Chronicles of the Daughter

Chapter 1: The Arrival and the Disclosure

#13 Grimmauld Place

Thursday July 24th, 1995

Time- 9:13 pm

Severus Snape scowled. As a child, his mother had often told him that if he did that too much, his face might get stuck like that. At this point of his age, he was inclined to agree with her. But he could not help himself. Did everyone he associate with, have to be such dumb idiots?!

"No, Harry has every right to be in this meeting, Molly! I will not allow you to shield my godson. He is my responsibility, not yours!" shouted an enraged Sirius Black.

"Harry is not James, Sirius! And I have handled his responsibility more than you have, getting locked up in Azkaban!"

"You know very well that was not my fault, Molly and I will have you know…"

"ENOUGH!" thundered Dumbledore. Finally the old man was good for something if only to stop that Black from getting on my nerves, thought Severus. He checked his watch. He needed to leave soon. If they could only get some work done at these dumb order meetings! The Dark Lord was lying low for now and the idiotic Ministry had apparently decided to curtail the issue until it would start to blow out of proportion. But looking at the state of these order meetings, Severus had to rethink his decision to join the 'light' side. Maybe the Dark Lord wasn't such a bad idea, unlike Bumblebee and his Order of the Chickens! No, Severus, he thought to himself, for Lily. And for a better future for my daughter. "Will you both sit down? Harry will arrive in another six days and then we will ask for his opinion on the matter. Now, the meeting is concluded and it occurs to me," he sniffed the air, "that Molly has prepared her ever famous Chicken Pot Pie." Molly blushed at the compliment and Dumbledore beamed, rubbing his belly in anticipation for the oncoming feast that was Molly Weasley's ever specialty. "Everyone join us for dinner." Everyone started to get up and help out in the kitchen. Severus turned and headed towards the door when the dreaded words came out from interfering coot's mouth, "Oh Severus, won't you join us for dinner?"

"Albus, you know I never stay for your frivolities."

"Oh come on, Snivellus. It's not like you got something else to do other than to go and grovel at your Master's feet," a surly looking Sirius Black taunted. Severus gritted his teeth together and took a deep breathe. Think happy thoughts; go to your happy place. To hell with it.

"If you must know, Black," he spat out the name as if it was acidic in his mouth, "I have prior engagements. People to see. Not hump around with a hippogriff, like you do, you mangy cur!" Both wands were out in a second, curses ready on their lips when suddenly the wands were snatched from their hands by the headmaster. It seemed they both had forgotten he was still here.

"A date, is it, Severus? Good for you," said the old man jovially. Severus nearly choked on his own tongue.

"Date…no…god no! My daughter is coming to town," he hurriedly explained and then paled.

"Daughter?" the old man's eye were twinkling maddeningly. Oh shit, thought Severus. In front of his eyes he could see the horrified eyes and the word spreading like plague. What did they think of him, that he would be a celibate for life? Granted he somewhat was…but still. The word had spread and there were people collecting and looking at him horrified. They were overpowering him and for a second to him it felt like he was back in the Wizengamont and ready to be chucked into Azkaban. "Severus, you never mentioned having any family."

"Ah…well...no…she's my brother's daughter…really…" the old headmaster was quite quick to remind him that he was an only child, "my brother….oh no, no, no….my mother's brother's son." And the old man again reminded him that his mother too had been an only child of the Princes and he had earlier mentioned a daughter not a son. Severus was trapped. "I will be late, Albus! I have to rush. Take care, sayonara, toodles…." Damn! Toodles? But at least now he was free. 'Pop' and he was gone, not alone mind you. For the mischievous, and nutcase, as most would say, headmaster had been very quick in his old age to grab onto to his Potion Master's arm before he apparated away.

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Empty Parking Lot, Heathrow Airport

Same Day

Time- 9:23 pm

"Albus Dumbledore, are you out of your mind?" a very annoyed Snape thundered out at his employer.

"A mistake, I assure you Severus. An honest mistake."

"Well, you can leave now and rectify said mistake."

"Ah, and pass up an opportunity to see your beautiful daughter, I think not. Lead the way," and with that the headmaster transformed both his and Severus robes into proper muggle suits. He himself supported a velvet red coat and trousers with a lime green shirt. But Severus scowled at his own look of Dark Green Velvetness and changed it into a plain black cotton suit. He looked at Albus' dress code and sighed, shaking his head slightly. It was better he didn't say anything at all. He brisk walked towards the airport and hoped to Merlin that Mr. Santa Claus wasn't planning on following him. But since when did Merlin listen to the likes of ex-Death Eaters. "And when is your daughter arriving?"

"Her plane landed an hour ago so she should be out any minute now. She is coming with her dance troupe. They are doing a performance here in a week and she will stay for another three after that. Now don't ask anymore questions and for Merlin's sake pretend like we don't know each other!" and he entered the arrivals and waited by the front railing for his daughter. A few minutes had passed when the gates opened and people rushed out. Severus straightened his back and his usual sight turned into a glare when he spotted, it would seem his daughter.

"Severus, why is your daughter holding hands with that young gentleman?" Anna, you were in big trouble missy! It was in times like these when the real Severus Snape came out. He could care less if it was one of his students but his daughter was not allowed to even have a life outside of studies. No way! And it seemed that Albus could sense his irritation because his grin increased, and Severus' scowled deepened. He raised one of his hands and alerted the young woman to his presence. The woman turned to face them completely and gave a huge teethy smile at seeing her father and waved to them. She bade goodbye to her friends, and hugged each one them, promising to see them whenever. She rushed with her trolley and stopped it right an inch in front of them. She flung her hands around her father and buried her face in his shoulder. In return her father gently hugged her, smiling slightly. Albus had for the very first time seen such happiness or rather such a positive emotion on his spy's face, and nearly made the old man teary at the sight. Blinking them back, he took time to study the young woman. It seemed she had a lot in common with her father. She looked around seventeen and though considerably shorter than her tall pillar-like father, she was a good height of 5'7, had straight black hair till her mid-back with a long red and black colored flick on the left side of her face, and when she untangled herself from her father, Albus could see the same twin black, heavily kohled eyes on both the faces holding back heavy tears. It seemed she had also inherited the tendency to keep back the 'weaker' emotions as her father had described them. The only difference Albus could visibly see was the nose- she had inherited the long straight pointed nose, but like her father it was not broken and seemed aristocratic rather than roguish. A silver nose ring flashed in the light.

"Hel-lo, father!" And with that she kissed his left cheek and her grin stretched further when her father scowled. "You came, and it seems you brought…." As her attention shifted to Albus on their right, "Santa Claus along with you. Is Rudolph parked outside?" Albus chuckled, and her father's sarcastic wit too. Grudgingly admitting to himself that his daughter had indeed seen the Red Disaster, Severus introduced them. "Hello, I am Vaishnavi Annalise Kap—Snape. Call me Annalise."

"Albus Wulfric Brian Percival Dumbledore, my dear. The pleasure is all mine." And with that Albus looked at the young girl's clothes. She was in interesting muggle attire, and Albus really had to wonder how the society and world had changed from his teenage years. But then again, Albus thought, it had been 97 years. She was wearing dark brown cargo-capri pants with some gold-silver chains hanging from the sides. On her torso, she was wearing two sleeveless T-shirts, something Albus really did not see the point of. The weather, maybe?, he thought. The inside shirt like the pants were dark brown and the outside shirt was a darker lime green. The belt on the pants had a huge golden buckle. She was wearing a couple of long necklaces, beaded green and brown, till her upper stomach, and on her forearms, a couple of heavy stone bracelets. That was not all, her fingers too were cluttered with stoned rings of all colors- pearls, turquoise, were among the some Albus could recognize. Definitely, a character, thought Albus.

Severus had taken to rolling the trolley along the way as his daughter clung to his right arm -content on remaining silent and enjoying her father's presence. But Albus was not the one to be steered off course. He had come here today not only to see his employee's daughter, but also see to it that both she and her father accompanied them to dinner at the Black Mansion. It was quite an ambitious task but he had after all defeated Grindlewald and was the one who Voldemort feared most. Surely that counted for something. And so he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the sudden gasp coming out of Severus. He let out a curse and grabbed his left forearm in apparent pain. People next to them in the airport turned to stare at the three of them and Albus quickly pulled out his wand to divert their attention and asked Annalise to steer her father out of the way, and alongside the corner of a wall.

"He is calling me, urgently. I cannot delay any further," when Annalise opened her mouth, he cut her off, "No, Anna. I will explain later. Albus, there is no time for the garbs or even the mask. I need to leave urgently. Ann, please go with Albus. He will apparate you home." And with that he steered off, smiling slightly as he heard his daughter mutter 'stay safe' to him. Annalise turned to the old man on her right. He did really seem like a cartoon to her, with the red suit and the long white beard, but there was something commanding about the man. Something that demanded respect and awe, and alongside that the mischievous twinkle in his eyes that made her instantly like the old man. He reminded her of her grandfather who had passed away a year ago, diagnosed with cancer.

"So, Mr. Dumbledore, would you please take me home to Spinner's End? I need to prepare food for father. Because as usual, he has not eaten his lunch or his dinner."

"Ah, Miss Snape. But I would like to invite you to your father's… workplace, I suppose you could say. Come and join us for dinner. There is delicious Chicken Pie and tomato soup up for grabs. And there will be lots of children your age, or near to. Spend your holidays with the lovely bunch."

Annalise grinned up at the old man, "You just want to annoy my father, don't you? I know very well where he works and the people he hates, which may very well be everyone else except me in the world. I know all about the…Wheelys? and the old man who just will not leave him alone," Albus chuckled and corrected her pronunciation. But nonetheless, she had caught him. "Maybe later, sir. I have feeling that father will be very tired after wherever he's gone off to. He cannot hope to want to look for me and where I went. So I should get home and ease his worries, sir. Though you are welcome to join us for dinner after I get the food from the local grocer, and make it, that is." Albus steered her out of the airport and into the parking lot, shaking his head along the way. She was too much like her father, just a happier version. A version that Severus should have become had it not been for all the things that went wrong in his life. Lily dying, the spying, the guilt…. POP and they apparated away.

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AN- Is it all right? And any suggestions as to how I should make all of them, ie. the Weasleys, Harry, Sirius and all meet?