Her pregnancy was a long-discussed and planned decision. By now, Hellen had been living in complete anonymity in the small Scottish town for a couple of years, and she felt safe.
Her neighbors knew her husband visited her regularly. Everyone thought he was a teacher in the big city, and no one asked too many questions. The protective spells took care of that.
For the first time, they both allowed themselves to make plans for the future, and that included the possibility of having children. Hellen wasn't sure she could ever be a mother, due to the side effects of the Dark Lord's curse, so it was a big surprise to discover that a new life was indeed growing inside her.
The girl was born in summer, and in the eyes of her parents she was the most beautiful and perfect creature in the world. She had inherited Hellen's blue eyes, and dark fuzz covered her head. She slept in her mother's arms, never imagining how much love and joy she had brought with her.
"How do you want to name her?" Hellen asked, rocking her carefully. Severus was sitting next to her, staring at the girl in awe.
"I would like her to be named Eileen, like my mother."
"What do you think about Lily?" she asked, innocently, but Severus looked at her alarmed and surprised at that suggestion, not knowing what to say.
"Why would I want her to be named that?"
"Because it's a pretty name, and it belongs to someone you love," Hellen said softly. "There is nothing wrong with honoring the people we love."
"You are the person I love," he replied, more nervous than he wanted to appear.
"You can love several people at the same time," she smiled reassuringly, and took his hand. "It's okay, I'm not jealous, and I don't want you to feel guilty for having fallen in love more than once. That only makes you human. Besides," she added, handing him the small bundle carefully, "the only thing that matters is that her father loves her more than anything."
Severus placed the girl in his arms. From the first moment he had looked at her, there had been nothing else in his thoughts. That girl was the most important thing in the world to him. The mere fact of having her in his arms made him feel dizzy and an euphoric happiness.
"Eileen Lily," he murmured, and instantly knew it was a good choice.
"Our little Eily," Hellen snuggled next to him, smiling.
They couldn't be happier.
And yet, Eily's birth brought a new complication. They both hoped that the girl would develop as a witch, inheriting her parents' magical potential, which would mean that, sooner or later, her name would appear on the list of children who would go to study at Hogwarts.
Severus was aware that as soon as that happened, his secret would come to light, and he wondered, not for the first time, if he should come clean to Dumbledore before it was too late.
Hellen had left the decision in his hands, saying that they could continue saying that she was a muggle, or even a squib, to satisfy the headmaster's curiosity, but still, Severus couldn't decide.
He couldn't explain what was stopping him from talking to the wizard who had trusted him so much, after all, Dumbledore knew much worse things about his past and he hadn't judged him. But he wasn't able to do it.
The first time he tried to come clean was when he decided to marry Hellen, but Severus told himself that it wasn't worth drawing Dumbledore's attention for something like that, even though it would have made things easier for him to admit that his continued absences from Hogwarts were because he was married and preferred to spend time with his wife rather than stay in the castle.
He considered talking to the headmaster again when he and Hellen decided they wanted to start a family, but then he told himself there was no need to bother the headmaster with such trivial news. After all, wanting children was not the same as having them, and it could take years for their wish to come true.
Hellen then became pregnant, but Severus chickened out again, telling himself that something could go wrong during the pregnancy, and he didn't want to risk revealing his secret too soon.
But now that he had little Eily in his arms, he had no more excuses to hide her. And yet, a feeling of selfishness prevented him from revealing her existence.
He didn't want to share her, not even with Dumbledore. He wanted to hold her and protect her and have her all to himself. Because the moment her existence was made public, there would be no turning back.
And so, day after day, the secret grew bigger, and the effort to come clean more difficult, and Severus realized that he had already made up his mind, and that he would face the headmaster's penetrating gaze when there was no more remedy.
And so, Eileen Lily Snape grew up, surrounded by the love of her parents, unaware of the invisible clock that counted down the seconds until her existence was revealed.
***
Harry tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Too many things had happened that day for him to rest.
Alecto's Carrow death, Fudge's visit, the fight between Vaitiare and the Lady... and the horrible sight of the bathtub full of blood.
He couldn't stop worrying. What had happened to Ginny? And Parvatil? Would they ever see them again? And Hermione? Would she wake up?
He could hear Ron tossing and turning in bed. He was nervous too, everyone was, but with the new punishment he wasn't allowed to go to the infirmary to visit Hermione. And Dumbledore had confiscated his invisibility cloak to make sure they didn't sneak out.
But then Harry noticed that tingling sensation in his scar again and knew that the Lady was having a vision. It seemed curious to him that despite being linked to her, he was not gripped by that sensation of blinding pain that split his head in two, as happened with Voldemort. Perhaps it was because she was more humane and less cruel than her father.
However, Harry did not want to waste that opportunity in useless speculation; he had to know what the vision was about.
Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes, feeling like he was sinking, and let himself go.
***
He was a snake. He was crouched under a stuffed animal. Now he could move, getting out from under the human girl who gave him shelter. She didn't matter. It wasn't what she had come for.
The snake crawled across the room, heading towards the largest room. She had to be careful and avoid being seen. She could sense other girls crouching, but they weren't the one she was looking for either.
She continued advancing, slithering between them. And then, she heard her.
"Little snake. Help."
It was her, the person she was looking for. She came close to her, and let the girl take her in her hands. And then, the vision changed to another point of view.
She was alone. She was hungry. She was afraid. The other girl had not returned. That cave was very cold. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see mom. She wanted Mr. Seal. The bad guys were coming towards her again. They had taken away her stuffed animal. They were going to hurt her. Dad, where are you? Dad! Mom! Help!
Harry found himself swept away again, unable to help himself.
He was back on the paradisiacal beach that he knew so well. But now the sea was rough, and the dark clouds foretold a storm. The woman was also there, waiting for him. Her face revealed concern and tension. Harry looked at her carefully.
"It's you," this time he had recognized her, even without the scar and the dark tunic. "It's always been you."
"There is no time for this. You must help me."
"I want answers."
"There is no time!"
"You want me to help you, but you don't answer my questions. How do you want me to trust you? You are linked to Voldemort. How do I know you won't hand me over to him?"
"I have already told you that this is a safe place. We're inside a secret place in my mind, and he can't get here."
"I don't believe you."
"I have never hurt you."
"And what about my friends?"
"That is not my work. I want to find them too."
"You are lying. I have been inside the snake. I know you don't care about the others."
In the distance thunder rumbled, and the wind began to blow strongly. Harry and the woman stared at each other, unwilling to give in. She clenched her fists, tense.
"That's none of your business."
"Yes, it is. You say you need my help, but you haven't done anything to make me trust you," Harry was also angry, and he didn't want to continue playing guessing games. "I'm going to wake up."
"No!" she shouted, extending a hand. The sand caught Harry's feet, but he resisted.
They both fought, trying to impose their will on the other. Harry knew that if he persisted, he would wake up, and escape the dream.
"Please! I am not the Dark Lord," she pleaded. "I have never carried his name or his mark. I have never shown loyalty to him."
"Then, what do you want?"
"Someone very dear to me is in danger. I need to find out where she is. Her whereabouts are the same as that of your missing friends. You know I'm telling the truth. In this place I cannot lie."
"It's the girl from the cave, isn't she? She spoke Parseltongue," Harry deduced.
The Lady looked surprised and pursed her lips but ended up nodding. Remembering the girl's terrified thoughts, Harry softened.
"What do you want of me?"
"Do you recognize the place where the snake is?"
"The cave? I have never been there."
"But doesn't it remind you of something?"
Harry hesitated. Now that he thought about it better, it did look familiar.
"It looks like the Department of Mysteries."
"Are you sure?"
"The drawings of the columns are the same."
"Thank you for the information," she turned and began to walk away, with a determined step.
"Wait! I want to go too."
The Lady looked over her shoulder, staring seriously at him. The wind was getting stronger, and the waves splashed against them as they broke on the beach.
"This is not your fight."
"My friends are there. Ginny is there."
"No. Your enemy is the Dark Lord, and you should focus all your efforts on defeating him. This is just a distraction."
"You won't be able to stop me," Harry was already planning how to travel to the Ministry of Magic. He would wake up Ron as soon as he regained consciousness, and together they would gather the others.
But she smiled a strange smile. She approached him, and Harry couldn't move, despite all his efforts.
"You forget, Potter, that you are inside my mind. You can't hide anything from me," he couldn't stop her from resting her fingertips on his forehead, next to the scar. "Forget everything," she whispered.
***
Harry woke up with a start. Sweat covered his body and his breathing was labored.
He had had a nightmare, but what had he been dreaming? He didn't remember. Hadn't he been to a beach? Who had he been talking to? Why did he feel like waking Ron up and running away? He couldn't remember anything.
Harry closed his eyes, trying to concentrate.
There was a snake... and a girl, in a cave... but sleep fell upon him, causing him to sink into darkness, and the faint memories dissipated from his mind.
***
The first rays of the sun were filtering through the windows of Dumbledore's office, illuminating the small golden instruments. Fawkes rested on his perch, his head hidden under his wing.
The old headmaster listened attentively, while beside him, professor McGonagall frowned in bewilderment and disbelief. Only she had been hurriedly summoned to attend that impromptu meeting.
"The Department of Mysteries, are you sure about that?" Dumbledore insisted, and the Lady nodded. She looked like she hadn't slept a wink, but she was confident. Beside her, Snape stood with a serious expression.
"We must waste no time. The snakes say that the bathtub is ready to be filled again. There is a Hogwarts student waiting to be sacrificed."
McGonagall straightened, shocked, but Dumbledore clasped his hands together, thinking carefully about how to proceed.
"We must be discreet and act before they realize that we know where they are. What are you going to do, Severus?"
"I will go to the Ministry with the Lady. The Dark Lord ordered me to keep a close eye on her, so it would be suspicious if I didn't," McGonagall shot him a mocking look, but said nothing. The situation was too serious to tease her colleague.
"Then, the four of us will go to the Ministry. If we take a larger group we will attract attention," Dumbledore explained, anticipating McGonagall's question. "Our alibi will be to apologize to Fudge for what happened yesterday. If it came to that, would you be able to do it?" he asked the Lady.
"If that allows me to get closer to the Department of Mysteries, I will do anything."
"And once there, how will you know where to go?"
"When I am close enough to Eily and the other girls, I will be able to track them. In addition, I have the help of snakes."
"Very good. Let's leave without delay."
Without wasting any time, they went out into the corridor and hurried to the grounds to disappear. Almost no one saw them because the students had not yet gotten up. But from a window, Narcissa Malfoy took note of their movements.
***
This time she wasn't going to be able to escape. Ginny screamed and kicked and thrashed, fighting with all her might to free herself, but there was nothing she could do. Those hands were too strong.
The captors had torn off her clothes and thrown several buckets of water on her. They wanted her body clean for the sacrifice.
Shivering with cold and rage, Ginny tried to cover herself with her arms, but they forced her to her feet, and tied shackles to her ankles. They were going to hang her from the ceiling, upside down, above the empty bathtub.
The captors showed no emotion while tying her up, it was as if they were preparing the food before cooking. They forced her to walk to the edge of the pool and began to tighten the chain.
And just then, someone broke through the magical wall, making the captors stop in their tracks.
"Ginny, it's the veela we saw at Hogwarts."
"We are saved! She works for the Ministry."
But Vaitiare looked at Ginny with disdain.
"What is this?" she growled, contemptuously, and the captors bowed before her, with a submissive pose.
"We are preparing her for you, my lady."
"He is lying."
"Is this the specimen you were telling me about?" Vaitiare wrinkled her nose, in a clear gesture of disgust, studying Ginny with her eyes.
"No, my lady, this is a preview. Her magic is strong and will strengthen you."
"I'm not interested in her magic, idiot! Bring me the other one."
The creatures obeyed, and removing Ginny's shackles, they pushed her unceremoniously to the side.
"They're going after Parvatil!"
"She's on their side." Ginny curled in on herself, covering her nakedness as best she could. "She's not going to help us."
Vaitiare ignored her terror and confusion, and waited, staring impatiently at the door. She had her back to the young woman, as if her presence didn't matter at all, but Ginny realized one thing.
In their haste, the captors had forgotten to tie her up again.