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Chapter 3

Son of Black

Aries looked exactly like Regulus, was Severus's first thought when he saw Alecto Carrow bring in her son. Given the child was only two, hardly old enough to be certain about such things, but Severus couldn't get the thought out of his head. The child had wavy black hair and pale skin. He might have just been imagining things, but he thought he could see the beginnings of Regulus' face shape. Severus found himself staring.

"Severus?"

Realizing that Carrow had left the room, Severus quickly covered up his inattention. "Forgive me, my lord." He paused, then took a step forward. He couldn't help but ask; "Do you intend to kill him?"

"You told me the prophecy yourself, Severus," Voldemort said, and Severus easily picked up on the mild suspicion coloring the Dark Lord's voice. "This child cannot be allowed to live. You believe such a threat should continue to exist?"

"Of course not," Severus responded reflexively, bowing his head partially as a gesture of humility and partially to hide his eyes from Voldemort's skilled mind-probing. "The child must die," he added, hating himself for saying it. It felt the ultimate betrayal to Regulus and their friendship. "But you know how I feel about Black, my lord. I hope you can understand my need for... revenge."

Voldemort considered him for a long moment before he nodded. "Very well, you may stay, Severus."

Severus bowed slightly, feeling both relief and dread in his chest. "Thank you, my lord," he said as Voldemort turned away.

"You will not defeat me, child," Voldemort said, raising his wand and pointing it at the child's forehead.

The child sat up straight, and Severus found himself wondering why he'd stayed. Seeing this child, Aries, Regulus' son, die was going to haunt him for a long time, probably the rest of his life. He unexpectedly found himself staring into the child's eyes—bright, shining green. He didn't remember anyone in either the Black or the Carrow family having such brilliant green eyes. They were enthralling.

"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort hissed.

A beam of green light shot out of the yew wand and struck Aries's forehead. For a moment time stalled. Then the temperature in the room plummeted below freezing and half the lights in the room went out. A dark shadowy spectre seemed to hunch over the child's still form. Severus felt a an icy fear grasp his chest, making it impossible to breath. He blinked.

The spectre had vanished and the brilliant green curse sped back toward it's creator. With a cry of alarm, the Dark Lord was enveloped in sickly green light.

The ensuing explosion tore apart the manor.

Severus was thrown back against the wall by a shockwave of green. The whole building trembled and groaned under the magical blast. Severus struggled to his feet, a herculean task when the ground was shaking and his head was spinning.

A loud, dull crack sounded in Severus' ears. Above them a crack had fractured the roof. Bits of rock and dust began raining down from the fissure. It would yield in only a moment.

Severus eyes snapped to the prone form of Regulus' son, his tiny body laid out on the table. Only a pile of ash remained where Voldemort had stood.

A piece of the marble roof broke off from the rest and came crashing down, smashing into the floor and shattering into a million shards. It jolted Severus into action and he lunged forward. Staggering forward, Severus reached Regulus' son and immediately scooped the prone child into his arms. Another piece of the roof split and crushed the mahogany meeting table with a tremendous bang.

Severus stumbled back, dizziness threatening to overwhelm him, and crouched down. Holding Aries close to his chest, Severus pulled out his wand and waved it back and forth three times in front of him. "Vallus Tholo."

A shimmering silver dome wrapped around the two of them just as the roof gave way. Then the rest of the manor folded in on top of that. The pressure of the collapsed building against the dome was crippling. Severus could feel the protective dome siphoning off his magical core. He felt the strength draining from his muscles. His vision began tunneling to black. Severus held on as long as he could, but a few moments later he had faded into unconsciousness.

Severus woke to a pounding head and groaning muscles. He couldn't see anything in the pitch black. Taking a deep breath, Severus focused on his other senses. He was lying in a fetal position on the floor, surrounded by compacted rock in the shape of his protective dome. A tiny, warm, breathing body was pushed against his chest. Little rocks were digging painfully into his side and it was getting hard to breathe.

Severus wondered how long it had been. He hoped it had been long enough for any survivors to remove the anti-apparation wards that had been around the meeting room. Pressing Aries's body closer, Severus took a deep breath and apparated.

They appeared on the far end of the courtyard, just as Severus had intended. Thankfully it was far enough to be clear of any rubble or dust. Severus exhaled an enormous breath of relief into the dewy grass and took in a wonderful breath of fresh air.

"Severus!"

Oh joy. People.

Severus groaned and dragged himself to his feet.

"Severus!" the voice called again, and this time Severus recognized it as Narcissa Malfoy.

Severus managed to steady himself on his feet as Narcissa reached him.

"Severus, I'm so glad you're alright," Narcissa said, relief clear on her delicate features. "Is that Aries? Is he alright?"

"He's alive," Severus said shortly, loosening his grip on the child a little and lowering him a little in his arms so that he and Narcissa could properly look at him.

Bloody scratches were scattered over his small body, but the biggest and most prominent was a lightning bolt shaped cut above his eyebrow. It was red and bleeding, far more angry-looking than the others.

Both adults frowned at the cut. Narcissa drew her wand and waved it over the boy, incanting a simple healing spell. "Sano."

The little nicks and grazes immediately healed, but the lightning bolt cut only scabbed over.

"Sano!" Narcissa repeated with more force, but the cut remained stubbornly red. Brows knitting together, Narcissa tried a stronger spell. "Confervo."

The cut still refused to heal, drawing deep frowns from both adults.

"Severus, what…" Narcissa looked up at him, confusion and concern shining in her icy blue eyes.

"The Dark Lord tried to kill him," Severus said.

"Tried?" Narcissa echoed, the pitch in her voice rising.

"He hit him with the killing curse, but it… well it rebounded on him," Severus explained.

Narcissa stared at him for a long moment. "He's dead?" she whispered.

Severus nodded.

"And that caused the manor to collapse," Narcissa guessed, looking down at the child in his arms.

Severus nodded again, though unnecessarily.

Her expression hardened and she looked back up at Severus. "He's Regulus' son, isn't he?"

"Yes," Severus confirmed quietly.

Anger rose in Narcissa's expression. "This child is my cousin, my family. Not to mention a pureblood. And the Dark Lord tried to kill him! Why?" she demanded.

"A prophecy," Severus found himself answering. His already waning strength was failing and he was beginning to feel very lightheaded. "The Dark Lord believed Aries to be the child it spoke of."

"We'll talk about this later," Narcissa said, recognizing Severus' fatigue. "For now, we need to meet with the rest and tell them what's happened. Can you apparate?"

Severus grimaced. "Maybe."

"Give me the child," Narcissa ordered. "We're going to Lestrange Manor."

Severus reluctantly surrendered Regulus' son to Narcissa, and a moment later the two of them disappeared from the ruins of Malfoy Manor. They reappeared on the front step of Lestrange Manor, and Severus almost passed out from the toll that took on his depleted magical core.

"Quinty!" Narcissa called briskly.

The Lestranges' head house elf immediately popped into view. "Madame Malfoy, what can Quinty be doing for you?"

"Fetch an invigoration draught for Severus at once," she ordered.

The house elf disappeared with a nod, and Narcissa gently began pushing Severus forward, Aries secure in the crook of her arm. "Come," she said. "Everyone is in the meeting hall tending to their injuries."

They hadn't taken more than five steps before Quinty reappeared, offering a bottle full of soft red liquid. Narcissa took the potion and handed it to Severus with an acknowledging nod toward the house elf. Severus gratefully took the bottle, unstoppered it, and downed it in one go. He would probably sleep for a week—and he meant that literally—after this, but he should be able to make it through the meeting.

As soon as they walked into the hall, all eyes were on them. About half of the occupants were either injured and sitting or dead and covered in a sheet. The other half were pacing, fidgeting, or sitting.

Severus swallowed as everyone looked expectantly at him. Who was he to deliver the news of Voldemort's death to a room full of his staunchest supporters? He was twenty, had just barely finished his Potions Mastery, and while he had gained much favor from the Dark Lord, he was not terribly high up in his ranks.

"Snape," Rabastan Lestrange said. "Where is the Dark Lord?"

Severus glanced at Narcissa, who nodded almost imperceptibly at him.

Taking a deep breath, Severus said, "The Dark Lord is dead."

"YOU-KNOW-WHO IS DEAD!"

James stared at the young Auror. Jake Phillips, had a face-splitting grin on his face. He was laughing hysterically and running through the department, shouting, "YOU-KNOW-WHO IS DEAD!"

James looked over to Sirius' desk (across the room because Scrimgeour realized that the closer they were the more trouble they got into trying to 'lighten the place up'). They stared at each other, both questioning Phillips' sanity. Had the pressure finally gotten to the young Auror?

Then Mad Eye Moody stepped into the room and cleared his throat for everyone's attention. "He's dead," he said bluntly before liming out of the room again on his peg leg. The room sat in shocked silence before the whole department erupted into chaos.

"Is it true?!"

"Is You-Know-Who really dead?"

"Is he really gone?"

James decided to go straight to the source. He elbowed through the excited Aurors, and Sirius quickly came up on his heels.

"Scrimgeour!" James called. "What's going on?"

"Potter, Black," Scrimgeour said, for once not grimacing or glaring when he said their names. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead."

James exchanged a wide-eyed look with Sirius.

"How?" James breathed.

"Death Eaters said so," Scrimgeour said, shaking his head like he was wondering why they were listening to anything they said. "A lot of them coming in, claiming to be imperiused by the Dark Lord and only free now that he's dead."

"And we believe that?" Sirius demanded.

"Questioned under veritaserum," Scrimgeour grunted. "And it's all those purebloods with the money, You-Know-Who's financial backing, that are all showing up and pleading innocence."

"But they won't get away with it, will they?" James asked.

"They might," Scrimgeour said. "They have the money to buy out a lot of influential people."

"But—" Sirius began, but Scrimgeour cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"No," he said sternly. "Let the DMLE worry about it. Go celebrate You-Know-Who's death with everyone else. Now get out of here before you sour my good mood."

For once, James and Sirius obeyed Scrimgeour's orders without hesitating or joking. They escaped the Auror Department as quickly as they could, and were soon flooing into the Potter house in Godric's Hollow.

"Lily! Lily!" James was shouting as soon as he was through the floo. "Did you hear?!"

"James?" Lily called from upstairs. "We're upstairs."

"I'm telling Remus," Sirius said, turning around. "And Peter. We'll be here in a minute to celebrate."

"Good idea," James agreed and then took off down the hall and up the stairs. He skidded into the nursery. "Lily!"

Lily arched an eyebrow. She had their son, only a few months old, resting against her shoulder. "James? What is it?"

"Lily, you won't believe it!" James crowed, surging forward and wrapping his arms around her and Harry.

Lily chuckled. "Well, whatever makes you this happy can only be unbelievably good news, so out with it James Potter."

"It is unbelievably good," James breathed. "Lily, You-Know-Who is dead. He's gone."

Lily stared, obviously trying to decide if he was joking. Disbelief was written across her features. "He's dead?"

"Yes!" James said, unable to wipe the grin off his face. "Scrimgeour confirmed it. Lily, we can raise Harry in a world without war. We can live in a world without You-Know-Who in it. Lily…"

Tears were glistening in Lily's eyes, and she started laughing and crying at the same time. Before James knew it he was hugging his wife and his son, barely able to believe that, for once, the future was looking bright and golden.

Aries woke up during the chaos that followed Severus' proclamation. It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down, but once they did they immediately started scheming up ways to slither out of life sentences in Azkaban without the Dark Lord to protect them. A few, like Bellatrix, were wholly against the idea of denouncing the Dark Lord and argued quite loudly over it.

Eventually it was agreed that, in the interests of their survival (they were Slytherins after all), those with funds, connections, and/or refined skills in persuasion would weasel their way out of Azkaban. Those in the lower ranks, and a few of the higher ones, would continue the raids on muggles and muggleborns, just to a lesser extent than they had with the Dark Lord over them. They would continue to be funded by the rich purebloods.

And everyone would keep a look out for Lord Voldemort. If he was truly dead, it would only amount to a bit of wasted attention and a few squandered resources. But if he wasn't… he would be truly angry when he returned (because if he wasn't truly dead, then there was no doubt he would return) if they hadn't expended every resource trying to locate him.

Agreed, the Death Eaters began to disperse. All the while, Severus hovered by Narcissa's side as she kept a protective hold on Regulus's son. Severus wondered what to do with the child. Not only had his mother just handed him off to be executed, but it seemed that this child was the one prophesied to defeat Lord Voldemort. Narcissa's thoughts were undoubtedly running along similar lines, though she must have been thinking more of protecting her family. Her cousin clearly wasn't well cared for by Alecto Carrow.

A moment later, Lucius appeared and, ignoring the unconscious child in his wife's arms, asked, "Is Draco alright? What's happened to the Manor?"

"Draco is perfectly safe," Narcissa assured him. "The house elves got him and the nanny to safety. But the Manor..."

Severus took pity on Narcissa, having to tell her husband that his ancestral home was now a pile of rubble and debris. "It's destroyed," Severus said bluntly. "The blast caused by the Dark Lord's death decimated it."

Lucius went white (whiter than he was usually). The grief at losing his family home was clear. As well as the many valuables and heirlooms inside it.

Narcissa shifted the limp Aries into one arm and placed her hand on her husband's bicep. "I know it will never be the same, Lucius, but we will rebuild. And we will retrieve what we can from the Manor. Much of it was spelled to survive."

Lucius straightened under his wife's comforting words, and nodded once, firmly. "You are right, Narcissa. Malfoy's are survivors."

"Of course," Narcissa said with a fond smile.

"And who is this?" Lucius asked, finally noticing the boy Narcissa held.

"Aries Carrow," Narcissa said. "Severus rescued him when the Manor fell."

Lucius nodded and just as quickly lost interest in Aries. "I still find it hard to believe that the Dark Lord is gone."

Severus shrugged. "As I said, I didn't see what happened exactly. I only saw the explosion."

"Curious," Lucius said.

"Rest assured I will be looking into an explanation for all of this," Severus said. And he meant it. He would do everything he could to understand what had happened to Regulus's son and to protect him from the rest of the Death Eaters. He owed Regulus that much.

Just then, Alecto Carrow appeared. "Snape, Malfoys," she greeted shortly, just barely staying polite with an incline of her head. Then she looked down at her child. "Still alive are you?"

Narcissa's arms came around Aries a little protectively, and Severus fought not to scowl at Alecto's callous regard for her son. These action did not go unnoticed by Alecto, and Severus could practically seeing the witch's pride rear its ugly head. Lucius, however, was faced toward Alecto and not Narcissa and Severus, so he did not notice and instead returned Alecto's greeting, though it wasn't much more sincere than hers. "Alecto, what a pleasure."

"How did the boy survive?" Alecto asked Severus. "Wasn't he in the same room as the Dark Lord just before he died?"

"He was not," Severus said smoothly. "The Dark Lord had only just had him taken away."

Alecto's eyes dropped to her son again, lip curling slightly. "Well, I'll take him now." She held her arms out for the child, but Narcissa didn't hand him over. She had a possessive look in her that matched how Severus felt. This was Regulus's child. Narcissa's favored cousin and one of Severus' few friends. How could they just hand him over to someone who clearly cared nothing—maybe even less—for him.

As the seconds ticked by, the silence thickened with tension. "Malfoy," Alecto growled, her face reddening. "The child."

Lucius reached up and set his hand on Narcissa's back. "Narcissa," he said, his tone firm, reminding Narcissa of what she was doing. Withholding a pureblood child from his family was enough to start a serious feud that would quickly become very ugly. It didn't matter if he was wanted. It was a matter of pride, family, and bloodline.

Narcissa remembered this and reluctantly loosened her hold on Aries and carefully passed him over to Alecto. "I apologize, Alecto," she said, every bit the sophisticated pureblood lady she was. "I'm afraid the stress of losing the Dark Lord and my home all in a few hours has left me unsettled."

"Of course," Alecto said, pride smoothed. She held her son securely in her arms, but nothing suggested any bit of affection for him.

Keeping the frown off her face, which was more than Severus could do, Narcissa added. "I hope our sons might be able to visit. They are only a couple years apart, and I would love if my son might be able to know his cousin."

Alecto's recalcitrance at that idea was well hidden, but for someone as well versed in conversational politics as Severus and Narcissa it was clear in the half-squinting of her eyes and the faint wrinkle in her nose. "I agree," she lied, and then gave a nod of farewell and stalked off through the waning crowd of Death Eaters toward her brother.

"Distasteful woman," Lucius muttered.

Narcissa and Severus couldn't agree more.

AN: Another chapter, please enjoy!

Guest: Uh, Snape didn't cast a killing curse at a defenseless child, Voldemort did. You know, like he did in the books. Snape forced himself to watch out of respect for Regulus but had no idea how to stop one of the most powerful Dark Lords ever. And, for the record, you can still learn valuable stuff from dirtbags. Snape doesn't have to be a saint to teach Harry stuff.