Forget Me Not (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 16: Halloween

"It's me." He said as he knocked on her door.

"Come in." She said wearily.

"I didn't see you at breakfast." He said cautiously. "I thought maybe I'd bring something over and we could have breakfast together."

"You want to talk about last night." She said with an awkward half-smile.

"We don't have to." He said, setting her dining room table. "But I think we should at some point."

"No point dragging it out. What do you want to know?" She asked, taking a seat.

Severus paused for a moment, considering where to begin.

"Why didn't you ever mention that you're a metamorphmagus?" He asked, now pouring her a drink.

She paused, taking a bite of her bagel.

"I don't really act on it anymore, so I guess I just didn't think it mattered."

"Why not? You're so creative, I'd think you'd enjoy being able to express yourself that way."

"You saw how out of hand it got." She said, chewing her food before continuing. "I lost sight of who I was. I wasn't using it to express myself, I was using it to impress other people... and one day I realized that I didn't want to be liked for being someone I wasn't."

"That's very wise." He said, sipping his tea. "I'm not sure I would have come to the same conclusion if I'd been in your shoes. I would have given anything for a chance to re-invent myself at that age. Maybe my life would have taken a different course."

Theda was taken aback by this. Severus hadn't talked much about his school years before. He seemed so unconcerned with other people's opinions now, it was hard to imagine him trying to win his classmates' approval.

"Well... it's probably better that way. It didn't do me much good."

"It was strange seeing you with such drastically different features." He said as he began picking at his scrambled eggs.

"Yeah, I can imagine... I was always trying to become the 'perfect' girl... which is drastically different from what I actually am."

"I think..." He paused. "You look much better as yourself."

She stopped eating, looking up at him.

"Not that my opinion matters." He continued.

"No, it's... it's actually really nice to hear that." She smiled. "Thank you."

Severus was unsure what to say next, so he thought it best to change the subject.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

"Hah!" Theda scoffed. "It's quite a mess, isn't it? I spent so many years hating my father, wondering how he could abandon me... only to find out that it wasn't his fault. All those years I spent wishing my mom would come back for me when she was the one who destroyed our family." She took a long sip of her tea, which was now getting cold.

"Were you angry with Sylvia for waiting so long to tell you?"

"No. Not at all, actually. She did what she thought was best. I don't know if I would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed, but I think she was trying to spare me a lot of pain. She didn't want me to hate my mother. And I don't. My mother was... unstable. But I know it's not her fault. "

"From what I could tell, it seemed like your struggle with your invoquing abilities began around the time you started school. Does that sound about right?"