A/N: Sorry I didn't update on Saturday--I was sick. Really, really sick.
(Has anyone read "Secrets Revealed"? Yeah. That sick.) Anyway, I feel
exceptionally guilty because I left you guys a cliffie there... Well,
here's the next chapter. Hope it's up to par! Please accept it with my
apologies.
~~
Severus Snape was an exceptionally graceful man. No one, not even Snape himself, could remember the Potions Master ever tripping over his own feet.
Fortunately for Severus, his natural grace chose to desert him just as the car swerved--he pitched forward to smack the concrete with an unceremonious thud, and remained still as he heard the sound of squealing tires and crunching metal behind him. He closed his eyes and prayed it wasn't Hermione.
As the car sped off, Severus' breath slowed and regulated itself. His heart was still racing as Hermione came running up behind him.
"Severus?" Her voice was laced with panic. "Severus? Answer me!" She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him, none-too-gently.
"What?" he grunted as he sat up and began to straighten his clothing. When he looked at her, the genuine concern in her eyes shocked him. Before he could say anything else, she had thrown her arms around him and was crying into his chest. Timidly, he put his arms around her and ran one hand in soothing, circular motions on her back. He frowned when he noticed the dented fire hydrant in front of him--the car must have hit it instead of him.
"Hermione, I'm fine, really," he murmured. Finally, she released him and whispered, "I'm glad. Let's go home."
~~
Atani burst in to see Roux, an expression of triumph on his face. Panting, he leaned on the table as Roux watched him expectantly.
"Is it done?"
"You should have heard the metal crushing him."
"I wish I had... now come, have a drink. I'll have to give you an extra cut next time I pay you."
~~
Albus had searched more of Florence than most people knew existed, and he was getting tired. He was sure that Severus wasn't there--and was beginning to lose all hope of finding him at all.
Once he had set out again, he noticed that most of the people who had spoken so reverently of Maybe-Severus had not seen him in weeks. But Albus couldn't give up--not yet.
He sighed, and with a sinking heart he headed for Rome.
~~
When Severus and Hermione entered the inn, Roux and Atani were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Roux was clapping his loyal follower on the back and urging him to have another ale when Severus, after telling Hermione he'd come upstairs in a few minutes, sat casually across from them.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he drawled in his best Potions Master voice. Roux stopped short. Atani glanced up in shock, and tried to stutter something to the Gypsy King, who had already regained his composure.
"Good evening," Roux replied, as if nothing was wrong. But Severus could see his hands shaking. "Go into our meeting room, Atani," he hissed into his consort's ear. "We have much to discuss." Turning back to Severus, Roux nodded, a little too politely, and coldly dismissed himself.
Severus frowned to himself and headed upstairs, deep in thought.
~~
"Where's Albus?" Harry asked, now sitting in the headmaster's office across from Minerva McGonagall. "The ministry wants to speak with him." Harry Potter had become one of the Ministry's most powerful Aurors. Many regarded him as the future Minister of Magic.
"I'm afraid, Harry, that they'll have to speak with me. Albus is. elsewhere."
"But Minerva, there is a reason everyone is so worried." Now McGonagall was concerned-- this was something that got even the great Harry Potter riled up.
"Harry," she began, her voice filled with concern. "Harry, tell me what's wrong." The Boy Who Lived paled and she noticed him shudder, then fight to regain his composure.
"My scar has started hurting again, and the pain is only getting worse. They think that Voldemort has returned."
~~
Hermione knew that something had changed in her relationship with Severus, as a direct result of the incident with the car. She had cared about him from the beginning, at least enough to save him at some cost to herself, but that was a perfectly natural impulse. Her reaction that night, however, had frightened her through sheer intensity. Before she could process it thoroughly, Severus himself entered their room looking exhausted. She didn't blame him. Deciding to continue her thoughts during her next moment alone, Hermione shoved her musings aside and got ready for bed.
~~
Severus was still surprised by Hermione's apparent concern for him. What surprised him still more was that he wanted her to feel that way, when it was his first impulse to scorn all tenderness.
He was positive that Atani had been the driver of the car. The fool had given himself away the moment he let himself react to Severus' presence in the inn. Roux's celebratory mood had obviously been demolished, and Severus noted with pleasure that the Gypsy King had been trembling. Fear was an unbelievable advantage-- one Severus would have to cultivate.
Yawning, Severus reached towards his right forearm, which had suddenly begun to itch. He didn't take any notice of it until he was splashing cool water onto his face before bed. His eyes had darted to his forearm, alerted by the presence of something that had been hidden for years. His heart stopped and a sense of dread filled him, shockingly familiar. Unsure of what else to do, Severus suppressed a cry of frustration and punched the counter, hard.
After repairing the smashed bones in his hand, feeling only slightly better, Severus silently prayed that he had been mistaken and cautiously pulled back his robe to reveal his forearm. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes as he saw his own pale flesh marred by proof of his own darkness.
The Dark Mark, faded but obviously there, seemed to look up at Severus and grin.
~~
Severus Snape was an exceptionally graceful man. No one, not even Snape himself, could remember the Potions Master ever tripping over his own feet.
Fortunately for Severus, his natural grace chose to desert him just as the car swerved--he pitched forward to smack the concrete with an unceremonious thud, and remained still as he heard the sound of squealing tires and crunching metal behind him. He closed his eyes and prayed it wasn't Hermione.
As the car sped off, Severus' breath slowed and regulated itself. His heart was still racing as Hermione came running up behind him.
"Severus?" Her voice was laced with panic. "Severus? Answer me!" She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him, none-too-gently.
"What?" he grunted as he sat up and began to straighten his clothing. When he looked at her, the genuine concern in her eyes shocked him. Before he could say anything else, she had thrown her arms around him and was crying into his chest. Timidly, he put his arms around her and ran one hand in soothing, circular motions on her back. He frowned when he noticed the dented fire hydrant in front of him--the car must have hit it instead of him.
"Hermione, I'm fine, really," he murmured. Finally, she released him and whispered, "I'm glad. Let's go home."
~~
Atani burst in to see Roux, an expression of triumph on his face. Panting, he leaned on the table as Roux watched him expectantly.
"Is it done?"
"You should have heard the metal crushing him."
"I wish I had... now come, have a drink. I'll have to give you an extra cut next time I pay you."
~~
Albus had searched more of Florence than most people knew existed, and he was getting tired. He was sure that Severus wasn't there--and was beginning to lose all hope of finding him at all.
Once he had set out again, he noticed that most of the people who had spoken so reverently of Maybe-Severus had not seen him in weeks. But Albus couldn't give up--not yet.
He sighed, and with a sinking heart he headed for Rome.
~~
When Severus and Hermione entered the inn, Roux and Atani were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Roux was clapping his loyal follower on the back and urging him to have another ale when Severus, after telling Hermione he'd come upstairs in a few minutes, sat casually across from them.
"Good evening, gentlemen," he drawled in his best Potions Master voice. Roux stopped short. Atani glanced up in shock, and tried to stutter something to the Gypsy King, who had already regained his composure.
"Good evening," Roux replied, as if nothing was wrong. But Severus could see his hands shaking. "Go into our meeting room, Atani," he hissed into his consort's ear. "We have much to discuss." Turning back to Severus, Roux nodded, a little too politely, and coldly dismissed himself.
Severus frowned to himself and headed upstairs, deep in thought.
~~
"Where's Albus?" Harry asked, now sitting in the headmaster's office across from Minerva McGonagall. "The ministry wants to speak with him." Harry Potter had become one of the Ministry's most powerful Aurors. Many regarded him as the future Minister of Magic.
"I'm afraid, Harry, that they'll have to speak with me. Albus is. elsewhere."
"But Minerva, there is a reason everyone is so worried." Now McGonagall was concerned-- this was something that got even the great Harry Potter riled up.
"Harry," she began, her voice filled with concern. "Harry, tell me what's wrong." The Boy Who Lived paled and she noticed him shudder, then fight to regain his composure.
"My scar has started hurting again, and the pain is only getting worse. They think that Voldemort has returned."
~~
Hermione knew that something had changed in her relationship with Severus, as a direct result of the incident with the car. She had cared about him from the beginning, at least enough to save him at some cost to herself, but that was a perfectly natural impulse. Her reaction that night, however, had frightened her through sheer intensity. Before she could process it thoroughly, Severus himself entered their room looking exhausted. She didn't blame him. Deciding to continue her thoughts during her next moment alone, Hermione shoved her musings aside and got ready for bed.
~~
Severus was still surprised by Hermione's apparent concern for him. What surprised him still more was that he wanted her to feel that way, when it was his first impulse to scorn all tenderness.
He was positive that Atani had been the driver of the car. The fool had given himself away the moment he let himself react to Severus' presence in the inn. Roux's celebratory mood had obviously been demolished, and Severus noted with pleasure that the Gypsy King had been trembling. Fear was an unbelievable advantage-- one Severus would have to cultivate.
Yawning, Severus reached towards his right forearm, which had suddenly begun to itch. He didn't take any notice of it until he was splashing cool water onto his face before bed. His eyes had darted to his forearm, alerted by the presence of something that had been hidden for years. His heart stopped and a sense of dread filled him, shockingly familiar. Unsure of what else to do, Severus suppressed a cry of frustration and punched the counter, hard.
After repairing the smashed bones in his hand, feeling only slightly better, Severus silently prayed that he had been mistaken and cautiously pulled back his robe to reveal his forearm. Tears sprang unbidden to his eyes as he saw his own pale flesh marred by proof of his own darkness.
The Dark Mark, faded but obviously there, seemed to look up at Severus and grin.