Severus was at Hogwarts, interviewing new Defense applicants. The last two that they'd managed to find had been mediocre wizards at best, and incompetent at worst. The woman he was interviewing now, a classmate of Regulus and Narcissa, was one of the obnoxious people Severus had ever met. "Excuse me, Professor-I'm-Not-Qualified-Enough-To-Be-A-Professor, but my credentials are excellent and I have recommendations from several Ministry officials."
Severus glared at her. "Excuse me, madam, but I have a Mastery in Potions, which is the subject that I teach. I was fourth in my year at Hogwarts, behind only my younger sister, my younger brother, and one of my best friends. If I recall what my brother mentioned when I went over the list of applicants with him, you were barely able to scrape by with an Acceptable on your Defense OWL. Please leave the premises before I have to escort you out. You are not qualified to teach anyone any subject." He watched her walk across the grounds. Suddenly, his mirror, which he still carried in his pocket despite the fact that only two other people possessed them, started screeching. There was only one thing that sound could mean: There were only two Marauders left. Lily had come up with that particular feature during their Seventh Year, when the war had started getting more deadly, so that whoever was left would know that at least one of their friends survived. He pulled the mirror out of his pocket. Sirius' face appeared in it.
"Sev, Gawain's dead, the house burned to the ground, and Narcissa and Ariana are in the hospital with severe burns. I've taken the kids, all five of them, to the Marauder Villa." The Marauder Villa was a house that the three oldest Black siblings, James, Gawain, and Remus had purchased right after graduation. The location, an island in the Mediterranean, was ideal for protection and secrecy. Had Lily and James not been spelled by Dumbledore, they could have gone there and lived.
Severus' heart dropped. "Sirius...I'll be there as soon as I can. How's Harry?"
"He locked himself in Gawain and Lily's old room and won't let anyone in. Hermione's beside herself. Draco's been trying to comfort her, but he's hurting too, and they're both worried about Harry. I'll explain more when you get here." Sirius sighed. Severus could see that he'd been crying, since his eyes were red. "I need you here. You're the only one who can help Harry when he gets like this…" Sirius' face faded from view.
Severus tossed some clothes and personal possessions into a knapsack and sprinted to Minerva's office. "I already heard, Severus. They need you more than I do. Try to be back by September 1st, but if you aren't, we'll postpone classes for a few days." He turned to the door. "Severus...do be careful. I fear that all is not well outside of these walls." He had the same feeling.
A light breeze greeted Severus when he reached the Marauder Villa. This cooler weather was a nice respite from the warm August back home. Through a window he saw a flash of long, silvery hair…Malfoy hair. It had to be Gawain's father. He quietly snuck in through a window, coming to stand next to his brother. Harry and Draco had their wands out and stood protectively in front of "their girls" and Hermione. Harry had a large gash across his left arm, one across his face and several bruises forming on his bare torso. Draco was limping from a sprained ankle and there was a large bump forming above his left eye. It was apparent that this fight had been going on for some time…it had taken Severus a bit longer to get to there than he would've liked. It was difficult apparating through several international borders. Sirius quickly gave his brother an update. "We've just received word that Narcissa and Ariana are dead. Their burns were far too destructive to be healed. Abraxas killed all of the other Malfoy relatives earlier this week."
"Let me take my grandchildren, Black. They belong to me now that I've killed my meddling wife, my infernal daughter-in-law, my horrible blood-traitor of a son, and everyone else who'd stand in the way of my power. I'm not going to ask you again. I'll just kill you." Abraxas laughed mercilessly in a way that reminded Severus forcibly of Voldemort.
"We don't belong to anyone, you murderous maniac! We are both of age, and we're certainly not going to go with you nicely," Harry shouted. Several spells shot out of his wand. None of them hit his grandfather.
"I'll just have to take you by force then." In a flash of light, Harry and Draco were gone.
"Harry!"Hermione's shriek filled Severus' ears. He turned to her and wrapped her sobbing frame with his arms. "We'll get them back, Hermione. Don't worry. If it's the last thing I ever do, I'll find him and bring him home to you." She fell asleep on the sofa, still sobbing. Two house elves fed Honoria and Callie, while Sirius and Severus made plans.
The two brothers made some tea and sat in the kitchen, poring over anything that might give them the slightest clue what had made Abraxas Malfoy so suddenly powerful. A dark brown owl that Severus didn't recognize swooped in and dropped a letter in his lap. "It's addressed to Hermione and I. I'll go wake her."
"There's no need, Professor. I'm right here." She took a seat next to Severus. "Have you found anything yet?"
"No. We were hoping that you could help us." Sirius continued perusing various books while his brother and Hermione read the letter. "Dear Lady Hermione J. Granger Malfoy and Lord Severus A. T. Black Snape--Due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the deaths of Lord Gawain G.A. Malfoy, Lady Narcissa A. L. Black Malfoy, and Lady Ariana A. K. Ravenwood Malfoy, we have sped up the will process and have sent you the official copies by mail. We ask that you read these documents and send them back signed with your magical signature. Once we receive the papers back, we will file all of the paperwork for you.
Sincerely, Blacktooth, Gringotts' Wizarding Bank, Paris Branch."
Hermione looked at Severus. "I know you'd like to wait for Harry, but I don't think we have that much time before someone from the British Ministry comes looking for us about the girls."
She nodded and began reading Gawain and Narcissa's will aloud. Somehow, that took her mind off of Harry and Draco. "The Last Will and Testament of Gawain Gideon Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Allegra Loryn Black Malfoy:
The contents of vault 15 at Gringotts and all of the Malfoy properties that would have gone to Lucius are Draco's. (See the complete list of contents attached.)
The contents of vault 10 (Lily's vault, which contains several personal effects and the money she inherited from her mother's family) go to Harry.
All contents of the Marauder Vault now belong to Severus(Midnight) and Sirius (Padfoot) to do what they wish.
We want complete custody of our children, Honoria Athena Elizabeth and Calista Ariana Noreen, to be given to Lady Hermione Jane Granger Malfoy and Lord Harrison Orion Abraxas Black Malfoy, holder of all applicable titles of the Ancient Houses of Black, Ravenwood, McGonagall, and Potter. The girls will be safe with them. If they are deceased before us, then custody of the girls will go to Lord Draco Cygnus Abraxas Malfoy(holder of all applicable titles of the Ancient House of Malfoy), Lord Severus Aurelius Tobias Black Snape or Sirius Charles Black. If necessary, Andromeda Tonks may be named guardian. Under no circumstances should the girls be placed with Abraxas Malfoy or with any members of the Black family other than those listed above.
We claim that we are of sound mind and that these are our wishes. (Harry, Draco, we love you very much. Please tell that to your sisters. They'll be fine growing up with you. Remember that the ones who love us are never truly gone.)" Hermione was nearly in tears again by the time she finished reading. "Would you like me to read Professor Ravenwood's as well? I'm sure it's quite short."
Severus shook his head. "I'll read it." He skimmed the contents. "As we already knew, the entire Ravenwood estate goes to Harry, provided that he take care of Draco and his sisters." It went unsaid that if they didn't figure out a way to get Harry and Draco back, Hermione would be the one taking care of the twins…and she'd be doing it alone.
A/n: Sorry this update took so long...real life got in the way of writing.