Disclaimer - Sadly, the plotline and characters all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. The only character I have the pleasure of creating is Miss Charlotte Malkin.
August 1st, 1991
“Happy birthday, darling,” the man in the dark clothing said, leaning down to kiss the top of the girl's head.
She grunted in response, her eyes cracked open, the smell of bacon cooking was the only thing keeping her upright in her seat. Her dark hair was sticking in all directions, her tan skin pale from sleeping.
Snape places the plate in front of her. “Eat up. We're going to Diagon Alley for your school supplies later today, after we celebrate you turning eleven.”
Just days before, an owl flew in, delivering the child's acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Severus could not have been prouder of his daughter as he watched her read over the letter, a bright smile lighting up her face. After getting food in her system, the girl brightened up considerably.
"So, Charlotte," said Snape. "What would you like to do today? It would only seem fitting for you to choose the activity, it is your birthday after all."
The girl's grin was nothing short of mischievious. Others found odd that Charlotte was such a cheerful child, the opposite of the man who raisede her. While his closet consisted of all black, hers was filled with bright colors from every part of hte rainbow. No one was even sure if the girl owned one piece of black clothing.
She knew of her upbringing. Severus wanted no secrets between himself and the child he cared for so deeply. He had always been open about how she was not his biological daughter and how he had acquired her at such a young age. Charlotte, despite being so young in age, always admired him for his honesty. She turly considered him as her father in every definition of the word and loved him as such.
"I would ove to go to the zoo if we have time," she stated. She loved animals and took great measures to gain more knowledge of them. "The muggle zoo."
Severus had seen this coming, she had been asking for weeks to go. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate or accept her talents, it was just that animals, much like children, never seemed to like him. The amount of muggles that would be ther also made him nervous. However, it was the child's eleventh birthday, one that Snape found to be very important.
"Of curse," he finally said and was rewarded with a beautiful grin.
~*~
The zoo was packed with muggles, but Charlotte took her time examining every creature she could lay her eyes on. At one point, she leaned close to her father clad in his muggle clothing-- dark jeans, a black shirt and a black jacket-- and whispered, "Those creatures aren't like the one in our world, are they?"
Growing up on the grounds of Hogwarts, Charlotte had seen a lot of different animals stoll on by. Smiling down at his intelligent girl, he agreed with her. "No. No, not at all."
As they approached a snake exhibite, they noticed a sign reading: "Closed."
Charlotte frowned. She never liked snakes very much, but they did remind her of dragons, her favorite creature out in the world. Besides cats, that was.
"I'm sorry," Severus said, patting his daughter's shoulder. "We have one animal left, the lion. Do you still want to see it?"
She grinned and nodded. He watched as she ran ahead, her dark curls flying out behind her. He was always amazed at how messy her hair would get, how it never seemed to stay in place. It reminded him a bit of Potter's hair, but he didn't dwell on that thought. He knew she was not related to him, even if she didn't look very much like the picture of Hannah and William Malkin.
