The Dark Lord’s Daughter
Part the Eleventh
They were all waiting for Violet after breakfast. Draco Malfoy had some idea that later they might go Abraxan riding. “She does like flying, doesn’t she?”
“She’s been on a broom,” Harry answered, shrugging. “She’s not Quidditch mad like me or Jonathan.”
“She’s not on the Gryffindor team,” Magnolia agreed, checking her nails, which Harry knew had just been manicured by a house elf the night before. “We have to remember to call her ‘Vesper.’” She paused. “I wonder how long Professor Snape has had that name in his back pocket.”
“Perhaps not long,” Harry surmised. “Her name was Violet Margaret. She’s been renamed Vesper Marcella. That’s awfully close. It’s like Professor Snape took out a name book and chose Roman names that were close enough to be acceptable but were still different enough that he could put his mark on them.”
“We could call her ‘V,’” Draco suggested.
Magnolia looked up at him.
“If she doesn’t like Vesper,” he defended. “I can’t imagine learning that Father wasn’t my father.”
“Too close to ‘Vi,’” Harry noted.
“Her name is changed because her mother is a backstabbing Mudblood,” Magnolia argued. “She’s been having an affair for over sixteen years. The woman has no honor.”
“We’re forgetting the obvious,” Harry carefully put into the conversation. “Professor Snape has been having this affair as well—”
Draco and Magnolia turned to him. Harry stiffened, feeling Magnolia’s angry eyes on him.
“The thought had occurred to me,” Draco confessed. “The Mudblood is always at fault. Professor Snape is a pureblood.” (Harry did not correct him.). “She’s been misleading him. He also has not been cheating on a wife. And—” he added, swinging his leg, “she committed line theft and kidnapping. Any fault he was liable for is completely negated by her crimes.”
Harry relaxed minutely, although Magnolia was practically vibrating with anger.
“Professor Snape did say that he was serving Dad with papers,” Harry admitted quietly.
Magnolia reached up and ran her fingernails down his arm in warning.
“If he suspected—”
“I think he might have. He suspected the affair at least.”
“If he suspected that Vesper was not his own blood, he is guilty of line theft,” Draco continued.
“This would have been so much easier if Violet’s—”
“Vesper’s—” Draco corrected.
“Vesper’s father had been a Muggle in Godric’s Hollow,” Magnolia mused. “We wouldn’t have to drag Professor Snape into this whole mess.”
“She’ll still hate Slytherins,” Harry surmised.
“Poor Professor Snape,” Draco sighed.
The three friends lapsed into silence.
They ended up having to wait for Violet for over half an hour. When she finally arrived, she clearly wasn’t happy about it. She was, however, surprisingly dressed in jeans, black sneakers, and a black t-shirt, the Muggle equivalent of pureblood black. Professor Snape was right behind her, as if to block her from going back through the floo, and he placed his hand in warning on Violet’s shoulder.
Harry heard Magnolia suck in her breath, undoubtedly at the sight of Violet’s unglamoured appearance.
“Magnolia, Draco, Harrogate,” Snape greeted, “you remember my daughter, Vesper.”
Harry gave her a familial smile. “Hi, Vesper. I hope you’re warming up to your new home.”
“It’s three streets down from where Grandma and Grandpa Evans live,” she informed him.
Harry’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Magnolia and Draco shared confused looks.
“Yes,” Snape drawled. “Mr. and Mrs. Evans live three streets over. Lily and I met in the park when we were children, long before we came to Hogwarts.”
“Oh, right,” Harry said, having been to Cokeworth many times when he was a child, though he hadn’t seen Grandma and Grandpa Evans since he was thirteen years old. “Familiar hunting ground then.”
Violet shifted uneasily. That was exactly what she and Jonathan had done. They had gone and hunted Harry when their parents’ backs were turned when they visited Cokeworth. Jonathan called it “Harry Hunting.” Dudley, their Muggle cousin, even joined in when there were family gatherings.
Magnolia, who had taken Harry’s arm, ran her hand up and down his arm, possibly to soothe him, though Harry remembered the earlier warning.
“Anyone up for a game of wizard’s chess?” Draco offered into the uncomfortable silence.
Violet brightened at the offer and the four teenagers walked off to the family library where a warm fire was burning in the grate. Magnolia took a seat to the side and Draco sat at the white players and offered Violet the black pieces. Harry pulled up another chair and set it beside Magnolia’s. Draco picked up both the two kings, hiding them behind his back, then offered two closed fists to Violet for her to choose from.
“How are you getting used to the name ‘Vesper’?” he asked, as Violet picked the left fist, like Harry knew she would, and got black, getting to start the game.
She moved a pawn two spaces forward. “It’s close but strange. I don’t like it. Professor Snape doesn’t like ‘Violet,’ though. He hasn’t said why. He hasn’t said why he likes ‘Vesper.’ It’s a mystery.”
“Violets are a potions ingredient,” Magnolia supplied. “It’s used in several potions. I know it’s used in some lower-level love potions,” she turned thoughtful, clearly thinking of the potion they were feeding the Weaslette. “Perhaps that’s why he dislikes it.”
Harry looked over at her, confused. “I can’t see Professor Snape trying to use a love potion on anyone.”
“No,” Draco agreed, moving his bishop. “Neither can I.”
“Maybe he dislikes what they represent. Then again, it could be any one of a dozen potions.” She shrugged.
Harry bit his lip in thought. “Isn’t it used in Wolfsbane?” he checked, thinking of his father’s friend, Remus Lupin, who was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Remus was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Lily wouldn’t have him at the house, but he was still friendly toward all the Potter children. Harry turned to Violet and their gazes met. They both knew there was no love lost between Remus and Professor Snape.
“Let’s check,” Magnolia thought aloud, getting up and going to one of the back shelves. She clearly went to shuffle books around.
“That would make sense,” Violet murmured. “Remember that time—?”
“How could I forget?”
Draco looked between Harry and Violet, his grey eyes flicking back and forth. “What do you know?”
“Uh—we know of—er” Violet stumbled, placing her hand on her castle but not moving it.
Snape swept into the room, and asked, “What do you know?”
Draco turned and looked at his professor. “That violets are in the wolfsbane potion.”
His onyx eyes focused on Violet, who was deathly pale. “They are, and very effectively. A very powerful potion and one that should not be attempted before N.E.W.T. level. I would say that I hope none of you know werewolves, but I know that is unfortunately not the case.” He swept into the stacks and quickly claiming a book, left again.
“You know a werewolf?” Magnolia demanded as she came out a moment later, without a book in hand. “Who?” Harry knew that intonation in her voice. A queasiness settled in his stomach.
“Order of the Phoenix,” Harry answered hurriedly, to get off the subject quickly.—The truth was they all knew Remus. He was their Defense Professor.
Violet smacked him on the back of the head.
“What?” he demanded. “Would you like me to tell them how else we know werewolves?”
Her black eyes shattered in front of him. “You wouldn’t.”
“And I don’t plan to, but stop slapping me,” he insisted, “when the subject is already closed. You know how much Magnolia dislikes that. Being Professor Snape’s daughter is only going to get you so far.”
Draco cleared his throat carefully. “Being a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a werewolf is peculiar. Werewolves are dark creatures and typically are allies of the Dark Lord.”
“Why do you all say, ‘the Dark Lord’?” Violet demanded. “His name is Voldemort.”
“Only Jonathan and Dumbledore call him that,” Harry shot back. “He’s ‘the Dark Lord’ because he’s the Dark Lord of Britain. Show some respect.”
“I forgot. You’re related.” Violet rolled her eyes.
“We’re all related,” Draco warned her, catching her gaze. “He’s my uncle, too, you know.”
“How?” she asked, bewildered.
“My father’s younger sister is his wife,” Draco explained casually.
“He’s actually married?” Violet reeled back. “Like, married married?”
“How do you think he had a daughter?” Harry asked her bluntly. “Do you think he raided and pillaged the village?” He laughed a little to himself. Looking over at Magnolia, they shared a smile. Good, she was in a better mood. He turned back to Violet. “Do you think Dad let me stay with the Dark Lord if he didn’t have a wife?”
She swallowed. “You’re staying with the Dark Lord?”
Draco rolled his eyes. “It’s your move, Vesper.”
Violet’s eyes flicked to the board, but she turned back to Harry. “Are you staying at Headquarters?”
He blinked and glanced at Marnolia. Answering, he said slowly, “Yes.”
“Then that’s great! You can tell Dad—”
“There are rules, Vi—Vesper,” Harry told her, putting a hand on her arm. “When I’m at Riddle House, I don’t inform on the Aurors or the Order of the Phoenix. When I’m at home, I don’t inform on the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters. I have complete immunity.”
Violet opened her mouth like a goldfish.
“Now, you won’t probably go to Riddle House for years given—everything,” Harry explained to her, “so you won’t be put in a difficult situation. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Professor Snape there.”
“No, of course not,” Magnolia agreed. “You won’t find him marked either.”
Harry lifted an eyebrow. He found that very interesting, especially since he knew that Professor Snape spoke to the Dark Lord at least somewhat regularly. Still, he didn’t comment on it.
“There now, you won’t ever be put in a difficult position, V—Vesper.”
She looked at him hard then over at Draco. “Are you over there much?”
“My aunt lives there,” he said by way of an answer, “as does my cousin.”
Violet deflated and turned back to the board. She moved a bishop. Draco immediately claimed it with a pawn, which she should have seen coming. Clearly she was distracted by the conversation. After about an hour, she did lose the match.
After lunch, they did go Abraxan riding. Harry got his own Abraxan this time, but Violet was riding with Draco as she wasn’t a certain flyer. At least flying kept her from thinking and after lemonade in the kitchens, they returned Violet to Snape, tired and somewhat happy.
“That’s our good deed for the year,” Magnolia determined as they flooed home to Riddle House.
A goodly amount of Death Eater activity was going on, but Harry paid it barely any attention.
That night he watched the back garden and when he saw the light of his mother’s wand, he climbed out of the window using the daisy chain sheets that he kept under the bed. House elves, when they came into clean, never seemed to remove his handiwork. It was strange.
At least it was warmer in summer and Harry did not require boots or a jacket.
His mother was playing with her bulldog Aurora, throwing a ball and having the dog fetch it.
“Here, Aurora!” Harry called, and the big dog ran up to him with the slobbery ball in her jaws. Harry took the ball and threw it out into the garden and the dog yipped and ran after it.
“Harrogate!” his mother greeted, coming up to him and kissing his cheek. “You’ve grown still taller!”
Her dirty blonde hair was wrapped around her head to keep it off her black-stained neck, her face mottled with black tinged veins. Her ocean blue gaze shone out of her face, as piercing as his own, and he smiled at her.
“I have so much to tell you,” he greeted her. “Dad’s probably getting a divorce.”
Aurora ran up with her ball and dropped it at Harry’s feet. He patted the dog’s head, picked up the ball, and threw it as far as he could into the blackness.
“What could have possibly happened?” his mother wondered aloud.
“You won’t believe it.”—He then told her about Violet and Snape.
She breathed out through her nose. When Aurora came and dropped the ball again, she picked it up and led her dog back to the turret door, Harry following. She ordered Aurora up the turret stairs and with little prodding the big bulldog trundled up them and Harry and his mother took a seat on the bench there at the bottom of the stairs.
“Lily was always friends with Snape until their fifth year,” she told him. “My third year.”
“Professor Snape did say he and Lily knew each other before Hogwarts.”
“I’m not surprised. There was a falling out when James and Sirius Black strung him up in the air and—I’m not sure what happened. I didn’t see it. Something transpired and Snape called Lily a ‘Mudblood,’ and then Lily was mad on James.” She sighed. “I’m not surprised they somehow found their way back to each other again. If they were having an affair while James and I—” She breathed out through her nose. “And Lily passed her child off as James’s child… Nothing is so unforgivable, to Snape, to James.—You may very well be right. It may be divorce.”
“Violet is now Vesper Marcella. Professor Snape now has emergency custody. They’re going this week to have her heritage affirmed through the Goblins.”
“He must be angry, to be changing her name,” she murmured. “Very angry.” His mother looked over to him. “You must be relieved. Violet always plagued you, though not as much as Jonathan.”
“It is nice not to be related to someone who throws ice cold water on you in December when you’re sleeping,” he mused. He sighed. “Poor Professor Snape will have his hands full.”
“But he has a daughter,” she countered. “There is nothing more wonderful than to gain a child that was lost to you.” His mother reached out to him and brushed her fingers against his cheek. “I know from experience, Harrogate.”
“Why did Uncle Marvolo make you give me up?” he asked. “I know Aunt Aloysia wanted to keep me.”
She paused, her gaze turning thoughtful. “I was quite ill from the vined ring for the first five years of your life. I went into a magical coma after I gave birth to you. It’s why you were ‘Baby Boy’ on your birth certificate. I hadn’t settled on a name for you. I had been considering ‘Mordecai’ before your birth, but I had changed my mind and was playing with a couple of names—” She cupped his cheek fondly. “Aunt Aloysia was with child, I understand, and Uncle Marvolo, though he would never admit it, was quite overwhelmed. He thought it best you be with family and raised with a father. He was never raised with a father and felt it keenly. Uncle Marvolo knew I wanted Lux to be your godmother, but beyond that I had no concrete wishes.”
“Mother,” Harry sighed, taking her scarred hand. “I hate what Dad did to you.”
“I do not blame him,” she told him firmly, “and you were worth every moment of pain, my darling. You are also here with me now. It has all come right.”
They sat together in silence until the clock rang the hour, and his mother kissed his brow before she ascended the stairs to her turret room.
As the days passed, Harry, of course, followed the court case in The Daily Prophet. Professor Snape was granted full custody of Violet—now Vesper Marcella Snape—after she was blood tested by the Goblins. She was received by Lord Prince, despite not being a pureblood, and was even photographed with him in Diagon Alley.
Professor Snape sued Lily for line theft and kidnapping. He also sued James Potter for kidnapping. There was one joint trial, but with two separate defenses. Harry was called as a witness in each of them. His Uncle Lucius—Lord Malfoy—represented him as his magical guardian and advocate.
Magnolia, of course, attended the trials as his betrothed and Draco Malfoy came for support as did his girlfriend, Genevieve Selwyn.
Jonathan was the first to take the stand. He looked better, having been in prison and away from the ball of yarn they had placed in his trunk to slowly sicken him. His throat had been healed, so he could speak normally, but he had an ugly red scar down the line of his throat where the voicebox had been. His auburn hair was messy, his hazel eyes dull, but there was a slight flush to his cheeks.
Harry noticed that Hermione Granger was in the stands.
“Please state your name for the record.” It seemed that Dumbledore was serving as his advocate.
“Jonathan Evans Potter.”
“Who are your parents?”
“Auror James Flint Potter and Dr. Lily June Evans Potter.”
“Who are your brothers and sisters?”
“Well, I have my full sister Violet—that is Violet Margaret Potter, born August 22nd, 1980, and my half-brother through my father, Harrogate” (here he butchered Harry’s name and said HAHR-OH-gate) “Gaunt Potter.”
“We must speak about your sister Violet. Can you identify her in the court room?”
“Yeah,” Jonathan answered, pointing to where Violet was sitting next to Snape and—was that the Gryffindor twin? Pavati something? “She’s right there next to Snape.”
Dumbledore turned to the judge. “Let the record indicate that the witness identified Violet Margaret Potter.”
A law wizard stood, his wig slightly off kilter. “I object! The witch in question is legally Vesper Marcella Snape! You shall refer to her by her legal name, Headmaster Dumbledore.”
The Judge looked sternly down from his perch. “So ordered. You will call the lady ‘Vesper Marcella’ or just ‘Vesper,’ Headmaster. I should think you of all people would know the power of names.”
Harry thought he saw Dumbledore grimace. “My apologies.” He didn’t sound very apologetic. He turned back to Jonathan. “You said she was your full sister as opposed to Harry.”
“Yes, Dad stepped out on Mum and had Harry. He’s nothing like us. He has black hair, weird eyes, and he’s in Slytherin. His mother, they say, is related to Voldemort.”
The courtroom went eerily silent for a long moment.
“She must have cast a dark spell on Dad—it’s the only explanation.”
Harry ground his teeth together, but Magnolia ran a warning hand up his arm. “Don’t pay attention to him. We’ll get him in the end,” she murmured in his ear. He turned to her and their noses unfortunately nudged each other, his ocean blue gaze staring into identical hardened blue eyes.
“But your other sibling—”
“Violet, her name is Violet,” Jonathan asserted, “she’s a full Potter and Evans. She has Mum’s hair but lighter, Mum’s eyes but darker. I don’t know what spells they’ve put on her to make her look like—that,” he spat. “Dad was always our dad. Mum was always our mum. We had the run of the Cottage. We’d team up on everything. Where I went, she would go. The only interest we didn’t share was Quidditch, which was okay.” He shrugged. “She was my number one cheerleader.”
“Thank you,” Dumbledore said. “No more questions.”
The law wizard got up. “Auror Potter,” he greeted. “You said that Miss Snape—”
“Violet,” Jonathan asserted.
The law wizard turned to the judge. “Your honor?”
“Auror Potter, the lady is now Vesper Marcella Snape. You will respect that and you will respect the court.”
Jonathan looked disgruntled, but he returned his attention to the law wizard.
“You said that Miss Snape had Lily Potter’s hair?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s not auburn.”
“No,” he agreed.
“What color is it?”
Jonathan shifted. “Strawberry blonde.”
“Does Dr. Potter’s Muggle mother, Mrs. Rose Evans, have strawberry blonde hair?”
“No, but—”
“Does James Potter have strawberry blonde hair?
“No, but—”
“Does Mrs. Euphemia Potter have strawberry blonde hair?”
“No,” Jonathan said angrily, “but—”
“What color eyes does Miss Snape have?”
“Dark green,” he ground out.
The law wizard looked over at the Snapes. “Miss Snape has had several glamours taken off of her. If you look a little closer, what color do they look?”
Jonathan leaned forward, his eyes connecting to Violet’s. “Black,” he answered begrudgingly.
“Does Dr. Lily Potter have black eyes?”
“No.”
“Does Auror James Potter have black eyes?”
“No, but—”
“To your knowledge, does Professor Severus Snape have black eyes?”
Jonathan clenched his jaw and looked angry, his face getting red.
The law wizard looked toward the judge, adjusting his blue wig.
“I instruct you to answer, Auror Potter.”
“Fine,” Jonathan spat. “Professor Snape has black eyes.”
“One final question,” the law wizard said, sifting through a couple of papers, “is it or is it not true that Dr. Lily Potter spends evenings out in Professor Snape’s company?”
“Why you little—” Jonathan threatened.
“Your honor!” the law wizard begged.
The judge leaned forward. “You will not threaten an officer of the court, Auror Potter. You will answer the question or I will hold you in contempt of court.”
Jonathan held a fist to his mouth and was breathing heavily through his nose. He looked like a tomato.
“I will put it to you again,” the law wizard said. “Is it or is it not true that Dr. Lily Potter spends evenings out in Professor—”
“Yes, it’s true, you bastard!” Jonathan yelled. “Are you happy? She has black eyes and my mother might be a whore! Are you satisfied? What more do you want?”
The judge was banging on his gavel, sighting contempt of court, and Jonathan was pulled from the witness box and dragged off to a door to the left by two guards.
Harry exchanged glances with Magnolia and Draco, the whole courtroom breaking out into whispers. He took a deep breath, knowing that he would be called next. He had asked Lord Malfoy to ask him about what James had thought about Violet, as his advocate.
After the disruption, there was a brief recess, and then Harry was called to the stand.
Harry stood in the witness box and swore on Spungen’s to speak nothing but the truth.
“Yes, I have two half siblings, or I thought I had two half siblings. Now I know better.” He paused. “There’s Jonathan, and there was Violet—who is now Vesper.”
“How did you feel about the half-sister you knew as Violet?” Lord Malfoy asked.
“Conflicted. My father attempted to run away with my mother, which resulted in my birth—and then Violet—Vesper—was born three weeks after me with Lily as her mother.” He swallowed. “I—I prefer my father to be faithful to my mother’s memory.”
“And now that you know that Vesper is not your father’s child?”
“I’m glad,” he answered honestly. “I’m the one who first questioned her parentage because my dad always maintained he was faithful to mother despite not wearing a vined ring. I’m the one who thought something might not be right. Dad always thought that Jonathan and Vesper were both his children—I was the one who thought otherwise—” He took a deep breath.
“Do you want to add something, Harrogate?”
“Yes,” he said. Glancing over at Magnolia, he gained strength from her steady gaze. “Jonathan and Vesper always pranked me as a child and then when they got wands, they would hex and even curse me. My dad always turned a blind eye. I always have had a contentious relationship with Dad because he always favored his children by Lily over me, over his child by the woman he claims to love.”
“Give us an example, Harrogate,” Lord Malfoy asked casually.
“Well, at my sixteenth birthday, Jonathan threatened to cut off my intended’s vined finger and rape her.”
The court went quiet.
“I couldn’t use magic, so I picked up a knife and threw it at him in order to get Magnolia away from him as quickly as possible. Magnolia and I immediately left and when we returned to her father’s house, we found that I was wanted for attempted murder. My father backed Jonathan’s story. I was wanted for attempted murder for half a week until we straightened out the situation with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Jonathan is now facing trial for attempted rape and I’ve been cleared of all charges. Dad, as an auror, would have known that’s how the situation would stand. Jonathan was in the wrong and I wasn’t. But he supported Jonathan, like he always does, over me and over Magnolia who was a guest in our house.”
Lord Malfoy looked out over the gallery.
“Do you have any doubt that James Potter didn’t know that Vesper Marcella wasn’t his child?”
“No, when I told him, his response was ‘so nothing happened when I was drunk’ and ‘she didn’t come a month and a half early.’ He was shocked. Absolutely shocked. He knew of Lily and Professor Snape’s affair, he just wasn’t aware it had been going on that long.”
“Do you think Dr. Lily Potter knew that Vesper Marcella wasn’t a Potter?”
“She had glamours on Marcella that I took off. She had Vesper’s eyes looking almost a dark green. Her nose was different as was Marcella’s chin. She had lowered Vesper’s cheekbones so she didn’t look like a pureblood. Lily had Vesper glamoured so she looked like an exact copy of herself and less like, from what I understand it, Mrs. Eileen Prince Snape, Professor Snape’s mother. She would have no reason to put those glamours in place, probably from a young age, if she didn’t know she had to make Vesper look less like a Prince and more like an Evans.”
“Do you know where Miss Snape’s strawberry blonde hair comes from?”
“From her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Eileen Prince Snape. I’ve seen her portrait at Spinner’s End. Vesper looks a great deal like her.”
“Is there anything else you would like to add?” Lord Malfoy asked.
“Vesper,” Harry said, “I’m so sorry this didn’t occur to me sooner. It’s harder the older you get. I didn’t meet my mother until I was fifteen. I always wished it happened sooner and I wish I could have given that to you.”
Violet looked at him with her black eyes and turned away from him, tears running down her cheeks. Harry was told he could step down, and the next witness took the stand.
In the end, Lily was convicted of line theft of the Prince line and kidnapping while James was let off with a strongly worded warning. Lily was imprisoned in Azkaban for a term of eight and a half to twenty-five years, to be transported immediately. Violet cried the whole time into Snape’s shoulder, and Harry just watched as his stepmother was led away in chains.
All he could think was, now what?
