Halloween morning, Harry woke up with a wide grin plastered on his face. He threw off the covers and quickly dressed before he headed down to the common room. He skidded to a halt when he noticed Hermione sitting on the sofa, crying. He glanced at the back of the Fat Lady's portrait and then at his friend. He sighed. His dad could wait a bit he supposed.

"Is everything all right, 'Mione?" he asked quietly as he walked towards the sniffling witch.

"Yes, fine," she replied with a quivering voice.

"What's wrong? Tell me. Please?" He watched her rub her eyes, shaking her head. "Come on. Please tell me. Maybe I can help."

She glanced at him before holding out a slip of parchment. Harry frowned but grabbed it. His eyes narrowed as he turned the paper around so he could properly read it. He then clenched his jaw. That git. He gave Hermione a hug, sitting beside her a moment later—his arm still around her shoulder as he had seen his dad do with his mum several times.

"I'm sorry, Mione."

She sniffled. "Don't. It's fine. It was stupid anyway. I didn't need another friend anyway."

"It's not fine. You lost someone you were close to." Harry sighed. The stupid git likely never even told her. The coward. He frowned and shook his head. "It was Malfoy, Hermione. The git who was writing to you. He gave you that necklace for your birthday, too."

"I know," she replied quietly. "Your dad told me when he returned the necklace." She closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You knew?" And you still wrote that git? Harry stared at the flickering flames of the fireplace. He sighed. "You don't need Malfoy. You've got me and Ron, 'Mione."

She exhaled loudly. "Yeah." Clearly not enthused one bit by that.

Harry frowned before he glanced sideways at her. "You really liked him, didn't you?"

"It was nice to talk to someone who actually understood me for once," she replied quietly. She shrugged a moment later. "But it happens, right? I'm going to go study in the dorm. Bye, Harry." She stood up then, walking away slowly.

Harry shook his head, standing up as well as he headed for the portrait. That stupid Slytherin git. He glared at nothing in particular as he left the common room, heading for the dungeons. If he saw Malfoy, he was going to wish he never lived.

Kicking at the stone floor, Harry rushed down the moving staircases. He found most of the castle seemingly empty on his journey to the dungeons. That was until he entered the corridor that connected the entrance to the Slytherin common room and his dad's rooms. At the sight of long white hair, Harry clenched his jaw. That git. Walking around all proud like a peacock.

Harry took off down the corridor, overcome with anger for how hurt his friend was because of the Slytherin git. He launched himself at the blond, knocking Draco down to the floor. He punched the slightly shocked Slytherin in the face hard before pulling his arm back to do it again.

"Mr. Potter," a sharp voice hissed from behind them. "Enough!"

Harry inhaled suddenly, glancing down at Draco before swallowing. Oh no. He felt his insides clench. His father was going to flay him alive. There would be a new special ingredient on his dad's shelf, Boy-Who-Lived. Draco stared up at him before he shoved Harry off and scrambled to his feet.

"Get up, Mr. Potter. Now!" the voice hissed.

Harry did as he was instructed, but hesitantly and very slowly. He swallowed as he turned around. His green eyes narrowed instantly when he saw Professor Rayne there instead of his father. He was certain he had heard his father's voice. But Harry didn't see the man anywhere in the corridor.

"You may leave us, Mr. Malfoy," the witch softly spoke, her mouth barely moving. Her eyes were impassive as she stared at Harry. "Detention tonight in my office."

"But, Professor, tonight is—"

She held a hand up, cutting him off instantly. "You should have thought of that before you attacked a defenseless student in the corridor, Mr. Potter." She forced air in her lungs before she whirled around. "You may beg your parents to change your detention, but I assure you it will not be amended. I shall see to that, Mr. Potter. Good day." She walked away, leaving Harry alone in the corridor.

~FKTF~

An hour before the start of the ceremony, Snape stood behind a cauldron, brewing yet another potion. How could the boy have been so idiotic? Fighting in a corridor! Honestly! His frown deepened before he stirred the sunshine yellow potion. He understood that today was an unsettling day—hell he was snarky all damn day—but that didn't excuse his son's atrocious behavior.

Unless all the hype about how happy the boy was for getting to go with his father to cheer him on was nothing but pretend. Harry likely never even intended to go with him at all. The boy was just looking for a way to get out of it without hurting his father's feelings. After all, who would want to go to some idiotic Potions ceremony anyway?

Snape growled before he grabbed a jar of pickled hearts from the shelf beside him and threw it towards the closed door.

"DAMMIT!" he yelled as it shattered upon impact a moment later. He watched the liquid run down the door and sighed tiredly. He should have never sent in that damn paper. Never entered that blasted damn contest in the first place. The day was hard enough without this crap on top of it now. He shook his head and waved his hand towards the broken jar. There was no use crying over the hand he was dealt. He just had to make do with what he had now.

A knock at the door a moment later made his brows furrow. He knew Lucius wouldn't dare interrupt him right now. The man knew the dangers this day produced. And with Harry having stayed in the Tower the rest of the day wisely, that only left one person. Snape closed his eyes and hung his head. He should send her away. Or tell her to leave him alone. Instead, though, he partially opened the door.

"Yes?" He watched her give him a faint smile as she stood in front of the door wearing her long blue velvety robes. Her hair was swept up with a stray strand on either side of her face.

"Could I come in?" Aurora asked softly.

"I'd rather you wouldn't."

"That's not exactly a no."

"It's not," he agreed. He hated this. He hated knowing that she was dancing around his feelings. That she cared enough to do so when he was being a royal bastard to everyone and trying to hurt them. He watched her bite her lower lip as she likely thought through her list of options. He waited, not sure why he was doing so when he would never have done it before.

"Oh, screw this," she huffed before she stepped forward and pushed the door wide open, causing him to take a step back to avoid the door hitting him in the face. "Get dressed. Now."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Excuse me?" Well, this was a switch for the day.

"You heard me. Go get ready for your dinner."

"I'm not going." He crossed his arms, frowning at her.

"Oh, like hell you aren't. You're going even if I have to drag your dead body there, Severus. You were looking forward to this. Just because Harry decided to throw a punch earlier doesn't mean you don't get to go to your dinner."

"In case this escaped your mind, I—" When her finger pressed against his lips, he went silent.

"Hush. You have a date." At the narrowing of his eyes, she added, "Me. Now, get dressed before I take you in your nightclothes, you bloody damn bat."

He glared at her. Only when she glared back, he took a step backwards. Dear Merlin, he thought he was the only one who could glare like that. Obviously not, though.

"Go. Now!"

Snape only nodded and left to follow her orders. He grabbed his dress robes from the way back, quickly changing into them before frowning. What the hell just happened? Why was he doing what she told him to do without even thinking about it? He thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't used any mind coercion techniques on him, spell or otherwise. So he did it of his own freewill. But why?

"You did it because you care for her deeply, old friend," Lucius offered as he stood in the doorway. "Don't worry about tonight. I'll make sure your son has gone to his detention."

"No need. I'll find out tomorrow, Lucius." Snape sighed. He glanced at the older wizard when he felt the reassuring squeeze to his shoulder. "I should go before she makes good on her threat."

"You both better be home before midnight or I'll send out the Aurors," Lucius joked.

~FKTF~

Harry slowly walked to the door in his dad's room when he heard the knock. When the door opened a moment later, he sighed. He glanced up, noticing the woman staring down at him with that same blank stare from before.

"I was on my way for my detention, Professor. I promise."

"I know," Professor Rayne replied before she glanced at the man standing behind Harry. "I was not aware that you would be here, though, Mr. Malfoy."

Harry glanced at Lucius and then looked back down. The man had asked Professor McGonagall to get Harry from the tower earlier so he could personally escort Harry to Professor Rayne's office later. He had never been more embarrassed in his life. He supposed that was the point, though.

"Just ensuring that your young pupil made it there all right," Lucius stated.

"Won't you join us, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Rayne smiled faintly.

Harry's frown deepened. He understood now that Lucius was considered something akin to a sex god or something. He had overheard several of the upper students mentioning it in the common room earlier, but really! He just wanted to do his detention and go home. Was that too hard to ask for?

Harry then glanced upwards, sighing. It was odd really. He hadn't noticed it before but he had never really ever seen Professor Rayne show her teeth. She always hid them when she talked. Maybe it was boredom, but he wondered curiously if she had really bad teeth or if it was something else.

"If it's not too much trouble, I suppose I could. I have nothing better to do, I mean."

"Oh, no. No trouble at all, Mr. Malfoy. In fact, I insist that you come with us.

There was something about that statement that sent off alarm bells in Harry's mind. He glanced at Lucius, noticing the forced polite smile on the Slytherin's face as he inclined his head. Harry watched Lucius walk towards them before setting a hand on Harry's shoulder—protective like his dad would do.

"Well, then, I would love to, Professor," Lucius drawled, clearly on his guard.

"Excellent. Shall we then?" She didn't wait for a reply before she placed a hand on both of them. A mere second later, the room was empty as all three suddenly vanished.

~FKTF~

A half an hour later, Snape sighed as he watched a man slowly walk up to the podium. He watched Aurora out of the corner of his eye fidget in her seat. He snorted into his wine glass, taking another sip of his elf-wine and glanced out the large glass window towards the street.

"Well, now that we've all had a bite to eat. Let's get right down to it, shall we?" The man pulled out a sealed envelope. "This year's Potions Master of the Year Award goes to . . ." The man fumbled with the envelope for a few moments.

"Do you have your speech all prepared, Severus?" Aurora asked softly, leaning towards him.

"I do, but I'll likely not get it."

"I'll bet you a dance that you do," she replied with a shrug.

Snape snorted, but said nothing as he turned his attention back to the speaker. She was going to lose that dance. There was no way his paper on Wolfsbane—

"Severus Tobias Snape," the man loudly announced.

The glass in Snape's hand nearly fell. What? No. There was no way— He had won? He glanced at Aurora, noticing her wide smile as she clapped while she stared at him with a proud look. He never won things, though. He then narrowed his eyes on her when she tried shooing him up to the stage.

"Go. Get it from him, Severus. Enjoy it." She smiled, laughing and shaking her head.

Snape quickly made his way up there, shaking the man's hand before nodding. It felt so surreal and odd. He didn't hear what the man was saying and truthfully didn't care either. He grabbed the small glass cauldron and stared at it before looking around at the crowd. His eyes soon settled back on Aurora. He swallowed the uncharacteristic lump in his throat.

"Without proper funding and time to do my experiments, none of my research would have been possible. I-I owe many thanks to those who stood behind me, who put up with me when my research did not go well. Perhaps in time, we will have a better understanding of this affliction and be able to cure it so no one has to suffer the effects of being a werewolf any longer." He caught the polite claps before he numbly walked back down to his table with Aurora and sat down.

"Everything all right?" she asked softly, staring at him in confusion.

"Yes. I just, I . . ." He sighed, lost for words. It was rare that people took note of his skills. More often than not, he found himself fighting for every centimeter to get just an inch of respect. Or if people did take note, they frequently tried to exploit it for their own purposes. This was none of that.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?"

"Frankly, yes." He watched her smile widen before she took another drink of her wine. He uncovered his award, not noticing he had covered it at first, and stared at the small glass cauldron. It was beautiful. Finally, he had something to take pride in again.

"Photo for the Prophet, Mr. Snape," a young man stated before he squeezed up to them with the camera in hand and practically blinded Snape when he took the photo.

Snape growled but said nothing when the young man took off in the other direction. He rubbed at his eyes a moment later, sighing. Stupid boy. He then glanced across at Aurora, observing her silently as she watched the band play. She seemed relaxed, happy. His eyes passed over her, taking note of the beautiful dress she had worn—a black strapless dress that feathered out with intricate white designs sewn into it to make it look as if the white was dripping. She truly was the most gorgeous woman there.

Looking around, Snape noticed that some of the couples had moved away from the tables, either to chat by the buffet table or to dance. He frowned and turned back to Aurora. He brushed aside the uneasiness and stood up, holding a hand out to her.

"May I have this dance?" He caught her faint shy smile instantly before she nodded, grabbing his hand and threading their fingers as she stood up. He led her towards the dance floor, ignoring his heart that thumped wildly in his chest. There were so many things that could go wrong right now. He could step on her feet. She could break her ankle in those ridiculously high heeled shoes she was wearing.

He bowed towards her, recalling Lucius's instructions from all those years ago when he had been forced to attend the Death Eater parties. He then stepped towards her, fluidly placing his hands on her lower back and feeling her do the same to him. They were chest-to-chest now, and it wasn't as horribly awkward as he thought it'd be. He felt her rest her head on his shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I'm curious, Aurora."

"Hmm?" she mumbled softly.

"How did you know I'd win? It couldn't just be your usual faith in me. Not for betting a dance with me, something you've wanted for years."

"Well, if you must know, I poured a bit of Felix Felicis into your glass of wine earlier."

He stopped instantly, pulling back and staring at her. She had to be joking. He caught her laugh in response to his reaction.

"No, honestly, I researched your competition. The Prophet posted all of the nominees and the titles to their submitted research papers two days ago. So, I went and found copies of their papers and read them." She shrugged as he relaxed and returned to being close to her. "Montgomery's research on restorative draughts using Mandrakes, while extremely fascinating, was all based on his father's previous studies. In essence, he just recycles his father's ideas and stated that they were his own. Sullivan's research was dull and—quite honestly I've read better first-year essays than his theory about how one can improve upon the nerve restoration draught. Not to mention he couldn't spell anything."

Snape stared at her, holding his breath. Holy hell and heaven above. She had actually researched them. And she seemed to understand their research enough to critique it. He had only known the other nominees by their notoriety and reputation.

"And don't get me started by dear Mr. Reynolds's research on antidotes that doesn't even take into consideration Golpalott's Third Law or even his Fourth and Fifth for that matter."

"You understand it?" He was shocked beyond belief. She actually understood potions.

"The theory behind it, yes. Brewing it, you might as well just have Longbottom do it. You might actually get a potion from him." She laughed against him before she pressed herself against him even more. "I'm not a total idiot." He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when she wrapped her arms around his neck suddenly. "There are three men outside who are watching us very closely," she whispered in his ear before pulling back with a wide smile. "What do you say to us getting out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, following her towards the back of the restaurant.

A few minutes later, Snape frowned as he held her to keep her stable as she hopped up onto the sink in the ladies' washroom. He gently pushed her bare feet up as she tried to pull herself through the high opened window. He watched her immediately turn around once she was outside and hold her hand out to him. He grabbed her heels that she had discarded earlier, only to catch her look.

"What?"

"My hand is for you, Severus, not the damn shoes."

"Oh." He tossed them aside before he motioned for her to move away from the window. The moment she did, he hopped up, pulling himself up and through the window before joining her on the street. "Let's go." They both quickly stood up and ran down the cobblestone street. A loud explosion behind them caused the ground to shake, but they continued, not daring to look behind them.

Something suddenly whizzed past them, causing Snape to yank Aurora closer to him and stop. Two black-robed men walked out of the shadows in front of them then. Turning around, Snape noticed that two more men approached them from behind.

"Give us the lady, and we'll let you live. Got it?" one of the men gruffly stated.

Snape noticed Aurora turn towards him and narrowed his eyes on her. What on earth was the witch doing? She swallowed slowly. He couldn't hear any of her thoughts, which truthfully unsettled him greatly. She was hiding her thoughts from him somehow. Oh, dear Felix Felicis, if she was thinking about what he was thinking she was, he was going to lock her up in his dungeons and never let her out ever again. He opened his mouth, only to have hers cover his as she kissed him deeply. He inhaled sharply, feeling her pass something into his hand—a knife he noticed a moment later.

Don't miss, she thought, catching his eye before she whirled from him and headed to the men.

With the knife hidden under his long sleeves, he thought for a minute about what she could have meant. Don't miss what? He then caught her leg swinging towards another man and threw the knife at the other man who tried to grab her. The other men instantly reacted violently, rushing towards them. He watched a dozen curses fly out of a darkened alcove as a man who looked strangely enough like his father walked out of the shadows with a sneer on his face. Snape ducked and dodged the curses, ready to hiss his specialized curse at him. There was a groan behind Snape, though, before a loud thump. Snape then whirled around, feeling someone near him and noticing a thin razor wire the black-robed attacker had in his hand. He slammed his fist against the attacker's face before tossing the man against the wall and throwing a strong Stupefy at him. He turned back around, watching Aurora defend herself against another man's attack and noticing that his father's look-alike was trying to distract Aurora's attacker. Snape headed towards her, only to stop when her attacker yelled out and suddenly went limp. He raised an eyebrow, noticing the blade in her hand then.

"Now, that's what I like to see, Princess. A lass who ain't afraid to protect herself."

Snape ignored the man, though, still on his guard, however.

"Just how many knives do you have hidden under your dress, Aurora?"

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Well, a lady always needs to bring some sort of protection with her when she's on a date." She then glanced towards the approaching hook nose man. "Tobias."

"Princess." His blue eyes glanced towards Snape. "Son."

"You are not my father," Snape snapped.

"Got El's stubbornness, I see."

Snape growled before he slammed the man against the brick wall. He clenched his jaw, glaring at him. There was no denying that the man looked like his father, but that didn't mean much. What with Polyjuice and Glamour charms.

"Got my temper, though."

"My father was a son of a bitch who died like the pathetic little worm he was," Snape spat out. "I tortured him and left him like the bastard he was to die like an animal and bleed to death. You. Are. Not. My. Father," he hissed.

"Um, boys, hate to break this up, but we've got company," Aurora interrupted. "We need to go."

Snape growled when Aurora grabbed his hand and gave him a hard look as the man—since he refused to call the man Tobias or Dad—held out a chess piece to them—clearly a Portkey. He exhaled loudly when she didn't back down. He grabbed the knight with Aurora, and they suddenly vanished.

~FKTF~

They had been there—wherever the hell there was—for two hours. Two long agonizing hours. Snape's patience was worn thin. It had all started with arriving to find his son and Lucius already there. And when he found his colleague, Calisto Rayne, warmly greet the man who claimed to be his father, he nearly lost it. Only Aurora's hand in his prevented this.

An hour ago, though, Harry had gone to bed as Aurora had left with Lucius to give Snape some time alone with them. So it was just Snape, Rayne, and the bastard masquerading as a dead man left in the grey open area. Snape glared at them. They seemed so cozy with one another.

"Son—"

"No!" Snape snarled, glaring at the man. "My bastard father's dead."

"Fine. Severus—"

"No. You are not my father. Do not claim to be him. I murdered the bastard."

"Yes, ya made that clear. But ya didn't murder me. I can prove it. If ya'd just listen for one goddamn minute."

"My father's dead."

"Oh, for crying out loud," the man groaned. "Yes, Severus, we got that for the hundredth time."

Snape clenched his teeth. He then caught the bored look on Rayne's face.

"So, who are you really? Death Eater? Murderous thug?"

"Calisto Rayne," she replied softly. "I was the one who found your father."

"He's not my father!" Snape hissed, making a fist.

"No. He's not the man you grew up with, Severus. He is your father, though. He was the man responsible for your birth. You may have certain memories concerning him, but the man you knew to be your father was not."

"My father's dead."

"No. The man who imitated your father is dead. This man here is Tobias Snape. Draw his blood and see for yourself."

"It can be faked." Snape frowned when she laughed softly.

"Or perhaps you're just afraid that he tells the truth and that everything you've been led to believe is based on a series of lies?" she replied quietly. "Understandable of course."

"You don't know me."

"Oh? Shall we test that, Severus?" She smiled slowly.

"Calisto," the man stated softly, grabbing her hand. "Enough."

"She stated she found you. Explain," Snape asked, glancing at the man.

"It'd be easier to tell ya all of it, I think. From the beginning." The man sighed when Snape glanced at him sharply. "All right. Well, I met yer mum outside a diner in Manchester. We chatted for a bit. She didn't really want to give me a time of day, so she left. I went back the next day to the diner and saw here there with her friends. I kept at it for a week, begging for one date. She finally relented on the third week." He shrugged. "Found out she was a witch and should have told her then, but didn't. Long story short, I knew about yer mum being pregnant with ya." Snape tensed but said nothing. "I had gone to work one day when a couple of gits showed up. Realized they were up to no good right away, but I thought I could beat 'em. Wound up getting my arse handed to me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "They left me in some shithole place like this. Underground. Couldn't escape it no matter what I tried. Somehow, Calisto found me, though."

Snape watched Rayne smile faintly, nodding towards the man. He frowned in response. Curiosity about if the man was really his father was killing him. He drew his wand then and flicked his wrist, sending a weak cutting curse at the man. He caught Rayne's low growl instantly but ignored it as he collected a sample of the man's blood in a flask.

He pulled out a bottle containing the Paternity potion, adding a drop of his blood and a drop of the man's. He frowned when the potion turned the dreaded color. Dammit.

"Well, now, do you deny that evidence?" Rayne stated with a faint smile. "Perhaps an error occurred in your brewing of it?"

Snape clenched his teeth. "I don't make errors."

"Oh, of course not."

"Calisto," Tobias softly warned, shaking his head once at her again. "Don't."

"My father was a Muggle," Snape stated with a bit of a bite to his voice. "He couldn't do magic."

"No." Tobias shook his head. "I can do magic, son. I just ain't exactly good at it. Yer grandfather wasn't thrilled about having a boy like me. So he wanted me normal. Did his damnedest to do so, too."

Snape frowned as he stared at him. His father was a Muggle. He had never seen the man do any sort of magic. Hell, the man had tried beating him—no, this couldn't be true. He shook his head. It felt as if the whole world was being tilted on its axis. Nothing made sense anymore. He grabbed the wall, sighing as he closed his eyes. He wished Aurora was there. He needed her right now.

"I'm the Half-Blood Prince."

"Ya still are, son. Hell, I'm closer to a Muggle than an actual wizard like ya are. My magic don't work exactly like it's s'posed to. It's always a guessing game if it'll work or not. Thanks to Albus, found out that when I'm angry or protective it works better, though."

"Albus?" Snape repeated deathly quiet.

"Yeah. Dumbledore. Yer boss."

"He knew?" Snape's eyes darted to Rayne before he glanced back at Tobias. "He knew you were my father this whole time? That the man I had killed, had believed for decades to be my father wasn't?"

"He learned of the truth when I retrieved Tobias from the tunnels, yes," Rayne answered softly.

"When did he know? When did you tell him?" Snape demanded, his heart pounding angrily. That manipulative bastard. If he knew—

"A year ago." She frowned. "I asked him if he'd inform you, and Albus replied that you were not ready for the truth yet. You were still dealing with the effects of your son's near death."

"Son of a bitch." Snape's hands balled into fists. "What else is he hiding?"

"A great many things, Severus."

"Don't give me that crap, Rayne. Answer me. What else is he hiding? What else has he lied about?" Snape noticed the shared look between Rayne and Tobias. "What?"

Tobias sighed before he stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out a small envelope in his hand. "Was on his desk when I brought him one of the jerks who tried to kidnap that witch from Hogsmeade the other day. It's addressed to you."

Snape frowned but grabbed it. A part of him was still on edge, not quite trusting the two. But a larger part of him knew the two were telling the truth. He broke the seal, pulling out the letter. He swallowed when he recognized the handwriting. Lily. It was dated just a few days before her death. He tucked the letter back in and sighed. He'd read it later.

"What do you know about the purebloods being kidnapped? Why are they after them?"

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but it could be a result of Project Unicorn," Rayne answered. "It was started around the same time your mother was last seen."

"What is it? What is Project Unicorn?"

Tobias shrugged. "Yer guess is good as ours. It was just something that Albus mentioned the last time I was there. He asked the jerk from Hogsmeade about it."

"You captured one of the attackers?"

"Oh, yeah," Tobias nodded. "Handed him over to Dumbledore."

"Whatever it is, it worries Albus greatly, though. His mind of late frequently returns to it."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Legilimency?"

"No." She laughed, finally showing her teeth—two pointy canines. "Vampire." She shook her head. "He asked me to take the Muggle Studies post so that I would be able to provide assessments of his staff in secret. He wished to know where their loyalties rested. The events last term with the late Defense post rattled him to the core. That he had not noticed the vile dark wizard sharing his existence with a Hogwarts professor. He wished to ensure that didn't happen again."

"He hired you to play mind games with us?"

"To test your reactions to certain stimuli and provide all my findings. So if you believe that's mind games, then yes." She shrugged. "The only professor I truly had any difficulty with was Aurora. She naturally resists me. However, she openly shows her loyalty rests solely with you."

"And did I pass your stupid test?" Snape growled.

"With flying colors, yes. You have a good heart. But with you, my tests weren't about loyalty."

"Then what were they about?"

"Whether you'd find the strength to move on and heal," she answered honestly.

"You're the reason I've dreamt about Aurora for months?"

"No. Not for months. I merely planted another seed that was already in your mind prior to the other day when you left Albus's office and ran into me. Likely a result of the potion you took at the start of summer holiday. Your mind truly did the rest, Severus."

"Why? Why is it so important that I heal? That I move on?"

"Because clinging to the past as you were doing tends to make one miserable and seek solace in death, Severus." Her eyes held his. "And frankly you deserve better than that."

"How did you know he was in the tunnels?" Snape asked, trying to throw her off.

"I smelled him," she replied quietly. "I found him down there, covered in filth, tired, hungry, and just plain ready to give up. He was not the first I found in those tunnels, though. He was just the first live one. It was frequently used as a dumping ground by them."

"Them?"

"Death Eaters." She shook her head. "We always talk about the First Wizarding War, but never how he was just as evil and vile years before that as he gained his strength and reputation." She frowned as she glanced at Snape. "He knew your grandmother and by extension met your mother when she was younger. The Princes are a very strong Wizarding line, Severus. Quite frankly, he needed you to join him. So he had one of his followers take your father's place, guide you to him."

Snape stared at Rayne, recalling his mother's words as she held him once. He wasn't always like this. I promise you, Severus. He frowned and glanced away. Everything he had ever known about his family was a lie. How could this be? Had everyone in his life manipulated him?

"When ya get back tomorrow, son, ask Albus about Project Unicorn. See if he'll tell you. Either way, ya best get some rest, though. Ya had more than enough for tonight. Good night, son."