A/N: Yeah...it's been awhile huh? I've got an excuse...really. Two words for you: ALIEN ABDUCTION. Oh, and if bad grammar/spelling hurts your head and/or drives you up the wall...blame the dog.

It's been three months since Severus learned that Hermione was his cousin. She was still nice to him, still stopping to say hi and see how he was doing. But anything more than that, and people would become too suspicious. Though Remus knew about their shared bloodline, the less people that knew…the better it was. Voldemort was still a threat and neither Remus nor Severus wanted him to find out she had returned. Hermione wrote to him every two weeks and paid a house elf to deliver the letters secretly.

A cloaked figure stood in the corner of the room. Watching and waiting. He had seen a house elf deliver letters to Snape for the past two months. The man wanted so badly to get his hands on one of those letters but fear stopped him. He knew how powerful the other wizard was.

"Lucius, show yourself."

He stepped forward and dropped the hood of his cloak, revealing cold grey eyes and platinum blond hair.

"It's time, Severus."

As strange as it sounded, Severus had actually forgotten about tonight. Over the summer, in a small cabin, he and five others had sworn allegiance to Lord Voldemort. At the time, Severus had two choices, swear to follow or be killed. He rarely feared anything but the look in the man's eyes shook him to the bone. Now, tonight, on the last full moon of the year, Severus was to be given his dark mark.

A half an hour later, Severus sat in a forest with five others. He pulled his cloak tightly around him, trying to get rid of the chill. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was being cold. Lucius complained loudly about the weather. It was then that Severus decided that he could handle cold weather a lot better than he could handle a nearly grown man whining like an infant. Before Severus could make a snide remark, the man of the hour appeared in front of them. It seemed Severus was the only one who noticed this. He quickly took a knee and bowed. He may not like the man but he wanted to at least stay on his good side. As Severus bowed to "the master", he could still hear Lucius' whining and another guy's dirty joke.

"SILENCE!"

The words echoed through the forest and caused the other four young men to immediately stop talking and take a knee to bow. Voldemort walked forward and laid a hand on Severus' shoulder, giving him permission to stand. Severus stood and looked into the coldest eyes he'd ever seen.

"Severus Snape, your father has told me many good things about you. I've been watching you. You have much potential."

Severus bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, sir."

Voldemort stepped back and sneered, "Get up."

The four others did as they were told all knowing that they had succeeded in getting on his bad side.

"I will not tolerate childish behavior. Hold out your right hands."

Each of them held out there hands. Voldemort pulled out his wand and began with the opposite end of where Severus was standing. Severus heard him say a few words and then a green light exploded from his wand. The boy screamed in pain and fell to his knees, gripping his hand and then passing out. Each boy had the same reaction and by the time Voldemort came to him, Severus was trying to control the rapid beating of his heart. Instead of showing the man fear, like Lucius had done moments before, Severus lifted his chin a little higher in defiance. He pointed the wand and it took all of Severus' might not to cringe. The green light came from the wand and he felt something he could only describe as a pin prick. It was then that Severus realized that those that didn't meet Voldemort's standards would be punished…probably until they learned. Severus bowed his head.

"Go. Leave these children here."

Again, Severus bowed his head and then turned to walk away.

"Severus, you will be going far in my ranks."

He turned his head to reply but Voldemort had already gone. He shrugged and began his trek back to the school.

Severus woke up much later than normal. It was mid-morning and the entire dorm was empty. He dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. The dark mark on his hand was starting to fade. When he was done showering, he turned off the water and dried himself off. Severus wrapped a towel around his waist and walked to his trunk. He pulled out a pair of black slacks and a black sweater. Over this, he put on his robe and slipped into his shoes. He glanced into the mirror that hung next to his bed and ran his fingers through his hair. With a slight frown, he turned back to his trunk and found a black piece of ribbon. He pulled his shoulder length hair into a pony tail. With a satisfied nod, he walked out. Breakfast had already passed and it was still too early for lunch. So he decided to take care of pressing matters.

Remus had promised James, Sirius and Peter that he'd play Quidditch with them so Hermione and Lily decided to spend some time at the library. They sat in silence, Hermione reading The Catcher in the Rye, a gift from Severus, while Lily sat next to her and drew on a piece of parchment. After an hour, Lily put her pencil down and sighed, causing Hermione to look up from her book.

"What's wrong Lil? You've been unusually quiet all morning."

The red-head turned to her friend and Hermione could see the tears in her eyes. She put her book down and gave the girl her full attention.

"What is it?"

Lily looked away and took in a deep breath. She turned back.

"Hermione, I'm pregnant."