Chapter Text
Severus thought he hated being a teacher. What he actually hated, though, was being a Headmaster. Perhaps he would have liked it better if everyone wasn’t out to get his head. The only person who knew the truth was dead, by his hand. He became the Order of the Phoenix’s greatest persona non-grata.
And still, the Carrows were starting to grow suspicious of him.
What reminded him of that fact was McGonagall knocking on his door.
“I found a student wandering around past her curfew,” she said from the outside.
And she went straight to him because he didn’t have the stomach to punish the students like the Carrows did. If he couldn’t help the students, then what was the point of keeping his cover?
“Come in.”
“I wouldn’t normally bother you with such petty issues…” said McGonagall, wandering into the room. “But this student demanded to speak to you in person.”
Following her, came in a student which had to be in her later years of Hogwarts, in a uniform Severus did not recognize, though she looked familiar. It was something about her gait, and some traces of her sharp face. Her jet-black hair formed a cloud of loose coils around her head, falling down past her shoulders.
She wore the Ravenclaw colors.
Despite her not being a Slytherin, Severus recalled the faces of all Hogwarts’ students. She wasn’t a student. Was she a member of the Order who snuck in? Was that why McGonagall decided to cave into her demand?
“Quite the demand from someone caught past the curfew, Miss…?”
“I think you might want Headm— Professor McGonagall to leave the room.” she said.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, trust me.”
“I shall take my leave either way, Headmaster. I have other matters to tend to.”
And possibly didn’t want to deal with the mess that was about to fall onto Severus’ lap. McGonagall fled the room, closing the door behind herself, and the invader sat on a visitor’s chair without invitation, studying him with an inquisitive yet shocked gaze.
“I’m going to ask one last time. Who are you?”
The girl raised her chin.
“Eileen.”
A strange coincidence.
“Full. Name.”
“Eileen Jean Granger.”
Granger? Was that why she was familiar? She had to be related, if loosely, to the other Granger he knew… The eyes, the color of her skin, her slightly too large front teeth. And yet…
“Hyphen Snape.” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“Eileen Jean Granger-Snape. You two were really pissed when you found out I couldn’t be just Granger if you were my father on the birth certificate.”