Leah Snape

Chapter 4

The rest of the summer flew by, and the harder Severus tried to get through to his daughter, the harder she shut down. Soon she got to the point where she was merely the shell of a girl, hiding within herself all hours of the day, every day of the week. 

The week before Leah's first term at Hogwarts began, she and her father moved into his Dungeon rooms. To these rooms Leah was already accustomed, as she spent every school term here with her father. The dungeons were more than a second home to Leah, they were her sanctuary. She could get lost in their dark halls, and not even care to find her way back. She would wander for hours, alone, discovering new passages, new rooms. She often found that if she walked long enough, she would make it back to their little suite. It wasn't as if her father missed her presence anyway. She would have loved to explore the rest of the castle, though he strictly forbade her to do so. Severus Snape did not want his daughter gallivanting about the corridors, disturbing other professors or getting herself in trouble. No, he would not allow that to happen.

Because of this rule, the only other Hogwarts employee Leah was familiar with was the Headmaster himself, Albus Dumbledore. He often took time out of his day to visit Leah in her adventures about the dungeons, and oft managed to find her, despite how many twists and turns she had dared to take.  Leah had grown to love the only man throught her 11 years at the castle, and had taken to telling him everything that was on her mind. It was only Dumbledore who knew how neglected Leah felt. And it was only Dumbledore who saw the side of Leah she didn't dare to show anyone else. 

It was three days before the start of the term, and Leah was once again roaming her dungeon paradise. Though her adventures had started six years prior, she was once again in a place she had never been before. Turning a corner, she saw Albus, sitting on a small stool agianst the wall. She wasn't all that surprised to see him, and he didn't appear to be that surprised to see her. In fact, it was as if he was waiting for her to arrive.

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{A/N: I am SO sorry that this is so short and that it sucks. I have intense writer's block (already) and no time. ): I'm hoping after this next week that I'll be able to write more. I'm trying as hard as I can, I promise!}