Snape's Daughter

As he was about to continue talking about the Ravenclaw and Slytherin lines, the currently red-haired Tonks burst into the room carrying a letter.

"Remus has been arrested!"

*~*~*

There was silence in the room for several seconds. The door slammed loudly, and everyone jumped. The three Snapes began taking at once.

"What?"

"When?"

"How?"

"But..."

Tonks held up her hands and they fell silent. She bit her bottom lip momentarily, and then spoke.

"Well according to this letter they allowed him to send from the Ministry holding cells on Level 10, there was an attack by Death Eaters on Diagon Alley. When the Aurors on duty apparated there, they arrested him. He's a Werewolf, a dark creature officially. 'Course they're all biased pigs really."

Katherine nodded. "It was always like that when I was at Hogwarts," she said with a sigh. "I was still there when Moldiemort was defeated, then I met Severus, and well..." she trailed off, lost in memories.

A smile had flicked across Serena's face when her mum had said 'Moldiemort' but it faded again. She had never seen her uncle, but on the Knight Bus and during the short train journey her mother had told of her childhood with Remus. Katherine was six years younger than her brother, and had even been taught by Severus during her final Hogwarts year.

With a 'pop' that sounded oddly loud in the quiet room, Albus Dumbledore apparated into the kitchen. He looked very surprised to see the family of three there. However he quickly recovered himself and gazed calmly around at them. His eyes did not contain a twinkle of happiness, and he looked exhausted.

"What happened?" he asked his Potions master.

"We were attacked by Death Eaters, well the mansion was anyway. We were at the Quidditch match when it happened. We decided to come here, where it's safe," said Severus.

Professor Dumbledore closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply. He was having a very troubled day, and even in his calm world, it was hard for him. Serena looked nervously at her mother, who was resting her head in the palm of her hands. The old headmaster spoke again, slowly.

"The Auror division won't let Remus go unless a member of his own family vouches for him. Since his parents are dead and his sister vanished we have no one. It's no use you going, Tonks; Kingsley was off duty too, and he can't do anything. It was he who told me."

"But there is a family member who can go and vouch for him," said Katherine, who was looking up now.

"Who?" asked Dumbledore urgently.

"Me," she said simply. "I'm Katherine. I changed my name slightly when I married Severus, and my brother never knew. I could never tell him, he would be so angry with me. I had better hope that he will forgive me now."

She stood up, and Dumbledore saw how she had the same thin face and eyes. He saw how her face was lined with worry as his often was, and he realised that she was telling the truth. His eyes gained some of their twinkle again, and he nodded to her.

"He is held in the Ministry cells on Level 10, but you'll need to go via the telephone because you're a visitor. Good luck," he finished. With a crack she vanished, and Dumbledore took a seat opposite Severus.

"I need to talk with you in private," he said to the dark-haired man. Severus nodded, and asked Serena to leave. She stood up and followed Tonks out of the kitchen, a copy of the rune translation in her hand. She was worried for her Uncle Remus, of course, but she did not know him too well. She might as well try and figure out the meaning of the words.

*~*~*

"Tonks, what's the tallest tower at Hogwarts?" asked Serena. One hour had passed since she had left the kitchen to puzzle out the poem. Now she realised something about the second part.

"Now, go to the highest,

The place of life,

Led by the Ready Rider."

It was the opposite of the first part. Lowest, highest: death, life. She could not understand what the 'Ready Rider' part meant. It was impossible for anyone to have more than one Animagus form; even the great Merlin had only had one, and he was the most powerful wizard of all time. Only the four founders came anywhere near to having his powers, and the power of magic had been decreasing for centuries. Now it was only a tiny proportion of what it had been.

"The Astronomy Tower, why?" asked Tonks curiously. So the young girl related her tale again, although this time her audience was Tonks and her fiancée. Both stayed completely quiet until the end, when Dung asked a question.

"What's the point of this quest anyway?"

Serena was shoked into silence, for that was one thing she had not thought about. After a long pause she spoke.

"Well, I suppose... I think... it's to find out about my ancestry... but... I have to kill the other heir or something..." she said, the extract from the diary coming to mind.

"The other heir?" asked Tonks in some confusion.

"The other heir of Slytherin," said Serena. "Direct heir that is. Not a Malfoy or a Black," she grinned at Tonks. "You know, Moldiemort."

"You 'ave to kill Voldemort? Impossible!" said Dung in surprise.

"I have Slytherin's sword, at any rate," said Serena, although she did look a little uncomfortable. "I think the whole idea is that I help Harry anyway. I don't know what the Astronomy Tower has to do with the quest, but Ravenclaw wouldn't have included it if it was pointless."

Serena closed her eyes in thought. She was only an eleven-year-old girl, and most eleven-year-olds do not have to face with the sort of pressures that Serena had. Everything swirled in her brain, and she lay back in the comfortable armchair. She yawned tiredly.

"I need to sleep," she said, stretching.

"I'll show you to your room," said the Metamorphmagus, standing up. The two females left the room and headed upstairs. The voices of Severus and Dumbledore still sounded from the kitchen, deep in talk. Their voices were muffled and no word of what they were saying could be distinctly heard, until the younger man exclaimed aloud.

"Katherine?"

Serena froze on the top step. She and Tonks fell silent, listening.

"Yes, yes, it would...under the circumstances..."

"Fine, I understand. Serena would..." and their voices fell quiet again. Serena and Tonks continued to the first floor room where Ginny and Hermione had slept the year before. It was easy to tell this by the book left on the side by accident, A History of Arithmancy by N. Umber.

Serena sat down on the bed, and Tonks left again. She pulled her suitcase to her and began to unpack. Books went on the bookshelf; clothes went in the wardrobe; brush on the dressing table; parchment in the drawer; underwear in the other drawer... and so on. Finally she was left with her favourite book, which she turned to her current page.

"42!" squealed Serena in laughter, reading the final sentence of Chapter 27 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She bookmarked the page with the bookmark her mother had sewn for her. It had a picture of a Phoenix at the top, and was red and gold. Her name was printed in silver at the bottom.

Serena changed quickly, and snuggled down under the covers. As she was wriggling into a comfortable position her father opened the door and looked in at her. He smiled at her, seeing her eyes glinting in the light from the door.

"Goodnight princess," he said softly.

"Night Dad," she whispered back.

"I think there may be a few surprises when you get to Hogwarts," he said, winking. Then he closed the door and darkness fell in the room.

Soon Serena had dropped off to sleep, where she dreamed that she was sitting on the back of the king of the giant eagles from Lord of the Rings.

*~*~*

The air was rushing through her hair, blowing back behind her. The crown of the King was resting on his head before her, shining in the brilliant sunlight. The countryside passed beneath her, mountains stood tall and it seemed that she could almost reach her feet down to touch the peaks. Deep valleys and long winding rivers stretched for miles, and then a castle appeared in the distance. It had several tall towers, and the tallest was the one that they were headed for.

He landed on the roof, above the flat top of the tower. Serena climbed off carefully, and looked about her. There it was, resting in the corner. A nest, made of twigs and leaves, rested there in a nook. Inside was a glittering egg, gold with streaks of red. She bent down and picked it up carefully, and turned back to the eagle...

A loud knocking noise sounded from somewhere outside her dream. Suddenly the Eagle vanished and the tower disappeared. The egg in her hand became nothing but a puff of air as she began to fall, down and down and down.

Knock, knock! It came again. With a jerk, accompanied by a twisting feeling in her stomach, Serena opened her eyes.

"Serena, are you awake?" called Tonks from outside the door.

"Wh-...? Yeah!" she called blearily.

"Are you dressed?" asked the Auror.

"No..." mumbled Serena tiredly as she struggled out of bed.

"Well do so," said Tonks. "It's nearly ten o'clock, and I'm making breakfast, what d'you want?"

"Dunno," she yawned in reply. "What is there?"

"Bacon butty?"

"B- what?" exclaimed Serena.

"You know, bacon in bread. Short for bacon sandwich...?" said Tonks hopefully.

"No, never heard of it," said Serena. "But I'll try it anyway. Thanks!" She listened as Tonks walked back over the wooden floor to the stairs, and then began to change.

Soon she was downstairs, and listening to the sound of bacon frying in the pan. This was interspersed with cries of pain from Tonks, who kept moving her hands too close to the pan. Severus entered the room, his face tired and haggard with worry. His eyes seemed to light up at the sound of cooking, and some of the lines vanished from his face.

"What're you cooking there, Tonks?" he asked. The young woman jumped, and her hand touched the side of the pan. She screamed aloud in pain and stuck her finger in her mouth. Severus looked alarmed at what he had done; he ran to the sink and turned on the cold tap.

"Stick your hand under this for now. It should take some of the pain away. Serena, do you remember that burn-healing charm your Mum taught you?" She nodded.

"Of course," she said standing up. She drew her new wand from her pocket and moved over to where Tonks was shivering with the cold water.

"Cutis reparo! Cutis deflamis!" she said, touching her wand to Tonks's burnt skin, which had now been removed from under the water flow. Instantly the skin became less red and lost its already blistering look. Tonks looked with a grin at the girl, who looked rather embarrassed at her magical skills and glanced away.

"What does 'cutis' mean?" she asked the girl curiously.

"No idea," said Serena, just as her father spoke.

"Skin," he said.

"Right," said Tonks, after a pause when no one could think what to say. "How about these bacon butties then?"

"Bacon butties?" said Snape with a smile. "One for me please!" He had been standing next to the gas rings, which were, strangely, Muggle. He had lowered the temperature with a flick of his wand so that the bacon did not burn, and now raised it again. Soon they were sitting around the small table and eating.

*~*~*

Later that day, the three adults and Serena were sitting in the drawing room and resting for a while. Each had a drink of their choice: Pumpkin Juice for Serena, Firewhiskey for Mundungus, Butterbeer for Tonks, and water for Severus. Serena was reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy again, and laughing at regular intervals. The adults were getting rather irritated.

Tonks and Dung were talking together quietly, except when Serena laughed, and then they shot her angry glances. Severus was deep inside his own thoughts, and was lying back in his faded green chair with his eyes closed. Suddenly he opened them again and looked at Serena.

"Serena," he said, to get her attention. She continued to read, as she was too much into the book to hear him.

"Serena!" he said louder. Still the eleven-year-old read on.

"Serena!" he yelled at her. The girl looked up in shock. Hastily she put the book down at the look on her father's face.

"What?" she asked him slowly.

"How are you getting on with the message in the runes?" he asked her more quietly. Serena looked surprised at the question, and then spoke.

"Well, I think I've worked out some of what it means," she said, drawing the paper from her pocket as she did so. She looked at the multicoloured scrawlings down the side that she had written in her 'Crawley's Color-Changing Ink - It's Magic!' It was designed in America, which is why it was spelt that way.

"Erm, the part about the going down, that's me in the Chamber of Secrets. The other part, I think it means that I have to go to the highest place in Hogwarts," she said slowly. "According to Tonks, that's the Astronomy Tower."

Severus nodded. "Do you mind if I look at it again?" he queried. Serena nodded and handed it over. She picked her book up again and soon was engrossed back in it. However she was interrupted by her father's query.

"What does this say?" he asked. Serena peered at the word, which had come out in yellow and fluorescent green.

"Animagus," she replied after a moment's thought, then went back to her book. Severus continued to read the paper; Serena preferred to write on the Muggle, white, line and cheaper stuff than the expensive magical parchment.

"Er, Serena," said her father after a few moments.

"Yeah," muttered the girl into the book.

"You do know that it's impossible to have more than one animagus form don't you?"

"Yeah," said Serena in a tone suggesting that her father was being an idiot.

"Well why did you put this here, about animagus forms, by the 'Ready Rider' part?"

"Because I thought that maybe someone else could turn into a 'ready rider'" she replied. Yet as she did so, her dream came into her head from the previous night. It had vanished from her mind since she had woken up, but now she could recall it.

"Last night I had a very strange dream," she said. "I was on the back of an eagle from Lord of the Rings and flying to this castle with lots of towers. Now that I recall it, I think... yeah, it was Hogwarts! And we headed to the tallest tower, like in the poem, and... I can't remember what happened after that," finished Serena rather lamely. Severus looked at his daughter sharply.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean for a moment I didn't recognise Hogwarts from the air but now... I know it is!" said Serena excitedly.

"Well," said Severus, "then it would be a good idea if -"

But he was interrupted by two loud 'cracks' as two people apparated into the dining room. Katherine Snape and Remus Lupin.