by RowanRhys
Snape turned to follow his exasperating cousin from Ollivander's shop when the old man caught at his arm. "You'll be needing a new wand, Professor. I'll expect to see you back here soon."
Severus sneered at the wandmaker as he wrenched the door open. "Don't count on it." The early October dusk had darkened quickly, and his dark robes made him blend into the shadows between the lampposts as he strode up the Alley in Marian's wake. His sharp eyes made out her white-clad figure, already nearly three blocks ahead of him and he picked up his pace.
Blasted girl. If it had been anyone but Nott, I'd forget about this and let them have the money-- He saw a tattered figure step out of a wall niche and move up behind Marian, and he cursed as he saw her swing around to confront the person. He fumed. Idiotic girl's old enough to know better--
He broke into a run, yanking out his wand, as he saw the double flash of spellwork hit her, sending her into the arms of the man who had diverted her attention from his fellows.Damn! Knockturn Alley. If they get her too far in there, she'll never come out!
He slowed as he approached the alley mouth where they'd dragged her into the darkness, controlling his breathing and moving as silently as he could to peer around the corner. Thank Nimue that he had excellent night vision.
The trio hadn't bothered to take her very far into the side road. The faint overspill from the nearest lamp on Diagon Alley allowed him to pick up the outline of Marian's white robes, as well as the sillouettes of her three attackers. One was at her feet, pawing at the voluminous garments she wore, while another looked to be opening her collar. The third crouched over her head, a hand hovering just above her eyes. Severus caught the faint glimmer of a knife and realized with horror what their purpose really was.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" His voice echoed in the alley as he cast first at the figure with the knife, but wasn't fast enough as the blade had already begun to cut. Snape staggered momentarily at the power drain of casting the three spells in rapid succession then moved swiftly to bend over his cousin. "Lumos!"
The wandlight brought the horrific gash into clear view and he grabbed up a handful of her torn robe, probably the cleanest fabric at hand, to press against the long wound, trying to staunch the bleeding until he could get the healing potion from his robe pocket.
"You! Stop what you're doing!"
He cast an exasperated glare over his shoulder at the trio of Enforcers who had just turned into the alley. "Where were you five minutes ago?" he snarled, then turned his attention back to Marian's injury, trying to open the Healing Potion vial while holding the fabric against the cut and maintaining the Lumos spell.
"I said stop what you're doing! Expellarimus!" As the Potionsmaster's wand flew from his right hand and the vial from his left, the wandlight vanishing and the glass bottle shattering against the cobblestones, the tallest and broadest of the trio loomed over him and grabbed Snape by the back of the neck and his arm. He yanked him up and away from the unconscious woman, slamming him up against the nearest wall with the captured arm twisted up behind him.
Snape turned his face painfully to the side, his cheek scraping against the rough brick--he thought his nose might be broken from the impact, but at that point, he didn't care. "They mugged her--"
"Shut up." The new voice was female and harsh. The shortest of the Enforcers, who had set an illumination spell over the scene while her burly partner had been manhandling Snape, bent over Marian's still form with a camera. There was a bright flash as she recorded the disposition of the unconscious men surrounding the bleeding woman. "You can make your statement at the station. Until then, not another word. Jason, Apparate her to hospital. I'll join you there as soon as we get this cleared up."
"Gotcha, Langtry." The third of the Enforcer squad, a young man who could give Gilderoy Lockhart a run for the Witch's Weekly "Best Smile" competition, lifted Marian's rigid form and abruptly vanished with a mutter of Latin.
"Scum!" Langtry growled as she took in the blood-covered knife in Mawks' hand. "Malcolm, bind him." She jerked her head toward Snape. "Then get these three tied up. Make sure you get their wands. The Inspector should be here momentarily."
Severus set his teeth as his arms were immobilized behind him with a spell and Malcolm non-too-gently patted him down, pulling potion vials from his pockets and tossing them into an evidence bag. The Enforcer cast a leg lock, leaving Snape fuming as the three low-lifes were dealt with.
"Where did you take my cousin?"
"I told you to shut up!" Langtry rounded on the Potionsmaster, her wand jabbing at his oozing cheek. "Nullus Vox!"
Snape's anger escalated into rage as she silenced him. Unfortunately, it didn't help him in getting past the spells that confined his body and voice.
The angry Enforcer turned away from him as she was hailed from Diagon Alley. "Inspector Brewer! We caught this--Deatheater--attacking a woman. Jason's taken her to St. Mungos. Looks like we arrived just in time."
If you'd arrived in time, she wouldn't need to be in St. Mungo's, you--you bloody fool! If he'd been able to speak and move, he'd have hexed the officer right then and there.
"Professor Snape." The Inspector, a familiar-looking man of a height with the Potions teacher, but much broader, eyed him up and down with a sneer. "You're a long way from Hogwarts. Does Dumbledore know what your--extra-curricular--activities are?" He turned toward the other three bodies as more Enforcers arrived on the scene.
Malcolm had set each of the men into full body binds and was collecting the physical evidence. The knife and the four wands had joined the contents of Snape's pockets in evidence bags, and he was carefully levitating the remains of the smashed Healing Potion vial into yet another one. He glanced up at the Inspector and jerked his head toward the Professor. "I'll take him over to the station in a minute. He was trying to open this when we got here. It broke when I disarmed him."
"Have the lab check it out. Langtry!"
The witch finished directing the newly-arrived officers to haul the three unconscious men to the station before crossing the dirty pavement to stand next to him. She glared at Snape as she spoke. "Yes, Inspector?"
"Go to St. Mungo's and as soon as she's fit, bring the girl to the station to make her statement. Any idea who she is?"
Severus returned Langtry's glare. He'd had years of practice in staring down other people. She finally flicked a glance to the side, defeated and obviously angry about it. "She was wearing white robes--and an amulet of some sort around her neck. Didn't help her out of this mess, I'd say. And--" She paused a moment and looked at Snape once more, sneering. "He referred to her as his cousin."
Brewer lifted a gray eyebrow over his crows-feet fringed grey eyes. "We'll find out sooner if you get her back here to make a statement and press charges. Malcolm, get him out of here. Now.
The oversized Enforcer got to his feet, handing the last of his evidence bags to another officer. "Aye, sir." In a move that one would think to be too fast for a man of his bulk, he was behind Snape, one hand gripping the Bound wrists, and the arm of his wand-bearing hand locked across the Potionsmaster's throat.
A moment later, they were standing in the dreary squadroom of the Diagon Alley Station, right in front of an open door. Snape's anger grew as he was shoved into the starkly-lit narrow chamber beyond, slammed into yet another wall--this one of institutional green matte tile. A smear of crimson stained it where his broken nose had hit the surface, the coppery tang of blood blocking most of the more objectionable odors of the lockup. He toppled to the floor as if pole-axed, facing the doorway.
"Finite Incantatum" Malcolm's wand was pointed at him again, from the doorway. Snape's body went abruptly limp as the binding spells vanished. But before he could get to his feet, the door was shut with a slam, and even without his wand, he could sense the warding spells that kept the cell secure.
He carefully sat down on the narrow bench that was the only provided furnishing and composed himself to wait until Marian could give the word that would hopefully end up in his release.Of course, as angry as she is about the Will, she might just want to see me rot away in here. It dawned on him that Albus wouldn't worry about his not returning to Hogwart's that evening, because the solicitor's business was expected to take more than a day. It is going to be a long night.
TBC