56- Under Pressure
Edie was feeling guilty because ever since she had broached the subject to Sirius and asked him to arrange a meeting with Lily, Raven had been in a bad mood. Especially after having met Sirius again. She could go on for hours, cursing the stupidity of Gryffindorks. Edie thought she was definitely right as far as Regulus' brother was concerned, since he was decidedly a bloody wanker. On the other hand, that wanker seemed to fancy Raven and he had connections to the Potters, therefore it did make sense to use him. If only he would use his brains... but then again, Edie didn't know much about the animosities between Slytherins and Gryffindors.
"I'm sorry for the mess I caused," she told Raven, who finally stopped ranting and glanced at her friend.
"Oh, don't worry. You're not to blame."
"I really thought it might be supportive," Edie continued, "but I will probably never get that silly house system of yours."
"Actually, silly is a brilliant word to describe it. And your approach of the matter wasn't a bad idea. I do appreciate what you did for there was a certain logic to it... alas, logic doesn't seem to work when Gryffindors are concerned. The gap between the two houses is too strong, the prejudices run too deep." Raven sighed, running frustrated fingers through her hair. "It really isn't your fault, Edie."
Edie sipped at her wine. "Did you talk to Severus?"
Raven shook her head no, and that was another problem. That night after the concert she had sent him back to Hogwarts, being angry at him, at Sirius, at the whole world as it seemed. Nothing had changed ever since.
"At the moment, I don't want to talk to him. It's too complicated anyway, having a decent conversation with a Patronus."
In the end, it was all because of Lily. Edie had only had a glimpse of her so far and yet she had come to dislike her at once. But she was curious. She knew Raven went to Godric's Hollow almost every day, watching the house, hoping that Lily would let her in. There was no doubt that Sirius had told her about his recent encounter with Raven.
"Why don't ye take me to Godric's Hollow again?" She asked all of a sudden, startling Raven with that question. "It must be boring to watch that cottage for hours, all on yer onesies."
"Reg doesn't approve to it. He thinks it's too dangerous."
"Last time, it wasn't dangerous at all."
Raven seemed to ponder her words and promised to consider her offer, but didn't accept it until more than a week had passed and Regulus was out having mandatory fun with his loving family.
"What made ye change yer mind?" Edie wanted to know, sounding thrilled because she could finally do something. It was so very frustrating to watch your friends fighting an invisible war in a world that wasn't yours and yet had such a great impact on your life.
"I found a way to send you back when things get rough." Raven said matter-of-factly, and some hours later, they were back in Godric's Hollow with the rain pouring down on them.
-o-
Raven glanced at Edie, wondering if she would start to moan now that things weren't as pleasant as they were during their first trip to Godric's Hollow. But Edie was tough and didn't complain about the weather, so Raven cast a Rain-Repelling Charm over them.
"Wow, that's cool!" Edie exclaimed as she smiled at Raven, offering her a cigarette.
Raven smiled too.
"May I ask ye a question?"
"Fire away!" Just like so many times before Raven, was patrolling the streets and alleyways in the neighbourhood of the Potter's cottage, and most of the time she hadn't talked to anyone- except for that one day she had had a brief conversation with Bathilda Bagshot, telling her how much she liked her book, A History of Magic- therefore it was a refreshing experience to not spend another day in silence, that a human voice was interrupting her train of thoughts, mostly focussed on Lily... and Severus. Always Sev and his fatal infatuation with Lily...
Edie asked her about the Sorting Ceremony and the different Houses of Hogwarts in an attempt to fully understand a system she didn't approve of. According to her, it wasn't right to pigeonhole youngsters in such a way that they couldn't even leave this stereotyped thinking behind when they were older, grown-up.
Raven agreed to her. "Had I known what it would be like, even years after we graduated, I wouldn't have tried to influence the Sorting Hat."
"You can influence it?"
"Aye, and that's rather ironic, isn't it? I told it, 'Please not Gryffindor,' after I made the unpleasant experience of meeting Potter and Black on the Hogwarts Express, and so that damn piece of rag shouted 'Slytherin!' instead." Raven fell silent for a moment wondering if her life had taken a different turn had she been Sorted into Hufflepuff, just like her mother. Then, she would still have become a victim of the Marauders' crude pranks, but she wouldn't have come to know Severus as a friend and without her being his friend, he might have truly ended up as a Death Eater...
"Oy!" Edie elbowed her. "She opens the door!"
Raven looked up to find out that Edie was right. Lily had indeed opened the door, was actually standing at the threshold with her wand clasp tightly in her hand.
"Raven! What do you want?"
It was a breakthrough, that for sure. She didn't know, though, if it was because of Sirius talking to her or rather due to her tactic of wearing her out by simply watching the house on a regular basis, mostly when James was out. And he was out quite often.
"I just want to talk to you." Raven replied.
The gate to the cottage opened with a creak, but it opened rather hesitantly, while Lily was still standing at the threshold of her house, aiming her wand at Raven.
"Your friend is a Muggle?" Lily asked
"Aye."
"Bring her along."
"Alright." Raven replied before she turned to Edie, instructing her in a low tone. "Come. Don't worry, Lily is Muggleborn therefore she won't hex you. Keep calm, stay cool, let me do the talking. Okay? If you have to say something, pretend you don't know as much as you do and never- NEVER- mention anything about Sev's true allegiance. You have to keep it a secret. Now, can you do it?"
Edie nodded, and so Raven pushed open the gate, crossed the front garden, and climbed the three steps to the front door.
"Hello Lily," she greeted casually, "it's been a long time."
"Yes. What happened to your hair?" Lily glanced from Raven to Edie and back. "You both have very strange hair..."
"It's called style." Edie offered, having already forgotten that she was supposed to let Raven do the talking.
"Interesting." Lily said, trying to sound polite while she finished checking the two girls with her wand. Of course she didn't find anything suspicious; Edie was truly just a Muggle and Raven was just Raven. Nevertheless, she had to know for sure. "After our first year at Hogwarts, you went to Argentina for holidays..."
"Tuscany. And if I were a Death Eater impersonating me, I wouldn't choose an outfit like mine."
"Very well, so come in, then. I give you ten minutes. James will be back soon."
Raven doubted that, since dear James was probably out on a collective mischief tour with Sirius, and she found it mightily interesting that Lily, seemingly, didn't want her husband to find out that she was actually meeting Raven.
"So what do you want?"
"Ah, isn't that the wrong question, Lily? After all, you let us in. So what do you want? You know you're in danger, don't you? And you also know you can't fool the Dark Lord forever, not with this sorry excuse of a safe house. Sooner or later he will find you, and believe me, he will easily break the wards that are effective enough to keep me from entering without permission... but most definitely not him. Now, do you really expect your prodigious husband to be around when that happens? Do you really believe he can protect you?"
"Why do you care? We haven't talked in years and now you show up here, worrying about my safety?"
"To be honest, I don't really care. I merely came to make an offer."
"Why should I accept?"
"So dismissive, Lily? You haven't even heard me out."
"Perhaps I'm not interested."
"You are, otherwise we'd still be standing out side in the rain."
"Alright," Lily sighed. "Go ahead."
"And I almost thought you don't want your son to survive-"
"Harry?" Lily's eyes widened and she cast a quick glance to the staircase leading up to the first floor, thus proving Raven's assumption right that the boy must be taking a nap in his room upstairs. She hadn't seen him yet but all the toys on the floor were evidence of his presence in the house- besides, the Revellio Spell she always performed upon arriving had shown it, too. "What has Harry got to do with it?"
'Are you daft?' Raven wanted to ask, then thought better of it. Was it possible that Lily doesn't know of the prophecy? Has Dumbledore not told her about it?
"Raven! Tell me!"
"Perhaps you should ask Dumbledore. Ask him about the prophecy."
"What prophecy?"
Oh. Fuck! She was totally clueless. "Has Dumbledore not given you a reason why you had to go into hiding?".
"He said the Dark Lord is after us... I... I always thought it was because of our work for the Order... he never mentioned a prophecy. What does it say? And how comes you know about it?"
Raven ignored the last question but considered answering the first because she thought that Lily deserved to know the truth. "Alright, last year in spring, an alleged seer made a prophecy that 'the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies'."
Lily blanched. Harry was born at the end of July! James and she had defied the Dark Lord and his cronies at least three times while on duty for the Order...
"Dear Merlin!" She gasped. "But Dumbledore, he... he never mentioned anything like it. I'm sure he doesn't know. He cannot possibly know about it."
"There's no sense in denial, Lily, especially since I have it from a good source that Dumbledore was definitely around when the prophecy was made. He knows for sure."
"But... but you said it was an alleged seer, so probably the prophecy is a fake. And besides, Harry's not the only boy born at the end of July. Alice Longbottom gave birth to a baby boy, too. Many babies were born that day, worldwide, and-"
"Lily," Raven interrupted her, "there's no point in trying to whitewash things. You don't have to convince me that prophecies are fickle things, logical only to those who believe in them, because in the end all that matters is what Lord V believes, and he chose to believe your Harry is The One."
Whatever Raven thought of Lily, personally, she was nevertheless a bright witch and therefore it didn't take her long to draw a conclusion.
"Ah, but if that seer made a prophecy in Dumbledore's presence, how do you know about it, Raven? And how did Voldemort find out about it?"
"I prefer to keep my sources a secret."
"I was right not to trust you." Lily snapped. "Sirius said you're still hanging around with Severus Snape, and we both know which path he took. He's evil."
Edie was about to defend her friend, but Raven silenced her with a sharp gesture before she turned to Lily again.
"Listen, I'm not here to discuss Severus. I'm here to help. I can get you out of this country, out of the firing line-"
"I'm not interested." Lily interrupted. "So is that the way it goes now? Snape wrecks havoc and you clear up behind him? Did he sell us to the Dark Lord?"
"Lily, the world isn't all black and white-"
"So he did! I want you to leave my house now. Will you leave voluntarily or do I have to alert the Order?"
"Don't bother, it was never my intention to stay longer than necessary. But you will hear me out first. It's true, Severus told the Dark Lord about the prophecy. So what? He had no choice-"
"You always have a choice."
"Bullshit. When dealing with megalomaniacs, your only choice is to not get killed at their whim, since getting killed is not mightily supportive. It's always much more clever to stay alive 'cause that that allows you to act... totally unexpected... And look on the bright side, Lily- if things hadn't occurred just the way they did, you still wouldn't know about the prophecy and you couldn't decide if it's not wiser to take Harry and leave the country."
The shadow of a doubt clouded Lily's face and for a brief moment she actually seemed to consider the option, but it was just a fleeting moment.
"I told you I'm not interested. When I joined the Order of the Phoenix, I knew it would be dangerous, but I willingly chose that risk because it was the right thing to do, and I stand by my choice. I will not run away from my obligations, from the way I have chosen deliberately, and that is fighting to the end, at the side of my husband, against all the evil you Slytherins bring upon us. Dumbledore will protect Harry. I really don't need your cold and scheming ways-"
At that point, Raven laughed out loud. "Now, that's rich coming from you!" She turned to glance at Edie. "I guess we're done here."
-o-
They left the cottage of the Potters and returned to Raven's Harley, but Raven wasn't in the mood to ride all the way back to London, so she took Edie there by using Side-Along Apparation. When they arrived in a deserted backyard in Soho, Edie (who wasn't used to that sort of sensation) gasped, "What the fuck-" before she turned around and puked all over the concrete.
"Ye could have given me a fair warning!" She complained a little later, glaring at Raven.
"I'm sorry," Raven said in a placatory tone. "I didn't... well, I just wanted to get home and have a drink... I may have forgotten you're a Muggle."
"I dunno if that's a compliment but I take it as one. Let's go and have a drink 'cause I could use one, too."
A little later, in Raven's kitchen, Edie couldn't help but wonder about today's events.
"I don't get it..." she began hesitantly, "I mean... all the trouble with Sirius, all the hours of waiting in vain- and that's it, now? Perhaps ye should've tried to persuade Lily a tad more since ye achieved nothing-"
"Well, but I did, actually." Raven informed her with a wry grin. "You know, it was never my main intention to get Lily out of the country like Sev's dad- although I wouldn't mind to send her as far away from Britain as possible, preferably to some remote little island of Micronesia or something like that. But that's not the point. The point is that she stays alive. And believe me, I've given her a lot to think about. At least as far as her safety is concerned."
"Hm... yeah... I guess you're right..." Edie fell silent for a moment as she sipped her wine. "So what's next?"
Raven shrugged. "I dunno. Hopefully, I made her question the safety measures taken to protect her and her son, and she will come to find them inadequate. Therefore, she will run to Dumbledore and he will solve the problem. Or not, given that he might have his own agenda, at least as far as the boy is concerned. After all, little Harry is allegedly 'the One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord' and therefore of great value to Dumbledore's striving for the Greater Good.
"Meanwhile, I will continue watching the cottage."
"I-"
"No, Edie," Raven interrupted her immediately. "I'm grateful for your support, but you can't accompany me any more. It's getting too dangerous. I can make myself unnoticeable, I can wear different glamours. I can't do the same for you."
"It's a shame I'm a Muggle, eh?"
"No, not at all. Perhaps Lily wouldn't have let me in if you weren't a Muggle since that made her feel safe. You know, Death Eaters don't hang around with Muggles."
-o-
And so Raven went back to Godric's Hollow the next day, and the one after... She didn't always ride her bike, sometimes she Apparated to the graveyard and took a walk from there, wearing different glamours all the time. She didn't quite know what she hoped to achieve, though. Lily would not cave in and come to trust her all of a sudden, even though she feared for her baby boy. Therefore, she would consult Dumbledore- and Raven was curious to see how the Headmaster handled the situation.
Day three after talking to Lily, there were still no guards watching the house, no members of the Order of the Phoenix protecting its inhabitants. The wards seemed to be a little stronger than before, but Raven found them not totally impenetrable; it felt as if there was something like a loophole that allowed her to enter the garden. Was it because she had been inside the house before?
On the fourth day, she noticed Sirius' motorcycle parked near the gate of the Potters' cottage but that didn't surprise her since he came to visit James Potter on a regular basis, and just as often they went out together for a ride. Not today, though. They remained inside the house for a very long time, and so Raven decided to sneak up a little closer- if the wards allowed her into the garden, she might as well try to overhear what they're talking about.
But the moment she touched the gate, something very strange happened. The hairs at the nape of her neck seemed to stand on ends and then she could almost feel the magic... a very old magic, that is. Perhaps, she should have run from it. And yet, she pushed open the gate and stumbled into the garden- only to stop dead in her tracks, staring in bewilderment at the vast open space in front of her. There were some bushes of golden asters, clusters of long grass swaying gently in the soft October breeze... she thought it a pretty sight and wondered what she was doing here as she walked towards an old apple tree that looked somewhat familiar to her. But she wasn't here to pick some late apples...
An image flickered up in front of her mind's eye, and she saw Lily, Edie and herself standing in the living room of a house. Toys were scattered all over the floor. She looked out of the window and saw that apple tree. It was real.
Slowly, the memories returned. Raven now recalled her meeting with Lily and that she was in Godric's Hollow to watch her house- but there was no house. The house was gone.
She took a couple of steps backwards until she felt the cold iron of the gate in her back. She turned around to gaze at it, clearly identifying it as the gate that led to the cottage of the Potters, then she turned around once more to stare at the open space in front of her, feeling confused. Again, she had problems recalling what she was doing here, and perhaps she should really pick some apples-
No!
She had to focus. A house, a cottage built of solid stone couldn't simply disappear. She stared at the open space where it used to be, trying to recall it's shape but failed as her memory seemed to play tricks on her. There was no house. Only the vague illusion of one... dissolved into something like a crack in the atmosphere...
What has happened here? Raven really had no idea. But whatever it was, the magic she had sensed wasn't Dark Arts. Old and powerful, yes. But not dark, not evil.
So, perhaps the Potters were finally safe, now. Hidden well in an invisible, unplottable house. Let's leave it like that, she told herself, only to feel her curiosity getting the better of her, not leaving it. She wanted to know what kind of spell could make an entire cottage disappear. Was it a lasting spell? What would happen if she returned a day later? Would it still be gone?
The next day, she passed the site of the Potter's cottage a couple of times on her Harley, before she finally recognized the gate and stopped. She remembered the bushes of golden asters, the old apple tree, and she stared transfixed at the long grass swaying softly in the gentle October breeze. It was a beautiful place.
She almost didn't remember there used to be a house, once, and it took her even longer to make a connections to the Potters. But in the end, she did.
Amazed of the power of a ward that was strong enough to completely muddle her mind and make an entire house disappear, she decided to ask Regulus about it, knowing his father used to be very inventive when it came to wards protecting their home at number 12, Grimmauld Place.
-o-
When Raven returned from Godric's Hollow that day, she didn't have time to send her send her Patronus to Regulus because things just went dreadfully wrong. Edie appeared at her doorstep with tears in her eyes and smeared mascara all around them, looking desperate. She was accompanied by Kreacher, who unceremoniously dragged an apparently unconscious Regulus into her flat and started wailing.
"Oh woe is poor Kreacher because he has to beg the filthy half-blood scum for help but good Master Regulus is hurt and Kreacher cannot help, oh woe is poor Kreacher!"
"What the fuck happened?" Raven asked.
"I don't know!" Edie cried. "He came home like this and collapsed on the floor. Fortunately, Kreacher was there so we took him here."
"Do I look like a fucking hospital?" Raven muttered, feeling slightly overtaxed with the situation since she wasn't a healer. She knelt on the floor to take a closer look at Regulus, remembering it could be useful to check his pulse. At least he was still alive and breathing, but the thin lines of blood running from his ears, eyes and nose were probably not a good sign. She could see though that he wasn't bleeding any longer.
"You're studying medicine!" Edie sounded unusually shrill.
"I don't. I know a bit about anatomy and I visit courses in autopsy, which I hope won't come in handy today. I don't know what to do. I don't even know what happened to him."
"Master Regulus was called to meet the Dark Lord today." Kreacher interjected, and Raven shot him a surprised glance because he had managed to deliver valuable information without the usual bickering.
"I almost thought so." She nodded slowly. Reg was ghastly pale and covered in cold sweat. It wasn't an unusual sight to her; over the years, she had often seen Severus in a similar state (not that bad, though) when he returned from meetings with the Dark Lord.
"What's wrong with him?"
"After-effects of the Cruciatus Curse." Raven told Edie without explaining just what precisely that meant. She pointed at Severus' door. "Take him in there, put him in the bed and keep him warm."
"Mistress Scum- dear Mistress Raven must call her big-nosed abomination of a half-blood-"
"You mean Severus?"
"Yes, yes call Master Severus. He can help good Master Regulus. He can. Good Master Severus. Master Severus helped Kreacher, too. Gave him good medicine." Carefully, Kreacher levitated Regulus' motionless body through the door into Severus' room and placed him onto his bed, while Raven Summoned two more blankets.
"I wished it would be that easy," she mumbled, remembering the day Severus had cured Kreacher by bottle-feeding him with Coke. It wouldn't work now. There was no cure to the Cruciatus Curse although Severus worked on a potion to easy the pain. But as far as she knew, he hadn't succeeded yet. Every little progress was followed by another setback, another reason he needed to improve it... She rummaged through the array of bottles and flasks filling a whole shelf, all neatly labelled in his spidery handwriting. There was no Anti-Cruciatus potion (of course not, he must have taken the whole test series to Hogwarts for further research) but at least she found a bottle of Dreamless Sleep.
"Give him a spoonful of that," she instructed Kreacher before she turned to Edie. "He needs warmth, now. Wrap him in the blankets and stay close to him. Physical contact can be supportive."
And music, she remembered as she switched on Severus' cassette player before she retreated to the kitchen in order to send her Patronus to Severus. It was the first time since the Hanoi Rocks gig more than a month ago that she contacted him.
'Please come and bring some of your Anti-Cruciatus potion. It's urgent!'
Severus didn't send a Patronus in return, which made Raven worry about him, hoping the Dark Lord hadn't chosen this bloody fucking day to punish both of her friends. But she didn't have to worry for long because instead of sending a Patronus, Severus showed up himself only a few minutes after Raven's call, looking somewhat the worse for wear.
"Sev! You alright?"
-o-
No, he wasn't. The Dark Lord had been in a really bad mood today- but that didn't matter now because he was holding Raven in his arms, and she was alright. She wasn't hurt (as he had feared), and she radiated a warmth he had longed for. Merlin, her warmth even seemed to have a healing effect on his sore body...
"What happened?" Slowly, he withdrew from her embrace, knowing she wouldn't have called and asked for a potion without reason.
"I was hoping you could tell me," she sighed and explained. "Reg's in your room, apparently suffering from the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse. He arrived here unconscious and that hasn't changed yet. His pulse is slow but incessant. I put him to bed, ordered Edie to keep him warm and Kreacher to give him a spoonful of Dreamless Sleep."
"Well done."
"But Sev, he was bleeding from his eyes and ears and..."
"I know," he interrupted her and grimaced, "it's not that unusual." I was just disciplined enough to never show you, always wiping away the bloody tears before you could see them... "Was he still bleeding when he came here?"
"No, the bleeding must have stopped before; the blood on his face has dried already. He's just deadly pale, coated in cold sweat, and... well, still unconscious."
Severus simply nodded in response, but he was proud of Raven for giving him a detailed diagnosis of the boy's state- instead of panicking, like many others would have done. Although her worries were apparent, she nevertheless managed to keep her cool in an almost scientific way to approach the matter at hand.
"Let's take a look at him."
Together they went to Severus' room and there he was greeted with a really strange sight indeed. Regulus was lying in his bed (well, it was actually more like a mattress on the floor than a real bed), Edie had cuddled up close to him, holding one of his hands, while Kreacher was holding the other. Both of them were talking quietly, apparently without any bickering coming from the house-elf. Which was strange since he never missed a chance to badmouth anyone who wasn't of the purest blood, and Edie was even worse than that for she was a Muggle.
Severus turned his head to shot Raven a brief glance. "Who brainwashed Kreacher?"
She shrugged. "Dunno, but I was wondering, too. He even called me dear Mistress Raven."
"Interesting," he agreed.
At the sound of his voice, Kreacher looked up and came running to Severus, hugging his knees as he croaked in his most charming bullfrog voice, "Master Severus! Dear Master Severus. Kreacher is so happy seeing you. Can you, the most noble and skilled Master of Potions, can you make Kreacher's dear Master Regulus alive again?"
"He's not dead, yet." Severus said calmly as he used his wand to check on Regulus' vital signs. "And he's not going to die either."
"But what's wrong with him? Can you help him?" Edie sat up, looking expectantly at Severus.
He uncorked a small flask containing a pinkish potion and make Regulus swallow some of it, then he sat down next to Edie. "The Dark Lord is a cruel master who likes to punish his servants when he isn't pleased. Today, he was mightily displeased- I don't know the reason why- and so he lashed out at everyone who's around. He uses his magic to torture people and sometimes even to break them. I sincerely hope Regulus didn't spill any secrets to him-"
"Reg is not a traitor!" Edie snapped indignantly.
"I didn't call him one. But Regulus isn't used to the Cruciatus Curse. It causes excruciating pain, you cry tears of blood, your mind goes numb- if you don't know how to handle this and to keep up your mental guards at the same a time, the Dark Lord will rape your mind and know all of your innermost secrets. Which is also the reason why I think it utterly foolish he started a romantic relationship with you now."
"Don't ye think that love makes ye stronger? 'Cause ye have someone to live for, someone ye want to protect?"
"Sentimentalities." Severus hissed but it lacked the acidness he had insisted for she got him wondering if she was probably right. Clandestinely, he glanced at Raven and realized it was not the thought of Lily, not the idea of redemption that drove him, made him suffer the Dark Lord's wrath without breaking. He struggled to his feet before addressing Edie again. "We will find out tomorrow, I guess. For now, Regulus just needs a good night of sleep. He'll be fine."
"See, Mistress Edie, Kreacher told you good Master Severus can cure dear Master Regulus:"
"Where's Kreacher and what did you do to him?" Raven wanted to know.
"I treat him decently. We talked things over and he knows Regulus likes me." Edie patted the house-elf's bald head and shrugged. "Okay, it might have been helpful that I give him his medicine."
"Medicine?" It didn't take long for the scales to fall from Raven's eyes and she laughed out loud."Gosh, Edie, tell me you're not bribing him with Coke!"
"Well, it brings out the best of him."
Still laughing, Raven wished them a good night and left the room. Severus followed her into the kitchen where she poured a glass of Coke, using magic to send it to Kreacher.
"Edie's truly incredible."
"Aye. She's quite clever for a Muggle, isn't she? And she's right about some other things, too."
He stared at his boots; he was much too tired to have a conversation like that now. Regulus wasn't the only one who had suffered the Dark Lord's wrath tonight, and only because he was still standing upright instead of lying unconscious on a mattress didn't mean he had gotten off more lightly.
He wanted to sleep. He didn't want to return to Hogwarts now, didn't want to return to the cold and lonely dungeons. He wanted to be loved and he longed for her warmth...
Slowly, he lifted his head and ran his fingers through his hair.
"May I stay here, tonight?"
"Why, sure. It's your place as well as it is mine."
"Well... um, my room is be occupied- " He decided to not beat about the bush any longer. "Raven, what I actually mean is, may I stay with you, tonight?"
-o-
He's tired, he's exhausted... and he's suffering from the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse, Raven kept telling herself so her hopes wouldn't go up too high, he needs the company and comfort of a friend.
But it wasn't friendly comfort he was seeking when he kissed her, when his clever hands undressed he before she even noticed he was all naked in bed with her, and there was at least one part of him that didn't seem to be exhausted.
"Oh," she gasped. It never occurred to her to deny him what he wanted because she would always yearn for him. A long time had passed since he was an inexperienced boy, making love to her for the first time, way back in Hawaii, and Severus had always been a fast learner; he was ambitious to be the best at whatever he was doing. Therefore, he was the perfect lover even if he didn't love her.
Tonight, he almost desperately longed to be united with her, but it wasn't only passion or lust that drove him... it wasn't exactly love, either... it was more like a strange kind of need, the need to belong, to being grounded...
-o-
She awoke early the next morning, securely wrapped in Severus' arms, and she cuddled up closer to him to kiss his sleeping face. His lips twitched ever so slightly as he rolled her on top of him, grabbing her buttocks to direct her towards his erection. She didn't hesitate to spread her legs so he could easily enter her, then he left it to her to dictate the pace and intensity of their interaction.
It started slowly, but soon her breathing got heavier and she wanted to feel him even deeper within her. When she sat up, he reached out to cup her breasts with his hands, teasing her nipples until she moaned his name. Never before had she looked more beautiful to him than in the moment she climaxed; it made him lose every bit of control he usually was so proud to muster.
Alas, good things don't last. That very moment the door of her room was flung open with a loud bang, and Kreacher shouted in his deep bullfrog voice, "Breakfast is ready!"
"Get out!" Severus shouted while Raven broke down on top of him, laughing almost hysterically.
"Remind me we'll never have house-elves."
"I'm certain there are elf-repelling wards we can use on our bedroom," he replied dryly as he got up and started dressing. That little incident with Kreacher had brought him back to reality which was decidedly not as pleasant as the morning had started. He cursed silently when he thought about returning to Hogwarts, and he wished he could linger a little longer.
Raven watched him in astonishment for he hadn't ruled the possibility out they still would be living together in the future, and that was a promising perspective.
-o-
Severus entered the kitchen just in time to overhear Kreacher informing Edie that "Master Severus and Mistress Raven will be late for breakfast because they are still copulating."
His desire to throttle the annoying creature grew when Edie looked at him, grinning. "Morning, Sev. I just heard ye started the day off in a nice way?"
"Not. A. Word." He replied in a dangerous tone, but accepted the cup of coffee she offered him.
"Hey, perhaps I'm just jealous 'cos when Reg wake up he started puking his insides out before he ran for the bathroom to take a shower." Edie saw him narrowing his eyes and quickly added. "Don't worry, Kreacher cleaned up all the mess."
"So the boy's alright?"
"I wish you'd stop calling me the boy or whelp. I'm only one year younger than you are." Regulus said as he walked into the kitchen and kissed Edie, whispering, "I'm sorry, love," before he turned around to glance at Severus.
"More than one and a half year, to be precise." Severus corrected him. He produced his wand to give Regulus a brief health scan.
"Hey, I'm fine." Regulus protested while at the same time he tried to soothe Kreacher who got all excited about the good news.
"So it seems." Severus responded, and now Kreacher was hugging his leg instead of Regulus'.
"Good Master Severus saved Master Regulus' life. Kreacher is very grateful. Kreacher will never say again Master Severus is a big-nosed abomination of abhorrent half-blood scum."
"Thank you so very much." Severus' voice was dripping with sarcasm
"You is welcome, Master Severus." Kreacher bowed deeply.
"Hi Reg," Raven greeted him when she finally joined her friends in the kitchen. "So good to see you alive and kicking."
"Indeed," Severus agreed, still sounding slightly snarky. "And now that we're all glad you're fine, you may be able to quench our curiosity about yesterday's events. What enraged the Dark Lord that much that he actually dared to torture a noble Black?"
"I've no idea." Regulus stopped eating, put down his fork, then took it up again to peck at his scrambled eggs. "He was already raging when I arrived, upset about something none of us had caused... Merlin, he even killed that one Rosier guy- you know, Evan's cousin- in a fit of rage."
"What was he responsible for?" Raven interjected.
Regulus shrugged, he really had no clue. "The Dark Lord doesn't deem it necessary to involve us in his grandiose plans, therefore I don't know."
"Hm," she was pondering his words when all of a sudden an idea struck her and began to take shape. She seemed to recall a guy by the name of Rosier. He had often accompanied Evan to the Red Lantern, and he had once or twice mentioned a special mission Lord V had entrusted him with. Now, considering what had happened yesterday and the day before...
"Raven, please share with us what you're mulling over." Severus insisted. He glanced at the clock. Damn! There was no time to linger, his classes were about to start in half an hour and he still had to get to Hogwarts before Dumbledore found out he was missing. But first, he had to find out what happened yesterday.
"Um... it might just be a coincidence, but... well, you know, Sev, I checked on the Potters, trying to find out if they're safe- not really satisfactorily, if you ask me. Anyway, after having piqued Sirius' interest, I sort of had an audience with your dear Lily. She invited us in. Me and Edie, that is- no, not a word now, Reg, just hear me out. Lily listened to what I had to say, and believe me, guys, I really came up with some interesting news for her. But to cut a long story short, of course she declined my offer of help and insisted to stay with her husband, fighting the evil 'til the end, bla bla bla... the typical Gryffindor waffle.
"However, my words must have fallen on fertile soil somehow, and I guess she reconsidered the safety measures taken to protect her and her son, realising the inadequacy of them. I don't know what she did or if Dumbledore was involved in it, but when I arrived at her address in Godric's Hollow the day before yesterday, I witnessed something very strange indeed. One minute I was watching the house, and the next it was gone. Gone. I walked the garden, not even remembering there used to be a house although I remembered having met Lily in that house that wasn't anymore..."
"Now, I'm asking you, Reg, is there a defensive or protective spell that can make a whole cottage disappear from sight and mind?"
"Well, at least that would explain the Dark Lord's rage." Severus gave to consider before he, too, glanced expectantly at Regulus.
"I don't know," he said hesitantly. "I know you're hoping to find an answer due to my father's knack of making Grimmauld Place almost untraceable, and perhaps he left a clue in his journals I never read."
"Well, that sounds like a promising way to start. Now we merely need some luck and all will be fine."
"Too bad ye can't bottle luck, or can ye?" Edie cut in. A simple statement that made Raven's eyes lit up with hope.
"Oh no," Severus knew immediately what Raven was up to so he frowned at her. "Are you insane?"
"Well, it makes sense, though, doesn't it?"
"What makes sense?" Regulus asked, clueless of what they were talking about.
"Felix Felicis. After all, we could use some luck now, can't we? Even if it comes in liquid form."
"You are insane. Felix Felicis is a highly toxic potion; if taken in large quantities it causes giddiness, recklessness and dangerous overconfidence."
"If you don't measure it carefully enough, yes. But we really could use at least a little luck now, Sev, and I know you can brew it."
"She's right, Sev, and ye know it." Edie interjected. "True, I don't know much about your world but from hearsay I gather that the Dumbledore guy isn't really interested in keeping yer beloved Lily safe since he's probably following his own agenda."
"And you're damned right with your assumption," Raven agreed.
"Nevertheless, there's just no way. It requires ingredients that aren't only hard to get but also extremely expensive."
"Don't worry about the money, mate," Regulus said. "Just tell me what you need and I'll get it for you."
"I have to leave now," Severus stated and he actually disappeared before any of his friends could ask more of him.
Thanks to ellennar for beta reading.
Only two more chapters to go plus epilogue. Hope you enjoy and please review!
