Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything that belongs to JK Rowling or Warner Bros.

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I am concerned lately about what has been happening in this world. My mind often travels to what should have been had the Dark Lord never been, had my father never got trapped between the worlds. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had got to know my half-brother. The memory of my mother makes me wonder what he is like… if he is anything like me, as I have often wondered.

The owl fluttering before me grows impatient as I ponder over the letter just delivered. Albus Dumbledore wants me for the Order. I am honored, of course, but wonder if it is wise. The longer I deliberate, the more impatient the owl becomes. Finally, I decide if I have a purpose in the world, helping the Order is most likely it.

I am quick to write out a response and send the bird on its way. I have only a few hours before I am to meet with the Order. I must ready myself. I know not if Albus has told them of me, nor do I know how they will react as I look much like my mother.

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"Welcome! I am happy you chose to join us!" Dumbledore smiled brightly at the young woman before him. She bowed her head but did not return the jovial gesture. Her hair spilled over her shoulders slightly at her movement. Her eyes roamed the office subtly but thoroughly.

"I have been hiding for some time, sir. I was surprised you would think I would want to become the member of another… group, for lack of a better term. I am surprised that I have chosen to do so, but I think the time has come for me…" Her words were cut short as the door opened and Harry Potter and several others filed inside. She watched from her place before Dumbledore's desk, gasping and stepping back a few feet from the door as Severus Snape walked in. "You never mentioned…" Words failed her as her eyes locked on the grim man.

Severus froze. The girl looked so much like her mother. Her hair was darker, a red black instead of fiery red. Her eyes, however, were the same piercing green. She was shaped much the same as her mother only standing taller. Her deep black suede robe started at her the top of her neck and was closed from there to her collar, leaving the rest open to reveal the long emerald green dress she wore underneath. She was so much her mother's child.

Remus Lupin stood staring at the girl as well. He, however, did not remain silent. "Albus, what is going on?" It was unlike the Headmaster to just bring in strangers without warning to the others of the Order.

"Severus?" Albus asked, concerned that perhaps Snape should have been warned. The potions master made not a noise as he watched the young woman. Albus decided to just give him some time and hope for the best. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Severina. Please introduce yourselves." He waved his hand, the smile still on his face.

Remus was the only one besides Severus that did not start doing so. "Sev?" Remus was worried about the other man's reaction. The taciturn man just shook his head before turning and walking from the room. Remus stood a moment, watching the girl. She looked so much like Lily. Finally, seeing as no one else had either noticed or cared, he broke up the introductions. "Alright! What the hell is going on?" Remus so rarely raised his voice that the others silenced instantly. They turned to gape at the generally gentle soft man. "Don't look at me like that," he snapped. He glared at Albus. "Who is she? Why is Severus shell-shocked enough to actually leave? And, why is she the near spitting image of Lily Evans?"

Albus was startled himself by the light in Remus' eye and the demanding tone. "Remus, calm down," Albus soothed.

Only the look of fear, mixed with something he did not recognize, on Severina's face made him calm at all, however little it may have been. Something was afoot here and he would know of it. For his own sake and that of two people very dear to him.

"P… perhaps I have made a mistake…" Her eyes landed on Harry, who was staring at her oddly. Everyone saw sorrow in her eyes.

"I am sorry for seeming so unwelcoming, however…"

"No, Mr. Lupin, I am. I should have stayed away as my mind told me to. Nothing will come of my inclusion here…" Her heart ached, but she was use to heartache, so very use to all measures of pain.

"My mother… How old are you?" Harry approached her as her words trailed away. His mother had only one sister. He knew that much. Yet, he knew so little of his mother. Was it possible he had more family than he knew? Other blood besides Petunia's...

Severina sighed. How was she to answer such an innocent question when it would change so very much? The truth, she told herself, was the only option open to her at this juncture. He had a right to know. He had always had the right but was never given the brutal honesty of one simple truth. "I'm a few years older than you, five to be precise."

"Wait a moment…" Remus' mind worked over the timing. "Seventh year… James and Lily had a fight. Lily had told him that she… Oh dear gods!" Remus quickly turned and ran after Severus. The poor man… Poor man? Severus Snape? Really, Moony, are you mad? Remus shook his head at himself, tossing the thoughts aside. No, he wasn't mad. Severus needed people even if he thought he didn't and now was one of the times he needed someone the most.

"Does all this mean… Are you…" Harry felt emotions welling up inside himself and crashing upon one another like they were caught in turbulent waters with no way of not. Two sides of one coin warring to land face up. Joy and sadness. Love and hate. Relief and pain.

Severina placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He could see trepidation in her eyes. "Harry, it is not that I never wanted to know you, that I never wanted you. I have long thought of what you would be like to know. The first two years we were here, I watched you and yearned, but you were like a star too far from my reach for me to touch. You see," she pulled up the left sleeve of her robe and dress. "I have reasons I must not be found. And, I was always frightened what would happen if we did meet."

Harry looked at the large angry scar on Severina's arm. "You were…" Her arm looked as though the skin and muscle had been cut away then burned away. Deep dark scar tissue was ragged and angry on the inside of her arm. Seemingly she was missing an entire muscle to look upon the flesh of that arm. The skin lay on bone and nerve and blood vessel.

"It is hard for the children of Death Eaters, Harry. Even those that do not follow Voldemort as loyally as me might think." Several gasps were heard at her use of the name. "He branded me, like he has so many others. The only difference is I cut the retched thing off. I would have removed my arm if I had to."

"Then why get it in the first place?" Harry looked up at her in confusion. His mind was swimming. She was his sister. She was Severus' daughter. She had been a Death Eater. So many thoughts, so much pressure. His scar ached. His heart ached. His mind ached. And yet the pain was bearable. He had a sister that seemed to care. Coming to him like Sirius, out of no where with love as though they'd always been close. Sirius…

"Perhaps… I suppose I shall stay. I want you to understand these things. You should not go into any of this blindly." She returned her sleeves to the correct positions. Her life was about to become much more complicated than she wanted.

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"Sev?" Remus called as he entered the potion master's private rooms. He walked in, closing the door quietly behind himself. He could hear Severus talking quietly to himself in the other room. He approached the man as silently as he could. "Severus, are you alright?"

Snape startled at the sound of Lupin's voice. "Lupin, what are you doing down here?" He snarled at the mangy wolf. Could they not just leave him alone for a time? He just wanted some time to come to grips with what Albus was doing, forcing his child and himself to do.

"You just run out of a meeting and expect no one to follow you? Really, Severus!" Remus walked over and sat down near the other man. "What is wrong?"

"I figure you have pieced it together by now, Lupin," Snape retorted. The werewolf was not as innocent and clueless as he acted.

"I have pieced together who she is, yes. However, you running away to hide in your rooms is still a bit confusing." He gave the man a small, hopefully warming, smile. The man would not be nearly as irritable if he just opened up to someone once in a while. Talking to another person did so much to relieve tensions and aches in one's mind and body.

Snape glared at him. "It is none of your concern," he snapped. Lupin had no business knowing the details of his personal life. Why did he care? Severus tried so hard to push them all away and the twinkle-eyed dolt of a headmaster and the puppy-natured werewolf would just not give him the satisfaction of backing away and leaving him to his darkness.

Remus sighed. Snape was so hard to get through to. "Fine, Severus. If that is the way you wish to go about this." Now as not the best time to go into a head-to-head debate with Severus. Harry likely needed him as much as Severus did and Harry would not try to push him away. "You hurt her you know, running away like that. I could see it in her eyes." He added as an afterthought. Perhaps Severus did care about the girl enough for that to ring through to him.

Snape looked up at him then. Remus saw the others man's own hurt and fear. He felt an old ache deep in his heart. A spark to an ember that just would not die, even after so long of Severus showing nothing but irritation and hate. "Talk to her at least. I will tell you what happened at the meeting later. You seem to need to be alone."

Snape snorted. Talk about stating the blatantly obvious. Remus always had a knack for doing so. It drove Severus mad to no end. "How deductive, Lupin. I would have thought you got that when I left the damn meeting." He glared up at the werewolf.

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The Order meeting went well enough. Though it was cut short due to the goings on before it had actually started and the fact they were holding it at Hogwarts. Albus bid everyone a farewell before turning to Severina. "It would be most convenient for you if you stayed here. I am sure there is something we can find for you to do." He smiled warmly. And if she and Severus worked things out, all the better. Harry could use her to keep his spirits up as well.

"I'm not sure, Headmaster. It has been four years since I graced these halls and my father…" Her words were cut off, as it seemed they usually were, by Snape coming into the room.

"Severina." Severus cleared his throat in an almost nervous manner. He had noted the leaving of the Order and knew now was the best time to confront his wayward child. "Stay. We have much we must discuss."

The young woman eyed him. "Are you certain? I would not wish to be a . . . burden to you or anyone else." She started closing herself in as only a Snape could. She truly was the man's daughter even after so much time apart.

"You are no burden!" He sighed. He had not meant to raise his voice but she could be so trying. Self-pity was not a trait Snapes should show. "Trying, you may be, but you are not a burden."

"Very well, Professors. It seems I shall stay," She addressed Albus with a small nod of her head. She just hoped she could handle it. Seven years of lessons had been horrible. Never able to acknowledge that Severus was her father to others, though some had guessed. Never able to experience father-daughter moments. Being alone until being shipped back to her grandparents every summer. But, like riding a horse, she could get right back into the swing of this dance she knew so well.

"I believe there is an extra room in the dungeons, isn't there, Severus?" Albus' eyes twinkled. Anything to make the taciturn man open up to anyone, especially family.

"Yes, there is, but…" Severus lacked a very good excuse for her to find a room elsewhere. Damn the Headmaster anyway. And damn the small flinch her face made when he said 'but', and the way her eyes slid to the floor.

"I am sure the students will not mind having a former Slytherin down there. Perhaps some of them even remember her. She was a prefect, after all, and a good one." Albus grinned at them.

Severus nodded and left the room once more. He wanted to growl and fume, but he knew that Dumbledore had made up his mind and there was no changing it now. Severina was going to the dungeons and that was that. His luck the room was right near his own. It felt almost planned.

Severina quickly took after him knowing she must if she was to find her room. "Professor, I am sorry if my coming back has…" She was in the habit of calling him professor and being so very cordial to him. Not only from her schooling at the school but from her grandfather. Proper respect to the men of the family was expected.

Severus felt a sigh inside himself but did not let it out. She was his daughter. Things should not be so strained. Where had he gone so terribly wrong? Why did he have to push her away, too? "'Rina, don't call me that when we are alone." The old nickname from her time as a small child rolled off his tongue easily without thought. "Yes, I am a bit worried, but we'll just leave it at that." He did not face her, just kept making his way down the corridors and stairs to the dungeon.

"Alright." She hesitantly accepted to call him something else, though uncertain what it would be. "Tell me," she broached carefully, "Mr. Lupin... Is he a friend of yours now? I heard he had taken that imbecile Lockhart's place for a year. Is it true they brought 'Mad-Eye' Moody in after that?" While curious, she just wished for any reason for the man to converse with her. Moody was hardly of much interested to her but she did not wish to be just inquiring of Remus.

"Unfortunately, yes, they did. Though, it turned out to be Barty Crouch, Jr. under the effects of polyjuice. And no, as far as I am concerned, Lupin and I are not friends." The werewolf just enjoyed acting like they were. The man drove Severus mad to no ends, in many ways.

Severina narrowed her eyes in thought and suspicion. "Is that so?" Not really saying her father was lying so much as it seemed to be Remus needed told that. "He was quite concerned about you after…" She did not finish her sentence, growing very quiet instead. She was moving far too fast without knowing what ground lay beneath her feet. Curiosity killed the cat, they say, Severina. Don't be the damn cat. She told herself.

"I ran?" Snape asked, wincing mentally at his choice of terms. Had he really seemed such a coward as he just made himself out to be? No matter. The incident was done and he could no more change it than anything in the past. Even if he longed to change some things so terribly it hurt. "Remus is like that with everyone." He brushed the subject aside as he stopped and opened a door. "Here you are. I am sure you can go to Hogsmeade tomorrow and locate some clothing and other items, if you need."

"Tomorrow is Saturday," she started, doing her best to make it sound like she was simply clarifying this to herself than proposing anything. Her eyes, however, held the question she dare not even think to herself let alone speak. She would not presume anything onto him. He likely had much work to see to that was far more important than going with his child to Hogsmeade.

"I have papers I must see to, and a few tests to grade," he answered just as she was certain he would. Granted the work could wait a few hours, but he was nothing if not steadfast to his job. It came before all else. He stopped himself from looking away at that thought. It had always come before all else from the time she was no longer a small girl.

She nodded and turned to go inside her new room. "Very well. I'm sure Harry will accompany me…" she trailed off, realizing the disappointment was in her voice. Curse her parts for doing things without her consent.

"Alright," he reluctantly conceded, faster than he would have for anyone else, and without much fight in his voice. "I will go, and Mr. Potter may as well. I imagine he and his friends were planning to as is." It was a Hogsmeade weekend. Many students would be in town and it would not appear too odd for him to take that time to venture forth as well. Perhaps he could even pick up a few things for himself. Pop over to Nocturne Alley while out…

"I'll see you at breakfast then." She closed the door, making her way over to the bed. She took off her robe and fell onto the bed. She was not overly pleased with the way things were going, but Harry, it seemed, needed her. He was not wizened as he should be. She had much to open his eyes to. The only hope was it did not break his spirit in the process.

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The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were busy talking when they entered the Great Hall for breakfast. As they sat down, Seamus Finnegan came bouncing over to sit beside them. He was unusually happy this morning and even more unusually friendly. "Who is she? Do you know? No one else seems to know! Other than some Slytherins but they won't tell anyone else anything."

Taking a moment to catch up with the fact that Seamus was rambling like a love struck teenage boy a couple years younger than his age, they took a moment before one of them finally thought to respond. "Seamus! What are you prattling on about?" Hermione demanded. Really, all this over a female! You would think a Veela was dancing on the tables.

"Her! Isn't she pretty? And those eyes!" Seamus pointed to Severina, who was seated beside Snape, and gazed at her almost dreamily. Harry narrowed his gaze at the other boy minutely without realizing he was. He better not get ideas toward his sister. And why was he protective over a sister he just met?

"What about her eyes?" Harry asked. Seamus turned back to him. As he looked at Harry, he noticed the similarity. The same striking green eyes blazed at him from the other boy's face. Not as beautiful on Harry, in Seamus' opinion, but still the same.

"Blimey! Your eyes are just like hers!" He exclaimed.

Harry snorted and filled his plate with a small assortment of food. He ate quietly as he listened to others slowly turn from his sudden and attitude to wonder at who his sister was. You'd think she was a princess or goddess they way they were acting. After he finished his meal, he stood and started to leave. The feeling of eyes on him made him glance toward the head table.

Severina beckoned Harry to come to her subtly. He slowly made his way to the head table. As he was almost there, his path was blocked by Draco Malfoy. Severina's gaze narrowed as she watched the boys interact. "Really!" She exclaimed. She glared at her father, knowing he would never do anything to his Slytherins, let alone his precious Draco, and made her way to Harry's side. "Is there a problem?" Her voice carried over the obnoxious tones of Draco's voice like they boy was whispering, though she did not raise her tone.

"No, not at all," Draco said, looking her up and down. "I was just…" He did not get to finish whatever he was about to say to belittle Harry.

"Just what, Mr. Malfoy? Giving Mr. Potter a hard time?" She glared at him. He was just like his father. That much she could see. She would have to endeavor to change that if she had a chance. One Lucius Malfoy was all the world would ever need of his ilk.

Draco glared at her. "Do I know you?" He would not be treated in this manner, even by an adult.

"You may remember me. I was a prefect the first two years you were here." She placed her left hand on Harry's shoulder. Her sleeve moved just enough for Draco to see the scar. "I suggest you grow up, young Malfoy. Or you shall end up in a very dark and dangerous place in this world." Her eyes hardened as she eyed the blond. Then, wrapping her arm around Harry, she turned to leave, forgetting Draco entirely for the time being. "Come, Harry. I wish to do some shopping, and my father is not always the best of company to be alone with."

She led Harry back to his friends, knowing they would be curious of her, as all the students seemed to be at the moment. "Guys, this is Severina. Severina, this is Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley."

"Ah yes, the red hair and freckles gave that away. I am pleased to make your acquaintances." She dipped her head in a respectful greeting then smiled. "Now, if my father would…" She did not expect him for a while, figuring Draco would go complaining to the man. She was not expecting to be cut off.

"I'm coming," Snape drawled as he came up behind her. He had the perfectly irritating habit of showing up right on cue, and while she was speaking.

"Very well. Would you like to join us in Hogsmeade then?" She asked the two Gryffindors. She doubted her father would approve so did not give him the chance to rebuff her offer. "I imagine you were going as it is."

"Let us run to the dormitory first," Hermione said quickly and a tad too cheerfully as she drug Ron and Harry off.

"Very well, we shall wait outside!" She called after them before taking Snape's arm and starting out of the Great Hall. The man looked absolutely dumbfounded to being dragged around by the arm, especially in public, but his brain had yet to register to stop her.

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Hermione pulled the two boys into the common room and immediately pounced on Harry. "You know her and that she's Snape's daughter?" Why hadn't he said anything, especially when Seamus had started prattling so?

"Her name is Severina," he said dryly, shrugging. "We met last night, and yes she is Snape's daughter."

"Original with names weren't they? Severus and Severina." Ron shook his head. Some families were so weird.

"Perhaps her mother wanted her named after he father," Harry snapped irritably. What right did they have to judge his sister or his mother? "Are you two coming or not?" He was being unusually short tempered, he knew, but she was his sister after all. He just felt naturally protective without even thinking about it. To finally have family that wanted him…

"What's gotten into you, Harry? Why are you defending her so?" Hermione had never seen him like this except about Sirius or Remus or someone close to him. He had just met the woman and was defending her like she meant so much.

"Don't worry about it and come on." He turned and left them to gather whatever they needed. He had to wonder why he was, too. He didn't know her, absolutely nothing about her other than who her parents were. Did simple knowledge of relation and her seeming interest in him really provoke so much loyalty? Was he so desperate for family?

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Severina and Snape both could tell that something had upset Harry as the boy came to join them. They shared a glance but said nothing, knowing that he would never speak unless he wanted to. Provocation and interrogation would only make him clam up all the more. Besides, whatever was bothering him was his concern, not theirs.

Severina did note, however, that Harry did not get very close to her father. "There is obviously something between the two of you I am missing," she commented. Harry looked at Snape just as coldly as Snape looked at him. Yep. No warm fuzzies between these two in the least. "Oh no. Not while I am around. You two will be civil to one another, do you understand me?" She eyed both of them, hands on hips just short of waggling her finger at them. "Finally," she muttered as Ron and Hermione joined them, relaxing her stance.

"So, Mr. Weasley, how is your obnoxious brother Percy doing?" Severina asked after a few moments, as they walked toward their destination. She would at least try to get to know Harry's friends, and the only thing she could think to ask the Weasley boy was about the other one she had been the closest in age to during their time at Hogwarts.

"You know Percy?" That shocked the hell out of him. Sure, people knew Percy, but no one ever asked about him.

"Yes, I am only a year older than him. I can remember him quite well. Always wanting to do better and be better than everyone else. Surprised he was a Gryffindor actually. He would have made a fine Slytherin." Had she foreseen the results that simple statement would have had… Hell, she probably would have said it anyway.

"Slytherin! A Weasley! Never!" Ron seemed appalled. One of his siblings in that vile slithery House! Never!

"Really, Ronald," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Must you base so much on something like Houses?" Not that she had any use for any of the Slytherins either, that didn't mean all of them there ever was had to be bad.

"Yes!" Ron, Severina, and Snape responded in a heartbeat.

Hermione again rolled her eyes, looking at Harry, who shrugged. She turned as she heard someone approaching. Ah. Just the person to help me make my point. She thought in vain. "Professor Lupin, you aren't as stuck on House placement as they are, are you?" She asked, crossing her arms. Surely he had some good sense in his head. It was just a method of separating the students into groups where they shared similar traits, thus making it easier for the teachers to keep an eye on them. Why did everyone make such a deal about it?

"What about Houses?" Remus stopped beside her. He looked at them all curiously. He had been following them for some time and had not expected her to suddenly turn around and address him.

"Do you base a lot on what House a person is from or in?" She asked with exasperation. Surely he heard the end of the conversation.

"Well," he thought a moment, "I suppose that I do." His words were not ones she wanted to hear but he continued before she could say anything. "They are separated for reasons, Miss Granger. If I found myself wanting someone to do something, I would choose someone based on what their motives were and how well they would likely do the deed. The House they were from or in would more than likely tell me that, though not all fit steadfastly to the set beliefs of what each House stands for."

Hermione did not look pleased by his response, not pleased at all. "Well, I know that most Slytherins are not good people…"

"I resent that, Miss Granger," Severina cut in. "I will have you know that many of the best witches and wizards have come from Slytherin!" She was as snappish and haughty as her father. Her tone as cool and edged as his could be.

"Yes, along with…"

"Voldemort?" Severina asked. "Well, yes, that is so. The Malfoys are another prime example. Tell me. Do you hold Slytherin against the Snapes as well?" As much as she looked like Lily, there was no doubt to anyone that she was a Snape. "I suppose those Slytherins that don't follow Voldemort are just as bad as the rest of them?"

The new edge in Severina's eyes was all too familiar to Remus and Snape. "'Rina, leave her be," her father ordered without the edge he used with students. He knew himself well enough to recognize what she could be capable of if Granger pushed the issue further.

Severina snorted and took his arm once more. "Fine. Let's see to the shopping." She began pulling her father with her, going from a Severus clone to a Lily one. The others looked on in shock at seeing someone DRAG Severus Snape anywhere without him protesting. His silence did not, however, last very long.

"Severina, must you rush like some overeager child?" He was finally able to pull free. She rolled her eyes, seemingly unconcerned by what he said. Lupin, however, caught something the others did not. A slight change in her pupils and the color of her eyes.

"Severus, may I have a word with you?" He took a hold of the other man's shoulder and pulled him aside. His grip was too firm for the other man to simply twist free, and the action was so sudden that he was quickly and easily moved away from the group.

"What, Lupin?" The Potions Master was not currently pleased. Was today drag around Severus Snape Day?

"Severus, did you ever stop to think, perhaps in heart, she still is a child wanting to cling to her father and have him let her? Did she ever get to do this with you before?"

Severus glared at Remus a moment before averting his gaze. The werewolf was right. He absolutely hated it when Lupin was right. This was probably the first time they had ever gone on a 'family' outing. "I suppose you could be correct, Lupin," he slowly answered. He would not outright say that the werewolf was completely correct. He and Severina had spent time together when she was younger but never in public; unless it was a stuffy social function that a child could not enjoy and he loathed being part of.

Remus sighed. "Must you call me that all the time?" Was it so hard to spit out a civil Remus? It was always Lupin or werewolf. Did the other man know how much it hurt to always be addressed like that? Remus mentally snorted. He probably did it because he did know.

"Yes, Lupin, I must." Severus brushed passed him, heading in the direction his daughter had gone; Harry and the others with her. Remus sighed and followed. He wanted to see how Snape handled the outing, but he also didn't know if he should be around the man so much. It only made him feel worse.