Chapter 15: All people are your relatives, therefore, expect only trouble from them.

Although it was called Snape Manor, the 2-floor structure was hardly large enough to warrant the title. When it had been built in the 18th century, there had been a north wing attached, as well as a greenhouse. Amadeus Snape, a flippant Potion's dabbler, had blown it up experimenting one night in the lab.

After that, the family (now reduced by 8 members who had been sleeping in the adjoining rooms) decided to sell off the crater and land and keep the main building. The name hadn't changed, and there simply hadn't been enough money to buy the land back and the many public auctions, or to build the wing back up if they did manage to get it.

And, Rowena mused, there hadn't been enough Snapes to fill it up anyway.

With orders to try and be quiet, the group left the sewers to Tonks' supervision. Rowena led the way down the alley to the garden door, nodding when Lupin pointed out the light in the second-story window. There was no sign of anything amiss in the garden, the plants looked as dead as they always did in the middle of winter, save for a few evergreens still coated lightly in snow.

Kingsley, keys in hand (as they would alert both the persons inside and the Ministry for Magic that they were there) opened the side door and slipped inside. Lupin followed him while the rest waited, anxious. This was one part that Rowena had hated, but agreed to in the end. As far as she was concerned, she could had handled anything in there just as well as they. Albus, being a gentleman she could happily strangled sometimes, had insisted that she at least let them look around first.

After a few minutes, they both came out. "There's no one on the first floor, or cellars. Someone has used the Floo in the last 24 hours or so." Kingsley looked to Lupin for his report.

"I can't hear anybody moving around upstairs, either."

Moody shifted closer. "They could be waiting upstairs for--"

"Waiting for what?" Rowena snapped. "For two Aurors, a werewolf, and a sub-professor to show up? I'm going to check the rooms upstairs. You can stay downstairs if you feel safer." Taking a long candle out of her pocket, she lit it and opened the door.

"I'll go with you," Lupin offered, coming up behind her.

"Thanks, Remus. We'll have to search the entire floor, including the library."

"Why not start at the room with the light on and go from there?"

Rowena sighed. "Grandfather charmed the windows to switch themselves around randomly. He said it was bored with the view outside the library windows -- where he spent most of his time. No one has been able to switch them off." She pulled her cloak close about her. "Trust me. We've tried."

She led Lupin up the back steps and into the entrance of the manor. Gliding up the thickly carpeted stairs, she paused on the landing. Lupin caught up to her and saw the dilemma: with the thick carpet, there was no way to see any light from out from under the doors. The smell of the fire was too spread for Lupin to smell where it was coming from.

"Start at each end and work inward?" Lupin motioned with his hands. She nodded and stalked toward the end door. When she was there, they opened their respective doors and stepped inside.

As there was 5 rooms on this floor, Rowena figured that it would take 20 or so minutes to do the entire floor. All that would left after that would be the attic, which she would do alone. Albus would not be pleased if she ended up disemboweling one of the Order members.

She finished one cloth-covered room and moved onto the next: Severus's bedroom. She was rarely in here, as she had no need to be during the school year, and not enough stupidity to be caught in there during the summer. Everything was as she had left it, save for the layer of dust around the fireplace. There was also a large collection of greenish black feathers in the grate. Evidently something had nested in the little used chimney and would have to be removed. She made a mental note of it and gave the room one last look around. There was hardly anything to check, as there wasn't that much extra furniture. Severus hadn't really lived here since well before his teaching career started.

Lupin closed the second door with a muffled click, and as she listened, moved on to the third and final room.

She whipped around at a knocking on her doorframe a minute later. It was Remus. Pulling her head from the fireplace, where she had been trying to tell how high up the new resident had made house, she said, "You scared me out of--"

"Rowena," Lupin interrupted. "Rowie, I'm …sorry…I…"

She felt something tighten inside, but tried to ignore the feeling. "About what? What's got you…" She trailed off, noticing his pale face and nervous tongue licking his lips as he stepped closer to her, into the light from the candelabra she had lit.

"Not Sevi," she whispered. "No…not Sevi…"

As Rowena turned into the room, the first thing that caught her eye was the slowly dying fire in the hearth. Absently, her brain noted that there was half a log left to burn and none left in the tinderbox in the corner. Her conscious attention was focusing on the figure lying on the old throw rug.

The unmoving figure.

"Rowena," Lupin said from the doorway as she moved slowly forward toward the prone figure. "I'm…"

She tuned him out, moving around the figure and kneeling with her back to the fire. Moving her hand, she ever so slowly moved the fabric away from the head, wand poised if they should move --

With a strangled noise, she tossed it back from Severus's still face. Dimly she heard Lupin talking to her, trying to move her away from the body. He didn't touch her, having enough sense to know better. She was grateful somewhere deep inside, as she would have drowned him in his blood or her own tears in that moment. Or both.

Looking closer, she could see the dried blood on Severus's clothes, the rug, on his skin. Half of his face was black and blue and swollen, looking doubly so when she put her hand to neck, half-wishing for a pulse, brushing his upturned collar.

She ran her fingers over the collar's fabric again, noting that one side was very thick in the interfacing, the other side thinner. Leaning closer, she inhaled deeply…and came back up, coughing. When she had caught her breath, she motioned Lupin closer. "I need your nose."

"Rowena, he's --"

She grabbed the front of his tattered robes and yanked him close. "I need your nose, werewolf, because mine isn't good enough," she said, her voice very soft and waspish. After a moment, she released him, and slumped back onto her heels. "I'm sorry, Remus," she whispered.

"What are you looking for?" he asked her as he straightened his robes.

"Wormwood."

Remus frowned, but complied. He nodded a moment later. "Very faint, but there. Why did--"

"You can call Moody and the others in. Voldemort isn't here and I'll need Kingsley's help in getting Severus ready to move."

Lupin looked up sharply. "Have you-"

"Call them."

"He's-"

"Call them." She smiled. "Then remember your lessons."

Lupin frowned, then suddenly his eyes opened wide. "You don't think-"

Rowena nodded. "Scoot."

He was almost out the door when he turned back. "What about the attic?"

Rowena looked up, face bland. "If any were stupid enough to go up there, they deserve what they got." She went back to examining her brother's prone form.

Lupin made sure to give the door a wide berth as he passed it.

Author's Notes:

Interfacing is that stuff they stick between layers of fabric to stiffen it. Most commonly in shirts around the button holes and collars.

I hope that little bit of Snape history is pleasing, I so tried to get something that sounded pre-OotP canon. Thanks for those who continue to read it!

Don't worry, there aren't going to be any spoilers for HBP! I got another heat wave, so I could type this up after finally getting my copy of the prince…Sighs…….huh? Oh yeah, typing…that's right. Please email me if you want to know where the quotes are from, and I'll do my best to get it emailed to you in the morning post.