[Harry Potter] In the Name of Tears

Winter Nepes's parents came from the East to London's Chinatown, where they ran the "Wangyou Chinese Medicine Clinic." In the eyes of outsiders, they were miracle doctors whose remedies cured every illness. Only they knew what their "miracle prescriptions" really were.

Her mother's tears could heal every wound, while anyone who killed her father would gain the power of immortality.

Her parents were drawn into the bloodshed of the wizarding world. The man whose name must not be spoken longed for immortality. When Winter was two, the clinic burned to the ground, and her parents vanished without a trace.

Then, when Winter turned eleven, she received her Hogwarts letter. Her life ahead, the secrets her parents had left behind: everything was about to change.

When Winter Nepes first met Severus Snape, she immediately and recklessly started probing one of his sore spots. She asked, "What does Mudblood mean?"

Severus: "...I hope you're genuinely ignorant of what that word means, and that that's why you asked such a stupid question. Otherwise, judging by your intelligence and ignorance, you shouldn't be attending Hogwarts. Or, at the very least, I hope you aren't sorted into Slytherin. A career that requires brawn rather than brains might suit you better."

The Sorting Hat: "A restrained nature, great ambition, a sharp mind, and the persistence to keep going even when you might end up battered and bruised... Slytherin!"

Severus: "..."

Winter: "Professor Dumbledore, I hope you won't use me like a phoenix to protect Harry, whom you care for. I need to be sad to cry, and people don't like too much sadness. Neither do I."

Dumbledore: "Miss Nepes, you've misunderstood. Phoenixes don't have feelings as complex as humans. Fawkes's tears can't heal the wounds in people's hearts."

Winter: "Yes, my feelings are too complex, so complex that you can see right through me. My tears can heal anything, yet they can do nothing for my own wounds. You make demands of him because of his feelings for Lily, and you make demands of me because of my feelings for him. That's unfair to him. He shouldn't be hated. You know that. He's no coward. He's a brave man, but no one has ever truly loved him."

Dumbledore: "Miss Nepes, isn't he being truly loved at this very moment?"

A story of mutual unrequited love, featuring the outwardly cold but warmhearted Professor Snape and a steadfast, patient, and courageous Slytherin. There is some angst along the way, but it has a happy ending, so read without worry.

Theme: Leave a little corner of your heart to love Severus.