EYES OF THE EVERGREEN - quantum witch © 2001
see Prologue for warnings, rating, and summary
9 : Necis
Snape knew he couldn't think straight enough to find the next Portkey, so he dropped Therion to the ground in Hyde Park and followed him to the right spot. When he found himself in the field outside her home, he started running. Then realised what a waste of time it was, and Disapparated.
When he appeared inside the home, he saw what nearly made him scream. She was dead, had to be. Lying bloody and broken on the hearthrug. But no, she was still trembling slightly, and a low small groan was coming from her lips.
He dropped to his knees and uncorked the bottle he'd brought, hastily tipping it into her mouth. She barely swallowed, but managed enough to stop shivering.
Her bright green eyes, dulled with pain, opened and saw the one sight she had prayed would be her last. Severus. She actually smiled, a little. "What… did you give me? It doesn't hurt… so much now…"
"The only thing I could, unfortunately. A pain reliever…" He wouldn't tell her it contained hemlock and would kill her just as effectively as the other poison. But there was no antidote at all. Even a bezoar would be useless, as it was needed prior to any poison's ingestion. And it was his fault.
"Oh, Severus… I'm so glad you came…," she said muzzily. "How did you know?"
"Therion came to me," he said softly.
"See… he's not so dumb after all," she sounded proud and gazed past him to the face of her beloved Kneazle, who was pacing with worry.
Snape shook his head. He waved his wand at the pillows on her sofa and placed one under her head, another under her knees. He was trying to hard to make her comfortable when they both knew she was dying. It was adorable, she thought.
"I'm so sorry," he muttered. "If I had known what would happen, I would have have made you leave town. I would have forced you to quit and leave…"
"My choice," she said, gazing at him with such sweetness.
He conjured a wet cloth and gingerly wiped some of the blood from her face. He couldn't do much else, but at least he would see her sweet face clean, one last time. To give her some modicum of dignity, he also gently tugged her bodice back together. He surreptitiously surveyed the damage to her body, and calculated that, between poison and blood loss, she probably only had minutes left to live.
His brain became instantly sharp. He wouldn't waste any more time to tell her of his love. He didn't care anymore if Voldemort squeezed his secrets out of him, along with his life.
Then she was speaking again. "Severus, I need a favour…"
It was absurb and comical and eerie all at once, how she was virtually repeating what Voldemort had said to him earlier. Did she know? "Anything," he said without hesitation, "I'll give you my life…"
"No," she said somewhat adamantly. "I need you to live. It's dangerous what I ask, but you will be protected. I need you to deliver something for me… my last implant…"
"Implant?" he asked, brow furrowed with confusion. So that explained why there were so many holes in her body. Not mere torture, but removing of devices. He was startled that she hadn't told him, but understood why. She'd been a spy in many more ways than he'd imagined, and it wasn't safe to let anyone know the extent of the secrets she kept. "What is it? Where is it?"
She smiled. "In my head, very near my pituitary gland." At his shocked look she added, "Don't worry, you shan't have to crack open my skull to get it out. Not that I would feel it anymore…"
"My gods, Juniper! How can you be joking now?"
"In my nature. No, I won't feel it at all," she continued, more hurriedly now. "Point your wand against my forehead, just above my eyebrows, and say 'Tertius Oculi Foris'…"
He translated mentally. Third Eye Out. His own eyes opened wider at the idea. Someone else had been looking upon her entire life, through her eyes…
"When you have it, put it quickly into the Stasis Box on Therion's collar… Then take it to my great-uncle… Albus Dumbledore."
The surprise in Snape's eyes was beyond huge. But he nodded and raised his wand toward her forehead. "I… I love you, Juniper."
"I know. I love you too, Severus. I have from the first moment." She smiled and looked at him with utter trust.
His heart began to crack, but he uttered the spell and watched as her eyes grew a brilliant shining green, light pulsing from within. And a glowing sphere of greenish crystal, the size of a marble, came from behind her skin, bone and brain. When he had secured it in the box, he turned to her face again… and saw her wide open gaze. And he knew it was ended. She was dead.
Knowing he had precious little time, he wondered if he ought to do something with her body… But suddenly Therion was again tugging at him and mewling insistently. The Kneazle knew best where his mistress was concerned, and right now Snape himself was in the greater danger. He nodded, gathered the beast up in arms again, and Disapparated to the edge of Hogwarts grounds.
Once in the Forbidden Forest, the Kneazle jumped from his arms and began to make a beeline for the castle. When it realised it wasn't being followed, it turned back and found the human on his knees in the fallen leaves, weeping uncontrollably into his hands.
Therion waited patiently for a moment, then padded closer and laid a gentle paw on the human's shaking arm. When his dark eyes raised and met the Kneazle's golden gaze, he nodded and stood up.
Snape knew that crying would have to wait. As he followed the cat throught the woods, he wondered if he'd ever have the luxury of time to cry in peace.
NOTES:
· TITLE. The Latin title "Necis" means simply "death". She dies, and Snape feels like his heart has died. Poor baby :(
· POISONS. Again, according to "Cunningham's": hemlock can make one feel numb, and magically was used in astral projection spells (in tiny doses). The bezoar (per JKR) is used as protection against poisons, but nowhere is it said it will reverse the effects once they've started.
· THIRD EYE CRYSTAL. Also my invention. It is just what it seems like, a crystal ball. Not for seeing the future, but the immediate present.