Chapter 4
"I see you've taken to truancy." Peeves said, sneering. He had found Siniva in the hallway while she should have been in History of Magic. "What do you think your father will say when I tell him about this?" Peeves looked down at Siniva, watching the terror in her eyes. "It's not what it looks like. I was just-" Siniva started. "Just what, Miss Snape?" a familiar voice questioned. Professor McGonagall had come upon the hallway in search of Professor Dumbledore, as he had been partaking in his morning rounds about the castle. "You're in for it now, lemon drop." Peeves sniggered, vanishing. "Professor McGonagall, please, let me explain-" Siniva started, turning to face the tall woman. "Miss Snape, it's alright. You are not in trouble. You've done nothing wrong, as far as I can see. Peeves just likes to prod in everyone else's personal lives." Professor McGonagall said gently. Sonia's face flushed with relief. "Thank you, Professor." she said. "Would you like to talk about something, dear? There must be a reason for your current absence from Professor Binns's class." Professor McGonagall said. "I guess I just needed some air..." Siniva said. "Is there something troubling you?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Well, Professor Binns was telling us about a woman who had fell into a river and drowned after she had seen her reflection. She was a witch and, had she known it, she wouldn't have suffered that death and might have lived. I guess it just unsettled me. That's all." Siniva explained, breathing shallowly. "It's perfectly understandable. Not all of us can be strong all of the time. We all have a weak spot." Professor McGonagall said. Siniva nodded slowly. "Shall I walk you back to class, dear?" Professor McGonagall asked. "No, that's fine...I should be fine. You don't have to..." Siniva replied. "I do hope you're alright. Please, talk to someone if something is bothering you." Professor McGonagall said, resting a gentle hand on Siniva's shoulder. Siniva nodded. Professor McGonagall walked away and Siniva turned to go back to class.
"Where did you go? I thought you'd gone missing." Draco said, concerned. "No, I just needed a minute. Professor Binns's lesson was making me a little uneasy." Siniva said. "I'm fine now, but-" Snape stood now at the Slytherin table behind Siniva. "A moment, Draco, I need to have a word with Siniva." he said. "Go ahead. I can wait." Draco said. Snape turned away and led Siniva out of the Great Hall. "Dad, what-" Siniva started. Snape put his hand on her back and looked into her eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked. "What?" Siniva wondered. "Are you feeling well? Did somebody say something to you? Are you hurt?" Snape asked. "No, dad, I'm fine-" Siniva tried to explain. "Then why did I hear that you had disappeared?" Snape questioned. "Who told you that?" Siniva wondered with her eyebrows raised. "That seems to be what everyone thinks is the truth." Snape stated. "No. I'm okay, honestly I am." Siniva said. Snape looked down at her. "Then what happened to you?" Siniva sighed. "Professor Binns just got to me a little, I guess." she admitted. "Just tell me what is going on with you." Snape pleaded, voice quivering. Siniva had one thing on her mind. The same question she had always had and wanted an answer for more than anything. "Who is my mother?" she blurted out. "I-" Snape started. "Who is she? Where is she? Why don't I ever see her? Why doesn't she want me?" Siniva asked, tears starting to run from her eyes. "Siniva, your mother is gone. I haven't seen her or heard anything of her since you were born. She left you with me and she's been untraceable ever since." Snape explained, holding Siniva's arms gently. "For all I know, she's dead. I wish I could tell you all about her, but I can't. I can't because I chose not to remember her. It would have been too painful." Snape said. "She didn't want me." Siniva said weakly. "That's not true. She didn't want me." Snape told her. "Then why didn't she take me with her?" Siniva asked. "I would tell you if I knew." Snape replied truthfully. He reached into his pocket. A small vial rested in his palm. "This should tell you what you want to know. I'd rather not see it again. I haven't looked back on that for eleven years now. But if you want to know-" Snape said. "I need the pensieve." Siniva said. "My office." Snape said. "Will you show me?"
"Venia. What are you doing here?" A woman, covered in rain, stood on Snape's doorstep. "I'm leaving. But I'm leaving her with you." she answered. "Who do you mean?" Snape wondered. "Your daughter." Snape looked at the infant in his arms now. "What do you expect me to-" Snape began, as the sleeping baby turned in his arms, her back to her mother. But with no other word of reply and a flick of her cloak, the woman who had just stood before Snape was gone.
"So she just left me without saying goodbye." Siniva said. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. But she just wasn't ready to raise a baby." Snape told her. "Well, it's not all bad. I still have you." Siniva said, hugging Snape around the waist. He put her hand on the back of her head and she smiled. "Any time you need me, don't hesitate to come talk to me. I'm here to guide you, okay?" Snape said. Siniva nodded. Almost uninterrupted, having gotten through a difficult topic of discussion with Siniva, Snape was not exactly pleased when a knocking fell upon his office door. "Professor-" Draco started. Snape motioned for him to step into the room, a gesture to which he complied. "There's someone here to see you." Draco said. Snape raised an eyebrow in question. Before he even had to ask, Draco answered. "She says it's very important." She. She. She who? Professor McGonagall, perhaps? No, Draco would have said so. His lack of specifying who "she" was communicated to Snape that Draco did not know the woman. So far, it wasn't looking like this would be an easy encounter. "Draco, please escort Siniva back to the common room. I'm sure she need not see this." Snape instructed. Draco nodded and led Siniva out of the office, setting off towards the dungeons to Slytherin's common room. Snape sighed and opened the door. Just now, a familiar woman had stepped forward. Snape could never forget that face, no matter how long ago his last encounter with her had been. "Venia, what are you doing here?" he asked, calmness suddenly vacating his voice. "I decided that I might as well pay you a visit." Venia replied, sauntering into the room. "It's been far too long." Snape shut the door. There would be yelling, he already knew that, yelling that nobody needed to hear. "Why do you think that after avoiding me for eleven years, you can just show up again in my life?" Snape demanded, wasting no time in getting to the point. "It just felt like I should see my little girl, that's all." Venia said smoothly, settling herself on the edge of Snape's desk. "And why would you feel like that?" Snape hissed. "You didn't want her." Venia laughed a small, sultry laugh, one that Snape had hoped to never hear again. "As her mother, I just thought that she should be raised by someone who understands her. You know, woman to woman connection. Female intuition." she answered. "You don't have the slightest clue about Siniva, don't you dare say that you understand her." Snape said. "That's what I named her? I had been thinking, for all these years, that it was Scarlet or Sapphire." Venia said, sounding disgusted. "If you can't remember your child's name, what makes you think that you could do well to raise her?" Snape asked venomously. Venia scoffed. "Names mean nothing. Do you think I agreed to spending the night with you because of your name? No, I spent that night with you because we were drunk." Snape was burning with fury. "And then having to drag myself through life for nine months with a human growing inside of me. Do you know how hard it is to maintain your looks while incubating another human inside your body?" Venia continued. "Don't you dare speak that way about Siniva. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was the one who held her when she was upset, I was there for her when she was growing up, I devoted every second I could to her, but you abandoned her when she was most vulnerable, not able to care for herself. You care about nobody but yourself and I have thus far been able to spend eleven years with the most caring person I have ever met." Snape said, holding back as much anger as possible. Even still, he was furious. "If you wish to go about your life, stringing along men, dropping more helpless children off so that you don't have to live with that sort of commitment, be my guest. But one thing is certain, and that is the fact that I never want to see you again. Leave my office, leave this school and leave Siniva and I out of this." Snape said, his voice low. Without a word of reply and a swish of her cloak, Venia was gone.