By the lake.

[Severus Snape]

Severus finally stopped running when he reached the lake and fell to his knees and started to cry. There he finally let it go it was hard to see his father at his worst moment and worse that it was in front of everyone.

[Isabella Rothschild]

Isabella finally found the boy by the lake and she walked up to him. She felt distinctly awkward as she came close to him and said, "Are you OK?"

[Severus Snape]

Severus rubbed his face and coughed. "I'll be better...I ...He isn't always like that." he said lamely.

[Isabella Rothschild]

She smiled at him. "Look, I'm normally the last person to offer comfort, but I just wanted to say that I understand. My father... well, he was cruel to me, too. You can't dwell on that fear or it will rule your life."

[Severus Snape]

"But what do i do? what can i say? I just want to be something to him." he said his eyes were puffy and dry.

[Isabella Rothschild]

"I know," she said. "And I can't tell you what to say. You have to decide that yourself. I've avoided it, too... I no longer speak to my family. I let their treatment of me dictate what I became. Only now am I starting to see how wrong I was to let them affect me that way. I don't want you to become bitter like I was."

[Severus Snape]

"I don't know. There's nothing i can do...i know i shouldn't care, but i do i need them. I hate myself for it." he said breathing deeply. staring out across the water.

[Isabella Rothschild]

"We all need our parents," she said softly. "It's just that some of us were cursed with bad ones. That means we have to be tough and learn to stand on our own a little sooner than we should. But I think a part of us will always be looking for them... and sometimes we find what we need in another place, where we least expect it." She put a hand on his shoulder awkwardly. "If you ever need anyone to talk to, please come to me. I've been where you are, and I'd hate to see you become what I became."

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie sat up in the tree, unnoticed. She kept completely silent and motionless, not wanting either of them to know that she was witnessing such a private moment.

[Severus Snape]

"I want to say it's not fair...but my mother always told me life wasn't fair" he said looking up in branches of the tree he was under, and then blushed bright crimson. "uh...professor there's really no need to keep talking about it. I'll get over it." he said looking back across the water.

[Isabella Rothschild]

"Very well," Isabella said. "Just let me know if you need to talk. Oh... and if you're worried about what the other kids in the class will think, just remember that they all had their fears exposed. Even I did. So don't let that get to you, either." She smiled at him. "I'll see you in class, Mr. Snape." She smiled slightly, then walked back up to the castle.

[Severus Snape]

"Thank you Professor" he said still looking across the lake. "I'll see you during holiday then" he shifted a little on the grass as the professor walked away. "You can come down now. I think she'll not notice you now" he said quitely not bothering to look up.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie climbed down out of the tree. "You knew I was there?" she asked.

[Severus Snape]

"I saw you when i looked up. Why are you hiding? You seem nice enough" he said wrapping his arms about his knees.

[Natalie St. Clare]

"I don't go here yet," Natalie said. "I'm here because my parents are dead, and I have to live with my uncle. He works here, and my sister goes here." She brushed the leaves out of her hair. "I'm Natalie," she said simply.

[Severus Snape]

"I'm Severus, Who's your Uncle? If you don't mind me asking" he said looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear about your mum and Dad" he said looking down at the grass "but at least they loved you"

[Natalie St. Clare]

"Alastor Domino," she said. "And Sabrina is my sister. It's nice to meet you, Severus." She stood back, not wanting to shake his hand. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what she would see. "Yeah, they loved me. But they didn't understand me. No one understands me."

[Severus Snape]

"I'm not exactly the understood kid either..." he said keeping his arms wrapped around his legs " I don't like your uncle, he knows i'm not very strong in his subject and he picks at me. He gave me dentention when my house mate did just as badly and she got off" he said glaring across the water. "I met your sister though...she stopped talking to me because i did better in potions than she did." he said not adding he had a five year head start in the subject that most kids didn't have.

[Natalie St. Clare]

"Well, Uncle Alastor is the only one who's ever... um... well, let's just say he understands me a little better than most people," Natalie said in her quiet voice. "I'm sure if you talked to him about how you feel, he'd be a little more fair to you. He probably just didn't realize." She sat down next to him and looked out at the lake. "Sabrina has always been the best at everything, and she doesn't like being second best. I'm not surprised she got mad about you doing better in potions."

[Severus Snape]

"But did she have to drop me like a hot iron? i thought she would be my friends" he said forlornly.