Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Ellery frowned as his charcoal pencil scraped against the dry parchment.
His brow furrowed as he focused all his attention on getting the details exactly how he wanted them.
A bit of shading here.
A little emphasis there.
Once he finished, he dusted the parchemnt off and let the shavings blow into the wind as he gazed at his handiwork.
Content with what he had accomplished, a smile crossed his pale face before he gently folded the portrait he had drawn of Gabriela, placed it in the envelope with his latest letter, and promptly mailed the parcel from the Owlery.
He shivered against the chill of an early winter morning as he clutched his robe and scarf more tightly around himself while he hurried across the castle's grounds.
At first, he thought he imagined an ominous figure standing nearby, but as he blinked and realized his father frowned down at him, Ellery mirrored his melancholy expression.
"...Hello, Dad." He sighed.
Silently, he braced himself in preparation of the harsh words he knew he would likely receive.
"Another letter to the Delacour girl?" Severus shrewdly questioned.
Ellery glanced down at the snowy ground while he reluctantly nodded.
"Why have you turned away from me?" Severus asked.
Ellery frowned as he lifted his face and boldly met his father's dark gaze, "Because you're angry with me, aren't you?"
"I could never be angry with you for taking a sweetheart." Severus frowned, "However…..I do beg you to keep your expectations realistic, son. You are wise enough to understand the obstacles that lie between you both."
"I don't care." Ellery replied with a defiant scowl, "We'll be adults in a few years and we can both live our lives how we please."
"Be that as it may," Severus quipped, "I beseech you to bear in mind the dangers that you will both face if you choose to pursue your mutual affection."
Ellery frowned.
"I doubt everyone will accept such a pairing." Severus frowned before he turned and walked through the castle's massive doorway, "...Especially the Dark Lord."
Ellery grimaced as his shoulders shook with an uncomfortable chill.
For some reason that year, the winter had seemed colder than ever before.
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Severus and Lily were another pairing that the Dark Lord would not approve of and yet, for over a decade they had managed to let the reality of Lily's heritage escape his notice.
Severus contemplated that very notion as he made his rounds to observe his students later that afternoon.
He quipped here and critiqued there, but Lily stole his attention.
She had a natural ability to connect with people, which Severus had envied since their childhood.
The Potions students loved Lily, though their opinions towards Severus remained largely negative.
Lily could correct a brew without losing her patience, explain a lesson for the tenth time without sighing, and walk with a pleasant smile on her face.
As she finished helping the Ravenclaw girl who had asked a question about the day's assignment, she glanced up and found Severus gazing at her.
His mouth fell open as she flashed him a brilliant smile before she moved on once someone else called her name and raised their hand.
Severus breathed a sigh of relief as he turned back to finish his rounds.
Regardless of whatever came next, he harbored gratitude towards Dumbledore for helping him make living a life with Lily possible, for however long it lasted.
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While the rest of the castle's inhabitants dreamed the night away, Harriet found herself unable to sleep.
Tormented by senseless nightmares each time she closed her eyes, she had begun to despise the mere act of lying in bed.
With a sigh, she rose from the covers and walked over to the window.
The moon cast an eerie glow over the castle and its grounds.
Harriet faced the night with a frown, uncertain of what to think or how to feel.
She closed her eyes as she thought back through her memories of Severus.
The truth did not matter.
She could very well have come from anywhere, what difference did it make?
Harriet frowned as her heart pounded in her chest.
She had never known James Potter and she never would.
A resolute scowl manifested on her features as she turned her face to the moon.
Severus Snape had been the man to care for and raise her.
Severus Snape had healed her when she had been ill and held her when she had cried.
The truth was an ugly fact and nothing more.
Whether or not they carried the same bloodline, Severus Snape had become her father.
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Ellery had not been made privy to all the shocking details that had emerged over the last few weeks.
Whenever he passed to or from classes, sat during his meals, or otherwise happened to be near Harriet, he attributed his sister's constant frown to her lingering depression, whatever had caused it.
He had never stopped missing her smile.
Late one afternoon, as he passed through the courtyard, he heard a familiar voice call out, "...Ellery!"
Ellery turned around and looked.
A small smile crossed his face as he waved, "Oh……Hello, Harriet."
"Come and sit with me?" She asked from her seat under a large tree.
Ellery obliged his sister as he walked over and sat down beside her.
He didn't notice the way she studied him as her eyes moved over every detail of his face and every inch of his hair.
From Ellery's black tresses to his blacker eyes, hooked nose, and pale skin, it was impossible for Harriet to miss the physical influence of Severus's genes in her brother.
Her half-brother.
She swallowed thickly as she realized she had……..none of her father's features.
"Been having a good week?" She asked.
"No worse or better than any other, I suppose." Ellery shrugged.
"...They said there'll be another meeting soon." He added.
"Have they?" Harriet scowled.
"Yeah." Ellery nodded, "Will you come to this one? I think he may be angry if you don't. He keeps talking about missing you, but Dad's been making excuses."
"Malfoy?" Harriet snapped.
"No, him." Ellery whispered as if he told her a great secret.
In return, Harriet flashed him an unreadable expression, irritated that she felt profoundly offended it had not been Draco who had expressed his dismay at her absence.
"What's that look for?" Ellery asked, "You and Dad have the same scowl, that's certain."
His words unintentionally wounded Harriet, which prompted her to ask, "Supoose you found out something awful……"
"Something awful like what?" Ellery frowned.
"I dunno……." Harriet shrugged, "Something awful. What would you do?"
"That's not quite enough for me to go on." Ellery scowled, "I need a bit more context. What is it we're supposing I've found out?"
Harriet sighed as she tried to indirectly talk to her younger brother, "What if you found out your entire life had been nothing but a lie?"
Ellery blinked.
"...And you couldn't be certain of who your real friends were. What would you do?" She asked.
"I don't really have friends anyway." Ellery shrugged.
Harriet scoffed, "That's not true, I'm your friend, aren't I?"
"You are, but we don't spend much time together here." Ellery blinked, "It's alright, I understand. You have your own friends and your Quidditch team……You know, lots of things to keep you busy."
Suddenly, Harriet felt very small next to her younger brother.
"Well, you're always welcome to come sit with us, El. Or study with us, whenever you want some company." Harriet shrugged.
"I'm afraid I've lost your point." Ellery frowned, "What exactly are you trying to ask me?"
"What if you found out I wasn't really your sister? Not completely anyway?" Harriet bluntly pressed.
"That's a rather ridiculous question, isn't it?!" Ellery laughed, "Of course you're my sister. We share the same Mum and Dad."
"But what if you found out it wasn't true?!" Harriet hissed as she began to lose her patience.
What didn't Ellery understand?
"If I found out it wasn't true," He began with a scowl similar to Severus's, "Then I would think the person who told me had gone mad. I know for a fact that you and I were raised together. I know undoubtedly that Mum and Dad care about us very much and we care about them too."
"Is that really what you believe?" Harriet blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Of course it is." Ellery frowned.
Ellery didn't understand the reason for the question or why Harriet affectionately clapped an arm around his shoulders before she stood and walked away.
Left in the courtyard to resume his original path, he shrugged as he gathered his books, stood, and headed to his Slytherin dormitory.
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In the meantime, Harriet marched up the castle's steps to the girls' lavatory on the second floor.
A quick Parseltongue command parted the mirrors and sinks to allow her passage.
She grit her teeth as she hurriedly journeyed towards the Chamber of Secrets.
Sirius and Remus hadn't only told her about the Order, the Prophecy, and her heritage.
Taking the words from Dumbledore's mouth and bestowing them upon Harriet, she had learned of an entirely new magical concept.
As she made her way through the round, bronze door, and sprinted down the stone walkway to find Tom, she contemplated exactly how powerful someone would have had to have been to make seven different horcruxes.