Chapter 2: Severus Snape

Violetta looked up at the round clock hung above her fireplace. The time read six fifty four in the evening. He would be here soon, she knew. Severus Snape had never been late in his life and she doubted this would be the first.

Crossing one leg over the other, she tapped her fingers against the table, her nails clicking against the wood. The sound soothed her — allowed her to repress her rising anxiety. Why she had ever agreed for Severus Snape to come to her apartment, she would never know. It had been her suggestion after all. She could have at least waited until she arrived at Hogwarts.

But she reminded herself that there was no time to waste. The Daily Prophet's vague reporting of the Death Eaters presence at the Quidditch world cup proved that — the Dark Lord would soon be with them once more.

Violetta's head snapped towards the door as there was a single knock. It was precisely seven o'clock.

"Come—"

The words didn't have chance to leave her lips. The door flew open and a dark figure filled the frame, dampened slightly with rain.

Severus Snape looked far older than the last time she'd seen him. His dark hair curled around his jaw, which had sharpened, shedding any sign of youthful roundness. His eyes were piercing and dark, embedded with years of stress and experience, small lines etched beneath his lower lid, which had darkened with tiredness. The line between his brows was deeper now with age, likely worsened by his perpetual frown.

His eyes instantly met hers, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Had I been a threat, sent to kill or capture you, you would be dead," Snape hissed, his frown deepening.

"Well, hello to you too," Violetta grumbled, rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. She shouldn't have expected any politeness from Snape. In the few times they'd spoken to one another, he'd treated her as if she were a piece of gum stuck to his shoe. It had taken all her willpower to ignore Dumbledore's condescension of her — she would not allow Snape to do the same. "Please, shut the door behind you, before I give in to the urge to slam it in your face."

Snape pointedly ignored her and strode into the room. The door slammed shut behind him, sending a faint shudder through the walls. He grimaced in response, looking round the bare apartment with raised brows.

Anger built in her chest as she felt his silent judgement. She expected him to make a comment, expected some cruel jibe towards the poor state of her house.

But he remained silent, in thought for a moment, before he turned back to her. "You should be under no pretence that I wish to be here," he said curtly, his dark eyes hard with displeasure.

She released a faint laugh of amusement, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And here I was thinking you were so eager to see me."

He ignored her as if she wasn't there, as if he was speaking to a brick wall. "I am here under Dumbledore's orders. He has tasked me with protecting and training you to use a power you have failed to master, so that you are better equipped to withstand the Dark Lord and his followers."

"I haven't failed to master it," Violetta snapped.

Snape's lips curled upwards in amusement. "Indeed? Then there is no reason for my being here." He shrugged lazily, before turning towards the door. "Goodnight, Miss Black."

"Wait—" She could picture the smirk growing on his lips — could feel the pleasure he gained from being proven right.

He turned back to her with raised brows, that malicious smile upon his lips.

"It is not a power to master. I don't gain from it — others do," Violetta said through gritted teeth. She fought the urge to look down at the floor, meeting his eyes instead with a level gaze. "If the Dark Lord or any of his followers were to capture me, there would be no stopping him."

Snape remained silent, studying her with narrowed eyes.

"I would much rather take these lessons from anyone but you." Violetta's arms tightened across her chest. "I know you hate me, because of what my brother did to you at Hogwarts."

Snape stiffened visibly, his jaw clenching.

"But Dumbledore insisted. So prove to me why he believed you were capable of teaching me to control something that has never been documented in our history," she said sharply. "And it's Professor Campbell now, not Miss Black."

He strode further towards her then, towering over her whilst she remained seated in her chair. She refused to get up, her hard expression mimicking his. He glared down at her, before he took the seat opposite, the one which Remus usually occupied.

With a lazy flick of his wand, he boiled the water in the kettle and poured himself a mug of tea. It levitated over to the table without him even looking at it. Though a casual gesture, she knew he'd done it to seize control of the situation once more. To show, that despite being in her home, he was still in charge.

In response, she silently summoned a drink from her fridge. It whizzed towards her, landing lightly in her outstretched palm.

Snape rolled his eyes at her petulance.

Whilst her lips curled into a loathing smile, daring him to challenge her.

"The Dark Lord believes you are able to magnify a wizards power with a mere touch. He believes he can use you to amplify his power, to perform magic one can only dream of," Snape said tightly.

"You sound disbelieving."

"I choose not to believe anything that is unproven."

Violetta rolled her eyes. "If you don't believe I can do it, Snape, then why are you here?"

Snape growled his annoyance. "I have told you—"

"Yes, I know, you're here on Dumbledore's orders. You needn't prove to me that you are his lapdog, I saw that for myself twelve years ago."

Snape clearly bit back his anger, his expression darkly impassive. "Manners, Miss Campbell," he emphasised her pseudonym with a sharp hiss. "If I am to teach you, you will address me as sir or professor and treat me as your superior."

Violetta scoffed. "Only when you earn it, Snape."

Snape released a controlled sigh, his hands clenching beneath the table. He took a sip of his tea, calming himself, before his hard gaze returned to her. "You will treat me as your superior, or I will return to Dumbledore and inform him that you no longer desire his help."

Violetta hated not having the last word. She hated being beaten by him. But she could find no retort, no way around it and Snape knew it too. She needed Dumbledore — she needed Snape. If she wanted to survive, she needed their help.

"Fine, sir."

He nodded his head in approval, a vicious smile curling across his lips.

She forced away the anger threatening to consume her, relaxing her body. After a moment of tense silence, she held her hand across the table, out towards him. He looked down at her hand with a bemused frown.

"Have you confused me with your husband? Need I remind you of his death—"

Violetta flinched. And Snape paused abruptly, staring at her with a hint of surprise. But this didn't diminish the cruelty in his expression.

"You will never mention him again," she said in a low voice, glaring at him sharply.

Snape met her glare. But there was something in his expression — something she couldn't quite pinpoint — that assured her he would not mention her deceased ex-husband again.

She took a deep, calm breath, her hand still outstretched towards him. "Take my hand," she ordered, her voice far quieter than before. "I'll prove what I can do."

Snape met her eyes for a moment, and she had the strange sense he wanted to use legillimency. She almost forced herself to look away, before he abruptly looked down at her hand. He lifted his hand from beneath the table, then curled his fingers around the top of hers. His touch sent a cool sensation through her, his hands colder than she expected. She didn't fail to notice that he restricted his touch to only her fingertips, as if the thought of touching her whole hand repulsed him.

There was a line drawn between them then — a line of magical energy, connected by their touch. It was a rather strange sensation, one she had not felt in over twelve years. She could feel the magical energy within him, cold and menacing, a deep and dark well of power. Everyone's magic felt different and she wasn't surprised by the darkness in Snape's.

Snape's eyes lit with surprise, a frown pulling at his brows, deepening the line between them. She wondered what her magic felt like to him, wondered whether it felt as powerful as his.

"You feel it?" she asked quietly.

Snape nodded once, but remained lost in deep thought.

"Good. Some people don't notice it when they touch me. Others do, but they don't always understand it," she explained. "I didn't understand it myself for a long time."

Snape remained silently still. Then, without instruction, he slowly began to tug down the line. A shiver rolled down her spine at the familiar sensation of magic leaving of her body. Snape looked down at his arm, as he drew the energy towards himself. He only took a little, only took enough to test and prove her ability.

He didn't look at her, still lost in thought. His eyes turned to the stove with curiosity. He flicked his wand towards the kettle on the stove, as he had done earlier. But instead of boiling the water, the bright blue flames engulfed the stove, setting it alight.

With another flick of his wand, the flames disappeared and the stove returned to normal.

He turned to her then, his eyes filled with an intense curiosity. For a moment she thought he might try to draw more power, but he retracted his hand, placing it beneath the table.

"Do you believe me now?" Violetta asked. "Do you see why I need help?"

"You can't stop it," Snape said knowingly. She could practically see the thoughts spinning behind his eyes. "If I'd have wanted to, I could have drawn all your power from you. The magic I performed was only a fraction of what would be possible had I drawn more."

Violetta nodded.

Then silence fell again. She could sense the many questions Snape wished to ask. None of which she knew the answer to. He seemed to know this and didn't speak, losing himself, instead, in his own thoughts and theories.

"I've only had my magic drawn from me a few times," Violetta said, speaking through the tense silence. She disliked how uncomfortable he made her. "One time it was drawn from me all at once, and it was like I became apart of them. They could see into my mind, as if they were using legilimens."

She didn't know why she felt compelled to tell him this. She had no reason to reveal more secrets, and more depths to her ability, when she didn't even know if she could trust him yet. He used to be a Death Eater, after all. He had been tempted by power once — he could easily be tempted by it again, especially by hers.

But she needed help. The Death Eater's knew of her power and they would come for her soon. The Dark Lord was rising once again.

And the man sat in front of her was the only one who could help her.

It was as if he'd read that thought from her mind. His attention snapped towards her once more, his expression darkening. She met his gaze for just a moment, his eyes calculated and brooding.

Then he abruptly rose from his seat, his black cloak billowing around him. Without a word, he strode towards the door, opening it with a faint swish of his black wand.

"Where are you going?" Violetta demanded, rising from her seat.

He didn't turn back to answer her. The rain clattered against the ground and blew into her apartment as Snape departed. He turned swiftly on the spot and a faint crack echoed through the air.

He was gone.

With a deep huff of annoyance, Violetta slammed the door shut with her wand and stared at the empty chair across from her, wondering what had caused him to leave so abruptly.

~ In Time ~

Severus strode through the halls of Hogwarts, taking the quickest route to Dumbledore's office. The questions stirred in his mind, like a simmering potion, only serving to ignite his anger, rather than calm it. Many had angered Snape during his time as a student and teacher at Hogwarts, but very few were able to conjure such strong emotions within him. He knew how to control himself — he was the master of hiding ones emotions. But Albus Dumbledore was one of very few who knew how to infuriate him.

He muttered the password beneath his breath and stormed up the spiralling staircase, his steps a hard thud against the stone. With a wave of his wand, the door burst open.

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk, a serene look upon his face, stroking Fawkes, his pet phoenix. He looked up at Snape's arrival, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Severus, I was not expecting you so early—"

"You knew," Severus snapped. He stopped in front of Dumbledore's desk, his hands clenching at his sides. "You knew all this time what the Black girl could do. You said nothing. You did nothing!"

Dumbledore frowned, but his expression remained as calm and collected as ever. It only ignited the rage inside of him. "What, in your opinion, should I have done?"

Severus rolled his eyes. He thought the answer was entirely obvious. "She would have changed everything."

Dumbledore studied him carefully, waiting for him to continue, as if the explanation was not enough.

"You could have used her to fight him! With her touch, the Dark Lord would have been no match against you, or anyone for that matter, in a duel," Snape said, his tone scathing. "You could have avoided all of this and won the war the first time. We would not be facing a second war."

"Violetta Black is not an object to be used Severus," Dumbledore said calmly.

"You should have used her, whether she was willing or not!" Snape continued. "All the lives that could've been saved—"

Dumbledore's frown deepened. Snape registered this in the back of his mind, knowing that his words confused Dumbledore. Snape had never cared for other lives before.

"You could have saved her!"

Dumbledore's eyes lit up then, as if something had clicked in his mind.

Snape breathed heavily, his nails digging into his palms. The memory of Lily Evans rose in his mind — her fiery red hair and her sea-green eyes. For a moment, he was transported back to that night. The night where he'd held her lifeless body. The night he knew he'd never see her eyes again, because of his actions.

He realised then that his body was shaking. He quickly snapped his mind closed, as if he were using occlumency, and frowned at the sympathy swimming in Dumbledore's eyes.

"Violetta Black could not have saved Lily Evans," Dumbledore said gently.

"You don't know that," Snape said through gritted teeth.

"There are limitations to all magic, even if it is amplified," Dumbledore explained. "Whilst the help of Violetta Black might have strengthened the Fidelius Charm, it would not have prevented it from being broken."

"You could have found another way."

"Let us not dwell in the past, Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice taking a firmer tone. "Tell me about your meeting."

Severus pressed his lips together, repressing the anger threatening to spill. He tried to relax his body and he blanked his mind once more, forcing all emotions away.

He quickly recounted his meeting to Dumbledore, informing him of the strange feeling of her magic, that strange pull that had consumed him. Her power had been like a drug, calling to him. It had taken an extensive amount of effort to not draw more from her than he needed. He'd never felt anything like it before.

"Yes, as I expected." Dumbledore nodded. He looked lost in thought for a moment, before he continued. "I spent many years in the past researching her ability, but there is very little to guide us. You must help her all you can and you must teach her occlumency. I suspect this will help her gain control and prevent others from seizing her power against her will."

Severus nodded once, indicating that he understood.

"It is vital that she learns this," Dumbledore said. "Lord Voldemort will do everything within his power to recruit her. Should she fall into his hands, it will destroy everything we have worked for."

"I know," Snape said darkly.

"You must do everything you can to gain her trust."

Snape released a deep and annoyed sigh. "The girl will never trust me, nor I her."

"I have faith in you."

His anger rose again. "Perhaps you shouldn't," Snape snapped.

"Remember why we are doing this. Remember what you have dedicated your life to."

Snape bit back an angry retort, his hands clenching at his sides again. He took a moment to calm himself, before he spoke. "I don't need reminding."

"Good," Dumbledore said, a pleased smile growing on his lips. "Then do not fail me."

~ In Time ~

The dark night's air swept across her bedroom through the open window. She enjoyed the feel of fresh air against her skin, especially at the end of a tiring day. She'd always preferred the cold to the warm, likely because of her bedroom in the attic of Grimmlaud Place.

Her quill scribbled against the parchment, her mind ahead of the words she wrote. She made a note to herself to write to Remus in the morning, to send him a new update on her work. Snape's abrupt disappearance had given her more time to work on her manuscript than she'd thought. And something had clicked tonight — she'd written more in the past few hours than she had in weeks.

It was quiet outside. The area she lived in was renowned for its muggle crimes, so people were not often seen on the streets after dark. It was exactly why her rent was so cheap. Even magical people didn't wish to live in areas of high muggle crime. For Violetta, the quietness of the night was a welcome reprieve. It was when she did her best work.

She heard footsteps. Her head snapped towards the window, a frown tugging at her brows. The curtains were closed, but she saw the glimmer of a shadow, as someone walked beneath a street lamp outside.

Her body tensed, her hand instinctively drawn to her wand, that sat on the desk beside her papers.

She rose from her seat, wand in hand, and moved silently towards the window. Peeking through the small gap between the curtains, she scanned the street. A plastic wrapper spun across the road, pushed by the wind, and she heard the faint noise of motor vehicles in the distance.

But the street was empty.

She shook her head and returned to her seat. It must have been a trick of the light, she concluded. But to be safe, she flicked her wand towards the window, closing it quietly. Then she muttered a spell to lock it, the same one she she'd put on her front door after Snape left. She didn't need him storming in again without any notice.

Picking up her quill, she tried to continue her work. But her mind was elsewhere. Although the window was shut, a cold shiver ran down her spine, causing her body to shudder involuntarily.

She heard it then. A voice outside.

She stilled, heart pounding, focused hard on her hearing.

"Aberto."

The door flew open. Violetta didn't think. She flung herself to her feet, wand grasped in her hand, the chair clattering to the ground behind her.

She heard the sound of footsteps against her wooden floor.

She spun on the spot, focusing her mind on the first location she could think of.

She was drawn into the strange, dark vortex and it pressed hard against her lungs, halting her breaths. For a moment, she thought she might have splinched herself. Then the night materialised around her and she realised where she was.

The Hogwarts gate. It towered in front of her, thrumming with magic, with the protective spells imprinted upon it. Without thinking, she rushed through, barely acknowledging that the gate had allowed her to pass. She had to go see Dumbledore. Someone had come for her.

She was no longer safe.

A/N: I really hope you've enjoyed this new chapter! I had the most fun writing it. A big thank you as well for all the positive feedback I've been getting - I love reading all your reviews! I've posted this chapter a lot later than I intended but hopefully I should be posting the next one soon. Please follow/favourite and let me know your thoughts on this chapter!