Chapter 2 – Drop of Rain
Disclaimer is in the first chapter, I don't really feel like I have to warn again. If you've gotten this far, you've most likely read the disclaimer and warning. Flame about it about stuff I've warned after you've read the second chapter, and I get to really have fun with my friends on this.
Sorry the updates are far apart, I'm in college and am writing part of this in English class cause this teacher is a wee bit boring.
Reviews keep me going and I'm loving the one's I've got so far. Reviews make me feel like I can write, and feel better about myself, making me want to write more to make my readers happy. (omg, I have readers!)
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Something roused one Severus Snape from an unfit slumber. He groggily sat up, wracking his brain for what could have woken him. A drop of rain hitting his face, and rolling down his beak-like nose provided the answer. He swore softly, while there were many things positive in his beloved dungeons, the rain leaking in was not among them. He sighed; there would be no more sleep tonight.
Groaning, his joints stiff with the cold, Severus forced himself to rise. He could always finish marking the students' essays. He shuddered at the thought. One would think that they would somehow manage to retain at least some of what he taught, but the attempts at writing on his desk proved otherwise.
He just didn't understand why they didn't get it. He was intimidating so they would pay attention, every day lives could be lost in a potions lab due to inattentiveness. It was a risk he simply wouldn't take just like the business with being a spy. He couldn't afford to give anyone any idea that he might be anything beyond the little lost Death Eater that Dumbledore had taken in years ago. He couldn't let any of the Baby Death Eaters give anything to tell their parents about.
Speaking of those, their leader seemed to be gaining a hint of a backbone. Draco had always led the Babies, but lately he seems to have lost some of the fire installed by his father. Him and Potter still had their tiffs, but they were starting to seem like they were just out of habit, and only for appearance. The utter hatred seemed to be missing.
With the rise of the Dark Lord again, everyone was preoccupied. Dumbledore was gathering forces, and the Death Eaters were swarming Britain like ants. Severus was busy trying to keep his kids alive, subtly teaching them life skills, and trying to keep them from accidentally killing themselves in Potions.
Sighing again, he half stumbled into the kitchen to make himself some coffee. The house elves could never make a proper cup, so Severus made his own special blend.
He sat down in his chair in front of the hearth, pulling out his wand to start the fire, and letting the heat of the coffee and the fire sink deep into his bones. Something else was off; it wasn't just the storm he knew was raging outside. He had some alarms on some of his students that could get themselves into trouble, but none of those were going off.
Maybe something else was wrong, another student, perhaps out having a grand old time in the Astronomy Tower. Severus rose from his warm chair, and strode over to his bedroom, and dressing in his teaching robes. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well go find what this disturbance was.
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Harry sat in the field, his head down, the rain mixing with tears so he didn't know which were which, and cared not. The blood from his arms had mostly been washed away, the stains were unnoticeable upon the black of his robes. The cuts were barely oozing now. His eyes had fallen shut earlier, and now his head was wanting to meet with the ground. Everything felt so heavy, like his heart. All he wanted to do was sleep.
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Nothing seemed to be wrong in the dungeons, all the Slytherins were in their beds as far as he could tell. Severus wound his way through the twisting hallways in the bowels of Hogwarts, making his way farther and farther up. Still nothing.
Where was it, where was the disturbance. The feeling of something severely wrong was growing stronger. Severus started moving faster, his robes billowing and flapping behind him.
He was almost at a run by the time he reached the Astronomy tower. He burst out the door, and was instantly soaked by the rain and buffeted by the wind. He whipped his head around, trying to find the disturbance. Where was it? It had to be close.
A flash of lightning lit up the world, highlighting a dark spot on the field. Severus leaned over the edge, his long hair hanging like rats tails about his face, and the rain was streaming down over his nose. He squinted out into the darkness, praying for another flash, half praying he was seeing what he thought he saw, half praying he was wrong.
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Omg, sorry, didn't want that to end in a cliffy. But it just seemed right to end there. To make it up to you, I'm posting the third chapter really soon and it'll hopefully be getting longer as I get going. Gomen!