Thank you to Whitehound for Beta, BritPick, and Canon insights.
I entered the room and found everyone in there. Chairs had been brought in from other rooms and everyone had a place to sit. Only Severus was standing near a table set up by the door. He didn't look at me when I came in but I saw a blush of color spread across his cheeks as I stopped and gave him an appraising stare. He tinkered with the implements he had set out and set the vial of blood off to one side. I kept up my stare and he ducked his head down, allowing his hair to slide forward over his shoulders and obscure his face. All that I could see was his nose peaking out. I clicked my tongue and walked away.
Viktor had a seat open for me and I nodded to him as I sat down next to him.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at my face intently.
"Yes, just been a long day."
He took my hand and gave it a squeeze and then let go. I gave him a weak smile and then looked up at Severus who had turned around. His face was ashen, but at the moment I didn't have the energy to care. He had been nasty to me off and on all day and I couldn't think why. Was this really what I had signed up for?
Severus raised his arms to the room and started a long low incantation. I couldn't make out the words but I could feel the magic pulsing around the large open space.
"He is powerful, that one" whispered Viktor in my ear. "This is a Dark spell but one can feel his control. An admirable ally you haff there."
I looked hard at my admirable ally. He had done so much for me. He had given me so much. He had made me feel so much. He was ready to throw his life away in a wild bid for my freedom. So why was he being so nasty to me? Had I done something wrong? I thought back to when it all had gone pear-shaped. Our last good moment was in the foyer before the meeting. I thought about our kiss and realized something had been off then too. His kiss had been needy, almost demanding. I thought back to the moment just before the kiss and remembered thinking he needed reassurance. Could that be it? I hadn't given him enough? Perhaps he needed to hear more? But if that was true then would it be in his personality to be nasty for the rest of the day? To stab my thumb like that? Good grief. If he was going to stab me for a lack of praise what would he do in the future if I ruined the roast? I found I was starting to panic. My breath was coming in short gasps and I felt a scream clawing its way up my throat.
"Easy, Herm-own-ninny. It is Dark magic, your blood is tied to it. You are safe." Viktor started to rub my back and croon soft words in Bulgarian.
I darted my eyes to him and his words sounded reassuring but I found I didn't believe them. I looked at Snape and he looked suddenly demonic to me. His head was thrown back and his hands moved with an almost sickly grace while he whirled his wand through the correct motions and clutched the vial of blood in the other.
Finding it hard to turn my head I forced myself to look around the room. Ruby was cradled in Charlie's arms sobbing and Nott was holding Peaches while rubbing furious circles on Dusty's back. Ma had her arms around Nadia and Angel and as I looked around I saw that the other men in the room were also trying to console as many women as they could get their arms around. A small analytical portion of my brain realized I might have missed a few preparatory comments while having my talk with Charlie but it was soon overwhelmed by the fear clutching at my throat.
Severus's voice climbed higher and now I felt the room pressing on me in waves of crippling sadness. I was overwhelmed with the sudden memories of everything that I had lost. I whimpered and Viktor pulled me into an embrace. I flung myself into his arms and wrapped myself around him like a vine but could find no comfort. I twisted my head to look at Severus, my one true source of comfort in all these years of pain. Our eyes met and he looked at me with such devastation as he shouted out the finale of his Dark spell. Viktor pulled me back tightly into his embrace and Severus's eyes filled with pain as he shouted out a final word and spun. With a sudden violence he smashed his hand holding the vial against the lintel of the door. I saw blood splatter and knew it was more than what had been in the vial. The room was flooded with a red light that seemed to become a part of the walls. Wind kicked up as the red light raced across the walls of the room condensing as it shrank towards the door, towards Severus, towards where he still held his bleeding hand pressed against the top of the doorframe. I screamed.
Severus turned and looked back at me with a frantic look on his face and Viktor clamped his arms around me even tighter. The last of the red light seemed to detonate and explode outward across the walls again. It was more of a pressure building up in my ears than a sound and Severus turned back and raised his wand and started to chant again. The bleeding light halted its progress and shrank back until it was all contained under his hand. I felt my ears pop and then the room was calm. It seemed lighter, almost as if gravity had been affected. I watched as Severus lowered his hand and saw blood. I struggled to get out of Viktor's arms and when he released me I jumped up off the couch. Everyone was crowding in towards the doorway and I realized I could not get to him in time. I would not be the first one to see to his safety and comfort. For some reason this broke me and I fled. Running to the rear of the room I raced up the back stairs to the attic.
I ran to my little bed and flung myself down on it and cried. It was all too much. Whatever spell that was had grabbed a hold of my emotions and raced around my world until I was at the mercy of every dark thought and feeling I had ever had and then with that pop, it had left me feeling deeply disoriented and unimaginably confused.
The sound of boots alerted me and I pushed myself up, hoping it would be Severus. It wasn't. Viktor came over and sat down beside me. The little bed groaned under his weight.
He reached out and took my hand.
"Are you alright?"
"No. No, I am really not alright."
"I am here for you, you do not haff to be alright yet. We can take some time to sit here and not be alright together, yes?"
I smiled.
"Are the other girls alright?"
"No, they do not want to be alright yet either, I am thinking. It has been a very emotional day and no one vas in the best shape for Dark arts or Blood magic. Not even your Snape. He vas very powerful, very impressive, but he lost control there at the end, no? I think he vill be feeling the taint for a few hours yet. But he vill be fine once the backlash dissipates."
He smiled warmly, as if with his whole soul.
"So now you haff a room you ladies can work magic in, yes? This is a good thing." I nodded and he nodded back as if encouraging me to give him a bigger nod. I smiled again and squeezed his hand. He pulled at a lock of my hair.
"So here is your bushy head. These rooms, they do not haff the charms on them. Is this vere you sleep?" I nodded. "Foolish, all those rooms and they made you sleep in these little beds like camping. And is this your blanket?"
"We were not employees, Viktor, we were prisoners. This room was a reminder of that."
"Vell you vill not be sleeping here anymore. I am hearing Agatha say that you can take any rooms in this east wing. So vee vill leef this place." He stood up and lifted me up by my hand. "Are there things that you vant in here? I vill bring them."
I looked back at my little bed that had been the only place I had all to myself for five years.
"No, I kept nothing."
He gently wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in.
"If you let me, Her-my-ownee, I vill give you things to keep. I vill take you from this place and give you a home, and I vill make sure that after vee haff von, you vill never haff a fear again."
Tears filled my eyes. It sounded so wonderful and it was everything I wanted, but with someone else. I opened my mouth to answer but stopped when I heard something at the door. Both of us turned to look but there was nothing there.
"That is a beautiful thing to hear, Viktor…"
"But?" he said tilting his head. I nodded sadly.
"But." I replied.
"Can he keep you safe?"
"He has taken a vow to do so."
"Ah. I see." He hugged me gently. "He is strong, that vun. You vill be safe. But if not, you vill call me, yes?"
"I can't really answer that."
"That's is okay. Maybe you vill answer that another day, yes?"
"Viktor?"
"Yes?"
"How long have you been able to say my name correctly?"
"I am not understanding you, Herm-own-ninny." he said with a perfectly straight face. I laughed quietly just as Dusty came into the room.
"Hey what did you say to Snape, Princess?" she asked while pulling things out from under her bed. "He almost knocked me down the stairs just now."
It only took me a second to replay what part of the conversation was interrupted by a noise out in the hallway.
"Oh!" I cried as Viktor opened his arms and let me fly away.
Poor Severus. For those of you not keeping track, the last five chapters have all taken place on the same day. I know Hermione has missed the boat for the last week by our count; she is really only clueless on one long, emotionally draining day in her book.
Up Next: Severus feels the backlash and loses control, in many, many ways.
I hope you enjoy!
