Author's Notes: More action on the way. Things start to move very fast.
Snape and Mira both really begin to realize that their adventure together
is coming to an end. Tensions flare, but they manage to come together to
meet the challenge set before them.
Disclaimers: None of the material from the books and movies is mine.
Chapter 25: The Beginning of the End.
The visitor knocked again, this time more forcefully. Both Mira and Snape sobered up immediately, reached for their wands and cautiously approached the door. Mira heard a loud voice from the other side.
"Mira, Mira! Come on girl, I know you're in there, it's important, I've got to talk to you."
She lowered her wand and looked up at Snape. "It's Jules, the man from downstairs. It's okay."
She went to unlock the door, but Snape didn't let down his guard. A large dark skinned man with short braided hair, wearing paint-spattered clothes entered the room behind her. Satisfied that there was nobody else there, Snape lowered his wand and warily approached Mira and her tenant.
Mira stood between the two men, who were eyeing each other warily. "Jules, this is Severus. He's a friend from England. He teaches at a school there, we're running an errand for the headmaster. Severus, this is Jules, otherwise known as Julian Guidry. He's the artist whose art is on display in the ground floor gallery. His wife runs the business end of it." The two men exchanged curt nods of greeting.
"Mira. Are you expecting any company?"
She felt a cold chill work its way down her spine. "No. No Jules, I'm not expecting any company. Did somebody come calling for me?"
"Yeah. And I got a real bad feeling about them. It was two men, so blatantly wizards that they couldn't have looked any more out of place had they tried. They asked if the landlady was in, and I told them that she didn't live here, she lived abroad and wasn't expected to return until springtime. They stepped back and whispered something among themselves and I asked if I could arrange for a message to be sent to you, and they said no thanks and walked out the door."
Mira tucked her wand behind her ear and put her hand on the man's shoulder.
"Jules. I don't want to alarm you, but I think they might have something to do with the attack on my parents and aunt and uncle. I want you to take Maggie and go away for a couple days. I'm so sorry Jules, but I want to make sure you're safe. We'll be leaving tomorrow night, and you will be safe to return the day after tomorrow. Pack a bag and tell Maggie that it's a spur of the moment getaway or something."
"If there's something wrong Mira, maybe I can help you sort it out?"
"No, Jules. This has nothing to do with you and Maggie, and I want to keep it that way. Now, go on, tell Maggie that you want to take her away for an early Christmas surprise. Wing it as you go along." Call a cab and take her over to the Carriage House inn. I know the owner there, and they owe me a favor. I'll call them and tell them to have a suite ready for you within the hour."
"Mirabelle. Something's up. We've been friends for years now, and I don't know if I feel right just taking off while some shady characters are looking for you."
Snape stepped forward and turned to Jules. "Julian. Please. Listen to her and take your wife away for a couple of days. I'll make sure Mira's safe, I won't let anything happen to her."
Jules looked at Mira with a questioning look in his eyes.
"It's' okay Jules. He'll take care of me. I'll be okay. Go on. I'll send word to you when I return to England, to let you know everything's okay."
Julian looked at the couple apprehensively, then nodded his head and turned towards the door.
"But you call me if you need us. I can get here from that inn in an instant."
Mira thanked him for his concern and showed him the door. She turned to a very agitated Professor Snape who crossed his arms across his chest, and started to pace back and forth, his brows furrowed, deep in concentration.
"Okay Mira. What kinds of wards and charms do you have in place around this building?"
She explained to him the security measures she had already taken, and he busied himself casting more sophisticated charms and wards on the doors and windows. He set traps and alarms that would be triggered if anybody attempted to breach the doors, windows, or apparate into the apartment. She made the call to the inn to arrange for a room for Jules and Maggie, and then sat on the sofa, still reeling from the alcohol and fear that the Death Eaters had followed them to her home.
Satisfied that the building was as secure as he could make it, Snape joined her on the sofa. "Mira. I've backed up everything you've already put into place, and we should be safe for tonight. They'll return to Voldemort and tell him that you're abroad and not expected back. He'll either send them back to do the job right or send somebody more dangerous. But we really need to move fast tomorrow, and get to where that artifact is and then get back to England so you can give it to Dumbledore and we can get you somewhere safe."
"What do you mean, somewhere safe? Things have changed since we went flying together that night. I'm staying in England."
He stood up and glowered at her.
"Absolutely not Mira! You already had a taste of what these men are capable of doing; do you want to see just how far they're willing to go? Now remember what I told you and remember it good. Either you go away on your own, or I put a very thorough memory charm on you and send you away, and you will have lost the entire past year. Think about it Mira. Are you willing to lose all of that for what you know you cannot have?"
"What the hell is wrong with you? How can you stand there and be so cold? You can't tell me that you feel nothing. I've seen it in your eyes, on your face. As much as you try to deny it to yourself, you feel the same things that I do! This sarcastic sneering prick attitude you put on, it's a front. I've seen beneath it. What in the hell happened to you that caused you to be this way?"
"Mira! I am warning you. Do NOT start down that path!"
"Fucking heartless BASTARD!"
"Get out of my sight before I give you what you can't let lie, and tell you things that will blow your little world to pieces!"
Mira ran crying to the bedroom and slammed the door loudly behind her.
Snape lowered himself onto the sofa, hands white and trembling with anger. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, and breathed heavily. After about an hour of rehashing the events leading up to the current situation over and over again in his mind, he wearily rose, picked up the leather coat, pulled all the window shades tight and walked back to the bedroom. He cautiously opened the door, and in the light from a tiny night-lamp, he saw Mira curled up on the far side of the bed. He could tell she had been crying, and she made no attempt to acknowledge his presence. He laid his wand and the potions case on the bedside table and silently undressed. He folded the new clothes and laid them on top of his wizarding clothes in the bathroom. He climbed into bed, next to Mira, and put his arm around her waist. She sniffed quietly and rubbed her eyes. He pulled her closer towards him, and rested his head just above her shoulder.
He spoke in a low breathy voice: "Mira. I know you're not sleeping. Listen to me. I don't like this any more than you do. But it is the way things must be. Now please. We don't have much time left together, let's not end this on a sour note."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I picked a fight with you."
"Mira"
"I'm just afraid I'll never see you again after tomorrow."
"Mira, please."
"I don't want to lose you this soon."
"Mira, please, don't do this to yourself. I'm not worth it."
They lay together for some time without saying another word, before drifting off to sleep.
Mira awoke to a strange tickling sensation against her shoulder. She reached to brush whatever it was away and realized that it was the miniature sneakascope, vibrating gently on the end of its chain. She sat up with a start and looked around the room, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Alerted to her sudden movement, Snape quickly awoke next to her.
"What's wrong? Did you hear something?"
"It's the sneakascope Dumbledore gave me. It woke me up vibrating."
"Fuck! They're back."
Snape crawled silently out of bed, retrieved the black silk robe, pulled it on, and reached for his wand.
"You stay here. I'm going to go check the windows and door, and try and see where they are. Don't turn on any lights, don't make any noise, and don't look out any windows."
He crept silently across the room, and peered out the tiny gap between the blinds and windowsill. No sight of them in the courtyard, he went into the bedroom opposite the hallway, checked the windows, and went to the front half of the apartment to check the windows and door. He looked out the window facing the street, and saw them. Two men in dark clothes, wearing oversized muggle winter coats that had hoods. He couldn't see their faces, but by their build, they didn't appear to be Malfoy or his toadies. They were standing under a streetlamp, talking, and every few seconds looking back Mira's building. A cold chill ran down his back and he felt the mark on his arm start to tingle.
"Shit! It's got to be a couple of the ones from Azkaban." He said quietly under his breath.
Snape made his way quietly back to the bedroom to Mira.
"Okay. This is what's happening. There are two Death Eaters across the street watching the building. And I don't have much time before I have to get back to England. Don't ask why, I won't tell you. We've got to make a major change in plans. How else can we get to the place where this artifact is kept? Can we apparate there and get it? It's the middle of the night, the muggles won't see us."
"Severus, I can't apparate. I never took the exam. I travel distances by portkey."
"Okay, how else then? A broom. Do you have a broom?"
"No."
"Shit!"
"Wait, hold on. Jules and Maggie have a broom, a big one downstairs in their apartment. I can go down and get it."
"No, I go down and get it. Better yet, we both go down and get it and then we get the hell out of here. Is there a back way out, behind the courtyard?"
"Yeah, there's an alley. We can get back there and put some distance between us and them until we can find a safe place to take off."
"Good. But we've got to move. Get dressed, be sure to put on your wizard robe and put everything you need to take with you into the pockets because we can't come back here. Understand?"
"Okay."
They dressed quickly and quietly in their wizard robes. Mira wearing her muggle clothes underneath. Snape transferred the items from his coat pocket and put a shrinking spell on the muggle clothes Mira had bought for him and packed them into a pocket of his robe. They crept to the living room, she found her purse and transferred everything to her robe, and picked up the bouquet of lavender and pocketed it as an afterthought. She silently unlocked the front door and they descended the stairs as quietly as possible. Mira tapped her wand against the ground in front of the Guidry's door and a key appeared. She opened the door and Snape motioned her back while he entered the apartment first, wand at the ready. Finding it to be clear, he motioned for Mira to follow. She immediately went to the broom cabinet in the kitchen and pulled out a large but well-worn broom. They were headed back out the front door when they heard glass breaking downstairs in the gallery.
"Oh No! They're in!"
Mira quickly locked the front door to the Guidry's apartment and motioned for Snape to follow her to the back window. She noiselessly opened it and climbed out onto the fire escape. They descended the metal steps and stole silently across the courtyard, their movement muffled by the sound of the fountain. Mira stopped at a small door in the back of the garden. She used her key to unlock it, and the couple stepped out into a narrow dark alleyway that branched off between buildings.
"Come on, follow me."
Snape reached down and clutched his arm. "Mira, can you fly us?"
"I guess. Why? What's wrong with your arm?"
"You know better than to ask. Now move!"
They threaded their way through the maze of alleyways and came out in an overgrown empty lot.
"Can you do the invisibility charm Mira?"
"Not completely, but it'll surely make us harder to see against the night sky."
"Then do it, come on, we're out of time."
Mira cast the charm, and the professor climbed onto the broom behind her and wrapped his left arm tightly around her. She kicked off from the ground, and they rose to just above the tops of the buildings and trees. He made a pained noise and tensed up behind her.
"It won't be long, it's not that far," she said over her shoulder.
Mira touched the broom down in the clearing of a wooded area a couple hundred yards from the back entrance of the plantation house. She dismounted the broom and turned back towards the professor. He was very pale and had a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. She helped him off the broom, and performed a shrinking spell on it and slipped it into her robe pocket. Snape walked unsteadily to a large tree stump and sat down on the ground, leaning against it.
"Mira, go! Get it and get back here as quickly as you can, we've got to use those portkeys Dumbledore gave us and get back to England."
"You're sick. You go on without me, I'll follow behind."
"No you won't. We go together. Now MOVE!"
Mira took a few steps backwards, turned, and hurried off through the wooded area towards the plantation house. She crept to the back entrance, and used an unlocking charm to open the door. She crept silently up the stairs and to the attic. She performed the revealing charm on the wall and a narrow doorway appeared. She used one of her keys to open it and stepped into a little closet. She tapped her wand against one of the floorboards and a small trapdoor with hinges appeared. She opened it, reached in, and grabbed the tiny bundle hidden within. She unwrapped the amulet, and pulled it on around her neck and tucked it inside of her robe. Mission accomplished, she made her way back downstairs and out the same way she came in and ran through the woods towards the clearing.
Disclaimers: None of the material from the books and movies is mine.
Chapter 25: The Beginning of the End.
The visitor knocked again, this time more forcefully. Both Mira and Snape sobered up immediately, reached for their wands and cautiously approached the door. Mira heard a loud voice from the other side.
"Mira, Mira! Come on girl, I know you're in there, it's important, I've got to talk to you."
She lowered her wand and looked up at Snape. "It's Jules, the man from downstairs. It's okay."
She went to unlock the door, but Snape didn't let down his guard. A large dark skinned man with short braided hair, wearing paint-spattered clothes entered the room behind her. Satisfied that there was nobody else there, Snape lowered his wand and warily approached Mira and her tenant.
Mira stood between the two men, who were eyeing each other warily. "Jules, this is Severus. He's a friend from England. He teaches at a school there, we're running an errand for the headmaster. Severus, this is Jules, otherwise known as Julian Guidry. He's the artist whose art is on display in the ground floor gallery. His wife runs the business end of it." The two men exchanged curt nods of greeting.
"Mira. Are you expecting any company?"
She felt a cold chill work its way down her spine. "No. No Jules, I'm not expecting any company. Did somebody come calling for me?"
"Yeah. And I got a real bad feeling about them. It was two men, so blatantly wizards that they couldn't have looked any more out of place had they tried. They asked if the landlady was in, and I told them that she didn't live here, she lived abroad and wasn't expected to return until springtime. They stepped back and whispered something among themselves and I asked if I could arrange for a message to be sent to you, and they said no thanks and walked out the door."
Mira tucked her wand behind her ear and put her hand on the man's shoulder.
"Jules. I don't want to alarm you, but I think they might have something to do with the attack on my parents and aunt and uncle. I want you to take Maggie and go away for a couple days. I'm so sorry Jules, but I want to make sure you're safe. We'll be leaving tomorrow night, and you will be safe to return the day after tomorrow. Pack a bag and tell Maggie that it's a spur of the moment getaway or something."
"If there's something wrong Mira, maybe I can help you sort it out?"
"No, Jules. This has nothing to do with you and Maggie, and I want to keep it that way. Now, go on, tell Maggie that you want to take her away for an early Christmas surprise. Wing it as you go along." Call a cab and take her over to the Carriage House inn. I know the owner there, and they owe me a favor. I'll call them and tell them to have a suite ready for you within the hour."
"Mirabelle. Something's up. We've been friends for years now, and I don't know if I feel right just taking off while some shady characters are looking for you."
Snape stepped forward and turned to Jules. "Julian. Please. Listen to her and take your wife away for a couple of days. I'll make sure Mira's safe, I won't let anything happen to her."
Jules looked at Mira with a questioning look in his eyes.
"It's' okay Jules. He'll take care of me. I'll be okay. Go on. I'll send word to you when I return to England, to let you know everything's okay."
Julian looked at the couple apprehensively, then nodded his head and turned towards the door.
"But you call me if you need us. I can get here from that inn in an instant."
Mira thanked him for his concern and showed him the door. She turned to a very agitated Professor Snape who crossed his arms across his chest, and started to pace back and forth, his brows furrowed, deep in concentration.
"Okay Mira. What kinds of wards and charms do you have in place around this building?"
She explained to him the security measures she had already taken, and he busied himself casting more sophisticated charms and wards on the doors and windows. He set traps and alarms that would be triggered if anybody attempted to breach the doors, windows, or apparate into the apartment. She made the call to the inn to arrange for a room for Jules and Maggie, and then sat on the sofa, still reeling from the alcohol and fear that the Death Eaters had followed them to her home.
Satisfied that the building was as secure as he could make it, Snape joined her on the sofa. "Mira. I've backed up everything you've already put into place, and we should be safe for tonight. They'll return to Voldemort and tell him that you're abroad and not expected back. He'll either send them back to do the job right or send somebody more dangerous. But we really need to move fast tomorrow, and get to where that artifact is and then get back to England so you can give it to Dumbledore and we can get you somewhere safe."
"What do you mean, somewhere safe? Things have changed since we went flying together that night. I'm staying in England."
He stood up and glowered at her.
"Absolutely not Mira! You already had a taste of what these men are capable of doing; do you want to see just how far they're willing to go? Now remember what I told you and remember it good. Either you go away on your own, or I put a very thorough memory charm on you and send you away, and you will have lost the entire past year. Think about it Mira. Are you willing to lose all of that for what you know you cannot have?"
"What the hell is wrong with you? How can you stand there and be so cold? You can't tell me that you feel nothing. I've seen it in your eyes, on your face. As much as you try to deny it to yourself, you feel the same things that I do! This sarcastic sneering prick attitude you put on, it's a front. I've seen beneath it. What in the hell happened to you that caused you to be this way?"
"Mira! I am warning you. Do NOT start down that path!"
"Fucking heartless BASTARD!"
"Get out of my sight before I give you what you can't let lie, and tell you things that will blow your little world to pieces!"
Mira ran crying to the bedroom and slammed the door loudly behind her.
Snape lowered himself onto the sofa, hands white and trembling with anger. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, and breathed heavily. After about an hour of rehashing the events leading up to the current situation over and over again in his mind, he wearily rose, picked up the leather coat, pulled all the window shades tight and walked back to the bedroom. He cautiously opened the door, and in the light from a tiny night-lamp, he saw Mira curled up on the far side of the bed. He could tell she had been crying, and she made no attempt to acknowledge his presence. He laid his wand and the potions case on the bedside table and silently undressed. He folded the new clothes and laid them on top of his wizarding clothes in the bathroom. He climbed into bed, next to Mira, and put his arm around her waist. She sniffed quietly and rubbed her eyes. He pulled her closer towards him, and rested his head just above her shoulder.
He spoke in a low breathy voice: "Mira. I know you're not sleeping. Listen to me. I don't like this any more than you do. But it is the way things must be. Now please. We don't have much time left together, let's not end this on a sour note."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I picked a fight with you."
"Mira"
"I'm just afraid I'll never see you again after tomorrow."
"Mira, please."
"I don't want to lose you this soon."
"Mira, please, don't do this to yourself. I'm not worth it."
They lay together for some time without saying another word, before drifting off to sleep.
Mira awoke to a strange tickling sensation against her shoulder. She reached to brush whatever it was away and realized that it was the miniature sneakascope, vibrating gently on the end of its chain. She sat up with a start and looked around the room, eyes adjusting to the dim light. Alerted to her sudden movement, Snape quickly awoke next to her.
"What's wrong? Did you hear something?"
"It's the sneakascope Dumbledore gave me. It woke me up vibrating."
"Fuck! They're back."
Snape crawled silently out of bed, retrieved the black silk robe, pulled it on, and reached for his wand.
"You stay here. I'm going to go check the windows and door, and try and see where they are. Don't turn on any lights, don't make any noise, and don't look out any windows."
He crept silently across the room, and peered out the tiny gap between the blinds and windowsill. No sight of them in the courtyard, he went into the bedroom opposite the hallway, checked the windows, and went to the front half of the apartment to check the windows and door. He looked out the window facing the street, and saw them. Two men in dark clothes, wearing oversized muggle winter coats that had hoods. He couldn't see their faces, but by their build, they didn't appear to be Malfoy or his toadies. They were standing under a streetlamp, talking, and every few seconds looking back Mira's building. A cold chill ran down his back and he felt the mark on his arm start to tingle.
"Shit! It's got to be a couple of the ones from Azkaban." He said quietly under his breath.
Snape made his way quietly back to the bedroom to Mira.
"Okay. This is what's happening. There are two Death Eaters across the street watching the building. And I don't have much time before I have to get back to England. Don't ask why, I won't tell you. We've got to make a major change in plans. How else can we get to the place where this artifact is kept? Can we apparate there and get it? It's the middle of the night, the muggles won't see us."
"Severus, I can't apparate. I never took the exam. I travel distances by portkey."
"Okay, how else then? A broom. Do you have a broom?"
"No."
"Shit!"
"Wait, hold on. Jules and Maggie have a broom, a big one downstairs in their apartment. I can go down and get it."
"No, I go down and get it. Better yet, we both go down and get it and then we get the hell out of here. Is there a back way out, behind the courtyard?"
"Yeah, there's an alley. We can get back there and put some distance between us and them until we can find a safe place to take off."
"Good. But we've got to move. Get dressed, be sure to put on your wizard robe and put everything you need to take with you into the pockets because we can't come back here. Understand?"
"Okay."
They dressed quickly and quietly in their wizard robes. Mira wearing her muggle clothes underneath. Snape transferred the items from his coat pocket and put a shrinking spell on the muggle clothes Mira had bought for him and packed them into a pocket of his robe. They crept to the living room, she found her purse and transferred everything to her robe, and picked up the bouquet of lavender and pocketed it as an afterthought. She silently unlocked the front door and they descended the stairs as quietly as possible. Mira tapped her wand against the ground in front of the Guidry's door and a key appeared. She opened the door and Snape motioned her back while he entered the apartment first, wand at the ready. Finding it to be clear, he motioned for Mira to follow. She immediately went to the broom cabinet in the kitchen and pulled out a large but well-worn broom. They were headed back out the front door when they heard glass breaking downstairs in the gallery.
"Oh No! They're in!"
Mira quickly locked the front door to the Guidry's apartment and motioned for Snape to follow her to the back window. She noiselessly opened it and climbed out onto the fire escape. They descended the metal steps and stole silently across the courtyard, their movement muffled by the sound of the fountain. Mira stopped at a small door in the back of the garden. She used her key to unlock it, and the couple stepped out into a narrow dark alleyway that branched off between buildings.
"Come on, follow me."
Snape reached down and clutched his arm. "Mira, can you fly us?"
"I guess. Why? What's wrong with your arm?"
"You know better than to ask. Now move!"
They threaded their way through the maze of alleyways and came out in an overgrown empty lot.
"Can you do the invisibility charm Mira?"
"Not completely, but it'll surely make us harder to see against the night sky."
"Then do it, come on, we're out of time."
Mira cast the charm, and the professor climbed onto the broom behind her and wrapped his left arm tightly around her. She kicked off from the ground, and they rose to just above the tops of the buildings and trees. He made a pained noise and tensed up behind her.
"It won't be long, it's not that far," she said over her shoulder.
Mira touched the broom down in the clearing of a wooded area a couple hundred yards from the back entrance of the plantation house. She dismounted the broom and turned back towards the professor. He was very pale and had a sheen of perspiration on his forehead. She helped him off the broom, and performed a shrinking spell on it and slipped it into her robe pocket. Snape walked unsteadily to a large tree stump and sat down on the ground, leaning against it.
"Mira, go! Get it and get back here as quickly as you can, we've got to use those portkeys Dumbledore gave us and get back to England."
"You're sick. You go on without me, I'll follow behind."
"No you won't. We go together. Now MOVE!"
Mira took a few steps backwards, turned, and hurried off through the wooded area towards the plantation house. She crept to the back entrance, and used an unlocking charm to open the door. She crept silently up the stairs and to the attic. She performed the revealing charm on the wall and a narrow doorway appeared. She used one of her keys to open it and stepped into a little closet. She tapped her wand against one of the floorboards and a small trapdoor with hinges appeared. She opened it, reached in, and grabbed the tiny bundle hidden within. She unwrapped the amulet, and pulled it on around her neck and tucked it inside of her robe. Mission accomplished, she made her way back downstairs and out the same way she came in and ran through the woods towards the clearing.