Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing Hogwarts, Snape and a few other characters for a while for my own nefarious purposes.

Chapter Six: Detention

It was almost eight o'clock and Ellie was making her way to Snape's dungeon office. The dungeons seemed creepier at this time of night than they had been earlier that day, but maybe that was because she was surrounded by friends then, and now she was going to face Snape alone. A couple of times during dinner she had felt that someone was staring at her, and when she looked around she spotted Snape looking at her. The second time they made eye contact and each turned away hastily. Ellie didn't dare to look behind her again in case the same thing happened.

Now though, she was going to spend possibly a few hours under his gaze (Charlie had warned her that Snape's detentions could last until midnight, depending on his mood). She shuddered involuntarily at the thought. There was something very creepy about him. His eyes were so cold, almost inhuman. She prayed that he was in a good mood so she could leave early, and had already resolved to be on her best behaviour and bite her tongue if needs must. It just wasn't worth going a round with Snape. He was a teacher with no sense of fair play – he had the upper hand.

She reached Snape's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter," she heard a voice call from the other side. She opened the door and walked in.

The room was dimly lit, and shadows enveloped the end of the room, making it impossible to see. When her eyes adjusted, Ellie was startled at the sight in front of her. Snape's office was lined with jars containing revolting looking animal parts and plants. One jar contained something so particularly disgusting that Ellie felt a dry heave coming on. She looked away quickly, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath.

"Miss Winterbourne," said a voice as a shape emerged from the shadows. Snape stood towering before her. For some reason, the dim light made him look even taller.

"You're late," he added.

"I am not!" Ellie cried indignantly, and then clapped her hand over her mouth. She would really have to do something about that impulsive tongue of hers.

Snape merely sneered at her and gestured to a clock on the wall. The minute hand on the clock was just to the right of the 12. Ellie glared back at him. She could only have been late by about 30 seconds. Ellie felt a now familiar sensation taking over. Hate. At this moment in time, she hated this man who was standing in front of her, smirking at her. It took all her self-control not to smack him across the face.

"My apologies, Professor," she said, hoping it would smooth over her previous outburst. She didn't want to give him any reason to deduct more points from Gryffindor.

"Sit down," Snape told her, gesturing to a seat in front of his desk. He walked around the desk and sat in his own seat. Ellie did as she was told. Snape stared at her for a few moments. Ellie felt extremely uncomfortable. It was that same stare that made her feel that he was reading her thoughts. She suddenly wondered if wizards could do that. Was he really reading her mind right now?

"Miss Winterbourne, you have an unusual name," Snape suddenly said, snapping Ellie out of her somewhat horrifying thoughts.

Ellie was confused by this statement. Snape continued however.

"I once heard of an Auror with the Ministry of Magic by the name Jonas Winterbourne. A relative of yours?"

Ellie didn't know what an "Auror" was, but Mrs. Manning had mentioned that her father had worked for the Ministry of Magic before he married her grandmother.

"My grandfather," Ellie replied. Snape nodded, considering this information. There was no doubt about it then. When he had last heard of Jonas Winterbourne he had only one child. This girl must be Claudia's daughter.

The realisation hit him like a blow to the gut. He felt the sudden urge to smash something. That wretched girl was still sitting in front of him though. He could tell her to go, but he had a reputation to uphold. He then stood up and walked around the desk.

"That cauldron you and your associate defaced," Snape began, and was amused at the indignant glare in Ellie's eye. He wondered if she would start protesting again, but she remained silent.

"I want you to clean it, without magic," he told her, smiling smugly at her.

"Fine," she muttered.

"What was that, Miss Winterbourne?" Snape asked.

Ellie sighed.

"Yes, Professor Snape," Ellie said, inwardly wishing she could throw the cauldron at his head.

Snape smirked at her and then returned to his desk and sat down.

Ellie worked for an hour and a half, scrubbing the inside of the cauldron, trying desperately to get the congealed potion mixture to shift. Eventually, it started to break up and dissolve. By ten o'clock, the inside of the cauldron was sparkling.

"I'm done Professor," Ellie said.

Snape looked up from the parchment he had been reading. He stood up and went over to examine the cauldron. He was satisfied and told her she could go. Ellie headed gratefully to the door, but stopped when Professor Snape called out to her.

"You will have to try and control your temper in my class in future Miss Winterbourne. I doubt your mother will be pleased to know you received a detention on your first day at Hogwarts," he said to her, a smirk on his face.

Ellie turned and looked at him, the mention of her mother like a sting. She took a breath, composing herself and replied.

"My mother is dead Professor Snape," she said in small voice, and then turned and walked out of the room.

Snape sat down on his chair heavily, a look of shock on his face. Dead. She was dead?

Ellie returned to the Gryffindor common room feeling shaky. The comment about her mother, complete with that loathsome smirk had rattled her. Ellie wondered for a moment if Snape had known all along that her mother was dead. It was probably just like him to make her feel awful by mentioning her mother. Ellie felt the sudden urge to cry, but she resisted. She wouldn't let that, what was it Jamie called him, that git get to her like this. He'd probably laugh into his cocoa if he knew he had upset her, and probably broadcast it to his slimly Slytherin pets too. Oh, she hated him right now!

Snape sat at his desk, his head resting on his hands. Claudia dead? When had this happened? Why didn't he know? Well of course, the answer to that last question was obvious – because he had put her out of his mind and never bothered to look up her family since. And now he had that bothersome brat in his classes whom he would have to look at everyday. Almost Claudia's mirror image, just younger. Snape didn't want to think about what Ellie would look like in a few years. Probably Claudia's carbon copy! Wouldn't that be wonderful? The exact double of a woman he desperately wanted to forget would be haunting him for the next seven years.

Snape found himself wondering about Ellie's father, although he tried not to. He felt anger rising inside of him at the thought of Claudia having a child with someone. He didn't know who the someone was, but he knew he hated him. He had half a mind to outright ask the little brat, but no, he thought, calming himself, that would never do.

Strange that the child has the last name of her mother and not her father, Snape thought to himself. Probably Jonas Winterbourne's idea. Can't have the old name die out, now can they. He remembered Claudia had felt her father's parents had disliked her because she had been born a girl and not a boy, and there was no one left to carry on the family name. Snape suddenly smirked at the thought that old Jonas was probably horrified when his daughter gave birth to a girl. Still no other male heirs to hand the name on to. Unless of course the brat had a brother…

Eventually Snape left his office and went to his own living quarters, resolving to put Claudia out of his mind. It would just get him angrier and angrier thinking about it. Still, he was stuck teaching that brat, but now he was glad she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin. He would make sure Ellie knew exactly how he felt about people with the name "Winterbourne" before the term was out.