Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter along with Scholastic and whoever else. I only own my characters so DON'T SUE!!!
Six Feet and Fallingby Saerry Snape
Chapter 1 :: October 30, 1980 :: Outskirts of Dublin, Ireland
Overhead a storm brewed – thick, rolling black clouds that growled and spat forked lightning. There was a tingle in the air, a cold tingle that felt of graveyards and tombstones. Death was in the air.
Below the rolling clouds lay a manor house, sitting alone on the side of a hill. Inside a raven-haired woman with golden eyes sang to her infant daughter. Her voice was sweet, like an angel's, and carried outside on the wind. The song itself was soft and flowing, written in a rich, ancient language that had almost been forgotten. Peace surrounded the house and all its inhabitants – including the presence of three house elves.
But Death lurked outside.
The raven-haired woman took her daughter upstairs, still humming her tune, and laid the little girl in her cradle. Eyelids fluttered and opened just enough so that a dark blue iris shone for a moment before vanishing. The little girl sighed in contentment and the woman smiled, ruffling the downy black hair before returning downstairs. She paused at the door and reached to her neck for the silver chair just visible there. Taking it off, she slipped it into her daughter's blankets and bent to kiss the tiny forehead.
"Sakerii su'es banche, le terre."
The girl stirred slightly at these words – spoken in the same ancient language as the song – then rolled over, her thumb moving up to her mouth. The woman smiled in a sad sort of way then left the room, closing the door gently behind her.
Just as she had reached the bottom of the stairs, the heavy oak doors at the front of the manor were blown off their hinges and landed not three feet away from her on either side. Three figures in dark robes glided in, their faces hidden by stark white masks and the deep hoods of their cloaks. The woman looked at each of them in turn then turned back to the leader.
"I was beginning to wonder when you would get here."
The leader smirked behind his mask and said, "You can't have known we were coming."
"Can I not? Have you forgotten our school days so quickly? I have the Sight."
"Trelawney said the same."
The woman laughed, dark and throaty. "Prophecy! Mere prophecy! The woman must fake all else but her prophecies. I – on the other hand – can see much, much more. Do not deny it. I have helped you many times before."
"I do not deny your – abilities, Lady. I know their worth."
"Yet you have come to kill me."
The other two figures shifted nervously.
"It is the order of our master," said the leader in a half-monotone. "Your death and your daughter's life."
"Try and take her, old friend. You will find it is not as easy as you or your master may think."
"I believe it will be much easier than you think. Crucio!"
The woman crumpled to her knees, her face contorted in a grimace of pain. But she did not scream.
"Scream for me, old friend. Scream for mercy. Beg for it at my feet."
"Never," spat the woman through clenched teeth.
"Macnair!"
"Crucio!"
One of the other robed figures added their wand to the leaders at the name. The woman bowed towards the floor, teeth clenched tight against a scream. She would not scream for their pleasure. Never would she! Blood dripped from between her lips were she had bitten her tongue.
"The girl, woman," cried the leader. "Giver her to us and we will spare your life."
"Go to hell!"
"Avery!"
"Crucio!"
The last man added his curse to the other two and the woman collapsed, writhing in fierce pain on the floor. But she did not scream.
"Enough."
The curses dissipated and the leader strode over to the woman, jerking up her head by the hair. He bent close to her and whispered, "Give us the girl, my lovely. Give her to us and you will live. I may even let your precious Severus live a while longer as well."
Rowena O'Fillian-Snape lifted her amber eyes to the gray one's gleaming at her from behind the white mask and ripped it off, throwing it violently away. She spat in Lucius Malfoy's face, her own twisted into a vicious snarl.
"Never," she hissed.
Lucius slapped her, sending her spinning to the floor then rose angrily to his feet. He pointed his wand down at her, aimed it between her eyes, and snarled, "I tried to give you a chance, Rowena. Now you'll die."
Rowena lifted her chin valiantly and spat, "As if I would have lived anyway."
"Bitch!"
"Bastard! Keep your pity and your damned false promises! Run back to your whore wife and your demon lord! Back to your dragon-hearted son, who will abandon you in the end. I promise you this, Lucius! I have seen it. You will die alone in the end, serving a master who cares nothing for you, with your wife abandoning you for another and your son forming an alliance with your enemy. To Hell with you, old friend! And take your Lord with you!"
Lucius' eyes narrowed and sparkled with a mad light as he spat, "Avada Kedavra!"
Green light enveloped Rowena and she crumpled, falling dead to the carpeted floor, eyes wide and glassy. Lucius kicked her body aside then snarled to the other two Death Eaters, "Take her outside. I want Severus to see his Shifter-bitch when he returns." He started for the stairs then turned and added, "Oh, and burn the house when you're done."
The two men nodded and roughly picked up Rowena's limp body as Lucius mounted the stairs. When he returned, he carried a bundle of scarlet cloth, a tuft of black hair poking up out of it. E strode past the two Death Eaters, who were casting fire spells on various objects in the house, to the outside.
When the blaze grew and engulfed the manor house, Lucius drew his wand once more.
"Morsmordre!"
A huge glittering green skull with a serpent twisting out of its mouth rose out of his wand and into the air. Smirking, he tucked his wand back up his sleeve and turned to the infant girl in his arms.
Dark blue eyes opened and peered curiously up at him before the girl sniffled then began to wail. It was as though she knew her mother lay dead on the ground not ten feet away under a weeping willow.
Lucius rocked her gently and made soothing noises.
"Shh, little one. You're going to have a new home. Won't that be fun?"
The little girl sniffled again and looked at the burning manor, her wails ceasing. Lucius smirked and slipped his mask back over his face.
"Say goodbye to your past, Sheyne Snape. Say hello to your future."
He turned to his two companions and said, "Our work here is done."
And with that they Disapparated.
* * *
A dark-haired man shoved his way through the crowd gathered around the ruins of what had once been a great manor house. The glittering green serpent and skull of the Dark Mark hung over then all, still shining as brightly as when it had been cast.
"Move, fool! Merlin's beard, MOVE!"
"Sir," said a young Auror, stepping forward. He looked to be only eighteen or so. Fresh out of Hogwarts and green around the edges. Also too tight on protocols. "Sir, you can't come through."
The dark-haired man's jet colored eyes flashed fire as he angrily jabbed a finger at the ruined home.
"Can't come through? That's my house, damn you!"
The Auror blinked.
"You're Severus Snape?"
You were expecting the Tooth Fairy?
"Yes, damn your ignorant head. Now…let – me – THROUGH!"
"Please wait for m superior, sir."
"Superior? I am not going to wait for you bloody superior! I want through! My wife and daughter were in there, damnit!"
"I'm sorry, sir," said the Auror in the same calm time he'd been using the entire time.
"Sorry? Sorry?! I'll bloody show you sorry!"
A fist connected solidly with the young Auror's jaw, sending him spinning to the ground in blissful unconsciousness. Severus Snape stepped over the Auror with a sneer, deliberately trodding hard on the man's hand. He looked around for a face he recognized and found one in William Tairn. The younger man had been his partner when Severus had still been an Auror.
"William!"
"Severus?"
William stared at him in shock as Severus strode over to him, eyes flashing.
"What in Merlin's name happened?"
"Death Eater's."
"I know that. Any fool with eyes can see the Dark Mark. Where's Rowena, man?"
William looked Severus in the face without looking at his eyes (a very hard trick to do) then turned away. Something with long claws and fangs laid a hold on Severus' heart, squeezing it in a scaly paw. He grabbed William's shoulder and said, "Tell me she's not. Please, Will…"
"She's dead, Severus."
The creature took a rather large bite of Severus' heart, laughing gleefully. He swallowed hard, fighting against the grief already flooding his system. He couldn't break down. Not here. Not now.
"Shey?"
William didn't respond.
"Will, did you find Shey?"
Still no response.
"William, for God's sake, man, did you find Sheyne?"
William didn't look at him as he shook his head and replied, "No. No, we didn't find her."
The long clawed beast sliced Severus' heart in two with a savage snarl, laughing in a maniacal fashion that reminded Severus far too much of the monster he had pledged loyalty to then betrayed. He began to shiver violently and closed his eyes, trying to get a hold on himself. Breaking down was not an option. But revenge was. Dark thoughts of slowly killing Voldemort and whoever had murdered his wife and possibly his daughter circulated through his mind. Oh, what sweet thoughts those were.
"Sev?"
William's voice cut through his dark thoughts and he opened his eyes to look at his old partner.
"I'm sorry, Sev. Maybe if we'd posted that guard like Rowena wanted…"
Severus waved a hand, cutting William off. He could not bear to hear his wife's name now.
"Its too late now, Will. Far too late."
William nodded slowly then whispered, "Why would they do this, Sev? Far as they know your still one of them."
Severus shrugged, trying to focus his thoughts on that question instead of his dark thoughts of vengeance or his grief.
"I don't know, Will. Maybe there's a spy on our side. I just don't know."
A tear leaked out of Severus' eye, slipping past the thick walls he had built around his emotions. He brushed it away quickly, trying not to let William see. The younger man did see but didn't say anything, only looked sympathetically at his friend.
"C'mon, Sev," he said, touching the other man's arm. "You can stay at our house for a while."
Severus shook his head and said, "No. Hogwarts. I have to talk to Albus."
William looked rebellious for a moment then nodded.
"Hogwarts it is."
* * *
Severus climbed out of William's Muggle car as it came to a halt at the Hogwarts gates. The car was charmed in the same fashion as the Knight Bus but the magically charmed and heavily warded gates of Hogwarts would not move before it as they would not move before the Knight Bus.
William leaned across the seats and asked, "Are you sure your alright, Sev? I could stay…"
Severus shook his head, mentally propping up the slowly crumbling walls about his grief. He said as calmly as he could, "I'll be fine, Will. Go home. Miranda will be worried if you don't." His voice cracked here and William winced.
"Sev…" he began but was cut off when Severus slammed the car door shut. William winced again and looked wistfully after his friend and old partner as the dark-robed wizard stalked hurriedly up to the Hogwarts gates and placed his hand against them. The gates opened at a word and he walked through, the gates swinging shut behind him. William sat and watched him until Severus disappeared into the fine mist that had come into the air then sighed heavily, putting the rust red Ford Anglia into gear and driving off.
* * *
"How is he, Poppy?"
"Fine as far as I can tell. For once he doesn't have a Cruciatus overdose, thank Merlin. But mentally – that I am not so sure of…"
"Rowena's death hit him hard."
"Plus his little girl… Oh, Merlin, Albus, why would they have taken that sweet little girl?"
Albus Dumbledore shook his head wearily and looked towards the bed where Severus lay tossing in dark dreams of green skulls, black smoke, and high-pitched laughter.
"I don't know, Poppy. I truly do not know."