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Severus and Orion were now in Diagon Alley. He had just spent almost an hour and a half trying to explain to the goblins at Gringott's that Riona was missing and that he didn't know that she owned any money.. etc, and that meant that he couldn't withdraw very much for food and such. Today was proving to be not much better than yesterday. Already, Orion needed to be fed. He was usually pretty well behaved, but he was biting all of the heads off of his baby chew toys.
Severus didn't intend to stay out for very long, and since the Gringott's matter was cleared up temporarily, all he had to do was buy food. He glanced quickly at his list as he hurried down the baby food aisle of the grocery store. After shoving some cans of formula into the basket, he ran around the store to find some food for himself. On the way out the door, he stopped by the liquor department and bought more brandy. The latter was becoming a necessity.
As he merged with the traffic of Diagon Alley once more, he looked around to try to find some familiar faces. There were surprisingly few students out today; he only managed to spot Crabbe and a handful of Hufflepuff first years. He turned down Knockturn Alley to have a look around and he ran into the Malfoys. Draco was looking through a shop window at some dark potions and Severus didn't even notice Lucius until he was tapped on the shoulder by a slender black cane. " 'Afternoon, Severus."
"Hello, Lucuis," was Severus' stern reply.
"Severus, it seems like you've been avoiding everyone lately," he said with a wink, as if to imply he was referring to the Death Eaters "I do hope everything is well."
"Fine, Lucius. We're fine."
"Oh, and there's Orion! Where's Riona?"
That last question made Severus' blood boil. He knew perfectly well what happened to Riona. She was gone, and would most likely be gone forever.
"She's missing, Lucius, I thought someone had informed you."
"Oh, no. Troubling really. And I've absolutely no idea where she could be," Mr. Malfoy said almost sarcastically, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, neither do I, Lucius, and I appreciate you concern but we really must be going," Severus said in an attempt to end the conversation. No such luck.
"Why are you in such a hurry? What have you got to do that's more important?"
"I have to take these things home and tend to my son. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving," Severus said finally.
He picked up the pace as he strode away from the Malfoys. Lucius was such an arrogant prick sometimes. What was he thinking, asking where Riona was? There couldn't possibly have been a single person working for the Order or the Dark Lord that didn't know she was missing. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure why Lucius was even on speaking terms with him. His involvement with the Order was betrayed, and Lucius couldn't stand to come close to anyone without at least knowing that the person was a Death Eater. Plus, Severus was about as poor as a Weasley now that he was jobless and in debt from various things. Perhaps he was just as confused as Severus was.
As soon as Severus stepped in the door, he was greeted by a swarm of owls. They all pecked and squawked at him until he fumbled around in his coat pocket and paid them. Most of the deliveries were magazines, and there was the usual issue of the Daily Prophet. He would have to cancel some of the subscriptions if he wanted to save money. Not a single page in the Daily Prophet contained any information as to the whereabouts of Riona. It was mostly the same news as the day before. He glanced at the job openings and saw that the Ministry position was still open.
He picked up the clipped article from yesterday and grabbed some parchment. He wrote out a decent resume and neatly folded it into an envelope. He stamped and addressed it before calling out for his owl. "Opecid!" he shouted softly so as to not disturb Orion. The small black owl swooped in and pinched the letter out of Severus' hand. "Well," he thought to himself, "that's at least taken care of."
* * *
The Dark Lord slashed the breasts of the dark haired woman. "Bitch!" he screamed," You're running out of time! And for that," he breathed in her ear, "I will make you squirm. You will suffer.." He reached for his wand and shouted an incantation. Instead of seeing the green light, the woman found herself naked.
She saw what was coming and she cried, "NO!! FUCK YOU!! NO!!" the dark haired woman screamed bloody murder. She screamed and screamed until her throat was dry and her voice cracked. The Dark Lord thrust himself deeper and deeper, harder and harder until she thought she would die. He beat her face and cut her stomach. He, unlike many, saw none of her beauty. She was his slave. He laughed at her pain and smacked the tears from her eyes. When he was through, she was lying bloody and broken on the floor. She could barely make out the shapes and voices around her; everything was a blur. As she lie there, near death, she heard the slam of a door and knew she was alone.
She was overcome with a wave of remorse. Remorse for everything she had done to people to get where she was. She had betrayed possibly the only people that loved her and killed everyone else that meant anything. Tears rolled down her cheeks, stinging the cuts. "This isn't over," she consoled herself. "It's not hopeless. Dammit, I'll fix this." She painfully rose after a few moments. She was very dizzy and still could barely see. She propped herself up on a wall and gently put her clothes on. After wrapping some cloth around her stomach, she took and handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the blood from her face. Quietly, she slipped out the door and found herself face to face with Lucius.
* * *
Severus and Orion were now in Diagon Alley. He had just spent almost an hour and a half trying to explain to the goblins at Gringott's that Riona was missing and that he didn't know that she owned any money.. etc, and that meant that he couldn't withdraw very much for food and such. Today was proving to be not much better than yesterday. Already, Orion needed to be fed. He was usually pretty well behaved, but he was biting all of the heads off of his baby chew toys.
Severus didn't intend to stay out for very long, and since the Gringott's matter was cleared up temporarily, all he had to do was buy food. He glanced quickly at his list as he hurried down the baby food aisle of the grocery store. After shoving some cans of formula into the basket, he ran around the store to find some food for himself. On the way out the door, he stopped by the liquor department and bought more brandy. The latter was becoming a necessity.
As he merged with the traffic of Diagon Alley once more, he looked around to try to find some familiar faces. There were surprisingly few students out today; he only managed to spot Crabbe and a handful of Hufflepuff first years. He turned down Knockturn Alley to have a look around and he ran into the Malfoys. Draco was looking through a shop window at some dark potions and Severus didn't even notice Lucius until he was tapped on the shoulder by a slender black cane. " 'Afternoon, Severus."
"Hello, Lucuis," was Severus' stern reply.
"Severus, it seems like you've been avoiding everyone lately," he said with a wink, as if to imply he was referring to the Death Eaters "I do hope everything is well."
"Fine, Lucius. We're fine."
"Oh, and there's Orion! Where's Riona?"
That last question made Severus' blood boil. He knew perfectly well what happened to Riona. She was gone, and would most likely be gone forever.
"She's missing, Lucius, I thought someone had informed you."
"Oh, no. Troubling really. And I've absolutely no idea where she could be," Mr. Malfoy said almost sarcastically, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, neither do I, Lucius, and I appreciate you concern but we really must be going," Severus said in an attempt to end the conversation. No such luck.
"Why are you in such a hurry? What have you got to do that's more important?"
"I have to take these things home and tend to my son. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving," Severus said finally.
He picked up the pace as he strode away from the Malfoys. Lucius was such an arrogant prick sometimes. What was he thinking, asking where Riona was? There couldn't possibly have been a single person working for the Order or the Dark Lord that didn't know she was missing. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure why Lucius was even on speaking terms with him. His involvement with the Order was betrayed, and Lucius couldn't stand to come close to anyone without at least knowing that the person was a Death Eater. Plus, Severus was about as poor as a Weasley now that he was jobless and in debt from various things. Perhaps he was just as confused as Severus was.
As soon as Severus stepped in the door, he was greeted by a swarm of owls. They all pecked and squawked at him until he fumbled around in his coat pocket and paid them. Most of the deliveries were magazines, and there was the usual issue of the Daily Prophet. He would have to cancel some of the subscriptions if he wanted to save money. Not a single page in the Daily Prophet contained any information as to the whereabouts of Riona. It was mostly the same news as the day before. He glanced at the job openings and saw that the Ministry position was still open.
He picked up the clipped article from yesterday and grabbed some parchment. He wrote out a decent resume and neatly folded it into an envelope. He stamped and addressed it before calling out for his owl. "Opecid!" he shouted softly so as to not disturb Orion. The small black owl swooped in and pinched the letter out of Severus' hand. "Well," he thought to himself, "that's at least taken care of."
* * *
The Dark Lord slashed the breasts of the dark haired woman. "Bitch!" he screamed," You're running out of time! And for that," he breathed in her ear, "I will make you squirm. You will suffer.." He reached for his wand and shouted an incantation. Instead of seeing the green light, the woman found herself naked.
She saw what was coming and she cried, "NO!! FUCK YOU!! NO!!" the dark haired woman screamed bloody murder. She screamed and screamed until her throat was dry and her voice cracked. The Dark Lord thrust himself deeper and deeper, harder and harder until she thought she would die. He beat her face and cut her stomach. He, unlike many, saw none of her beauty. She was his slave. He laughed at her pain and smacked the tears from her eyes. When he was through, she was lying bloody and broken on the floor. She could barely make out the shapes and voices around her; everything was a blur. As she lie there, near death, she heard the slam of a door and knew she was alone.
She was overcome with a wave of remorse. Remorse for everything she had done to people to get where she was. She had betrayed possibly the only people that loved her and killed everyone else that meant anything. Tears rolled down her cheeks, stinging the cuts. "This isn't over," she consoled herself. "It's not hopeless. Dammit, I'll fix this." She painfully rose after a few moments. She was very dizzy and still could barely see. She propped herself up on a wall and gently put her clothes on. After wrapping some cloth around her stomach, she took and handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the blood from her face. Quietly, she slipped out the door and found herself face to face with Lucius.
* * *