[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Black Manor.
...
...
The Black Manor hall fell silent as Snape left with Rosaria through the door and disappeared.
"What was that?" the man from the Lestrange family couldn't help but ask as he saw the two of them leaving through the entrance.
"Nothing important. I'm busy now. I ask you to leave, after all, our negotiations are over." Astraea replied with a tone that indicated she wouldn't speak on the matter any further.
"... Alright," he said after a moment, still narrowing his eyes.
Then, he headed straight for the fireplace in the entrance hall, casting one last narrow look at Astraea and throwing Floo powder before burning away and disappearing.
As soon as they arrived at their mansion, his son immediately turned to his father. "That's Severus Snape."
"Yeah, I heard it clearly... Astraea said his name. I wonder what he was doing with that vampire's daughter and Astraea's granddaughter at Black Manor, as if he were a resident too," the man murmured. Snape was a half-blood, he shouldn't have such connections, and still being a sixth-year student at Hogwarts with no support as far as he knew until now.
There was something there that didn't make sense. And he himself had some issues with Snape, still remembering the Death Eaters who wanted to get him during the Hogsmeade attack, and also feeling a certain anger toward that figure upon learning that he had hit his son, affecting his name.
"You said that boy used to leave school a year ago, didn't you? Even so, he shouldn't have access to the Black family. What's going on? Maybe the Dark Lord should know about this. I'm sure he'll be asking Miss Black daily," he murmured at the end, as he walked ahead with his son right behind him.
At the same time, Astraea sighed upon seeing the two members of the Lestrange family. That would certainly bring trouble, and she needed to prepare herself.
"What was that with the young lady?" Astraea said directly to Bellatrix, who was still in the place.
Bellatrix looked away, not wanting to face her grandmother. She could face a two-hundred-year-old half-vampire and even try to kill her risking her own life, but she still didn't have the courage to look into her grandmother's eyes after being questioned.
"Bellatrix, that jealousy outburst is unacceptable," she said, already anticipating the reason for her granddaughter's behavior.
"It wasn't jealousy," Bellatrix murmured.
"Spare me, Bellatrix. I want you to behave. I'm sure you can't deal with that person, and we cannot turn her into an enemy."
Bellatrix stayed silent, arms crossed, even seeming like she wanted to challenge her grandmother, stubbornly, but held herself back.
"Bellatrix, what if we gain another enemy for our family? We're in a difficult situation..." the grandmother tried to warn, but then an explosion happened beside them, as a Phoenix cried out, announcing its presence.
Snape stepped out from the purple and black flames, surprising the two women there.
"Don't worry. Rosaria won't hold anything against the Black family. I'll make sure of that," Snape said, having heard the conversation. After all, it was his responsibility for having brought Rosaria here, even if he didn't know Bellatrix would act that way.
"Either way, I'm here to talk, Astraea Black," Snape said directly to the older woman, who nodded carefully, watching the Phoenix disappear — exactly as her granddaughter had described when she saw it for the first time.
Snape no longer needed to hide that fact, he had already shown her his soldiers and the house portraits.
Even so, Astraea remembered the vision of a future in war, where she saw shadow-like soldiers fighting, and she immediately connected it with the descriptions circulating among the Death Eaters and what she had witnessed — beings in the shape of shadows defeating the Nott family. And Snape knew that very well.
Not to mention that the reports from the Nott family members were much more detailed, showing that the ones raising those shields in the great families were a strange shadow with red skin that emitted strange magic. Something that had been much more discussed by the Dark Lord to try to counter than was ever shown in the newspapers.
"Of course, follow me, Mister Snape. You may rest now, Bellatrix, I will have a private conversation with Mister Snape."
She spoke as Severus nodded, following her upstairs.
They walked until Snape was led directly to her room, where they found the portrait of Astraea's late husband, who was surprised to see her entering with that man.
"Oh, Mister Snape. A pleasure to see you again," the man said respectfully, quickly shifting from surprise to greeting him.
"Hello, Mister Black," Snape responded in a calm tone.
"Well, please, take a seat. Kreacher, bring us some tea," Astraea requested.
The elf appeared, heard the request, and vanished, reappearing a few seconds later with the drink in a teapot and small cups. He placed everything on the small table with two chairs in front of the portrait.
"Well... If you've come back here, I presume you saw my letter," Astraea murmured, looking at Snape sitting across from her.
Snape nodded.
"Yes. I was curious about your position, Astraea. After all, you've seen a lot. I was wondering if you would turn me in to your colleagues... like the Death Eaters," Snape said calmly, while she seemed to slightly draw back. The portrait of her late husband was attentively listening to the conversation.
But Snape continued.
"So I must presume you're choosing my side. That's good. After all, things wouldn't end well for you if you became my enemy."
Snape spoke in a neutral but firm tone, knowing very well that against him, they would not win.
"Why are you attacking high-ranking families in England?" the portrait asked, curious, joining the conversation, and Snape looked at him.
"That is... kind of personal. But I'm not doing it directly out of revenge, although every family I've attacked so far was, in some way, my enemy," Snape replied. "It all started when I hit their sons last year, but my reason is something else."
He spoke calmly, without any hesitation.
"So you will continue with this?" Astraea asked.
"I must warn you that the reason I sent the letter from yesterday to today was because of a meeting we had with the Dark Lord. He wants retaliation for what happened."
She watched him, expecting a reaction.
Snape, however, just seemed thoughtful for a moment.
"Obviously I will continue," he replied. He would not back down. He was still after the portraits to grow his army. He wouldn't give that up and would continue invading noble houses, and even public places, in search of the portraits, to expand his forces — as it was the fastest way to grow stronger he had ever seen.
Astraea glanced at the portrait of her husband, and then murmured:
"I understand... But I wanted to say you should be careful. All the Death Eaters are preparing to try and communicate with each other. When that happens..."
"You know that's not possible. I can attack any of you and open a shield no one can enter. Tell me, what are they really going to do?"
Snape questioned, not seeming concerned.
Astraea sighed before continuing.
"They will try to lure you, actually. The Dark Lord himself is not pleased with all this. They're going to make your shop a target," she said seriously. Obviously, the Dark Lord was no longer looking at them favorably — after all, they were the ones who sold the shop to the mysterious alchemist.
"Well, that's not so surprising. After what came out in the newspaper, they'll obviously link the defense system with what they saw in the Nott household. And... I no longer intend to hide it," Snape said without hesitation.
"Besides, aren't you also at risk by telling me this here?"
He asked the question with a direct gaze.
"With the Lestranges seeing you here with the young lady, it's going to raise a lot of questions," she replied, still intrigued by all of it.
"Yes..." Snape nodded.
"You know they'll soon link you to many events. That's why we want your help, before the Dark Lord sees us as enemies too, because of our relationship," she said.
"So you chose me... instead of helping your master?" Snape asked with curiosity and a certain calm. "But I'm sure you want to ask for something else."
"Yes. I want you to marry Bellatrix, as a form of contract through matrimony, to affirm our ties with you," she said.
Snape merely raised an eyebrow but said nothing about it, although he had to admit that the Black family's proposal was better than the Greengrass family's, since Lord Greengrass demanded that Snape take on the name Prince to marry Clarisse — while also not knowing Snape's true powers.
So, he continued.
"Why choose me? I know I've already shown enough skill... but something tells me you're hiding something from me," Snape said, looking directly at Astraea, who slowly nodded.
"I..." She seemed hesitant. "I saw the world being destroyed, Severus Snape. And I saw you in the middle of that destruction... a war full of creatures and beings that shouldn't exist in this world," she finally said.
Snape, for the first time, was truly surprised by that, scratching his chin, thoughtful.
"I see..." he murmured, reflecting on the possibilities.
Would that war really happen in this world? Could humanity here survive a fight against the Monarchs? And what if they had armies too?
After all, it had been said since ancient times that the Monarchs advanced through battlefields from planet to planet, with their servants.
"Alright," Snape said at last. "But I want one thing first."
He looked directly at Astraea.
"I want you to give me the names of all the corrupt members of the Ministry. I want to know all their activities. And I want all the data on the Death Eaters. I need to know who I'm dealing with, so that none are left behind."
Astraea nodded at hearing this — even though it sounded quite ambitious, Snape seemed confident in fighting the entire wizarding community.
He could even seek that information from Steve Vujin, but at the same time, that man raised many doubts in Snape's mind. Somehow, he even knew about the powers Snape would receive, through his recurring words. There was something he had done with the ring... maybe something that had stopped him from killing Dumbledore. Snape hadn't received a clear explanation about that.
"Alright. I can get that," Astraea nodded, fully aware that this was a path of no return.
But she had chosen to stand beside the one who was rising as a new force in the shadows — Snape — the only one she knew was fighting against those creatures she had seen in her vision of the war.
The others... were unknown, and many seemed even more evil, their eyes made even the Dark Lord look like a child.
"About the marriage..." Snape began to rise, having nothing else to discuss there.
"We'll see... But I won't confirm anything yet," he said firmly.
Astraea merely nodded. She couldn't demand much.
But deep down, she wanted Snape to have that bond with the Black family — not for status, but to protect her family, and to seal stronger alliances for what was coming.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 200 - A Conversation About Plans.
Chapter 205 - Entering Val Drahzûn, the valley of dragons.
Chapter 215 - Hunting Monsters.
Chapter 215 - The Trap.
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