Severus was brooding , as he dug the pits around the windows.
They'd chosen to board two of them up anyway , but it was still a wise choice to add the pits.
If it was just the immune , who were slow, fumbling and unable to anything too complicated , then Severus would have added wards to keep muggles out, rather than have taxed himself digging these pits.
Desperate muggles were more dangerous than immune, he rubbed the bullet scar on his shoulder absentmindedly.
But alas, it was the screamers that were the main problem.
Though thankfully they couldn't swim, one of the reasons Severus's plan of Eigg had come to fruition , they were much more able bodied than the immune.
They could run , climb and open doors if the need arose. Magic attracted them , whether it was magical creatures, magical objects, magical buildings or just plain magic.
Thankfully Magical creatures were immune to the virus, because Fluffy was dangerous enough as it is without that added bloodthirst thank you very much. His scarred leg twitched in remembrance.
Though other magical beings could still be killed by the immune who were attracted to them, the only creatures at risk of turning were those that were already half human or more, a feat Severus was unfortunate enough to witness with the half giant Hagrid.
Screamers could sense magic near their location , depending on the strength of magic of course. A weak wandless alohomora for example, like Severus had used on the door, or the weak cleansing charm Hermione had used on him, would only draw screamers nearby...they knew they were probably safe to cast them as the station house offered views of at least a half mile in each direction , and they could see there were no screamers in the area.
Whereas if Severus did put up something like a anti muggle ward, it would draw them from more than half a mile away.
And apparition? Any screamers within a mile radius would come running like moths to the proverbial flame.
Even wands themselves drew the screamers, and Severus had reluctantly left his behind at his home in Manchester when he'd abandoned it.
When the TV's went out , the infection was already in Europe and beyond...He often wondered if the ministries of other countries had managed to do anything, though with the length of time it had been , either they were just as bad or it was easier to leave the little island that was Britain (and the cause of all this) to rot.
The infection started midway through what would have been Hermione's 6th year, after Voldemort's muggle attacks on London that finally broke the statuette of secrecy.
At least he never had to kill Dumbledore. The man fell at Hogwarts, which by the end was more or less a refugee camp for displaced witches and wizards, when the screamers attacked.
oOo
After a while he felt the familiar feeling of being watched.
Hermione had trusted him to watch the boy , and had gone to hunt.
She was smaller than him , and a damn impressive aim with the crossbow.
The boy was inside and he out.
After a quick glance to ensure there were no immune creeping up on him , and causing him the feeling, he glanced up at the window.
Two blue eyes peeked back at him , the quickly disappeared when they saw him looking.
Chuckling he kept his eyes on the window and when the eyes once more appeared he arched an eyebrow at the inquisitive face.
He got a small grin in responce and he laughed to himself as he carried on digging.
oOo
He didn't know how long had passed when Hermione finally returned, and nearly killed him in the process.
"Looks like you have a fan club-..."
"CHRIST!"
He'd whirled around brandishing the shovel , only to meet her smirking face.
"Down boy, unless you don't want feeding?"
She was smiling at him , with mirth in her eyes.
"Merlin's sake woman , don't sneak up on me like that , I could've killed you!"
He said showing her the shovel in his hand.
"Uh-huh" She said incredulously, eyeing his other hand which was clasping over his heart.
"Looks like you're the one about to drop , not me"
He followed her gaze to his hand that was clasping his heart and dropped it with a scowl and she chuckled.
"If the cowardly lion has finished guarding the den" She gestured to the rabbit in her hand
"The lioness has returned from the hunt and brought food"
He knew she'd made the lion jab on purpose, poking at his Slytherin side , but at the prospect of actually eating meat...Real, fresh , cooked meat that did not come out of a tin... he let it go.
"Yes dear" He added dryly and she chuckled.
And so what if he swatted her arse when she walked past , she just laughed and pecked him on the cheek.
oOo
After he'd done a sweep of the area, they sat around the small fire she'd made to cook the the rabbit.
They'd toasted a couple of apples aswell , and the juices made the rabbit meat extra sweet.
Severus was almost crying at the prospect of real food.
She ripped off a piece of meat and put it in her mouth, and he reached for a leg and arched an eyebrow when the small boy copied his movements and reached for a leg too.
Hermione just met his gaze and quirked her lip, laughter dancing in her eyes.
He leaned backwards and held the meat to appraise it and the boy did the same.
Then he made a point of stretching both of his legs out in front of him , which was again mimicked by the boy.
Hermione was struggling to keep her laughter in by this point , and her shoulders were shaking with suppressed mirth.
He met her eyes and offered her a small wink , before flicking his wrist, blowing on the leg and making it 'dissappear' , then preceding to look incredibly shocked when he looked at his 'empty' hands.
Hermione was snorting into her hand now at the boy's dumbfounded expression.
It wasn't something he'd made well known, but he'd practised a lot of 'muggle magic' as a child, things like card tricks and... sleight of hand , which was incredibly confusing to pure blood wizards, and extremely useful as a spy.
And when the boy looked at him wide eyed and then looked at his own meat, Severus was surprised when instead of trying to copy Severus, he instead broke his leg in half and offered part of it to him.
Hermione gave him a tearful smile, and Heart in his throat he pushed the boys piece back to him , and then made his own leg 'reappear' from behind the boy's ear.
The boy then looked at him like he was Merlin himself , and spent the next few minutes blowing on his leg until Hermione had to tell him to just eat it.
When the boy stood up to get another piece , Severus was gobsmacked when instead of returning to his seat he came and sat by his side.
Hermione smiled indulgently at the pair of them and he couldn't help but feel content.
For the first time in years , things weren't so bad.
oOo
That night he once again found himself with a hot little witch in his arms.
She kissed his cheek and ran her hands down his front until she was cupping his hardness.
By unspoken agreement, they didn't want to risk using magic again so soon, so he was more than content when she just grabbed hold of his cock and brought him off with her hands, all the while kissing and nibbling at his neck.
Once more he reciprocated , but this time he pushed her onto her back as he slipped his hand into her pants, pinning her to the mattress with his weight as he kissed and nibbled at her neck.
She moaned and whimpered and spread her legs as much as she could as he traced and teased her wet slit.
And if by an unfortunate accident when he rested his head upon her chest, attempting to catch his breath , he accidentally ran his hot breath over her nipples causing her to arch into his touch...well who was he to deny her ? As he slipped his other hand up her shirt and cupped her through her bra.
With the weight of his body upon her, his hand in her pants and his other on her breast , she came hard and bit his shoulder when she climaxed.
And if that didn't turn him on no end.
He was already aching again, but she was tired so he took himself in hand... but was inordinately pleased when she pulled his other hand to her chest and allowed him to fondle her breasts while he brought himself off.
They cleaned up and tucked themselves away and after checking on Sam , she once more fell asleep in his embrace.
oOo