"Come on, Severus, take a break."
"Eh," he muttered distractedly as he scribbled with a feather quill.
Alex set aside the last exam scroll of the stack she'd been grading and marked an 'E' in Severus' battered grade book. She threw her own quill down and pushed her chair back with an air of satisfaction. Since McGonagall's funeral, everyone on the staff had had extra work. And the headmaster is gone for days at a time, Alex thought. Thank Merlin he got a sub in to teach Transfiguration for the rest of the term. The three remaining heads of the Hogwarts houses had been sharing Dumbledore and McGonagall's administrative responsibilities. Alex came around the table and stood behind Severus, rubbing his shoulders. She peered at the ledger he was working on and wrinkled her nose in distaste. Eew, accounts. Better him than me.
Snape groaned as her fingers kneaded the tension from his muscles. "You've finished grading the third-years' exams already ?"
"Already ? It's eleven o'clock," Alex retorted, glancing at the clock on the mantel. At least I persuaded him to come up to my apartment to work. Sitting in the dungeon on a Friday night is not my idea of how to spend a weekend. "Come on, take a break," she repeated. "All work and no play makes Severus a dull potions master."
He shook his head. "I have to balance these books. Sprout bollixed it up when it was her turn." He scratched out a column of figures impatiently. "The woman is a genius with plants, but a complete dunderhead when it comes to maths."
She ran her fingers through his hair. "Fine, suit yourself. I thought you might like to join me. I'm going to take a bath."
Severus added up another column of numbers. "Mm-hm," he mumbled vaguely. "Hey !" Alex had tossed her bra onto the ledger. He pushed it aside and returned his attention to the accounts. A moment later he looked over his shoulder, distracted again by the sound of running water. A trail of Alex's discarded clothing led to the open bathroom door. "Um. Well. I suppose this could wait until tomorrow..."
-----
Pain. Pounding in her head, burning the flesh of her left arm. Instinctively, Alex reached for the wand on the nightstand. "Lumos," she murmured. By the pale magical glow, she saw Severus pull her own wand from under her pillow.
"Lumos." He frowned at her, momentarily confused. They exchanged wands. "Sorry about that." He wrapped his arms around her as a fresh wave of pain hit.
Alex pulled on a t-shirt and sweatpants, then lit candles as Severus stalked around the apartment, gathering his discarded clothing and cursing quietly. She clutched the door frame as the summoning came yet again, then stepped into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. I guess I ought to call Lupin. Damn. Idly, she picked up the emerald pendant left lying on the side of the sink. She gasped. "Severus, don't go." He looked up from tying his shoes as she burst into the sitting room. "Don't answer the summons," she pleaded.
He frowned. "You know I have to -" Alex held up the pendant. It was darker than it had ever been, nearly black. Severus narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't worry," he said casually as he finished tying his shoe. When he looked up again, his expression was cold. "It's not accurate," he told her. "It takes a genuine stone to hold a charm like that. That's a cheap crystal. Surely you didn't think it was a real emerald."
Alex raised her eyebrows. "Nice try, Severus. It's accurate, all right." She held up a hand as he started to argue. "Forget it. I had it appraised." He blinked, opened his mouth to comment, then shut it again. Alex would have laughed if she hadn't been so frightened. "You can't go."
"I'll be fine."
"You're in danger. This proves it." She brandished the emerald at him. "Oh gods, they've opened McGonagall's grave ! They know you didn't kill her."
"You're panicking. Stop it." Severus took hold of her shoulders. "I'll be fine. Remember, I am in favor with the Dark Lord."
"Not if he knows you didn't carry out his orders."
"He knows nothing of the sort." He bent and kissed her, stifling her protests. "I have to go now. I'll see you this afternoon." The pain of the summons flared again. Wincing, Alex blinked back tears. When she opened her eyes, he was gone.
Mad-Eye Moody was the one on duty at Order headquarters. "Someone will get there as soon as possible," he told Alex gruffly through the magical green flames. "It may take a while."
Damn. Damn, and damn. Alex stood up from the hearth and paced worriedly. I have to know what's happening. Drawing her wand again, she summoned a sleeping draught from Snape's dungeon office.
-----
Severus Snape was standing in a bare, unfinished room, lit unmagically by a single light bulb suspended from the ceiling. Blank, new plaster walls and a dusty plywood subfloor were the most prominent features. There were only four others in the room, Alex realized, as Severus' eyes darted over the assembled Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy stood at either side of the Dark Lord, hoods thrown back and expressions of mutual dislike on their haughty, aristocratic faces. The Dark Lord himself sat on an ornate conjured chair. Like a throne, Alex thought with contempt. Peter Pettigrew knelt before him, apparently receiving still more instructions. Voldemort spoke at great length in a hissing whisper, his pale, long-fingered hand resting on Wormtail's shoulder. From time to time Pettigrew nodded vigorously and whispered back. From Snape's vantage point, standing across the room, it was impossible to make out a word. Severus shifted from foot to foot, watching the tableau. Bellatrix gave him an unpleasant smile. "Alex," she said. "Wake up."
"Alex. Alex, wake up." She opened her eyes to find Remus Lupin perched awkwardly on a chair at her bedside. He'd placed the pensieve on the nightstand. She could hear someone moving about in the next room.
"Hi, Remus," Alex said tiredly. She didn't bother to ask who'd come with him. Moody, probably. I don't want to know. She estimated she'd been dreaming for close to an hour, waiting for him to arrive. "Let me fill you in on what's happening so far." Gossamer strands fell from her wand into the pensive as she transferred her thoughts to it. "Severus has been called to a meeting of Voldemort's high-ranking followers."
"Let's get you back there," Lupin said curtly. "This could be extremely important."
Alex nodded tensely, leaning back against her pillow. Lupin flashed a brief, sympathetic smile. "Let's just try a light trance... tell me what you can see." He waved his wand as she closed her eyes.
"You-Know-Who is still instructing Pettigrew," Alex murmured after a few moments. "I can't hear a thing he's saying. I think he's deliberately making Severus cool his heels." Which doesn't look good for Severus, she thought worriedly. Finally, Pettigrew stood and took a place next to Lestrange.
Voldemort beckoned Snape forward. He knelt before the carved throne, as always, meeting the Dark Lord's eyes defiantly instead of focusing on the floorboards. "Make your accusation, my daughter," Voldemort said in his mad, high-pitched voice.
Bellatrix Lestrange leaned forward eagerly. "My husband and his brother dug up McGonagall's coffin earlier this evening," she gloated. "Can you tell our Lord what they found there, Severus ?"
"Why don't you, Bella," he sneered, "since you're obviously dying to."
"I already know," Voldemort's cold voice interrupted. "It would amuse me to hear your explanation." The red eyes with their black, vertical pupils locked on Snape's.
Alex whimpered. "He knows...he knows," she moaned. Distantly, she felt Lupin's hand squeeze her shoulder gently.
"I poisoned McGonagall," Snape said confidently. "A killing dose in her evening cup of tea. I went to her chambers via the floo network and hid . Within minutes, she was in agony." He took a deep breath. "I couldn't help myself. I had to taunt her. When she saw me, she transformed into her animal form and ran from her apartments."
"That was foolish, my servant." Voldemort leaned closer, his hands closing on Severus' shoulders. Alex was lost, swept away on a crimson tide. From far away, she heard Severus respond.
"I followed her, my Lord." His voice was strained with the effort of resisting Voldemort's legilimency. "The cat was stumbling... writhing. There was no way she could live."
"What went wrong ?"
"My Lord knows that Hogwarts is riddled with secret passages," Snape croaked. "McGonagall managed to stand again. She staggered around a corner. I was only a step or two behind her. When I arrived...she was gone." He gasped for breath. "I knew she was dead. In cat form. No one...would ever find her. Rather than disappoint you, I arranged to substitute a body for her missing one."
"You lied to me, my servant. You must be punished." Voldemort's voice was eager.
"I completed the mission, my Lord," Severus said desperately.
"Crucio." The vision went dark as Snape screwed his eyes shut. Alex could hear his breath coming in hoarse gasps, could feel his muscles clenching. He did not cry out. "You revealed this servant's deception, my daughter," Voldemort laughed. "I know how you enjoy inflicting pain. You may participate."
"Yes, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord. Crucio !" Bellatrix's laughter filled her ears. Alex screamed.
-----
"Alex ! Calm down, it's all right. You're safe, it's all right." She stared wildly as Remus Lupin's face came into focus, inches from her own.
"What's going on ?" Mad-Eye Moody peered around the door frame. Lupin shushed him.
"Oh, everything's fine," Alex shrilled. "Just fine. You-Know-Who and the rest of the Death Eaters are taking turns torturing Severus, that's all."
"I'll leave you to it, then." Moody ducked back out of sight.
Alex clutched Lupin's arm. She knew she was having hysterics. I don't give a shit. "Put me back under," she demanded. "I've got to know what's happening."
"I can't. Not yet. You've got to calm down," Remus told her softly.
"You shouldn't have wakened me," she accused.
"I'm sorry. You were screaming..."
"Oh, gods, Remus, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. Accio potion."
He frowned as another sleeping draught flew into the room. "You shouldn't overdo it with those potions-"
"I'll be fine."
-----
Bellatrix's laughter. A blurred view of the hem of Voldemort's robe. And then Lucius Malfoy's voice. "He completed the mission," Malfoy drawled. "The head of Gryffindor house is dead. My son tells me the staff of Hogwarts are hard-pressed to manage. Dumbledore retreats to his office for days at a time. Most importantly, Potter himself is grief-stricken." Malfoy didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Draco tells me he's badly off his form in quidditch practice. Sullen and morose in class. No doubt he cries himself to sleep at night." Bellatrix's mad laughter rang out once more. "Surely Snape has learned his lesson," Malfoy said casually, "and will serve you faithfully again. That is, if you allow him to live."
Alex didn't hear the Dark Lord's answer. The pain was gone. Severus was alive. That was all that mattered. After a long time, he struggled to his feet and took his place across the room from Voldemort. The three loyal Death Eaters huddled around their lord, receiving final instructions. Finally, he waved his pale hand, dismissing them all. Malfoy walked beside Snape as they exited the unfinished building and crossed a muddy, unpaved road in the pre-dawn darkness. He smiled and clasped Severus' hand in parting, a smile that never reached his eyes. Malfoy waved his wand and disapparated. Moments later, the vision went black. "It's over," Alex said dully, eyes still closed. Her hand trembled as she placed the last pearly strands of the vision into the stone bowl of the pensieve. "He should be getting back to Hogwarts any second now." She waited for the gates to appear. The lights from the castle. Long minutes passed. But behind her eyelids, everything remained black.