A/N:  Sorry about the wait, Gin and I have a new L/J Fic that we're working on, because Ginny was going to kill me if I didn't write so much…and now I present you with this!  Anyway if you want to read it, our conjoined name is 'Loony Bin Escapees', so we hope to have stuff up on there soon.

IF YOU WANT TO READ ANY REALLY GOOD SHORT ONE-CHAPTER STORIES (well, one is multi-chaptered) READ MY FRIEND LupinGirl's fics.  Read Harry, I Love You, because it's her favourite and really good, and she hasn't got any reviews on it other than mine.

Also, Kai Naxos, my younger sister has asked for me to advertise A Rose By Any Other Name, because nobody is reviewing.  I'm helping her with it.

Chapter Eleven:  The Rescue

            Severus ran into the Forbidden Forest with his wand drawn.  "Sonorus," he exclaimed, pointing the wand at his neck, "SEVERA AUDACIA SNAPE, GET BACK INTO THE CASTLE NOW!" he boomed.  "Quietus," he whispered, returning his voice to normal.

            Severus stopped to listen for footsteps, but heard only protesting animals.  "Guess they didn't like that too well," he thought to himself.  He ventured a bit deeper into the forest, using a normal voice to call for his daughter and her new friend.  He kept his wand out, looking back every few steps.

            He had complete custody of his daughter for only a week, and he's already lost her.  He took a deep breath.  "I'm sure Caeco has done something like this…at one time or another," he thought to himself, though not feeling any more soothed. 

            His mind wandered to his childhood, something he rarely looked back upon.  Mainly because it was dreadful, his father was abusive and he was hated by everyone but Death Eaters to-be in school.  He remembered the time that he ran away.  "Severa's not running away, she's just lost," he tried to assure himself.  He was eight years old, he had just been yelled at for trying to brew a potion in his father's lab.  He had gotten it right, but his father had come home early, and wasn't pleased to find him in the lab.  He had, of course, been slapped across the face, and his father even threw a hex at him.  All Severus remembered was being knocked against the wall, and deciding he had enough.

            He couldn't bear to watch his father beat his mother every other night, couldn't take the pain of being beat for things he did or didn't do.  The young Severus grabbed an extra set of robes, a charmed pocketknife, and some food from of the pantry, and ran.  It was rather simple to get out, his father was in the lab, probably trying to find fault in his flawless Healing Potion, his mother in the kitchen, preparing dinner, and all he had to do was walk out of the front door.  He took a right from the door and climbed uphill until he reached a gently sloping forest that led to a small village.  The village was unfortunately full of Muggles, but if, no when he got his Hogwarts letter, it wouldn't matter too much.  He began to weave through the trees, not really caring where he was going as long as it was away.  He heard a familiar angry voice.  The young boy ran faster, but his legs were much shorter, and his father was soon in wand-range.  "Stupefy!" was the last thing he heard before going unconscious, until waking up in his bed, with bruises and gashes that he knew weren't there before.

            The older Severus listened, for the angry forest had quieted down some, he heard rustling in the distance and to the left.  He thought it could be the two girls struggling against something.  He kept his voice down and wand forward, an Impediment Curse ready.  He inched forward, listening to the sounds of struggle.  As he got closer he could hear two girls talking in low, nervous tones, but couldn't make out the words.

            "No, really, who do you think it is that will come and save us, or will we be saved at all?" he heard his daughter say.  Severus stopped dead in his tracks.

            "I'm sure my mum or your dad will be here soon enough," Thespia answered.

            "Over-confident, good-for-nothing Gryffind—wait, it's true.  And she did include me," Severus thought to himself.

            "Shall we talk of something other than our demise?" he heard Thespia say.

            "Sure," Severa said, pausing.  "Have any clue what that thing is, yet?"

            Apparently, the girls were talking in circles, Severus concluded.  "No.  I'm sure my mum would, though."

            "And whether or not it would kill us," Severa answered.

            "You seem to be pretty anxious for your death," Thespia laughed.

            "Nah, I think I'll take a while longer with my father."  Severus smiled to himself, choosing that exact moment to show himself. 

            He saw the girls against a tree, with what looked like roots across their body.  Behind them, a half-oval in the tree was a dark grey colour.  "Good," he thought, "not yet black."

            "Are you numb?" he asked the girls.  Before they could answer, he sensed a presence and turned around to see exactly what he was expecting to see.  "Impedimenta!  Petrificus Totalus!  Stupefy!" he said in rapid succession, keeping the beast away from him.  He pointed his wand at the roots of the tree enveloping the girls, "Pannucius!" he shouted as the roots shrivelled away.

            "Can you stand up?" Severus asked, offering a hand to each girl.  They pulled themselves up and shook their heads. 

            "Not really," Thespia said, "my back feels all—weird."

            "Same," Severa added with a nod.

            Severus put one arm around each girl, and half-dragged them out as close to a run as he could, wand still out, just in case.

            "What was that?" Severa asked her father.

            "Arboreus Depasco.  It's born from a tree, and then, when it finds animals, or people in your case, it returns them to the tree, which will consume them, and pretty much turn the remains into something edible for the Arboreus Depasco.  Also, they're a bit difficult to incapacitate, as you saw.  Girls, that forest is forbidden, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, it didn't occur to me to tell you two.  Don't let me catch you in there again."

            Both girls nodded, mixed looks of fright and relief on their faces.  He took them up to the Slytherin Common Room, and sat them down on the couches, and went back to his office to brew a potion.

            "If that man isn't back with my daughter in five minutes, I'm going after them," he heard Aeria say to Harry.

            "I'm back, and your daughter is in the Slytherin Common Rooms.  I'll take you to see her, once I finish brewing this potion for them."

            "What happened?" she demanded, as Severus summoned cauldron. 

He started a fire, and then summoned the ingredients he would need.  "Arboreus Depasco," he answered simply.

"How far did it get?"

"Not very," Severus answered, "they're backs are numb, according to them, but they should recover fully.  I don't know whether or not they were poisoned yet, you might want to check them for that.  I'm brewing an antidote for that anyway."

"Do you need any help?" Aeria asked.

"No, I'm quite fine," he said, summoning another cauldron and a few more ingredients, "I'm now making a potion to counter-act the numbness, and so that they are not paralysed."

"I'd like to see them.  Could Harry take me down there?" Aeria suggested.  Harry had a pleading look on his face.

"Harry, can you get to the Slytherin Common Rooms?  The password is Raeder-git."

"Yeah, I think so," Harry answered with a smile.

Harry led her out of the room, glad to finally be allowed to get up.  He led them down the corridor, and turned into a hallway.  The turned right, and the left and were at the Common Room.

"Raeder-git,"  Aeria snapped before Harry could open his mouth.  The wall opened, and Thespia and Severa were sitting on the couches.

"Hi, mum!" Thespia greeted with a smile, "Hiya, Harry."

"Hullo, Professor Feenland, Harry," Severa said as Aeria ran over to her daughter and gave her a big hug.  Harry sat down next to Severa.

"Harry, could you please go back to Professor Snape's office.  Tell him I'll be back in a few minutes.

Harry nodded and made his way back to Snape's office.  He wished that he could go back to Gryffindor Tower instead, but after passing up the perfect chance to at least visit it, he slowed his pace to Snape's office while thinking about him.

Harry thought about the change in Snape's character, and how nice he seemed to him.  He wondered if it would last into the school year.  Not only that, Harry still hadn't gotten over the fact that Professor Snape, his most-hated teacher of all-time was his godfather.  Well, now he was probably ex-most-hated teacher of all-time, assuming Snape stays this nice, Trelawney gets that position.

"Where's Professor Feenland?" Snape asked the second Harry opened the door.

"She's still with Thespia and Severa," Harry answered, sitting on the bed.  Harry now realised that there was a cot at a right angle to the bed.

"I expected that.  You may return to Gryffindor Tower tomorrow," Snape answered Harry's unspoken question.

"Okay," Harry answered, stifling a groan.

"In fact, once Professor Feenland gets back, I think I'll have you go to sleep."

"Maybe not as nice as I thought.  Okay, so the former Snape would have been meaner, but still," Harry thought to himself, silently pleading for Professor Feenland to take extremely long. 

Unfortunately, she chose that moment to appear through the doors.  "They are poisoned.  How's the antidote coming along?"

"Give me ten minutes for the antidote, about an hour and a half for the other potion," Snape answered, not looking up from his cauldron, Harry realised that he hadn't done that since the second he opened the door, probably since he started working.

"Potter, bed.  Now!" Snape ordered.

"But, you're still working!" Harry groaned, standing up to move to the cot.

"Where do you think you're going.  Lay down, and go to sleep.  If you think you won't be able to sleep, I have a potion for that.  Aeria, could you get him a Sleeping Draught off of the shelf in my study?"

She nodded, and went through a door at the back.  She emerged with a bottle of purple liquid.  "Here, Harry, goodnight.  Sweet dreams"

Harry swallowed, "G'night," he said, laying down and falling asleep, his last thought being the realisation that Snape was giving up his own comfort for Harry's.


I'm done!!!  Nice and early in the morning too.


ff.net is being mean to me, so I can't get to my reviews, and my e-mail system is weird, so I'll answer reviews in the next chapter!


Once again, LUPINGIRL and KAI NAXOS.  No, this isn't free advertising; I'm…somehow…getting them to pay me back.  Muahaha.

Don't Forget Ginny!  Muahaha!  Ginny Drama is the best twin!  You know, I think me and Fred would get along, he is however the second best Weasley!  (Ginny wrote that…I guess I'll be kind and leave it up… but remember, she's my only twin)