Chapter 10:

The feeling of being squeezed through a tube that apparition created, was made even more unpleasant when having broken bones.

The only thing keeping Rose from passing out was Severus's strong grasp around her. She squinted through the rush of swirling color and light around her, forcing herself to focus only on Severus.

He cradled her head with one hand. Rose's cheek was pressed again the side of Severus's leg. He used his other hand to hold on to hers, which felt limp beneath his palm.

Finally, they landed somewhere in space and time.

Rose gasped for air and glanced around her anxiously. She was still on her back. The room they had landed in was very dark and it smelled musty. Rose could scarcely make out that the walls were lined with book cases. The shadows of a couple armchairs rested beside a narrow fireplace.

"This is my house," Severus told her. "You're safe here."

Rose was surprised how easily she believed him.

Severus then raised his wand and flicked it once around the room. Candles ignited around them and a few dirty lightbulbs popped on to produce a dim dusty light.

He gently slid his palm out from under Rose's neck. He hovered over her slightly, wand in hand. He eyed her, assessing what needed to be done. After only a moment, he pointed his wand upward again and several vials of different colored potions came zooming towards them.

Rose gingerly pulled down Severus's cloak that was coving her body. Severus instinctively averted his eyes off to the side.

Rose peered down her body.

Severus slowly pulled his gaze back to Rose, trying to ignore the way her slightly freckled breasts tucked against the fabric of her bra every time she inhaled.

He moved his eyes over her abdomen that was already heavily black and blue.

"Did I leave my wand?" she asked in a small voice.

Severus reached into his pocket. "I picked it up," he handed it back to her, not making eye contact.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly. She felt shards of rib pressing into her lungs, restricting her breathing. Rose braced herself and before Severus could say anything, she pointed her wand at her side. "Episkey magis." Rose let out a yelp of pain. One of her shattered ribs snapped back into place.

"Stop," Severus interjected at once.

"I need to realign my ribcage," Rose said through a sob.

"I'll do it," Severus told her, "but drink this first." He uncorked one of the potion vials. "For the pain," he told her as he carefully helped her lift her head. Rose parted her lips and looked up at Severus helplessly. Anger boiled inside him as he thought of what had happened to her.

He tipped the potion into her mouth.

Rose swallowed it and instantly felt a slight dulling of her pain and a fogginess spread over her thoughts. She sighed slightly.

Severus's hand hesitated just above Rose's abdomen.

Rose peered at Severus. The expression on his face surprised her. Only moment's ago, it was laced with fiery. There was now something unsure about the way he looked down at her exposed body.

"Just do it," Rose told him. "Please. All at once."

Somewhat eased by her permission, Severus gently placed his palm against her bruised side.

Rose flinched at his touch.

Severus carefully traced the tip of his wand around the perimeter of her torso. Then with one quick glance at Rose he flicked his wand, "Episkey magis."

Rose let out a scream of pain as all her broken ribs popped back into position. The force of her cry made her whole body reflexively jolt into a siting position. Severus's cloak had completely fallen away and Rose sat in only her undergarments. She didn't even seem to notice.

Her whole body quivered, not from the cold.

Tears streamed from her eyes, only partly from the pain.

"Cover yourself," Severus hissed, averting his gaze again.

Rose looked down at her basically naked form and eyed her discolored belly and sides. She sniffed and pulled the cloak over herself again.

When it was safe to look again, Severus proceeded to tip potion after potion down her throat. Rose did not object or question what he was giving her. She just drank whatever, Severus brought to her lips.

The last potion she identified as Skele-gro based on the bitter taste. Rose figured that was for her potentially cracked skull.

Still knelt beside Rose, Severus stared at her, his expression unreadable. "What were you possibly doing?" Severus finally said, when he was sure Rose was stable.

"I-I was following Lucius Malfoy," Rose admitted. Her face crumpled at her words and she broke into sobs.

Severus stood abruptly. He thought he had glimpsed Lucius. "How could that have possibly been a good idea," Severus spat. "Just because the Malfoys have been pardoned doesn't mean that they're harmless." He looked down at Rose. She did not seem to be listening. She was suppressing her sobs and staring, wide-eyed, in front of her, clearly not seeing the here and now but reliving images that haunted her.

"I could have killed them," Severus muttered venomously, more to himself.

His words pulled Rose back. "Your name just got cleared, that probably would have been pushing it," she said roughly.

Severus sighed at her attempt at humor. He knelt beside her again. "Come," he told her. "You need to rest." He paused. "You can sleep here tonight." Severus felt uncomfortable as he spoke. Yes, Rose had been sleeping in the same room as him for weeks, yet, there was something about having her in his house that felt strangely intimate.

Rose didn't make any attempt to move.

"Rose," Severus said.

She looked back at him. Her eyes glassy and dazed. All the potions made her feel slightly drunk.

Severus let out a sharp burst of air before gently draping Rose's arm over his shoulder. She looked at him with confusion for a moment and then nodded once.

Severus slid his arm under her legs, trying to ignore the feeling of her warm bare skin. He stood, lifting Rose with him. She instinctively leaned into his chest as he carried her up the stairs and into a bedroom.

The room was bare, no pictures on the walls, no color. It has only an iron framed bed, a chest of drawers, and dark moth, eaten curtains over the tiny window.

Severus attempted to lower Rose onto the bed, but as he did, her arms tightened around his neck. He could feel her hands claw and grasp at the fabric of his tunic. Rose began to sob again.

Severus bit his tongue and then sat on the bed with Rose still in his arms.

He pulled his cloak tighter around her. "You shouldn't have wandered off after him," Severus told her bitterly. "What were you thinking?" He asked her this even though he knew exactly why she would want to follow Lucius Malfoy. Severus remembered the moment he thought he would die. He thought about Lily's green eyes staring back at him from Harry Potter's face.

Rose cried harder into Severus's shoulders.

"Did he have anything to do with those half-wits who attacked you?" Severus asked.

He felt Rose shake her head against him. Her whole body was convulsing with cries. "He just looked at me." Her voice was anguished; the sound of it made pressure build in Severus's chest. "He just looked at me with those eyes that look just like 'his' used to, but they were so angry. It was like he knew I was getting what I deserved."

It was then that Severus realized that Rose was less distressed about having been attacked and more upset about Lucius Malfoy's reaction to her. "No," Severus said at once. "Rose, look at me." He wanted to make sure she was hearing exactly what he said. "Look at me."

She lifted her swollen eyes to Severus's face. His black eyes bore into hers. "You are not at fault for his death."

Severus's words made her further fall apart. She buried her face in his chest again and gripped his shoulders tightly.

Severus couldn't help but think about Lily. Rose was not to blame for the death of the person she loved most. Severus could not say the same for himself. He vaguely wondered how much of that story Rose knew.

After what seemed to be hours Rose's tears finally stopped. It took Severus several minutes to realized that she had cried herself to sleep, right there in his arms.

Careful not to wake her, Severus deposited Rose slowly onto the bed. She was still entangled in his cloak. He pulled the sheet over her for good measure.

He made to leave but paused for a moment to look down at Rose. Her cheeks were streaked with tears but other than that she looked completely unperturbed. She was peaceful now. Severus felt that familiar yet still feign sense of calm that radiated from Rose. He watched her for far too long to be considered decent.

Severus thought of when he looked into Rose's mind. He though about Tiberius Malfoy asking Rose, "What are you doing to me?"

Rose had that effect, Severus thought. She was certainly beautiful. Severus had witnessed it in the eyes of any man that came into contact with her. But it was only when Severus got to know Rose, did he see the power she had. Severus learned how she could have converted a man, like Tiberius Malfoy, into loving her against the wishes and beliefs of his family, loving her enough to put himself into mortal danger.

It was that same power that Lily had had over him, that she still had over him.