Disclaimer —

It's JKR's world, I just play in it.

Calm down folks, there's still a lot of life in this tale — no deaths yet.

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As they hurried upstairs to the couple's rooms, Gabriel kept asking what was wrong, and touching at his mother's face. Allosia kept telling her son it would be alright, but she knew it was not enough as questions about his father and what he did burbled out of his mouth. Not now. Not without Severus. I don't know where to begin, was all she could think.

It was, much to Allosia's surprise, Durefhan that came to her rescue, by asking Gabriel if he liked puzzles. How did he know? The boy had nodded, looking both scared and skeptical. "So does your father," he said then. "He solves very important puzzles. That's why he has to go so suddenly sometimes. Your mother worries about him, just like she does you. That it all. Do you understand?"

Gabriel nodded then, and while it was clear he knew the story was larger still, it gave him enough of a sense of things to silence him.

"Thank you," Allosia said to Durefhan over the boy's shoulder.

"My pleasure."

There were two ways to deal with pain. Snape had known this much for a long time. One could either run into it, or retreat from it. It didn't really matter which, as long as you didn't actually try to fight it. It was in the fight it became unbearable; it was in the fight that everyone always lost.

It was Koureha who had given him the words for it, helped him learn to talk about it, and had ordered many a private and painful confession on the subject. It was not the cause or purpose of their affair. It had, in fact, been incidental. He was in Japan studying for a summer, he had seen her and wanted her, she had informed him of the price. It was, in its extreme, at any rate, something new, and he gave himself to it as much as he gave himself to anything.

She was the type of woman easily mistaken for indiscreet, but, as the game and its reality deepened he realized that was far from the case. She had done things to him that he still could only allude to with Allosia, although, he knew, he would eventually tell. Koureha had played with many a pain curse on him, the Cruciatus included. Eventually and unavoidably he had confessed some of the usefulness of their affair and when it had come time for him to return to England she released him without shame. And while she remained a predatory beast that Snape would never entirely lose his fear of, he held an affection for her, if only because her lessons helped him through this, helped him find the way home.

Thinking of her now, as a pain that stole his voice and very nearly his rationality, snaked through his veins, he felt a twinge of fear and arousal. It was not uncommon for a Death Eater or for a creature like himself, but that didn't mean he didn't find it shameful, that he didn't long to loose consciousness as he tried to block his horror at his twitching and uncontrollable limbs from showing on his face.

"Shit shit shit," Allosia continued to mutter as she paced back and forth across their rooms. Adrimori sat on the bed with Gabriel in his arms, while Durefhan had taken a seat in an armchair, which Hermione perched on the arm of. Dumbledore stood and gazed out of the window. "What should we do?" she finally stopped and asked.

"When were you scheduled to go back to Hogwarts?" Durefhan asked.

"In the morning."

"Then wait until morning."

Dumbledore nodded and turned. "He is right, Allosia. Your husband will find you. Even if he were not the type of make sure of that, his, associates are."

Allosia put her hands over her face and sighed, before looking around the room questioningly. "Why am I so scared?"

"Because you know Severus," Durefhan said, and Hermione gave him a sharp look. "He has lost his temper at the summons, yes?"

"Probably," she said tightly.

"He will be alright, if only because he is entertaining."

Hermione hissed a warning at Durefhan then, but Allosia held up her hand.

"It's fine; he tells me nothing I don't know." She sighed then. "You don't all have to wait with me."

"We will wait," Adrimori said, his quiet authority answering for them all.

Dumbledore walked across the room then and put a hand on Allosia's shoulder. He didn't have to speak. None of them did.

Snape knew he was going in and out of consciousness, with the intervals of blackness increasing with each onset. He also knew this was not good. Pain rarely drove him this far, and if it did it meant that real damage was being done. Koureha had taught him that too, that pain was an illusion, that the lessons we learn young, that pain means something is wrong, are not necessarily true. But pain can push you, push you until something has to go wrong, until your body forces danger upon itself, merely as a means of escape. Blacking out, and at Voldemort's hands, that was certainly danger.

Absently, Snape wondered when his legs would stop trembling and then, if all this blood were his own. Fingers entwined themselves in his hair again, yanking him up or awake, he wasn't sure.

It was early evening, and the sky was still fairly bright with the recently set sun. Dumbledore and Hermione were absently playing Rummy 500, even though both of their scores were now approaching 700. Gabriel napped on the large bed and Adrimori and Durefhan engaged in quiet conversation as Allosia paced.

They all froze and turned to the door in response to a loud and anxious knock. Durefhan rose to get it, blocking the view from the rest of the room.

"Merlin's wretched and holy mother," he breathed, moving away from the door and ushering in Draco Malfoy who was supporting Snape's bloody and limp weight.

Adrimori, swept Gabriel off the bed and into the side room before the boy could wake, and got a quick nod of thanks from Allosia before she rushed to her husband's side as Draco eased him onto the bed.

Allosia traced two fingers along Snape's hairline. "Hey, hey, can you hear me?"

He moaned incoherently, but his eyes fluttered open and seemed to focus on her for half a second, before shutting again.

Allosia jerked her head around to look at Draco, before she could ask anything though he began to list the curses and implements that had been used on Snape in a monotone.

"Gods why?" It was Hermione who had been unable to contain her shock.

"Because the dear professor's pride was evidently more important to him than his life. I don't care who you are or where you stand in this war, but what he did was foolish." Registering the size of the audience in the room for the first time, Draco paused. Then, "Headmaster, I need a word, in private."

"Very well, Draco, let me look at Severus first," he said, joining Allosia at the edge of the bed. "Child," he whispered and it took Allosia a second to realize this was directed not at her, but at Snape. "Oh, Child, what have they done to you?"

At that, Snape opened his eyes and locked on to Dumbledore's gaze, earning a warm smile from the older wizard.

"I am sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be, don't be. Allosia is here, and your cousin, and friends. I, I have to go talk to Draco, they will take care of you."

Snape shut his eyes tightly and nodded as he left leg began spasming uncontrollably.

Dumbledore clapped both Adrimori and Allosia on the back as he exited the room with an uncomfortable looking Draco Malfoy.

Adrimori quickly took charge then, stripping Snape magically and beginning to examine his wounds. He got the blood stopped quickly enough, but began to express frustration when he could do nothing for the muscle spasms, which seemed to visit Snape's limbs randomly.

Finally, during a respite from it, Snape whispered, "Don't bother. Cruciatus side effect. Nothing to be done."

Allosia started to protest, but Snape shushed her.

"This was more, more than ever. Where's Gabriel?"

"He's asleep, Sev," came Durefhan's voice.

Snape groaned, "Who else is here?"

"Hermione," Allosia said gently. "And Dumbledore just left with Draco."

"Draco," Snape groaned as he said the name and settled into silence again.

Allosia sighed, frustrated. "What can I do?" she asked.

"Just lie here, next to me," he said haltingly.

"I don't want to hurt you," she replied.

"I didn't ask you to touch me. Just, lie here, it's enough."

She climbed over him then, after casting her eyes over the room, and curled on her side and watched as Adrimori continued to try to ease her husband's discomfort.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Shhhhh," was her only response although she knew soothing noises were far from enough. "I'm glad you were able to finish your speech," she said, absently running a finger through his damp hair. When he shuddered she retracted her hand.

His face strained for a moment, until the lips twisted into a slight smile. "Me too," he said, without opening his eyes.

Allosia locked eyes with Adrimori then. He nodded at her. She was as good for Snape as he had heard

Twenty minutes later, Dumbledore returned, without Draco. A quick questioning look to Adrimori got him a nod. Snape would survive, although the true extent of the damage probably couldn't even be assessed until the man had had some rest. He sighed, visibly relaxing his shoulders, although his face looked no less grim.

"Allosia?" he asked softly.

"Yes Albus?" she replied, without taking her gaze from Snape.

"I am sorry for the timing, but it is, unavoidable. I need your talents," he said, adding, even more gently, "now."

Allosia sat up. "Albus?"

Snape opened his eyes and tried to look from one to the other of them, but had clear trouble focusing in.

"I need you to question Draco," Dumbledore said, hoping his bluntness would make this conversation quicker.

"Alright," she said, her voice unsure, as she started to scoot down to the end of the bed.

Snape grabbed her wrist.

"I'll be right back," she whispered, leaning close to him again.

"I remember," he said, and it took Allosia a minute to realize it was only the beginning of a thought.

"What do you remember, love?"

"When you questioned me. Please —" His voice cut off then, but no one except him could have said whether it was choked with pain or emotion.

"It's just work, Severus. That wasn't. This is just like what you do, yes?"

He nodded, and she delicately kissed at the pads of his fingers, before getting up and following Dumbledore out of the room.

After he heard the door closed, Snape finally muttered, "that's rather the problem," before drifting into a fitful sleep as the three friends exchanged worried looks.