Chapter 12

The Fallout

Dread.

If you had asked Severus Snape what emotion he was experiencing at this moment, he would have identified dread. Only this was more than the general dread he experienced from everyday life.

This was dread that comes from the very core of one's being and aches in the bones. It was the deep-rooted dread which stems from both sleeping and waking nightmares and from moments you wished you could change but cannot.

It was the dread that came from the shrill shrieks and curses from Bellatrix Lestrange. And the first-hand knowledge of what she is capable of and the extent of her devotion to her beloved Dark Lord.

Severus had been called upon by Narcissa Malfoy. He had hoped to be gone only a short period of time because he had no desire to leave Hogwarts without his protection. Things had already become difficult enough and the progress he had hoped to make with safely guiding the DA meetings. But when Narcissa summoned him via his office fireplace in a panic, he knew he needed to devote as much time as possible to convincing this deranged woman that Draco Malfoy had not defected to the Light. He just wasn't quite sure how.

"Bellatrix, please! Please just stop pacing and help us sort this out! Severus is here and he can help us suss out what happened!"

The dark haired woman hissed, "Cissy, you know what happened! You saw what Draco did!"

"I don't care what I saw," the blonde woman hissed back. "My son would never put his family in jeopardy by making a such a foolish and nonsensical decision!"

Bellatrix paused and let out a cackle. "Your husband did," she said scathingly while sneering in Lucius's direction. "I just thought Draco had more sense than his spineless father."

"You know he does!" Narcissa pleaded walking over to her sister. Lucius regarded both sisters with a cold but defeated look. If his wife noticed, she did not acknowledge it. "Something must have happened to make him do it! That's why Severus is here! He can help us!"

While Severus pitied his friend, he was not at all surprised by Narcissa's bold defense. She loved her son more than anything. More than Lucius. More than herself. She was trying to keep her wild Dark-Lord's-pet of a sister on a leash so that Draco wouldn't be in danger.

"Fine," Bellatrix relented, seemingly willing to indulge her sister. "Snape, what do make of what's transpired today? How could my once-beloved nephew have betrayed us and protected a Mudblood of all things?"

Narcissa piped in with a theory, "Perhaps he's gone back undercover? Severus, had he said anything to you? Maybe this is all a ploy to get close to Harry Potter?"

Her sister rolled her eyes, "How does that make any sense, Cissy? We had Harry Potter here. He had a handful of wands and they had none! There would have been no need to go undercover if he had just fought back! And don't give me any of that, 'he's just a boy' nonsense! I've seen him grow exponentially in the past year. He is a cunning and powerful young wizard and would have been more than capable of dealing with that lot." She clucked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment, "The Dark Lord had such great plans for him," she lamented wistfully.

Severus now found an in. "Listen to yourself, Bellatrix." She looked up at him and arched an eyebrow urging him to continue. "You've just said it yourself - you've watch young Draco undergo a tremendous shift in the past year. You've trained him yourself. You've been inside his mind. The Dark Lord himself has placed on Draco a significant amount of trust and responsibility. Just over a year ago you and Narcissa came to me and I made an Unbreakable Vow because she was afraid for her scared little boy. When was the last time you saw Draco being that scared little boy."

Tongue-in-cheek, the previously enraged witch seemed to settle. "Severus, I will admit that I've had my doubts about you over the years," she moved her finger in a spiral and pointed at him, "but in this particular instance, you may have a point. Draco was the perfect student. All any aunty could ask for." She took a seat on the leg of a nearby chair. "But what other explanation is there?"

"What about the Mudblood?" Narcissa offered suddenly and urgently.

"That's exactly what I've been saying, Cissy!" she spat. "He's betrayed us for the Mudblood!"

"No," Narcissa refuted. "I mean, what if the Mudblood did something to him?"

Bellatrix paused for a beat, her interest piqued. "Like what?"

"A spell," Narcissa clarified. Severus could see the wheels desperately turning in her head. "He was looking at her for a long moment. Before we all heard the noise and the chandelier came down. He didn't look like himself. He looked to be in a trance. Up until we all heard that dreadful little elf up on top of it. The Mudblood must have cast a spell on him!"

"How? She had no wand, she didn't say a word. If she had my knife would have dug deeper into her throat." The deranged woman smirked at the thought.

"Since their first year at Hogwarts, Draco has shared with me that the little Mudblood was exceptionally advanced for her kind," Lucius spoke for the first time. "Draco had been learning nonverbal spells last year. What if that's how she did it?"

Now Severus saw a narrative he could construct. "Lucius is correct on both counts - we did learn nonverbal spellcasting and Miss Granger was successful before any other student. It's very likely what happened."

"Without a wand?" Bellatrix pressed, still unconvinced.

"Are you saying you can't perform wandless magic, Bellatrix?" Severus asked almost tauntingly.

She bristled at the accusation. "Of course I can! But she's a magic-stealing child! There's no possible way-"

Severus interrupted, "What other explanation makes any sense after what you've seen for the past year?"

Finally Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to believe what was being said. And suddenly there was a new dangerous glint in her eyes. "That little Mudblood bitch has used the Imperius Curse on my nephew. We have to tell the Dark Lord once he's returned - we won't interrupt his trip, it's too important." She turned her attention to her sister. "I promise, Cissy, the Dark Lord will leave her to me. I will make sure she dies a slow and painful death for what she's done to our Draco."

While it was very clear to anyone who ever encountered her that Bellatrix Lestrange struck fear into the hearts of even some of the most heinous and vile people in the Wizarding World, it was not her Severus was concerned about. Quite frankly, he was surprised the boy had let his aunt get away with all that she had. He had been certain Draco would have taken everyone in the room down to protect her. Then he realized that it was probably Miss Granger who stopped him. He must have known somehow that it's not what she would have wanted him to do.

While the dread that had overwhelmed Severus was still present, he took relief in the fact that they had constructed their own lie to believe. He was also now able to be relieved on behalf of his students. He understood how important it was for them to be together and could only imagine the joy that they felt from the reunion. But he only let himself be happy for them briefly. He didn't want his thoughts to drift to a reunion he would never get. He could be happy for his students but still want to protect his own emotions.

"Well Severus, we know you've got a school to run. I'll walk you out," Narcissa offered.

The blonde woman walked silently next to the dark haired man beside her. There were many things she wished she could continue to speak to him about but knew she would not be able to. Partly because she could not rouse suspicion and partly because she was afraid of what realities she might need to confront.

As they exited the manor and approached the point of the property where the professor would be able to Apparate, they came to a halt.

"Thank you again, Severus. I can't tell you what it means to me to know what's happened to my son. And to know that he was not acting of his own volition. He's gone from being an enemy to being a loyal subject held prisoner by Potter and his gang if miscreants."

The man nodded respectfully but then said, "It was you who figured it out, Narcissa. It was your theory. I only confirmed that based on my observations it was within the realm of possibility."

She took the window of opportunity and asked, "What did you observe last year, Severus? With Draco and the Mudblood girl? I don't know much about what exactly transpired."

She watched as the man formulated a response. "Draco is a brilliant young man and came up with a plan to win Miss Granger's heart only to crush it at a later point. And it worked. I watched her chase him down and collapse into tears that final day last year. He was very convincing and it was a smart move. I was thoroughly impressed when he came up with the plan."

Narcissa nodded and gave her old friend a small smile. "Thank you, Severus."

He nodded and she watched him Apparate away.

She turned to head back into her home with a million thoughts zipping around, as if Quidditch World Cup were being held in her head. She wanted to believe Severus more than anything. But she saw something that day no one else had.

As her sister held the blade to the girl's neck, something shimmered and caught her eye. It appeared that the blade had been pulling on a silver chain than had been hidden with some kind of glamour. Her sister was too preoccupied to notice. No one seemed to notice. But Narcissa did. Narcissa also noticed a familiar pendant that had suddenly some into view for just a few seconds before the chandelier came down - a family heirloom that had been sitting in a vault with some of their most precious jewelry. And she saw the way her son looked at the young witch. They way he ran towards her and helped her. The way nothing else in the world seemed to matter to him in that moment.

Narcissa Malfoy saw it all. She wasn't quite sure what to feel about it. All she knew was that she was grateful no one else seemed to notice what she had.