Chapter 34: Comeuppance
She couldn't help but sigh in relief to be in her own house once again. It might lack the extravagance of Malfoy Manor, but it had its own charm, and she found it no less elegant for being more natural.
She immediately deactivated Ms. Bear's portkey, and then headed out to the balcony to see to Severus. His eyes were closed, but he had apparently heard her coming. As she silently approached, he murmured, "What took you so long?"
After she removed and disabled the portkey on his wrist, gently stroking his skin in the process, she sank into the chair beside him and said teasingly, "Well, I think I just gave Draco his first sexual experience."
This had not been what he had expected her to say, and Severus' head snapped up as he asked in consternation, "You what?"
She laughed lightly and said, "Come inside and I'll tell you all about it while we eat."
"It doesn't sound like the sort of thing one wants to hear about while eating," he replied snidely, but seemed to realize that there was much more to the story, and allowed her to transport him into the house. After she had carefully lowered him into bed and they had begun to dine on leftover beef stroganoff, he fixed her with his forceful gaze and demanded, "Now, tell me about this…encounter between you and my 'godson'."
She laughed out loud, and told him about her visit to the Malfoys (excepting that last conversation, that is), with him frequently interrupting with questions and comments. "I cannot believe they were so trusting," he mused, "They must really have been broken down by the Dark Lord and the Ministry. I can't imagine Lucius agreeing to anything without asking dozens of questions and making thoroughly certain of you. You could have cast any spell on him and his family! And he let you, without extorting any promises. Not only this, but he allowed you to tamper with his memories. It is unheard of. He must have some reason for trusting you, known only to him…or he is going soft…or he really was that desperate."
She just shrugged her shoulders, feeling a rush of affection for Severus as he reasoned and schemed. He was so wonderfully in character, his clever, suspicious mind searching out all the angles. How had she managed to spend so much of her life away from him? The Potions Master seemed to notice the light in her eyes as she watched him, and his filled with an answering warmth, before he mumbled self-deprecatingly, "After all, he's a Slytherin, Marian."
At those words, she laughed and kissed his hand, before continuing on with her tale. Abruptly, and with studied nonchalance, she added, "Oh, incidentally, Narcissa has declared your Unbreakable Vow to her fulfilled, so if you ever decide to hex Draco or anything like that, there's nothing stopping you."
Instead of making a quip about how the boy would certainly deserve it, he looked at her with his hypnotic, almost unbearably intense gaze, and said wonderingly, "You have cut the last of my strings."
Blushing, she found that she had nothing to say, and so she artlessly bypassed the subject, commenting, "But I don't think it will be necessary to send any hexes Draco's way. He wanted to come and visit you. He told me to thank you for what you did, and to tell you that he's glad you're alright, and sorry for what he's done."
Severus sighed and suddenly looked very tired. Marian wondered whether she might have let him sit up too long. When he spoke, she noticed that the raspy quality was completely absent. She wondered how long he had been sounding like himself before she had finally noticed it. "The boy is not to blame. It's those parents of his…spoiling him rotten and allowing him to mix with Death Eaters while still a child. Disgraceful….But I am glad to hear his words. After all the trouble I underwent on his behalf, I suppose it's rather…gratifying."
She smiled at him before banishing their dishes to the kitchen and relating the rest of the story. Marian hesitated slightly before recounting everything she had seen while the Malfoys were under the spell. She wasn't quite sure how Severus would take the news that, in addition to removing the Dark Mark, the charm also appeared to give one an orgasm; but the inscrutable wizard continued to surprise her. He merely remarked drily, "Well, if we begin receiving frequent dinner invitations from the Malfoys, then at least we'll know why."
Later that afternoon, Marian opened the paper. Almost at once, she laughed aloud, causing him to look up at her with guarded amusement. He was curious as to what she would show him, as all too often his mischievous witch was directly (if secretly) involved in whatever news happened to be breaking. Triumphantly, she brought the paper over to Severus and automatically cast a levitating charm on it. "Read that!" she exclaimed proudly.
His eyes skimmed the article and she watched his face avidly as a slow, somewhat cruel smirk touched his lips. After a moment, he glanced up and murmured, "Well, I suppose I don't have to ask who the 'anonymous source' is."
"It's official: I'm a genius," she laughed, picking up a surprised Ms. Bear and twirling in place.
"And you stake that claim on a successful slander instead of on your charm that counteracts the Imperius Curse. Just like a woman," he sniffed disdainfully, or as disdainfully as one can tacitly call someone a genius.
Knowing that he had only scanned the story, she read the headline aloud, "Dolores Umbridge: A Portrait in Corruption."
Marian and Severus looked at each other with identical smirks, and then she began to recite, "My loyal fan base knows that this journalist has a history of writing about what other reporters won't dare touch; and so none of you will be surprised to read this sensational story revealed by an anonymous source—a story all the more interesting because this reporter is directly involved in it."
Severus scoffed and murmured derisively, "Skeeter again. She has quite the opinion of herself."
"Amen to that," Marian muttered, before continuing the story, "Dolores Umbridge, former Under Secretary during Fudge's administration, former High Inquisitor at Hogwarts, former Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, and self-styled head of the War Crimes Tribunal, will be tried before the Wizengamot for war crimes herself, including, but not limited to: treason, attempted murder, and various corruption charges. The official in question exhibited no remorse, but during her interrogation by Aurors, even attempted to shamelessly use this reporter as a scapegoat."
Marian glanced over at Severus, who looked like he had just been given all the gold in Gringotts. Smiling to herself, she continued, "Dolores Umbridge rose to power under Cornelius Fudge, who appointed her Under Secretary and later High Inquisitor and Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His administration will forever be known for its bumbling attempts to discredit the warnings of The-Boy-Who-Lived and Albus Dumbledore, keeping the wizarding world in ignorance of Voldemort's return, and giving him a critical advantage over us. Umbridge was his closest advisor and one of the main advocates of this head-in-the-sand policy.
"The atrocities she has committed are numerous, including attempting to use Veritaserum against children while Headmistress of Hogwarts. She also intended to impose the Cruciatus Curse on war heroine, Hermione Granger, and on Harry Potter himself, but was foiled at the last possible moment."
"She lifted that entire last paragraph from my letter," Marian commented disdainfully, although truthfully she was not terribly ruffled over the fact.
"That explains why it had no split infinitives," Severus noted contemptuously.
"Despite her failures in government, this ruthless witch somehow connived to cling to power as the government toppled and was reformed, in the image of Voldemort himself. During Voldemort's Reign of Terror, she headed The Muggle-born Registry, which quickly became infamous for its disregard for human rights. She exhibited an enthusiasm for carrying out Voldemort's programs that rivaled that of Bellatrix LeStrange."
Severus flinched every time Marian unthinkingly read the word 'Voldemort', forgetting that it triggered the Dark Mark to burn and pain him. Severus said acidly, "That infernal woman would never have dared to say his name while he was alive, and now she's throwing it around like he was her best pal."
"I'm so sorry, Severus! I forgot. I'll censor it from now on," Marian exclaimed remorsefully.
"In the hours following the war, the Muggle-born Registry was not formally abolished, since so many other matters needed attending to; although it was clear even to Umbridge that there was no place in the rebuilding of our society for a tribunal instituted by You-Know-Who to condemn witches and wizards for their blood status. Knowing this, Umbridge seamlessly made the transition from persecuting the innocent at You-Know-Who's behest to prosecuting his followers, changing the name (but not the spirit) of her former commission to the 'War Crimes Tribunal'. She also had the presumption to insinuate herself as its head.
"This Ministry official has a jealous heart and resented the attention that this reporter has garnered for her sensational coverage of the war—since she wasn't involved in the war at all, eschewing the final battle so that she might shore up her crumbling power in the Ministry."
"When will that woman realize that just because she refers to herself in the third person, she is not actually being impartial? She cannot simply say whatever comes into her head," he groused, much to Marian's glee.
"When she heard that Severus Snape, a man that she had resented since her stint at Hogwarts for his superior abilities and checkered past, had been admitted to St. Mungo's and declared innocent by Harry Potter, she quickly rushed to the hospital and had the critically wounded man transferred to Dementor-guarded Azkaban as a power play to deny him medical aid."
"Now this is more like it!" Marian proclaimed victoriously.
"She planned for him to die in prison of his wounds before he could be exonerated publicly. Even though the healers on the Creature-Induced Injuries floor objected and gave their opinion that Snape wouldn't survive the night, Umbridge was inexorable.
"As if this was not heinous enough, while in a steamy bout of rough, four-way sex, she told her partners, since revealed to be Death Eaters, how to gain access to Azkaban, so that they might kidnap the dying man and torture him for betraying You-Know-Who."
Snape snorted with surprise, before a devious, sated smile began to spread across his face.
"Then, most reprehensible of all, she tried to cover her tracks by sending this reporter a message inviting her to house, promising her information. She hoped that she could lure her in, so that others would see her enter Umbridge's sumptuous apartments. She intended to frame her, and to cover for her Death Eater lovers by claiming to the arresting Aurors that Rita Skeeter had overpowered her and kidnapped Snape from Azkaban; although she later changed her account to include an unknown assailant by the name 'Metis'."
" 'Metis'? You called yourself 'Metis'?" the wizard asked, nearly quaking with amusement.
Marian practically pranced in delight that he had gotten the reference. "What do you think? Although I suppose the allusion was lost on Umbridge…and Skeeter," she remarked nonchalantly.
"Well, You're forever wanting me to praise you for your cleverness, and I find myself forever doing it….Incidentally, in addition to 'no man', 'Mētis' is the goddess of 'cunning mixed with wisdom'…although I presume that was part of your joke, Odysseus," he conceded approvingly, watching with amused satisfaction as she basked in his praise.
With a lingering, secret smile only for him, Marian continued the story, "Umbridge completely ignored this blonde's good standing in the community and the inanity of the accusation. The day Severus Snape went missing from Azkaban, portkeyed away by a polyjuiced facsimile of Umbridge, Aurors broke into her home, and found the witch nude and unharmed, tied loosely to her bedpost and resting from her earlier exertions."
At this, Severus threw back his head and laughed out loud, as he had not laughed in months. Marian watched him with dancing eyes, noting that his throat looked much better. When he settled back against the pillows once more, Marian recited the last bit of the story, "Her trial is to be a matter of public record, and this reporter will keep you updated, even as she is forced to defend herself in court from this wicked witch's malicious slanders. She is, and has always been, a single-minded, envious woman with no conscience."
"Is she referring to Umbridge or herself?" Severus asked sardonically.
"Well, the description suffices for them both," Marian returned.
"As one of this reporter's devoted readers wrote, 'Good luck and keep up the great work. The wizarding world loves to stay informed.' Well, fear not, lovers of freedom and fair reporting-Rita Skeeter is on the case!"
"Good heavens, Marian! That is the most delightful thing I've read in all my years of subscribing to the Daily Prophet," he announced, as he leaned back with a half-smile of satisfaction.
She grinned back at him, so pleased that her plan had worked. Justice would be done and her man finally avenged.
"Umbridge doesn't stand a chance. After this article, she'll be convicted for sure…although I imagine the Dementors will all be gone by the time she finally makes it over to Azkaban," Marian replied, pouting a little.
The new Minister of Magic had announced the scheduled destruction of the Dementors earlier in the week. Marian had been relieved, although she wondered if such a thing were possible. The Minister sounded very ambitious, and she suspected that, in the end, he would have to be content merely with expelling them from Britain—although that probably wouldn't make the neighboring countries very happy.
"A pity," he said in a hard voice, adding in lighter, mocking tones, "But I suppose one can't have everything….So tell me, Marian, is Umbridge's predicament all your handiwork?"
"Mostly," she confirmed casually, with a naughty smirk. She knew that she should probably be feeling guilty for being so ruthless and manipulative, but only felt relief…and a healthy dose of schadenfreude.
"You're a rather wicked little witch, aren't you?" he purred, in his rich, magnetic voice.
Her heart sped up at his tone, and with downcast eyes, she answered insincerely, "I suppose I should be ashamed of myself."
"But you're not, thank Merlin!" he replied with approval.
They spent the remainder of the day reading. They had finished The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and were currently searching for a new book. Severus gave her carte blanche yet again—to choose something she had read before, or something she had been meaning to read. She finally settled on some Arthurian myth, starting with one of her favorite tales, the story of Percival and the Grail. It was a very curious story, about an unsophisticated Welshman that went to King Arthur's court as a self-styled knight, and tried to fit into an artificial world whose rules he did not understand. This Percival set off to seek the Grail like the other knights, but lost his way, wandering for five years, forgetting God and his fellow man. Eventually, he met a hermit, who rebuked him for riding armed on Good Friday, and that proved to be the wakeup call Percival needed to change his life.
Severus secretly identified with Percival, and he was tempted to confess it to Marian, although he refrained at the last moment. He knew very well what it was like to forget everything that mattered—his humanity, his soul, and perhaps, something higher. Possibly, as crazy as it would sound to some, that 'something higher' was the God of Marian, the God of Percival.
He remained in a pensive frame of mind until it was time for bed. As Marian finished her ablutions and approached him to say good night, completely out of the blue, he commented, "You haven't been sleeping well."
"I have," she retorted, adding, "Well enough, anyway."
"You shouldn't be sleeping in a chair. You need to be able to recline fully and get a real night's sleep. I should have said something much sooner," Severus said, guilt lurking conspicuously behind his determined tones.
"It's alright. I'm rather used to it now," she said carelessly.
When he seemed about to dispute her, she unexpectedly rounded on him and exclaimed, in a voice throbbing with passion, "I know you're feeling better, but I'm not leaving you to go sleep in my own bed, so don't ask me to!"
She was playing into his hands. It was almost too easy, Severus thought with glee. He paused for a beat and pretended to mull things over. "Well, you intend to stay in the room. You must sleep in a bed, and there is only one bed in the room. I suppose the solution is obvious….You must sleep in it," he said, in a long-suffering voice.
With wide eyes, Marian exclaimed, "No, I couldn't!"
"Why not? You've done it before…and I was considerably more able then. Unless a medical miracle occurs overnight, your virtue will be quite safe," he commented in wry tones, attempting to disguise his overpowering yearning with assumed indifference.
She laughed a little and justified herself, "That's not what I was implying, you scoundrel! I meant that I don't want to hurt you. You refuse to take the pain potions now, but your wounds are still…raw. And I know you must be bruised and sore…."
"I am," he admitted readily, "But unless you punch and kick in your sleep, I think that we will manage well enough."
He eyed her expectantly, and she found that all further objections died on her lips. She wanted to sleep near him as well. Carefully crawling in beside him, she propped herself up on the pillows and turned to gaze at his profile. His cheeks had a little more color and looked slightly less sunken. He could feel her perusal and rolled his body towards her. It was easier than turning his head. If he twisted it too far to the left, the scar tissue would stretch, causing it to itch and burn, and sometimes bleed a little. Her eyes continued to roam over him anxiously and he said tartly, "I won't break, Marian."
"You'd better not," she returned softly, reaching over to tuck the blanket around him, her hand lingering on his shoulder for a moment.
His eyes went suddenly warm and liquid, and he opened his mouth to speak, when all at once Ms. Bear began to whimper and whine. Marian met his eyes guiltily. "I'm sorry, Severus. I'll go put her in another room," she murmured.
As she moved to sit up, he reached out to detain her, and said high-handedly, "I don't wish to be kept awake by her yammering. The dog may sleep up here."
She looked at him incredulously and murmured teasingly, "But I thought you didn't approve of Ms. Bear."
"Well, the creature is useless, but she sleeps with you every night and operates under the misapprehension that she's your child, although I have tried to set her straight on that score many times," Severus said acerbically.
His forbidding tones didn't fool Marian, which he seemed to realize, as he wouldn't look at her and proceeded to busy himself smoothing down the coverlet. In a low, delighted voice, she exclaimed, "You have a soft heart, Severus Snape!"
"I have nothing of the kind," he replied primly, but he couldn't squash the flutter of pleasure he felt at her words, which, had they come from anyone else, would have been interpreted as the grossest of insults.
Severus watched Marian as she wordlessly transfigured one of her slippers into a set of puppy-sized stairs, and then levitated them into position near the foot of the bed. He liked to watch her face while she did magic. The intensity of her expression excited and intrigued him, but he liked it best of all when he was the object of her focus.
Ms. Bear wasted no time, and ran up the stairs as quickly as her delicate little legs would take her. The tiny animal pranced back and forth between Marian and Severus, with her head tucked close to her body and a bashful expression on her face. He didn't understand how the creature could simultaneously strut about and look embarrassed, but he had to admit that he knew very little about dogs—although this petite, soft, enchanting creature hardly fit his conception of what a dog was. Marian lifted Ms. Bear and placed her on the far side of the bed, but to her consternation, and Severus' secret amusement, the puppy continued to clamber over her and approach him. The little dog was very curious about the strange man, who had long been unreachable up on the king-sized bed.
"Severus, I really don't know what's gotten into her," Marian said apologetically, watching the inquisitive dog with bemusement.
"Never mind. She'll grow bored soon enough," he posited.
His words proved to be quite true, as the dog curled into a tiny ball between them and fell asleep a few minutes later, lulled by their voices—and Severus' was singularly soothing.
"I think I would like to try to stand tomorrow…and to walk, if possible," he said, gazing into her lustrous eyes, and noticing how prettily her long dark lashes framed them. She was exquisite, down to the last minute detail.
"Certainly, if you feel up to it," Marian responded. She had known this day was quickly approaching. The fact that he had been eager to sit up earlier proved that he was on the mend and regaining some of his strength and energy.
He wanted to say something else, but seemed a bit self-conscious. Finally he spat it out, "I suppose that it's time I answered calls of nature on my own, as well. I know that it's unhealthy to continue using excretion spells to empty the…organs."
"I'm glad you brought that up," she said at once, trying to mitigate his discomfort, "Tomorrow will be perfect. I suppose it's also time for another real bath—although we might put that off for a few days. The past few weeks, I've only been using cleansing charms, which aren't nearly as efficacious."
"You have…bathed me before?" he asked in an odd voice.
"Twice. Once was when I first brought you here. There was so much blood….Anyway, the other time was after you had experienced a feverish night, and had become soaked with sweat…" she trailed off when she noticed his horrified expression, which he quickly masked.
"Well, I suppose that you've seen all I have to offer," he commented flippantly.
Marian was not misled by his light tone. She knew that she wouldn't have been thrilled if he had seen her naked for the first time while she was unconscious, caked in blood and filth. And so she rushed to reassure him. "You have nothing to worry about. I actually saw far less than you think. I kept a towel wrapped around your waist and didn't…take any liberties. Rest assured that I would never do anything to you unconscious that you might object to when awake," she answered, gentle humor replacing her earnestness by the end of her words.
He still looked unconvinced, and a little troubled. Did he not believe her? Did he feel violated? Was he worried about what she had thought of him? Who could be savvy enough to interpret and soothe the many insecurities of this unfathomable spy? She felt woefully out of her depth, and decided that she was unequal to the task of interrogating him.
Sniffing impatiently, Marian carefully lifted Ms. Bear out of the way and placed her on the pillow behind her, before she slid forward into a very surprised Severus' arms. He felt very different from the last time she had rested against him. His delicate bones stuck out, and she could trace his vertebrae with her fingers, but decided against it, not wanting to make him feel more self-conscious. The thin fabric of his shirt did little to mask his condition. Severus' body struck her as very frail, and she felt a wave of affection for the much-misused wizard. Ever so gently, she cradled him in her arms, placing her cheek against the crook of his neck on the uninjured side. He relaxed into her embrace, and she murmured to him, "Severus, you know how much I respect you. I've learned some things since I swore that Unbreakable Vow, mainly that I can't stand disappointing you. I would rather die than do anything to hurt or violate you."
He said nothing, content to be held by her. He didn't know what his future had in store. Severus had never experienced any life outside Hogwarts, except for a brief stint as an apprentice and his miserable lonely summers in Spinner's End. A creature of habit, he supposed that he would probably go back there, to his dark, cramped house—a burial chamber, really—and brew potions under a pseudonym. Perhaps he could sell them to foreign hospitals. Teaching was out of the question—not that he had ever particularly enjoyed that to begin with.
But tomorrow he would be standing. Soon he would be walking; and after too much more time passed, he would have to pick himself up and leave his life here with Marian—his happiest time, in spite of the discomfort and aggravation caused by his wounds. Perhaps they would stay in touch, but she would probably grow bored with him. He had never been one to draw or keep friends. Whatever mystique had accompanied his double agent status would quickly fade, and she would gradually realize that there was nothing special about him at all, that he really was just an ugly, jaded, emotionally-stunted man. And once she found a lover, it would be all over. It was inevitable that she would. She was perfect! Who wouldn't love her? He couldn't fathom any man turning her away.
But the way she pressed closely against him in her sleepy state, the way her soft curves molded to his body, and her arms wrapped against his back, shielding him, made his dreams surface once more. If only this could last, if only it could develop! If she would marry him…if he dared to ask such a thing of her.