Still suffering from a lack of decent sleep, despite the six hours she got the night before, Tirza sat beside Snape at the table in a haze. "God my head hurts," she whined, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "I'll give you a potion for headaches after we're done," Snape told her. She nodded and picked at her breakfast, feeling queasy. "I need to use the restroom, I'll be right back." Tirza carefully made her way out of the Great Hall and found the restroom where she threw up what felt like all her insides. She washed her face and hands and leaned against the sink for a moment, feeling faint. The moment passed quickly and she slowly headed back to the Great Hall. The large door swung shut behind her and she walked towards the teachers table. "Hey TJ," Ron greeted her as she walked past. Tirza didn't hear him and continued her slow walk. Tirza had never felt so funny before; her eyes started to roll back in her head and she fell onto the floor. Ron, Harry and Hermione sat there for a moment, stunned. Oliver was the first to react; he went to her and checked for a pulse. "Professor Snape!" he yelled. Snape looked up, clearly annoyed. "It's TJ! She's hardly breathing!" Madame Pompfrey and Snape rushed towards Wood, who was holding a limp Tirza in his arms. Poppy placed her hand on the little girl's forehead. "She's burning up with fever. We must get her to the hospital wing immediately."
Snape sat beside her bed in the hospital wing, holding her hand. Poppy was confidant that she would be fine, but he couldn't stop worrying. Several potions had been administered to bring down her fever and replace the strength that had been lost during the sleepless nights and the lack of food. He watched her sleep, stroking her soft dark hair that was splashed across the white pillow. She looked better now; color had returned to her cheeks and she was resting peacefully. Lying there, her chest rising and falling with each breath, it was hard to imagine her as anything but an angel. Snape hadn't realized how much he truly did care for her until last night when he thought she had killed herself. She had only been there a week, and he already did not know if he could live without her. She was so much like him; her hair, her eyes and her sharp wit. But she was so many things that he was not, things he wondered if he had ever been. Her laugh, like sweet music; the way a room seemed brighter when she came in; the way she was so quick to forgive and to love. The times he had watched her laughing and playing, it was so hard to believe they were even related. She was so precious and so full of love despite the things that had been done to her.
Tirza began to blink, trying to focus her blurry eyes. The first thing she could she was Snape's face, full of concern. She took a deep breath. "Hi. What happened?" "You passed out in the Great Hall, burning with fever." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't feel sick." Snape chuckled. "You've taken several potions, so I am sure that you are feeling much better." "You need to eat dear. How long has it been since you've had a decent meal in your stomach?" Poppy asked as she appeared with a tray of food. "Four days I think," Tirza told the nurse. "Gracious! Severus, are you not watching her? She is too young to take care of herself!" Poppy frowned at Snape and scolded him. "I cannot watch her every second, Poppy." The nurse shook her head and handed a small glass to Tirza. "Drink this dear, it will help the food to stay down." Tirza downed the liquid as fast as she could. "Yuck!" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. Snape chuckled at the look on her face. She stuck her tongue out at him and began to slowly eat the food in front of her. When she had eaten enough to satisfy Poppy, she was released. "Watch her Severus, be sure she is eating and sleeping!" Poppy warned. Tirza looked at the scowl on Snape's face and giggled. "Well, he's no Mary Poppins." Both adults gave her a strange look. "Never mind," the little girl sighed.
Snape brought her back to the dungeons and tucked her into bed for a nap. "But I just got up!" Tirza whined. "You have been sick and you need sleep," he told her sternly. "But I'm not tired!" "Then lie here and rest quietly." She stuck out her lower lip. "That's no fun." He shook his head. "I do not care whether it is fun or not. Do not let me catch you out of bed, understand?" He kissed her head and walked towards the door. "Party pooper," she mumbled. Snape turned and raised an eyebrow. "What was that, young lady?" "Nothing," she said, rolling her eyes. Tirza was too wide awake to sleep and even TV and her books did not interest her. "Dude, this sucks," she said to herself. "I gotta break outta this joint!" She got down of the door and crawled to the door, barely peaking her head out. "Get back in bed!" Snape called from his desk. "Damn!" She stomped back to her bed and threw herself down on the bed. "No jumping on the bed!" Tirza raised an eyebrow. How did he hear the bed squeak from in there? She turned on her CD player and blasted the music, hoping to annoy him so he'd let her go somewhere. "Heart is drenched in wine!" Tirza yelled the lyrics to the Norah Jones song. Within a few moments, Snape appeared in her doorway. "Is this what you call resting? You are going to go deaf!" "Nah, man; you gotta have the music loud. Let it vibrate through your body and touch your soul," she said. "Turn it down; you're going to give me a headache." Tirza giggled and hit the up volume button, putting the music on full sound. "Opps, wrong button," she said sarcastically, finally turning it down.
Tirza lay there on her bed, still trying to devise a plan. God was she bored! Snape appeared in her doorway again. "I left something in my classroom, I'll be right back. Stay in bed." An idea suddenly hit her. She yawned. "Okay, can you shut my door, I might take a nap." He nodded and closed the door. A few moments later, she heard him leave and laughed. Perfect! She got out of bed and ran to the door and slowly opened it; Snape was no where in sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, she left, closing the door behind her. Feeling so very free, Tirza walked down the hallway.
Snape gathered the papers he needed and exited his classroom. 'Perhaps I'll get Tirza something warm to drink,' he thought and headed for the kitchens. The house elves greeted him and gladly got some warm milk for the 'little miss' to drink. He headed back towards the dungeons, rounding a corner and stopping. There was Tirza, walking down the hallway towards him. Snape scowled. 'Does she ever listen to a thing I say?' He waited in the shadows for her to round the corner.
Tirza walked down the hallway in her yellow pajama top and pants with fake white fur on the cuffs. She didn't really have anyplace that she was going, she was just happy to be free. Not suspecting a thing, she skipped around the corner. Snape grabbed her arm with one hand and swatted her bottom with the other. "Ouch!" she yelled, her hands flying back to rub her bottom. "I asked you to stay in bed." Tirza looked up and saw Snape, scowling at her. "Why do you do that?" she asked, still rubbing. "It gets your attention, does it not?" She nodded. "Oh boy does it get my attention!" "Precisely." He took her arm and escorted her down the hallway. "Why are you not in bed?" Tirza shrugged. "I was bored and I feel fine." Snape sighed. "Whatever am I going to do with you, child?" She giggled. "Sometimes you exasperate me child." "Is that a good thing?" "No, it is not." She grew quiet as they entered the sitting room. "Oh. I'm sorry I bother you." He brought her pillows and blanket from her room and she lay on the couch. "It's not that you bother me, child, I just do not know what to do with you. You have an extremely short attention span and you do not seem to listen to a thing a say." She laughed. "Silly, that's what kids are supposed to do!"
Tirza grabbed a silver crayon and began coloring. "Dad, what's your favorite color? Wait, lemme guess: black?" Snape thought for a moment. "I am particularly partial to any one color." "That's creepy," she commented. "So I will pick one out for you." Snape shook his head and continued his work. "Done!" she announced a few moments later. "Come look at the picture I colored for you!" He really didn't want to be interrupted, but was curious anyway. He walked to her make-shift bed on the couch and looked at the page. It was a picture of Prince Phillip fighting the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. "See, I colored the dragon green and silver like your house colors and since you don't have a fav color, I made Phillip's clothes blue." Across the bottom of the page, in messy handwriting, were the words 'to dad with lotsa love, TJ.' "What ya think?" Tirza looked up at him expectantly. "It's... nice." She frowned. "You hate it, don't you?" "Of course not." She eyed him suspiciously, but handed him the picture anyway. "I'd ask if we could put it on the fridge, but you don't have one," she told him. He nodded, not really sure why he'd want to paste a picture onto a 'fridge.'
"But I can't go to sleep yet!" Tirza yelled, stomping for extra effect. "And why in Merlin's name can't you?" She looked ready to burst into tears. "I can't find Molly! I can't sleep without her! Mommy gave her to me when I was little and I ALWAYS sleep with her!" Snape had to think for a moment before remembering which animal of Tirza's menagerie was the missing Molly. Tirza gasped. "Oh my god! She's been kidnapped!" 'What motive could someone possibly have to steal a stuffed lion?' he thought. "I bet Malfoy did it, that nasty fuck!" "Tirza Jade," Snape warned. She ducked her head. "Sorry; hard habit to break. But if anyone took her, he did!" "Wherever did you pick up such foul language?" he asked. "Well, I heard the other kids say it and started saying it and then mom picked it up, but that's not important. We have to save Molly!" An all out search commenced. "Molly, where are you?" Tirza called. Snape raised an eyebrow; did she really expect the stuffed lion to answer? After searching every possible place in Tirza's room, the little girl suddenly stopped and slapped her forehead. "Duh! I remember now! I left her in your room this morning." Snape was too frustrated for words and merely rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. Tirza rushed into his room and grabbed the pink-nosed lion with a curly mane from the messy bed. "Oh, I was so scared! I thought maybe that nasty vampire boy took you." She hugged the lion tight, kissing its cute face. 'Maybe now, an hour past her bedtime, I can finally put her to bed!' Snape thought. 'How did Ariel ever handle Tirza for ten years all by herself?'
Monday left Tirza to find her own entertainment as Snape was busy with his classes. The CD player that she hooked onto her jeans was never taken off in her earnest practice. Dumbledore assured her that everything would be ready and helped her with the last minute details. Tirza was so excited she could hardly wait for evening to come. "Child, can you not sit still? Your constant bouncing is enough to drive me insane." She giggled. "I just feel so happy! Don't you ever feel so happy that you might float away or grow wings and fly?" Snape gave her a look that said 'You have got to be kidding.' She laughed so hard from the look on his face that she fell out of the chair. "Its sad dad: you're ancient, you've lived for tons of years, but you haven't LIVED." He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, you're not like a million or anything yet, so there's still time." She looked at the clock and jumped out of the chair. "Gotta practice; catch ya later!" Tirza headed for her room. "Practice what?" Snape asked. She never heard him; she already had her headphones on and the music turned up.
Tirza shivered. "Crap its cold! Can I we go back and get my sweater?" Snape sighed; they were just outside the Great Hall and he did not feel like going to the dungeons and coming back again. "Alright, but let's be quick about it." He opened the door to his dungeon quarters; except it wasn't his quarters anymore. He blinked several time before looking at the room again. His sitting room was covered in blue paper strung along the ceiling and dozens of balloons floated; the furniture had been moved away and a table with covered plate and a lit candle stood in the center. "What in Merlin's name is this?" Snape asked, thinking someone had played an elaborate joke on him. Tirza giggled and hugged him tight. "Happy birthday daddy! Are you surprised?" Was he ever surprised! "You did all this?" She smiled. "Not all by myself; Uncle Albus and the elves helped. Come on, sit down!" She pushed him towards a chair and uncovered one of the plates. Snape raised an eyebrow at the foreign food. "I didn't know what your favorite food was and neither did Uncle Albus, so I guessed. The elves and I made this!" Not wanting to hurt her feelings, he smiled. "It looks good, what is it?" "Banana bread and chili and cheese sandwiches!" Tirza seemed very pleased with herself, though Snape thought the combination was rather strange. She sat in the other chair and helped herself to a large slice of banana bread.
Despite the strange combination, the meal was actually quite good. Just as they were finishing, there was a knock on the door. "That's for me," Tirza told him. She opened the door and Snape saw Dumbledore standing there with a cake. "The elves and me made this too! It's chocolate with chocolate frosting!" Dumbledore waved his wand and the four candles on the small cake lit. "Happy birthday to you!" Tirza began to sing. She motioned for Dumbledore to bring the cake closer once she finished. "Now close your eyes daddy and make a wish, but don't tell me what it is! When you've made your wish, blow out the candles." Snape followed her instructions, but wasn't sure why this was necessary. Tirza clapped when he blew out all the candles. "Now your wish will come true!" Dumbledore made a quiet exit as Tirza attempted to cut the cake. "What letters do you want?" she asked. "What?" Snape had no idea what she was talking about. "What letters do you want silly?" Tirza pointed to the cake; he looked and saw Happy Birthday Daddy! written in pink frosting. "You choose," he told her.
When the cake was finished, Tirza ran into her room and grabbed the present Oliver had helped her find. She excitedly handed it to him and sat down. Snape slowly unwrapped the gift; inside was a chocolate frog and a book. He read the title to himself. 'Famous Potion Masters.' "Oliver helped me pick it out. It's all about really cool potions people like you! He said it was really old and it was first edition which is good, I think." Snape set the gifts down and put his arms around Tirza. "It's wonderful," he told her. She hugged him tight and gave him a kiss. "There's one more part of your present. Wait here, I gotta set it up." Again, the little girl ran to her room. She reappeared moment later in a long purple sweater and skin tight black knit pants, lugging her CD player. "I've been working on this for the last few days and I hope you like it." She turned on the player and a bouncy jazz music started.
"My name is, Lolita. And I'm not supposed to play with boys!" Tirza began to sing, with only the background music playing. She started dancing. "Coeur est a papa. You know, le proprietaire. No! While tearing off a game of golf, I may make a play for the caddy. But when I do, I don't follow through, 'cause my heart belongs to my daddy!" She looked so cute that Snape wanted to laugh. "If I invite a boy some night to dine on my fine finnan haddie; I just adore, his begging for more, but my heart belongs to daddy! Yes my heart belongs to daddy, so I simply couldn't be bad! So I want to warn you laddie, though I know that you're perfectly swell; that my heart belongs to daddy, cause my daddy he treats it so.. While tearing off a game of golf, I may make a play for the caddie. But when I do, I don't follow through, oooh, daddy! If I invite a boy some night to cook up a fine enchilada, though Spanish rice is all very nice, my heart belongs to my daddy!" Snape smiled; Merlin, she was adorable. "So I simply couldn't be bad! So I want to warn you laddie, though I know you're perfectly swell; that my heart belongs to my daddy. 'Cause my daddy, he treats it... so... That little old man, he just treats it so good!" She ended by throwing him a kiss and bowing. Snape enthusiastically clapped and her little face beamed. "Did you like it?" He nodded and gathered her into a hug. "It was wonderful!" "I saw it on a Marilyn Monroe movie and then found it on a CD. I've been practicing so much to great it right! I'm so glad you liked!" He kissed her head and tickled her, causing her to squeal with delight. When he stopped, Tirza covered his face in kisses. "Did you have a good birthday party daddy?" Snape nodded. "The best birthday party I've ever had."