Opposites Attract

Father Daughter Time

Chapter twelve: Father Daughter Time

[Y/N]'S POV:

As I walked down the dimly lit corridor of Hogwarts, my heart was racing with nervousness. It was my free period now, and I had to speak with my adoptive father, Professor Snape. I had told Malfoy that I would, after all, and I'm one of my word. Besides, it would be great if talking to him actually made me feel better like Malfoy told me it would. I could really use a lift to my spirit.

The entire Professor Moody mess from earlier was still gnawing at my mind. How he could possibly be a teacher acting like that towards students was beyond me. And don't even get me started on performing the unforgivables in class. In all honesty, I feel like he's oddly suspicious for a professor. Then, just to add onto all of that Malfoy had stood up for me. After getting me to think he was one of the worst people to walk these halls, he both apologized and defended me. I needed to talk to someone about it, and who better than my adoptive father, Professor Snape?

As I knocked on his office door, I could feel my palms getting sweaty. I was nervous about talking to him, especially knowing that he wasn't particularly fond of the blonde Slythrin at the moment, but I knew he would listen to me. Someone to talk to was all I really needed at the moment anyway, no matter how cold their demeanor may seem.

"Come in," he called out. I stepped inside, and he looked up from his desk, his eyes scanning me with concern. He took note of how puffy my eyes were and how my body language clearly indicated I was feeling down. But honestly the look made me feel slightly worse than I already was. "Is everything alright, [Y/N]?" he asked. 'It's obvious that I'm upset, huh?' I took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to speak.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something that happened in Professor Moody's class today." He raised an eyebrow, signaling me to continue. "I know Malfoy has been mean to me, and that you're not very happy with him at the moment either," The coldness behind Snape's eyes at the mention of Malfoy had caused me to pause in my words, piercing my lips wondering if I should go on, and eventually I did. "But he actually stood up for me when Moody was yelling at me. And I mean he was full on yelling, almost made me cry and I was surprised that Malfoy cared enough to do something about it. I... I just wanted to tell you about it, I guess."

Professor Snape looked at me with a mix of surprise and pride. "That is indeed surprising, [Y/N]. It seems that even those we expect to be the most unyielding can surprise us with their compassion." Surprised by his choice of going about this I nodded, relieved that he understood.

"I just wanted to talk to you about it, and thank you for being here for me." He smiled, and I felt a warmth in my chest which encouraged me to go on. "I mean, I know I'm not actually your daughter but it's nice knowing that I can come to talk to an adult when I need to and that you'll at least treat me like one."

"Of course, [Y/N]. You can always come to me if you need to talk. You are my daughter now, and I will always be here for you." His voice, although monotone, was genuine, which had made the corners of my lips push further upward. 'I don't care what the other students say, Snape isn't nearly as scary as they all think he is.' I then placed my bag down on a nearby desk and brought a chair over to his desk, making him suspiciously arch an eyebrow as I sat down across from him.

"So, the moral of the story is that if Malfoy could get past his inflated ego he'd actually be a great person and that Moody should be fired." I confidently stated.

"Losing his job isn't an appropriate outcome for scolding a student, [y/n]."

"No, no, no, you don't understand! It wasn't a scolding. I was having trouble casting Depulso and when I asked for help he didn't and instead yelled at me and basically called me stupid." I watched as his black eyebrows raised in astonishment upon hearing my words. "Yeah, exactly!" I confirmed his startled face as him taking my side of the story. "And don't even get me started on his actual teaching. Every single lesson is about the unforgivables, which I get that they are important to know about and everything but seriously it's getting out of hand. It's like that's the only part of the class he actually knows about. If he's not going on and on about the killing curse then he's drinking. In class! In front of students! At this point I'm just wondering what kind of alcohol he's drinking because it must be damn good if he can't seem to put it down for the life of him!" I ranted, letting my [h/l] hair fall into my face as I went on and on.

"Another reason to tell Dumbledore that I should have gotten the job." Snape bitterly commented, leaning into his desk and waiting for me to continue.

"Wait," I started, tone very confused. "What do you mean by that?" He sighed deeply, taking a long pause before deciding to respond.

"Each year I apply for the Defense Against The Dark Arts position... And each year I'm bewilderingly denied." I tilted my head hearing this, both surprised to find out that he had applied for the position to begin with and that Moody was picked over him.

"Well that's dumb, especially because Moody sucks! You may be a little scary or dull sometimes but at least you actually give a crap about your students. You don't only favor Harry Potter like he does either. He really makes it clear that Harry's his favorite."

"Is this something of which I should address?"

"Yes. I know I'm not the only one who sees it too." Snape nodded his head, taking in the fact that I wanted him to do something about Moody's favoritism and maybe even address the other issues I had brought up as well.

After that conversation had ended we sat there for a few moments, talking about various things which had stemmed from me asking who the Half-Blood Prince could be and finding out it was actually him all along. We even joked about how that technically made me the Half-Blood Princess and not the American psycho since I'm his kid and everything. As we talked, I felt a sense of belonging, a feeling that I was exactly where I was meant to be. In that moment, I knew that even though I had faced some hardships at Hogwarts, I had a family who loved me and supported me no matter what. Even if the family I grew up with was gone now, I had a perfectly good one right here.