Emily sat on the Gryffindor couch alone. Her first night such as this where there was truly no one around. She and Alex had parted ways after dinner, and she hadn't seen a soul since. The headmaster said that she was allowed to go to Hogsmead, so long as she was escorted by either an older student or staff member, but Emily had no one to buy gifts for. She pondered buying Alex one, but she didn't know what he would want, because she didn't know him that well, and she wasn't even sure if they were good enough "friends" to exchange gifts. At her children's home, there had simply been a sack and the children would pull a gift from the girls' or boy' bag, and that was their gift. They were usually diddy things, a cheap doll, maybe some body spray if they were lucky, but moreover Christmas was a time that Emily felt like she was an outsider. She got up off the couch and made her way out of the portal to roam the empty and silent halls. The castle was chilly and she wished she had brought an extra jumper. As she neared the moving staircases, an owl swooped down in front of her. She watched it drop a note at her feet and continue on its journey through the vast hallways.

Emily bent to pick up the missive and saw it was an immediate summons to the Headmaster's office. Suddenly feeling her heart race, Emily took off down the hallway towards the Headmaster. Surely he had answers, she could feel it.

XxXxXxXx

Severus was tucked in the corner of the headmaster's office and he watched as a short girl in faded jeans and a tatty threadbare sweater slipped through the narrow opening. Inside his anger rolled into a steaming boil as he spied the obvious poor quality of the clothing, but all the same his heart clenched. The girl didn't even notice him as she walked over to the headmaster's chair and sat herself down. Her eyes were eager and bright, watching the elder wizard.

"Hello dear, did you have a pleasant meal this evening?" He could see the girl's tense body jerk a bit in surprise at the headmaster's questioning. Her eyebrows narrowed in suspicion for a split second at his alluding of the obvious topic.

"err… yes, it was lovely. Very different." She said quietly. Severus could see her squeezing her hands tightly like his wife used to do. Finally the child couldn't hold in her question any longer.

"Professor did you find something?" She asked rapidly, the words flowing together into a barely understandable mesh of sound. As soon as it was out of her mouth, she bit her lip, her eyes were hesitant, her shoulders rounded in on themselves. The headmaster watched her for a heavy moment.

"There is a story you need to hear my dear, in order for you to understand what I will be telling you." The old man said in a slow cadence. Snape could see the small child's breathing halt as she stared at the older man. The nod of her head for him to continue was just barely noticeable.

"Your father was a brave man, however he had connections by proximity to wizards of dark tendencies. He married, and his wife fell pregnant. To protect his young family, he did what he had to do…"

"He was a death eater? Like those men?" Emily gasped. The panic in the child's eyes was almost too much for Severus, but he bit his tongue watching the two, knowing it was much too early for him to make is presence known.

"Yes, he was a death eater in title. But not in his heart." The headmaster said sternly, his gaze directly on the girl. "He was the connection to the dark that the light needed. It was a sacrifice he made to save the ones he loved." Emily was silent, and sat with a pensive face.

"He did it to protect us… our…family?" She asked, her voice catching on the last word.

"Yes. The dark lord fell to Harry Potter, which plunged us out of those dark times, however, there were many out there who were trying to plot ways in which to restore the dark lord, for many do not believe that he is truly gone." He said, his voice slowing down considerably. "In your father's family, there are certain…traits that make you desirable to those people." He said to her.

"The strings…" She said in a small voice.

"Yes. Your ability to see those and to do what was done at Hogsmead this year is the very reason your family was attacked.

"Attacked?" She gasped. Emily's mind was swirling with so many different things.

"Yes. You were an infant at the time, your brother just four. In the attack, it was believed that yourself, your brother and your mother all perished.

"But I'm alive." She said. Confusion lined the child's face and she watched the headmaster.

"Quite, thank Merlin, my dear. However that was a fact unknown to us. Your father publicly held services for the three of you, however unknown to the public, your brother survived."

"So my father and brother thought me dead?" She asked.

"Yes, we all did. Your mother was cremated, and your father buried two coffins, an empty one for your brother, and as it seems unbeknownst to him, an empty one for you. The true mystery is how are you here? And how did it come to pass that your father buried an empty coffin." The old man said.

Her eyes were wide. Emily sat staring at her hands, the idea that she had been buried, albeit metaphorically was something difficult to process.

"Alex…Alex Prince can see strings too!" She gasped. The little girl's nails had dug into the wood on the chair and she looked up at the headmaster sharoping.

"Yes, yes he can." He said. The girl went to open her mouth, but he held his hand up to stop her. "But if I may continue. The dark wished to restore the dark lord, and yours and your brother's abilities were of particular interest to them. Enough for them to attack your family when you were just an infant." The headmaster said quietly. The girl's eyes were wide, staring at him.

"As the public knows it, you, your mother and your brother died that day. However as a select few knew, only the brother and father survived."

"And now me?" The girl asked. The headmaster nodded.

"Is there any chance that my Mother…?" She asked.

"None, my dear." He said.

"Sir…" The girl spoke, she was very quiet, her head bowed in her lap. The room was quiet with anticipation for her question. "Where are my Father and Brother?" She asked, her voice was very soft and Emily had found something particularly interesting to look at on her shoe. The headmaster waited until he made eye contact with the girl then his eyes looked up and behind her and fell on Severus. Snape had calmed down considerably from the hour previous. At the conclusion of their test it was like a brick had slammed his chest and he could barely breath. They performed the test two more times, both with matching results, confirming the girl was his blood daughter. Severus had managed to hold back the rising waters of tears, but now as the girl turned to follow the headmaster's gaze, he suddenly felt himself wracked with emotion he was trembling to hold in.

"Professor Snape?" The girl asked in a surprised voice.

"Your father and brother are right here at Hogwarts, Emily." The headmaster said softly. The girl looked between the headmaster and back to the potions master a few times before the lines on her face changed.

"P-professor Snape?" She asked again, this time her voice was small and it cracked with emotion. She stared stricken at the dark man in the corner, the swirling emotions evident on her face.

"Ye-es." His voice was nearly hoarse. Staring at the little girl before him, his little girl, his Hazel.

"You're my father?" She whispered.

"Yes." He said, staring at his daughter.

A/N

Hey Guys, I want to THANK YOU for the wonderful reviews you've been leaving! It really makes me feel good that you've taken the time to leave a comment and I really appreciate those of you who seem to have taken the characters to heart. XXXX 3

Yay! Sorry I keep hanging you out to dry with the fill reunion. It makes it more interesting anyways :) Sorry it has taken me a few days to update - I'm back in London now, and Jet Lag from the US always throws me for a few days. Please Review! xxxx