Alright, as I promised, here is the second chapter. ATTENTION!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ CHAPTER TWENTY SIX THEN DO SO!! I POSTED TWO CHAPTERS AT ONCE! Okay, now that thats settled, the story continus....
Chapter twenty seven- Rescue and an unexpected ally.
The wind whipped against him powerfully but he did not recede. He had a mission and there was no way that he was going to abort it. Night had fallen and it made the shadows that danced across the houses look like spirits. He stared up at the towering house of Riddle and felt a small touch of fear nudge its way into his heart. No. He could not be afraid, he could not afford to be afraid. If he was, then it could cost Damien's life and nothing, not even his own, was worth that. He took a deep breath and told himself that whatever he was about to do, whatever he was about to sacrifice would be worth it as long as he completed his purpose for coming here. With that thought in mind, he started to walk into the Riddle house only to freeze when a scream tore through the quiet night.
Severus froze instantly, he knew that sound, he had heard it a million times during Occlumency lessons. It was Damien.....
Without a thought about what he was doing, Severus rushed into the house.
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Damien felt absent. He felt as if he weren't even alive. It was as if he was dying and yet his body was still alive. He knew he was slipping; he could only take so much after all, he was only sixteen. He was slowly loosing his mind, he knew. Ever since the first Cruciatus had been fired, he had felt himself start to fade away but now, the pain was so bad, it hurt so much, he couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't going to die, he was going to go insane, loose his mind and forget everything and everyone in his life. He was going to be exactly like Neville's parents, Alice and Frank, empty and blank, not recognizing even the most important people in his life.
He suddenly thought about his father and his friends. What were their names again? Ronnie and Hermoninny? No, it was Ron and Herma....no Hermione. Yes, that was it, Ron and Hermione. And Ginny and his father.......and Draco and Pansy. He remembered their names at least though he could barely remember what they looked like at that point, the pain was unbearable, he no longer had any since of time. An hour could have passed for all he knew.
Damien closed his eyes and tried to focus on what his friends looked like through the blinding pain. Thinking only hurt his head more and he suddenly couldn't even remember where he was. Where was he? Why was he in pain in the first place? What about his mother? Why couldn't he remember her? What was his name again? A haze seemed to settle itself in his mind and he suddenly didn't think of anything.
Voldemort watched the boy, he could tell that Damien was slipping, not his resistance, but his mind. He narrowed his eyes. He couldn't have a heir if the boy was insane like Bellatix had done to the Longbottoms.
"Give him the antidote, now!" he commanded to Bellatrix. She bowed shortly and hurried over to the boy, forcing his mouth open to pour in the antidote. She hoped that he wasn't insane, she could tell that her master would kill her for crushing his heir's mind.
Damien's body went limp as the antidote began to take effect. Bellatrix could hear the boy's shallow breathing but that didn't guarantee that he was still sane. She kicked him hard in the ribs, "Get up boy, you're not dead!"
"Don't touch him!" the Dark Lord snapped to her and she immediately recoiled. He walked over to his heir and bent over the boy.
"Enervate!" he muttered and Damien's eyes slowly opened. Bellatrix sighed in relief from behind her mask.
"Dad?" Damien whispered blearily as he looked around with unseeing eyes. Voldemort's eyes narrowed at Bellatrix, who took a step back and glanced at the dazed boy cautiously.
"Dad?" Damien asked again as he stared past Voldemort to someone else. Voldemort whirled around in time to hear a loud, "Stupefy!"
He had to jump out of the way of the giant, red jet of lighting. Briefly, he wondered why it was so big but he dismissed the thought as his eyes focused on the person who had fired it.
Severus Snape stood tall beside Draco Malfoy, his wand was drawn and trained on the Dark Lord.
"Dad...." Damien whispered weakly before he passed out once again.
"Crucio!" Voldemort roared and a jet of red light issued from his wand toward Severus.
The man dodged the Unforgivable Curse and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Lumus Solem!" A blinding flash of light filled the room and Voldemort roared in fury.
Severus wasted no time in hurrying to pick up Damien. He cradled the boy to his chest and cursed at the blood that his son was soaked in. He needed to get Damien out of here. The light was just beginning to fade as Severus wheeled around to run out of the door. He heard Voldemort's yell of fury followed by an, "Avada Kedavra!"
Severus allowed himself to fall to the floor with his body over Damien as the emerald curse whizzed by his head. He felt someone pull on his arm and looked up to see two figures looming over him.
"Lucius, Draco," he whispered, eyeing the older Malfoy with caution.
Was Lucius a spy too? But that seemed impossible! Lucius Malfoy was one of Lord Voldemort's most trusted Death Eaters. He was anything but good and almost any wizard could feel the Dark Magic radiating off from the man whenever he was around. But then again, Lucius was always the good actor when they had been in school........but this....this was just genius! Severus had always known that Lucius was one of the most cunning and intelligent people he'd ever met but he had never known that Lucius was this good.
"What the hell are you doing here, Severus?" Lucius hissed as he hauled his old friend up. Draco raised his wand and yelled, "Protego" as a Death Eater aimed a 'Stupefy' at them.
"LUCIUS!!" Voldemort roared.
Severus glanced apologetically at Lucius. "Looks like your spying days are over too," he muttered quietly before taking a step back and tightening his grip on Damien, "You are a spy aren't you?"
Lucius took off his mask and rolled his ice blue eyes. "Always the cautious one aren't you, Severus? You haven't changed a bit. Follow me."
Severus took another step back, staring at Lucius as if to say, "And you expect me to just follow you?"
Draco nodded and stepped up next to his father. "Don't worry," he assured as he glanced briefly at Lucius. "He's been a spy almost as long as you have."
Severus narrowed his eyes suspiciously but said nothing. It was obvious that he wanted to say something but they didn't have the time as Death Eaters started throwing curses at them while Voldemort raised his wand.
"Follow me! Come on!" Lucius snapped impatiently as he shoved Draco down to avoid a 'Crucio' that had been aimed at him.
He led Severus through a door that led to a flight of stairs. "Where are we going? The exit is the other way," Severus snapped as he glanced over his shoulder anxiously.
Lucius shook his head. "Blocked," he muttered in word of response. "It is always the first thing to be blocked when prisoners are trying to escape."
They continued to run up the stairs until they came to a door. Severus stopped to catch his breath after running up the many flights of stairs.
"Come on!" Draco snapped as he ran over to Severus's side in an attempt to help him hurry.
"Where.......are we?" Severus panted as he walked slowly up to Lucius.
"Roof," the blonde said shortly as he peered down the stairs to see if anyone was coming.
"What?" Severus exclaimed. "What are we doing on the roof? We are cornered now, you realize? Unless that was your plan in the first place...."
"Stop being so paranoid!" Lucius snapped. "Yes, I am a spy and no, this wasn't my plan. I am as wanted as you and Damien now." He paused to sweep back his hair and Severus sneered.
"Well forgive me if it's a little hard to believe this coming from the man that made me practically rape Lily," he retorted icily. Lucius stiffened and turned to glare at Severus. "This isn't the time or place to talk about this, Severus," he spat. "We don't have enough time! Now there is a pond we can jump into."
"It's to much of a jump, we'll be killed!"
"No we won't. It's very deep, just don't loose Damien," Draco answered for his father before the man could open his mouth.
"They're coming, we need to go now," Lucius commanded as he flicked his wand and muttered, "Alohamora!"
The door sprang open and the four traitors hurried out onto the roof.
"This way!" Lucius yelled over his shoulder as he walked over to the northern edge of the roof. "Come on, hurry or they'll reach us before we get a chance to get out of the pond."
"And where exactly do we go from there? Walk? They'll catch us in less then an hour!" Severus exclaimed as he tightened his hold on his son.
"Use your head, Severus. I have an emergency portkey," Lucius turned to stare down at the dark water. "Why are you here anyway? You know that Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to your precious son and Draco and I wasn't going to let him die."
"Oh yes," Severus stated quite coldly. "And you were doing a marvelous job of taking care of him." He sneered. "Besides, I wouldn't know that you were a spy now would I?"
"You know as well as I do that we couldn't just reveal ourselves to try and save him because it would have never worked," Lucius retorted. "That is the number one rule for any spy is to never reveal themselves in a crowd of their enemies. Not to mention its common sense, Severus."
"You wouldn't be saying that if Draco were in Damien's place," Severus said crisply.
Lucius's face darkened but he said nothing.
"Quick!" Draco yelled as he came running over to them from the doorway. "They're coming, we need to jump now!"
Severus took a small step toward the edge of the roof and cautiously glanced down at the placid water. "Are you sure about-"
"Yes!" the two Malfoys exclaimed in unison.
"Stun them you idiots! Stun them or the Lord will have our heads!" he heard a nameless Death Eater shout at the others.
A shrill laugh made him wince and Bellatrix Lestrange took off her mask, revealing her dark, lidded eyes and sickly face. "I always knew that we couldn't trust you after the Lord killed your dear sister, Lucius," she mocked and Lucius stiffened. She paused to sweep back her long hair. "I tried to tell him that you and Severus would betray him but he never listened." She smirked widely, revealing her yellowing teeth. "But you have a son, Severus," she eyed Damien's limp form and her lips curled into a nasty smile. "After all, there is things much more worse then death isn't there?"
"Go!" Lucius yelled. "Go now! We'll handle them and meet you outside the wards directly."
"But-"
"Shut up and go!"
Severus backed away toward the edge and glanced at his old friend and student before tightening his hold on Damien and leaping off the roof. He heard Bellatrix's scream of fury before he felt a rush of wind followed by an icy coldness as they both plunged into the pond a couple seconds later.
As soon as he got his bearings back he kicked toward the surface, making sure that he was still holding onto Damien. He broke the surface, gulping in air greedily as he held Damien's head above the surface, his lungs felt as if they were on fire. He quickly made his way to the shore and trumped out of the pond before making his way to the edge of the forest that circled Little Hangleton.
When he reached the end of the wards, he gently set Damien down and finally took in the full extent of his son's injuries.
The boy was a bloody mess. Cuts and lacerations ran up and down the boy's pale body. His left wrist was twisted in a very wrong way. Tremors ran through his body as an after effect of the Cruciatus and Severus could tell that the boy had been under it for a very long time. He began to fear Damien's mental state. What if the boy had been driven to insanity? What if he was just an empty shell right now? What if he didn't recognize he, Severus, himself? Severus really didn't want to think about it.
Damien jerked suddenly and his eyes flew open for a moment. They opened and closed a few times before focusing on Severus.
"Dad.....?" Damien whispered questioningly before he passed out again.
Severus fumbled with a pocket of his robes for a moment before pulling out his wand and casting a quick drying spell on the both of them. He then took off his cloak and wrapped it around his son. Damien stirred but didn't wake. Severus watched the boy for a moment before he heard a stumbling sound.
His head shot up and he kept a tight grip on his wand as he waited. A moment later, Draco and Lucius came into view and Severus sighed in relief.
"Any trouble?" he asked quietly.
"Bella was a bit hard to stun but we got her," Lucius replied as he took something off his wrist. Severus peered closer and found that it was a muggle watch. "Well that's surprising," he nodded to the watch and the blonde shrugged. "It's the last thing anyone would think is a portkey."
Lucius tapped it a couple times with the tip of his wand. "Dumbledore is going to kill you, I hope you know," he said in a slightly taunting way as he scowled at the headmaster's name. Lucius had always hated Dumbledore, Severus knew that and he guessed that even if Lucius really did work for the light, he still hated the man.
"Yes, I know and frankly, I don't care," he retorted evenly as he grabbed on to a portion of the portkey and picked up Damien again. Draco did the same and Severus felt a pull from behind his navel and the last thing he heard was, "Stupefy!" before a rush of color filled his vision.
His feet hit the ground and he immediately collapsed on top of Damien, he really hated portkeys. He quickly stood up and picked the boy up before he called over his shoulder, "Come on! We need to go now!" When no one followed he whirled around only to see Lucius lying on the ground, stunned. He rolled his eyes.
Draco snorted at his father's indulgent look and muttered, "Finite Incantantem."
Lucius immediately straightened up, making sure there were no creases in his robes and that every hair was in place before following an impatient Severus.
"We've wasted time!" Severus snapped as the blonde passed by him. "He's loosing blood!"
"Then stop squabbling and let's go," Lucius called over his shoulder in a board voice.
It was now completely dark and Hogwarts was all lit up, making it look even more splendid. The three hurried into the castle, making sure that they stayed hidden from the prefects that were patrolling the halls as they made their way up to the Hospital Wing with their precious load.
Severus burst into the informatory first, closely followed by the Malfoys. Poppy was drawn out of her office by the noise and looked as if she was prepared to treat a student whom had gotten into a fight. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of them.
"Oh my goodness!" Poppy exclaimed as she laid eyes on Draco and Lucius. "What are they doing in here! They are both supposed to be in Azkaban!"
"Just shut up and treat Damien, woman!" Severus snapped as he started to take Damien's tattered robes off. Poppy's eyes widened astonishingly as she stared at Damien's bloodied body. "Oh my!" she looked tearfully at Severus. "He was tortured wasn't he?" she whispered.
"Obviously," he snapped. "Now treat him, damn it! He's loosing blood."
Poppy wiped away her tears and switched into nurse mode as she began to clean Damien up. She stopped for a moment though and turned back to stare at Lucius. "I know that Damien and Draco are spies but......Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater!"
"No he isn't," Draco jumped to his father's defense. "Just trust us, he's not loyal to the Dark Lord.......at least.........not anymore..."
"And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?" Severus snapped as he turned to Lucius.
"I'll go get the headmaster," Draco said quietly, not wanting to get involved. "Make sure to stay out of sight," Lucius called to the boy. "You broke out of Azkaban, remember?"
Draco muttered something and hurried out of the Wing to get Dumbledore.
"Professor Dumbledore is not going to be happy with you, Severus," Poppy murmured as she continued to clean up Damien. "He told you not to do anything..."
"But I was successful," Severus replied. "And if I would have waited then he would have gone insane!"
"There is no guarantee that he's not at the moment," Poppy said quietly as she trained her wand over Damien.
Severus stared at her, the color seemed to have drained from his face. "No," he shook his head. "He's not-"
"Open your ears, Severus! She said she wasn't sure," Lucius said impatiently.
"We have to wait until he wakes up to see," Poppy told Severus solemnly. "Which might be a while. He's been through so much pain that I can't believe his mind and body isn't completely crushed already. His mind needs a chance to heal itself a little before he can wake up or he will be insane for sure," she explained.
Severus stared at Damien wordlessly. Lucius began pacing back and forth, deep in thought. He turned to Severus, who still was very pale and sighed.
"I believe you asked me a question?" he tried to sound board.
Severus glanced up at him but said nothing.
Lucius went on. "I turned spy after the Dark Lord killed Cassandra," he said quietly. "He didn't need to kill her, she was a pure-blood and all but she didn't agree with our ways, so he tortured and killed her." He turned away from Severus's shocked gaze. "I helped torture her......I was afraid that he would think of me as a betrayer if I didn't, even if she was my sister." His eyes glazed slightly as he said very quietly, "I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself." He swallowed and turned back to Severus, his expression indifferent. "I went to Dumbledore because I knew she would have wanted me to. She had tried to convince me so many times to ask Dumbledore to work as a spy but I always declined."
"Then why did you put the Imperious on me? Why did you make me...." he couldn't finish.
"I wasn't a spy back then," the blonde responded, his composure regained. "I was loyal to the Dark Lord at that time."
Severus scowled at him.
"It's not like you weren't ever completely loyal to him either!" Lucius snapped at Severus's look.
"Actually, I never was," Severus replied crisply. "I was forced by my father-"
"You were not," Lucius smirked. "You try to deny it all the time with that excuse but you just won't accept that you made a mistake! You joined to impress your father, he didn't make you."
"He was going to in a couple of months," Severus defended.
"But he still didn't make you join at that moment," Lucius countered.
"We have more important matters to be talking about other then the past," Severus snapped. "The past is the past and there's nothing you or I can do to change it. We both made a mistake."
Lucius snorted and turned away with his arms folded arrogantly across his chest.
"Severus don't you ever listen to what I tell you?" Dumbledore sighed as he strode into the Hospital Wing with Draco.
Severus flushed and Lucius smirked.
"I wasn't just about to let my son die, Albus," Severus said coolly.
"Damien is wanted," Dumbledore told the man as he sat down in a chair beside Damien's bed. "How long can we hide him until the ministry does another search on Hogwarts?"
"I don't want to think about that right now, Albus. I just wanted to get him out of there," Severus said tiredly. He thought that he saw a flicker of amusement flash in Dumbledore's eyes.
"Is he going to be okay?" Draco asked quietly as he eyed Damien's pale form. No one answered him for a moment. Then Poppy spoke up, "We're not sure yet, Mr. Malfoy. He needs to wake up on his own before we can see if he's alright mentally."
Draco nodded and glanced at Severus quickly. "Professor?" he asked him.
"Yes, Draco?"
"Why was Damien in so much pain when the Dark Lord was close to him?"
"He was under the Cruciatus! What do you expec-"
"No, not when he was being cursed. Before you came, he looked as if he was in pain whenever the Dark Lord was near." Severus blinked and looked over at Dumbledore.
"Well-"
"Is there something wrong with him? Does that have anything to do with the potion he took before that one meeting before Christmas?" Draco asked curiously, he had his suspicions, but he just wanted to make sure.
"This isn't really the time to talk about this, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said patiently.
"Why? What are you hidding?" Draco demanded, though not harshly. "What is so secret about Damien? Is he sick, or is it something else?"
"Draco..." Lucius warned, though he to looked curious. "This isn't the time."
The boy looked at his father and huffed in annoyance. He had been very curious about Damien ever since he had punched him in the nose. Damien was so Slytherin and yet so........so.......Gryffindor. As much as Draco hated to admit it, he could tell that Gryffindor would have been a good house for Damien also. The boy was so loyal to his friends and, as far as he had seen, was pretty brave when it came to defending his friends or his father. But along with that, Damien was also very Slytherin. He was cunning, that was for sure. You had to be cunning in order to be a spy for the Dark Lord. He also seemed to seek to be the best, or to stand out individually. It was like he wanted to be the best, but he didn't want any attention for it. Damien had always been a rather mystery to Draco even though he'd known him now for about five months but he felt as if he had known him longer. Damien reminded Draco of someone but he couldn't put his finger on who. Well either way, when a Malfoy wanted something, they got it one way or another and Draco was going to find out what the 'big secret' about Damien really was. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like it.
() Hmm....Draco is starting to figure it out, no? Okay, tell me what you thought and please forgive me for my spelling mistakes!!
Also, please review! I posted two chapters at once so please review!