Armilla II

Chapter 3

Without hesitation, Severus took off and in a matter of seconds was at least twenty feet above me. For a moment I just watched. I wasn't sure if it was the situation that had me suddenly standing frozen or whether if it was my bemusement of seeing Severus Snape up in the air on a broom. I had only ever seen him ride a broom at a Quidditch match back in first year. He had refereed the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match and he had not looked like he had enjoyed it at all. Seeing him willingly ride a broom now for my sake was endearing...but still a little strange to see.

He flew down a little lower. "Are you planning on joining me?" he called, the breeze making his black robes and hair flap behind him.

I nodded. "I think so." It was a Firebolt Max. What if I fell off?

He came down even lower. "There's no one else here, Armilla," he said, hovering a few feet above me. "There's no need for stage fright. Come."

He moved a little higher, gesturing for me to follow.

There was nothing for it. I had my pride. I had my dignity...sort of...well, I had lost it many a time in front of my brother. I was going to lose it again by standing with both feet on the ground with a Firebolt Max while my brother was above me on a Cleansweep.

Clutching the broom so hard my knuckles were turning white, I pushed off. I did well not to let out a yelp as I zoomed up a lot faster than I intended. I whizzed past my brother so fast that he seemed just a whirl of black robes. The broom certainly was powerful.

Keeping in mind Severus' comment that I was in control of the broom, I tried to slow it down. It took a little longer than I intended and by the time I turned it around to face Severus, he was over twenty feet below me.

He flew up about ten feet and beckoned for me to fly down to meet him. I shook my head. There was no way I was going to fly down yet. I had zoomed twenty feet into the air without intending to, so I didn't want to dive twenty feet down again; I'd have a spectacular crash landing if I did.

"Come down a bit," he called.

"I'd rather you come to me," I called back.

He flew up and hovered at my side, looking a little bemused. "What happened to don't go too fast?"

"I still stand by that request," I said solemnly. "I don't know how I got up here."

The corners of his mouth twitched. "Very well. Just fly alongside me." He smirked. "Just to your best to keep up." He turned and flew off, gesturing for me to follow.

Without offering the range of retorts circulating in my mind, I followed and was beside him in seconds.

It felt so good to be on a broom again. I had never held much appreciation for brooms, especially as a means of transport, but since I had ridden a Thestral recently, the broom suddenly seemed so much more comfortable.

We flew over the grounds of the Merrigan Estate. I realised that there was a lot of our property that I hadn't seen. I had only ever followed the path leading onto the Estate and had only walked in a very close vicinity to the house. The view from many metres up in the air was very pretty. Everything was lush and green and many of the gardens were slightly overgrown, which I thought made it seem more natural. It seemed Docky didn't get around to pruning every garden.

Severus, it seemed, had no difficulty flying at all. It wasn't that I expected him to be a bad flyer; I just had trouble imagining him flying for pleasure.

"Do you fly often?" I asked him, as we flew past the east side of the house.

He shook his head. "Since my first encounter with a bucking broomstick, I must say that I have never held much liking for flying."

"How do you fly so well then?"

"I don't fly well," he said, "I fly adequately. I put in the practice in my teens. It was a means to get out of the house and out of Father's presence."

He suddenly sped up and I followed suit, enjoying the rush of wind on my face, blowing my hair out behind me. My nerves about flying had faded. I was really enjoying it, and from the lack of the usually present sneer of Severus' face, it seemed he didn't mind it either...or maybe the rush of wind made it hard to keep a sneer on his face.

"You're flying well," he commented, when I had reached his side again. With the speed we were at now, we had to talk quite loudly to be heard over the wind. "I assume your nerves have disappeared?"

"I suppose," I admitted. "That doesn't mean you can keep speeding up though." I had noticed that we were flying a lot faster now than we had been over twenty minutes ago when we had first started.

He smirked at me. "I can do as I please," he said. "I don't think you're finding this as difficult as you thought."

I shook my head. "It's not incredibly difficult, but then, I'm not incredibly confident." That was true enough; I was enjoying it, but I didn't have the knack for it that natural flyers did.

"What's that?" I said suddenly, pointing down below. We had flown very far south of the house and I had seen a cluster of large stone things below in the middle of a clearing of trees. They were all either white or grey. They were merely specks of varying sizes from our high distance in the sky, but it was clear they were things that had been purposely put there.

Severus glanced down in the direction I was pointing. "Tombstones," he answered. "Some Merrigan witches and wizards are buried there."

"Can we look?" I asked, very interested. He had never told me about relatives that were buried on the estate.

"I suppose," he said indifferently. "It's nothing fascinating."

We slowed down and started to descend.

As we got closer, I could make out the group of tombstones more clearly. There couldn't have been more than six or seven of them. Some were very small, while other were large and had very ornate stone ornaments resting on top.

We landed smoothly (thank goodness) and left our broomsticks on the ground as we walked over to the small cemetery.

The ones closest to us were the smallest. They were both very simple white marble tombstone.

Brigitta Hazel Merrigan

1826 - 1827

Alethia Julia Merrigan

1892 - 1895

A chill swept through me at the sight of them. It was most unsettling to see the graves of small children. One had only been a baby.

"That's horrible," I said, gesturing to them. "Do you know how they died?"

"Mother would have been the better person to ask," he said, frowning down at the graves. "I do not recall everything she told me about them. I believe it's all recorded somewhere in the library back at the house. From memory, I believe Alethia's death was caused by a freak accident with a poisonous potion she somehow got her hands on. I am not sure about Brigitta. It might have merely been some sort of wizarding disease. Immunity potions were not so common back then, especially for infants."

"Why aren't there many here?" I asked, walking to a huge grey tombstone with a lion's head on top of it.

Charlus Merrigan

1878 - 1952

"The wizarding contract for owning this estate dictates that only those of Merrigan blood can be buried here," Severus answered, stopping next to me. "This meant that those marrying into the family couldn't be buried here. Most couples like the idea of having their final resting place side by side, and so most have been buried elsewhere."

"Oh." That was a little sad. It was a shame the law didn't allow for spouses.

I nodded at the lion's head on Charlus' tombstone. "Was he a Gryffindor?" I asked.

"Yes, poor sod," he replied, sneering at the lion. "Our great-grandfather."

"I wonder why he chose not to be buried beside his wife."

"Georgiana Bletchley," he said quietly. "She died quite a few years before him. According to Mother, Georgiana is buried over at the Bletchley's estate."

"Bletchley?" I repeated. "They were at Father's dinner party." The name brought back the face of Arian Bletchley, who had gotten me out of a tight spot with Marcus Flint at father's dinner party the year before. He had been very nice.

"They aren't all bad," said Severus indifferently. "I've taught all three of the Bletchley boys. Milton and Miles weren't as promising as their older brother."

"Arian," I said vaguely.

Severus gave me an inquisitive look.

"Charlus was the father of Lucia then, wasn't he?" I asked, looking back at the tombstone.

Lucia had been Mother's favourite aunt and was the person I had been named after...my original name. Lucia had married Christian Potter, and they were the grandparents of James Potter, Harry's dad. Snape had finally revealed that bit of family history to me months earlier. Apparently the Potters resented the fact that Severus had inherited the Merrigan Estate. They had thought the Snapes were a dark family with no right to the house listed under the noble name of Merrigan. Harry had no idea that he was distantly related to us, and Severus wanted to keep it that way.

Severus nodded, a sneer appearing on his face. "That's right. Thankfully, her branch of the family is not buried here. They'd pollute the grounds."

I kept silent, as I usually did when the conversation turned to anything Potter related.

"Come," said Severus, a moment later, walking back towards the brooms. "We'd best be getting back."

I followed and we silently mounted out brooms.

"I'll race you to the field just outside the courtyard," he said. He gave me a mocking smile. "I will give you a ten second head start."

"How kind you are," I said dryly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well?" he said. "What are you waiting for?"

"For you to specify a route back to the house, complete with boundaries," I answered, giving him a sly smile. "You have the advantage. You know the grounds better than I do and therefore would know of any alternate, much faster routes. I would like to know that we have the same limits in this race."

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, his eyes narrowed. "Ravenclaw," he said softly.

"Slytherin," I returned. I knew him and his Slytherin ways. He could have very well taken an alternate route and then claimed that I had not enquired about specific paths to take.

He smirked. "I am pleased that you stopped to consider this. Very wily of you, Armilla. Very well then-" He paused to think for a moment. "Fly west from here until you reach the willow tree. You can't miss it, it's completely isolated. Head north until you reach the greenhouses and then fly around the house and land in the same spot where we took off. Clear?"

I nodded. Without hesitation this time, I took off and went as fast as I could to gain a greater distance from my brother. I had the faster broom, but he was a much better flyer.

I flew west, not daring to look behind me to see how far behind Severus was. Turning around on my broom would probably mean falling off. Soon enough, I saw the willow tree. I flew around it and then headed due north, willing the broom to go faster and faster. I hadn't flown this fast in my life. I was enjoying it, but I had the slight pang of worry inside that I wouldn't be able to slow it down again.

I would have thought it slightly rash to challenge me to a race when it was the first time I had ridden a broom in a long time. However, Severus was not the Head of Slytherin House for nothing...unless he was the only Slytherin on staff...but I wondered if he had challenged me to the race to assess my flying skills under pressure, which meant that he was likely to hang back for awhile to watch. He might speed up at the last minute.

Sure enough, as I reached the greenhouses, the sound of the rushing wind around me changed slightly and I knew someone else was right nearby. I sped up; I knew that he was close by. We raced around the house and then started to descend towards the field near the courtyard.

I was aware of how fast we were descending; if we continued at this speed we would likely have a crash landing. I started to brake and thankfully ended up having a smooth landing. Severus landed a split second later. I wondered if I looked as windswept as he did.

"Well done," he said, dismounting his broom.

I laughed. "You let me win."

He smirked. "I could see how well you flew under pressure that way."

I smiled. "You know, I was thinking that just after I flew around the willow tree. I thought you'd speed up later." And he had.

He frowned. "Am I becoming that transparent?"

I shook my head. "Maybe I know you better than I did before."

He considered this for a moment.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," I added.

"No," he admitted. "I wasn't thinking that it was a bad thing."

We began to walk back to the courtyard. The sun was going to set soon.

"That reminds me," Severus said, as I pushed my now quite messy hair back over my shoulder.

I looked over at him. "What does?"

He reached out and lightly pulled my dark hair. "Your hair. It must be cut before you go back to school."

I shook my head. I had always had long hair. I hadn't had it cut since last summer, but I liked it long. Lisa had already complained to me that it was too long.

"Don't shake your head at me," he said curtly.

"I don't want it cut," I said firmly.

He raised an eyebrow. "I am afraid that is of little consequence. What does concern me is that in two or three months I expect that your hair will be long enough for you to sit on. The prospect of that doesn't sound appealing in the least. In conclusion, you're getting your hair cut whether you like it or not."

I looked crossly at him. He merely fixed me with a stern expression that dared me to challenge him.

We crossed the courtyard and headed towards the steps leading up to the front door.

"Fine," I said finally. I supposed being able to sit on my hair was not something to brag about. Maybe I was feeling sentimental. After all, Merle had been the last person to cut my hair. "No more than two inches though."

He scoffed. "I would say at least six inches would be sufficient, Armilla."

I shook my head. "Two."

"Five."

"Two."

He gave me an irritated look. "I at least dropped off an inch," he stated, glaring at me. He opened the door and stepped back to let me go in first. "You haven't compromised at all."

"That's because it's my hair we're talking about," I said stiffly, passing him into the house.

He sighed. "I won't go any lower than four inches. Either you agree to four inches or I'll make it five."

"If I have to," I said crossly.

He glared at me. "I beg your pardon?"

"Four it is," I said quietly, feeling annoyed. It was my hair. I was sixteen.

He shook his head, sneering at me. "Negotiating hair length," he said disdainfully. "I am sure this is one of the delights of being guardian to a girl."

o o o o o o o o o o

By the time I went down to dinner that evening, I had just about gotten over being annoyed with Severus over my hair. It was hard to be annoyed with someone who didn't seem to care that I was annoyed. He had been adamant that I not go to Diagon Alley to have a haircut. He said that anyone could be there swiping up hairs to use in Polyjuice Potions.

In the end Docky had cut my hair. It seemed that the house elf was very experienced in the trade, having done Mother's hair all her life. Magical scissors were a help as well. Severus had left us to it, reminding Docky that it had to be four inches. Docky knew I was not happy about it and made up for it was telling me amusing tales from Severus' childhood while he did it.

"It wasn't that bad now, was it?" Severus asked, looking up from The Evening Prophet as I came into the room.

"No," I said moodily, joining him at the table. In all honesty, my hair was still long, but it looked much better. There was no way I was going to admit that to Severus though. Maybe I just had been hung up on the fact that Merle had been the last person to cut it.

He leaned over slightly to have a look. "It's still long, Armilla. It's an adequate length."

"Oh great," I muttered, picking up my knife and fork, "adequate hair."

He frowned. "I said the length was adequate, Armilla, not your hair. Your hair is fine." He picked up his own knife and fork, shaking his head slightly. "I am not looking forward to the next time I have to bring this subject up."

I nodded my head in agreement. Hopefully he wouldn't.

"Are you going to help me brew some potions this evening?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes." I couldn't bite back my next comment. "Can I make a hair lengthening potion?"

He gave me an exasperated look. "Don't be impertinent, Armilla."

"Sorry."

He scoffed. "No, you're not."

I gave him a small smile. "What you are brewing?"

"I'd like to make a start on some Veritaserum," he answered. "How long does Veritaserum take to mature, Armilla?"

"A month."

"Very good," he said, nodding. "The Order will be requiring more of it in the next couple of months. I need a full supply. I also need a supply of Invigoration Draught. If I start the Veritaserum, can I leave you to make the Invigoration Draught?"

I nodded. "Yes." I was confident enough with that. I had made it several times for him.

I joined Severus in the lab not long after dinner and we got straight into it. I often marvelled at how deftly my brother worked. I did well enough in Potions, Severus made sure of that, but I didn't possess the skill and natural instinct that he did when it came to Potion making.

We worked in silence for about twenty minutes; Severus needed to concentrate on the Veritaserum. When he was content that things were going smoothly, he turned to me.

"I have finished my research on Mother's ring."

I looked up from the roots I was dicing. "What did you find out?"

"To be honest, not a great deal," he replied. "I did manage to confirm that it could only be used once. It had been in Mother's family all that time and had never been used. It's quite useless now. There's not an ounce of magic left in it. It's a little difficult to research a magical object when I can't receive a magical response from it."

"What are you going to do with the ring?" I asked. We didn't have a grave for Mother. When her spirit had entered the ring, her body had magically vanished.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, picking up some Abyssinian shrivelfigs. "At present, it is sitting on my desk. Considering that it is a reminder of Mother, I don't believe casting it aside would be respectful to her memory."

"Maybe we could bury it next to the other graves on the grounds?" I suggested.

He nodded. "I did think of that. However, there is another place on the grounds that I think would be even more sufficient. I have yet to show it to you because I don't normally roam that part of the grounds."

"Where is it?" I asked, intrigued.

He shook his head. "Wait until I show you."

I hated it when he was secretive. "Why don't you roam that part of the grounds?"

He sneered. "It's a little... romanticised for my tastes."

I laughed. "You mean there's plenty of flowers and butterflies?"

His sneer became more pronounced. "Yes, well, personally I find the place a bit nauseating, but Mother liked it and that's what counts I suppose."

o o o o o o o o o o o o

The afternoon the following day came all too quickly for my liking. I did not have any wish to see Draco Malfoy or his mother. Neither did Severus for that matter, so there was no point in complaining to him about it.

"Hopefully they won't stay all afternoon," he muttered, as I followed him down the main staircase. Docky, who had been busy preparing lunch, had spotted them making their way through the courtyard that led to the front door and Severus wanted to receive them in the main sitting room.

We were both wearing robes, indicating the formalness of this visit. Severus generally didn't bother with his outer robes around the house, and I generally only wore mine when I went out.

"May I occlude?" I asked, as we sat down on the sofa. I generally asked his permission to occlude. He normally didn't like me occluding in his presence. He took it as a sign of wanting to hide my feelings from him.

He nodded. "Of course. Neither Narcissa nor Draco has experience with Occlumency, but it would be wise to occlude all the same."

We heard Docky's voice off in the distance, receiving our guests. Docky sounded very serious; I supposed this was the formal side he adopted for guests like the Malfoys.

A moment later, the door opened and Docky came in, followed by Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Mrs Malfoy looked more than a little anxious. Her skin had a sickly look to it, which wasn't helped by the long blonde hair which hung so limply down her back. Her elaborate, deep silver robes hung a little loosely on her thin frame.

Malfoy, on the other hand, looked remarkably healthy for one whose father had only recently been put in Azkaban. Terry had sent me a letter not long ago, stating that he had witnessed a spectacular hexing of Malfoy by other members of the DA on the train ride home. Malfoy showed no signs of one whose ego had been forced down a few pegs. He stood very straight, his eyes slightly narrowed and his lip curled. His deep green robes looked very expensive. Severus and I seemed to be dressed quite plainly in comparison.

Severus and I stood up.

Docky bowed to Severus. "Mrs Malfoy and Mr Draco Malfoy, sir."

Snape strode forwards and I followed. He held out his hand to shake Mrs Malfoy's hand. "It is a pleasure to see you, Narcissa."

Mrs Malfoy gave him a tense smile as she shook his hand. "I'm delighted you made the time to see us, Severus," she said.

Severus looked at Malfoy and nodded, holding out his hand. "Draco."

Malfoy nodded back, shaking his teacher's hand. "Professor."

Mrs Malfoy turned her attention to me. "It's been too long since I saw you last, Armilla," she said, shaking my hand. "It was a lovely night at your father's gathering, was it not?"

I nodded. "Yes, it was." No, it wasn't. All night I had felt like a new doll being shown around.

She turned back to Severus. "Draco and I cannot stay long. We need to meet Bellatrix later in the afternoon."

Severus nodded. He turned to Docky, who was standing near the door, still waiting to be dismissed.

"Docky, have lunch served in the dining room in five minutes."

Docky bowed. "Yes, Master Severus, sir." He left the room, his face so serious that I was reminded of my father's horrible house elf, Jiffy. Generally, the two house elves were not two of a kind.

"Sit down," Severus said, gesturing to the sofa closer to the Malfoys. They sat, and Severus and I sat opposite them.

"I presume," my brother began, his eyes fixed on Mrs Malfoy's, "that this is not merely a social visit? You sounded a little anxious in your letter, Narcissa."

Mrs Malfoy's hands were clutching her robes with very evident stress. Malfoy, on the other hand, was gazing around the room with a haughty expression.

"We needed to see you, Severus," Mrs Malfoy said earnestly, leaning forward slightly.

"You needed to see him," Malfoy said abruptly, glaring at his mother. "I didn't."

"You will address your mother with proper respect, Draco," Severus snapped, shooting the boy a hard look.

Malfoy frowned at Severus. "I think-"

Severus overrode him. "Your mother has not finished speaking, Draco," he said severely, his eyes flashing. "Wait until you are invited to speak. Do not forget your place."

Mrs Malfoy didn't look at all unsettled by this admonishment of her son. Rather, she looked anxiously at Malfoy as he diverted his eyes from his teacher and looked at the floor. Perhaps this was not the first time he had been rebuked by Severus in front of his mother.

"Sorry, Mother," he muttered, looking sullen.

Mrs Malfoy glanced at him briefly before continuing. "I needed to see you," she said quietly, clutching at her robes again. "I didn't know who else to turn to...with Lucius in prison...I..." she paused to take a breath and I noticed that there were tears in her eyes. "The Dark Lord has been requesting Draco's presence quite frequently, Severus."

Severus' expression was indifferent. "Yes, I am aware."

I looked over at Malfoy. He now had his arms folded and was determinedly looking in the opposite direction.

Mrs Malfoy took another breath, as if willing the tears to go away. "He wants Draco to take the Dark Mark, Severus!"

My heart started to pound. The Dark Mark? Malfoy, a Death Eater? He was only my age.

"Yes," said Severus simply.

Malfoy now broke his gaze on whatever he had been staring at and watched my brother.

Mrs Malfoy now looked ready to burst into tears. "I am not against the cause, Severus, as you very well know," she said, her voice shallow. "But Draco...my son! He's only sixteen, Severus!" She stood up and began to pace. "I ask you, how often does The Dark Lord recruit sixteen year olds?"

"Rarely, as far as I know," he responded, his voice low.

"Then don't you agree this is a plot for revenge?!" she shrieked, tears now falling down her face.

Malfoy turned and gave his mother an angry look, but another glare from Severus prevented him saying anything.

"Narcissa, calm yourself," Severus said, his low voice a stark contrast.

Docky appeared at the door. "Lunch is served, Master Severus."

Severus nodded curtly and stood up, gesturing for Docky to leave again. Docky turned and disappeared out the door.

"Come," said Severus. "We shall continue this in the dining room." He turned to walk to the door.

Mrs Malfoy followed him and Malfoy and I stood up to follow. I wondered if Severus was inwardly angry that I was being exposed to such a conversation. Generally, any Death Eater activity or Dark Lord related conversations were strictly kept away from my hearing.

We sat down in the dining room, Severus taking his place at the head of the table.

Mrs Malfoy seemed to have composed herself on the short walk to the dining room. Malfoy continued to look bored and agitated.

"Now," said Severus, pouring red wine for himself and Narcissa, ignoring Malfoy's pointed look at not being offered wine. "You believe the Dark Lord wants Draco to take the Dark Mark out of revenge?"

"I do," she answered, after taking a sip of wine. She mopped at her face with a handkerchief. "What other use would the Dark Lord have for a sixteen year old?"

"Maybe he thinks I'm a capable wizard, Mother," said Malfoy quietly, glaring at the pumpkin juice in front of him.

Mrs Malfoy and Severus ignored him. Severus held up his glass and we did likewise. "To the Dark Lord," he said, before taking a drink.

We drank as well; I felt sick at the thought of drinking to the Dark Lord. I supposed that was a sacrifice I had to make, being the sister of a double agent.

"The Dark Lord is far from pleased that Lucius is in Azkaban," Mrs Malfoy continued, after we had started to eat.

"Not just because he is in Azkaban, Narcissa," said Severus, looking up from his meal. "Lucius was supposed to be in charge. He failed to retrieve the prophecy and it was destroyed. I cannot pretend that the Dark Lord is not angry."

"So, it's true then?" Mrs Malfoy said shakily, her eyes full of tears again. "It is just an act of spite."

Severus determinedly looked back to his meal, his disdainful expression showing he clearly did not approve of the woman's tearful face.

"Severus?" Mrs Malfoy gave a little hiccough.

"If it is an act of spite, Narcissa," he said slowly, not looking at her, "it is not my place to find out. The Dark Lord has his reasons and it is not for us to question his motives. The Dark Lord's word is law and you must respect that."

Though I was occluding, I felt so strange inside. Of course I knew my brother was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, but it was so unsettling to see him in Death Eater mode. Perhaps that meant he was a good actor.

"Do you not wish for Draco to become a Death Eater?" asked Severus quietly, still not looking at her. "Is it not Lucius' wish?"

"Eventually, yes, I suppose," she answered, mopping at her eyes. "Lucius is keen for Draco to follow in his footsteps, but not quite this early. This is why I am convinced it's an act of revenge. Draco is not a qualified wizard. He's too inexperienced to become a Death Eater."

"I daresay the training is on the job," Severus said dryly, sparing Malfoy an indifferent look before looking at Mrs Malfoy. "I do not see why this is relevant to me, Narcissa. I cannot...I am not stupid enough to attempt to change the Dark Lord's mind. If he wants Draco to become a Death Eater then the event must occur."

"It is relevant because I want to find out what you know, Severus," she said earnestly. She reached out and placed her hand over his, even though he was holding his knife in that hand.

Malfoy watched with a look of the utmost contempt. It clearly sickened him to see his mother grovel to his teacher.

"You're Lucius' old friend, Severus," she whispered, blinking back tears again. "I implore you...you would tell me if Draco was in danger?"

Severus' indifferent expression remained intact. "Do not assume that I know every one of the Dark Lord's plans," he said quietly. "I know not of the Dark Lord's plans for Draco and if I had been sworn to secrecy I could not reveal them to you."

Mrs Malfoy began to sob.

Severus' lips thinned. "Surely you respect that obedience to the Dark Lord cannot be compromised over friendships?"

She nodded, hiccoughing. "Bellatrix said the same thing."

Severus sighed and picked up Mrs Malfoy's glass of wine. He released his hand from her clutch and pushed the wine into it. "Drink this," he instructed.

She took a drink, and as she did so, her gaze fell on me.

"Severus," she said, her voice shaking slightly as she put her glass down. "Has the Dark Lord been requesting Armilla's presence?"

Malfoy's attention perked up at this question. He looked at me before turning his gaze to my brother.

"No," said Severus simply, "Why should he?"

"She's the same age as Draco," she pointed out. "Has he not asked you to bring Armilla before him?"

A pang went through my heart. The thought of such a thing sent shivers down my spine. Now I really appreciated why Severus avoided having me present for such conversations.

Severus glanced briefly at me before looking back at Mrs Malfoy. "No, he has not," he said quietly. "I expect he sees more potential in Draco."

Malfoy turned to give me a smug look, which I politely ignored.

"In any case," Severus continued. "Father was very against Armilla becoming a Death Eater. His view was that with all the female supporters of the Dark Lord being Death Eaters, who would bear the children to follow?"

Mrs Malfoy frowned. "A valid point," she muttered. "Bellatrix had ample time to have children before she went to Azkaban."

"Indeed she did," he agreed. "But she chose the Death Eater path. Father ended up having this very conversation some months ago with the Dark Lord, Narcissa, and the Dark Lord quite agreed."

Though this was sickening to hear, I couldn't help feeling relieved that the Dark Lord had agreed.

Mrs Malfoy sighed. "So I am to bite my tongue and tolerate this?" She looked pleadingly at my brother. "He's my only son, Severus."

"And hopefully he'll do you and Lucius proud," said Severus quietly, meeting her gaze. "There's nothing to be done, Narcissa. If the Dark Lord requests it, anyone who stands in his way would be utterly foolish."

o o o o o o o o o o

We said our formal goodbyes to the Malfoys at the front door. Severus walked with them through the courtyard, but I stayed inside and went up to my bedroom.

I sat down on my bed feeling exhausted. I had barely said a word the entire time they were there, yet I felt mentally drained. Maybe it was the stress of keeping up appearances. Perhaps it was from watching Severus acting as a part of the Dark Lord's side. Either way, I was worn out.

Malfoy hadn't spoken a word to me the entire time. Not that I cared. Quite the contrary; I loathed the twitchy ferret boy.

I sighed, getting up to take my outer robe off. I put it away and sat down on my bed again, twirling my (significantly shorter in my opinion) hair in my fingers.

Malfoy a Death Eater? I shuddered. So Severus had known about it? It wasn't as if I had expected him to tell me. Just the thought of someone in my year at school being a Death Eater...it was disturbing.

I sat there, completely lost in my thoughts for ages. I was trying to decide if I preferred to be kept in the dark about this sort of subject.

The door suddenly opened and my brother strode in, looking a little disgruntled and tired. He spotted me sitting on my bed and stopped a few feet in front on me.

"I apologise for today," he said. "I normally do my best to keep you from witnessing such conversations, but it could not be avoided. I cannot keep taking you out of the limelight when Narcissa Malfoy wants us together for lunch."

I shrugged. "That's alright."

"No, it's not," he said, folding his arms. "As uncomfortable as today was, it was made even more uncomfortable by your presence."

I looked up at him. "Why? Did I do something wrong?" Had I displayed bad table manners or something? I hadn't been brought up to the socially high level that my brother and the Malfoys had been, but I thought I had enough etiquette not to embarrass myself.

He shook his head. "No, no, you did nothing wrong at all. In fact, you did very well today." He looked agitated. He often looked like that when he was finding it difficult to express himself.

"What then?" I asked softly.

He gazed at me for a moment before turning and walking to one of the windows. I silently watched as he glared out of it.

"I hate having to put you in this position," he said finally, still looking out the window. "I don't feel as guilty when I can deal with this alone. That way I can leave you at home...where you should be."

I said nothing. I had the feeling there was more coming.

"I am the one who made mistakes in the past," he said, his tone becoming hard. "For all these years since the Dark Lord's downfall I have made my peace with the fact that I would have to bear the consequences." He finally turned around to face me. "It is inevitable that I pay the consequences for my mistakes. You shouldn't."

"I don't," I said quietly.

"You do," he insisted. "Are you or are you not on the side of the Light?"

I nodded. "The Light," I murmured.

"But you drank to the Dark Lord today," he said.

"Pretended to," I said indifferently, "as you did."

"Yes, as I did," he said angrily. "But you had to because I put you in that position. You have to keep up appearances for my sake. My past mistakes are forcing you into this, Armilla."

"And there's nothing to be done about it," I replied. "We knew all this when you first received custody last year."

He sighed, rubbing his temples. He was tired.

We were both silent for a moment. I watched him at the window from my position on the bed.

"I know there is no point in dwelling on this," he said finally, walking over to sit on my bed. "Normally, I wouldn't say anything at all. I felt terribly frustrated today. You do not deserve a life exposed to things like that. I feel guilty when I have to subject you to such things. Today was no exception."

The feeling these words gave me recalled a scene from a long time ago when Severus had lectured me about burdens.

"I didn't find today comfortable," I admitted, knowing he appreciated honesty. "But that comes with the family. You mightn't have become a Death Eater if you'd had a different father."

He considered me for a moment, looking more tired than anything else. "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "I was still old enough to be responsible for my own choices....Father just didn't help things...You're still being forced into keeping up this act. I have every right to feel guilty for that. I think this is the guilt Matilda wanted me to feel."

I looked up at him, feeling alarmed. So he had been thinking about what Matilda had said to him about me being in danger. "I'm not going anywhere," I said. "I'm not leaving."

"No, I didn't mean I wanted that," he said hastily. "I have no intentions of sending you anywhere. I suppose what I am saying is that the reality of the situation really sunk in today. Perhaps it would have sunk in last year if I had been present at Father's dinner party."

"Good thing you weren't," I said, leaning over to hug him, "you would have hated it."

He wrapped his arms around me and sighed. "Without a doubt," he said quietly.

"It'll be worth it in the end," I murmured.

He didn't answer at first.

"We can only hope," he said finally, hugging me more tightly.

We stayed silent for awhile. There was a long, difficult road ahead, we both knew that. I knew it was going to be more difficult for my brother, but I wanted to walk with him on that road for as far as I could. It didn't matter that I had to pretend where my allegiances lay. It didn't matter that I had to pretend because of something out of my control. It was a matter of life and death.

My thoughts were broken by the sound of the wind outside, blowing against the windows.

"There were some dark clouds when I was outside just now," said Severus, "There's a storm coming."

The sudden crack of thunder confirmed this.

"Up for some duelling tonight?" he asked, sounding a little happier. Perhaps the dull weather had lifted his spirits.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked. I was.

"I am never too tired to duel," came the dry reply.

"Alright then..."

Severus ran his hand through my hair. "Your hair is a bit short," he teased.

I groaned and reached up to bat his hand away. My hair still reached halfway down my back, but it was a lot shorter. "It's your fault," I grumbled.