Nathara sighed as she lied on her bed. It felt like forever before her letter came, even though her 10th birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks. For weeks, she's been hearing a song in her head, sounding like, "Dive down deep into her sound~ But not too far or you'll be drowned~".
Frowning in confusion, she got up and walked into Severus's Potions lab, where her mother was working on some potions for his Potions business. Her father and sister were having a day out in Diagon Alley, so the two of them were left home alone. "Mommy?" Nathara called as she walked around. "Over here, sweetheart," was the response.
Severus was standing over a boiling cauldron with his long, ebony hair tied back in a high ponytail, smiling as he watched Nathara come into the lab and hug his leg. "What's the matter, baby?" he asked as he bottled up the potion he was brewing.
Nathara bit her lip before answering, "What if nobody wants to be my friend when I go to Hogwarts? I get that I'm the descendant of Merlin, Salazar, and Rowena, but the fact that I bear Slytherin's name may be what makes the other children fear me. I can just imagine noone trusting me just because my last name is 'Prince-Slytherin', or what if someone only wants to be my friend because of who my ancestors are? What if they think I'm a monster because I'm the heiress of Slytherin and can speak to snakes?!"
Severus knelt before his child and placed his hands on her shoulders. He looked at her sternly but gently and said, "Nathara Azula Prince-Slytherin, I want you to listen to me. You are not, and I meannot, a monster, you understand me? It doesn't matter that you can speak Parseltongue, you speak it, I speak it, your father speaks it, and your sister speaks it as well. But, do you know what makes you special? You use your gift for healing purposes. Already, you've created parsel spells that made medical breakthroughs! If nobody wants to be your friend because of something they don't understand, you at least have Draco, me, your father, sister, your uncles Lucius and Rodolphus, and your aunt Bellatrix and Narcissa. You still have us, and if somebody tries to harass you, you let me know, alright?"
Nathara nodded shakily, hugged her mom, and returned to her bedroom, where she proceeded to silently shed tears over the fact that she might not make any friends. Little did she know that, about the fear and distrust, she wasn't wrong at all..
Softly she started singing, "Idir ann is idir ais~ Idir thuiadh is idir theas~" A bird outside her window watched her sadly, but knew that she would be more helpful at Hogwarts. The bird sang a calming tune that slowly put Nathara to sleep, a small smile creeping onto her face