Viggo's in the sling over my chest, sound asleep. I've got my head in my hands when I hear a woman. "Miss?"
I look up. "Miss, you have a visitor. In that room right there." She gestures to a door to her left, left to the Dumbledore portrait. Though Dumbledore's no longer there.
"Who is it?" I ask.
"Um… let's see. He didn't give a name, but he's here to escort you?"
Shit. Shit. Shit. "Can you tell him to go away by any chance?"
"I'm sorry, I can't do that, miss. He's got some kind of Ministry authority and a, uh, missing magical persons' warrent… if you don't meet with him, he's likely to send Aurors to retrieve you."
Okay. Well, there's no way Crouch Junior could have that kind of power, right? Even so, I pull out my wand. I have no idea why, but it's the only thing on me that even resembles a weapon.
I crack open the door and see the Dracula-like form of a seething Snape. "Oh, my god," I say, shutting the door behind me. "Thank God it's you."
"I gave you one instruction, Riverstone. One. I should've known an ignorant girl like you-"
"He's killed my landlord." I inhale. Tears sting at my eyes. "And it's my fucking fault. I mean, I hated the guy, but I didn't want him to die, you know—"
"Elaborate." He pulls the word so long, it takes me a second to make it out.
I take a seat on a folding chair and tell him what happened. When I'm finished, he's practically shaking with rage. "You imbecile," he says. "You've essentially given a map to the most powerful Death Eater alive indicating your exact whereabouts." Before I can say anything, he whips his wand out. "Expecto Patronum," he mutters, and a wisp from stretches him, all white, rolling and swirling until it resembles a doe.
Ah. Still.
"I've found her," he says to the doe. "Tell the others to gather in my office. Including our new recruits." The doe nods her head and gallops away, leaving a trail of stardust in her path.
He marches forward and grabs my arm. "This way, Ms. Riverstone," he hisses, pulling me out the door.
x
He's apparated me to the outside of what I think is the Potions Building. "Let me go," I demand. Viggo's whimpering into my shoulder as Snape drags me on. "Stop it! You're hurting me!"
Snape stops, turning toward me with a growl. "If you think this hurts, just imagine what it's like to be captured and tortured by a group of Death Eaters. They would render you to nothing more than a shrieking banshee in a matter of minutes. And that's before the curses begin."
His threats just cause my rage to amplify. I stretch my tingling fingers. "I'm not apologizing for trying to get away after what you said to me last night, Snape."
He's turned, yanking so hard, it feels like my shoulder's about to pop out. I drop my weight, forcing him to stop. He glares at me while muttering what I assume is a spell, because my feet start moving of their own accord, practically running by his side toward the building.
"No," I say. "I'll walk, okay? Take off the spell." I flail trying to stop my feet, but they keep going.
"Make me," he says through gritted teeth.
Now my whole hand is tingling, the one clutching my wand. I aim it at him. "Stop!" I scream.
A sprinkle of light flares out right at him. He flies away as though being hit with a car. My feet stop their animation, causing me to tumble. I turn my body so Viggo doesn't hit the ground, which I slam into with my shoulder and the side of my head. I roll over, running my arms over Viggo's back as he cries. "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay." I pull my shirt and lower him to my breast and he nurses, soothed immediately.
When I lift my torso up, I feel a drizzle of warm blood run down my cheek. Must be some nasty scrape.
Snape's already standing. He's got some grass stains on the front of his shirt and his hair is rumpled. And he's staring at me like he can't quite believe what's happened. And as I register it, I can't, either. Did I actually…Did I really just...
My thoughts are interrupted when he walks over and abruptly helps me up.
"Don't touch me," I say, tossing his arm off.
"Is the child…" He glances at Viggo.
"He's fine."
"Very well." He's back to that expressionless face, the one he puts on when he's hiding what he's really feeling. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer, then."
x
Annette jumps up when I walk in the office. "Gods in heavens," she says, rushing to me. "Did he—did Barty—?"
"No," Snape says, following. "Ms. Riverstone and I had an… altercation."
I scoff, turning to the side as I unlatch Viggo, pulling my shirt up. "You mean you tried to pull of my fucking arm, you abusive piece of—" I stop, turning to glower at him. "I can't even think of something loathsome enough to describe you!"
"Severus," Annette says. Her tone is mostly accusatory, but there's something else there, a softness resembling disappointment. Snape won't look her in the eye, which makes me wonder what else is between them besides a kiss.
Annette draws her mouth in a thin line as she waves her wand over my head. I can feel the skin mending- an odd prickle. "So it's true," Annette laments.
"Of course it's true." I turn to see a man sitting in Snape's desk chair. He's got wild hair and a dark beard and he's wearing a worn leather jacket. He leans back, crossing his arms. "Why we've got an overemotional bully on the case is beyond me—"
Snape snarls at the man. "Ms. Riverstone was attempting to flee the country. I did what was necessary to escort her back."
"Are you kidding me?" I swirl around on him. "That was not necessary, Snape. Especially after—"
The door swing opens and Anja enters, followed by Tasha and Charlie. She glances at our faces. "Ah," she says. "What did we miss?"
x
"And he picked up the phone, asking for me by name. I hung up."
Everyone's sitting in a bunch of plush chairs Annette transfigured from quills. She pushes a cup of tea in my hands. "Thanks," I say. I hadn't realized how much my hands tremble until now. I set the tea down and grab a cracker from my purse, handing it to Viggo, who rolls a wooden dragon toy around, courtesy of a spell from Tasha.
"We need to tell Potter," Anja says.
"I already have," Snape responds. "He's notified the NYAD. They will investigate... the scene."
I sip the tea and immediately feel a sense of relief throughout my body. My hands stop shaking. I glance at Annette, who's eyeing me carefully.
"Well, we need to refigure our defensive structures here at the reserve," Anja says. "Now that we know he's likely to strike here next."
"Just a minute, Anja," the wild man says. He's standing now, since Snape kicked him out of his chair. "I don't understand something." He looks directly at me. "Why'd you leave?"
I take another sip of tea as the man continues. "You've got it made here, Riverstone. A job—"
"Erm," Annette interrupts. "Not anymore. Sorry, dear. Brian was quite livid when—"
"Right, right. Had a job, then," the man continues. "A nice place. Even a babysitter." He gives Annette a grin and I'm rather struck by how handsome this chap is. Annette smiles bashfully in return while Snape scowls.
I take a breath. "What would you do if you woke up one day in a place that, that—" Shouldn't exist? "—you've never set foot in before." I'm so pissed when a tear falls. I wipe it away aggressively. "And you discover that technically, you're being held here against your will. You and your baby. As Death Eater bait. What would you do?"
"Now, Greta," Anja says. "That's not what's happening, here."
"Isn't it?" I say. "You've all trapped me here. I have no way to contact anyone. Not allowed to go anywhere without an escort. I just learned that I was being spied on." I glare at Tasha and Charlie. "You told me I'd be tutored by him—" I jerk my thumb in Snape's direction—"but all you were doing was trying to figure out what Barty McSnakeLegs—the wild man snorts—"wants with me. No one thought it prudent to even let me know any of this." I glare at Wild Man, who's still chucking. "And who the hell are you?"
His eyes twinkle. "Sirius Black. At your service."
My mouth gapes as Charlie clears his throat. "Greta. Why do you have a wand in your hand?"
I glance down. I hadn't even realized I'd pulled it out during my rant.
"Ah, yes," Snape says. "We have a new development regarding Ms. Riverstone."
"She's a witch?" Anja asks.
Snape nods.
"Well," Anja says, worry crossing her face. "That certainly changes things, doesn't it?"
