"I can't be sure… it is unlikely that he will be a true werewolf, but there may be symptoms… he may be changed…"
"Are the wounds going to heal? Can't you use magic Madam Pomprfey?"
More sounds, another voice, and then, closer-
"Professor Lake is waking up!"
Serena vaguely recognised the girl's high-pitched voice, but her brain couldn't focus on it just yet. Her body felt foreign to her. Something was nagging at the back of her sluggishly slow mind. A feeling of cold dread seeped down across her bones and froze her heart as some sixth sense knew, instinctively what was wrong, before her consciousness could formulate a response.
What on earth had happened?
Where in Merlin's name was she?
Then, as though hit with a spell, her memory came flooding back to her.
She remembered crossing paths with the Weasleys and Longbottom in the corridor, being told about the Death Eaters in the castle, she had sprinted, then she felt Severus' arms around her, saw his stricken face, terrified and determined at the same time, heard the echo of his hoarse declaration of love, and then...
Nothing.
He must have cursed her, she thought with a pang. He must have knocked her out, hoping she would miss the fight to keep her safe.
Severus.
Her eyes flew open, her wand was in her hand with just a thought and she heaved her body up, ready to counter any attack that might be thrown at her.
Her body was frustratingly slow to catch up with her mind, and it was rather ungracefully that she stumbled out of the bed into what she realised was the hospital wing's midst.
A shriek caught her attention, and she recognised Poppy rushing towards her.
"Oh really, Serena, put that wand away and sit back down this instant!"
What had happened?
Poppy swept over to her and pushed her firmly back onto the bed. She perched on the edge as the mediwitch pointed her wand at certain places over Serena's chest.
"You are extremely lucky," the witch said darkly. "Extremely lucky."
"What happened?" Serena asked out loud this time, her eyes scanning the room for one wizard in particular.
Minerva was speaking to Pomona and an auror near the door, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood were huddled together opposite Serena's bed, and Serena recognised the voice she had heard as being Luna Lovegood's.
As she looked behind her, she saw Neville Longbottom occupied the bed next to her, and Serena saw Tonks and Lupin sitting solemnly next to an occupied bed in the corner.
"Dark magic," Poppy said darkly. "Miss Granger brought you in with Miss Lovegood. We don't know what happened, they said something about Severus, there must have been a Death Eater… this is a very dark curse indeed, the only reason you have survived is because it is a curse you have already been hit with."
Serena let that knowledge sink in.
"Wh-what?"
Poppy grimaced. "It's the same curse Crouch used on you… Your body has pushed it off very quickly because the antidote will always remain in your body. Severus will be able to explain better when he gets here."
At that, Serena pushed Poppy gently aside and staggered up from her bed for a second time. Severus.
"Is he here?" she asked, clutching the bed for support.
"Not yet," frowned Poppy.
Serena's eyes widened as she suddenly saw who Remus was sitting beside.
It took her a moment to recognise the wizard, his face was so bloody and mangled, that she didn't recognise it as Bill Weasley's at first.
"What the fuck happened?" She half-slurred for what seemed like the thousandth time, swaying on her feet unsteadily as the blood rushed to her head. What on earth had Severus cursed her with? She stumbled past the students, her wand still clutched in her hand until she managed to grasp the metal at the foot of Bill's bed. She felt like she might vomit at the sight of his ripped face.
Remus hurried around the side of the bed to scoop her into his arms, and his feelings of grief and pain flooded her.
"Thank god you're okay," he sighed, letting her go gently.
"And are you?" She cried, taking in his torn robes and dust-covered hair. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"
"The Death Eaters got into the castle through the Room of Requirement, apparently Draco Malfoy helped them enter," Remus explained quickly. "They headed straight up towards the astronomy tower, but Tonks, Bill and Dawlish managed to get up there quickly to help us keep them at bay. It was strange, as though they were waiting for something-"
Remus cut off at that moment as the door to the hospital wing swung open loudly and a bloody Harry Potter entered, a hard look on his face, with Ginny Weasley walking at his side, covered in as much dust as Remus was.
Serena had just turned towards them, dread taking hold of her as she saw their tear-stained faces and devastated expressions.
Had Severus done it? Was- was Albus..?
The moment Harry's eyes fell on her, something inside of him seemed to snap and his face, once sad and mournful, became filled with fierce loathing and anger.
"YOU!" he roared, racing towards her, his wand outstretched, but it seemed he didn't think to use it. A strong forearm found her chest and she was slammed back against the hospital wing wall, her head hitting the stone painfully. Harry pinned her to the stone, his wand mere inches from her nose as cries of protest erupted around them.
Serena hadn't moved. She could have floored him with just a thought, but she knew that this was how it had to happen, and the fear of what this meant paralysed her. What had Severus done?
Her wand stayed limply in her hand as his feelings of grief, anger and pain poured into her body from the tight grip he had on her.
"Harry!" Remus shouted, looking at him as though he was demented, "what are you-"
"DID YOU KNOW?" Harry shouted, spit flying through the air and hitting her cheek as he held her gaze with such hatred that she felt herself shiver.
She had been expecting it, she reminded herself stoically, she had been prepared for this. And the worst was surely yet to come.
"Did you? You traitor! How could you! Did you help him and his fucking chums? You've been helping them all this time, haven't you?"
"Harry," Serena whispered breathlessly as his elbow restricted her breathing painfully. "I don't know what you're talking about. If you'd just let me go-"
"Harry," Minerva said sharply, stepping forward and placing a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, "explain yourself very quickly, or the Headmaster will-"
"Dumbledore is dead," Harry said through gritted teeth, and the room fell silent as everyone looked to Ginny for confirmation, shock hanging in the air like muggle electricity. "But you knew that, didn't you?" He spat at Serena, shoving her harder against the stone and then letting her go abruptly.
She let her body fall limply against the wall behind her as Harry's words echoed through the air. She had so many questions, but she couldn't ask a single one. All she knew was that the tears pooling in her eyes were real.
Remus, who had collapsed into a chair, his head in his hands, suddenly looked up, his eyes running between Harry and Serena, a frown on his face. Serena knew he had put the pieces of the puzzle together before he asked his question.
"How?" He said quietly.
"Snape," spat Harry. "Snape killed him. I was there. I saw it all."
Serena could feel tears running down her cheeks, and she shook her head from side to side slowly, allowing a small moan to leave her mouth. "No... It can't be true, Harry, you must have seen something else, you-you must have seen Severus trying to help Albus-"
"He had him at the end of his wand and he cast the Avada Kedavra! It was Snape. Snape killed Dumbledore." Harry shouted, cutting across her as the others shrieked and gasped at this information.
"Snape?" Minerva gasped, and she swayed so unsteadily that Poppy ran forward, conjuring a chair and sliding it under her legs just before they gave way.
"No," Serena said a little more firmly, standing up straighter and brushing away her tears impatiently. "It's not true, Harry! What really happened!"
"I SAW HIM!" Harry yelled, throwing his arms around violently.
"But-" began Minerva, "He trusted… he always trusted…"
"And we trusted her," Harry spat, not taking his eyes from her.
"It's not true," she said desperately, looking wildly from Harry to Remus to Minerva. "It's not! It can't be! It's- I- Legilimens!"
She didn't know what made her do it, but she hurtled through his thoughts and pain and fell upon the nightmare almost immediately.
Albus, crumpled against the turrets of the astronomy tower.
Draco, cowering, lost, under too much pressure.
Death Eaters leering and taunting.
And Severus… standing as still as a statue… his eyes full of such agony that she could feel it all as though she had been with him.
Albus, begging him to do the deed, pleading him to not let it be Draco.
The fury in Severus' face began to show and when the words resonated clearly out of his mouth, Serena knew he had killed with hatred, and the knowledge crushed her.
She didn't wait to see if the curse hit its target. She didn't need to.
She pulled out of Harry's mind, crashing back against that wall that seemed to be the only thing holding her up.
"You see," Harry spat coldly. "Do you see now?"
"Snape killed Dumbledore," Tonks repeated quietly, and Serena could see her slipping her wand out of her pocket slowly. "So where does that leave you?"
Something seemed to tingle on the back of her neck and hands as her body seemed to be warning her of imminent danger. Serena's instincts kicked in and she straightened up, clutching her wand tightly, realising she was backed into a corner of the room.
"Now hang on a minute," Remus said sharply. "Serena was cursed, and a bad curse at that, you can't possible think that she knew-"
"What happened to me?" Serena mumbled, trying to buy some time.
It was Hermione Granger that answered her question. The young girl was looking at her curiously, as though she didn't know what to believe. "We were keeping an eye on Professor Snape. Harry had told us to stick to him, so we did. We followed him to his office, and then you went in there. When Professor Snape came out, he- he told us that you'd fainted, and that we needed to take you to the hospital wing!"
"Fainted," Remus said sharply. "It was dark magic, the only reason she's alive is because she'd already been hit by the curse-"
"She's his wife! Do you think she didn't notice all along that he was on the wrong side!" snapped Tonks, and Serena was taken aback by the revulsion in her voice.
"Tonks is right!" Harry cried angrily, "they were together! She's even got Death Eater parents! She's probably a Death Eater just like he is!"
"Serena is NOT a Death Eater!" Remus raised his voice, and she was infinitely grateful to him, although she knew it was of little use.
"If he's been on their side all along, do you really believe that she wouldn't have known?" Tonks asked Remus firmly. "I mean, we've always had doubts about Snape-"
"I haven't," Remus said firmly. "Not since he met Serena."
"It's not adding up, Remus," Tonks said in a hard voice. "It's not, and you know it."
"Severus loved me," Serena said in a shaky voice. "Whatever he may have done, he loved me, I'm sure of it-"
"He tried to kill you," Minerva said faintly. "And… well, Severus has always been a Master Occlumens…"
"And so is she," Tonks said darkly.
"I don't understand what he's done," Serena's voice cracked, her eyes meeting Minerva's, more tears poured down her cheeks, and she didn't even have to try hard to act so well. Her emotions were in a total mess and she knew she wasn't far from breaking down completely. "I don't know what's going on, he's always been on our side, I know he has-"
"Clearly not," Harry spat. "And I don't believe a word you're saying."
"Neither do I," Tonks said darkly. "And I'm certainly not going to take the risk."
"Tonks," Serena said calmly, her own wand ready in her hand. "Think about what you're saying, I'm your friend,
"I know what I'm saying," Tonks said firmly, and Serena could see Dawlish sidling around towards the door in the corner of her vision. "I'm taking you in, Serena, I'm sorry. I have to."
Serena shook her head and held out a hand as Tonks began to advance on her.
"I can't let you do that," she said quickly, raising her wand. "Tonks, I don't want to hurt you, any of you-"
"Stand down Serena," Tonks replied calmly, but Serena didn't wait.
Tonks was the only one with her wand in her hand, and taking them all out wasn't a magical challenge, just a mental one.
She hated herself as her elemental powers swept her modified stunning spell through the ward, hitting them one at a time, the wind roaring, filling their ears and blocking out the soft thumps as bodies dropped around her, knocked out before even being able to pull out their wands.
It took less than three seconds.
"Serena!"
She stared through her thick tears at the only person she hadn't touched.
"Remus," she sobbed, stumbling closer to him, begging him to believe her. He was the only one she cared about, she realised, the only one she didn't want to abandon her. "I swear to you Remus. I am NOT a Death Eater. I don't know what he's done- I- I don't understand, but- but I wouldn't do that to you, never, and not to my little Vin-Vinnie," she couldn't stop the heaving tears now, and she saw the same tears in Remus' eyes.
"Serena," he whispered, sounding torn, "what's going on? What have you done?" he gazed around at the unconscious bodies around them.
"I'm not going to Azkaban Remus, not like my parents… I'm going to leave… You know where I'll be. You're the only one that knows my address, and you are and will always be the secret keeper… I… I'll understand if- if you turn me in, I will-"
"Serena," Remus interrupted, clutching her shoulders painfully tightly, "I'll come and find you," he whispered hoarsely, staring into her face with watery eyes. "You need to get out of here, now."
She nodded, wiping her tears briskly and stepping away from him.
"Remus, I…"
Remus nodded. "I know, now go! Go!"
"Kiss Vinnie for me."
She ran.
She sprinted through the door, almost hitting Molly and Arthur who were surely rushing to see their eldest son. She didn't stop, but she knew that they would all soon be on her heels, so she charged forward, as fast as she could, skidding down the staircases, leaping through secret passages, past her office, past Severus' quarters and down to the main staircase. She jumped the stairs three at a time and was just bursting out of the open castle doors into the mild night's air as she heard shouting from behind her. She didn't stop to look, but she guessed that Tonks must have been at the top of the stairs.
"Accio Cleansweep!" she thought fiercely as she ran down the Hogwarts drive, the drive she had been so marvelled to walk up just three years ago.
Had Severus fled the castle like this? Had he been forced to run from his home, forever branded a traitorous murderer?
"Serena get back here!" the shout echoed over the darkness of the grounds, but Serena knew Tonks didn't have a chance. She could hear the whistle in the breeze getting closer and closer and then she turned and leapt, her broomstick slipping obediently between her legs and she kicked off from the ground with both feet, shooting upwards, away from Tonks and Dawlish, who fired a half-hearted stunner, away from the castle whose windows were lighting up one by one, away from a group of people who stood, huddled at the foot of the astronomy tower, and away from her home and happiness.
In less than twenty seconds she had crossed the castle boundaries, feeling the familiar enchantments lifting. She dropped to the ground behind the first houses at the entrance to Hogsmeade and took a deep breath, concentrating, focussing her mind, before turning into the restricting darkness that was apparition.
The apartment she had bought was on the outskirts of London. It was a small one-bedroom top floor flat with a tiny kitchen, a square living room with a large window that overlooked the street, and a cramped, quite dark bedroom. Other than being within her price range, the main advantage of the flat was that it was a ten-minute walk from Grimmauld Place. Not that she would ever be allowed there again, she thought bitterly as she touched her wand to the door subtly, blocking the view of any passing muggles on the busy street behind her.
She walked up the three flights of stairs, still panting slightly from her sprinting, and touched her palm to the door of flat number five.
She let herself in and clicked the lock behind her, feeling her wards slide securely into place. She stood, her shoulders bowed, looking around at her sombre belongings. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and adrenaline pumped viciously through her veins.
"Lumos."
She grimaced at the stained beige carpet and wrinkled her nose at the smell of cigarette smoke. She took a few steps forward, glancing at the small kitchen and walked into the middle of the empty living room. The streetlight outside lit up the space, and lights flickered against the window pane as cars drove past below. She could hear the babble and chatter of party goers making their way to the bars below her.
She padded across the carpet to the bedroom, where she had thought to buy a comfortable, single bed. She glanced at her en-suite bathroom, closed the curtains with a thought from her mind and slumped down onto the bed.
In the light of her wand, she fumbled with the necklace around her neck, undoing the clasp and transforming it back to its original state.
She carefully emptied the pouch she had been gifted by Hagrid and laid the objects gently out before her. These were the only belongings she had in the world now, and she had chosen the most precious.
She turned over Kingsley's gold ring between her fingers, before kissing it and placing it on the covers. She pulled out her Gringotts key and a small pouch of money which she had transfigured to be a lot bigger on the inside and placed them on the bed. Then, a small bottle that held tentacula poison, in case she should ever be cornered somewhere. Next, she carefully unfolded four photos she had recently added, two of the beautiful Lavinia, one of her and Remus at Grimmauld Place and a final, old photo of Kingsley and herself dancing.
Finally, she pulled out the most precious one she had. A small, black business card, which she held in both hands, watching as her bond and wedding ring glowed powerfully in the wand light.
She wasn't sure if she could stand it, seeing something they would no longer have, but she also knew that her heart longed to see him, to hold him, to be reminded of how happy they had been.
"With my life," she whispered, her voice hoarse and broken.
The tears came all too easily. Her throat burned raw, her heart ached and her bones screamed with pain at all they had lost.
She thought of Severus, and the horrors he must be experiencing at that very moment.
He had lost everything.
His friends, his home, his wife, his mentor and his entire life. He would never be respected, he would never be forgiven, she doubted that he would ever be believed if the truth was allowed to one day surface.
Severus would only suffer from now on, he would only be tortured and made to torture. He would have to live his lie every second of the day and feel how his soul had been split once more.
She had seen his eyes through Harry's memory. Albus had been convinced Severus could have killed him with love, a compassion killing, to save Draco from defacing his soul and to keep Albus from dying an undignified death.
But Serena had seen him, she'd seen the hate in his face, seen the rage and loathing that he had used to utter the curse.
Severus had lost his soul that night, she was sure of it.
She gazed down at the precious little card, watching as their fingers linked so easily together and Severus pulled her closer to plant a kiss on her temple. She stared open-mouthed at his relaxed stance, his eyes that fluttered closed and his lips that twitched with a smile. Then she turned her attention to herself, saw how young and happy she looked, how perfectly at home and safe and protected she was.
Tears pooled in her eyes and her fingers began to tremble. How long would they have to spend apart? Would they both survive? Would Severus continue to be useful to the Dark Lord? Which side would win the war? And would her and Severus be given a second chance at life, someday in the future?
"I just want to see you again," she whispered to his photo self. "And I want you to be as happy as you were in this photo. I just want you to be happy," she repeated, her voice breaking painfully. "Be happy, Severus, be happy."
She fell asleep some hours later, her face tear-stained, her nose runny, and her fingers clutching a fine black business card as if it were Severus himself.
...
Two chapters left, thanks so much for all your wonderful reviews and messages for this story.
I hope the ending will satisfy you all!