Sorry about the delay! Is Miss-Paparella the only one reading this story now?

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"Dumbledore," Snape said with a growl. "What are you doing here?"

I took Snape's hand. "Severus," I whispered. "Be nice!"

"Miss- I mean Mrs. Snape, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your mother has been killed."

I gasped. "How? Who?"

"It was your father. He came here from the states not too long ago. Thankfully, he was ignorant to your whereabouts, or you'd be dead as well."

"What does he want?" My voice was shaky.

"Vengeance." I buried my head in Snape's arm. "He left a message." Dumbledore held out a paper.

Snape took it from him. "You took from me what I wanted most, now I'm going to kill you both."

I snorted into Snape's sleeve. "That's not menacing. And it doesn't even rhyme. My father was never very creative."

Snape brought my head up. "What does it mean, love?"

I sighed. "It's a long story."

We all sat down and the cook brought tea.

I took a few sips of my tea. "My father left my mother about five years ago." I stopped. Snape put his arm around me and kissed my temple. "He got a new wife. I never liked the woman, but she and father always bought a good supply of wolfsbane potion, so I didn't complain. They said that it was for a friend."

I set my teacup down and settled closer to Snape. "About a week before I came here, I was getting ready to close up the potions shop I worked at. Father and his wife came in. They looked frightened and were in a terrible rush. They demanded a wolfsbane potion immediately. Father even threatened my life when I told him the shop was closing. I made the potion, all the while wishing that his wife would die. She had corrupted him." I sighed. "Anyway, he gave her the potion and she dropped down dead. I know now what happened. At the time, father thought that I had poisoned her on purpose. Mother was coming by to pick me up and stopped him from killing me. We left as soon as we could.

"I guess father was watching our friends for information on our whereabouts and intercepted a wedding invitation. That must have been how he knew where mother was. It had her address on it." I leaned my head on Snape's chest and closed my eyes.

"Is your father a powerful wizard?" Dumbledore asked.

"Somewhat. He's with a group that makes up their own spells. You don't know what they do until they hit you."

Dumbledore scratched his chin. "Hmm…. that does pose a problem."

The two men spent the next hour planning how to keep me safe and how to stop my father.

All I could think about was my mother lying dead somewhere.

----

It was almost nightfall before Snape and I could be alone again.

He carried me upstairs and laid me on our bed. With a whip of his wand, we were in pajamas.

I settled down next to him and let my mind wander. Tears started to flow down my cheeks.

"Ellen?" Snape kissed my tears away. "What's wrong, my love?"

I managed to sob out "mom" before breaking out in tears again.

Snape cradled me close and crooned over me. My tears quieted after a while.

"I lost someone I cared about too, Ellen."

I pushed away slightly and looked up at him.

"Oh Severus. I had no idea." I kissed his cheek and put my head back on his chest.

"I want to tell you something. I shall tell you once and then we won't have to speak of it again." I nodded. "You aren't the first woman that I loved."

I sniffed. "Who was she?"

"Lily. Her name was Lily. She was a muggle-born. I fell in love with her when I was very young."

"What happened?"

He stroked my hair. "I hurt her and she chose someone else. I used to wish every single day that I could go back and do it differently. Until you came along." He kissed my head. "You have the same colour eyes as her. I used to see her when I saw them. Now I only see you."

I smiled. "I'm glad you told me, Severus."

I jumped as I heard clapping.

"My, my, my! What a sad story!"

A wand lit up in front of our bed.

It was my father.