Chapter 15
Harry stared at the man for a few moments before stammering out an affirmative reply.
"Good. That part is taken care of then," Severus said while striding to the bars holding the two inmates.
Harry could only guess why the man wanted to know whether or not he could swim. He thought that he had proven that he could at the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Of course, his ability for the tournament was greatly aided by the gillyweed that Dobby had stolen from Snape's office. All in all, he thought that it was better that he didn't bring up the tournament in front of his professor in case he still harbored bad feelings about the incident. Truthfully, it hadn't been his fault. He had only acted in such a drastic manner because he thought that his friend might die and he hadn't really known where the gillyweed had come from. Still, it was better that the topic had not come up.
Harry brought himself out of his own thoughts to direct his attention back to his professor. The man had taken to studying the bars that were depriving them from their freedom. The man was surveying the lock so intently that Harry was afraid to interrupt his concentration with a full fledged assault of questions.
He cleared his throat in hopes that Snape would ask him what he wanted. But after a half a minute of waiting for a response that didn't come, he gave up on the polite approach. There were too many questions burning in his mind.
Taking a brief moment to muster up enough courage to confront the man, Harry spoke in a soft voice. "Professor?"
"What is it, Potter?" Severus spoke in his usual cold voice without taking his eyes off the lock.
Still feeling a bit timid, but encouraged at the fact that he had the man's attention Harry asked the one question that was tugging at his mind. "I was just wondering, why it would be important that I be able to swim, Sir."
A rush of frustrated air blew out of Severus' nose. "Well, unless we can get out of here, it won't matter." Straightening his back, Severus retreated to a spot on the stone floor where he could sit and study the lock. "That lock's magical. Only those who have a wand and know the counter curse to unlock it may do so." Running a hand through his hair, he finally tore his eyes away from the barrier. "Assuming we can get past the lock, Voldemort most likely has every access to the castle watched and guarded. I don't think he would take any chances after the last time." Severus added the latter part with a quick glance at Harry. "Though, there is one outlet to the castle that I don't think that they would bother to watch."
Harry's attention was fully directed toward the man. "Where?" he questioned eagerly. Perhaps things were not as hopeless as they seemed.
"In the dungeons below these."
"Well, why isn't this door guarded?"
Severus had turned his eyes back to the lock with a look of concentration. "Well, it's not exactly a door."
* * * * *
Lucius stood in the doorway to his son's room gazing at his surroundings. He vaguely recalled an image of his son sleeping in his bed over the summer. Draco reminded him of himself in every way except for in the way that he slept. Draco, without a care in the world, slept peacefully and late into the morning when allowed while he slept restlessly, waking up often during his sleep. He would often times get out of bed before the sun came up during those mornings when he would give up on sleep. Too many thoughts were edging away at his mind for him to get any proper rest. This was not something that he wanted for Draco.
Drawing his eyes to his son's dresser, he noted the unkempt state of the piece of antique furniture. Some of its drawers were still open with clothes that Draco had left hanging over their sides.
Walking toward the piece, he briefly took his thoughts back to the last time that he had seen Harry Potter. He knew that the boy was roughly the size of his own son, though a bit shorter and slightly thinner.
Reaching the dresser, he extended an arm into the mess inside, filtering through the items of clothing. He finally seemed to find something that would do: a charcoal grey sweater. Draco had worn it his last semester at Hogwarts. Surely this would fit the Potter boy.
Clothing this drawer and opening another, he found an old pair of black pants that looked as if they too would fit the boy.
He draped the two articles over an arm and went to Draco's closet. This had been left in no better condition than the dresser had been. The door was slightly cracked with socks strewn about the opening.
Opening the door, Lucius took a quick survey of what was there. Draco's robes from his last year were hanging toward the back of the closet. Grabbing these off of the hanger, he draped them across the same arms as the other pieces.
His eyes skirted the bottom of the closet and found what they were looking for. Bending down, he picked up a pair of black shoes and backed out of the closet, closing the door with a foot.
He walked to the bed and laid out the items, surveying his findings, trying to think if had left anything out.
"Socks," he said to himself as he walked back to the dresser. After a few moments of rummaging, he successfully pulled out a pair of grey socks.
He produced a medium sized pouch from his own cloak and filled it with the items that he had just collected. Taking one last look around his son's room, he disappeared through the doorway.
* * * * *
Peter Pettigrew leaned against a stone pillar on one of the castle's deserted corridors. He wore a scowl on his face as he chewed one of his finger nails.
His feelings of hatred toward Snape had not been satisfied by their last encounter. He thought back to what it had been like to see the weak man's blood flow down his face and leak onto his clothing. He could almost taste the blood on his lips.
Snape had ignored him for years, never thinking highly enough of him to even bother with. To that man, he had always been an unimportant nobody.
But now, it was he who had the upper hand. It was he who would instill fear in the eyes of Snape.
Grinning to himself, he ceased chewing on his nail and stalked off in the direction of Snape's cell.
* * * * *
"What do you mean by 'it's not exactly a door'?" Harry questioned, now sounding a bit more skeptical about the possibility of escape.
Severus stood and made his way to the moistened wall. "You see how there's water leaking in through the cracks in this wall?" He didn't wait for an answer before continuing but Harry had followed him to the wall and was observing it with the same keen eye that he was. "There's a lake that backs into this side of the castle's walls. Because we're under the water level, the water is leaking through the walls. A few levels up from here, there's an area where the lake is allowed to flow in the castle. It served as an escape route to the original maters of the castle in case of an attack. If we can get there, we can swim out. I don't think Voldemort would put any guards there because it's so old that many of the stones to the walls have fallen down and it's basically forgotten."
Harry felt obligated to interrupt him at this point. "Are they still falling down, Sir?"
Severus considered this for a moment before responding. "I should think so," he said with a short nod.
* * * * *
Lucius was back at the outskirts of the castle with his cargo packed safely under his robes. He could see his breath rising from his nose in the icy chill of the air. His stomach was turning flips inside of him, but on the outside, he looked his usual reserved self. It was important that he not raise any suspicion by any of those he might run into and even more important that he not be seen near the dungeon holding his friend. If he could be traced to Potter's escape, his master would surely kill his family as well as himself.
Inwardly, he cursed himself for putting his family in such jeopardy. But there was nothing he could do turn things around now. His fate was clearly laid out before him.
* * * * *
Harry had given up on standing and was now sitting with his back against the bars of the cell. One hand was resting on his knees and the other was hanging onto the lock on the cell in hopes that it would magically open somehow.
Severus had taken to standing and staring at the back wall which had inspired his scheme for escape. He wondered but seriously doubted whether or not he would be able to overpower the Death Eater sent to retrieve the boy and himself. Inwardly, he entertained himself with the idea that this boy must be James Potter's revenge from the grave. He then chided himself for being distracted so easily from the matter at hand.
Bringing himself back to the task, he began considering somehow relieving one of his guards' wands from them. He sighed to himself, realizing that this was another futile plan. Voldemort was not one to forget such trivial details as wands.
Briefly, he glanced over at Potter to see how he was dealing with the situation. He was staring blankly into the cell without any sort of emotion whatsoever on his face. Sighing, he turned his eyes up to the stone ceiling as if to ask why he had been put into this ordeal.
Harry had noticed his professor's observant look. It had only lasted a moment but its effects were not lost on him. He could only guess that the man had been expecting him to break down. Well, that wasn't going to happen this time as it hadn't happened before. He would not give up hope now with so much to fight for.
He began idly pulling at the lock knowing that this would not make a difference. The fidgeting at least kept his hand busy.
Just as Severus was pondering how wonderful it would feel to get his hands around Pettigrew's thick neck, he heard the click of a latch opening.
Harry too had heard it and for a brief moment thought that he might have actually opened the lock before Snape roughly grabbed him by the arm and heaved him to his feet, pulling him to the rear of the cell.
Harry looked around in confusion as to what could've incited that sort of response from the man, but he didn't have to search for long. Hot feelings of rage were once again ignited inside his heart as his eyes fell upon Pettigrew standing at the entrance to the cell, wearing an icy glare.
Harry's immediate response was to break free of Severus' grasp and somehow break through the bars to kill the man but Severus was holding him too tightly.
"Potter!" Severus hissed, but to no avail. Harry couldn't hear anything other than the furious beating of his own heart.
Severus' own heart was racing from the anxiety of the situation. It was too soon and he wasn't prepared for this. He still had no idea of how to get the boy out of the castle.
He watched as the bald man stepped toward the bars and his heart dropped when, horrified, he saw Pettigrew unlock the latch to the cell with his wand.
Harry felt himself being jerked backward and felt the cold, stone wall against his back through his thin nightshirt. He didn't understand why Snape was trying to protect him. All he wanted to do was to tear that man's ugly head off of his neck.
"We have unfinished business, Snape," Pettigrew snarled in an icy voice.
Severus, distracted by the struggling of his charge, made no reply further than an equally icy glare.
"Out of witty comments, are you?" Pettigrew interrogated with a malicious grin spreading its way into his mouth.
"I wouldn't waist the time on you," Severus replied flatly.
Pettigrew's smile vanished as quickly as it had come. "No," he began. "I never seemed to be worthy of even your distain, did I?"
Severus' eyes narrowed. If Pettigrew was here to collect the boy, he didn't seem to be in any sort of hurry to do so. Perhaps he could still buy some time. "I didn't waist my time with you then and I don't see any reason to do so now."
Severus keenly observed Pettigrew's eye twitch. This must be a sore spot for him.
"You haven't changed," Severus provoked. "You're hiding behind your master's robes now just like you hid behind the marauders' robes in school."
Pettigrew took a stiff step forward and Severus felt Harry flinch at the mention of the marauders.
Perfect, Severus thought. All of the man's attention was now completely on him.
Pettigrew positioned his wand so that it was pointing directly toward Severus. With one fluid motion, he shouted out a curse that hit Severus squarely in the chest and flung him from away from the boy.
Severus landed on his shoulder. Cursing in pain, he rolled over to see when the next assailment would be. His eyes widened in fear, however, at the scene laid out in front of him. Pettigrew's attention was no longer on him, but focused on Harry instead.
Severus shouted a protest as a Pettigrew through a curse at the boy.
Harry was taken by surprise. He stood in shock, staring at the man in front of him. All of the anger from before had now converted into a fear that he wouldn't be there to save his friends when they needed him. He was going to die in the cell.
He was surprised to find himself alive after the spell hit him but he found that he couldn't move his arms or legs. Looking down, he noticed that what looked like vines had grown from the stone wall and had wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles. He struggled against his binds but they only tightened the more he struggled. Devil's Snare.
Pettigrew now turned to find the dark haired man on his hands and knees looking at the boy with terror filled eyes. He let out a barking laugh and moved in on the him too quickly for Severus to react.
Severus gasped as he felt the man's steely, metallic fist coiled around his neck. He was being held up slightly so that his knees had trouble reaching the ground for support but also in a way that prevented him from gaining his footing.
"You really did love her, didn't you Snape?" Pettigrew said in cold, mocking voice.
Harry ceased his struggles, straining to hear what Pettigrew was saying his professor. Who was Pettigrew talking about?
"I didn't think that you would care for the boy, he looking so much like James," Pettigrew continued. "Very honorable, Snivillus."
Harry blanched. He couldn't be talking about his mother. Could he?
Severus' hands were grasping at the man's arms in an attempt to free himself. He could only just barely breathe. "Go to hell," was the only retort that his lungs could afford.
An evil smile curled itself onto Pettigrew's lips. "You first."
* * * * *
Author's note: Thanks goes out to all those who reviewed. Please review and let me know if you like where the story is going, whether you think I need more action, more angst, more conversation, more thoughts, anything! I really appreciate it when you take your time to help me out. Also, if you're looking for a good Harry angst fic, you should check out Unforgivable Acts by Strdst. She's a friend of mine that I finally convinced to write a fic ;) Thanks again! And chapter 16 has already been started!!!