Chapter Twenty Four
Lucky
"Alysia?" I heard Severus ask gently. I opened my eyes and sat up in bed, surprised to see Severus standing in the doorway, and carrying a tray of food, no less.
"What time is it?" I asked, frowning slightly. Severus smiled as handed me the tray.
"It's a little after ten. Thank goodness you're awake at last. I was worried that Draco might have snuck a Sleeping Draught into your dinner last night. He's still pretty angry. Which reminds me," he said curiously. "You never did tell me why you got so mad at Lucius."
"I already told you, Severus," I muttered as I set the tray onto my lap. "We had a disagreement."
"And you still hate him for it?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow. "In case you've forgotten, you and I had a very serious 'disagreement', which resulted in you hating, no, despising me for over thirteen years, yet we still managed to be civil most of the time. You can't even look at Lucius without wanting to yell at him for one thing or another."
"I don't want to talk about it," I said automatically. Severus sat down and gave me a concerned look.
"I'm not Dad, Alysia," he said. I sighed.
"It's not that, Severus. It's just; I still get really upset, even thinking about it. He hurt me very badly, you know." Severus squeezed my hand sympathetically.
"I'll tell you what, then. You don't have to say anything; just let me see it for myself," he said gently. I looked fearfully at him.
"Promise you won't get angry?" I pleaded, before allowing myself to focus on the memory of what had happened.
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"That's a horrible thing to say!"
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"You are no cousin of mine! You're nothing but a dirty whore!"
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"I'm pregnant."
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"Will you grant me the honour of calling you my wife?"
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"YOU FILTHY LITTLE SLUT!"
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"I'm so sorry, Alysia. The Healers said you had a miscarriage."
I closed my eyes, unable to bear it any longer. When I finally opened them again, Severus was alarmingly pale. For almost five whole minutes, he sat silently still, as though paralysed. When he eventually opened his mouth to speak, his voice trembled so violently that it frightened me.
"I hope he realises how lucky he is to be safely locked away," he growled furiously.
The next few days passed with Severus maintaining a cold silence. I could tell he was still incredibly angry. Even Draco tried to keep out of his way. Our lives in general became very tense; even creaking floorboards made me jump, and I hardly managed to get any sleep at all.
I bit my lip anxiously when the doorbell rang one afternoon, a little over a week later. After glancing nervously at Severus, I went to answer it; we had agreed that neither Severus nor Draco should answer the door, at least until things died down a little. I gasped when I saw that our visitor was Lucius. Wasn't he supposed to be in Azkaban?
"Good afternoon, Alysia," he greeted wearily. I looked over my shoulder briefly, before turning back to him.
"Now isn't a good time, Lucius," I barely even whispered. "Severus is in a frightful temper. I really don't think you should be here." Lucius only raised his eyebrows.
"This isn't a social visit, Alysia. I'm here to collect my son," he said bluntly. I nodded slowly.
"Wait here," I instructed quietly, before turning back into the house. I paused at the door to the living room, where I knew Draco was, bracing myself. After a few seconds hesitation, I swung the door open and entered the room.
"Draco, your father is here. Please gather your things quickly so he can take you home," I murmured anxiously. I hoped to goodness that Severus would remain in the kitchen until after they had left. Unfortunately, my wish was not going to come true. I closed my eyes as I heard something smash, followed seconds later by Severus' angry shouting.
"You aren't welcome here, Lucius!" he practically screamed. I ran back into the hallway just in time to see Lucius sneer at him.
"Not the most polite greeting you could give your cousin, Severus," he replied coldly. I gasped as Severus quickly turned red with rage, pointing his wand firmly at Lucius.
"Severus, don't!" I cried in alarm. He did not appear to hear me.
"So, when it's convenient for you, we're your family, are we?" he demanded. "Funny how easily you discard us whenever it suits you!" Lucius frowned.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, looking slightly confused. Severus tightened his grip on his wand.
"Severus, please don't do this. It's not worth it," I pleaded. Lucius glanced incredulously at me.
"What's going on Alysia?" he asked.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TALKING TO HER!" Severus bellowed. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HER, LUCIUS!"
I bit my lip. I could see that this was spiralling out of control. I just wanted it to stop.
"WHAT?" Lucius shrieked, stunned.
"You are no cousin of mine! You're nothing but a dirty whore!" Severus quoted furiously. "Those were your exact words!" Lucius glared at me.
"You told him?" he demanded. Tears began to stream down my face.
"Severus, please calm down! This isn't going to solve anything," I begged.
"She didn't tell me anything, Lucius! She didn't have to!" Severus shouted. "You could have bloody killed her with that curse! In fact, you almost did! I saw the state she was in afterwards, while she was laying unconscious in St Mungo's! The Healers weren't sure whether she would wake up or not!"
"STOP IT!" I finally screamed. Both men stood their ground, ignoring me. My eyes widened as Severus raised his hand slightly; he was going to curse Lucius. Without even thinking about it, I leapt between my brother and my cousin.
"Get out of the way, Alysia," Severus said angrily.
"Put your wand away, and I'll think about it," I replied fiercely. Severus flinched at my defiance, but finally lowered his arm, stowing his wand reluctantly in his robes.
"Now go and see if Draco is ready to leave yet," I instructed firmly. I was immensely relieved when Severus obeyed.
"How is it he knows if, as he claims, you said nothing to him?" Lucius asked quietly. I spun around and gasped at the fear in his face. I had never known him to be even remotely anxious about anything, except perhaps his appearance.
"He's a Legilimens, Lucius. You know this," I replied quietly.
"You expect me to believe he simply decided to look into your thoughts, at a moment when you were conveniently thinking about that?" Lucius demanded. "Do you take me for a fool, Alysia?"
I frowned. "What's done is done, Lucius. It doesn't matter how he found out. All that matters is that he knows. If I were you, I'd steer well clear of him for a while; this is one temper that won't dissipate easily," I said.
Severus returned a moment later, pushing Draco in front of him. There was a coldness in his eyes that alarmed me. It was something I had seen many times growing up, but I had never seen it in my brother before.
"Take your son and get the Hell out," he growled. Lucius hesitated, glancing sideways at me.
"Alysia..." he began.
"Please, Lucius, just go," I mumbled anxiously. The sooner he left, the better chance I had of convincing Severus to calm down. Lucius gave me one final, worried look, before he turned around and led his son out to the street. I think perhaps he had sensed it too. I slowly pushed the door closed, dreading the explosion that I knew would occur the moment I turned around. I was not disappointed.
"Why in Merlin's name did you stop me, Alysia? He almost killed you, and you just let him walk away!" Severus screamed. I stared at him, wide-eyed and frightened. Never in a million years could I have guessed that he could be so angry.
"I can't believe you never told me about this! I asked you! Mum and Dad asked you, and you said you didn't see whoever it was! You lied to us, Alysia! Why the Hell did you do that?"
I bit my lip and stared meekly at the floor. Having grown up in a house where tempers frequently ran high, I had learnt at a young age not to aggravate the situation if I could help it. My silence only served to make matters worse, however.
"Why did you lie about this? Answer me!" he yelled, grabbing my shoulders. I whimpered as he started shaking me hard. I could feel the bruises starting to form where he was holding me. He threw me back and spun around, agitated. I let out a cry as my back hit the wall. I slid down to the floor, tears falling like rivers down my cheeks. Severus turned back to me, looking absolutely mortified at what he had just done.
"Oh God, Alysia, I'm sorry!" he said desperately. He leaned down to help me to my feet and hugged me tightly. "Please don't cry," he begged as I sobbed into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I just... lost it," he stammered. "I couldn't believe that Lucius could have done such a thing, and then for him to just show up like that. I... I snapped."