Snape gently handed her the package; Tirza tore away the wrapping, finding a box underneath. "Yes! Just what I've always wanted: a box!" she said, giggling. She opened the box and peered inside; the front of a blue Victorian house stared back at her. She breathlessly pulled out a large dollhouse with eight fully furnished rooms and a doll family to live in it. "Wow," Tirza said. "I've always wanted a doll house!" She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you daddy!" She oohed and ahhed at the tiny beds with satin covers, the miniature dishes in the china cabinet and the dozens of other little accessories. Snape smiled in spite of himself; Minerva had been right about the dollhouse. He'd have to thank her in the morning for the suggestion. Tirza spent the remaining two hours until bedtime playing with the dolls, which she named Evy, Rick and Alex from the Mummy movies and the little girl she called Aurora for Sleeping Beauty.
Snape decided to check on Tirza before heading to bed; it was now just past 11 and she should be sleeping. He saw a light on under her door, shook his head and knocked. The light went out and he could hear her jump into her bed. He opened the door and looked at Tirza, who was desperately trying to act asleep. "Very convincing; except I saw your light on already." She groaned. "Do you know what time it is young lady?" "'Time for little girls to be asleep,'" she said, trying to mimic his voice and stern look. "Exactly, so why aren't you?" "Not tired, so I was playing with the O'Connells." He looked at her sternly. "You need to sleep or you will be very cranky in the morning." Tirza looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll go to sleep if you will sing to me!" Snape shook his head. "No, you will go to bed because I asked you too." "I want a song! I want a song!" "Child, I DO NOT sing." She pouted and gave him her puppy dog eyes. "Please?" "NO." She sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll go to sleep, but I'm not happy about it!" Despite being unhappy, she kissed his pale cheek and hugged him tight. "Goodnight daddy." Snape tucked the covers around her and stroked her hair. "Goodnight." He turned out the light and left the room.
Tirza rolled over and looked at her clock; 4AM. She groaned and hugged her stuffed lion. She hadn't been to sleep at all. Tirza had plugged her headphones into her TV/VCR and watched Charlie's Angels until she fell asleep after being caught playing with the dollhouse. Only she didn't fall asleep after the episode; or even after the next three. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep, because she truly was tired, but it was like her body wouldn't let her. Her mind kept rattling on and on, keeping her awake. "This is crazy," she told herself. She lay there after the last Charlie's Angels episode, just staring up at the ceiling. She felt weird, almost creepy. It was the weirdness that kept her mind from allowing her to sleep. Tirza lay there, trying to think of nothing, hoping to sleep. Just before 5:30, she gave up; she grabbed Molly (the lion) and shuffled to her father's room. He was lying on his back, sleeping soundly, oblivious to the little girl watching him. She gently pulled back the covers, not wanting to wake him, and crawled in beside him. At once she felt better, safer, even though Snape seemed dead to the world. Finally sleep came to her.
Snape awoke, his chest feeling ticklish. He tried to brush the object way, but the object, hair, was attached to something. He looked down; Tirza and the animal he had come to know as Molly were snuggled against him, Tirza's head on his chest. 'When did she come in?' he wondered, having never felt her crawl into his bed. Snape gently rubbed her shoulder, urging her to wake. "Mmmm," she groaned. When she finally woke, she was decidedly cranky. "I can't find anything to wear!" Tirza yelled from her room, throwing all her clothes on the floor in frustration. "You have five minutes," Snape called. "I don't give a shit," she retorted, now kicking her clothes. "My, aren't we in a sunshine mood," he sneered. She stomped out to where he sat. "Shut up!" she yelled. He frowned at her. "You know better than to talk to me that way! Why are you in such a foul mood?" Tirza glared at him, hands on her hips. "Cuz I wanna be! What's it to ya?" She spun around and went back to choose something to wear. Emerging moments later in a wrinkled shirt and pants, she followed Snape wordlessly from the dungeon. "God, I hate this shit," Tirza moaned, scowling at the pancakes and eggs on her plate. "That's enough," Snape warned her firmly. She turned her scowl to him. "I'm not hungry." He shook his head. "Tirza, I'm really not in the mood for this." "Does it look like a give a shit? If I had a quarter, I'd give it to you and tell ya to call someone who cares." "I don't know what all this cheek is about, but you had better stop it right now!" Snape was growing angrier by the minute. She got up and stalked from the table.
Twenty minutes later, Snape came into his office; Tirza was lying on the couch, sleeping. Thinking her behavior was from lack of sleep, he tried to be quiet as he gathered his lesson plans. Tirza suddenly screamed and sat up. "Good lord, don't sneak up on me like that!" she yelled. "I thought you were asleep." She shook her head. "Just thinking, don't sneak up on me, that is so freaky!" Snape eyed her suspiciously; her lie about 'thinking' was very unconvincing. She scowled at him in return and put on her headphones. He made a mental note to talk to her at lunch and left.
Tirza sat beside Snape at supper, unusually silent, moving her food around with her fork. "Are you alright child?" She nodded and continued to push her food. "Do not play with your food." She nodded and forced herself to eat a bite of spaghetti. When Snape wasn't looking, she dumped some of the pasta into her napkin and finished the few bites of pasta left and a piece of garlic bread. "Can I go now?" Snape nodded and watched her leave, concern written on his face. "She was certainly quiet," McGonagall commented. "Yes, she was. Usually that would be a cause for celebration, but I think something is bothering her," Snape mused.
This time it was Gilligan's Island that kept Tirza company in the wee hours of the night. Again, she couldn't sleep, her mind racing, the same creepy feeling that seemed to be pressing down on her. Not wanting to bother her father, Tirza stayed in her room, praying that blessed sleep would come. By the time 6AM hit, she gave up and got dressed. She headed for the kitchen, where the house elves prepared coffee for. Tirza brought the entire pot back to the sitting room with her and had downed half of it by the time Snape emerged from his room. The coffee helped her to feel better and warmed her chilled bones; at least it did until Snape found out what it was. "You are too young for coffee. How much of this have you had?" She shrugged. "Half the pot," she whispered. "I don't want you drinking this stuff anymore," he ordered. "But I need it!" "No, you do not." He peered at her pale face and the small purple circles under her eyes. "Have you been sleeping alright? You look very tired." "I'm sleeping fine; you'd be the first to know if I wasn't." Snape suspected her of lying, but her face and eyes didn't change. It came as no surprise to Tirza that the lie came so easily. Over the last few months it had become much easier, almost second nature. "Well, let's go to breakfast," Snape said. "I already ate; grabbed some toast and an orange when I got the coffee," she lied again. He eyed her again, but couldn't tell if she was lying. "Alright, I'll be back after I've eaten." He left the room and Tirza sighed, thankful that he had left the coffee. A moment later, the door opened and Snape came in and grabbed the coffee pot. "Damn," she muttered.