Accidents of Circumstance

Chapter 19: The Pensieve

Snape had spent Regina's nap in this very room. He had seen the four envelopes on the larger desk, and had left them alone. He had been drawn to the pensieve sitting quietly on the smaller desk, half hidden in a corner of the oddly shaped room. One wall was completely straight, but the room wrapped around a corner of the house, so that the smaller work area was almost hidden from the doorway. Snape knew that he was prying, but couldn't bring himself to care. It belonged to Regina, it had to. Why else hide it away where it wasn't easily seen?

The first memory had been of meeting Selphie.

Regina had been much younger than everyone else, and her insecurity had wrapped itself around her like a blanket. Selphie was a few inches taller, with dark blonde hair and vivid green eyes. "You look like another firstie," Selphie had said with a smile. "I'm Selphie."

"I'm Regina. I'm seven," she said. Regina immediately looked as though she wished she hadn't admitted her age.

Selphie acted as though she hadn't heard. "Well, I met Jess and Claire, and they're nice... We wanted to room together and need a fourth. Do you know anybody else?" Regina mutely shook her head. "Then that's perfect! Did you get your schedule yet?"

"No. Um... It's under Vial."

Selphie grinned. "I'm another V. I'm Versant." Selphie pronounced it with a French flair as well, Ver-sahnt.

"Are you French, too?" Regina had asked.

"Oh, no. But it sounds like it. You are, though, aren't you?"

"Half. Mom isn't."

Selphie had steered Regina into the line to receive course schedules. Following that line was another three, to receive textbooks previously ordered, home room assignments and to get rooming assignments. Jessica had been as short as Regina, with brown hair and brown eyes. She grinned at the two girls and poked the black-haired girl next to her, already reading a Divination book. "Claire, she found us a fourth!"

Claire looked up, and Snape could tell she had Native American blood in her. She smiled at Regina as they made the introductions. "This is great. You see everyone else pairing up at random, you know."

The memory swirled, and Snape found himself in the office again, watching Regina startle her father at work. George Vial was a fairly young man, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He hastily stubbed out he cigar he had been smoking, and stood up. "Reggie!" he cried, sweeping up his daughter into a hug. "There's my girl. Back so soon?"

"Every Friday, Daddy," Regina had said. She no longer seemed like a frightened seven year old. "Selphie's sick, so she stayed at school."

"Ah well. We have a new brother for you."

"We do? Really? What's his name? Where's he from? What happened? Is he magical? Can I meet him?"

George laughed at the enthusiasm Regina was showing. "Let's go meet him, Reggie. His name is Greg, and he's been in a lot of different homes. His parents were killed when he was young, and he's been fairly scarred by it. Try to be careful about that."

"Okay, Daddy."

"Your mother thinks he's magical, but she can't tell for sure."

"So I can keep my posters out?"

George laughed. "Of course you can. Just keep your eyes peeled for Rich. He still doesn't like them, so just shut the door."

Regina proceeded to hop excitedly, and to tell her father about the week's lessons, the hundred on her Charms quiz, and the fact that she could do all of her Charms spells without a wand if she thought about it hard enough.

"That's advanced magic, I think," George said, sweeping her up into a bear hug. "Let's tell Mom, she'll love it."

Snape stood there in Regina's memory, watching them meet her mother in the garden, weeding between the climbing roses. Eugenia Reven-Vial was a beautiful woman, and obviously loved her family. She was proud of Regina's progress, and showered her daughter's face with kisses. Snape felt a small twinge inside, wishing he had even a fraction of the caring that Regina had grown up with.

Snape skipped through Greg memories, since he had already heard about that boy. He met Neil, an angry black boy from Harlem when he had first moved in over Spring Break. Over time, he softened towards the little white girl that was determined to have him as an older brother, and he softened towards the magic in the household. Then he was angry at another foster brother, and one of the vases full of roses flew from the table to smash into the boy's side. Stunned, everyone was still. Then Regina had shouted "Neil! You're magical too!"

They had covered it up from Eugenia, who had been in the backyard watching over neighborhood children. "I dunno if I'm allowed... but wanna learn how to control it?" Regina had offered Neil.

"What'd you do to Mike?"

"Oh... I dunno. It's something that makes them forget the past few minutes. I don't know how I do it exactly, but I did it to a girl at school and it worked. He'll be fine."

Snape was very still. A nine year old Regina performing a memory charm without an incantation or wand? It was hard to believe... yet there it was. Most adults had problems performing the charms correctly, yet she had an instinctual grasp of magic.

Snape skipped through the lessons, the slumber parties, the birthday parties, the tests, the little catfights that all girls participated in. The four girls and Neil had all pledged themselves to her idea of a school. Neil had been utterly transformed by graduation, becoming a studious young man with an interest in college. The five of them decided to take various subjects that would make them a diverse enough teaching body. Eugenia had been so proud of them all, considering them all her children. She took Neil aside, and Regina had listened.

"Neil, I'm so proud of you. You've come so far in the past few years, and I'm so glad I was able to help give you the opportunity. This came in the mail for you today."

Neil opened the letter Eugenia gave him. His jaw dropped. "I have a full scholarship."

She grinned at him and gave him a hug. "I swear I didn't pull any strings, Neil. But I did call them when I saw how skinny your letter was... I wanted to make sure they weren't making a mistake by rejecting you."

"Oh hell no, Genie!" Neil said, laughing. "We're all going to make up this school, you know, give other kids a chance like me."

"Your mom would be so proud of you." Neil's face fell slightly at the mention of his birth mother. "She wanted you to succeed, Neil. She wanted a better life for you. Wherever she is right now, she went there to protect you. All mothers want the best for their children, even if it means sacrificing themselves."

Neil's lip trembled. "She would've liked you... even if you are too skinny."

Eugenia laughed out loud. "Come on now, I'm a married woman! There's George, let's go share the good news."

And then Snape was standing on Central Park West, staring up at the townhouse labeled "Reven School of Alternative Learning." It was the grand opening.

The five adults were standing in the main hall drinking champagne. "We did it! We really did it. My god, I didn't think we would!" Jessica cried. She gulped down her champagne and swept up everyone into a hug. "I think the only project we have left is hooking up Gina!"

Regina bowed out. "Oh no, no matchmaking from you. That guy you wanted to hook me up with was a complete loser. No job, mooching off his parents, thinking to get into my pants on a first date."

"Gina, you need to get laid, girl. C'mon. It's fun!"

"I'm willing to wait on it. I'm younger than the rest of you."

Selphie walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "When you fall in love, it'll be devastating."

"Ooh! You know what he looks like?" Jessica crooned, pouring herself another glass of champagne. "Do tell... Who does our little Gina fall in love with?"

"He's a tortured soul in the truest sense, Jess. Not some wannabe Goth boy you find in a bar somewhere. He has dark hair and feels as though he needs to protect you, Gina." Selphie raised her glass as if in a toast. "You'll meet him soon enough."

"Better than a pack of Tarot cards," Claire said with a laugh. She poured a little more for Neil, who was munching on crackers and cheese.

"I hope the rest of us like him," Neil said. "I am her big brother, you know."

"Let's not talk about it!" Regina interrupted. "It'll only spoil the surprise."

The memory swirled out amid a chorus of disappointed groans. Snape was surprised to find himself in the same front hall, but watching himself and several other witches and wizards be taken on a tour of the facility. Selphie knew I was coming. She knew what I would do to Regina but didn't stop me.

Snape thought he was going to be sick.

He followed the tour, watching himself ask biting questions to try and humiliate Regina during her speech. She had rounded on him at one point, and said "The magic feels different here. I've been to Europe, visited Beauxbatons. Have you ever been there? Beautiful school, a sense of magic everywhere. If you're sensitive enough, you'll feel the difference in the magic of the Old World and the New World."

And he hadn't felt it, of course. He still couldn't feel any difference.

The tour had continued, and there he was, picking out an Asian boy to answer questions about Potions. He had already known it wasn't taught here. Of course, there was the Asian boy asking him back about the Goblin Rebellion of 1066 and the Fae Revolt of 1201. Snape hadn't been able to remember what happened then, though now he knew. He had learned not from Binns, but from an Asian Mudblood who had thrown himself into his work. He was another Hermione Granger, but without the insufferable attitude.

And there was their fencing duel in the attic of the townhouse, above the heads of sleeping children. She had won, and had grinned at him before bowing regally. He had knocked her foil away at that point, and had pulled her into a tight grip. His gaze had been intense. "I'm not from here, I'm from England. I was thinking of relocating here when I saw you at the front door giving a tour. Can you show me around?"

Regina slowly prized herself free. "That's certainly a weird way of asking me out."

Both Snapes had the grace enough to flush. "I'm not... eloquent. And I don't have a history of anyone particularly liking me."

Regina rolled her eyes. "With a sparkling attitude like that, no wonder."

Snape's mouth set into a line. "I'll leave you alone, then."

"Oh come on... you just have to work on your line, that's all."

Snape turned back to Regina, eyebrows knitted. "What?"

"You don't just spit out you're from England and want to move. That's stuff you save for a first date, talking over dinner as we get to know each other. You're supposed to ask- nicely, of course- if I had time to go to dinner."

"Do you?"

She grinned playfully. "I'm the Dean as well as a Professor. But I think I can manage."

And at dinner, they had indeed talked about England. Snape had lied and said he was thinking of relocating. He had never really gotten along with his schoolmates, his mother was dead and his father was a drunk. There was no reason to stay home, and a dart on the wall had landed on New York.

"And no job prospects, of course," Regina had said. "Since you seem to like Potions, I could offer you a job teaching Potions. I can't offer you health or dental benefits, but I do at least match New York City Board of Ed rates."

Snape had lofted an eyebrow at her. "You don't even want to check my credentials?"

"That's an easy enough matter. It's the desire I'd have a problem with. How many people honestly want to teach a bunch of rowdy magical teenagers?"

Snape had found himself laughing at her wagging eyebrows. "With such a glowing recommendation, how could I resist?"

They had been eating Italian food in Little Italy at one of Regina's favorite restaurants. "I always come here when I can. My parents used to come here all the time, and I've been hooked. I think their first date was here, too."

"You're intending there to be more?" Snape had asked archly.

"Aren't you?"

Their first kiss had tasted of alfredo sauce.

The end of the school year emptied the townhouse completely. There were no summer classes, and the children were sent back home to their families. The teachers disbanded to their respective homes. Neil was currently dating a young woman he had met while at a conference, who had lived in Staten Island. Jessica was on her fourth boyfriend since the start of the school, Claire was trying to open an occult bookshop in Greenwich Village. Selphie would disappear to Florida for the summer, to spend time with her mother, brother and cousins. Snape had never gotten a satisfactory answer as to what had happened to her father.

Snape and Regina had gone to Jamaica Estates, a rich neighborhood in Queens. He had only seen Regina running around Manhattan, occasionally visiting Neil and his girlfriend in Staten Island. He had never before taken the bus and subway to Queens, and found himself worrying about meeting her parents. They had been dating for three months by that time.

But George and Eugenia had introduced him to their latest batch of foster children, taken him to a local restaurant for dinner, and proceeded to interrogate him in their own decidedly laid back manner. Regina had been grinning madly the entire time.

Snape skipped that part of the memory, and the various other dates he had gone on. It was more painful than he had thought it would be. That had been the last summer he could ever count himself happy. He had forgotten about being a Death Eater, having explained away the mark as a tattoo he had gotten on a dare while drunk. Regina had wrinkled her nose and wished he had a better tolerance for alcohol.

That fall had been the first time he had been summoned. It was something he quickly Apparated to and returned to the apartment he had rented in a Manhattan slum. He had given the Dark Lord his assessment of America, a barren magical wasteland. The Dark Lord told him to give the place one last look, since he had felt a magical surge in May. Snape wisely didn't tell him that it had Regina, giving up her virginity. Snape had felt the magic loosen within her, and Regina had actually fainted. He didn't realize that it could be felt in England.

Snape knew when that date had occurred, could tell in his own behavior within Regina's memories. He was no longer as carefree, and began to be a little more drawn. It had been easy to overlook, since Regina was teaching again, giving more tours and trying to recruit more funds for the school. He hadn't agreed to teach Potions that fall, knowing he could be called back to Voldemort's side at any moment. Her parents had looked him in the eye at Thanksgiving and told him to take care of Regina.

Snape didn't watch the memory of their breakup that January. It was freshly 1981, and he didn't know that by the end of October, he would have been free to have a life of sorts. All he knew was that he was summoned. It was forceful, and he could barely stand upright. Selphie had taught him Occlumency that summer, and he used it well. He lied to Regina, he lied to her friends, he lied to Voldemort, he lied to himself.

They all believed him.

Snape watched Regina's string of boyfriends ridicule her and beat her up. He could see the shy seven year old in her then, and watched the murder of her parents with calm detachment. He knew how it happened; Regina had screamed it at Dumbledore in the chaldorim cube.

Snape found himself more affected by Neil's funeral. He had apparently been talking to a young boy's parents in Harlem when cars began to drive by, shooting at the neighbors. Because the family had been ashamed of their crumbling apartment, they had been sitting on the stoop facing the street. Neil threw the boy down to the ground, covering the frail boy with his own body. Snape saw Regina begin to crumple as Neil's wife told her about it, and the two women supported each other through their tears.

At the funeral, Regina had given a eulogy. She told stories about having Neil as her big brother, about going to school together. She talked about magic in allusion, the young boy catching on really quickly. Snape found himself walking to the grave site after the church wake, falling to his knees and weeping for the loss of the man he had seen in Regina's memories. "He had worked hard to realize the potential he had and give that same gift to others. Neil knew that my family gave him a chance he might not have gotten otherwise. His family was poor, and couldn't afford tuition to some fancy private school. My family gave it to him when they saw how hard he was working to catch up to me. They knew he wouldn't take it for granted, that he would cherish every moment at school, working hard. His mother died to save him, to give him an opportunity to a better life. He won a scholarship for his fifth, sixth and seventh years at our high school. He won a scholarship to college and graduated summa cum laude.

"Neil loved. He loved all of us, and wanted all of us to feel it. Neil was a wonderful older brother, a wonderful husband, a wonderful father and a wonderful human being." Regina was beginning to cry. "He gave all of himself all of the time. Wherever he is now, I want Neil to know that we love him back just as much."

And then Snape was alone as the undertaker began shoveling in dirt. No, not alone. Regina was around somewhere, watching. She and the young boy were standing at the edge of the graveyard, watching the undertaker at his work. Her mouth was moving, but Snape somehow knew what she was saying. "He made a sacrifice for you. Not because you asked him to, but because he wanted to. Because he wanted you to have what he did."

The boy looked up at Regina. "You think I can?"

"You can have everything you've ever wanted, if you're willing to work for it."

The memory faded to gray and swirled around him.

Selphie was getting married. Neil was there with his pregnant wife, so he wasn't watching the memories in order. Selphie was a wonderful bride, and was radiantly happy. Regina was her maid of honor, and Jessica, Claire and two other women Snape didn't recognize were her bridesmaids. They were all dressed in a deep claret color, matching the roses sprinkled throughout Selphie's bouquet. She was marrying a tall man with dark hair and tanned skin. He could have been Middle Eastern or Indian, but Snape didn't know much about those backgrounds. The man officiating the ceremony wasn't dressed as any priest, but was wearing a dark black suit with a white scarf over his forearms. He carried a book embossed with gold symbols Snape didn't recognize from his Advanced Runes courses. He spoke in a language Snape didn't understand, but most of the audience nodded in appropriate places as if they did. Claire and Jessica seemed to be mostly clueless, recognizing only certain words.

The memory faded to gray again, mid-memory, and then remained misty gray.

Snape heard the voices first.

Look down to the street below... they don't know what I know, they can't hear the trouble coming. Can you tell if you see my face? I'm sure you'll see it in my face if you looked...

It sounded almost like Regina, but there was an odd echo within the voice.

Lovely girl, you belong to us now.

"I think I learned that one the hard way," Regina replied, her form slowly solidifying out of the mist. There was no ground, no sky, no walls. It seemed to be a realm of formless mist with faint glowing lights somewhere in the distance. As Regina solidified, so did the lights. They formed a criss-crossing net; the lights were the junction spots, slowly blinking.

There was an intervention, my girl. It's all right... everything will be all right now.

Regina began to punch the mist, screaming incoherently. Snape noticed that the front of her blouse was covered with blood, and a thin red line stretched across her throat literally from ear to ear. There was no knife in hand, but Snape knew what this memory was about. In pain, he watched Regina fight the mist until she collapsed.

The Three began to form from the mist, and it solidified into a room resembling the house's living room. They were in traditional Maiden, Mother and Crone forms, and all dressed in the same shapeless black robes. If it hadn't been for the lack of hoods, Snape would have thought they were Dementors, coming in for her soul. He watched as they soothed Regina until she stopped crying.

"They did what they thought was best," the Maiden said softly, stroking Regina's hair. She had auburn hair, the same color as Eugenia Reven-Vial. She seemed to look straight at Snape, and she had the same piercing green eyes Lily Evans used to have. "They were meant to protect you, love."

"All mothers protect their children. All mothers love their daughters," the Mother added. Her hair was black, and she had dark brown eyes. Lines were etched into the corners of her eyes, and her skin seemed to have accumulated fine lines above her lips.

"You belong here with us now, Ravana. You've given up the gift of life your mother had given you with your birth," the Crone said, standing. Her back was bent almost double, white hair streaming down to the floor. Her hands were gnarled and arthritic, and she extended one long finger towards Regina's face. "You forfeited the term of your mortal life, Ravana."

"Hush, my dear," the Mother said mildly, pushing the Crone's hand away. "Not yet. The shock is too great."

"If not now, then when? Before she is to transform us? Oh no. Tell her now and be done with it!"

"Not in front of the child, my ducklings," the Maiden said, standing to her full height. She was the tallest of the three, and was wearing three inch stiletto heels beneath the black robe. "She will have time enough to understand Tempar."

"I will not reform the child as she is," the Crone hissed.

"There is no need," the Mother said, voice mild. She bent down and picked up Regina, suddenly seeming giant-sized. "I will take care of her myself."

The Maiden bent her head slightly. Her size suddenly matched that of the Mother, and the walls of the living room receded into mist. "As will I, of course."

The Crone sighed. "The child is upset. We cannot send her back as she is."

"Who was sending her back now?" the Maiden asked, eyebrow arched. "Oh no, she stays here until she's well." She bent down and kissed Regina's cheek before looking into her frightened eyes. "You belong to us now. We'll take care of you."

The gray mist dissolved the scene, and Regina was suddenly sitting on a rooftop in a warm climate. Selphie was climbing up a ladder, whistling until she reached the top. "We were looking forever for you, you know."

"I know," Regina said, voice distant. "Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Momma's mad at me, isn't she?"

"You were supposed to live, you know." Selphie sat down next to Regina and stared up at the sky. "It wasn't what we were expecting. I don't know what happened."

"I belong to the Sisters now. It's like part of me is permanently fixed in Tempar now."

Selphie let out a low whistle. "That's definitely never happened before."

"I know. Nothing but the weird for the Ravana."

"Oh sweetie..." Selphie flung an arm around Regina's shoulders. "If it wasn't for that weird meter, we'd never have found Jason."

"Jezun, you mean?" Regina asked, finally turning to face Selphie. "Don't tell me he's agreed to come here?"

Selphie blushed. "Um... well... There's no way he can say no."

Regina arched an eyebrow at Selphie. "Do I wanna know?"

Selphie laughed out loud and smacked Regina in the arm. "Silly. Ophelia's woken."

Regina's jaw dropped open. "But she just..."

"I know. But she woke and started speaking in Telint, so he took it as a sign."

"Damn omens."

Selphie returned Regina's grin. "Gotta love 'em when they work your way."

"He's going to go back to the tundra first chance, you know."

"I know. We're working on it."

Regina's smile was bittersweet. "You're so lucky. He's not an asshole, he's obviously in love with you, and you've already got the Heiress."

Selphie patted her stomach. "And the first Heir."

Regina's mouth dropped open. "Well holy hell."

"It's your fault, you know. If you didn't go there after that... I mean... you know. If you didn't show up on his doorstep ready to disembowel him..."

Regina turned away. "Hey. Needed to take it out on somebody."

"But it worked. He saw what an idiot he was being. It's not like Siberia's any fun that time of year, you know. It was just his damn pride."

"He can't possibly be giving it up."

"No. But we're going to work it out. He's missed me, he just was too damn stubborn to say so." Selphie chuckled. "We can't ever go for the easy ones, huh?"

"You should've seen it in your vision, stupid."

"I did. But if you're three, you don't know what you're seeing."

"You were an intelligent three."

"Doesn't matter. What do you know of love or sex or death when you're three?"

"I learned at seven," Regina said slowly. "I think I was still innocent at three."

Selphie flung her arm around Regina's shoulders and squeezed tightly. "We'll be all right, you'll see."

"Is that a vision-approved statement, or just you talking outta your ass?"

"Me talking out of my ass. But it sounded good," Selphie added with a cheeky grin. "You should hang out with us again. Stop hanging out with the ghetto kids."

Regina shrugged. "Seems to fit sometimes. Upsets you, too."

Selphie sighed. "I could tell you the truth, but it would only upset you more."

"What are you talking about?"

"Severus."

Snape was startled. He had just begun to resign himself to not understanding the importance of the conversation when Selphie had tossed his name in.

Regina had stiffened. "I don't want to talk about that."

"You know whose fault it really was, right? Not you."

"What the fuck... No, don't even start. I don't wanna know." Regina got up. "I'm not having this conversation."

"If not for Voldemort," Selphie said sharply, "you would be married now. You'd eventually have five sons and one daughter named Samantha. Their first names all start with S, since you couldn't convince him to give up the family tradition of alliteration. You wanted to name your daughter after me, but I absolutely forbade it. They all go to Briarwood and all get detention in Brenner's office. Sebastian, your oldest, sets fire to the equipment shed but no one can prove he did it. Stephen decides it would be cool to create a new potion that lets you float as if you were made of helium, and is trapped on the gym ceiling for two days until it wears off. Scott gets caught kissing Brenner's granddaughter Melissa during the Sadie Hawkins Dance, as well as her two best friends. Stuart wanted to be the next Michelangelo, and carved one of the front pillars into a unicorn. By hand, I'll have you know. Brenner was less than pleased, and gave him detention, where he carved drawings into every single desk in the school. Sylvester, your baby boy, caught Brenner and Mrs. Thompkins having sex in a supply closet during fifth year and told the whole school."

Snape was on his hands and knees next to Regina as Selphie was speaking. Children. He could have married Regina and lived in America, just as she had pleaded. Six children. He would have never been alone, never carried all the grief inside, never locked himself away in the Hogwarts dungeon. It didn't have to be this way.

"Honey, Severus wasn't the enemy. He was trying to protect you from Voldemort the only way he knew how."

Thank you, Selphie. Thank you.

Regina had curled herself into a little ball. "Fucking hell," she sobbed.

"You know what you need to do now."

"Find him and kill him, that's what," Regina muttered, wiping at her eyes.

"Well, it'll be a neat trick, seeing as how he's incorporeal now."

"Well damn, then. What did you tell me for?"

"So you have time to prepare for when he returns."

Regina arched an eyebrow at Selphie. "And how, pray tell, will he do that?"

"Blood of an enemy, flesh of a servant."

Regina's mouth opened, then shut ineffectually. "Shit!"

Selphie nodded sagely, then helped Regina to her feet. "Back to the books for you, my dear. Mom's getting them together."

"You'll come with me?"

"After the baby's born, sweets. Should be another few months."

"Not sure?"

"I don't quite feel him yet. I should soon, though. I'd rather not birth him in a sinkhole."

"Jay would have a fit."

"Yup. Not to mention Mom."

Regina winced. "Momma in a temper is not a good thing."

"Nope. Neither was Momma."

Regina gave Selphie a watery smile. "She'd be so happy for you."

"I know. She loved babies."

"Any kids, really."

"You'll have to give her a few someday. She'll bug you in the afterlife."

Regina began to laugh. "I can see Mom doing that."

"Of course Momma would do that! Can you imagine her as a Gramma?"

They looked at each other and began to laugh. Snape was beginning to wonder if they both had mood disorders, the way their emotions ran all over the map.

"Thanks, Sel," Regina murmured after a moment. "I needed that."

"You need time to settle in. You're still the same old you, no matter what they did to you to bring you back."

"I don't feel like me yet."

"You will, sooner or later."

"I feel like there's too much for me to do by myself, ya know? Like I don't have enough time to do it all."

Selphie made a face. "There's always Fidelus."

"Momma said that was too dangerous."

"Only if you do it wrong," Selphie said with a shrug. "And you know magic inside and out. It shouldn't be hard for you."

"I would have to make her different, change the mixture."

"She'd be your Carbon Copy. You would have to decide."

Regina caught Selphie's hand suddenly. "But I feel broken inside. Wouldn't she?"

"Honey, what she starts with is up to you. The rest would be up to you."

They walked to the ladder leading up to the roof when Regina stopped suddenly. "What the hell would I name her?"

Selphie began to laugh. "Just reverse your name, stupid. Nobody needs to know."

Regina cocked her head to the side. "Liane Regina Vial? That sounds weird."

"It'll grow on you."

Snape pulled himself out of the pensieve as the memory began to mist to gray. He didn't want to know any more. What could have been isn't ever going to happen. Regina made that perfectly clear.

And Dumbledore had sent him here with her for a reason. Sneaky bastard.

Snape would have been able to convince himself that leaving Regina wasn't that big of a mistake if he hadn't known about the family that never was. He hadn't wanted to see the Silver Sisters cradling Regina like a child with a broken doll, hadn't wanted to see Regina with blood from a slit throat. He hadn't wanted to see her standing alone at Neil's funeral, or to see the expression on her face when she thought of her parents' deaths.

I should have been there. Whatever else, I should have stayed, I should have been there.

Dumbledore was giving him yet another chance to make things right. That sneaky and meddlesome bastard was helping him again.

And again, he was going to take it.

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