A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any affiliated works. If I did, the world would bow at my feet and bring me cookies poolside. *waits patiently*

No, no cookies yet... So sad... All credit for wonderful characters goes to J. K. Rowling. Rolond, Vasili, Renata, their as-yet-unnamed son, and the equally ambiguous female future Hogwarts student belong to me.

The Prince and the Lioness

Prologue: A Twist of Fate

(Or, if the Golden Trio had been just a

Tad Bit more Intelligent at a Critical Moment)

Severus Snape was dying.

That damned snake had bitten through his carotid and even with Potter's fingers pressed against the crucial point on his throat in an effort to keep him alive until someone could recall the spell that would stop the bleeding, it was too late. The venom was spreading with distressing speed, as evidenced by the numerous, filmy black spots dancing at the edge of Severus' field of vision.

"Look… at me…" Severus ground out as Potter watched Severus' rapidly blinking eyes in agony. Dumbledore had been right, the boy had Lily's eyes exactly. Severus sighed and everything but those blinding emerald orbs went black.

"Severus."

Oh God. He must be dreaming.

"Sev, look at me."

Lily Evans Potter was as lovely as ever, with heavy auburn curls and lustrous green eyes.

"It's alright, Sev. Come here."

Severus was standing in a white space, pinching himself on the arm behind his back where Lily would not see.

"Lily…?" was all he could croak out.

"Severus Tobias Snape." Lily began in a stern tone negated by the impish grin that had always been Severus' favorite—God, how long had it been since he had seen her smile at him?

"I have not seen you in twenty-three years, and that's all you can say?"

"We both know I was never any good with words, Lily."

The sneer came naturally and uncalled, and Severus winced at the reminder of that cursed day, that cursed word, that had broken them. Expecting rebuff, Severus looked at the toes of his shoes and braced himself, but instead he felt a warm finger lift his chin, and he was once again staring into the eyes of his lost love.

"Sev." She smiled. "Are you still on about that then?"

"I… I have never forgiven myself."Severus tripped over the words. "But…"

"But I have, Sev." Lily ran a thumb across Severus' cheek and wiped away the tears he hadn't even realized had escaped. "How could I not forgive my very best friend?"

"But… but you were so angry… before… and Potter-"

"Oh, him. James, would you stop hanging back there and come help me with this?" Lily summoned her husband in an exasperated tone.

"All right there, Snape?" James asked with a lopsided grin.

Now Severus was quite confused. "Help you with what, Lily?"

"Sev," Lily was suddenly hesitant, "As wonderful as it is to see you again, it is not your time. There is yet something that you must do."

"But… Lily, I'm already dead… aren't I?" Severus was utterly puzzled and beginning to feel aggrieved that he could not simply pass on and stay here with his Lily.

"Hermione remembered the charm that would stop the majority of the bleeding, and Fawkes' tears are doing for that nasty snake's venom, but the children are quite distressed that you haven't woken. Ron and Harry are taking turns giving you chest compressions on Hermione's instruction, and she is breathing for you."

Severus felt an echo of a thump on his sternum and his vision of Lily blurred around the edges.

" I haven't got much time." Lily sighed. "Sev, there is a pair of students that will start at Hogwarts this fall; students that will need your guidance. They're so very much like we were, Sev, and just as vulnerable to our sort of foibles as we were. The boy—did you know that the Prince family has a lost heir?" Severus started at this.

"That's absurd." Severus stuttered. "My mother was the only member of the Prince family that…"

"Did you never wonder what the real reason was that she left the Prince house, Severus?" Lily was quite solemn. "Her parents arranged a marriage for her when she was quite young. They did not love each other, true, but they were friends. Her husband-to-be was a student at Durmstrang, and he spent every summer at Prince Manor. Well, they were young and when Rolond came home one summer he became quite besotted with Eileen… and so she became pregnant with little Vasili. Their parents found out and were quite… distressed with how things had gone. Eileen was repudiated, and the marriage agreement was revoked. Vasili was raised in secret, tutored privately and married as well in his time. But Eileen left him to the care of her parents when he was only a year old. She married your father and you were born soon after. Vasili and Renata have a ten-year-old son who starts at Hogwarts in September. The Princes named him the next head of the family."

"But, that means…" Severus began.

"You've a nephew, Sev." Lily smiled. "But that's only the half of it. The little girl…" Lily glanced at James and grimaced apologetically. "In another life, Sev, she could have been ours…"

"What… what do you mean by that?" Severus choked up at the thought of the life he had once thrown away for an illusion of power and grandeur.

"Blast it all, Sev, I haven't got enough time to tell you half the things I want to…" Lily stroked the side of his face lovingly, and to Severus' alarm, when he glanced over at James to gauge his reaction, the former ringleader of the Marauders winked at him. "In any case, I'll be sending you messages here and there, to help you along. I've been granted temporary leave to do that much for you, Sev. So much has been asked of you. So much hardship…" Lily sighed.

"But, these children…" Severus began, "how am I to know which of them I'm supposed to…"

"You'll know them when you see them, Sev." Lily smiled. "For one, you'll find the boy when his name is called for the Sorting."

"The Sorting!" Severus exclaimed. "Do you know which House they'll be in?"

"That's not for us to know, Sev." Lily smiled. "But as I said, they are very much like us…"

Another, sharper thud rocked through Severus' sternum, and he felt his lungs expand without his imperative that they do so. His vision blurred and became spottier.

"Lily!" Severus gasped

"Bugger..." Lily swore under her breath, much to Severus' mental consternation. "Severus, they're drawing you back, and you mustn't linger here much longer." Lily shot him a watery smile. "I've missed you so very much, and I'll see you again, when it's your time."

"The girl, Lily…" Severus gasped, "I know how to find the boy, but what about the girl?"

Lily grinned at him. "All I can tell you, Sev, is that you'll know her when you see her."

"But, Lily…" Severus was wheezing now, feeling the fluid in his lungs that was a residual effect of the snake venom.

"I love you, Sev. I'll be watching over you." Lily pecked Severus' cheek shyly, and as the spots connected and expanded before Severus' eyes, he stared once again into the emerald eyes he had always loved.

When he woke with a startled gasp, Severus immediately turned his head and started coughing up the blood and water from his lungs. He felt someone pounding him on the back, attempting to aid his efforts, and swatted rather ineffectually at his would-be helper. This weakness was really quite alarming; predictable, yes, but alarming.

"Professor, can you hear me?"

The concerned female voice was Granger, waving her wand and casting wordless charms to aid his continued consciousness no doubt.

"I - - ack!" Severus coughed again. "I can hear, Granger- -" the Headmaster managed before dissolving into another coughing fit.

"That's a relief." Granger laughed weakly at his response and continued to pound on his back. Surely she wasn't crying? "I wasn't sure what kind of venom that… monstrosity had, and loss of sensory input is one of the less distressing of the possible side effects, magical all-purpose anti-venom aside." Granger nodded deferentially to Fawkes, who made a crooning noise and continued to preen his flight feathers. "We really should get you to the hospital wing, though. No one will contest the Headmaster getting medical aid if we have anything to say about it." She almost growled as she gestured to herself, and then Potter and Weasley.

Severus would have sneered at their posturing, but he was suddenly overcome with dizziness.

"No… not Headmaster…" Severus wheezed as he surrendered to unconsciousness once more. "Not anymore… Minerva… it is her place… not… mine…"

A/N: So what do we think? What will happen next? Comment. Review. The next bit will be up soon. :)