Snow had started falling on the ground, but Daisy didn't notice. Her scar had been throbbing for nearly twelve hours now. Her second class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she paused before entering the classroom, resting her forehead on the cold window glass in the empty corridor.

Before Severus addressed his class, he noticed her seat was empty. Looking at the clock, there was still a minute or so before the actual class time began. He stepped outside the classroom and turned to see her, "Examining the first snow, are we?"

Daisy didn't hear him, she was almost finally falling asleep with the pain being dulled. He took a step closer, "Daisy?" When he touched her shoulder, she jerked from the window, and he saw the bright red scar against her pale skin.

"It's bothering you?" He asked and she nodded. "Did you sleep at all last night?" She shook her head. "Come to my office." She followed him into the classroom, and up the stairs to his office, and he shut the door behind them.

"You can come to me if you need this ever in the night." He handed her a pain-relieving potion. "Fire-call me or Floo here- however I do not want you wandering the castle in that cloak."

The potion worked nearly instantly, and she slumped onto the leather couch in his office. Severus was about to tell her to get into the classroom, but today's topic was the Patronus Charm, and she looked as though she would just be falling asleep at her desk. Instead, he went looking for a blanket and pillow in his supply cupboard. He merely had to guide her onto her side, and she seemed to be asleep before her head was even on the pillow. He let the blanket fell over her before turning to leave his office.

Two hours went by, and Severus had dismissed the sixth year students and went to go check on the one sixth year with preferential treatment. She was still sleeping on his office couch. It was nearly an hour more until her next Transfiguration class, but if she hadn't any sleep the night before than she was more exhausted than Severus was. Severus wondered if her scar pained her with the intensity his arm often did- knowing that was likely true, he sat at his desk to send a memo to Professor McGonagall that Daisy would be missing her class today.

Daisy slept through the next class Severus taught, and when he returned again, now five hours since she initially fell asleep, she was still curled up on her side. Lunch was next in her schedule, and he had to think about what her afternoon was. Finally, he remembered it was Divination, and he decided to let her sleep until she woke up on her own.

"I wondered how long you'd be occupying my couch…" Severus spoke as Daisy yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Looking for her glasses, she saw they were on the table near the couch. Severus must have removed them while she was asleep.

"What time is it?" She asked, looking out the window to still see the sun fairly high.

"You have slept through all of your classes for the day. I imagine Miss Granger will have your assignments from Transfiguration, and I don't imagine Mr. Weasley will have too many pressing matters to relay to you about today's Divination-which is ending in a half an hour. It's my free period now, but if you must, I won't be offended if you wish to catch the end of your final class."

She eyed him, and he couldn't help to keep his face composed. They both knew what each other thought of the subject. Especially since she slept through her OWL for the subject last year, but was still deemed to be a qualified student to take the subject.

"Thanks, I'm not in the mood to go be told I'm near death." She paused. Severus could tell there was more on her mind. He raised a brow in a way that meant he wished for her to continue.

Sighing, "I hate her." Severus did not hear Daisy speak this way often. She was a child that always strove to be kind to others. He couldn't recall a time she even spoke about Draco Malfoy in such a manner.

"I hate that I am who I am because of her stupid prediction. I hate that someone overheard it. I hate that everything is the way it is because of her."

Although Severus looked calm and collected, his heart was beating. He knew how Daisy seemed to have a way of finding answers, and he knew by the way she spoke that she wished she could point that anger onto who was actually responsible for marking her family for dead.

They were both silent for a moment as Severus's quill could be heard scratching on parchment of student's essays; he was still thinking of a response, and then Daisy spoke again, "So I slept through lunch…"

He looked up, "You need only ask." With a snap of his finger, a house-elf appeared and then disappeared. Minutes later, it appeared once again with a selection of the items that were available for lunch earlier. Leaving the tray on Severus's desk, the elf disappeared once again.

"Was his meeting last night different than any others?" Severus shook his head as he recalled how forcefully his mind was infiltrated by Voldemort. Voldemort's trust of Severus seemed to be decreasing each time Severus spoke of how intolerant Daisy was of him. Rumors were getting to Voldemort that Severus was in fact close to the girl.

And Severus was fearful that his fake memories of Daisy being treated like a typical Gryffindor student were going to give away his truth sooner rather than later. Severus was aware he was dropping in the ranks, and it was going to take a rather large action to prove himself to his leader once again. Severus hoped that act wasn't going to be to bring Daisy to him.

"Are you having dreams of the meetings? It's been a few weeks since we have practiced Occlumency." He asked.

"I haven't in awhile. It's like he's been blocking me out. I just sort of sense when a meeting is happening, and you always look tired the next day, which often confirms it." Severus nodded.

Severus knew he had a pile of essays to read, and he was likely going to be up the entire night doing so, but he was no longer able to send her out of his office. His mind was becoming obsessed with the thought that everything could be her last. He knew Albus was coming along with the final horcruxes, and it was almost as though he was torturing himself with the knowledge.

Breaking the silence, "I don't want you having another sleepless night." Severus handed her a vial that was already sitting on his desk. "Take this shortly after dinner. I know Professor McGonagall does not enforce an appropriate bedtime."

Daisy stood up, "After dinner is not an appropriate bedtime for even a first year." She eyed him, and Severus truly saw her mother in the teen's expression. "But thank you. I will take it after curfew."

After Daisy snickered at herself and left the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, Severus knew he had to go speak to Albus about the events of last night's meeting. He had been putting it off.

"How is Draco coming along with getting his fellow Death Eaters into the castle?" Albus asked as he put a Lemon Drop into his mouth.

"They aren't his fellow Death Eaters yet…" Severus sneered, he loathed Albus since the news of Daisy's true connection to the Dark Lord. "And it seems as though it isn't at all near successful."

"What about the newer secondary part of his orders?" Albus asked with a brow raised.

"Well, you're still here to order me around, aren't you?" Severus spat.

"The unbreakable vow you made with Narcissa will play a role in what I say next." Albus began. "You must assist Draco in his two tasks or else you will not be successful in protecting the boy and you meet death yourself. We both know my health has been declining, and we both know that Draco is not going to follow through on the second part of his task; we don't even know if he will manage the first portion."

Severus was eyeing Albus, he knew this conversation was going to happen, but a part of him always felt that there would be some way around it.

"Severus, I need you to kill me. Don't let Draco's soul become damaged; he doesn't want this path. We both know it is due to his father that he is even on it. I do not want his soul ripped apart on my account.

"And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?" Severus eyed him dangerously.

"You alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation," said Dumbledore. "I ask this one great favor of you, Severus, because death is coming for me as surely as the Chudley Cannons will finish bottom of this year's league. I confess I should prefer a quick, painless exit to the protracted and messy affair it will be if, for instance, Greyback is involved – I hear Voldemort has recruited him? Or dear Bellatrix, who likes to play with her food before she eats it."

Severus felt as though he was going to be sick. He was going to lose the trust of everyone after this. There would be no doubting that Severus was most loyal to the Dark after an action such as this, especially if Albus wasn't going to announce it was more of an assisted suicide.

Without another word, Severus left the office. His legs felt weak. He was going to lose Daisy far before she would be faced with death.

At last, it was Christmas at Hogwarts. Daisy was invited to a party hosted by the new Potions professor. Since her boyfriend was no longer a student at Hogwarts, she decided to just go with Hermione- who was not entirely on speaking terms with Ron since he began dating Lavender Brown.

The two Gryffindor girls arrived in cocktail attire. Daisy wore a black off the shoulder dress that fell to her knees, and Hermione wore a coral-colored dress that was quite flattering. Hermione had to get ready in the dormitory with Lavender, so she was in a bit of a mood that Daisy was trying not to provoke any further. While Ron was not invited to the event, Lavender was proving to succeed in Potions enough to catch Slughorn's eye, and she then was bringing Ron as a guest.

Daisy and Hermione found somewhere isolated to catch up. They found a secluded area behind some sheer red fabric that created little private alcoves throughout the room.

"I want to find out who told Voldemort about the prophecy," Daisy stated.

"But does it matter who said it?" Hermione asked. This was a somewhat frequent topic of their conversations. "Someone did, and now you feel obligated to carry it through. Maybe if it was never told then the war would never end, and You-Know-Who would be reigning for generations."

Daisy shrugged. She had a point. It was a Death Eater that told, and that's all that really matters. In general, Daisy thought of the Death Eaters more than usual as of late. She didn't like that she was blocked out of Voldemort's meetings, and she wasn't yet allowed in the Order. She was starting to feel like a pawn in the war with both sides hiding their strategies.

"Hermione, look!" Daisy hissed as she pointed to Draco Malfoy causing a bit of a scene. He was gatecrashing the event since he received no invite.

It was as though he appeared out of nowhere, but Severus stepped in and offered to escort Draco back to his house.

"I'm following them," Daisy told Hermione.

"Daisy, wait!" Hermione hissed. "I thought Professor Snape told you to stay away from whatever is going on with Draco?"

Daisy, who was already walking towards the exit of the party, "he did, and that means there is something going on. I bet he's already a Death Eater."

Hermione reluctantly followed until Professor Slughorn called her over, and she couldn't escape following Daisy.

Quietly, Daisy tiptoed down the corridor, feeling glad she wore simple black flats rather than loud heels to the party. She knew they must be around the corner because she could hear the angry hissing of Severus's voice.

"I made an unbreakable vow!" He snarled at Draco. "You are a fool for thinking you know what you are doing."

"We all know you are falling in favor." Draco sneered back. "I've got the mark; I'm just as much of a member and a man as you are." Daisy's eyes widened as she tried to breathe quietly with her racing heart.

"I've been given tasks directly from him, and unless you take Potter to the Dark Lord himself, you know you'll be gone sooner rather than later-"

"Who do you think has been instructed to proceed when you fail, Draco?" Severus scoffed. "You do not know the Dark Lord."

Draco was silent until he spoke next, sounding as though he was not doing an adequate job of hiding the fear in his voice. "You don't even know what I have been given to do."

"I know exactly." Severus sneered. "And when you are ready, I will be here to complete what you cannot even begin."

Daisy heard footsteps and knew the conversation was over, except to her horror. The footsteps were getting closer. She heard Malfoy's fast pace run off in the other distance until they were quickly no longer audible, leaving Professor Snape to be face to face with her as he rounded the corner.

When he saw her, he took a sharp inhale. His dark eyes looked even darker in the evening corridor. "I-I thought I saw Neville's toad around here. H-Have you seen Trevor?"

Without a word, he snatched her by the arm, and they moved silently. He let go of his grasp once they reached his classroom, but Daisy knew to follow him up the stairs in the front of the classroom that led to his office.

She took a seat next to his desk as he paced the floor a few times before sitting down. He wanted to scream, but he knew his frustration was not entirely with Daisy. Yes, she disobeyed him regarding something he asked her to leave alone- multiple times, but he knew he was exhausted from spying and the daily pain of the knowledge of the seventh horcrux.

Daisy's heart was beating in her chest. She knew she had disappointed Professor Snape.

"I just happened to run into you both, and I didn't want to bring attention to myself-"

"Not. Another. Lie." He snarled through gritted teeth.

Her bottom lip quivered as she looked down at her hands.

He took a seat behind his desk and spoke more calmly this time, "Can you remember a time in which you did not follow the instructions laid out for you, and the resulting action had unfortunate consequences?"

She grimaced as he continued, "Unfortunately, I can remember multiple times this has occurred. Almost every single school year. Have I ever given you a reason to not trust my judgment?"

She shook her head.

Severus was silent. He knew when he would be forced to kill Albus Dumbledore, that would likely waiver her trust. There was no way he could disclose that part of the plan to her.

At this point now, all they were waiting on was destroying the remaining horcruxes. Albus had recently found and destroyed the locket of Slytherin, so now all of his time could be spent on finding the diadem and configuring a plan for killing Nagini.

Severus sighed, hoping that maybe this conversation could be beneficial down the line, as he continued. "Daisy, look at me."

She looked up at him, the brown eyes of her father full of concern, mischief, and love.

"I want you to understand. There is nothing going on that has not been thoroughly planned and contemplated on by myself and other Order members. I need you to trust that we all know what we are doing. Nothing escapes the knowledge or planning of Professor Dumbledore."

"Okay." She spoke softly as she looked down at her hands again.

"Look at me and promise me that you will not continue to put yourself in danger, and you will do as we say. There are even tasks I am assigned that I do not agree with, but I know the importance of following orders in a time of war."

"What are you saying?" Daisy began to wonder if there were specifics behind this particular conversation.

Severus shook his head, he probably went too far, but he hoped this would be a conversation she would remember once Albus was dead. She hoped this would be a conversation she could recall when, one day, Severus gave Daisy the instructions to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

"I just want you to be safe, and involving yourself with Draco is not the way to do so."

"I'm sorry…" She sighed, "and I'm sorry for lying earlier."

"I don't know why you even bother." Severus's usual tone returned. "You do not need to be an Occlemens to know when you are lying to someone."

A yawn escaped Daisy's mouth as she stated that she should return to the party. Severus quipped that it was time to return to her dormitory, and he was surprised when she agreed then wished him a good night before exiting the office.

A/N: I absolutely love reviews if anyone has a moment to leave one. Thank you for continuing this story with me. I appreciate each of you.