Something causes Severus to fly into a violent rage again as he plans to hand over his important discoveries...

Chapter 29 - Witness

Severus did not encounter Wormtail as he made his way through the house, stopping briefly to prepare a little breakfast for himself in the small kitchen. But as he approached the front door to exit, he changed his mind and went back through the kitchen and descended down the cellar steps to his makeshift laboratory.

Wordlessly invoking the lamps hanging on the wall to flicker into a soft glowing light, Severus swept his gaze over the workbench and noted several minute changes to how he remembered he had left his equipment. He made an impatient noise with his tongue as he determined that Wormtail had clearly been snooping amongst his brewing.

It was not as though he had thought the idiotic man would pass up the opportunity, he and Dumbledore had suspected all along that Wormtail was residing at the Spinner's End house to spy on him for the Dark Lord, but it irked the dark man nonetheless.

Snorting scornfully, Severus thought that Wormtail probably wouldn't know what he was looking at anyway, he remembered the small man was lacking in potions talent back in their days at Hogwarts. It was unlikely that he had improved much over time as he had largely spent that time in his animagus form of a rat, and a lazy one at that!

Nevertheless, Severus had made sure to store any suspect completed potions in his own bedroom, concealed and secure. The dark man had also taken measures to cleverly label any dubious ingredients incorrectly so as not to rouse suspicion. The rat-like man was still lazy, and Severus felt confident that he would not have bothered to verify the contents of the ingredient jars.

Striding to the corner of the room, Severus immediately found what he came for. A large bottle of Polyjuice potion was stored on the shelf, and snatching up a number of empty vials from the bench beside him, he proceeded to decant the potion into two of them and sealed them with their small corks. After charming all the vials with a non-shattering spell, he placed them securely into the concealed pockets of the left side of his coat along with the remaining empty vials. He had already replenished his portable stock of Draught of Living Death, including the antidote, from his secure bedroom storage place shortly after returning from the attack on Nymphadora, and these were again stored in the right side pockets. He now gently felt for these to reassure himself that they remained intact. He then began to scan the room for any other potentially useful items or potions and upon seeing his stock of completed Veritaserum, he took up the one tiny bottle, cast the non-shattering spell and stowed it within his robes also.

'It is a blessing that only a few drops are required for truth telling,' Severus thought, as he contemplated the process it had taken to brew, whilst he pressed the small bottle securely into the depths of his pocket.

The truth serum took just over a month to brew and the yield was always low, it was required to be evaporated time and time again in order to achieve the desired potency, resulting in a meagre volume of completed potion. This is perhaps why it was such a rare and valuable commodity, it took a practiced skill to brew the concoction correctly, the time and dedication it took to brew was often beyond many wizard's tolerance or concentration, and the yield was always small - only ever producing one to two small bottles from a large cauldron full of raw ingredients.

Satisfied that he had taken everything that he thought may be useful, Severus finally left the cellar laboratory, extinguishing the lamps as he went, ascending the stairs and exiting the house.

Apparating from the still dark path, Severus reappeared in another familiar street, a street that hid a house that until fairly recently, only a matter of a few months ago, the dark man had routinely visited to deliver his newest discoveries and intelligence for the Order of the Phoenix - Grimmauld Place.

Maintaining a good distance from the residence, Severus watched the house in the early morning dim light, remaining completely hidden himself, shrouded by the shadow cast by a tall brick fence across the street from number sixteen. The air was cold and a mist escaped with every breath he expired.

While he monitored the house, Severus again contemplated how he would deliver his newly discovered horcrux information to Potter. Should he trust anyone else with the important details? The thought left him feeling uneasy, the light side had been fooled before, first by Pettigrew, then by Barty Crouch Jnr posing as Mad-eye Moody. It was just too great a chance to take, as unlikely as it may be that whomever he chose to pass on the secret would turn out to be a traitor, there remained that chance in Severus' eyes. His own life depended on the security of this transaction, not to mention the lives of future generations of wizards. So regardless of the knot twisting within his stomach at that moment, Severus conceded he could not trust anyone other than Potter.

His mind immediately flicked to a person he had already trusted - Phoebe. Almost instantaneously, the dark man contemplated letting Phoebe be the one to confront Potter, to tell him of Severus' discoveries. 'She being a Muggle would pose no threat to the boy and as he had grown up in the Muggle world, he may feel more able to trust one - wouldn't he?' Severus thought, then as instantly as he had gleamed the idea, it was dismissed. 'I cannot risk Phoebe, she would be helpless against Potter!' But Severus' mind would not allow him to drop the idea completely, it lingered in the recesses of his consciousness for the remainder of the morning.

After several hours of absolutely no movement whatsoever at twelve Grimmauld Place, Severus decided to take a short break, he was hungry again. Cauldron Lane's warmth and comfort beckoned unconsciously to him.

'I should check on Phoebe briefly,' he told himself, and he could not deny the sentiment, the woman could very well still be in danger, her health had only improved as a result of the potion Severus had given her, and he knew the effects would wear off, possibly resulting in a recurrence of her symptoms. That possibility gave

Severus the perfect excuse to give in to his clandestine desires.

Backing further into the darkness of the shadow, which was now rapidly reducing, Severus Disapparated with a small swish of his cloak. He Apparated again into the shadow of the bushes on the opposite side of the lane from the small cottage. Ensuring he was alone in the Lane, he swiftly made his way to the door and knocked firmly.

As she heard the loud knocking, Phoebe, who was resting on the couch, looked warily to the house-elf who had looked abruptly up from his task.

Phoebe struggled to her feet, she did not want to be taken by surprise in a position where she was not only highly defenceless, but unable to move at all swiftly. She had learned not to assume that the knocker would always be someone she knew, and not necessarily friendly, regardless of their allegiances.

Erlin opened the door cautiously, but soon widened the entrance when he recognised the dark man standing on the doorstep.

"Master," he greeted.

"Erlin," Severus responded, walking past the elf and into the sitting room. The elf retreated into the kitchen, back to his cleaning task.

Phoebe sighed in relief at the sight of the man. "Severus," she said, barely more than a whisper.

Assessing her with his black eyes, he approached her, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," she answered.

"No, really I am," she continued as he, regardless of her statement, produced his wand from inside his black robes and ran it along the full length of her body. Neither did he heed her further assurances, completing the spell by muttering the incantation.

"I need to be sure," he then said, looking to her eyes.

"Well..?" she prompted him when at first he did not offer his findings.

"Normal, it would appear. For now, that is," he added when Phoebe was about to retort.

She huffed. But then accepted that he only wanted to be sure she was well and remained that way. Besides, she was becoming tired of pretending she didn't need his attentions, she so badly wanted to feel protected and cared for.

She suddenly reached out for him, a dry sob escaping her throat. She buried her face in his chest, clutching at his robes. Things had been so frantic and frightening lately and she had missed his closeness. His strength, she sensed, was back to normal and she almost gave in to threatening tears as she felt her need to be strong for him dissolve.

He loosened her grip on his robes, and instead lay her hands flat against his chest and then she felt as his arms gradually enveloped her, not quite reluctant, but slightly hesitant nonetheless.

She knew she was being overly emotional, it didn't make sense to be this upset over nothing in particular, she could only blame it on the hormones. She was, after all, approaching her twenty-third week of pregnancy and said hormones were running rampant within her system, it really was no wonder she truly felt like bursting into tears just now. She laid her cheek against his body wanting to feel his reassuring solidity and warmth.

Severus did not say anything, he only stroked her temple with the thumb of his hand that had now moved to support her head against his chest. She remained in his grasp, her eyes squeezed shut, concentrating on the rhythmic caress of his touch and the gentle beating of his heart until she felt calmer and not so teary.

Eventually he spoke, the deep resonance of his voice all the more calming to her, "I have hopes that all this may end soon," he crooned.

Phoebe did not pull away from his embrace, she felt far too comfortable there, but answered with a question, "Did something happen?"

"Yes, I feel sure I have located another horcrux."

Phoebe finally pushed away a little and gazed up at him questioningly.

"A key hangs around Pettigrew's neck, it fits the characteristics of a likely horcrux. He informed me it once belonged to Ravenclaw which fits perfectly with the prerequisite of the Dark Lord's previous artefacts."

"This man told you?"

Severus immediately understood the meaning of her question, "Yes, though I believe he is unaware of what it is that hangs around his neck, the information was nothing but trivia to him."

A moment of silence, "You are being careful, aren't you?" she asked, worriedly.

"Of course," he answered assuredly.

After another short pause, "How many of these things are there, again?" she asked.

"Six. Two have already been destroyed, hence four remain."

"So now you have discovered the location of Hufflepuff's cup and now this key, that leaves only two more to find, right?"

"No, they have already been found, Potter is already aware of the locations of these." Severus paused, a small frown on his face, "Though there is one that I am not sure about, I will have to confirm it with the boy."

"So now what?" Phoebe asked expectantly.

Severus took her hands off his chest and walked away to the window of the sitting room, pulling back the curtain slightly. "It is time to let Potter know of my discoveries."

Phoebe felt apprehensive, "You have to tell him?" she asked.

Severus spun to her, a confused frown on his face, "Yes, he must be told."

Understanding his confusion, Phoebe clarified her question, "I mean, you have to tell him, you personally?"

Severus more confused and even a little bit suspicious, narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean? Why should that matter?"

"Please don't go chasing after Harry, Severus, no good will come of it. Tell someone else," Phoebe pleaded, she did not want Severus to put himself deliberately in the path of the angry, and upset teenager. There surely must be another member he could trust.

"What are you saying?" demanded Severus.

"He hates you, he will never forgive you," she tried to explain, remembering Tonk's view of the teen's attitude toward Severus.

"Forgive me? Forgive me for what?"

Suddenly remembering the man would not have been aware, "Severus, he was there. He saw you, he saw what you did."

"Saw what? When?" he snapped, starting to lose his patience.

"When you killed… Dumbledore," Phoebe said reluctantly, "He saw."

Severus froze, he looked to be running through in his mind what he remembered from that night. He began to shake his head, "No - he was not there, he could not have seen. Where did you hear that?" he questioned sharply.

"Tonks told me, she said Harry was there, under a cloak - she said he was invisible." Phoebe swallowed, "She also told me you would not have realised he was there."

Severus now looked visibly shaken.

"That's how she knew it was you, that's how everyone knows it was you… he saw, he told everyone you murdered the Headmaster."

But Severus was no longer listening , he had paled considerably. "He was there?" he whispered, then his anger boiled over, "He was THERE!" he shouted.

Suddenly Severus was ranting and raving, striding about the room, knocking things over as they came within his reach.

"He was there, and he did nothing! He was hiding, under his invisibility cloak… and he dares call me a coward! Why the hell didn't he do something!?" Severus growled. "He could have prevented all this! He should have stopped me… he just let me… and then he blames me… the STUPID, idiotic…" but Severus did not finish the sentence, something obviously did not add up about the situation, "But why? Why!?" he snarled.

Phoebe was now cowering away from the man and his rage. She had backed away from him and was cringing against the wall next to the hallway, flinching at every sound of breaking glass and splintering wood. She was afraid to step in to calm him, he seemed out of control, absolutely furious with the teenager. Harry Potter, it seemed to Phoebe, was the only person who was able to push Severus past his point of self-control, and he did it so easily. What was more absurd was that he was even able to do it unknowingly - he wasn't even here, and could have no clue where or what Severus was doing at that moment.

After a few more minutes of continuing to pace, occasionally mumbling more damning words and smashing items around the room, Severus had calmed himself enough to look at Phoebe. He had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself and took a seat on the couch, "I am finished," he announced quietly, through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure," she asked, her breath shuddering slightly.

He closed his eyes and hung his head, abashed, "Yes," he breathed. He ran his hands over his face and then raked his fingers in frustration through his hair. He finally rested his head in his hands, leaning his elbows onto his knees. "You are right, I cannot face Potter - I will likely tear him limb from limb!"

Avoiding the broken glass and other objects that Severus had thrown liberally around the room, Phoebe approached the man on the couch. "He has a certain way with you, doesn't he?" she said with a tinge of amusement, crouching in front of him and rubbing her hand over his leg supportively.

Severus caught the slight humour and huffed the tiniest of laughs himself. "Apparently he does," he answered somewhat bitterly, then sighing.

"What are we going to do then?"

"We?" he said questioningly.

"Yes, we," answered Phoebe firmly.

Severus cleared a space of debris from the couch beside him and invited her to sit next to him. She took his offered hand and shifted her position. "I do not know," he answered automatically.

"Take me to Harry, Severus - I will tell him," she offered.

Instead of the expected No, Phoebe heard the man sigh again, this time it was laced with defeat, "Alright," he quietly agreed.

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