A/N: YES! Here is the OVERDUE chapter eight! Enjoy!

Baie-baie: he-he… SUGAR! Thanks for the review!

Brandy K: Thanks you very much! I had a wonderful summer! (School started like 3 weeks ago…) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter

WARNING: This chapter is rated 'M' for a very graphic scene.

Summary: End Sixth year to Seventh year. Severus Snape's sister dies and he inherits something he never wanted, but slowly and surly will grow on him. With the war starting, is it possible for him to keep the things he cares for safe? PRE-HBP

Disclaimer: I'm not married, I have no kids, I'm not British, and I am so not a genius. So in conclusion, I do not own Harry Potter. And if anything seems familiar to you, then I don't own it! I do own the plot and any OC characters!

OoOoOoO

Those days you cried

Shutting yourself away

I understand that

Don't reject how you were

On that twisted day

- Understand (translated) by Asian Kung Fu Generation

OoOoOoO

Thicker Than Water

By: LalathePanda

Chapter Eight: A Holly Jolly Memory

Bella sat at the end of her bed. She had just woken up a few minutes ago and remembered that something was happening today, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Was it another trip to Diagon Alley? Surely it wasn't that, she finished all her holiday shopping two days ago. So she continued to ponder until she rested her eyes on her calendar.

"It's Christmas morning!" she yelped, falling off her bed. She picked herself up and ran out the door. Bella practically flew into the great room.

A mountain of gifts greeted her. She felt like a kid again when her eyes landed on the presents. She went to the pile and noticed that most of it was for her. She felt happy for herself but then sad for her uncle. She then heard one of the house elves behind her.

"Rocky, is my uncle awake yet?"

"Yes, Miss," the elf, replied. "But Master went out and will be back before lunch."

Bella sat next to the pile and felt even gloomier. She was to spend Christmas morning alone. "Where did he go?"

"Oh, Rocky does not know, Miss. Before Master spent Christmas at Hogwarts, Master would go out on Christmas morning and return in the late afternoon." The house elf levitated a bowl of porridge to her. "But the Master told Rocky that it is okay for Miss to open the gifts."

Bella nodded and took the bowl and placed it on the coffee table. She leaned towards the pile and picked up the first gift. She looked at the badly wrapped present. I know only one person who can wrap a gift so badly. She looked at the tag attached to the gift.

To: Bella

From: The Almighty Phoebe

Bella laughed as she read the letter that was attached to it. Letters from her best friend always made her feel good. She opened the present and a book was on her lap. She opened it and smiled. It was a scrapbook, filled with pictures, old ticket stubs, worn out notes they passed in class, even their first detention slip. She placed the book on the table, promising to look through it later.

She then made through all the gifts until she got to the last one that had her name on it. It was a beautifully wrapped red box with a green velvet bow. The handwriting on the tag was meticulous and elegant. 'To my niece' it read.

Bella undid the ribbon ad lifted the lid. Despite all the anticipation that was building up, it was a book, a really thick book. She took the book out of the box and found it oddly light. When she raised it out a note fell on her lap. She placed the book on her side and picked up the note. She read the note and her eyes watered. She opened the book and saw many pictures. Severus gave her an album filled with childhood pictures of her mom.

Some were with a very young Severus, others were of her grandmother and her mom. There were even pictures of her mother's friends. But most were of her mom. Her mother waved at her and smiled at her. The agony of losing her parents came back again in full force. She shut the book and closed her eyes, trying to stop the on coming tears. She opened her black orbs again and gave herself a good cry in the midst holiday cheer.

OoOoO

Severus stood in front of the gray headstone. He brushed off the snow that laid on the top of the stone and ran his finger along the edge. The potion professor bent down and picked up a bouquet of Tiger Lilies. He looked at the flowers in his leather-gloved hand and back at the headstone before placing the bouquet on the foot of the stone. The snow fell silently around him. A gentle wind blew against him. He looked daunting in black as he stood there, his eyes rested on the gravestone.

"Hello, mother."

He brushed away a few greasy strands of hair from his face but didn't bother to tuck them behind his ears. He watchfully checked his surroundings. The cemetery was empty and silent, as usual. He was alone in the graveyard blanketed with angel white snow. Severus shoved his hands into his cloak's pocket.

Time ticked away. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. Before the Potion Master knew it, it was already noon. He's been standing outside in the middle of winter in front of his mother's grave for two hours, though it felt more like a few moments. He lifted his head towards the heavens and sighed heavily before taking out his wand. There was a 'pop' and the cemetery was empty.

OoOoO

Bella took a shower when Loopy informed her that her uncle was home. According to the elf, Severus had been in the castle for about two hours before Bella was aware. The house elf also said that the Christmas dinner was going to be severed in three hours.

"Where is my uncle now?" she asked the elf when she emerged from the bathroom.

"Oh, Master went out again. Loopy doesn't know where. Master just said that Miss must be ready for dinner in three hours."

Bella laid her evening outfit on her bed. "Are you sure he is going to be here for dinner?"

"Master always keeps his word."

Bella ran her hand through her magically dried hair. "Alright then." Loopy then vanished from the room leaving Bella alone. She slipped on her dress. It was a long, off the shoulder ruby red gown. It had long sleeves and was form fitting. It was very simple and it was her uncle who bought it for her. For a pretty lonely guy, he does have some great fashion sense… maybe he's gay… yeah right.

Bella snorted at herself as went to her desk and sat down. She pulled out a few pieces of parchment and began to write thank-you notes. Exactly three hours later Loopy appeared again and announced that dinner was about to be served and that Severus brought a guest.

When the elf disappeared she began some last minute preparation, like fixing her hair and applying make-up. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and applied the basics to her face. She then opened a velvet rectangular box and pulled out a diamond necklace with a ruby pendant surrounded by even more diamonds. Her uncle presented her the necklace when he gave her the dress two nights ago. He said it was previously owned, but he never said who used to own it. Bella had a good guess it was her mother's.

She left her room but then went back in when she realized she wasn't wearing shoes. After strapping on some heels she went out into the hall again and towards the staircase.

Maybe he brought home a girlfriend. She thought. That would explain why he was out most of the day. What would he be doing with a girl all day long? She pondered. Oh wizards… I don't even want to know… Bella visibly shuddered as she walked down the staircase. Maybe it's some important guest. Probably that's why he bought this whole ensemble for me.

Bella's heels clicked against the stone flooring as she made her way to the dinning room. When she finally got to the dinning room she opened the doors.

"Wonderful for you to finally join us," drawled her uncle from the head of the table. Bella swept across the marble floor and sat down to the right of her uncle. A plate of food was sitting before her. She looked across from her and saw a man around the same age of her uncle.

"Bella, this is Volos Nott, a friend of mine," introduced Severus. Bella stared at the man. His name was familiar but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"Good Evening, Mr. Nott," greeted Bella. "I hope you had a wonderful Christmas."

"Such a lovely young lady you have for a niece," Nott told Severus. "Decorum and etiquette is always associated with the Snape name."

"How do you two know each other?" inquired Bella.

"We attended Hogwarts together," said Severus as he lifted his wine glass.

"We usually met one another at social gatherings from time to time," added Nott.

"By the way, where is your wife?" asked Severus after he took a sip from his glass.

"She has a nasty chest cold, but a good potion should do the trick," the other man replied, as if hinting something.

"I have a bottle of a potion that should work," Severus offered.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Nott. Bella rolled her eyes. "But if you insist…"

"I'll give you a bottle before you leave," Severus said as he frowned at Bella for rolling her eyes. Bella picked at her plate for the rest of the evening, rarely bring the fork to her mouth. During deserts, her uncle and Nott excused themselves from the table.

"We have a meeting to attend to," explained Severus as they pushed their chairs in using their wands. "I'll return later this evening."

"How late?" she asked.

"Around one or two in the morning," he replied as he slipped on a black cloak. Bella looked up at the clock. It was nine at night. "I want you to be in bed when I get home." Bella's empty plate disappeared as Severus and Nott apparated away. Bella sat at the table for a few minutes before she stood up and left the room. She wandered around the castle before she found herself standing in front of her uncle's study. She had never been in there. It was usually locked and when he was working he forbade her to come in.

She was about to leave the corridor and forget about his study when she saw that the door was left ajar.

How careless of him. How un-Severus Snape.

She went back to the door. Curiosity got the best of her and she pushed it open more instead of closing it. She looked around her, checking if the hall was empty.

Stupid, I'm the only one here except the house elves, and they rarely go here anyways.

Bella slipped in the dark room. There was no light except for the glow of the pale moon. She saw an oil lamp sitting on a table and grabbed it. She turned it on and a soft glow of a small fire barely lit the room but it was enough for her to see. It was an ordinary study. There was a neat desk, a bookcase overfilled with books, a huge shelf of potion ingredients, and a working table with a caldron on top and other potion equipment next to it. She wandered around the room until she saw something out of the ordinary. It was a basin with odd runes carved around the edge sitting on top of a table. It was between the bookcase and the curtain drawn windows.

She went close to it until she was hovering over it. It was filled with a water like substance. She had never seen something like this before and found her self being drawn into it. She peered into it, but didn't notice it gave off a slivery light.

Bella found her self no longer in her uncles study but in her bedroom, or what seems to be her bedroom. The furniture, the bedding, even the paint was the same, but all her personal items such as photographs were missing. She looked out the window and saw that it was definitely not her room. Instead of seeing the vast green lands of the Snape Estate and seeing the edge forest at the far distance, there was a tree right in front of the window.

She walked around the room but froze when something caught her eye. She slowly went over to the left side of the bed and saw a little boy.

He had his legs gathered close to his chest with his arms around them and his face was buried in his knees. He was sitting on the floor against the wall with the curtain covering his right side. The boy was awfully skinny and sickly pale too. Her eyes widened like saucers when she noticed faded bruises on his arms.

CRASH!

Bella jumped at the sound that came from downstairs. She noticed that the boy flinched as well. There was another crash and she heard yelling. She turned her attention back to the boy on the floor.

"Excuse me?" she asked the boy. "What's going on? Are you okay?" The boy didn't look but so Bella asked again. Still she received no reply. The noises downstairs decreased until it was silent. The boy looked up and slowly stood from his spot.

"Excuse me?" Bella repeated but then she saw that he was looking past her. He began to walk slowly. "Hey wait!" she called to the boy but froze when he went through her.

"Oh Merlin! I'm dead!" Bella wailed. "I'm a ghost! I must be in the future!" she spun around and looked at the boy. He was looking out into the hall. She squinted her eyes and a picture flashed into her mind. "No, it couldn't be…" she whispered.

The boy left the room, and Bella followed. Before she got to the door she saw one picture hung in the wall. It was of her mother and a very young Severus Snape. Bella stared at the photograph in shock. She looked back at the opened door and ran after the young Severus. He was at the bottom of the stairs when she reached him, he was obviously taking his time. Bella ran down the steps until she was behind him. She followed him until the reached the room. They peered in at the same time.

At first Bella couldn't make out everything she saw. The kitchen was a wreck, chairs overturned and broken, shattered glass and beaten walls. A carefully made dinner stuck to the wall, chunks of it falling off and splattering the floor with a sickening noise. The pieces of a wine bottle lay in a broken heap by the refrigerator. Shockingly vibrant wine ran down the white front in rivulets of a robust red. It had been a good year too. Scotch dripped gold off the groaning, lopsided table. Gin glazed the perilous tile floors. The kitchen glittered and shone with tinkling wet sin.

A small canal of current jelly stood stagnant in between the tiles to rush unmoving into a harbor of sweet, sticky shards of ruin. It wasn't clear where the jelly ended and the oozing woman began. Her face was spotted blue with her husband's hand. Her white blouse stained with the anger of wine. Her hand still blistered and burst in the spitting frying pan. Her skin cracking to reveal the tender flesh inside. He arm wasn't supposed to be bent that way. Her arm wasn't supposed to slip out of her dress that way.

A necklace of pearly asphyxiation surrounded the mother's neck. One eye was swollen shut, the other stared at them. It stared and stared until the blood streaming down from her scalp hid her gaze. Her hair was pulled out in chunks of rage. Strands stuck to her cheek, to her ruby red lips, and in her current jelly mouth. She couldn't brush the hair away, her fingers were broken. They lay out on the wet, golden tile, splayed and crippled in the shape of a boot. Ragged remains of her dress brushed her spotted blue arm. The well-stitched hem of her dress lay across her thighs. Blood bloomed under the skin of her pale legs.

Her knees were bent backwards, beaten in by the chair leg in her stomach. Splinters branched out and decorated the glistening fabric. The leg was in sinfully deep, wine deep, gin deep, scotch deep. The kitchen dripped, trickled, poured, leaked as it died. She dripped, she trickled, she poured, and she leaked, as she lay there already dead. She was wet in reds and golds, she was a glistening being. She was his mother, and her home was destroyed. She was destroyed.

Snape's father stood there, panting. Bella looked up at him and saw a mind stripped of compassion and stripped of sanity. He wasn't holding a wand. He wanted to feel her break, to right her wrong. He was primal, he was rage, and he was not satisfied. Severus didn't see him, his eyes filled with his glistening, red and gold mother, but Bella did.

The syllables crashed together as he growled, "Severus."

He was terrifying, he was powerful in his fury, and he was not satisfied. Severus didn't hear him, his ears were full of the spitting, tinkling, dripping of glistening, red and gold, but Bella did. He stomped over to his son, destroying the pristine image of maternal demise. He threw the golden dripping table against the red running refrigerator. He bludgeoned across the glistening tile and kicked the frying pan. It hit the wall as he hit his son. Severus snapped up with his wand gripped in his hands. Agony filled his eyes like tears, silvery and sharp. His wand sparked the green poison corrupting his heart and mind. His father yelled and Severus saw, he heard and he screamed revenge for his mother.

"SECTUM SEMPRA!"

The world crumbled around Bella shrieking, agonizing red, but most of all wet.

Bella gasped for air as she was pulled out of the memory. The cold office of her uncle greeted. But she didn't notice, for her vision was blurred with hot salty tears. Her breath was ragged. Her mind raced until it was jammed and she could no longer think. Images flashed back into her mind as she crumpled onto the floor. Her hair fell around her as she cried in to her hands. The memory kept attacking her mind and senses.

The wine. The pool of blood. The smell. The hate in that man's voice. The dull terror in that woman's eye. The pain and agony. The wine and blood.

Bella's nose began to run as she silent wailed. She was so traumatized by a mere memory.

It was just a memory.

She picked herself up and tried to dry her tears. She moved her feet, but didn't know where to go. The castle was dark, except for the lighted sconces. She wiped her cheek as she dragged her feet.

A soft glow caught her eye. The door was slightly ajar, but she caught a glimpse of the Christmas tree. Her lips curved a bit as she went over and closed the door. Moments later, she found herself lying on her bed. She turned to her side and clutched a pillow. She curled into a ball and cried. The memory was still picking at her brain.

Bella mournfully cried for her dead grandmother.

Her tears fell on the pillow for her dead mother.

She cried for her uncle. For his pain. For his agony. She was the first in a long time to have shed a tear for him.

OoOoO

A/N: YAY! Thanks for reading, please, PLEASE review! I am SO VERY sorry for the overdue update! School started on August 29th for me. Um, my beta-er and I have been very, very busy with school work (we had 3 huge test on the first week for English 2 honors… ouch…) I already have a C (damn French teacher… she sooo can not teach… but good news is that I am number 1 in my biology class…) and I am trying very, VERY hard to get straight A's this year (colleges look at your Sophomore and Junior years).

Also, my beta-er is very busy with a ton of after school stuff. I'm swimming in homework. I also have other things to do (like helping my friend for her Début party (her 18th birthday, like sweet sixteen… but for 18th… yeah… so Flip we are). My grandfather just got out of the hospital, so my family is all blah right now… So in other words, we are very busy. Updates will take a while because first I have to write the chapter (that should be anywhere from one to two weeks) and then my friend has to BETA is (one to two weeks)

Okay, everything from "At first Bella couldn't make out everything she saw." To "…agonizing red, but most of all wet." Is written by my BETA-er and my good friend, Mistress Chocolate. She is a WONDERFUL writer and a WONDERFUL friend. She is a darling to have written that whole… erm… bloody scene for me. Only she could have done a wonderful job at that. She was so happy when I said that she could use magic in that scene ("No limitation… mwahaha!" –MC). I you think that that was really… bloody…but like to see more of her writing, then check out her other works on under the name Danielle Oaks ("Free marketing!"- MC). But, due to that part she wrote, I am going to up the rating to… whatever the next one is… ahahaha…

So, what is up with me right now? Well, I am hungry… that's for sure. I'm going to go watch Corpse Bride with my friends on the 24th with two of my friends after our KAPLAN testing. Fun, fun, fun! Um… I got a cell phone! The new Razor… and I got it Gucci-fied! I love Gucci… incase you haven't notice.

OMG… funniest thing happened to me yesterday (which was Saturday). I was out shopping at Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (I LOVE 3rd street!) and I was at Urban Outfitters (I LOVE UO). I only had a hundred with me, and that can't really go far in UO. So I go right to the back corner where the sales are. I find this REALLY, really cute shrug and it said that it was $38 but it was in the sales rack. So I take it. And then I see this sign that says '2 for $18' and it was a shelf with all these different colored camies and boy tank tops. So I take two boy tank tops (wearing one right now), I didn't want get another cami… So I go up to pay and my total is almost $70. My mind is like screaming but I hand over my money. As it turns out, my new shrug was full price, some ass just left it in the sales area, and the two tanks were 12 bucks each… damn… I really wanted to go to the French Connection store and get myself a 'FCUK in Los Angeles" shirt but I didn't want to waste the rest of my money. Thank God my mom said she's gonna pay for my Franz Ferdinand ticket (I'm seeing them with MC). … okay… not so funny… but it would make my friend Linda laugh so HA!

On a VERY different and overdue note, I would like to mention the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The living, the dead, and the ones close to the end. My prayers are with you. The South will rise again! Do something good and honorable. Give whatever you can, be it five cents or five thousand.

The American Media is only covering the Hurricane. Be aware of what is going on in our world. Even though we are young, and cant do anything, just know what is happening in the world we live in. There is a genocide going on in Darfur. Thousands of people have died due to human ignorance. Over a million are suffering. They need our help just as much as the victims of Katrina, maybe even more.

Be aware. Please visit SaveDarfur website, Red Cross website and Amnesty website.

So that was my two cents of the day (is that how the saying goes?). Oh, yeah… almost forgot. The Theatrical trailer for the GOF is out! Check it out, it looks really good, or in my words: sweet and wicked. I'll hopefully get Chapter Nine done and edited before Halloween. Happy readings and spend your extra money wisely!

-LalathePanda