Learning of Worlds-Private

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Severus listened, craning his head off to the side as she spoke. So her mother was not present, but her grandmother had been. Seeing that his mother was out of the picture and didn't seem to be taking care of 'random' children, that ruled out his mother and his sister. At least he thought so. Who knew what secrets lied behind his human mother's facade and half-blooded sister. "I see," he echoed back to her. "Potions are unpredictable, ever-so fragile, and dangerous. I can see why your grandmother told you to hinder your interests elsewhere." Wandering through the woods was not better though. "Marvelous work th..."

He fell silent as his loyal friend returned back with Madam Pomfrey, gesturing for Severus to follow him into the hall. Reluctant, he rose from his seat and followed.

Circling around the corner and into a spot where the child couldn't see him or the emotions he could spill, Snape listened intensely with a facade. That soon dropped. In anguish, he tensed up at his lack of explanation. "I do not," he answered. 'Foolish.'

Dumbledore was quiet for a several minutes. When he spoke, his words were gentle, sensing Severus' anguish. "However, Sage became distant with, as far as I could tell, the entire Wizarding world about a year before her disappearance. Her, and her friend Elizabeth Gray. I do not know why, but I sense it had something to do with fear of something unknown. What few letters I received from her were brief and clear-cut. I heard not a word from or about Gray." He paused as Madam Pomfrey came hurrying out of the room.

"I don't know where you found the child Dumbledore but I have rarely seen one so thin and frail. I have done all I can for her tonight. Tomorrow at first light I will set about cleaning her up if she allows," Pomfrey explained in a rush. Dumbledore nodded and thanked her. She hurried back to the room, and Dumbledore looked back at Snape.

"Severus, I don't know why Sage disappeared, and I don't know why she sent you that letter. But judging on what I see before me, I do believe Ellie is Sage's daughter. They even share a birthmark."

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Severus' eyes glared at Dumbledore in fury. "You were receiving letters from her..." Her brother fell silent, thinking his thoughts through before snapping. "-and you didn't say a thing to me?" he spoke out, a low growl coming from the back of his throat as he spoke. Snape's face lied twisted. Albus hadn't told him a thing about these letters or the fact that she had been supposedly with this girl. How dare he. Though, with his current position, he'd hate to admit that he may be the reason they're not in contact.

Reeling back at his realization, his eyes narrowed in the direction of Pomfrey as she scuttled away back to her room. Thank god she was gone. Mewling brat... He owed her plenty but now wasn't the time for her bumbling buffoonery.

Dark eyes focused upon Dumbledore once again and he listened closely. At first he was tense. Eventually, his features softened as he continued on. "You're telling me that she's my niece?" he inquired. His gaze drifted onto Ellie, eyes making contact with the birth mark upon their arm and then raising to met her eyes with his own. Severus was hesitant...

Dumbledore's gaze was gentle; he could understand Snape's fury. "Severus, you know Sage was in the Order. The letters I got from her were only to assure me she was alright, nothing more." He too then looked at Ellie. The girl was making a face at something Pomfrey had said, and she shook her head vigorously. Sensing eyes upon her, she looked out the hall. Her gaze caught Snape's.

With some of the dirt and grime gone, it was easier to see the features that were so much like her mother's. She had Sage's pearly white skin and her subtle, sharp features. Her eyes, dark but full of life, sparkled. Slowly, Ellie smiled at Snape. Even the smile mimicked the woman gone for so many years.

"As for your question, yes. I do believe the girl is your niece, Severus. And I believe this 'Nan' she speaks of is most likely Elizabeth. I would be happy to help you pursue this matter if you so chose."Dumbledore spoke with a sense of knowing. He smiled. "Go. Talk to her if you will."

Pomfrey finally handed Ellie a nightgown of some sort before going to her office, leaving the child only. Ellie tore her gaze from Snape and looked out the window instead. Her shoulders sagged.

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Yellowed teeth clenched together, a dark gaze narrowing upon Dumbledore as he spoke. His jaw slid off to the side, brow furrowing. Severus was contemplating on speaking out against the headmaster, especially after his sister's presence had been kept secret after all this time. To think that he had no right to seeing these letters was pitiful. Still, the professor held back. "I had every right to see those," he snapped back, "Don't do it again." Deep down he knew that Dumbledore still wouldn't show them those letters anyways, but he hoped that the headmaster would live up to his demand.

Nervous, he turned to Ellie. For a moment, he turned back to Dumbledore with a questioning gaze, but then let his eyes fall upon the child again with a hesitant expression. This child was his niece. His long-lost sister's daughter... The only remaining piece of family he could ever have contact with. What should he even say? Instead, he sat silent. There had to be something other that silence. Rolling his head and straightening his back, Severus attempted to put a hand on the female's shoulder. "This is as confusing as it is for me as it is for you," he muttered softly. Hopefully she would understand.

Dumbledore watched Severus depart, his heart pitying him. He watched man and child as Snape sat down beside her. Smiling sadly to himself, he decided it was time to leave. Snape, nor anyone else hopefully, would have any more use of him tonight. He could question Potter and Malfoy tomorrow. They should already be asleep anyhow. Smiling, he went to his office.

Ellie flinched slightly when Snape's hand landed on her shoulder. She had not heard him coming, and her mind was so full of thoughts she was distracted. She looked up at him, her eyes full of questions. "You look a lot like my mom. Or, at least I think you do. She died when I was young, and so Nan takes care of me. I've only ever seen pictures of her. She was always smiling, but she looked sad too." She suddenly looked back out the window.

Ellie, to her own great surprised, took some comfort from Snape being beside her. "It's hard for Nan to talk about Mom. I think she blames herself for her death in some way, but I don't know why. Nan always told me she just disappeared. How can it be her fault if she just disappeared?" The girl, with her mother's eyes, gazed up at Severus Snape as though he would know all the answers.

Friendly nudge.

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Soft eyes gazed at him. Severus held his head high as per usual and kept himself steady, despite wanting to sulk down with her and reminisce on the old memories. Though Dumbledore and Pompfrey left, he still had an expectation to uphold around here, even to someone who was supposedly related to him. After all, the professor was really closed off, unable to form many bonds. Over time, perhaps, he'd break out of his shell. For now, his trust in their word was rather dull, no matter how much he wanted to believe it. Severus, as per usual, was alone.

A dark gaze met hers, finally allowing himself to acknowledge her words and attention. "I see," he muttered lowly. "What's your Nan's name, Ellie?" Her words would determine whether he trusted her and believed in such an absurd tale from the child in the woods.

The other words she spoke ran through his auditory loop a few times over. Disappearance... Death... Blame. Severus' jaw tightened. This was a question he could not answer, frustrating him considerably. "I do not know." But he did, as he was beginning to feel the same was as Nan. If only he knew Sage was away, he could of helped her, even if it was ultimately her decision to go dark in the first place. They could of had a better life. Ellie wouldn't be alone in the woods, Sage would be alive (per say), and he would have someone to trust in. That's all he could ask for...

Ellie was not blind to the man's distrust. She had seen the same stiffness, the same refusal to let one's guard down, before. However, she could not blame him. Even in her youth, she knew how strange her situation was. A child wandering around at night who just appears. A child who refuses to talk of herself or her family much. She could not blame them for mistrusting her. But, it did hurt. What could she possibly do against them? They knew magic; she knew nothing.

Hearing Snape's question, then his answer to her own, she frowned. Unable to meet his gaze, Ellie looked towards the dark window. She had been raised not to trust, not to reveal anything. But she was tired of lying. She was tired of hiding. She, in her young world, could not fathom what could be so horrible she had to hide it away. What secrets was she supposed to be hiding? And, had she not already revealed them by being here now? Her shoulders sagged; she was exhausted. Exhausted of lying and hiding.

"My Nan's name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth....Grey. I heard someone talking about it one time,"Ellie whispered, clearly unsure if she should be sharing this secret. She glanced back at Snape, uncertainty in her dark eyes so much like Sage's. "She says she's not really my nan. It was just a joke between her and Mom, and the title stuck,"she added softly. She looked at the window once more.

Elizabeth had been in Slytherin and in the same year as Snape, but the two had never been close. Grey had been a mystery to many at Hogwarts for she only talked to a few other students. Not even Lily had been able to get her to talk. But Sage had. It had been more of an accidental meeting than anything. Both had been in the library during Sage's first year, and the two had ran into each other. Instead of exploding, as was her normal reaction, Elizabeth had only laughed. From that moment, the two had been something like friends.

When the war had started between the Order and the Death Eaters, Elizabeth had refused to take a side. But the Death Eaters had wanted her. Despite her temper and solitude, she was a powerful witch. Because of this, she had been forced into hiding. Within six months of the war's start, she had vanished. She had never been seen again.

Ellie yawned suddenly. As she drew her knees to her chest, she returned her attention to Severus. "Did you know my mom?"she dared to ask.

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His gaze softened as she spoke. Nevertheless, he did tense slightly at the long-lost female's name. 'Elizabeth Grey,' Severus repeated in his thoughts. Truly, was it his place to comment? Though the headmaster had best interest in heart, was it an okay decision to allow Ellie to stay? To ruin the child's innocence would break his heart. Then again, his own foolish and blind-sided attitude towards the situation was already doing that. If he spoke further, more damage would be done. While he had little interest for his own feelings, he could only sympathize with the girl's situation and hope that he said the right thing. No matter if he had to sacrifice his own curiosity.

The more he longed for an answer, the worse Severus would feel. Underneath a pained gaze, a man craved to forget everything that had happened today for the sake of his own curiosity. He had buried those unfinished tales a long time ago. Having his untied endings be rooted up from the ground was one of his greatest fears.

Eventually he slipped out of thought, finding himself in a predicament. What Dumbledore rambled on about was true. The comparison was unsettling. For awhile he got lost in her words, and compared his past friend to this niece of his. A dark gaze scanned her up and down a few times. No matter how many times he looked her over, all he could see was the reflection of Sage staring back at him. It sickened him.

Trying to keep himself afloat, the frightened professor tried to answer her questions fairly. "Yes, I knew your grandmum," he reminisced back. "She was an acquaintance during my schooling." 'And the best friend to my dearest forgotten sister.' "Not necessarily well though..." There were a few moments that he could remember of Sage and Elizabeth fondly. Sometimes they even included him in their acts. Nevertheless, she was always kind to him. Despite his distaste for his sister's disappearance and his jealousy in the strength that she had, there was still hope of progressing past all of this. Ellie just happened to be the first step.

"Your mother..." His words trailed off. What did he say to such a thing without being an unintelligible mess? "If I'm not wrong-" That was rare with Dumbledore's insight. "-is my sister." That was a big leap, but he had to trust his gut that by being forward would help in this situation. "Her name is Sage, yes?" he reiterated.