Part 23 : A Daughter's Love
"Bring the traitor!" Voldemort hissed.

Lucius broke the spell on Severus and he fell on the floor, to be

immediately grabbed by two Death Eaters who brought him in front of

the dark lord. Lucius grinned evilly. Severus glared coldly.

Willow sighed. [Another show of testosterone.]

"You disappoint me, Severus. You were one of the best," Voldemort

added. "We don't tolerate traitors among us. Your punishment shall

be death. But let's make it with the pain first." He pointed his

wand at Severus. "Crucio!"

Willow's hands crisped when she saw her father twisting on the floor,

but still holding the scream down. [I am powerful. I have the

needed potential to be the greatest dark sorceress. I can feel it in

my gut.] Doubt entered her mind. [But am I really better than

that? Is Hermione right? Can I still turn back and walk to the

light? Or am I already too far on the path of shadows?]

Severus sighed in relief when the spell ended. He had not yet given

in to the temptation to scream. He wouldn't give them the

satisfaction. [I won't ever know if my daughter was alive after

all. Forgive me, Morganna, for not being strong enough.] He looked

at the now black haired Slytherin staring off into space. [I failed

you, Willow. Please, don't make the same mistakes I made.]

Hermione opened her eyes and first saw Harry and Ron's worried faces

watching her. "You okay, `Mione?" She nodded slowly and sat up.

She could see the changes in Willow. Somehow, her words had hit home

as well as Draco's ones. But the Slytherin and her knew something

the others didn't. The cold look on Willow's face. The black hair.

The sneer she had seen so many times. The words hadn't been there to

hurt her, to tell her she was muggle-born. They had been said to

make her realise who she truly was, what she was searching for. What

she was meant to do. [She shall come from the land of the sun,

different from all those around her. She who possess a power never

before seen shall be the downfall of He who-must-not-be-named. In

her blood lies the truth.]

"What is it, `Mione?" Harry asked. His friend was staring off at

Willow, still a bit dazed.

"Nothing, Harry." Then she heard Ron gasp.

"Bloody hell! I was so stupid! I can't believe I didn't see it

before! Look at Willow. She's the spitting image of Snape."

Harry's eyes widened. "You mean."

"Yes!" Hermione cried, then turned back to the scene at the Head

table. "Her real name is Willow Snape. and her father is being

tortured by Death Eaters," she finished with an evil grin.

The Gryffindors weren't the only ones to see the changes in Willow.

Draco was staring at her. "Come on, Will. Wake up! Fight it!" he

whispered.

As if hearing him, Willow's back straightened. The famous resolve

face appeared. She turned toward Voldemort as he lifted his wand

toward Severus while cackling like a madman. "No," she said

strongly. Lifting her own wand, she yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

The Death Eaters stared when their Lord was thrown back as his wand

flew to Willow's hand. Lucius' eyes narrowed. "Willow, what the

hell are you doing?" Her green eyes turned to look at him and a

smirk tugged her lips. He froze. He knew that expression. "No," he

whispered. "It's impossible."

"What's the matter, Willow?" an angry voice hissed. "Don't want us

to hurt the traitor? You picked quite the wrong moment to grow a

conscience." Voldemort walked back at the teachers' table.

"I don't care about the traitor," she answered calmly. The dark

lord's eyes widened when the wind blew inside the Great Hall.

Willow's hair became red once more and the skin lost its whiteness

and the blue veins. "But I care about my father."

"What?!" Voldemort cried.

Severus couldn't have been more surprised than he did at the

moment. "My. daughter?" He groaned and fell on his hands and knees,

breathing deeply, doing his best not to faint. "I found her,

Morganna. I found her," he whispered.

"You!" the dark lord cried. "Kill her!"

At his words, a dozen curses flew to her, but not before she had time

to erect shields around her. But the force still knocked her back.

She jumped back on her feet. "I was willing to play nice and let it

go, but now I'm angry. I'm done playing." She snapped her wand.

Silence. Lucius stared. "You snapped your wand? What are you?

Stupid?"

"No. Just different." Wind blew across the room and swirled around

Willow. She slowly flew up, her feet no longer touching the ground.

Blue bolts of energy crackled around her fingers.

Understanding finally dawned on Lucius. The thing that felt wrong

about her was the flow of energy. Her wand captured some of it and

made her power seem disrupted. "A wandless witch!" he exclaimed.

"Run, little Death Eaters, because the big bad witch has come to

play."

"You shall taste my power, little girl," Voldemort hissed. "Kill

her!"

As Death Eaters walked toward her, Willow made signs in the air.

Strong vines came out of nowhere and caught the dark wizards. It

bounded them, rending them unable to flee or curse someone. The

redhead looked deep into Voldemort's red eyes and allowed hers to

turn black. "You are no match for me."

"We shall see who is the strongest."

Willow laughed coldly. "Oh, please! You think you can beat me

without your wand?! No wand user will gain power over me. Except

maybe one," she said, winking at Draco. "Sunnydale's witches do it

like this!"

The dark lord didn't have the time to move before being zapped by a

black bolt of energy coming from Willow's fingers. He flew back and

collapsed against the wall. The redhead smirked. "So much for the

dark lord." Just then, pain wracked her body and she screamed. She

looked up and saw Lucius walking toward her.

"You could have had anything you wanted! You could have been the

greatest!"

"Petrificus totalus!"

Straight at a metal bar, Lucius fell on the ground, eyes wide open.

Willow smiled at her father who was pointing Draco's father with his

wand. "I always wanted to do that."

Willow laughed and stood up weakly. She looked down at

Lucius. "You're wrong. There is something I couldn't have had."

She glanced at the Slytherin table and silver eyes met

hers. "Love." She smiled, then collapsed in exhaustion.