Chapter 14

His mind raced as he went down to the Potions room. Memories of Lana raced through his thoughts. Images of a baby he may never even hold made his stomach turn. The time was getting close. He hoped this plan would work, or they would all be dead and that maniac would be let loose yet again.

He entered the classroom and moved to the cauldron. Looking into it, he raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely happening. The stakes had taken on a sheen. It looked like they may be petrifying. That was good; as he hadn't a clue as to how regular wood was going to pierce the hardness of a diamond. He wasn't even sure that wood turned to stone would do the trick, but the magical elements of the potion would hopefully take care of any weakness on the stakes parts.

He had a day and a half more to wait. The stakes would be ready at dawn on Saturday. It seemed like it was taking forever. He thought of the many things Voldemort could do to Lana between now and then. He wished he could end this all now and hold her in his arms. His patience was wearing thin.

Maybe there was something he could do now, though. He had worked with Lana on Legilimency and Occlumency. He could try to send her a message. Maybe the part of her that was able to fight her captivity could hear him. He concentrated and sent the message.

Far away, inside Lana's conscience, she was a prisoner. She was in what appeared to be a stone cell. Her ankles were chained and ropes bound her arms out away from her body. She had been trying to escape for what seemed like forever. She had managed to unbind one of her hands for a time, but Voldemort had found out, and the rope had magically rebound itself. She spent most of her time trying to communicate with her outer self, telling herself not to follow that evil monster, but she had mostly been unsuccessful. She had only succeeded in making herself stutter. A lot of help that would be! A stuttering zombie would still kill anything that got in Voldemort's way.

She bowed her head in hopelessness. This was useless; he was too strong for her. A single tear fell down her cheek. She would die a horrible death and there was nothing she could do about it; absolutely nothing.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open. Had she just heard something? She concentrated, furiously trying to decipher the mumbling she thought she heard.

I love you and I'm coming.

It was Severus' voice. Her heart leapt. He knew she was in danger and was coming to help! She quickly masked her feelings. She knew Voldemort kept an eye on her inner conscience and she didn't want to betray the elation that she was now feeling. She didn't dare try to contact him, that thing might know. She redoubled her efforts to escape from her bonds and regain some control over her wayward body.

Severus came back to himself. He had been able to see her. The sight of his wife bound against a wall was enough to make him want to destroy the whole Potions room. He knew it was only her consciousness, but his blood boiled nonetheless. He was able to see when she deciphered his message. She even had the presence of mind to cloud her thoughts after a second, so the Dark Lord couldn't know what she was feeling. He admired her strength and was relieved that she was still whole inside.

He left the Potions room and walked the halls to abate his anger at Voldemort. After a few minutes, the anger turned into a feeling of helplessness. He needed to get his emotions in check, or he'd never be able to succeed with this rescue.

He rounded a corner and stopped dead in his tracks. Voldemort stood in front of him with a smug look on his face. It took a minute for Severus to realize he was just appearing in his head. He guarded his thoughts, but let the Dark Lord stay. He wanted to know what this was all about.

Voldemort tapped his wand into his empty palm. "Well, Severus, you traitorous snake, we meet again. I suppose you thought your life could be normal with me gone?" His voice became low and menacing. "You should have known you can never get rid of me!"

"You should have remained dead, the way Potter left you," spat Severus.

Voldemort snarled. "I will have revenge on that mangy cur in my own time! I have more important things to think about, like attaining a body for one thing. I know you know that I have your wife. She's quite delicious, you know."

Severus' hands clenched into fists. If he could have destroyed Voldemort right here and now there would be nothing left but a smoldering pile of ash.

"Release my wife. She can do nothing for you."

"That's where your wrong, Severus, she is my future." His eyes blazed fire as he went on. "She can help me to regain myself. Her help will be invaluable to my rise back to power and I will be eternally…grateful."

"I will not stand by and watch you destroy my wife or my unborn child! Release her or I will destroy you!"

"Aren't you a bit presumptuous to be threatening me? I am your all powerful God, or did you forget?" He glared at Severus for a moment. Then taking on an air of courtesy, he said, "Actually, that's why I'm here Severus. I could use you back as an ally. If you rejoin me faithfully, you'll have a place at my side and great power in the new world." The next part of Voldemort's words was dripping with sarcasm, "All you have to do is kill your wife for me." He grinned mercilessly.

"I will never help you again. The only reason I did before was to defeat you! I would rather die than help you!" Severus was livid.

"Be careful what you wish for Severus. I suppose I'll be seeing you in the flesh soon, hmm?" He grinned maniacally.

"You can count on it," Severus spat through clenched teeth.

"Then I'll look forward to your death!" Voldemort shrieked and was gone.

Severus stepped back a couple of paces. That was certainly one face he could have gotten along without seeing ever again. How could that insane maniac think he would ever rejoin the ranks of the death eaters? The man was psychotic.

After rounds, he returned to his apartment. He noticed that several hours had gone by. Knave sat on the couch, asleep with his beak under one wing. Severus decided he needed some sleep too and retired to the bedroom. He debated locking his wand away, so he didn't use it in his dreams, but he decided it needed to be at the ready.

He placed the wand on the night stand, changed into pajamas, and went to bed. It was a long time before he fell asleep.

They were back in front of the fire, kissing. Severus looked at Lana and she smiled at him. He told her he loved her. She came in for another embrace. She smiled again and he noticed something about her teeth. They were…pointy. She had vampire teeth! Before he could register the meaning of that she had swept in and sunk her teeth deep into his neck. He stiffened as she drank his blood. It was bone chillingly erotic. She released him and his hand went involuntarily to the wound she had left on him. He looked at her curiously.

She tilted her head and looked at him coyly. "So what's your plan, my dear?"

He stared at her puzzled. "What plan are you referring to?"

"Your rescue plan for me, my pet. You must tell me all about it."

"I think I'd rather keep that under my hat right now."

"But the vampire's bite makes it impossible for you to resist me." Her face had neared until she was only an inch from his. "You must tell me everything." She smiled an evil grin at him.

He backed away and tried to avoid her. It's only a dream. She's not real.

"Oh I'm very real, Severus. Tell me your plans." She cuddled up next to him with a smirk on her face.

He resisted an incredible urge to tell her everything. "I'd rather not tell you right now," he replied nervously.

She traced his cheek with her finger. "Tell me or I'll be forced to bite you again."

Only a dream, only a dream he thought. "Sorry, Lana, I can't tell you that."

Her face erupted in fury. "Tell me your plans! I must know!"

Anger filled Severus' voice. "I will not. Just give up the questions, Lana."

Lana morphed into Voldemort. He was still inches from Severus' face. Severus pushed back in alarm.

"She'll never come back to you, you know. I fulfill her," he hissed. "She realizes what a fool of a man you are."

A vision of Lana and Voldemort entangled in each other's arms appeared behind Voldemort. Severus' eyes grew wide and his heart seemed to stop.

"You see how happy she is. She's a passionate little minx. I see why you can't resist her. But you don't deserve her. You're a pathetic man, filled with hate. She needs better than that."

Severus watched her sadly and had to admit Voldemort was right. He looked down, unable to watch the display anymore.

"Why don't you do her a favor and let her go? Give her the freedom to love a real man. She deserves that after putting up with the likes of you all of this time."

Severus' wand appeared, floating in front of him.

"Take it," Voldemort whispered, his eyes gleaming. "You know what you must do."

Severus reached for the wand and realized what was happening. This is just a dream; you can control your own dreams! He grabbed the wand and pointed it at Voldemort screaming a banishing charm at him. Voldemort frowned as he disappeared.

Severus woke with his wand in his hand. This time it was pointed away from him. He had succeeded in getting rid of the interloper from his mind. He heaved a great sigh. Why were these dreams taking over his rational thought? He knew Lana was being manipulated by Voldemort. He also knew how much she loved him. It still amazed him sometimes, but he never doubted it. The dream must have something to do with Voldemort's hypnotic powers. He had a knack of bringing every insecurity Severus had ever felt and reawakening it. He was taking over Severus' mind in the dreams.

Voldemort would use this weapon again. He needed to be ready for it. He needed to overcome his personal insecurities and be ready for another attack. Of course the best thing to make oneself feel better was a good night's sleep. He arose from the bed and went into the bathroom. He rummaged in the cabinet, searching for a specific potion. He found the dreamless sleep draught and returned to the bed. Lying down, he removed the stopper and drained the bottle. Voldemort would have no more entry into his mind tonight. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

A/N: Hope you're all enjoying this. Please review. You know you want to.