Chapter 1: Memories
Severus Snape, aged just thirty-six years old, stood by the window of a comfortable room. His face was his most intriguing trait. He looked a great deal older than his mother might testify he was. But both his parents were dead so the argument was hardly relevant. He took a small breath at regular intervals, much like a man who was meditating might, as his head turned towards a a small clock on the wall. It chimed noon. His eyes then fell on the girl lying in the bed before him. She too was thirty-six, but for reasons only known to a few people, including Severus Snape, she had in fact only lived twenty-two of them. She now lay motionless in a coma, fighting every day for the life she should have had. Locked deep within her mind was the key to unlocking her future, and Severus Snape wanted her alive perhaps more than he wanted anything else in life.
He had spent nearly fourteen long years at her side like this, brushing the sweat from her brow on hot days and cooling her with a hand fan during warm ones. Of course with magic, none of this was necessary but he couldn't help feel obligated somehow to suffer physically for her.
Tonight, however, the room was comfortable and she required none of his attentions. He walked over to her side, looked down and habitually tucked several of her black locks behind her ear. It was difficult to describe how she got this way. The doctors at St Mungo's couldn't explain it. But Snape knew in his heart what happened and why. And now he knew what needed to be done. This was the mission Dumbledore had sent him on. Something so secret and so vital to the cause against Voldemort lay in this girl's mind.
He had been trying to wake her for nearly fourteen years. Dumbledore gave him a private lab and endless amounts of supplies that he used to solve the puzzle of the girl's condition. Not to mention that the headmaster gave him gentle guidance, a prestigious job, endless patience and forgiveness: much more than Snape felt he deserved. But despite all this support, he had no success in bringing her out of this coma. But now, by some miracle, in the phial on the table next to her bed, lay a serum that just might give her life. Yes, after all the years of struggle, Severus Snape was no longer contemplating the solution, he was thinking of the consequences.
When she woke, she would expect so much. She would want to see people that were no longer alive. She would want to hold those close to her that were out of reach. All of this would be impossible and Snape was searching for words. He wasn't even sure how she would react to him. The thought scared him worse than facing Voldemort in a bad mood.
Snape looked around the room. Because of the security required to protect the patient, all of this was hidden from the rest of the hospital and the staff that worked here were under constant supervision. He had taken advantage of this solitude to collect numerous nostalgic items for her sake. The walls were lined with boxes of pictures, newspaper clippings, obituaries and books. They all stood around in preparation for this day, when he could finally wake her and give her the news that would send her into a deeper depression than the coma she was in now.
He took one last look at her dark locks and her familiar features, then took one of her hands in his. He tried to remember the good times they had together and forget her hatred of him towards the end. He reached for the phial with a cold trembling hand. He removed the top and used one finger to pry her jaw open. Within seconds the contents of the phial were dripping slowly down her throat.
Nearly fifteen minutes passed and she was still unresponsive. Snape was convinced he had failed. Her. Again. He sat in the familiar uncomfortable chair by her side and buried his face in her limp hand. He was near tears when a voice he had no heard in nearly fourteen years spoke his name.
"Severus?" His head popped up and he gazed into her dark eyes. "Severus!" She shouted. Or at least she tried to. Her voice failed her.
"Yes. It is me." Her hand reached up and stroked his face, feeling the deep lines and scars.
"What has he done to you?" She was near tears. He hadn't even considered that she might be shocked to see him so old.
"Nothing that hasn't healed. This is age."
"Age? Have you been experimenting with potions again?"
"No. I am thirty-six. As are you," he said softly as he squeezed her hand.
"What?" she gasped as she sat up and looked around suddenly realizing her body wasn't used to moving. Her eyes squinted as the light truly penetrated them for the first time in so many years.
"Where am I?"
"St Mungo's. You've been here for fourteen years."
"Fourteen?"
"In a coma."
"Oh no. The potion." A hand came up and covered her mouth as she remembered what had happened to her.
"Yes."
"But the antidote... he said..."
"He lied."
She was quiet, taking in the horror of the situation. Snape sat quietly watching her expression change from bad to worse.
"Are you still with him." She used the voice she reserved for when she accused him of committing crimes.
"No. I hadn't been for a year when he gave you the potion."
"You're lying. I will never believe that!"
Snape sighed. He knew she would be untrusting of him. He had expected this.
"All I ask is that you keep an open mind. A lot has happened that you will need to hear about. It will all become clear and I don't expect you to believe me now."
She gave him a searching look that he immediately recognized as his mothers. He of course, had adopted it as well.
"If there was no antidote, how did I wake?"
"I have been searching for fourteen years for a solution. I finally found it," he said as he pointed towards the now empty phial on the nightstand."
"With his help?" she accused again.
"No. Dumbledore's."
"Dumbledore? Help you?" Her words hit him like a train. He had expected her to doubt him, but hearing her tired voice spit out words of accusations and disbelief was almost too much.
"He is a forgiving man." Severus Snape dropped his head to stare at his hands with a guilty look on his face.
There was silence in the room as she thought for the first time in fourteen years. He wondered what she was thinking, but he had a good idea of what it might be. She had the mind of a natural born Auror. She would want to leave, would seek out her friends and then realize they were all dead.
The woman attempted to stand. She was tall and thin, her dark black hair falling to her waist. Her legs were shaking and Snape perched himself at her side with one arm around her to prevent her from falling.
"Have I aged as well then? Where is a mirror?"
"Yes and no. Up until a few years ago we had been feeding you the Elixer of Life. Your body has aged only slightly as a result. You look about the same as you did then."
He walked her into the bathroom so she could look at herself. She ran her hands over her face and then through her hair.
"My hair is so long."
"I refused to let them cut it."
"I'd like to shower."
Snape nodded. He was right. She was eager to leave the hospital.
"Shall I get a nurse?"
"No. But do I have clean robes?"
"Of course."
Snape set off to the trunk of things he had brought for her. He picked up clean robes and some personal things. He walked back into the bathroom where she was now sitting on a small chair. She took the items from him.
"Black?" she said inspecting the robes. "I guess some things never change," she added and rolled her eyes at him. Snape didn't move. He couldn't bring himself to. Seeing her animated was almost too overwhelming.
"Severus? This is the part where you give me some privacy," she spoke and pushed him out of the bathroom. She still had her sense of humor.
He took one last look at her and closed the door behind him. He heard the water turn on and remembered how her sense of humor and allowed him to persist in the most difficult times. She had been his greatest defense in school - the warm soul that cheered him up - the gentle voice of reason in his twisted mind. These days that role was played by Albus Dumbledore. But no matter how great a wizard the man was, he could not replace the bond that had always existed between Severus Snape and his twin sister.
* * *
Victoria Snape, born just five minutes after Severus, was nothing like the man save the dark eyes and hair. While Severus was, and always had been, dark and stoic, Victoria was sharp and lively. It was her sparkling personality that led the two of them to this hospital room today.
She was sorted into Slytherin just as he was, but had a difficult time making friends within the rest of her house. She spent most of her first year alone or tagging along with her brother and his repugnant friends. But even as Severus recalled those days now, with so many years of obstructive forgetfulness in his way, he realized she never fit in with the stereotypical Slytherins. Just how she ended up sorted there was still a mystery to this day. If he didn't know better he'd say the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. But he knew, better than most, that the damned hat was never wrong.
It was after the last Quidditch match of their first year that Victoria found her own kind. The match was plagued with some of the heaviest rain Hogwarts had seen in quite some time. Rushing back from the pitch to the castle, Victoria had tripped and lay alone in the cold mud until a group of Gryffindors had come to her side. They scooped her up and shared their umbrella. It was perhaps because of one Gryffindor girl that Victoria Snape had such a different destiny than her Death Eater brother. For it was Lily Evans, a Muggle-born with few friends of her own, that had encouraged the young Slytherin to join her that afternoon. House prejudice was nearly lost on her as she quickly befriended Victoria and began the friendship that would cause strife amongst his family, and to a certain extent, the rest of the wizarding world.
And even as Severus stood alone in this hospital room he realized for the first time that her friendship with Lily was about to make the rest of his day miserable. Soon his sister would emerge and ask for her. And all he would be able to say were three words he had been unable to repeat when he practiced the speech he would give her: "She is dead."
Severus pulled himself out of this ridiculous mind roving when he heard the shower turn off. He remembered that he owed the headmaster an owl updating him on the progress of his sister's condition. He found the spare parchment and ink that he kept in the room, wrote a short note and handed it to the nurse that sat just outside the door. It read:
"Headmaster. The experiment was a success. Please come soon. -Severus."
It was short, but to the point and would be exactly what the headmaster was expecting. The sink in the bathroom turned on. She must brushing her teeth. He didn't know why the thought shocked him. His sister's hygiene was always immaculate, while his was certainly the cause of many heated arguments between them. She always had claimed he was handsome, like their father, but he had so little desire for the affection of women. His passions were elsewhere. The Dark Arts, potions, power.
He looked quickly around the room wondering where she might want to begin. He quickly eyed the album of obituaries he had collected of the people she knew. There were several books nearby that mentioned the Potters and of course the scrapbook of Harry's life. He noticed Harry had always wondered why the Potions Master knew so much about what the Daily Prophet said about him. If Harry Potter only knew that every word written was carefully cut out and placed into a box in this room he might have behaved differently towards the stern professor. On top of the publicly available information, Snape had collected every Muggle picture of Harry that Dumbledore could get his hands on.
There was just one person not represented in this room that was close to his sister. Snape couldn't stand the sight of the man, let alone follow his life.
Victoria opened the door clad heavily in black. Her thin elegant frame just barely supported the weight of her body.
"Does anyone know I'm here?" she asked. Her voice had found itself in the bathroom and was no longer weak and timid.
"Just Dumbledore and myself."
"Lily? James? Sirius? Don't tell me they've all forgotten me."
Severus had no response for this. He tried to open his mouth to respond but no words came out.
"Don't tell me you still hate them after all these years. They are my friends. I would have thought that after this..." She stopped talking when she realized his usual look of hate was missing and was replaced with something else: sadness.
"What?" She asked.
His mouth opened, but no words came out. After a while he managed to get out just one word.
"Dead."
She gasped and her legs failed her. She collapsed on the floor, one hand covered her mouth and the tears began falling. He rushed instantly to her side to hug her, but she pushed him away in anger.
"Get away from me. You monster!" she yelled.
"Victoria! You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with Lily and James's death," he said, pleading with her.
"And Sirius? You hated him!"
"Black is not dead," he said, almost sounding sorry about it until he realized that he did actually almost kill the man, despite his innocence. Guilt rushed over him, and for the first time in fourteen years he didn't try to hide it.
"Victoria I have searched myself for the words to explain what happened and still I am unable to tell the story. You have to know that these years have been a living hell for me."
"Tell me what happened," she demanded through the tears.
He stood and took the obituary of Lily and James Potter from the album. He picked up the books that catalogued their life and death. And almost hesitantly he lifted the scrapbook telling the pictorial story of the Boy Who Lived.
"I saved everything I could. I knew you would want it."
She sat in that place on the stone cold floor for nearly an hour. Streams of tears poured down her face. All Snape could do was stand and watch his sister live the horror that the rest of the wizarding world had gone through for the first time. She gasped at some point and asked out loud.
"How did he defeat Voldemort?" she asked, referring to Harry.
"The Amorous Charm."
"Lily..." she spoke and followed the spoken name with several whimpers and more tears.
There was a gentle knock at the door. Severus went to it and peered cautiously outside. He saw Dumbledore and to his shock and anger, he saw a shaggy black dog. Snape stepped outside for a private word with the headmaster.
"Headmaster is it... wise... to bring him here?" he snapped and pointed at the dirty beast. His question was responded to with a snarl.
"She will have many questions, Severus. I believe it would be accurate to say she wouldn't completely trust your answers. And despite your opinion of my friend here, it is clear she does not share it."
It was the kind of argument Snape had no counter for. He merely nodded his head and gave the dog a dark look. He then opened the door.
Victoria was just lifting the cover of Harry's scrapbook when she saw her visitors enter.
She spied the dog and her eyes opened wide and then shot to her brother, fully expecting him to begin questioning why such a filthy mongrel was in his presence. Severus didn't know if his sister knew Black was an Animagus but as soon as the door to the room closed his question was answered.
Where the dog had been standing there was now a formidable wizard in shaggy robes. His hair was long and mangy.
"Oh my God. Sirius! What on earth happened to you?" Victoria asked as she rose and walked gingerly towards the man.
Sirius shot Severus a nasty look.
"She woke just a few hours ago. I have not had time to tell her." Severus responded in anticipation of Sirius's questions about his lack of disclosure.
"Tell me what? Oh god Sirius. Lily... James," she muttered, followed by more sobs and finally a gesture on Black's half that nearly made Severus physically ill. The dirty hands of Sirius Black embraced his sister to comfort her. She returned it with an embrace that Severus Snape had been denied since he joined Voldemort.
Sirius glanced at Snape and then closed his eyes to enjoy her closeness. Then he pulled her away and cradled her face in both of his large hands. He kissed her forehead.
"I know, Victoria. There is so much more to tell you. God. So much more."
Severus had to look away as Sirius began crying on his sister's shoulder. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was welling up inside of him. Maybe it was guilt, sadness. Probably tears. His eyes were hot but he was determined to show no weakness in this room. He stared out the window as he let this wretch of a man console his sister. When he heard the sobbing stop and the room fell quiet he turned around to find the other occupants of the room staring at him in awe.
It was clear Victoria had expected him to burst out in some rage and kill Sirius on the spot for being here. Sirius expected the same thing. But none of them knew, save Dumbledore, how much Severus Snape had changed. He was no longer the Death Eater. He was no longer the cruel torturer. He had changed. He was going to prove it to her in hopes that one day she would embrace him like family as she had as a child.
---
Updated:9/1/02
I had it beta-read by an absolutely wonderful person named JK. Thank you so much.
Read/Review
http://ezziem.livejournal.com
Severus Snape, aged just thirty-six years old, stood by the window of a comfortable room. His face was his most intriguing trait. He looked a great deal older than his mother might testify he was. But both his parents were dead so the argument was hardly relevant. He took a small breath at regular intervals, much like a man who was meditating might, as his head turned towards a a small clock on the wall. It chimed noon. His eyes then fell on the girl lying in the bed before him. She too was thirty-six, but for reasons only known to a few people, including Severus Snape, she had in fact only lived twenty-two of them. She now lay motionless in a coma, fighting every day for the life she should have had. Locked deep within her mind was the key to unlocking her future, and Severus Snape wanted her alive perhaps more than he wanted anything else in life.
He had spent nearly fourteen long years at her side like this, brushing the sweat from her brow on hot days and cooling her with a hand fan during warm ones. Of course with magic, none of this was necessary but he couldn't help feel obligated somehow to suffer physically for her.
Tonight, however, the room was comfortable and she required none of his attentions. He walked over to her side, looked down and habitually tucked several of her black locks behind her ear. It was difficult to describe how she got this way. The doctors at St Mungo's couldn't explain it. But Snape knew in his heart what happened and why. And now he knew what needed to be done. This was the mission Dumbledore had sent him on. Something so secret and so vital to the cause against Voldemort lay in this girl's mind.
He had been trying to wake her for nearly fourteen years. Dumbledore gave him a private lab and endless amounts of supplies that he used to solve the puzzle of the girl's condition. Not to mention that the headmaster gave him gentle guidance, a prestigious job, endless patience and forgiveness: much more than Snape felt he deserved. But despite all this support, he had no success in bringing her out of this coma. But now, by some miracle, in the phial on the table next to her bed, lay a serum that just might give her life. Yes, after all the years of struggle, Severus Snape was no longer contemplating the solution, he was thinking of the consequences.
When she woke, she would expect so much. She would want to see people that were no longer alive. She would want to hold those close to her that were out of reach. All of this would be impossible and Snape was searching for words. He wasn't even sure how she would react to him. The thought scared him worse than facing Voldemort in a bad mood.
Snape looked around the room. Because of the security required to protect the patient, all of this was hidden from the rest of the hospital and the staff that worked here were under constant supervision. He had taken advantage of this solitude to collect numerous nostalgic items for her sake. The walls were lined with boxes of pictures, newspaper clippings, obituaries and books. They all stood around in preparation for this day, when he could finally wake her and give her the news that would send her into a deeper depression than the coma she was in now.
He took one last look at her dark locks and her familiar features, then took one of her hands in his. He tried to remember the good times they had together and forget her hatred of him towards the end. He reached for the phial with a cold trembling hand. He removed the top and used one finger to pry her jaw open. Within seconds the contents of the phial were dripping slowly down her throat.
Nearly fifteen minutes passed and she was still unresponsive. Snape was convinced he had failed. Her. Again. He sat in the familiar uncomfortable chair by her side and buried his face in her limp hand. He was near tears when a voice he had no heard in nearly fourteen years spoke his name.
"Severus?" His head popped up and he gazed into her dark eyes. "Severus!" She shouted. Or at least she tried to. Her voice failed her.
"Yes. It is me." Her hand reached up and stroked his face, feeling the deep lines and scars.
"What has he done to you?" She was near tears. He hadn't even considered that she might be shocked to see him so old.
"Nothing that hasn't healed. This is age."
"Age? Have you been experimenting with potions again?"
"No. I am thirty-six. As are you," he said softly as he squeezed her hand.
"What?" she gasped as she sat up and looked around suddenly realizing her body wasn't used to moving. Her eyes squinted as the light truly penetrated them for the first time in so many years.
"Where am I?"
"St Mungo's. You've been here for fourteen years."
"Fourteen?"
"In a coma."
"Oh no. The potion." A hand came up and covered her mouth as she remembered what had happened to her.
"Yes."
"But the antidote... he said..."
"He lied."
She was quiet, taking in the horror of the situation. Snape sat quietly watching her expression change from bad to worse.
"Are you still with him." She used the voice she reserved for when she accused him of committing crimes.
"No. I hadn't been for a year when he gave you the potion."
"You're lying. I will never believe that!"
Snape sighed. He knew she would be untrusting of him. He had expected this.
"All I ask is that you keep an open mind. A lot has happened that you will need to hear about. It will all become clear and I don't expect you to believe me now."
She gave him a searching look that he immediately recognized as his mothers. He of course, had adopted it as well.
"If there was no antidote, how did I wake?"
"I have been searching for fourteen years for a solution. I finally found it," he said as he pointed towards the now empty phial on the nightstand."
"With his help?" she accused again.
"No. Dumbledore's."
"Dumbledore? Help you?" Her words hit him like a train. He had expected her to doubt him, but hearing her tired voice spit out words of accusations and disbelief was almost too much.
"He is a forgiving man." Severus Snape dropped his head to stare at his hands with a guilty look on his face.
There was silence in the room as she thought for the first time in fourteen years. He wondered what she was thinking, but he had a good idea of what it might be. She had the mind of a natural born Auror. She would want to leave, would seek out her friends and then realize they were all dead.
The woman attempted to stand. She was tall and thin, her dark black hair falling to her waist. Her legs were shaking and Snape perched himself at her side with one arm around her to prevent her from falling.
"Have I aged as well then? Where is a mirror?"
"Yes and no. Up until a few years ago we had been feeding you the Elixer of Life. Your body has aged only slightly as a result. You look about the same as you did then."
He walked her into the bathroom so she could look at herself. She ran her hands over her face and then through her hair.
"My hair is so long."
"I refused to let them cut it."
"I'd like to shower."
Snape nodded. He was right. She was eager to leave the hospital.
"Shall I get a nurse?"
"No. But do I have clean robes?"
"Of course."
Snape set off to the trunk of things he had brought for her. He picked up clean robes and some personal things. He walked back into the bathroom where she was now sitting on a small chair. She took the items from him.
"Black?" she said inspecting the robes. "I guess some things never change," she added and rolled her eyes at him. Snape didn't move. He couldn't bring himself to. Seeing her animated was almost too overwhelming.
"Severus? This is the part where you give me some privacy," she spoke and pushed him out of the bathroom. She still had her sense of humor.
He took one last look at her and closed the door behind him. He heard the water turn on and remembered how her sense of humor and allowed him to persist in the most difficult times. She had been his greatest defense in school - the warm soul that cheered him up - the gentle voice of reason in his twisted mind. These days that role was played by Albus Dumbledore. But no matter how great a wizard the man was, he could not replace the bond that had always existed between Severus Snape and his twin sister.
* * *
Victoria Snape, born just five minutes after Severus, was nothing like the man save the dark eyes and hair. While Severus was, and always had been, dark and stoic, Victoria was sharp and lively. It was her sparkling personality that led the two of them to this hospital room today.
She was sorted into Slytherin just as he was, but had a difficult time making friends within the rest of her house. She spent most of her first year alone or tagging along with her brother and his repugnant friends. But even as Severus recalled those days now, with so many years of obstructive forgetfulness in his way, he realized she never fit in with the stereotypical Slytherins. Just how she ended up sorted there was still a mystery to this day. If he didn't know better he'd say the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. But he knew, better than most, that the damned hat was never wrong.
It was after the last Quidditch match of their first year that Victoria found her own kind. The match was plagued with some of the heaviest rain Hogwarts had seen in quite some time. Rushing back from the pitch to the castle, Victoria had tripped and lay alone in the cold mud until a group of Gryffindors had come to her side. They scooped her up and shared their umbrella. It was perhaps because of one Gryffindor girl that Victoria Snape had such a different destiny than her Death Eater brother. For it was Lily Evans, a Muggle-born with few friends of her own, that had encouraged the young Slytherin to join her that afternoon. House prejudice was nearly lost on her as she quickly befriended Victoria and began the friendship that would cause strife amongst his family, and to a certain extent, the rest of the wizarding world.
And even as Severus stood alone in this hospital room he realized for the first time that her friendship with Lily was about to make the rest of his day miserable. Soon his sister would emerge and ask for her. And all he would be able to say were three words he had been unable to repeat when he practiced the speech he would give her: "She is dead."
Severus pulled himself out of this ridiculous mind roving when he heard the shower turn off. He remembered that he owed the headmaster an owl updating him on the progress of his sister's condition. He found the spare parchment and ink that he kept in the room, wrote a short note and handed it to the nurse that sat just outside the door. It read:
"Headmaster. The experiment was a success. Please come soon. -Severus."
It was short, but to the point and would be exactly what the headmaster was expecting. The sink in the bathroom turned on. She must brushing her teeth. He didn't know why the thought shocked him. His sister's hygiene was always immaculate, while his was certainly the cause of many heated arguments between them. She always had claimed he was handsome, like their father, but he had so little desire for the affection of women. His passions were elsewhere. The Dark Arts, potions, power.
He looked quickly around the room wondering where she might want to begin. He quickly eyed the album of obituaries he had collected of the people she knew. There were several books nearby that mentioned the Potters and of course the scrapbook of Harry's life. He noticed Harry had always wondered why the Potions Master knew so much about what the Daily Prophet said about him. If Harry Potter only knew that every word written was carefully cut out and placed into a box in this room he might have behaved differently towards the stern professor. On top of the publicly available information, Snape had collected every Muggle picture of Harry that Dumbledore could get his hands on.
There was just one person not represented in this room that was close to his sister. Snape couldn't stand the sight of the man, let alone follow his life.
Victoria opened the door clad heavily in black. Her thin elegant frame just barely supported the weight of her body.
"Does anyone know I'm here?" she asked. Her voice had found itself in the bathroom and was no longer weak and timid.
"Just Dumbledore and myself."
"Lily? James? Sirius? Don't tell me they've all forgotten me."
Severus had no response for this. He tried to open his mouth to respond but no words came out.
"Don't tell me you still hate them after all these years. They are my friends. I would have thought that after this..." She stopped talking when she realized his usual look of hate was missing and was replaced with something else: sadness.
"What?" She asked.
His mouth opened, but no words came out. After a while he managed to get out just one word.
"Dead."
She gasped and her legs failed her. She collapsed on the floor, one hand covered her mouth and the tears began falling. He rushed instantly to her side to hug her, but she pushed him away in anger.
"Get away from me. You monster!" she yelled.
"Victoria! You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with Lily and James's death," he said, pleading with her.
"And Sirius? You hated him!"
"Black is not dead," he said, almost sounding sorry about it until he realized that he did actually almost kill the man, despite his innocence. Guilt rushed over him, and for the first time in fourteen years he didn't try to hide it.
"Victoria I have searched myself for the words to explain what happened and still I am unable to tell the story. You have to know that these years have been a living hell for me."
"Tell me what happened," she demanded through the tears.
He stood and took the obituary of Lily and James Potter from the album. He picked up the books that catalogued their life and death. And almost hesitantly he lifted the scrapbook telling the pictorial story of the Boy Who Lived.
"I saved everything I could. I knew you would want it."
She sat in that place on the stone cold floor for nearly an hour. Streams of tears poured down her face. All Snape could do was stand and watch his sister live the horror that the rest of the wizarding world had gone through for the first time. She gasped at some point and asked out loud.
"How did he defeat Voldemort?" she asked, referring to Harry.
"The Amorous Charm."
"Lily..." she spoke and followed the spoken name with several whimpers and more tears.
There was a gentle knock at the door. Severus went to it and peered cautiously outside. He saw Dumbledore and to his shock and anger, he saw a shaggy black dog. Snape stepped outside for a private word with the headmaster.
"Headmaster is it... wise... to bring him here?" he snapped and pointed at the dirty beast. His question was responded to with a snarl.
"She will have many questions, Severus. I believe it would be accurate to say she wouldn't completely trust your answers. And despite your opinion of my friend here, it is clear she does not share it."
It was the kind of argument Snape had no counter for. He merely nodded his head and gave the dog a dark look. He then opened the door.
Victoria was just lifting the cover of Harry's scrapbook when she saw her visitors enter.
She spied the dog and her eyes opened wide and then shot to her brother, fully expecting him to begin questioning why such a filthy mongrel was in his presence. Severus didn't know if his sister knew Black was an Animagus but as soon as the door to the room closed his question was answered.
Where the dog had been standing there was now a formidable wizard in shaggy robes. His hair was long and mangy.
"Oh my God. Sirius! What on earth happened to you?" Victoria asked as she rose and walked gingerly towards the man.
Sirius shot Severus a nasty look.
"She woke just a few hours ago. I have not had time to tell her." Severus responded in anticipation of Sirius's questions about his lack of disclosure.
"Tell me what? Oh god Sirius. Lily... James," she muttered, followed by more sobs and finally a gesture on Black's half that nearly made Severus physically ill. The dirty hands of Sirius Black embraced his sister to comfort her. She returned it with an embrace that Severus Snape had been denied since he joined Voldemort.
Sirius glanced at Snape and then closed his eyes to enjoy her closeness. Then he pulled her away and cradled her face in both of his large hands. He kissed her forehead.
"I know, Victoria. There is so much more to tell you. God. So much more."
Severus had to look away as Sirius began crying on his sister's shoulder. He wasn't sure what it was, but something was welling up inside of him. Maybe it was guilt, sadness. Probably tears. His eyes were hot but he was determined to show no weakness in this room. He stared out the window as he let this wretch of a man console his sister. When he heard the sobbing stop and the room fell quiet he turned around to find the other occupants of the room staring at him in awe.
It was clear Victoria had expected him to burst out in some rage and kill Sirius on the spot for being here. Sirius expected the same thing. But none of them knew, save Dumbledore, how much Severus Snape had changed. He was no longer the Death Eater. He was no longer the cruel torturer. He had changed. He was going to prove it to her in hopes that one day she would embrace him like family as she had as a child.
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Updated:9/1/02
I had it beta-read by an absolutely wonderful person named JK. Thank you so much.
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