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Severus found himself transfixed as the tall man gazed calculatingly at him.

"I have not seen you since you were a small child……... Are you really Eileen's son?" The tall man asked suspiciously.

Severus had come prepared to prove himself and he started to speak, "I assure you, I-"

With a wave of his long, slender hand, the tall man sent Severus hurtling through the air directly towards him.

Holding his hand up quickly, the man stopped Severus's journey when they were face to face. Severus looked a bit startled but not frightened and he showed no concern as the tall man kept him suspended in the air.

After a long moment of inspecting Severus under silent scrutinization, the tall man laid his long nails against Severus's cheek to acknowledge his recognition.

"Ah, yes," The man said while his dark eyes bore into Severus's, "You are Eileen's son…...after all."

With another swift motion of the tall man's hand, Severus was released, floating safely back to stand on his feet.

"Though Eileen is not here….." The tall man commented as he began to pace in front of the large, arched windows that lined the back of the massive room. The tall man seemed to enjoy looking out of those windows, though they only offered a depressing view of the gray day.

"...She is not." Severus confirmed.

"...Then why are you?" The tall man asked, raising an eyebrow as a strand of his raven-black hair drifted in front of his pale face.

"Sire Zalanth," Severus began, hoping the desperation in his low tone was detectable, "I am aware of the wrongdoings of my mother. I have been well versed in her schism from the Prince line, but I implore you……..Am I not of the same blood? Surely I won't be penalized so severely for the crimes of my mother. I am in dire need of help. I…..I have nowhere else to turn!"

"You are brave, son of Eileen…..." The tall man, Zalanth replied in a low purr as his thin lips curled into a threatening grin, "To visit this place alone and speak of blood…."

During his pacing, the tall man drifted a little too closely to Severus for his liking. Careful not to let his unease show, Severus maintained an unreadable expression and held his head high.

"...What is the woman's name?" Zalanth asked curiously. From the direction of his voice, Severus could tell Zalanth was right behind him.

Severus quietly took a breath, trying to slow his beating heart as his anxiety rose.

It made Severus uncomfortable that Zalanth had purposefully chosen to stay just out of his peripheral vision.

"I…..I haven't mentioned a woman." Severus stammered.

"...There is no need." Zalanth replied.

Severus forced himself to inhale deeply once he felt Zalanth enter his mind and skim through his thoughts, impatient with Severus's hesitation.

"...Her name is Lily." Severus declared, clearing his throat, "And she's…...being hunted by a beast."

"A beast worse than I?" Zalanth asked in a chillingly cold tone with a mirthless chuckle.

An outsider may have thought that was a clever joke, but Severus knew there was no humor in Zalanth's statement.

"...Nearly." Severus replied, "If you would just lend me some assistance for a single night-"

"-Since you are aware of your mother's transgressions, then you must also be knowledgeable about the confines in which I exist." Zalanth cut in, "The edge of this village is as far as I may go."

"Please, I love her more than words can say! I'll do anything! Anything!" Severus pleaded.

"I am not who I once was……." Zalanth said with a dry bitterness in his tone, "If you took your rightful place in our line, you would understand that…...Love means little to me now."

"There must be something you can do!" Severus hissed, gritting his teeth.

The tall man took up his pacing again.

With incredibly quiet steps, he moved from behind Severus to walk back towards his beloved windows.

"...Do? What have you done for me, Severus Prince? What have you done for our family?" The tall man asked as he continued to pace, throwing glares at Severus as he spoke. When he grew bored with the floor, Zalanth casually walked up the wall to continue his contemplative stroll on the ceiling, hanging upside down as if it were perfectly ordinary, "I have no reason to help Eileen's son."

"I've fathered an heir. I can repair my relationship with the Prince family. I will take my rightful place!" Severus said quickly with a boldness driven by distress.

Zalanth stopped pacing.

Standing on the ceiling directly over Severus, he looked down and locked eyes with him.

"...An heir?" Zalanth asked incredulously.

Severus nodded, "A fine boy, young and healthy."

Zalanth blinked his black eyes as he thought for a moment.

"...And you're willing to defy your mother in exchange for your flower?" Zalanth asked.

"...I am willing to do anything to protect what is mine." Severus replied.

"You are aware of the heavy price, son of Eileen?" Zalanth asked.

"I'll pay what I must." Severus nodded.

Zalanth looked down at Severus and chuckled again. This time, it was a deep, rich sound of amusement that seemed to echo from his chest.

Without warning, Zalanth dropped to the floor in one swift, predatory motion, letting his black cloak whirl elegantly through the air. Fearing for his life, Severus jumped out of the way.

His action made Zalanth smirk.

"I remember my own flower." Zalanth said with an ominous smile, "I sought so badly to save her that I ended up losing myself………...When she was in my arms at last…..." Zalanth furrowed his brow, "...I no longer cared because I had already paid that tremendous cost….. ."

Severus said nothing but he listened intently, narrowing his dark eyes.

"I am a cursed man, Severus Prince, and we are a cursed line. Your mother is a clever woman. Clever enough to flee…...But…...I will do as you ask~. These things take time, Severus Prince….Bring the flower to me and I will protect your blossom in my fortress of stone." Zalanth promised.

"...And my son?" Severus asked.

Zalanth chuckled before he replied, "How rude of you to have never introduced the child to his family. I expect you to rectify that anon."

"Thank you, Sire Zalanth." Severus replied with a grateful nod.

Zalanth turned back towards the windows and Severus started to walk out of the door, but he hesitated before he left the room.

"...Do you feel regret?" Severus asked without looking back at the tall man.

"...I feel nothing." Zalanth replied flatly, staring out at the grey sky.

Severus was struck by how numb Zalanth's voice sounded.

No sadness, no anger, no remorse…….

Void.

As Severus opened the door and stepped out of the room, an eerie chill lingered in the air, causing him to shiver. While he departed the castle, he was once again closely watched by the many spectators who lined the hall of its foyer.

Slowly, Severus gradually made his way down the perilous cliffside and began his trek back through the gloomy town below.

The inhabitants of the village didn't acknowledge Severus with nods or smiles, though they did try to hide from his view as he walked through the grimy streets.

Severus thought to himself as he looked around at his bleak surroundings.

To take his place in the Prince family, perhaps the fee he had agreed upon was too high, perhaps he should deal with James on his own.

No.

Severus scowled.

Severus would do anything to insure Lily's safety.

…….And to save his only son.

His son.

The entire idea still seemed foreign to Severus.

Severus had been so focused on saving his true love that he hadn't even really considered.

How would he tell Harry Potter the truth?

Severus frowned as he thought.

That was of little importance, Lily would be beside him. Together, they would speak with Harry and reveal to him the facts of his birth.

No, there was a more important question to be answered instead.

How would the boy react to the revelation?

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By the following morning, Severus had returned to Lily's side while James's carriage returned to Potter manor.

Swaggering out of the vehicle with striding, arrogant steps, James's staff hurried to keep up with him as he charged into the house and pounded up the steps to amuse himself for a while by victimizing Lily.

James quickly undid the potent charms and enchantments he had placed on her door and he stepped into the room with a snide smirk, ready to see his brow-beaten hostage cower before him.

Severus Snape, or rather, Severus Prince, was a careful, shrewd man.

Severus was talented at many things, one of which was strategy.

Severus astutely considered and calculated every action he took. It was not a careless mistake on Severus's part that he had removed Lily from James's grasp without faking her death or leaving a false body behind in her place to stage a suicide.

Though his outward, stoic demeanor portrayed otherwise, Severus was filled with rage over the situation.

What James had done was unforgivable.

How many lost years had passed? Time that could not be recovered?

To what extent had everyone suffered, Lily the most, but Harry and Severus as well?

Severus wanted James to realize Lily had been liberated.

Severus wanted James to learn he had finally been bested by his rival.

Severus wanted James to seek him out.

While James used his wand to play back the memories that the walls of Lily's room had witnessed during the past night, he was perplexed as he watched himself drag Lily away.

James cast another charm and standing in the memory, he peered closely at the face of his impostor, staring suspiciously at the convincing illusion of Severus's well-made polyjuice potion.

"Revelio!" James hissed, tapping the image of his own face in the memory.

In the memory, James watched as his face slowly wavered, his features changing into an image of his most hated enemy.

James's eyes widened in shock. He grit his teeth so tightly that his jaw smarted with pain.

Grasping his wand in his clenched fist, James struggled not to snap it in two as fury blinded him.

A hoarse, angry bellow erupted from Lily's room and the sheer, enraged animosity of the cry made the Potter servants shudder.

James dashed downstairs and began to assemble his employees, vowing to himself he would steal Lily back from his nemesis even before the bruises he had placed on her skin had healed.

Like the Malfoys, the Potters had enough money to do as they pleased. In James's predicament, that meant that he could use his wealth to hire a group of wizards to go out and search for Lily, which he promptly accomplished.

James even had enough money to buy his way out of Azkaban if the situation forced him to commit a minor……...discretion.

A great distance away, at Malfoy manor, Severus had administered some healing tonic to Lily and he held her close, allowing her to rest on his shoulder. Severus bent his neck and kissed her cheek lovingly as he tenderly stroked her hair. Lily was asleep and her face was relaxed, which gave Severus comfort.

Sitting against the pillows with Lily, Severus thought of James.

At the Potter estate, James hissed orders to his newly hired mercenaries and sent them on their way.

While James swallowed a mouthful of brandy, he thought of Severus.

Severus would do anything to help Lily.

James would do anything to keep Lily.

Severus was anxious to correctly introduce himself to his son and to spend the rest of his life being a part of Harry's.

James had all but forgotten Harry even existed. To James, Harry was just another asset, like a deed to a plot of land.

Severus had what James wanted once again.

This time though, Severus wasn't going to let his guard down.

Severus would strike first.

This time though, James was determined not to hold back.

James was determined to snuff out his enemy once and for all.

Both James Potter and Severus Snape were intent……

The next time they saw each other would be the last.