Escape

When Severus returned to the living room he found Malfoy sitting there again on the sofa next to the fireplace, staring down into his glass of wine as if searching for the meaning of life in there. He quickly decided that Malfoy wouldn't bother to think about something like the meaning of life and was probably only extremely bored.

"I'm afraid you might have hit him a little too hard," Severus said and Malfoy looked up. "He didn't even seem to recognise me."

"Pity," Malfoy replied. "It would have been more fun if he'd realised what's happening to him."

There was a slight drawl in his voice indicating that he'd already had a little more of that wine than what would have been advisable. But Severus knew he could take quite a lot so it wouldn't help much.

"Indeed," he said, slowly walked across the room and stood in front of the window for a moment to look outside into the darkness. "Still no word from the others?"

"No. I'd just like to know what's keeping them; we should have been out of here hours ago."

"How is it supposed to work?" Severus asked, turned around again and threw a quick glance through the half open door into the next room. As he'd expected, there was another door as well as a back staircase leading up to the first floor.

"This," Malfoy said, leaned forward and picked up a small golden pocket watch from the table in front of him. "This is our portkey. But it won't work unless someone opens a portal first. As soon as the hands on this little watch start moving, we're good to go." He leaned back again and cast a look around the room. "Where's Thesdale? He can't still be stumbling around out there..."

"I'll get him," Severus said quickly and tossed the silver chain with the key back to Malfoy who caught it with one hand. "I wanted to get some fresh air anyway."

"Good," Malfoy muttered to himself. "I'm getting tired of running after him..."

Severus turned away, walked along the corridor and left the house through the front door. As soon as he'd stepped outside he spotted Thesdale not too far away and slowly walking back towards the house. At least he wouldn't have to search for him – he had no time for that. Severus folded his arms and waited.

"Malfoy wants you inside," he said once Thesdale was close enough to hear him. In addition he shot the younger man an annoyed glare to make him walk faster.

As soon as he was back inside and the front door had fallen closed behind him again, Severus started walking around the house and towards the small forest.

He spotted Lupin before he'd even reached the first trees.

"Didn't I tell you to wait back there?" Severus asked in a low voice.

Lupin jumped and whirled around upon hearing his voice.

"There must be something wrong with your ears if you didn't even hear me approaching," Severus said.

"I already thought you'd never show up again," Lupin replied in a low voice.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Severus said and took a few more steps further into the small forest. "They're keeping Potter up in the attic. You'll have to go in and get him while I keep Malfoy and Thesdale entertained. The door to the attic is locked, I'll make sure you get the key."

"Severus?" Lupin asked slowly. "In the forest, what did you see? Who was that man?"

"There was no one there, I told you that."

"I saw something. While you were gone. And I know I didn't imagine it."

Severus hesitated for a moment, remembering what Potter had told him about seeing his godfather and wondering how likely it was that they'd all simply started imagining things at the same time. "What did you see?" he asked.

Lupin stared at the ground without saying a word, obviously contemplating once more if he really didn't simply imagine it. "I'm not sure," he said. "But I think I know who it was. It was someone who's been dead for many years already."

"A ghost," Severus said.

"No, it wasn't a ghost."

"Lupin, if you're seeing dead people they're either ghosts or products of your imagination. Choose whichever you feel more comfortable with."

"I wasn't a ghost. And I didn't imagine it," Lupin replied. "I'm not an idiot, Severus. I know what I saw."

Severus took a deep breath. "Then tell me, if not a ghost, what was it you saw?" he asked calmly.

"I believe that it was a manifestation of whoever – or whatever – has been following us and watching us all this time," Lupin replied. "Don't tell me you didn't sense it too."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Snape spoke again. "Even if you were right...," he said in a low voice.

"I know," Lupin interrupted him. "Now is not the time. I just thought you should know."

"Good," Severus said. "We'll have to concentrate on our job now. I expect we'll have to get along without magic."

"Wandless seems to work fine," Lupin said. "I tried it."

"And are you capable of performing any sort of very useful wandless magic?" Severus asked, expecting to already know the answer.

"Well – no, not really," Lupin replied.

"I thought so. I'll go back now to see where Malfoy and Thesdale are. If they're out of the way you'll follow me, go around there on the right to the back door and wait for me there. I'll give you the key, you go upstairs, get Potter, lock the door again and hand the key back to me."

"Frankly speaking – that doesn't sound like a very sophisticated plan."

"I didn't exactly have a lot of time for making plans and I suppose you don't have a better one either, do you?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Well then," Severus said and pulled the book out of his coat's pocket to hand it to Lupin. "You might need it," he said and started walking. Lupin took the book and followed him but stopped at a safe distance to watch Snape walking up to the house.

Severus walked around the back of the building, past the door that led into the kitchen and to a window from where he could look through the dining room and into the living room. He was pleased to see Malfoy still sitting in his place while Thesdale was leaning against the wall next to the door. He went back to the corner from where Lupin could see him, motioned him to come and then headed for the front door without waiting for him to arrive.

As he walked along the wall of the building Severus realised once more how incredibly silent this place was; he was convinced that he could hear not only his own footsteps on the grass but also Lupin's from somewhere behind him.

"I'm impressed," he heard a voice say as he reached the front of the house. For a split second he'd thought it was Malfoy but was immediately taught better when he turned his head and saw the man in the black cloak standing a few steps away from him, arms folded, smirking. Severus was surprised that he'd never before noticed how much alike their voices sounded; the same patronizing tone, the same arrogance. "I'm impressed that you actually seem to believe you were clever enough to go through with this."

"You're not there," Severus whispered to himself. "Not now. I have no time for this."

"It's becoming complicated, isn't it? If you're playing too many games at once, you'll lose them all."

Severus stared at him. He was there. Standing right in front of him. No doubt about it. And that wasn't a ghost. So he was obviously going insane. Fine. He could live with the idea. Just not right now. Right now he had to get Potter back to Hogwarts safe and sound. For all he cared they could put him in a straitjacket and send him to St. Mungo's after that. But not now.

"The ice is getting thinner, my son. You're not a good enough liar to survive as a traitor among them."

He'd always hated it when he'd called him 'my son'. And he'd almost forgotten how cold and spiteful those words could sound; Dumbledore had occasionally addressed him like that, but it had never sounded anything like it had when coming from his father's lips.

"I've managed very well so far," Severus said in a low voice, more to himself.

"And why are you actually still carrying around that permission form? Didn't I tell you to throw it away? You weren't even a good enough liar to get through with that little trick."

"Just stop it," Severus hissed. "I don't care what you say. You're not even there. It's just my mind playing tricks on me."

"And yet you're talking to me, or are you not?"

"No, I'm not. At least not any longer," Severus said, turned away and walked back to the front door without looking back again.

As he entered the house again he heard loud footsteps on the stairs, Potter screaming at the top of his lungs and then Malfoy shouting "Shut up you little bastard or I'll make you".

Severus just hoped Malfoy wouldn't. He walked along the corridor, across the living room and into the kitchen, took a quick look around and then opened the door.

Lupin almost jumped in surprise. "That was quick," he whispered as he stepped inside.

"Wait in there, I'll get the key," Severus said and pushed him towards a narrow door leading into a pantry. "You'll go up those stairs, get him and then either wait for me to tell you that you can leave or simply leave if you're convinced it's safe. Just don't forget to make sure that I get the key back."

"And then what about you?"

"I'd suggest you head back into the direction we came from. I might be able to catch up with you, we'll see about that later."

Lupin nodded and as he stepped into the small dark room he could already hear Malfoy and Thesdale walking down the other staircase again.

"Don't make a sound and keep your fingers crossed that Malfoy won't decide to get himself another bottle of wine," Severus said and then went back to the living room.

Lupin definitely had no intention of making any sound at all. He actually even held his breath when he heard Malfoy's voice from the living room, then Snape's. Their voices were low and subdued but nonetheless he could understand every word they said.

"You missed the show. The little bastard made quite a fuss up there."

"Did he really?"

Lupin glanced around the small room. There was a shelf filled with jars behind him from which he tried to maintain a safe distance, another shelf and a wine shelf on the opposite wall. On the wall to his left there was a pile of wooden boxes, some paintings leaning against them, a broken chair, some folded up curtains and a giant candle stand, everything covered in a layer of dust.

"First he was just yelling for help but then he started truly begging me to let him go. You should have heard him; what a wimp."

Lupin listened intently; he heard the creak of springs caused by someone sitting down on a sofa or an armchair, a soft metallic jingle and slow footsteps on the wooden floorboards. He was quite sure that the footsteps were Snape's so he assumed that Malfoy was the one who'd sat down.

"What did you expect from a Potter?"

Lupin knew that Snape didn't have to pretend in order to sound so convincingly spiteful and arrogant whenever he spoke about either James or Harry.

"They're all the same," Malfoy said. "All those Gryffindors. As brave and strong as they might seem on first sight, they quickly turn into weak and whining cowards when things get serious."

There was a moment of silence, then Snape's footsteps again.

"Go ahead, Thesdale, sit down," said Snape. "It's annoying to have you standing around there all the time."

"He's right," said Malfoy. "We've done our job so just sit down now and have a glass of wine with us. After all, it was your plan, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right," a third, unfamiliar voice replied.

"Oh – bad luck," Malfoy said. "Seems we've already emptied this one."

"I'll get another one," Snape said and a moment later Lupin heard his footsteps moving towards him. The door to the kitchen opened, Snape set only one foot inside and reached for a green bottle standing on the table next to the door. The moment he picked it up he let a silver chain with a key drop onto the table. Lupin made a step forward and for a split second their eyes met before Snape returned to the living room.

Severus pulled the kitchen door closed behind him, handed Thesdale the bottle and sat down in his armchair again. He watched the younger man pouring himself a glass of wine and then putting the bottle back onto the table, right next to the coat which Severus had placed there just a minute ago to keep Malfoy from noticing that the key to the attic wasn't there anymore.

"I was wondering," Malfoy started and Severus just hoped he wasn't wondering about the energy he suddenly showed when it came to things like searching for Thesdale or fetching stuff from the kitchen. "How did you actually get here?"

"The same way as Potter, I suppose," Severus replied. "I found the book and read the incantation, as simple as that."

"Do you have the book?" Thesdale asked but Malfoy immediately shot him a glare that made clear he didn't expect him to speak without being asked again. Nonetheless he then turned to Snape, waiting for an answer.

"No," Severus said. "I dropped it, accidentally."

"So it's still in Hogwarts," Malfoy said. "Which means someone could have followed you. The old headmaster might have sent someone after you."

"Why should he?" Severus replied. "And moreover, I don't think anyone could have followed me. Aside from me no one could even read that book."

"Just you and Potter," Malfoy said. "What an interesting coincidence, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is," Severus muttered absent mindedly while listening for any signs of Lupin and Potter.

Suddenly all the candles as well as the fire in the fireplace went out and left the room in complete darkness.

"Here we go again," Malfoy said, obviously not very surprised. "That's happening all the time, the lights will probably come back on in a minute."

"How long have you already been here?" Severus asked and glanced around the dark room. From the moment he'd first set foot into this house he hadn't felt very comfortable here and the darkness made this feeling even more intense; he almost had to fight the urge to just jump up and get out of here.

"Too long," Malfoy replied. "We were supposed to be out of here within five hours and we've already been waiting for..." he hesitated and then shrugged his shoulders. "There's not one working clock anywhere around here. You don't have one either, do you?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Pity," Malfoy said, paying no attention to all the candles suddenly flickering back to life. "At least ten hours, I assume. Probably even longer."

"So have you been waiting here for Potter to figure out how that book works?"

"No," Malfoy smiled and shook his head. "Luckily we didn't have to; it took him rather long, we might have had to sit around here for weeks. They sent us in as soon as he'd read the incantation."

Severus realised that it couldn't be right – Potter definitely couldn't have been gone longer than four hours before they went after him and even though he couldn't claim to have a very exact sense of time he knew that he hadn't been here six hours already. He didn't know what it meant but decided it wasn't necessary to mention it to Malfoy.

He stifled a yawn and turned to Thesdale who was sitting in an armchair to his right and still looking rather uncomfortable.

"So you set it all up?" he said softly. "I have to admit, I'm truly impressed."

The younger man's face immediately lit up and he seemed to beam with pride upon hearing something like that from a veteran Death Eater.

"I'm curious," Severus continued. "Why exactly that painting? Is it linked to the book somehow?"

"No, not at all," Thesdale replied, throwing a quick glance at Malfoy to make sure he was at least allowed to answer this question. "It doesn't matter which painting, it could have been any."

"It's just our luck that we're not sitting in the middle of a blizzard or a sandy desert," Malfoy said. "If you want to call this place here luck, that is."

Severus smiled at him, absent-mindedly and not meaning it, like he usually did whenever he was expected to. "I believe I saw a bottle of Gin in the kitchen," he muttered, put his glass down onto the table and stood up; Lupin should have been able to get Potter out by now so it was time for another visit to the kitchen.

"You'll have to learn to appreciate a good wine," Malfoy said.

"I do appreciate it," Severus replied. "But as you well know, wine always makes me tired and it's bad enough without that already." He hadn't even had to lie to him. Aside from the fact that he didn't really care about that Gin either.

Malfoy snorted and shook his head at him but didn't keep him back.

As soon as he'd opened the door to the kitchen he spotted the key on the table. Quickly he picked it up, took a half empty bottle of Gin from the shelf on the wall next to him and returned to the living room.

Malfoy was staring at his pocket watch portkey once again so Severus took his chance and quickly put the chain with the key back below his coat as he sat down again. He'd known that Thesdale wouldn't notice; he just didn't watch others the way Malfoy did. That was something he himself and Malfoy had in common; they both usually looked a little closer than others would, always paying attention to detail. That was also what made Lucius an opponent as interesting as he was dangerous.

Malfoy tossed the pocket watch back onto the table.

"Do you have any sort of alternative plan?" Severus asked. "Just in case the portkey shouldn't work?"

"Every portkey I ever set up worked exactly as it was supposed to," Malfoy snarled. "And so will this one."

"There's a first time for everything."

Malfoy shot him a glare. "It will work," he hissed.

"Soon, I hope," Severus muttered to himself and, not wanting to risk making Malfoy's mood even worse, he decided not to linger on the subject.

He poured some of the Gin into his wineglass, took a sip from it and leaned back in his chair. Only now he noticed the head of a stuffed dead moose staring at him out of its empty eyes from the wall behind Malfoy. For a moment he pondered the resemblance of those two specimens but couldn't really spot any even though he'd tried.

He glanced around and saw even more of those dead animals he hadn't noticed before, all seeming to hide in the darkest corners of the room. Some of them were mounted to the wall while other, smaller ones were standing on the mantelpiece, in the glass cupboard and on the desk in the corner. Due to the nature of his job at Hogwarts he was quite used to being surrounded by all sorts of dead animals and other things most people would find rather disgusting; nonetheless, he didn't really like the ones staring at him right now.

"The boy's gone rather quiet," Malfoy muttered, breaking the silence.

"Good thing, isn't it?" Severus said.

"Probably," Malfoy replied. "Thesdale, go upstairs and see what he's doing."

"Don't you think you're being a little paranoid?" Severus asked but Thesdale had already stood up and was about to follow Malfoy's orders.

"Possible. But he's slipped through our fingers more than once before," Malfoy said and Thesdale set into motion.

Severus considered offering to go upstairs instead of him in order to gain a little more time for Lupin and Potter but decided against it because that would have made him the last person to have seen the boy. Now all he could do was to wait a few more seconds before Thesdale would realise what had happened and report Potter's disappearance to Malfoy.

And only moment later he already heard a door upstairs slam shut and Thesdale's loud footsteps as he rushed down the stairs again.

"He's gone!" he shouted even before he'd made it down the stairs. "Potter. He's gone," Thesdale said once more as he stormed back into the living room.

"What?!" Malfoy asked and jumped up from the sofa.

"He's not up there anymore," Thesdale said.

"The door was locked," Severus said, getting to his feet as well. "He couldn't get out."

"It was still locked now," Thesdale replied. "But the boy's gone."

Malfoy strode across the room, shoved Thesdale out of the way and quickly climbed up the stairs, Severus only two steps behind him.

A moment later they were both standing in the middle of a surprisingly – to Malfoy at least – empty room with no Harry Potter anywhere in sight. For a minute Malfoy just stood there, staring in disbelief at the empty spot where the boy should have been. Then he looked around the room as if trying to make sure he hadn't only overlooked him although that obviously wouldn't have been possible.

"Are you sure you locked the door?" Severus asked, trying not to sound accusing in any way – he knew better than to aggravate Malfoy now.

"Of course I locked the door! What kind of idiot do you think I am!" Malfoy shook his head. "I'm in trouble...," he muttered. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in for this?"

"You? Can you imagine what that means for me?" Severus asked. "What if he makes it back to Hogwarts? I'm sure Dumbledore would be very interested in what he has to tell him about me."

"That boy wasn't in a state to realise what's going on around him," Malfoy replied. "You said it yourself, he probably didn't even recognise you."

"He didn't seem to be in a state to climb out of the window and run away either, did he?"

"We have to search for him. He probably didn't get far yet."

"We have to find him," Severus said.

"Yes. Let's not waste any more time," Malfoy replied and left the room again. "We'll search the house first, he might still be in here somewhere," he added as he started walking down the stairs again.

Severus was rather pleased with how things were going so far. A bit more time for Lupin and Potter to get a little further away from the house wouldn't have done harm but since he intended to send Malfoy and Thesdale off into the wrong direction it would work out either way.

"So what shall we do now?" he heard Thesdale asking when he reached the ground floor again.

"Well, we could just sit here and wait for him to give up and come back," Malfoy said softly. "Or we could go and search for him. Now get going, you moron!" he hissed, grabbed the younger wizard by his arm and pushed him towards the kitchen door.

It took them only a few minutes to come to the conclusion that Potter wasn't inside the house anymore.

"We'll have to split up; he could be anywhere," Severus suggested after following the other two men outside. "Thesdale, you go into that direction, towards the trees," he added quickly and turned to Malfoy. "I'd suggest you just go straight ahead and I'll go around the house and take the opposite direction."

Malfoy nodded. "When you find him, bring him back here. Don't kill him," he said, looked back at the house once more and then started walking. Thesdale followed his example and set off towards the trees where Lupin had been hiding.

For a moment Severus stood there and watched them before he turned around and went back into the house to get his coat. Things had been easier than he'd have expected; now all he had to do was find Lupin and Potter. Well, and then he'd probably have to figure out how to get away from here again because he truly doubted those two had thought about that little detail yet.

Slowly he walked along the corridor and back into the living room. The moment he reached for his coat the lights in the room went out again. It startled him, although he should have expected it to happen again. This time though it seemed to be even darker than before, almost too dark to see anything. Only a second later the flames in the fireplace came back to life. The weak flickering light they cast into the room was enough to immediately make him notice that something about his surroundings had changed; he looked around and found that the sofa and the armchairs were gone as were the wooden floor, the carpets and the large windows.

He was standing in the middle of a large, dark dungeon room that seemed rather familiar to him although he hadn't seen it for many years. There were high shelves on each of the walls and the only thing still there from the living room were those dead stuffed animals, lurking in the shadows and watching him. Now he remembered them. He knew them well; they'd always kept him company and they'd always given him nightmares whenever he'd fallen asleep under their watchful eyes. That was when they'd come back to life just to slowly creep up to him while staring at him out of glowing red eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He whirled around and found himself face to face with his father.

"I...," he said slowly, glancing around the room in search of the way out. "I'm leaving."

"Oh no, you're not," his father replied in a dead calm voice. "You're not going anywhere. First you're going to explain a few things to me."

Out of nowhere he produced some sheets of paper and held them up in front of his face. "An E. An E in Transfigurations and an E in Potions," he said, crumpled up the papers and let them drop onto the floor. "Exceeds Expectations. Whose, I wonder? Not mine, I tell you that!"

Severus just stared at him, caught in this deja-vu without being able to say a word. Standing in front of his father now, here in this room, he suddenly felt like a twelve-year-old again.

"What's wrong with you?" his father asked, glaring down at him. "Are you so amazingly stupid or simply lazy? Is that a way to repay all the time I wasted on teaching you? Is it?"

Severus swallowed hard.

"Is it?" his father asked once more, leaning towards him and staring straight into his eyes.

"No, sir," Severus whispered.

"Now if you wouldn't waste your time forging signatures and scampering through Hogsmeade you might not even have failed so piteously, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir," he whispered in reply. "But..."

"Be quiet! There are no excuses!"

"But I really tried..."

"You tried! Trying is not satisfactory!" his father shouted. "It obviously takes you a little longer to learn things so you shall have as much time as you need now. You'll read those books again, you'll make those potions again and you'll practise your Transfiguration spells. And I don't care how long it takes you but you won't leave this room until you succeed. Am I understood?"

Severus said nothing.

"Do you understand me!" his father asked once more. "Or are you just too stupid!"

Severus just stared at him. He could feel the clamminess of the dungeon and he could smell the stale air. This room seemed more real to him than anything else he'd seen in this place so far. And then it suddenly clicked in his brain and he began to understand.

"No," he said in a low voice.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'no'. I did understand very well, but I won't do it. I'm not a kid anymore, I'm not afraid of you and you can't tell me what to do."

His father smiled coldly. "I know you are, son. You're still afraid of me."

"No, I'm not," Severus replied calmly. "There's nothing you can do to me. You're not real, nothing here is. You're dead. And this house burnt down years ago. You're only here because I make you be."

Around him the candles lit up again, one after another. He turned his head and saw that the windows were there again as well as the chairs, the table and the rest of the living room. Quickly he grabbed his coat from the table and headed for the front door, walking past his father without even looking at him.

"You're not leaving! You'll stay right here!" his father called after him. "I'm talking to you! You can't just walk away from me like that! Never!"

Severus took a deep breath and walked on. He strode along the corridor, slammed the door shut behind him and set off into the cold night.




Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it. Thank you especially to everyone who reviewed, I really do appreciate it :) I have my exams (second try) coming up in four weeks which is keeping me rather busy so I might not be able to post my next chapter before that, but I definitely intend to finish this story. At least as long as someone's still reading it ;)