Disclaimer: I do not own HP. I repeat, I do NOT own HP. But, of course, you lot know this, right? If not, whack yourself repeatedly in the head with a blunt object until you do.
Serpens Erus Temptatio
"Serpent Lord's Temptation"
Chapter 14 – Tired of LivingNearly two months passed and the Dolor Miniatus potion was very nearly ready. Severus and Harry had had a slight difficulty getting Draco to donate a fang from his Animagus form and only got it because his wife Nadia ordered him to. When Draco had revealed to them the whole story, Severus had laughed and told him to never argue with a pregnant woman.
Now Harry, Mischa, and Severus were sitting in the Great Hall during lunch, quietly talking over where they could find the last two ingredients they needed for the potion. Mischa had a smaller version of Severus' map splayed across her knees, which had forced both men to lean in close to her.
"I remember finding a few Runespoor nests in this area in '81," said Severus, pointing out a spot on the map. A small red rectangle lit up around his finger and the section zoomed into view. He then brushed his fingertips over a section of rock that was marked in brown.
"They were right along the base of these rocks," he continued. "Hopefully they still nest there so we can get an egg."
"We'll hope," said Mischa. "I suppose we could go there tonight after classes. What about that feather?"
"A more difficult puzzle," said Severus. "The Altair birds were very nearly wiped out by Grindelwald. No one has seen a one since then."
"Damnit," cursed Harry. "If its not one evil, its another. Are we cursed or something?"
Severus was about to say something but was interrupted by a scream – a very human scream. Nine heads at the Head Table whipped up at the sound, McGonagall rose to her feet as several of the students screamed, drawing her wand. Severus and Harry watched in partial horror as the black raven circled the Hall once then swooped down to land neatly in front of Harry.
Intelligent golden eyes gleamed as a voice came from the bird's throat.
"Greetings," croaked the bird, bobbing its head. "Greetings, Heir of Slytherin. I bear a message from my Lord."
Harry arched an eyebrow, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Severus. The green/black-haired man was scowling darkly at the bird. He was obviously remembering the owl that had delivered the letter from Voldemort in their fifth year.
"And your," Harry paused over the word, "Lord would be whom exactly?"
"My Lord Aubrey, Slytherin's Heir. He sends his regards."
Harry was suddenly on his feet, his eyes swirling darkly with black.
"Aubrey is dead," he snarled.
"One such as my Lord shall not die so easily, Slytherin's Heir."
Harry's lips drew back in a near perfect imitation of one of Professor Snape's sneers. Severus might have been proud of that if he'd seen it. He, however, was fixing the raven with a glare that he had once only reserved for Voldemort.
"Tell your Lord," sneered Harry, "that if he wishes to continue the fight we started and finished thirteen years ago, he can come ahead. This time I'll make damn sure he stays dead."
"I will give him your message, Heir of Slytherin." The raven bobbed its head lightly then spread its wings in what could be taken as a bow. "If that is all, I shall take my leave of you."
"You do that," growled Harry, eyes completely black now.
The raven looked at him and for the first time since its arrival, there was fear in its intelligent eyes. Mischa could see it and could sympathize with it. She could feel small waves of power coming off of the man standing beside her – waves that were slowly pushing her chair backwards from their force.
"Farewell," said the raven, obviously trying to stave off its fear. It then screamed in its human voice and took flight, dark feathers floating back down through the air. Only when it was gone did the students dare speak again.
Harry angrily snatched one of the feathers from the air then turned and exited through one of the doors behind the Head Table. Mischa and Severus hurriedly followed him, McGonagall not far behind them. They found him standing in the center of the room, hands at his sides.
He was shaking with barely contained fury.
"Harry?" said Mischa softly, reaching out to touch his arm.
"Don't," hissed Harry. He turned slowly to look at her, his eyes now gray-green and filled with pain. "Keep away from me, Mischa."
"But…Harry…"
Harry grabbed her suddenly by the shoulders and bellowed, "I will not allow another woman I love to die!" He then turned away from her, grabbing Severus' hand and slapping the feather into it.
"We'll try for the Runespoor's tonight. Quickly."
"When?" asked Mischa.
"You're not going," said Harry.
"What? Harry…"
"Aubrey is after me, Mischa! If he finds out about you…he'll kill you." Harry turned his face away from the three of them and whispered, "Just like he did Gin."
McGonagall, a sad look on her face, reached out to touch his shoulder. He flinched away but she held on, pulling him gently towards her. Slowly, he complied and allowed her to turn him about so he was facing her.
"You must stop doing this to yourself," she said gently. "You did not cause her death."
Harry slowly lifted his eyes to look into hers.
"If I hadn't been on that field, she'd never have come down."
"And if Aubrey hadn't have killed her, you might be dead instead," said Severus, stepping forward. When Harry fixed him with a furious glare, he lifted a hand.
"Hear me out, Harry," he continued. "And answer this question: if she hadn't have died, would you have had the will to kill Aubrey?"
Harry just looked at him for a long moment, no emotion on his face or in his eyes. Then something flickered in the green depths and Harry softly replied, "No. No, I wouldn't have."
With that he broke away from the Headmistress and without looking at either Severus or Mischa, left the room. The dark-haired woman moved to follow him but was stopped by Severus' hand coming down on her arm.
"Don't," he said softly as she turned angry eyes towards him. "If you wish to help him, leave him alone. At least for a little while."
"I love him."
"I know."
"Give him time, my dear," said McGonagall. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Mischa looked at the door Harry had left through (which was a different one than McGonagall had) then sighed and said, "I suppose we should go find those Runespoor's."
"Harry didn't…"
"I will not abandon him," spat Mischa. "Not for you, not for McGonagall, not for Aubrey. Is that clear?"
"As glass," replied Severus. "I admire your courage, but do remember that Aubrey is a killer. And that if you die, Harry will most certainly not survive." With that he turned and walked back through the door into the Great Hall.
Mischa stood there for a moment before she turned and followed him.
"What do you mean?" she asked softly as the students stared at them.
"I meant what I said," replied Severus in an equally soft voice. "If you were to die, Harry would not survive. He would either wither away in grief or commit suicide."
"He'd never!"
"He would," said Severus. "And I do not wish to see that happen. You are to keep yourself away from anything that happens. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly," spat Mischa as the exited the Hall and crossed the entrance hall. As they started down the outside stars, she added, "I intend to keep both of us safe."
Severus halted suddenly and turned to stare up at her. His dark eyes flicked from her face to where her hands rested on her stomach before they flicked back up.
"Are you implying what I think you are implying?"
Mischa arched an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly to the side.
"What do you think I'm implying?"
Severus took two long steps and was standing beside her, towering over her. He was shaking with barely suppressed fury as he snarled, "This is no time for games, woman. My wife is lying comatose in the hospital wing, my three-month old daughter is dead, and my son is afraid he may very well lose his mother. Not only that, but the creature that stole a good friend of mine and my best friend's first love has not only returned but has already decided to come after us again. And finally…you proclaim to be carrying Harry's child! The time for fun and games is long over!"
"I'm sorry," said Mischa.
"As you should be," snapped Severus. He then gave her a sideways look and asked, "How long have you known?"
"A few weeks."
"I assume you haven't told Harry."
Mischa shook her head and replied, "I was going to today but after that raven…"
Severus nodded slightly before asking, "How far along are you?"
"A month and a half."
"Of course. You have some time before you begin to show."
"Time to what?" asked Mischa as Severus turned and began to descend the stairs again.
The green/black-haired man looked at her over his shoulder and replied, "Time to do what must be done. I tell you now that your safety is even more of the essence than before. If Aubrey were to find out that you carry Harry's child, he will surely try and capture you."
"Then why am I leaving the grounds with you?" asked Mischa, one hand placed protectively over her belly.
"Because Aubrey does not know. And we shall hope he never will. Now come. We shall collect the Runespoor eggs and return to finish the potion."
Mischa nodded and the two of them continued across the grounds, Severus drawing a Portkey from one of his pockets. As soon as they crossed the wards, they both grabbed the Portkey, which activated instantly.
Then they were gone.
Three hours later, Severus administered the completed Dolor Miniatus potion to Hermione. There was no immediate change and he had camped out on a cot next to his wife's bed, regularly checking for any improvement. Tristen had been excused from all his classes until his mother awoke and was currently curled up on a cot next to his father's, asleep.
Harry wandered in after curfew and found Severus leaning over Hermione, his face only centimeters away from hers. He waited until his friend turned towards him before he said anything.
"Any improvement?"
Severus smiled slightly and replied, "She's not as pale anymore. That's an improvement."
"A little of one," said Harry with a smile. He then looked at Tristen and added softly, "What am I going to do, Sev?"
"About Aubrey?"
"About everything."
"You mean Mischa," said Severus.
Harry just nodded and Severus considered telling him. But he couldn't. That was for Mischa to tell. He just hoped she did it soon.
"I see. You're afraid for her safety."
"I don't want her to die too, Sev. I…"
"You love her."
Harry nodded and replied, "Not as much as I loved Gin. Not yet anyway. But…yeah, I love her." He looked up at the other man and asked, "Is that wrong?"
Severus slowly shook his head and said, "No, Harry, its not. I know you miss her very much – we all do. But you can't live without love your entire life." He threw a loving glance in the direction of his sleeping wife and added, "And I must tell you, the best thing in the world is someone to share your nights with. You deserve that, my friend."
"But with Aubrey around I can't have it. She's in danger if she's with me, Sev."
"So are we all."
Especially your child, thought Severus to himself.
Harry looked at him for a moment before he sagged against a bed.
"Do you think she'd agree to leave? At least until Aubrey's gone again?"
"No," said Severus, earning a small smile from the Heir of Slytherin.
"I thought you'd say that. She's like Gin in that respect." Harry lifted his head to smile sadly at his friend. "She won't abandon me."
"Not many of us will," said Severus.
"Ron did."
"Ron chose the wrong side."
"Because of me."
Severus sighed.
"Will you ever stop playing the martyr? Harry, not everything in this world is your fault."
"Ron was. Ginny was."
"Ron chose to go to Voldemort. Ginny chose to go out on that field. Perhaps if Ron hadn't gone to Voldemort, we might never have had that battle. Or perhaps he would have become the next Dark Lord. We don't know. We can't change the past."
"I know."
Silence fell. Wood creaked as Tristen shifted on his cot. A gray tabby cat poked its head out from under his blanket and blinked at the two men.
"Mrow."
Severus gave the cat an amused look then turned back to his friend.
"Don't push her away, Harry."
"If she stays with me, she'll get hurt."
"If you push her away, you'll both get hurt."
Your child will get hurt, added Severus silently.
Green eyes met black and Harry sighed.
"I don't want her to die."
"And I don't want you to keep on like you have for the last thirteen years, so we're even. Now get some sleep, man. You look like the living dead."
"You're not much better," quipped Harry. "You'll call me when Mione wakes up, won't you?"
"Of course," replied Severus.
Harry nodded and left. Severus looked after him for a moment before he sat down on his cot. The gray tabby leapt from the foot of Tristen's cot to his shoulder and purred, rubbing her head up against his cheek.
"Hello, Trieste," he said, scratching the tiny creature's chin. "Will you watch Herm for me?"
"Mrow."
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" said Severus. He picked the cat up and deposited it on the edge of Hermione's bed. As he lay down, the gray tabby began to lick a paw, long tail flicking idly. Severus watched it for a moment before he closed his eyes and let Sleep take him.