Chapter 7: Saving a Slytherin
Four months passed. Livia Eileen Snape had just turned seventeen. She knew nothing about the wizarding world news. She had disengaged herself with anything related to magic. It had only brought problems back at Spinner's End, and now that she had started her new life in London, the last thing she wanted to hear or see was magic. No, she preferred living anonymously as a muggle.
Imogen Wright, the owner of the arts supplies shop, had been very kind to her. Livia enjoyed working with the woman. She was learning not only how to sell, but also how other kind of arts supplies worked; not just crayons which had been the only resource she could buy back when she lived with Tobias.
Livia liked to experiment with the different supplies and techniques at home. She had started to create a landscape painting of the city. It was of the view she had from her flat. She lived alone, which meant that most of her salary covered the rent. It wasn't like she knew anyone with whom to live and split expenses with. She had been afraid of living alone at first, but she realized that her fear was insignificant compared to what she felt when she was with her father. That simple fact kept her going. Life was treating her better than ever, even if loneliness seemed to be her only company in her new Londoner flat.
Autumn arrived. It wasn't very late, but it was already dark. The air was quite chilly and it made Livia shudder. She was walking back home after a draining work day. She heard some drunks as she passed by a pub, and shut her eyes to get rid of the image of Tobias that had suddenly come to mind. She opened her eyes soon, though. She would become an easy target for thieves. As she turned around a corner, she heard a hiss. The squib stopped and stood her ground. What should she do? Should she look for the source? It had sounded painful, perhaps there was someone hurt. But then again, it could be her exhausted mind playing tricks. Yes, it had to be that. She took another step when another groan reached her ears. Okay, she didn't imagine that. Ignoring her headache, she walked towards the place she suspected the injured person was, praying it was not a trap. There were many burglars in the area, and it wouldn't be the first time that somebody faked being hurt only to assault their victim. Thus, she took a pepper spray from her bag just in case.
"Hello! Is someone there?"
Another grunt. Livia narrowed her eyes and followed her gut, rushing until she was behind the bushes of the park from across her block. She gasped. She could see that a boy around her age laid there. He looked unhealthily pale, and like he was going to collapse any second. There were some scratches on his skin and Livia noticed something around his neck. A locket, perhaps? Due to the darkness, she couldn't quite make it out. The boy wasn't alone though.
"Master, shall Kreacher obliviate this muggle? Kreacher hates filthy muggles…"
"A house-elf…" muttered Livia under her breath.
The girl had read about them in one of her brother's books a long time ago. She had never seen one before, but she sure recognized the magical creature: pointed ears, oversized head and eyes, short stature, eager to please his master… Yes. There was no qualm about it. In front of her a house-elf stood.
Her comment made the young adult stare profoundly at her.
"How do you know about house-elves? Are you a witch?"
His voice was groggy and it looked like he was making a big effort to stay awake, a woozy expression on his features.
"Er… Not really. Look, there's no time for explanations now… You are hurt; I must call an ambulance. You need to go to a hospital."
"No! I can't go there! Nobody can know!" he suddenly cried out frightened.
"Know what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Before he could reply, his eyes closed and his head was thrown back. He had blacked out.
"Master Regulus! Master Regulus!"
Why was she always caught in desperately fraught situations? She tried to keep calm and conceded, "I really need to call an ambulance…"
"No! Kreacher won't let you! Kreacher must obey master Regulus! Master Regulus said no hospitals!"
Livia groaned in frustration, comprehending that the house-elf would do everything to stall her from getting the boy to the medical center. "OK, then. No hospitals. But if we don't get somewhere safe, we could get in trouble. Do you understand this?"
Kreacher eyed her shadily and wondered, "What do you have in mind?"
"I'm taking him home. I live alone, so nobody else will know…"
"Master Regulus won't go to a filthy muggle's home!" the creature wailed.
She rolled her eyes. "I am not a muggle, and if you keep screaming like that some actual muggles will see us! Do you want to save your master or not?"
The house-elf nodded.
"Then help me. I live there…" she whispered, indicating to a window of a block. "Second floor. Third door. Do you see it?"
"Yes."
"Good. I know you have magic. Make us appear inside. Hurry!"
With a finger snap, Livia felt a sick feeling in her stomach. Once she opened her eyes, she was in her flat, accompanied by the house-elf and the unconscious wizard. Just great! She attempted to take the boy in her arms and carry him to her bed. When the elf saw her struggling to accomplish the task, he snapped his fingers once more. The girl watched in awe as the body levitated and flew along her flat, until it lay on the bed. She grabbed a chair and sat in front of the boy, the elf close behind her. Her long fingers grazed the scratches of his skin as she examined them closely. Wordlessly, she withdrew and returned with the first aid kit, then proceeded to bandage the wounds up, thanking the stars her tenants hadn't arrived yet.
"Why are you doing that?" the house-elf fumed.
"I have no magic. These are the muggle tools I require in order to heal er– your master. Don't worry. Unfortunately, I have lots of practice with this kind of things…"
Kreacher grimaced at the mention of muggle tools but kept quiet and let her work. He observed as she grabbed the locket she could clearly see now in order to get a more clear view of his neck. Something caught her eye then, the accessory was decorated with a serpent. She was briefly reminded of her brother; snakes were the symbol of Slytherins like him. Her distraction was cut short by the house-elf.
He grasped the locket from her hands gruffly and squawked, "Don't touch this! Kreacher must keep it!"
Livia shrugged and forgot about the locket. She tended to a few wounds and noticed as a gash disappeared below his shirt, meaning that the scratches probably extended across his chest. Bloody hell! Biting her bottom lip, she began to remove his clothes until the stranger was shirtless. Kreacher was eyeing her maliciously, but the teenager paid him no attention. She concentrated on the task at hand and tried not to think that she was in front of a half-naked boy of her age, a boy who even wounded seemed to be pretty handsome. Get a grip, she thought. It was difficult to focus as she noticed how lean he was, with the beginnings of some muscles showing, especially on his chest and… arms. Shit! She couldn't believe she hadn't seen that horrible thing before, that same mark that had ended the Snape sibling relationship. She was helping a Death Eater out. She gulped and compelled herself to ignore that detail for the time being.
"I'll go and cook something for dinner… Stay here or muggles will see you," she babbled to Kreacher once all the wounds were bandaged.
The sunbeams hit Livia's skin softly, making her stir. Her back and neck were hurting like hell. She guessed that was what happened when one replaced their own mattress for an uncomfortable second-hand sofa. At first she was disoriented. Why the hell hadn't she slept on her bed? That was when she recalled an injured boy and a house-elf. Her frustrated groan could be heard by the entire neighborhood, she bet. Livia entered her bedroom after having breakfast. She needed to get some clothes and dress for the day, anyway. She noticed the boy's eyes were shut and his chest was moving regularly. Kreacher appeared to be asleep on a cushion she had lent him. The squib opened the wardrobe and made to leave silently, but somehow, the house-elf woke up and shrieked, "What are you doing?"
The voice of the creature woke Regulus up before Livia could actually give a proper answer. She fell silent and observed as the boy took notice of the new surroundings, nearly inspecting her bedroom. He didn't seem to acknowledge her presence though.
"Kreacher, where are we?"
"This is the muggle's flat, master Regulus. The muggle wanted to take you to the hospital, but I didn't let her. Kreacher always obeys you, master Regulus."
Livia didn't even bother to correct Kreacher about his mistake about her being a muggle. Regulus's silver eyes finally met Livia's onyx ones, before giving her the once-over and meeting her gaze again. She noted that his eyes had lingered on her hooked nose for more time than necessary. She was aware that her nose wasn't pretty, but there was no need to be rude and stare.
"You helped me," he blurted out.
"Yes."
"What's your name? You look familiar to me…"
The image of the serpent locket came to her mind. A slytherin symbol. Could it be that this boy was a slytherin student, or a former one, at least? Then he must know Severus, right? That would explain why she looked familiar to him… Or perhaps Severus and this boy met in a Death Eater gathering. Who knew?
"Er-look, I need to go to work. I treated your wounds, they're nothing too serious. You are free to go."
She exited the room and changed clothes in the bathroom before going to the Arts Supplies Shop for another working day.
"Kreacher," said Regulus, grinning slyly.
"Yes, master?"
"I have one job for you."
Home sweet home. Livia Eileen Snape wanted nothing more than to fall into bed and call it a night. Of course, she hadn't predicted that Kreacher would prepare dinner. She hadn't expected to see a half-naked Death Eater stepping out of the shower. A grey towel covered him from his hips to his knees, leaving his toned chest and abdomen visible. Livia blushed endlessly at the sight and Regulus noticed it. Indeed, he did! A cocky grin spread across his handsome features as he teased, "Oh, hello there! I was beginning to worry! For a moment I thought you forgot your own address."
Livia clenched her fists in annoyance. "Who the heck do you think you are? I told you to leave! I have already helped you out!"
He smirked at her agitated reaction and joshed, "Correction. You said I was free to go. Being free implies choice. You didn't explicitly tell me to depart, so I didn't. Now, now. Do we have memory issues?"
Livia squint her eyes.
"You really believe you are funny, don't you? This is MY home. I set the rules, and I certainly don't want a Death Eater living here, even less when there are muggles living under the same roof. I did more than I should."
His smug attitude vanished and was replaced by a sober expression that perplexed the girl.
"How do you know about Death Eaters? How do you know about house-elves and muggles?" he asked.
"I owe you no explanation. We are total strangers," she answered coldly.
"Well, I'd say we aren't total strangers, Snape."
Her breath got caught in her throat. How the hell did he know her surname?
"I guess that by your reaction, my assumption is correct," he ribbed. She glowered at him, but he merely clucked his tongue. "Kreacher is still convinced you are a muggle even though he heard you muttering under your breath, and I quote, 'Dunderheads! If you want to paint, paint upon a canvas. For Merlin's beard, who considers graffiti an art, anyway?'"
Her eyes widened. She had seen a group of teenagers scribbling something obscene on a wall made of bricks near her flat on her way to the shop.
"You've been spying on me?!"
"My house elf has," he corrected, smirking. "You know, I would have never guessed that Severus had a sister. You have the same black eyes, the same high cheekbones… And of course, your hooked nose gave it away the most. Not to mention, you scowl and talk like him. Kreacher's witnessed it."
"If you knew who I am, why did you ask me how I knew about house-elves and Death Eaters?" she spat when her voice agreed to collaborate once again.
"I wanted to see if you confessed it… There was also the possibility that I was on the wrong track, but it's not like you can refute it now." Livia looked at him in disgust, but he kept speaking. "You could have been sorted in Slytherin, as your brother. You certainly do not trust easily and that, Snape, is a cunning quality. You can confide in nobody, sometimes not even your family." The last part had come as a dejected sigh, as if he was mumbling this more to himself than to her. "So tell me, why didn't I see you at Hogwarts? Why did you deny you were a witch when I asked you? You are a Prince descendant..."
Her eyes got teary as she remembered her mother, but she blinked the tears away quickly. Aloofly, she snarled, "I am not telling you anything. Get dressed and leave."
He did get dressed, but he didn't leave. In fact, Regulus leaned on the doorway of the living room and locked eyes with the girl.
"I can't leave," he confessed weakly, his conceited pose was long forgotten.
"Why the hell not?"
Regulus gulped and showed her the locket as he whispered, "Because of this."
Livia arched an eyebrow Severus's style. Yes, there was no doubt, those two were siblings. Severus was a loyal Death Eater though. Up to what point could Regulus count on this girl?
"I cannot explain anything more until you tell me your position regarding Death Eaters. Are you with them, or against them?" he demanded bluntly.
The fact that she kept quiet told him that she didn't trust him, a Death Eater himself. Good, this means she is against them, he thought. That was why he followed his gut and declared, "This can stop You-know-who."
She nearly burst out laughing. "It's a bloody locket!"
"It's not a simple locket. It's a horcrux, an object that contains a piece of his soul."
She took a sharp intake of breath at the news and then frowned.
"Why are you telling me this? You are a Death Eater! You want to hide it to protect your Lord, don't you?"
"No. I want to kill him."
He could nearly hear all the doubts that were running through her mind. Thus, Regulus confessed. He told her about the cave, about Kreacher and him nearly dying, about his change of heart regarding Voldemort, about everything. He didn't know why he did it, he just knew there was something that made him feel safe with the Snape girl.
"The wizarding world must believe I am dead. I must find the way to destroy this horcrux; replacing it with a copy isn't good enough. Are you in?"
Livia didn't want magic to walk into her life again. She hated it. But there was something, or someone, that she hated more: Voldemort. He had taken Severus from her. If there was a way for her to end with He-who-must-not-be-named and to see her brother again, she would take the risk. The only inconvenient was her lack of magic. Livia deemed her condition would retard the mission.
"Why do you trust me? My brother is a You-know-who supporter…"
"Yet, you haven't looked disgusted by the idea of ending He-who-must-not-be-named once and for all…"
"I won't be able to help you out."
"Why?"
"I can't do magic."
There, she said it. Understanding seemed to wash over Regulus, she was a squib. That was why she lived like a muggle, why he had never seen her at Hogwarts. He smiled sadly and guaranteed, "That's fine. I have all the magic I require. Hiding between muggles is the perfect cover. I come from a pureblood family, so I have no idea of where to start or how to behave. Your father was muggle and you are a squib, hence, you can help me. I need you, Snape."
"Livia," she said with a bit of hope. Perhaps, she could really be of assistance to kill Voldemort and reunite with Severus.
"What?"
"The name's Livia."
"Is that a yes?" he asked, his cheeky grin placed on his handsome face again.
"It's an 'I'll have to sleep and ponder it before agreeing', so don't get your hopes up," she said with a crooked smile, enjoying his pout.
The next day, Regulus got the positive answer he had yearned for. Transfiguring a bed for himself was the first thing he did.
