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The Life Of Brian By Echo Prologue... or how we get to where the story begins... He remembered feeling utterly ridiculous. The muggle suit was awkward. And the climate here was a bit warm. All he had to do was get Minerva's birthday present and be gone. Art gallery. Sunnydale. Cameos. Antique ones. This was so the place. Or so Poppy had told him. And why was he going to such lengths for Minerva McGonagall's birthday present? Because she had saved his life over the past summer. There was a woman leaning against one of the display cases. She looked sort of tired, like she couldn't quite catch her breath. She was shaking a bit. She had been ill recently. He could feel it. Her aura was a little wounded. "Excuse me. Might this be Victorian?" She spun about so quickly she stumbled. He reached out and steadied her. "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to startle you." Her dark blonde hair fell in nice curls about her face. She had hazel eyes and the most pleasing smile. He was instantly smitten. And that was shocking because he had not been smitten in many, many years. His last instance of smitten-ism was at the age of sixteen. That was a while. "Not at all. I'm fine. Well, not fine per se. It's all right. I'm just... shaky today is all." He smiled then. No teeth. Just a grin. But that was more than most got out of him. She held out her hand to him. "Joyce Summers." He gently took that delicate hand in his own. "Severus Snape." *~*~*~*~*~*~* She needed to tell him. She didn't know WHY she had felt the need not to tell her own daughters his real name, but she had not. She'd called him Brian. Where on earth had she gotten Brian? He didn't even look like a Brian. He needed to tell her. He didn't want her just telling anyone his name. There were still rogue Death Eaters who would love to kill him slowly for betraying the dark lord. He'd placed a charm on her, and he felt exceedingly guilty about it. Severus Snape didn't feel guilty. It had to be some weird magic on her. He'd felt it on her skin. There was weird energy around her. Death and rebirth.... and vampire slaying. "Look, there's something that I need to tell you..." They both said at the same time then laughed. "You first." Joyce said smiling. "I have not been honest with you, madam." It dawned on her. Like truth. Like when she had just known about Dawn. "You put a spell on me. That's why I called you Brian." Snape blinked. The slayer's mother was clever. She saw more than anyone gave her credit for. He had known who she was to the world the second her hand had slid into his own. This woman and hers needed protecting. Then something struck him. "You called me Brian." "I know." She said. "It's odd." They spent almost the entire rest of the evening talking. Neither one had any secrets after the evening came to a close. And if Severus Snape knew how much his rash decision would affect his life, he never would have apparated himself and the woman to Las Vegas and married her. Little did he know in a matter of hours he'd be a widow, and in a matter of months, he'd be the sole guardian to a fifteen year old girl who was grieving her elder sister... and her mother still. *~*~*~* Thank
you for a lovely evening. See you soon? *~*~*~* They were all gathered at the grave site. A lot of people showed for Buffy's funeral. Even Angel and Cordelia came. They had the service graveside and at night. When the crowd was dispersing, Dawn noticed a lone figure in black walking towards them. He stopped at her mother's grave and placed a single flower on it. Dawn froze. She was getting the weirdest feeling in the pit of her stomach. He brushed past everyone and came to stand before her. "Dawn Summers?" "Uh huh." He held out his hand. "I'm Severus Snape. Your step father." Dawn fainted. *~*~*~*~* Dawn just stared at him. Her step father. He was sorry he hadn't been here sooner, but it had taken word a while to reach him. There'd been some trouble at his home. He'd had to go into hiding. Sounded like he'd fit right in with the Scoobies. Her step father. And man, was he a scary-looking thing. He was all hard lines. Her mom had married this guy? Everyone was screeching. Giles. Anya. Xander. Willow. Tara. Angel. Cordelia. Wesley. Spike. Especially Spike. They were all gathered in the Summers house. This man could not... he COULD NOT just come in here and take their Dawnie away. Except that he could. Her mother had not gone into work the day she died. She'd gone to her lawyer. She'd had her will altered to make this man, Severus Snape, Dawn's legal guardian should anything happen to Joyce. Not Buffy as it had been before. This Snape guy. And somehow he knew Buffy was dead, so he had come to collect her. To England. He was from the land of Giles. If her mother had wanted a Brit, why couldn't she have just married Giles? Dawn wasn't as stupid as they all thought she was. She knew her mom and Giles had done the nasty during the wonky band candy days. What was so bad about it having been Giles? Funny thing though. This man who had never even met her wanted her. Her own father hadn't even come when her mother died. Her own blood, so to speak, had not wanted her. But this guy did. He was offering her his life. Sure, she had one of her own thanks to those monks, and it was a good life. Dawn was loved and cared for by her sister's watcher and friends, but what if there was more? Sure, she would miss everyone, but what was Sunnydale with no Buffy in it? "He has the right to take me. I could go." Everyone just looked at her. *~*~*~*~*~*~* He'd told her when they were alone. All of it. Her step dad was a wizard. He taught at a wizard school. He seemed very exasperated by it. She thought it was awesome. It made her smile for the first time in a very long time. Severus Snape had questioned her almost relentlessly about why she would want to trek all the way to England with him. How could Dawn explain that it was because he wanted her? How could she let him know that it was because he had never even met her but still came to her aid as soon as he had been able? How could she say that it was because her mother had obviously seen something worthwhile within him, and she wanted to know that thing too? He'd offered to put her in the care of Giles, but Dawn wanted to go. She wanted to get away from the heartache of Sunnydale. She couldn't stay in this place that was Buffy's and not go crazy from missing her sister. Dawn felt she just needed to get away from all of it for a while. Besides, he had said they could visit. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Dawn said her tearful good-byes to the Scoobies and the Bat Pack. She hugged Giles tightly and kissed his cheek. Angel had hugged her almost too hard and told her if she ever needed anything, at all, all she had to do was let him know, and he would be there for her. Xander and Anya held sad faces, and even Cordelia had hugged her. Tara gave her a crystal to wear around her neck for protection on her journey. Willow made her promise to write, and Dawn swore Spike had to wipe his eyes after he hugged her... for the longest time. Dawn had almost said she changed her mind and would stay at the way Spike held her. She hated to leave them, but at the same time she did not. There was a whole other life waiting for her. Dawn wanted to get to know the man her mother had entrusted her to. He seemed as if he had many a hidden depth. Severus was still at a loss as to why Dawn wanted to leave all who loved her behind to go halfway across the globe with him. Sure, the girl did not know of his reputation, but couldn't she guess he was not sociable by his manner? She'd spent the week with him in her home. Her sister's redheaded witch friend called him Cranky Pants behind his back. But if Dawn wanted to go, he could not stop her. She was, after all, his ward now. Strangely, the thought did not repulse him as it should have. Severus found he rather liked the idea of being responsible for her. Dawn was certainly an upbeat little thing. But she had a dark side. He could see it lying dormant within her. There would be flashes of it, glimpses at times, but she had never unleashed. That part of her told him that despite their many differences, they would do well together. He had things to teach her, and she was more than willing to be pupil. And she was clever. Severus liked cleverness. But she didn't try to please. You accepted her as she was or you did not, and she did not care one way or the other. He could not have chosen a better 'child' for himself if he had been looking. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* When she was halfway across the world from everything she had ever known in a room at a place called the Leaky Cauldron, Dawn finally cried. She had held up rather well. Severus could hear her through the wall. He didn't do well with tears, but he would go over there and comfort the girl. She was, after all, his ward. She and she alone would know his softer side. Because she had chosen him. Like fate had chosen her sister, Dawn had chosen him to protect and to watch over her. He'd failed others. He would not fail Joyce's little girl. Even if she had been a ball of green energy once. *~*~*~*~*~* "I just wish that I had a friend from home to go through this with me. Someone like me. Someone who would understand. Someone who wasn't afraid." Halfrek stepped out of the shadows of the girl's room. "Wish granted." Dawn didn't even hear her. What she heard was Severus opening the door that joined her room to his. "Dawn?" She sat up and swiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Hi." "This is a foolish question, but what's wrong?" "I miss Buffy... and mom." He softened his face as he walked across the room and sat on her bed. "Of course you do." Dawn sniffed loudly. "Do you require a hug?" She looked at him. Man, he was bad at this. "And if I did?" "I suppose I would have to give you one." Dawn smirked. "Have you ever hugged anyone before?" "Yes." He said sounding offended. "Geez, you don't have to sound like I insulted your manhood or anything. I just question your ability to hug." "I can hug." "Prove it." He moved suddenly and enveloped her in a very tight hug. Dawn smiled. Ok, perhaps not so bad at this. She suddenly felt like nothing could touch her. She had not felt this safe in a while. Only Buffy had ever made her feel like this. "Would it be weird if I called you Dad?" His eyebrows hit his hairline. "I suppose you could if you liked." "Cool." Dawn snuggled her face against his chest the way her memories told her she had done with her 'biological' father as a child. "So... Dad... did you have sex with my mother? You know on your wedding night in Vegas?" Severus choked on his own spit. Devious little devil in an angel's guise! She was more like him than he thought. His life
was about to get very interesting. |