{Disclaimer: I don't any of it, okie day? I only might own the things that were NOT created by the Great, Omnipotent J.K. Rowling, who owns the Harry Potter world.}{Posted February 2, 2002}

Chapter 14

Twisted Fate

Snape awoke with a start. His dark eyes snapped open, noticing every detail and confirming that he was still in the infirmary, sitting by Emeline's bed. It was not yet dawn. He reached out and took her hand. It was cold and clammy, though he could still hear her breathing life. Her eyes slowly opened and she gave him a faint smile.

"Severus," she breathed softly, not having much strength. "I'm not going to make it this time."

"It's okay, Emeline, you always make it through things like this."

"No, not this time. The beast's claws...were poisoned. They got me and there's nothing that can be done about it now." She weakly pushed away the robe from her shoulder, showing him the purple-green scratches obviously infected with something terrible. "They tried...to fix it with a spell...but it didn't work. There is no cure."

"Go to back sleep, Em. It will help ease your pain."

Severus Snape looked down upon the girl, no, woman, he corrected himself, that he had considered like a sister. She seemed so small, so vulnerable now; a mere fraction of her normal vitality was visible to the world. Why did she have to die? He remembered Emeline as strong both physically and mentally, but always willing to listen and just talk. She had been a brilliant student at Hogwarts, even though she was a Slytherin to the heart. She was ambitious, yet could control herself enough not to seem overly so. Emeline was just one of those naturally loving, caring people who could open themselves to the world when the world needed them.

He stood up, realizing that there would be a much explaining to do if he was seen here. "Good-bye, Emeline. I will come back later." He snuck out of the infirmary and back to the Potions Dungeon. There had to be something to cure her. He started through his books, searching, finding nothing.

Harry awoke to the low murmur of voices nearby. He recognized one as Professor Snape, but the other was too low to for him to understand. As he heard the last comment, he realized that Neville had been right and Snape could be civil.

Ron and Hermione woke a few moments after Snape left. Madame Pomfrey bustled over to check on them and decided to release them to the Great Hall to eat breakfast.

The hall was anything but subdued. Its normal level of noise had not dropped. In fact it was louder that usual, given that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were arguing about whether or not a rematch was deserved. The Slytherins, of course, wanted the rematch, saying that Harry had caught the Snitch after the game had stopped which gave him an unfair advantage or the Slytherin team. The Gryffindors countered this, stating that Malfoy could have stayed out on the field to search for the Snitch instead of going to run and hide in his ferret hole. This brought more protests from the Slytherins and the argument raged on across the hall.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione took their seats at the Gryffindor table and were heartily congratulated on the defeat of Slytherin. Comments like "Jolly good show!" or "Impressive defeat!" rang through their ears through out breakfast. Near the end of the meal, Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.

"I would like to happily announce that Lord Voldemort was taken this morning to Azkaban, where he will stay until he receives the Dementor's Kiss two days hence forth. Even though this enemy was defeated, we will still keep our guard up in case of attack by the remaining Death Eaters. Do not worry, for Hogwarts is one of the safest places that you can be. The rest of the day you will have off to celebrate this marvelous occurrence. Here are a few words of advice for all of you: Wear your socks."

Dumbledore sat back down and the entire student body and teaching staff burst into extremely enthusiastic applause.

"Wow," Ron decided, clapping loudly.

"You did it, Harry," Hermione whispered quietly to them.

"No," Harry corrected her. "We did it. We did it together."

People started milling out of the hall, going off to do what ever they wanted to do. Professor Snape exited in his usual manner, but instead of going to down to the dungeons, he went back to the infirmary. Emeline was still there, weak and sickly looking. He sat down by her side and took her hand once again.

"Emeline?"

She squeezed his hand in welcome. "Hello, Severus. Thanks for coming back." Her voice still held a whisper of her strength.

"Why did he have to do this to you, Em?"

"I was in his way. He knew he would have to get through me first in order to kill Harry. He did." She closed her eyes and breathed as deeply as she could. Her eyes opened showing their full brilliant hazel and she smiled at him. "Good bye, Severus."

She took her last breath and never breathed another.

"Good-bye, Emeline." Snape did something that he had not done in years. A single tear dripped down his cheek.

Madame Pomfrey came and saw him there, back turned, silently weeping for Emeline. Dumbledore came in few moments later and placed a fatherly hand on Snape's shoulder. He stood there in silence before speaking.

"She lived a good life, Severus. For her death is just the next great adventure. I'll send owls out to her family and friends and we'll hold the funeral tomorrow, here at Hogwarts."

In a small house in England, away from Hogwarts...

Professor Remus Lupin was sitting at his kitchen table eating his evening meal with his friend and Azkaban escapee Sirius Black. A brown owl flew in through an open window and dropped a letter next to his plate. He looked closely at the letter.

"It's from Hogwarts. Hmmm..." He opened it carefully and read the letter. It was dropped on the table in surprise of its contents. "No. No, it can't be. There has to be a mistake. This can't be true."

"What is it, Remus?" Sirius had never seen his friend act this way before. Remus pushed the letter toward where Sirius was seated.

Sirius picked it up and read it.

Dear Remus,

I am deeply sorry to inform you that your sister Emeline has been killed by Lord Voldemort. We are holding her funeral tomorrow morning here at Hogwarts.

I apologize greatly for not being able to tell you this in person, Remus. I wanted to let you know that your sister died while trying to find a way to rescue Harry from the Dark Lord's clutches. I know that this letter brings you extremely sad tidings. I hope that you are able to come tomorrow.

Albus Dumbledore

Sirius moved around the table and placed his arm around Remus's shoulder.

The next day was dark, dreary, and foggy. Emeline's coffin was placed at the head of the Great Hall. All around it stood bouquets of flowers in a multitude of colors: Roses, Daisies, Lilies, and everything else. They had dressed her in her formal robes of a shade of dark green with silver trim.

People crowded around the Great Hall, talking about Emeline and their memories of her. It surprised Dumbledore to see most of the staff there, judging by their original reactions to Emeline teaching. He could see a group of men and women who obviously fellow Aurors. Another group turned out to be a group of people who had worked with her on the dragons. The only person from her immediate family to show up was Remus, her older brother. Sirius had followed him there, in the shape of his dog form. A few students showed up, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Dumbledore stood up on a podium in front of the Great Hall. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow witches and wizards, I would like to begin. I am Albus Dumbledore, Head Master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Emeline Harpsturn Lupin was one of my students. She was hardworking and intelligent and just as ambitious as any other Slytherin. But unlike a good amount of the Slytherins, she chose to fight against Lord Voldemort. She began her career in the Ministry, working with dragons. Many of you know that she had a special attachment to these creatures and worked hard in trying to find a way in which mankind and dragons could live and work together with out either getting hurt. She then decided to become an Auror and fought against the Dark Lord. Her life ended in one of these fights, trying to save another student here that was caught in Voldemort's web. I would like to invite anyone forward to speak about or for Emeline."

A man from the Dragon Experimental Team stepped forward. "I worked with Emeline doing the dragon research. She was just as Dumbledore described her: brilliant, brave, always willing to do her share, ambitious... I knew her when she had just graduated. She was still so much like a child, but had the mind of one older. She changed my life by showing me that things don't always have to be in a specific way and sometimes it is easier to make things up you go along. She was a great person."

He handed the podium over to a woman Auror. "I worked with Emeline in the States when she became an Auror. I could not have asked for a better partner on the job. She had an almost selfless attitude toward other people, always ready to work and give her all. Sure I was a little apprehensive when I learned that she had been a Slytherin, but she was one of the best. I think I speak for all the Aurors here when I say that she will be sorely missed as one of the team."

"Does anyone else wish to speak?" Dumbledore asked. Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall stepped forward.

"Emeline Lupin was never one of my favorite people. She was a Slytherin and a trouble maker when she was here at Hogwarts. Despite these things, she wasn't afraid to speak out in class or give answers. She was a very bright student. I know some of us here had thought that we might lose her to the Dark Lord, but she prevailed through and became an Auror. I believe that she is one of the first Slytherins in this century to do so. She also showed us her bravery by coming back here and facing the professor that had hated her only a few years ago for letting a live fire breathing dragon into the school. She is one of the most obstinate, yet caring people that I have met."

Professor Snape stepped forward as well. "Emeline and I were both in the Slytherin house, though five years apart. She became like the sister that I never had. We only knew each other for eight years until we began to separate. We met again just a few days ago, here at Hogwarts, where she had taken the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She was one of the strongest, bravest people that I have ever met. She was the only one in a family that had been only put in Gryffindor for generations to be placed in Slytherin. She was one of the few examples that showed how Slytherins are not all bad or evil. She taught me never to give up on life."

Professor Lupin took over from Snape. "Emeline was my younger sister. Yes, when she was sorted into Slytherin, our family did disown her. They hated her for breaking the family tradition of being in Gryffindor. The rest of our family refused to be here today because of this. She was strong willed and ambitious, like the Slytherins are made out to be, but she was also one of the sweetest people you could ask for. I speak for most everyone here when I say Emeline, you will be greatly missed."

There was not a dry eye in the hall after all the speeches were given. Dumbledore stood back up at the podium. "I would like to thank all of you for coming to this ceremony. Remus, Severus, would you do the honors?"

Remus and Severus each took hold of the front handles of the coffin. Other people filled in behind them, helping to bring her to her final resting place near the Forbidden Forest. A hole had already been dug six feet down. The coffin was lowered as the crowd watched silently. Remus threw in the first handful of dirt. Snape was close behind in placing his in the hole. Others came up as well and helped to fill it in. A stone was placed at the head of the grave, reading `Here Lies Emeline Harpsturn Lupin, Protector of Dragons, Auror, and Friend to Those in Need.'

The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Snape alone by the tombstone. "Why, Emeline? Why did he have to choose you? You didn't deserve to die."

"No one ever does, Severus."

Snape looked around and saw her hovering next to him. "You came back."

"I told you I would, didn't I? I keep my promises," her pale face grinned slowly at him. "You didn't think it would that easy to get rid of me, did you?"

Snape grinned back. "No, I didn't." Together they walked back to the castle, the tall gaunt man with greasy hair and the short pale specter with a ready smile.

The End

{Author's Note: It's over. Done. Fini. Hay nada mas. That was definitely the most interesting thing that I have written yet. It is also the second "long" story that I actually finished. This happens to be much better that the other one, which I wrote about three years ago. I would like to thank those of you that actually read this, even though it's a scary thought that some one will read it. My next work will be titled Chaos: Tie-Dyed and Loving It. It has already started to be written and published. So far I just know that it will be about Harry's fifth year and an American exchange student comes to Hogwarts. It will hopefully be longer than and just as interesting as this one. I know that I don't like to go in order so that's why this one was written first. I might even consider doing Harry's seventh year when I'm finished with this one. Thanks again - Nataly Ravenlock} {Work Completed: 2/02/02 7:36 p.m.}