Warm summer rain fell heavily on the streets of London, illuminated by glimmers of moonlight amid the passing clouds. Gusts of wind swirled through the air, causing the aged branches of a yew tree to rap loudly on the windows of a small, derelict house. A young raven haired girl inside jumped at the sound, torn from her reverie. She gazed at the branch, smiling at her childish fears and admonishing herself for behaving so foolishly.

Her smile wavered as she continued to gaze out the window. The rain clinging to the glass created shadowy streams of tears on her pale face in the fading light of her dying candles. The storm was getting worse. He'll be home soon, she reassured herself, turning her attention back to the quill and parchment in her hand. Thick black dots of ink saturated the parchment before her, bleeding into the words of a poem she'd been carefully composing. Another drop of ink fell lazily off the edge of her quill, marring her beautiful work. With a sigh she reached for a fresh sheet of parchment and a new quill.

The Loving One
by Iduna Snape

She looked at her slanted script and grinned. Iduna loved poetry. She'd always believed deep down that she was destined to be a poet, her looping words having a romantic, aged look to them. Naturally, her friends at Hogwarts had never understood her obsession with creative writing. Like any good Ravenclaw, Iduna spent countless hours of her time studying and using her inborn intelligence to its fullest measure in academic pursuits. But when the studying was done, and the exams were over, she loved nothing more than to curl up in the world of literature.

Her brother had found this hobby most peculiar of all, astounded by her enjoyment of works by Muggle authors. It was beyond him how anyone could enjoy 'the trite and meaningless ramblings of such blundering dunderheads.' She'd merely laughed at his words, whole heartedly ignoring his tirades on the uselessness of Muggles. Severus, her brother, much preferred books on spells, potions, and charms, as written by his fellow wizards. Anything to increase his knowledge, but never anything to enrich his view on life, she thought to herself.

In truth she couldn't blame him. Her own experiences with Muggles had been less than favorable in her short life, but she held no grudge against them. But then, Iduna was not one to bear ill will towards anyone. In truth she was probably too loving, accepting many into her heart that most would reject without a second thought. Like her brother… and her father.

Iduna gasped and raised her head. She heard the distant sound of movement at the stairs, the grunting cough of an aging man. Her heart raced as she soundlessly leapt from her bed and scrambled to her candles, extinguishing each with harried breath. Still in her stooped position, Iduna waited, listening for the beat of approaching footsteps. She prayed wildly in her panicked mind that he hadn't seen the light beneath her door, or heard the scratch of her quill. She wasn't supposed to be here. He would be angry.

Another cough rent the air, followed by the blessed sound of retreating steps to the bottom level of the house. Iduna sighed, pressing her hands into her eyes and shaking her head. She knew that it had been a foolish decision to stay home. She shuddered as she imagined her father's reaction if he found her here, hiding in her bedroom. As far as he knew, she'd left for school that morning.

Today had marked the start of Iduna’s final term at Hogwarts. She'd left the house early, making a show of dragging her overstuffed trunk down the road, knowing her father wouldn't think twice about her whereabouts the moment she was out of sight. She'd waited just at the end of the street for hours, knowing he'd leave the house eventually. When the time finally came to return home, she'd had to work very quickly. Panting and cursing lightly under her breath, she'd hauled her luggage back to her pitiful house and up the stairs. Since then she had left her room only once. In a moment of bravado she'd descended from her self-proclaimed prison for food, only just escaping her father's prying eyes as he unexpectedly returned home.

It wasn't as if her father was all bad. In truth he ignored Iduna more than anything. Though, that was probably the result of her brother's faithful care. Severus had always stood before her, taking the brunt of their father's wicked tongue and swift hand. In the beginning it had been their mother that did the protecting, drawing their father’s unpredictable wrath unto herself and away from Iduna and Severus. That is, until she left.

Iduna had sobbed hysterically, seated at her bedroom window, her small face pressed against the glass, desperately hoping to see the returning figure of her wayward mother. In her short life of five years, it had been impossible for her to understand, to fathom such a loss.

“Iduna?” Severus had whispered, coming tentatively into her bedroom.

“Go away!” Iduna had bellowed in a muffled sob, pressing her face into her hands.

“Iduna, please don’t cry,” Severus had continued, moving steadily towards his sister. “I’m still here, and I’ll never leave you! I’ll take care of you, I promise!” He’d reached out his tiny, chilled hand and grasped Iduna’s as he’d spoken. It had been a small gesture of caring, but it was unmatched by any other Iduna had experienced since.

Eileen Snape never returned after that day, and Iduna could only speculate as to where she had gone. As time drew on, Iduna thought of her less and less, until she was nothing more than an obscure memory. Her father had cared and provided for her well enough, and where he lacked in love and support, Severus had more than made up for. Even with all their differences, Iduna and Severus were best friends.

Like any good friends, they protected each other. Iduna was the protector at Hogwarts (lashing out at any scathing remark towards her “weird” brother), and Severus was the protector at home. Though, sometimes, he took his protectiveness too far. There were moments when she’d begged Severus to back down, to let their father rant undisturbed. Over time her words had begun to fall on deaf ears. Too many years of being called a coward had poisoned Severus; his pride could no longer abide tolerance.

Iduna could remember the moment her brother had started to change. It had been a day last summer, just a few weeks before returning for his final year at Hogwarts. The fight that morning had been brutal, Severus's right eye a testament to his struggle.

"You're pathetic!" her father had screamed at Severus's retreating form. "Just like your mother. A useless coward!"

When Iduna had finally found him, Severus was sitting alone in the market. With the little Muggle pocket money she'd possessed, she'd bought two apples, offering one to her brother with a smile. "It won't be long before you've graduated and left this all far behind you," she'd said with a grin.

A youthful glow played in her brother's eyes, though there was little warmth behind it. In the past just being close to his sister had calmed all Severus's woes. She knew she was the only one who truly understood him. Why he felt such a desperate need for strength and power, turning to all aspects of magic in his search, including the darkest and most potent spells. She knew the reason behind his mysterious love of solitude and his notoriously quick temper. She even understood why he dressed as he did, drenched in black from head to toe, like a person in constant mourning.

"You're not like her," Iduna had whispered quietly, searching her brother's face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Severus had answered sarcastically.

Iduna hadn't taken the bait of his teasing. "You're not like Mum, Severus. She wasn't strong like you."

"Oh yes, brave Severus. Standing like a man and taking a beating like a dog. Perhaps I should have been a Gryffindor," he'd replied scathingly. "No, Iduna. You've not begun to see my strength. One day, I will be strong. Powerful. Then we'll see where the true cowardice lies."

The memory of his voice on that summer afternoon haunted Iduna to this day. She shivered as she recalled the dead look forming in her brother's eyes. Since then, his life had altered rapidly. Severus made new "friends" at school, a gang of Slytherins. None of them had wanted anything to do with their half-blood classmate for their first six years at Hogwarts. Then, unexpectedly in their final year, Severus became as good as kin to the lot of them. They'd even given him some silly nickname, referring to him as "The Prince" when they passed him in the hallway.

After graduation Severus had returned home, saying he would stay for one last summer, Iduna knew to keep their father at bay. At first he'd kept true to his word, but slowly he began to vanish for long periods of time. Days, even weeks. These disappearances terrified Iduna. There was a war going on. There was no way of knowing who was safe anymore, and the grueling hours spent in panic over her brother's fate had begun to wear on her nerves.

When he'd left the last time, he'd told Iduna he'd be back the night after she left for Hogwarts. She'd been heartbroken to hear that he wouldn't be there to see her off, to wish her luck for her last year. But as the day of departure drew closer, Iduna had decided she wouldn't be returning. Not until she could see her brother, and speak with him face to face. Somehow, she knew she could talk some sense into him. Bring him away from the darkness into which he was falling and set him down a more promising path. He would listen to her, and once she'd said her peace, she would return to school. The rest was up to him.

Iduna gasped as lightening split the sky, illuminating her darkened room with eerie strobes of fleeting light. She felt her hair stand on end as a clap of thunder shook the night, and she trembled internally. "It's just a storm," she whispered to herself, "just a storm and nothing more."

Another bolt of lightening cut through the darkness, reflecting in Iduna's wide, sapphire eyes. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. This was just silly! Why should she feel so much dread over a rainstorm?

"What in the hell do you think you are doing?" a shout rang out, causing Iduna to shriek and start in surprise. It was her father, his livid screams echoing through the aging contours of the house.

For the briefest of moments, she'd feared he'd found her out, and that any second he would be bursting through her bedroom door demanding an explanation. But he never came. Instead she only heard the continuance of rendered shouts, emitted from somewhere below. Severus…

Iduna was nervous. Something about this fight sounded different. Louder. Darker. She hesitated where she stood, torn between remaining hidden and going to her brother's aid. It was the sound of shattering glass that tore her from her rooted stance, propelling her out the door and down the stairs in rapid silence.

"You worthless boy! Pathetic and cowardly as ever, can't even face me like a man!" Tobias Snape screamed manically, his back pressed into the wall.

"I AM NO COWARD!" Severus bellowed, his face twisted in anger and his fist clenched like a vice around his wand. He was standing mere feet from their father, emitting years of fury and pain with every syllable he uttered.

Iduna watched from afar as an eerie calm consumed her brother's features, a strange power emanating from his body. Her limbs were frozen, keeping her transfixed at the base of the rickety stairs. A hollow terror was seeping through her veins, begging her to retreat from the scene before her, or to step forward and do something to stop it. The menace in Severus's aura was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. This boy. No, this man that stood before her was a stranger. It was as if her brother had died, leaving a mere shadow of himself behind.

"No more shall I be tied to a filthy Muggle like you!" Severus sneered. "No more will you hold me down! After tonight I will be powerful! I will be important! And you, dear father… won't even be a memory."

The world ceased to spin for an instant as Severus's last words reverberated through the air. A sudden realization was growing on Tobias Snape's lined face, his normal proud demeanor fading into a look of terror. Somewhere between hearing her brother draw a ragged breath and seeing the sharp, sudden movement of his wand, Iduna truly understood the meaning of Severus's words. She clenched the stair rail in shock, her legs shaking in paralyzed fear. She bellowed a plea as the spell rang from her brother's lips.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"NOOOO!"

An emerald green light exploded from the wand, hitting her father in the chest. He crumpled instantly, landing in a precarious angle, his unmoving stare fixated in Iduna's direction. A cry of unadulterated despair wrenched from her lips, staring transfixed at the cold, dead eyes. Across the room, Severus stood stoic, gazing mesmerized at his sister's tremulous form.

Time ceased to exist between the siblings as they mutely stared at each other in numb disbelief. Iduna was trembling violently. "Why?" she whispered. "Why?" a little louder, taking a step toward Severus. She felt as though her body had instantly aged one hundred years, all her youthful innocence snuffed out in the hatred that lay before her. "WHY!" Iduna screamed, throwing herself at her brother, all sense and reason forgotten. She pushed him savagely, beating on his chest with her fists.

"How could you? How? Severus, he was your father! He was my father! You two were all I had, and now I don't have either of you! How could you do this! How?" Iduna was sobbing, hers words bursting from her lips in hysterical gasps.

Severus came to himself suddenly, grabbing Iduna's wrists to still her flailing fury. "Iduna, what are you doing here?" Severus demanded, surmounted with confusion. Iduna released an anguished howl, her head falling forward on her brother's chest as she fought to gain control of herself. "Answer me!" he growled.

"I saw you slipping, Severus. I wanted to help you," Iduna wept, her voice thick as she tried to shake the image of her dying father from her mind. I failed you, Iduna thought as she closed her eyes tightly, sending another tear cascading down her cheek.

Opening her eyes again, Iduna gazed at her brothers hands. The hands that used to lead her and protect her were now holding her prisoner. She grunted and tugged at her arms, yanking them up in the air in an effort pull away. Severus matched her movements, determined to keep his grip. As Iduna struggled again, she saw it. A striking black mark emblazoned vividly on Severus's forearm.

Iduna's stomach clenched and the last bit of sanity she was desperately clinging to slipped away. "No." She shook her head madly. "No, no! NO! You're one of them! You're one of them! Let me go! Let go!"

"Shh! Iduna, be quiet," Severus muttered urgently. "I have to get you away from here. We can hide you," he spoke worriedly.

"No! Just let me go! Stay away from me!" Iduna yanked forcefully against her brother's grasp.

"Iduna, please!" Severus pleaded.

Iduna started hyperventilating, her fear coming to a peak. She had to get away. She couldn't stay here with her father's dead body lying propped against the wall. On reflex she threw herself at her brother, hitting him with all the force that her tiny body could muster. Severus grunted, his grip undone. Iduna leapt backwards, blindly racing for the door.

"Iduna, STOP!" Severus screamed wildly.

Iduna barely heard him as she reached her exit, throwing the door open and leaping into the storm. A black figure descended on her from the darkness, moving as though it had been startled by her arrival. Iduna didn't have time to think. To scream. To prepare. She was dead before her body even recognized the familiar green flash.

Severus raced through the open doorway, plummeting to his knees at his sister's side. Her loving, blue eyes held no warmth now. Her raven black hair lay muddied in a growing puddle. Her sweet hands, hands that held so much promise and talent, no longer soothed him as he desperately clung to her. She was gone. In an instant, the one person he survived for was dead. A cry of anguished fury rang from Severus's lips as he shot up from the ground, pointing his wand viciously at the face of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"How dare you! She was innocent!" Severus raged, brandishing his wand. Bellatrix glared contemptuously at Severus, her ever judging eyes firm.

"Severus, calm yourself!" Lucius Malfoy spoke rapidly behind him. "It was an accident. You said yourself she was at school, how were we to know she'd come flying out the door like that? You've done your job, now let us be done with it!"

"The only job The Dark Lord assigned me, Lucius, was to rid myself of my disgusting Muggle lineage," Severus snapped coldly. "And you were only to be my guard.”

"You should be thankful he even allowed a pitiful half-blood like you into his ranks!" Bellatrix interjected arrogantly. "And who are you to question The Dark Lord's orders? Who are you to assume you know what Lucius and I were commanded to do? We did everything in our power to help you complete your initiation, to help you prove your worth, and this is how you thank us? You're not worthy of His greatness!"

Severus growled, his wand shaking in anger.

"Oh, shut up, the both of you! You saw what happened to Regulus when he began questioning The Dark Lord, Severus. Your task is done, let us be off!" Lucius hissed.

These words finally moved Severus. Slowly he lowered his wand. He remained silent as Bellatrix stepped forward, digging a deep hole in the ground with a wave of her wand. He didn't even utter a sound when she cast Iduna's body unceremoniously into the earth, removing all traces of her inhuman act. On the surface, Severus again appeared the model Death Eater: Uncaring and unmoving. But inside, in his soul, a battle had begun.

Underneath, with every fiber of his being, Severus knew he'd been led astray. Tempted by the power of The Dark Lord. Iduna had died to show him the error of his ways, and he refused to let her death be in vain. Iduna's death had changed everything. Severus no longer desired power. He wanted redemption. He wanted justice for his sister's fate.

Severus wanted revenge.