Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Death Eater

When Amelia left the room, Ellie curled up on her bed with the diary. She began reading from the beginning. Reading her mother's thoughts made Ellie feel as if her mum had come back to life again. Ellie laughed and cried as she read all about her mum's trials and adventures. When Ellie got to her mum's sixth year at Hogwarts, one of the first entries was about Snape. Ellie felt her stomach twist into a knot when she saw his name in her mother's handwriting.

"Professor Slughorn was kind enough to find someone who was willing to help me improve my potions skills – Severus Snape. I don't know him that well as he is in Slytherin. He's the best student in the class so I suppose I'm lucky that he's agreed to help me. I'm sure I can learn a lot from him. I must confess I do feel a bit nervous though. He's a very strange person from what I've heard. He knows a lot of curses – he, James and Sirius are constantly at war. I've heard he knows a lot about the Dark Arts too. He's very quiet and serious. I hope we will get along okay. Lily says he's not too bad. I hope she's right…"

"…I met Severus Snape in the library this afternoon to discuss the potions we made this week in class. He gave me some tips on how to improve them. I'll try them out in the next class. Lily was right – he wasn't too bad. He's very rigid and formal and it can be quite off-putting, but he's not rude or mean as I imagined he would be. He seems quite tragic actually, as if he has a lot of dark secrets. It's quite intriguing…"

"…Potions class was fantastic today! I listened to Severus' advice and my potion turned out perfectly. Professor Slughorn was delighted. I'm going to meet Severus in the library later..."

"…From something Severus said I get the impression he doesn't come from a very happy home. Maybe that's why he seems so dour all the time? It doesn't help that James and Sirius are constantly on his case. If they laid off maybe he'd be a bit less sulky…"

"…I'm so angry right now I could scream! Just when I was doing so well in class that little idiot Nancy Murray ruins everything. She deliberately knocked over my cauldron in Potions. What is her problem? I don't think I've even talked to her before! Just because I'm in Gryffindor and she's in Slytherin means we should be at war or something? It's ridiculous! I ended up getting no marks, as I had no potion to hand up at the end of class. Perfect. Just when I thought I was going to pull in a good mark she goes and ruins everything…"

"…Severus was more sympathetic than I thought he would be. I was afraid that with him being in Slytherin, he might have found what Nancy did funny but he surprised me. He also offered to help me with the essay for Slughorn so I can get a good mark that might help cancel out today's zero mark. That was really nice of him. Underneath his brooding demeanour, he's actually quite sweet. He's not too bad looking either. I wonder why I never noticed that before..."

Ellie felt slightly repulsed at first when reading about her mother softening up to Snape. Snape – good looking! Love truly is blind. She was starting to understand what Amelia said about her mum thinking Snape had a sweet and sensitive side – he did seem to be quite nice to her mum by helping her out with everything. Perhaps he wasn't always as bitter as he seemed now.

Ellie felt torn between wanting to read more, and feeling slightly queasy at the thought of reading about her mum falling in-love with Snape. What if her mum started writing about kissing and holding hands and – worse – about how Ellie actually came into existence? Yuck! Perhaps there are some things she shouldn't know, not right now anyway.

Ellie decided to skip ahead to the time when her mum found out she was pregnant. She turned over a large chunk of pages together and came to an entry labelled "Dec 27th 1976". She skimmed the page quickly and found a mention of Snape.

"…I'm not sure whether to write to Severus or not. I had hoped he would write to me. I wish we hadn't argued before I left. I just couldn't ignore the way Lucius Malfoy has been putting ideas in his head though. Severus has seemed like a different person lately. It was almost as if he didn't care when I left, even though just two weeks before we had both been so devastated that we were going to be separated. I'm almost starting to regret… well no, I don't, not really, but I just wish I knew what to do next! What if he doesn't want to hear from me again? Maybe Malfoy has poisoned him against me…"

The passage intrigued Ellie. From the sounds of it, her mum didn't know she was pregnant yet, although she must have been by that point. "I'm almost starting to regret…," made Ellie shudder. She could guess what that referred to, and horrible images briefly invaded her mind. It was interesting that her mum referred to her and Snape being "devastated" that they were going to be separated – what did this mean? Her mum spoke about her leaving, but surely, that referred to her leaving for the Christmas holidays? Had her mum actually left Hogwarts completely then? Why would she do that?

Ellie knew she would have to go back a few weeks to see what her mum wrote about returning home for Christmas. If she came across anything she didn't want to see she would just have to skip over it quickly.

Ellie found an entry dated from the beginning of December that answered her question.

"… I've just received an awful letter from my father. He wants me to leave Hogwarts. He doesn't think it's safe. He thinks that people are trying to recruit young, impressionable witches and wizards into that Pure-blood group. He's worried about my safety because I'm a half-blood. I think it's daft – there are plenty of half-bloods and muggle-borns at the school. Even Severus is a half-blood and he's in Slytherin! He feels that because of his family though that I might be a target. That's absolute rubbish! Why would someone want to hurt me because my last name is Winterbourne? Who cares? I refuse to leave. I can't leave all my friends, and what about Severus? How would we be able to see each other if I couldn't come back to the school? Something tells me he's not the kind of boy that Mum and Dad would invite over for tea…"

So, Ellie's grandfather had made her mum leave the school, and not because she was pregnant, but because he felt she was in danger. Pure-blood group – that must be You-Know-Who's followers. She had heard all about that when she first came to Hogwarts.

Ellie was starting to feel that complicated was the right word to describe her mother's relationship with Snape. She was made leave Hogwarts, leaving Snape behind. From the sounds of it, she and Snape had begun fighting because of someone called Lucius Malfoy. She'd have to find out who that was.

Ellie read on, eager to see if her mum did write to Snape, or vice versa.

"…I've been feeling a bit ill recently. I hope it's not the flu…"

"…Severus still hasn't written. Maybe I should write to him…"

"…I'm still feeling ill, but I think I know why. I've been ignoring it, trying to pretend it's not real, but I think I might be pregnant…"

"…I've been to the doctor's. Mum made me go. I'm pregnant. What am I going to do? Mum and Dad are so disappointed. How can I tell them about Severus, especially since I suspect he's joined up with Lucius Malfoy? They'd be furious if they knew the father of their grandchild could be one of them…"

Ellie felt very guilty when she read about her mum feeling her parents were disappointed in her. It's all my fault, Ellie thought miserably to herself. That name popped up again too – Lucius Malfoy. What did joining up with Lucius Malfoy mean, and why would her mum's parents be furious if Snape did…

It hit Ellie in a flash. It was so obvious she didn't know why she hadn't made the connection before. Her grandfather was worried that You-Know-Who was recruiting followers at Hogwarts. Her mum complained that Lucius Malfoy was putting ideas in Snape's head and that he seemed like a different person. Her mum suspected that Snape had "joined up" with Lucius Malfoy and she knew her parents would be furious to find out the father of their grandchild was "one of them". That must mean that her mum thought Snape had joined You-Know-Who's followers! No wonder she didn't say anything! No wonder Amelia didn't want to tell her that, and Snape…

Snape, he had not wanted to say anything either. Did he know what her mum suspected, and was disgusted that she didn't trust him? Obviously, Snape had not gotten involved with those people or he wouldn't be teaching at Hogwarts. Maybe he was hurt by what her mum thought? On the other hand, Snape – hurt…

Ellie felt her head would explode the more she tried to puzzle this out herself. She would have to speak to Snape again about. She blushed when she remembered how she had ended their last conversation. It might be a good idea to give Snape some time to cool off. Still she needed to talk to… she needed to find Jamie.

Jamie had been sitting for hours in the common room, hoping Ellie would come down from her room and talk to him. He was beginning to wonder had Ellie somehow snuck out without him seeing her when she finally appeared from behind a door.

"Ellie!"

He jumped up quickly and ran over to her.

"Are you okay? What's happening?"

Ellie looked around. There were students everywhere. It wasn't safe to tell Jamie everything here, someone else could easily overhear.

"Let's go find somewhere private and I'll tell you everything."

It was still bright outside, although it was starting to get late. Ellie decided to take Jamie outside. She felt like everywhere in the castle had ears and Snape would probably murder her if the truth got out because of her.

They found a spot that was out in the open, but away from the castle. Ellie felt it was the safest place to say anything, as there was nowhere anyone could hide and listen in on their conversation – not unless they were invisible. They sat down on the grass.

"Well?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Well… I found out something today, something… unexpected."

"Go on!"

"I know who my dad is."

"What! That's brilliant!" Jamie exclaimed, but then realised that Ellie didn't seem very enthusiastic. His face fell.

"Isn't it?" he asked.

"Not really. You see, my dad is… my dad…"

Ellie cringed and dropped her face into her hands.

"My dad is Professor Snape," she mumbled through her fingers.

Jamie stared at her, horrified. He couldn't speak for a minute.

"Did you… did you just say that… your dad is… is Snape?" he finally managed to splutter out.

Ellie nodded slowly, still refusing to look at Jamie. He continued to gawp at her, feeling that there must have been a mistake made somewhere. Snape could not be Ellie's dad. Not him. Ellie was going to look up at him in a minute, grin and say she was just kidding – of course Snape wasn't her dad! How could Jamie be so stupid as to actually believe that? Jamie waited and waited for Ellie to finish her joke, but she never did. She continued to sit with her head in her hands, occasionally shaking her head. When she finally did look up at him, her face was a mixture of shame and disappointment. When Jamie saw this, he knew Ellie's story must be true.

"Oh Ellie," he whispered sympathetically as her eyes shut tightly and tears began to fall down her face. Jamie put his arm around her and she collapsed against him, burying her face in his shoulder. The truth was finally starting to sink in, now that the shock was wearing off. Snape was her father. He was her father. She had wished for so long to find him, and now she wished she could just run away from it.

She didn't know which one was worse – the fact that he was her father, or the fact that he clearly didn't want to be. Although Mrs. Manning didn't treat her too badly, she had always longed for a real family – people who would love her no matter what, people to whom she belonged. Her mother's family was gone, but her father's family were an unknown, and Ellie couldn't help building up a grand and heroic picture of her father and his family over the years. She had imagined finding him at last and him running to her, hugging her, and telling her that he had always been looking for her too. He would bring her home and introduce her to his parents who would be absolutely delighted with her. She would go and live with them and they would all be happy together.

But instead, I get Snape, she thought bitterly to herself. His reaction to her was total silence. He didn't even want to talk to her, and the idea of hugging him made her feel sick. Did he even have parents? If he did, they were probably as slimy as he was. He had to get it from somewhere after all.

Ellie sat cuddled up to Jamie for a long time as he stroked her hair and whispered comforting words to her. When she finally became aware of their situation, she moved awkwardly, red in the face. Jamie suddenly felt awkward too. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping Ellie would say something. Ellie meanwhile was willing Jamie desperately to speak. Eventually, Jamie decided to approach the topic of Snape again, praying that he wouldn't upset Ellie in the process.

"So, um… how did you find out?"

"I heard him talking to Amelia about it."

"What happened then?"

Ellie let out a bitter laugh.

"He seems about as happy with the situation as I am."

"Oh."

"But, something good did come out of it."

"Yeah?"

"When Amelia came to talk to me she showed me how to read that diary of my mum's that I found."

"That's brilliant!"

"Yeah," Ellie said, with a small smile. "Want to know something funny though? My mum thought Snape might have been in with You-Know-Who."

Jamie stared at Ellie for a moment, before responding.

"Snape was a Death Eater?"

"Well, my mum thought he was, but he couldn't have been, could he? Dumbledore would never let him work here if he was."

Jamie thought about it for a minute.

"I suppose you're right," he said slowly, "but then again, why would your mum think he was? She must have had good reasons. She must have known him well."

Ellie's heart sank. Jamie had a good point. Her mum had said that Snape had changed and that he was hanging out with that Lucius Malfoy person. Was that person a Death Eater himself? Is that why her mum was so suspicious? Now that she thought about it, Snape did seem the type of person who would get involved in something like that. True her mother had said he was a half-blood, but it obviously wasn't well known, or his Slytherin students would be horrified to hear that their Head of House was not a pure-blood. Hadn't Devin shouted insults at her when he found out she had a muggle grandmother? Maybe Snape was ashamed of being a half-blood. Her mum had said something about him being unhappy at home; maybe he was unhappy because one of his parents was a muggle.

"I think I'll have to talk to him about this," Ellie admitted to Jamie.

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Well, no," Ellie said, laughing. Jamie laughed too, happy to see her looking less gloomy.

"I need to straighten this all out in my head though. I feel like there's still one piece of the puzzle missing and this is it. I want to understand why my mum kept me a secret from him, and kept him a secret from her family. It will just drive me mad otherwise."

Jamie walked with Ellie to the dungeons. They paused at the end of the corridor that led to Snape's office.

"I'll wait here for you. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Ellie walked the rest of the way slowly, suddenly feeling very nervous. She had already confronted Snape today so she felt this should be easier, but before she had been angry and wanted to lash out at him. Now she was curious and wanted to have a reasonable discussion with him. For some reason the latter seemed more terrifying than the former.

When she reached the door, she knocked gently, a sharp contrast from the loud banging she had subjected the door to only hours before. There was no answer, and for a few seconds Ellie thought that there must be no one there. She had turned to leave when she suddenly heard a scrambling noise on the other side of the door. The knob turned and the door was heaved open. Snape stood in the frame, glaring out. When he saw it was her he looked surprised. His glare became colder. Ellie blushed furiously when she remembered what her last words to him had been.

She swallowed nervously. Her heart was thumping loudly against her chest.

"Professor Snape," she squeaked in a small voice. Snape's glare became less frosty.

"May I have a word with you?"

Snape gazed at her curiously for a moment. This was very unexpected. After their last conversation, he would have expected more rants and raves, not a polite request for 'a word'.

"Very well," he told her coolly. He stood aside to allow her to pass by him into the room, and then shut the door behind him.

"Well?" he asked.

"Um…" Ellie said, not sure where to begin. She had a feeling asking him outright if he had been a Death Eater would not go down well. Perhaps asking about Lucius Malfoy would be a better beginning. She could gauge his reaction from that.

"Did you ever know anyone by the name Lucius Malfoy?"

Snape started when Ellie mentioned Lucius Malfoy's name. How did the girl know about him?

Ellie noticed that her question seemed to rattle Snape. She waited eagerly for his response.

"Where did you hear that name?" he finally asked.

"I read it somewhere," Ellie said, not wanting to reveal too much.

"Why do you think I would know such a person?"

Ellie hesitated. This wasn't going too well. She decided a shock statement might be best. His reaction would tell her what she needed to know.

"Is it true he was a Death Eater?"

Snape reacted immediately. His face screwed up into an ugly squint. Ellie knew by this reaction that it was true, but the way Snape was now glowering at her made her feel decidedly uncomfortable. This seemed like a good time to end the conversation.

"Well, thanks," she muttered and reached for the doorknob. Snape shot his arm out immediately and grasped Ellie's hand firmly, wrenching it away from the door.

"Why did you just ask me that?" his hissed.

Ellie gulped. Snape looked very angry.

"Well, I heard some stories…" she mumbled feebly.

"From whom?" he snarled.

"No one!" Ellie replied, only realising how stupid that sounded as she said it.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you or anything!" Ellie added, suddenly desperate to leave. Snape continued to stare at her, unsettling Ellie. She may as well have asked him outright if he had been a Death Eater. She couldn't imagine the conversation turning any worse.

"I heard you joined up with him!" Ellie shouted suddenly, and then immediately kicked herself. She was wrong – things could get a lot worse.

Snape jerked violently, his eyes bulging and muscles in his face began to twitch. He tightened his grip on her hand.

"Who have you been talking to?" he spat, his eyes gleaming wildly. Ellie shrank away, a sudden fear gripping her. Was he going to hurt her? He seemed furious. His grip on her hand tightened even further, causing her to wince in pain.

"Professor Snape!" she cried desperately. It had no effect. His eyes were blazing and his mouth was screwed up into a twisted smile. He leaned in towards her.

"Answer me," he growled at her. He had no intention of letting her go, she realised. She tried to twist away but he caught her firmly with his other arm and held her where she was. Ellie was completely bewildered by this behaviour and shocked by how venomous his expression was. She wished Jamie would burst through the door. The shock might cause Snape to release her and then she and Jamie could run. Snape seemed like a different person, as if he had gone mad all of a sudden.

Seemed like a different person – that's what her mum had said about him. Was this what he was like around Lucius Malfoy? No wonder she hadn't told him anything about her! She was right too! Snape had gone mental!

Ellie consoled herself with the thought that her mother had been absolutely right in everything she had done, but that didn't help her get out of this situation. She didn't want Snape to know about the diary – she was sure he would take it away and it was her last link to her mother. She would not give that up for anything. How could she get through to Snape though and make him let her go? Should she scream for help? Would anyone hear her if she did? Jamie was outside; maybe he could run for help…

But what if Snape did something to him, Ellie realised. Her mother had mentioned that Snape knew lots of curses; she didn't want Jamie to be cursed! Oh why had she even come here!

"Because he's your father," a voice inside her head said. Yeah, brilliant – look how far that's gotten me, she began to think to herself, but in a flash an idea occurred to her.

Didn't he protect her from that stormy weather at Christmas? Didn't he make her detentions easy? Didn't he rush her to the Hospital Wing when she had been hit by that hex? In each case, she had felt there was something odd about it, although she had rationalised each one at the time. Now though she knew why he had behaved that way – she was his daughter. He must have some kind of parental instinct in him somewhere. If she could appeal to it then he might let her go.

"You're not going to hurt me are you?" she cried, waiting for a reaction. He merely sneered at her.

"You haven't answered my question," he said coolly.

It was no good. She would have to try another shock tactic. It seemed the only way to get any kind of reaction out of Snape was to do something that he would never anticipate. This could make things worse, but it might be enough to startle him. She would hate herself for this later – breaking a promise she had made to herself just hours before – but the circumstances warranted it.

"Dad!" she shrieked.

The effect was immediate. He not only let her go, he shoved her away and stared at her with a mixture of horror and revulsion. She didn't stay to see more, but pulled open the door and dashed up the corridor to Jamie.

"Come on!" she yelled at him and he tore after her. She didn't stop until they were outside Gryffindor Tower.

"What was that all about?" Jamie panted, confused.

"I just had to get away," Ellie panted back.

"Why?"

"I'll have to tell you later. Someone might overhear."

Snape stared at the spot where Ellie had been standing for a full minute. His mind was racing. She knew about Malfoy. She knew about his past, about the Death Eaters. Where had she heard it?

Amelia! That interfering woman, he thought bitterly to himself.

To top it all off, she had called him 'Dad'. He felt sick. True, it had obviously been a desperate tactic on her part, but the word had been like a kick in the stomach to him. It hung in the air, even after she had gone, echoing back at him. Dad. Dad.

He had contemplated that word before. When he thought about Claudia, and how things might have been between them if they had not quarrelled before she left, he probably would have been "Dad" to that brat. He shuddered at the thought, and yet it also stung him. It was a sharp reminder of what he had lost by his foolish actions. He could have had at this very moment a loving wife and a… well maybe not. Still, although she was a trial, if he had reared her she may not have turned out so bad. She certainly had a quick mind. With the right guidance, she may have even been a credit to him. May have been…

"So, Snape just flipped his lid?" Jamie whispered. It was late, past midnight, and he and Ellie were huddled in a corner of the empty common room.

"Kind of. It wasn't as if he was yelling or anything, but he was really scary. I'll never go and see him alone again."

"But you found out what you wanted. Why would he have reacted like that if there wasn't something up with him and that Malfoy person?"

"Great. Not only is my dad a psycho, he was also a Death Eater. No wonder my mum bolted!"

"So, what's happening next?"

"Well, I'm going home for a few days tomorrow for the funeral. I won't be back until Friday. I hope that Snape will have calmed down by then. It's still another month before term is over."