Published 21st of November, 2020
Howden Dam
2:25 pm.
Gratus wandered from corner to corner, all the time trying to come up with some realistic excuse. He had no idea when Tylor might show up, but no matter when, it was far too soon for him. He even considered the idea of escaping, but stopped almost immediately. First, he knew Tylor would find him anywhere, and second, he had no idea if that damned old man couldn't read minds. So better he doesn't read some of them.
He didn't need to pretend to be battered anymore because Bryant had hid in his room and obviously wasn't going to crawl out of it, so he just paced around and tried to focus.
When he forced that stupid Auror on to look after Peterson, he had little hope of finding him. The goddamn scholar's magic was written in the Barrier, so he could get through it without any problems. Bryant surprisingly took very seriously the idea that his wife had run off with Peterson and did not even try to look for her in the forest.
And very well.
The idea that this girl had helped Peterson suited him perfectly. In this situation, the fault fell on Bryant at least partially. His own wife betrayed THEM. She betrayed Tylor. Bryant's Wife - NOT HE. He became a victim. Of course he was supposed to keep an eye on them all, but NOBODY could have foreseen that someone ... among them would betray them!
Also, Bryant was an Auror. He also should watch over their common safety. And instead of keeping an eye on them, he just slept!
This is exactly why Peterson and Bryant's wife conspired and attacked him, the miserable man, beat him unconscious and fled!
This must be exposed during the conversation with Tylor.
He was returning from the kitchen with a sandwich and a glass of water when there was a loud knock on the door. He froze for a second, completely lost looked around for any place to put his food down and be able to take out his wand and open that goddamn bloody door, but there was no table anywhere, nothing! He took a step into the living room and at the same time realized that the kitchen was closer to the door, so he made a strange pirouette, turned around, the thud grew stronger and suddenly the glass broke in his hand and the water spilled on his trousers!
"MOMENT!" He roared, threw everyone to the ground and ran to the door. "MOMENT, PLEASE!"
He yanked his wand out with his left hand, tossed it to his right and, grimacing as shards of glass pierced deeper into his fingers, removed the shields and opened the door.
Bloody old man! You know the spell better than we do, but you don't feel like moving your ass and to cast it yourself!
Indeed, it was Tylor. Who else did you expect ?! Peterson? Could expect Merlin rather then him!
The Old Man stepped inside and his eyes fell on the food in a puddle on the floor and the traces of blood all the way to the door.
And then Bryant came out of the room. He looked like he was crying.
"What's going on here?" Tylor said, half questioning, half pissed off.
"Peterson escaped" Gratus blurted out, and held his breath.
"Mia too" added Bryant.
There was silence. Tylor glared at him, furious on his face, but he said nothing and Gratus felt cold and an icy drop of sweat trickled down his back. He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly he was speechless.
„Repeat it. Because I have impression that I misheard." Tylor broke the silence with very soft and low voice.
"Yhhh... Peterson .. he got away."
"Aren't you supposed to watch him by any chance?" - still calm tone, but they could clearly hear the first signs of the approaching storm.
Instinctively, Gratus rubbed his wet hands against his trousers and hissed in pain.
"I .. they attacked me" he choked, looking at the bloody palm.
"They didn't "attack", you said Peterson hit you!" Bryant said immediately. "Mia has nothing to do with this!"
"Is there so? Then why did she run away with him?"
"Maybe he kidnapped her?!"
"Nonsense, they must have plot together! Otherwise why was she calling me?"
"Probably to warn you, you idiot, if you are such a shit, to let this bastard surprise you!"
„Watch your...!"
„Enough!" Tylor interrupted their argument and they both immediately fell silent.
Until now, he stood paralyzed, staring at them with his huge eyes and seemed not to even breathe, as if he needed time for this message to reach him. Now he squeezed his wand and waved it towards the living room, ordering them to go ahead of him.
Bryant, who was closer to the living room, walked there first. Gratus was behind him and as he walked, he felt as if he could feel the Old Man's breath on his neck. Shit, he had the feeling his shirt was wrinkling on his back from his furious gaze!
Taking big steps, he burst into the living room and quickly snuggled into the corner by the laboratory's door.
Tylor followed right behind them, sat down in the chair and was silent for a moment, gasping for breath.
„What exactly happened?" he finally asked Gratus. "Talk!"
Gratus twitched as if he had been electrocuted, made sure it was him who he talked to and tried to speak, but no sound came out of the clenched throat, so he swallowed and cleared his throat loudly.
"Well... Mia called me. Into the kitchen." He licked his chapped lips nervously. "And as I walked in, Peterson attacked me. He had to hide around a corner and hit me over the head with a board. Very strongly."
"Which corner, where there are corners according to you" said Bryant.
Shut up your mouth, bastard!
„And I passed out. And when I woke up... he was gone. They were gone."
"Shut up" Tylor drawled to Bryant and he immediately felt silent, pushed himself into the back of the chair and looked at his shoes. "I didn't let you talk."
Gratus felt a prickle of joy, but it didn't last longer than the blink of an eye. Tylor turned from the Auror and stared at the wand he moved in a slow, ominous motion between his fingers.
"Are you telling me that this clumsy scientist managed to surprise you? You? Experienced security guard?"
The huge man grew jerked and all the hairs on his neck and forearms stood on end. Merlin, it's not like that! You have to explain to him!
"Listen to me, Mr. Tylor!" He exclaimed frantically, pointing to the bloody side of his head. "I didn't think... I didn't think he could do it in the company of Mia! That he can go against your will! That he would betray you!"
"So you think I hired you because I was on a whim?"
Gratus could hear the pulsing of the blood clearly in his veins. And he could feel IT coming. His mouth was completely dry, so he swallowed hastily and made one last, desperate attempt to defend himself.
St. Mungo's
2:25 pm.
Severus Apparated Hermione at the back of the Clinic and adjusted the strap with the bag slung over his shoulder, into which he placed the jar containing the antidote vial. He didn't want to risk putting it directly in his pocket or casting an unbreakable spell on the vial, fearing that he might in any way damage the precious potion.
"Can you walk?" He asked, releasing her, but just in case he did not withdraw his hand.
He had managed to force a calming potion into her, but she still looked as if anything but a gust of wind were enough to knock her over and push her back into hysterics.
"I can."
"Then I follow you."
Hermione took a deep breath and made a first, tentative step towards the back staircase. Which immediately reminded her that she had been walking along them not long time ago, to give Professor Snape the results of her analysis of the ingredients usage. Not so long ago - and as if in a completely different world. Back when Harry and Ginny were healthy. When they ALL were healthy.
Merlin, if she had done something then, or had NOT done something, could it have all turned out differently? Perhaps she should take that list directly to the Aurors then? No, just not to Aurors! To Kingsley! Possibly to Gawain! Would all those who died, have survived? Why was she involving Harry in this ?! Why did she let him go with her to Azkaban? After all, it was him that the dementors might have caught! Why had she agreed to go into hiding when Gawain told her to, but hadn't asked Harry and Ginny to do the same? She should have guessed! She should have figured out all this and protected them and she didn't! It was all her fault! She failed five years ago, she has failed now!
And she couldn't even make any rational decisions. She couldn't choose one of the two and save him or her, but she chose the most cowardly solution that could be. Divide the antidote in half and give them both.
Severus said this dose would not cure them. Just buy them a few additional hours of life. Maybe you can find an antidote during this time. Maybe it will be Powell after all and the antidote is in his lab. And if not, then with the second person. Perhaps you'll succeed.
It was only thanks of this idea she somehow managed to move forward and breathe and see, rather than fall to the ground and howl. And if not...
If not, she was going to lie down next to them and gone on with them. She didn't deserve anything else.
They climbed to the third floor, entered the corridor and Hermione hardly recognized it. Usually the doors to each room were open and there were a few Healers in the corridor. It was like that a few days ago, on Friday.
Once, in this other life, sick people sat on chairs against the walls in the company of visitors, you could hear conversations, sometimes someone laughed and even a hint of a smile appeared on everyone's faces.
Now the chairs had disappeared from the corridor and were replaced by rows of beds separated by screens. The stooped silhouettes of people she knew, dressed in dirty yellow-green robes, wandered between them. There were sighs, soft moans and crying everywhere. And the smell. Not much different from Azkaban, though that stench drowned out the choking, throat-clutching stench of vomit. Hermione turned pale and stopped short. The thought of Harry and Ginny lying somewhere between the dying ones made her feel unable to get in there. No way!
What if they curse her? Or worse, what if they start begging her for more? She couldn't meet their eyes!
Severus held her up and looked around.
"How do you find them?" He asked.
Hermione just shook her head and turned back to the stairs.
"I do not know!" she blurted out. "Go alone! I can not! No...!"
"Calm down, just calm down."
"I can't do it!"
"You can" he squeezed her shoulder. "Just calm down. Breathe deeply" the girl closed her eyes and breathed out, obedient. "And once more. Yes, like this."
Hermione took a few more breaths, the panic began to wane but still everything else trembled in her.
"Why are you here?" they heard suddenly and a young woman in a sloppy robe appeared next to them.
"We're visiting" Severus replied.
"You missed the Emergency Room. Go first to find out where the sick person you are looking for is. We don't have time to look."
Hermione immediately recognized Al, the head of the drug warehouse and shook her head. She knew one thing - if she goes down, she would not dare to come back.
"We came to see Harry and Ginny."
Al looked at them closely.
"Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley? Who are you?" The Healer reached for her wand and took a step back, blocking the passage in the middle of the corridor and when they did not respond immediately, added "Harry Potter has no family. And you are not redheaded."
"Al, please just tell me where they are!"
"Since when do you judge friendship by hair color?" Severus said in the same time.
The woman stared at them, and it was only then that Hermione realized that she couldn't recognize them!
"Friends?" She looked towards the rear, internal staircase used only by the Clinic staff and back at Hermione.
"Please...!"
Al hesitated a moment longer and finally nodded.
„Third room on the left" she showed them the way with a wave of her hand. "And it would be better for you if you really were friends, not those lousy reporters from the Prophet. If you are ... I will poison you myself and you will do without the potion and the Imperius!"
Then she turned away from them to walk away.
"Aa...! Excuse me" Hermione called after her. "Is there ... Mathias Wolf?"
Al looked at her suspiciously again and shook her head.
"He's not here today. Who are you?"
"Friends" Severus repeated, stepped past the woman and pulled Hermione with him.
At first glance, there were no visitors in a room crammed with beds. Only the sick. As she walked across the room, Hermione looked at unfamiliar faces, wanting to find them and not wanting to find them at the same time.
Until she saw them... She felt as if somewhere at the bottom of her soul there was a spark of hope. Or maybe she just didn't dare to say the words even in her mind. Until she said them, a miracle could happen, she could be wrong, Mathias could be wrong, everyone could be wrong! But when ... IF she sees them, THAT becomes the Truth.
She walked all the way to the window and Saw.
Ginny looked as if she was asleep; she was curled up on her side, eyes closed, but Harry was staring motionless at the ceiling. As soon as Hermione came closer, he looked at them indifferently and turned his head.
Their skin was pale and had dull color, but red or blue spots appeared in some places on their face and hands, maroon-black marks were visible at the corners of their mouths and their eyes glittered with fever, either not fully diminished or growing again. As Harry moved, the sheet slipped off and revealed dark spots.
It was over. The last glimmer of hope was gone.
Hermione stumbled towards him, collapsed to the ground next to his be, and burst into tears.
"Harry... sorry!"
The boy instinctively pulled the sheet on him and stared at her.
"What ... who are you?"
Ginny opened her puffy eyes and lifted herself slightly on one elbow.
Severus stepped behind the screen, with one wave of his wand conjured a second one and separated them from the rest of the patients.
"What are you doing here? Who are you?" The boy moved away to the corner by the wall and reached for his wand.
"Muffliato" Severus muttered and only then did he answer. "Mr. Potter... Miss Weasley."
"Harry ... it's us. It's me, Hermione."
Harry pointed his wand at them and watched them with distant look, so Severus took it from his hand and slipped it back under the pillow.
"Lie down."
"Hermione ...?" Ginny asked weakly.
"You're hiding?" Harry added, looking from one of them to the other.
The girl nodded and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"We... we hadn't any other hair. Only this one."
"Are you okay?"
Hermione shook her head again and hid her face in the sheets. She did not dare to meet their eyes. It almost felt like she killed them.
Severus hastily pulled the bag over his head, took out the jar, unscrewed it very carefully and took out the vial, wrapped in magic paper and in a soft cloth.
"We don't have time" he said, conjuring up an empty vial of the same size and, stirring the liquid well, poured half into it. "This is the antidote, as you may have guessed. Miss Granger has decided that you will split it between you."
"Before you drink it, have a seat" Hermione added and started helping Ginny up. - Let it not spill or fall out of your hand."
The redhead sat up, Hermione placed the pillow under her back and gently helped her to lean back against it, but as she approached Harry, the boy stopped her with a motion of his hand.
"Half the dose ... can heal?"
Hermione shot a pleading look at Severus, so Severus shook his head.
"No, it won't. But it should slow down the effects of the poison."
„It should!" Harry repeated, coughed, winced painfully and moved his head with effort from side to side. "Then no, I'm not drinking it."
"Harry..." Hermione and Ginny groaned simultaneously.
"No. Give it to Ginny."
"Listen..." Hermione reached for his pillow, but he pushed her hands away.
"Give them to Ginny!"
"Harry, please! We have a plan..."
"... since half the dose will not heal..."
"... and we hope that..."
"... let at least one of us heal."
"... we'll find more."
"'Should!' Hermione, do you hear him? 'Should'!? Harry cried.
And he fell back on the pillow as if the short effort had completely drained his forces.
Hermione slumped to the floor with a groan and hid her face in her hands. All her conviction that she had made the right decision, all hope that they could find an antidote in time and that she would save both of them, shattered, fell apart like a house of cards. She should send Severus here, give him a choice! And herself should escape to the end of the world! Or better, passing through the Veil. Gone one.
„What did you expect?" Severus said in a very low voice, trying his best to control himself. "A miracle? We come to you with everything we have."
"I know... Sir" Harry sighed. "So I don't blame you. I just want Ginny to drink it."
"Both of you will drink, because Hermione decided so."
"It's not a decision. This..."
Hermione whined and Severus in an instant remembered her despairing sobs when he told her to choose and his patience had broken.
„Enough!" He hissed. "Don't blame her! This is your friend! You thought she could choose and sentence one of you to death? Maybe you could?" He scowled with disdain and added. "Think about this question before you answer! And now drink it or I'll pour it down your throat by force. I can, believe me! Miss Weasley... that applies to you, too. And hurry up because we don't have all day!"
Ginny paled even more and she hurriedly removed the cork with a trembling hand and drank it to the last drop. Severus sent Harry a warning look, so Harry drank his half as well.
Hermione sighed with relief as well as the painful realization that she had just lost something. She lost. They drank. It is done now. Too late to regret it. Either you save them both ... or you just killed them. Her hands tightened on the sheets and she sobbed loudly.
"Sorry... Hermione" Harry said. "I did not mean ... I do not accuse you..."
Hermione got up on her knees and hugged him tightly. While she still had someone to hug.
"I know, Harry" she tried to smile.
"It's just ... it would be better if ... if THEN they had kidnapped me, not Roger."
"Harry, no!"
"Everything would be easier this way."
"Really?" Severus said ironically.
Hermione adjusted Harry's pillow and decided to change the subject to anything else.
"We heard from Mathias. Why didn't you say earlier?"
"Because..." Ginny said. "At first we wanted to, but then..."
"Then what?"
"We decided we'd better not tell you" Harry continued.
"So that I don't have to make decisions?" Hermione guessed.
"No… We we were afraid they would poison you too" Harry looked defiantly at Severus. "And we thought that as only you, professor Snape, can brew the antidote... You'd better drink it."
Severus lowered his head and swallowed, but he couldn't suppress a groan that escaped from his clenched throat, so he got up abruptly and ran to the window.
Merlin, and you told him he couldn't make a decision?!
He pressed his forehead against the cool glass and tried desperately to control himself. Damned, infernal, wonderful Harry Potter! And bloody himself! Cursed pathetic Snape!
Right now he hated him and he loved him at the same time! He hated bloody James Potter he saw in him, his nobility, honestly and pathetic sacrifice, the fact that he could deny himself and his loved one a potion that could save their lives and give it to him, scorned and mocked Severus Snape.
And he loved Lily in him. Her kindness, love, warmth, care and willingness to help others. Her smile. Her eyes.
He had felt like this a few times before, but whenever he realized that, his wounded pride would wake up instantly, the bloody Snape would wake up in him and he would immediately do everything to deny it, to others but especially to himself. He despised those moments of weakness, he was disgusted and loathed himself and tried to punish himself for them.
Meanwhile, their paths were still intertwined. It was like walking on an cobweb; every movement of one of them transferred to the other and he was tired of it. Pretending to others and to himself and coping with what he felt.
But the chill of the glass did not soothe the hot pain that flooded his heart. Nobody could do anything about the pain. All he could do was try to silence him.
From moment to moment he was able to breathe more calmly, his heart stopped beating somewhere in his head...
A moment later he heard a louder conversation from behind his back. He turned and saw Mathias Wolf standing next to them. Hermione had to take off Muffliato and was just explaining to him what was happening. He just hoped she cast it again.
„... we hope to find it! We just have to search all the labs, so..."
"Then let's hurry up" he said firmly and avoiding Potter's eyes, he reached for his bag.
„Professor Snape?" Mathias said and made a gesture as if to shake his hand. "Thank you very much! If I can help you..."
Severus folded his arms defensively over his chest.
"You'd better take care of them. It's time for us."
"I will move them elsewhere!" The Healer assured him immediately.
Hermione slipped her wand into her pocket and it reminded Severus of his two wands. He always tried to keep the latter in case of. It would be good if she had two wands, too.
"Miss Granger will need a second wand. I was wondering if…" He trailed off, realizing suddenly that he had to ask for something.
Ginny nodded weakly and tried to reach under the pillow. Hermione looked at her friend and bit her lips. She preferred Harry's wand...
A few years ago, somehow right after she passed N.E.W.T. she had to use Harry's wand and was surprised to find the wand fit her perfectly. She was so surprised by this that she began to search for explanations in the books and finally understood what had happened.
While searching for the Horcruxes, Harry had used her wand for a while and their magic had to recognize and accept each other. They were as close as brother and sister, had the same desires, and stood on the same side, so no wonder it came to that. Ollivander called it the interpenetration of magic, Dumbledore, if he had been alive, he probably would have been talking about love... Anyway, whatever it was, if she had to have any other wand...
"Take it" Harry said in numb voice, handing her his wand. "It will serve you well."
Hermione was just about to reply when Severus spoke up.
"Stop it" he growled, then stopped fighting with himself and adjusted the sheet on him gently and added softly. "Lie down and rest."
The girl hid Harry's wand quickly in the inner pocket for wands, hugged them and Mathias, they went out into the corridor and started their way to the exit.
"Thank you for helping me" Hermione said a little louder. "You supported me."
"Later" he said. This was not a place for discussion! "Hurry up."
Hermione nodded and almost ran into a man coming from the opposite direction. She let him pass and turned onto the stairs.
Severus wanted to say something else when the girl jumped aside and... he bumped into a fat, almost bald man with a puffy face, piggy eyes and a sparse beard growing in small tufts on his cheeks.
PETERSON? ? ? ? ?
He walked past him, muttering something under his breath and walked on, looking carefully from side to side.
Peterson ? ? ? ? What is he doing here? He doesn't look sick ... Visiting someone?
He looked after him for a moment and suddenly felt that something was wrong. Something was very wrong!
IMPOSSIBLE! Peterson would never come to console dying people!
He knew him too well to have any doubts! Peterson was a wart, just like Pettigrew. He was a coward and ran away from every problem and responsibility. He cared only about his own skin and he only did what he could benefit from. He wasn't the type of man who would come to that… that Death Waiting Room to hold his friends' hand!
So what is he doing here?
Ask him! Catch it and ask!
Peterson's silhouette had already disappeared between the screens and Healers walking in every directions, so Severus ran after Hermione, caught her right by the stairs and grabbed her hand.
"Go home, I need to check something!"
"You ... what happened?"
"Don't discuss!" He hissed and without waiting for an answer, he turned and ran quickly after Peterson.
Howden Dam
A few moments earlier
Alex was sitting in the armchair and staring speechless somewhere ahead, not even noticing the two men in front of her.
Peterson escaped ? ? ! ! ! So who's going to brew the antidote ?!
This news simply left her breathless, paralyzed, almost blinded her! Her heart pounded so that she could feel it everywhere; it choked her in her throat, throbbed in the tips of her icy, stiff fingers, in her head, in her eyes, it pounded in her chest like a caged, maddened bird. If she reached under her jacket, she would surely touch it through the thin fabric of the shirt!
Impossible! It can't finish like this! You have to find him! Get him and make him brew!
But besides the panic, a blind rage grew in her.
How could he get away ?! Right now, at the most important moment ?! How could these two ... idiots let that happen?! A professional killer and an Auror who couldn't keep track of this loser, this mediocrity ?! Merlin, Bryant couldn't even keep an eye on his own wife!
And you trusted them ?! Or rather, you relied on them ?! You PAID them ?!
And because of their mistakes, your whole plan was ruined now ? ! Now, at the most important moment, when you were only one step away from success ?!
She had to do something. Decide something. Try to fix it somehow. She needed to know what exactly and when happened. Maybe there was still a chance...
„What exactly happened?" She asked, looking up at Gratus. "Tell me!"
The giant man jerked violently, looked around hesitantly, as if hoping she was talking to someone else, and cleared his throat.
"Well... Mia called me. Into the kitchen. And as I walked in, Peterson attacked me. He had to hide around a corner and hit me over the head with a board. Very strongly."
"Which corner, where there are corners according to you" said Bryant.
„And I passed out" Gratus said, giving him a dark look. "And when I woke up... he was gone. They were gone."
Hearing Bryant, Alex instinctively held her wand tighter. She hadn't asked that worm about anything yet, how dare he speak!
"Shut up" she said to Auror through gritted teeth. "I didn't let you talk."
Bryant immediately pushed himself into the seatback and lowered his head.
Are you telling me" she said to Gratus, feeling her anger grow more and more, "that this clumsy scientist managed to surprise you? You? Experienced security guard?"
The word "experienced" sounded like a threat.
"Listen to me, Mr. Tylor!" Gratus cried, taking a step forward and pointing to the swollen, bloody wound on his temple. "I didn't think ... I didn't think he could do it in the company of Mia!" That he can go against your will! That he would betray you!"
He couldn't imagine ...?!
"So you think I hired you because I was on a whim?"
"And I didn't think she would help him! Because she had to..."
"Get off Mia" Bryant shouted warningly.
His voice felt like a lash of a whip.
"And where were you at that time?!"
The Auror froze with his mouth open.
"How is it possible that you failed to keep an eye on Peterson or your own wife ?!"
„I..."
Alex glared at him and waited for an answer.
„I ... was still asleep."
"I was still asleep"... ?! It means... that since this morning they DARED not to inform you? Maybe if they called you immediately, something could be done ... And now ?!
The idea that it was too late for anything practically paralyzed her.
"Gratus and I immediately went looking for them! We looked everywhere! We checked the entire edge of the Barrier!" Bryant began hurriedly. "But we didn't find them! Anywhere!"
"How is that possible..." she said in a choked, trembling voice. "How could you ... how could SHE..."
„Mr. Tylor! It's not Mia's fault! Mia certainly didn't help Peterson! He had to force her! He kidnapped her! He must have kidnapped her!"
It was exactly the opposite! This cowardly idiot would not dare to run away! He hasn't even tried so far! And when the woman had arrived, he run away! It must be because of her! She figured out... she understood ... or even that son of a bitch Bryant told her what was happening and she made Peterson run! She organized it!
Fury exploded within her and in the blink of an eye flooded her from head to toe.
„Maybe it escaped him somehow! We have to find her! She might be in danger out there ...!
„It is your fault!"
„No! Certainly not!"
„Yours, your wife, whatever!"
"You're wrong !"
"You DISAPPOINTED ME!"
"You are wrong, fool!"
An indescribable madness hit her; something grabbed her, threw her arm forward, jerked her up, pulled her down and delivered a blow!
„AVADA KEDAVRA !"
That unfamiliar, inhuman voice terrified even her! A green light flashed out of her wand, it hit the man standing in front of her right in the chest and she could only watch as the force of the spell throws him against the wall, pins him... and an expression of astonishment dawns on his face...
Bryant moved his hands as if he wanted to touch his heart... then collapsed with a thud to the ground. The silence that followed was deafening.
St. Mungo's
Severus passed rows of beds where no one was sitting, trying not to draw attention to himself. He discreetly looked into the two rooms, but saw no one but the sick. Damn, where are you...
He moved on, passed several beds and suddenly saw him exiting the next room! Carefully averting his gaze, he passed blankly by him, spun on his heel in a flash and confused him, sticking his wand in his back so that no one would see the blue light.
Peterson swayed slightly, so Severus grabbed his arm, led him to the back of the Clinic and pushed him against the wall.
"Finite Incantatem! Expelliarmus!"
And he held out his hand for the wand, but to his surprise, it did not dart towards him.
"You don't have your wand, Peterson?" He raised an eyebrow up.
The fat man stared at him and cast a keen glance to the sides.
„Wwhat…"
„I asked you something. Where is your wand?"
"I don't – don't have! I have lost! Who are you?" He asked and added in a squeaky tone. "Let me go! Immediately!"
"Silence!"
"Because I'll call for help!"
Severus held his wand to his throat and the man gasped, climbed up to his fingertips and pressed against the wall.
"I said: silence!" Severus drawled. "I advise you, do not make me mad. You have to answer the questions, do you understand?! And keep your voice down!"
Peterson nodded sharply, squinting at Severus' wand.
"What are you doing here?"
"I ca-came to. Meet ... someone!" He whispered hoarsely.
„With who?"
"With a friend! She works here! I was going... bring her some potions!"
"Do not lie! Potions are delivered to the warehouse, never to the Wards!" Severus pressed his wand to Peterson's larynx and he sucked in a breath.
"I'm not lying! Th... they were for her! Only for her! She asked me! Please!"
Severus had had enough. He held his head, looked straight in the eyes and whispering "Legilimens", entered his mind.
There was no shields, no barrier, nothing. He fell immediately into a chaotic jumble of memories and feelings and without hesitating reached for those stuck to the very surface.
The first was strangely incomplete image of Peterson handing some bottles to Hermione Granger. The vision was broken, no sounds, no colors, no feelings other than panic, so it must have been a lie he was trying to hastily come up with.
As soon as Severus touched the memory, Peterson groaned and a blonde appeared in place of the girl, but it didn't matter anymore. Severus pushed it away and without delicacy, immersed himself in other memories and feelings.
Peterson stopping some Healer and asking about Hermione Granger… but she replied that she was absent and told him to not disturb her. Peterson freezing in terror at the sight of sleeping Harry Potter... Peterson running through the forest, RUNNING from someone ?... Suddenly the face of a bearded man he knew came to the top! And his indistinct voice, somewhere in the distance, in the dark: "Well, I started with Granger, as you said." It was a bit difficult, because that bitch cast protective spells all over the house to detect even a little magic in a human body, and I had to use... "" I don't care HOW you did it, but IF you did it. You did it?" he heard another, even weaker, but also familiar voice! Who is this?! WHO IS THIS, BLOODY HELL?! "Yes, of course! I poured one bottle into milk, fruit juice and water. She will… or maybe even she already used something!" "I poured one bottle into milk." He came into my house and poured poison into my milk. And maybe to something else, I don't know. But the milk is certain because he screwed the cap on differently than I do."
Feeling his heart pounding inside him so hard it almost tear his chest apart, Severus broke free from Peterson's memories and squeezed his shoulder in a crushing grip.
"You. Filthy. Piece. Of. Shit!" And ignoring Peterson's groan, he turned and dessaparated with him to Spinner's End.
Howden Dam
Alex stared at the body lying against the wall. Crumpled, curled up in grotesque way, in a position only a dead person can take. One hand was thrown aside, as if in desperate search for the wand that had fallen out as he fell, and rolled all the way to the couch, where it stopped, just like its master.
And it was never meant to move again.
Cast any spell.
It was dead.
She could clearly see the slightly jagged rim of the handle and the oblong rings along its entire length. And she felt as if the shiny surface was suddenly dull.
It died.
Something suddenly moved at the very edge of her vision, so she jerked her head up in a flash and held out her wand, ready to defend herself.
But it was just Gratus.
The huge man stared at the corpse and took a deep breath, but otherwise made no other gesture.
However, this move brought her back to reality. She had business to do. She no longer needed the Auror. Gratus... yes. For this moment.
She had no choice but to try to brew the antidote herself. She had no intention of accepting the help of her colleagues, but had to take back the base from them, which, as Heahner had informed her, they were preparing.
So she had to go back home. Lock up in her private lab and brew.
"Get rid of the body" she snapped at Gratus. "And then I'll show you where to move the ingredients."
Spinner's End
Holding her lips, Hermione paced in a short, nervous steps between the couch and the fireplace. They didn't have time! They desperately didn't have time! They had all potion makers to check! What the hell was he going to do?! They had to hurry !
Suddenly the air thickened, swirled and there was a soft crackling!
"Finally! What...?!" She called, saw the man from the Clinic and trailed of abruptly.
Ignoring the girl, Severus grabbed Peterson by the neck and pushed forward so that the man stumbled and fell to the floor.
"WHO IS THIS?! WHO THEY ARE?!" He growled furiously. "Speak! NOW!" He pointed his wand at him and although he cast no spell, green sparks sprang from the end.
"Gratus!" The other howled and he crouched down, protecting himself with his hands. "Gratus! And Tylor !"
Tylor! Of course! It was his voice! And Gratus !
"Stefan Tylor?" he asked yet, just to made sure. "You invented this poison? For Tylor ?!"
"Yes!"
"Did you brew the antidote too?!"
Peterson groaned desperately and nodded.
Hogsmeade, Rufus Heahner Manor
2:55 pm.
Rufus tried to read and ignore the men who were still arguing together. That's why he started reading - he summoned a random book, opened it in the middle and tried to cut off, to plunge into a different world, as far away from them as possible.
They behaved worse than the children. And what pissed him off the most was the reason. Each of them tried in various ways to emphasize his participation in the brewing process; they questioned the quality of his ingredients and for long minutes, instead of getting to work, they discussed vehemently which one had the fresher, stronger, BETTER ingredients, which one is closer from here and who therefore has the right to bring them. They didn't like his glass cauldrons and for long five minutes they quarreled about the correct size. Timothy argued that ingredients should be cut with diamond-bladed knives, because that was what he had in his lab, Leoncius supported him, but only to announce that he had just bought a new one, perfect for this situation, Barabbas terrified the idea of cutting with something that contained even a bit of metal and offered his porcelain ones, while Stefan tried to make decisions for everyone and kept going back to himself for ingredients, brewing equipment and even protective clothing.
Merlin, if he could, he would just kick them out of here and rely on Alex. The woman may have been touchy and too proud, but she was undoubtedly highly qualified and in this particular case, only she could brew the antidote.
Leoncius Powell stood aside, hands clasped behind his back. He had stopped trying to calm down a while ago and was just trying to LOOK calm. He slowly began to hope that perhaps this way he would be able to deserve the Minister's promised, simplified Sixth Drop procedure. The procedure that was carried out by Hermione Granger, was put on hold, but if he were hailed as the inventor of the antidote...
He managed to bring half of the ingredients necessary to brew the antidote, personally calculated the power to be cast on the glass pot and the glass ladle and slowly his role in the whole thing really became important!
Besides, he had a definite advantage over the rest - he knew Snape's way of working. So he knew his tricks were and knew which of them could use his, probably already dead worked to improve the antidote.
He just had to hurry up. Of course, first of all because people were dying in the Clinic, but besides... because soon there would be no poisoning any more. The Aurors trapped Snape earlier this week, so no one has been poisoning the food and drink for a week now. Unless Snape had a helper of some kind, someone for dirty work ...
„Wait a minute!" He stopped Jenkins, who started stirring the brew after tossing in the first two ingredients.
"I can not wait! Not now!"
Powell reached for the vial of dragon blood, held it up to the light expertly and moistened his lips.
"I'm afraid there's already some sediment down there. Better will be ... maybe I'll bring mine. We often order dragon's blood and quite recently received a delivery... "
"I got dragon blood on Friday" Tylor said.
Both men looked at each other for a moment as Been interrupted.
"The fresher, the better."
"Delivery date doesn't mean anything" Powell pointed out. "It could have been prepared even a year ago."
"Same as yours" Tylor retorted.
"But since I noticed that something was wrong with it..."
"Dragon blood must be handled very carefully. An apparition may damage its properties."
"How do you think they get it to us? They bring on brooms?"
"My lab is right next door, I can go BY FEET. It's the safest way to bring it here."
"There's still the Floo network. It is safe."
"Bullshit."
"SHUT UP!"
Rufus put the book down with a snap and sprang up from his chair.
"Stop arguing!" He exclaimed. "We won't get anywhere this way! One more argument and I'll lock you up here and tell Alex to brew it herself, from the beginning!"
The four men froze, fixing him with tense and surprised stares, then Jenkins awoke and began stirring the brew again.
"Stefan, go get that dragon's blood" Rufus decided. "And let it be the last time any of you bring anything. I have decent ingredients and either you brew together and use them, or you come back home and call Alex!"
There was silence for a moment longer and the tension in the air was clearly palpable, then Stefan Tylor nodded and headed for the door.
„Be right back."
Spinner's End
2:55 pm.
Suddenly Severus saw everything spinning in front of his eyes and the next thing he felt was he slumped into something hard in slow motion.
Hermione jumped up to him in an instant, but not having the strength to hold him, just helped him fall into the chair. At the same time, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement next to her - the man on the floor uncovered his head a little and began to sit up, so without hesitating, she slammed her wand at him.
"STUPEFY!"
A spell cast so close threw him against the wall; the man froze for a second, then, with a sigh, fell heavily to the ground.
"Severus ?!" She turned to the man lying almost across the chair. "This is THAT Tylor?! Merlin, can you see me?! Can you breathe?! Do you know how to catch him?! This is the guy from the Clinic?! You know him?! Severus? SEVERUS !"
She loosened his shirt around his neck hastily, touched his cool cheek and to check for a pulse, she grabbed a cold, wet hand, but he pushed her away from him.
„Leave me. I'm fine!"
„Of course you are not! I'll give you a Restorative Draught! And we go to him! To Hogsmeade! Do you know how to get into it? Wait, I'll be right back!" Hermione jumped up and ran to the basement.
"Stop it! I'm not going to drink anything!" he called after her, but she didn't seem to hear him anymore.
He glanced at the still unconscious Peterson and stood slowly, but his legs were still weak at the knees. After a decent breakfast he felt a lot better, but now he was overwhelmed with weariness. No wonder. Two days ago in the morning you were still in Azkaban.
Azkaban.
Suddenly he realized why he was there and he was seized with rage again.
"Drink it, please" said a thick, low voice next to him and it took a second for him to recall that the man next to him was Hermione Granger. Who stared at him with concern as he uncorked the vial and drank all the contents. "Can you take it a little longer?"
„Do I look like a small child to you?" He handed back the empty vial with a grim face. "I propose to return to a much more important topic. Tylor."
Hermione immediately nodded.
"I know he has a lab in Hogsmeade, but I don't know how he protects it. I've never had an occasion to visit him."
„A Shield. Protego Totalum. And in the area of the lab he closed the apparation channel with his Shield."
The girl bit her lips lightly.
„Can you bypass it?"
"Do you remember when snatchers caught you and led you to Lucius Malfoy?"
"Yes, but only because Harry pronounced Voldemort's name, which was Taboo."
"And do you know why it was Taboo?"
Hermione looked closely at Severus.
"I know that name broke all protective spells. And somehow it summoned the snatchers".
"To defeat someone's Shield, you need to discover its weak points and create a counter-shield that hits them. THIS is not black magic yet. Aurors often use this to surround warlocks. Then time the Dark Lord did not want to playing hide and seek with you, so he decided that it would be good for you to reveal your whereabouts yourself and, in add, to… invite him kindly to you. So he ordered to find what you have in common, create a spell for it and combine it with Accio."
"His name" Hermione whispered.
"Exactly."
"And... what were our weak points?"
"Faith in others and fear of killing" Severus replied and added, turning his head away. "And love." Hermione shivered and looked down. Merlin ... goddamn black magic.
"Can you... create a counter-shield for Tylor?"
Severus lifted the corner of his mouth in a crooked smile and though he looked completely different, the smirk looked completely Severus-like.
"Take care of our friend against the wall. When we get back, I'd love to... have a chat with him."
Without any question Hermione cast Expelliarmus, but nothing happened. No wand? Maybe it's just stuck somewhere in his pocket?
She was already moving towards him when Severus held her abruptly.
„Don't be silly!" He hissed. "What if he pretends to be unconscious? Did you get any of what I just said?"
The girl bit her lips again and nodded.
"Finite Incantatem! Immobilus! Obscuro! Silencio!"
The man didn't even have time to react - as soon as she removed stunning spell, he froze again, a black band appeared in front of his eyes and he lost his voice. The girl levitated him on the couch and conjured up thick rope that wrapped him from the feet to the top of his head. Then, using a wand, she wrapped it around his legs and arms and tied him to the backrests on both sides of the couch.
Severus focused on the counter shield during this time. He didn't know Tylor very well, but he knew he wasn't as old as he seemed to be. Looking at him at various conventions and meetings, he noticed that Tylor had a very low sense of self-esteem, primarily as a man, but also as a human being in general. That's probably why he tried to play the role of leader with others.
Besides, he was terrified of old age and indolence.
The Shield, cast by someone who does not fully believe in his power and is afraid, is not difficult to break. Power was one of the most important elements of the Shield, practically its basis. Something that did not have a solid basis would not last long.
It was enough to hit his Shield with multiplied power, a sense of strength and... yes, a mixture of femininity, disdain and rejection!
As far as he knew, Tylor was alone and had never tried his chances with any woman - most likely fearing that she would reject him and destroy his ego completely.
He quickly went down to the basement and found an Intensifying potion on one of the shelves. It was his invention, he had invented it long time ago, with more and more often summons by the Dark Lord in mind. He wanted to increase his confidence, but the first use was almost a disaster.
He felt ... great. When summoned, he entered the room, approached the Dark Lord calmly, knelt, kissed the edge of his robe and looked up at him. And at that moment, he felt that he wasn't able to could close his mind ! Idiot, he hadn't tested it before and only thus discovered that the side effect of the potion was to dull all other feelings and abilities than those he focused on right after drinking!
He was lucky. That evening, Avery made a mistake and the Dark Lord felt it would be good to show an example to everyone how he treated losers.
He never touched this potion again - he definitely preferred the waves of overwhelming fear that flooded him, twisting his gut every time he was called at some unusual time or had no good news. After the end of the war, he brewed it again and even used it several times, but then the side effects were not so important.
The entire base was covered with a layer of dust and a spider had woven a spider's web between the two vials. He shook the vial and the color, light on the top and darker on the bottom, suddenly grew stronger and shone with a strong, even green.
Normally five drops were enough, but just in case Severus measured double the amount into two small glasses and completed it with water from his wand. The stronger their feelings are, the better. He was about to leave when something else occurred to him. Polyjuice!
He glanced at his watch - they had another half an hour before the last dose was working. Enough to search Tylor's lab. He had been there once, at Powell's request, who had been quite casual with him, and he remembered well one large room where all the lab technicians worked and two warehouses - one for ingredients and bases, the other for ready-made potions.
That's probably why he brewed at Powell's. After all, he couldn't get Peterson inside without paying attention.
He returned quickly to the living room, where the girl had just finished tying Peterson to the couch and grimaced.
"Here" he handed her two glasses, cast Petryficus Totalus at him and with a few flicks of his wand surrounded him with a magic cage.
Immediately a pale, bluish light appeared around the lying man, enclosing him like walls. It looked a bit as if he was inside a Patronus, which instead of an animal, took the shape of a giant box, standing on the floor and reaching up to the ceiling.
Severus touched one of the walls with his wand and the light began to fade. For a moment one could still see the vertical lines marking their edges, but a few seconds later they also disappeared and in the dim light from the window only dust motes in the air were visible.
"Come here, I'll tell you what to do" he called the girl. "We'll break Tylor's Shield and Apparate directly to his lab."
He explained in a few words what she would have to feel and described the movement of the wand when casting a spell, then pointed to one of the glasses.
„Drink it. The potion will only work for a few minutes, so focus as hard as you can. I'm not going to waste any time."
They both swallowed the harsh liquid and to Hermione's surprise nothing special happened. She didn't feel stronger, more powerful or even more feminine. She wasn't even hot or cold...
She was about to ask if the dose wasn't too low, or if the potion wasn't working for her, but Severus nodded.
"Ready? Now!"
Hermione tried to feel something completely new to her. To be a seductive woman, full of charm, desirability and coquetry and at the same time cold, proud and rejecting everyone around. She didn't know any woman fit that description, except maybe Fleur at the Triwizard Tournament.
She imagined what the French woman could feel then, whom desired all boys around and she rejected the advances of each of them... Royal pride? Contempt? Believe that everyone around her had the right to remain silent and serve her, but was not allowed to raise his head as she passed?
As soon as this idea was born in her head, the strange feeling of being beautiful, being a goddess, independent, inaccessible and unwilling to anyone spilled over her chest, began to grow, swell, enveloped her completely, utterly and she felt that in a moment she will… she will explode. Or she will rise in the air!
She took a deep breath until her lungs ached and looked at Severus.
The strength and power emanating from him were compelling. She had never felt anything like this before in her life. She was about to say something, do something, or even step back from this Power when he gently grabbed her sleeve and held her.
„Right now. Spell. On three| he said in a low voice, carefully averting his gaze from her and the sound just stunned her. It was an order that no one in the world would dare not to fulfill!
She obediently yanked out her wand and froze, ready to do whatever he asked.
"One… two… three."
"Defensio destruction efectus!" They spoke in unison and at the same time made the same complicated wand movement.
The air in front of them waved and there was a soft crackling sound, as if it were full of electricity. This was the moment!
Severus took Hermione's hand gently and tugging at it, desapparated with her to MediLab.
They landed in the middle of a narrow corridor and Hermione immediately took a step away from him, both from her firm conviction that every man should be avoided and the equally strong feeling that until he tells her to come, she mustn't even try.
Severus let go of her hand reluctantly. Let that goddamn potion stop working! Though perhaps considering Hermione is a man at the moment ... maybe you should look at her?
But he forced himself to turn his back to her and looked around. There was a row of old barred windows on one side of the corridor and doors at both ends on the other. One of them led to a large laboratory. He recalled memories of his visit - when one of Tylor's employees was leading him there, they had windows on the right.
"There is a lab there" he gestured to the door in front of him and without waiting, he walked towards it. The corridor wasn't long, but by the time he got there he had forgotten that he shouldn't react to the incredibly attractive woman next to him, so he opened the door for her and bowed slightly.
"Come in, please."
Hermione walked in and took a quick glance around, simultaneously trying to recover and focus on what they were here for. Merlin, if he had told you to crawl, you would have done it! With a smile on your lips.
The lab was much larger than Powell's, but otherwise similar. There were the same spell-locked doors on both sides, as soon as they touched them, the exhaust and light went on immediately. Though instead of floating cristal bubbles Tylor had gas lamps suspended from the ceiling. Cauldrons, beakers and buckets with brewing equipment piled up against the walls, along with shelves of ingredients, empty vials, bottles and jars for ready-made potions. It was obvious at first glance that there was no Moon Water here. But maybe there is the antidote ...
Every dozen or so feet the shelves were separated by sinks of dark, red stone, which immediately made Hermione think of bloody wounds on the side of an animal and she quickly looked at the long table in the center of the room. It was almost empty - she noticed a few tripods and burners on it and only on the edge, right next to the door, someone had left three bottles on it.
" Chizpurfle carapace" she read aloud, taking them in her hand. "Blood of the Welsh Green. And Screechsnaps leaves."
Severus walked over to her and looked at them closely. They looked terribly strange on this empty, tidy table. A bit as if someone was leaving in a hurry and forgot to put them back.
"These are the ingredients of the antidote!" The girl added with sudden hope. "Maybe he even brewed the base and moved to the second stage?"
Severus still felt strangely dumbfounded in her company, so to free himself from the influence of her powers, he stepped towards the shelves on the left.
"Check the other side."
As in Rayleigh's, they looked carefully at all the bottles, jars, fioles and vials in the racks. Severus opened a few closed boxes that stood on his side and peered into the glass-door cabinet, but found only some cleaning agents for burnt cauldrons and cleaning up caustic stains. He closed them carefully and lifted the lid of wicker basket, which turned out to be full of larger and smaller pipettes. Weird. Pipettes in a basket on the floor? Something was wrong, but he didn't know what. Not pipettes on the floor, not cleaning agents between ingredients... SOMETHING else. It wasn't anything obvious, but it made him suspect that haunted him.
He knew full well that he would have trouble focusing, but he thought that as he was prepared, he would somehow manage, even considering the double dose of the potion they had taken. But he did not take into account that he was in the company of a woman who was supposed to focus on charming men!
Fortunately, the potion's effects became to wan, and besides, the further he got away from Hermione, the faster his spy instincts returned. And with this the strange feeling that something was bloody wrong grew inside of him.
He glanced across the empty table with only tripods and burners on it and felt he STARTED to understand.
EMPTY tripods! EMPTY! It means that he doesn't brew here?! Only somewhere else? So why did he leave the ingredients on the table? He put them up and forgot to put back them? Or maybe he prepared it, left and will…
„Stupefy!" He heard a familiar voice from the side of the door, out of the corner of his eye he saw a red light and... Hermione Granger groaned and fell to the ground.