Chapter Thirty: The Two Serpents

Severus paced back and forth in front of his desk, hands clasped behind his back, tapping one long finger against the opposite hand, trying to silence the constant questions in his mind. When would she arrive? Was she in any condition to come at all? His insides churned. Had the letter somehow been intercepted? Closing his eyes and sighing deeply, he forced his mind to clear.

The letter hadn't been intercepted. Zephyr had come back to the school without a response, but with no sign that anything had gone amiss. That was good news. So was the fact that he wasn't currently bound and bloody in Lucius Malfoy's dungeon, also a sure sign that the letter hadn't fallen into the wrong hands.

"Professor Snape," came a welcome hollow voice echoing through the office. "You have a visitor at the front gate identifying herself as Alex Borgin. Shall I allow her entrance?"

Finally.

"By all means, do," he intoned, already out of the room by the time the gate swung open.

He watched her approach from the front steps through wary eyes, looking for any clues to her well-being. After all, she wasn't the most forthcoming of individuals.

He snorted quietly. The pot calling the cauldron black, Severus?

She took the steps at a run and launched herself into his arms with her usual high spirits, and in a few moments, he had relaxed into her embrace, stroking her hair tenderly. Alex was safe. That was enough for now.

She loosened her grip on the back of his robes just enough to lean back and look into his face, searching for some proof of the truth of the words he had written. A slight tug at the corners of her mouth indicated a nervous smile, and he returned it warmly.

"I want to hear you say it, Sev," she breathed.

Tenderly, almost hesitantly, he kissed her, his mouth warm and silken as it touched hers lightly, then it was gone as black eyes looked down on her with the most gentle expression she'd ever seen on his face. "I love you, Alex. Always."

He held her tightly as her balance wavered a bit, concern replacing the kindness on his face. "How long has it been since you slept?"

Her brow knitted in concentration. "It feels like an eternity," she chuckled lightly.

His lips pursed in disapproval. "Come. We have much to discuss, but first you need to rest. It's a wonder you can close your eyes at all in that house."

In minutes she was undressed and curled in Severus' bed, her beloved potions master holding her tightly as she drifted off in a state of absolute bliss.

Lucius approached the grim figure of Thomas Marsh steadily. Casually, with practiced ease, he placed the tip of his wand on his captive's chest and spoke a harsh command. Marsh's body was immediately engulfed in flames. The smell of burning flesh and hair joined with his screams to create a ghastly atmosphere, one which Lucius had no real desire to perpetuate, but it was his traditional wakeup call for his old friend.

"Finite," he whispered almost gently, watching with a detached expression as the flames extinguished themselves. "Thomas?"

The figure on the wall began to weep, gulping for breath as his chest heaved. Lucius felt a touch of relief that he had an excuse to be merciful. "Thomas, my old friend. I've decided to release you."

The sobs became louder, the man's breathing heavier as he heard the words. He would know, of course, what Lucius meant by them, that he would be released into the peace of oblivion. Lucius had found the mercy to grant him death.

He raised his wand once more and released the man from his restraints, his abused body crumpling to the floor in a boneless heap. Lucius maneuvered him into a sitting position with a flick of his wand, and sat on his heels in front of him. He lifted his chin with a gloved hand and spoke softly. "Thomas, do you want to die?"

The man nodded mutely, tears still streaming silently down his cheeks, cutting a path through the blood and filth on his face. "Then, I will grant you your wish. I will need you alive, though, for just a few more hours."

He rose gracefully and levitated Marsh's broken form. It followed him from the room like a ghastly shadow.

Alex awoke to the smell of breakfast, the air full of the familiar and comforting aroma of eggs and bacon and coffee. She opened her eyes slowly, praying that falling asleep in Sev's arms hadn't been a dream. It had apparently been very real, she thought happily, spotting her beloved lounging in a chair beside the bed, thoroughly engrossed in a huge, leather-bound book. Apparently sensing her eyes upon him, he raised his gaze to hers and smiled.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, his voice sliding over her like a velvet blanket.

She buried her face in the pillow to stifle a huge yawn, then came up for air, looking chagrinned.

"I'll consider that a 'yes,'" he joked dryly.

She chuckled softly at his deadpan delivery. "What smells so good?"

He raised a black eyebrow. "Breakfast, of course, though it's quite late for it. I thought you might be hungry."

"I'm starving," she agreed.

"Some things never change," he mused, eyeing her with a fraction of a grin. Alex laughed openly as he moved to levitate a tray full of food to her bedside. "Breakfast in bed for my sleepy assassin."

She grabbed for a piece of bacon without waiting for a second invitation and began munching, noticing only after her third piece that he wasn't joining her. Self-consciously, she swallowed, took a large gulp of coffee, and addressed the oddity. "Not hungry?"

"I ate several hours ago, after you fell asleep."

She jerked up to a sitting position. "Several hours?" she exclaimed, only now noticing the failing light through the window high above. "Sev, how could you let me sleep that long?"

"You were exhausted, Alex. I had to allow you to sleep." He absently cracked a knuckle on his left hand. "We have much to discuss."

"We do?" She placed her fork beside the plate, eyeing him warily.

"Indeed. Finish your breakfast, now. It's nothing we can't manage between the two of us."

She smiled broadly, resuming her breakfast with relish at his casual use of the word "us."

Hating to eat and do nothing else, she peppered him with questions about the book he was reading and listened patiently as he explained. It was a book about dissecting venomous reptiles and harvesting their respective organs and venom for potions. He went into great detail about the subject, obviously hoping to cause her discomfort for his own amusement, but she only ate and listened and nodded appreciatively.

As he finished, she shook her head and swallowed the last bite of breakfast. "Well, it doesn't qualify as light reading for me, but, hey, whatever floats your boat."

"Indeed," was his only answer.

They stared at one another for a few seconds which seemed to stretch into eternity before Alex broke the silence. "What is it, Severus?"

The room was ready, black candles dimly lighting the circular walls, a small table covered with various bottles and boxes, and a nearly-dead man lying on a raised stone dais. In the center was a large cauldron, bubbling over a roaring fire, and bent over this, observing it carefully, was Lucius Malfoy. His face, illuminated by the flickering flames, was colder than the stone surrounding him as he backed away and bound Thomas Marsh to the stone slab with a flick of his wrist.

It would never do to have him fall.

He took a long last look around the room ensuring that everything was in its place, then softly he began to speak.

"Alex," Severus began gravely. "Lucius Malfoy has the means to break your contract."

She sat forward abruptly, her attention fully focused, now, all the haze of sleep having flown with his words. "He what?" She knew it was an inane thing to say, but her mouth formed the words before she even realized what they were.

"You heard me clearly," Severus said, speaking slowly in his traditional lecturing voice. "He has the means to do so, a ritual to be carried out on the first night of the new moon. That's tonight, if you don't keep track of your lunar calendar."

Her eyes were like saucers, now. "Why in the hell didn't you say so?" she snapped. "How do we stop him?"

Severus sighed deeply and subtly drew his wand, fully preparing for the tirade he knew she would unleash.

"We don't," he answered simply.

He was not caught off-guard in the slightest when she leapt from the bed and began to dress, pulling on her clothes with great speed, and he made no move to stop her, assuming she'd be in better spirits if he allowed her to have her dignity.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," she was shouting as she pulled on her boots. "There has to be something we can do."

Severus made a point to keep his voice very calm and rational. "There is nothing we can do without giving ourselves away, Alex."

She released the foot she was struggling with, having finally pulled the boot all the way on and stared, openmouthed. Severus readied several defensive spells.

"You're on his side," she breathed.

He blinked. What? Of all the words he expected to come out of her mouth, those were the last.

"You seem to be confused, Alex. Perhaps you've forgotten..."

"I haven't forgotten shit! I haven't forgotten how you told Lucius that he could have me, he could do whatever he had to do to win me over to his side, to your side!" She stepped back a few paces, into his laboratory and he followed, pacing her as if they were attached by an invisible rope. "I can't believe I didn't see it. You wanted him to find me, you wanted me to be with him, so that you could get rid of me and still accomplish your task."

"You're not thinking rationally, Alex. I had no idea that you would go to him."

"You practically pushed me into his arms!" she shouted, finally reaching the door. "I'll stop him, Severus, if I have to burn that manor down around him!"

With that, she wrenched the door handle hard enough to rip the door from its hinges.

But nothing happened.

She tried again, turning the knob firmly. It still refused to budge. She then turned to face Severus with a look of cold fury on her features. Slowly she unsheathed her wand.

"Open the door, Severus," she ordered quietly.

He raised his wand. "No."

Lucius raised a wicked dagger, still chanting softly, his satin voice pronouncing each word carefully, gracefully. Slicing a clean, deep line in his forearm, he raised the wound to the mouth of his captive.

"Drink," he whispered in a voice which, in any other setting, would have been seductive.

The man obeyed, knowing that obedience without question was his only hope of the death his tormentor had promised him. After a few moments, Lucius pulled his arm away, grimacing slightly. He brought a finger to the wound, covering it with blood and began tracing an arcane symbol on Marsh's forehead. The bound man let out a small whimper of fear as the magic of the spell began to penetrate.

"It will all be over soon, Thomas," Malfoy offered gently, "your suffering and mine."

A quill with a broken tip, the one which had been used to sign his name to Alex's contract was placed in Thomas' hand and bound there with a black ribbon.

This finished, he gathered a small box from the table and extracted from it a lock of golden-brown hair. He let it slip from his fingers into the black waters of the cauldron, and watched it disappear with a satisfying hiss. The waters began to churn more fiercely, and Lucius smiled as he turned back to the table.

"Step away from there, Alex, and let me talk to you," Severus requested in his most reasonable voice, but she was not listening. Her wand was beginning to rise and he was left with little choice.

"Expelliarmus!"

He tried to be gentle, but that was difficult when attempting to move quickly, and Alex's body was thrown to the side, her shoulder connecting solidly with the stone. Her wand he caught neatly and had hidden it away in an instant.

"Alex, be reasona..."

He was cut off by a potion flying straight for his head, hurled by a very angry and rarely helpless thief. He ducked quickly, and watched it sail over him colliding with his bedroom wall and exploding in a shower of oily liquid and glass. There was a loud popping sound, then a gurgle, then the outer layer of stone began sliding from the wall like molten lead.

Alex's eyes went wide at the sight and she dubiously eyed the potion she had presently cupped in her palm. Severus was quite finished with patience.

"Put that potion down this instant!" he shouted. "Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"Better this way than in Malfoy's hands," she shouted back. "At least this way you go down with me, you traitorous, lying, backstabbing..." She cocked the bottle back.

"Stupify!" he shouted suddenly, red light shooting from his wand and exploding into the wall directly where she'd stood an instant before.

He swore silently. From her crouched position behind the table it would be difficult to reach her without destroying some of the potions, the result of which could prove to be disastrous. He took a deep breath and decided to try reason again.

"Alex, I am not on Lucius Malfoy's side. I do not want to harm you. I only wanted to prepare you for the spell he's casting. It's extremely..."

He ducked another potion just in time. The explosion when it collided with the wall shook the room, spilling several bottles on the laboratory table, knocking Alex to her back, and setting his desk and bed curtains on fire. Severus put out the flames with a backhanded wave of his wand, obviously accustomed to such occurrences. Alex was not so quick and he caught her with a binding curse before she could regain her feet. It was a much kinder version of complete petrification, effectively paralyzing the victim below the neck, a favorite with the Dark Lord for interrogation, he recalled grimly.

He released a breath from deep within, briefly surveying the damage in the two rooms before moving to her side, looking down on her prone form with a spark of amusement in his eyes. "Well, I hope you're quite satisfied, young woman. It's going to take days to set all of this right."

Her eyes were a torrent of emotion, and he was actually quite thankful that for once she chose to hold her tongue. Sliding an arm under hers and one under her knees, he lifted her from the floor and carried her back into the bedroom, talking soothingly, all the while.

"I know that this is difficult for you, and I can imagine that living in Malfoy Manor has been extremely trying. Having lived a double life for over a decade, I can personally attest to how confusing and compromising it can be, but you are headed for trouble if you cannot learn to distinguish fact from fiction, Rose from Alex, and most importantly enemy from friend." He placed her gently on the bed, tucking a pillow under her head and arranging her limbs comfortably. "I am not your enemy. I love you dearly, and I am ashamed that I allowed my jealousy to undermine something so sacred."

Her mouth curved into the smallest fraction of a smile. "You were jealous?"

He pursed his lips. "Murderously so. The thought of that monster putting his hands on you nearly drove me to madness." Long fingers brushed a wayward curl from her forehead. "If I release you, will you please behave yourself while I explain what you are doing here?"

"I promise," she agreed quietly.

He gave her a quick look of warning before releasing the bond, and as she adjusted her weight a bit more to her liking, they shared a sigh.

"Thanks," she mumbled, obviously embarrassed. Her eyes darted to the ruined wall and a blush rose to her cheeks. "Sorry about that."

The corner of his mouth twitched in a familiar half smile. "That's quite alright. It was rather... Slytherin of you."

Alex laughed aloud. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Sev."

Lucius raised the lid of the crystal container revealing a bloody mass within, the unicorn heart. He inspected it carefully before holding it over Marsh's terrified form. The man twitched, then began to shake. Lucius, his face devoid of expression, placed the heart on his victim's chest and cut off a small portion, then impaled the piece on his blade and brought it to Marsh's mouth.

"Eat," he commanded coldly.

Marsh shook his head emphatically, eyes wide with terror.

Lucius tilted his head slightly, then drew his wand and placed it between the man's eyes, speaking very calmly.

"I have no time for this, Thomas." He ignored the soft moans of despair and the tears of pain and fear. They were inconsequential and had been since the day Marsh had turned his back on him. Thomas knew at this point what he was doing, recognized the use of the unicorn heart and his tormentor's blood. He knew that he was being made a scapegoat, an innocent vessel to bear Lucius Malfoy's punishment.

"Eat," he ordered again, softly, the whisper carrying the promise of unimaginable torment if he didn't comply. Thomas opened his mouth and accepted the bloody offering from the same blade that had taken his tongue.

Malfoy replaced his wand and turned on his heel.

"Don't choke," he said casually, throwing the remains of the heart into the cauldron. A soft keen began to build in the room as Lucius raised his arms, closed his eyes, and began the unbinding.

Silverfey: I still miss you, sweetie. Hope your schoolwork goes well.

Rycca Wolfbane: Hi! I'm glad to hear from you again! I'm headed for POA as soon as I can make it, probably next Tuesday, so no spoilers, darn it! I'm looking forward to that lovely profile. I don't know what it is, but he has the sexiest nose! As per your request: here is a Severus chapter with another on the way. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Arabella Minerva: Your review was a bit... cryptic, sweetie. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't understand it at all. I'm an old lady, and not very hip to "net-speak." I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reviewing. Ps. I am going to get around to R&Ring your update as soon as I can, I promise. I've been busting my butt lately with a few charity projects. I'm sorry.

Lady Jenilyn: My darling Grunnarc is unfortunately an only son. He is, however, free to see whom he pleases, as am I. It's... complicated, to say the least. Lucius, I feel, makes a very definite line in the sand as far as his trust goes, but once it's compromised he gets nasty, yes. His continued relationship with Rose will have to wait a few chapters, I'm afraid, but it's coming. Draco is kind of the tragic character in this story. I've always seen him as being almost desperate to gain his father's favor, yet too normal a teenager to make that an easy task, thus I felt that it was good to have Rose play "big sister" to him. She, as well, needed an out for her compassionate side. Don't be too concerned for his attraction to her, though. He's a teenage boy on the edge of sixteen; essentially, a Draco-shaped wad of hormones. Coming on to anything with breasts is just the way of the adolescent male. I'm glad that you're not starving, yet, but I must admit to being a bit worried for you. Can you find something temporary until a worthy opening appears? By the way, my hair is really short. I've kept it buzzed at an inch (courtesy of Grunnarc) for years, but my love for Lucius' hair prompted to begin growing it out. After your dragonfly story, I find myself reaching for the clippers again. That was ghastly!

Fleur K: I'm glad about Rose and Draco, as well. They seem to need each other, and a falling out would only make both of them more miserable than they already are. I hope that Severus did not and will not disappoint.

Annie: There was a wee bit of action in this chapter. Was that enough, Mistress? ;-) I haven't seen POA, yet, as everyone seems Hell-bent on reminding me (sigh), so I can neither confirm nor deny anything you've said. My Draco is intended to be a hottie, basically a miniature Jason Isaacs. Movie Draco so far has been kind of cute, but not remotely worthy of the Malfoy name. All of those kids are in their awkward stages, right now. Maybe he'll grow into his looks. Who knows? There's no hope for Ron, however. The poor kid's less attractive than his rat. And, yes, your comment about Severus was nothing short of blasphemous. Of course (SIGH) I haven't seen the movie yet (SOB!), so I can neither confirm nor deny... again. I think I'll go cry over my empty wallet, now.

mary: I'm glad you liked you liked it, dear. Poor Lucius? How so? I'm curious. Tell me more about that.