Chapter 5
"Dad? What happened?" Siniva asked as Snape entered the Slytherin Common Room.
"Nothing- It's not important." he told her.
"Dad, I don't believe that. I know that something happened. Otherwise, you wouldn't try to avoid the question." Siniva said.
Snape sighed. He couldn't hide anything from Siniva. She was too smart and she could always tell when something was bothering him.
"Come on, then." Snape said.
Siniva followed him to his office, where they could have complete privacy. Snape sat at his desk, Siniva across from him.
"Clearly, I can't hide anything from you. Are you sure that you want to know what happened in here?" Snape asked.
"I need to know." Siniva told him.
"Well, I hope you're ready to hear the truth." Snape said, pausing before he spoke again. "Your mother was here and she wanted to-"
"Take me away from you, because she said she felt guilty, but she really didn't." Siniva interjected.
It was easy to forget that she was a Legilimens.
"That's exactly it." Snape said.
"I know." Siniva replied casually. "You want her to stay away from us because she's trying to con you again. She took advantage of your vulnerability one night and then-"
Siniva couldn't read into anything else. Snape had blocked her out of his thoughts.
"It's easy to forget you're an Occlumens." Siniva said quietly.
"You wanted to know, Siniva. I will tell you. When you're older." Snape said.
"But dad-" Siniva started.
"I can't bring myself to tell you yet, okay? It's something you can live without knowing. I haven't told you anything of it for eleven years and I think that you can wait a few more." Snape said. "That's final."
"Okay." Siniva replied.
"I just don't want to see you hurt. You've gone through enough already and I want you to be happy." Snape said, hugging Siniva.
"I want you to be happy, too. I love you, dad." Siniva told him.
"Let's just leave this between us. You have a class to get to." Snape said.
"So do you." Siniva responded.
Siniva and Snape left the office, walking out of the common room and down separate corridors.
As Siniva sat in History of Magic, listening to the drone of Professor Binns's voice as he gave another boring lecture, something didn't feel right. She could sense that another presence had come into the castle, but it hadn't quite left.
"Professor," Siniva chimed in, hand raised. "May I run to the lou?"
"You may not. You may walk there." Professor Binns replied, chortling at his little joke. Somebody had to, after all.
"Thank you." Siniva said, standing hastily. She walked out of the room, taking off into a run once she reached the corridor.
Siniva was going to find out where this presence was, what it was and how she could get it to move along.
"Professor-" Hermione started, hand raised above her head. "How many-"
"Miss Granger, if you haven't looked closer to the instructions in your book, that is not my concern." Snape said, cutting Hermione off mid-sentence.
"It doesn't even say in the book." Harry mumbled.
"Greasy git." Ron muttered.
Potions was about to end. It couldn't be any sooner. Snape was still on edge from that morning. Siniva had had so many questions, and she seemed rather upset when she hadn't received any answers.
The sooner this class ended, the sooner he could make sure that Siniva was still okay.
Siniva looked up in confusion at the red-headed woman standing before her. Why she would be on the school grounds, she didn't know.
Siniva knew that this was not a professor and she certainly was not a student. But who was she?
"Hello." the woman said. "I'm looking for my daughter-"
"Oh god, no." Siniva muttered.
This couldn't really be her, could it? This couldn't be her mother. But Siniva knew it was, reading her very thoughts.
"He told you to go away. Why are you still here?" Siniva simmered, taking a step back.
"I've come for you." Venia said.
"No, you didn't. You're a liar. You didn't want me when I was a baby, so why would you want me now? What are you plotting?!" Siniva shot back.
"Can't a mother just want her child?" Venia said.
"Of course she can. But you're not my mother, you've never cared for me." Siniva said.
"Who says I didn't?" Venia asked, smirking.
"You! A caring mother would have been a part of her child's life. You want nothing to do with me, you just want to hurt my father!" Siniva yelled.
"And why would I want to do that?" Venia wondered.
"Because you deceived him, took advantage of him in order to have me. If you really loved him, you would have let him be and not try to change his life!" Siniva snapped.
"Alright, you've caught on. You're a smart girl, aren't you?" Venia said condescendingly.
"Don't treat me like a child. You are a selfish woman. Get off of these grounds and don't come back." Siniva said, grimacing.
"You're so much like him. You would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Venia continued.
"Get. Out." Siniva repeated.
"Suit yourself. But if I leave, who will torment him?" Venia said, cackling.
With that, Venia walked off the grounds and Siniva went back to class, stomach turning from the unpleasant encounter she had just faced.