Chapter Text
The train ride was silent. As silent as a train could be. And it went like that the rest of her journey home. Once she stepped foot in her house only did she feel safer, but she still kept to her silence.
"Welcome home!" said the ever sweet voice of Eileen from the kitchen. Tobias looked up from the newspaper he was reading, which he didn't have time to read in the morning. He spotted his daughter standing by the doorway, whose face was hidden with her long black hair with only her eye and nose sticking out. Severa has always not been much of an eater, but her skinny frame was much too strange for him.
"Hello, darling." he greeted.
He was only given a stare, one that lacked the same hopeful shine that he would commonly see. And then she walked away, most likely to her bedroom.
Severa had always been a shy and quiet child, a trait that followed her as a teen. But even for her, this behaviour was strange. He and his wife shared a look.
"Alright then."
"I wonder what happened." Eileen said.
"I can only wonder. Let's leave it for today, give her some time before we disturb her."
She gave her husband a pointed look, "What if she already had time to herself? We haven't seen her in months Tobias, we should talk to her."
He sighed, "Alright." he got up, placing his newspaper on the table.
He went up the stairs, Eileen following right behind him.
He knocked on the teenager's bedroom door. "Severa!" he called.
The door carefully opened, his sweet daughter's face littered with tired eyes and a frown. Now that they were close up he could smell the gloominess radiating from her. He also needed to consider buying shampoo for her.
"Dinner's ready." he could only find himself saying.
Before any of them knew it they were sitting at the table, eating their small food.
"So, how was school?" Tobias asked.
Again, silence. If Tobias was drunk he wouldn't have minded it, but the same couldn't be said for his sober self.
"Did something happen? Why are you so quiet today? I understand if you're tired but please let us know if you're okay."
Severa glanced up. "I don't want to talk about it." she said quietly.
Tobias tried to dig into his memory for any clues, when Severa had made a friend she was a lot more talkative. A lot more bright. That brightness stayed with her but now it was gone, he felt guilty for not putting the pieces earlier.
"Is it that Evans girl?"
Now that got a response from her. Severa sunk into herself in shame, Tobias felt like kicking himself for being so blunt.
Luckily, his wife was better at this than he was.
"It's alright, dear. You can tell us what happened. It doesn't have to be now, we can always wait until you're comfortable."
The couple looked at each other when given more silence, when they heard a quiet voice.
"I said something horrible."
"Oh, what did you say?"
"I called Lily a mudblood."
From the slight widening of his Eileen's eyes he could only guess that wasn't a good thing.
"What does that mean, again?" he asked them both.
"It's a racial slur. More specifically referring to people who have magic but do not come from pureblood families."
Tobias tried to do the math. "So... Severa's a mudblood?"
"I guess."
He blinked, looking between Eileen and Severa. "I don't see the problem then, use the word however you like."
"Tobi!"
He threw his hands up, "What, I'm just trying to make light of the situation. That's what the African American boys call each other, a different slur I mean. Even the half blacks call each other the slur, they don't see a problem with it. I don't get why we should."
Eileen turned back to Severa, "Is Lily upset?"
"She hasn't been speaking to me."
"Well you have all summer to sort things out with her if you want, in the mean time you can find things to do."
"Have you considered looking for a job around here? I don't mean to pressure you, darling, but it's not healthy to stay in the house. Think of her not talking to you as an opportunity. You can go out more, and focus on yourself more. It's very normal for friends to break up."
Severa simply got up, putting her plate and cutlery in the sink, and left the room.
"Alright, so maybe that was the wrong thing to say."
Hugh Jackman as Tobias Snape
Edit: Recasting Shelly Duvall as Eileen, Megan Fox gives more of a Bellatrix vibe
Random model as Severa Snape (I don't know who this girl is, but I found her on pinterest. I think she's really pretty)
