The first day was an interesting one, to say the least. Pucey and I met up in the common room before heading up to breakfast. As soon as we chose a spot I dropped my bag next to Pucey and went to the head table to talk to my father. He seemed happy enough, I just hoped that he stayed that way.

His acknowledging look was enough cue for me "Good morning father."

"Good morning, Vanessa. I take it you slept well?"

I gave him a sheepish look at his tone "Well enough." We both knew that he knew what I did "Please tell me I get an easy start this year."

He shook his head "Third years start with Charms, I'm afraid." I pouted as he continued "I'd like you to start helping out with the first year Potions classes."

My eyebrows raised a bit "And helping out means what, exactly?"

"You'll be helping me grade essays, and conduct damage control. The potions covered in first year are simple enough for you at this point that I believe you are fully capable of watching over their brewing potions." I opened my mouth to respond, but he continued before I could "I've checked your time tables already, you have a free period for one of each first year class."

The denial died in my throat "You really want me to sit in your first-year classes and help you grade essays?"

He gave me a pointed look that screamed 'not here' "I would not ask if I did not think you capable."

Part of him seemed to die at the cheeky grin that grew on my face. I saw Professor McGonagall cover her mouth in the corner of my eye, likely to hide a smirk "Dad, if you want to spend more time with me you can just ask."

"Vanessa-"

"Really, I know you miss your sweet little girl but I'm growing up now. You need to –" I couldn't choke back the laughter anymore. Neither, it seemed, could Professor McGonagall. The fond look in his eyes contradicted the frown on his face "Sorry, I couldn't resist. It was the perfect opportunity."

He simply sighed "Well?"

I grinned "Sure, I'll be there for them. On the condition that I'm not required to be there if I'm studying for an exam." He nodded his assent to that, making me hold my hand out "I'll take my time table now, Professor."

He handed it over without another word. I made my way back to Pucey, who seemed to have been ambushed by a few first years while I was gone. He gave me a knowing look "Were you messing with your dad again, Snape?"

Harry's eyes crept up to the teachers' table "That's Professor Snape then?"

I nodded "That would be him. And of course I was, Pucey, what do you take me for? The man has to get joy out of something in life, if it's not his daughter's sense of humor then what should it be?" I waved my time table in his face "Now, let's see what we've got."

He pulled his time table out to compare to mine. Our schedule was mostly the same, we were really just comparing the free periods and our electives. I had to grumble when I noticed we only shared one free period "We're barely going to have time to research together, let alone study. Plus you've got quidditch practice, and Flint's never gonna make it a good time."

Pucey grimaced "I know, but I couldn't not be on the team. I hate not flying. Besides, you're the one who's got first year potions scheduled in her time table. What's that about?"

Harry's eyes lit up, prompting the other first years' interest "You're going to be at my potions class?"

I reached over and ruffled his hair, giving him a smirk "My dad wants me helping out with their classes. He said I'm more than capable of doing damage control and grading a first-year potions essay. Basically, he wants an excuse to see me more often." I leaned in closed and whispered "But keep that hush, he doesn't like people knowing he's all soft inside."

Pucey snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. My laughter just made him glare at me instead "Oh shut up. Your dad's not soft, he's just only got a heart when it comes to you. Everyone else could burn alive and he'd barely blink."

The first years all gaped at him, and even I was a bit stunned "Merlin, Pucey, I forget how dark you can be sometimes."

He shrugged "I'm only telling you the truth." He placed his fork back down on his plate, standing and grabbing his bag "Come on, we've got Charms in fifteen minutes and I'd rather not sit by Flitwick's pile of books."

I sighed, standing to join him and sending one last word to Harry "Remember, if you need any help just find me. And if you get lost, ask a Slytherin, they're least likely to ignore you."

I quickly followed him out of the Great Hall, half jogging just to keep up. My father was a tall man, but unfortunately, my genetics didn't come from him. It left me fairly short compared to others my age. Charms started as a pain right away, and every moment in it killed me. Luckily, we also had Transfiguration on Mondays, and it gave me an hour of relief from thinking of Charms. The first week of classes was pretty standard, although the introduction to Arithmancy was ruined by the Weasley twins taking it at the same time. Ancient Runes was with Pucey, and we could tell from the start we would be studying for it far more than we studied for anything else this year. Astronomy was set for Thursday nights, and I was only grateful that it wasn't on Mondays.

The first year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Potions class was almost completely uneventful, with only a small mistake in the Cure for Boils potion of one Justin Finch-Fletchley. It was the double Potions period with the Gryffindors and Slytherins that got interesting. Harry smiled at me when he saw me at my father's desk, sitting at a table with Theodore Nott. They both seemed to have taken to sitting with me and Pucey at meal times, but otherwise were happy to tend to their own lives. It was the glares from the Weasley boy and his little friend directed at Harry that set me on edge. There was a fight brewing at some point, I just couldn't tell when it would happen.

I didn't get to mull over the thought for long. My father swept into the room with his dramatic flair, waving the door shut with his wand as he went into his starting lecture. It was something I figured was the same every year, as I'd gotten it when I started learning at six, and heard it again my first year. He did pick on Harry a bit, but I'm sure that had more to do with the fact that I'd taken an interest in Harry than anything else. My father tried not to give our house a chance to lose points if he could avoid it.

When he had everyone start making their potion I took the Gryffindor side of the room to look over. Neville Longbottom's potion was something I could barely salvage from how wrong he'd gone, but a politely worded correction had him back to an acceptable cure, even if it would make the drinker nauseous. I'd only glanced away for a second to see what my father was doing when the Weasley boy exploded at me.

"What are you even doing here?!" His face was as red as his hair, and the boy next to him seemed to be a bit concerned at the outburst "You're not a first year! You shouldn't be here!"

I could feel my father's glare from here, so I spoke up before he could get a few good jabs in "I'm here to help my father with some classes because he asked me to and I have a free period during this time. You don't have to like it Weasley, but you do have to accept it." I glanced over at his potion, frowning at it "I recommend paying more attention to your potion than a student assisting a teacher, it takes more patience than an angry mind has."

His tone was still angry, but it had calmed since I started speaking "Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley, for a completely unnecessary outburst."

He turned even redder than before, but the boy next to him pulled him down into his seat to stop him from blurting out anything else. I turned away from him, making my way to the next table. The rest of the period was fairly dull, and I had to rush my way out to get to Defense on time. I'd lost track, and it was only when my father pointed it out to me that I realized. It was something I would have to get used to quickly, as every Friday would be that way.

After I'd sat down with Pucey it took me a solid minute for the stench to register. My nose scrunched as I lifted a hand to my face, trying desperately to block the offending smell. Five minutes later and it wouldn't go away, my eyes had started watering from it. Ignoring it wasn't going to be possible for me either, it was too strong to do that. The coughing started a half hour into the class, and Quirrel's stuttering only seemed to get worse at the sound.

Pucey nudged me, making me look over at him. If I'd been anywhere else I might have smiled at his concern "You alright?"

My head shook as I tried to choke back another cough before speaking "You can't smell that?"

He blinked, furrowing his brow and ducking his head to whisper more quietly "There's a pretty strong stench of garlic but that's it. It was there on Tuesday as well."

The shudder ran through me involuntarily "No, I mean, the garlic's there. But it's covering whatever I'm smelling. It's worse than - "

"M-Ms. Snape, p-please p-pay attention."

The effort it took to avoid gagging was harder than biting my tongue at the annoying man. I suffered through the rest of class, which luckily marked the end of my week. The moment it was over I rushed out, heading to the nearest bathroom. Pucey would either wait for me or he wouldn't, I'd find out after I was done retching in the girls' toilet. When I left it was to find two people waiting for me, instead of the one. I'm sure the surprise on my face was obvious, but I didn't bother to ask.

"What did you smell in there?"

I tried not to relive the stench as I spoke "I don't know. The garlic was there on Tuesday as well, but today it was just overpowered by something. It was like if you made a Draught of Living Death and let it sit for years until it was thoroughly congealed, then left it open for the smell to soak into everything."

The look on both boys' faces turned sick. Montague seemed to be willing to fight that feeling, at least "How did you sit through that?" I raised an eyebrow at him and his face fell "Right, you sounded like you were dying. Bad way to phrase my question."

Pucey and I nodded in agreement, before we turned to him and crossed our arms "So, to what do we owe the pleasure, Montague? I know you're friends with Pucey, but I wouldn't expect concern for me out of you."

He scoffed at me "It's not anyone else's fault that you only talk to Pucey." The frown on my face didn't stop him "Look, we care. Don't think we don't. And you really didn't sound good in there, even the Hufflepuffs looked worried for you."

Pucey nodded in agreement "He's right you know. You sounded like you were in pain."

My body stiffened against my will, and I almost flinched away from Pucey when he gave me a skeptical look "I wasn't in pain, that smell was just awful. It made my eyes burn and my throat ache."

"And you don't call that pain?"

I shrugged "Not really. I have a high tolerance to pain," The ache in my bones was usually a testament to that "It was just hard to breathe properly when it smelled like I was breathing in death." I turned to walk towards the courtyard. I had time to kill, and it was time to start sitting out in the open for people to find me "Come on, I've got to open for business."

Weirdly enough, Montague followed along and sat with me and Pucey the entire time we were out there. Not many people came to me that day, but it was only the first week of classes so I didn't expect much. Once the term started in full swing I would be getting far more people asking for favors. I didn't think much about Montague joining us for dinner, or studying in the common room. I figured he would join us for a few days and then he would leave it be. If only I'd known then how wrong I was. For all my understanding of the qualities of Slytherins, I'd forgotten that looking out for our own included me. Once I paid attention to my surroundings I started to notice the amount of attention my house mates paid to me.

It was little things for the most part. Some angry Gryffindor fourth year tossing a hex at me because my father said something to him was blocked by a fifth year Slytherin before I could even notice. Marcus Flint used a cleaning charm on my bag for me when my ink pot spilled all over my things - apparently my charms work was notoriously disastrous to everyone in Slytherin. When I was running late one morning because I'd run out of my pain potion the night before one of the girls in my dorm helped me get ready as quickly as I could and carried my bag to Herbology.

It was so easy for me not to notice those things before, but having Montague point it out made me far more aware. I'd never not looked out for my fellow snakes, I just never thought about what they did for me. Thinking back on it now, it made me smile. I had an awful childhood in the beginning, and for the longest time I thought my father was the only person who would care for me. Knowing that my care for my house was reciprocated gave me a warm feeling. It also made me feel guilty that I didn't pay as much attention to my house mates. I vowed to start.

I stayed up talking with the girls in my dorm more often, and joined in on the games my housemates would play in the common room. It opened my eyes a bit more, and made me recognize just why my father loved our house so much. We weren't treated well by the other houses all the time, but we made do with each other. It didn't take long for the first and second years to warm up to me some more, especially with Harry dragging Nott to sit with me at meals and in the common room. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a family, and not just a father. It washed some of the bitterness from my heart.