ALWAYS (Harry Potter fanfiction) (Snape fanfiction)

Chapter 8

"Elena, you come down or I swear I'll go for you!" Arabella yelled from the base  of the stairs.

"No yelling, Arabella" Severus said as he passed next to his daughter.

"But Dad! We are already going late!" Arabella complained, "Elena! As your older sister, I order you to come down!"

Arabella looked at Viper, who hissed in frustration. Her owner's sister took more time to get ready than her owner, and that was saying something.

"Can you believe her?" Arabella asked Viper and the snake hissed, "I know, she's taking more than me" Viper answered with two short hisses, "I don't take that long" Viper stuck her tongue out without hissing.

"Are you talking with Viper again?" Severus asked.

"Yes, tell her I don't take long when I get ready" Arabella told her dad.

"I quite agree with you, Viper" Severus said and Viper hissed in response.

Elena went down the stairs to see Arabella arguing with Viper and their father. Elena smiled lightly, envying her sister's happiness. Elena had envied her sister since she was in second year, Arabella was always easygoing and happy, she had friends in all houses and everyone respected her. Elena always felt lonely, Cho was always by her side but she had no other friends. She got along with Cedric, but only because of her sister. In her house, everyone was pretty nice, but they were also very competitive, Elena was one of the best of her year, and that caused that some of her housemates were hostile against her.

"Well, look who decided to come down" Arabella said, smiling widely at her sister.

At times like that, Severus saw the difference between his daughters. Arabella was very much like Lily, always friendly and mostly kind. Sometimes he doubted why did the Sorting Hat placed her in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, he would have been just as proud. Elena was very much like him, sulky and almost friendless. He had seen his youngest daughter with a frown or a sad face some days at school. Elena used her hair like her father did, long and always lose, most times it fell in front of her face. Arabella used her hair wavy and not so long, almost always in a ponytail or a braid, leaving her face free.

"Shall we go now?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yes! Finally!" Arabella said smiling, dragging her sister to the door.

Arabella was entering her fifth year and Elena her fourth. Arabella was excited and yet sad of the new school year. She knew she was going to be a new amazing year but she knew this was also the year that Cedric started going out with Cho. Arabella's smile was erased from her face when she thought of Cedric and Cho. Arabella frowned and clenched her jaw, looking at the small scar on her wrist. It was a scar that was made in a game in third year on the game against Hufflepuff, she had fallen off her broom and cut herself with a rock. In fact, it was Cedric who had made her fall, he was zooming for the snitch and pushed her off in the process.

Severus snapped his fingers in front of Arabella's face, who had zoned out in her thoughts. It was quite normal for her to do that. She had spent many days in detention because she didn't pay attention in class. Severus had taken her to muggle healers and they had told them that she had something called ADHD that made her attention differ and made it difficult for her to pay attention to something for very long. For Arabella it troubled her mostly in potions because she couldn't concentrate on the task.

Severus and his daughters took a portkey to Muggle London. Somehow they managed to blend in and not be noticed. Arabella heard someone calling her and she stopped dead on her tracks. She looked around and saw Cedric walking with his parents.