Chapter 28: An Earth Shattering Revelation

{A/N: Here's Another Update...}

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{"Have I ever thought of this before...Did I ever look behind the door...Have I ever tried to understand...Did I listen to the Other hand...Have I ever tried to see...Parts of you that aren't a part of me...Did I ever really want to know...Or am I just drifting with the flow...Lead me to the angle of your life...Let me see from there...Lead me to the angle and I'll try...To see the world from there..."} The Angle, Core

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England, Wizarding/Muggle World...

The last person Severus Snape expected to see when he'd been standing in the center of Lucius Malfoy's sitting room with a glass of firewhiskey had been his own girlfriend as she came through the entrance hall escorted by her parents and what appeared to have been he older sister. To say that his heart landed in the pit of his stomach was an understatement. He had told Lucius all about his troubles with the blue eyed blonde but never her name as it so happens unsure about disclosing that kind of information when Lucius could barely hold water among Pureblood circles, now here they were standing in the center of his sitting room trying their best not to alert her parents to the rather scandalous affair their daughter had with a low level half-blood.

The look on the face of the witch called Bellatrix Black however was one of immense satisfaction as she noted the agonized expression that filed across the sallow pale face of the younger Slytherin wizard. Regulus had been shocked to say the least that his cousin was set to marry one of his dearest friends. Narcissa and Regulus greeted each other warmly as he in turn greeted his Aunt and Uncle.

Severus' heart was pounding in his chest as his curious stares were met with cold grandstanding from Narcissa as she further gave herself to the commands of her father as he sized up the handsome and charismatic Lucius Malfoy.

As worried as he had been about the up coming arranged marriage, Lucius seemed to be hitting his stride when it came to winning over his future in-laws. They spoke and jested as if they had known each other for centuries. Narcissa's father remarked quite fondly about the late Abraxas Malfoy and how much Lucius reminded him of the charming wizard before him.

Knowing all too well that he was little more than a background extra for the Pureblood guests here that paid him no attention, Severus moved about the remainder of the house not at all interested in anymore talk of the wedding knowing that it meant that both his best friend and his girlfriend were due to wed thanks to the marriage contract drawn up many years before their initial meeting.

He busied himself with obtaining more firewhiskey in a bid to make himself scarce. Regulus had been about to introduce him to Narcissa when he'd gone and left the rather clueless wizard to ponder his friend's sudden case of shyness.

"Severus Snape." said a voice behind him as he moved through the halls.

The brooding teenage wizard found himself face to face with none other than Bellatrix Black. She had been twenty five years old and every bit a beautiful and strange as Regulus' initial descriptions of her turned out to be.

"Is there some reason you are bothering me when your family has pressing business in the sitting room?" he asked having had more than one cup of firewhiskey by the time things got underway with the discussion of marriage between Narcissa and Lucius.

"I just wanted to see the look on your face when you realized just how far out of your league my baby sister was." said Bellatrix taunting him.

Severus said nothing as she continued to speak.

"Nothing to say?" she asked finding it rather curious that the wizard that professed his love to her sister while on a trip in Diagon alley would be silent about it now.

Then she noticed the tense nature of his muscles, it looked as if he'd been fighting against something. Suddenly it became clear, he had taken an oath and it kept his true feelings about what was happening before him at bay.

"Have you come to gloat?" he asked immediately picking up on the fact that she had something to do with her father speeding up the process for the marriage. "Come to tell me how much of an abomination my birth was and how much better she'll be with him then me...go on then..."

Bellatrix seemed to be caught off guard that he'd been so embittered by the whole ordeal.

"You had to know that she'd choose the far superior wizard." she said seeing something in his eyes that she hadn't noticed before.

"Of course." he replied his voice emotionless. "It's not as if it hasn't happened before."

The elder of the sister's Black stood confused as Severus Snape made his way passed her and toward an empty bedroom and closed the door. How fitting it was that the bedroom he chose was the one in which he'd been in the night of Lucius Malfoy's party.

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Spare Bedroom, Malfoy Manor, Wizarding World...

Collapsing onto his knees, Severus did his best to fight against the oath's hold to stop Narcissa from marrying Lucius but it was to no avail. The more he fought the weaker he became. He made the promise with no idea that the chosen bride for his best friend was in fact the witch whom he'd been in love with.

Once more, the raven haired teen found himself helpless to combat the loss of another that he'd loved. First it had been Lily and now Narcissa. The physically and emotionally drained wizard collapsed onto the bed unsure if he'd even survive the wedding march let alone the next time he saw Narcissa at Hogwarts before she finally made the transition from student to house wife.

Bellatrix stood outside the door unsure of her own emotions as she recalled the emotionless tone the poor boy spoke to her in. He had been a lowly half-blood and surely didn't belong with her younger sister but his voice gave the impression that he was in a great deal of agony and it surprised even her how much he had loved her sister.

Looking back on it, the most notable reason for her alerting their father to her sister's feelings were more out of jealously than spite over his blood status, for she had known him before and experienced a good deal more with him in one night of infiltrating Lucius Malfoy's party than Narcissa would have ever understood.

The elder Pureblood sister's hand barely touched the hard wooden surface of the door before Regulus called her in to dinner with the rest of the family and Lucius of course. When he asked about where Severus had gotten off to, Bellatrix quickly made the excuse that he wasn't feeling well to suffice.

Narcissa did her best not to appear affected by his presence at her future husband's home and even still by the implication that he'd taken ill because of the weighted knowledge of what was to come. She had hoped he'd be able to get over her and find happiness with someone new even if it meant she'd have to always wonder about what would have become of them had Sirius and Bellatrix not interfered.

For now she did her best to get to know Lucius and trusted that she had made the right decision to keep the heartbroken Severus out of Azkaban.