For His Protection

20. The Woman of Many Faces

"My sister?" Serena asked in disbelief. She never knew she had one. Her parents had never mentioned another daughter. There had been no pictures of her in the house, no trace at all. "I never knew."

"Why do you think that is?" Sabrina said, rolling her eyes. "Mum and Dad didn't want sweet little Serena corrupted." She rolled up her left sleeve. "They were afraid I might persuade you to join his ranks."

Serena gasped. There on Sabrina's forearm was the Dark Mark. She gazed at her with fear in her eyes. "You were his follower."

"Yes,"she hissed. "How do you think I know where to find Snape?" Sabrina twirled her wand, delighted that she was finally getting to let her sister in on the secret. "I know him because I've worked alongside him. Did you know he was a loyal Death Eater?" She smirked, but it faded quickly. "It disgusts me how much he's changed in the last ten years. The Snape I knew would have never fallen in love. Especially not with you. You're nothing special."

The words stung for a minute. How could her sister be so cruel? Weren't sisters supposed to love each other. Serena had never seen so much hate crammed into one person. Suddenly a thought struck her. She hadn't considered it before, but meeting Sabrina, seeing how much she hated her, had presented an opportunity. Now was the time to use it. Sibling rivalry.

"I'm just as special as you are. Maybe more.

Sabrina looked as though she'd just been struck, which earned Serena a hard slap across the face. "I was taught by the Dark Lord himself! You're no match for me."

She licked her lips. If she'd learned anything about her sister in their brief time together, it was that she had a short temper. Serena knew the exact buttons to push now. She turned to face her. "Why don't you prove it?"

Sabrina scoffed at her. "Give you a wand? What sort of idiot do you think I am? I don't think so." Her eyes traveled to a locked chest in the corner of the room. "Your wand is safely out of reach and you'll have to get through me to get it."

A look of panic settled on Serena's face. "You're more clever than I gave you credit for," she praised. She let out a long sigh. She secretly hoped that Sabrina was taking the bait. "Fine. Now and. I'll still be more than a match for you."

Her jaw set hard and anger rose in her heart. With a flick of her wand, the ropes around Serena fell. Serena's ruse had worked. "I'm going to crush you."

Serena stood slowly. There were still some things she didn't understand about what was going on, and she knew to be cautious. She raised her hands like she was going to surrender. Sabrina's wand was trained on her in a matter of seconds.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she demanded. "I've done nothing to you."

Sabrina sneered. "I already told you. Our parents cast me out. The Dark Lord already had his eye on me. They disowned me because I wanted to go with him, to learn from him, and I did. Snape and I did some wonderful things together." Sabrina smiled. "So loyal to the Dark Lord. We would have done anything to please him."

Serena cringed. That was immediately put on her list of things he never wanted to hear again. She knew Severus had done some horrible things as a Death Eater. Unavoidable back then. But she didn't want to know what they were. She kept her eyes on Sabrina as she talked,ready for an attack at any second. She felt like she was trying to distract her.

"The news in The Daily Prophet was that the Death Eaters were still active and looking for the Potter boy. But no. My Constants and I were looking for you. I found you. It was nearly time for you to return to the Wizarding World, which I knew you would do when Harry turned eleven. You wouldn't dare deny him the chance to go to Hogwarts. All I had to do was wait. Now here you are." She gripped her wand tightly. "About to be done in-"