Lily was gone, and so was Voldemort. Dumbledore spoke on Snape's behalf to save him, but there were those who refused to believe the old man's words, forcing Snape to shelter in Dumbledore's sphere of influence.
But in that dark hour, Snape's suffering had been rewarded. Bellatrix and several others had gone after the Longbottoms, driving them into insanity and removing another of Lily's poisonous friends. Dumbledore, either through ill judgement or malicious intent, had allowed Sirius Black to be sent away to Azkaban prison and had sent Potter's brat away to live with wretched Muggles. The last of the Marauders, Remus Lupin, had retreated from the magical world to live in virtual solitude for more than a decade.
Of all the people who had turned his Lily against him, only two had remained unscathed; Sarah Fisher and her husband Edward Abbott.
Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had both since returned, but for now there was nothing that Snape could do about them.
Tonight, though, he would be permanently removing another, and on the orders of Albus Dumbledore himself, no less.
He had arrived at the corner where Abbott Street joined Badger Road and now stood in a shadowy spot on the pavement on the opposite side of the road from the house.
The house was large, well maintained and hinted at wealth, but did not show it off in the way that Malfoy Manor did.
There was a light on in the kitchen allowing him to view Sarah Abbott as she milled about inside.
A quickly cast "homenum revelio" spell revealed that she was the only person in the house.
Perfect.
With a flick of his wand his black hood came up over his head and a silvery, skull like Death Eater mask attached itself over upper half of his face.
He stepped out of the shadows and began to cross the road.
Sarah lifted the saucepan of hot milk off of the hob and moved to pour the contents into a large mug. A moment later she had set the saucepan back down onto the hob and pulled out her wand. She had felt a tugging sensation upon her magic, an indication that the wards surrounding the house were currently under attack.
Quickly, and yet constantly keeping her eyes moving from the window to the door, she backed up towards the fireplace. With her free hand she reached for the pot of floo powder and grabbed a handful. She threw it into the fireplace, but much to her dismay nothing happened. Whoever it was that was attacking the wards obviously had contacts within the Department of Magical Transportation.
She tried disapparating, but that did not work either. She grabbed a spoon that had been lying nearby on the counter and turned it into a portkey, but again she had no luck.
She felt a strange, lurching sensation as the wards collapsed. She raised her wand and aimed it at the window, an easy access point and the spot where most invaders would try to enter.
The attack came from her left. With reflexes honed through training to work with the Auror department she threw herself beneath the kitchen table as a large hole was blasted through the wall.
Through the dust she could make out a man dressed all in black, hooded and cloaked. She aimed her wand upwards just as he fired a spell which blasted the table backwards, leaving her completely exposed.
The bludgeoning spell left the tip of her wand, but he ducked beneath it and it struck the wall, making the hole even bigger.
She followed that spell up with another and another, allowing her time to get to her feet although he now shielded against every spell she sent at him.
They strove against each other of a minute and then he changed tactics, ducking beneath a spell instead of shielding against it, leaving his wand free to return fire.
"Expelliarmus!"
Sarah recognised the voice of her attacker and faltered failing to get a protective shield up in time and her wand was banished from her hand.
The attacker straightened up. This was how a Death Eater liked to play, their victims powerless and alone.
And Severus Snape planned to play with this mouse cruelly before putting an end to her.
But Sarah Abbott was not beaten yet. With or without her wand she had a few tricks up her sleeve. With a sudden movement she made as though to drive for the place where her wand had landed and Snape cast a spell at her, but her move was merely a feint.
Instead she twisted herself, avoiding the spell, and reached for the saucepan, its milky contents now bubbling and broiling like the volatile ingredients of an exploding potion.
She swung the saucepan and hurled it towards her attacker.
Snape screamed as the boiling milk drenched him, soaking into his robes, blistering the skin around his exposed mouth and leaking through the eye holes on the mask to scald his eyes.
Blindly he swiped at his face with the sleeve of one arm and with the other he pointed his wand and shouted "Sectumsempra!"
He was rewarded with a terrible scream of pure agony and the sound of a body hitting the floor.
Snape forced his eyes to open and, though his vision was a little blurred, he saw that his victim was on the floor, surrounded by a rapidly expanding pool of blood.
Ignoring his pain he stepped forward, fully intending to gloat over his victim.
But even as she lay dying, her life's blood ebbing from many slash-like wounds over her body, the lady of the household was not forsaken.
There were two House Elves living in and serving the Ancient and Noble House of Abbott. Like many wizards everywhere, Severus Snape had made the mistake of ignoring these creatures and he was about to pay for it.
Loppy and Moppy appeared on either side of their mistress and both raised a threatening hand, crying in one voice "You will do no more evil here!"
Snape raised his wand to strike the Elves down, but each sent a pulse of magic at him. The world spun around him as air rushed past his ears, and then he caught sight of the kitchen counter as it came up to meet him.
Loppy hurried over to tie the attacker in thick ropes and Moppy moved to check on her mistress.
Being careful to not tread in her blood, Moppy walked around Sarah and came to stand by her head.
Sarah's eyes opened and, upon seeing the Elf, she spoke in a weak voice.
"Amelia… Get Amelia…"
Moppy nodded and disappeared with a pop.
.....
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