July 2nd, 1985

Evangeline's palms pressed against the window, her dark eyes glittering with delight at the cloudless sky and midday sun, her little body thrumming with excitement.

She looked up at her mother, who had her brown hair tied back in a simple bun, humming a joyful tune as she gently brushed Theodore's hair and trimmed it. Her little brother's hands moved with swift precision across a piece of paper, his eyes never deviating as he reached out to grab another color. Every couple of minutes, Theodore's indifferent expression gave way to a flicker of curiosity in his otherwise distant eyes when he colored his grass blue, his sky pink, his tree yellow and leaves red, and his sun black. He stared at his colors, glancing at his ninety-six pack of crayons he had gotten for his birthday, and started looking for similar hues to the ones on his paper.

Evangeline turned her gaze back to the ocean, admiring the way it shimmered like hundreds of stars bunched together and the way the white foam separated the ocean from the land. She could almost taste its salty smell and hear the seagulls squawking, despite her house being one of many that sat atop a hill, miles and miles away from the ocean.

Snape entered the room, appearing more at ease now that he was home. He had changed into a white t-shirt and jeans, his normally stern expression that he donned at Hogwarts having softened into an affectionate one that he reserved for his family. Snape's dark eyes landed on his beloved wife, who was giving their son a monthly trim. They could afford to go to the salon, but it sounded idiotic to go there for a simple trim.

His smile faltered slightly as he looked at his son.

Because of Snape rarely being home, his wife would send him updates on the children's lives. Evangeline had taken it upon herself to send him scribbled messages of everything that had happened, which was quickly corrected by Allison, and he had become incredibly concerned with his son. Theodore wasn't developing as he should. He's abnormally quiet, never makes eye contact, starts screaming in pain at anything as or louder than the vacuum being turned on, and still hasn't said his first word yet. These are just a few of many. Hearing how stressed and distraught his wife would get dealing with Theodore left Snape feeling guilty that he wasn't there to help her. He felt like a terrible husband.

Looking up from Theodore's drawing and through his eyelashes towards Evangeline, Snape noticed she was wearing a bathing suit.

He looked up fully now, assuming that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but no. Evangeline was truly wearing a bathing suit with mermaid scales printed on it. His brows furrowed in confusion and irritation, wondering if she had gotten her way with what she wanted to wear that day by weaponizing her puppy dog eyes; his daughter used it so much on him when she was a toddler, it was ridiculous.

Looking over at his wife, Snape asked, "Why is Evangeline wearing a bathing suit?"

"You promised to take her to the beach today, remember?" Allison simply replied, making sure the comb didn't brush against Theodore's scalp.

"Ah." Snape had forgotten that he promised that. He had been grading tests and dealing with students who were becoming lazier when he made it, so it was no wonder that he forgot it.

"I told her you'd take her after she got her hair trimmed," she starts, using the comb to point at Evangeline. "The ends are looking a bit dead."

Snape approached his daughter, reaching out to feel the tips of her hair. Evangeline glanced at him before going back to looking at the ocean, thinking of all the fun things she'll do once she gets to the beach. He felt her hair between two fingers, sensing the roughness and seeing the split ends; it looks less bouncy than usual as well. Snape picks his daughter up, cradling her against his chest, and placing her beside Theodore. Allison handed him the scissors, and he began cutting.

Evangeline's eyes stay glued to the window, doing her best to stay still as her hands fidgeted and her legs kicked with barely controlled excitement. A part of her wanted to drag her father out of the house to get to the beach quicker, but knew he'll just take back his promise as punishment.

Snape snipped at her hair as meticulously as he could while being as swift as possible. He could see his daughter was on the verge of exploding. He smiled.

Evangeline loved the beach, and she'd always be the first one out the door wearing her bathing suit and carrying a bag filled with toys. There was something adorable about the way her eyes would light up and she'd hurry to get ready, albeit rushing the rest of them as well. Snape isn't sure why she loves the beach so much, as sometimes she'd just sit in the water and stare off into the distance. Other times, he could swear they were being watched when there wasn't anyone around.

"Did you win the House Cup again this year?" Allison asked, sweeping up the small strands of hair off of the floor.

"Yes," Snape replied, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. "It was quite easy, considering how troublesome the Gryffindors were. I swear they get more annoying each year."

"Which House came in second?"

"Hufflepuff. They would've won if a group of them hadn't drunk Fire Whiskey on school grounds."

"Over or under?"

"Under." If a student was seventeen or over when they drank on school grounds, they lost twenty House points. However, they'd lose thirty-five if they were under the age of seventeen.

While Evangeline didn't mean to, her ears perked up as her father spoke about his year at Hogwarts. He spoke about how ambitious his House - Slytherin - was, and about one particular Slytherin who had put their all in passing their classes; Snape sounded incredibly proud of that one. There were comments about Ravenclaw's intelligence and exceptional way of thinking, and Hufflepuff's unwavering loyalty and dedication. But most importantly, he spoke about how awful Gryffindor was.

This wasn't the first time Evangeline had heard about the Gryffindor's. She would often overhear her father talking about them, saying how arrogant they were, how everything they did was for attention, and that dealing with them gave him a headache. She knew from his tone that he utterly despised them.

"Every single one of them are dunderheads, I swear," Snape grumbles under his breath, leaning close to inspect the ends of his daughter's hair. "Can't even comprehend the simplest of things."

Soon after he was done, he and Evangeline went to the beach and had a splendid time. Laughter echoed through the air, waves splashing around them as they played before relaxing and returning home in time for dinner.

Present Day

Evangeline may be obtuse, but even she noticed how differently people were treating her after finding out her father is Snape. They didn't even try to hide it.

Every morning started off with an air of disdain.

When she got up to head to the bathroom, one girl would push her aside to head in first. Not only was it rude, but the bathroom was big enough to accommodate all of them, so there really was no reason to be the first one in. Whenever she looked at her roommates, whether it was at them or in their direction, they would get aggressive. "What are you looking at, Snape?" they'd ask, their lips curled into resentful sneers as they stared daggers at her. Evangeline would always mutter "Nothing" and look away, remembering how she had promised her father to not get into any more trouble.

Every mealtime, her House chose not to make room for her at the table, and would inch away from her once she sat down. Evangeline learned to sit at the end of the table, just so she wouldn't get frustrated and speak impulsively like she always did. As much as she wanted to tell her House what she thought of them, the professors would most definitely overhear and she'd get in trouble, which was enough to make her act out the scenario in her head. The other thing she had to get used to was what she felt was a tasteless breakfast. Evangeline grew up on her mother's traditional cooking, and Scottish breakfasts don't look like your typical breakfasts. There's bacon, sausages, fried eggs, toast, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, tattie scones; and a few others, but Evangeline's mother left the haggis and pudding for dinner and dessert. It was never a problem before, yet now, she can't stop thinking about her mother's cooking and how much she wants to smell and see it again.

Evangeline picked at her oatmeal, doing her best to not react to the rumors that spread around the table. Everyone had different theories on how she grew up. However, one element remained: abuse. The accusations against her parents were getting on her nerves, especially considering her father's abusive upbringing and her mother's history of being sexually abused by multiple men before she became an adult. While abusees can turn into abusers, her parents did not fit in that category; her mother would glare at anyone who stared at her and her brother for too long, and her father never raised his voice.

The way they were treating her in the halls was despicable. She lost count of how many times the students "accidentally" bumped into her, knocking into her hard enough that she fell to the floor and scraped her hands and knees. The offending students would apologize . . . with a condescending laugh. Strangely, though, her injuries would always disappear after coming into contact with water. Evangeline would even see it happen with her own eyes, and even then, she couldn't believe it was happening. She sought her father for advice, and he believed that her medication caused it, as it's possible for medication to negatively impact someone unexpectedly; so she stopped taking them.

Somehow, in some way, someone found that Evangeline was a daddy's girl, and boy, did that fact spread like wildfire.

It was most likely someone noticed her entering her father's office every afternoon. Evangeline had become easily distracted in her classes, leading to her daydreaming more often and not listening to whatever the professor was saying. Snape didn't want her grades to drop, so he'd help her with her homework. Evangeline wasn't ashamed of being a daddy's girl, but that didn't make the comments any less worse.

"Aw, can't go a day without daddy's help with homework, Prince?" They'd mock, their tones taking on that fake or sickly sweetness that Evangeline loathed with all of her being. "Don't worry, I'm sure someday you'll be able to do it on your own."

"What? Still need to be coddled at your age?"

Even the Slytherins got in on the action!

"You know, I heard your dad knew more curses than the seventh years when he was a first-year. Do you even know one?"

"Don't worry, Evangeline, someday you'll live up to your father's expectations. Today just isn't that day."

To be honest, the Slytherins were worse, especially since they knew her father more than the other Houses. They thought something was wrong with Evangeline just because she wasn't a Slytherin. Nor considered for it. Snape's disdain for Gryffindor wasn't a secret, and they threw that in her face every chance they got, including the times he berated her. Evangeline knew those times didn't count. That was when they had to meet up secretly and he needed a reason to give her detention, and he always profusely apologized afterwards and gave her small treats; but what if she messed up by accident? What if he didn't ask her to mess up a potion, and she still did? How would he react then? Her father could be pretty strict and had high standards, combine that with his harsh authoritarian attitude and he can be terrifying. At times, it felt like he expected perfection.

Then, there were the professors themselves.

They weren't treating her as badly as the students, but the way they treated her was . . . strange, to say the least.

Evangeline couldn't shake the feeling that they were afraid of her. She could see it in their eyes. They were respectful, but it was a weird kind of respect. Not the kind between a professor and a student.

For example, Quirrell had once stammered out "your highness", which took her and everyone in the room by surprise. Evangeline knew her father saw her as his little princess, just as he saw Theodore as his prince, but to hear the DADA professor call her by that nickname was way out of line. She couldn't fathom why he'd call her that. She asked her father and he told her to not worry about it, and prodding led to him firmly shutting her down.

Snape's hand slammed down on the table with a thud. "I said to not worry about it, Evangeline. It is just Quirrell being Quirrell, forget about it and move on. Now, I don't want to hear another word about this, is that clear?"

She obediently nods. "Yes, father."

That night

Evangeline tossed and turned in her bed, her hands gripping the sheets. She was having a nightmare, and it was a terrible one by the looks of it.

She sat alone in the middle of a large room, a single light hanging from above and enveloping her in a blue glow. A vast darkness stalked around the circular rim, leaving the eleven-year-old feeling overwhelmed and breathing heavily, her hands clenched into fists in her lap as tears welled up in her eyes.

A small gasp escaped her lips, startled by a large stack of papers being slammed onto her desk. Evangeline looks up and sees her father, glaring down at her with cold eyes. She shrunk under his gaze, her eyes looking at anything but him. He didn't say a word. Snape continued to glare at her, his dark eyes scrutinizing her as though she was another one of his moronic students. The light flickered, allowing the darkness to slowly creep its way in like a predator nearing its prey.

After a few minutes, he turned on his heels and disappeared into the darkness, leaving her alone.

Evangeline looked at the stack of papers he left, turning the pages to see it was a test on every subject that could be learned on wizardry. She took a deep breath, picked up her quill, and began to answer the questions.

With each question, hushed whispers emerging from the darkness grew in size, taunting and laughing at her. They called her names. Told her all she'll ever do is bring trouble, and all she'll ever be is the girl who could never comprehend the simplest of things. A girl who belonged nowhere.

The constant flickering of the blue light above her gave the darkness an opening, and within the blink of an eye, it pounced.

Metal chains sprung out, grabbing hold of her arms and legs, wrists and ankles, and began coiling around her limbs in an uncomfortably tight embrace. A rattling sound echoed out, filling Evangeline's ears along with disparaging remarks as a terrible sense of dread gripped her heart. Her chest heaved, air coming in and out faster than her blood can grab it and carry it to her brain, making her feel lightheaded. Evangeline couldn't think. Every possible way of getting free was shot down, believed to be too foolish.

Evangeline looked up, her eyes meeting her fathers, who stood a few feet away in his imposing, black robes, blankly staring at her. She opened her mouth to cry out for help; no words came out, not even a squeak. Despite the obvious expression of terror and tears running down her cheeks, Snape didn't move to help her. He stood and watched, an irritated sneer tugging at the corner of his lip as the chains continued to wrap around Evangeline, sucking the life out of her.