A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Enjoy as always.

Warnings

Glancing at the cot beside him, Severus sighed inwardly and turned away from his sleeping child. Curled up in a tight ball near the edge of the cot, Harrison didn't look comfortable at all, but Severus wasn't going to leave him alone in the dungeons either just so the boy could sleep in his own bed and be comfortable. In fact, the thought of being apart from the boy was truly horrifying to him these days. He didn't ever want to be apart from him again. Not when there were real dangers out there in the world like rogue Aurors, escaped Death Eaters, and the other garden-variety instruments of mayhem. No. He would keep them together for as long as he could. And right then at that particular moment, he knew they needed to be there in the hospital wing. His frown immediately deepened a moment later. Didn't they? His eyes returned their gaze to Aurora's sleeping form on the cot next to him. He was sitting in between both her and Harrison's cots with them on either side of him.

It had been a few hours since Madam Pomfrey brought Aurora back to the hospital wing. And in that time, Severus hadn't seen any real improvement in her condition. At least not anything of note in his opinion. She still hadn't regained consciousness after her seizure.

He leaned forward a bit and brushed back a curl from her lips a moment later. He hated waiting. It was so pointless, so much of a waste in the end. Not to mention, waiting always led to his mind wandering as it was utterly bored. He needed to be doing something. Fixing this somehow, someway. But the file in his lap provided him no answers, only more questions. He sighed quietly and ran a hand through his hair.

The notes in the file were a collection of observations and examinations from Pomfrey, a healer from St. Mungo's, and Aurora's own mother. Pomfrey's notes along with the St Mungo's healer were easy to discern. Not Syra's, though. More than a few times, he found himself having to reread the woman's notes and frown even more at what he had read. She came off in her notes as so unfeeling, so cold even. While he could understand the need to write in a clinical approach if the patient was a stranger, he was flabbergasted to know that Syra's notes had been about her own daughter, her child. It was as if Syra never cared for her, never had a sliver of love in her heart for her. It was appalling really.

"Well?" a brusque voice asked suddenly.

He glanced up towards the sound, sighing when he saw Madam Pomfrey slowly approaching with her wand drawn. It was time for her to examine Aurora again. Had an hour already passed? How quickly time was passing now it seemed.

"Interesting read, isn't it?" Pomfrey stated with a scoff as she motioned to the folder in his lap while she ran her wand over Aurora. "How that woman was her mother was always beyond me. Now, her father—well, him I could believe being related to her."

He nodded slowly, unsure of what to say. There was so much documented by Syra. In fact, it read more like a research report on a lab rat being subjected to several experiments if he were honest.

"Mister Fiori brought her and Orin here, which I'm certain you ascertained from my report. Her vitals were stable, and her injuries weren't really significant. A few bumps and bruises really."

He nodded again, recalling the matron's report. "You noted that her heart rate was low?"

"Yes, as was her temperature, but it had been storming at Windsor I believe. They were all soaked to the bone when they arrived at least. I gave her a quick Pepperup in fact to ensure she didn't become ill. But the low temperature wasn't anything to be concerned about at the time." She paused and glanced at him as if she was finally catching his line of thinking. "Why?"

"She usually runs a lower temperature, doesn't she?"

She shrugged and replied, "Come to think of it, I did notice that trend sometimes. Why?" Her eyes narrowed on him. "What are you thinking?"

He shrugged, turning back to look at Aurora. She seemed pale, whiter than she had ever been before. In fact, she usually had a bit of a healthy glow to her, almost tan under certain lighting.

"You examined her fully that night, correct?" he inquired.

"Yes," Pomfrey answered, drawing the word out with narrowed on eyes leveled on him. "Why?"

"And other than a few bumps and bruises, you found nothing to . . ." His voice faltered slightly.

"Spit it out, Snape."

As if it was that easy, he thought. Running a hand through his hair again, he sighed heavily and licked his lips slowly. It would certainly make sense. At least partly, that was. Though, not everything was lining up exactly.

"Severus Snape," Pomfrey bristled with her hands flying to her hips, interrupting his thoughts, "you will answer me this moment." Her eyes narrowed into slits on him. "What are you insinuating?" Still there was no response. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she groused. "Out with it already."

He couldn't say it. Not yet at least. Not until he was absolutely certain that it was the only possible explanation. After all, if his suspicions were correct, everything would change. Everything.

"Did she admit when she started taking Bliss?" he finally spoke a few second later.

"Right after her mother's death. Why?" She crossed her arms and glared at him when he didn't elaborate. "Severus?" She drew his name out with hard eyes focused on him.

"What if your theory about it being the result of the Bliss was wrong?" he replied quietly. "What if it was something before that?"

"Like what?"

He looked back down at the file in his lap. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place ever so slightly. It would certainly explain Syra's clinical approach of documenting every little thing of her daughter's life. But it went against what he knew. Against everything he knew.

His eyes darted back to Aurora before he slowly stood up, noticing that something was amiss. He looked her over, thankful to see that she was clearly still breathing. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something wasn't right. Something was missing.

"What is it?" the matron asked taking note of his look.

"Something's missing," he replied quietly, shaking his head.

"Well, I'd imagine a great deal is considering she's still unconscious," Pomfrey remarked dryly.

"No. That's not it, Poppy. It's something else. Something's—I don't know—missing from her."

He then noticed the matron examining Aurora closer as well. He was thankful that he didn't have to explain any further than that, as he couldn't. He just couldn't place what was missing. There was something, but what was it?

"It's her necklace," a male voice suddenly spoke up from the shadows.

Severus's dark eyes darted to where the intruder was instantly as Severus's wand slipped into his hand silently and at the ready. Where had the man come from? More importantly, who the hellwas he for that matter? If there was one thing Severus hated the most, it was definitely surprises. He couldn't anticipate those, prepare for them properly.

"What?" Pomfrey replied before her head whipped back to Aurora to confirm the man's words. She didn't seem to be alarmed by the intruder in the slightest. In fact, it was almost as if she knew the stranger it seemed.

Severus's fingers curled tighter around his wand in response, waiting for the other man to make a threatening move first. After all, it wasn't considered self-defense if he killed the other man in cold blood. And judging by how Pomfrey was reacting, Severus knew he couldn't count on her to back up his story if anything occurred between the two. Not that he had a lot of people to back him up these days.

"She's not wearing her necklace, Madam," the unfamiliar young man coolly repeated as he finally stepped out into the light to reveal himself fully. He wore a navy button-down shirt with his collar undone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows, black trousers with a black belt and shiny silver slender buckle, and black dress shoes. With the young man's short dark hair spiked up in the front as well, the seemingly twenty-year-old man looked like he had just come from some semi-formal event. His lifeless, dark eyes drew Severus in as he briefly glanced at him before he turned away. "He ripped it off her that night."

"She hasn't worn her necklace since then?" the matron gasped, her hand pressed against her chest with wide eyes. "You're joking?"

Death-gripping his wand now, Severus frowned, wondering why Pomfrey was so startled by this piece of information. It was a necklace for Merlin's sake. It was, therefore, hardly a life-or-death matter. Yet Pomfrey was acting like it was the worst possible news in the history of the world right then when there was an intruder in the castle.

"I didn't even notice that during my examination of her," Pomfrey remarked aloud, shaking her head as she turned back to the younger man. "She's truly been without it ever since June?"

"She has," the younger man replied solemnly.

Deciding that enough was enough with this ridiculous farce he was witnessing, Severus stated with a scoff, "So what? It's a necklace for Merlin's sake! She can get another one." He could get her another one if it was that big of a deal.

"No. You don't understand," Pomfrey began before a pained look quickly crossed her face. She must have realized something just then and stopped herself from revealing anything more to him. She, in fact, glanced to the floor to avoid his eyes, which was never a good sign in his opinion.

"She's worn that necklace since a few seconds after her birth," the younger man stated softly, picking up where Pomfrey had stopped.

"What?" Severus whirled back towards the intruding man. He had to have heard him wrong. Did he just say that Aurora had been wearing that necklace a few seconds after her birth? Didn't Aurora's parents know anything about children? Brats always put things in their mouths. In fact, Severus himself had to chide Harrison about it more than a few times. If it was that important of a necklace as they were making it out to be by fussing as such, no parent in his right mind would allow his child to wear such a precious heirloom, especially not after she was just born. It was preposterous.

The younger man laughed softly as the silence ticked on, which only further irritated Severus. "I would not expect you to understand considering that you've only recently stepped into her life from the shadows." The younger man then cocked his head to the side with his emotionless eyes narrowing slightly as a corner of his lips twitched slightly. "But I would have thought you'd have at least learned a bit about her considering."

Severus stiffened at the man's words. Just what was the arrogant prick insinuating exactly?

"After all, I know she poured all over studying you and your family over the decade-plus that she's known you," the young man stated with a listless shrug. "But what do I know anyway?"

"Precisely," Severus hissed with a dark glare. "What do you know?" He watched the younger man's thin smile slowly deepen before he heard the man's lifeless laughs. "I fail to see what's so funny."

"Forgive me, Madam," murmured the younger man as he bowed his head to Pomfrey.

What did she need to forgive the man about exactly? Severus's eyes narrowed briefly, and his fingers tightened even more around his wand. If he held it any tighter, he knew that it would surely break. While he couldn't quite place it yet, he knew this man across from him was a threat to his family somehow. And threats always met the end of Severus's wand one way or another.

"For what, dear?" the matron kindly replied.

If there was a response, Severus surely didn't hear it. For a moment later, he found himself being grabbed by strong arms that appeared out of nowhere followed by a rush of icy air and the feeling of brief weightlessness and then darkness. He drew in a deep breath, the air chilling him to the core. His vision had blurred into nothingness, but he could still feel the strong arms around him. Strong arms that refused to release him. And then all of it was gone just as sudden as it had appeared.

When his eyes reopened, he took a step back in surprise. Somehow he had . . . His mouth opened and closed as he stared at the young dark-haired man across from him. How in the hell was he now on top of the Astronomy tower? No one could Disapparate in Hogwarts! Not unless the Headmistress . . . He swallowed the lump in his throat, as his mind raced as he considered the meaning.

"Now that that's out of the way, we can talk without any pesky interruptions," the young man declared, entirely too pleased with himself for Severus's liking. He crossed his muscular arms across his chest and grinned with two pointy fangs pointing out from beneath his pale lips. "I'm Declan Fiori, and you, wizard, are a pain in my arse."

A vampire had come to Hogwarts . . . again.

"Declan Fiori?" Severus repeated quietly, watching him like a hawk. He, of course, knew the name, having heard it from Demetri, Minerva, and Aurora. But actually standing in front of the man whom the three ladies, even Pomfrey for that matter, considered to be a non-threat was a different story. It had to be the vampire powers lulling the women into a sense of security, he decided, because standing right then in front of him, it took everything in Severus not to hex him to bits and pieces.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Declan replied a bit testily. "Though, I must admit . . ." his voice trailed off for a second. "The way she described you, I would have imagined—well, not this."

Severus instinctively clenched his wand tighter defensively. "Just what exactly do you mean by that?" After all, the same about not matching up to her description could have been said about the arrogant prick across from him.

"Do you have a hearing problem, wizard? Or are you just that dense? I mean, if you are . . ."

"I could turn you into ash in a second, vampire, so I would choose my words—" Severus's words died on his lips when his wand suddenly vanished from his hand. His head whipped back to the vampire, his eyes widening in horror. There in the vampire's hand now was Severus's wand being twirled in Declan's fingers.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Declan said with a fake laugh. "You were saying, wizard?"

"Give it back," Severus hissed, glaring at the man.

"Give what back?" the vampire replied innocently, smirking and showing off more of his pointy fangs. "Oh! You mean your little death stick? This?" He waved Severus's wand flippantly. "Yeah. No. I think I'll hold onto this until you can behave yourself. After all, I've been fairly cordial to you considering the circumstances."

"Considering the circumstances?" Severus repeated with a deep growl through clenched teeth. "What circumstances?"

Declan scoffed and shook his head. "Back to playing dumb, I see."

Clenching his teeth even tighter, Severus took a step towards the vampire. "What the hell are you talking about, nightwalker?"

"Your messing with time. Or do you not recall that? I mean, it only did give you your son after all. It wasn't like it was a big deal or anything, right?" Declan drawled with another carefree shrug. He then took another step closer to Severus so they were nearly touching. "And then there's the whole ignoring Mistress Aurora for decades and making her have to almost beg for your attention." His smirk widened a bit more before he said, "Which honestly I don't see the appeal of why she would when you're so . . . ordinary."

Ordinary? Who the hell was he calling ordinary? Severus stood straighter and glared at the vampire, wishing he had a stake to end the annoying pest right then.

"That's enough, Declan," a voice called out. "You've riled him up enough."

It couldn't be. Severus whirled around, his wand all but forgotten now. It was impossible. Yet there it was . . . or rather there she was. There near one of Hogwarts' ramparts stood Syra Sinistra, Aurora's mother, in flesh and blood. "How . . .?"

"Wizards," Declan chuckled deeply, handing back Severus's wand. "They always believe what they're told like little sheep all ready for slaughter."

"Leave us. Now," Syra ordered, her voice soft and calm as her icy blue eyes remained on Severus while her long blond hair blew around in the light breeze.

"Yes, Lady Syra." A moment later, Declan was gone from the tower.

"How is this possible?" Severus asked breathlessly. She couldn't be standing in front of him. She was dead. That was what everyone had claimed. It was what Aurora had believed. "You were killed."

Syra stood perfectly still, her eyes never wavering from his as he spoke. Her tight curls waved in the breeze as her long flowing blue robes whipped around her eerily.

"Aurora grieved for you," Severus declared, feeling his strong emotions bubble to the surface. To this, he saw Syra's face soften ever so slightly. It was minute, but it was there. "How are you standing there before me right now when according to your daughter you were murdered last June?"

"While I don't expect you to understand—"

"Understand?" Severus growled, his eyes narrowing on her in anger.

She scoffed at his interruption and shook her head slowly. "I knew the moment I saw you that day at St. Mungo's who you were. The boy was a surprise I admit," she stated with a soft laugh, "but when Narcissa mentioned that she was having trouble determining the boy's paternity, I knew what had happened. Not fully of course. For that, I needed Declan, but I knew enough to realize the boy wasn't yours." Her icy blue eyes remained locked with his. "Don't get me wrong. Narcissa—she's acceptable in her alterations, quite exceptional actually at times, but not enough to truly fool the Aurors. She's still learning of course, and with time and experience, she'll become better at it. Exceed even me one day."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The right side of her lips curled upwards ever so slightly. "Because you need to understand that I could have, if I wanted to, thrown you to the Aurors right then, Severus. Instead, I helped conceal more of the boy's true lineage for you."

If that were true . . . "Why?"

She laughed darkly, rolling her eyes. "Because my daughter loves you, Severus. I'd have thought that much was obvious at this point. After all, had we not done all this, she'd have been there at your side this year at Hogwarts, pining after you as she's always done, hoping for just one second you'd see her and return her affections so you both can live happily ever after."

He ignored the utter distaste and disgust she held for him in her words. "She's done that, though. We're both very much happy."

"Oh, yes, much to my dismay, I'm aware." Syra shook her head again, her blond locks bouncing slightly against her slender shoulders. "I thought she'd stay away from you, distract herself with Albus's pathetic excuses of missions, but no." She scoffed as her eyes hardened on him. "Her love for you just couldn't keep her away. When Declan told me he had seen her in Diagon Alley that day fighting off your attackers, I knew it was the beginning of the end. That she had broken through my spell. Once again, I underestimated the power of love."

Syra had done this to keep them apart? "Why?" he croaked. "Why did you try to keep her away from me?" He tried very hard not to let her hear the pain in his voice, but he was failing badly.

She sighed heavily, letting some of her earlier anger disappear. "While I may not have been attacked nor was her sister or father, she was, Severus." She frowned slightly when he stared back at her in disbelief. "As a father, I'm certain you understand the need to protect your child at all costs. That you would do anything to keep your child safe. Yes?"

He could certainly understand that action, sure, but that didn't mean he agreed with her methods of madness she had implemented in this case. And for what?

"I wasn't privy to all of the details," Syra declared a moment later, "but, suffice it to say, Aurora was attacked on her way to Windsor that June night in question. She was heavily intoxicated, drowning herself in alcohol after seeing you with the boy in Diagon Alley all happy and such. Thus, considering her emotional state at the time, it's no wonder why it was so easy to get her to drink poison."

"Poison?" That was the first he had heard of that. Was this another misdirection? He'd had so many of those this year.

"Indeed." Syra shook her head slowly, her eyes finally breaking her stare with him. "Declan hadn't recognized the signs immediately. He just assumed the man who had handed Aurora the cup was one of the bartenders and that she had ordered it. She didn't seem at all surprised when the drink arrived according to him, so he thought nothing of it. When she Disapparated to return home, it activated the poison in her system as it had been signaled to by her magic. The moment she reappeared in our foyer at Windsor, she collapsed and seized violently in front of me."

Severus stood listening to Syra's story, unsure if this was the truth or not. It was becoming very hard to tell what was true and not nowadays. So many times now he had fallen on his face, thinking one thing only to learn later it was another. Misdirection, lies, secrets, he was done with all of it.

"I hope you never experience that with your children," Syra stated emotionlessly. "Because it is something you will never forget, I assure you." Her eyes then re-met his. "I thought at first that it was due to the excessive amount of alcohol in her system, so I attempted to flush it out of her and when that didn't work I attempted to dilute it. Her seizure became more pronounced, more violent, with my actions, though. I couldn't understand why. It was just common alcohol based on how she smelled. It wasn't until she bit her tongue and drew blood that I knew. I tried the common antidotes at first. And then a bezoar, which didn't have any effect either. I . . ." Syra paused, her voice trailing off for a moment before she blinked and continued, devoid of all emotion again. "I was not going to lose her."

The way Syra had declared that sent chills down his back.

"I ripped her necklace off, knowing what it would mean." A flicker of some emotion quickly flashed across her face again before it vanished and was replaced with the familiar blankness. "I've buried so many children over the years. You wouldn't know the pain you feel afterwards. I didn't want to bury the one who actually survived, my strong little warrior." Syra's head lifted up a bit more. "Therefore, I took a chance and did something I had hoped I would never do." She paused again before she licked her lips and started again. "After ripping her necklace off, I knew it would start a cataclysmic attack on her system. I've cataloged everything about my daughter since learning of her conception, filing it away for future knowledge."

Even though he was beyond confused by her words and declarations, he didn't dare interrupt her now. He knew that Syra needed to get all of this out for some reason. He just needed to be patient to learn that reason.

"I could hear my daughter's heart slow. Feel the life slowly leave her as the poison ravaged her body as the part of her that I suppressed long ago finally woke up." Syra's lips pressed tightly together for a moment as she paused again. It was unnerving to watch her stare back at him not breathing the entire time before she finally spoke again. "While I don't expect you to understand what I did, it is important that you are aware of what you are signing up for by being with her."

He couldn't hold the words back any longer. "You turned her?" He flinched when Syra laughed harshly in response a moment later.

"Turned her? Oh no, Severus." Syra shook her head slowly before she crossed her arms. Her icy blue eyes watched him carefully for a few moments as if she was debating something with herself about him. As the seconds slowly turned into minutes, she finally broke the silence and quietly drawled, "Did you truly not think it was strange that of all the properties, all the places in the world, a group of vampires fleeing as they were hunted chose Windsor of all properties?"

Once more he was reminded that he didn't know that much about Aurora and her family. It was beginning to become a horrible inconvenience for him. He remained silent, though, as she stared at him for a brief moment longer before he heard her soft laugh in astonishment.

"Aurora truly didn't tell you about growing up around vampires?"

"She briefly mentioned it," he replied quietly. When her icy blue eyes narrowed, he added, "That her great-grandfather or grandfather or someone on that side had offered the vampires refuge, and that they chose to help out in turn for this kindness."

Syra's lip twitched slightly before she said with a snort, "I see my daughter's forgotten some of her family history already. Orin always did tell me she never did care about it." She shook her head slowly, her body weight shifting slightly. "Family, however, is very important, wouldn't you say, Severus?" Her icy blue eyes were staring deep into his.

He stared back at her, unsure of how to respond to that exactly. Of course family was important.

The half-smile grew on Syra's face before she lifted her hand up. "You don't have to answer of course. Your lack thereof says quite a bit actually."

Severus frowned deeply in response. "I don't understand why you're telling me any of this, Syra." He truly didn't. "You start with one thing, and you then move on to an entirely different subject. Just get on with it already. What did you do? What does any of this have to do with Aurora? And more importantly is she going to be all right now?" Those were the most important questions after all. The rest of it was just mindless distractions.

"So impatient you are. You must get that from your mother," Syra replied dryly. "Very well. I'll connect the dots for you."

"Thank you," he bitingly retorted.

"However, to do that, you're going to have to exercise a bit of patience for me. After all, I do only have to condense six hundred years of family history into a few sentences for you and your miniscule attention span."

Severus clenched his jaw and glared but he said nothing.

"On her father's side, Aurora descends from the broken line in the Black family tree. Phineas, the son of Phineas Nigellus Black—I take it you've heard of him, yes?" She continued when he inclined his head sharply in obvious anger. "Good. Phineas Nigellus would be Aurora's great-great grandfather with Phineas himself being her great-grandfather obviously. Phineas had met Catalina at Hogwarts his seventh year. She was a Ravenclaw, and he was a Slytherin. He fell for her hard like all the other boys at the time. She had told him she was a Muggleborn. It was a lie, though. A well-crafted one that she had used for more than half a century."

Severus's brows furrowed instantly. He had to have heard her wrong. Half a century?

"No, you heard correctly, Severus. I did indeed say 'more than half a century." Syra smiled thinly at his obvious surprise. "She was already a full-fledged vampire when she met Phineas. Had been ever since her family manor had been attacked by a ruthless vampire who had for reasons unknown spared young three-year-old Catalina from the painful deaths her family endured. She was raised as the vampire's daughter, and he turned her on her seventeenth birthday so that they would always be a family. That was until he left to return to his family instead, leaving her alone in Europe as he went to the Americas. But that's another story for another time."

"So, she created fake lives to play out for fun?"

"In essence, yes. The last one she used was Catalina Sinistra, a Ravenclaw Muggleborn from, I believe, the Scottish highlands. It was another persona of hers of course created from boredom. Which I myself can understand now in my current state."

Severus wasn't so convinced he could, but he wisely remained silent.

"The moment she stepped into Phineas's life, though, he found himself on an entirely new and at times unsettling path. He openly started to rebel against his father and his ideals. He no longer believed the old ways were the right answer anymore. That Muggles were lesser beings and the numerous other blind hatred that was spewed back then. Ultimately, this led to Phineas being cast out of the Black family, which he gladly cast aside and went so far as to never use the surname again."

Severus listened in sheer confusion. It went against the story he had heard from Regulus years back. Yet if this were true, he could see why Regulus wouldn't have heard it.

"At some point," Syra resumed, "Catalina informed Phineas of her being a vampire and her true identity. Instead of being Catalina Sinistra, a Muggleborn Ravenclaw from the Scottish highlands, she actually was Catalina Deveraux, a pureblood witch from a small manor lying on the south side of Pembrokeshire. They married, and she quickly realized that the one thing he desired and wished for more than anything else was a child, a child she couldn't give him for obvious reasons. At least not without some help. So, she worked day and night to solve that age-old mystery that countless souls before them had tried and failed. There had always been rumors, you see, of an elixir out there in the world that could temporarily cure vampirism. Even now, it's still spread. It is always followed up nowadays with the warning, though, that the elixir would come at a cost."

An elixir to cure vampirism? He supposed it wasn't much of a stretch considering Wolfbane helped those who suffered the symptoms of lycanthropy. His mind considered this elixir for a moment longer. Did it use moonstone as well or did it use instead moondew? What sort of healing agent was added to it to ensure the vampire didn't turn to ash or truly die right away after being so-called cured?

"The day Catalina died," Syra stated, causing Severus to blink in surprise as he was brought out of his thoughts suddenly, "was the day Alaric Sinistra was conceived."

Catalina had found this so-called cure and used it? His mind reeled with this information.

"She drank the elixir, a mixture of unicorn and dragon blood along with a few other items, and her heart restarted. For one night, she was human again. As her body metabolized the rest of the elixir, Catalina revealed that she had sought out a young witch weeks earlier who would carry their child to term in exchange for food and shelter. You see, while Catalina would be human for one night to create their child, she would not be around to watch their child be born. The cursed life that came with drinking the blood of a unicorn would take over, and she'd turn to ash as a result once the entire elixir was gone from her. Phineas was naturally distraught at learning this. At Catalina's signal, though, the young witch went to them, and together he and Catalina magically implanted the embryo into the young witch. A few hours later, Catalina died, knowing that she had succeeded."

"What happened to the child?"

"Nothing at first. It developed naturally. The young witch did have some peculiar cravings, though. She wanted a tremendous amount of meat. And when she didn't get it, she was very weak. It wasn't until her second trimester that Phineas finally realized the reason for this. The enzyme that helped turn Catalina a vampire was in their son. He had sought out every ancient book on vampires then that he could find. He thought perhaps he could suppress it somehow. To give his son a chance at a normal life." Syra's voice had softened into an almost motherly-tone.

If Severus hadn't met her before, he would have sworn that she truly cared and understood the actions a father would go for his child. However, he did know her, so he knew that everything he heard in her voice was nothing more than an illusion, a trick his mind was playing on him. She didn't care. She couldn't understand. She knew nothing about being a loving parent, about sacrifice.

"Having learned nothing since he didn't have the proper texts, Phineas resigned himself to losing his child as well, believing it would not survive birth. A few weeks before Alaric's birth, though, a miracle took place. Or a curse depending on if you accept my daughter's way of thinking." Syra cynically laughed. "A vampire clan found their way to the family manor after fleeing Romania, or so they claimed at the time. In truth, they felt the child's presence as they had all come from the same bloodline as Catalina."

Severus's eyes narrowed when he noticed Syra's slight smirk grow a bit. She seemed almost happy about something, as if she had just recalled a pleasant memory. He briefly wondered what it was that she was remembering.

"It was then that Declan, Adolphus, Esmée, Kira, and the others became a part of the Sinistra family forever. Protectors of the Azrial, Adolphus would always say." Syra turned to meet Severus's confused look. She didn't further explain what that unfamiliar term meant. "Alaric was born not long after their arrival. And with their ancient knowledge, Phineas was able to see to his son's unique needs."

"Alaric was half-vampire, half-human then?"

"He was. Much like Lorcan d'Eath. However, Alaric embraced his magic more than anything. He went to Hogwarts just as his father had before him, and he was sorted into Slytherin naturally. Orin in fact carries the same marker as his father, the same marker in Aurora. However, being that Orin's mother Delphine was entirely a full-blooded witch, he's not so, shall we say, affected by it."

"Did they know?"

Severus reeled with this information. Did the castle know that a vampire was amongst their midst? Of course he knew that werewolves were after all accepted in secret thanks to Lupin, but vampires? Then again, Syra had stated that Catalina had went to Hogwarts as well. What other creatures had been permitted to pass through the gates of Hogwarts over the centuries, he wondered.

"That Alaric was part vampire? Orin as well? Oh, yes. The professors were aware. It didn't matter to them much as long as no students showed up with bite marks anywhere." Syra laughed quietly again, her blue eyes twinkling in the soft light. "Orin always remarked how his dad would tell him the best places to bite a witch with no one but you and her knowing."

If he didn't know any better, he'd swear Syra was almost human. She seemed calmer, happier now than he had ever seen her before. In fact, she almost appeared to be . . . normal to him, a loving wife in fact. But that couldn't be considering that she had chosen to become a vampire, to switch off her humanity to become better than she was, stronger.

"You don't know me, Severus," Syra stated coolly, her ice blue eyes locked with his, "so do not attempt to judge me or speculate my reasoning behind becoming a vampire." She had likely heard his thoughts right then. "You'll only make a fool out of yourself after all."

Severus bristled at her words, clenching his jaw slightly. He would have to protect himself better against her powers in the future. "I know enough about you to draw a very good conclusion."

"Oh?" She crossed her arms, leaning back on her heels slightly. "And just what do you know exactly? Or rather what do you think you know?"

"You never loved your family. They were just a means to an end for you." When Syra started to laugh hauntingly, he forced himself not to react. She was after all looking for a reaction from him. She had a similar demeanor to the Dark Lord if he were being honest.

"Is that so?" Her sneer deepened as her laughter darkened. "Do not think for a moment, half-blood," she drawled nastily "that you are untouchable because of your relationship with my daughter. It means nothing in the big picture." She then laughed sinisterly again. "Though, I shouldn't have expected you to act any other way, seeing as how your mother, pathetic witch that she is, was—"

His wand flew into his hand, and he thrust it at her, his eyes flashing angrily. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't have gotten so angry, so enraged by her words just now. She had been baiting him, and he had fallen for it so easily. It was like the many times he had fought Potter and Black. They too had pushed him to the edge so many times, and he, weak that he was, would succumb to his temper and allow it to take over, lashing out violently to anyone nearby. It was why he had dedicated so much time to learning Occlumency. Without it, he'd have died long ago at the hands of the Dark Lord.

"There's that half-blood temper of yours again. You really should learn to control that. You never know when you might run into someone stronger than you." Her smile grew. "Hmm?"

"You know nothing about my mother!"

"No, you pathetic child. It is you who know nothing about her! You know nothing about either of your parents if we're honest. Only the lies they've spread." She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Tobias, the Muggle who really isn't, is he? And Eileen, the poor pureblood who cast aside her magic for love, but she didn't, did she?" Syra scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Please. If only you knew the truth."

"And you do?"

"Of course I do," she scoffed, giving him the familiar 'You're a waste of my time' look. "I make it a point to research everyone involved in my daughter's life."

Severus couldn't help but laugh in response. "How Mother-of-the-Year of you," he drawled. "But, you see, I read your reports on her. So, let's be honest, shall we? You don't give a damn about—" His words died on his lips when he felt suddenly all the air rush out of his lungs and a tightness around his midsection. Across from him, he saw Syra's outstretched palm and her icy blue eyes narrowed on him. Without a doubt, he knew she was using her vampire powers on him.

"Do not ever speak to me like that again!" Her eyes flashed angrily. "You know nothing about me! About my life! You think that because of my writings concerning her health that I don't care for Aurora? You truly are an idiot!"

He started to feel pain, white hot, burning through his body. He could hear screams off in the distance, but it didn't register quite right away that it was actually his. The pain spread to every part. His blood felt as if it was boiling. He could hear his heart's thunderous thumps as the seconds droned on.

"Everything, every little thing, I've done for her! For my daughter! You think you know everything, though, don't you? Well, know-it-all half-blood, let me enlighten you, hmm?" She stalked towards him slowly, her fangs bared with eyes hard and cold—full of rage. She spread her fingers out, causing Severus to feel more white, hot pain coursing through his body. "My writings that you've poured over like some sort of obsessive stalker? I wrote them to catalogue symptoms, achievements, you name it, so that if something occurred, I would have all the necessary information to treat her. To learn when and if she turned." She reached forward suddenly and snatched ahold of his jaw to force him to meet her death glare. "Seeing as how I was a healer at St. Mungo's for quite some time, healer-in-charge of many cases in fact, of course my writings would be dry, clinical even. I'd imagine even your writings about potions would be. Then again, I forget who I'm talking to. Severus Snape, the half-blood who knows all, perfect in every way imaginable," she mocked. "There is a flaw in that, of course." She raised her hand, causing him to feel the vice around him tighten even more. He could hear the cracking of his bones. "You may think that I cared so little about her, but if you would look past your long nose, you'd see the truth. But then again I forget. You Princes never could be wrong, hmm?"

She waved her hand away a moment later, causing him to crash to the floor hard.

"I could end you," she declared before she yanked him up from the floor effortlessly. "Crush you like the insignificant little worm you are. Do you know why I haven't, though?" She leaned forward. "Because you're not worth it, Severus. You're not worth my time. My daughter's time. One day she'll realize it. I just hope for her sake it isn't after giving birth to your half-breed spawn."

He clenched his jaw, too tired and too in pain to respond.

"So, go on. Tell her if you must that I'm alive. That her sister is alive. But before you do, do me a favor, will you? Consider for a moment why I'd go to these lengths. Cut myself off from my family. Make my daughter suffer." She laughed quietly when he looked back at her. "Oh, yes, I know. You think it's just because I'm a bitch and a horrible mother. Of course you'd think that, considering whom your mother is. But maybe, just maybe, Severus, there is another reason." She then shrugged. "Or maybe I just am a bitch. Time will tell, won't it?" She released him again, his body slamming back hard onto the stone floor.

He groaned as he lay there face-first on the floor, coughing a few times.

"Or maybe I'm not the one you should be concerned about lurking in the darkness," she murmured near his ear. "Then again, you know all about that, don't you, Severus? The wizard who has been whispering in her ear like this? Giving her a taste of the darkness just so she can save you, her sweet, precious Severus?" She laughed darkly. "Luckily for you, that little stain will be dealt with tonight. But he's just a messenger, not the big, bad one behind it all." She then pressed her lips against his ear. "You're welcome, my dear bastard half-blooded future son-in-law."

A moment later, his body slackened, and he slipped into the abyss of unconsciousness.

"Snape?" Demetri murmured somewhere off to his left. "Hey, come on. Wake up."

He groaned again, slowly lulling his head to the side. He could smell the heavy scent of antiseptic, knowing that he was once again in the hospital wing. He could also sense Harrison nearby.

"Aurora's been asking for you."

He willed his eyes to open somehow at her words. He couldn't see her at first as his eyes wouldn't fully open, but he could sort of make her out. On a nearby cot, he saw the familiar raven locks of his son. Harrison was sleeping peacefully. He felt himself relax slightly.

"There you are." Demetri laughed quietly. "Welcome back to the living."

Swallowing, he found his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. He weakly pushed himself up.

"Easy there," she said softly, handing him a glass of water. "You're not exactly up to all that much right now actually. Drinking, eating, bathroom stuff, resting, namely resting, that's all Pomfrey's allowing." She grabbed the empty glass back from him and refilled it.

His eyes moved to her before he groaned again. He had never felt as sore as he did right then. He'd have to research ways to protect himself from vampire attacks as soon as possible.

"So, what happened? You meet a werewolf or something up there on the tower?"

"Syra," he whispered, coughing harshly a moment later.

"Syra?" Demetri repeated puzzled. "Isn't that Aurora's dead mother?"

"Not . . . dead," he groaned, taking gasping breaths between words.

"What do you mean, not dead?" Demetri's eyes narrowed on him. "You can't be suggesting—Severus, she was killed." She took a step back from him when he met her eyes, staring as if he had grown a second head. "Aurora saw it—no, you have to be mistaken. It can't be her." She half-turned from him then, pacing as her eyes darted back and forth. "It was someone else. It had to be." A hand ran through her hair before she tugged a few of her locks in frustration. "I mean, that woman was horrible from what I heard, but she wouldn't . . . She wouldn't . . . Severus, she . . ." Horror crossed the young witch's face as acceptance finally won. "Tell me she wouldn't, Severus," she asked with pleading eyes.

He only stared back at her blankly, though.

"Son of a bitch!" Demetri snarled a second later. "But Orin, Aurora, they all witnessed . . . Declan himself said that Syra had been killed. How did she survive?"

He shook his head before he inhaled sharply and groaned. He couldn't put it any other way. He had gotten his arse handed to him by Syra.

"Are you going to tell her?"

His eyes flickered back to Demetri.

"Aurora," she said quietly. "Are you going to tell her about her mother?"

He sighed silently and glanced up to the ceiling. Was he going to tell Aurora that her mother had created an elaborate ruse complete with faking her and her younger sister's deaths? He knew he should, but she likely wouldn't believe him. She'd take it the wrong way, and he'd be alone again. But, then again, without her mother's interferences, she had been by his side, stood with him so far. She needed to know the truth after all.

"Severus?"

"I'll tell her in the morning, Dem," he murmured, wincing when he moved slightly. Merlin, Syra had done quite the number on him. He wouldn't underestimate her again. That was for sure. "After I've rested a bit." He'd tell Aurora everything. She deserved to know it.