Holly had not been held like this in a very long time, not since before her mother had died.  Since before the awful quarrel her father had with her mother over the fact that she was magicless and worthless, at least in her father's eyes.  Valina had practically thrown him out of the flat, and he had stormed away yelling that someday Valina would regret her decision to raise a Squib brat, and as of now he was going to have nothing to do with them ever again.  He had been quite clear and vocal about it, Holly was sure all their neighbors, of which there weren't many, since the flat they lived in was in an upscale neighborhood, could hear her father's parting words.  It had made her feel even worse and she had cried herself to sleep in her mother's arms, after apologizing for her lack of magic until she was hoarse, despite Valina's reassurances that it didn't matter. 

It did matter, Holly was old enough to understand that her lack of it had cost her the regard and love of her father and turned her from a princess into . . .a worthless Muggle.  Ever since, her neighbors gave her odd looks, of pity and condescension, and they didn't invite Valina over for tea in the afternoons as they once had.  Valina had pretended to not care, but Holly knew she must feel hurt and slighted and that too was because of her.  Before, Valina had been envied her handsome wizard paramour, and the way he lavished gifts on her and paid for everything without even being asked, and seemed to love her.  "You've got Merlin's own luck, Valina Sinclair!" the women had often commented.  "Looks like you and the kid are set for life."

Until he had discovered that his precious daughter was a mere Squib. 

Things had gone downhill rapidly from there.  Valina had used the last of their savings to pay their bills, since Lucius had cut them off the very next day.  And then she had gone back to her old job as an experimental potion-maker for St. Mungos, a job where she worked long hours for meager pay and in the end that had killed her, when a potion she had been testing had exploded, it had been highly flammable and it had burned Valina Sinclair to a cinder in five minutes, or so it was said. 

"Least she didn't suffer none," commented one neighbor upon hearing the dreadful news.  "She always did like playing with fire, first with that toff she shacked up with and then her fool experiments.  And look where it got her.  Blown away and her brat left behind without a Knut to her name, I'd wager."

Lucius hadn't even bothered to come to the funeral, and Holly had been one of the few mourners at the graveside save for a few co-workers and Mrs. Plum and Miss Aven who lived on either side of them and who had always been kind to Holly, even after they had found out she was a Squib. 

Remembering that other awful day made her cry harder, however. And there was a cold little place deep within her that had been born the day her mother had died and that remained still, she could feel it like a stone beneath her heart, cold as ice, that not all the warmth in the world could fill.  Except it had thawed a little when Harry had discovered her and a little more now that she was held in the Potions Master's arms. 

She had forgotten how good it felt to be held in a pair of strong male arms, safe and protected, and there was a familiar smell of spice and sandalwood about him that reminded her of her mother, who often carried pouches of dried herbs in her robes for potion ingredients, and she buried her head in the linen shirt and breathed in the comforting scent, crying softly.

Severus said nothing, simply holding her and rubbing her back, because he knew there were no words he could say that would assuage the fact that her bastard father had chosen to let his daughter die alone rather than acknowledge her.  But he understood the depth of the pain she felt, oh yes, no one understood it better, who had been rejected by his own father for a similar reason.  Poor lost little snow girl, out of all the cruel things Lucius has ever done, and they are many, this is perhaps the most heartless.  He truly is a soulless bastard, a true Death Eater, who has given himself utterly to darkness, for no one with a shred of conscience or compassion could leave a child, their own or not, to die alone like a stray dog in the gutter.

Harry hugged Silver and wondered when the girl would stop crying, he felt very sorry for her, for she was an orphan too, the way he had once been, before Severus had adopted him.  Was it possible to cry forever? Because Holly had been crying for at least fifteen minutes, and Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd cried that way. Except perhaps that time over Silver long ago on that fateful Christmas Eve, when he had gotten into a terrible quarrel with his dad over the big wolf and told Severus he hated him.  But that had been mostly from guilt and regret, and this-this was different, the intuitive youngster realized.  This was true pain, aching and raw, such as he had never known.  Instinctively he flinched from it, yet at the same time he wished he knew how to make her better, but he was at a loss and decided the best thing was to trust his father.  Severus knew how to make almost everything better and Harry had faith the older man would mend Holly the way he always had Harry.  Dad always knows what to do, and his hugs are the best, they make you feel all warm and fuzzy and like you're the only one in the world who deserves one.  Much better than anything she ever got from her own dad, I'll bet. Nobody hugs like my dad, though Silver is a close second.

He leaned his head against the gray wolf's side, and Silver turned and nuzzled him affectionately, then returned to watching the Potions Master and the little foundling in concern. 

Raw displays of emotion made the big wolf uncomfortable, because wolves did not feel with the same intensity as humans and though Silver recalled his human ancestry and past, he lived much of the time as a wolf, and most of his reactions were more wolf than human.  So he found Holly's grief very disturbing, and wished he could do something to make her stop crying as well.  Holly's revelation about her father made Silver long to go and bite Lucius Malfoy several times until he begged for mercy.  Wolves have a strong loyalty to their family, and no wolf would ever dream of casting out a pup the way Lucius had.  The mere thought made his hackles rise and his lip curl in a silent snarl.

At last Holly's sobs faded into sniffles and eventually ceased altogether.  Only then did Severus shift his hold and coax her to sit up.  "Here, don't wipe your nose on me, please." He said quickly, handing her a white handkerchief with a Slytherin crest with his initials on it, Lily had made him a dozen as present long ago and he almost always carried one on him. 

"Thank you, sir," Holly accepted the handkerchief gratefully.  "I would never do that, I know better," she told him quietly, for both Valina and Lucius had drilled proper manners into her before she could walk.  She mopped her face and blew her nose, then just sat there, the handkerchief crumpled in her hand, not knowing what to say.

"How do you feel now? A little better?" he inquired, knowing the cathartic release of tears was necessary for healing. 

Slowly, Holly nodded. 

"Good.  Then perhaps you would like to drink this tea Harry made for you? It should help combat that nasty chill you've picked up." He picked up the cup from the tray and muttered a swift spell to reheat the tepid tea, then handed it to his unexpected guest.

Holly cupped the mug in both hands and sniffed the heady aroma of black tea, nutmeg, cinnamon, and peppermint.  The smells brought to mind Christmas when she was little, and had helped Valina decorate their flat with candy canes and cinnamon sticks and baked gingerbread men to give to their neighbors.  She sipped the tea slowly, and gave Severus a tentative smile.  "It's very good, sir.  As good as my mother used to make."

"Drink it all, you need it," Severus urged, shifting slightly, for though the child was small and too thin, she still was a little heavy on his knees.

She obediently finished the mug, wiped her mouth with the handkerchief, and then set it back on the tray. "That tasted incredible.  What was it?"

"It's winter spice tea," Harry answered from the recliner, where he had moved while Holly was crying in Severus's arms.  "Dad and I always drink it around the holidays.  And we eat ginger biscuits with it too.  You want some?"

Holly nodded, she was starving, she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, when she had scrounged some scraps from the back of the Hogshead rubbish bin.  "yes, please," she said, recalling her manners.

"Be right back," Harry jumped off the recliner and disappeared into the kitchen to get the tin of ginger biscuits.  Normally his father didn't let him have sweets till after dinner, but since Holly wanted them, Harry knew he was safe eating some too, since guests were privileged at the Snape house. 

While Harry was fetching the gingersnaps, Holly slid off Severus's lap and went to sit next to him on the sofa.  She felt a little awkward and embarrassed after her outburst, but not so much that she couldn't look the man who had saved her life in the eye.  "Thank you again, sir, for saving me.  You didn't have to, you know.  I'm just a Squib, and . . .I know I don't matter all that much to you wizards." She had learned that over and over during the weeks she had been on the streets, especially when she had tried to find employment, offering to clean or restock the shops in exchange for a meal and a bed.  One and all had turned her away, saying they didn't need to give a Squib employment when they could just bind a house elf or had an apprentice or a child to work for free.

Severus's eyes flashed and for one moment the girl shrank away, but then his gaze softened and he said, "I'm not angry with you, Holly, only with the narrow-minded bigoted people who have taught you such nonsense.  Simply because you have little magic does not mean you don't matter or that you're worthless."

"But sir, everyone says-"

"Everyone is wrong." Severus stated firmly, and Silver woofed in agreement.  "There, you see? Even Silver agrees with me."

Holly bit her lip.  She did not want to contradict her rescuer, but her father's face loomed before her, dark with wrath, bidding her to leave before he made her regret she had ever been born, and she blurted, "But my father says without magic I can't be his daughter, so how can you say being a Squib doesn't matter? He loved me once, before he knew the truth."

Harry had entered the den by then, carrying the tin of gingersnaps, and he set the tin on the table and took a handful before perching on the recliner once more, biscuits in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.  He had been wondering much the same thing as Holly and now he waited to see how his father would reply to the girl's statement.

Severus reined his initial response to Holly's innocent assertion that Lucius had loved her once, which was to laugh derisively and say that Lucius had never loved her at all, simply the idea of her.  The girl was hurting terribly and he had no wish to add to her pain, let her keep her illusions for now of a loving father, she would realize when she grew older that Lucius' affection had been false. 

The issue here was not Lucius, but his teachings, which made Severus want to put a fist through the wall.  But he restrained himself and said, in as calm a tone as he could manage, "I want you to pay close attention to me, Holly and you as well, Harry," he added, looking over at his son, who had paused mid-bite with a gingersnap halfway to his mouth.  "Lucius believes, like most of the wizarding world, that having no magic, or so little of it that you cannot cast spells, is shameful, and something to be ridiculed and mocked over.  But he forgets and so does everyone else, that we wizards are in the minority when it comes to having magic.  There are far more people in the world who don't have the gift than who do.  What does that mean, you ask? That we ought to be grateful for what we have and not think our magic puts us above anyone.  We wizards all came from ordinary humans once and some of us still do, like Harry's mum and myself."

"My mum's parents were Muggles," Harry put in then.  "And Dad's a half-blood, his mum was a witch but his dad was a Muggle."

Holly stared at them, amazed, for she had never known anyone who was not a wizard through and through.  "Really?"

"Yes.  Lily was a Muggleborn witch and my best friend, and I am a half-blood," Severus said.  "And we two were the strongest wizards at Hogwarts, stronger even than those who could trace their pureblood status all the way back to Merlin.  Why? No one knows, but some purebloods would tell you that having Muggle ancestry means you're inferior, by that I mean they think they're better than you.  But that is a lie.  I am living proof of it.  It is as much of a lie as the belief that because you're a Squib that you're worthless.  Tell me, Holly, what did your mother think of you having almost no magic?"

"She . . .she said it didn't matter if I could cast spells or use a wand," Holly said softly, tears prickling her eyes.  "She said I was her little girl always and she loved me no matter what.  And she told my dad that too and then she told him to get the hell out of her house."

"Good for her!" Severus said, pleased that there had been one person willing to stand up to Lucius in Holly's life.  "That is exactly the way a parent should behave, Miss Sinclair.  For your mother loved you, child, not because you had magic or not, but because you were her daughter, and that is what matters.  You.  Not whether or not you inherited magic's gift.  There are plenty of talented, smart, successful individuals out there who have not one drop of magic in their veins, and also plenty of stupid, lazy, and ignorant  individuals who have magic and waste it on their own petty pleasures and are a waste of breath." He leaned forward and gazed deeply into Holly's sapphire eyes.  "Do you understand what I'm saying? It's not whether or not you have magic that matters, it's what you do with what you have that counts.  Now, I can tell just from talking with you for a few minutes that you are a very intelligent and thoughtful girl, one who probably got high marks in school, yes?"

Holly nodded, she had always been at the top of her class academically, until her mother had withdrawn her from school once Lucius had cut them off.  Then Valina had homeschooled her.  "Yes, sir.  I only have to read something once or twice and I can remember it."

"Wow! I wish I could do that," Harry said, a little enviously.

Holly gave him a shy smile.  "But you have magic and I don't."

"You both have special gifts and talents," Severus pointed out.  "Everyone is special in their own way, Holly, which is the way it should be.  For if we were all alike, the world would be a very boring place, no?"

Both kids nodded.  Severus gave them an approving glance before continuing his lecture.  "That being so, it should follow that Muggleborn, half-blood, Squib, or wizard, we are all equal, with none of us better than another.  We wizards have a responsibility to use our magic properly, not to torment those who lack it, or humiliate those weaker or less fortunate than us.  There is a rule that used to be taught in all the primary wizarding schools long ago that has since fallen out of the curriculum and which I think ought to be reintroduced."

"What is it, Dad?"

"It is simply this-use your magic wisely and to harm none, for the harm or the good you do shall come back upon you threefold," Severus recited.  "The Threefold Rule was a lesson my own mother taught me when I was younger than you two, and I have never forgotten it.  It is very similar to another rule invented by Muggles-they call theirs the Golden Rule-do unto others as you would have them do unto you, for as you treat others, so shall others treat you."

"They're almost the same," Holly said. 

"Very good! And that is what I want you to see-that wizard or Muggle we share the same basic beliefs, and should therefore be able to set aside ridiculous assumptions and treat each other with compassion, not blind arrogance.  Of course, most people don't follow those rules, which is why you ended up where you did, Miss Sinclair."

"Why don't they, Dad?" asked Harry.

Severus sighed.  "Because people are selfish and it's easier to see differences than it is to see similarities.  Like when people thought all wolves were evil beasts that ate children and hunted them to extinction here.  People are easily afraid of differences and are quick to judge. Like they did with Holly, assuming that because she is a Squib she doesn't matter.  But they were wrong," he stressed.  "Your father, especially, is wrong, Holly.  He is a fool, for he threw away the most precious thing he could ever have, something that is worth more than all the Galleons in Gringotts, or all the spellbooks in the Ministry, or all the power of Merlin's enchanted staff.  And do you know what that is, Miss Sinclair?"

Holly shook her head.

"It is you, child.  Our children are the most precious things we have and when your father cast you away he lost a treasure beyond price.  As I said before, he is a fool, and someday he shall regret what he has done," Snape said, and there was an edge to his voice that had not been there before, and he vowed that one day soon he would make Malfoy regret destroying yet another innocent's life. 

"Do you really think so, sir?" Holly asked and in her eyes shone a faint spark of hope.  If what Severus said was true, perhaps one day her father would remember that he had loved her and forgive her and she could be his princess again. 

"All things are possible, Holly," Severus said, thinking, I'll make him regret almost killing you one day, little one, now that I need not pretend to be a Death Eater any longer.  I'll make that smug righteous bastard regret every child he ever harmed and every person he killed simply because he could.  I've held back because of Harry, but once he is safe at Hogwarts, I can begin to pay back all the sniveling arrogant dark wizards for all the misery they caused me and everyone else.

The little girl's stomach rumbled then and Harry snickered.  "Here, have a biscuit." He thrust the tin at her.

The girl took one, and bit into it, sighing in bliss.  It tasted fabulous and before she knew it she had eaten another one and then another. 

Severus cleared his throat then, and Holly looked up guiltily, she hadn't meant to act like a pig but Merlin she was so hungry!  "Sorry."

"Don't apologize, Holly.  I should have given you a proper lunch before now." Severus said quickly, cursing his oversight.  "How does chicken soup and a ham sandwich sound?"

"Wonderful!" Holly said, looking at him as if he had offered her a gourmet meal.

"Yum, that's my favorite," Harry said, and shared a smile with his new houseguest.

Severus rose and headed into the kitchen to start making the promised lunch, leaving Harry and Holly alone to get better acquainted. 

"I'm glad you found me in Diagon Alley, Harry," Holly said shyly.

"Me too, though I kind of . . .tripped over you," Harry admitted, blushing a bit. "I was thinking about getting a present for my dad's birthday and I wasn't watching where I was walking."

"Lucky for me.  I'm sorry I interrupted your shopping though."

"It's okay.  Dad can take me back tomorrow to get a present," Harry said.  He knew Severus wouldn't mind returning tomorrow to Diagon Alley, since he probably needed to replenish some of his ingredients, and hopefully the beakers and the book would still be available.  But if not, he could always pick out something else.  Saving Holly had been more important than a birthday present.

Holly looked curiously at Silver, then asked, "Harry, how did you come to have a wolf living here with you? And if he's not a pet, just what is he?"

"He's special, Holly," Harry answered cautiously, knowing he had to be careful what he told her about the big wolf, since only family members could know the truth about Remus Lupin.  "I met him three years ago, when Dad and I were on holiday in Yorkshire, in a cottage at the edge of a forest called Wolf Wood . . ."

By the time Harry had finished telling Holly an edited tale about Silver and how he had come to live with the Snapes, lunch was ready and the Potions Master called them into the kitchen. 

Both children ate every scrap of the meal, though Severus noted with a rather resigned expression that even starving, Holly had more refined table manners than his own son, she didn't slurp her soup and she was careful not to get crumbs on her nightdress and in short behaved like a little lady of privilege, which was how Malfoy had raised her. 

Harry, typical ten-year-old boy, simply devoured his food like a starving wolf, and Severus sighed inwardly and decided he would have to remind his son in private about table manners again.  He figured the lecture would take better that way, and he didn't want to create resentment between the two, since he had a feeling that Holly would be staying here for a lot longer than a night or two.

As of yet, he hadn't quite made up his mind what to do about the child, but he knew that he could not send her away, and he was unsure about contacting any authorities about her, since they might insist that Lucius take responsibility for the child, and the last thing Holly needed was her father rejecting her publically for the second time.  Of course, that could be a bargaining chip, if it came right down to it, Severus mused.  For proper Lucius Malfoy, First Advisor to the Minister of Magic, would not want it made public that he had a mistress on the side and had fathered a magicless child with her, not when he was supposedly happily married to Narcissa with a son, Draco, for his heir.  His sterling reputation as a family man and funder of several charities would be shot all to hell were the papers to learn that he had cast his own daughter out to die in the cold.  That would give the lie to Lucius' claim that he was a former Death Eater, who had followed Voldemort while under the influence of the Imperius Curse.

But Severus wasn't quite ready to go that route yet, not until he had made certain that Holly was well, she seemed to be sniffling and coughing during lunch, and he knew that hypothermia often brought pneumonia or bronchitis in its wake.  I'll have to brew up some Decongestion Drafts and some more Pepper-Up Potion too, I think she's going to need them.  Afterwards, I'll figure out whether or not to inform the Ministry of this.  Perhaps I'll discuss it with Minerva and Albus first, see what they think of me possibly raising Lucius Malfoy's love child.

Part of him chuckled wickedly just imagining the shocked looks on his colleagues faces and another part of him gibbered that he already had one child to raise and he didn't know if he could handle another as well, but his conscience whispered that if he didn't take her in, what then would become of her? Some Ministry-run foster home, where she would be secretly despised by any family who took her in? Where she would be made miserable until she ran away, back to the streets to starve or become a hardened criminal, all of her potential beaten out of her by a cruel and unforgiving world?

No.  He could not permit that to happen.  She had Seen in fire that she would be rescued-that Harry and he would save her from a cold and lonely death, and thus it had happened.  He would be damned if he threw that hopeful vision of a future where she could be happy back in her face.  I too was once a lost and lonely child, and Lily and her mother saved me from the hell of my father's making and from the Marauders.  And that was why, in part, I swore an oath to raise Harry as my own if something happened to Lily.  The rule of three at work, and now it would seem that fate has placed yet another orphan lost child in my path, another like myself, who needs someone she can rely on to love and protect and advise her. First Harry, then Silver, and now Holly.  Severus shook his head ruefully.  Someone up there must be having a good laugh at his expense.  This was the last thing he had expected to occur when he had woken up that morning.

It almost made him long for his solitary days as a spy, when his biggest worry was being found out by Voldemort.  Almost.

Meanwhile, Holly helped Harry wash up the plates and then Harry offered to show her his room, and Holly followed the older boy down the hall, hoping fervently that she might be able to stay here for awhile, she would prove to Severus that she wouldn't be a burden and perhaps he would let her live here.  She tucked that fragile hope inside of her and then she allowed herself to enjoy being in the company of another child her own age, one who did not yell "Dirty Squib!" at her or push her into the mud and throw rocks and iceballs at her.

Instead, Harry showed her his broom and Quidditch posters and asked if she knew how to play Exploding Snap and Holly spent the afternoon playing cards and chess and it was almost like being back in her flat on Phoenix Terrace when her mother was still alive.

After supper, Severus dosed her with some more potions, trying to stave off a lung infection, and also a Sleeping Draught.  Holly took them without complaint, even though they tasted horrid, and Severus sent her to bed early, telling her she needed rest, transfiguring a tissue box into a small bed near the fire in the den. 

Once he was sure she was sleeping, he began to compose two letters to Dumbeldore and Minerva, informing him of this new circumstance, reasoning he could post them tomorrow, there was no hurry.  That done he went to tuck Harry into bed as well, teasing him about not staying up reading under the covers again till dawn.

"Okay, Dad, I'll go to sleep.  But can we go back to Diagon Alley tomorrow so I can get you a present?"

"Yes.  Now close your eyes and go to sleep, before you're too tired to see straight tomorrow." Severus ordered, smirking.  "Good night, Harry."

"Night, Dad." Harry yawned, one hand reaching down to pet Silver, who was lying on the floor next to his bed, as was his wont.  "Dad, will Holly be staying here for a long time?"

"That's a possibility.  Why? Would you mind if she did?" Severus queried softly.

"No. Just wondering, is all. Although having a girl around here is kind of . . .weird.  But she's better off here than with her dad." And it'd be nice to have someone my own age around here to talk to and do things with.  Too bad she's not  a boy.

"Very true. Now, quit stalling and go to sleep, Harry Snape.  We can discuss this more in the morning." Then Severus shut the door and sought out his own bed, never realizing that the winds of fate had shifted once again, due to a certain shopkeeper with too much curiosity and an Insta-Magik camera.