Chapter Twenty-Five
After nearly a week at the Burrow, he had almost found a comfortable niche. He preferred to keep busy by either helping around the house or reading feverishly. In quiet moments he found himself anxiously worrying about the professor and why he'd received no word on his whereabouts.
One night his comfortable routine was broken. Mr. Weasley, Bill and the twins went off on some sort of mysterious business, and Mrs. Weasley stayed up late, talking in anxious whispers to Ginny and glancing at the door. Severus was quite curious but figured that the goings-on likely did not concern him. Once he saw he was no longer needed, he went up to bed. He had intended to read another chapter but ended up falling asleep in an empty room.
He was startled awake an indeterminable time later by a loud banging. He sat bolt upright in bed and peeked outside the window, but he could see nothing. He tossed on his slippers and crept downstairs just in time to see Harry dash through the door, followed by Hagrid and Bill. "Good gracious, what's happened?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, enveloping Harry into a crushing hug.
"Death Eaters!" Bill exclaimed. "They ambushed us while we were trying to fly Harry to Headquarters. The others are still fighting them – they gave us a chance to hide and use a Portkey. The Death Eaters may be staking out possible safe houses, so it's won't be safe to move him for the time being."
"You!" Harry yelled, brandishing his wand and pointing it at the stairs. Severus had been spotted. He stepped into the room casually, as if having a wand pointed at his heart was no big deal.
Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by more banging at the door. Furious whispering ensued, and though Snape couldn't make out exactly what was said, it seemed that the Weasley matriarch was trying to verify the identity of the person on the other side. It was a wise precaution, and he was surprised that the Order had actually thought of it. Gryffindors were long on bravery but sometimes short on common sense. It was all too easy to use a Polyjuiced doppelganger, and they had apparently learned this lesson the hard way, since Draco had told him of the fake professor that had even fooled Dumbledore.
Once Molly was satisfied, she flung open the door and Lupin and Granger rushed inside. "Harry! Thank heavens you're all right!" Hermione exclaimed, enveloping him in a bear hug. It was almost sickening to see the amount of concern and affection that was being lavished on the boy. Her eyes widened when she spotted the Slytherin skulking by the stairs. "Severus!" she cried.
"Yeah," Harry grumbled, "I can't believe he's here either."
"Don't be silly!" she exclaimed. "If he's here, then he must be in real danger. I heard about Professor Snape's disappearance. I'm so sorry, Severus."
Snape's jaw moved soundlessly for a moment; then he gave a curt nod. It had suddenly struck him that, aside from Dumbledore, nobody else had displayed any genuine concern for the professor's well-being. They wanted him found, not because he was in danger, but because the Order did not want to face betrayal. Hermione was no one's fool and would not be concerned for Snape merely because she was a sop. The fact that she really did seem to care had rendered him mute.
Mrs. Weasley bustled around, making sure that everyone was safe. Just as someone would start an in-depth conversation about the unusual events of that night, someone else arrived and they had to start the identity-verification process over again. The last to arrive was Mr. Weasley, carrying George, whose face was covered in blood. Molly cried out in alarm and hastened to her son's side. Together the two parents carried George to the sofa and tried to stop the bleeding. Hermione was skilled in healing charms, but this wound was particularly difficult to close. No one noticed as Snape slipped upstairs. He returned quickly with a strong healing potion, which he neatly dabbed on the gaping wound. George's ear had nearly been severed, but the potion began to knit together the damaged tissue. He would have an awful scar, but the organ was still intact.
"Where's Mad-Eye?" Lupin finally realized.
Arthur looked grim. "He's dead." Tonks covered her face and began to cry. Lupin took a step toward her but looked uncertain.
Kingsley nodded. "He fell after you left with Hermione. At least he went the way he would've wanted. We didn't have time to rescue his body, but I transfigured it into a rock so that the Death Eaters could not violate him."
"I'll go back with you," Arthur volunteered. "Mad-Eye deserves a proper burial." Molly unsuccessfully stifled a frightened gasp.
"No, I'll go," Lupin said firmly.
"Don't think for a second of leaving me behind!" Tonks said angrily, her pink hair suddenly flaming red. Lupin looked rather sour but did not protest further.
The trio exited the house. It was a few moments before the sound of Apparition outside the protective wards could be heard. No doubt they were being very cautious about the possibility of Death Eaters in the area.
"It had to have been Snape!" Ron exclaimed suddenly. "Mad-Eye was right; he sold us out. How else could the Death Eaters have known about the plans to move Harry?"
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed scoldingly, shooting Severus a pointed look. Snape sneered at them and stalked angrily up the stairs back to bed. Frankly, he was getting sick of discussing things that he or his older self may or may not have done. "It couldn't have been Snape. I overheard Moody talking to Shacklebolt. Apparently Professor Snape knew about the plans to relocate Harry to a safe location, but not precisely when it would happen. Dumbledore had planned to wait until just a few days before Harry came of age to move him, but with the professor's disappearance, he decided to proceed ahead of schedule."
"Did you see him during the battle? Was he the one who hurt George?" Ron asked rebelliously.
Hermione sighed. "It was hard to see much of anything. The Order purposely picked a dark night. I saw their outlines but not much more. But I seriously doubt that Snape was there. Even with a mask and hood, I'd recognize his voice and his movements anywhere."
"It wasn't Snape who hurt me!" George exclaimed. "The guy was much shorter. I'm certain ol' Snapey knows worse curses and has better aim. Besides, Severus really did me a good turn with healing my ear. Perhaps I'll give him a toilet seat in gratitude."
A pall settled over the Burrow in the wake of Mad-Eye's death. His funeral had to be very small and quiet, because the minister did not want to admit to the true cause of the grizzled Auror's demise. It was attended mostly by Aurors and Order members with wands at the ready in case Death Eaters chose to crash the party. Harry, Ron and Hermione were rather peeved at being left behind but they understood that it was simply too risky to attend.
In light of George's injury, Severus had reneged on his previous vow to never assist the Weasleys with their inventions. That, and he was bored stiff and was in a rather creative mood. One day he surprised the twins in their room with a handful of innocuous chocolates. With two sets of eyes raptly focused on him, he popped the sweet into his mouth and chewed rapidly. Within moments, his teeth sprouted into long, sharp, vicious-looking fangs.
"Whoa!" Fred exclaimed.
"Blimey!" George echoed. "Vampire Vittles!"
Severus smiled, making his appearance even more sinister. He heard footsteps on the stairs and jumped out, hissing and bearing his fangs just as Ron arrived on the landing. The Weasley boy shrieked and jumped in the air, his legs nearly giving out under him.
The twins looked at each other.
"Did you see that, Fred?"
"I did, George."
"Snape just frightened our little brother Ronnie."
"He did, that."
"I think I love this guy."
"Hard to believe it's the same person as Old Snape. I wonder how the man got a broomstick shoved so far up his arse."
Sure enough, no good deed goes unpunished. Inspired by Severus' invention, the twins took to popping out at him from odd corners with silly grins while displaying their latest crazy ideas. Fortunately, Harry was a far more willing victim and served to distract the demonic duo.
Finally, one day Severus decided he couldn't stand being cooped up one moment longer. He headed out the back door and just kept walking. Just as the house was disappearing from view, he was suddenly immobilized while a loud klaxon brayed. In no time, he was besieged by redheads with angrily brandished wands. Molly, Arthur and Bill lowered theirs when they realized who the intruder was, but the others were not nearly as trusting. "Where do you think you're going?" Ron snarled.
Severus hissed in angry frustration. "I've been stuck inside the house for weeks! My potion stores are dry, I've read all my books, the twins are driving me batty, nobody trusts me, and I want a bloody fag!"
Arthur blinked. "Oh no, son. Those things will kill you."
Severus bit his lip to keep from screaming "I'm already dying!" The only thing worse than his current situation would be their cloying pity. He'd much rather die with dignity. Why oh WHY did he have to waste his precious days here? He felt that time was slipping away.
"Perhaps you need something new to occupy your mind. Would you like to come with me? I've got a few fascinating things in the shed that maybe you can help me with."
Severus shrugged. "Anything is better than just standing here."
"Sorry," Mr. Weasley said, freeing him with a flick of his wand.
The crowd dispersed, but not without a few suspicious glares flung his way. Mr. Weasley flung open the door of the garage. There were a few oil stains and tire tracks which indicated that a Muggle car had been stored there at one point. The amount of junk was unbelievable – loose wires, plugs, dead batteries, and other useless refuse was littered about. "Isn't it fantastic?" Arthur beamed. Severus schooled his features into a blank expression.
The redhead held up a watch. "This is obviously a Muggle timepiece but I've never gotten it to work. Pity." He looked genuinely grieved.
Snape tried hard to not roll his eyes as he held out his hand. He saw the problem immediately. The watch had a small knob to the side – without periodic winding, the watch would grind to a halt. Perhaps the man was more familiar with digital or battery-powered watches. Arthur watched in gaping amazement as he carefully turned the winding mechanism. Mr. Weasley held the ticking watch to his ear with glee. "That's brilliant!" he exclaimed. "Do you know a lot about Muggle artifacts?"
"A bit," Severus said cautiously. He was certainly not about to tell anyone of his mixed heritage, although he suspected that this man in particular would be overcome with raptures of delight. He'd never seen a wizard that was so fascinated by Muggles. Frankly, Snape didn't see the attraction.
"I never thought of asking Professor Snape to look at my collection," Arthur mused aloud. "He's not exactly an approachable fellow. But there is no denying his brilliance, or yours, I suppose."
Severus fingered a plug absently. The mention of the professor caused him to feel helpless and frustrated anew. It had been nearly two weeks since the man's disappearance, and no one seemed to have the slightest clue of his whereabouts or condition. Snape was also one of the very few people who knew of his impending death. He was still very nervous and wanted someone to talk to, but it would never do to mention his condition to a Gryffie. He seized upon the nearest piece of junk and began fiddling with it to distract himself.
The two men stayed in the garage until Molly summoned them for dinner. Severus felt a bit stiff after bending over various artifacts for so long. Mr. Weasley followed the Slytherin into the house with a big grin. "Severus is a miracle worker!" he announced proudly. He held aloft a small toy monkey with cymbals attached to its hands. Arthur had confiscated it during a raid and had succeeded of cleansing it of all dark magic. "I've been trying for ages to get this thing to work. Silly me, I had the batteries backward all this time! Just look!" He flipped a switch and the monkey began banging its cymbals to an organ grinder tune. The assembled company gave dirty looks at Snape, who cringed. The thing really was awful. He was starting to regret fixing it (it still had a rather sinister air to it) but Mr. Weasley looked so happy he couldn't regret it completely.