch, wishing I could freeze time. "Harry, I've got to go."
"Do you want me to come with you?'
"I wish you could but… I'm really sorry. I just… I have to go." I gave him a sad smile and ran down the street to the Hog's Head, ready to meet my little sister. I hope this goes well.
I hope I don't screw this up. I opened the door and braced myself for what's next to come.
A/N: A cliffhanger! Almost! Good news. I got my He-Man toothbrush back. Yay! I don't know if it's just me, but… does anyone else seem to find Gary Oldman sexy? I think it's his eyes. Ah, gorgeous! Anyways, there's chapter four. Next chapter, Lorelai meets Reina and comes to blows with Hermione. I'm sorry, I just never really cared for Hermione that much. She bugs me for some reason. Please REVIEW! Greatly appreciated. Even if it's just to talk about Gary Oldman or David Thewlis. Thanks a lot!