August 1996

Spinner's end

Severus got to his mother's house an hour before the time he had told Narcissa to arrive, for he had to hide all the pictures of the kids his mother had all over the place.

Once there were no more signs of them in the house, he made himself some tea and sat on an armchair to read the newspaper while he waited.

At around six-thirty, he heard someone knocking on the front door.

"Narcissa," he said, once he opened the door, frowning when he saw she wasn't alone, "Bellatrix," he said bitterly, not hiding his displeasure at the sight of that woman.

"Half-blood," Bellatrix replied, clearly as happy to see him as he was to see her.

He opened the door wider, allowing the two women to walk in; then he closed the door and turned around to face them.

Narcissa sat in the armchair he'd been occupying earlier while Bellatrix walked around the room, looking at his books with contempt and touching some of his mother's knick-knacks.

"Put that down, Bella. We mustn't touch what isn't ours," he said in a bored tone, turning to look at her blond sister, "What brings you here, Narcissa?"

But the dark-haired woman slammed the little figurine back on the mantle and spoke, before her sister could: "Where were you when the Dark Lord fell?"

Severus didn't hesitate: "At Hogwarts – where he told me to be," then he looked at the blond woman again: "Why are you here?"

"It's Draco," Murmured Narcissa, "He's just a boy," the tears already flooding her blue eyes.

"So," interrupted Bellatrix, "You stayed at the school, playing Dumbledore's lapdog, while most of us were locked up!"

"Yes, Bellatrix, I stayed," said Severus, betraying a hint of impatience, "I had a comfortable job that I preferred to a stint in Azkaban. They were rounding up the Death Eaters; they even made me help capture some – if you don't remember who got you and your husband locked up."

Bellatrix snarled at him, "I'll never forget: it was you and that stupid girl!"

Ignoring her anger, Severus continued: "Dumbledore's protection kept me out of jail; it was most convenient and I took advantage of it. The Dark Lord does not complain that I stayed, so I do not see why you do."

"Bella!" Narcissa spoke harshly, "You promised to keep quiet! You said you'd come just to guarantee my safety!"

But Bellatrix ignored her sister, her dark eyes fixed on Severus, murderously, "Why did you stop the Dark Lord from getting the Philosopher's Stone? Where were you when we battled to retrieve the prophecy? And why the hell is Harry Potter still alive?" she finished in a deranged shout.

Severus could feel the beginning of a headache prickling his temples. Ignoring the crazy woman, he turned to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of firewhisky, "Can I get you anything, Narcissa?"

"Firewhisky. Neat," the blond woman replied.

He poured two glasses, giving her one, deliberately forgetting to offer Bellatrix anything – she could drop dead and parched for all he cared.

"Before I answer you, Bellatrix," he said, after sipping from his glass and siting down on the armchair opposite to Narcissa's, "Let me ask a question in turn: do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give him satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?"

Bella hesitated, "I know he believes you, but... how does Dumbledore? The old man can't be that senile to have never suspected you! You want me and the others to believe that he has no idea of your true allegiance? That he trusts you implicitly still?"

Severus smiled inwardly, keeping his tone as bored as if he was watching the kettle boil, "I have played my part well, Bella. And you overlook Dumbledore's greatest weakness: he always believes the best of people."

Narcissa shouted angrily: "Enough of this, Bella!" then she looked at Severus, "I need your help! My son... my only son!" her voice faltered, "Draco is just a boy... he shouldn't have to kill anyone! And the headmaster of all people!"

And right then Severus remembered how, after Lucius was arrested, the Dark Lord had confided to him that he'd give an impossible task to the young Malfoy, to make an example out of him – his goal was to have Lucius leave Azkaban only to find his wife turned into a whore and his son dead.

Fuck, he thought. This only complicates things.

Then he spoke: "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to change the Dark Lord's mind. Lucius insisted the boy be Marked soon..."

"I never wanted that for him!" Narcissa suddenly shouted the admission, tears falling down her face.

Bellatrix hissed: "You should be honoured, Cissy, as should Draco!"

Severus frowned, looking at the blond woman crying on his mother's armchair, fearing the worst had already happened; so he waited for Narcissa to continue:

"He accepted taking the Mark to protect me," she whispered, confirming his suspicions. "I told him I didn't care about being...used ," she gulped, clearly disgusted by that possibility.

"So he has already taken it?" Severus asked for verbal confirmation.

Narcissa nodded, "Yesterday, after I wrote to you, we were called. I wrote to you because I wanted to ask you to... to make the Lord give him more time; I'd make Draco see that he shouldn't be Marked. But then we were called to Little Hangleton..."

"You're sounding like a traitor, Cissy!" growled Bellatrix.

Narcissa flinched, knowing it wasn't below her sister to tell the Lord about her lack of faith and reluctance in seeing her son receive the Dark Mark – even though Bella knew Narcissa would be punished for it.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come here," Narcissa shook her head, "The Dark Lord actually forbade me to speak of this."

"If he has forbidden it you ought not to speak," he paused before speaking again: "As it so happens, I am aware of what the Lord is going to order Draco to do."

"You know?" interrupted Bellatrix, walking towards him, "The Dark Lord told you?" she narrowed her eyes at him, "What did you do to become his trusted confidant, half-blood? I'm fucking him and still have to learn things through others."

Severus smirked, knowing he couldn't tell her the truth but imagining her face if he could just blurt out: I'm fucking his daughter. Married her. Gave him grandkids.

As he couldn't, he just shrugged, finished his firewhisky and looked at Narcissa again, "The only thing I can do is help Draco – discreetly, of course."

Narcissa scoffed: "Draco will never be able to kill Dumbledore, Severus! Unless your idea of helping him is doing the actual job for him, he'll die!" she shouted, desperation in her voice, "My only son is going to die and there's nothing I can do! You have no idea! You cannot imagine how painful it is for me to be a witness of what is happening to my son!" she sobbed, "You don't know, Severus- you made kids on Delacour but you didn't raise them! You don't know what it's like to know your son will die!"

The sudden memory of an unresponsive James lying on the snowy ground by the pool filled his mind, and Severus forced himself to take a deep breath – he knew exactly what Narcissa was talking about, he knew that too well.

"I'm glad that you brought that up," He said, needing to know: "Did you know about Lucius' plan to poison my firstborn?"

Narcissa looked at him in shock, and he could clearly see in her mind that she truly had no idea what he was talking about.

But one look at Bellatrix and he knew she had more than just an idea.

"Did you know, Bella?" he asked.

She smirked and giggled, "I was the one who gave him the drink," she admitted in a very excited whisper, "I Polyjuiced into a very nice little female and was actually hoping to have some fun with him before watching him die, but... he disapparated."

Severus stood up and walked to her, before he could stop himself; he wanted to just end her right then, watch her smug smile turn into a painful grimace as she bled out at his feet.

But he didn't do anything, he simply glared at the black-haired witch, adding that information to the extensive list of reasons to kill her.

Narcissa interrupted his thoughts of revenge: "Will you do it, Severus?" she got up too, "Will you finish Draco's task?"

He turned his eyes to the blond woman and nodded: "I can make sure things don't get out of hand in Hogwarts."

"You'll protect him?" Narcissa looked at him with hope in her eyes, "You'll watch over him for me?"

"Of course. Draco is my godson, it's my duty to look after him, as I've always done."

"Thank you, Severus!" Narcissa threw herself on him, hugging him.

"Swear to it," Bellatrix said abruptly, "Make the Unbreakable Vow."

Narcissa took a step back and looked from her sister to him.

Severus fell silent, quickly thinking of his choices: he knew what Draco had been ordered to do; if he agreed to the Vow, he'd end up having to kill Dumbledore himself. But he had to think about his family, and his role within the Order of the Phoenix. I can't do this. Florence will be furious.

"It's just empty words…" Bellatrix kept talking, "He'll give it his best effort, but when it matters most, he'll just slither back into the hole," she smiled sadistically, "Coward."

He regretted not having killed her a minute ago, as he said: "Take out your wand."

One hour later

The sisters had already left, but Severus was still in Spinner's End, sitting on the same armchair, thinking of what he had done and what he would have to do.

He hadn't worried about the Dark Lord's plans to Draco before; he was certain he'd find a way and the boy wouldn't have to die for failing to kill Dumbledore. However, now, if the boy failed, he'd have to be the one to kill the Headmaster.

And if I don't do it, I'll die.

He could already see his wife's furious green eyes staring daggers at him – for they both knew Draco would fail; Florence had said it the day before: the boy had his heart in the right place.

Severus got up from the armchair and started pacing; he couldn't go straight home, he had to talk to Dumbledore first.

Florence will certainly hex me when I tell her what I had to do just now.

He walked to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder and went to Hogwarts.

Severus quickly walked from his quarters to the Headmaster's office, giving the gargoyle the password and going upstairs. However, he was completely taken by surprise by the scene that greeted him once he opened the door.

"Dumbledore!" he shouted, running to the Headmaster.

The old man was lying on the floor by his desk, semi-conscious, mumbling incoherently; a ring with a cracked black stone lay by his right hand – his black-burned right hand. The sword of Godric Gryffindor was also on the floor, only adding to the strangeness of that situation.

Severus lifted the headmaster from the floor and put him on the throne-like chair behind his desk, then he sent Florence a Patronus.

Dumbledore got himself seriously hurt. I need you here. Bring the Golden Potion to his office. Don't tell anyone.

In less than five minutes she had apparated into the Headmaster's office, moving towards the unconscious man.

"Where did you find him?" Florence asked, quickly conjuring a stretcher beside the desk and levitating the old man until he lay on his back on it.

"He was on the floor, murmuring things. I put him on the chair and he lost consciousness."

"You should have left him on the floor," she chastised him, "Never move a patient before the healer arrives," she recited.

"I'm not a healer, Florence, that's why I called you here!" Severus replied, exasperated.

But she was already ignoring him, running her wand over Dumbledore, checking vital signs and possible injuries.

She frowned, concerned, "There's a curse running through his body."

"Can you counteract it?"

She moved her wand over him again, "No, I don't think so. But I can contain it to the place where it first hit him: his hand," she took a deep breath, focusing on doing that, "I have the Golden Potion in my pocket; but he'll need a vial of Wiggenweld and one of the Draught of Peace."

Severus didn't argue, he flooed to the dungeons and got what she'd asked, returning in minutes.

Florence tipped the Golden Potion, the full Wiggenweld vial and half of the vial of Draught of Peace down Dumbledore's throat and they waited.

"Is he dead?" Severus asked, standing beside her, concerned.

"No," she sighed heavily.

"I can sense a 'but'."

Before she could reply, Dumbledore gasped loudly, sitting up on the stretcher and looking around the room, alarmed for a moment, until he saw the couple beside him and smiled, "Severus, Florence."

"You finally did something that almost got yourself killed, Albus!" said Severus, angrily.

"I was seduced by hope, my son," Dumbledore whispered weakly.

And the couple stared at him in confusion.

This is it. said Severus through their bond. He's lost his last marbles.

"That, on the floor," continued Dumbledore, pointing at the floor, explaining in front of their concerned faces, "That's the Resurrection Stone."

And the Snapes looked at a ring lying on the floor by the desk, its black stone cracked in the middle.

Florence took it from the floor, recognising the Peverell coat of arms engraved in the stone.

She performed a spell to identify it and frowned, whispering: "This is a Nuummite."

"Meaning?" asked Severus, finding that meant nothing to him.

"This is the oldest mineral ever to be identified by humans," Florence explained, "Its estimated age is around three billion years. Ancient muggle societies believed the Nuummite stone could be used to bridge the gap between physical and spiritual worlds."

Severus looked at her in clear disbelief: "So you're saying you believe that thing is the actual Resurrection Stone? From the tale?"

Florence ignored her sceptical husband and asked Dumbledore: "Did you try to use it?"

He nodded in reply.

"And did it work?" asked Severus with his arms crossed.

Dumbledore nodded again slowly, "In a way."

"Why did you break it? And with Gryffindor's sword of all things," Florence asked, looking at the ring again.

"To try and stop the curse," he looked at his darkened hand, "Also," he pointed at the ring again, "that was another Horcrux."

"Another one?" whispered Florence, "Have you found out how many of these my father made?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I haven't reached a definitive number yet. No. Even though I have reason to believe he made seven in total."

"Seven?" she repeated, looking at the broken ring still in her palm and thinking of all the repercussions of fragmenting a soul in so many pieces.

"That would certainly explain the level of madness he's sporting since his return," added Severus.

"To be certain," said Dumbledore, "I'll try to bring back to the school the one person I think your father confided that information to."

Severus thought for a moment, then realised who it could be: "Slughorn?"

"Yes," confirmed Dumbledore, "I'll use Harry's fame to lure him back this year and try to acquire that information."

Florence glared at him, not liking that he'd be using her godson to get what he wanted – yet again.

But she didn't say anything, putting the ring on the desk and watching Severus help the headmaster down from the stretcher.

"How long do I have, dear?" Dumbledore asked once he had sat on his chair behind the desk, looking at his cursed hand.

Florence shook her head, "Well, I couldn't fully stop the curse, I only contained it to your hand. It will continue to spread..." she babbled, not knowing how to tell him the truth.

"How long, Mrs Snape?" Dumbledore insisted.

"About a year. No longer than fifteen months," she finally said, "There is no halting such a spell forever. It will spread, eventually, it is the sort of curse that strengthens over time."

Dumbledore smiled; the news that he had less than two years to live seemed a matter of little or no concern to him.

"I am fortunate," he said, "Extremely fortunate, that I have you two, Severus and Florence. Thank you for the time you've bought me, my dear. We must plan now," he looked at Severus, all business, even though he seemed paler than usual, "I didn't call you here, my son, so I can only assume you came here to tell me about your conversation with Narcissa Malfoy."

"Yes, but..." Severus hesitated, looking at Florence.

"Oh, I see," nodded Dumbledore, "You haven't talked to your wife yet. If you'd like to leave and talk before we discuss our future plans, feel free."

"No," he shook his head, "She'll be angry no matter how I tell her."

"She is right here and already pissed at both of you," said Florence, knowing she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, "Now just explain to me exactly why am I angry, Severus?"

"A couple of months ago," he began with a sigh, knowing she was about to be even angrier, "After James' poisoning – which Bellatrix had a huge part in, by the way," he remembered to tell her, "Your father mentioned his wish to destroy the Malfoys. Well, now he's started to put his plan into action: Draco has learned of his final test to prove he's deserving of the Dark Mark that has already been given him."

Florence inhaled sharply: "Draco has been Marked already?" she immediately thought of Elizabeth.

"I'm afraid so," Severus nodded.

"And what is it that the boy must do to prove he's worthy of being my father's stupid pawn?" Florence asked angrily.

"He has one year to kill Dumbledore."

She looked from her husband to the headmaster and scoffed, "That's preposterous! Draco is a child! He'll never be able to kill him!" she pointed at Dumbledore.

"And that's exactly the point," said Severus, "The boy will fail and be killed for it. The Malfoys will be made into an example: if you're working for the Dark Lord, you'd better do it well and not get caught, otherwise he'll destroy you and your family."

Florence frowned, using occlumency to block her thoughts since she couldn't stop thinking of Elizabeth. If Draco died, her daughter would never be the same again – and would never forgive her from having kept her away from the boy during the past year.

"The thing is," Severus continued, looking at Florence, "Since the Dark Lord found out about us, he's been favouring me. However, he hasn't yet removed the curse forbidding others to talk about you as being his daughter, so he has everyone wondering why I'm suddenly his right-hand man. I am hardly ever called to the day-to-day meetings, instead your father calls me for lunch, dinner or a drink to keep me up to date with what the Death Eaters are doing, and to get information from me about what Dumbledore and the Order are planning."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Florence could sense he was trying to justify something.

"Because of that... due to those festering feelings of jealousy and anger..." he took a deep breath and spoke: "I was forced by Bellatrix to make an Unbreakable Vow earlier this evening. If Draco fails to kill Dumbledore, I must be the one to do it."

Florence stared at him, her blood boiling in her veins, "You made what?" she asked dangerously low, her eyes turning the light-green shade that indicated her veela was close to the surface and furious – just like he had foreseen it.

"Oh…" Dumbledore interjected, as if there wasn't an angry woman about to chew her husband's head off right in front of him, "That's very convenient."

Florence turned her angry gaze to the headmaster, "Convenient? Severus will have to kill you and you say it's convenient?"

"Well, we can't allow Draco Malfoy to kill me, his soul is still untouched by death, and it must remain that way," Dumbledore paused and smiled again after a moment, "It's perfect!" he exclaimed, "Draco will fail and you'll kill me, thus solidifying your position as Voldemort's favourite!"

"What? I don't want to kill you!" exclaimed Severus.

"Ooh, but you will," said Florence, getting into her husband's personal space, "I'll kill you myself if you don't! We didn't come this far for you to die protecting a man who's already at death's door!"

"She's right, Severus," added Dumbledore.

"What about the Order?" asked Severus, "If I kill you, they'll be left in the dark about the Dark Lord's plans."

"No. That's where Florence comes in."

"Keep me out of your crazy plans, Dumbledore!" she growled, "I'm already father's future Minister of Magic!"

"I know. But Tom will love to have his daughter back sooner. Neither or you have a choice. Severus made the Unbreakable Vow; he'll have to kill me or he'll die. You said it yourself, Florence: he must kill me," he looked at the man standing in front of his desk, "I was hoping to give you a very calm year just brewing potions for Pomfrey and handling the Slytherin House, since Slughorn will teach potions. But considering that killing me will get you sacked, you can have the DADA teaching position this term, Severus, like you've always wanted. So it's all perfect!"

"No!" Florence suddenly exclaimed, walking towards her husband and looking into his eyes, "You know what is going to happen, don't you? You kill him and the Order will hunt you, they'll want your head! You'll be a traitor! They'll come after me – I won't be able to be a spy for the Order! We let a lot of people be sure about us this past year."

Dumbledore sensed she was getting cold feet, he could almost hear her brilliant mind trying to come up with a different solution.

"I'm dying already, Florence," the headmaster spoke, "Your father's trust in your husband will be unwavering if Severus kills me. And the Order... they will receive you with open arms after you cry to them about how wrong Severus treated you. After all, he hasn't even registered the twins."

She shook her head and looked at Severus again, "The kids are already prisoners in their own home, and for now only you have been directly involved, Severus. If I become involved too, where will we hide them?"

"I've thought about it before coming here, Flor," he touched her face, trying to placate her fear, "Inside Hogwarts' grounds there's a safe-house, where Sirius Black was supposed to hide. Nothing as big or as comfortable as our home, but the kids and my mother can stay there. We can keep living in Hogsmeade and working here in the castle as if nothing's changed."

She shook her head, "Sophie is just a little older than one, I don't want to stay away from her! And what if something happens to us?"

"That's always been a possibility, love," he spoke softly.

She shook her head again, not wanting to agree to that plan, "What about the twins? You told my father about them."

"They will stay in Hogsmeade with us."

Florence looked at him, anger and fear burning bright in her eyes, "This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. All those years ago, when I told you not to join them – this is exactly what I didn't want!"

"I know, love," he dejectedly replied, "And I'm sorry."

"You can shove it, Severus," she growled and disapparated.

Dumbledore looked at the man in front of him, "I'm sorry if I caused you problems with your wife, my son."

Severus shook his head and stared at the empty fireplace for a while, "Not this time, Dumbledore; this time it's all my fault," he sighed heavily.

Snapes' family home

Minutes later, when he walked out of the fireplace into his home, Severus was greeted by the two very familiar faces of his sons' – which were as angry as their mother's.

"Good evening," he drawled, sensing he was about to get lectured by the twins.

"Is it, dad?" asked James, crossing his arms on his chest and glaring at his father, "Is it a good evening?"

"Why was mum so furious, if that's so?" asked Nicholas.

Severus didn't reply to either question, "Where is she?"

"She left," James said, catching Severus' attention, who looked at his son waiting for him to continue, "She walked in, sat in the library for a moment, cast some spell, looked pleased with herself and then she left."

"The smile on her face with whatever spell she cast was downright terrifying, dad," Nicholas paused and the added: "Also, she used parseltongue to cast it."

Severus slowly nodded, "Did she touch her left forearm as she...?"

"Yes," they answered in unison.

There was an uncomfortable and heavy moment of silence, which was broken by James's concerned voice: "Is mum Marked now, like you?"

Severus shook his head, "She doesn't have to be. She carries the Mark of the Lord in her blood – she's his daughter," he walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself his favourite mead. Then he sat on the sofa, staring at the empty fireplace.

"You don't look worried, dad," observed Nicholas, "Do you know where she is?"

"Yes," Severus nodded, "I have a pretty good idea. And I can't follow her there without having a good reason," he sighed, sipping his mead, "So we wait."

Little Hangleton

Bellatrix Lestrange walked into the beautiful manor with a spring in her step; her Dark Mark had burned a few minutes ago, so she had quickly showered, dressed up, and run to attend her Lord's call.

She walked into the large meeting room to the right of the stairs, closing the door behind herself and giggling as she approached the armchair by the fireplace.

"You have summoned me, my Lord and Master," she whispered in an attempt of sexiness.

"Actually, I have," the armchair turned around and a familiar woman stood up.

Bellatrix frowned, slowly recognising who she was.

"Florence? Florence Peverell?" Bellatrix snarled: "What are you doing here?"

"I am the one who summoned you, Bella," Florence spoke softly, the sound so similar to her father's voice that the deranged woman in front of her suddenly shivered, the snarl slowly disappearing from her face, giving place to confusion.

"H-how? Why?" stammered Bellatrix.

"Oh, how I did it is too complicated for you to understand," Florence smirked, walking towards her, "Now, why I did it? It's very simple: you did something, Bella, something that puts my family in danger," she stopped right at the other woman's face, "And I know you had a hand in my son's poisoning," she added, her voice low and dripping with hate, "So here I am, Bella; because I'm furious, I'm outraged, and I need to make the guilty party pay – and that's you."

Then Florence grabbed Bella's left forearm and looked at the Dark Mark, touching it for the first time, wondering for a second if she would be able to do what she wanted without her wand.

Holding Bellatrix's arm with one hand, Florence brought the fingers of the other to the ugly tattoo, pressing two fingers onto it, channelling all of her anger, her fear and resentment into fuelling her desire to watch the other woman suffer.

Bellatrix screeched in pain and shock, falling onto her knees, trying to pull her arm away from the woman's grasp; but Florence didn't let go of her arm, pressing harder on the tattoo until it quivered, the black ink turning dark red.

Bellatrix's screams filled Florence with an unexpected feeling: raw power – and the desire to hurt the Death Eater even further arose; she wanted to watch her bleed before she killed her.

Shit!

Florence abruptly removed her hands from Bellatrix's skin, looking at her as she fell onto the stone floor.

Dark Magic – she had been briefly seduced by the addicting and corrupting power that led her father to destroy his own soul. She'd always known she carried that affinity for the Dark in her blood but she'd never had proof she could actually manipulate it – until now.

Bellatrix whimpered, curling around her still-red left arm and staring up at Florence in sheer confusion, clear paralyzing fear in her dark soulless eyes.

Her utter distress brought up in Florence a sudden need to apologize, as regret started to clutch at her heart to the point of making her feel sick – but she quickly remembered who she would be apologizing to and the need died out.

The soft creaking sound of a heavy wooden door being pushed open joined the breathless whimpers that echoed in the large space.

"Florence?" she unexpectedly heard a man whisper.

She looked at the door and even in the dimly lit room she could recognize him, his magic signature too powerful and unique to be mistaken by anyone else's.

"Hello, father."

Bellatrix froze, looking from Florence to the Dark Lord, completely terrified now.

Voldemort moved towards Florence, opening his arms in an uncharacteristic welcoming gesture and she accepted his embrace.

"It's so good to see you, my dear," he said with a smile, "You're as beautiful as your mother," he touched her face, before looking at the woman on the floor, "Care to explain to me what I see here?"

"Bellatrix is working behind your back to protect her nephew, father."

"Young Malfoy?" Voldemort said with a frown, frowning at Bellatrix, clearly displeased.

"And," continued Florence, "She had a role in James's poisoning."

"What?" he snarled, "Is that true, Bellatrix? You helped Lucius Malfoy in his attempt to murder my oldest grandson?"

The female death eater let out a broken whimper and shook her head, while still holding her arm, "I-I didn't know, my Lord."

Florence continued: "Also, she forced Severus to make an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. Now he'll have to be the one to kill Dumbledore. And the Order of the Phoenix will hunt him down! And me as well!"

Voldemort touched Florence's face again, in another strange and unexpected display of affection, "Don't worry, my daughter. She'll be properly punished."

Florence nodded once, showing him she was pleased, "When Severus kills Dumbledore, I'll try to take over his role as your spy within the Order."

Voldemort's ophidian face morphed into what seemed to be a very satisfied smile, "As I once said: you'll always have a place by my side, my dear."

"Thank you, father," Florence bowed her head in deference, leaving the room without another word.

Snapes' family home

Two hours had gone by since their father had arrived and sat in the living room on his favourite armchair, not having moved since then.

What do you think is happening, James? Nicholas asked.

No idea, man. But it can't be good. Mum's not here and dad's concerned. Not good at all.

All of a sudden, a letter arrived through the Floo Network, falling at Severus's feet; he leaned forward and picked it up.

My loyal servant

I'm as glad as I'm impressed with my daughter's change of heart – for that, I have you to thank.

Let her know Bellatrix has been dealt with accordingly.

Severus frowned, wondering what that was about.

"What's that, dad?" asked Nick, "Is mum ok?"

"She's fine," Severus replied, throwing the letter into the unlit fireplace and casting Incendio.

Where are you, Florence? He sent her through their bond.

For a moment he thought it hadn't worked, he thought she was blocking him, but then his mind was filled by images of the Astronomy Tower.

Note: A lot of inspiration and sentences from 6th book and movie. Whatever you recognise as being from those medias is not mine. And the information about Nummite is real – however, it's not canon that the resurrection stone was made of it.