"See you next year," Selena said glumly.
"Maybe you’ll be able to come to my house this summer," said Melissa, hugging her.
"Yeah, like this year’s going to be any different from the rest," said Selena, frowning.
"Well, we’ll see," said Melissa, though she didn’t sound too hopeful. "Bye!"
"Bye!" Selena called, as she scanned the platform for her mum. Spotting her, she lugged her trunk over.
"Hello, Selena," said Eileen Snape, giving her daughter a quick hug.
"Hi, Mum," said Selena, trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm.
Severus came skulking over soon after. "Are we ready, then?" said Eileen, attempting to be chipper.
Absorbed in her own sulking over the most likely very bleak summer ahead, Selena walked next to Severus behind their mother, not really being fussed with where she was going. Suddenly her shoulder was bumped, and she staggered slightly to the side.
"Oh, sorry," said a voice, and a hand grabbed her arm to steady her. She glanced up into the face of the person she had bumped into, and froze.
"Oh," said Curtis Blackwood again, his face breaking into that heart pounding smile. "Hey, Selena." He released her arm. "How are things?"
"Fine," Selena squeaked, her cheeks flaming. She darted a glance ahead of her: Eileen was still meandering away slowly, lost in her own world; but Severus had stopped about ten feet ahead, watching them with a scowl. "Er – you?"
"Pretty good," said Curtis. "It’ll be nice to come back as a seventh year."
"Yes, it will," said Selena, and flushed a darker shade of red. "I mean, for you – I’m not going to – I’ll be a sixth – "
"Yeah, I know," said Curtis, saving her the trouble of trying to formulate anymore humiliating sentences. "So, you have any plans for the summer?"
"No, probably just the usual," said Selena shrilly. Why was he talking to her as though they were friends? He couldn’t possibly…."What about you?" And why was her voice about twenty pitches above normal?
"Same," said Curtis.
She dared a look at Severus again. Curtis followed her gaze and raised his eyebrows.
"He doesn’t like me much, does he?" he asked, looking back down at her. She couldn’t tell if he was amused or not by her brother’s ways.
"He doesn’t like anyone, really," said Selena. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she could feel her face heating up even more. Curtis chuckling slightly at her remark only increased the feeling, so she said hastily, "I’d better get going."
"Yeah," said Curtis. "Uh, listen Selena, do you – "
She didn’t know what he was going to ask her, and she never found out. She was afraid to right then, so she quickly said in a falsely cheery voice, "Sorry, I got to go, hope you have a good summer!"
"Just a minute," said Curtis, "I wanted to know – "
But she had already dived back into the crowd; face burning, palms sweating.
Had Curtis Blackwood almost asked her out? That couldn’t be – she just wanted it to be what had – but maybe he –
It doesn’t matter whether he was going to ask you on a date or whether he just wanted to know how the flowers in your garden are growing, Snape, she told herself firmly. You have other priorities right now, remember?
As though to confirm this thought, a voice suddenly muttered in her ear, "Don’t tell me you still fancy that idiot."
Selena threw her brother a dirty look. "Are you getting yourself confused with others again, Severus?" she said quietly. "You’re the only idiot on this platform."
"That’ll be the day," Severus scoffed as he eyed James Potter across the way, who was fruitlessly trying to impress Lily Evans. "Blackwood may not have a inflated head like Potter, but there are other ways to be thick – "
"Shut up," said Selena furiously.
Severus smirked. "Is that anyway to talk to your family, Selena? As your brother, I am merely looking out for your best interests. If you are to date that moron, you should know a few things about him first – "
Selena, enraged, could not think of any good comebacks at that moment. But she deemed stepping hard on her brother’s foot adequate enough for now. This earned her a glare, but as Eileen was still ahead of them, both siblings did not want to risk drawing her attention towards them, so the combat ended there.
Once at a safe distance from everyone else, the three took a portkey to their house. Selena, eager to be out of Severus’ direct range, grabbed her trunk and hurried for the door, silently praying that their father was not home.
Either no one listened to her prayers or someone heard them too late; for when she knocked Tobias Snape opened the door, scowling at her. A thin trace of alcohol wafted out the door. Selena paused at the doorway, unsure she wanted to enter yet. Eileen and Severus were still back aways, having their routine argument about the Snape sibling’s father and how to deal with him (and this argument often lasted awhile).
It didn’t matter whether she wanted to or not, apparently. Not that it ever did.
"Well, come on," Tobias snapped. "I didn’t open this door just to let air inside. Get in!"
Selena did, muttering under her breath, "Nice to see you, too."
"What did you say to me?" Tobias demanded.
"Nothing, Father," Selena said automatically. He’s just testing you, she reminded herself, trying to keep a hold on her temper. He wants you to slip up. Don’t give in.
"Think I’m pretty stupid, don’t you?" Tobias asked with a slight slur, right on her heels. "Think that I can’t hear a damn word, hmm? Think that I’m real thick, since I don’t have any freaky powers? Is that it?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" The words had flown out before they had even gone through her mind; they had burst out in a fit of impulsive anger. What was she thinking? Did she want her dad on bad footing with her the first day of summer?
A hand came flying towards her face. But it never made contact. He was jerked into the air before his hand could reach her, and suddenly it looked like an invisible person was holding Tobias up by the foot. Severus was walking inside, his wand raised.
"You can’t use magic!" Tobias said weakly. "You’ll be expelled!"
"You and I both know that’s a lie," Severus said quietly. He spoke very calmly, and his face was rather emotionless, but his eyes were glinting with anger. "I’m seventeen now, I can do magic outside of school. Which means that some things are going to change around here."
Tobias began to turn red as the blood rushed to his face. Eileen was watching anxiously from where she stood by the door. "Severus," she whispered, looking terrified. "Severus, please…let it be…please, Severus…"
Severus ignored her; his eyes fixed on Tobias. "I don’t want you laying a hand on either of them – " Severus paused, and, making sure Tobias was watching him, flickered his eyes in Selena’s direction and then Eileen’s " – or me. Ever again. And if you do…just know that there are plenty worse spells that I can perform. Is that clear?"
Tobias muttered something incoherently.
"Didn’t quite catch that," said Severus softly, black eyes still focused intently on their matching pair. "Do speak clearly, Father."
"Yes," Tobias mumbled. Severus jerked his wand upward and his dad fell to the floor with a loud thud. With the merest half-smile at Selena, Severus levitated his trunk in front of him and went to his room.
***
"Firewhiskey, please," said Selena wearily, plopping herself on a stool.
"Coming up," said Tom, the barman of the Leaky Cauldron. He poured some into a glass and passed it to her.
"Thanks," said Selena, glancing around warily.
"Looking for someone?" Tom asked her.
"No," said Selena, "not really. Just…making sure that they’re not here."
Tom grinned. "I know the feeling."
No, you don’t, she thought. But she grinned back anyway, weakly.
She wasn’t actually looking for a particular person to be in there – she was looking to see if they had made their presence known, was a better way of putting it.
She was looking for wanted posters that bore a resemblance to her.
Luckily, she didn’t find any. Smiling slightly to herself, she sipped her drink. Now, it seemed she could have a pleasant evening, reflecting over pleasant memories, and thinking about pleasant people (namely one Curtis Blackwood). Because here, at last, was a place where her brother couldn’t haunt her in any shape or form.
Or so she thought.
"Well, well," said a slightly mocking voice. "Selena Snape."
Selena looked around. When she found the owner of the voice, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Hello, Narcissa," she said coolly.
Narcissa Malfoy sat a few seats away from her, glowering. Though she did look rather annoyed with her present company, she also looked wearier, and as though some of her cool, sophisticated exterior had been worn away slightly. She was pale, even for her; her hair was lank in contrast to when it was usually silky and smooth; and she looked as though she had aged a lot in a short period of time. Her eyes were distinctively red and puffy, and Selena could tell this wasn’t just from the drinking.
"It’s been a long time, Selena," Narcissa sneered. "How are you doing?"
Selena shrugged. "Not the best. But I’ve been spending my time well, trying to make the best of things." She smirked. "I’ve found better things to do than what you’ve resorted to."
Narcissa held up her glass and raised her eyebrows. "Obviously not," she said, nodding at Selena’s drink before taking a sip of her own.
Selena smiled sweetly. "No no, Narcissa, I meant other things. As in what I do for a living."
Narcissa nearly choked on her drink. She set it down with forced calm and looked at Selena, her expression pure loathing. But her eyes, strangely, had become clouded. She opened her mouth in a snarl, but the barman seemed to sense that things were about to get nasty, and said quickly, "Let’s keep it friendly, ladies."
They both glared at him. Tom grinned meekly and said, "I just don’t want another brawl in here. Had one only a few nights ago. Two men, arguing over shipments of some potion ingredients. One said he hadn’t received anything, and he’d ordered several weeks ago. Well, one thing led to another, and soon they were yelling and swearing as loud as they pleased. Then one of them pulled out his wand, and it went steadily downhill from there…"
Tom continued his rambling for several minutes. Both women figured it pointless to tell him that neither of them would have pulled out wands, being much more sensible than that, and instead blatantly ignored him.
Finally Tom was interrupted by a new arrival, which seemed to make him forget all about what he was saying before. So after he had served the newcomer a drink, he went back to cleaning glasses.
Fiddling idly with some expensive looking rings on her fingers, Narcissa spoke again. "I wouldn’t have thought you, Selena, would critique the way I run my life."
Selena glanced at her.
"After all," said Narcissa, looking up from her hand and meeting Selena’s gaze, "we’re both related to men with the same job."
Forget having a fight using my wand with her, Tom, Selena thought, as she balled her hands, her nails digging into her palm. Fists are just as efficient.
Narcissa sneered. "I’m sorry," she said, not looking sorry at all. "I forgot you don’t support that way of life at all, do you?"
"Good guess," Selena snarled. "Although why you’re openly admitting that you do is beyond me."
Narcissa opened her mouth to reply, but the barman finally had the sense to glance around and check on the old school mates. They both smiled charmingly at him, then when he turned his back again, they went back to icy stares.
"It’s no secret, Selena," said Narcissa, fingering the rim of her glass. "What would be the point of denying something that everyone knows is true?"
"Then why are you still around?" Selena asked coldly. "I would have thought they’d given you a joint cell with your husband."
"I’m still here because I have done nothing wrong," said Narcissa, tossing her hair in a superior sort of fashion.
"I’m sure," said Selena sarcastically.
"You think differently?" asked Narcissa, her pale eyes silently daring her.
"Of course I do. Your whole family’s in his league."
Narcissa leaned forward slightly. "Why don’t you prove it, then? Prove that I am in service to the Dark Lord."
Selena darted a glance at Narcissa’s left forearm, which was covered in a silky, pricey fabric, but said nothing.
"That’s what I thought," said Narcissa softly, sitting up straight again. "No one else can prove it. Why should you be able to?"
"I can," said Selena, sounding bolder than she felt, "if you let me see your arm."
"And why would I do that?"
"So I can see if it bears the Dark Mark."
"I’m impressed," said Narcissa, not quite able to hide her mocking tone. "You do know your facts after all."
"Then you’ll comply?" said Selena, raising one eyebrow.
"I don’t take orders from filth," Narcissa spat.
"Gee, that’s a shame," said Selena sardonically. "You can never do what your husband tells you, then."
Narcissa chose to ignore this. "That doesn’t mean, of course," she continued, a cold note of challenge in her voice, "that there aren’t other ways of checking my arm."
"What’s that supposed to mean?" said Selena cautiously.
"Just because I won’t allow you to doesn’t mean you can’t," said Narcissa coolly. She glanced up at Selena, who looked at her blankly. "Don’t tell me you can’t put two and two together, Selena."
"Obviously I can’t," said Selena, with a shrug and a quirk of her eyebrow. "Care to tell me?"
Narcissa smirked. "You could force me."
Selena blinked, suddenly not seeing Narcissa in front of her, but Severus.
Narcissa’s smirk broadened. "Fancy that," she said softly. "The Order must be getting desperate if they’re hiring people who can’t even do the job properly."
Selena quickly pushed the memory away, leaned closer so the barman could not hear, and told her quietly, "We already know you’re a Death Eater. We don’t need any proof. But until you’re caught, like your repulsive husband, there’s not anything we can do. So just remember this warning, and take caution. Unless you want to see your husband for more than just visiting hours."
Narcissa leered forward as well. "You can’t catch me if I’m always running. Just try. I’ll always be right ahead of you, always running."
"You mean like your son?" said Selena scathingly.
Narcissa’s blue eyes went misty again, but she quickly threw back, "No, I was referring to your brother."
Selena’s eyes, unlike Narcissa’s, did not start to sting, but something in the bottom of her stomach did lurch unpleasantly. Both women were unable to think of a response, so they continued to glare menacingly. That was when Selena realized she and Narcissa had something in common (as much as the idea of somehow being like Mrs. Malfoy repulsed her): they were both worried about people they loved. Not that, of course, either of them would ever admit it aloud (or even to ourselves, really), but that didn’t change it.
Finally, Selena drew back, faced forward again, and took a sip of her Firewhiskey. Narcissa pulled back as well, brushed non-existent dust off her robes, and with a haughty glance around the room took a dainty taste from her glass.
Selena played what had just happened over in her mind, hearing Narcissa challenging her: "You could force me."
Yes, she could have very well forced Narcissa to show her the disgusting mark on her arm. She had, after all, made someone else show her their mark. Though it was quite some time ago…
***
Knock knock knock!
A door opened to reveal a sliver of a man, peeking at her from the narrow gap.
"Selena?"
"No, it’s Bill," Selena said sarcastically. "Of course it’s me, d’you know someone else who looks like I do?"
"I just wasn’t expecting you."
"Who were you expecting?" Selena asked, pushing past him into his house.
"No one in particular, but…"
"What – don’t want to see your own sister?" Selena said, settling on a old looking chair.
"You could have told me you were coming," Severus replied, sitting down across from her.
"Well, you didn’t give me any notice you weren’t coming to my graduation," Selena retorted.
"Sorry," Severus mumbled. "Something came up…"
"It’s alright," said Selena, waving a hand at him. "I just thought that maybe you could’ve sent me a owl or something."
"It came up rather suddenly," said Severus. "Business, you know."
"What are you doing, anyway?" Selena asked him. "I haven’t seen you in over a year. Where’re you working?"
"Ministry," he said promptly.
"What department?"
"The – Department of Magical Transportation."
"I didn’t know you wanted to work at the Ministry."
"Like you said, you haven’t seen me in over a year."
"True," she said fairly, bottling her surprise of Severus’ chosen career path.
"Any reason in particular for your visit?"
"Just wanted to check in."
"Well, I might have to leave soon. My job sort of requires ‘whenever we need you’ hours."
"Not a problem, I’ve got Healer training in an hour anyway."
"Wine?"
"Sure."
Severus pulled out his wand. A bottle and two glasses soared through the air. He flicked his wand again and the bottle poured itself into a glass, which then flew towards Selena. He started to do the same for himself, when he suddenly took in a sharp breath as though in pain, his face twisting slightly.
"What happened?" Selena asked, alarmed.
"Nothing," said Severus calmly, face unfathomable again; flicking his wand to finish pouring his glass. "The Ministry’s just sent word they want to see me, that’s all."
Selena looked around the room. "How did they let you know?"
Severus stood up. "They’ve got special devices that you – attach to your body. They – heat up your arm in the area you put it on, so you know when to come in." He put on his traveling cloak. "I’m sorry to leave so suddenly, but I can’t afford to get fired on my first year at the office."
"What do these objects look like?" said Selena curiously.
"Well, they’re flat, so they can easily fit around your arm without getting in the way…"
"May I see it?"
"I’ve really got to go. Perhaps another time."
Selena frowned at him. Something didn’t fit here. "What’s on your arm, Severus?"
"A device, like I’ve just told you about."
Selena stood up. "What’s on your arm?" she repeated, looking at her brother hard.
"I just told you," Severus snapped, reaching for the door.
His back to her, Selena saw an opportunity. Levicorpus! she thought. Severus was instantly jerked into the air.
"What was that for?" he said angrily.
"To find out why your lying to me," said Selena, striding over to him.
"So you’re using my own spells against me?"
"It’s only using them against you if you’re hiding something." Selena grabbed one of Severus’ flailing arms and jerked up the sleeve. Nothing was there. She let go and took his left arm, pulling up the sleeve forcefully. She wasn’t quite prepared for what met her eyes.
There, on his forearm, was a tattoo of a skull with a snake coming out of the mouth, burning black.
Selena just stared at it for a moment. She wasn’t totally surprised, it had been what she’d expected, but to actually see it there was something else…
"You didn’t," said Selena softly. She looked at his face, which had adopted its usual blank stare. He had stopped swinging his arms. "You didn’t," Selena said a bit louder. She looked back at the repulsive image, shaking her head slowly.
"The Dark Lord is very wise," Severus said evenly. "His plans are far greater than you might think. Perhaps, given the chance, you would join up with him as well…"
"I seriously doubt that," said Selena.
"Fine," said Severus. "Then let me down, please."
"Let you down. Let you down," Selena echoed him, as though someone had pressed the replay button. "Why – ? How can you even ask me to do that?"
"You and I obviously have different values," said Severus calmly. "And I’ll respect your decisions if you respect mine."
"Respect your decisions?" Selena repeated incredulously.
"People can have different ideas about what is right," said Severus evenly.
"I should turn you in right now," said Selena flatly.
"But you won’t," Severus countered matter-of-factly, watching her with a strange expression in his eyes.
Selena just blinked at him, unable to move. All she could do was stand there, while Severus began to turn purple in the face from hanging upside-down. After a few minutes or so the spell wore off and Severus fell hard on the ground. He straightened himself, opened the door, and looked right at her. It wasn’t a very long time, that they looked at each other, probably less than a second, but it spoke volumes. What it said exactly , Selena couldn’t tell, but something clicked for the two of them in that brief moment: this was good-bye. They might never see each other again, whether out of anger at each other, or disappointment, or both. This was it. Did it have to be that way? Neither of them would have ever said it aloud, but they wished it weren’t.
Of course, that second passed, and Severus turned and walked out the door, closing the metaphorical and physical space between him and his sister for what seemed like would be forever.
***
"There you go," said Narcissa disdainfully, dropping some coins onto the counter. The loud clinking snapped Selena away from her memory. "See you around, Selena," she added politely for the barman’s benefit, then she waltzed away. Selena could only shake her head slightly, and then downed the rest of her drink.