Armilla II

Chapter 28

"Something wrong, Mill?"

I looked up, startled, realising that there were people in the room with me. For a moment, it had seemed like I had entered a completely different universe. Father was dead.

"Why would the Ministry be writing to you?" Mandy asked gruffly, sitting down on her bed.

"They're not," I said, trying to make my voice sound airy, like I hadn't just found out that my father had died. I was aware of three pairs of eyes on me as I folded the parchment. "Wrong addressee," I told them. "This is a letter for my brother. The Ministry made a mistake."

Padma and Mandy seemed to accept that; they immediately went about their business, Mandy muttering away about the value of her friendship with Ruby. Lisa, on the other hand, knew something wasn't right.

"I suppose you're going to take it down to Professor Snape then," she said, looking completely nonchalant. "I'm sure he'd want his mail. Want me to walk down with you?"

I shook my head. "No," I answered, trying to force a weak smile. "I'll be fine." After all, Severus had said that it was okay again for me to be alone in the castle. Merlin help Merle if I ran into her.

I pulled my hooded jacket over my pyjamas and pulled on the slippers Severus had given me for Christmas. "I might stay the night in the dungeons," I told Lisa, slipping the letter into my pocket with my wand.

She nodded, looking uncomfortable, but not daring to say anything in front of the other girls.

I slipped out of the room and silently made my way down the stairs and into the common room. It was nearly nine-thirty and only a few students remained in the room, bent over their books. They barely spared me a glance as I crossed the room and let myself out.

I walked through the draughty halls, pulling my jacket closely around myself. It was past curfew and I was hoping not to run into any patrolling teachers or ghosts. I could easily have sent Severus a message in my chocolate frog card and had him transport me to the dungeons, but I needed time to think.

Father was dead. I shivered, not sure whether this was a reaction of my thoughts or the cold. There I was, calmly walking to the dungeons to show him the information on the letter. I shook my head, feeling perplexed. Was I upset? Merlin, no. This was Father. Father! The man who had never seen me for the person I was; the man who had only seen a pureblood daughter who could make a good marriage to a pureblood wizard from a respectable family. I bit my lip. This was the man who had seen fit to take me by force from the school and use the Cruciatus Curse on me.

Was I upset by his death? How could I be?

How had he died? It was so sudden. All I knew was that he had still been in hiding. The last time I had seen him was when I'd disarmed him and that was nearly eight months ago. What had happened to him in that time? Had the Dark Lord finally gotten to him? I'd had the impression from Severus that You-Know-Who wasn't bothering with Father at the moment because he had far more important things on his mind. How had he died then?

I reached the bottom of the stairs that led to the dungeons, sighing in relied that I'd just missed the Bloody Baron in the Entrance Hall. I rounded a corner and walked right into my brother.

"Armilla!" he said, grabbing onto my arms as I tried to prevent myself from falling back. My heart was pounding from the shock of bumping into him. Where had he learnt to walk so silently? "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you," I whispered. "It couldn't wait."

He immediately turned and gestured for me to follow. I hurried along beside him, somehow guessing that he had yet to receive his own letter that Father had died.

"Here I was patrolling the corridors, looking for miscreants out of bed," Severus muttered, as we reached the portrait that concealed our quarters, "and somehow, I find you."

"How fortunate," I replied, as Severus stood back to let me enter before him.

"What is it?" Severus asked, as soon as he'd closed the door. "What's happened?"

"Father," I said, pulling the parchment from my pocket. "He died this morning."

Severus looked at me as if I had two heads. "Here," I said, pushing the parchment into his hands. "Read it."

He unfolded the parchment and I watched him closely as he read the contents of Titus Rosethorne's letter. His expression remained completely neutral.

"Well," he said quietly, folding the parchment again. "I am glad you received correspondence from the Ministry." He shook his head. "I wonder if the Ministry will see fit to inform me."

I felt uncomfortable. The fact that I was the heir to the Snape Estate and not Severus was a subject we had discussed very little. Severus had assured me that he was perfectly satisfied to have inherited the Merrigan Estate from Mother and did not begrudge me being first in line to Father's property. A thought suddenly came to me. Perhaps Father had changed his mind!

"Won't you receive a letter?" I asked, cringing as he stormed about the room, directing his wand at books on the coffee table. The books flew back to their places on the shelves with more force than necessary.

"Inform me of my father's death?" Severus snapped, his expression becoming harsher, "of course not! Why should I be informed?"

"Wouldn't you be the other beneficiary?"

He turned around and gave me an incredulous look. "Me?" he said scathingly, "the other beneficiary?"

I nodded.

He shook his head at me. "You think he saw the Light and changed his mind? You think him capable of mercy?"

I looked away, shaking my head.

"Of course I'm not the other beneficiary," he said. "Father would as soon have-"

"Forget I suggested it," I said shortly. "I don't know why I thought of such a thing."

He was silent. He looked around, probably for more books to put away.

"I don't know what to say," I said finally, breaking the awkward silence.

Severus looked over at me. "Why would you need to say anything?" he said darkly. "Father is dead. What more is there to say?"

"Nothing then," I replied. "I'm going to bed."

He didn't say anything; he merely nodded as he looked away.

I walked to my bedroom, feeling queasy. A family death was not supposed to feel this way. I knew Severus wouldn't be utterly distraught at the loss of his father, but he was certainly feeling something. I was quite sure it was anger.

I laid awake in bed for a long time, going through every memory I had of my father. He had been capable of love; his tendency for carrying around reminders of my mother had told me that. His downfall had been his controlling nature. He had ruled over the household and had subsequently lost his son and his wife.

He had lost his daughter too. I rolled over, sighing when I caught sight of the clock. It was nearly one o'clock in the morning. Severus had returned about an hour ago. I had heard him leave not long after I had gone to bed. Whether he had returned to his patrolling duties or had gone to see Dumbledore, I couldn't be sure.

It was at least two in the morning before I finally fell asleep. My failure to occlude properly resulted in several nightmares, each of them prominently featuring Father. I felt like I hadn't slept at all when I got up on Friday morning.

I dressed for school and then made my way out to the sitting room, yawning as I went. I found Severus seated at the dining table, looking just as I felt. He was clutching his coffee and was staring at The Daily Prophet. I was quite certain that he had no idea what was even on the front page; he looked as if his mind was elsewhere.

I sat down at the table and reluctantly reached for the teapot. Pouring myself tea gave me something to do, something to fill in the time before I had to make uncomfortable conversation.

"I received a letter from the Ministry very late last night," Severus said quietly, his eyes now watching me pour the tea.

"So they did inform you then." I wasn't about to ask if he was the other beneficiary after all.

He nodded. "A standard, three line letter. Very heart warming."

I said nothing for a moment, staring at my tea instead. "They should have written to you first," I said finally.

"No," he said, passing me the crumpets. "It is protocol that you are informed first. They only contacted me because Father must have given that direction in his documents at Ministry."

We were silent again. I didn't eat anything; the sight of food this morning made me feel nauseous. "How do you think he died?"

"My guess is as good as yours," he replied indifferently. He stood up. "I don't think it necessary, but the Headmaster believes these circumstances calls for me to take leave of my classes today. You are also excused from yours."

I frowned. "What am I to do?" It wasn't like we were stricken with grief. We didn't need the time to absorb the devastation. I suppressed a shudder. The thought of my reaction to all this really bothered me.

"Whatever you like," he said dismissively. "I plan to brew several potions for Madam Pomfrey's hospital stock."

I thought for a moment; I honestly believed Severus needed time to himself. He would sooner pay Harry Potter a compliment before he admitted that Father's death had upset him. I was certain that he was upset. I didn't think he was distressed in the way one would normally be over the death of a father, but it had left him edgy and uncomfortable because he wasn't sure how to react.

I nearly laughed out loud at my own logic. Wasn't my belief about Severus' emotions exactly the same as mine?

"I think I'll just go to my classes."

I waited for Severus to argue about this; for a moment I thought he was about to. He frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it.

"I don't want spend time catching up on missed classes."

"Suit yourself." He turned and disappeared down the hall and into his lab.

Sighing, I turned back to my tea. You're an orphan now, a voice in my head said. I nearly laughed out loud at the thought. I wasn't an orphan really; I had Severus. Father's death hadn't really changed anything.

o o o o o o o o o o o

Lisa knew better than to ask about what had transpired the night before. Terry also knew something was up, but wisely refrained from asking questions. I actually wanted to talk to them about Father, but I didn't think I should go about announcing it. I didn't yet know the circumstances of his death; it could have been Death Eater activity for all I knew.

The day didn't get much better after I left Severus to himself in the dungeons. The usual chatter of students at breakfast was interrupted by Professor Sprout escorting a couple of boys out of the Great Hall. The brothers, a first and a fourth year in Hufflepuff House, had just learnt that their parents had been found dead. The first year boy shook with sobs as he clung to his brother's arm. The older boy merely looked stunned and left the hall as if he was in a dream world.

Grief. That's what grief was. That was how I had felt when Merle had died. It was that sort of knot in your stomach that wouldn't go away, no matter how much you wanted it to. It was that lump in throat that threatened to take up permanent residence there. It was that constant voice in your head that reminded you of the truth every time you dared to become distracted.

Father? How could I be blamed for not mourning him? Had he really been Father to me? No, not really.

I spent the morning feeling annoyed, for no apparent reason. The slightest thing irritated me: the second year Gryffindors making a racket in the halls, Professor McGonagall giving out more homework than was necessary (in my opinion), Peeves just being there...By morning break, my friends were giving me a wide berth and I wondered off on my own.

I welcomed going to Defence class, which was the last class before lunch. Slughorn had been having practical lessons lately and I felt like I had enough energy to duel the rest of the day. This was what I needed.

Fortunately, Slughorn was happy to have another day of duelling, asking us to focus more on our own defence than attack. This was no problem at all; though my magic wasn't what it should be, thanks to the ghostly Merle, I could hold up a mental shield steady enough to hold off the other Sixth Years. It was Severus who got right through them lately.

We swapped partners every three minutes so that we wouldn't become used to the style of our opponent's attack. This didn't bother me at all. As long and I could hold me wand and create some force, I was fine.

"Easy there, Miss Snape!" Slughorn called, as Ron Weasley was blasted off his feet. "Remember, focus more on your defence than your attack."

"I was, sir," I said, watching as Ron got to his feet, mumbling and looking for his wand.

"Ah yes...well," he stuttered, frowning slightly at me, "I had to send Miss Brown to the hospital wing with a bloodied nose. You seem to be quite...er...forceful with your duelling style today."

I nodded. "I hope so. Being forceful with duelling is my aim, Professor."

His frown deepened. "I don't doubt it, Miss Snape. Delivering with the right force is a skill I encourage every student to perfect. I was referring in particular to the style in which you're delivering that force today. I have not seen it in you before."

Now it was my turn to frown. I looked back at Ron, who was rubbing a bump on his knee.

"Carry on," Slughorn said, walking away. "Try teaching your opponent too."

We changed partners a moment later and I found that Slughorn's words had changed my feelings about losing all my energy through duelling.

"Gee, what an easy target," a voice nearby said, "just standing there, lost in thought."

I was jerked back to my senses and I immediately raised my wand.

"Just kidding," Harry said, also raising his wand. "What's up with you today?"

"Nothing," I grumbled.

"Sure." He immediately attacked and I felt a stronger force against my shield. Finally, a worthy opponent. We duelled for the full three minutes and it wasn't until I heard Slughorn calling us to order that I realised that the whole class had been watching us.

"Well done, Mr Potter," Slughorn said approvingly. "Well done, Miss Snape. I am sure you would both do us proud on a battlefield, but the bell has gone and we'd all like to go to lunch."

I walked with my friends to the Great Hall, listening to them recount their achievements in duelling that lesson.

When we sat down in the Great Hall, I noticed that Severus was there, talking with Dumbledore. I watched him for a minute, deep in conversation in the Headmaster. McGonagall came and sat down next to Dumbledore, while Slughorn sat on the other side of my brother. A moment later, Slughorn caught Severus' attention and nodded in the direction of the Ravenclaw table. I immediately looked away and concentrated on picking at the food.

"I'm guessing that whatever happened is something that you can't reveal, Mill," Lisa said quietly in my ear, "but we're here all the same."

I nodded. "Thanks." I smiled. "I guess I'm not a very good at acting today." I should have been hiding my emotions better, but I'd been too distracted.

Terry shook his head. "If you're trying to act like you're on top of the world, then you have some way to go in convincing us."

I gave a dry laugh, watching as Severus got up from the table. I met his eye and he gave a slight jerk of his head before disappearing out the door behind the staff table, putting his hand in a pocket of his robes as he went.

I waited for a moment before taking my chocolate frog card out of my pocket. Holding the card in my lap under the table, I activated it. I found a message waiting for me.

If it's duelling you need, you will find a very willing opponent in me.

I felt a lump in my throat and blinked back the tears that had suddenly sprung into my eyes. I got up, putting the chocolate frog card back in my pocket. "I'll see you later," I told my friends. "I'm going down to the dungeons."

They nodded and I slowly made my way out of the Great Hall, narrowly avoiding Lavender Brown, who had just walked in with a slightly swollen nose.

When I finally reached our quarters in the dungeons, I felt exhausted. Maybe I had overdone it a little with the duelling. Like my father, I thought. He never learned how to channel his magic to his advantage; he had always used it recklessly. Like father, like daughter today, I thought grimly.

I walked into the sitting room and found it empty. I made my way to the lab, from where I could hear the sound of clinking bottles.

I found Severus, taking a few bottles out of the cupboard. I walked into the room and stood by the bench as he put the last bottle away.

"Good afternoon," Severus said, closing the cupboard door. He looked at me as he straightened up. "You're a little early, aren't you?"

I shook my head. "No."

I watched as he set up a cauldron and organised the ingredient on the bench. He pushed an old piece of parchment towards me. "Make yourself useful."

I glanced at the parchment and saw that he was making a laryngitis potion for Madam Pomfrey. Pulling some roots towards me, I began to chop them into thin pieces.

We worked in complete silence for a long time, each of us absorbed in our own tasks. It wasn't until the potion was completed and bottled that Severus finally spoke.

"I assume you want to be excused from classes this afternoon?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Tea," he said, putting the last of the ingredients away.

I followed him out to the sitting room, where a tea tray was already waiting.

"Lachlan and Alex Ponze left today," I said quietly, sitting down on the sofa. The faces of the poor Hufflepuff boys were etched in my memory.

Severus nodded, pouring the tea. "It certainly was far from a happy reason for leaving the school."

"I am sorry for them."

"Many are."

I shook my head. "I am sorry for us too."

"I don't believe the loss of our father is quite as devastating," he said, passing me a cup.

"Exactly. That's why I feel sorry."

He stared at me for a moment, his face blank. "I hadn't thought of it that way," he said quietly.

"It seems so wrong that we should feel so little grief about this."

He shook his head. "But that wasn't of our own doing, Armilla."

"I know that - it's just, it's not like I'm feeling nothing at all. I'm not sad, but I feel something and I'm not sure what it is."

"That's a feeling in itself," Severus. "The feeling of not knowing or understanding is often worse than the clear feelings."

I met his eye. "Aren't you feeling it too?"

Slowly, he nodded. "I have long accepted that I wasn't meant to have an ideal father and so I haven't really missed the absence of a proper one. I've no doubt I would have taken a number of different paths in my youth if I'd been raised by a kinder man. I am thankful for Mother." He shook his head. "I cannot genuinely find any sorrow within me, and yes, I do feel a little...awkward at that," he looked over at me, "perhaps not as acutely as you do, but then, you're a much kinder person than I."

I smiled. "Common knowledge."

"Of course."

"If I inherit the house-"

"Not if, Armilla. You will inherit the house."

I frowned. "But there's another beneficiary."

He shook his head. "Even so, I am certain that you will receive the house. You and I are the last two bearing the name Snape and Father would have preferred for someone bearing the surname to be the heir."

"I don't want the house."

"That won't stop you from inheriting it. Want does not come into the equation."

"You know what I mean," I said crossly.

He nodded. "I do. It's not the house's fault though that Father was such a snooty-nosed bigot."

"Yes, but it's still receiving something from him."

He inclined his head. "It is, but look at it in a different way. Why not take the opportunity to change the values that were one held dear in that house?" He smirked. "If you want to live there in future, marry a half blood and have lots of children so you can bring muggle blood into the family. Father would have been so proud. It would be the ultimate revenge."

I smiled. "I suppose so. As long as I can be without Jiffy."

He sneered. "Jiffy would be harmless really, now that Father isn't around. He answers to you. He's just been badly influenced."

"Harmless?" I repeated. "Why don't you take him and I'll have Docky. You don't even like Docky."

"A tempting offer," Severus said, after draining his cup, "but Docky wouldn't cope with leaving the Merrigan Estate. He loved our mother too much. To remove him would kill his spirit...the absurd spirit he has."

"Jiffy it is, then," I grumbled, picking up my cup again.

"Hurry up," Severus said, standing up. "I want to duel." He took out his wand. "And since you managed to give Miss Brown a bloodied nose today with your force, without casting charm meant to do that, I will be sure to employ increased power."

I grimaced. "Oh good."

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

"Take a seat, Miss Snape, Mr Rosethorne will be with you shortly," the secretary said, giving me a sickly smile. I suppressed a shudder as I turned to sit down next to Severus, who had already seated himself. The woman reminded me a little too much of Umbridge.

"The other beneficiary isn't punctual," Severus murmured, folding his arms.

"We're ten minutes early," I whispered back.

"Even so."

The ten minutes felt like ten hours as we waited. By the time the door to Titus Rosethorne's office opened, the second person benefiting from Father's will still hadn't shown up.

Titus Rosethorne was a tall, thin wizard with mousy brown hair down to his shoulders. He wore small spectacles that reminded me of Dumbledore's own half-moon glasses.

"Armilla Snape," he said, smiling as he opened the door all the way. He looked around as Severus and I got up. "The other beneficiary isn't here yet?" he asked his secretary.

"Obviously," Severus muttered, sneering at Rosethorne.

"Severus," I said quietly, brushing my hand over his.

He stopped sneering and looked away.

"Not yet," the secretary replied airily, as she unscrewed a bottle of ink.

Rosethorne didn't look too bothered. "Well, then, lets hope she arrives in the next few minutes."

She? I looked at Severus and he shook his head slightly.

"Miss Snape," Rosethorne said pleasantly, extending his hand to me. "I extend my sincerest condolences to you over the loss of your poor father."

"Thank you," I said, shaking his hand.

Rosethorne turned to my brother, looking a little wary. "Severus Snape," he said, extending his hand. "I remember you."

Severus frowned as he shook the man's hand. He didn't enquire, but Rosethorne elaborated anyway.

"I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts when you arrived for your first year," he said, bouncing on his heals.

"I don't remember you," Severus said flatly.

Instead of looking affronted, Rosethorne laughed merrily. "Of course you don't. I was in Hufflepuff. Slytherins never pay attention to the Hufflepuffs." He gave Severus a sly grin. "But we Hufflepuffs learnt to know and be wary of every one of the Slytherins."

"Indeed," Severus said dryly.

Rosethorne's smile faltered slightly. "Er, well, you'd best come in then. Hopefully we won't be waiting long."

We were shown into the office, a bright, airy room decorated in pale yellow. Rosethorne sat behind his desk, while Severus and I occupied two of the three chairs in front of it. I sat in the middle one, thinking it was probably best not to put my brother next to whoever the other beneficiary was.

"May I get you anything to drink?" Rosethorne asked.

"No, thank you," we said in unison. I was feeling impatient now. It was utterly rude of the other person not to be on time.

We sat in the office for nearly ten minutes before there was a knock at the door. The idle chitchat in that time had been tedious, especially with Severus' conversation skills having too much of a sarcastic tone to them.

"Excellent," said Rosethorne, going to the door. He opened it and I felt my heart drop when I saw who it was.

Madam Rougier.

The glass in the picture frames around the room suddenly cracked.

Rosethorne swung around, looking shocked at the glass fell to the floor. "Goodness me!" he exclaimed.

Severus didn't say anything. As I glanced at him, he gave me a disapproving look and took out his wand. Silently, he swiftly waved it and all the pieces of glass returned to their rightful places and sealed themselves.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Rougier said, giving Rosethorne what I assume she thought was a sweet look.

"Not at all, not at all," he replied, shaking her hand. "Come in and sit down."

"I could have you arrested," Severus said, glaring daggers at the woman.

Rougier blinked. "Whatever for?"

He shook his head. "Don't play ignorant, you daft woman! Assistance in the kidnapping of my sister for one-"

"I am sure I know nothing of what you are talking about. I have no memory of such a thing. I would never-"

"Obliviated, were you?" I asked, feeling this must be the case. How else could she so confidently show herself in public? Severus had obviously realised the same thing. The place where they'd been hiding had been secured by the Fidelius charm. The evidence would come from my memory alone and it would be a very public trial. I knew Rougier would claim that she had been under the Imperious Curse the whole time. Why wouldn't she? As far as I knew, she had no criminal record and Father had been a known Death Eater. It could quite easily go her way.

Rougier gave me a big smile as she sat down, completely ignoring Severus.

"Your magic's a bit erratic as the moment, is it, sweetheart?" she asked, sitting down.

"Don't you dare speak to her in such a manner," Severus said darkly, glaring at Rougier.

"Why not?" she asked, looking surprised. "I care about her wellbeing."

Severus glowered at her. "What you care about-"

"Professor Snape," Rosethorne interrupted, "Mrs Snape, I do believe it's time we begin. Time is galleons, after all."

Now my heart seemed to jump up into my throat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Severus freeze, his eyes now fixed on the solicitor. "Mrs Snape?" I said tentatively.

Rosethorne nodded. "I do apologise. I failed to make the introductions. He glanced at Severus. "Though it seems you already know each other." He gestured to each of us. "Mrs Zita Snape, Miss Armilla Snape, Professor Severus Snape. Now I will formally say that Mrs Snape and Miss Snape are beneficiaries of the will of Aurelius Merula Snape, while Professor Snape is here as guardian to his sister."

"Care to explain the Mrs?" Severus growled.

"Oh, Aurelius and I had recently gotten married, you see," Rougier said cheerfully.

If it weren't for my sudden and very inconvenient numbness, I would have punched the hag right on the nose. How dare she marry my father? Money hungry, good for nothing-

"Whirlwind romance, was it?" my brother asked.

Rougier pursed her lips. "It just so happened that I was just his type-"

"What? A trophy wife?" I interrupted.

She turned on me. "Aurelius needed some support in his life! He had two ungrateful children-"

"Ahem. Well, let's begin, shall we?" Rosethorne.

"Yes, lets," Severus said curtly, glaring daggers at Rougier, "before this miserable old hag finds another wealthy widower to marry."

Looking incensed, Rougier opened her mouth to retaliate, but Rosethorne interrupted once more.

"I shall begin the proceedings by reading out the Last Will and Testament of Aurelius Merula Snape, born February 1, 1930, died February 6, 1997." Rosethorne went on, reading the necessary legal requirements. When he got to the inheritance of the Snape Estate, I saw Rougier lean forward slightly in her seat.

"The Snape Estate, which of course, includes the house and contents, surrounding land, and the contents of the Gringotts vault, has been left entirely to Aurelius Snape's second child, Armilla Lucia Kemp Snape."

Rougier, quite unexpectedly to me, did not look at all perturbed by this news.

"This is on the condition," Rosethorne went on, "that Miss Snape provides an annual sum to Mrs Zita Snape for living conditions for the period of five years, of no more than 10,000 Galleons."

Rougier stood up suddenly, a look of outrage on her face. "10,000 Galleons!" she shrieked. "That's not what we agreed! That amount will barely see me through six months."

"Cease your purchasing in designer boutiques, Madam," my brother drawled, "and you'll see how one can live quite sufficiently off a stolen salary."

"Stolen?" Rougier repeated, narrowing her eyes. "I was his wife!"

"You were his death!" Severus retorted.

"Are you making an accusation?"

"Professor Snape! Mrs Snape!" Rosethorne said sharply, attempting to look stern, "I will not have this in my office!"

Both Severus and Rougier were silent; I could feel the fury coming off each of them.

Rosethorne straightened the parchment in front of him. "I am by no means finished. As I was saying, Miss Snape will allot 10,000 Galleons of her estate to Mrs Snape annually for the period of five years. After this time, all payment will cease. In the case of there being another, younger child of the Snape line, fathered by Aurelius Snape, Miss Snape would be legally obligated to provide the living expenses of that child until he or she became of age. From the age of the child's seventeenth birthday, it is up to the discretion of Miss Snape to provide further financial support."

Rosethorne cleared his throat and went on. "This is an extra note in Aurelius Snape's original will, which originally applied to his eldest child, but now applies to Armilla. In the case of the inheriting child of Aurelius Snape having no magical ability, in other words, being a Squib, the child be receive a yearly allowance from the estate, but will not inherit it. In this case, the estate would be passed to the next of kin, as long as the bearer has the blood of the Snape line, which could mean going much further back in the family tree to find descendants." He looked up. "This of course, does not apply, as Miss Snape has proven magical ability."

It wasn't as bad as it could have been. It wasn't as if Rougier has inherited Father's estate. True, I wasn't sure that I wanted it at all, but I knew that Rougier certainly wasn't worthy of it. It was bad enough that I had to pay the blasted woman an annual sum for five years. To me, it was nothing short of theft.

"Has the body been located?" Severus asked. "He had, after all, been in hiding these last eight months."

"Yes," Rosethorne answered, rifling through the parchments on his desk. "His body remains at Snape Manor. It was there that he died. The cause of death was attributed to dark magic of some kind." He put the parchments on the desk and interlaced his fingers as he looked up at us. "Being a known Death Eater of course, and having been absent for months," he said, looking uncomfortable as he avoided my brother's eye, "there are a number of people who could be responsible for this man's death."

I glanced over at Rougier, who was making a show of mopping her eyes with a lace handkerchief. I didn't feel at all uncomfortable about believing that Rougier had been responsible for Father's death. It was absurd to think that a woman like her could have fallen in love with a man like Father.

"It is left to Miss Snape to organise the funeral as she wishes, as long as the ceremony takes place at the Snape Estate and Aurelius Snape is buried at the cemetery in the grounds." He squinted at another note on the parchment. "And he is to be buried with violets and a photo of Hazel Ianthe Snape, his first wife."

"Violets were my mother's favourite flowers," I told Rougier. "Why isn't he being buried with your photo?"

"It would be beneath his dignity to take the help with him to the afterlife," Severus said, staring straight ahead. "He didn't want to remember his unfortunate marriage to the governess."

Rougier, like my brother, was staring determinedly straight ahead.

"You will proceed with the funeral arrangements, Miss Snape?" Rosethorne asked me, acting as if the other two were not in the room.

I nodded absently. There was too much to think about, especially when my top priority was offing the offending hag next to me.

"I believe we have been too hasty with one important issue," Rougier suddenly said, putting her handkerchief away.

Rosethorne looked confused. "Madam?"

She smiled at him. "The issue of there being a child after Armilla."

Rosethorne's brow furrowed. "I have no record of there being a third child belonging to Aurelius Snape, Madam."

Rougier laughed lightly, the sound offensive to my ears. What was she playing at?

"Of course there is no record," she said, suddenly sounding merry. "As a third child hasn't been born." She patted her abdomen. "As it happens though, I am with child."

I could have killed her, there and then. How dare she be pregnant?

Severus was on his feet. "With child?" he repeated. "At your age?"

Rougier looked affronted. "I beg your pardon, Severus," she hissed. "It is not for you to say whether or not I am too old to have a child."

"Aren't you in your fifties?" I asked, folding my arms. "You'd be an elderly mother."

"You had an elderly father!" she retorted.

I shrugged. "Not by choice."

"I am sure you had a choice," Severus said darkly.

Rougier scowled at him. "Aurelius wanted another child!"

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Are you sure it wasn't you who wanted a child so you could attempt to steal the family's money?"

Her eyes flashed in anger. "How dare you!"

I shook my head. "Did Father even know you were pregnant?"

"Of course, he did," she said in a quieter voice, glaring at me.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

She looked at Severus and his black eyes bored into her blue ones.

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Liar."

Rougier looked away, her expression arrogant.

Rosethorne attempted to cut in at this point, but Severus spoke over the top of him.

"What I think, Rougier," he said silkily, "is that you and my father discussed the will somewhat and you were privy to some of the technicalities. What you didn't plan on, was Father's lack of adherence to your desire for more money." He smirked. "Your outrage at the amount of money left to you is proof that you did not know the man well."

Rougier, shorter than my brother by several inches, attempted unsuccessfully to look down her nose at him. "I had his devotion, which is more than you can ever hope for, Severus."

He sneered. "How very touching."

Rougier smiled. "Tell me, what did you inherit? Nothing?"

Severus eyes flashed and for a moment I thought he was going to hex her. I was ready to cheer him on by means of my own hex.

"I think it would be best for everyone to calm down," said Rosethorne loudly, "or we shall have to put off this meeting for another day."

"That won't be necessary," I told him. "The smaller amount of time we spend in this woman's presence, the better."

The rest of the meeting lasted another ten minutes and the tense air almost became overwhelming. Rougier wanted to receive more money since she was carrying a child with Snape blood, but after finding the right clause, Rosethorne informed her that I was not in any way obligated to pay her any more money until the birth of the child, which was to take place in August. This, Rougier did not take well, but she accepted it after Rosethorne repeated the clause for the third time, looking rather annoyed.

When we left the office and travelled down to the ground floor of the Ministry, Rougier came with us. It was going to be harder to kill her now because there would be more people to obliviate. As it was, she clearly had something to say before we departed.

"I expect to be informed of the time of the funeral," she said, addressing herself to me. "I am legally allowed to attend, being a family member, and I shall take action-"

"Yes, you will be informed," Severus snapped impatiently. "Now get going, Madam. I tire of your presence."

Rougier glared at him and he merely stared back at her. She suddenly smiled.

"That is no way to speak to your stepmother," she said pleasantly.

I nearly gagged at the thought. I shuddered and I felt Severus' body tense next to me.

"What you are," he said smoothly, "is a money hungry-"

"Severus," she said, looking around, "only common people talk of money like this in public." She looked back at me. "I expect to be hearing from you, very soon, Armilla. We will have many things to discuss before the birth of your brother or sister."

"There will be no acknowledgement," I said, glaring at her. "Don't think I'll consider a child of yours a relation."

She looked unfazed by this. "Either way, the child will be a Snape," she said dismissively, "whether you acknowledge it or not." She looked me up and down. "Let us hope that my genes will have a strong influence over this child. I would hate for my child to have the same, plain looks of the siblings."

Before we had a chance to reply, she nodded, turned on her heel and flooed herself away.

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