Chapter 14
It had been two weeks since Severus had vanished and Ron had done exactly what his not had said. He reconciled with Harry and told both him and Hermione about the what the note said. "Who could possibly betray the Order?" Hermione asked him as they sat in Ron's room one night.
"I don't know. He just said that someone had to have sold him out otherwise Voldemort wouldn't know about all of this." The red head answered.
"Ok, so let's make a list of everyone that has contact with us and start crossing off the people who it definitely couldn't be." Harry suggested.
"Well, the three of us are definitely out on that. None of us would ever want Snape hurt, right?" Hermione asked with a glance at Harry.
"Why would I hurt him? I had to pay Jake 10 sickles to get him to kiss Ron in the train station and I had to make sure Snape was in the right place at the right time to see it happen." He replied as a slight blush crept into his cheeks. "Sorry, mate, but it had to be done."
"No worries, it worked." Ron answered as he started writing down names of people who could possibly want to hurt Severus.
After about thirty minutes of going over the list they had narrowed it down to a few people who still questioned Snapes loyalty to the Order. "There is no way Remus would want to hurt him, Ron, cross his name off." Harry said as he took the piece of paper from his friend.
"You only say that because you're probably sleeping with him. Don't you remember the past they had together in school?" The red head said as he got up off the bed.
"I am not sleeping with him. I failed to learn Snape's techniques well enough or something." He said with a sigh.
"Oh, sorry, mate." Ron said as he crossed the name off the list. "Did he say why?"
"Yea, something about me reminding him of someone and him being interested in someone else." The green eyed boy replied.
"I don't think any of these people could have done such a horrible thing." Hermione said with a sigh to break the odd silence that had fallen over the three of them.
"I think I'm going to go for a walk, clear my head, you know." Ron said as he pulled on his worn, second-hand coat.
"You shouldn't go out alone, Ron, it's not safe." Hermione quickly interjected.
"Funny." The red head huffed. "That's the same thing Severus said to me and look what happened there."
"I'll go with him, I have to go pick something up anyway." A voice said from the door which made all three of them jump.
"Oh, you don't have to, Remus, but thank you." The youngest Weasley boy stated.
"No, it's alright. It's no problem." The lycan said as he followed Ron down the steps. "Besides, your mother would kill me if she knew I let you go out alone."
"I don't care if you come. I just didn't want them to. They shouldn't have to worry so much about me." He said as he pulled the zipper up on his coat.
"Well," Remus said as they walked down the street. "They do care for you very much, Ron. They only want to help you get better from the curse."
"Yea, I guess." He muttered not wanting to tell Lupin that it wasn't the curse that was bothering him anymore, that it was the fact he missed Severus and was far too worried to get any rest.
"That's not all it is, is it?" He asked as they turned down another street. "There's something else bothering you, I can sense it." He stopped in his tracks then turned to face the younger man. "Does this have anything to do with you coming to the house last summer?"
"Wh…what are you trying to say?" Oh, great he knows Ron thought to himself as he forced a slight smile.
"I just thought it was odd that the two of you would be alone in the house. I wasn't implying anything." The werewolf replied. "Of course, I was hoping to catch Snape before he left, but didn't expect to see anyone else in the house. Your being there kind of ruined my plans, Ron."
"Your plans?" The red head inquired not sure he wanted to know what they were.
"Yes, I was finally going to get what I wanted from him, but you had to be there. I had been trying to hard to get his attention again. Trying so hard to rebuild his interest in me." Remus paused for a moment. "He used to love me, or at least he told me he did. Then Sirius and James had to ruin it for me. Severus I mine, boy, so whatever happened between the two of you that day was nothing. Snape even knows this, he has wandered away from me before but he always comes back. You are nothing more than a temporary thing in his mind. You could never please him the way I can…." The werewolf trailed off as a slight rage built up inside him.
"It was you! You told them that Severus was a traitor, you sold him to Voldemort!" Ron said his hand now inching towards the place his wand was safely tucked away. He clenched his teeth and took a step closer "If they hurt him I'll kill you."
"Ron!" Harry called out from around the corner which gave him just enough time to move away from Remus. "There you are. Your mum said that Hermione and I had to come with you."
"It's fine, mate, but I'm going back to the house now." The red head said as he sent a death glare to the werewolf before walking away.
"Ok, what was that all about?" Hermione asked after they had gotten back to Ron's room and locked the door. "That look you gave him…."
"He did it. He gave them Sev." The red head replied as he pulled out the note he had gotten a few weeks ago. It was extremely wrinkled now from Ron playing with it, reading it, unfolding it then refolding it. He read over the words again and felt as if there was no way to get him back now.
"But why would he do that, mate? I just don't get it." Harry asked as he dropped himself into the bed next to the other boy.
"He was jealous. Remember when I left home and came here?" Both of his friends nodded in unison. "Ok, that's the first time Sev and I, well, the first time we figured out that there was something. Remus came back and Sev left me in his care." Ron folded the note once more. "Remus said that Snape belonged to him and that I could never make him happy….he said I was only temporary."
"You know better than that. You should have seen how much he got hurt when you told him you never wanted to see him again. He was devastated, Ron." Harry tried to reassure him.
The red head was about to respond when there was a loud knock at the door. "Ron, Harry, Hermione, come quick." It was Ginny's voice coming through the door.
Ron was the first to the door and opened it as quickly as possible. "What is it?" He asked.
"Professor Snape, he's here, they found him." She said as she moved out of the way for the others to get by.
"Where?" Her older brother asked.
"They put him in Lupins room. He offered it and they thought it would be best." The girl answered.
"Mr. Weasley." Professor McGonagalls voice called from down the hall. "I think you should come speak to him." Ron quickly walked down the hall but was stopped before he could enter the room. "I warn you, Ron, he probably won't respond, but he knows you're there." She patted him on the shoulder and forced a slight smile before continuing. "He isn't the way you remember him and I suggest anything you have to say to him, you say now because, to be honest, this may be your last chance."
"He's not going to die. He promised to see me again." Ron said quietly as he turned and walked into the room. He couldn't bare to look at the man laying in the bed because there was no way that was Severus. To avoid seeing him like that he simply starred at the wall in front of him as he sat down on the bed next to his professor. "Hey, Sev." He said calmly as he finally gained enough strength to look down at the man in front of him. "Got your note like you wanted." The red head continued as he reached out for a damp cloth then began to wipe the blood from the other face and neck. After hours of just sitting there saying everything he could think to say he decided it was time to go back to his room for the night. "I'll see you soon." He said as he stood up and began to walk out the door.
"Ron, Harry and Lupin are going to sleep in your room tonight. Mum thinks you would be more comfortable in here." Ginny told him as she handed him a pillow and a blanket. "Goodnight."
The Gryffindor did his best to get comfortable in one of the chairs that lined the wall next to the bed. Normally he would have simply slept in the bed but he didn't want to cause Snape anymore pain than he was already being forced to endure. There was no sleep for him that night, or the five nights that followed for that matter, but he didn't care, he was determined to be there when Severus woke up.