Define Family Chapter Twelve-

Severus turned his fiercest glare on the two boys he had had a hand in raising since their births and was pleased to see them both immediately begin to squirm. Continued exposure to him obviously did not erase the effects of his most threatening demeanour, he was glad to see, though he had never been able to make the same boast with regards to Capricia, as evidenced when he saw her raise a hand to her mouth to stifle her smile. Traitor.

"Explain. Now." He ordered, voice low and dangerous, promising disembowelment if his answers were not given post haste.

The two teens shared a glance and Severus was unpleasantly reminded of the Weasley twins. Many people were impressed by their abilities to speak without communicating, but he had never been. It was his experience that only brats intent on making mischief learned such a feat, as evidenced by the twins. Potter and Black had had such an ability, so too did Potter Jr and Weasley.

"Explain!" He demanded.

"Um-"

"Well-"

He had really put the fear of god in them that time, as they spilled over themselves answering simultaneously. He pointed imperiously to Blaise. "You. Explain. You're supposed to be her brother. I would like her to think of Draco the same way, but you are connected to her by blood. There is no getting around that. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry, Father!" Blaise wailed, biting his bottom lip to keep it from trembling. "It was just a little fun. We do it to the girls at Hogwarts all the time. We were just waiting for her to retaliate." He added, shrugging. "That's what Pansy and Millie do. But she just kept ignoring us, so we went a step further. We just wanted a reaction! We didn't want her to leave!"

"You couldn't have chosen another way to befriend her?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow doubtfully. "You thought tormenting her was the only way to go? It seems to me that you were subtly undermining her whole stay. I notice none of the pranks were ever eye-catching enough to draw my attention."

"We didn't want to embarrass her!" Blaise protested.

"It's true, Uncle Sev." Draco burst in earnestly. "Honestly! We were trying to make her feel at home, just like you said. At Hogwarts, we do this all the time with the girls. It's a way to keep from getting bored- erm, I mean, to keep from getting bogged down in schoolwork!" He quickly backpedaled as Severus turned his glare on him. "You know- we've got to have some fun, to keep from becoming too serious."

Blaise nodded, agreeing with his best friend's words. "She's so serious all the time! She never does anything but read- she's redone her Transfiguration three times!"

"And did you know that?" Capricia's sharp tongue slipped out the words before Severus could, caught up in the conversation in spite of her intentions to simply watch her former husband in what she privately believed to be his most attractive form.

She was rewarded, both by a glare from Severus that made her want to send the boys away and jump his too-thin bones as well as an embarrassed glance from her usually-graceful son.

"Well, we might have taken a peek or two at what she was working on." Draco drawled, trying in vain to regain his usually unruffled composure. "We were just looking out for her, Aunt Capricia. Honestly! And several times we caught her glaring at us; we had to make sure she wasn't planning anything devious."

"And you were forgetting the fact that she is a Gryffindor?" Capricia pointed out, again causing Severus to turn and glare at her. She offered him a sultry smile, wondering what he might do, feeling slightly disappointed when he merely turned away. "Gryffindors are supposed to be above all of that."

"Yeah, well, Granger was never a regular Gryffindor." Blaise said bluntly, rolling his eyes. "She would have fit in well in Slytherin. Hey, speaking of which, Mother, are you going to have her resorted? Zabinis do not reside in Gryffindor."

Severus finally managed to get an answer in. "Blaise Silas, you had better watch yourself." He warned. "I've told you already, whether you like her placement or not, you cannot order your sister to have herself resorted. Resortings do not exist at Hogwarts. There isn't an enchantment created yet that can fool that Hat. Even if her identity was hidden, her personality was not. She lives and dies a Gryffindor."

"And don't think you can get off topic." Capricia added, though she herself looked a bit put out by the news. Her son was telling the truth- no Zabini had been put in Gryffindor throughout all of their documented generations. "You didn't consider that your sister might not play ridiuculous games with her friends and might not be having as much fun as you were?"

The boys looked at each other again, both unsure of what to say. "We were just kidding around." Draco offered weakly. "We're sorry."

They turned pathetic faces towards Capricia, always the more lenient of the two adults, but Severus had finally had enough.

"That is no excuse." He hissed. The most dangerous time to be around Severus was when he got so angry that his voice dropped. He regularly yelled and that they could handle. But both boys immediately hunched over, trying to make themselves smaller targets, as his voice dropped lower than a whisper. "I have never been more disappointed in the two of you. You two were finally reunited with your sister. We have never had a chance to get to know her, not even the chance you had. You were given a golden opportunity to get to know your sister and rebuild a relationship that you ruined previously because of petty rivalries. You choose to disregard these, like absolute idiots, and instead drive her from her ancestral home. Exactly what incentive does she have now to return?" He demanded, stepping forward menacingly.

"She is already hurting because of the loss of her parents- I think a little excessive reading is the last of our worries. I seem to remember a certain little boy who absolutely refused to be coddled in any manner when his cat died." He added, turning to Draco. "He refused his parent's kind offer to get him another pet and instead snuck out on his father's broom for days to go flying because he'd rather do something destructive instead. How did that story end?" He demanded.

"I fell and broke both of my legs." Draco muttered, cheeks turning bright red. His eyes were set warily on his godfather and he felt as if his legs were broken again. He couldn't imagine he'd ever be fast enough if, Merlin forbid, his godfather came after them as he seemed ready to do.

"That's right." Severus agreed. "Or perhaps a certain other young boy who decided when his Nonno died that he didn't have to listen to anyone anymore and could go exploring the secret passages of Zabini Estate on his own. What happened there?" Blaise's eyes dropped to the carpet, as his own cheeks grew red, refusing to answer. "Hm?"

"I got stuck in a room with no exits." The boy finally admitted.

"Yes. You both took ridiculous risks that almost cost each of you your lives. Thankfully, your sister's cooler head has kept her from running off to do something stupid. You forget whose company she has kept for the last few years- she is more than able to play the idiot Gryffindor. And you have driven her right into the arms of Harry Potter! Who will no doubt use this time to comfort her- as her brothers should have!- and will use this time to reinforce all of those idiotic Gryffindor tendencies she harbors." Severus added, looking disgusted as he remembered the sight of his daughter in a Potter's arms.

"As if that wasn't enough," he added, face clearing as he forced his mind back to the matter of hand, "you deliberately disobeyed me. Deliberately! I warned you; I sat you down specifically to warn you not to cause your sister trouble. Did I not?"

He refused to let the boys sit there and let his words wash over them. They were going to be active participants. Therefore, he glared at them until they both answered.

"Yes, yes I did." He agreed mockingly with their sentiments. "Not that such a thing mattered to either of you apparently. You have acted like spoilt little children, angry at your sister because she wouldn't play your silly games and so you upped the stakes to try to get her to retaliate. I will go tlak to her tomorrow, but I have severe doubts as to wehter or not she will return here beofer Hogwarts begins again. Which may be just as well, because until the two of you prove that you have learned to act your age, I shall have to treat you as children again. You may retire to your rooms now." He said, eyes going to the clock on the mantelpiece. "It's quite an appropriate bedtime for seven year olds. Go!"

Though neither boy looked happy, neither argued either. They were gone in a flash. "No running!" Severus bellowed, causing their heavy footsteps to immediately cease.

Now that they were gone, he could allow his anger out. His former wife had seen him at his worse and had stuck by him, nothing he did could faze her anymore. He stalked over to his mantle, grabbed the clock that he had looked at and immediately threw it into the opposite wall. The smashing sound pleased him, causing him to grab the few odds and ends he kept on either side of the mantle and hurl them after the clock.

When he felt that his anger wouldn't overwhelm him, he relaxed. Immediately, Capricia stepped over to him, winding her arms around his thin torso, and pulling him in close. "Don't worry," she said, kissing his shoulder. "Everything will be fine."

"You don't know her, Capricia. This is it, she's not going to come back. What does she have here? Two tormentors and a horrible father. Why wouldn't she want to stay with Black and Potter? There will never be a time, my dear, when I do not lose to a Black and a Potter," he added, laughing sourly. "She's my first-born child."

"Oh, Severus." Rather than being worried by his words, she was undeniably amused. "They aren't tormenting the girl, they're just being boys. I know that you and Sebastian didn't have much of a normal childhood, but I assure you they are just being brothers to her. When I was little and had to visit Italy every year, my male cousins out there made sure I got much the same treatment." She said, rubbing his arm soothingly. "Boys always tease their sisters. They can't exactly go up and give her a big hug- none of them would be comfortable with that."

"That sounds perfectly ridiculous. They could have struck up a conversation with her- Merlin knows they're all ravenous enough readers." Severus protested.

"Oh hush." Capricia pushed him down onto the armchair she'd been sitting in and took a seat on his lap. "She wouldn't have let them close enough- she'd had immediately suspected a plot. At least this way, once she calms down, she won't distrust them as much. She'll be ready, by all accounts, to get revenge. She's getting used to them and they to her, without any of them even realizing it. You needn't worry."

"I cannot help but to worry." Severus murmured. "That's sounds absolutely illogical. But, I never did have that sort of relationship, so I cannot judge."

"Nonesense." Capricia laughed. "You may not have had it with your brother, but you and Lucius are much the same. Not with pranks, perhaps, but most certainly with teasing. When I listen to your conversations, I cannot decide if you two love each other or despise each other, so sharp are your tongues towards each other. They are making friends," she assured him. "I promise you. They all just need time to calm down. As do you." She said, kissing his cheek softly. "I haven't seen you so angry in quite a long time."

"I haven't been so angry." Severus admitted, leaning his head down against hers. "I know no one knew what to expect when news went out that you and I had produced a daughter. I still have no idea what to expect. But now- now that she is so close and I have the opportunity to attempt some relationship with her- it is stolen from me. What if she decides this is all my fault and never wants to see me again?"

Capricia grinned fondly at the man. So few others were given access to this personal side of him, that she was always thankful that she'd taken the time to break through his layers. Who knew big bad Severus Snape had a sensitive side? "She won't." Capricia said, pulling him up so that she could meet his eyes. "How could anyone not love you?" She asked, kissing him fiercely.

He smiled as she tried to deepen their kiss. He resisted for a moment, but as usual, gave in. He could never resist Capricia.

And later, when they had retired to his room and Capricia was dozing at his side with a smug, satisfied grin on her face, Severus lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was almost feeling hopeful that things could be resolved and that everything would turn out alright.

And then his Dark Mark started to burn.

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No Hermione in this chapter, but we'll get back to her. Thank you all SO MUCH for your reviews last chapter. Not only were they great in general, but most of you took the time to answer my questions which I LOVE. I have more for you now, if you don't mind. What do you think is going on with Sev's involvement with Voldemort. I know it was a bit complicated earlier, but do you think he should return to Voldy in spite of Dumble's orders or not? I had a whole little sub-plot like that in mind, but it could just as easily be left out and focus more on the family-building without the serious undertone. It's up to you guys, as usual. Let me know any ideas you have on where this story is going too- I ever so curious.

Oh, and I can't remember who, but someone asked me, so I shall do a plug in general. If you like my writing, I am doing another story at the same time as this one. It's also a WIP, but I update them at the same time each week, so if you'd like, head over there next. Some of you do already, but the rest of you are welcome to ;D

Minara.