Chapter Five

A Meal to Remember

Lenore walked down the empty path towards the table where Albus sat next to a rather sharp looking woman with thin gold glasses ('McGonagall' she recalled the name Dumbledore had put with the face when he showed her pictures of Hogwarts and its teachers) wearing a standard black robe. The last person at the table was a hook-nosed man with lank black hair and a blank look on his face, the man she could only assume was her 'father'. She flashed Dumbledore a broad grin and sat down in the seat on the other side of Dumbledore, unfortunately it was the seat next to Snape.

"Interesting entrance you made there, Lenore." Dumbledore commented, his eyes twinkling.

She shrugged sending him a playful wink. "Figured I ought to make my presence known." She said dismissing it with a grin. "You never said it was against the rules."

Albus sipped pumpkin juice from his cup. "True, it wasn't and isn't but I shall ask you to refrain from doing too many times for it is rather hard on the ears."

She couldn't help but laugh. "All right, once in a while I'll be dramatic but I'll enter like a normal person more often."

"I had planned on making the introductions before the food was on the table, save us from any food fights," She snorted at this. "But since you were late the food has been brought."

"Sorry," she offered, more to McGonagall than Albus. "I was exploring and…" she trailed off feeling Snape's gaze on her. "Never mind, I simply lost track of time."

"Quite all right," came the woman's sharp but kind response.

"Just don't make it a habit." Albus teased.

"Why not? Could always do with good food fight,"

"No food throwing at this meal." He ordered, the twinkle in his eye still shining.

"Aye-aye captain!" she saluted him.

McGonagall let out a small chuckle and Dumbledore full out laughed. "Well, Lenore this is Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher here. Minerva, this is Lenore Keller," She heard Snape shift in his chair behind her. "Preferably called Leo." Dumbledore introduced.

"Professor," she nodded her head at the woman with a welcoming smile.

"Ms. Keller, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"And you,"

"I hear you are skilled at Transfiguration," the woman was a little harsh with her severe gaze but the kind eyes behind the glasses showed Lenore that she could almost be grandmotherly…well in a very strict way.

Lenore blushed, looking down at the table embarrassed. "Well I'm quote-in-quote 'skilled' at many subjects but I have a cheating point in a way,"

McGonagall looked confused for a moment but then nodded. "Ah yes, quarter elf does help and strength the magical aspect of things."

"But I do enjoy the subject." She said quickly.

"She taught herself how to turn into an Animagus form," Dumbledore said softly, almost like he was trying to keep it a secret but the whole table (all four of them) heard.

"Without any instruction?" the woman gaped at her.

Lenore's face burned and she nodded slowly. "For the first one no help but my mother helped me find two other forms, my forth was coming along but…" she trailed off. "My mother had been coaching me before she died."

"I'm sorry." McGonagall said. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, blinking back the tear, the teenager held her head high with a forced smile. "May I see the forms?"

She could tell the very idea that one could have multiple forms was like dangling a candy in front of a kid with a sweet tooth, the Transfiguration teacher could hardly stand it. "Sure." She pulled forth the first: a black cobra. She hissed evilly, flicking her tongue out for fun before morphing back. The second form was a silver-winged hawk with a haughty glare. The third form was harder because she had to stand up but she changed into a rather cute-looking otter with only one thing odd about it was a bald spot in the shape of a crescent moon. "There you go," she said as soon as she changed back.

"What is the last form? Do you know?"

"Actually my mother did know and it was two forms."

"How can you possibly have so many?"

"Well a normal elf, full blood, can change into any animal they wish with proper training, a half blood can choose as many as ten different forms, sometimes more depending on the strength of the person. My blood is peculiar because I'm merely quarter elf and three quarters human and, as long as I train properly, I can have about half the forms a half blood could have. Another factor is that my mother was half elf half witch and, well you know him." She said not even bothering to say Snape's name.

"Fascinating." McGonagall said, thoughts racing through her eyes. "What are the other forms?"

"Strangely and ironically enough a lioness, which is…was the form my mother and I were working on." She swallowed hard. "And the last she claimed was a dragon."

"Goodness…I've…I've never heard of someone's Animagus form being a magical creature…" the woman was in utter shock and surprise. "The likeness yes but never the creature or animal itself…"

"Apparently, as my mother explained it, no witch or wizard is usually powerful enough to pull the form off and if they do the form is in a permanently weak state. Part of the reason it is a dragon is because of how much raw magic my emotions control, it is much like a dragon's therefore the form shouldn't be all that difficult. Elves can transform into almost anything that has a mind. Some have been known to change into Nymphs, mermaids, and even some forms of Feys, human-like faeries."

"As fascinating as this talk is, ladies," Dumbledore cut through before McGonagall could ask another question. Both of them blushed, realizing they had been excluding the others from the conversation. "The meal," he motioned to the grilled cheese sandwiches piled on a platter in front of them (he had asked her what meal she would like before they came and she was delighted to find out that they could make grilled cheese sandwiches.) "Will be forced to use magical heating to keep it warm and I don't think that it has quite the same taste after that," Lenore laughed. "Since you already know me there I would like you to meet Severus Snape, your father." She felt her insides grow cold as she slowly turned to look at him. "Severus Snape meet Lenore Keller, your daughter."

"Father?" she spat out, the smile gone. She knew her eyes changed drastically but she didn't care. "More like stranger." She pulled a sandwich from the plate and began to eat on it.

She couldn't quite place a word to the look on the man's face. It was neither anger nor hurt…more like begrudging acceptance. The meal was silent for a long while, long enough for her to watch Dumbledore eat two sandwiches and a full apple. She had picked up an apple but hadn't eaten it yet. She had merely been throwing it into her hand again and again, staring off into nothing.

"This silence is deafening, someone say something," McGonagall said with a sigh as she took little bites of her apple.

"You mean other than what you just said?" Snape sneered in a cold voice.

Lenore shot a sideways glare at the man. If she didn't like him before she hated him now. What was the point of insulting McGonagall? "She was merely trying to make the meal less tense." She said coolly at the man. "Why retort in a such a way?" she questioned. Surprise flashed in his eyes that she was speaking to him but he didn't answer…he didn't seem to have one. "No answer? Intolerable." She said with an air of haughtiness she didn't really have.

"I was merely pointing out the obvious."

"Really?" she didn't move her gaze from him as she still tossed the apple back and forth in her hands. "Would you mind pointing out the obvious to me? You see, I'm having trouble understanding why Voldemort—(Both Snape and McGonagall winced considerably)—would find killing my mother a punishment to you. Would you point out the obvious concept I seem to be missing?"

"Lenore," Albus's voice beside her was warning her.

She ignored it. "You left her seventeen years ago, why does he track us down, kidnap, torture, rape, and murder her just to punish you?" She watched him grow pale ever so slightly. "You must have screwed up royal to get him that pissed off. What'd you do? Screw around with his girlfriend?"

Anger flashed in his eyes but Dumbledore spoke first. "That's enough!"

Her head swiveled around, shooting daggers at him. "What? They are honest questions, I want truly to know." She said slowly looking back at the man. Snape was glaring her down. Oh yeah, she knew where she got that glare from. "But I don't suppose any of you will ever tell me. Not my business, right? Too young to know." She mimicked what they might say.

"Lenore, that is enough. Behave yourself." There was no twinkle in his eyes when Albus said this.

"You told me I had to come to Hogwarts, so I packed up and left. You said I had to wear robes, so I did. You never, ever said I had to be nice to the man that married my mother, screwed her, and then deserted her." She felt partially guilty at treating the man this way but she hated Snape. "Even if you had I wouldn't listen."

There was a wave of silence that swept over the table as Lenore bit into the apple she had been throwing around. The silence lasted for several minutes until McGonagall spoke once more. "That…that is an interesting shirt you have on, Ms. Keller."

"Please call me Leo and thank you." Her gaze slowly moved to Snape. "Anything for the legendary best of Hogwarts."

McGonagall studied her. "Indeed. I would think you more supportive of Slytherin."

"Why? Because he runs it?"

"Yes," McGonagall admitted, obviously feeling the penetrating glare of the potion's professor on her.

"You should be sure to understand that students are not like their parents all of the time." She said firmly.

They both stared at each other, neither with venom, just an attempt to understand the other. McGonagall nodded slowly and then smiled weakly. "I must go, I have business to attend to." She said rising, her eyes glancing to Dumbledore.

"Will you be joining us tomorrow?" asked Lenore munching on the apple.

"No. I'm afraid," she looked at Dumbledore again. "I'm afraid I'll be leaving to visit my family. It was a pleasure meeting you and I'll await the new year, heart in my throat for a student such as yourself." She held out her hand and Lenore shook it before the woman gave a tight smile to Dumbledore (completely ignored Snape) and walked out of the double doors at the end of the hall.

The moment the doors shut she looked at Dumbledore. "All right, what is going on?" Albus glanced at her, the twinkle faintly back in his blue eyes. "I'm not a simpleton, Albus. I know you have something up your sleeve or else she would not have kept looking at you."

"Lenore," started Severus.

"I wasn't speaking to you, Professor Snape." She shot him a glare that mirrored his own before looking back at the old man. "Well?"

"We assumed you would be dining with your father in his rooms for the rest of the summer." Dumbledore informed her. Lenore's eyes widened in horror. "He also has a room in his just incase you wish to stay with him." He stood up and made a slight bow, as if saying goodbye. "Good day Lenore, Severus." And with that he left with both of them staring after him.

"That scheming little prick!" she thundered, jumping to her feet, slamming her hands on the table. "He set me up!"

Severus arched his brow at her. "You obviously don't know Albus Dumbledore that well, he sets everyone up."

She shot him a glare. "Just because I came to England, Severus Snape, does not me I'll ever accept you as my father. You deserted me once there is nothing to stop you from doing it again! Don't try to pretend that you care because after sixteen years I doubt it could even be remotely true!" she shouted her anger growing. She heard a glass break behind her and cursed, whirling around to look at it. "Damn it!" she thundered waving her hand and a blue shield when around her.

Snape watched in muteness as glasses broke, shattering glass flying everywhere. She closed her eyes after that, trying to bring forth the feeling the castle had given her. "LENORE!" someone cried out her name. Her eyes flew open and she gasped. The table had burst into flame and one by one the chairs around the table were doing the same. Why wasn't the shield stopping the excess magic? Snape had jumped to his feet and was attempting to get to her. The chair behind her caught fire, unfortunately part of that chair was inside her bubble. "Get out of that bubble!" he snapped as the smoke filled the bubble causing her to gag and cough. "You're going to suffocate, get out of there." She fell to her knees, coughing and choking on the thick, smoke-filled air. The bubbled flickered and disappeared. Snape was on his knees and he dragged her farther into the hall, away from fire. He forced her to look at him in the eyes. "I know you hate me but you're going to destroy the hall if you keep this up."

"Damn it, I thought I could give it a redecoration." She muttered shaking her head. "Don't you think I'm trying to stop it!" she snapped before dissolving into another coughing fit.

She was shaking now and Snape had pulled her down onto a bench that was in front of a long table, probably one of the house tables. His hand waved and they were breathing clean air. "Get control of your anger and try to put it in verbal words, not just emotions." His voice was in a similar tone that her mother had used when her emotions go this way (she never lit something on fire before, though).

"I KNOW!" she shouted at him as the fire raged on at the table, the flames tickling the wall and turning it black.

He took her hands into his, she tried to pull away but his grip tightened. "Stop fighting, just breathe," She glared at him and did as she was told. His thumbs started rubbing small circles on her wrists, his eye contact never moving. Tears sprang unexpectedly to Lenore's eyes as he rubbed the circles slowly, gently. "Breathe in and out, don't rush."

Slowly the fire died down and then disappeared leaving nothing but an incredibly blackened table, wall and scorched chairs. "Oops," she said looking at the head table. Snape dropped her hands and followed her gaze. "How," she blinked back the tears threatening to escape her eyes. "How did you know to do that?"

"Pardon?"

Pardon? Good Lord I have a prissy relative… she thought swallowing hard. "The wrist thing, how did you know?" She looked away. "Mom used to do that with me." She felt the tears prickle her eyes again. I will not cry in front of him. She ordered herself. "How did you know that would work? Did Albus tell you or something?"

He shook his head. "No. That used to work with you mother as well." She reeled over the information. What was going on, this wasn't the heartless, cold monster she always pictured. He glanced around the hall once more. "How are we going to explain this to the house elves?"