A/N: The past and present are rapidly trying to catch up ... not mine still ...

Chapter 8 - Monstrous

It was the day after the disastrous finale of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Severus had not been able to find Lia after the melee that ensued after Potter's return with that poor dead boy. There had been too much commotion, especially after they discovered that Barty Crouch, Jr. had been impersonating Mad-Eye Moody all year. Though an interrogation of him would have been most useful, he found himself not very sorry at all that the little shit received the Dementor's kiss. Especially not after last night's Summons by the newly restored Dark Lord.

He'd stayed at Hogwarts when he felt the piercing pain of his Mark responding to the call of his Master, not long after Potter and Mr. Diggory disappeared from the maze. It has been necessary to ensure his continued presence at Hogwarts, though every second he did not return was sheer agony, making the hours before he returned to him a blur. When he finally did return to the Dark Lord's side, the relief from the pain was immediate, thought the new pain of being in the presence of the creature who killed his first love was almost intolerable.

The Dark Lord punished him for being late of course, he'd expected that after his previous years of service. Thankfully, the Dark Lord had been ultimately understanding of his 'need' to stay at the castle long enough to convince Dumbledore of his unfailing loyalty to him.

The very thought that the Dark Lord still believed Severus could ever be loyal to him, especially after he killed Lily Potter, was just as preposterous as it was fourteen years ago. That ludicrousness of the assumption, buried underneath the layers of his Occlumency, got him through the curses and hexes that the Dark Lord used as his punishment for not responding to him the second the Mark burned his skin.

What made him get to his feet and return to Hogwarts when it was finally all over, and he could feel his hands and feet again, was getting back to Lia.

He'd experienced love in what he had felt for Lily, but that love was unrequited and unbalanced. Loving Lia, and she loving him in return, was slowly changing him. No longer was he consumed with disappointment and bitter hate. Not to say that it wasn't there – the frustrations of his youth, the despair of the abject poverty of his childhood and his father's abuse of he and his mother would always haunt him.

Part of him would always love Lily; that he knew and understood. But that love no longer paradoxically ate away at him and fueled his survival. Hell, he could even look at Potter now and not want to strangle him every time he saw Lily's eyes on James' face.

Before the Third Task, Severus had decided he would ask Lia to marry him over the summer, after she graduated from Beauxbatons and returned to England. He no longer cared about any rumors or scrutiny he would be under for marrying a visiting student, though she was not his student.

But now that the Dark Lord had returned, he couldn't figure out his next step. He wanted her safe. And safe was not with a Death Eater turned spy.


Lia was the last person he expected to find in Dumbledore's office when he had finally recovered enough to report back to him.

"Good afternoon, Severus," the old man said to him. It was the first time he saw Dumbledore's eyes without the characteristic twinkle.

"Albus," Severus replied. He looked at Lia curiously. Her eyes were red and there were tears still spilling down her cheeks. She was hiccupping back sobs. Severus gave her his handkerchief, and, forgetting where he was for an instant too long, he pulled her into his arms.

"My mother is dead," she whispered against his ear.

He looked at the Headmaster. "What happened?"

"The Dark Lord has once again removed someone that got in the way of his plans," Dumbledore said, looking at Lia instead of Severus. "Lia's mother was murdered by the Dark Lord last night."

Severus tightened his arms around the trembling woman in his arms and gently kissed her forehead. He tried to think of when it could have happened. Was it before he returned to his side? Or was it after, when he was laying on the ground of the cemetery, writhing in pain after being the recipient of the Cruciatus Curse.

"I'm sorry, Lia," he whispered softly as he stroked her hair and back. He felt her flinch beneath his hands when they touched her left shoulder. "What is it?" he asked, moving his hand away. He tried to meet her eyes, but she wouldn't return his gaze. She instead was looking at the Headmaster.

"I can't," she whispered. Dumbledore nodded and began to speak.

"It would appear that in Lord Voldemort's desire to be immortal, he realized there was a different way part of him could continue to exist, even after his death."

"The Horcruxes?" asked Severus.

The Headmaster smiled vaguely before he continued. "He sired a child, Severus."

Severus pulled Lia even closer to his body before he dared to reply. "What in the hell does that have to do with her?"

Dumbledore looked at both of them with an expression of infinite sadness, as though the woman's death had affected him as much as it had Lia. "His child was Miss Selwyn's mother."

Lia began to sob again in earnest; the handkerchief Severus had given her was almost drenched in her tears.

"Shit," Severus said.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said calmly.

"How do you know this? What proof do you have Lia is … and that the Dark Lord killed her mother."

"Show him, Lia, what you showed me when you came to my office."

Lia's face fell. "I can't," she said, gripping her robes tightly around her.

"My dear child, you have to be brave now. You already carry too much of a burden. We can help lighten it, but you will have to be very brave." Dumbledore's voice was kind, but heavy with insistence and authority, the way a grandparent would speak to a young grandchild. It was a voice he'd perfected and used in the many years of having so many young witches and wizards in his care, Severus and the Dark Lord included.

Lia nodded and stepped out of Severus's arms. She took off her robes, revealing her soft looking jumper and long skirts underneath. She pulled down the shoulder of the jumper, and looked at the Headmaster for guidance. When he nodded for her to continue she turned around.

Severus looked in horror at the Dark Mark that had been branded onto her skin, stretched and shiny as though it was placed when she was very young.

"It happened when I was little. I don't remember it, thank Merlin. My mother says she has the same Mark on her shoulder, just like this. He apparently tried to brand us the same way that the Death Eaters are, but the magic wouldn't work on us. He used fire instead. A modified use of the Flagrante Charm, I think," she said, as she raised the sleeve back to its rightful position.

"How long have you known?" Severus asked her.

"Since last night after the Third Task. I got a Floo Call from my mother, after Madame rushed us back to the carriage. Mum said she used a Concealment Charm to cover both of our scars after her … father's … death, or whatever you would call what happened when he went away. My father was so angry when I was branded, that he did something to try to kill Lord Voldemort, but it backfired, and he died instead." She looked away as new tears began to spring, but she continued. "After … You Know Who … was defeated, my mother went back to her old family home and raised me there as just a Selwyn. She thought if You Know Who was gone, she and I could have a normal life of peace. But she felt her scar burn last night, as did I, though I didn't understand why my shoulder hurt so much. It's been hurting all year, honestly. But she knew. She knew he was back." She paused, looking miserable before she continued. "Mum told me that she realized long ago that if he ever returned, he would kill her because she was no longer needed. What he really wanted was me – a Pure-blood heir to rule by his side and give him access to what his magic alone cannot give him."

Lia looked away again, pausing long enough for Severus collected his thoughts. He tried to think back to his initiation, to the words and rituals of the Dark Lord during that time. He tried to find anything that could fit her story, but could find nothing he could remember. "Do any of the Death Eaters know about your existence? I've never heard anything like this, and I was in the Inner Circle." He paused and looked at Dumbledore before he continued, "And I will be again." The Headmaster nodded quickly.

Lia attempted to speak, but couldn't. She looked at the Headmaster pleadingly for help.

"Only two other people know this story – outside of the people in this room, the Dark Lord himself, and her mother. One of them is Narcissa Malfoy, who was her mother's cousin and her best friend. The other was her father, Regulus Black. By the time you rose to power within the ranks of the Death Eaters, everyone else who once knew that Tom Riddle once married and had a child was either naturally dead, Confunded, or murdered, depending on what his fancy was at the time. He didn't want any trace of them until his family line once again had an heir with four wizarding grandparents. Her mother's marriage was arranged, from what I understand. Though, it was a happy one while Regulus was alive."

"Regulus Black and Lucius Malfoy sponsored me to the Dark Lord," Severus looked at Lia with something akin to the awed look that confusion can sometimes take. "Lia, I knew your mother. You are Serena Black?" He thought back to the chubby baby he once encountered at the Black's home on Grimmauld Place. "Why didn't you tell me you were Regulus and Sarah Black's daughter?"

"She asked me not to," Lia said softly. "She doesn't like for me to discuss any family connections other than the Selwyn's with anyone." She sighed. "I don't go by my father's name – I never have. The women in my family keep their maiden names and pass that on to their children so I've always been Serena Selwyn, except that I go by Lia. My middle name is Cordelia," she said, a small smile appearing on her face now. "It's one of the moons around Uranus. I thought it would link me to my father's family if I used it, but then my Aunt Cissy started calling me 'Little Lia' and the nickname stuck."

Severus looked away, deep in thought and memory. "I'd always wondered what happened to you two. Your mother was so kind to me. I think she felt sorry for me, because of …"

"It's okay to talk about Lily, Severus," Lia said as she grabbed for his hand. "Mum was the one who told me to have you tutor me in Defense. She said I could trust you with my life and that if I ever needed protection that I should go to you for help. Mum told me last night that she knew that you were my …" she flushed and cast her eyes down to the floor. "She's a Seer. She knew that you and I were twin flames from the moment she met you."

"I take it that things are already serious between the two of you, then? It seems that things have gone far beyond a mentoring relationship." Dumbledore asked, looking between them.

Lia nodded her head. Severus just scowled.

"I think I have a plan to keep you safe, my dear child. I'm afraid that neither of you will like it, all things considered. But it may be the only way to save your life, since I doubt you would ever side with the Dark Lord."

"Never, Headmaster," she said. Severus watched her face suddenly calm and her body become very still. "I would rather die than be used by him for his purpose."

Severus looked at Dumbledore. "Whatever it takes to keep her safe, Albus."

"Even if it means losing her for a while?" the old man asked.

Severus looked at Lia, who now had the good sense to look frightened.

He closed his eyes, as a hard knot rose in his throat. He'd made a deal like this with Dumbledore before, and the outcome had been monstrous.

But what choice had he ever had?

"Anything."