April 13th, 1995

--------A--------

"And he didn't question it?" Aurora asked Draco as they sat out by the lake. He'd just returned from Easter Hols, though he had done so long before the rest of the school would.

Draco smirked sadly, head bowed, eyes on the long strand of grass he kept wrapping around his fingers. "Why would he. My lady is here, and how am I to woo her properly, assure myself that I would maintain her affections if I allow her to be near the Weasley twins all on her own? Of course, he didn't believe Potter was gay. Weasel, on the other hand .... He laughed, you know. How funny it was that at least the 'blood traitors' didn't have to worry about losing out on an heir because there were so many of them that one of them preferring the company of wizards wasn't going to do them any harm."

"He can't possibly be that oblivious." Aurora grumbled.

Draco scoffed. "I'm fairly certain he knows, but he raised me to know what my purpose was, and that was to carry on the Malfoy name. To keep it pure."

Aurora bit her tongue on that one, not really feeling the need to point out that his father would have already known her blood was less than pure, even if Uncle Lu didn't know what the extent of that was.

"He seems ... scared." Draco said quietly. "He kept touching his arm, pacing randomly. And he found a need to be in his study more than ever. Mother was also worried. She would put on a good show, of course, pretend that everything was fine. But she watched him with an expression of utter ... fear."

"Dad's a bit different, too." Aurora whispered. "Do you think that means ... do you think it could mean...."

"I don't know, Rory." Draco said softly, and a rumble of familiar laughter caught their ears. Turning, Aurora noted Harry, Ron, Gin, and the twins all heading toward them, Ron blushing as red as his hair.

Harry had glanced back up, did a double take, and smiled wider for a moment before he seemed puzzled as to why.

"You saw that didn't you?" Aurora asked quietly, refusing to look at Draco.

"I saw. It doesn't mean anything except that he was happy to see me."

She refrained from rolling her eyes as the others approached.

"What are you doing back so soon?" Harry asked when they were within speaking range.

"I was bored." Draco replied. "And staying near Rory would look good in my father's eyes."

"Snape has to marry a ferret. I thought snakes ate rats?" Ron smirked, crossing his arms.

"Rory's not a snake," Fred said, smacking his brother upside the head.

"And Malfoy's not a rat." George added with a punctuating smack of his own.

"Why are you two standing up for him? He's of a rival house, and his family hates ours." Ron grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Just because our families have history doesn't mean we have to carry it on." Draco sneered. "And besides, you're really the only Weasley I can't tolerate."

"Really?" George asked.

"What about Percy?" Fred suggested.

Draco snorted. "Pompous boot licker, to be sure. But at least he had a brain. And manners."

The twins chortled, and Ginny smirked, none of the siblings coming to their brother's defense.

"Wish 'Mione were here." Ron said as she shot a glare at shaking Harry. "At least she'd have defended me."

"No, she wouldn't." Aurora said with certainty.

"How would you know? Barely knew her, you did." Ron countered.

"I know her better than you think." Aurora countered. "After all, she was one of the first people who were nice to me after I was sorted into Gryffindor."

Ron had opened his mouth, likely to counter it, but then promptly shut it.

"Are you ready for the final task, Potter?" Draco asked Harry, cutting off the topic of conversation before it could possibly lead down a dangerous road.

"I'm not even sure what it is yet." Harry replied. "They'll tell us closer to when it is, likely so we're not distracted from exams."

"Yes, because that's really going to help." Ginny snorted. "After all, the closer to exams they wait to tell you, the more pressure you'd have. If they told you now, at least you'd have some time to practice."

"Unless the practice took away from your studies." Draco pointed out.

"Blimey, that sounds like something Hermione would say." Harry smirked. "Guess you're filling in for her on that front."

Draco quirked his lip at that but said nothing.

After a pause, Ron asked, "are you two really in an arranged marriage?" Aurora turned and gaped at him, and the others must have done the same as he looked about the lot of them and shrugged. "You have to admit, it's a bit old fashioned."

"If they are, then I'm in a lot of trouble." Fred said cheekily.

"I'd say have at her, but I'm sure Longbottom would try and fight you for her." Draco replied.

"I'm sitting right here and can speak for myself, thank you." Aurora rolled her gaze to Draco.

"Yes, Dear." He quipped, making the others chuckle.

"So, you are?" Harry asked, sounding as though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Aurora watched the mirth fade from Draco's face as he sat up straighter. "Unofficially." He replied. "I am expected to court her beginning .... Beginning next year. When Aurora turns fifteen. It's been something discussed since our birth, though never put on paper."

"So, if Aurora were to choose someone else?" Fred asked.

"Like Neville?" Ron suggested. "He seems to fancy you, despite how terrified of your Dad he is."

"I think that would rightly depend on Uncle Severus." Draco replied. "Speaking of, where is your father?"

————S————

"You will take care of them?" Severus asked Black as the man lounged comfortably on the sofa of his sitting room, glass of fire whiskey in hand.

Sirius met his eye and held it. "Upon my honor, not that that accounts for much these days. But you can be assured that, should the worse happen, I will protect Hermione, Rory, and Leo to the best of my ability."

"You have done an exceptional job with Potter on your own." Severus admitted reluctantly. "In the short time he's had you as his official guardian over Petunia and her boorish husband, his attitude has improved. He actually asked me for something before his second task, something that just a year before he'd have likely stolen."

Sirius smirked, a pleased little thing. "I appreciate that, coming from you, Severus. Given that Hermione is his godmother, and you a second godfather by extension, I had assumed you'd have wanted a say in things."

"Hermione had, in a way, up until you came in, already looked after him. Here, when she was younger, and through Aurora. We don't exactly live near Surrey, after all. It wasn't coincidence that put Rory in school with him from the beginning."

Sirius chuckled. "She never ceases to amaze me."

"And that fondness in your voice is exactly what has Albus convinced you're Aurora's father, and not I."

"Well, she's a lovely girl. Far more beautiful than her mother, and with my dark hair...."

"Yes, but you'd be more willing to hump Lupin's leg than hers." Severus smirked, amused he could still make Sirius blush over it.

"Yes, well, that would require him to have stuck around, wouldn't it?" Sirius said bitterly, and Severus frowned before suddenly recalling something Hermione had mentioned ages ago.

"He left. When he asked her to leave me again, and she said no, he left, didn't he?" Severus asked, sneering at the thought.

Sirius shrugged. "He said it was because he needed to do things on his own. To branch out. We're both doing work for Dumbledore, keeping an ear out for things, but when we get home...."

"I am not my wife, I quite frankly don't need to hear of your marital woes."

"We aren't married."

"You may as well be," Severus countered, glancing out the window, seeing his daughter, Draco, Potter, and the Weasleys out near the lake. "How is ... Harry dealing with it? That his godfather would hardly be able to give him advice on girls."

Sirius smiled. "Actually, he asked me about that not that long ago in a letter. Shortly after that article in the Prophet about his... preferences. I'm not quite sure Harry is the lady's killer that his father would have hoped for."

"Bloody wonderful. I just hope Dra-"

Severus cut himself off mid-sentence as he felt something in his left arm flare. For a fleeting, fearful moment, he swore he felt the pull of a demand, the burn of summons. Appearing as calm as possible, Severus opened the sleeves of his coat and shirt, pulling them back as if he were peeling a banana.

"Severus, what is it?" Sirius asked, but Severus held up his right hand for silence before going back this his arm and running his fingers over the mark.

It had darkened further, looking exactly as it did just day before the Dark Lord fell. He skimmed his fingers over it, waiting for the burn to intensify as though he were ignoring a summons.

"Blimey, that thing is ugly." Sirius said, more to himself than to Severus, though he heard it all the same.

"Yes," Severus agreed before swiftly putting his sleeves and buttons back in place. "And getting uglier by the day, I'm afraid." He turned to Sirius, looking him dead in the eye. "Dumbledore would not have told you, but there is little doubt the Dark Lord will be back. He's rising up again."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked.

Severus nodded once. "The year Aurora first started at Hogwarts, the mark had begun to darken again. Not as bad as this, except for the night Potter went down to the chamber of secrets to rescue Ginevra Weasley."

"He told me about that." Sirius said softly. "Of how a teenage version of You-Know-Who was returning, or something. That it came from a book, or something, and he went away when Harry stabbed the book with a basilisk fang." Sirius chuckled. "A bit farfetched, I admit, but...."

"Hardly." Severus replied. "Once Potter returned home after that year was done, Albus and I went below. The door had stayed open, after all. No one thought to seal it, and since Ginevra was going down there under the influence of Riddle, she didn't remember going at all. No one quite knew how to close it. We found the basilisk, dead of course, eye gouged out as Potter told Albus Fawkes had done. We obtained a couple of fangs, I may have plucked a hearty amount of scales. Much as Potter can be his own, biggest fan, or had been, he did not lie about the basilisk. And while I was never permitted to see it, I don't doubt for a moment that he was being honest about the book."

"So... what does that mean?" Sirius asked, his pallor having taken on a paleness that hadn't been since his departure from Azkaban.

"It means exactly what you think it does. So be prepared, Black, for the worst."

June 24th, 1995

—————A—————

There had already been red sparks sent up earlier, and Fleur Delacour had been carried out, unconscious but alright. After they had her roused, she was in a bit of a panic, trying to explain in both French and English what happened while hysteria clouded her voice.

Aurora had turned to look at her mother and Sirius Black who were sitting with the other parents and teachers, her father having gone with aunt Poppy to try and calm Fleur. Her mother shook her head ever so slightly upon meeting Aurora's eye, Black too focused on the maze to notice someone looking their way.

When a new set of sparks went up, the crowd grew tense once more, the eyes of all likely going to those patrolling the area to see who was being carried out.

"Come on, Potter." Draco murmured under his breath.

There was a tense silence, then suddenly Ginny cried, "Viktor!" Barely a breath, and she was out of her seat, running out onto the field.

"I actually bet on him winning," Fred said, more confused than disappointed.

"Something's not right," George said a beat later.

And it wasn't. Aurora watched as her father and Aunt Poppy left Fleur's side, both wearing frowns as Fleur began to his and screech in French. At one particular word, Madam Maxine, who'd been at her Champion's side, and her father both tensed. Her father spun around sharply, and while his words could not be heard, the timber of his voice carried over the near silent crowd, only the musicians having attempted to fill the void with music that frequently quieted or tapered off altogether.

There was a brief conversation in which Fleur gestured to her face, and then to Krum, and Professor Snape did nothing but give quick responses. He then turned back to Krum, crossing the distance in a few brisk strides, and then forced the boy's eyes open just as Ginny had pushed past those trying to keep her back to be at his side.

And inspection, and a quick wand movement, and Aurora watched as her father turned to Dumbledore with a quick nod and said something that could not be heard at all.

Karkaroff whipped his head toward Professor Snape just before a bright, blue light came from near the center of the maze.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked, turning to Aurora with the space between she and him vacant with Ginny's absence.

"Part of the task?" Draco replied. "A sign that there was a winner?"

"I'd overheard Professor Flitwick say that the winner would be announced by fireworks," Luna said, her normal, dreamy tone laced with dread. "The crest of the school, and in the case of two champions, red for Gryffindor or yellow for Hufflepuff."

"So, what's blue mean?" Fred asked.

"Trouble, I'd wager." George said thoughtfully. "And not the good kind."

"'Mione would know." Ron said, shifting uncomfortably.

Aurora looked to where her mother was still sitting with Aunt Min, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

"I'm not sure she would." Aurora said quietly, turning back to the maze to scan it for any sign of anything.

For a long time, it was quiet. The musicians started to play again off and on, there was a small wave of chatter as Krum was carried to the hospital wing, Ginny following, Fleur being led behind them. The Aurora noticed her father grimace before clutching his arm. His left arm. Karkaroff did the same, starring at Professor Snape with utter fear. She couldn't see the minute details of her father's face, but Aurora could imagine it all: the lift of his brow, the cold glare, the curl to his lip as he attempted to hide his pain. Karkaroff turned and left the field quickly. Aurora watched her father turn to Dumbledore. After a short exchange, her father stiffened, then bowed, returning to where Hermione Snape sat and watched the exchange with an increasingly worried glance. He knelt before her, and Aurora wanted to burst into tears for the way her mother's eyes widened, the visible way her breathing increased. She doubted anyone had seen, but her father kissed his wife quickly before dashing off.

"Where's your dad goin'?" Ron asked.

"I'm not sure I want to know." Aurora replied.

She felt Draco's hand slip into hers and squeeze it in solidarity.

More time passed, longer and more indistinct, during which Neville came and slid into the empty spot between she and Ron. His arm went about her, and she leaned into his comfort. She tried not to look at her mother, quietly crying, Aunt Min with her arm wrapped around her and doing her best to sooth. Yet her eyes kept darting there, and the longer her father stayed gone, the longer her mother let her tears fall while looking completely unperturbed, the more Aurora feared the absolute worse.

Then there was another flash of light, a thud, and before the teachers could surround him, she could see Harry on the ground. One of his hands clutched a glowing cup, the other was holding tight to Cedric Diggory. The latter didn't seem to be moving.

The former just kept screaming, "He's back, he's back. Voldemort is back."

—————S—————

The odds were not in their favor. Severus had Hermione do the calculations, and so when his arm burned a short while after the strange light came from the maze, he was not surprised.

He met Karkaroff's eye and knew in an instant the coward was going to run. He had ratted out so many of the Death Eaters publicly, Severus wasn't as surprised as he thought he should be. Karkaroff had loved the muggle baiting, loved to remind anyone of lesser blood that they were just that: lesser. Yet the moment things would have been hard for him, he was willing to sell out everyone and anyone that he could to be free. Even his name had come up.

Severus turned to Dumbledore as Karkaroff took off.

"I'm being ... summoned." He said.

"And you already know how I feel about that." Dumbledore replied.

"And you know, for the sake of my family, I am not holding off."

"Then you will do as we planned."

"Yes."

"Good luck, Severus."

Severus bowed, then turned toward to seats where his wife was watching worriedly. He moved swiftly toward her, knowing time was of the essence. But just in case ... if it was the end....

He took in his wife as he stopped before her, kneeling down to be at eye level. He'd wished, in that moment, that she hadn't used the charm to alter her identity slightly. He wanted to see her: her big curls, and hazel eyes, and the freckles by her nose. He wanted to see Hermione, not this slightly altered version. But there was no time for that.

"It's happened." He told her, ignoring Minerva's questions.

"And you're going." It wasn't a question. Hermione held his gaze, and gaze a curt, short nod. "Come back to me."

"Tell the children I love them." He said, leaning in and giving her a swift kiss. He then rose to his feet and swept out of the stadium. Once he was clear of it, he felt in his robes for the items he had shrunken and kept on his person since the calculations became conclusive.

In quick motions, he wandlessly and wordlessly enlarged his mask, placing the heavy, silver piece to his face. As he pulled out and enlarged his robes as he swung them around his shoulders, the movement all muscle memory from thirteen years ago. His wand was out, and he pressed it to his mark. No apparating inside Hogwarts, except for the Headmaster and his trusty Death Eater.

When he opened his eyes from his apparation, Severus was a bit surprised to find himself in a grave yard. It was a short-lived emotion before it was tucked firmly behind his occlumency shields, ones that had not lowered since he formed them as a teenager.

He moved toward the tall, disturbing looking man he had no doubt was Lord Voldemort as he was now. He looked humanoid, but that was really where his resemblance to his old self ended. Even in the end, the Dark Lord still had an aura of charm, of allurement. Severus could detect none of it now.

And there, pinned to a statue of a reaper, was Potter. The boy was bleeding, struggling to get free even though it was utterly useless. The boy was a fighter, and that may actually help him survive this. If only Severus could have as much confidence in himself.