Lilliana Snape (Harry Potter Book 3)

Part 13

I was worrying, to say the least. I didn’t want to go through with dad’s plan because I didn’t want it to backfire ending up with me actually having to live with the Malfoy’s. I didn’t want to be associated with them; they are the worst of the worst...apart from Lord Voldemort of course but then, if Dumbledore was right and Lucius only wanted me because Snape has me, I must do as I’m told to save our relationship but when the day came for me to meet with Lucius, I was still scared about what the outcome might be.

Dad had excused me from lessons for the afternoon and summoned me to his office a good hour before our meeting with Lucius so that we could go over our plan.

“You must be as sickly sweet as you can manage” he told me though I could see that even suggesting it, pained him. He hated it when I acted clingy.

I frowned at him “what, like this?” I slid off my chair and pouted in what I hoped made me look ‘sweet and innocent’. “I missed you daddy” I crawled onto his lap and flung my arms around his neck as tightly as I could manage “please don’t make me go back to live with him; I want to live with mummy and my brother but can we get a Chihuahua, they’re so tiny and cute but Snape wouldn’t let me have one and can we name her Tinkerbelle? Do you like pink; can I have a pink bedroom?”

Dad prised me off him looking appalled but he allowed me to stay on his lip “two things; how old are you and what is Tinkerbelle?”

“Tinkerbelle?” I shrugged “I think she’s some muggle fairy but I’m not sure; I saw her in a toy shop when I was ten.”

“I think, regrettably, that that is exactly what we’re looking for.” He smiled briefly “if that doesn’t put Lucius off then I think that the idea of getting a Chihuahua will.”

I grinned at him “I really hope it does work; I don’t want to live with him.”

There aren’t many times when dad emotional but sometimes pigs do fly and my dad does cry. A single tear escaped from his eye; he held me to him and whispered, as we embraced “I don’t want you to live with him either; I think that if you left...I’d die.”

The emotion in his voice sparked my waterworks because I wasn’t too used to seeing him cry and when dad cries, it means that the world is falling down.

The only other time I remember him really crying was when I was very young and he’d gotten so mad at me that he’d lost his temper and blasted red sparks at me with his wand; it didn’t do anymore than tickle me a little but it had scared me so much that I was terrified of him. I guess that he’d felt so guilty about scaring me and fearful that I’d never forgive him that he just cracked. I found him later that night sitting in his favourite arm chair, in front of the fire, with a glass of something in his hand and he was sobbing. I felt that it was my fault that he was crying and the guilt was so overwhelming that I rushed over to him and begged him to keep me.

We spent the next ten or so minutes just sitting together and praying that we weren’t going to be forced apart by the Malfoy’s.

The knock on the door broke us apart and I fell off his lap as Dumbledore stepped into the room. He looked slightly amused at the sight before him but he didn’t laugh, he just said “Mr Malfoy just sent me a message; he’ll be with us in just a few-” before he finished speaking, however, the fire had turned green and a man was spinning into view.

As soon as, what I assumed was, Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the hearth I flew over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Daddy, I’m so glad you’re here! I can’t wait to go home! Is your house big? Snape’s house is tiny and it smells really weird.”

Lucius stared at me with his cold, grey eyes; he looked confused. I doubt Draco ever hugged him. “Well, I live in a Manor and yes, it is big because...it’s a Manor.”

“Cool!” I shrieked “when do we leave; can we go now? I can’t wait to redecorate my bedroom; I really love pink, everything has to be bright pink...oh, oh can we get a Chihuahua? They’re so cute and cuddly and you’d look so adorable with her! I will name her Tinkerbelle and she can have a pink collar and one of those dog prams and a bag you can carry her around in.” I spoke so fast and high pitched so that he couldn’t interrupt me even if he wanted to. Lucius was just looking at me, he was completely speechless. I tugged on his arm “can we go now please?”

“Uhm...no, I don’t think so.”

I made myself cry. “Why, don’t you want me; what did I do?”

“Just take her!” Snape snapped “she’s completely useless, she’s terrified of spiders and faints at the sight of blood; I have no use for her.”

“Why the change of heart?” Malfoy asked me suspiciously “you didn’t want to be with us before so why now?”

“I don’t like him” I glowered at dad “he hates me and he makes me cry all the time.”

“You cry at everything” dad snapped “you’re such a sad excuse for a child that I pity you.” He looked at Lucius “take her, I don’t want her; she’s completely and utterly useless.”

“You cry all the time?”

“Only because he’s mean to me” I pouted “but you won’t be mean to me will you? You love me, that’s why you want me. I’ve been waiting for you to get me for like ever! I was beginning to think that you’d forgotten about me.” I clasped his left hand in both of mine.

Lucius sniffed at my touch and instinctively pulled his hand free and pushed me away. “If I may speak” Dumbledore stated, not as oblivious to mine and dad’s plan as Lucius is, he was smiling “I suggest that, if you are willing Lucius, that Lilliana stays with you over the holidays instead of her returning to Severus’s. It’s clearly what she wants and I assume that it’s what you want to seeing as you’re here.”

“I was hoping that she’d be a bit more like...” Lucius was glaring at me...

“Like Draco?” I offered “I love Draco, he’s so brilliant but our individuality defines who we are. He’s a boy so he’s meant to be all strong and...cold and I’m a girl, you can’t expect us to be the same...we’re different genders!”

“Of course” he agreed “but I didn’t think that you’d be so emotional.”

“I’m a girl!” I cried...literally, sparking the waterworks again. “You can’t leave me again daddy, you can’t leave me with him!”

Lucius considered this for a moment before smiling grimly and nodding “of course I won’t leave you. You can come to the Manor for Christmas and we’ll get you settled in. I’m sure that Draco will be glad of the company.” He turned to dad as he stepped toward the fire “thank you for taking care of her, Severus, I will repay you.” And then just like that, he was gone.

Our plan had backfired.