A/N:Apologies for the earlier formatting problem!

Xxxx

"Severus."

He heard his name, the way the letters in the middle lifted higher than the others, but he found himself incapable of watching anything other than the way her foot bounced and the way she had crossed her legs. It moved to an unheard rhythm that was much too fast for his taste. He could feel himself growing antsy each time it lifted. Part of him was annoyed that this, the woman who had come on the wrong day, who had tripped the moment she stepped from the hearth, who had sat inside his home without invitation despite being a stranger, was the auror he had been assigned.

"I was put under the impression that this…" She looked around the walls, her upper lip hitched in hesitation as she took in the dim lighting, the dark stone, the ever-present moisture that clung to the air. She seemed incapable of saying the word "home" or anything of the sort. Instead, she cleared her throat and glanced back at the parchment that lay across her lap. The one on which she had already scribbled some unknown note. "This, place is occupied by more than just yourself?"

"A matter that is unrelated to this conversation." His voice was stern, unrelenting of any warmth or betrayal of what lay within. Tonks merely looked at him from beneath her eyelashes before her quill dashed across the parchment, leaving a note that was too far for him to read.

"And that man that was here yesterday, Lupin, what is his relation?" She faced him fully this time, the hazel of her eyes only just concealing the colorful depths that lay underneath.

He was silent for a moment, contemplating his answer as if it was a relationship that could be defined by a few words. Severus was left instead considering the usefulness of this answer for a second time. "Again, unimportant."

She sighed, her frustrations of him billowing about them as her quill was laid down across her lap. The insufferable bouncing came to an end as the sole of what had once been white trainers came to the ground. She stared at him intently, a ferocity forming that he hadn't expected. "Dumbledore has informed me of your position within Lord Voldemort's ranks, or, lack of." He felt her eyes land on what wasn't fully his arm, dredging forth the crawling of his skin that had recently begun. "I am here to keep you safe and in order to do that I need to know who is aware of the situation."

His lips flattened, not in annoyance but admiration. Instead of quaking in front of him, she faced him with exasperation, explaining the situation as if he was a child. "Very well." He agreed, inclining his chin. "The man, Remus, He's a friend of my…fiancé." A wrinkle of distaste appeared on his nose as the word soured in his mouth. It wasn't an association with Lily, but rather at conveying such intimate information to a stranger. A similar poison ate at him as the next words escaped his mouth in little more than a rasp. "She and our children reside here with me."

A pleased smiled crossed Tonks' face, the acknowledgement that she had won some minor battle between them. She resumed her previous position in the chair she had conjured, the bouncing of her foot returning and drawing his eyes back to it once more. "Other than Dumbledore and myself, are they the only ones aware of your existence?"

He found his thoughts wandering to Sirius, the dog he knew was approaching, that would soon unravel their current existence. Severus wondered if his own death had been published in the Prophet. He didn't even know how many people were aware of his passing. "There's another." He began suddenly. "A death eater, a spy."

"His identity?" Severus couldn't ignore the slight narrowing of her eyes as she said so, the distrust so apparently living inside of her.

"I'm afraid I can't disclose this one. I can't jeopardize his position." Lucius had saved him. He wasn't about to risk everything the man had worked for – including his own safety.

Her quill scribbled once more across the parchment, the scratching of the tip the only sound between them. He watched her with an unparalleled feared of all his secrets being laid in the same place. It was unavoidable, but he hated it all the same.

She selected a different parchment from the stack that laid across her lap, her eyes scanning the words she had come with. "Your escape." She raised her eyebrows, the Ministry side of her career shining through. "Occurred Seventy-four days ago, on the 14th of June, correct?" Severus nodded his assent, and she continued, her attention fully on him. "Tell me about that."

"It's not some fairytale." He growled at her expectation of a story. "The Prophet should provide all the information you need."

"I thought you might say as much. You've been secluded." She withdrew a yellowed square from the interior of her gray robes. With the tap of her wand, it returned to its normal size, the pages of it rustling at the movement as she handed it over.

He took it from her with an ache of wonder beginning in his stomach. The image of a dementor swarmed building was plastered across the front page of the newspaper, the number of them higher than he remembered. His eyes fell next to the article that lay beneath it.

Prisoners Return

Almost nine weeks after the escape of ten highly dangerous prisoners escaped from the well patrolled confines of Azkaban, seven of them have returned. Three known death eaters remain on the loose, Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape, and Augustus Rookwood. This development comes weeks after a second breakout occurred, resulting in the disappearance of suspected death eater, Sirius Black. On Thursday, Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge spoke of the changes that have been made to prevent future attacks on the prison.

"We remain unsure of the spells that were used to create such destruction. The walls of Azkaban were previously enchanted against spells such as 'bombarda' and any others that may bring result in a security breach. As our investigation into the matter continues, wards surrounding Azkaban have been strengthened and the number of which has increased along with the number of dementors surrounding the area. Our desire…"

"They don't know how it was done." The space between his brows was wrinkled in consternation as he considered the words he had just read. It hadn't occurred to him that he had remained in the dark, that his eyes hadn't graced a newspaper in some time.

"The spells used seemed obvious at first. Even the aurors weren't aware of the technicality of the enchantments surrounding the prison. It really disrupted our investigation."

"Are you saying an unauthorized spell was used?" The uneasiness of before had boiled into full blown nausea at what she was suggesting. He fingers clenched momentarily on the arms of his chair, his nails digging into the fabric.

"Spell creation is difficult, uncommon." She leaned forward again, her voice softer than it had been since her arrival, but the inquiry behind it clear. "My mother attended Hogwarts with you for two years."

There was the recognition he had felt before. The shape of Tonks' nose, her lips, she held pieces of her Mother, Andromeda Black. He was silent with her insinuation laid before them, cloaking him with the weight of his poor decisions.

"It's possible." He forced the words through clenched teeth finally. "The Dark Lord tasked me for spell creation, among many things." The image of broken rock flying towards him, of the walls around him crumbling, the bright of the light shining through, it all added up to something else now. He blinked, focusing his sight on her rather than the day this had all began. "It was an explosion, meant to mimic a muggle bomb. The wand movement was difficult, the incantation even more so. The Dark Lord regarded it as a failure."

"You believe that's what was used?"

"I'm sure of it. It resembled bombarda in many ways which was unfavorable to the Dark Lord. I was tortured for the inadequacy." Tortured for what would result in death eaters returning to his side – even if it was only temporary.

The scratching of her quill broke him from the memory of himself writhing across the floors, his muscles spasming beneath the spell, the cold voice that had mocked him. She seemed unsurprised as she wrote his words and part of that concerned him. She had come here with a preconceived idea about what had happened, questioning his innocence before they'd ever even met.

"We also believe there was rumors of Voldemort's return before it occurred."

Severus grabbed the skin of his arm roughly, the idea that the mark was no longer there escaping him. "Many of us believed he would come back. The dark mark connected us to him. His presence was there, even after his defeat." He remembered the weight of the Dark Lord, how it remained, how the freedom he had expected at having his master gone had never came. It had felt like a chain, forever tethering him to the dark wizard. It had been thin, as though the rope had been stripped of its fibers, but it was there all the same. He remembered that evening in Dumbledore's office, the defeat he had felt at knowing the Potters had been attacked. It had been hope that the Dark Lord was gone, and nothing else. Even when the headmaster had assured Severus that Voldemort would be back, he had known it already in the depths of himself. "Beyond that, I didn't hear of any rumors within the walls of Azkaban."

She puckered her lips to the side, but any opinion on the matter, any information about such rumors she held back, scribbling yet again like he was in a therapy session. "You were attacked by another prisoner, correct?"

He thought then of the hooked scar that ran along his chest. It had been too old for him to heal by the time the opportunity had come and now it stained his skin.

The wall was uneven as his back was pressed against it, the coolness of the stone seeping through his clothes and into his bones. A man much larger than he towered over him, a rock clenched in his fist and the grimace of a smile stretched across his thick face. The din of shouts broke out around him, cheers for what was happening to him or fights of their own, Severus wasn't sure.

"You served him, didn't you?" The man's face pressed close to his, spittle flying from into between his lips to land on Severus' flesh. He felt the tight grip on his arm suddenly, the tearing away of fabric that had concealed his mark. "You killed women, children."

It was a fist he felt next, the hard bones of the man's knuckles digging into his cheekbone, breaking it, his eye socket, the ringing of his ear from the impact. From his position tight against the wall, Severus flailed back, his own tightened fist coming up to punch in the stomach, the chest, anywhere he could reach. What could he say? That he'd only assisted in the murders? That he'd stood by while his comrades did the dirty work? Because he'd certainly never tried to stop it and that was almost worse. His arm fell limp to his side then and he stopped fighting. He barely registered the sharp point that was dragged across his chest or the scarlet of his blood as it poured down his skin. Instead, he let it happen like he had everything else.

He found the memories were flooding back, that the barriers he thought were gone had been protecting him all this time. He wanted nothing more than this interrogation to be over, even if it was for his own good. "I was." He answered finally; his voice almost too quiet for her to hear. He didn't even find himself questioning how she knew. His mind could focus on little else other than the fact that his dungeon, the damp, musty walls, the spider infested corners, were too much like Azkaban. "This needs to continue another day." His voice wavered, but it was unlike before, it had gained in strength, no matter how insignificant.

"Dumbledore suggested I provide you these." With the clearing of his throat, he procured two bottles from a pocket of his robes, watching the misty liquid that filled them. She held her hand out, but he only tightened his grip. "If you're an auror, then doesn't the Ministry know I'm alive?"

"No." She shook her head roughly, the green of her hair flopping about her face before she brushed it back. "I'm an auror, yes, but I am doing this for Dumbledore, for the Order. My department isn't aware."

"And the notes?" He tipped his head towards the parchment that she held, that had been tainted with the black of her ink. "What is your intention?"

"For myself only." She assured him, and though he believed the sincerity in her eyes, she couldn't be trusted. There were too many possibilities.

"I'd like to keep them. You can consult them here, but they don't not leave this room." She froze in hesitation, her brow coming downward as she studied him, his use for them. "Dumbledore's word is the only proof that I can trust you, and frankly it isn't enough. For the safety of my family I request this small inconvenience."

"Very well." She relented finally, though her expression told him otherwise. She handed him the notes she had written, and he passed the vials of memory. What he didn't tell her was that they could only be viewed once before their quality began to diminish. "I'll need to interview your family, and Lupin as well."

"They'll be informed." He watched the bouncing of her foot come to an end for a final time as she stood, leaving him alone at last.

Xxxx

"Severus?" It was his name again, hours after Tonks had left. This time it was said with a tooth rotting sweetness mingled with curiosity as Lily stepped inside the room. "Is she gone?" Her eyes searched the room as if not believing the quiet that met her ears.

The letters of her words crashed together in his ears, making them incomprehensible. He wasn't fully aware that she was there until her face came before his, her blazing hair obstructing his view. "Severus?" She asked again, the curiosity morphing into concern. The words were clearer than before, but unable to work through the mud that had obstructed his mind, blacking out everything else. Instead, as she fussed over him, as she asked if he was alright, all he could see was blood.