You may already know Snape in Love by Rickfan. May I point out three other great stories with completely different styles - Domina Rising by Arachne's Child, Redemption by Gwenn and last but certainly not least, A Dark Herbal by The Stars Hold Nine Serpents. The angles on our friend Severus Snape are all excitingly different and the quality of writing superb. All have great OCs, which I understand is quite rare.
Not that I want you to rush off before you've finished mine of course!
Superwitch
Chapter 27
Surveying his wrecked office, he shook his head disgustedly at it all and snarled quietly. 'You know the great hall has been split wide open: that the whole building is in danger.'
'What?! The great hall?' she gasped. 'The whole building?'
'The Dark Lord has found a new way to destroy us,' he muttered, staring at his workplace and his home in this state. He exhaled loudly and then made for the door, 'Right,' he snapped business-like, 'I've got everything I need so we must get out now. Go!'
'What's this?' she said, stooping in order to pick up a glittering ball on the floor. Xiomara must have…' and she felt a nasty tug at her stomach and a swirling energy pulled her away as the world disappeared and the last thing she heard was Severus shouting her name….
Chapter 28
Night and Day, You are the One
Night and Day, you are the one;
Only you beneath the moon and under the sun.
Whether near to me or far,
It's no matter, darling, where you are.
I think of you, Night and Day.
Cole Porter
She ended down on all fours, her legs giving way under the force of the energy that slammed her there and stared stupidly at the black rock beneath her hands. A small, thin snake with sharp red and green bands on it's back removed itself from the rock and quickly disappeared. A sharp coldness swept around her and sucked the heat within her as she glanced up and saw nothing before her but cold mist. Fortunately she was still wearing his cloak, though as she stood up, it dragged on the ground. Holding it close to her, she could smell his scent on it and inhaled the material for a moment, eyes closed, shivering still. He had been standing by her a few seconds ago. An echo of him calling 'Elrin!' swam round her heart and she called him silently, hopelessly.
Severus…
She had to pull herself together, because wherever she was, she was far away. She could tell by the thin stretching of her connection with him. In fact she wondered whether she was in the same world. This place had a nasty feeling to it; she could taste it. Pulling the cloak further around her she looked around and wondered which way to go, for she had to go somewhere. But which way? How could she possibly get out of this situation when she had absolutely no idea where she was?
Again, his name rose as a cry from deep within her, wanting the protection of him as if he were fortification against all the evil in the world, wanting the power of him so that she could shelter in his shade, wanting the strength of him so that she could stand upright when she wanted to fall. Then last but not least, she wanted his all enveloping body and his hands on her face. It was then that she heard it, faint within her, like a voice in her own head and there was no doubt as to whom it was.
Where are you?
I-I don't know.
Describe it to me.
Misty. Cold.
Have you been hurt?
No. I'm all right.
You are consistent in refusing to follow my instructions....
Please darling…
You are worse than many of my students. Why do you not do as I tell you?
Because, because.
What?
Because I am me. I am not your Patriarcha, nor am I one of your students.
I know I am not your Patriarchem but in these matters, you are my student, Dammit.
I know. I know. I'm sorry.
Sorry is not going to get you out of there.
Silence.
Elrin?
Yes.
Have you got that portkey?
No, it's not around. I can't see it anywhere. There's a nasty looking snake around here too, so I'm not searching in the crevices.
Can you see nothing at all?
No. Swirling mist and the ground around me. Just black slimy rocks. No vegetation at all.
You will have to move to find somewhere.
I know, but if I go forward in this – I might go down a ravine or something. Ah, there's something there. Oh, no, it isn't.
Darling, you can't stay there. Just go forward cautiously.
There's a sort of a path down here.
Follow it.
How do I know which way?
You don't, but it's unlikely to lead you into a ravine.
She stumbled onto the thin path and timidly made her way through the heavy mist that danced around her like flying pixies on a hot summer night and it was if she was not alone. After a few yards she spun round, but there was no one there, or no one that she could see. She suddenly came across a small building on the ground just by the path. Heart racing, she went towards it. It looked like Hagrid's, which was very strange. When she went to put her hand on the chunky wooden door, it disappeared, leaving her breathless. She continued on the path. It was then that she heard sounds and she stopped to make them out. For all the world, they sounded like the beating of huge wings and a blast of cold air went by her, freezing her face. Then the clash of battle – cries, cries of combat – thumps or knocks and growls of thunder sounded close by, with more beatings of wings. The cold was as nothing to the sound of this invisible war. It appeared to come from both sides of her.
My love?
Yes.
What's wrong?
I don't know.
Yes you do.
I'm being watched. I'm sure of it. But I can't see anyone.
What else?
There's an invisible battle – each side of me.
Very well, keep to the path.
What is it?
Just keep to the path. Do as I say.
I am. I am.
I love you.
I know.
For some time she moved on, losing track of time and certainly losing any sense of direction. The path might have led in circles for all she knew. The sounds remained. Almost immediately she nearly fainted as a dark figure loomed up in front of her and she gasped with surprise and delight.
'You came!' she shouted, rushing forward. Her husband stood like a sentinel by the side of the path, wrapped in familiar black robes and cloak and she swooped towards him and flung her arms around him only to fall onto the ground, banging her knee. It took her a while to recover. She was getting even colder and it seemed to seep through her cloak as if it were nothing. There was a shadow in the distance, the mist pulling back to reveal it. It looked like the school.
Severus?
Yes?
I think this place has a hallucinatory spell of some sort. I thought that you were here, and you weren't. It wasn't anything at all. Like a mirage. I imagined I saw Hagrid's place earlier. I can see what looks like the school over to one side.
Ok. Be careful. Don't assume anything to be real at all. Except the path.
She was beginning to panic.
Severus…
Stay on the path. Just move forward. Take no notice of what is each side of you. Do as I say.
He steadied her and she continued.
Do not disobey me, do you hear me? Elrin?
No, my love.
She trudged on, and eventually there was no way of knowing how long she had been in this place and constantly listened and watched any indication of change in the landscape. Several times she thought she saw things, sometimes attractive, sometimes horrible: just a hint of their essence: the stab of a cruel beak, the glistening of reptilian skin or the subdued glow of powerful jewels and the glitter of a sword in the twilight world. Snarls and throaty shrieks accompanied her making her jump and shiver. So when she saw the arches, she did not believe them at first. These ancient arches striding the path looked as if they were an entrance to a palace of some kind of medieval oriental monarch. There were even potted trees, though the foliage looked sharp and blackened and she avoided touching them and their venomous-red berries sitting heavily in within them. The arches were real enough though.
Severus…there are some arches – as if they were part of an old building. It's real, or it feels real.
She was about to describe them to him when the doors flew open and guards came marching out of the dark maw towards her.
Severus..?
She could not hear him. Panicking, she called again. Again there was no answer.
The guards grunted as they surrounded her. A primitive type of what species she was not sure, but there was no way that she was going to argue with them. They were frightening enough even without weapons, and the weapons looked very effective. They marched her down dark wide corridors, and her heart recoiled as they passed heavily bolted doors that, although nothing leaked out from behind them, made her fearful of their occupants, or maybe for their occupants. The dripping dampness and the chill together and the few sconces on the walls did not do much to lighten the turgid darkness. The guard's boots sounded harsh on the stone floors as they made their way through these uncomfortable areas. Gradually they moved into warmer and more comfortable passageways until they came to an antechamber that had the sweep and grandness of a palace with its heavy marble columns, spacious polished floors and enormous sweeping staircase leading up beside them. It was the kind of place where everything echoed and she was aware of centuries of quiet dominion. It was the kind of place she felt that she was not worthy to inhabit as it bore down on upon her like pressure in the deepest sea. She was positioned in front of two mighty doors, intricately carved with serpents and heraldry and signs and symbols she did not recognise. They were not like the doors to the Serpents hall at school. For one thing, they were relatively fresh and another that the carvings moved slowly and silently and the jewelled eyes of the creatures observed her. It had a different aura, a different atmosphere though the iconography was similar. There was something uncomfortable, something twisted and skewed about the engraved symbols. She waited, standing, a guard either side of her until a familiar figure came casually out from the doors, backing out and bowing to whoever was within. It wouldn't have taken a wizard or even a sorcerer to realize who was inside. Malfoy turned around to greet her, the movement of his cloak as deadly and as genteel as ever.
'My dear,' he purred, glad no doubt to have her there without her husband. His eyes glinted maliciously. 'How nice of you to drop in.'
She was under no illusion. 'Go to hell Malfoy,' she said simply.
He was amused. But there was a stronger element of hardness in his urbanity that she realized wasn't new, but he gave the impression that he was more comfortable here about showing it through his careless veneer. She felt as if she were being eyed up for market and the power he oozed made her shiver inside. However, what he was was as nothing compared to what was beyond those doors. He knew it and she knew it. They stood for a time looking at one another, she defiant, he gloating.
'We are wasting my Lord's time,' he said, holding out his arm for her to take. She would rather take his arm as soon as hold a python and glared at him.
'Very well,' he said smugly as he sauntered towards the doors and ushered her in, eyes riveted on her upright bearing.
The second that she was in the room, she wanted to scream.
The second thing she wanted to do was to vibrate. There was nothing overt in it that made her want to do so except the blast of freezing cold that made her soul shiver and the foetid venom that was sitting within it. A core of Dark Magic that sucked the goodness out of everything within range was within, stretching invisible tentacles into the soft innards of the mind and hooking them out and devouring them. Her senses gave her information all at once: a huge dais at the further end of the room rose in a series of steps until at the peak sat a mighty throne, carved out of black wood, ancient and quivering with magic and upon it sat the source of the Dark Magic, a figure which she had seen only once before. Surrounding the central figure the grandness of the room was staggering. The gold would have been dazzling, were it not that it was dark within and so it seethed at her like treason. Decorated gold twisted and staggered over the entire room in a crazy dance of elegance but which merely confused the sanity of the observer. It might have been a ballroom originally, but now it was a throne room and there were now no mirrors and hardly any sconces. The ones that were lit sizzled at her entrance. No sooner than she had observed all this, having taken a few steps into the room, than a mingled sense of terror and hilarity rose up in her like vomit but a hard push from behind sent her crashing down on her knees, then another flat on her face and she was aware that Lucius threw himself on the floor beside her. She intimately examined the black polished floorboards. A tiny spider scuttled away. Even it was afraid.
'My child,' murmured a voice that scraped upon her nerves. Not thinking it was a good idea to look up, she flicked her eyes over to Lucius, who had his nose firmly to the floor, ignoring everything. She could hear the sound of rustling clothing, soft feet on the floor, as Voldemort, advanced towards them both. Her heart beat loud as he approached and she refused to run, if there had been anywhere to run to. 'Get up Lucius,' he said softly and as he did so, she began to lift herself up as well, and had a boot on her back for her trouble and she fell back again.'
'Lucius, please, we have a guest. Well, well my dear Madam Snape, how nice to meet you again.'
Not being used to being introduced to someone while lying before someone's feet she said nothing.
'Please rise,' crawled the voice, sinful as dominion. The sound of the voice made her think of the twisted serpents in gold around the room. 'We haven't forgotten our manners here.' She was not sure that she wanted to be faced with the monstrosity without being bound. 'Lucius, help the lady up, there's a good fellow.'
Feeling an iron grip on her arm she was pulled upright. Malfoy's face was a blank.
'This little meeting gives me the opportunity to congratulate you upon your wedding. A little belated I fear, but not inappropriate I trust.'
She said nothing and did not look into his face. A sharp dig in her back from her companion was intended no doubt to remind her of her manners. She said nothing.
'Lucius, Lucius. This guest must be treated with respect.'
With caution was the unspoken thought. It was possible she might blast him though if it did not work, Severus would suffer for it and his position put in jeopardy. She had to remain calm for his sake.
'Mind you,' he said as he moved around her, sniffing her making her blood in her veins seemed to ebb away, your wedding could not have been as ostentatious and as evocative as the one we could have given you, could it my Lord Malfoy?'
'No my Lord. I did express this to her.'
'Silence,' flashed the voice.
Eyes flashing, she felt goaded into saying grimly, 'my wedding was the best.'
'Oh! The Lady does speak! I thought she had been sentenced to silence by our good Snape!' and he laughed, a terrible sound which she wished did not echo in the room and that she had not spoken. Lucius grinned fawningly.
Silenced by the Patriarchium. Yeah, right. Keep a hold on your thoughts. Don't look at him.
'Look at me,' he retorted, cold as ice. She tried not to, but felt impelled to do so and she met the mad red eyes with the fine slits of an insane nocturnal creature.
'Do you love my Lord Snape?'
Least of all did she want to reply to this, but she did, chin up, defiant.
'Yes, I do,' she said, glaring.
'Good, I am glad to hear it. No doubt one would like such a creature as one's bed partner eh Lucius?' Lucius flinched. He didn't have that kind of loyalty from Narcissa. Had she been asked the same question, she would have laughed, loud and long. His lip curled and the Dark Lord grinned. At least she took it to be one. 'Not that I have any need of that sort of thing these days.'
No, you get your rocks off murdering innocents and dominating weak people like him.
'I heard that,' said the reptilian monarch of the underworld, and she nearly fell to the floor.
'Innocent? You think Dumbledore is innocent? You think the Ministry is innocent? You need some education my dear…'
'Do you wish to kill me?' he asked suddenly, his long spider fingers curling around his slitted lips.
'Yes.'
'You speak the truth. There are not many who would dare to do so.' He paused. 'And live.'
As the three of them stood there in silence they could hear some commotion outside the doors. Voldemort smiled or rather split his face into a semblance of one and chuckled. There was a loud knock at the door.
'Well, I wonder who that can be?' he said in mocking tones at her, looking pleased.
'Enter,' he said immediately and Severus marched in, robes flying, shoes soft on the floor. It took seconds for Severus to be stretched out on the floor before them, ignoring her entirely. It gave her a twist to see him in abeyance like that, but it was true, he had little pride when it came to demeaning himself for that which was more important. When it came to that, his humility was endless.
'My lord Snape. It took you a little while to get here.' Severus said nothing. 'How good to see you.'
'And you my Lord,' he muttered to the floor.
'Get up.'
As he stood, he faced Voldemort. Feeling the link with him, she breathed fractionally better, but closed off all communication between them instinctively.
'See, she is unharmed,' said the Dark Lord, 'Are you not my dear?'
'I am unharmed.'
For now.
'I did not expect her to be harmed my Lord,' said Severus. 'Not under your roof.'
Voldemort smirked and it was evident that he could be flattered.
'Yet you rushed here.'
'To be by my wife's side.'
'To discipline your errant wife no doubt.'
'Yes, my Lord.'
'Quite a handful, I would imagine.'
Severus smirked at Voldemort in that knowing masculine way and said nothing. She blushed furiously, maddened. She might not have existed.
'You are still in honeymoon are you not?'
'Yes my Lord.'
'Then I think you should have some time together, but there is something which has cropped up which needs your attention which may – temporarily – take you away from your marital duties.'
'I am yours, my Lord.'
'Of course you are,' he said fondly. 'So dedicated, my wonderful potions master.'
Now who was flattering? She was slightly shocked.
'You think,' said Voldemort without turning his head, 'that your Lord is not a wonderful potions master?'
'I – I – of course I do.'
'Then be silent like the good wife you should be, and do not interfere with things you do not understand,' he croaked and his voice and his presence cowed her until she felt shame. Underneath the shame she boiled inside and she knew he knew she was, but that she was also afraid. She kept her eyes on Severus for strength and held herself silent. He still did not look or acknowledge her presence. Voldemort beamed in his distorted way, satisfied.
'Yes, my dear, look to your Lord for your guidance,' he sneered and turned back to him.
'Lucius has brought to my notice your new potion, Severus.'
'Yes my Lord,' no trace of anger in either his voice or demeanour.
'You did not see fit to tell me about it?'
'No my Lord, it is still in it's developmental stage. I did not want it to be a failure before it had been tested.'
'Ah the perfectionist. It is a healing potion, I understand.'
'Yes my Lord. Useful for wounds and poisons.'
'That's all very well, said Voldemort, pacing slowly now, his magnificent robes trailing heavily behind him.
'But I want something that is going to bring all this nonsense to a head. I want action.'
'It could help my Lord, if, if you were injured for example…'
'I am aware of that,' he snapped. Severus was silent, waiting.
'No one is going to injure me. I want you to transmute this potion into poison.'
'I – I am not sure it can be done my Lord.'
'Oh, I think it can. Lucius thinks it can.'
'With respect my Lord, Lucius is not a potions master,' and he glared at his fellow Death Eater.
With a swiftness she had not expected, Voldemort advanced close to Severus, his face frighteningly close, the air crackling around his reptilian form.
'I will have it,' he hissed, whispering, 'Now my Lord Snape.'
Lucius looked smug and half smiled at her, resting on his cane. Keeping her thoughts unfocussed, she just sent her fury to him.
Voldemort turned back towards her. 'Lucius, take our visitor to her quarters, while she waits in comfort and safety for Severus to complete his task. Then you may complete your honeymoon when you have finished. I would not delay it unduly Severus. Your Lady will be cross with you.'
Severus went white and slowly kneeled on the floor. 'Yes my Lord.'
'You will do it here, in…?'
'Dungeon four my Lord,' finished Lucius, holding back a smile.
Dungeon four. You have everything you need there, including the potion.'
'Yes, my Lord.'
'Good. Lucius?'
'Yes my Lord.'
'Take Madam Snape – Elrin isn't it?'
'Not to you,' she snapped, and regretted it instantly. She aught not to make it worse for them. It came rushing out before she could stop it. His malevolence breathed over her. She began to tremble.
'Take her to her quarters and put guards on the doors. We wouldn't her to be unprotected would we? No one, but no one goes into Madam Snape's quarters. Do you understand my Lord Malfoy?'
Lucius twitched. 'Yes my Lord.'
The two men knelt and so she, to avoid a whack from Lucius, did also, and then they all backed out of the doors.
She had remembered the way they had both looked at one another as guards were arranged either side of her before they led her away, Lucius with a self-satisfied leer at the consternation on both their faces. Severus stared at her helplessly.
'Don't fight it.'
'No, I won't, if you say so.'
Don't link with me if He is near.
All right.
You will be looked after.
Don't turn the potion. Remember Fawkes?
I remember.
Are you going to?
You know that you are his hostage?
The damage he could do with it is incalculable. My life is not worth it.
But it is to me.
We won't have a life if he gets this. Nor will anyone else.
Just do as I tell you my darling.
Oh, be 'the good wife' eh?
I love you.
I –
Elrin?
I –
Elrin?!!
Her heart felt cold. He could not do this to millions of people. As the guards led her away she watched him as he stood there amidst the emptiness of the outer chamber. There was silence as she blocked him off.
In her quarters, her food was apparated through the door: good food and wine it was, though she had little appetite. She looked through some of the Dark Arts books that were scattered about in her chamber, but was so sickened by them that she lay around, bored and fretting. The room was beautiful, but she did not see it. Her anxiety for him and what he was doing was overwhelming. There was a part of her that was disappointed in him.
How could he do it? Dumbledore might be poisoned. The Aurors. Anyone who got in his way of power. It would be a deadly, deadly poison. And we made it. We made it together, we made it with the generations of dedicated guardians, with his vocation, with his knowledge, with Phoenix culture, with Fawkes, with her abilities to link these aspects together, and hardest of all to accept - with our lovemaking. It was a product of our love and he was turning it. Oh Severus, Oh Severus.
That night she heard him:
My love?
She couldn't bear to hear him, so she blocked him, and there was silence.
That night she tossed and turned as usual, then fell unaccountably into a deep sleep.
Smooth hands over her belly, her thighs. Nipples hardening in the cool air. A hand massaging her breast and she leans up to him, moaning.
Oh sweetheart. Oh my darling.
He pinches her breast and she twitches, turning, her throat issuing sounds of pleasure. Hands and knees pull and push her back over onto her back, her arms raised back, locked. Something…
And rose like out of deep water, spluttering and gasping, staring into blue eyes and blonde hair. The covers were off and he knelt above her, grinning, purely naked, his purple cock a considerable size before him, his breathing hoarse in the gloom and holding her with one hand, sliding his hands over her soft exposed flesh, her nightdress pushed roughly up around her neck. She could feel the serious weight upon her and his knees dug into the mattress beside her. There was no way she could move beneath him.
'Get out!' she shouted, hoping to arouse the guards. A snort of laughter was the reply.
'A Silencing Charm is very useful you know. I would have used Quietus you know, but I like a screamer.'
She tried reason.
'Lucius – you know what Voldemort will do to you.' Another snort.
'The Dark Lord, my dear Elrin, you must say The Dark Lord.'
'Stuff the Dark Lord.'
He smacked her across the face, teeth bared. 'You will have respect while under me.'
'Respect? While you are naked kneeling over someone else's wife?'
'But I have all the respect in the world,' he said, his tone of voice changing to his usual sensuous affectation. And by the way, Elrin my dear, I am not IN your room.'
'Do you think I am an idiot? I am not dreaming. I can see you. I can feel you.'
'Yes, but I am not here. I am asleep in my bed.'
'What diabolical wizardry is this?' she snapped, beginning to pant with fear. She could not move one finger to stop him and his lazy hands were sliding over her breasts and her collarbone. They felt physical enough.
'Just a little something I cooked up for my pleasure. My rooms are next to yours. It is only an astral skip and a jump to be here. And I can feel – everything.' His fingers stopped just outside the junction of her legs, rubbing his hands against her fur, slipping further and further towards her ready fruit, watching her panic. Her juices, despite her horror, were active. 'And you have the pleasure of my attentions….'
'Severus will kill you, you realize this?'
'Severus is busy my dear, anxious for you. Poor Severus, working away, day and night to do our Lord's bidding. And I will have had what I have wanted for a long time. He should share. Fellow Slytherin and a brother Death Eater should share. Don't you agree?'
'No, I don't. Get off me,' and she tried with all her strength to buck and kick him off, hoping to get a purchase in his groin. Happily, he enjoyed her futile attempts and rode her anger and despair like he felt a gentleman should.
'I love a struggler,' he said, unnecessarily, because she could see the delight and madness on his face.
Severus!
No answer.
Severus….help me please…oh for all the stars…
Could she get her necklace? She could not reach her wedding present, which was on the top of the dressing table. She cursed her stupidity for not wearing it that night.
Severus where are you?
No answer.
As his fingers brushed the very top of her thighs he felt her wetness.
'Ah, how very interesting. So you are not so much the faithful wife after all….'
'Bastard!' she shouted. He smiled greedily.
She could even smell his arousal, which she thought strange for astral travelling, but then she didn't think that that it was possible to have any physicality like that anyway. Ramming her legs apart, he readied himself for entrance to her, his hardness waving in front of her like some kind of mad rudder and his testicles, large and droopy, swung gaily underneath.
'You will enjoy it, I promise you.'
'Fuck off Malfoy!' she yelled, despite knowing that it would send delighted shivers down his spine.
'A woman like you should be had by a man like me. You cry out for it and I have simply answered your summons.'
As he bent down to extract a kiss before plunging into her, he shot past her and plummeted against the headboard with a crash and fell off the bed onto the floor.
'What the hell?'
Severus stood arms folded, wand in hand at the end of her bed, trembling with rage and fury and vengeance. He had hit him from behind with a boot in an appropriate place. He was also holding himself back with difficulty.
'Snape.'
'Malfoy. Scum of the earth. A dirty, nasty dog. You were lucky that I did not have a hot poker in my hand.'
'Wait I can explain…' he said, grabbing his wand from the bedside locker and casting a Stupefy . As his opponent was aware of his likely actions, the Stupefy missed completely and the potions master immediately flashed back at him: 'Fac ut gaudea'. A red blast shot out of his wand but missed as Malfoy dived for cover. She decided to get out of their way in the bathroom and watched from there.
He could play with Malfoy all night. Watch him grovel and sweat – naked.
'You will explain your presence to The Dark Lord,' her husband snarled at him.
'And you – will – explain your presence here …?' panted Malfoy.
'As purely defensive.'
'He will be mad at you though.'
'He still needs my potion.'
'Contriue malum,' shouted Severus at him, knowing that he would indeed be in trouble at the very least for breaking Voldemort's orders, even in the circumstances. He made a glancing blow on the man's shoulder.
'You will pay for this…'
'Oh, and you haven't just tried to rape my wife..? Just get out of my sight before I kill you.'
'Imperio…' blasted back Malfoy as Severus hit him squarely with a Crucio meanwhile dodging the well-aimed Imperius.
Lucius writhed and twitched, gasping and screaming. She prayed no one outside the rooms could hear. It was horrible to watch, even though she hated him. Severus looked both satisfied and disgusted. He repeated it. Then as his nemesis paused as the punishment which was too good for him began to wear off, Lucius disappeared. He had had the space to go back to his sleeping self.
'He will suffer double when he gets back to his body,' he said contemptuously and then turned his angry face to her.
'Are you – all right? ' Words failed him as he tried to articulate his fear.
'He assaulted me, but he didn't manage to– rape me. No, you came just in time. I am so sorry…so sorry…' and she moved towards his still figure, wanting his arms around her.
'No,' said, backing off. The back of her neck went cold and stared at him, not believing him.
'I think it would not be wise, that is all, to touch. The Dark Lord may be able to feel the energy. He may or may not have felt our Lord Malfoy,' he spat, 'I am not sure, but I don't want to risk it. I promised, and I want to be able to keep it while he has you prisoner.'
'Oh, I thought you were mad at me for a minute.'
He cocked his eyebrow and looked at her askance. 'Why?'
'Because I blocked you off. I was angry with you.'
'I know you were. I am not mad at you.'
'You're not?'
'No. I understand why. What I am doing is what no one should do. I'm not particularly pleased with myself. Sometimes, often, we need to do what we need to do, and then find out ways to get round it. That has been my experience.'
'How are you doing with the potion?'
'I believe that it would be in our joint interests if we did not talk about it now.'
'I want to hold you; I want to feel you.'
'And I want you against me. But I must not. Go to sleep now.'
'Sleep? Are you joking? With the threat of a psychotic stalker kneeling over me with his dick at the ready?'
'I will be here.'
'Will you?'
All the terror of the past minutes in contrast to her days of boredom and worry, were beginning to tell on her, and she collapsed back into the pillows.
'I am so, so glad you came. Did you hear me?'
'Of course I heard you. I couldn't answer because I had to alter my state into an astral form.'
'Oh, and before?'
'As soon as I heard you mentioned the arches, I knew where you were. The connection was broken as I rushed to come to you.'
'Come nearer to me now,' she pleaded.
'Do not touch me, not even for a fraction. He will know.'
'All right. I promise I won't.'
'Sing me a song or something,' she murmured, eyes fluttering.
'I can't sing,' he said, a smile in his voice. As he had spoken, she noticed that his voice came from above her and she opened her eyes to jerk in surprise to see him hovering a couple of feet above her, lying face down with his arms folded, watching her, just like he did at Dumbledore's before the wedding.
'Can you stay there like that?'
'Yes.'
'Are you comfortable?'
'Yes.'
Her eyelids were pulling themselves down. She wanted to gaze at him as he hovered there like a black angel, his silky curtain of hair flopping down, his eyes shadowed by the dim light, but she was fighting a losing battle.
'I'm so sorry,' she whispered up at him, 'I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for cutting you off.'
'I am not in the business of forgiving.'
'You won't forgive me?' she breathed, distraught, holding herself like a rock.
'There is nothing to forgive,' he whispered back, his voice hoarse.
Fading into sleep, she drifted off with the words, 'I'm so sorry…so s….'
Contriue malum
Destroy evil