"No." Severus Snape flinched, "p-please. Don't kill me." he took a step back as the old wizard appeared in front of him with a flash of bright light. "P-protect them, I-I beg you." He didn't usually stutter, but after what he had seen… No. He couldn't think about it.

"What will you give me in return?" Albus Dumbledore was a reasonable man, if Severus truly had a change of heart, he would be more than willing to make an arrangement. He looked so shaken up, the man had seen so many horrid things.
The wind whipped around the two men, as if it could sense that something was terribly horribly wrong. They were, after all, in the middle of a war. Knowing full well what was at stake, Severus Snape made his answer,

"Anything."

When Severus agreed to do anything, he certainly did not expect to be handed an orphaned child and the task of becoming a double agent. The two just didn't seem to go together. Living a double life, full of danger, and raising a witch.

He supposed that Lily would have admired him for it, so he took the young girl, Maren Capulet, a Half-Blood witch. But that was the key, would have. Now she was dead. Lily Evans, for she would always be Evans to Severus, was dead, and she would never know what he had done to redeem himself.

So now he was stuck with a child to raise, and the impossible task of fooling the Dark Lord.

He looked down at the child in his arms, and sighed. Severus already regretted taking her in, but he couldn't just march up to Dumbledore and hand the poor thing back.

Poor thing. That kind of thinking would get him in trouble. He'd be best off not forming any sort of attachment to her. He would just have to deal with his actions.

Maren Emiley Capulet would also have to 'deal with it', but that wasn't going to be for some time. For now, Severus would just have to worry about raise her to be his ideal child, without killing her, or doing anything to rid himself of the little thing.

Life with Severus Snape was not as bad as many might have thought. It might have been a constant game of dancing around topics, and hiding emotions, but it was still pleasant, especially for a child who had grown up knowing nothing else.

He had expectations, just like any other parent would have. Maren knew these expectations and strove to meet them, just like any respectful child would have. Severus had sat her down when she was still quite young and explained where she had come from, and what she must do.

It was by no means a father-daughter relationship, but they both got what they needed. For Maren, it was a roof over her head and food in her belly, and for Severus, it was a good reputation with the old fool Dumbledore and a bright spot in his day.

Yes, our dear Severus Snape had developed a soft spot for the dark haired, blue eyed witch against his better judgment. Who wouldn't, with her love for anything he did, and her eagerness to prove herself to him.

The only exception to that, occurred one sunny August day a few weeks after she had turned six. Severus had brewed a batch of Felix Felicis and left it out. Maren had seen it, and being 6, thought that the color was very pretty.

She had picked it up to examine it, and try to guess what potion it was. "Maren! Don't touch that." Severus swept back into the room. He hadn't meant to sound angry, but he must have, for the child started, and dropped the bottle. It hit the ground with a splat, the golden liquid contrasting with the dark floor.

"I-I'm sorry." Maren looked up at him, his dark eyes were cold and he looked about ready to smash something himself. "I was j-just looking at it." She trailed off.

"Just looking at it?" His voice was deadly calm, not a good sign. "What have I told you, Maren, about just looking at a potion?"

"That you look with your eyes, and not with your hands." She squeaked. "But it's not my fault! You scared me!" She protested.

"Not your fault? Do elaborate." Still deadly calm.

"You startled me. If you hadn't shouted, then I wouldn't have dropped the useless potion!" She stomped her foot. Her young age was very apparent in the way that she held herself in that moment, however Severus had raised her to be better than that. Too late, she realized her mistake.

"Useless potion?" He wasn't calm anymore. Not even close. His arm reached into his pocket, and before he knew what he was doing, he had cast a curse at the girl.

The aftermath was pure chaos. Neither remembered much, pieces here and there, but nothing concrete; Flashes of crimson on Maren's collar and on Severus' hands, the green of the robes that the St. Mungo's healers wore.

Severus remembered sitting by Maren's bed, thinking about what he had done. It was an overreaction, but he would never admit it. He was too proud, it was too cliche.

It wasn't long before she was back to full health. The only thing that remained of the incident, was a long scar that stretched from her collarbone to mid back.

The two didn't talk about it, there wasn't much to say. Nothing like that ever happened again. Neither were proud of it either. Maren did her best to hide the scar, and Severus never told anyone what happened.

Maren did care for him, he had raised her after all. It's hard not to feel grateful towards someone who hasn't given you many reasons to hate them.
She knew what a family was supposed to look like, and she figured, if she did everything he asked, if she was completely devoted, he'd give her something in return.

So that's what they both did. Devoted in a sense that, that was how it worked. Not because they loved each other, but just because. It was a tacit agreement, they would respect each other, so long as they were under the same roof.

Hello! I decided to move a story I had on Quotev over here. I'm still writing it on Quotev, but I'm also going to post it on here. I hope you enjoy, and even if you didn't, leave a review! They are my motivation to write more.

-Lizard