Stay with Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 4)

They're Listening

Steven was a man of medium height, his posture holding him up well. He carried broad shoulders, draped with a black button-up, his jaw squared with a cleanly-shaven beard. Hazel eyes hid underneath his bushy eyebrows, his large nose drawing attention from the aged wrinkles that creased at the edges of his eyes.

The man stepped forward once more, approaching Ellie cautiously.

"Ellie," the man spoke in a husky voice. "It's me... your father. You don't recognize me?"

Ellie merely stared at her father with wide eyes as she processed his appearance. For a man she expected to be distraught at the absence of his own daughter, he seemed to have been taken care of well. It bothered her that his clothes were far more luxurious than anything she or her mother owned at home, whose lives only went downhill since Steven's departure.

All her life, Ellie had wished she had more time with her father, hoping that one day he would magically appear before her. She imagined him standing angel-like from afar, instantly recognizing the kind smile he once gave to his daughter. She imagined breaking into a full-fledged sprint as she ran to him, laughing as he caught her. The scenarios she had fantasized about meeting him were always happy, never considering the possibility of anything else. Yet, the day her wishes had finally been granted, Ellie wanted nothing more than to wish she never saw him.

"Do you recognize me?" her father repeated cautiously, his curious eyes analyzing his daughter.

"Answer your father, dear," Bellatrix said in a singsong tone, smiling so wide that one could see the depths of her soul from behind her rotten teeth.

"Bellatrix. Out," Steven barked.

"Hm. Such a shame I won't witness this lovely father-daughter reunion. It was anticlimactic, anyways," Bellatrix shrugged. "Come along now, Draco, dear. Let's leave the Evans to catch up on some long-awaited family time."

Bellatrix took the blonde-haired boy by the arm, pulling him out of the room. A deafening silence filled the four walls as Ellie and her father were left alone.

"Why would I recognize you? You abandoned me," Ellie said coldly.

"Not the tone I was expecting," Steven remarked, his expression confused at his daughter's response.

"Well, what were you expecting? You expect me to jump into your arms after all these years? Expect me cry tears of joy after seeing you? Expect us to be best friends after years of your lies?" Ellie snapped, bringing her arms to fold over her chest.

To her surprise, the man laughed out loud, seeming to be amused. He had a hearty laugh, one that caused him to hunch over.

"You find this funny?" Ellie scowled, her eyebrows frowning at her father.

"No, no. Not at all. I just think it's quite interesting to see how much you resemble me. It proves you really are my daughter," Steven explained casually.

"I am nothing like you," Ellie spat. "I'm not a coward who falls at the knees to the wizard who kills ruthlessly. I'm not someone who spends their whole life hiding in fear. I'm not someone who abandons their child and their wife. I'm not someone who has made their daughter's life as miserable as can be. And yet, you don't seem to realize that."

"You're in Hufflepuff, correct?" he questioned, completely disregarding her words.

Ellie nodded, her eyes flickering to any object other than her father.

"I'm surprised you weren't sorted into Slytherin. You would've made a fine serpent. You'd take after myself, live up the Evans legacy."

"I have no legacy to fulfill in Slytherin," Ellie insisted. "Why? Does having your daughter as a Hufflepuff embarrasses you?"

"No, Ellie. It's just that... Slytherins like myself aren't necessarily known to offspring Hufflepuffs. It's very rare for that to happen, especially after I've seen how much you and I are alike. It seems that you and I need to bond over certain activities to... toughen you up."

"My mother is lovely Hufflepuff, and a damn strong one too,"

"-That she is," he interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me," Ellie scolded. "Especially about Mom."

A new expression washed over Ellie, her eyebrows furrowing in response. Her curiosity grew as her eyes bore into her father's.

"Actually, why don't you tell me about Mom? Why did you leave us?" Ellie urged, her voice raising ever so slightly.

He stayed quiet, simply staring at his daughter blankly.

"Answer me," Ellie demanded.

"Remember who you're talking to," Steven countered, stepping forward to his daughter.

"Answer the damn question. Why did you leave?" Ellie repeated, persistent upon receiving answer.

Ellie's father said nothing but instead rolled up his sleeves to the elbow, the Dark Mark prominent on the inside of his forearm. The man instead turned over his arm, flipping the mark on its downside. He withdrew his wand, a nine inch made of Ash wood with a dragon heartstring core. He silently waved his wand at his outer arm, producing faint lettering to appear on the skin.

The faint words read: They're listening.

Ellie glanced at her father who gave a wary look. He lowered the sleeve of his shirt quickly, causing the lettering to disappear instantly, dusts of magic floating about the area.

He spoke carefully, articulating his words with caution, though his words were honest.

"They came to me when I was at my lowest, you see. They saw my potential, the power I could hold. I was told my connections would be very... rewarding, especially to the Dark Lord," Steven explained, emphasizing the benefits they had offered him.

"Your blood status. Mom told me they didn't accept anyone with Muggle blood. Why haven't they killed you yet?" Ellie questioned in a low voice, drawing suspicion as she started to connect the pieces.

He leaned closer to Ellie, hovering his mouth over her ear.

"Half-blood, I tell them," he explained, an almost muted whisper escaping from his lips. He withdrew with a small smile in attempt to gain her trust.

Ellie froze, her blood running cold as she saw her own grin on his face, an exact replica of one she shared with so many people. Disgust washed over her, not wanting any connection to the man who stood before her.

"Telling me that doesn't change the fact that you're a cruel person," Ellie muttered as she bared her teeth at him.

A glimmer of disappointment made an appearance on the man's face but was quickly replaced by his hard features.

"You chose to befriend murderers. Dark wizards who don't give a damn about anybody but themselves. You all praise blood superiority, yet you kill ruthlessly, no matter their blood," Ellie continued, raising her voice.

"We do not spill magical blood," he reasoned simply.

Anger overcame Ellie as painful flashbacks flooded her memories. She balled her fists, digging her fingernails into her palms.

"But you did! You murdered a Pureblood! An innocent boy whom I called my best friend! The boy I looked up to, the boy who was there for me! Three years ago in Little Hangleton Graveyard, remember?"

Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered his lifeless body hitting the dirt, his eyes open and unseeing. She remembered Fleur's scream, Harry's cry, and Amos's sob as he clutched his son. The hatred for the man that stood before her only grew as he gave no reaction.

"That wasn't me," he defended as he recalled that night in the graveyard.

"You, Peter, you're all the same! You're not excused just because you weren't the one to do the deed. You were still there, and you watched it happen!" Ellie screamed, her throat dry from blaring insults that erupted from within.

"You know what? You're not my Dad, and you're the furthest person I'd consider a father," Ellie continued. "You don't deserve to be in my life! You are nothing! And you will always be no-"

Her words were cut off by the petrifying spell that rendered her unconscious. Her body hit the floor stiffly, the stunning charm having worked on the Hufflepuff.