All she could remember was getting back to Harry and Draco's rooms. Eve sat on their couch, staring at the fire crackling. Kingsley was going through all the enchantments on her father's place, while Draco and Harry were pouring over a blueprint of the house. Lucius had arrived a moment ago, lips pursed and obviously in thought. But all Eve could think about was her father. She didn't want to believe he would do such a thing, he couldn't have. But there was that feeling that stopped her heart, because it seems like he did. It's then her brain finally clicked. Her father never took out the loophole in the wards. She knew where the focus of the wards was. He didn't know of her relationship with Lucius yet, so she would be safe, and the Death Eaters would most likely wait until Severus and Lucius got there before they would do anything... malicious enough to her.

Glancing around, she saw everyone else absorbed in their tasks, so she grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote down her plan, and fought back the stab of betrayal when she thought of her father. She stood slowly, taking a handful of floo powder as she placed the note on the table in front of the couch.

Time sped up as she threw the powder into the fire at the same time she yelled out the location of her father's place. She jumped through just as she heard Lucius' shout of her name.

'Please forgive me Lucius,' she thought to herself as the green flames whipped her through, 'But this is a family thing.'

--

The living room was empty when she stepped through the fire, but she knew they were lurking, waiting. She didn't have much time, so she immediately pulled out her wand and silently dismantled the piece of the wards preventing apparating. The wards weren't connected to her father, so he wouldn't notice. Slowly lowering her wand to her side, she finally let all of her feelings of hurt and betrayal rush in as she yelled out, "FATHER!"

True to form, moments after her yell, seven Death Eaters broke out from the shadows, sans masks, wands pointed at her.

"This must be the daughter," one of the men commented, his eyes traveling up her form in a blatant leer.

"She isn't to be touched," Nicolas hissed, as he made his way down the stairs. "Filia, how nice of you to join us."

"Where's Alexis?"

Nicolas merely shrugged. "Safe. For now. Why don't you give me your wand, Filia? Everything will be all right."

Eve eyed the Death Eaters around her, noticing a missing person. "You of all people, Pater," she said, her words slow.

Her father merely grinned. "I don't know what you mean."

"Your ickle child wants to know why daddy dearest is on the right side," a familiar voice said, and Eve cursed as Bellatrix's wand was placed in the middle of her shoulder blades. "Be a good girl and listen to what daddy says."

"Why don't you go fuck yourself," Eve hissed, and winced when Bellatrix jabbed her wand harder against her back, and her head was pulled back harshly as the insane woman got closer.

"The only reason you aren't screaming and begging for mercy is because we're saving that for when your lover gets here," Bellatrix whispered into Eve's ear, smirking at Eve's gasp. "Oh, you haven't told daddy dearest? What heartbreaking news it will be."

"Bellatrix, let her go," Nicolas said tiredly. Bellatrix pulled once more on her head before releasing her hold, but still keeping her wand on her back. "Eve, please. Your cousin will be fine, she just has to give me what I want."

"What you want?" Eve asked incredulously. As few of the Death Eaters seemed impatient, Eve realized how impetuous her actions were, and silently hoped the boys were quick to act.

"All I want is the Cullen title. I can make the name greater than your naive cousin can," Nicolas said, striding closer to Eve. "She's already tainted it by marrying that Snape," he hissed, taking Eve's wand when he was in arms reach.

"You're insane," Eve whispered, trying to find any sign of her father, instead finding a man who had gone crazy over an antiquated title. "Please, Pater, stop this."

Instead, the Death Eaters started to snicker, and Nicolas lifted a hand to stroke at Eve's cheek, ignoring her flinch. "You'll see, Filia."

"Actually," Bellatrix purred, "She won't."

Nicolas frowned as the Death Eaters shifted. "This isn't part of the plan, Bellatrix."

"We're changing the plan, Cullen," Rabastan said, wand pointed at Nicolas, a smirk on his face. "Knowing her," he said as he gestured at Eve, "Snape and Malfoy will be on their way. Our deal's done."

"Then I'll get Alexis and Eve, and we'll go," Nicolas said.

"No you won't," Rabastan said woodenly, and Eve watched in horror as the man calmly said, "Avada Kedavra."

"No!" Eve shouted as the rushing green light pierced through Nicolas' heart. She heard the Death Eaters laugh as her father's body collapsed, the look of surprise and confusion on his face still there. Her reaction was stifled as she was pushed forwards and she landed on top of her father's body. Eve had enough sense to pocket her wand discreetly before she felt a cold blade at her neck.

"Up," Bellatrix hissed, forcing Eve back to her feet. "We want to make sure you're ready when Lucius arrives."

There was a wave of magic that rushed through the room before the knife that was at Eve's throat disappeared.

"Bellatrix," a harsh hiss was all the warning before Harry stepped into the room and all hell broke loose.

"Eve duck!" Eve did as she was told and threw herself down to the floor, narrowly missing a sickly yellow curse that would've undoubtedly been painful. She heard Harry's confident spells, followed by Severus' quick and efficient curses and Draco's imaginative hexes.

Eve pulled out her wand and quickly transfigured the papers on the side table into sleek knives and launched them at a Death Eater, hitting his wand arm and giving Severus time to whip a curse in his direction. He nodded back to her before slinging a spell at Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Eve!" she whipped around to see Lucius striding towards her, adeptly shielding his back from stray spells. Before she could react, she was struck from the back with a Cruciatus, and fell to her knees with a scream stuck in her throat. From the maniacal laughing, it was Bellatrix who cast the spell. Her hearing muddled, like the fight was underwater, and she could hear Harry's enraged yell before the pain took over her thought processes.

In what seemed like an eternity, the curse was lifted and Eve took in a deep breath. She could hear Kingsley's orders as she regained focus. She felt familiar arms around her gently lift her to her feet and three pairs of eyes focused on her. Someone had taken away her father's body, and she didn't know whether to be upset or not.

"Alexis is upstairs somewhere," Eve whispered, watching as Severus bolted up the stairs, Draco on his heels. Harry smiled sadly at her, squeezing her hand comfortingly before making his way over to Kingsley and the Aurors he brought with them.

"That was stupid, idiotic, and took years off of my life," Lucius whispered, arms tightening around her. She felt him set his chin on her shoulder, closed her eyes and leaned back against his chest, wanting nothing more than to sleep for at least three days.

--

As soon as the words left Eve's mouth, Severus flew up the stairs two at a time, tearing down the hall with a cry of "ALEXIS!" Draco echoing him from behind. Hearing a muffled yell from inside a room, Severus didn't even bother to try the doorknob, he blasted the entire door off it's frame before storming inside, searching for his wife.

"Severus?"

When the trembling, disbelieving voice reached his ears, Severus' head snapped to the side and he let out a loud sigh of relief before rushing up and gathering his shaking wife in his arms, letting her collapse against him. Draco could see that he was intruding, before slowly and quietly backing out of the room to give the couple some privacy.

Rocking her softly, Severus whispered

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you? What about the baby?"

Grasping the front of his robes in her hands, she buried her face into his warmth as she sighed,

"I'm fine love. We all are," she punctuated 'all' by placing one of Severus' hands over her stomach. "What about-"

"He's dead," Severus stated stonily, "and the others that aren't have already been taken into custody. No one will ever harm you again."

Alexis had a brief feeling of sadness wash over her when she learned her Uncle was dead, and an even greater pity for Eve, but her sadness soon disappeared. Her Uncle had been gone long before she and Eve could have done anything about it, and his greed had consumed him, making him crazed and unreasonable and unreachable. Alexis was quickly jolted from her thoughts when something wet splashed her shoulder before a broken whisper of,

"I didn't know if I would see you again."

Turning slightly so that Severus could rest his head on her shoulder without breaking his embrace, Alexis just shushed him, softly carding her fingers through his silky ebony hair as she felt a few more tears soak through the fabric of her top. For once in his life, Severus Snape was the vulnerable one, breaking down to show his emotions, and Alexis was more than happy to hold and comfort him any way she could.

--

It wasn't until a couple days after that Alexis had alone time with Eve, neither Severus nor Lucius would let them out of their sights. But the two men had work to do, and since McGonagall was still teaching classes Eve wasn't needed during certain hours. So Alexis went to Lucius' and Eve's quarters while classes were still in session, to ensure that they wouldn't be disturbed.

Alexis knocked at the landscape that guarded the room, resisting the urge to fidget. A moment later Eve opened the frame, and flinched when she saw Alexis.

"Hey."

"Hey, can I come in?" Alexis asked. Eve nodded silently and beckoned her in. There was an awkward silence as Alexis lowered herself onto the couch next to her cousin. Eve had her eyes downcast as she picked at the hem of the jumper she was wearing.

"Are you ok?" Alexis broke the silence. Eve snorted but still didn't meet her eyes.

"I should be asking you that. Did Pomfrey check out the spawn?"

Alexis couldn't help the tiny grin at Eve's choice of vernacular. "She said the baby's fine. Healthy and still growing." She watched Eve sigh in relief before she couldn't take it anymore and gently took Eve's hands into her own. "Now how are you feeling?"

Finally, Eve met Alexis' eyes and she could see the conflicted emotions. "I don't know," Eve started, biting at her bottom lip. "It's just... every time I close my eyes I can see his face before he-" Eve's hands twitched and she took a deep breath. "I don't know how he got it in his head that killing you was the solution. Maybe if I came home after I finished Beauxbatons I could've-"

"It's not your fault," Alexis assured her. "Unc.. Your father is the one that made the decision to get help from Death Eaters, not you."

Eve chuckled a little hysterically. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Alexis lifted Eve's hands and held Eve's gaze. "You live. It's done, Eve. The 'what ifs' won't do any good now. Concentrate on what you do have. Lucius, Severus and I, your nephew or niece. Please don't waste away because of what your father chose to do."

Eve sighed and nodded. She pulled her hands free from Alexis and crossed them across her chest. "He's been buried. In the family plot." She gave Alexis a look before the other woman could protest. "I know, what he did was wrong. I have to square with that eventually. But he was still my father, I loved the man he once was."

Alexis cringed at how small Eve seemed to make herself, hunched inwards. "Oh Eve," she sighed, before taking her into a hug, and if she heard any of the sobs coming from Eve, she didn't say anything about it.

--

That evening after classes had been let out for the weekend and Alexis had left Eve's, Severus and Alexis could be found snuggled comfortably in their bed. Sitting in a comfortable silence, Alexis chuckled after glancing to her right and noticing her husband had fallen asleep propped up against the headboard, his book lay forgotten in his lap. Shifting her eyes back to her own book, she smiled when she felt his arm tighten around her in his sleep. Poor Severus. He had been wound so tight since they arrived back. He was scared to leave her, and he was even more irritable than usual, sometimes scaring his students so much they burst into tears. Sometimes she could get him to calm down, but the intense worry he had never went away. Alexis started as she suddenly felt her husband jolt awake beside her, bolting upright into a sitting position as he struggled to catch his breath. Setting down her book, Alexis' eyebrows furrowed before she placed a hand lightly on his back, uttering a soft

"Severus?"

His eyes blank for a moment, he didn't respond until she uttered his name a little louder. Turning to face his wife, he met her concerned eyes before pulling her to him silently.

"Oh sweetheart, it was just a dream. I'm fine, I'm here, and I'll never leave again," Alexis sighed before wrapping her arms around her husband and letting him drop his head on her shoulder as she ran he hands soothingly over his back.

"I love you," Severus murmured into Alexis' neck, before she smiled back,

"I love you too."