Neglect

Yet, as she grew, Severus found himself more and more annoyed by her. He was annoyed with her questions. Especially ones about “Pady”, Moony and Mum.  

“Pady” was in Azkaban because he betrayed his friends. 

Moony wasn’t coming anymore, because daddy said so. 

And mum... Well, mum was mum, and you will get no answers. 

Obviously, these answers won’t satisfy a curious six-year-old. She would nag and nag him until he got tired of it and decided to face his problem – his child – with abuse.  

On a cold winter day, a house in the middle of the woods, covered in a pile of snow, was celebrating. Well, if you’d want to call that celebrating. 

A father and a daughter, celebrating Christmas. A lone Christmas tree in the middle of the room. Did the father get his daughter a present? No. He forgot. 

But the daughter was grateful for the Christmas tree. But the father didn’t think so, after her first question. 

“Dad? Why isn’t Minny here?” Madeline asked, worried about the old professor, in which she found motherly comfort. Severus though, hated the question just a little less than he hated Black.  

With an annoyed sigh, he replied, “Minny won’t come.”  

“Why? Is she sick? Is she okay?” Madeline asked, growing even more worried about the professor. And then a slap came to her face. It didn’t directly land on her cheek – more against the temple. She drew in a sharp breath, looking up, surprised. He has hit her before, but only one time. 

“What are you looking at, brat? I told you not to ask questions. Is it that hard to keep your mouth shut?” He asked, his eyes holding no warmth or kindness towards his daughter. 

Seeing her father’s cold gaze, she looked down and replied. “I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.” 

“Louder. You know that I hate mumbling.” He replied, making tears prick the eyes of the kid. Though she swallowed them back and replied, as he asked, louder. 

“I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.” A scoff leaves his snarl-pulled lips. “Go to your room. And no crying.” She nodded and quietly taking her stuffed bunny, Pebbles, walked upstairs. 

The stairs creaked under her steps, and she heard her father yell. “Are you that fat that you can’t walk quietly?” She flinched a little and more tears pricked her eyes, like pointy needles being poked at them. She tried to walk quieter but ended up slipping due to her left leg.  

As she tried to regain her balance, she felt a harsh pull and a hand gripping her hair. She let out a small whimper, her body aching in pain, Pebbles clutched in her hands. 

“What did I say?” Her father snarled next to her ear, making her flinch. “Answer me.” He gripped her hair tighter.  

“Y-you said that I should be quiet.” She tried to keep her voice normal, but it was shaking, cries wanting to come out of her. 

“And what did I say about crying?” He asks, his grip growing a little looser. 

“To stop crying like a brat.” She sniffled. He let her go, her face landing against the stairs, as did the rest of her body. Severus’s steps faded, as he walked back to the living room. The faint sound of the TV could be heard, as she tried to hold back her cries. 

She forced herself to stand, despite the aching pain. She limped down, trying to keep quiet, as she grabbed her stuffed bunny and made her way upstairs.  

Once she makes her way upstairs, she lets a few tears fall but keeps them away until she’s in the safety of her room. Closing her door she gives the tears a second the flee from her eyes before she forces them back again. 

“Are you this weak? Pull it together, Madeline.” A frustrated voice spoke inside her head. She wiped the tears with the backs of her hands. She set Pebbles down on her bed, next to Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail.  

Sirius had told her all, well maybe not all, but most of his teenage years, including his friends. Then he and Moony decided to get her the plushies. Though two came from James and Peter, the deer and the mouse (which Peter said was his original Animagi form, and that he accidentally turned into a rat). From Sirius came a black dog and Remus gave her a wolf. A cute wolf.  

But her favorite, Pebbles, the bunny, came from Lily. She was friends with Aubrey, so she only thought it would be appropriate to buy Madeline a plushie. 

Madeline made her way to her bathroom. She climbed on a small stool, wincing in pain. Even though on the stool, she was far too short to see below her face in the mirror.  

That brings us back to right after the tragic loss of Aubrey. The doctors took the wailing newborn for examination. While examining her, they found that due to some health problems during Aubrey’s pregnancy, the newborn wasn’t fully developed. Like she was developed, but her size was awfully small and sickly. The baby was weak, its movements sluggish and slow. 

When examining further, they made an assumption that the child would inherit its mother's poor health. How poor, no one knew. 

Bringing us back to the present – well past, Madeline stared at the pale mirror image of her. Her chubby cheeks held a hint of warmth. 

“Am I fat?” The now seven-year-old wondered. She was seven for a little under a month. She touched her cheeks, which now seemed too big for her liking. Her chin. “Do I have a double chin?” She thought, staring at her reflection. 

She climbed onto the countertop which held the sink. She had a dull, dark violet dress on. She never really thought about how she looked in it, but now she paid some attention to it. 

In her eyes, she clearly saw her stomach through it. “But aren’t you supposed to see your stomach?” She wondered. She turned to the side and inspected it. 

  “But is it supposed to be that big? It must be, if dad said that I was fat.”