Flying Blind

Chapter 6 Crime and Punishment.

Ellenore continued to hide her true feelings and memories from her friends and father for the next two months. Severus put his every spare moment into researching a way for Ellenore to use legilimency without eye contact, but he was stumped as to how to accomplish this goal. He hated the idea of letting his daughter down in any way. Her current mood, as of late, was something that plagued his mind and made it difficult for him to concentrate.

He sat alone in his office reading everything on the art of legilimency, hoping to come across a loop hole of some kind, but his thoughts kept getting in the way. He took a photo out of his top desk drawer and gazed down at it for what seemed like a long time. It was a moving and talking photo of his wife that he pulled out when he needed to hear her soft voice. As he looked at the photo, Severus sighed and ran his fingertips over the smooth glass.

“Vivian, I wish that you were really here. Our daughter has changed these past few months, and I just don’t understand it.” The beautiful woman in the frame smiled and shook her head at her husband.

“You haven’t spoken to me in quite a while, Severus. I was starting to collect dust in your desk drawer. What’s bothering you about Ellenore, my darling?” Severus wiped a stray tear from his eye before he answered.

“I find myself wondering if I made the right choice in bringing Ellenore to Hogwarts. We used to be so much closer than we are now. She used to confide in me, come to me with her problems and let me comfort her. Now, she barely speaks to me or others around her. It’s like she’s shutting down and pulling away. It almost feels like she’s not the same little girl that we raised together and it bothers me.”

“She will always be your little girl, Severus. However, she is growing into a young lady. Puberty hits everyone differently and at different times. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps Ellenore is just growing up?” Severus sat back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

“If that is the case then why didn’t she confide in me, Vivian?” The portrait of Vivian Snape rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I should think that the answer to that particular question was obvious, darling. You’re a man, and there are just some things that a young lady will never be comfortable speaking about with a man, especially if that man happens to be her father. If I know our daughter, she has found an older female to confide matters of a personal nature to. Have you forgotten how difficult it is to be a teenager?” Severus looked down at the portrait incredulously.

“Do you really think she’s hit puberty already?” Vivian nodded and smiled serenely back up at him. “You don’t think she’ll… well, you know?” he asked nervously. Vivian shook her head and sighed.

“Severus, I know that all of this is a bit much for you to handle, but have a little faith in Ellenore. She’s no fool after all. She’s more like you than you know. When she feels like it, she will confide in you again, I am quite sure of it. So don’t linger on it, or you’ll never get anywhere with your research.” Severus smiled and kissed the portrait before placing it back inside his desk drawer.

“You know me too well, Vivian.”

A week before the Christmas break, Severus and Minerva were the unlucky two instructors who were chosen to give the all-important facts of life speech to the students. Severus was to give the speech to the boys and Minerva to the girls. Owing to the fact that he had performed this vital duty before, he found himself wondering if Minerva would consider trading places with him, just this once. After all, it wasn’t every day that a professor had one of their own children in attendance. He wanted to be the one to answer any questions that Ellenore might possibly have.