A/N: This is an AU of my stories Blood and Family and History's Repetition. This is the what if question that arose from the idea of Jonathan Potter not making his deal with Voldemort as in BF and HR.

SierraAccent

Chapter One

Family

Echo Black stood in the dining room of Malfoy Manor waiting for her two cousins, Draco and Lilith. The elder Malfoys were already awake and ready to leave for Diagon Alley and Echo had been ready since dawn. She wised that they would hurry up because she didn't want to be interrogated by Narcissa and Lucius again.

Nearly ever summer since her mother's death, Echo had been staying at Malfoy Manor. During the school year, while her godfather, Severus, was teaching, she stayed with Narcissa's sister, Andromeda. Narcissa hated her sister and Echo firmly believed that the only reason Severus permitted her to stay with the Tonks family was because of that hatred. Echo knew how Severus felt about the Malfoys in closed quarters and she also knew that he hated her staying with the family as much as she did, but it was necessary.

After her mother's death, there had been a horrible court battle over who would raise Echo. Severus presented his argument of being her godfather and rightful legal guardian, but both Narcissa and Andromeda had presented arguments of being her only living relatives not currently serving live sentences in Azkaban.

It had been a bitter battle that lasted for nearly a year. Echo had been taken from the home that she had known her entire life by the headmaster to protect her from the Malfoys' attempts to kidnap her.

Eventually, the Ministry decreed that Severus was her legal guardian. Andromeda had then approached Severus about at least having something to do to help him and he agreed to let Echo stay with them during the school year, but then Lucius Malfoy said that they had a right to help raise Echo as well and it started again. Soon, an agreement was reached; Echo would stay with Severus during the holidays and at the beginning of summer and spend the remainder of the summer at Malfoy Manor before going to stay with Andromeda's family. Because of her close relationship with Andromeda and her daughter Nymphadora, Narcissa and Lucius constantly tried to prove that Severus was unfit to raise a child.

Echo usually found the entire situation quite funny but she had already been interrogated by her cousins at least five times since her arrival two weeks ago.

"Echo, darling," Narcissa Malfoy said. "Come into the parlor and wait with us. We can talk while we're waiting for Draco and Lilith."

With an inaudible sigh of trepidation, Echo followed the ever-so-subtle order and followed the woman into the parlor. Lucius was behind her, blocking any possible escape routes and Echo's stomach began to twist.

"Sit," Lucius commanded.

Echo sat, unwilling to give reason for the confrontation to last any longer than it had to by arguing with her cousin's husband.

"Echo, Lucius and I have become concerned about your relationship with Severus. Is there something you wish to tell us?"

Echo waited for bit, appearing to be in contemplation about Narcissa's question. When she believed that sufficient time had passed, she answered. "I don't think so."

"Are you sure? Severus has been distant of late. Is he hurting you?"

"I'm sure that he's not hurting me," Echo answered pointedly, growing tired already of the questions. She knew that they wanted to prove that Severus Snape wasn't capable of caring for a child, let alone the heir to the Black fortune and half of the Potter fortune. Echo had guessed long ago that they didn't know that both fortunes had been set aside untouched since her mother's death and everything that she had came directly from Severus.

"He could be doing other things," Narcissa said. "Things that you wouldn't know about. He was a Death Eater."

And so were both of you, Echo thought. Do you honestly believe that I would fall for this? I've been around here far too long, Cousin.

"I would know," Echo said. "Besides, if something was happening, wouldn't Dumbledore know? He does, after all, know everything that happens in the school."

"That bumbling old fool knows nothing of the pureblood ways," Lucius sneered.

"Lucius," Narcissa warned. "We're not here to discuss politics, we're here to discuss Echo's safety with Severus."

"I assure you, Narcissa, that I'm perfectly safe. Now if you'll excuse me, I think Lilith is awake."

Two hours later, the Malfoy family and Echo left the manor and traveled to Diagon Alley. Hogwarts letters had been sent out and the shopping area was full of students and parents alike. Echo saw the red hair of the Weasley family and steered Draco away from their direction. She didn't want to deal with a confrontation with the family until they were in school where they wouldn't get into too much trouble.

"Let's go over there," Draco said, nodding towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. "I want to see the new brooms."

"You and Quidditch," Echo muttered good naturedly. "I swear you're obsessed."

"So are you."

"Not quite. I like to play, and I'm a good seeker, but I'm not going to go out of my way just to see the new brooms when we're not even going to be allowed to play Quidditch at school."

"You're such a Potter, Black."

Echo grinned. "And how would you know, Malfoy? You've never met a Potter."

Less than an hour later, Echo and Draco left the Apothecary and headed for the book shop. Echo had been thinking about her cousin's comment earlier. She hated being compared to the Potters because she knew that she was nothing like the rest of the family from what she knew of them. They were all good and kind people and they were all Gryffindors. She knew that she'd never be like that. She had spent far too much time around people like the Malfoys and her godfather.

No, she knew that she'd be in Slytherin with Draco. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she'd be there. Both of her parents had been Gryffindors and so had her aunt and uncle, but look at what had happened to them. Three were dead and the fourth was serving a life sentence in Azkaban.

Echo had learned all about her parents' history. Leah Potter and Sirius Black had been married in a private ceremony officiated by a Muggle minister in London. Both had been Aurors at the time, along with Leah's brother, James and his wife Lily. The four had worked nearly nonstop against Death Eaters until Lily got pregnant and a few moths later, Leah was pregnant.

The daughter of that union had often tried to distinguish when Sirius had become disillusioned and began to work as Voldemort's spy. Was it before she was born? After? She wanted to know what had caused it and she wanted to know why.

Indeed, Echo had hated her father her entire life. She didn't need to hear her godfather's stories of his cruelty to know that he was an evil man. What kind of person would turn against his own best friend and his godson ad not be evil? In Echo's mind, Sirius had abandoned her, left her to be raised by her godfather and never know anything about her mother except from the journals that Severus had rescued from Potter Mansion.

Echo had been reading them for two years, just a bit each day and was currently only in her mother's second year at Hogwarts. They proved very interesting reading and Echo learned a lot about both her parents through her mother's words.

"Echo!"

"Huh, what?"

"Merlin, you were out there," Draco said. "We're going over to the book store, then to get robes."

"Oh."

"You okay?"

"Fine, just thinking about something."

"What?"

"I can't remember," she lied.

"That's comforting."

"I'm sure it is."

Draco shrugged. "Oh, it's Weasley."

Echo looked up and saw three of the Weasleys walking out of the book store. So much for avoiding confrontation.

"Well, look what we got here," Draco said disdainfully, looking at the second hand books the youngest Weasley boy was carrying.

"You know Draco that not everyone can be as fortunate as we are to have vaults full of galleons."

"True," Draco said, appearing in contemplation.

"Shut it, Black," the young Weasley snarled.

"Ooh, I seem to have struck a nerve. Don't you think so, Cousin?" Echo asked, feigning innocence.

The two other Weasley boys, the Twin Terrors, as Echo remembered Severus calling them, were looking murderously at her and Draco, but especially Draco. Fred knew why she was saying those things and Echo also knew that he would forgive her as he had in the past.

"I believe so, Echo. Shall we?" he asked, offering his arm to her.

"In a moment," she answered. He looked surprised, but didn't say anything as he walked into the store.

"Having fun?" Fred asked.

Echo shrugged. "Not really, but I'll live with it. See you at school." Fred nodded and steered his flustered brothers away from the entrance of the store.

"What was that about?" Draco demanded in a harsh, but quiet voice.

"It is a good thing to have friends across the political spectrum, dear Cousin. The Weasleys firmly support Dumbledore."

Realization dawned on the blond haired boy. "I see."

"What in the bloody nine hells was that about?" George demanded of his twin once they were away from prying ears.

Fred shrugged. "Echo's a nice girl."

"She's a Black. Not only that," George ranted, "she the daughter of Sirius Black and she's been raised by Snape."

"So what? You can't hold a person's family against them," Fred said in justification. "Look, I've talked to her. She puts on a façade to please her cousins, but even Snape just wants her to be herself."

"How do you know her?" Ron asked. Being the youngest of six boys meant that he was left out of a lot of things. He knew that he'd be going to school with Black this year and he wanted to be prepared.

"Just give her a chance," Fred said, ignoring his younger brother's question. "And remember that everything she says is for someone else's benefit."

"I never thought I see you consorting with the enemy, Fred," George said.

"She's not an enemy."

"And what if she gets sorted into Slytherin?"

"What if she's in Gryffindor? Does it even matter?"

George sighed. "I suppose not. So how do you know her?"

"I meant her one night in the kitchens and we talked. Then Snape walked in and sent her to her room. I thought he was going to give me detention for talking to his goddaughter."

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"He asked me to keep an eye on her and be her friend since she really hasn't had anyone that she could trust."

"And you've kept this a secret for how long?"

"Since last Christmas."

"Oh," George said. Ron thought that he seemed hurt because his twin had kept such a secret from him. "Let's go or mum'll kill us for keeping Widdle Ronniekins gone for so long."

Or maybe not.