Blackest Nights

Aquarius didn't get a chance to speak before Hermione's panicked voice bowled her over,

"It's S-Harry! You can't send them back to the Gryffindor dorm, Ron he-he-it's so terrible, they were so cruel, I don't-I-"

"Miss Granger! Take a deep breath, and attempt to calm yourself, we will come back to whatever has been done when you are able to get it out, Malfoy, you would not have anything to do with the goings on in Gryffindor tower, why are you here?"

Aquarius suddenly paled, logically she'd known that Snape would be present when she made her way to the office to wait for Scorpia, but that didn't mean she had actually thought the ramifications of that through. She'd just felt like she needed to be there for Scorpia after the day she'd had, especially since she was nervous about how bad the detention could go.

Huh, she really hadn't thought about potential consequences of this, she'd just acted to help her friend because she wanted to...it felt nice.

Scorpia spoke up from behind Snape, capturing Aquarius' attention briefly, "It's...alright. Professor Snape knows that we've gotten close recently. And knows a little bit of why."

Aquarius heard the unspoken "but not everything" clearly, but still, the knowledge that she didn't have to completely hide helped calm her down.

"I was just coming to make sure Potter was ok after detention..."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "And ignoring curfew?"

Aquarius had the grace to look a bit embarrassed by that at least, "Er...that is..."

Snape rolled his eyes, "I will excuse your indiscretion this once, don't let me catch you out after curfew again. Miss Granger, do you think you can explain the situation in your tower now?"

Hermione muttered "Not my tower, not anymore", but still nodded. Snape managed not to react to that statement and simply gestured for her to explain.

Hermione took a deep breath, and explained.

"I-it was Ron. He apparently was...I don't know, looking for an excuse for the last week, and...Harry's...actions in potions apparently gave him that excuse. I...I only know because Neville came to me in a panic, but. They-they destroyed Harry's bed, trunk, everything. They-" Tears start rolling down her eyes, tears that match those beginning to spill from Aquarius' and Scopria's eyes as they processed what they were hearing, "They tore up all of the text books, uniforms, somehow they even got paint into everything...I...the-the album that Hagrid gave you...I...I'm so sorry, it was all Neville could save.”

Hermione wasn't talking to Snape now, but to Scorpia as she shakily held out the album, which had splotches of paint on the cover but miraculously had avoided damage otherwise, towards her friend. Scorpia took the book in hands that shook just as much, and gingerly looked it over, confirming that the paint spots were as bad as it got on the book. One of her hands unconsciously went towards her robe pocket that she'd just barely managed to stuff her cloak into just incase Snape had kept her late and not offered to escort her through the halls. But...judging by what Hermione was saying...there wasn't much point in being escorted back now...

Scorpia furiously wiped at her tears, she was barely keeping herself from breaking down "I-th-thanks 'Mione. For warning me I mean. I-I don't...I'm not sure what to do but-"

Hermione shook her head, "There's...there's one more thing. I'm so sorry, but...but they found your...'spare' uniform."

Aquarius sucked a horrified breath through her teeth.

Snape's eyes widened, having quickly put two and two together, and he whipped around to check on Potter, knowing that this wasn't going to go over well.

Scorpia froze, like a deer in headlights, then...laughed.

She could feel the tears pouring down her face as she laughed hysterically, either not noticing or not caring about the way that the others looked at her. Hermione and Aquarius with concern, and Snape with dawning, horrified realization.

As she sunk to her knees, her cackling breaking down into heaving sobs, Snape shot a questioning look towards Aquarius, who nodded gravely even as she joined Hermione rushing forward to hold and comfort Scorpia.

Snape did his best to usher the three into the classroom, and waved his wand, casting a number of privacy wards to keep out any unwanted eavesdroppers before shutting the door behind him, this was going to be a very long night

It took nearly twenty minutes to calm Scorpia down enough for her to be coherent, and now she was just sitting, surrounded on both sides by her friends on an expanded couch in Snape's quarters, staring at the hot tea she'd been given without really seeing it. Her life, what little she'd managed to claw for herself since coming to school was over. People knew, or at least they knew something and she doubted that peoples opinions would be positive. Not with R-Weasley controlling the narrative.

Severus found himself, reluctantly, feeling something akin to nostalgic approval watching the three on the couch, memory winding back to-

It wasn't worth remembering those times, not when the present was so pressing.

Snape took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh, "Well Potter-"

"Black."

Snape blinked in shock, "What?"

Scorpia looked up, and stared at Snape with an utterly defeated look, "My name. My name is Scorpia Bellatrix-Lily Black. I'm a girl. There's no point hiding any of it anymore, is there? By now all of Gryffindor knows I'm a freak, so why hide?"

Snape turned a shocked look towards Malfoy, who was staring at Scorpia. Before any questions could be asked however, Malfoy turned to look at him with defiance in her eyes. "I led her through the Black naming ritual, she's close enough in blood that she was accepted. Also...if the truth is coming out to you, I'm like Scorpia, and my name is Aquarius. If you have problems with her, then-then their problems with me, and I'll get mother to-"

Snape waved a hand as if to ward off the coming tirade, "Stop, just...stop. There's no reason to get Narcissa involved. I was just...shocked, to say the least. About her last name and the ritual. Though," Snape turned to Scorpia, "I thought you said you didn't trust me enough yet to share those details. I agreed that you shouldn't trust me enough to share those details with me."

Scorpia let out a harsh bark of laughter, "And what's it matter now? They're all gonna know I was keeping a girls uniform. All my stuff, all the stuff I had to my name, has been destroyed. Going back to the tower would be just as bad as going back to the Dursleys, I might as well be myself while everything crashes down around me."

Hermione looked heartbroken and pulled Scorpia into a hug, gently stroking her back as Scorpia began to quietly cry again.

Severus looked like he'd sucked on something foul. To his eternal disgust, he was somehow beginning to feel responsible for the children in front of him, or Aquarius and Scorpia at least, but he had no illusions about his ability to resist similar feelings about Granger eventually building up given that he was about to become the only adult figure in this school that seemed to actually support them.

Egad but responsibility was annoying. 

After thinking for a moment, Snape spoke up, "Calm down. Your possessions can be replaced with a trip to the Alley, which I'll make sure you get. As far as your dorm..." Snape sighs, because he knows exactly where the girl will wind up if he offers this, but he doesn't see a better option, "In extreme situations, such as this, a re-sort is allowed."

Scorpia scoffed and turned her head to give Snape a flat look, "Oh? And what house will be better? What house will accept the broken 'boy who lived' who wants to be a girl? Because don't act like you don't know that by tomorrow morning everyone in school will have heard something. Face it. I was a freak in the muggle world, and I'll be treated as a freak here!"

Snape's words cut through the rushed denials and comforting words of Scorpia's friends, "Do not. Call yourself a freak. I've told you that you weren't the first like you, and you wouldn't be the last. You know that Miss Malfoy is like you, is she a freak?" 

"No, but-"

"Then neither are you. You will take the re-sort, and you will wind up in my house," Snape ignored the feelings of mixed annoyance and vindication when none of the girls looked like another possibility had even crossed their minds, "and you will be safer, I swear it."

Scorpia looked Snape dead in the eye, "And how will you promise that? I won't lie, Aquarius has told me enough about the first year Slytherins that I'll believe they'll at least take a cue from her when forming their opinions, but the rest? You know they hate me."

Snape met her gaze for a long moment, and internally raged about whether or not it was safe to answer that question honestly, eventually though, the knowledge of just how poor Scorpia's situation had to be that she'd feel justified in asking that question decided it.

"I promise, because I've made very sure to ingrain at least the appearance of respect for people like yourself and miss Malfoy while at school into their heads. I could hardly do less when I suffered the heights of abuse my own classmates could heap on me for much the same."

Snape took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling extremely exposed, but knowing it was likely the fastest way to get cooperation from the girls in front of him.

Scorpia's tired voice broke the silence first, "Alright. I'll do it."

Snape opened his eyes and locked gazes with her. They both nodded in understanding and Snape took it on himself to start things moving again.

"It goes without saying that while my status isn't a complete secret, if I hear anything about myself being spread about the student body I will not be forgiving. Now, Miss Granger, give me all the details you can, we have to have everything ready for the morning."

Snape stood in front of his fireplace, looking into the flames as the events of the night stormed through his head. The girls were all sleeping in his personal office that he'd transfigured into a guest room, but he couldn't sleep, not yet.

Luckily it seemed that Scorpia wasn't completely without support in Gryffindor, the other Weasleys had reacted...poorly to Ron's behavior and attempts to spread rumors, and the first year girls had surprisingly been nearly as furious as Hermione herself. He didn't know about the rest of the house however, and he wasn't willing to risk the safety of Lily's child with a mere hope that the rest of the house would be more accepting, especially knowing very well that other than Longbottom the other member's in the first year boys dorm had been all too easily swayed by Weasley.

No, the re-sort was still the best option.

Unfortunately, plans to re-sort, to try and control the narrative around Scorpia's identity by owning it and having her come out, revalations about her home life, all of these weren't nearly as prominent in Snape's mind as one other thing he'd learned tonight.

Gathering his courage he took a pinch of floo powder, threw it into the fire, and with a cry of "The Hollow" he stepped through the whirling green flames and into a large sitting area.

Snape went stiff as the woman who'd been sitting in a large wingback in front of the fire was up in an instant, her book not even having a chance to hit the ground before she had her wand grinding into Snape's throat.

The tension only lasted a second, before the woman's violet eyes blinked in recognition, and she stepped back, "Severus, you know better than to surprise me with a visit like that, what were you thinking!"

Severus rubbed at his neck with a grimace, but didn't hesitate to explain, "I'm afraid this news couldn't wait. I just spoke with Lily's child, and..."

He looked into the woman's eyes, seeing the naked hurt and longing in them, and whispered, "She's every inch your daughter Bella."