Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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The following morning, Severus wore a firm scowl on his face as he stalked through the stony corridors of Hogwarts.
"Ah, Severus!" McGonagall exclaimed once he walked into her office, "How lovely it is to see you again!"
She smiled fondly as Severus nodded and approached the chair across from her desk's mahogany edge.
"The pleasure is all mine, Minerva. You look well." He greeted his friend as they both took their seats.
"As do you." McGonagall replied, "I would have never guessed family life would have suited our very own Professor Snape so well..........Forgive me, I suppose you must be called Minister for Magic now!"
"You flatter me, Minerva." Severus quipped, "........My professional life has been largely dedicated to academia and its pursuits, a term or two of public office will hardly change that."
McGonagall smiled wryly as a heavy silence settled between them.
Severus bristled under its weight as he frowned, "May I ask then, what matter Hogwarts has to discuss with the Ministry? While I am certainly glad to be reunited with an old friend, Minerva, your request struck Harriet and I as more than a touch......odd."
"Forgive me, Severus." She answered, "I was careful with my wording, in case my letter fell into the wrong hands."
"'The wrong hands'......?" Severus echoed as he furrowed his brow.
McGonagall took a deep breath before she looked at her guest and began to explain, "Hogwarts sent a letter yesterday to one Magnolia Snape, who lives on the edge of Hogsmeade's forest."
"How strange......." Severus said as his frown deepened, "Perhaps the parcel became lost in the mail?"
"On the contrary, Severus, I know quite well the owl sent to carry the letter did in fact, reach its destination." McGonagall nodded.
Severus narrowed his eyes at her incredulously as she reached out and handed him Maggie's reply as she nodded, ".......Based on the response we received."
McGonagall watched as Severus took the letter from her and read over his daughter's handwriting with a scowl.
She frowned as Severus raised his dark gaze to meet hers with a look of mortified disbelief on his pale face.
"You may want to have a chat with your daughter, Severus." McGonagall suggested, "We sent her letter, but it doesn't seem as if Miss Snape is interested in receiving any more."
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Severus returned to his office at the Ministry a short while later with Maggie's response hidden in the pocket of his robes.
While the children were home with Ingrid and Disencan, Severus took the opportunity to discuss the issue with Harriet in between handling his duties.
He watched a frown drift over his wife's face as she read the message their daughter had sent to the castle.
".......Maggie wrote this?" Harriet asked as she glanced up at her husband once she had finished.
"Shall we speak to her about it this evening?" Severus frowned.
"I.....I've never heard of anyone refusing their Hogwarts letter." She laughed mirthlessly as she raised a hand to her head, "I.....I'm not sure what to think of it, to be honest."
"The situation is difficult for you and I to understand, yes." Severus drawled, ".......Though I would beg you to see our daughter's reluctance as a sign of our own parental success."
Harriet scoffed and asked, ".......What do you mean?"
"You and I were both quite pleased to receive our letters, were we not?" Severus questioned.
"Of course I was...." Harriet smiled, "Sev, I was thrilled!"
Severus nodded, "And did either of us come from happy homes?"
"...........No." She admitted with a bitter frown, "No, we didn't."
Severus watched the realization dawn on his wife's face as she raised an eyebrow.
"You've been a wonderful mother, my love." Severus praised his mate as he pulled her close.
"And you've been a good father." Harriet complimented him as she cupped his face in her hands.
Severus and Harriet sought comfort in each other as they shared a deep kiss.
Maggie's letter had been deeply upsetting to both of her parents.
Neither Harriet nor Severus wanted their children to be frightened or sad.
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Later, as Mr. and Mrs. Snape returned home, they went about their evening as they would on any other night.
They ate dinner with their family, then sat around the hearth and chatted before they tucked their children into bed.
Severus and Harriet saw Little Sev off to sleep first before they went to Maggie's room.
They stood in the hallway as Severus raised his hand and gently knocked on her door.
"Come in." She called quietly.
Harriet followed her husband as he stepped into the room.
Maggie sat up in her bed with Rabbie lying on top of the covers beside her.
"Mum, Dad." Maggie frowned as she nodded at each of her parents.
"Hello, sweetheart." Harriet replied as she stepped in front of Severus and sat down on their daughter's bed.
Severus lingered behind his wife as he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"Well........goodnight, I suppose." Maggie blinked.
"Your father and I want to talk to you about something first." Harriet revealed as she reached out and took one of their daughter's hands.
Severus raised his chin as he saw the visible anxiety on Maggie's face as she hastily asked, "O-Oh?.........W-What about?"
Her heart pounded with nervousness.
In a desperate attempt to somehow avoid what she imagined would be certain trouble, she blurted out, "Are you having another baby, Mum?"
Severus frowned.
"No, sweetheart." Harriet said with a bittersweet chuckle as she rubbed the back of Maggie's knuckles with her fingers, "I'm not having another baby, but it seems you're having a very hard time."
Severus and Harriet watched an unsure smile cross Maggie's lips as she answered, "I....I don't know what you mean. I'm fine........Everything's fine."
"Sweetheart......" Harriet frowned.
"As you know, I met Professor McGonagall for tea earlier today." Severus interjected as he gazed at their daughter.
"Yeah, Dad.....I know." Maggie shrugged.
For a brief moment, Severus's black stare bore into her as he waited for her to confess.
When Maggie stayed silent, he furrowed his brow in deep disapproval.
Harriet glanced over at him and grabbed his hand to calm him down before he hissed, "During my visit to Hogwarts today, Professor McGonagall was kind enough to inform me that you have received your Hogwarts letter....after all."
Maggie's eyes widened as she realized to her horror that her parents most likely knew the entire truth.
"After which, she obligingly showed me the polite response you sent back to the castle.....without consulting your mother and I." Severus said as he clenched his jaw.
Harriet had one hand on Maggie and one hand on Severus as she frowned and spoke, "Sweetheart, why didn't you just come to us and explain? We're not monsters, we're your Mum and Dad. We love you with all our hearts.....We could have talked about all this."
Tears welled in Maggie's eyes as she faced the unbearable looks of discontent on her parents' faces.
Riddled with shame and burdened by guilt, Maggie swallowed her sobs as she glanced down for a moment and nodded, "I....I didn't want to disappoint you two."
"Why would we be disappointed, love?" Harriet asked as she released Maggie's hand and raised her palm to cup her daughter's face instead.
"Because....I really don't want to go." Maggie admitted in a shuddering whisper.
"Can you tell us why?" Severus asked, "It would be a slight against yourself to refuse a magical education at one of the finest academic institutions in the wizarding world.....You do not need to worry about leaving your mother and I. We can bring you home every weekend if you'd like......McGonagall would grant us that privilege."
"Thanks, Dad....." Maggie said as she flashed Severus a bitter smile, "It's......It's not really you and Mum, though....It is, I mean, yes, of course I don't want to leave my home, but....."
Maggie sniffed as she looked away.
"....But what, sweetheart?" Harriet asked gently.
"I.....I just don't want to go, alright?!" Maggie snapped as she looked at her parents with a fierce frown, "I don't want to go and if you force me to, I'll just escape!.....Dad?" She asked as she looked at Severus, "You used to be a professor......and a good one, so I've heard. You and Mum can teach me. I promise I'll work hard, but please don't send me to Hogwarts!"
Severus and Harriet glanced at each other before they turned to look back at Maggie.
"Please!" She begged them again.
"Alright, sweetheart, alright." Harriet nodded as she held up a hand in defence. Severus scowled while she answered, "We won't force you to go to the castle if you can tell us why you're so against it."
"I'm.....I'm...I'll be too different from the others!" Maggie cried as she wiped her wet cheeks with her fingers, "Look at me! I've never seen another witch or wizard who can't walk! And my....my....."
Maggie broke off into a sob as she gestured to her prematurely developed chest before Harriet leaned forward and pulled her in for a hug, "Oh, sweetheart.....It's alright.....Mum and Dad are right here....."
Maggie buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck while they embraced as Harriet repeated, "Mum and Dad are right here."
Severus frowned as his wife and daughter ended their hug.
While Maggie wiped her face again, Harriet glanced over her shoulder at Severus and gave him the slightest of nods in a silent signal.
Harriet turned back to Maggie with a gentle smile as she comforted her, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Your father and I would be glad to tutor you at home instead of sending you to Hogwarts."
"Really?" Maggie sniffed as she blinked at her parents.
"Of course." Severus echoed while he furrowed his brow, "When your brother turns eleven in a few years, he can go to the castle instead."
"You can stay here with us." Harriet smiled, "When your brother comes home, he can tell you about all the friends he's made and how sweet the treats are in the Great Hall.....especially at Halloween and the Holidays. Sev! Do you remember?" Harriet asked as she turned to look at Severus.
Knowing full well how much his daughter enjoyed desserts, Severus nodded eagerly at Harriet.
Maggie frowned while she began to consider the situation in a different light.
"Don't worry about it, sweetheart." Harriet said as she kissed Maggie's forehead, "You can stay here with your father and I forever."
Maggie frowned in thought as her parents kissed her goodnight and continued to murmur gentle reassurances, woven between their own fondest memories of their Hogwarts days, and their exclamations of what great adventures Little Sev would surely enjoy, adventures which she would not be able to experience as a home-schooled student.
After her tears had dried and her parents had left, Maggie laid down with a scowl on her fair face.
As worried as she was that the other children would not accept her at the castle, she wondered if she had made a mistake?