Memories of a death eater (Severus x OC)

3. Day 2

Dumbledore knew that he should see as many memories as possible, in case any other clues implicated Snape in the murders, but before diving into the contents of the next bottle, he sent an owl to Arthur Weasley. He wanted to know what had happened to Glenda Collins, and if it was possible to question her. She was clearly no longer Snape's neighbor, but he believed her testimony could be crucial.

After watching the animal fly away, he took a deep breath and entered the shiny silver liquid. This time, the images were more consistent, since Snape was older.

He was seven years old, and was sleeping in his room, when Eileen's scream woke him up. She called him from the main bedroom, and from her voice it seemed like she was in pain.

The little boy jumped out of his bed, tripped over the sheets, hit the door frame and ran barefoot to his mother's room. Eileen was lying on her bed, in the latest stages of her pregnancy, and trembling from head to toe.

"Severus, run, call Glenda. Your sibling is going to be born," she gasped. Then the memory blurred for a moment, and cleared when the boy came through the door, pulling Glenda's hand.

Mary-Anne followed her mother, eyes wide, and as soon as Glenda went to tend to Eileen, she approached the boy Severus, impressed by what was happening.

"It's too soon, I thought I'd have time to get to the hospital," Eileen sobbed. "My water just broke."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Glenda said, removing the sheets and arranging the pillows. "Where is your husband?"

"I don't know, sometimes he sleeps outside."

"Better, he won't bother you."

Dumbledore was impressed to see how clearly Snape remembered the baby's birth. He and Mary-Anne hugged each other, squeezed in a corner, but even so, he didn't miss a single detail. Every gasp from his mother, every advice from Glenda, he remembered it all. The children did not utter a single word as the two women worked to bring a new life into the world.

Eileen proved to be braver than she seemed, and did not scream even once, so as not to scare her son. In fact, the first scream heard in the room was that of the newborn child.

"It's a girl," Glenda announced, taking the tiny baby in her arms, and handing her to Eileen. She cried with joy as she watched her little girl.

"She's beautiful," she whispered. Almost unconsciously, she counted her fingers and toes.

As if given permission to move, the two children approached the bed, almost afraid to breathe. Eileen placed the girl in her arms to show her to her son, and little Severus looked at his sister in silence, with an expression that danced between curiosity and distress.

"She is very small," he said at last.

"I know," Eileen smiled. "That's why we have to take care of her, so that nothing happens to her."

Dumbledore guessed that the poor woman feared her husband's reaction, but Glenda addressed her fears.

"Come on, dear, don't worry about that now, will you? Give your daughter a name."

Eileen looked at the baby, who was still crying, and then at Severus.

"What should we call her?"

Mary-Anne, who until then had remained aloof, tugged at her companion's sleeve.

"Call her Laura," she whispered.

"Mary-Anne! You name all your dolls Laura," Glenda scolded her.

"No, Laura is fine," Severus murmured. Dumbledore was struck by the boy's expression. He seemed to have been embarrassed by the physical contact with his friend, and yet he had acceded to her wish. Besides, he didn't seem to care too much about the name of his sister.