Was that shocking or whaaaaat? Who'da thunk ol' Voldy was her papa? On with the story! Keep reviewing and R&R~!

TEN

"Sapphire! Sapphire! Sapphire! GOD DAMNIT SAPPHIRE WAKE UP!"

My eyes shot open. I was looking at the fierce eyes of my sister. I pushed her away, as she was grabbing my shoulders, attempting to shake me awake.

"Woah, woah calm yourself! I'm up. What'd I miss?" I yawned and rubbed my eyes. She rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips.

"You fell asleep and were muttering in your sleep. Something about Death Eaters and You-Know-Who and Snape and some chick named Bellatrix Lestrange. I dunno. But it was annoying. Now get your butt up, we're leaving!" I bit my lip. That was all a dream? Thank God!

I got up and stretched. Once I was done, Aldornia grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. Mum was telling Blaise to pull up his pants and that young men don't need to show their underwear and why don't you wear that jacket granny gave you for Christmas? I smirked. Malfoy walked out of the hall then.

"Well, don't we look..smashing?" He stifled a laugh. I frowned and looked at my reflection in the window. My hair was a mess, of all things. I stuck my tongue out at the smirking blonde, then ran my fingers through the mess that I called hair.

"Sapphire! We're going to a fair. Get a move on! Draco, dear, you can sit in the back with Sapphire. I will meet you kids there. Blaise, I trust you can drive there without killing anyone?"

He shrugged.

"No promises."

We got there in one piece. The first thing I saw was a large, black gate. We stepped through an archway with the words, Nolite timere, nec Sanctus. I had absolutely no clue what it meant. Heck, I hardly know what the Hogwarts motto means.

All around was green grass. Beyond the archway, there were many rides. A Ferris wheel, for example, stood loud and proud near the left, away from the apple orchard. Hay bales were placed randomly around the rides and booth. The nearest booth had a sign proclaiming, 'Free Kisses!' with a woman laboriously applying red lipstick under it.

There was a stage with several random instruments atop it, along with a microphone. All of us parted ways after mum walked away. She had us stay in groups, however. Lucky me got stuck with Malfoy. After a glaring contest, he rolled his eyes at me.

"I want to go on the Ferris wheel first, and since you're stuck with me, you have to go too!" He smirked and started to walk away. I pushed my bangs back and quickly went to walk in front of him.

"In case you weren't aware, I wanted to go on it too. So just shut up about me being stuck with you," I turned, walking backwards, "and, Malfoy, you better not make this a sucky first time for me." He hesitated for a second.

"This is your first time going to a fair?"

"So what if it is?" He cracked an actual smile, causing my face to flush and my stomach to begin to flutter.

"In that case this day is going to be totally awesome."

I cocked my head. What was with this sudden burst of...un-Draco-ness? He pushed me along toward the Ferris wheel. Once we got up right next to it, however, I was having second thoughts.

"Um. That is really, really high, Malfoy." He rolled his eyes and started up the ramp. I followed him, nervously looking at the top of the wheel.

"I'm serious Malf-" He heaved a sigh, stopped, and looked back at me.

"Listen, my name is Draco. You can call me Draco. I think we've reached that point by now!" I had no clue what 'that point' was, but I had no choice but to continue up the ramp. I gave the ticket man a dollar in muggle money, and we were herded into a seat. I hardly had to squeeze in. Then, we began the ascent. The people below slowly got smaller, and I quickly shut my eyes. I hated heights.

"You okay? You're kind of green..." Draco put a hand on my arm. My fingers were curled around the bar so hard, I knew my knuckles were white.

"I-I'm fine."

We jerked to a stop suddenly. I let out a yell and sank back in my seat even more. Draco gasped.

"Oh shit! I think we're stuck!" He exclaimed. I peeked out from under my eyelashes. We had stopped moving, right at the top of the wheel. My stomach had dropped as soon as we got on, but now it hits rock bottom.

Instinctively, I grab Draco's arm and curl into a ball on the seat. I squeeze my eyes shut. Anything to get rid of the image of thousands and thousands of people, as tiny as ants below us, along with the ground.

"Sapphire. It's okay. It isn't like we're gonna d-"

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE UP HERE! ALONE! I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD MY FIRST KISS! THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I HAVEN'T DONE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE A VIRGIN!" I technically wasn't, I thought, as I remembered the drunken night with Malfoy.

He awkwardly patted my head.

"Um, Sapphire, could you let go? I-I can't feel my arm."

"Er, sorry," I unlatched my self and scooted away some. I heard a commotion from below.

"DO NOT WORRY! WE'RE CALLING IN A REPAIR TEAM RIGHT NOW! DO NOT PANIC, I REPEAT, DO ANYTHING EXCEPT PANIC!" A man called up to us. I sighed.

"I guess we'll be up here for a while, then.. So..." I could tell he didn't want to talk. Or maybe he was just shy. Whatever.

"You know, the only reason I'm not at the manor is because my parents are Death Eaters. They're chillin' at the manor with You-Know-Who, as well as Professor Snape and some other Death Eaters. It's..complicated. They want me to be one and I don't want to be one and.." he sighed, then turned to me.

"I trust you won't tell anyone this?" I scoffed.

"Who would I tell? My dad?" I rolled my eyes and looked out at the sky.

"Hey," he said softly. I turned my head to him again. He smiled, and scooted closer. I started to ask him what he was doing, but right then he kissed me. I felt my face turn red, but I didn't back up. Instead, my eyes shut and my tension disappeared.

It was wrong. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor could not be in love. For decades, no, centuries I think, the two houses have been rivals. Even now! But it was just so right. I mean, hidden under that dark slyness was a pure and loving heart indeed. We finally broke apart.

"What was that about?" I was smiling, despite myself. He flipped his head back, to get rid of some stray hairs, and shrugged.

"It would have happened sooner or later. In case you haven't already guessed..the poem and tulips were from me. I guess I couldn't say it to your face, so-" I shook my head.

"Wait. You..you love me? Like, seriously?"

"Yeah, seriousl-"

The seat jerked. We started to move. I gripped the bar in front of me again. We slowed to a stop in front of the ramp. I could not get away from that thing faster.

"You kids were up there for a good 15 minutes, but you seem fine," marveled the ticket man.

"Oh yeah, we totally died up there," sneered Draco sarcastically. But then he took my hand – surprisingly – and we walked off. Blaise and my sister ran up to us.

"We saw what happened! Is everyone okay?" Aldornia had worry in her eyes. I nodded. Then she looked down at my hands.

"Sis..dah fuck are you doing?" I bit my lip and was about to take back my hand, but I felt a squeeze from the other one.

"Um. Draco and I are um..I got scared, okay? Shut up."

Blaise snickered and I felt my face flush again. Then Aldornia and Blaise walked away, shaking their heads. I sighed, but then was pulled along.

"We came here to have fun, Sapphire. I'm going to try out the Terminator thingy."

But before I could say anything, the sky began to darken. A green flash of light shot up into the air, and spun into a large smoky green skull. Its jaw opened and a snake slithered out of it, and wrapped around into an eye socket. The Dark Mark.

Screams followed that. I heard spells being shouted. The group of people near us split, people screaming for help. They almost trampled Draco and me. A large group of black-cloaked figures made their way through the crowd, toward us.

"Sapphire- move! Those are Death Eaters!" I gasped and froze. The only thing that saved me from getting rammed into was Draco. We ran away, after he grabbed my hand so we wouldn't lose eachother.

Death Eaters? Here? Why would they be at a muggle fair? Unless they're looking for someone..or something.

I heard Draco shout, and he let go. I stopped and turned. Suddenly, time slowed. A blast of white light was coming toward him. I don't know why, but I threw myself in front of Draco. The light hit me square in the chest, and within seconds, it felt like many sharp swords were slicing through me. I felt blood ooze through my shirt, and down my legs. Down my arms.

"Sapphire! SAPPHIRE!" I heard both Draco and Aldornia scream at the same time. However, I blacked out before I could respond.

I awoke in a dark room. I could barely see who was leaning over me, but I could hear his voice. He was muttering to himself.

"Professor? Professor Snape?" My voice was hoarse. He stopped moving.

"So. You're awake."

I started to sit up, but groaned and lay back down. My body felt terribly stiff, as if I hadn't moved in forever.

"Just stay where you are, and the pain will go away. Don't try to move. It will only hurt more," he sighed. "If I had not found you, you'd most likely have bled to death. What in the world made you jump in the line of sight of that spell?" He scolded me, but my brain was too numb to think of anything to say.

"Uhhhhh?" I heard him sigh exasperatedly.

"If I had not had both the knowledge of the spell Vulnera Sanentur, as well as a vial of Dittany, you would indeed be dead. But, as the circumstances stand, here you are. You should be able to move soon enough, and you will be out of my hair." I wanted to make a snide remark, something like, yeah, anyone would want to be out of that grease-fest, but I didn't. I owed him my life. I then wondered where I was.

Snape stood and walked away. When I heard his footsteps fade away, I moved my head a tad so I could see where I was. I could tell that I was on a leather couch. Across from me was a fireplace with a Lily on the mantle. On the walls were several pictures of a small boy, and occasional pictures of two adults. The man had a large, hooked nose like the professor. The woman was thin, sallow-faced and looked sour. Oh, hey, must be his mum. Few candles were lit, casting an eerie glow on each of these pictures. Outside of the window, it was dark. There were no stars and no moon.

I attempted to sit up again. This time, it did not hurt as much. I slid my legs off the cushion, planting them on the knit carpet. I looked down at my clothes. My top was ruined, slashes through in several places. The straps were broken, but had been sewn back together with a black thread. My shorts were also ruined. My shoes were gone altogether.

I heard a glass clink near me and turned to see a cup of warm brown something on the table next to the armrest. I looked behind me, but no one was there. Even though this was the house of the teacher I most despised, it was warm and comfortable. I carefully took the glass in my hands and sipped it. Hot cocoa. It was delicious and the warm liquid soothed my dry throat.

"Those Death Eaters, what did they want?" I knew he was listening.

"Isn't it obvious? They were after you. It was the Dark Lord's order to them, to find you and bring you to him. Becau-"

"Because I'm his daughter, yeah, I know. I got that dream. But why? Why does he want me?"

"He killed your mother and father, but never got to you. He wants to...'fix' that."

I shuddered. Not at the fact that my own father wanted to kill me, but at the fact that Snape knew that.

I stood up, placing the cup back on the table.

"So, how come you found me instead of, say, Draco? Or my sister?" I turned. He was in the doorway to what must have been the kitchen, for the carpet stopped and tile started.

"They were long gone. Left. Even if they had found you, they wouldn't know what to do."

"What spell hit me? It was meant for Draco, but what was it?" He blinked, then averted his eyes.

"Sectumsempra. A curse that is like many invisible swords, slashing you." How did he know this? I've never, in my life, heard of that curse. I made a mental note to ask Hermione if this was real.

"I want to go home. Now." My muscles were no longer in pain, and I could move easily. He nodded shortly and left, to the kitchen. Moments later he was striding toward me, a flower pot in his hand.

"Take a handful, enter the fireplace, and say the name of your destination loudly and clearly. Then throw down the powder." I'd never traveled by Floo network before, obviously.

I took a handful, and stepped into the sooty fireplace.

"Zabini Manor!" I threw down the powder. In a flash of green fire-like light, I was swept away. In seconds, I was falling onto the hardwood floor, coughing and spluttering.

"Saph! You're okay! You're alive! Holy shiznits! MUM! MUUUUUUM! ALDORNIA! MALFOY!" I shook my head. The ride was disorienting, and I just barely saw the light portrait of our family before I was swept into a large group hug.

"Oof! Lemme go!" I backed up. Brushing soot from my hair, I looked around at everyone. Mum was wiping her eyes with a tissue, and Aldornia's nose and eyes were red. Blaise and Draco's eyes were bloodshot, and I wondered how long I'd been gone.

"Sapphire, where have you been my girl? You've been gone for at least two days!" I sucked in a sharp breath. Two whole days? I looked at my mother. The woman who had taken me in. The person I went to in my time of need.

"Um. Professor...Snape...found me. He kind of saved my life, yknow, because I would have bled to death because I got hit with this spell called Sectumsempra and I nearly died but he stopped that from happening," I took a deep breath. It had kind of spilled out. I bit my lip and looked down, while my family – plus Draco – soaked in this knowledge.

"I owe him my life."

Another group hug shut me up. I was lucky to have this family. As well as Draco. He was cool, too.

Sorry for the suuperr long wait guys! I really like how this ended up. And sorry for the sudden shortness of my chapters. But, yknow, shorter chapters = MORE chapters :D! Please know that I was NOT headed in the direction of SnapexSapphire because that would be GROOOSSSSS! xD But seriously, he's just a teacher that everyone hates. R&R and review everyone!