Little Miss Snape

Tucking May into bed hadn\'t been nearly as difficult as Snape
expected. She brushed her teeth, had a drink of water and hopped into
bed. All that was required of Snape was to tuck the blankets in
around her and wish her a goodnight; May had told him that Natalya
had always hugged and kissed her goodnight. Snape wasn\'t ready for
that, but managed a rub on her cheek and a pat on her head.

Later that night, as he himself was just about to crawl into bed, the
thought struck him that perhaps he should check on her. He grabbed
his robe and made his way to May\'s room and quietly opened the door;
he didn\'t know if she was a light sleeper or not and didn\'t want to
frighten her. He stuck his head inside the room and looked towards
the bed, only to it it empty. He sighed and headed over to the
closet. Sure enough, she was curled up on the floor of the closet,
her head resting on the pillows, one hand clutching the faded yellow
blanket and sucking the thumb of her other hand. He wondered what the
story with always being in the closet was, but yet wasn\'t sure if he
would be able to stomach it. He carefully picked her, the blanket and
the pillows up; he was surprised at how light she was. May never
stirred as he carried her back to her bed and tucked the covers
around her once again. Before leaving, he stopped to look at her for
a moment and on an impulse, reached out and rubbed her little cheek
again; he was surprised to find it wet with tears. His brother was a
disgusting monster, as their own father had been, and looking at the
peaceful, angelic sleeping child, Snape made a silent promise to her
to help her to l to to trust again and learat aat a loving parent
was like……… even if it killed him.

The next morning, Snape awoke to sounds of gigglinhe she sound
confused him for a moment, then it dawned on him that it must be May.
He pulled on his robe and headed for her room; her slowly opened the
door and could see her jumping up and down on her bed. Her cheeks
were flushed with color, her raven hair bouncing. She caught sight of
him watching her and quickly stopped and sat down, clutching the
faded yellow blanket and let out a soft whimper. \"Hey you,\" Snape
said softly as he crossed the room. \"It\'s alright.\" He reached his
hand out to caress her cheek; May threw her arms around his waist and
clung to him. Snape\'s heart absolutely melted and he picked her up,
setting her on his hip. \"Let\'s not jump on the bed, alright? You
don\'t want to fall and get hurt, do you?\" he asked softly. She shook
her head no. \"Come on, let\'s go get some breakfast.\"

Snape carried her in her pajamas to the Great Hall and gently plopped
her in the seat beside him. Dumbledore sat on her other side and she
smiled at him. \"You \'mind me Santy,\" May told him shyly. Dumbledore
chuckled. \"Thank you dear,\" he said, smiling. She said something in
Russian, pointing to the milk. \"Try again honey, in English,\" Snape
told her softly. The entire table looked at Snape in shock, and even
Snape himself looekd surprised. Where had THAT come from? \"Milk,
please,\" she told him. Snape poured her a glass of milk and started
on his own breakfast.

May looked dejectedly at her food; this was WEIRD food! She sat in
thought for a moment, then reached over and very carefully took
Snape\'s wand. She mumbled several spells and gave herself chocolate
milk and her favorite breakfast foods. \"Um, should she have a wand?\"
Hermione asked as she entered, late again. May froze, the wand still
in her hand. \"Maria, did you take my wand?\" Snape asked gently, but
firmly. She nodded and hung her head. \"Give it back.\" He held out his
hand and she gave it to him. \"What did I tell you about wands?\" \"No
wands,\" she whispered. He put a finger under her chin and titled her
head up. \"That was a naughty thing to do honey,\" he scolded
lightly. \"Yes sir,\" she whispered, starting to tremble.

Snape felt like a giant bully and pulled her onto his lap. \"I know
you\'re sorry, but I will have to punish you. I won\'t hurt you like
your father did, but you are going to get a spanking after akfaakfast.\" She started to cry, not understanding the difference
between getting beaten and being spanked. Snape hesitantly put his
arms around her and almost cringed at the nasty look Hermione was
giving him. \"Shh, it\'s alright,\" he said softly. \"Severus, I think
you\'re being mean,\" Hermione said. Snape sighed. \"Hermione, I
understand what her father did, but I cannot allow her to do whatever
she pleases without learning consequences. I\'m not going to beat
her.\" Hermione sighed, but still didn\'t look especially
thrilled. \"You better make sure that she understands the difference,\"
she growled.

Snape tried to get May to eat a little something, but neither of them
had any appetite left. He set her on his hip and stood up. \"Come on
honey, we\'re going to have a talk, alright?\" May nodded, still
sniffling as they left the Great Hall and headed for the dungeon
chambers.