Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Snape Manor

Severus Snape had just finally gotten to sleep the evening he and his niece had come home when he was rudely awoken by the sound of his fireplace accepting a floo traveler. Groggily, he looked over at his clock, and with a rush of worry, saw it was only 2:53. There shouldn't be anyone here at this time of night. Maybe there's been an emergency with the Order, or… He slid out of his bed, grabbing his wand from under his pillow as he went. Ever since The Dark Lord came back, and the Order was reformed, he had decided a little extra paranoia never hurt anyone.

And sure enough, his Dark Mark pricked ominously with every step he took closer to the entrance hall where the floo fireplace was kept. His house, although nowhere near as elaborate or large as the Malfoy manor, was still built in the highborn wizard style, a separate entrance hall, two guest rooms (filled with potions ingredients and books) plus a multi-purpose room (presently set up as a workroom), a dining hall (which he and Ashley never used, preferring to eat in the kitchens downstairs), living room… everything a 'civilized' house ought to have. Not that he ever used any of it…

Angrily, he clamped down on his mental chatter. The Dark Lord wasn't going to care how his house was set up. He didn't exactly call for tea, especially not at three in the morning. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door to the main hall, to see the Dark Lord bursting through the carved door of the entrance hall. "My Lord, may I ask what I can do for you?"

"Severus," he said, in his low, hissing voice, the one he used when annoyed. "Where are the Malfoy twins?"

"The twins my Lord? Should they not be at home? Their names were not on the list to stay at Hogwarts…"

"They were home, Severus. And now, they've left. I was curious to see if they had come here."

"Not to my knowledge, my Lord. There has been no one else in the house besides myself and my niece since we got home."

"Your niece… Ashley, correct? Would she know of their whereabouts?"

"I… I do not know my Lord, she is sleeping…" he trailed off as he heard footsteps coming down from Ashley's rooms. "Or was… I will ask her for you…"

"No need, I believe I can do so myself."

For Ashley had just opened her door. "Uncle, what's going on…" she trailed off as the door swung closed, revealing Lord Voldemort.

"Ashley, isn't it? You know the Malfoy twins?"

"Uh… yes, yes sir."

"Did they tell you of any plans to travel during the holidays? Anywhere they planned to visit?"

"No… not that I can recall. Usually, they just stay at home… unless the whole family goes somewhere…"

"I see. I will take my leave of you then, Severus, I have something more important to attend to. If they turn up here, I expect you to contact me immediately."

"Of course my Lord." Snape said, with a bow. He didn't rise again until he'd left, and Ashley walked over to him.

"What was that all about?"

"Apparently, he visited the Malfoys tonight. And something went wrong."

"Wrong? Ryua and Draco aren't hurt, are they?"

"Possibly. Probably, although I don't think he'd do anything permanent." he sighed, and directed Ashley back towards the sitting room. "I need a drink," he said, crossing to the cabinet. "Do you want one?"

"Um… Uncle Sev? I'm fourteen…"

"Right, right, sorry. I'm a little shaken up."

"I bet. What do you think happened?"

"He's been making rounds of his Death Eaters, checking up on them. He probably thought Lucius would have bred him a veritable army by now," he said, collapsing into an armchair, glass of Firewhisky in his hand.

"Hah. That's so not what happened."

"Oh?"

"Well, Draco's fairly good, I suppose. Not as good about pain or blood as his father though. But Ryua…"

"Unfortunately, Ashley, she is exactly what he wanted. Someone with a talent for curses, a high tolerance for pain, a very rich reservoir of magic… and an undeniable attraction for the Dark Arts."

Ashley sat quietly for a moment, picking fluff off her slippers. "I guess… but there's one problem with that. Ryua won't bow to anyone. Not ever, not even if she'll die otherwise. You've noticed that by now, haven't you?"

"Perhaps you're right… Which would explain why they took off earlier."

"Where would they go? Why didn't they come here?"

"Because of exactly what just happened. If it were anything else, they would come here first, or maybe over to the Crabbes or Goyles. But, the Dark Lord can come here freely, and they knew that. I assume they're probably in Diagon Alley by now."

"You know… something doesn't feel right about this."

"Nothing feels right when he's involved."

"That's not what I mean. Have you ever known Ryua to run from anything? I swear, she'd probably finger him and try to curse him back."

Snape looked over at her pensively. "You know… I think you have a point. Something else must have happened."

"I don't suppose that Dark Mark lets you read his mind or anything…"

"Not exactly… But now that you mention it… I did dream about something…"

"What? Don't leave me hanging like that…"

He took a swallow of Firewhisky before continuing. "I remember great fury… pain, in my right hand…"

"His looked kinda burnt, actually…"

"Really? Huh… And something about a woman, a woman infuriating him beyond compare, to a killing rage."

"A killing rage? He didn't kill Ryua… did he?"

"No, he couldn't have. He came here looking for them, remember?"

"Right…"

"The only other woman in that house then would have been Narcissa. But I can't see her ever doing anything like that. She is rather the opposite of Ryua, very meek." Snape said pensively, swirling his glass around.

"So… who else could have done it? Or what could have made her do it?"

"You know… I'm willing to bet Ryua was mouthing off. And that she was getting cursed for it."

"So?"

"As meek and subservient as she is, Narcissa is still a mother. That instinct doesn't much go away. It was probably the only thing she still felt she had any sort of authority in… it could be the only thing to make her stand up to anyone."

"I guess… Do you think he killed her?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think he would do it again, not after the last mother he killed."

"The last mother?"

"Lilly Potter. Harry gained some protection from it, as I'm sure you've heard from rumors by now."

"Sure. So… are they like, immortal now or something?"

"Possible, but unlikely. I think they must have some sort of warding spell set on them, but Narcissa was never as gifted a witch as Lily, or as close to her children. We won't know until we find the twins and learn exactly what was said."

"So are we going to go find them?"

"No. Too dangerous. If he comes back, asking if we've seen them, we can't lie. And I will not betray them to him, not now."

"Okay, I guess. So we have to wait until school starts again?"

"Yes." He downed the rest of the Firewhisky, and looked contemplatively at the cabinet.

"No… that's enough for you tonight. Off to bed with you, or I know you'll have a hangover in the morning, and then I'll have to deal with you being grumpy, sensitive, and shlumpy all day long.

"Shlumpy?"

"Yes, shlumpy. Now go to bed!"

"Yes ma'am…" he said sarcastically, but he did set his glass back on the shelf and followed her out.

Author's Note: I think it was JeannieBeannie33 who asked me to clarify what Narcissa did for the twins. Hopefully this clears it up, and I'll try to expand later on too.

And I found a new reviewer, I was so thrilled! Good to hear from you, Harry Potter Freak 139!