CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: The Two Letters

When Ellie woke up the next morning, it was to Woodstock tapping his beak against her window.

"Feel free to remind your little bird that the rest of the owls deliver post in the Great Hall," grumbled Parvati, who was still very much asleep.

"Sorry," Ellie whispered as she crept over to the window to let Woodstock in. She reached for the letter that was fastened to his leg and was surprised to find that there were two. Assuming one was for Fred, since he now shared ownership of the bird with her, she took them both out. But the one that wasn't addressed to her was addressed to someone else entirely: Severus.

It was in her mother's handwriting.

"I don't get it," she whispered to Woodstock, staring down at the letter in confusion. "Were you going to bring it to him next?"

The bird blinked contentedly back at her. She could only assume that meant "yes."

Heaving a sigh, Ellie curled up on the windowsill and opened the letter that was addressed to her. She reached out to pet Woodstock with her free hand as she read, encouraging him to hang around while she made up her mind about whether to read Snape's letter or not.


Ellie,

I haven't heard from you since my last letter, which I suppose is understandable. I am writing now to let you know that Molly has agreed to house you again for the summer, and that, due to several promotions in my own job, it is unlikely that I will be able to take off any time to come and visit. That being said, I sincerely hope that you and I can try to get back to a more common ground of writing to each other. I do miss you, and I think of you often.

I hope you have had a successful first year at Hogwarts. As April draws to a close, I encourage you to remember that these "abilities" your father gifted to you are not to be taken lightly, and should only be used if and when you are put in a truly dangerous situation. Under no circumstances should you use them as a tool to aid you in looking for trouble.

Finally, I must remind you of my own struggles with trusting the wrong people when I was your age, and implore you to stay vigilant. The only person you can really trust is yourself, Ellie—and your family.

Serena


Ellie stared down at the letter, still stroking Woodstock's silky feathers with one hand as she clutched the letter with the other. She wasn't blinking back tears this time. Her mother had already taken enough of those from her; why give her more?

The bit about staying with Molly was no surprise to her. The Weasleys needed all the extra money they could get; why not accept one more child into their household if they were being more than fairly compensated for it? She was glad, of course; she loved it at the Burrow, and the Weasleys were basically her family, anyway.

Her family…

How could her mother have said that—"the only person you can trust is yourself?" It went against Ellie's deepest, most innermost beliefs. How could she consciously choose not to trust people like Fred, George, and Harry just because her mother had had a bad experience?

More than ever, she wanted to know the truth about her father so that she could prove her mother wrong.

Which was exactly why she decided to open the second letter—in case it contained any clues about the truth.


Severus,

Thank you for your letter, though I'm afraid it's quite a bit too little, too late, for me to even consider forgiving you for all that you've done.

I think you're being too hard on Ellie. It's natural for a child that age to want answers, especially when she's surrounded by celebrities like Harry Potter and old, pureblooded families like the Weasleys. I have written to her encouraging her to stay out of trouble, but I'm afraid my advice doesn't mean much to her these days. I tried all I could think of to keep her away from your world, but she refused. Sometimes I swear she is every bit her father's daughter, and not at all her mother's. Which probably explains why you are so hard on her.

Just remember, Severus—like it or not, she is your blood. You may have been able to avoid accepting me as your half-sister for most of your life, but it's not too late to accept her as your niece.

I will leave it to you to tell her the truth, but I hope that you do. You might just find that she's a better person than either of us, Severus. In fact, I would almost count on it.

Serena


Ellie screamed so loudly when she read the word "niece," she woke up the entire room full of girls—and quite possibly the entire Gryffindor Tower, too.

"Ellie?" demanded Hermione, jumping out of her bed. "What is it?"

But Ellie couldn't even begin to form the words to explain to Hermione the horror that she had read, nor did she want to. "N… nothing," she stammered, scrambling to her feet. She ushered Woodstock hurriedly out the window, slammed it closed behind him, and slipped on her sandals. "I'll… be back."

She nearly sprinted down the stairs as she pulled open her locket and glowed Fred urgently. A second later, his face appeared in the mirror.

"You okay?" he asked groggily.

"No." There was a heavy lump in her throat. The tears were finally forming in her eyes. "Can you meet me?"

He glanced behind him as if considering inviting George, too, then seemed to decide against it. "Yeah. I'll be right there."

Ellie didn't say a word to him until they were safely out of the common room and had made it to one of the small courtyards they often ate lunch in. Once they settled onto a bench, she wordlessly handed them the first letter.

"Well, that's not bad, is it?" Fred asked when he finished it. "I mean, little heartless that she can't still sign her letters to her own daughter with 'Love,' but at least you're coming to stay with us again, right?"

"Right," she said unenthusiastically, and handed him the other. "Now, read this."

He accepted the letter from her. The second he saw who it was addressed to, his eyebrows shot up. "Hang on. Severus?"

"Woodstock brought it to me as a favor, I think," she said. "Just read it."

He turned his gaze back to the letter, which he carefully read. He seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable with each word, until, suddenly, his hand flew to his mouth.

"Niece?" he demanded.

She nodded weakly. "Explains a lot, I suppose. Like why she was so insistent in my letter that I stay out of trouble. He's been reporting back to her—complaining about me and the others sleuthing on him."

"But…" Fred shook his head. "There's no way. It's impossible."

"I'm not sure I understand all the details," she admitted, "but it is possible. I mean, face it, Fred—I even look like him."

He shot her a very sarcastic look at that. "You look nothing like him, El. He's a sallow, pale-faced, slimy-haired git, and you're… well… pretty."

It was a bit ridiculous, the effect such a simple word had on her when coming out of Fred's mouth. She'd been called "pretty" before and barely blinked at it, but in that moment, it was all she could do not to turn as red as a tomato.

"He looks like her, too," she said, forcing the confusing stirring of emotions back. "My mum. Remember? Oh, bloody hell—I'm going to look like them when I grow up!"

Fred had met her mother once before, when Serena had first dropped her off at the Burrow. He sighed, reaching out to put an arm around her and squeeze her shoulders. "It's not the end of the world, El. She said some really nice things there at the end, didn't she? That she thought you were a better person than either of them?"

She bit her lip. "I guess. But… what about the bit where she said I take after my dad, which was why he doesn't like me? That means he knew my dad pretty well, too, right?"

"If he's really your uncle, then it's likely," Fred admitted. "Especially considering all the questions McGonagall and Dumbledore asked him that day. Why don't you just talk to him about it? Come right out and ask him?"

She shook her head. "No way. I can barely talk to him without turning into a dog to get away from him. And he hates me, anyway."

"I think you've practiced the dog thing enough that you don't have to worry about an unintentional change. And even if he did hate you, I doubt he'd be able to lie to your face if you came right out and asked him if he was your uncle. Maybe he'd even tell you something about your father that no one else is willing to say."

She heaved a sigh as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Okay," she finally said. "But it's going to suck."


Told you there would be a bombshell this chapter! And to top it off, some real sparks flying with Fred. But patience is key with those two... Please make sure to review if you're enjoying this story!