Explanations:

Severus waited until Lucy was done in the shower before he approached her about her drawings. Lucy came out of the lavatory with her towels and dirty clothes in her hands.

"Where do these go?" She was finally getting the hang of showering and laundry.

"Leave them in there, the house elves will wash them and return them to your room." As she did as she was told, he gulped the last of his whiskey and took a deep breath. When she reemerged, he gestured to the couch.

Lucy sat and waited for him to turn his chair around and settle in. Once he was seated, she crossed her arms, bracing for an interrogation.

"Nymphadora came to me today and expressed some . . . worry about your drawings." Lucy uncrossed her arms and started to protest, but he held up his hand. "You're not in trouble and she . . . cares about you." Though he wished Lucy had made a different friend, Nymphadora was proving to care for her.

Lucy wasn't sure how telling Severus about her drawings was caring for her, especially since it seemed to have upset him.

"Do you know what a thestral is?" Lucy shook her head and he took a deep breath. He thought that might be the case. "A thestral is a creature that is invisible to most. Those who can see it have witnessed and understood death. You drew one today."

He watched her process the information. Lucy leaned back on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Can you see them?" Severus nodded. "That's good." He understood that she meant she felt less alone.

"Do you remember why you can see them?"

"You said it's because I saw death." Lucy watched him tense his jaw and realized what he really asked. "Oh. My mother."

Severus closed his eyes. He knew Daisy must be gone for Tenebris to abuse their daughter, but it was another thing for it to be confirmed.

They sat in silence for a while before Severus noticed she was silently crying. It was a mistake to ask her about her trauma without a plan to comfort her. He grabbed a blanket to cover her with and sat back in the chair.

xXx

The next morning, Lucy woke up sore and unrested. Her sleep was plagued with flashes of her father's hands around her mother's neck and her mother's body laying on the couch, unmoving. There was no funeral. Her father got rid of her like trash. Lucy only had one picture of her mom - the one in her locket - to keep her memories from fading enough to forget what her mother looked like. She held it in her hand until she heard Severus start to stir in his chair.

Lucy watched him rub his neck and roll his shoulders. He rubbed his face and huffed before starting to get up, only pausing when he noticed her watching him.

"Sorry," Lucy looked at the fire instead.

"No need. I thought you would have gone to bed."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. Like you did?

He sighed and relaxed back into the chair. "You need to be able to read and write if you're going to study here." Lucy was surprised he wasn't making her talk about last night's conversation. "And there's the matter of when you'll start school."

"When?" Lucy didn't understand how that would be a question. Was enrollment not based on age?

"Technically, students are to be 11 by their first day," Snape watched her think about this. "School begins September 1st, and your birthday is October 31st. There are no exceptions."

"Two years."

"Yes, you would technically start in two school years." Lucy waited for him to continue. "However, it is also not typical for students to live here early." Professors had on occasion had their families in the castle, but more often than not they chose to commute with the floo network.

Lucy wasn't sure where he was going with this. Was he trying to kick her out or start her at school early?

"I will make it a priority to discuss the matter with the Headmaster. Would you care to be there?" Lucy shook her head a little too fast, but Severus didn't comment on it. "I'll return with an update when I can. I also wanted to give you something." He got up and retrieved a parcel from his room.

He handed it to her and sat back in the chair. Lucy removed the wrapping and saw her gift. She opened the book, finding blank pages. She looked at him, questioning.

"It's a journal. Usually people write their thoughts down in them. You can use it however you want. Drawing, writing, whatever you can think of." Severus took the parcel and removed something else she didn't notice. "This is a small quill and ink set. Let me know if you need more paper or ink."

Lucy smiled and hugged the journal to her, inhaling the scent of the pages. "Thank you."

Severus nodded awkwardly. "Next year, your gift will be on time." He promised.

xXx

Severus sat on the other side of the headmaster's desk, stretching his neck and rubbing his shoulders in attempts to remove the evidence of his poor choice of sleep place the previous night.

"She should start in September 1993 according to the bylaws." Albus could talk about bylaws more than one would think. The only one who could beat his knowledge of them was Minerva. Not that he'd admit it.

Severus hesitated. "Yes. According to the bylaws."

"You disagree." Snape met his eyes but didn't say anything. "How would I explain to the parents of children who were born in the fall months and were not invited until the appropriate time?"

"Why would you need to explain? Are the personal details of our students on public display?" Severus didn't have the energy to keep the snide comments from slipping out.

Lucky for him, Albus was feeling patient. "You know the contrary is true." Albus unwrapped a lemon drop and popped it in his mouth before he continued. "There could be consequences to admitting Lucille early - accusations of favoritism."

Severus scoffed. "As opposed to letting her run wild in the castle?"

"I haven't heard any complaints about her being in the way."

Severus eyed his superior, assessing how much he could push him. "If she were to start in 1992, she might have a closer bond to her cousin."

"Would that be favorable?" Albus wondered aloud. After a moment, he shook his head in disappointment. "You are still too attached to them."

"To the Evans sisters?" Albus nodded. "It has nothing to do with my attachments, Albus."

Albus sucked on the lemon drop before placing his hands over each other on top of his desk. "I hope so. You cannot afford attachments to affect your decision making."

Severus knew that all too well.

"I hope I don't regret this." Severus nodded, getting up before Albus could change his mind. "I hope you don't regret this either." But the younger man was already gone.