Moody stood in the shadows at the end of the hall and watched Potter enter the office. As expected the door locked after him. He waited several minutes, but when Eve did not come he walked down the staircase to her brother's room, where she normally spent her time. Moody sneered as Eve popped into his mind.

Even if the Headmaster could vouch for Snape, he could not do so for his sister and in this case his judgement was wrong. He kept telling his friend that he trust too easily and can be fooled with the same ease, but Albus didn't listen. And so now he had an operational Death Eater on his hands. He didn't tell his suspicions to Albus, nor did he intend to. He had it with the Snape family and one member of that particular family tree will meet her end tonight.

**

Eve walked up an opposite staircase to her office a malevolent smile spreading across her face.

"Oh Potter, this is all your fault. I will enjoy watching you die." She opened her office door to a startled Harry and quickly said the magical words that tied him up. She laughed ruthlessly at his shocked face and shut the door behind.

****

Severus Snape was just recovering from the potion when his door swung open and Moody entered.

"Don't knock next time, just blow the door away", Snape grunted, getting to his feet.

"Where is she?" Moody asked snarling.

"Who?" Snape asked, grabbing his wand.

"You know damned well who!" Moody yelled at him. "Where is that bloodied Death Eater?!"

"She left in such a hurry she forgot to tell me" Snape said sarcastically.

Moody paused and let out a snarl. "Potter!"

He ran out of the room, with Snape on his heels.

"Where is Potter?" Snape asked him, keeping up with his fast pace.

"She called him to her office", Moody simply said. "Go fetch the Headmaster, I'll handle this."

"Like hell you will!" Snape said indignantly. "She's my sister!"

"She's a Death Eater!" Moody howled. "And right now I don't trust you either. For all I know this is your big chance to get back to them by killing Potter."

"As much as I'd love to have that brat get what's coming to him", Snape sneered, slightly out of breath. "And that's being expelled", he added hastily. "I have no intentions of killing him. Not with so much at stake."

Moody eyed him strangely with his magical eye, sending chills down Snape's spine. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Snape merely nodded and sped up, leaving Moody behind. He wasn't about to let him get his hands on Eve, no matter what.

He reached her office door and found it, not surprisingly, locked. He took out his wand and tried to reverse the spell. No luck.

He silently cursed and tried to think about how he can unlock the door, when it swooshed open. He gingerly entered the room, his wand held tightly in his hand.

The moment Snape entered the door slammed closed, leaving a breathless Moody to kick the door outside.

*****

Snape entered the dark room slowly. It was a large office with many obstacles; the last thing he wanted was to alert her of his position. Then again, he had a strange feeling she already knew.

"I've been waiting for you."

Snape turned abruptly. The voice coming at him from behind.

"Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wan flew out of his hand to his assailant. He looked coldly at his sister.

"Well now I'm here."

There was a moment of silence, only interrupted by shallow and haggard breathing. Snape glanced at the direction and saw Harry crouched on the floor, gagged and bagged.

"I can't let you kill him", Snape whispered, a touch of menace in his voice.

"You don't have a choice dear brother", Eve sneered, her pretty face now vile with evil. "You can either watch or kill me."

"Don't make me do that", Snape shook his head. "But if you leave me no choice…"

Eve stared at him squarely. "What happened to you?"

"What happened to you?"

Eve laughed bitterly. "Since the moment you left I've been trying to find you. When I was in my Fifth year I found out from your old pal Malfoy that you joined the Death Eaters. At first I was shocked: How could my dearest brother join THEM? Join HIM? How could he go around and kill people? Like our father-" Snape winced. "How could you do that? But then I realized the logic. You were right."

"No, I wasn't-"

"Yes you were!" She raised her voice enough to make Harry jump. "It's their fault! The mud bloods! If it weren't for them, mom would never pity them and dad would never have had to kill her. It's their fault mom strayed. Father was right, they are dangerous."

"Is that why you joined? Because I joined?" The horror of it hitting him in his face. "This is all my fault."

"No. At first I joined because of you, but after a while I realized this is where I belong! I was about to find you and tell you the good news when that retched Potter-" She glared menacingly at Harry. "Killed our dark lord."

Snape shook his head. "It was all wrong, Eve. The death…the innocents! I didn't enter out of a false idealism! I joined because I wanted power."

Eve shook her head. "It doesn't matter! Don't you see? The moment Potter dies, you can go back! We can finally be together! The dark lord will happily take back the man who killed his greatest enemy!"

"Why did you come here?" Snape changed the subject, trying to stall time. He needed to find a way to knock her out; otherwise he would be forced to kill her.

"Well", Eve seemed to contemplate on the question. "Besides from killing Potter, the Dark Lord wanted to know where you stood. Where your loyalties lie. What better way to find out than send his sister? The one he could never lie to?" She laughed viciously.

"But you disappointed me", Eve sobered. "I expected you to be helping me kill Potter, not trying to save him."

"I'm trying to save you as well"; he said gently, eyes steady on a blunt object on the table.

"I'm beyond redemption!" Eve said madly. "And so is he." She picked up her wand and steadily pointed it at Harry. Snape quickly ran to the table and picked up the object, slamming it into her head. She fell to the floor in a heap and he glanced at broken pieces. It was a vase he bought Eve for her Eleventh birthday- for when she went to Hogwarts. He picked up his wand and quickly looked away, running to Harry, wordlessly starting to untie him. Harry's mouth was still gagged, but his eyes opened wide, causing Snape to turn around. She ran into him, slamming him into a wall. His head started to throb and he began to see white spots, but he cleared his mind and shoved her forcefully off. Unfortunately, by this time, she already had her wand held tight and his was not in hand.

"Stay back", she ordered him, walking backwards, to stand in front of Harry.

But Snape didn't listen; instead he walked over to Harry and finished untying him. "You'll have to get through me first."

He stood and faced her determinedly, hiding Harry behind his back.

Eve seemed to sigh a long heart-felt-sigh before saying: "So be it."

Snape didn't know what made him move, if it was reflex or instinct, but whatever it was it saved his life. As she muttered: Avda Kedavra, he ducked, flattening himself on the floor. He looked up through discarded hair and looked with shock as the red bolt from her wand bounced on the wall and back at her.

"No!" He yelled, but it was too late. She was dead before she hit the floor. Snape ran to her and cradled her lifeless body in his arms, not speaking or even sobbing. He didn't have any tears left to cry for his sister's soul. Harry watch awkwardly, averting his eyes. As much as he hated Snape-which he still did- he knew he shouldn't watch this or gloat. And there was a certain appreciation for the man in Harry's heart-though he would never admit that to anyone.

The door flew into the room and Snape looked up to see the Headmaster and Moody rushing in.

"How…?" Snape croaked.

"The key was your blood", Dumbledore said, taking in the whole scene with a glance. "She triggered the door to open to your blood-the both of you. I happened to have a specimen by chance."

Snape merely nodded and picked up Eve's lifeless body.

Moody looked at Eve with disgust and at Snape in a queer way. "Did you-?"

Snape shook his head and turned to look at the wall. He gasped as he saw himself. He quickly chimself, realizing the bolt hit the mirror and returned. Pure luck, in a way. And in a way a terrible cosmic joke.

Snape noted a reassuring hand clasped on his shoulder. He looked up and faced the sympathetic face of Dumbledore.

"You knew she was-?"

"Yes" Dumbledore nodded sadly.

"And you still let her teach here?" Snape was shocked.

"I let you teach" Dumbledore said gently. "I'm a man who believes in second chances."

"But you were wrong about her", Snape muttered, barely noticing that Moody and the boy were not in the room anymore. "And about Quirrel and the other Moody and Lockhart."

"But I wasn't wrong about you, was I?" He smiled at him. "I should hope that for every four that I'm wrong in trusting, there is at least one that I was right about."

Snape couldn't think of anything to say, so he simply allowed the Headmaster to lead him out of the room, Eve still in his arms.

****

Snape stood in front of the lake in the school grounds. Eve was long gone, but he asked that her remains be scattered along the lake. Ever since she got to Hogwarts the lake was all she could ever talk about.

"It's so peaceful here!" Eve said brightly, skipping a stone.

"If there is such a place like heaven, I bet it looks like this." She was positive.

"Then I suppose it's not much of a heaven," her brother said darkly.

Eve ignored him and lay back, basking in the sun. "You are so negative some times!" She laughed. "I sometimes wonder if heaven for you is just a black bottomless pit!"

Severus grunted as he sat by his sister. "It would sure be quieter than hearing you babbling."

Eve hit him playfully and closed her eyes, listening to the wind and placid lake.

"If I should die tomorrow I wish I'd be buried here" she said certainly.

"I wish you wouldn't talk like that", Severus said seriously all of a sudden, appalled by the very thought.

"I though it would be quieter without me!" Eve said victoriously, her eyes as clear as the lake.

"But I'd be dreadfully lonely." He whispered back, kissing her on her forehead. "So utterly alone."

Snape woke out of his reverie to see that the Headmaster and Moody were here as well. One glance at Moody told Snape he was not here voluntarily. Snape smiled inwardly, knowing the Headmaster coerced him to come, out of respect for Snape. He felt somewhat warmer knowing the Headmaster cared. The only person in the world who cared about him now.

He heard their retreating footsteps and knew they decided to leave him be. He dully noted it consciously and his eyes never left the surface of the lake. 'Dreadfully lonely' he muttered in his mind. 'So utterly alone.'

He sat by the lake, trying to close his mind to everything but the wind and the lake and birds, but a fragment of conversation traveled to his ears.

"Don't speak that way, it isn't very polite to say something like that about a fellow teacher" He faintly heard the Headmaster scuff.

He couldn't hear Mad-Eye's response, only a phrase traveled the long distance and decided to reach his ears.

"Bad blood."

-THE END-

Well? What do you think?

Ivy