Fanfiction based in the world of Harry Potter, created by JKR. Her characters are hers. Original characters are mine. No pecuniary rewards. Please see first chapter for full disclaimers and description.

Thank you to my Betas, Elaine and JL. Any remaining errors are my own.

Once again, proper credit has been given for the artist of the song mentioned in this chapter. It's the last piece of 'musical mediocrity' from Severus, I promise.

Chapter 51: Unreasonable Demands

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Pounding on her office door awakened her in the wee hours of Friday night, ten days after Albus' death. The students could not 'see' or get to the door to her quarters, but she could hear visitors to her office through the connecting door. She threw on her flowery dressing gown and rushed to see who was at her door at this hour.

It was Harry Potter, looking as pale and clammy as he had done the night Albus died, clutching his scar.

"Rowena… you'd better get to Grimmauld Place," he croaked hoarsely. "Can I come with you? How do you get there now with the floos so dangerous? We'd better hurry…"

She was already slipping her feet into shoes, now feeling as anxious and panicked as Harry looked.

"What is it? Katrina? Remus? Has the Fidelius Charm failed?"

It was possible to 'transfer' Secret Keepers for that charm in very specific circumstances, though it required basically repeating the ritual to create it in the first place. Would Albus have had time or strength to do that and still do what he did at Hogwarts? If he did, who was Secret Keeper now? She didn't know those answers.

"Snape," Harry said, shaking his head to the others. "I don't really knowhe's there, but I know he's not here and he couldn't have gone to St. Mungo's… and he needs help, bad. Hurry!"

She was already out the door. He grabbed her arm and threw his invisibility cloak over her. She was short enough it easily covered them both. He had grown enough to be almost of a height with Severus. She held onto his arm to stay close enough as they both tried to run flat-out under the cloak.

"The Willow!" she said when he made to head toward the Hogsmeade road. He seemed to understand and found a long enough branch to prod the knot on the tree.

He was undergoing Apparition training, as all students did as soon as they became of-age, but he in no way had the skill to do it accurately yet, nor did he have his license.

"Harry, you've got to trust me. It's very dangerous to Apparate with another Magical person, because Apparition requires focus. If you focus on something different than I'm focusing on, you could splinch us. I'll take you with me, but you've got to entirely let go of your own Magical intent. Can you trust me enough to do that?"

He snorted at her in the dark of the passageway.

"Are you kidding? I've had to do that with Snape for the last six months for our Occlumency stuff—if I can trust HIM, I can surely trust you."

When they reached the correct stretch of the tunnel, she stopped, hugged him, and Apparated them to the back garden of Number 12. They both raced inside the Order door.

A pool of drying blood was on the floor near the door. A bloody handprint marred the new paint in the corridor as spatters of blood made a trail down the hall. Nearly every light in the house was on.

"Dad?" Remus came running out to the door and saw Harry and Rowena. "Oh—I've sent for dad. 'Wena, you'd better stay out here for a bit, Harry, why don't you two go down to the kitchen and get some tea…'

"No!" she said and pushed past him into the drawing room, where Remus had transfigured one of the sofas into a hospital-bed of sorts and Tonks was frantically laying clean towels on a myriad of bloody stripes across Severus' pale back. He sat on the edge of the bed breathing heavily and occasionally coughing up blood.

"Damn! Remus! Have you got any Blood Replenishing potions here?" she asked frantically, drawing her wand to begin the diagnostic charms.

"A few. Not near enough after all the attacks lately. I'll go get what I can. Dad should be here any minute."

Severus merely glared at her as she worked. He had a broken rib which had punctured his lung, collapsing it and causing significant internal bleeding. It therefore required all his effort simply to breathe; so he couldn't snark at her. His back and chest were all but shredded from what looked like a scourge. Adding to the complications were the occasional, uncontrollable muscle spasms, the aftershocks of severe Cruciatus damage which caused the bits of broken rib to tear at the already savaged lung-tissue.

She did a few minor spells to slow the internal bleeding. It was by no means her area of expertise and she was afraid of doing more harm than good—where was her father? She then focused on her Solicify Charm to soothe the Cruciatus aftershocks, at least, so they couldn't cause him additional damage.

Thankfully, John Lupin arrived a few minutes after Harry and Rowena with a fully stocked Potions bag, as well as his significant skill and reassuring demeanor.

"Sorry, Severus. I'd have gotten here sooner but I had to restock at the hospital. We'll have you right as rain in no time."

It wasn't 'no time', but it was surely as quick as anyone could hope for. He started with the most life-threatening injuries first, of course, and warned Severus about taking his regenerative potions properly for the next several days while the delicate lung-tissue healed. It was too much to hope he could avoid over-exposure to noxious fumes in his line of work. He also administered several Blood Replenishing potions, Grimmauld Place having been out entirely. He stopped the bleeding and bandaged the external wounds, but Severus would not allow him to heal them completely. The regeneration potions would speed their healing as well, but if they healed too quickly, it would just make his next interview worse.

Tonks, Harry and Rowena cleaned the blood from the entrance and hall while John worked, then sat nervously in the kitchen waiting for word. Remus was 'allowed' to stay to assist John as he worked—Remus, not Rowena.

John and Remus entered the kitchen three hours later; both looking fatigued but accomplished.

"Well, he's as good as he'll let me do. I'd love to see that boy on five days of strict bed rest, but it's no more likely to happen than me doing it myself, so that's that." He stopped to kiss Rowena on the top of her head. "He'll be okay, love."

He went out the Order door and Apparated away. Remus poured himself a cup of tea and sat heavily at the table before looking up guiltily at Rowena.

"Harry, Severus would like a word with you before he returns to Hogwarts," Remus said dully. Harry glanced at him in fearful surprise, but did not question as he left the room. "He… er… specifically said he did NOT want to see you just now, 'Wena. Sorry. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he's pretty angry."

Rowena nodded.

"It's okay, Remus. I know what he's tetchy about and it's not very easily resolvable. Don't worry about it. Thanks for letting him come here."

"No where else safe for him to go now, is there?" he asked, shaking his head sadly. "Dad said he'd stock the Potion stores here tomorrow so I'll be a bit more prepared next time."

Next time. How much longer could he continue to survive this level of 'discussion'?

"If Professor Lupin finds out what the Dark Lord wants, Potter, you will wish to every deity ever worshiped you could switch places with ME, because I will make what you saw tonight seem like a Quidditch accident—do I make myself perfectly clear?" he snarled. His lungs were clearly working just fine now.

Harry had only just shut the door behind him when the threat was hurled at him with all the force of a Hex. He actually flinched as though to dodge a blow. He then nodded, miserably.

"I understand, Professor."

"Who was your 'ground'? Not Lupin?"

"No… I… okay, this is going to sound really weird, and you might even think I'm lying, but I swear it's true, Professor… The thing is, I think what Professor Dumbledore did 'grounded' me. It doesn't feel the same anymore, after what he did. I felt the pain of my scar when you were first being… when Voldemort did the Cruciatus and then I just sort of 'checked in'. To see if it was another attack on the school or something.

"The pain wasn't so bad that I couldn't focus, and I felt like Dumbledore was there with me—just like when you do it. You sort of feel one way, and he feels another, but I could just tell it was him, does that make sense?"

"No, it does not. But, knowing Albus, that was probably at least part of his intent—to keep us all guessing. Very well. Come to me tomorrow and I will make certain you are not being corrupted. I still prefer you to use another Occlumens, but obviously Lupin is no longer an option."

"This really sucks, you know? All that work you did, what Dumbledore did, and it's all going to fail anyway, isn't it?"

"Hell if I know, Potter," Severus said wearily. "Now get out."

Things were getting desperate. Severus was gone every other day and, while Harry had been forbidden to tell her anything more, Remus and Tonks had not. She knew he had been to Headquarters three nights that next week, being healed again from severe injuries. She also learned he had been stopping in regularly since Albus' death, though the initial visits had not required more than a few healing potions. There was only a little more than a week remaining before Halloween and Rowena knew Severus was expected to provide his 'proof of loyalty' before then… or else.

The severed Bond ached constantly, but it was such a constant, burning pain it was lost amid the fear, stress and worry of the situation in general. He remained angry with her and had stopped 'accidentally' touching her in footsie under the table at meals, or casual gestures when they had rare occasion to interact. He could be angry all he wanted—she was NOT going to give him those notes!

Garvey even became a non-issue. As soon as Dumbledore was gone, she buckled down and worked her classes very hard, but apparently efficiently. It seemed she wanted to keep the 'plush' job and wanted to have a good record to show whomever the new Headmaster or Headmistress might be.

Rowena continued weeping over the wireless cubes he had given her, listening to them each in turn before going to bed at night. The music and the aching emptiness of the Bond were her only assurances they once had something together and her only hope that if they survived, they might again.

She sat bolt upright in bed, clutching at her chest and gasping for breath. She was suddenly awash in such a wave of love and passion and wistful sorrow, she almost felt bathed in it. The pain was gone, entirely gone, and in its place was all the sweet emotion she had felt from him when the Bond had first been formed so long ago in Albus' office.

The undertone of it all was the definite, unmistakable, wistful taint of 'goodbye'.

She scrambled in the darkness for her wand. What had Hermione said months ago? Some sacrifice of love to repair the Bond—if such a repair was possible? She found her wand and waved it to illuminate her room.

There, on her nightstand was an envelope, her name on it in Severus' hand. He must have had one of his elves deliver it to bring it so freely directly to her, without concealment.

Rowena,

It is done. I cannot give Him what he requires of me. I will not. He has, at last, found my breaking point and, yet, I find I am able to defy him to the end. I will not submit.

I have a lifetime of regrets, not the least of which is yet again parting with you at odds. For once in my life I wanted to do something as noble and heroic as those bloody Gryffindors are often credited with. I ought not to have quarreled with you over your notes.

This last vapid bit of musical mediocrity varies from the others. It conveys not what I feel presently or what I hope for the future, but what I very much wish could have been. I would not have believed myself capable of wanting something so prosaic, but then you, my naïve Ravenclaw, belong in a fairy tale. Only a true Princess could make the Beast long to be a Man.

That has been your gift to me, whether you realized it or not. You have made me aspire to be something greater than I ever thought possible. I have failed in the attempt, but it has not been unpleasant to have the aspiration.

Yours,

S.

"No, no, no," she repeated over and over as she read the letter, denying its meaning even as the sensation of the Bond told her it was likely true—or at least in the process of becoming true. It was not wholly healed; she could not reach out to him, as she had been able to do when it was new. It seemed she couldn't send him a return 'message' of emotion because her end was not healed, but she could feel his. She didn't think she would feel it so clearly if he had died.

The parchment again turned into the now precious cube and she put it in the wireless next to her bed, already crying and trying to determine what, if anything, she could DO to prevent what seemed to have already happened—or at least BE happening.

Artist: Peter Cetera
Song: Glory Of Love

As we're both lying here
There's so many things I want to say
I will always love you
I would never leave you alone

Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying
I don't wanna lose you
I could never make it alone


I am a man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero you're dreaming of
We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love


You'll keep me standing tall
You'll help me through it all
I'm always strong when you're beside me
I have always needed you
I could never make it alone

I am a man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of
We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

Just like a knight in shining armor
From a long time ago
Just in time I will save the day
Take you to my castle far away


I am a man who will fight for your honor
I'll be the hero you're dreaming of
We're gonna live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

We'll live forever
Knowing together that we
Did it all for the glory of love

He wished he could have been that for her? Didn't he see that in so many ways, he already was? What was it, if not a 'fight' for her honor, that he did not make love to her until they were married? What was it, if not heroic, that he constantly, repeatedly, unendingly struggled, endangering his very life to protect not only her and Katrina, but also the entire Wizarding World?

Long minutes of wretched sobbing passed away before she could pull herself together enough to dress and make a half-hearted attempt at focus. She had to think.

She tried to consider whom she could contact who might be able to help her. Remus and Tonks of course and perhaps Albus' portrait had useful information. Her thoughts had gotten no further than that as she left her bedroom. She stopped in surprise at the sight of three identical little creatures moping in the dark, in her quarters. She waved her wand to light her lanterns and looked at them in shock.

Severus' house elves stood before her, one of whom was playing with Vixen. The ferret had come to know them by now, so apparently hadn't felt any need to alert Rowena to their presence.

"Master Sevvie is saying we is belonging to you now, Miss," said one of the three mournful looking house-elves. Likely Joseph, as he seemed always to be the spokesman if they were together.

"Excuse me?" she asked, bewildered and still disoriented in her distress.

"You is our Mistress now, Miss," said another with just a touch of annoyance, as though she were particularly dim-witted. She recognized Antoine's demeanor, as he was the haughtiest of the three.

"Master Sevvie is saying he is not coming back this time," said Henry, his ears drooping a bit more than his brothers' did. He seemed to be the most sensitive of the brothers. "He is liking you, he is wanting us to look after you now. You and Miss Katie."

"No! He's not…" she started to deny their change in ownership, to insist Severus was still alive and would STAY that way if she had anything to say about it—when she realized that this might just be the help she needed. The part of her mind Severus would have referred to as 'Slytherin' with that note of exasperated pride kicked in full gear. To rescue a spy, one had to think like a spy, right?

"Very well," she said with an abrupt change of tone. She took a deep breath and attempted to compose her emotions.

"Antoine, I would like you to bring me a bottle of Veritaserum and the antidote discs from Severus' private stores, please. Henry, I need tea and biscuits for two in my office in about ten minutes. Joseph, I would like to speak with Harry Potter in my office, as soon as he can get there."

The three elves looked at each other in uncertainty.

"What did Severus say to do with his belongings?" she asked with just an edge of asperity and a desperate hope she was correct in her gamble.

"He is saying whatever you is wanting is yours," said Joseph, a small gleam of something like approval in his eyes. "We is doing as you ask, Mistress."

There was only one "pop" as the three vanished simultaneously. She brushed and rebraided her hair quickly and then went to her office to wait.

Rowena was not formed for subterfuge, perhaps, and far too naïve for her own good almost certainly. However, she could at least claim to be more intelligent than Dolores Umbridge!

Her antidote disc was already securely against her cheek and she had dosed the water for tea, as well as the milk in case he chose not to have tea. It was a very underhanded move, of course, but then she desperately needed to know what was going on and could think of no other way to find out.

"Rowena, please don't ask me," Harry said immediately, as soon as he stepped inside her office and shut the door. He was pale and sweaty, his scar blazing an angry red against the pallor of his forehead. His eyes were red-rimmed as though he had been crying. "He'll kill me if I say anything—even if he has to come back as a ghost to do it. Please don't ask me. I promised not to tell."

She offered Harry a commiserating smile—she had little doubt Severus would be all too willing and happy to come back as a ghost and do just that! However, she had no intention of allowing him to become a ghost to begin with.

"I already know, Harry," she said evasively as she poured two cups of tea. He occasionally took his tea black, other times with milk, so she passed the milk to him to allow him to prepare it how he wished. "His house elves came to me tonight and told me they are 'mine' now because he's not coming back."

She didn't need to pretend to be on the verge of tears.

"I'm real sorry, Rowena. He's been trying to get Voldemort to trust him just on his word for almost two weeks now. The stuff they've done to him! Well, I guess you know by now he'd rather they kill him than let anything happen to you. The thing is, Voldemort knows it, too. He knows Professor Snape's own life doesn't matter to him nearly so much as yours does."

"And so that's what he wants. Me," she said matter-of-factly, as though she had known all along. Fear threatened to constrict her airway. She couldn't afford to panic now.

She didn't miss the irony—he indeed had let her become his 'breaking point', just as she had feared.

Harry sipped at his tea and then gave her a panic-stricken look of hurt betrayal, recognizing the effect of the Veritaserum an instant before it took hold.

"I'm very sorry, Harry, but I'm not going to let him do this without a fight and this way you're not breaking your promise because you have no choice. Tell me exactly what you know about what You-Know-Who wants from Severus."

So he did.

"I can't believe you did that to me!" he said half an hour later when the effects of the Veritaserum had worn off. She had been silently fidgeting with her teacup after getting the needed information, waiting. "I mean, Snape, yeah, he'd do it in a heartbeat. He even said some of Dumbledore's lemon sherbets were laced with it, which is why he never took any sweets from him. But YOU?"

"I'm sorry! You know why I had to do it, though don't you?"

"What good is it going to do? He's been there for hours. If he's not dead now, he's as good as," Harry said, sounding almost frantic beneath his anger.

"Harry—can you do that thing—what you said Severus has been doing? Can you try and make You-Know-Who… change his mind or something? Let him go? Plant the idea to give him one more chance?"

Harry looked at her thoughtfully.

"Maybe. Voldemort really, REALLY wants to take that potion. He's almost desperate for Snape to give him the proof he's asked for, just so he can take it. Snape keeps saying you're too well protected; it's too hard to get you away from the castle without witnesses. I think Garvey's been talking to Narcissa, because Lucius said something about that matching his information, too.

"Lucius and Snape have some sort of… deal. I don't know exactly what it is, but I caught a glimpse of it once in our Occlumency lessons, something about you and Katrina. It sort of looked like Snape agreed to protect Draco in exchange for Lucius protecting you two. I suppose Lucius is doing that just in case they lose the war, huh?"

"Probably," Rowena shrugged. Her mind was still on trying to help Severus. "How much can you do? How specific can the information be?"

"It's not really planting information; it's just sort of pushing his thoughts around in there. Kinda like if each thought was a box or something. I feel like I sort of 'hide' behind the box and nudge it forward. If he really wanted Snape dead just because he wanted him dead, I probably couldn't do it because there would be no thoughts of Snape living to push 'forward'.

"But there's plenty of thoughts in there about how angry he is over losing his best Potions Master and stuff. He's been trying to think of a way to make it 'easier' for Snape to do what he wants. He's been trying to think of different ways to make it possible for Snape to bring you without instantly losing him as a spy here at the school, too.

"He doesn't waiver on it being YOU he wants. Snape and I tried a bunch to change that right after that night we were all at Grimmauld Place, but there's no other option to push forward. Snape wanted me to make him think Snape's death alone would be enough, but there's not the slightest thought of THAT in there."

"I see," she said with a sigh, toying with her braid. "Well, there isn't much time… just try, okay? Wait—how is Severus supposed to get me there? Is he supposed to bring me himself?"

"Yeah."

"Damn. That will never work. He'll never do it." She chewed on her lip a minute then looked back at Harry. "Okay, try to get him to let Severus go… That's the main thing. But try to see if there's anything that would give him the idea to change the instructions just a little bit. See if you can get him to think it would be easier to accomplish if Severus handed me off to someone, maybe Lucius, and then Lucius brought me there. Do you want me to connect with you?"

Harry shook his head.

"No. I think I can do it. Just… stay here. If… if it's too late, well, I'll let you know."

"It's NOT too late," she said firmly. She no longer felt the huge wash of love and affection through the Bond, but she also had no pain. He was either unconscious or still strong enough to try to deliberately close off the connection to hide it from You-Know-Who. Surely if he was dead, it would hurt again, worse than ever? She HAD to believe that.

She chewed anxiously on her bottom lip, watching as Harry's eyes lost focus.

"Okay… I think it worked. Lucius is taking him out I don't know where he'll take him," Harry said, looking back at her. "Rowena, he doesn't look good. Even Voldemort thought he was 'changing his mind' too late."

An Owl tapped on her window at precisely that moment.

Dear Miss Lupin,


I have something which I believe holds some value to you. How long that value might last, I cannot say. I realize you have no reason to trust me and I have no time for games. You may retrieve the package by the stile on the northernmost edge of Hogsmeade wards. Bring all the protection you like but come quickly or your package will be worthless.

Sincerely,

Lucius Malfoy.

"Joseph!" Rowena called out and the elf appeared at once. "Will you please go to Miss Katie's home immediately? Tell Remus I need his help at Hogsmeade as soon as he can come. If he can, have him bring anyone else from the Order he can gather quickly, but it must be right away. I'm headed there now and I won't wait. Tell Tonks to get my father to the house immediately.

"When you return here to the school, I would like you three NOT to come to my brother's house for a few days. I will tell you when it is okay to go and see Miss Katie again. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss." The little elf bowed low and disappeared with a 'pop'.

"What are you up to?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"He gave me his House Elves. I think I'm going to need their help. If they know he's alive, they'll switch back to following HIS orders, not mine, and that will be that. Not a word, Harry," she said, casting him a warning glance. Harry, inexplicably was grinning at her.

"No wonder he likes you. You can be as sneaky and underhanded as he is," he said, shaking his head even as they both rushed out the door.

She smiled weakly back; to her the sentiment was almost high-praise.

He was a mess. She'd never seen him this bad. Hell, she didn't think she'd ever seen anyone this bad, even when she helped her dad during the first war. Lucius left him crumpled in a heap where he had said. Kingsley and Alastor answered Remus' call so they were with her when she found him. Remus Apparated Harry to Number 12 and Rowena took Severus with a levitation spell, only holding gently to one hand, afraid to touch him anywhere else because she might cause even more damage. Moody went with her for protection, while Kingsley went to Hogwarts to get Poppy Pomfrey. She was a Nurse, rather than a Healer, but at this point in time, Kingsley figured John Lupin was going to need assistance. Hell, he was going to need an effing miracle.

The makeshift hospital bed still remained in the drawing room. Apparently, Severus had needed it so often lately they didn't bother to transfigure it back into the sofa, though it had crisp, clean white sheets on it and a table full of bandages and potions right beside it.

Rowena had never felt so helpless, or wished more fervently she had followed her father's desire and actually become a Healer. Her limited knowledge was all but useless here. She stopped some bleeding, relieved pressure on his brain from a severe concussion, used magic to remove all his clothes and cover him with a sheet—his clothing had been left on him as they tortured him, so that his robes were shredded and contaminating the open wounds. Had she tried to pull them away, she would have made them bleed freely again, but by vanishing them, she could also make certain no fragments were left behind to cause infection. That was her next step, as she waited anxiously for her father or Poppy—or ANYONE with more Healing skill than she had to arrive. She carefully went through, wound by wound, and began to disinfect them magically so they could be healed properly.

He barely breathed. His heartbeat was very rapid, but weak and thready, having already lost so much blood. The internal injuries were so extensive she didn't dare try to get him to drink a Blood Replenishing potion.

Where was her father?

It was as though the Death Eaters had been given free rein tonight—as perhaps they had been. She didn't want to ask Harry and didn't want to let him come and see Severus this bad, though he probably saw enough when he went into You-Know-Who's mind earlier tonight. There were terrible, bloody rope burns at his wrists which suggested he had been restrained by them. Numerous bones in his fine, long-fingered hands were broken so the strong fingers twisted unnaturally. Arms, legs, ribs, too many fractures to count. Not his back, thank Merlin, no injury to his spine, though the concussion might be severe enough to make none of the rest matter.

"Merlin's Beard!"

Rowena looked up to see her dad rushing forward, Poppy not far behind. As glad as she was to see him, already with his wand out, diagnosing, she was not reassured by the expression on his face. He was usually calm and confident, always insisting things were not as bad as they seemed. 'We'll have you right as rain in no time' was a very common expression he used, no matter how apparently severe the injuries.

This time, he said nothing, but worked in tense silence, giving Poppy directions as they tried to treat multiple life-threatening, urgent problems at once.

Magical Healing is a wonderful thing. Compared to what Muggles must deal with, it is nothing short of miraculous. He lived through the night, though he had not regained consciousness, partially on purpose as John administered a healthy dose of a sedating potion. The bones were the easiest things to mend, but the soft tissue damage of muscle, tendon, and internal organs had to do most of the non-lethal healing over time. John knew Severus well enough by now to know if the man could crawl to work, he probably would do it. Well, no, not crawl, not Snape.

The point was sedating him heavily until he had time to heal some of the more extensive injuries was the only way to make sure the man GOT the time his body needed.

Rowena and Harry returned to Hogwarts as soon as they knew he would live. Harry thankfully had brought his cloak and his map when Rowena first summoned him, so they were able to sneak back inside unnoticed. Rowena rushed to Minerva's quarters to inform her of what happened. Most of the student population was quite thrilled to hear that Potions class would be cancelled for the day at least. John would send a Potion's Master from St. Mungo's to take his classes by tomorrow.

It was three days before he was healed enough to regain consciousness. He was beyond furious to find himself alive and so it required a great deal of work on the part of Remus and Tonks to keep him sedated and in the house.

Once he was conscious, he received an Owl from an unknown source. The Fidelius Charm of Grimmauld Place did not affect Post Owls, even ones sent by Voldemort. Whatever the missive was it burned up as soon as Severus had read it, leaving him in more of a rage than ever, even though he was too weak to do anything more than snarl. He refused any more potions, food or drink from the Lupins and would have attempted to return to Hogwarts.

Apparently Voldemort could do more than just 'summon' with the Dark Mark, in addition to knowing if any given Death Eater was alive or dead. Severus hissed in pain and clutched at his arm. It was not a summons, but merely an additional message to punctuate the physical note. The burning pain, without direction to Apparate to the Dark Lord, was just a unique, long-distance method of torment which was almost as effective as the Cruciatus.

In his weakened state, thirty minutes of the unrelenting pain was all it took for him to lose consciousness again. John Lupin had to be summoned to repair some internal damage of areas which had not fully healed and had been re-injured in the wracking spasms caused by the pain. The intensive sedating potions were resumed—before he could regain consciousness enough to refuse.

When Remus told Rowena of this, in his regular updates to her, she sent for Harry at once.

"I need to know what was in that note," she said, pacing nervously. "Did Severus' instructions change? Can you find out?"

His eyes lost focus almost immediately and he was silent. She had to resist the urge to tap her toes impatiently. He finally looked at her again, but his frown was worried.

"It worked. He wants Professor Snape to take you to Lucius at their house. He's supposed to leave you there and Lucius will 'handle the rest'."

Rowena smiled grimly and nodded.

"Okay, then."

"Um, Rowena, how is that a good thing? He's no more likely to take you to Lucius than to Voldemort."

"I know. Sorry, Harry, I'm not going to tell you any more, so you can't get in trouble—well, I suppose you'll be in some trouble already. He's going to be very angry. I need you to give him a message, okay? Give him a while to burn out the worst of his rage, but you need to tell him I've altered my spell so no one can negate it but him—not even me. Can you remember that?"

"What spell?"

"Never mind. He'll know what I mean and that's all that matters. Harry, I might need you to help me, like you helped Severus, so be alert."

"Shite! Rowena, you're not actually GOING are you? How? Snape will never take you…"

"Enough questions, Harry. Off to class with you."