Last updated on February 14, 2003
Except for Mariannah who is obviously my own creation, all the other characters here belong to J.K. Rowling.
This chapter was revised! :-) Please check out the news on "Author's Notes & News updated every now and then" (which is usually the last chapter of this story).
I'd like to thank the Harry Potter Lexicon () for all the invaluable resource, which helped me make this fan-fic. I'd also like to thank John Williams for creating such an excellent score for the Harry Potter movies. They were fuel for my imagination as well. Finally, thanks to all the other song artists and fan-fic authors. Without them, this story wouldn't materialize at all.
Pain and Promises
Severus grit his teeth as he felt the dark mark burn on his arm. Voldemort was calling for his death eaters again. I'm getting sick and tired of this game, thought Severus as he summoned his death eater robe and mask. Voldemort seemed to be wary of Severus now, not knowing where the former death eater's loyalties really lie.
Severus had been subjected to more than the usual dose of Cruciatus curses in a single night. Voldemort had been testing him. Waiting for him to break. Waiting to see if he really was a traitor. Severus prevailed through the repeated torture. Yet Severus also knew that he couldn't keep up with this any longer. He knew that sooner or later, the cruciatus would kill him. Not as quickly as Mariannah does it though, he smirked.
The potions master put on his robe and strode across the grounds to the Hogwarts gate, oblivious to the pair of eyes watching him from the Astronomy tower. As he apparated from the gate, the figure on the tower threw itself over the edge. The figure fell from the great height but glided forward as it neared the ground. A gentle rumbling was heard in the sky as the figure began its search for Severus' thoughts.
"Welcome back, my death eaters."
A group of people dressed in dark robes circled the Dark Lord, their faces covered with a mask. Voldemort glided past the death eaters, peering through the slits of the each mask where their eyes should be. Finally he stopped and faced one of them.
"Lucius. Any news from your son?"
Lucius bowed his head as he spoke. "None, master. Mariannah is very secretive about her past fourteen years. She never speaks of it around any of the students, specially with the Slytherins."
"Is that so?" sneered Voldemort. "Not even with her nephew?" Lucius remained silent. "Has your son ever heard the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? I thought he would be as cunning as his father."
Voldemort moved away from Lucius and stopped in front of another death eater.
"Severus, my dear servant from Hogwarts. How is Dumbledore?"
Like Lucius, Severus bowed his head before speaking. "He is well, my Lord. He still coddles the mudbloods and plans for your downfall with the Order. I regret that I still have no information on his plans."
"I see," said the Dark Lord. "And Mariannah? How is she? I remember she was very special to you. Do you still have that... relationship... with her?"
"She too is well, master. She has changed. She is more confident and in control of her abilities. Though we do not enjoy the same relationship as we had before."
"But does she talk to you, Severus? Surely she would still consider you a special friend, despite the change."
"She does talk to me, master. Though she says little of her past."
Voldemort nodded and went to the middle of the circle, his back towards Severus. "You disappoint me, Severus," he began. "I understand that Lucius' son may find it hard to get the information we need about the Guardian. But you? I never thought you would come up empty handed as well."
Severus looked up to see that the Dark Lord was now facing him, wand raised. "I do believe you are just simply toying with me." Severus braced himself for the inevitable.
Come on! Breathe!
Severus barely heard the thought in his head as he felt air rushing into his lungs. Or is it a thought? It seemed like one. Darkness enveloped him again.
BREATHE!
Air filled his lungs once again. This time it made Severus cough. Then he wheezed and gasped for more air. He tried to move but he felt something hold him down.
Don't move! It will be all right.
Severus lost consciousness. His last thought knowing he would be safe for now.
Severus woke up not knowing where he was. He felt the softness of a bed underneath him. The warmth of a blanket covered his body. The smell of a sterile atmosphere. He opened his eyes slowly. Light. It was morning. He tried to move his arm and felt a numbing pain. He groaned, attracting the attention of Madam Pomfrey.
"Oh thank goodness! You're awake!" cried the mediwitch as she neared his bed.
"Poppy? Why are you here? Where am I?" said the confused Potions Master.
"You're in the hospital wing. Easy now! Just lie down!" said Madam Pomfrey as she stopped Severus from sitting up. "You got hit by so many curses, it took an hour before we finally got through that layer of magic and started healing you."
"How did you find me?" asked Severus.
"I didn't. Mariannah brought you in."
"Mariannah! How did she -" Severus started to get up again but fell back when pain shot up his right arm.
"Lie still!" admonished Madam Pomfrey. "If you must know, Mariannah followed you to wherever you were last night." She followed me? That stupid Guardian! Doesn't she know Voldemort would kill her the moment he found her there? "You weren't breathing when she found you. As I said a while ago, you were hit by so many curses she had no time to break through the magic. So she started something she calls artificial respiration. Something she learned as part of a muggle first aid class she attended. It's a good thing she knew the technique. If we tried to break through the layers first you would be far from saving once we finished."
So it was her voice I heard, thought Severus.
"Now then," the mediwitch continued. "Just stay there and get some rest. Professor Dumbledore has already informed all your students that they won't be having any potions for the next few days."
"What?" said Severus. He scowled at the woman before him. "What are you talking about, Poppy? Isn't anyone taking over my classes?"
"None, Severus"
"Mariannah. Tell her to take over for me. We switched classes before when she dislocated her shoulder so she knows my lesson plan."
"She can't, Severus. Even her classes have been cancelled."
"Why?" asked Severus in exasperation. Severus looked at Madam Pomfrey. She was looking beyond his bed. Severus followed her line of sight until his eyes rested upon a figure sleeping in the other bed. Mariannah?
"She was able to get you breathing again, Severus," said Madam Pomfrey. "But when you got here, your breathing became erratic. I couldn't get rid of the curses fast enough. There were still several layers when you stopped breathing again. So she -" The mediwitch gulped before continuing. "She absorbed the curses. Eight Cruciatus curses. All absorbed at once. She said she had theorized before that it could be done. We didn't know that the curses would reactivate the moment it's absorbed. Oh, I didn't know what to do, who to take care of first. Thank Merlin, the headmaster came here just in time and took care of Mariannah. It took all my concentration to treat you and not to be disturbed by her screaming. By the time Professor Dumbledore finished removing the curses, Mariannah was barely alive. She was terribly weakened by the experience."
Severus continued looking at the sleeping form on the other bed. Mariannah was terribly pale. He noticed that her knuckles looked pink. He was very familiar with the reason for that. He was healed several times for open sores on that area, caused by scratching the ground during the curse. She could have died, thought Severus. She shouldn't have done that. She should have just let me die. Severus closed his eyes. No. She wouldn't allow it, of course. Knowing her. He drifted off to sleep as he remembered Mariannah's words from long ago.
"I would do everything to protect you."
To be continued...