Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
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It became very clear very fast that her father was not going to talk about Harry, at all, and that made everything a bit complicated. Elizabeth wanted to tell him about what Harry had told her in the hallway more than anything, but every time she mentioned the Gryffindor's name he would quickly change the subject. His actions made it painfully clear to Elizabeth that he had no intentions of accepting Harry into his life. It hurt her to know that, but overall she decided it didn't really matter if he ever came around regardless because Harry was still her brother and she was determined to help him. But before she went truly on her own with this, she was going to try to sway her father one more time.
"Dad?" Elizabeth asked hesitantly as she stood in the doorway to his office, causing him to glance up from the paper he was unmercifully grading.
"What is it Liz?" Severus asked with a sigh, setting down the paper and directing his attention to his daughter.
"I was wondering if we could talk." Elizabeth said, idly looking at the specimen jars that lined the shelves on the wall.
"About what?" Severus asked, even though he had a notion of just where the conversation was headed.
"About Harry." Elizabeth answered immediately.
"There is nothing to talk about." Severus stated, earning a sharp glance from his daughter.
"There is plenty to talk about." Elizabeth said, exasperated as she walked a bit closer. "Dad, you can't ignore him."
"I am not ignoring him." Severus replied, sounding irritated as he gazed up at Elizabeth. "I just don't have the time to deal with him at the moment."
"You don't care." Elizabeth snapped, taking the hint. "I bet if he was one of us you would. But he's not so you don't, and that makes you no better than Tobias. He didn't care either and that's why you are the way you are. You have the opportunity to be the father he wasn't to your own son, and he's throwing it away. It makes me wonder if you feel the same way about me."
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Severus sat there starring at his daughter, stunned. He had not expected her to continue, let alone compare him to his abusive father, and that hurt, but the fact that she questioned whether he cared for her hurt worse. He didn't think that his recent behavior toward Harry would make her feel that way. And her sudden outburst gave him the impression that there was another reason for that. But before he could find his ask, Elizabeth turned on her heel and stormed out of his office, leaving him alone with her words to echo in his head.
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There was no way to explain the feelings that Elizabeth possessed as she rushed up to the Entrance Hall. She had not expected to snap, but it had just happened, and she wasn't sorry. Severus had a right to know the way she felt about his actions over the last few days, and if snapping at him would get him to pay attention and help Harry, then she would do just that. With a deep sigh, Elizabeth headed out toward the grounds. She had no intention of seeing her father if he attended dinner that night. She would deal with his temper later, but at the moment she needed to get her heart rate back to normal.
The vast forest green lawns seemed to calm her nerves as she roamed around in the dying golden rays of the sun. As she gradually approached the Black Lake, she realized she was not the only one who had decided to skip dinner that night.
The boy sat along the shore, his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. His messy black hair stood in every direction, and the normally neutral look on his face was replaced with sadness. It appeared that Harry Potter was not having the best of days.
"Why do you look so miserable Harry?" Elizabeth asked as she came up from behind, making him jump.
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Harry was surprised when he looked behind him to find Elizabeth. He hadn't expected to see her at all considering they hadn't spoken in more than a week. But nevertheless he was happy to see her. In fact, it was more or less the highlight of his day.
"It's nothing." Harry replied as he watched Elizabeth slowly sit down next to him, as if afraid that another outburst would drive him away again.
"Harry, don't say it's nothing, because it's not." Elizabeth said as she turned to face the Gryffindor. "Harry nothing you say is going to drive me away."
"It already has." Harry answered as he felt his heart stop for a moment as his mind replayed the week that had followed their discussion in the hallway. And, if he had to admit to himself, it seemed to be pretty lonely without her there.
"You didn't drive me away." Elizabeth stated firmly as she placed one hand on his shoulder. "I just thought you wanted sometime to yourself. I didn't mean to give you the impression that I no longer wanted to be around."
Harry said nothing; instead he turned his gaze toward the lake's shiny surface and watched the water dance in the remaining sunlight.
"I just thought what I told you made you disgusted with me." Harry whispered more to himself than anyone else. "And that you didn't want to be around me because of it."
"There is nothing that would make me not want to be around you." Elizabeth replied as she placed a hand under Harry's chin and made him look at her. "Nothing will change between you and I, in fact, we should be closer than ever considering what we discovered."
Harry pondered her words for a moment, and he knew she was right, nothing would change between them, and whatever bond they had would grow stronger, but he wasn't completely convinced just yet.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, his voice conveying his skepticism; he wanted to be completely sure she wanted to burden herself with his problems. But then again, he already had when he let it slip he was abused.
"If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have said it." Elizabeth confirmed as she gazed into Harry's green eyes. The emerald orbs spoke volumes to her as she searched their depths. And despite the fact that she had no skills in Legilimency she could tell he had actually been feeling horrid for days. "Now, tell me why do you look so miserable?"
"Because I am miserable, Elizabeth." Harry said in a low voice. "My friends don't approve of me hanging out with you, I felt horrid because I believed I drove you away by practically screaming at you . . .and I know that he will never accept me."
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Elizabeth was surprised to hear that Harry believed that he had driven her away, but she was even more surprised by the fact that he was worried about their father accepting him as a son.
"He will Harry, he will." Elizabeth reassured the Gryffindor as she squeezed his shoulder. "Just give the man some time; he needs time to grasp the concept of having another child."
At Harry's wary nod of understanding she continued "It's getting late, we should head back to the castle."
Elizabeth allowed Harry to lead the way back to the school. The once golden rays of the sun had now faded into a dim light that was not much stronger than a weak lumos, but it was enough to allow them to see where they were going.
They walked in a comfortable silence that seemed to put their worries at ease for the moment, even if the moment would be destroyed when they walked into the Entrance Hall. It was much to their great relief when they discovered that dinner had already ended and the halls where devoid of people.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Elizabeth announced once they reached the bottom steps of the Grand staircase.
"Alright" Harry stated as he began the trek up to the seventh floor. His voice a bit lighter than it had been earlier making Elizabeth hope it would stay that way. However, deep down she knew it wouldn't, it never seemed to lately. Sooner or later she would fix that, but first she needed to go and sort things out with the only thing she had: her father.
Her footsteps echoed off of the cold stone walls as she made her way down into the maze of corridors that she had come to call home. Elizabeth's heart pounded against her chest painfully as she imagined what the potion's master was going to say to her when she arrived at the entrance to the private chambers they shared.
She knew her father would be angry at her for being disrespectful and raising her voice at him. At the time it had seemed like the perfect idea, but now . . . not so much. Elizabeth's pace gradually declined as she began to approach the door that would contain the enraged dragon that was her father.
With a deep breath, the Slytherin slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside, all the while anticipating the explosive yell that would unleash at least a portion of her father's anger. However, nothing of the sort came, instead, there was silence. . . Dead silence between them.
"Dad?" Elizabeth questioned, breaking the quiet as she located the man in his chair by the roaring flames feet away. "Is everything alright?"
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"Everything is fine dear." Severus replied as he looked up from the book he was reading. He already knew Elizabeth expected him to be angry with her, but he wasn't in the mood to scream. In fact, he really wasn't in the mood to be angry at all.
He knew she was right, he couldn't just ignore Harry and act like he didn't care for the boy. But he was still torn between the two sides that had presented themselves earlier. Yes, he did want to step up and be the boy's father, but then again he just wished to continue believing the child was the bane of his existence's and turn a blind eye. But either way he chose, it would be a decision that changed his life, for good.
"But, we do need to talk, Elizabeth."