Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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It infuriated Severus that anyone would dare invade the sanctuary of his home, especially his old enemy.
He pulled his arm back to fire off another curse at Sirius, but before he could speak, Lily gripped his hand and shouted, "Wait!"
Sirius giggled in austere amusement.
Severus glared at his darling as if she had just struck him while he hissed in a questioning reply, "'Wait……'?"
"Don't you think we should at least ask how he found us first?" Lily frowned.
"Ah, Lily, you're as bright as ever!" Sirius chirped from his position on the floor.
As much as Severus hated to admit it, he knew his wife argued wisely.
He frowned at Lily while he slowly lowered his arm.
"Sev, Sweetheart, I know this is hard for you." She pouted, "Why don't you let me do the talking? A moment or two…..Just a moment or two, alright?"
Severus remained silent but as he gazed into his beloved's beautiful green eyes, he gave her the slightest of nods to signal his reluctant approval.
He possessively wrapped Lily in a protective embrace while she called over to their intruder, "It's been a while, Sirius."
"It has indeed, Lily." Sirius replied with a bright smile that showcased his rotten teeth, "How long exactly?...Twelve years now? A bit more? Forgive me, the days all blend into one when you have to pass them in Azkaban."
"Perhaps that time has taught you the value of friendship and why you shouldn't betray those you claim to care about." Lily shot back as an angry scowl formed on her face, "James and I were over by the time you……did what you did….That doesn't make it less evil! Besides James, my baby paid a price for your sins too!"
"...My sins, Lily?" Sirius huffed.
He growled as he struggled to his feet.
Lily instinctively clutched onto Severus, who tightened his grip on her waist and pointed his wand at Sirius, silently prepared to send his old nemesis to the ground once more.
"Lily, you were the brightest witch of the age during our Hogwarts years." Sirius chuckled as his dark stare bore into her, "Everyone said it, everyone knew it was true. Surely Snivelly here hasn't ruined that brain of yours, has he? You don't really mean to tell me you honestly believe I'm the one who betrayed James?"
Severus and Lily exchanged silent frowns of curious doubt as they glanced at each other.
Sirius threw up his arms in a gesture of pure exasperation.
His ragged sleeves elicited a small cloud of dust from his filthy prison uniform as he scoffed again, "I'm telling the truth! Go on, Snivelly, see for yourself! Read my mind, give me Veritaserum! I'll do whatever it takes to prove my innocence!"
"How did you find us?" Severus snapped.
Sirius shrugged, "A tracking spell, of course. Come on, Snivelly, I know you're not that thick either. What's happened to the both of you?"
"This cottage is under layers and layers of powerful cloaking enchantments." Severus retorted with a distrustful scowl, "It would be impossible to penetrate those protective devices with something as simple as a tracking spell, Black."
"Not if it's based on bloodline." Sirius shrugged.
Severus's mouth fell open slightly as Sirius went on, "I still have James's Invisibility Cloak…….Wouldn't you know it had a single one of his hairs left clinging to its edge? After I escaped from Azkaban, I used that hair to find James's son…….It brought me straight here. You may want to check your magic, Snivelly, if anyone comes looking for James Potter's child with a trace of him, you'll be found in an instant."
Lily drew in a deep breath at the disturbing bit of news while Severus's mind raced as he contemplated exactly how he may manage to better conceal his family's home without arousing suspicion from Voldemort.
"All that aside….." Sirirus continued as he swallowed dryly, "If I can just speak with Harry, I'll be on my way."
Relief washed over Severus and Lily as they realized that Sirirus had not discovered all their secrets.
They both sought to stop him from unraveling any more.
"You've only come then to torment me." Lily said quickly as she hurriedly threw on a facade. After years of watching Severus skillfully fool everyone around him into believing mistruths, she managed to produce tears in her eyes as she stared at Sirius and sighed, "Tell me, Sirius, is it amusing to you? To stab the broken heart of a bereaved mother?"
"What are you talking about, Lily?" Sirius asked, "The child survived somehow, I know it! The spell led me here to him! If I could just speak to the boy for a moment, I could-"
"-He did not….survive!" Lily wailed as she clutched Severus.
To stay in line with her act, Severus supportively pulled her against him and let her sob into his chest as he cast Sirius a melancholy frown.
"Perhaps the traces still linger in her body from when she carried Potter's child in her womb and that's what led you here." Severus suggested as he scowled at Sirius, "Regardless, Black, go and trouble us no more, won't you? Your friend is dead, along with his son. Leave us in peace and we will do the same for you."
Lily put a large amount of work into her miserable sobbing while Sirius slowly shuffled over to the door.
Severus pointed his wand defensively in his foe's direction while he scooted Lily out of the way and allowed Sirius an open path towards his exit.
"I'm sorry, Lily." Sirius nodded as he looked at his weeping, former friend and frowned, "I…..I had heard the child survived…..I…..I didn't realize-"
"-Where exactly did you hear that, Black?" Severus asked.
"You should visit the pubs of Knockturn Alley more often, Snivelly." Sirius taunted as he grinned at Severus, "There's some interesting conversations there."
Severus scowled and held Lily against him as Sirius resumed his walk towards the door.
Before he left, he turned his head and cast one last look at the couple as he said, "In case I don't have the great fortune of visiting you two again, I would like to at least set the record straight, if you don't mind."
Lily blinked.
Severus frowned.
"It wasn't me…….." Sirius sighed as his black eyes flickered between Lily and Severus. In his remorseful stare, the truth of his words became visible through the gauntness of his anguished expression as he revealed, "...It was Peter……Peter Pettigrew."
Without another word, Sirius left the Snapes' cottage.
As the door closed behind him, Severus and Lily stared at each other with incredulous scowls.
While they were left to wonder about the startling revelation, Sirius assumed his Animagus form and growled as he padded through the forest.
A dark glare marred his furry, hollow face.
He had taken special notice of the Snape family since his escape from prison.
During his travels, Sirius had learned Severus apparently had a daughter.
He had been told the girl wore glasses and was coincidentally about the same age James's son would have been had he survived that night……..
What the Dark Wizards and Witches of Knockturn Alley had seen as meager gossip, Sirius regarded as valuable clues.
For once, Voldemort's most loyal spy had not been able to successfully deceive his target.
Severus had failed to convince his old enemy that James Potter's "son" was truly dead and gone.
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Later in the month, Severus sat at the Malfoys' elegant dining table while Voldemort spoke in front of the six Death Eaters he had gathered.
As he went on, Nagini roamed around the room, bored while she patiently waited for her master's next order.
Severus tried to follow along and keep up his Occlumency but his thoughts kept drifting that night.
Since Sirius's impromptu visit, their conversation had played over and over in his mind, which had caused him hours of painstaking brooding.
How many others knew?
How many more thought they knew?
Would someone go to Voldemort about their suspicions?
Had they already been?
How was Severus supposed to keep Lily and their children safe from-
"That does, unfortunately, bring me to why I have called you all here tonight." Voldemort finished as his serpentine eyes glanced over every man who sat at the table.
Severus fought off a chill after the Dark Lord's cold stare fell on him.
Silently, he hoped he hadn't allowed his wandering mind to give Voldemort a keyhole in which he could view his thoughts and know the truths of his heart.
"Severus," The Dark Lord nodded before he named every man present, "Lucius, Yaxley, Goyle, Crabbe………and Martinson."
The six men all nodded at their leader in return, but Severus's soul clouded with dread as Nagini suddenly slithered onto the table.
Voldemort's dark laughter rang out as the ancient wood creaked under her massive weight.
Once the large snake had the entirety of her body lying on the ebony surface, she lifted her huge head and gazed at each man in turn as her tongue flickered ominously.
Voldemort's laughter died away as a sinister scowl crossed his pale features, "I have it upon verified fact that one of you has indeed…….betrayed me…..in a most despicable way…….Those of you who remain loyal to me and our cause, I'll thank you to remember this night as a lesson in obedience. The one of you who has fallen from grace…..You are acquainted with the fact that I have no tolerance for disloyalty."
Severus's heart raced.
He had been found out, it was over.
Nagini could sense his pounding pulse as she turned to look into his eyes with her frigid, dead stare.
Severus cleared his throat as his fellow Death Eaters shifted in their seats.
"Would the traitor like to confess? To ask for mercy, perhaps?" Voldemort grinned.
Severus stayed silent.
He knew pleading for forgiveness would be a waste of time.
In his final seconds, his mind raced as he searched for a way to warn his family, hoping they weren't already dead.
Voldemort's voice cut through the air in a nightmarish hiss of Parseltongue, "NAGINI, KILL!"
The snake struck.
A cry rang out.
Thomas Martinson, the wizard who sat beside Severus, had been Voldemort's actual victim.
Severus discovered that truth as Nagini lashed out not at him, but instead at the unfortunate man chosen to die.
Gasps rang out around the table.
Severus jolted as violently as if her fangs had pierced his throat instead as she knocked her master's enemy to the floor.
Everyone watched in terror as Thomas flailed and screamed while the deadly animal carried out Voldemort's sinister command.
Her brutal bites sent his blood spilling onto the dark floorboards until his violent protest abruptly stopped.
As his red-stained arms stilled and his body went limp, Severus's mouth fell open as he gazed down at the wide-eyed look of anguish in his fellow Death Eater's lifeless eyes.
Even in death, Thomas Martinson remained horrified by his own fate.
Voldemort waved his hand dismissively as Nagini coiled around her victim.
The Dark Lord's followers watched in disgust while the huge snake began to constrict her prey.
As soon as the meeting ended, Severus apparated home.
Before he opened the door and raced into his wife's arms, he stopped outside their cottage to bend over and vomit into one of the bushes that lined the walkway.
The sound of Thomas Martinson's crunching bones as Nagini crushed his body rang in Severus's ears.
Only the sweet melody of Lily's voice could chase away the atrocity he had witnessed that night.