(Disclaimer: see beginning)

This chapter has officially been beta read and corrected! Many thanks to McGonagall's Bola and Emilia Wolfe!

Chapter 3

There was a crack on the ceiling of Severus' canopy bed. It was small, barely even a centimeter in length and completely insignificant when compared to the monstrous size of the rest of his bed, but it held his attention completely.

It was ridiculous to be so fixated with such a miniscule thing, especially when considering all the other exquisite details that the bed had to offer that were far more pleasant to look upon. The drapes around the frame were a rich velvety green that begged for the hand to touch, his pillows and sheets were made of the softest silk, and the bed's frame was a masterfully carved piece of art. It was the finest furniture that Hogwarts had to offer its staff, and yet his eyes stayed on the chip. The one flaw in an otherwise perfect creation.

He despised it.

So why couldn't he look away? Better yet, he was a wizard. With a flick of his wand he could easily repair the tiny nick. Actually he wouldn't even need his wand for such a small task. He would barely have to twitch his finger for the offending thing to disappear. He would never have to stare at the flaw again.

His hands stayed by his side.

Albus would probably say that it gave the bed character, that it was something to make it stand apart from all the other beds. And then he would twinkle those damn eyes and suggest it was a parable of life or that it made the bed even more beautiful or some other consoling shit like that.

His dark eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the crack. He certainly didn't see a parable in it, nor a unique characteristic, nor anything that could be beautiful. It was a crack, a place where if you hit it just right it could cause the entire frame to collapse. If anything, it was a liability, an ugly liability that only reminded him that the bed was breakable.

Unconsciously, his thumb began stroking the ragged line of scars on his chest. His eyes closed as he took in a deep steadying breath. He wouldn't look at the crack anymore. It was useless to him anyway. He turned over, burying his face in his pillows as a chime sounded from his clock. It was officially two in the morning, and he was still awake.

Oh, he was tired enough to sleep, but wouldn't─couldn't rest. Not yet. If he could stay awake a little longer, he would. Because tonight, he wasn't in enough pain to simply fall unconscious, he wasn't drunk enough to quickly black out, and he wouldn't be able to take Dreamless Sleep for another few days. There would be no swift descent into darkness, there would be dreams, memories and screams…so many screams. So he fought against his exhaustion, listening to the ticking of his clock, and waging a mental war against an inconsequential crack.

Did that make him weak? His reluctance to revisit his memories? A small voice in his head said yes, whispering with it the word coward, over and over again.

But you deserve it, don't you? Why should you get rest, when they never will? His insidious thoughts snaked across his mind bringing with it, unbidden memories of pain, blood and a pair of big brown eyes, red and rimmed with tears.

And always, always with it came that small voice, shaken with despair. I don't wanna die. The words echoed in his mind, pulling him deeper into the memory until he was back on that dirty stone floor, staring into those doe eyes again, hearing that choked plea.

I don't wanna die.

Panic washed over him. He couldn't save her. "I'm sorry," he whispered. It was too late. It was all his fault, her blood dripping as his wand slashed through the air.

I don't wanna die.

It was everywhere, her blood was everywhere. On his robes, his shoes, his hands. It would never wash out. They were stained now. They always would be, even if he scrubbed them raw.

I don't wanna die.

And those eyes, those brown eyes staring at him, lifeless and accusing.

Severus squeezed his eyes shut, gripping the sheets until his knuckles ached, trying but failing to keep that voice of his head.

I don't wanna die.

A soft "caw", broke through the memory, jerking him back to reality. Startled he took in his surroundings, unsure of where he was. Slowly, the fog in his head began to clear as he realized he was in his rooms at Hogwarts and not in that room again.

You're at Hogwarts, he reminded himself, breathing in through his nostrils and out through his mouth. In and out, he continued the routine until his breathing was calm once more.

His head was pounding, but he was too relieved to care. He fell against his pillow, rubbing his face as if he could rub the memories away with it. The room was silent once more, and he soaked it in, letting it wash over his nerves and settle them. Just to make sure the memory wouldn't surge forward again, he sunk into his mind, using every Occlumency trick he knew to shove away the events from only a moment ago. He kept pushing until the image of those brown eyes melted away into nothingness. His eyes snapped open, as his mind stilled, becoming calm and silent. Severus Snape was once more in control, and his memories were, for the time being, forgotten.

The source of the cawing, a painted raven, moved again within its portrait on the wall opposite Severus' bed. It flapped its wings erratically, letting loose a few more "caws" to grab its owner's attention and warn him of a possible intruder.

"I heard you," Severus snapped. "Go back to sleep. I'll take care of it." Grabbing his wand from under his pillow, the dark wizard stiffly rose from his bed and towards his door. Already, he was feeling more like himself.

Taking one last breath, he squared his shoulders and yanked the door open. A curse was ready on his lips, but it was unnecessary. His doorstep was empty. Muttering a "lumos", he looked both ways down the hall. It was empty as well. His eyes narrowed. If Peeves was playing another joke on him there would be hell to pay. I don't get enough sleep as it is without having to deal with the hijinks of a bloody poltergeist, he thought sourly.

A small whimper drew his attention to the floor, where he found the unconscious body of Hermione Granger sprawled on the ground in just a nightgown, robe and thick woolen socks. What the Hell is going on here?

Severus dropped beside Miss Granger, looking down the hallway again for enemies, before scooping her up in his arms and bringing her into his room as quietly as he could. Placing her on his couch, he rushed over to his fireplace and called for Albus to get down to his room as soon as possible.

While he waited for the headmaster, he ran his wand over the girl's body, trying to find out what could possibly be wrong with her.

"Severus, what's the matter?" Albus moved into the room.

"See for yourself." Severus pointed to his couch.

"What's happened to her?"

"I don't know. My alarms went off, and when I went to look I found her unconscious on my doorstep."

"Do you have an idea who was responsible?"

Still feeling slightly irritated, Severus began pacing, ignoring Albus, who had shifted to kneel beside the Gryffindor witch to inspect her left hand. "So far, I cannot discern what it is that ails the girl. If it is some form of dark magic, I cannot readily recall it. You will need to consult Poppy and get her opinion on the matter, while I start researching possible answers. As for answering who could have done this─it could be the work of one of the junior Death Eaters dwelling within the school grounds." Here, Severus paused. "Though I cannot be sure. If the Dark Lord has instructed one of them to attack Miss Granger, then I was not made aware of it."

"I see."

"I see?" Severus turned to Albus, who was no longer on the floor but sitting in one of his armchairs. He had the gall to be smiling benignly at the girl. Personally, Severus didn't see anything funny about the situation. That the headmaster could have a good laugh about it, infuriated him.

"I apologize, Headmaster," he bit out, "but I don't seem to understand what you could possibly find so amusing about one of your precious Gryffindors being attacked by a misguided student who has been cajoled into serving a madman! Please enlighten me."

"Calm down, Severus, I know you are worried about our dear Miss Granger, but she will be just fine." About to object to the headmaster claiming he cared for the insufferable girl, Severus stopped when he heard Albus' next words. "This is not the work of the Dark Lord, it's the work of Hogwarts."

"What do you mean, this is the work of Hogwarts? Are you saying that Hogwarts, the castle, has attacked a student?" The headache that had only just eased up a minute ago came back with a full vengeance, as his mind tried to wrap around the impossibility of a murdering castle.

"No, it simply transferred her to where it felt she would be safest while she was unable to defend herself," Albus said calmly.

Severus relaxed slightly. "Hogwarts is capable of such things?"

"The castle and a few House Elves I suspect."

"And it, or the House Elves brought her straight to me? I had no idea I had been designated as the resident babysitter," he drawled, not sure if he was pleased that the castle so obviously trusted him, or annoyed that it made such an assumption in the first place. "That still does not answer my question of who attacked the girl. By your nonchalance, I can only assume that whoever it was is no longer a threat."

"I am not certain who is responsible, but they mean no harm to Miss Granger, so I'm sure it will all work out in the end." Rising from his chair, Albus called out for an Elf.

"Albus, what do you mean, it will all work out, if someone is going around attacking the students─"

The arrival of the House Elf cut Severus off. He or she (the Potions master could never really tell the difference, nor did he care to try) bowed low to the headmaster before speaking. "How can Loli be serving the headmaster, sir?"

"Ah, Loli. Good to see you again." The Elf blushed, flapping its ears in pleasure. "Could you bring Miss Granger here to her bedroom for me?"

"Of course, Headmaster! Loli will takes the Miss Granger right away!" With a snap of her little fingers, Loli popped out of the room, taking the student with her.

Clapping his hands, Albus turned back to his still scowling professor. "Now, my boy, I'll bid you a good night. We've a lot to do tomorrow, what with the children leaving for break."

"W─what?" Severus sputtered following the older wizard to the fireplace. "What about finding out who attacked Miss Granger? Even if you say that this─this…meddling being 'means her no harm', that cannot possibly be true. Why would they attack her if they were friendly? It makes no sense, Albus!"

The headmaster placed a calming hand on Severus' shoulder. "The students will be safe. As will Miss Granger. As for the questions you have, those will be answered in due time. For now, we must be patient and wait for her answer."

"Who's answer?" The headache was getting worse.

"Miss Granger's answer, of course." Without waiting to hear any more questions, Albus was whisked away through the floo network, and Severus was left in his living room, trying to make sense of what the dodgy old man had told him.

A student was attacked, yet she wasn't really. The attacker in question only attacked said student because they were looking out for her. The same attacker is still on the loose, yet the school is still safe. Oh, and of course all of our questions will go unanswered until Miss Granger gives her answer. Though to who she is supposed to answer to and what she is supposed to answer is still undeclared…It's too early in the morning for this shit…

Severus collapsed on his bed, pulling a pillow over his head to still his whirling thoughts. I'm glad I can still rely on Albus to make my mental capacities seem utterly negligible…fucking omniscient bastard. Squeezing his eyes shut he willed his mind to go blank, deciding to wipe this entire blasted evening from his memory. As far as he was concerned he had enough headaches to deal with already, and if this event with Miss Granger had nothing to do with the Dark Lord or his defeat, then it was none of his business.

At 5:42, Severus was awake, over a half an hour earlier than his alarm clock. The scattered hours of sleep that he was able to get after the Granger incident weren't nearly enough, but he'd functioned on worse before. It was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he rolled out of bed, wincing as his joints and muscles protested from the movement. And that's what you get for forgetting your pain potion. Something he could probably blame the Granger girl for as well, but who had the energy for that at─he looked at his clock─nearly six in the morning.

Shit, I wish I hadn't forgotten. Two days without properly healing himself had done a number on him. His body was a wreck. He didn't have to look down to know that his pale skin was still covered in bruises. He could feel them like dead weights sitting on his nerves.

Coming in two nights ago, worn out and delirious from pain, he hadn't been able to comb over his body for injuries. He had been too out of it to care. Instead, he had stumbled through a quick shower, fumbled with a healing charm for his back and fallen into bed exhausted. Waking up later than usual the next morning, he barely had time to slip on his robes, much less count his injuries. They were minor anyway.

Well, they felt minor in any case. Looking down at his body, they were anything but. A large purple and black spot covered the left side of his waist, a long scabbed over cut ran through the middle. He wasn't sure what spell the Dark Lord had used on him. At the time, it had felt like a boulder was trying to barrel though him.

Aside from the knife wound on his back, that had healed nicely yesterday, that was as bad as it got. There were a couple of smaller bruises and cuts here and there but he could handle that. And though his body was stiff as hell, he had lucked out. He knew very well that he wasn't at the top of the Dark Lord's favorites list anymore. He had been slowly descending for a while now. It was only a matter of time until he was knocked off completely and became food for the dogs, or probably for Nagini.

With that morbid thought firmly planted in his mind, he grabbed a pair of black sweat pants and matching jumper. It didn't matter that his time was slowly ticking away. He didn't need much anyway. He just needed a little. Enough that he could get the Order the information they needed to finally put an end to the Dark Lord's reign. Hopefully, he would even get to see the light fade from that monster's eyes.

But that could be weeks, even months away. For now, he would wait, and go about his daily business. So, ignoring his aches and pains he pulled on his clothes, cast a Disillusionment Charm and left his room to train.

Usually, Severus hauled himself all the way down to the Forbidden Forest for a morning run, but he knew that with his body feeling the way it was, he would collapse in the first half hour. So instead he chose to bypass the forest today and go straight to his training room.

Turning down a flight of stairs that took him deeper into the dungeons, past the dormitories, past the classes and into a part of the school that lay untouched and forgotten. He stopped in front of a battered door that looked like it was ready to fall off its hinges. Its frame, wood instead of stone like the rest of the castle, was rotted and burnt, and the metal bolts and doorknob looked so rusted that one touch could make them crumble away.

Severus reached for the handle anyway. A shimmer of magic slid over the entrance, transforming it into a beautifully crafted cherry wood door. He walked inside, not even giving it a second glance. The minute his hand lifted, the vision of polished craftsmanship disappeared and morphed back into a ragged doorway. His charm was firmly back in place.

Technically, he wasn't allowed to ward the door. Albus insisted that it wasn't fair for him to block other colleagues/students from a public room. The castle was for "everyone" or some rot like that. He had stopped listening after Albus told him no. Luckily for him, the old man didn't say anything about keeping people away. So he cloaked every square inch of the hallway, and the door with nearly all the illusion spells he knew. As an extra precaution, he also added a few repelling charms. So far no one had discovered his secret place.

The Disillusionment spell fell away from him as he looked around the room. As per his request, the Elves didn't stop by here on their cleaning route, so there was a fine layer of dust collecting everywhere. Now that he thought about it, he had been going outside a lot lately.

He summoned three dummies to the empty mat in the middle of the floor. Their clay bodies were still in the same frozen attack positions that he had left them in. Their faces, more of a cosmetic addition than a practical one, stared passively at him, waiting for his command. Like everything else in the room, including the weapons and movable obstacles, nothing could move without his directions. Unlike the Room of Requirement, where everything was set with just a thought, the objects in this room had to be enchanted by him. A small price to pay for privacy.

He grabbed a couple of daggers from one of the racks and went back to the mat for a quick warm up exercise. When he was finished, he wandlessly waved a hand in front of the dummies. "Parum vitas". A jolt ran through the forms of clay as they straightened. Each drew a sword, the edges of the steel worn and blunt as a precautionary measure for when he made the occasional misstep. There were also a couple of cushioning charms in place so each hit would only leave a bruise or a small cut. It still hurt like hell, but that was the point. It was easy to make the same mistakes when there were no consequences to teach you otherwise.

Barely giving him a chance to prepare himself, the three dummies threw themselves at him, swords whirling in deadly arcs. The charms he wove into their structure made it so they would continue to relentlessly attack until either he "killed" them or he surrendered. Just as he preferred it.

One of the dummies had charged in front of the others and was already swinging its blade down. Severus barely had time to duck before it whistled past his head. A few strands of black hair floated to the floor. Shit . Too close, Severus, wake up. Rolling away and springing back to his feet, he swung his foot back in a sweeping kick that made one of the dummies crumble to the floor. Not a second later, it came back up, its sword lunging towards Severus' chest. Using one of his daggers to push the sword away, he shifted to the side to avoid another blade. In a quick move that had taken him years to perfect, he flicked out his wrist, slicing the blade across one of the dummies throat─thus deactivating it, while using that momentum to shoot his other leg up and out. Two dummies fell away from him, one of which stayed down. The other spun back to its feet and with its partner, flew at him again.

The sounds of blades striking and grinding against each other filled the room as the fight carried on. Sweat was pooling down his back by the time he was able to take another dummy out. Sensing that it was the last one standing, the final dummy's moves became more aggressive and jerky, mimicking the desperation of a man who didn't want to die (a complicated piece of charm work that had taken Filius a week to teach him). Swinging wildly, it relentlessly pursued him at a blinding pace that eventually got it close enough to jab Severus in his side right over his bruise. Pain raced up his body squeezing at his chest.

He stumbled back a few steps, clutching at his side, while trying to fend the dummy off with just one arm. As good as he was one-handed, his movements were quickly getting sloppy. He wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. Something had to give, and he'd be damned if he lost to a chunk of clay.

Without a word or wand, he flung a spell at his opponent, flinging it across the room to slam against the wall. The dummy struggled to get out of its invisible bindings, but Severus' spell held firm. Calmly walking over, Severus jammed his dagger in its throat ending the fight and deactivating the little hellion until next time. "Bastard."

"Wasn't that cheating?" the headmaster's voice whispered from behind him.

Morgana's tits! Severus had to fight the urge to jump out of his socks. He hated when Albus snuck up on him. Perhaps I should look into getting him a bell….

"Not at all," the younger wizard answered before Albus could catch onto his thoughts. "When it's about survival, there are no rules." It was one of the fundamental codes of Slytherin.

"Well put." Albus said. "How are you this morning?"

And here comes the tedious conversation. Severus rolled his eyes and walked over to a small tub filled with water in the far left corner of the room. Dipping a rag in the cool liquid, he washed his face. "I'm fine. Yes, the weather's looking lovely. Sure, I like your new pair of socks. And no, I'm not particularly happy that the Elves are serving custard for desert today. There. Now that all the pleasantries are handled, you can get to the point of why you're really here."

Albus was not impressed with his wit. "You did not sleep well." A statement. Not a question. "Do you need any numbing spells?"

With a sigh, Severus dropped the rag. "No, the pain is manageable, though I do need to reseal the cut on my waist." Transfiguring one of the pictures on the wall into a full-length mirror, he took off his shirt to check out the dummy's work. The black and purple bruise was now oozing his blood in a sluggish trickle. Swishing his wand, he summoned a batch of simple healing paste, unscrewed the cap and rubbed a generous amount onto his abused skin. The paste's magic tingled as it sealed his cut, leaving the smallest of scars behind, and changed the color from an ugly purple to a sickly yellow. Give it another hour and he was sure it would be gone completely.

"What about your runes?" Albus inquired, eyeing the younger man's left arm, the one that held the Dark Mark. "Tom's hold has gotten stronger, has it not?"

Snape made no comment, but twisted his arm and muttering the spell to end the Glamour that was settled on top of his skin. It wasn't there for the Dark Mark of course. The Dark Lord had made it near impossible to hide the mark with magic. He insisted all his followers wear the brand with pride. To shy away from its image and therefore your loyalties was…ill advised. Severus wisely never attempted to test these claims.

The Glamour he regularly wore was instead used to cover up the other markings that were permanently etched onto his arm. Dozens of Celtic runes swirling up his arm in crisscrossing lines, covering his shoulder, and gracing the left side of his neck and parts of his back in black ink. Each one had been burned into his skin with magic and served a different purpose. A good number were healing runes, life preservers that would give him a few extra minutes of aid if he were ever on death's door (which was too often for Albus' liking). The others were a mixture of runes to give him added mental strength, protection, clarity and various other boons that helped with his job.

The main purpose of the runes however, were to keep the influence of the Dark Mark at bay. After all, the mark was an extension of his master, a constantly open connection that allowed his darkness, his evil to seep into his followers. That kind of constant exposure could easily corrupt even the noblest of men, and lately, it had been getting worse. So, a majority of the rune lines were put around it, encircling and crossing over it in a busy complex knot that trapped the dark magic like metal chains would restrain a wild beast. The spell work it took to achieve this was a masterful creation that was so subtle that even the Dark Lord couldn't sense it through their bond, but then, Filius wasn't a world-renowned Charms master for nothing.

Now looking at some of the runes, which had small breaks in them, gaps of pale flesh where black ink should've been, Severus knew he needed a refresher before he even thought about going on another assignment. "Just the ones around the Mark. The healing runes have a little more life in them." Severus conjured two chairs and held his arm out for the other wizard.

"Of course," Albus responded and immediately went to work, humming a string of incantations while following each broken rune around the mark with the tip of his wand. Immediately, Severus could feel the Dark Mark trying to fight against the bindings. Its influence, like a deadly whisper, tried to slip into his mind telling him that he didn't need to go through with this, that he should stop Albus and just accept it, but Severus resisted. He threw up more mental walls, clearing his mind with deep even breaths. This enraged the willful mark further, and it sank its claws deeper into his body, tightening its hold while lashing out. Severus could feel its invisible claws raking against his skin, but he kept quiet. It would die down eventually.

Instead, Severus concentrated on the by now, familiar burning sensation that came with the runes restoration. After years of going through this process, the pain from the application was nearly negligent. And of the two, it was far easier to deal with the runes magic then the Dark Mark's pull.

After nearly a half hour of mending, the broken runes were knitted back together, once more pulsing with subdued power. Severus was exhausted.

"Much better," Severus flexed his arm, shivering as the runes' magic solidified on his body. "Now back to the matter at hand," He turned back to the headmaster. "What do you need me to do?"

Albus walked over to his pupil's side. "First things first, are you sure you are well enough to go?" Severus didn't answer. He didn't need to. The jobs that Albus gave him were given to him because he was the only one who could do them. If he didn't do it, then it wouldn't get done right. So, injured or not, he would do what he needed to do. Severus gave him a pointed look that said as much.

"Very well", Albus continued with a worn sigh. "A young witch was taken from her home at around 3:30 this morning. We believe that it's the work of Tom's snatchers, but we can't be sure. I need you to find out what Tom wants with her."

"How do you know that she's not just for entertainment purposes?"

Albus looked at him with sad eyes. "We can't dismiss that possibility…however, I feel like this is more."

Severus nodded, putting his shirt back on. He had learned a while ago that Albus' instincts could be counted on more than even the most accurate oracle. So if Albus told him something else was afoot, then there probably was.

"Our latest information suggests that they were headed towards Deadmarsh."

"They're probably hiding within the swamp then."

"So the hags have decided to side with Tom."

Severus sighed unhappily. "Not all. We still might be able to convert a few, but most have taken up his cause and would be happy to hide a few of his pawns."

"I feared as much. You will have to be careful then."

"Should I be seen?" Severus asked.

"No. We might have to extract her and if that's the case, I don't want your name attached to her escape."

"Give me a day then." Severus headed out the door, not waiting for a response. Not being seen, meant that he couldn't use his status as a Death Eater to get the information, which would take longer. But it was no matter. If he couldn't be a Death Eater, then he would become a shadow.

A/N:I always felt like Severus would be a good fighter. Not only did he have to learn how to protect himself, growing up where he did but he also had to defend himself while at school. Not to mention, he always seemed like the kind of man who would never like to be caught unprepared or vulnerable. So even if he couldn't use his wand or his magic, he would still be able to defend himself. Additionally, going through crucios and beatings from Voldy, it would make sense that he would want to keep up his physical health so he could fight against the side effects easier.

Anywho-that's just how I saw it going down. Hope you enjoyed the quality time with our favorite potions master. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!