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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 16, 2011 1:20:58 GMT -5
Severus sat behind his desk with the door to the office shut and bolted. He had been that way for some time now. Ever since getting the letter in fact. He had read it so many times that the creases were worn. His dark hair was disheveled and there were tell tale tear stains on his pale face. His heart was breaking once more. How many times could this happen before he just ceased to exist? First Lily and now Mandy. Why could he just never be happy? Why did something always have to hurt him?
She had took a part of him when she had left. And now another now that she had left this world. And what of his child? He had Alexis of course. But even she did not know of his second daughter. Her sister. Where was the child now? Why had Mandy been so weak?? Severus closed fist came down on the desk top with a loud thud and Severus made a choked sound. The occupants of the frames on the walls watch this break down with sympathy but none tried to console him. It would do no good. Even Albus was silent.
She was dead. He would never love again...never... Severus would rather tear his own heart from his chest then love another woman. His mind kept moving between Mandy and the child. Severus did not even know her name. It was not his fault. He had tried to stay in the child's life. Letters and gifts but Mandy had sent everything back to him. She had finally ordered him to stay away had even threatened him with the Ministry. Severus had wanted the child to grow up happy, so he had agreed to not have any contact. No matter how much it had tormented him. It was part of what made him so bitter.
The letter had said that an investigation was being done and that Severus should meet the train coming into Hogsmeade this afternoon. There would be a delivery for him. The train would be coming soon. He had lost track of time. Severus stood now and taking up his wand, he hurried out of his office and then out of the school. He spoke to no one though he did pass others. Everyone knew something had happened but did not know what. He moved along the ground angry at the world.
He had just reached Hogsmeade as the train was pulling away. Severus cursed under his breath. He began to search out an employee. Severus did not even give the young girl standing on the platform a second glance as he passed her. When he found the man working on the platform and asked about a delivery, the wizard looked strangely at Severus and then at the child. "She is the only thing taken from the train Headmaster." The employee said softly. Very slowly and confused, Severus turned his head to look at the girl. It couldn't be. His eyes slowly looked over her. He began to see similarities to Mandy.
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Post by helen on Oct 17, 2011 15:13:21 GMT -5
The whole time she had been on the train, he had been trying to comfort her. There would be a well-placed comment, sometimes a subtle joke he knew for a fact she would pick up on - things that would sometimes elicit a smile, but far more often would just earn him a blank stare from large, solemn brown eyes; eyes that had seen too much and taken in too many things for a girl of her fourteen (or rather, thirteen - but her birthday was coming up soon) years. And it really was a sad thing: he could see where smiles had already creased her brow and the corners of her mouth, and now there was just emptiness; nothing that could indicate what the pale, porcelain-like girl was thinking.
From across the car, Alphonse Lisette sighed lightly, reaching up to adjust the hat he wore on his head before turning his attention back to the girl, who watched him with hurt eyes, like he was leaving her. It made something in his chest pang, but he plastered another smile across his face, reaching over to place a hand over hers, covering fingers that clutched too tightly and too fiercely. "You'll be fine, Helen. Hogwarts is a fine school - your mother's school, even. And your father's Headmaster, I hear. You'll be fine." The less said about her father the better, though. Alphonse was a worldly man, and he had heard about Severus Snape both from Helen's own mother and from the frantic reports making it in from Britain - reports indicating the state of their long-term rivals under the rule of men such as Lord Voldemort, and even France's own Minister was begin to sweat visibly, shaken by the threat this man represented not just to them but to the entire wizarding world. Alerts had already been sent to the Salem School in America, but he doubted it would be enough if this threat proceeded.
And, also according to these reports of his, the girl's own father played a heavy part in it, even killing the old Headmaster of Hogwarts, a man whose intellect had been well-respected and well-known by Alphonse himself. So no, he didn't particularly like the idea of leaving this girl with that man - Merlin, if he were to be honest he loathed it, as his wife had made clear he should when she kicked him onto the couch last night - but he could do nothing. His government could do nothing. Severus Snape was the girl's biological father, and that was that. No matter what he thought. But she didn't need to know that.
Blinking, Alphonse started as the train began to slow down, and he sent another comforting smile to Helen as he heard her shaky intake of breath. "I'm sure you'll be fine," he assured her again, reaching out a hand to pull her to her feet as she swayed lightly, looking overwhelmed. "Now, I only have a certain amount of time here, but I will see you to the station, m'dear, before I must return home." He touched the portkey in his pocket almost as an afterthought, proceeding to lead the girl from their compartment and out into the hallway. Once there they were led onto the platform, where he noticed a passerby - a young man with dark hair, serious eyes and a pair of cats-eye spectacles balanced precariously on his nose. Whispering the needed spell, Alphonse let himself slowly delve into the man's mind, trying to search out anything he could that would allow him to glimpse his personality.
It wasn't ideal, what he was about to do, but he had to do it. The girl's father hadn't shown up yet, and he would soon be forced to take his leave, and if the girl's shaking was anything to go by... "You, sir!" Alphonse called out, his voice bringing the severe-looking man to a stop. "Sir?" the man called out warily, adjusting his glasses with a slight upturn of his nose as he noticed Alphonse's distinctly French accent. "Were you talking to me." "I was, err..." The man sent him an irritated glance, tilting his chin up slightly with an impatient sigh. "Sir, I have things to do, so whatever it is please make it quick. I haven't the time to spare for your amusement." "No, no, it's important," Alphonse stated firmly, smiling to show he was friendly. Beside him Helen shivered, hiding behind his long robes as if they would shield her from the rode. "Please come here for one moment!" The wizard surveyed them primly before doing so, the movement of his hands alerting Alphonse to the fact that this man had his wand at the ready, wary in case he turned out to be harmful. "If I may impose a favour," Alphonse began, to which the man snorted. "Now, feel free to say no, but I would really appreciate a yes - it is of the utmost importance that you comply, see, and I would hate for anything to happen because of that..." "Really, sir, I don't think..." Alphonse reached out, grabbing the man's thin wrists and hauling him forward, removing the man's wand before he could so much as Stupify them both. "This girl, you see her?" Alphonse whispered harshly so as not to let Helen hear. "She just lost her mother in an accident caused by what you Brits call 'Death Eaters', and her father is a man I have never met but have heard of. I need someone to watch her, and to follow her wherever she goes, or as much as any one man can. This girl is very important to me, do you hear, and could be very important to your government, too, corrupt as it now is. I would never dream to entrusting her to a relative stranger like yourself, but I find I have little choice with a timed portkey set to go off in as little as two minutes." The black-haired man gasped lightly, trying to wriggle away, but it was for naught. "U-unhand me!" "Oh, shush," Alphonse snapped. "I have looked into your mind, and while you are certainly not what I would call first choice material, you will do." "I do not think - " "I will pay you well," Alphonse said, and was rewarded with the man falling silent. Finally, "How much?" "Enough for you to maintain your little apartment and then some. Also if you say no you get nothing and I might just decide to warp you to France with me." The man stared at him for a couple more seconds before finally giving him a curt nod. "Very well, I..." "I will require an Unbreakable Vow." The man gaped at him. Alphonse smiled thinly. "Just to make sure you don't try anything or try to run." Alphonse held out his hand, which the man clasped shakily. "You there!" Alphonse called to one of the Express employees. "Come here. My friend..." "Balthazar Evans." "How unfortunate. My friend Balthazar need your wand." The express employee stepped forward, wary but poised. He placed his and on their joint hands without word. "Balthazar Evans, swear to do anything and everything in your power to protect this girl." "I so swear." A spark of light from the man's wand, encircling their joined hands. "You will swear to watch over her always, or until I tell you to stop." "I so swear." Another spark to join the first. Alphonse smiled pitilessly. "You will swear not to run or leave her, and put her above all other things." "I so swear." "And you will swear to be there when she needs you, for I do not know what her new home will bring her." "I... so swear." The final spark joined the others, and Alphonse smirked as he felt the spell settle in, binding them both. He tipped his hat to the other man, bringing Helen out from behind him and placing her in front of the raven-like wizard. "Very good. Now, gentleman - and young lady - I fear I must bid you adieu, for my time is up. Helen, you will trust this man - he will watch you in your new home as I cannot. Listen to him, do as he says; same goes for your own father when he finally arrives." The girl blinked rapidly, but she nodded, casting a wary glance at the young man before standing hesitantly beside him. "Very good, th - " but before he could finish the portkey activated, and he was gone.
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After the departure of Alphonse, Helen started to shake again, her eyes filling with tears as she turned carefully to the strange man with the black hair and glasses, whose sharp features reminded her of the strict-looking elves from her mother's stories. Her shaking increasing, Helen reached out to grab the man's hand to steady herself, feeling him tense up lightly. "Ah, so, you are...?" he tired, but only got a blank stare in return. For thirty uncomfortable seconds he stared at her before coughing pointedly and glancing away, but not before Helen mumbled her full name out to him before dropping her head. "Well, ah... excellent, then. Yes, excellent. You are going to Hogwarts?" Helen chewed her lip lightly before nodding again, drawing blood before she gave him a small, shy nod, to which he responded with a stiff nod of his own. "Very well. I will be... over here." The man disentangled his hand from hers, Helen watching silently as the multitude of what he had just sworn to started to register in his mind. So she watched him helplessly for a few seconds, sitting lightly on her trunk while she skimmed the area for any new passerbys, the only ones so far being residences o this wizarding town. Her interest was visibly caught, solemn eyes following each and every person around as they went about their daily business, completely ignoring the tiny girl in the Hogwarts robes standing on the platform with nothing but a prim-looking black-haired man and a staff from the Hogwarts express in the immediate vicinity.
Playing absently with her trunk, Helen tried desperately not to think off her father and their upcoming meeting, her nerves surfacing and making her want to cry. She didn't know the man - heck, she didn't even know his name or what he looked like - and now that he was to be her legal guardian... it was terrifying. What if he didn't like her? What if he hated her? What if he decided she was useless and ignored her or cast her out or something? The prospect was completely petrifying, almost to the point where she found she couldn't move when she dwelled on it for too long. So instead she resolved not to, continuing to watch the people walking by. Occasionally her eyes would stray to the form of the strange man with the equally strange name standing just a few feet away, nervously adjusting his glasses and sighing every two or three seconds, as if everything was just a great big inconvenience to him. In a way she felt sorry for him, though - she had managed to catch some of the conversation with Alphonse, and she knew that this man would be watching her now, and while it was scary as he was also a stranger she also found it comforting. If Alphonse trusted him, surely she could too. He looked dedicated enough, after all, and he had sworn and Unbreakable Vow, becoming the only person she could really trust in such a short amount of time. He would die otherwise, after all, something that made her feel both guilt and relieved.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a figure emerging from the crowd, his black robes billowing around his feet. His hair was kind of greasy, hanging in black curtains around his face, and lines ran across his face. He walked briskly and with a purpose, and Helen's wariness increased as he moved onto the platform. She saw the moment the bispectacled man noticed the newcomer, inching towards her slightly. When the strange new man turned his gaze to her, however, she felt herself freeze.
"She is the only thing taken from the train, Headmaster." Her heart thumped painfully against her chest as and quickly looked down, clutching her things even tighter. Or rather, the things she had.
Was this... her father?
ooc;; 2133 words! HELL YES.
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 17, 2011 17:56:30 GMT -5
The world seemed to stand still. It seemed to be hours before Severus could make himself react. He just stood there looking at the girl. The same words repeatedly moved through his mind. Amanda Jones Is dead...daughter, Helen...delivery... Severus shook his head slowly as if trying to wake himself up. The man was watching him, Severus scowled at him. "What are you gawking at?" Severus growled at the dark haired male. Severus turned completely to the girl now. He moved no closer to her just yet however. He just looked at her. It was pitiful that this was the first time he got to see his daughter. He was sure that was who she was. Suddenly her image changed in his mind. When he had first passed her, she was just another damned child coming to the school to drive him to the brink of insanity. Now though, she was a beautiful young woman. His flesh and blood. Severus blinked a few times and swallowed hard. His took a deep breath as he took her in. It was odd the love of a parent. Nothing else could ever compare. and Severus was no different. He was not the bastard everyone thought he was. He did have a heart. He took in the long dark hair, the cheap robes, the pale skin... the way she gripped the trunk. She was frightened. Of course she was. What else could be expected? Her world had fallen apart around her. This got Severus moving. He walked back to her slowly and then stood in front of her. It took a long moment before he spoke however. He stood there looking down at her bowed head and when Severus did speak, his voice was horse and showed his own pain. He was ashamed of his emotions. Not that he had them but that he showed them so much. "I'm sorry..." He told her. "For everything... I wanted to be there for you... I've always loved you... I loved her too." He had to take a few steadying breaths. "I ask for your forgiveness..." Severus bent slightly now and took the trunk. It was surprisingly light. "Have you eaten?" He asked her now. If she was hungry, he would take her into town. He wanted her first meal with him to be somewhere better then the Hall. So many emotions were going through his mind. He wanted to hold her to him. He wanted to run away. He wanted to make her understand. He wanted her to understand. She must have so many questions. Where her father had been being one of the biggest he assumed. He wanted to tell her but did not know where to begin..to explain to her all that had happened... to explain where her daddy has been... He wanted to hold her and protect her from everything she has already endured. And Severus could not begin to imagine the pain and fear and confusion she must being feeling. "Please speak to me Helen." Severus said in a whisper now. She would have no idea how strange it was for Severus to be behaving like this. (occ- This thread will bring me to tears. His pain is so deep )
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Post by helen on Oct 21, 2011 21:08:30 GMT -5
Immediately hit with a rush of Hogwarts memories, Balthazar Evans merely proceeded to lift his chin, mouth forming a painful-looking grimace, like he had been graced with the displeasure of smelling something horribly foul. Of course, seeing as he was int he presence of his former potions professor, the prospect of such a smell wasn't that far off. He had never possessed any negative memories of Hogwarts, but nor had he ever possessed (or expressed) any particular fondness for the school. To Balthazar it had been a phase of his life - a quick one, and the first of many that he knew, sharp as he was, would pass by. Getting hung up over fond memories was illogical and he could not... he could not afford distractions or alternate routes at this point in his life, the way it was currently going. It wasn't even that he was a workaholic, but rather that he literally couldn't afford it. The small, tiny little house he possessed in Hogsmeade didn't pay for itself, and plus there was that... other thing. That other thing that ensured that snags in the road would lead to his ruin.
But now he also had to worry about that Unbreakable Vow he had sworn; the vow to protect the small girl, the one that resembled a porcelain doll - fragile, pale; pretty. Pretty and breakable. Once again, unlike his promise. So for the sake of his life he didn't let the twinge of fear he felt for the old potions master prevent him from saving his own goddamn life. "You, sir," he said stiffly, never being one to lie or beat around the bush. After that he simply said nothing, standing back and letting his critical mind take in the situation whilst he held himself back from twitching or showing any signs of nervousness. He could do little else.
-x-
The words that came out of this strange man's mouth set her heart racing, beating painfully against her chest like it would tear through her skin and flee, or simply explode within its seemingly tiny cavity. So this was her father - the elusive parental figure that all her friends had possessed but that she had lacked, never minding or wanting for love, for her mother had always provided everything she needed without fuss. Just the thought of her mother brought tears to her eyes, which she reached up quickly to swipe at, aware that she had begun shaking again. To her left she could see the young man, his slicked-back black hair, sharp features and equally piercing eyes making him look even more like a raven. A caged raven now, she supposed, but a raven nonetheless.
Drawing in a shaky breath, Helen turned her eyes from the man back to her father, noting the fact that both possessed black hair and dark eyes, but that was where the resemblance ended. Permanently. He was sorry, he said. He... he said he loved her, but how could he love her? They had only just met, and she... Biting her lip, Helen glanced down at her feet. No, her mother's death wasn't her fault, she chanted lightly to herself. Alphonse had spent most of the last week telling her that nonstop, until Helen had finally repeated it back to him in a thin, whispery voice and he had smiled and patted her head and said that she would be all right and that, had she not a father, he and his wife would have taken her in herself.
But she had a father. This... this man, this complete and utter stranger. But a stranger who said he loved her nonetheless.
"I am... I am hungry," she said at last, her voice like static. Reaching out on impulse she grabbed the thin hand of the raven-man. "Alphonse says he has to watch me. He sworn an... an..." "Unbreakable Vow," came the raven-man's stiff response. He was careful to look at neither of them. Helen just nodded.
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Post by Severus Snape on Oct 22, 2011 19:13:42 GMT -5
"I am... I am hungry," She told him finally. Severus heard the emotion and tension in her voice and he understood it. She had been through so much. Much more than any girl...any child should ever have to go through. When she took the hand of the other man, Severus felt a deep pain in his heart. He said nothing however. He did not know what to say. Not even where to begin. "Alphonse says he has to watch me. He sworn an... an..." She told him and the man finished with "Unbreakable Vow."
Severus looked at the man coldly for a moment and then swallowed hard and nodded. "That was not necessary." Severus said trying to sound natural but in reality, he was hurt and a bit of his pain showed on his voice. Not only that this ministry person had decided Severus need a chaperone but the fact that Helen already went to the other man first. "You are not permitted on Hogwarts grounds." Severus added. "Security you see, I'm sure you understand. You can observe her when she comes to town."
There was no question about this rule. There was no way Severus was going to allow this commoner to enter the school. "And there would be nothing that would cause me to harm my own children." He had meant to say child but children was what had come out. When the girl put two and two together, she would realize that there was a sibling for her.
She was hungry. That was something Severus could take care of at least. It was the first of many. He shot another look at the dark haired man and then hoisted up the trunk and motioned for them to follow. He waited for them to catch up before Severus started walking.
'We can eat here Helen. It is not the best quality But it is more privet than the school." He paused. "This trunk is very light. I'll need to know what you need beside school supplies. Clothes...and other items." He did not know how to mention female products but at least he did not blush. The reached the Three Broomsticks and Severus used his free hand to open and then hold the door for his daughter.
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Post by helen on Oct 27, 2011 18:26:32 GMT -5
"As disconcerting as I find you, professor, I find the prospect of my imminent demise a bit more frightening." Though I'm sure the Death Eaters you have holed up in that school are just as frightening in their own right. At the very thought the pale, thin man shivered, casting his eyes warily in the direction of Hogwarts, as if he were expecting a legion of Death Eaters to appear beside him, skull masks peeking out from underneath dark black cloaks. The fact that he himself was a half-blood only made him all the more weary of any possible danger, and his hand tightened reflexively on the girl's before he could stop himself. He released it momentarily though, coughing to clear his through before straightening his spine. It had never been... it had never been his intention to one day have to call upon this favour, but... This is a right mess you've gotten yourself into, Balthazar Evans, he thought grimly. On one hand, potential death if you go against the orders of Hogwarts' headmaster. On the other hand, certain death if you obey his orders. And so, taking a deep breath, the man made his decision.
"If it is a matter of board," he said then, his own voice wavering slightly, "then it is of no consequence. My cousin, a professor at your increasingly volatile school, headmaster, will be able to provide me with a place to stay." He raised his eyes then, dark irises blending seamlessly with equally black pupils, a spark, determined hardness forming, like the shrewd intelligence possessed by a raven. Was it any, any doubt, of his former Ravenclaw status? "It is quite valiant of you to be concerned with the safety of your children, professor, but what about your students? They have nothing more to fear from one such as I than what they should be fearing in the form of the more recent additions to the staff I've been hearing people going on about." Refusing to let his voice waver this time, Balthazar stood his ground, his free hand curling into a fist at his side. If he were to die, it wouldn't be because of failure.
-x-
She could feel the absence of Alphonse now, like being hit over the head with something heavy such a vase or some sort of fancy decoration that was easily breakable. She missed his quick and easy smile, the way he always just seemed to be so good at diffusing the tension in any situation. She missed the lilt of his accent, the way her name sounded - "'elen!" as opposed to "Helen!" - when he spoke it, the comforting sound of a French H, pronounced "ahsh" instead of "aych." Or maybe it was just the easiness he showed around her, never seeming awkward or... or forced. He had been her friend, in a way. A comfort to her.
Right now, she found herself doubting if this man could be all that. She could already sense the awkwardness in the way he addressed her; the hesitation in his speech. She could also see the emotions in his eyes, ones of pain and of regret and of other things that made her wonder if he could really parent her and provide for her and help her when he had so many issues himself. But he was her father. And all she had left besides the strange man whom she knew without a doubt she could trust only because he would die if he tried anything to hurt her. Even so, she could tell the raven-man was just as nervous as she was, his hand tightening on her for a second. It made a faint smile flicker across her face, knowing that all the adults present seemed just as lost as she felt at that very moment.
But it still didn't negate the small amount of fear she felt when she realized why the raven-man was clutching her hand, her father's words slowly swirling into her ear and echoing in her mind.
"You are not permitted on Hogwarts' grounds. Security, you see; I'm sure you understand. You can observe her when she comes to town." "No!" she whispered before she could stop herself, raising a hand to clap over her mouth, but her quiet protest was all but drowned out as the two seemed to have a silent confrontation of sorts. Then she heard "Death Eaters" and suddenly she was shaking, seeing the hooded figures invading her home, standing over her mother's body, their soulless eyes peering at her from behind white masks - skull masks, like death. She saw them standing over her next, looking down at her, wands drawn and mouths open as they began their spells, and she knew she was going to die Merlin, please help me I do not want to die, please! Someone please save me! and then there was a sharp Crack! and there was a cloak shielding her, protecting her from the strange man, then there was a feeling like running through a tunnel; one that got smaller and smaller until finally they were squeezed out the other her, her legs shaky beneath her as she tumbled from behind the cloak onto the soft grass, raising terrified eyes to meet the concerned blue ones of a man with long brown hair that curled at his shoulders. "Are you all right, Helen?" "My name is Alphonse Lisette. I was a friend of your mother's. Would you like to stay here for awhile?" "Helen, this is my wife, Antoinette. I told her how much you like fish so she's making some for you. How does that sound?" "You're safe here, Helen, do not worry; I won't let anything happen to you."
He wasn't a... a government worker. A ministry worker. That she had found out almost instantly. She had woken up the next morning confused, only to be assured as she screamed in terror that she was safe, that she was in his house in France, and then his wife Antoinette had arrived and they had encircled her protectively, their three-year-old daughter trailing in afterwards and giving her a bright smile and telling her how pretty she was, "Pretty like my doll, Therese!"
But Alphonse was gone. The British Ministry didn't like him staying here, and he had been returned to France, and now Helen was here alone with two men who were supposed to protect her, but whom were both virtual strangers. And now... children? She had a sister? What... She felt her face freeze up, her eyes going completely blank as her thought process slowed. Coped.
-x-
Balthazar knew what shock looked like, and he knew that this was exactly what the girl was experiencing, her sad eyes becoming completely blank and listless, lacking shine or spark or anything. They looked dead, like her spirit had fled her body, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind. A husk. That was what this girl was now. He watched silently as the new headmaster manoeuvred her to the Three Broomsticks before he finally snapped, his voice going low, like a snake's hiss. "What are you doing? She is in no place to do this right now," he told Snape sharply. "I sure as hell don't know what she's been through, but it's obvious to me that no one really does, and she need..." he balked. Well, he didn't really know what she needed. "... she needs to settle herself before seeing any new places, lest it shock her even more. Because that's what she is, headmaster - shocked to the point where she can no longer function without direction!"
ooc;; Word count: 1333.
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Post by Severus Snape on Nov 16, 2011 22:58:28 GMT -5
"As disconcerting as I find you, professor, I find the prospect of my imminent demise a bit more frightening." The foul man told Severus and the Headmaster frowned. The urge to strike the man dead was growing inside Severus. He had not felt such an instant dislike in a human being in a long time. "If it is a matter of board," The fool went on progressing on signing his own death warrant. "then it is of no consequence. My cousin, a professor at your increasingly volatile school, headmaster, will be able to provide me with a place to stay."
Severus' eyes nearly seemed to spark in his inner anger. The only thing that held him back was his daughters frail emotional state at the moment. "It is quite valiant of you to be concerned with the safety of your children, professor, but what about your students? They have nothing more to fear from one such as I than what they should be fearing in the form of the more recent additions to the staff I've been hearing people going on about." The man went on and Severus found himself at his breaking point. He had continued walking and tried to calm himself.
He was doing fine by his own standards until they had reached the pub. The mans tone and clear disrespect for Severus himself set him off. Severus turned to Helen for a moment. "Just one moment." He told Helen now. "Just take a table and order whatever you like. I'll be with you in one moment. You are perfectly safe here." He hated to do this. To have her enter alone. But Severus would hate even more for her to witness what was about to happen. When the door closed behind her, Severus turned on the other wizard. He was quick and strong. Severus took the man by the scruff of his clothes and lifted him nearly off his feet.
His other hand took his wand and brought it up so that it was pressed against the soft hollow of the man's throat. "Your imminent demise will be by my hand if you do not learn to mind yourself. You may have been appointed her little knight in shining armour but I am her father and no harm will come to her." Severus' voice was a low growl. "I have waited a long time to be a part of this child's life and I assure you she will be treated quite well. Better than I am sure you imagine. What she needs right now is to relax and she needs to eat and that is exactly what I plan to allow her to do. If you do not control yourself, I will see to it that you disappear permanently. Do I make myself clear?" Severus snarled before letting the man drop from his grasp and then he entered the pub.
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Post by helen on Nov 23, 2011 19:41:52 GMT -5
Balthazar had made it a habit, after Hogwarts, to not be easily intimidated by things, or by people with nefariously foul temperaments, and Merlin knew that Severus Snape had always been one of these people. As a Ravenclaw, his house hadn't drawn much attention - and if they had, it wasn't anything worth mentioning - so they had been relatively kept out of the Potion Master's rather... unfortunate limelight. Still, as well-known as Snape's temperament was, he was never for showing outright violence. It was to his own credence that he reacted as well as he did, with only a strangled gasp escaping his throat before stars swam across his eyes, muffling the sounds around him for a few seconds before he was able to regain complete control of his wits.
"I'm sure you have, professor," Balthazar gasped, as frightened as he had ever been before in his life; however, he was a man, and as such he had a little thing called pride - something that wouldn't let Snape get the last word in such a matter when he was so clearly out of it and just, well, completely unSnape-like. It was enough to make Balthazar want to gag, and perhaps that was what had made his fear vanish as it did, only to be replaced with a cool contempt as he glared through obsidian eyes at Hogwart's new headmaster. "Considering you didn't know of her existence, that is. Yes, I am perfectly convinced that you have been waiting forever for this one, singular daughter." He gasped as Snape released him, bracing himself against the wall of pub, his limbs feeling weak as the adrenaline pounded through his veins. It was a very foreign feeling, one that Balthazar had never really needed before - in fact, the only time he had experienced something like this before was... Phah, well, it hardly mattered.
Snape's logic - or rather, lack thereof - confused him. His first daughter was hardly a secret: Alexis Snape, the bane of Gryffindor house. And just as her name was well-known around the Hogsmeade community, so was her father's disappointment in her - it was something he had heard discussed multiple times whilst in the shops during the annual trips to Hogsmeade, and it was something Lucifer had slurred to him while drunk out of his mind one night - or at least tipsy enough to relate such information. Balthazar didn't know why they even bothered to continue hiding it. It just increased the interests of the population, making them want to uncover more. And of course they would succeed in such endeavours, and Balthazar would only laugh as they did so.
Sinking to the ground lightly, groaning at the mess he had gotten himself into, he was startled by a dainty gasp, and when he snapped his head to the side all he could see was a thin, porcelain-like pair of hands as they released the door.
--
Helen sat primly in her seat, posture stiff, though she wanted to slump. The man she had dubbed her stranger-father had told her wait inside and order, but with the way her stomach was churning now she found herself wondering if eating would even be possible. It felt as if she would just spit out any food that entered her mouth, or else it would get lodged in her throat and be forced out. It wasn't a nice feeling, and Alphonse had managed to get her to eat whilst she was away at his house, but that was both another time and palce - France, actually - and there was no possible way she could ever go back to it now. There was no possible way her stranger-father would ever let her go back to that. Even if she wanted it more than anything right now. It was familiar, after all; something she knew and could rely on. Alphonse had been a pillar she could lean on, who had pledged to take care of her until such a time would come when she would journey to her father.
She wished she hadn't. Not after what she had just witnessed. True, the raven-man was hardly the easiest to get along with - he had the type of personality that just seemed to clash with every other archetype save, perhaps, for the suave, utterly confident kind - the kind that simply oozed seduction out of her... or his, pores. A small smile flickered across her face and she let out a small giggle at the thought of the raven-man getting flustered that way by just about anything, but it was quickly wiped off her face when she felt a small thump by the wall she was currently sitting by. Instantly she was on her feet, rushing to the front door and cracking it open with her fingers, eyes widening as she witnessed her stranger-father holding the raven-man by the scruff of her clothes. She scrambled away almost instantly, though, rushing back to her seat but not before she had met the raven-man's eyes.
Back at her seat, she couldn't think of anything to say when her stranger-father walked in. There was nothing she felt she could say. So instead she stayed silent, folding hands in her lap, hoping against hope that somehow everything would work out all right.
ooc;; Not my best post, sorry.
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Post by Severus Snape on Dec 9, 2011 23:50:58 GMT -5
"Considering you didn't know of her existence, that is. Yes, I am perfectly convinced that you have been waiting forever for this one, singular daughter." The idiotic mongrel of a man retorted at Severus' retreating back and Severus paused in the doorway. "You have no idea what you are talking about." Severus spat without turning around. "I knew of her since birth. I just respected her mother enough to stay away when she told me to." Severus had not been blind to the fact that the girl had just witnessed the confrontation and he sighed deeply now as he entered the pub. Everything was so much more difficult with this man around. Severus made his way towards his daughter now. He could see how taunt and strained he body was as she sat there. Severus was aware that she most likely was not hungry. He just did not want to thrust her into the world of the school right off the bat. Severus wanted to give her a bit bit of time to relax first and in all honesty, he wanted to have some time to observe her. His intentions were good. He really had waited a long time to look at this child. He sat slowly across from Helen and when a waiter moved towards them, Severus held up one hand silently telling the man to wait. To give a little more time. There was no anger in his face now. He felt no anger towards this child. He felt nothing but love and repent. "Helen," Severus said now in a low voice. "I can not begin to imagine what you are thinking of everything that has happened. Of me." He tried to meet her eyes. "I want to explain to you but I don't know where to begin. To explain where I have been all this time. It was not my choice that I stayed away. I did want to be near you and I wanted to be a part of your life. I realize that this may sound like utter waste to you right now. But when you are ready, I hope you will give me a chance to be the father I should have been." His words were quick but full of emotion. He had to get it out. "I truly have always loved you. It hurt me more than you could possibly imagine to have to leave you. I want you to know this. I wanted to hold you and protect you from everything you already endured. I want to show you the things life has in store for you." He looked down for a moment and swallowed hard. He did not know if he was saying the right things but it felt right. "If you are not hungry, I understand. Just tell me what you need right now. I can show you to your room in the school, I can take you to get everything you will need... clothes, books... Or we can talk..." He was at a loss. Severus wished she would speak to him. Tell him what she was thinking...
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Post by helen on Jan 9, 2012 16:35:01 GMT -5
Balthazar knelt on the ground for a few more moments, his hand fluttering at his chest as he heaved a couple more breaths before standing, thankful the spot where he had been kneeling was dry as he awkwardly straightened his white dress shirt and the black vest he wore over top, which was wrinkled and smudged from where Hogwarts' revered - and that was thought with the utmost sarcasm - Headmaster had grabbed him.
"I think, Headmaster," the sleek man murmured once Snape was well out of earshot, "I think I know far more than you give me credit." He realized that the statement was ridiculous, but it nevertheless soothed him to speak it, one hand coming up to rest over where his neck was, the faint grimace still showing plainly on his face. There would be bruises on his collarbone from where the Headmaster’s knuckles had slammed, but he could easily hide those.
"You look like you've seen better days," a voice said then, the tone smooth and lilting, almost like silk. In less than a second Balthazar had stiffened, though, fighting against the urge his body presented him to just relax. Such was the power of a vampire's compulsion, he figured ruefully, even as he determinedly averted his eyes from the amused-looking singer that stood in front of him, his clothes black and formal, yet somehow looking casual for him, as if this was his idea of "dressing down."
"Why are you here?" Balthazar snapped, a faint growl in his voice that surprised even him. Lorcan d'Eath, damn him for eternity (hah), merely raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow, a breathy sigh escaping his lips - unneeded, Balthazar thought snidely, seeing as the soulless creature didn't even need to breathe in the first place. Or did half-vampires have half a soul? Balthazar scowled. He didn’t care one way or another, he told himself simply. As to how he knew who this individual was, well, one only had to read the signs posted around Hogsmeade – signs proudly announcing the singer’s arrival, complete with pictures. No other creature would dare to show his face so publicly. Still, the fact that the man had approached him in the first place was enough to make him wary. Half-vampires still consumed blood, or so the tabloids had screamed.
“I think the better question is why are you here, kneeling on the filthy ground.” “I’m not,” came the quick reply. d’Eath smirked. “But you were,” he purred, moving dangerously close. Balthazar felt his breathing accelerate, and one’s often did around vampires, and a faint spark of fear flickered in his eyes. d’Eath raised an eyebrow. Balthazar wanted to punch him really bad. “You know you don’t have any obligation to the girl, right?” He asked wryly. Balthazar hissed. “Shows how little you really know,” he snapped before walking into the diner, consciously aware of how hypocritical his words were even before he heard the soft rumbling of the half-breeds laughter that accompanied him.
--
Helen didn’t even try to control the sudden jump when her stranger-father walked in, withdrawing into her small frame almost subconsciously as she hunched her shoulders in a way her mother had always chided her for, as if it would hide her from everyone’s line of sight. Stuck beside him, she angled her body away from the shadowy-figure, eyes fixing determinedly in the table and the silverware that had been delicately set there.
When her stranger-father started speaking, it was as if his words were part of a dream – distant, like there was a fire and the rising smoke was obscuring them, choking out all life in its wake as the oxygen around them slowly depleted. And yet, even though the haze in her mind that wouldn’t let her hear what he was saying, she felt angry. Angry at her mother for leaving her, angry at Alphonse for bringing her to this stranger, angry at her mother again for thinking it would be okay to send her to this man, then angry at the Ministry because she knew her mother wouldn’t have wanted her to come here with Severus Snape, just as Alphonse had voiced one night when she had been crying about having to leave them.
If we could keep you here, Helen, we would. We wouldn’t send you to that man. That answer had chilled her – that man?
Slowly, she came to realize that he had stopped speaking, and that he was looking at her expectantly. She wet her lips lightly, trying to find something to say to the words she had not heard, he mind reeling with her recent thoughts – thoughts revolving around her stranger-father, and the fear, however large or small, she felt towards him.
Her mother had fled from her stranger-father. The man who had rescued and cared for her had threatened a complete stranger into an Unbreakable Vow because he didn’t trust her stranger-father – a man he didn’t know but still trusted more than the man in black sitting beside her. She stiffed automatically then, her mind going to the raven-man, whose name flickered through her mind before she dismissed it. Somehow “Raven-Man” just seemed to… just seemed to fit. She didn’t know why, but it did, and the more her mind dwelled on him the more she wondered where he can gone, and the more her hands clenched at the folds of her worn robes.
She felt more than a little awkward, as he was obviously expecting some form of reply, but she couldn’t… she couldn’t respond to something she hadn’t heard. So instead of saying anything, she just nodded, casting a worried glance towards the door.
“Where’s—“
She cut herself off, a frown stretching across her face, and she quickly glanced down again, realizing that he wouldn’t want her asking about the raven-man. Even as she was it was obvious that the two didn’t like each other. Still, she wasn’t long disappointed, for only a few seconds later he walked in, looking strangely flustered and off-kilter. She blinked at him, mouth opening and closing before she pointed towards the seat on her other side, cheeks reddening as she noticed the tension in the air increase tenfold.
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Post by Severus Snape on Feb 3, 2012 23:43:32 GMT -5
Severus kept himself in check but inwardly, he was about to give up. The deck had been stacked against him. He was not stupid. He knew she was not listening to a word he was saying. She had been brainwashed against him. what could he do? It was obvious that she was not going to give him a chance to prove himself to her and Severus was sick of this pathetic arrogant low life of a man. His eyes narrowed as she motioned the foreboding man to sit at her side.
Severus was done. He would give her her space. If she needed anything, he would provide it but Severus was not one to tolerate the annoyance of others. So she was not hungry, she did not want to talk, she clearly was not listening, fine. Severus stood. "I'll take you to the school." Severus told her now. His voice was flat and emotionless. He turned towards the door and then paused and then turned back. He addressed the other wizard once more. "You are not permitted in the school. Do not try me. I am Headmaster and I do not care what your cousin thinks. I am in control of Hogwarts."
He had no problem with the girl. He had legal control over his daughter. He was her guardian and not this pathetic man. No matter how she felt about him. He was a good father even through his faults. She would either she that or she would not. "Lets go, please Helen." Severus told the girl. He took her bag and waited for a moment.
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Post by helen on Feb 22, 2012 17:06:13 GMT -5
She couldn't move. She tried, but it was like her limbs were held to the chair of the restaurant with one of those "super adhesives" she had heard her mother joke about once, or a sticking spell like the one her friend François had played on her once. Only this time, there was no François to help her up, and there was no gentle reprimand from her mother.
There was nothing left of her mother. In fact, there was nothing left of the life she had once blissfully lead save for some clothes Alphonse had managed to scrounge up for her, but even most of those had been beyond saving, and the French wizard and his wife had ended up taking her into town for some new clothes, such as the ones she currently wore - simple. Simple like her life once was, but no more.
The Raven-Man looked as frozen as she, and without thinking she reached her hand out to him, her eyes wide and filled with fear and apprehension. He looked as torn as she felt, and she remembered Alphonse's chilling words as he made the man, the stranger, swear to protect her with everything he had; to stay near her in case she needed him. Never in her life did she think she would ever turn to such a person for comfort of any kind, but she knew he had to be trustworthy to her on pain of death. Beauxbatons had taught her that, plain and simple. She had to do something.
It was for this reason that she turned to her stranger father, a pleading light in her eye as she held out a delicate hand for him as well. "Please," she asked him. "Let him come. He won't get in your way, but he'll die if you make him stay." It was more than she had spoken since Alphonse had whisked her away, and she found that, as she spoke, her resolve only steeled more, which echoed in her eyes, so previously full of pain. "Please... father."
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