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The looks on both their faces was so genuine that Tara clutched the robes to her and nodded her head. "Thank you, Danika. You have excellent taste." The child beamed and Tara looked to Snape. "Thank you, Severus. I hope we have the opportunity to see how fetching I look and see if your fashion sense is as good as your Potions skill." She stepped to him and put a light kiss on his cheek. |
Guin held onto Georges hand eagerly as they walked to the staff room. "Well, I do have my things in Egypt...but I want to say goodbye to everyone at Grimmuld and get my things that are there if thats alright." She said with a nod as if it didn't matter what George said because she wanted to say goodbye to them all. |
"Yes, well, we'll see what happens," Snape responded, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the kiss, even if it was just a light kiss on the cheek, with Dani watching them. |
Harry laughed and shook his head. "No, we agreed that you'll be doing the seducing and that's final.... How about you go look for my glasses and I'll wait right here? Hurry, though... I don't want to be here alone and almost blind for too long." Hermione giggled and looked up at Tonks. |
"You're the boss," George shrugged and handed her the bag of floo powder. He stepped through the fire and waited for Guin on the other side. Once she came through, George picked up an apple and sat at the table. "Let me know when you're ready to go. I'll help you carry your things." |
Tonks smirked at Fredbeofre turning serious. "Well, that's why I came up here. Can't very well keep an eye on you when you aren't in the house. In fact, I recall having a conversation about leaving the house without telling someone." |
"Well, aren't we the bossy one?" Ginny said in a snippy voice, rising to her feet. "I'm of a mind to just go into the house and forget all about poor, blind, bossy Harry sitting out in the garden." Ginny had seen Tonks crawl up the wall, and she intended to follow, but Harry didn't need to know that. She stomped noisily across the yard and slammed the door before putting her hand to the drainpipe and pulling herself up. Dani wrinkled her nose. "Mum. That's gross," she said with censure before turning back to her lovely robes. "Can I go and put them on, please? I won't do anything messy and I'll take them right off." Her mother nodded and hid her grin, and Dani skipped off to her room. |
Guin nodded as she left George and stumbled up to her room in Grimmuld. She gathered up all her things and stuffed them in her trunk. Guin didn't see anyone in the house so she dragged her trunk downstairs to George. "Umm, where is everyone?!" Guin asked George puzzled before walking outside. Guin saw the back of Ginny climbing the wall and looked even more puzzled. "What the..." |
Snape frowned at the girl's reaction but, Tara merely seemed amused. While Dani went to put the robes on in her room, Snape took this opportunity to kiss Tara a bit more fully. "You don't owe me anything," he said. |
Tara smiled as Snape pulled her close. "I'm sure I'll think of a suitable way to repay you later." She kissed him soundly again before the door opened to Dani's room and she quickly stepped away. Why was it important to hide things from Dani? She liked Snape. |
Snape couldn't help but smile as he and Tara separated when Dani stepped into the room. The young girl seemed quite ecstatic about her new robes and Snape found himself actually glad he had made the girl happy. |
"I'm like a princess," Dani exclaimed twirling around so the robes swished against her legs. She clapped her hands and pointed to the robes that Tara still clutched. "Now you, Mum. Let's be princesses together." Tara laughed in embarrassment. "I'll try them on later, my love. Why don't you go back and change and we'll go get some dinner? Professor Snape, you're welcome to join us." |
Snape turned back to Tara and placed his hands on her waist. "Now, why don't you try on your new robes. I'd like to see if my investment was worth it," he said. |
Tara gave Snape a scathing look and marched into Dani's room to change as well. Her foul temper was forgotten as the material whisked against her skin, the robes fitting perfectly. They were fitted through the body with a more full skirt than she would have chosen, but it effect was lovely and made her seem a bit more endowed than she was. She admired the fine silvery stars along all the hemlines before returning to the main room and turning a circle such as Dani had. |
Snape smiled as he moved toward her. Forgetting about the daughter for a moment, he kissed her briefly on the lips. "I'd say it was worth it," he whispered before turning back around to stand next to Dani. "What do you think, Miss Dani? Did we do a good job of picking something out for your mother?" |
"She looks very beautiful," Dani responded dutifully, but her face was a mask of confusion. She came to stand next to the two of them, studying Snape's face carefully. "Did you tell me a lie? You said you weren't her boyfriend, but... did you tell me a lie?" |
Snape looked down at the girl who seemed not just confused but, almost upset with him. "At the time, no, I did not lie. your mother and I were merely colleagues, perhaps friends," he responded. "However, since that time, your mother and I have come to realize that we maybe care for each other a bit more than that. So now, perhaps, I am her boyfriend." It almost pained him to speak of their relationship in such terms. Boyfriends and girlfriends were for children. It also was rather awkward to explain to Dani how he and her mother had come from being colleagues one day to "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" several days later. He hoped, for Tara's sake, that Dani believed him to be speaking the truth, even if it wasn't the entire truth. |
Tara knelt to speak with Dani, pulling her robes up so that they woulnd't wrinkle. "Dani, it isn't as cut and dry as all that. Adult lives are complicated." "Yeah, sure... I get it," Dani responded, waving her hand around, her voice tinged with bitterness. "It's a grown-up thing, right?" She knew all about grown-up things that were apparently way too complicated for her. Alanna had used that excuse all the time. |
Snape had no idea what to do but, right now, he was losing whatever affection he had begun to aquire for the girl. Looking down at her, she was the same as the rest of the children he'd met. Knowing he shoudln't leave, he merely stood waiting to see what Tara would say. Perhaps she could get rid of this sulleness to bring back the intelligent child Dani had been just moments before. |
Tara tugged on her hair and stared at Dani. She really didn't know what to do with the child in this mood as she'd almost never encountered it. Maybe she was a terrible mother. "Danika," Tara's voice was a bit sharp. "How can you expect me to explain it to you when I don't quite understand it all yourself? You'll just have to be satisfied with the fact that Professor Snape did not intend to lie to you. Besides that fact, we are trying to keep things quiet. We don't like gossip. Do you think you can help us with that?" Dani had the grace to look abashed. "Yes, I can help with that. Do you think we could get dinner now?" |
"Where would you like to eat?" Snape asked. "We can eat in the kitchens again, we can join the other professors in the Great Hall, or we could walk down to Hogsmeade." |
"Is Hogsmeade like Diagon Alley?" Dani debated between getting to leave the castle again and getting the chance to meet more people in the castle. Her social world currently consisted of three people, not including Headmaster Dumbledore. |
"It is, though not quite the same. Hogsmeade is the only all-wizarding town in Britain. It doesn't have quite as many shops but, it is more spread out," Snape said then, thinking she might appreciate knowing about the Shreiking Shack, he decided to mention it. "There is also a haunted house, though you can't go inside." |
"Well, I've seen ghosts here. Does it have something different?" She considered her options, knowing they wouldn't always have the time or desire to take her into town. "I think I'd like to go and see Hogsmeade, please." She knew she was overdoing the politeness, but she was also clever enough to know she'd been a brat not too long ago. |
"If it is alright with your mother..." Snape said, looking to Tara who nodded. He took hold of Dani's and Tara's hands. "Now, if you two would get yourselves dressed, it would be my pleasure to escort you into town," he said, with a short bow, oozing the charm he had learned from his years as a Death Eater. |
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