Superstes

By Shaina



Author note: Sorry it's so short. Hope you all like it. If you want more of this story you've gotten review and tell me! Updated and made this part more cannon..
Disclaimer: Severus Snape and like belong to JK Rowling. Jessie and Fancy belong to me.

No one ever told me grief felt so much like fear.
C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)


Severus Snape stared at the children playing almost numbly. It was Draco Malay's second birthday party, February 12, 1981. Every Death Eater had brought their children. Parents who wanted their sons' or daughters' to get in good with the young Malfoy. Children from one on up ran around stuffing sweets and cakes into their mouths, playing noisy games that seemed to involve a lot of running and screaming.

Grownups stood around talking, making jokes about how the mudbloods were all going into hiding. Some of them
bragging about how many Aurours they'd killed while innocent children were in ear shot... not caring.

And he kept looking to make sure Jessie was all right as she played with her
Friends. Making sure she wasn't one of the children listening intently to the talk of death and power.
Snape swallowed the rest of his drink barely tasting it. His daughter was dead. His wife was dead. His wife
had KILLED their child.

Just the way you killed many muggle families. A voice in his head reminded him. But his little Jessie... why
hadn't Fancy just come home to him. He would have forgiven her for running off like that. He'd have
forgiven her so many things... for Black... for all the other men before Jessie was born... for flinging
her... 'dislike' of him in his face constantly.

But as he looked at the still innocent grey eyes of Draco Malfoy, he knew the answer. Fancy wanted to save
Jessie from the life Draco Malfoy would have. Being raised to follow the Dark Lord. Gods had he wanted
that for her? For his innocent child to have her hands stained with blood. To have her growing up to love
killing as much as her mother did?

No... If he was truthful to himself, he did not want this life for her. But a life! He wanted her to have a
life. He wanted her to go to Hogwarts, and join the long line of Slthyerin in their family. He wanted her
to turn two. Even that blasted James Potter's child would get to do that... if the Dark lord didn't find
them first. Severus suppressed a shiver at that.

Fancy had tired to persuade him to give Jessie up, to give Jessie a normal life. For them to perform a
memory charm on her and leave her on somebody's, like Author Weasly, steps. For him not to sell his
daughter's soul. And he had not listened to her. She would have had a better life, he had reasoned, the
daughter of a rich powerful death eater. With everything she could ever want... than the adopted
daughter of a muggle lover like Weasly.

There was a tug at his leg and his dark eyes focused in on small Draco Malfoy.


"Where Jessie?" the little boy practically demanded. And for some reason the sight of that little boy...
who would get to do something his daughter never would... turn two... tore him apart. Along with the
horrible realization that Draco wouldn't be allowed to stay innocent for long... not if Lucius had anything
to do with it.

Not answering the boy he stood... made his apologizes to Lucius and left.


His manor home was cold and dark when he arrived...all expect Jessie's room. The house elves seemed to
keep hoping that she would come back. They mourned her loss almost as deeply as Snape did. Maybe more so.

As he stood by the doorway, he could almost swear he could her soft little laugh. Could still see in his
mind, her black eyes shining up at him as she told him about her stuffed animals, most of it baby talk. He
would give anything for her to interrupt him making one of his potions to read to her. The way she would
toddle in, holding a book half the size of her. Trying to be quiet as she would come up beside him and tug at
his robes.

The last time she'd done that he'd told her no, and had one of the house elves take her back to her
room... since Fancy was out with Lucius on deatheater business. If he'd known that would be the last time he'd get a chance to pull her into his lap and read to her...

Severus pushed the thought away... it was too painfully to think of.

Taking a deep breath Snape stepped into the room, and for a brief moment there was Fancy sitting in the rocking chair, cradling Jessie in her arms. Signing softly.


"Thank God Fancy... Jessie your alive..." He took a step forward and the vision vanished. The room was empty and quite once again. The small little bed never to be slept in, the toys never to be touched again.


Severus Snape sank to his knees and for the first time since he was a very small boy... he cried.

The next day Severus Snape went to see Dumbledore...

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