I don't own Harry Potter.

Thanks for reviewing: Snivillus-Lives-28, flame55, Eawynne, Saramagician, Saint Snape, Jaspreet, and hummingpetal

Chapter 20 "The Search"

"Lily!" Severus screamed as Potter Disapparated. God! How could this happen? How could he be so stupid! "I have to go after her! He's going to kill her!"

"Severus, we don't even know where she is," Kingsley said. He felt like an idiot; he had let his guard down. He wasn't expecting that at all. He figured they would be safe, just going down the drive. Obviously Potter was smart enough not to try to break into the house, or they would have been alerted to his presence.

"I have to find her!" Severus went to head in the direction that the two had disappeared from, but Kingsley grabbed his arm to stop him.

"What are you doing?" Severus cried desperately.

"You can't go. We have to go to the trial. I'll send Andria, Frank and Gordon to find her."

"You honestly expect me to go to the Ministry when that bastard has Lily? No!" Severus ripped his arm out of Kingsley's grasp.

"And if you go and miss this trial, you will be thrown in Azkaban." Kingsley said. "And if you don't find Lily and get sent to Azkaban, you'll never know what happened to her. If they let you go, we can join the search for her."

"She needs me!" Severus cried. They were wasting time talking, he had to go after Lily.

"The best way to help her is to make the jury aware that James Potter is out there. Then they can send the whole Auror office and we will find him. There is nothing you can do now." Kingsley felt like this was a lost cause, but he had to keep trying. He wanted to go after Lily, too, but he knew that the other three Aurors could handle it, but obviously Severus didn't.

"But..."

"Please, listen to me, Severus. I trust my friends completely. I know they will find her. But we have to get you to the trial." Kingsley pleaded. He knew the odds for Severus would not be good if they missed the trial.

"I can't." Severus didn't care what Kingsley said, he couldn't concentrate on saving himself from a life of imprisonment if Lily was in trouble, getting tortured by Potter. Before Kingsley could say anything else, Severus Disapparated, and Kingsley cursed aloud. How the Hell was he supposed to fix this now? It was his fault, he should have been more aware..shit!

He stood thinking for a minute, before deciding to get the other three Aurors inside and searching on their own. They would have to figure out to do about the trial later. He hoped Severus wouldn't do anything stupid with James Potter to further jeopardize himself and lower his chances to get off and not be imprisoned.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Severus appeared inside Potter's apartment building in front of his door. He smashed it in and searched inside, but there was nobody there. He hadn't thought there would be, but it was worth a shot. Where else would Potter go? Black's house, maybe? No, he wouldn't go there, Black's parents were still alive, as far as he knew, and he didn't think they would be pleased to see Potter. Black's apartment? But he didn't know where that was. Maybe there was a clue in Potter's apartment.

Severus began tearing the place apart desperately, looking for any clue that might lead him to Potter. He pulled some papers out that were stacked on the kitchen counter. It looked like some of them were older; they were just scribbles that had never been thrown away. A small slip of paper fell to the floor and Severus picked it up. It said: Sirius: 106 Marine Place.

Severus' heart pumped faster; that must be his address.

"Hey! What are you doing!" A man was standing in Potter's busted doorway, looking angry. "You don't live here! I'm calling the cops, you're trespassing.."

"Stupefy!" Severus flicked his wand at the muggle man, and he fell unconscious to the ground. Severus stepped over his body on the way out. Normally he wouldn't have done such a thing, but he was too worried about Lily to care. If anything happened to her..he didn't even want to think about it. He always knew she was there, even if she was with Potter, but if she died, and she wasn't there when he needed comfort, he wouldn't be able to live. It would be his fault for not protecting her, and he would never forgive himself for that. When he got into the hallway, he Disapparated to the address on the slip of paper.

When he opened his eyes, he was looking at a large stone house surrounded by a black wrought iron fence. Was this Black's place? Severus thought it was supposed to be an apartment. But then, maybe it was an apartment to Black. After all, he was used to living in his parent's mansion. This most seem small compared to that; it must seem like an apartment to him. He pushed open the squeaky gate and started down the walkway, his wand drawn. This place desperately needed a gardener; dead leaves were piled up under the untrimmed bushes. Plants spilled haphazardly out of the flower beds, and the gnarled trees reached out with their crooked fingers in all directions.

Severus peeked in one of the windows. It was dark inside. Severus took a deep breath. If Potter was in there, he would probably be waiting for him. But if Potter had Lily, what else was he going to do? He would fight, and if he got hurt, so be it. But he would destroy James Potter first for everything that he did. Severus tried to control his furiously pumping heart, and he felt the blood rushing through his veins as he used his wand to unlock the door. He stepped inside, ready to be attacked, but there was no one there. He flicked his wand, and the lights came on in the house.

The entrance hall was beautiful, with a tapestry featuring a garden hanging against one wall, and an antique iron chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. A staircase with a wooden railing carved with leaves led upstairs.

Severus crept into the room that was on the right of the entrance. It was a magnificent parlor, with old furniture, a plush carpet, and paintings of landscapes. The molding of the room was painted in gold, and the heavy velvet curtains were red.

This did not look like the type of house Sirius Black would live in. It looked like it belonged to some lonely old lady who was ready to expect company at any time even though she didn't have any friends. But Severus had to be sure that Potter was not here. He finished checking the first floor rooms, which was only a kitchen, a dining room and a small bathroom decorated in shades of pink and cream.

He thought he saw a movement in the dining room, behind the heavy oak table that was set with patterned china and good silverware, but it was just a shadow. He headed back to the entrance hall and began up the twirling staircase, trying to tread lightly so the stairs wouldn't creak. There were three doors up here.

When he opened the first one he was met with a surprise. It was if his eyes were assaulted after the lovely decorated rooms downstairs. It was a very large bedroom, painted dark green. There were posters of bikini clad women pasted over the walls, some muggle posters where the muggle girls' smiles were beginning to fade, others where witches were winking seductively and waving in a come-here gesture. The blankets on the large king bed were mussed, and there were clothes piled on it. A good quality racing broom was leaning against a wall, and another wall was covered by a bookshelf that held many old cracked leather books that looked like they contained Dark Magic. A black cauldron stained with purple splotches stood in the corner with some scary looking dried somethings scattered around it. Vials of some red liquid that looked suspiciously like blood stood on the dresser. Strange silver amulets lay scattered across the top of the dresser, shining evilly in the light. There were pictures stuck into the edges of the large mirror that was attached to the dresser. Severus looked at them; they were all of Sirius Black and his buddies: James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.

So this definitely was Black's place. The downstairs must be used as a sort of cover for anyone that came over. They would see the downstairs, and not think that a crazy psychopathic wizard lived here. Severus suppressed a shudder as he took in the room again. He knew there was nobody here, but he still had to check the other two rooms up here to be completely sure.

The black carpet in the hallway was soft under his feet as he padded to the other two doors. One was another bathroom with an old cracked, clawed tub, and a shelf full of different magical hair products.

The other was another bedroom. This room looked normal, except for the magical handcuffs on the bed that clanked menacingly when he came near. Sexy lingerie poked out of a dresser drawer, and there was a mirror on the ceiling right above the bed. There were also some suspicious looking items lying in a corner..whips, spiked collars, and Severus realized disgustedly that this was Sirius Black's sex room.

"Oh, Merlin." Black was indeed a disgusting man. How many women had he brought up here? Whether they wanted to come, or not, judging by the handcuffs. Unless that was just kinky thing that Black and his lady for the night liked to do.

Severus shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts. He had to find Lily right now. And get out of this room. He quickly shut the door behind him and stood silently in the hallway, else could he be?

Severus racked his brain for any place Potter could have taken Lily, but that could be anywhere in town, or even out of town. Severus didn't know Potter's regular haunts. The bastard could be anywhere. Severus rubbed his temples, beginning to panic. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down and think, but Lily's frightened face kept popping into his mind, along with possible things Potter could be doing to her.

"Lily!" Severus cried out suddenly. "Damn it! I should have been watching you! I'm so stupid!" Severus clutched his hair in frustration. He had no idea where to look next, or any possible way of tracking her. He thought of that smirk Potter had given him before he Disapparated, and his blood boiled in fury. He would kill Potter if it was the last thing he did. Even if he went to Azkaban, it would be worth it to see Potter die, feel the life leaving him. He would torture Potter until nothing but a bloody mess remained.

That smile was almost like..egging him on. Daring Severus to come and find him. That's what Potter would want. He would want to kill Severus, too. Like in the alley. He would want Severus to watch Lily die, to cause him the most pain as possible.

Severus gave himself a mental slap and tried to slow his racing heart. He changed his thinking. Obviously, if Potter wanted Severus to come for her, he would have brought Lily to somewhere where Severus knows. Where were places that connected him and Potter, places where they fought?

The only place he could think of was Hogwarts. But Potter couldn't have brought her there, not with all the students and teachers, and Dumbledore. How would Potter explain being there?

One particular incident popped into Severus' mind and he sat down hard on the plush carpet, his head spinning. He knew where Potter had taken her. He was almost positive. It would be the perfect place, and even if she screamed, no one would notice. The Shrieking Shack.

When Potter had played that horrible life-threatening 'prank' as Potter had called it, and managed to convince Severus to go through the tunnel that was under the Whomping Willow on the grounds, it led to an old house. He couldn't remember how Potter had convinced him to go under that tree, but afterwards, he couldn't believe he had been that stupid to listen to Potter.

The old house was located in Hogsmeade Village, and it had come to be known as the Shrieking Shack, as it was named after the villagers heard screaming coming from the shack, and thought it was ghosts. But Remus Lupin was using that house to transform into his werewolf form, as he was infected with lycanthropy. He would howl and scream during the full moon, and that was what the villagers heard. It was a safe place for him to transform so he couldn't hurt anyone. Or so everyone thought until Potter sent Severus down that tunnel. But as he traveled down the dark dirt tunnel, tripping over gnarled roots that stuck out of the ground, he could hear those growls. And when he reached the end and came to a heavy wooden door that couldn't even block those menacing sounds, he went back the way he came. Especially after the beast started trying to break down the door, and howled as if it could smell him. He wasn't stupid.

That incident had caused a major fight because Severus had gone to Dumbledore and told him what had happened, and the Marauders were punished severely. Lupin's lycanthropy was kept quiet,but Severus still felt bad for him, because although it wasn't his fault, but he was punished as well.

And Severus knew that's where Potter was. The site of that big fight that caused the Marauders to try and exact revenge on him for months afterward. It was something that would stick in Severus' mind for a long time. That's where he would go next. And if by some chance Lily was not there, then he didn't know what he would do. He spun on the spot, leaving Black's strange house, and reappeared on the wide dirt road of Hogsmeade Village. People were milling around, as it wasn't too late in the afternoon yet, talking with friends, eating and shopping.

Nobody noticed the black-robed young man appear in thir midst, they were too concerned with their own business. Severus headed straight for the shack, which was on the outskirts of town, near the forest. An old wooden fence that was starting to fall apart with age surrounded the old boarded up shack. Severus was surprised to see a group of young children, all around nine years old, standing and staring at the house with wide eyes. They were whispering together, and casting fearful glances at the slanted old Shack.

"What happened?" Severus asked from behind the children, and they all jumped.

"There were noises coming from there before," a little girl with large brown eyes whispered, pointing at the house. "The ghosts were screaming."

"Oh, shit!" Severus ran his hands through his hair. What was Potter doing to Lily to make her scream so loud that the neighborhood children could hear? Severus turned to the children, who were all staring at him.

"Alright, all of you get out of here now," Severus told them, and they didn't need telling twice. Severus watched their retreating backs; he didn't want anyone around, just in case. He didn't want Potter killing any children.

Severus hopped the wooden fence, and held his wand in from of him as he got closer to the house. It seemed to stare down at him with its boarded up eyes, towering above him in all of its rotting glory. The front door had just about rotted off of its' hinges, and Severus went to push it open, when a hand grabbed his shoulder tightly. He tried to scream out a spell, but found that he was already disarmed.

"Severus! It's me." Kingsley released Severus' arm and handed him back his wand. Severus looked incredulously at him. "How did you..."

"I followed you. I put a charm on Potter's apartment so we would know if he came back to it. So when you went there, I knew. I found that slip of paper that had Black's address on it. And I found that man that you stunned." Kingsley frowned at Severus. "You really have to be careful. You can't go using magic on muggles, even if someone you love is in trouble."

Severus ignored him. It had been the easiest way to get away, and there was no damage done, so what was the harm?

"By the time I got to Sirius' house, you were gone, but I used a spell that detected the spot where you Apparated from, and I was able to Apparate to the same location. So here I am. The others are still searching, just in case Lily isn't here, but I came to help you."

Severus nodded slowly. "I'm pretty sure Lily is here. Potter and I had a big fight at school over something he did, and the Shack was involved." He turned back to the house. "Let's go, then."

Severus pulled open the door, trying to not let it creak, and they entered the dark, dreary house.

Ooooh! Is Sev gonna get to Lily in time?

Next chapter is James and Lily! Poor Lily! wait till you see what happens to her, I'm so horrible!

Please review!