Surprisingly Pure- mypseudonym
Chapter 25- Back to Grimmauld Place
Draco and Brenna had another two days to themselves before Mother and Father were due to return. They meticulously erased any signs of everything they had done, from the books that were left out around the house to the use of Severus' room. Brenna felt quite satisfied when she left for work Monday morning that everything was perfectly in order.
When Brenna returned home from another long day at work, she was summoned to her Father's office. She was a little worried because he didn't usually send for her or Draco unless they were in trouble. He'd been growing steadily less predictable, which was worrisome as well. There was no way he could know what had transpired in his absence. He was probably calling her in to question her. She hadn't seen Draco yet to know if he'd been questioned. It was always easier if they had a chance to figure out their story. She schooled her expression into a relaxed one before knocking and entering the office. Lucius was standing by the fireplace.
"You disobeyed my rules," he said simply.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Father. Draco and I were very mindful of your regulations while you were gone." Brenna said. Lucius crossed the room and slapped her hard across the cheek.
"Don't LIE to me! I know you came into my office and used the Floo on Friday morning. Who were you calling?" Lucius demanded. He stood over her looking menacing.
"Hogwarts. I had to speak to Professor Dumbledore," she said, crying a little. The look of pure evil in his eyes was terrifying. This was not the gentle father she'd met almost two years ago.
"And why did you have to speak to the Headmaster? Tell me the truth now, I'll know if you don't." Lucius growled, pushing her against the wall.
"I-I had to tell him that Severus wouldn't be there." Brenna cried. Lucius grabbed her arm and twisted it. Brenna cried out.
"And where was Severus?" he shouted.
"He- He was here! He was injured!" she cried. He'd done something to her wrist. Lucius slammed her sideways into the bookshelf. She hit the structure hard and tumbled to the floor. She could taste blood now, and her ears were ringing.
"I told you that you were not to have ANYONE over while I was gone! Furthermore, I saw your sodding suitor this afternoon, and he was in good health. You chose to invite your lover over for a good time under my roof! Slut!" he yelled, throwing books down on her where she was crumpled on the floor. Brenna raised her arms to protect her head.
"Get up, you little whore. Get up," he said. When she didn't move, he grabbed her roughly and pulled her off the floor. By this point, Brenna was bloody and shaking. She'd taken advantage of the free second to grab her wand and hex her own father. He roared in anger as he was blasted into the wall. She fled from the room before he could recover. Unfortunately, she tripped in her heels as she tried to run out the door. She screamed as her ankle twisted and she fell to the floor. Mother and Draco ran out from different rooms on the second floor. Mother raised her wand and sealed the door of Lucius' office as he continued yelling profanities from behind the thick wooden door.
"Oh, Brenna. I'm so sorry; we didn't even know you were home. Now we've got to get you out of here. Draco, take her upstairs and pack as many of her things as you can. Lock the doors and don't let her out of your sight." Mother ordered, fighting the urge to cry. She knew Lucius was angry and unpredictable, and she hated that he had hurt one of her children. Draco gently collected Brenna from the floor and helped her hobble down the corridor. She saw Mother disappear into the family dining room.
Narcissa ran to the fireplace in the kitchen, ignoring the myriad of house elves trying to help her. She threw in a handful of Floo powder and knelt at the grate.
"Severus Snape's quarters, Hogwarts!" she shouted, near hysterics. In an instant she was looking into Severus' main living area.
"Severus!" she shouted. He bustled out of one of the side rooms.
"Narcissa, what's wrong?" he said, seeing her.
"There's an emergency! You've got to come through immediately!" she shouted urgently. Severus nodded and moved to the fireplace. Narcissa back away and had time to stand up before Severus stepped through, his wand drawn.
He was taken aback to arrive in the Malfoy kitchen. There were easily a hundred house elves standing around, watching their mistress and now him.
"What happened, Narcissa? Where's the emergency?" he asked.
"Lucius just found out about your having stayed here one night last week," she said.
"I swear to you on my honor as a wizard that nothing happened. I was injured and she healed me." Severus said quickly.
"I know; Draco told me all about it. Lucius beat Brenna terribly though. We need you to take her and hide her somewhere safe. It's not safe for her to be here anymore." Narcissa said, pulling him up a flight of stone steps that led to the family dining room.
"Where is she?" he asked, worried.
"She's in her room with Draco. He's packing her things. I've sealed Lucius where he is for now, but it won't last forever. You've got to get her out of here." He followed her as they walked hurredly up to the third floor and to Brenna's room. Narcissa took a deep breath and mumbled a long stream of words while running her hand down the door. There was a click as the door unlocked.
Inside was a heartbreaking scene. Draco was cramming a trunk full of everything he could from the closet. Brenna was curled up on the bed crying. Severus rushed over to her.
"I'm so sorry, angel. It's okay now; I'm here. You're safe." he whispered. She looked terrible. Her face was swollen. The areas that weren't bloody were blotchy from emotion and bruising. Her robes were torn and smeared with her blood.
"Hurry, Draco. We don't have much time." Narcissa urged. Draco crammed in the last few things and slammed the trunk shut, shrinking and making it very lightweight. He tossed it to Severus who placed it in his pocket. Narcissa had scooped up Dolce and shoved the cat into a travel basket. This too was given to Severus. He was, at this point, slowly raising Brenna from the bed. He noticed that she held her right arm close into her body. He whispered soothingly to her as they slowly walked down the stairs.
"Go now, Severus. Hide her somewhere very safe, and keep her there until I tell you it's okay." Narcissa instructed as they reached the marble stairwell. The cracks in the seal over Lucius' office were very obvious. He would be free in a matter of minutes, and he would be very angry.
"You should come with us. I can hide all of you." Severus urged, worried for their safety.
"We'll be fine. Hide her, and we'll deal with Father." Draco said, his wand already pointed at the office door. Severus scooped up Brenna and hurtled down the stairs as quickly as he could. As soon as he was out the front door his apparated them away, hearing a loud yell that could only be Lucius breaking through the seal at last.
***
They reappeared at the safest place Severus could think of to keep Brenna for a long time- Grimmauld Place. She passed out with a quiet groan as soon as they reappeared. Severus ran into the house.
"Molly! I need your help! Bring the medical kit!" he bellowed as soon as they entered the house. He took Brenna to the dining room and laid her carefully on the table. He pushed back his sleeves to get to work. Molly Weasley bustled into the room from the kitchen.
"Severus, what is- Oh Merlin! I'll be right back." Molly said. There was pounding on the stairs as Harry and Ron ran down them. They too burst into the dining room to find Snape waving his wand furiously over Brenna while Mrs. Weasley washed her face gently with warm water so that they could see where the blood stopped and the injuries began.
"Potter, Weasley, find me a blood replenishing potion, a pain potion, and some bruise paste!" he barked. They scurried obediently to the cabinet where all the medical supplies were kept. Snape himself made sure that they were completely stocked with every potion or paste needed to cure minor ailments. They quickly found the correct potions in neatly labeled vials and a jar of paste. Severus gave her the necessary potions while Molly gently dabbed the paste over her eye, which was currently swollen shut. Snape them mended her strained wrist and sprained ankle.
At some point Brenna woke up, and tears leaked from the one eye that could.
"What happened, Severus?" Molly asked. She removed Brenna's robe, leaving the witch in white pants and a white tank top. It allowed them to make sure she had no further bleeding.
"Lucius found out that I had been at Malfoy Manor to recover last week. He didn't take the news well." Severus explained, "Dreamless Sleep, Potter." He held out his hand. The potion was quickly slapped into his open hand. He uncorked it and leaned over Brenna.
"Goodnight, my angel. Now it's time to sleep," he whispered, gently feeding her the potion.
"Where can we put her? What bedrooms are free?" he asked.
"Ginny's room on the second floor. None of the others are clean." Molly explained.
"Lead the way." Severus said. He carefully scooped the sleeping Brenna back off the table. He carried her up to the second floor to the bedroom that Molly indicated. He placed Brenna gently on the twin-sized bed.
"This will do for a while." Molly said.
"She may be here for a long time, Molly. We'll have to work on cleaning a room for her to use. She can't go home, and I can't take her to Hogwarts with me. That will be the first place Lucius goes to look for her." Severus said. He gently pushed her hair away from her sleeping face.
"Then she'll stay here. I'll be glad for the company during the day anyway while everyone else is at work. We'll start cleaning a room for her use in the morning." Molly said.
The next morning Brenna woke feeling incredibly sore. She heard a small noise and turned her head to see Mrs. Weasley sitting in a chair knitting.
"Mrs. Weasley?" she asked quietly.
"Oh you're awake. How do you feel, dear?" the woman asked kindly. Brenna was starting to remember how much Hermione had liked Molly Weasley.
"Sore… and hungry." she replied. Molly laughed.
"Here you go dear, this should help with the pain. As for hunger I'll have to leave my post to go get you something to eat, but hopefully Severus won't be too angry since you're awake." Molly replied, handing her a vial.
"Severus is here?" she asked hopefully, trying to understand. She knew from the décor that she was in Ginny's room at Grimmauld Place. Ginny had been using this room for years. She seemed to recall that the youngest Weasley was visiting at Bill & Fleur's.
"Oh my yes. He didn't leave your bedside all night. He asked me to stay in here and watch you while he went downstairs to talk to Albus. I'll tell him you're awake now though, and I'm sure he'll be right up to see you." Molly prattled on. Brenna swallowed the pain potion and did start to feel better.
"Actually, I think that I might want to get up." she said. She slowly sat up in the bed and turned her legs. Molly jumped up to help her. "I need to use the loo."
"I know you probably don't need help, but I'm going to stick with you for a while anyway. You've got no depth perception right now, and we don't want you running into anything or falling down the stairs." Molly said.
Molly followed her down the corridor to the nearest loo, where she waited at the door while Brenna showered, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She was so glad Draco had thrown some of her toiletries in her trunk. She would have requested it if she'd been able to comprehend anything at that point. Seeing herself in the mirror was quite shocking. One of her eyes was swollen shut. She had bruises along her face and on her arms and legs. She was glad that she was able to move her wrist and ankle normally.
Molly was waiting to follow her back to her room when Brenna reappeared wearing a towel and carrying her clothing in a bundle in front of her. She waited outside Ginny's room while Brenna changed into loose pants that wouldn't upset her bruises or sore muscles and a tee shirt. She walked downstairs very carefully. She heard Severus and the Headmaster in the living room.
"She needs to go back, Severus. We need her in that position. We need her spying on her family now as well." Albus said.
"She's not going back. I will not allow it!" Severus growled.
"Like it or not, you have no legal claim to her. You cannot speak for her."
"Neither can you, old man."
Brenna gathered that she was the topic of conversation, so she knocked quietly and let herself in.
"Brenna! What are you doing out of bed?" Severus asked, walking over to her. "Molly, what is she doing out of bed?"
"Oh don't fuss, Severus. I wanted to get up. I can get up. I've been up for a while now, and I'm doing just fine, aren't I Mrs. Weasley?"
"She is doing fine. I've been following her since she got up. She's a little stiff and slow, but she's fine." Molly said. Severus looked at his girlfriend appraisingly.
"Honestly Severus, I'm fine. Right now, I'm going to the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley is going to make me something to eat. I didn't get dinner last night, so I'm rather hungry. I gather that the conversation that you two were having concerns me, so I'll thank you to put this conversation on hold until after I've had something to eat." she said. She turned slowly and shuffled out of the room toward the kitchen. Molly followed on her heels.
Apparently it still qualified as morning, though everyone who worked was at work. She gathered that Severus had taken a day off to stay with her, and the Headmaster had popped in unannounced. She sat at the table in the dining room and was soon presented with a mammoth stack of pancakes and several pieces of bacon. She happily tucked in. After eating she felt better. It was rough to have a stomach full of potions with very little food in there.
"Thank you very much for breakfast, Mrs. Weasley. It was wonderful," she said.
"You're very welcome dear, and please, call me Molly."
"Thank you, Molly. I'm afraid I have to go see what those two are arguing about now." Brenna replied. She rose slowly from the table. It was more difficult to move if she'd been sitting for a while. She walked slowly back down the hall, trailing her fingers lightly against the wall to keep her bearings. Finally she arrived at the living room. Severus and the Headmaster were still there. The Headmaster looked relaxed and casual while Severus looked grumpy and was occasionally glaring at the other wizard. Brenna took a seat next to Severus. "Now, what are you two arguing about?"
"Albus here wants me to take you home straightaway. He thinks you need to go back to spying at work and perform additional spying on your family for the good of the Order." Severus grumped. "I told him the day I take you back there will be the day Merlin rises from the grave and dances the hula."
"Perhaps it would help, Miss Malfoy, if you could tell us more about what happened. Severus was told some by your Mother, and he in turn shared this information with me. I would, though, like to hear from you what happened." Albus said.
"Well, Headmaster, I'm sure you're aware that my father has been growing steadily more insane the last year or so. When I came home from work yesterday, he summoned me to his office. Inside the office he questioned me and beat me or threw me in to things when he either didn't like the answer or he detected that I was lying to him. Finally I was able to hex him and run out the door while he shouted profanity at me. All the noise attracted Mother and Draco who saved me. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't been able to get that door open when I did, Father would have wounded me even worse than this or perhaps even killed me." Brenna explained.
"How did no one hear him throwing you around earlier?" Albus asked, concern etched in his face.
"Father's office is very heavily sound proofed. They had no idea I was even home until I was sprawled across the hallway and Father was shouting, calling me a whore and a slut. Draco took me up to my room and started packing my things as quickly as he could." Brenna replied.
"Your mother, meanwhile cast a sealing charm, temporarily blocking Lucius in his office. She Flooed for me to come from the Manor's kitchen. She practically begged me to take you away and hide you somewhere. She made me promise not to bring you back until she sent word to me that it was safe for you to return." Severus said to Brenna.
"Then I will not return to Malfoy Manor until Mother deems it safe." Brenna said, matter-of-factly.
"Yes, I suppose you'll have to stay here for the time being." Dumbledore conceded.
AN- This will have to hold everyone until after the holiday. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.