Olivia sighed as she downed the potion. The pains subsided, but it didn't help the discomfort, the sense of self-consciousness which she tried to shake. It's normal, she thought, nothing to be self-conscious about. Puberty. Her aunt had informed her about it last summer and she'd read about it, of course, but actually experiencing it was another thing entirely.
She felt...weird. First, the cramping, then the feeling of being bloated, and now she just felt cranky and hungry. She looked at herself in the dorm room mirror, trying to remember what she looked like a year ago. Olivia noticed a definite filling out in her hip and chest, hair growth, and now this. She groaned at the inconvenience of it all. Why did I have to be born female?
Studying herself, she picked apart her features, her black hair, pale skin, black eyes, all like her father's. However, she noticed her thick eyelashes, lips, the shape of her face and wondered what her mother looked like. Olivia wondered if those features came from her or from her father's mother's side. Did she have anything that resembled her mother?
Christmas break came quickly that year, it seemed. Olivia sat in her dorm, fairly alone in Slytherin house. She was reading through her third-year defense text. Turning the page, she paused. Nocturnal Creatures. Remembering the conclusion that was drawn in reference to a certain professor, she turned pages until she reached "werewolves."
The more she read, the more she worried about what would happen to the professor if he missed one of his potions or to her father if he got caught up in his attempt to reveal the professor's condition. He was already caught up. She had to remind herself of that. Professor Lupin had only missed that one class. She wondered, why, out of all the full moons that had occurred, had that one been so bad that he couldn't make it to class. She always noticed that, around a full moon, he would be very weary and slow in his movements, as if in pain, but he never missed. Had her father purposefully diluted his potion that once to cause his to miss so that he could fill in and assign that essay? As much as Olivia hated to think it, she couldn't deny that it was entirely possible.
Olivia put the text away and got dressed for dinner, which she was to have with her father. She dressed comfortably and went downstairs, using the connecting painting between the common room and his quarters. She opened the door, finding the table already set and her father walking through, adjusting his shirt sleeves after obviously having been brewing.
They both sat down as dinner was served. Olivia's mind went to other things as they began to eat in silence. Her father must have noticed her distance. "Something on your mind?" he asked, his voice low and careful.
She looked up at him and thought about whether she wanted to broach the subject...a subject they had never discussed. "Can I ask you something, Daddy?" she asked worriedly.
Sensing her nervousness, he place his silverware down and took a drink. "What about?"
"I...I know it's never been something we've talked about, but last year, during the sorting ceremony, the hat said that I was born of two houses."
Olivia saw her father's shoulders tense, his mouth press tight. Immediately, she wished he hadn't said anything. She could sense his extreme discomfort on the subject.
"You're wanting to know about your mother," he said softly.
"I don't have to know everything...I just... I want to know if I'm like her. What was she like?"
He took a careful breath and she could see his mind working out the words. "The sorting hat was correct. She was in Gryffindor. I would say that your exuberance and out-spoken nature are characteristics you inherited from her. Your finer features are hers. She was...very kind, too much so in some cases. She was smart. Always positive...hopeful." He went back to his meal, having put the subject from his mind for the moment. "She was the opposite of me," he said finally.
Olivia could see a sadness drawn about his face, which he quickly corrected. "Perhaps it all balanced out in me, then," she laughed, attempting to lighten the thickness in the air the discussion had caused.
"You have her laugh..."
After Olivia had left, returning to her dorm for the night, Severus dropped into the chair by the fire, summoning himself a glass of fire whiskey. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he swallowed the pain forming behind his eyes.
He knew the day would've come, sooner or later. He thought that he had prepared for the conversation. He was wrong. In fact, he often felt that he was lucky she hadn't brought it up before. She was looking more and more like Lily the older she got. He knew she could sense how he felt, at least a little, which is likely why she never asked and why she cut the conversation short.
How was he supposed to tell her about what happened? Dumbledore had said the Dark Lord would return. He couldn't risk her knowing about her true lineage until after that. It would put her in danger to have that information in her mind.
Severus could tell that she wanted so badly to know. He imagined that she felt like a part of somehow missing, not knowing her mother's name or what she looked like. He had said at little as possible. It was just enough to calm her mind, but not enough to give any distinct clue to her identity. However, how long would that little information satisfy her?
Olivia didn't really want to be there. However, her father had insisted that they come. Her aunt and uncle were glad to see her and she them. It had been a while since she had spent any time with them. Her relationship with Draco at that time had interfered with that.
Her dress was a dark green, off-the-shoulder design with black lace peeking from the bottom of the skirt, which stopped just below her knee, and a touch around the neckline. It was a gift from the Malfoys. It was modest, but attractive on her developing figure.
Many of the same families came to their gathering as usual. Her father was talking to her uncle Lucius on one side of the room while she stood at the opening between the dining and entertainment rooms, holding a glass of punch which she swirled around in her cup.
Aunt Cissa was talking to a witch just near her. She hadn't caught much of their conversation, but it grabbed her attention when she heard her name mentioned. "Olivia's very talented on piano, among other things; she plays beautifully." It was her aunt. Another witch asked, "Olivia is Severus's daughter, correct? I only remember seeing her once here when she was very little; she must be grown by now."
"Olivia?" her aunt called.
She walked over to the elegantly dressed witches. "Yes, Aunt Cissa?" she said politely as Narcissa swept an arm across the back of her shoulders.
"This is Heather Ylang, a good friend of mine," she introduced the witch. Olivia noticed her defining Asian features, but noted no accent.
"A pleasure to meet you," she said softly.
"My, she certainly has grown!" The witch said. "Narcissa tells me you play piano."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I played piano for years when I was young. Oh, please tell me you will be playing sometime tonight."
Olivia sighed internally and replied, not wanting to disappoint her aunt. "If it should please you, ma'am, I can now."
"That would be wonderful," her aunt said, leading her towards the corner of the room where the grand piano was. She took her punch and vanished it to the kitchens.
As she tucked her skirt and settled onto the bench, she noticed that a few others were stopping to listen. Her father and uncle had moved closer. Deciding on her piece, she placed her fingers just above the keys and took a deep breath.
Carol of the Bells. It was her favorite to play, the light melody with the added drama of heavy beats across deep tones. She had, of course, changed it up slightly to suit her tastes, creating a more dramatic piece.
When she had finished, the witches and wizards around her applauded. She stood, giving a slight curtsy, and smiled. Her aunt's friend was pleased and thanked her for playing. Olivia returned to her place between the two rooms while everyone went back to their conversations. That's when she heard familiar voices in the corner of the dining room behind her.
"Draco, what's the deal with you two anyway? Didn't she practically live here most of the time? I mean, she isn't really related, right? So...you must've...you know." It was a boy, she couldn't remember his name, but knew he was around Draco a lot at school.
"She's my godfather's daughter. She stayed at the manor during school. It's nothing," she heard Draco reply tightly.
"Who's her mother? I heard that she was probably some random muggle." the boy said. Olivia heard the sneer in his voice.
"I don't know," Draco said shortly.
Olivia's stomach began to twist into a knot. It's true; she didn't know her mother's identity, but the disgust in the boy's voice made her sick. She wanted to walk into the room and tell him that she was a witch, a Gryffindor to be exact, but in a manor full of Slytherins and a select few Ravenclaws, that would be unwise. Not to mention, the fact was private, her and her father's secret. No one had any right to know. To her, it didn't matter, but there was a realization at that moment. She had been raised as any pureblood was, but she was certainly no pureblood. Her father, she knew, was half-blood. That fact disgusted this boy. It hurt.
"Everyone knows that the Professor never married. Nobody knows anything about her mother. The woman, whoever she was, probably just didn't want her."
She could feel the anger building. Grasping her arms across her middle, she tried to breathe, trying to gain control. There was a shift in magic in the air and it swirled around her. A few nearby witches and wizards turned to find the source.
"I mean, you don't like her, really, do you? She's not like us. I honestly don't know why your parents bother."
A burst of energy came out of her. She heard glass shatter behind her, the boy shout along with Draco surprised gasp. "What the bloody hell was that?!"
Olivia walked quickly towards the door. She needed to get out. Once she was outside, she felt the embarrassment. She'd lost control of her magic in a room full of witches and wizards, including her aunt and uncle. There was no way she could go back inside. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek.
The sound of the door opening and shutting behind her made her quickly brush the tear away and blink back any that were attempting to fall. She felt fabric fall around her shoulders, her cloak. Glancing to the side, she saw her dad. He held out his arm, disapparating as she grasped it.
As they appeared in Spinner's End, just in the middle of an alleyway not far from their house, he spoke. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"The boy with Draco...he was talking about me, basically how I have dirty blood and...he was talking about my mother. And Draco didn't say anything against it. Nothing." That feeling hurt. Draco had stood there and allowed the boy to talk about her that way. They used to be friends, didn't they? Did he think of her that way, too? She swallowed, forcing her emotions aside. "I apologize for losing control. I should apologize to Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius."
He had no words. His own anger was building, but he pushed it away. Placing his hand on her arm, he guided her back towards home.
Second term started and Olivia attempted to keep herself busy. However, every time she saw Draco, that anger would build again. She found herself often staying on the second floor overlooking the Forbidden Forest. She could see Hagrid's hut, chimney smoking; oftentimes he would be outside working in his garden or feeding the hippogriff that had injured Draco.
She was just ready when she heard laughing below. She saw Draco and two of his lackeys standing just behind the stones, pointing towards Hagrid's. Olivia sighed and started gathering her things to leave, not wanting to listen to them, but she was stopped by a girl's screaming.
"Foul, loathesome, evil little cockroach!"
Looking out, she saw Draco pressed against the stone, Hermione's wand at his throat. She could hear her friends saying something and she began to lower to wand. Draco started laughing as she turned, but she spun and threw a punch right into his nose. Olivia snorted, but clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from being heard. She had to stifle her laugh as Draco stumbled back towards the castle.
She watched as the three Gryffindors headed down towards Hagrid's and was about to return to her reading when she saw two of the exact same Griffindors follow behind. Olivia blinked and checked herself, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Her brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell? She thought and went through many conclusions in her head, but none seemed to explain what she had seen. The first three went into the hut while the second two went behind the gardens, near the forest.
Olivia couldn't explain it. It worried her a little, but something in her gut told her that it was pointless to worry about any of those three. It was likely they were into some sort of trouble again and she hoped it would work out for them.
That's when she noticed the Minister himself walking out towards Hagrid's along with the headmaster and a tall man with a giant axe. Then, she remembered that the hippogriff currently relaxing among the pumpkin patch, had been sentenced to death. So, that's why Draco was out here. She felt bad for Hagrid. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't the animal's fault either.
Seeing that the sun was beginning to set, she remembered that it was a full moon tonight, which brought along a number of other worries. Shaking her head, she decided she was worrying far too much about everything, none of which was within her control.
Olivia hardly noticed the trio returning to the castle. She was walking back down the stairs and towards the dungeons before having to watch what she assumed was about to happen. Once she was back in the dungeons, she went towards her father's quarters instead of the common room. The painting swung open, but she didn't notice any sound or movement inside.
"Daddy?" she called, but received to answer. Olivia turned to the painting to the left, just outside of the door to her room. "Excuse me, but do you know if my dad has been in yet?"
"Sorry, m'lady, but he just left, in quite a hurry, too," said the royal looking boy in the painting. "He muttered something about a professor and his potions."
"Oh," she said. "Thank you." Deciding to wait for him, she went to the couch and opened her book again.
It had been hours and her father hadn't returned. Olivia was getting worried. The feeling in the pit of her stomach told her something was wrong. Putting her book down, she grabbed only her wand and left the room. She began walking silently down the corridors. When she passed his classroom, it was dark and empty, no sign that he'd been in there at all recently. Keeping to the dark hallways, she made her way towards Professor Lupin's classroom, which was also empty.
She knew that her father didn't have rounds that night. He would've had to take the Professor his potion, but what if something had happened? She found her way back near south end of the castle, where she had been earlier that day. Upstairs, she looked out towards the forest and could see nothing. After a while, she decided to go back and check the dungeons again when she heard a howl.
Holding her breath, she tried to figure out what direction it came from. The Whomping Willow. She ran downstairs and outside, looked out past the stones. She could only barely see the tree beyond the forest. She heard more noises coming from the same direction. A scream, barking, another howl. Olivia wanted to run in the direction of the noise, but she held herself back, knowing that she, alone, couldn't do anything against a werewolf. She wondered if Professor Lupin was the source of that howl. After a few moments of debating on what to do, she finally saw movement.
Olivia saw her father stumbling out of the woods with Hermione and Weasley. She ran to them, meeting them halfway down the hill.
"Olivia you should not be out here," he scolded.
"Professor, what about Harry?!" Hermione asked, the panic in her voice evident.
"Olivia, get them inside and go to the headmaster's office."
"Was that Professor Lupin I heard?" Olivia asked cautiously. When her father gave her a look of acknowledgment, she grabbed his arm. "Daddy, you can't go out there, please."
"Mr. Potter is still out there with a werewolf and a murderer on the lose. Get them inside and go to the headmaster," he said sternly.
"But, Daddy, you're hurt!" Olivia noticed the claw mark which had torn open his robes and had just reached his chest. There was a little blood showing through.
"Get inside, now," he said once more before turning back towards the forest.
Olivia fought the urge to follow and pocketed her wand. Turning, she grabbed Weasley's other arm, noticing his injured leg. Once inside the castle, they set him on the stairs and Hermione went to wrapping his leg to stop the bleeding.
"Can you get him to the hospital wing?" Olivia asked her.
"Yes. Go, hurry," she replied.
Running through the corridors, she was surprised that no other professors on their rounds heard or caught her. Once she was at the base of Dumbledore's office, she stopped, gasping for breath. "Malted Mice." The staircase began to twist and she ran up the stairs, throwing the door open, not bothering to knock. "Professor!"
"Miss Snape," he said, sounding surprised. He sat behind his desk, writing, having stopped upon her entrance.
"Please, Professor. Something's happened. Daddy's in the forest. He said Harry Potter is out there and so is Professor Lupin and I believe Sirius Black, too. Weasley is injured and Hermione is getting him to the hospital wing," she spewed between gasps. She'd ran nearly the entire length of the castle to get to his office.
Standing, the headmaster turned to one of the many paintings in his office, telling the gentleman to fetch Minerva, turning to another to send them to wake Madam Pomfrey, and another to go to the Minister. "Miss Snape, I must send you back to Slytherin."
"No, I can't! Daddy's injured, too. Let me go with you," she pleaded.
"I can let you wait in the hospital wing. I will force him to go see Poppy when we return, but I cannot allow you outside the castle." He walked past her and hurried down the stairs. Hearing her starting to argue, "I assure you, Miss Snape, that he will be just fine. Go to the hospital wing and wait there."
She nodded, defeated. Olivia watched him turn, quickly heading back the way she'd come. She made her way towards the hospital wing where she saw Madam Pomfrey cleaning and bandaging Weasley's leg. She looked up and noticed her. "Professor Dumbledore told me to wait here." The witch nodded and went back to her work. Hermione walked over to her.
"Thanks," she said.
"What happened?"
Olivia could tell that the girl was desperate to tell someone what she knew. Hermione told her about Professor Lupin and Sirius Black, and about a man named Peter Pettigrew. No one would believe it, but Olivia listened. She felt a sense of dread hearing that Pettigrew had gotten away...again. She couldn't help but feel sorry for what they had all been through.
Sitting on the edge of a bed, she waited. When her father finally did walk through the door, she could tell he was hurting and exhausted. "Daddy," she said, going to him. Madam Pomfrey heard and came towards him, immediately inspecting his wound.
"I'm fine," he said to them both.
"This will need a good cleaning, Severus, but otherwise, it's fine. You're lucky that your robes are made so well. Protection against potions, but also a good barrier against a werewolf. However, much deeper, and you would have severe blood loss. Thankfully, it's not a bite."
"I already took a blood-replinishing potion on the way here, Poppy. I'm fine," he said once more, reassuring them both that he was alright to go back to his rooms. She nodded. "Come, Olivia."
Once they reached his quarters, he cleaned and bandaged himself before sending her to bed. She couldn't sleep. The whole night's events had left her mind reeling and her stomach in knots. She had felt helpless against it. Olivia resolved to focus more on defense than she had previously.
Walking along the corridor, she felt ready for the term to end. Olivia was entirely ready to go back to Spinner's End. The day after that eventful night, she'd heard that not only had the hippogriff escaped, but so had Sirius Black. Part of her thought back to the strange thing she'd seen, Hermione and Potter following themselves out towards the forest.
She saw Professor Lupin round the corner, bag and cloak in hand. "Professor," she called out. "You're leaving," she said. "Why?"
"I'm afraid I must. I don't want to get Dumbledore into any more trouble by sticking around after what happened."
"I'm sorry," she looked down at the floor. Olivia knew that her father had been part of the reason he was having to leave.
"Nothing to be sorry for," he said smiling. "It was my own fault."
"It was a mistake, Professor, an accident. It's not like you purposefully chose not to take your potion," she said in defense.
"Accidents like that can be deadly to others when it's people like me."
"Still..."
"I appreciate your kindness, Miss Snape." He seemed to think for a moment. "I imagine you get that from your mother, hm?" She smiled. "Don't ever lose that. Very few people have that kindness anymore." He adjusted his hold on his bag. "I must be going."
"Goodbye, Professor."
"Just Remus is fine, Miss Snape, considering my resignation."
"Then it's just Olivia."
"Goodbye, Olivia."