There are several ways in which a person can splinch themselves while apparating, but the most common of them is what the employees of St Mungo's commonly call "putting it in reverse". Over three hundred cases a year in Europe whereby the wizard apparates into a location or situation in which his first instinct is to flee, causing him to try, even subconsciously, to return from whence he came.
Severus was rather proud of his apparition record. Not once in twenty years of apparating, including several years of apparating to the Dark Lord's presence, had he splinched. Not even Dumbledore could boast a record that clean. In fact Severus had been present during a particularly nasty incident that was the cause of the headmaster's current reluctance to apparate anywhere. Especially to anywhere that his brother Aberforth might be.
Indeed, Severus had apparated to places less hospitable then most could imagine, most of which from the safety and security of the Forbidden Forest. On many of these occasions he had believed he was apparating to his death, a belief held most strongly the day after the Dark Lord's return, just over a year ago.
Severus had always maintained that he couldn't understand how splinching victims could be so careless as to allow their emotions to play a role in such a delicate, though simple, magical manoeuvre. Until now.
Upon apparating from the Granger residence, via several other locations to lose any possible tracking charm, to the Order Headquarters, Severus found himself with the sudden need to be 'elsewhere' as soon as possible. Rio was supposed to be nice this time of year.
The foyer of the House of Black was filled with people, most of them with accusing glares. The accusations themselves were not so unusual, as most of the Order disapproved of him at the very least, or in a few cases, were openly hostile towards him. Potter and Moody were the most prominent among these.
Dumbledore, however, was not glaring at him. He just looked resigned and disappointed. Severus knew immediately that he could not tell the headmaster the truth of what had occurred this night. Or at least until he could so some proper research on the Killing Curse.
Granger was another who was not simply glaring at him in accusation. Actually, she was being restrained by her friends while she screamed insults at him. 'Murdering Bastard' was the least offensive, although probably the most accurate.
It was at this point, only moments after arriving, that Severus realised that his left cheek was stinging rather painfully. Miss Granger had apparently slapped him as soon as his face appeared in view. Severus raised his hand to his cheek, then examined the bloody fingertips. 'Little hellcat!' he thought in amazement. He was rather grateful someone had had the foresight to remove her wand. Or at least he hoped they had.
"I think we should move this into the kitchen, don't you Severus?" Dumbledore asked with the ease and slick feel of a practiced diplomat. With about the same effect. In the time it took Severus to raise an eyebrow, look warily at the restrained Gryffindor before him and mutter "Indeed," people had already started moving. The adult members of the Order were moving off to the kitchen, (although Severus noted that Moody was keeping his magical eye trained on him the entire way.) and Molly was bustling the younger generation upstairs despite their protests and Miss Granger's...temper.
Before moving off himself, Severus mentally examined his schedule for the remainder of the night:
1. Report to the Order the events of the evening, all the while keeping secret the true nature of the Grangers' deaths from a man who was paranoia personified and another who was an accomplished leglimens.
2. Decide what to tell Miss Granger. Telling her the same lie as he told the rest of the Order would keep things simple, the best way to tell a lie. But if what he suspected was true, then eventually she would discover the truth and for that she would never forgive him.
Of course, there was the very good chance that her forgiveness was already beyond his reach, but lying to her about her family's deaths would be the nail in his coffin. And for some reason that he chose not to examine too closely, (or even from a great distance for that matter) Hermione Granger's forgiveness was something he greatly desired.
3. Inform Miss Granger of the manner of her family's deaths without receiving further physical or magical injury. He so very much hoped that someone had hidden her wand. A witch as capable as Miss Granger would be a very dangerous woman indeed, given the right incentive. And Miss Granger had incentive in spades.
4. At some point hunt through the formidable Black family library for references to the Killing Curse. When it came to Dark Texts, it was second only to Lucius' own. Perhaps there, he could find something to explain Lucius' continued existence.
5. Sleep. Well, tonight this was optional.
Severus squared his shoulders, tried not to wince at the tightness in his cheek and made his way into the kitchen.
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A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! That would have to be about the best response I've ever had for a single chapter.
Sorry for the lack of real development in this chapter, and the shortness of it, but I was a little pressed for time. Hopefully I'll have more up in a couple of days.