She didn't bother knocking when she reached the Defense classroom. She knew he was inside. He always was, until just after curfew when he began his rounds. He looked up from his desk when she burst through his office, jumpy, but he didn't raise his wand.

"Scarlett?" Severus questioned, confused.

"Do you have a pensieve?" Scarlett asked hurriedly. "Quickly... do you?"

"Yes," Severus said, rising and approaching. "What's wrong?"

Scarlett didn't know. Her mind was whirling. What had all been real? Was she even a servant there? Or did he fake it all? Fake everything...? And everything he had told her... he had always cared, but... he just didn't know how to ... to show it. Who was Lucius Malfoy? "I know where he is," Scarlett said quietly. "But you need to see... you need to understand."

She pulled the vial off of the chain around her neck, passing it to him. As he grabbed it, she clasped his hands around it, holding him still. "I need to know, now... before you see them... If Lucius and Narcissa knew who I was... who my parents were, and they had contacted you when they found me..." Scarlett bit her lip. "Would you have kept me? Or would you have ... dismissed it as a joke?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were twenty-two or ... or a little younger when I was born, right?" Scarlett asked. He nodded slowly.

"Twenty-"

"Would you have... would you have taken me in? If you knew I was Lily's daughter, if you knew I was your daughter... would you have cared for me?"

"I had nothing, then," Severus told her simply. "No job, all I did was work for the Dark Lord. I wasn't even spying then... I didn't start spying until after she died-"

"So you wouldn't have-"

"I couldn't have," Severus admitted. "I would have most likely tried to work something out... perhaps placed you with the Weasleys, with someone... I knew could raise you well, since I ... I couldn't. But... we're a time when I was completely involved in the Dark Lord's plans. I didn't participate in anything the Order did. I didn't support it... I couldn't have raised you-"

"But what if they told you after?" Scarlett pressed. "After the war was over, after Abraxus died? Would you have then?"

"Probably. I had a job, a stable home-" He swallowed, as though he hadn't given the idea much thought. "I probably would have spent a long time denying it, that you were my daughter, but yes..."

"And... would you have raised me like you are now?" she asked. "The lessons and the fighting and-"

"Undoubtedly."

It was something she needed to hear. She released his hands, let out a breath. At least it eased one thing on her mind.

"Why do you ask with such an urgency?"

"It's in there," Scarlett admitted. "They talk about it and... I just... wondered what the answer would have been..."

"I would have done my best. But it was a time when my best was ... worse than my worst." She nodded and he withdrew a pensieve from his many compartments littering the office, before placing it on his desk, piling a few essays away. He glanced at her expectantly. "Are you going to look?"

"No... My mind is still sort of... slingshotting around my head at the moment... I don't think looking again will help."

He was gone for a while, well after curfew, and Scarlett wondered if she and her friends had been gone for the same amount of time, or longer... she wasn't sure. No one had clocked exactly when they started. When he returned, he bottled the memories exactly as Blaise had done, in a hurried manner, almost frantically and then he was moving around the desk, grabbing her arm as he pulled her along.

"Wha- What are we doing?" Scarlett asked, confused.

"Headmaster's office." He glanced at the portrait that covered his office door, glaring at the man. "Tell Albus to open his Floo. Scarlett and I are leaving." He then placed the vial of memories around her neck and they were moving quickly, his arm pulling her with him, not caring that she was tripping.

But it hurt. Not her arm, but her side. And she really didn't want to reopen the wounds. "Severus- Severus, stop, my side is hurting, please-" He released his arm, but didn't slow his pace and she struggled to keep up.

What was going on? Was he going to Lucius? "We can't go to the Malfoys. They don't remember anything," Scarlett insisted. "When I got Narcissa, she obliviated Lucius and then she asked me to obliviate her-"

"I'm aware," Severus said, as if annoyed. "Keep up. We haven't much time. Perhaps we'll get there in time-"

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett whispered, more confused than ever as Severus led them through the familiar spiral to Professor Dumbledore's office.

"May I ask why you interrupted my nightly tea ritual, Severus?" Professor Dumbledore questioned.

"No time," Severus growled. He threw powder into the Floo, turning to her. "Say Spinner's End, House 213."

She didn't second guess him. "Spinner's End, House 213."

And she was whisked away into a mixture of smoke and ash and then spit out in a dark home, that smelled of dust and had obviously not been visited in a while. She side-stepped Severus as he came out of the Floo next and she didn't have time to ask where they were before he grabbed her arm and promptly apparated.

At first, she was disoriented, and her side hurt her immensely - all the exercise was certainly not good for it - but then she knew... she knew where they were and she breathed in the crisp country air around her, in Wiltshire.

In Tyler's home.

It was dark, but also warm, much warmer than the early Scotland autumn. She recognized it. Not for the light breeze that played with Severus's robes, or the street signs, or the homes around her... No. It was the church that stood prominently in the village, the church that Lucius Malfoy had traveled to nearly two years ago. And then she was running, her side forgotten and she didn't care if Severus was following or not. She had to know... She had to know if Tyler was there.

She knocked so frantically, that if she were the owner, she wouldn't have answered. But a woman did, and she looked just like she had in the memory. Maybe a tad older, but that was time... It was the same woman. And she stared at Scarlett, like she recognized the girl, but not fully. Her gaze flickered behind Scarlett, and Scarlett guessed that Severus had followed.

"I hope you know that it is an ungodly hour. We usually listen to confessions earlier in the evening-"

"A little boy," Scarlett interrupted, her voice quiet, but it shut the woman up. She was breathing heavily, staring at the woman in desperation. "Tan skin, dark, black hair, curly... A birthmark on his foot... Tyler... Do you still have Tyler?"

The woman's mouth opened in surprise, before it shut. And the wild look in Scarlett's eyes may have been the cause. "Please, tell me you have him," Scarlett whispered. "Tell me he's okay..." She felt the tears building with so much emotion... so much hope. "Is he alive?"

"You're his mother," the woman said quietly, taking in the emotional teenager. "Scarlett... Scarlett Snape." Scarlett nearly sobbed in relief, shaking her head frantically. "Come inside," the woman insisted. She glanced at the man behind her, almost scrutinizing him. "And you are?"

"He's my father," Scarlett said quietly.

"Yes, you best come in as well." The woman shut the door, sighing softly. "A man brought him to me," she stated. "He explained that you would come one day, that he would pay for everything - he's done so much for the town - the money he's given us... we don't use most of it. Very little... We donate it. It's roughly a million pounds a year... he must really care for this boy to keep him so well cared for."

Scarlett felt a sob burst forth and she giggled in hysteria. "You could say that."

"He's such a good boy," the woman spoke to Scarlett, taking the teens hands tightly. "Such a frail thing when he came to us, but... my husband and I have treated him like our own, knowing that one day he will be reunited with his family... We tell him that all the time... Tell him stories about his mother... You look just like the picture in the locket."

"She was my mother," Scarlett said softly. "I'm told we had a great likeness-"

Footsteps sounded and Scarlett jumped, almost as if expecting them to be her own son's but they were much too heavy and it was instead a man, older than the woman in front of Scarlett, and with a mop of gray hair atop his head, glasses on his nose. He reminded her of a younger Dumbledore.

"This is my husband, John," the woman greeted. "And I'm Julia. We own this church. John's the pastor here and I'm the choir director." Godly people... Good people. Tyler was in great hands. "John, this is Scarlett Snape... and-"

"Severus Snape," Severus said firmly.

"Tyler's mother and grandfather."

"Well, I'll be..." John righted his glasses, smiling widely at Scarlett. "We thought you'd be by soon enough. Just yesterday we were wondering if you'd had your eighteenth yet-"

"August," Scarlett admitted. "But there were a few complications... Issues with the information I received. It took a long time to get it all sorted..." Another surge of emotion welled up in Scarlett's throat.

"Would you like to see him?" Julia asked suddenly. "He's asleep but... I'm sure after all this time, you'd love to see him."

"Can I?" she whispered, as though it was a joke. Perhaps it was... Scarlett didn't know. Merlin, he was so close to her. In the same home as she was standing in.

"Of course," Julia laughed lightly. "Follow me. John, why don't you keep Mr. Snape company? I'll take Scarlett upstairs."

"Would you like some tea?" John implored, giving Severus a wide grin. With a glance at her father, she noticed that the man looked decidedly uncomfortable amongst the happy elderly couple.

"That would be adequate."

Very uncomfortable.

"He's such a good boy," Julia insisted. "Always so kind to the other children. We surround ourselves with a lovely group. We have a few goats out back and Tyler loves to feed them - they're so entertaining to him. . . I'd imagine it's been hard on you."

"I didn't know until just after my brithday he was alive," Scarlett said quietly. "When... When Lucius took him, I was so sure he was dead... I've always imagined the worse... I never thought... that he'd be here... with such good people, so happy and..."

"Well of course he was," Julia insisted. "We weren't going to let anything bad happen, darling. Like I said we treated him like our own. John and I used to have children but they've all grown and done other things and forget about their old parents. It's good to have children in the house again! I can't imagine what it must have been like, to think the worst... it must have been so horrible on you, dear."

Scarlett gave her a watery smile. "I'm sorry, I'm such a mess. It's been an emotional few days."

"How far from here do you live?" she asked curiously and Scarlett didn't know. She didn't know geography too well.

"I go to boarding school in a remote village in Scotland," Scarlett said once she swallowed down some emotion. "It's... it's new, I've only started going there this year, but... the drive was worth it... I'm sorry we didn't contact you before hand... I just didn't give it anything of a thought, really... I didn't think much at all..." She took a deep breath, trying to stop from rambling.

"He's growing so tall. I imagine he looks like his father?"

"Yes," Scarlett said softly. "Very much so."

They came to a door that was made of white wood and there were letters printed on lion paper that said TYLER in bold.

"He's asleep, so you'll have to... oh, what does it matter if he wakes up?" Julia cut herself off with a laugh. She pushed the door open and the dark room was lit by a few nightlights. The first thing Scarlett was aware of was the many toys littered around, from small plastic pieces that created buildings or ships to the stuffed animals that went everywhere.

"He loves Legos," Julia said softly. "Every month we buy him a new set with the money, maybe a few shirts... that's all we use it for-"

"It was meant to be used to keep him happy," Scarlett interrupted, her heart beating fast as she spotted the small bed - a child's bed - with a small form sleeping atop it. Her feet carried her towards it slowly, until she spotted the small face, the pouty lips, and the long eyelashes peeking just over the covers. The blue blankets had figures she didn't recognize and one of his little hands clutched at the edge, pulling it under his chin.

She fell to her knees beside him, quietly, as she didn't want to wake him, and gently she lifted her hand, trying her best to keep it from shaking before she touched his hair. It was soft, fluffy, curly...

"He's so big," Scarlett murmured.

"We're Aunt Julia and Uncle John," Julia spoke up softly. "We didn't want him calling us by mum or dad... if he was going to be returned to you... He's the tallest kid his age in the neighborhood, love." Her fingers trailed down his soft, smooth skin, and a quiet sob left her. She wanted to hug him to her, to never let him go, but she couldn't... he was asleep, he was happy.

"Thank you," Scarlett whispered, her voice cracking. "For everything you've done for him... for caring for him... I... I owe you my life."

"Can I ask why you weren't allowed to care for him yourself?" Scarlett's mind whirled with a story. One that desperately needed to be convincing, yet also complex... something that couldn't be traced, really. Her mind raced with all of the options possible until she found one, mentioned briefly by Ron maybe a week ago? She wasn't sure.

"I think... I should tell both you and John together..." Scarlett gave a soft smile to Tyler's sleeping form, not wanting to leave at all. "It's best I tell it all at once."

She stayed, listening to Tyler's sleeping breaths for only a moment longer, before following Julia once more down the stairs. Severus was sipping from some tea, across from an equally as tense John. Obviously they had not ... become happy talking buddies together. John looked up when he heard his wife approach and grinned, glancing to Scarlett.

"Was he as you remembered?"

"He's perfect," Scarlett said quietly, biting her lip to keep more tears from appearing. She had cried enough. She sat beside her father and John handed her a cup of tea, to which Scarlett added a sugar for a little kick.

"Why couldn't you care for him?" Julia asked quietly.

Scarlett glanced at Severus before clearing her throat, setting down her tea cup. "I wasn't... technically, I didn't exist. There were no records of me, my father didn't know I existed, no one knew except for the man that brought Tyler here, Lucius, and a few others. My mother died when I was just a baby, and she brought me to Lucius, told him to raise me... but things happened... and I was brought into the sex trafficking business."

"Oh my," Julia murmured. Severus shifted beside her uncomfortably, but didn't seem bothered by the story she was fabricating on the spot. Scarlett thanked Ron for bringing it up.

"There was another man there, my age, Blaise... And... we didn't mean to have anything happen between us, but it did and... and that's how Tyler came to be. I was terrified, I didn't know what they'd do if they found out... but I told Lucius and his wife... and they paid off the man that owed me so that I could have the child, raise it for myself for awhile, but... my owner wasn't too pleased once he found out the truth... Blaise escaped, he tried to take me with him, but taking me and a child... it would have been too difficult to be effective..." Scarlett swallowed, chewing on her lip as she shrugged. "So Lucius took Tyler one night, before my owner could... and brought him to you. And when he came back, he told me Tyler was dead and that I couldn't keep worrying about him... So I believed him."

"But how are you here?" John asked. "How did you get away?"

"Right before my eighteenth birthday, I visited Lucius," Severus spoke up. "We were friends in school and I wanted to catch up... and when I visited him, he told me that he had a girl... my daughter, in his possession, and that he was working on getting her out of .. the circle she was caged in. Of course, that wasn't good enough for me. I am a Professor in Scotland and I took her from her room and brought her with me to Scotland, hiding her in case people came to look for her -"

"And that's when Lucius told me about Tyler... he couldn't tell me where exactly, in case someone overheard, but that it wasn't too far from where he had lived, and I had lived... so... we searched... and searched... For nearly two months we kept searching and we couldn't find anything. And I ran into Blaise again, found him, and we searched together... And that's how we found you here.. recognized the church from a picture Lucius had taken-"

"Why isn't the father here now?" John questioned. "If you found him-"

"His grandmother is ill," Scarlett spoke up. "She lives in Italy... so we went to go visit her... He had been living with her once he escaped, but he came back to England to try to find me again... and... and Tyler."

"It isn't safe if you remain here," Severus spoke up. "Since Scarlett is gone, they are bound to notice something soon. And with the leader of the trafficking circle living only about ten miles from here, it would be safer if you .. moved. We will pay for the move, everything you need done, as well as some protection -"

"Who exactly are these people?" Julia questioned.

"I don't graduate from my boarding school until next summer," Scarlett said quietly. "I can't take him until then... But these people won't wait. They'll try to use him to lure me and Blaise out, to get to me... or they'll put him into the business and I can't let that happen-"

"No, definitely not," John said firmly. "We'll keep him hidden until you two say it's safe."

These people were so nice... so willing to uproot their entire lives. Good people. Tyler needed good people.

"We need to find a new place to live," Julia murmured. "It will take a few weeks, to get the church dealt with, but... we'll do whatever it takes to keep him from that life."

"Blaise and I have a bit of money saved," Scarlett admitted, much to her father's surprise. "We can do whatever you need. It's meant for Tyler... But Lucius can't keep funding you... because they're beginning to notice his help. We'll give it to help... to keep him safe. And once I graduate... we'll take him, we'll protect him-"

"We're working with officials to try and bring the men down, but... it's a bit more difficult than it sounds," Severus stated. "They require more than just proof, but actually seeing the action take place - and we're unable to have them infiltrate without it being suspicious-"

"Is there a way we can keep in touch? To make sure we all know what's going on-?"

Severus cleared his throat. "If I could have a pen and paper?" John went to go fetch some and returned just a few seconds later, passing it to Severus. Severus wrote an address down delicately. "This address will send anything you ask to an ally, and they will forward the mail to me. It is safer that way."

"Do they have the capabilities to intercept mail?" Julia whispered, confused.

Severus stared at her blankly. "Yes."

"Why is it they want you or Tyler or Blaise so much?" Julia questioned.

"I don't know," Scarlett said quietly. "But I don't want to risk Tyler."

"Nor do we," John murmured. "How quickly do we need to be gone?"

"Ideally, a week," Severus said sharply. "Realistically, a month. The sooner the better."

Scarlett and Severus only stayed for a few more minutes, before Severus stated they had to leave - Scarlett did have class the next day. Scarlett truly did not want to leave, but Julia made her promise to visit yet again, whenever it was safe. Scarlett only happily agreed. When they walked out into the autumn air, she took a deep breath - a breath of calm and resolve. He was safe, happy... loved. All she had ever wanted for him.

"How long have you been working on that story?"

"Five minutes before I told it to them," Scarlett admitted quietly. "It was a little... flimsy, looking back, but-"

"They will believe it for now. It is better to make a story so horrible that it is unbelievable than to make a story too ... happy and they are reluctant to keep watch." She understood that, at least... she thought she did. She wasn't quite sure what she understood anymore. "How was he?"

"Big," she murmured, the Muggle street passing them as they kept walking, trying to find an apparation point. "Healthy... Safe."

"Good. I will discuss with Albus any potential safe houses to hide them in. That would be safer than having them stay in the Muggle world. I will tell you what we decide-"

"What about the potion? We don't need it anymore, but... the Dark Lord knows-"

"We will brew it and put a false location down... Lead the Dark Lord as far away as possible."

"He'll kill us," Scarlett whispered.

Severus was silent, his paces even as they walked towards a more secluded spot - an alley. "Then he will. But he will still not find the location of Tyler."

It was completely idiotic for them to do. So idiotic that it made the uneasy feeling of worry settle once more in Scarlett's stomach. But she thought nothing more of it as he grabbed her arm and apparated her to Hogwarts gates.