Broken Glass | D.M.

seventeen

Draco and I are hanging out in the living room when I hear the door open and see a person walk in.

"Severus, how great of you to join us," says Narcissa.

"Hello, Narcissa. Thank you for having me," Snape responds.

He pauses for a moment before saying, "Hello Draco, hi Thisbe."
"Hi uncle," I respond, slightly surprised to see him at the Malfoy Manor. I mean, I know he's good friends with the Malfoys but I didn't know he was coming.

"Why don't we get you settled in a room?" Narcissa asks Severus as she leads him to a bedroom on the first floor.

When they're out of sight, Draco turns to me.

"Wait, he's your uncle?!" Draco asks me.
"Well he's not really my uncle. He's my mother's cousin and they were in Slytherin together, but I still call him my uncle," I explain.

My mother was a slytherin and my father was a Ravenclaw. To say the least, she was pretty disappointed when I got sorted into Ravenclaw. Maybe that's why she hates me so much.

"Why's he here?" I ask.

"Beats me, I didn't know he was coming either. I mean, my mother and Snape have been friends since they were at Hogwarts together, and I know they're still close. He visits the Manor sometimes but he hasn't come in a while," he tells me.

"Oh. I wonder if our mothers were friends at all."

There's an awkward moment of silence. I figure this is as good a time as any to bring up what happened the other day.

"Draco, I want to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" He asks me curiously.

I sit on the grey cloth couch in the living room and he follows my lead.

"About the other day... what your father did. I-" he cuts me off.
"Look, he's a good father, he just loses his temper sometimes. But he cares about me, I know he does."
"I'm not saying that he doesn't care about you, but it's not okay for him to take his anger out on you. You do know that, right?" I ask him.
"Of course I do, but it's what I have to deal with, okay? There's nothing you can do about it so just drop it. We'll be going back to school in a few days anyways."

He's being really defensive; not a good sign. What I want more than anything is to help him, but I don't know what to do. I don't know if there's anything I can do. So instead, I resort to comforting him.

"Draco, I just want you to know that whatever happens, you can always talk to me. And if you don't want to talk about it, I'm here for you anyways," I tell him.
"I know," he responds and gives me a faint smile.

"Merlin, I need a drink, do you want anything?" Draco asks me, standing up from the couch suddenly.
"Draco... it's 2 in the afternoon. Don't you think it's a bit early for that?" I ask him.
"Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere," he responds. "So I'll take that as a you don't want anything?"
"No thanks, but maybe later," I say.

There's really no point in arguing about this. I mean, so what if he's drinking in the afternoon? We're on vacation. And plus, it's not like he'd stop even if we argued about it. He can be so stubborn sometimes.

Narcissa comes into the living room and frowns at the drink in her son's hand.

"Thisbe, could I talk to you for a moment in the library?" She asks me.

"Umm, yes, of course," I respond. Shit. What did I do wrong? Am I in trouble?

I follow her down the marble hallway to the library.

"Why don't you take a seat, sweetheart," she tells me. "So, I thought it would be helpful to have a teacher watch over you when you go back to Hogwarts. Saying as Severus is your uncle, how would you feel if we told him?"

"NO!" I quietly scream. There's no way I'm telling him.

"Darling, I know the thought of a family member knowing about your struggles is scary, but I think it would be beneficial to your recovery. And if you're worried about him telling your mother, he can't, as he's a teacher at Hogwarts and therefore legally cannot share your personal information with anyone, with the exception of Madam Pomfrey, without your permission."

"It's just he's my uncle. He can't know."

"Please, just think about it. For your safety, someone at school, an adult, needs to know. I care about you, Draco cares about you, and so many other people in your life care about you."

"I just don't want Uncle Sev to know."

"Well, you must at least notify Madam Pomfrey of your struggles, and I'll be following up with her and Draco to make sure you tell her. It's most likely that she'll tell your teachers, for your safety of course, and I think it would be better for Severus to hear it from you rather than her. He cares about you a great deal, you know."

"I don't want to tell him. I don't want to tell anyone."

"I know it's hard, Thisbe, but it's for your health and safety. Would it be helpful if we tell him together, or if I were to do it for you?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just not ready to tell him."

"Okay, well, please at least consider it, darling." She gives me a motherly smile.

"Okay," I mutter softly.

He can't know. Why? He just can't. He's my uncle and he can't know. I really hate this situation I'm in right now. But hey, the only person I have to blame for putting me in this situation is myself.