Chapter Nine - Reminiscing

Snape warned everyone that if he heard another rumor, he'd send each of their parents a letter, informing them of the disgusting things they said and take away House points. He mentioned in passing that his wife was related to a powerful group of people, who had more power and money than every wealthy family combined. The rumors stopped.

His threat was nothing more than a bluff.

Snape has met ten of Allison's family members, but there are more. It was one of those "have many children" families. Unfortunately, it was also a dramatic family, watching them interact is like watching a soap opera. They were too much for Snape, making him dread family functions. The only person in Allison's family he got along with was Hades, who would hide with him in his potions room in the basement. It felt nice to connect with someone who also had an abusive father.

Rummaging through his bookshelf one afternoon, Snape found his photo album. Allison had gifted these to him so he could feel that he was present during the events. Two pages were of Theodore blowing out his candles on his birthdays; Snape always sent the best parchment, quills, and ink as a present. His heart would ache with guilt on March 21st, the thought of not being there for his son as he would for his daughter on her birthday weighing down on him. As close as he was with Evangeline, he didn't want Theodore to feel forgotten. He was his son.

His intelligent, artistic son, who he was so, so proud of. He'd tell him that in every letter he sent.

Turning the page, Snape found the photographs detailing Evangeline's gymnastic competitions. He never complained about how hard she trained for these compared to how hard she studied for her tests. A miscalculation on a test resulted in lost points, a miscalculation in a gymnastic competition resulted in a broken bone or a ruined career. If there was one thing he knew about his daughter, it was that her energy is as boundless and as deep as the ocean. Evangeline possessed strength as fierce as her temper, agility swifter than any Muggle or wizard, flexibility that allowed her to traverse most obstacles, and the durability of a rock.

All of that bundled up into one, little girl, who has no idea what her true parentage is.

Snape shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. He took a deep breath, firmly closing the book with a stern, "She is my daughter. A piece of paper doesn't change that."

A glance at the clock produced an irritated sigh from Snape.

He put down his quill, massaging his palm with his thumb. To his left was a small pile of graded work and to his right were two large piles of ungraded work. Snape rubs the bridge of his hooked nose, his tired eyes closing for a second.

He had been grading for hours, not that it had made much of a dent of the amount of paperwork he'd have to finish. His thoughts wandered to his daughter. It was midnight, so she was most likely asleep. However, knowing Konstantinos was still lurking around and that strangeness with the water, Snape worried whether he had approached her already. A night such as this would be a good opportunity.

Snape jumped out of his seat, racing out the door and out of the dungeons.

His black cloak billowed behind him as he hurried to Gryffindor Tower, determined to ensure his daughter would not come face-to-face with the courtier. She may not have come into contact with him yet, but knowing how persistent gods can be, she will soon. When that time comes, he'll be there to stop it.

A voice appeared behind him, stopping him in his tracks and to feel mind-numbing hatred.

"Going somewhere, Severus?" It was Konstantinos.

Snape didn't have to turn around to know it was him. He could tell by the hint of arrogance in the tone that it was him. His hands tightened into fists, the urge to punch him in his stupid, handsome face rising within him. If only there weren't any witnesses. Unfortunately, the people in the paintings counted.

"You know, I'm glad we have this time to talk because I've been meaning to have a few words with you. Or, shall I say, Poseidon has been meaning to have a few words with you."

"Again with your nonexistent deity," Snape sighs, rolling his eyes as he turns around. "If you keep going on about him as you do at mealtimes and with the students, I'm afraid I'll have to call for someone to help with this mental disorder of yours before its too late."

Konstantinos hums through a sarcastic smile. "You and your jokes. I've been watching her –"

Snape cocks a brow. "What? Like some pervert? You should be disgusted with yourself."

"No," Konstantinos shakes his head, chuckling incredulously. "No. Lord Poseidon ordered me to keep a close eye on his daughter, to make sure she was safe. And might I say, she is exactly like him." Snape's frown deepens as the Tritone saunters up to him, his charming smile infuriating him. "Strong. Fearless. Bold. If you hadn't used that Transfiguration spell on her all those years ago, Evangeline would be an exact copy of him, just more feminine."

A low growl echoes from Snape, gritting his teeth as his jaw tightens to keep from yelling at the Tritone. His daughter had enough problems from the students ostracizing her for being his daughter, he didn't want to know how they'd treat her once they discover who her real father is.

"She is nothing like him!" Snape hisses in a hushed voice. "Poseidon, if he does exist, is nothing but a brutal tyrant, who loses his temper at the drop of a hat. Evangeline is a sweet, kind little girl –"

"Who can barely control her tongue," Konstantinos counters calmly. "Even so, you have a point . . . if had you said that thousands of years ago."

Curiosity glitters in the Potion Master's dark eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Lord Poseidon has matured greatly," the Tritone explains, his hands clasped behind his back. "He is not the same bad-tempered god he was years ago. He's kind, humble, laidback, just like Evangeline."

Snape shakes his head in disbelief, not letting his fear show. "He is nothing like my daughter," he repeats, enunciating the words more to reassure himself than to brush off what the Tritone said. However, the faint, cocky smile on his face let him know that his words had no effect on him.

"Say what you like, you stubborn mortal, but mark my words," he takes a step closer, leaning in close as his voice drops to a menacing whisper, "your daughter will go to Camp Half-blood and train. Otherwise, you will never stop looking for her or never forget her corpse."

Snape's breath hitches, his body tensing as Konstantinos walks off, seemingly proud of the fear he plunged into his soul like a dagger to the heart. It was a threat and he knew it. It was an effective one as well. Images of Evangeline dying alone, forgotten, in some forest, having been killed by a beast and left to rot, swirled in Snape's mind, eating away at him.

What if Konstantinos was right? What if Snape is killing his daughter by not telling her the truth and sending her to that camp? Is he a bad father for not doing that? He would be once she ends up dead, not having received the training she should've gotten. She has a right to know what she is.

Still, he couldn't fathom the thought of her leaving him to be with her real family. Tears welled up in his eyes at the scenario of Evangeline choosing to never come back to Britain because she liked being with the paternal side of her family – liked being around Poseidon more than she liked being around him.

He shook his head, reminding himself that Evangeline wasn't the kind of girl to forget who cared and loved her all of these years. It was a silly idea. She would come back.

As Allison said, they were like peas in a pod. Albeit two different peas, but if she were to go away, she would come back. Evangeline would.