Authors Note: thank you for reviewing (hint hint) and if you have any info on how I could improve please tell me. If you don't like the story tell me why please. NICELY. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I don't own HP and am not making any money off of fic (I wish)

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Severus felt as though she had just shot him. He sat upright, the movement sending shock waves through his head. "He… he doesn't know…"

Kyran looked at him realization, and fear, growing on her small face. "Do you think he'll be mad?" she asked, her voice thin and quivery.

Severus shook his head. "It's not a question of him being angry. He's always angry. That only question is how angry." With that he clambered stiffly to his feet and, pulling Kyran along behind him, ran as fast as he could. Head spinning he stumbled over the broken pavement outside his house, staggered up the steps, and was about to knock on the door when in flew open. His father stood in the doorway and he was angry, as expected. But he was bad angry, very bad angry. Severus could feel Kyran shrink closer to him as they trembled in their father's shadow. Mr. Snape reached out, grabbed his children, and hauled them inside the house, slamming the door. Severus cringed back, is body rigid and tense. But it was Kyran his father turned on.

"How dare you take my son from this house? Who do you think you are? You're just some stupid slut, like you're mother!" He grabbed his daughter, lifting her up and pressing her against the wall, like a bug to be squashed. His fingers cut into her arms like knives, bruising. He shoved his red face up close to her, spraying her with spit when he spoke. Kyran's face was a yellowish white, her eyes wide and black. The man's looming shadow seamed to swallow her up and drain her of life. "Explain yourself!"

She twisted, squirming, trying futilely to move farther away from him. "I just thought… he was hurt… be safer-"

Almost in slow motion Severus saw the man's fist come crashing down. As if underwater he saw his sister's eyes widen, saw her head hit the wall, saw her crumple, saw her lips move but heard no sound. He turned his head away, blood running from his lip where he had bit through it, nails breaking as he ground them into his skin.

The woman in the doorway stared at him through a bruised face, her hands clutching at the door post. Her eyes were dark and sad, but the hurt, betrayed look in them was not directed at her husband. She looked at her son for just a second longer before turning to the man she once loved. Righteous anger seamed to fill her entire being. She raised a hand, pointing at Tobias. "You will never, never, strake my daughter again." Her eyes dared him to try. The man looked at her for one second. Then he laughed, mocking and careless. He turned, still laughing and walked away. Walked out of the room in a way only he could, each step so disdainful, just walking away from it all.

The woman moved slowly across the room, as though every bone in her body, every muscle was aching. She slowly knelt by the small crumpled body, her finger caressing the sweater she had knitted. Brushing back the tangled mass of black curls from the thin sickly face she whispered "Kyran?" The girl stared and Eleen Snape wrapped her arms around her daughter's thin torso, one arm cradling Kyran's head and shoulders, the other curling around to support the child's back. "Severus?" The boy looked up, wiping the water from his eyes. "Help me. Take her legs, please." He nodded. His fingers clenched the dirty ragged material of his sister's skirt. Quietly, like shy animals in a strange forest, the whispered through the house to Kyran's bedroom. After lying her down on the narrow bed and twitching the worn coverlet up around her his mother slumped down at the foot of the bed and raised her right hand to him to come to her. Rabbit like he came and she pulled him down into her lap, stroking the matted hair only she called beloved.

"I'm sorry." He choked out, the tears he had hidden before making they're lonely way across his face.

AN: sorry it's short. I've got way too much school work right now.