Chapter 16
Severus had expected nothing more than to die at the hands of this man at that very moment but instead, Pettigrew's grip suddenly loosened and both he and the man dropped to the floor with Severus gasping deep, ragged breadths.
Severus looked up from the ground at an open hand, offering itself to him. He gratefully accepted it and half pushed and half allowed himself to be pulled up to meet Lucius' smirk.
The first authentic smile that Harry had even seen his professor wear met Lucius'. "What the hell are you doing here?" was the only thing that Severus could think to say at that moment.
"I thought that you could use a bit of help," Lucius replied in tone suggesting that much should be obvious.
Severus raised an eyebrow at this.
"Had a chat with an old friend," Lucius offered in further explanation.
This not being the time to push the point, Severus turned toward Harry who was staring at the two of them with a questioning look, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Pulling at the binds, Severus tore them away from Harry's wrists and then his ankles.
"So what now?" Harry inquired, rubbing his sore wrists.
Reaching into his robes, Lucius produced a small bag and handed it to the boy. "Put these on."
Harry opened the bag and surveyed its contents. "What are these?"
"Some of Draco's old clothing. You'll need something warmer if you're planning on leaving the castle," Lucius explained.
"Quickly, Potter," Severus interjected. His eyes were cast upon Pettigrew's body sprawled ungracefully on the floor. "How long will he be out?"
"Not long. I've set up a port key outside of the castle grounds but it will only be active for a bit longer."
"Right," Severus said, nodding. "And what about you?"
Lucius looked at the unconscious man before them. "He didn't see me, so it won't be too difficult to act as if I knew nothing about this."
Severus looked at the man, apparently not happy with the answer.
"I have a family to look after. I can't just desert like you," Lucius elongated gravely.
Severus looked away but nodded. He knew that for now, Lucius was right. Voldemort would go after his family if he tried to leave. "Nearly ready, Potter?"
"Yeah," Harry answered getting up after tying his last shoelace. His thoughts had drifted back to what he had heard Pettigrew saying to Snape during the conversation but he decided to file his questions away for the time being.
"Right then, let's go."
* * * * *
Lucius lead the way out of the Dungeon and up several stair cases with Severus, pulling Harry along, closely following at his heels. Harry hadn't realized that they were so deep in the castle's underbelly, but judging by the number of stairs they had climbed, he could only guess that they had actually been underground and now fully appreciated the capacity of the lake outside.
The group remained silent for the most part and only communicated in whispers when it was necessary as Lucius directed them through adjoining corridors and passages.
Harry felt completely lost but he noted that Snape seemed to know where they were or at least he seemed familiar with their surroundings. His eyes perked up when he heard his professor address Malfoy.
"Where are we going?"
"There's a secret passage this way. It's been left unguarded," Lucius answered.
"The one behind the bishop's statue?"
"Yes," Lucius answered hurriedly.
"Are you sure that it's been left unguarded?" Severus persisted.
"Positive."
All seemed to be going well, or at least as planned, until a high pitched shriek that resounding from several passage ways away reached their ears. Unfortunately, they happened to be very near a group of Death Eaters at the time so there was no point in making a run for it.
The shriek had come from Pettigrew. It seemed that he had woken up to find the prisoners missing. Lucius pulled them aside into the shelter of a pillar as they heard his approaching footsteps.
Each held their breadth as they waited for a clear path, listening for Pettigrew and the other Death Eaters to depart.
Pettigrew ran past their hiding place sweating and breathing hard.
All three seemed to cease breathing, straining to hear every word that Pettigrew would tell the Death Eaters.
Harry could hear the other Death Eaters barrage the man with questions as Pettigrew attempting to catch his breath. Finally, after what seemed like several minutes to Harry, Pettigrew began to explain the situation to the other men.
"How could you let them escape?!" one of them exclaimed.
"Idiot!" another one interjected.
"Look," Pettigrew began as an attempt to shift the blame on himself, "It wasn't my fault. Something happened."
Harry could only guess by Pettigrew's next statement that the other men weren't convinced of this.
"There's no point assigning blame. The Dark Lord will kill us all if we let them escape. But there's a good chance they're still in the castle."
The other men apparently agreed with this and Harry could hear men scrambling off in different directions.
Harry fought the impulse to gasp as Severus firmly gripped him by his arm and dragged him into the middle of the corridor, following Malfoy back in the direction that they had just come from. In the background, he could make out Pettigrew's broken sentences relating their escape. He must have run into more Death Eaters. He briefly wondered if escape was even possible now with so many keen to their still recent flight.
His anxiety skipped up a few levels when he heard voices behind them. He chanced a look back to see if they were being pursued but didn't see anyone behind them. The voices seemed far away but with every step, they seemed to only get closer.
It appeared to Harry that both Malfoy and Snape had reached the same conclusion that he had as both men were speeding their steps which caused Harry a bit of trouble since his legs weren't as long as theirs. The trio continued like this for minutes.
Harry didn't know how long he would be able to keep up this speed. But just as soon as he thought that he was going to collapse, both Snape and Malfoy came to an abrupt stop. Harry crashed into Snape and fell to the ground. Severus, however, did not let go of his arm and roughly pulled him to his feet again.
Harry waited to see what had caused the abrupt stop but didn't have to wait long. He heard the approach of rapid footsteps coming from ahead of them. This must be it, he thought. How were they going to get out of this?
Severus shot a look to Lucius who was looking almost as horrorstricken as he felt.
Despite the desperateness of the situation, the blonde man quickly collected himself. "This way," he commanded, heading back the way they had come.
Harry couldn't believe it. They were only heading back in the direction of the Death Eaters that had been some distance behind them. Was Malfoy going to act like he had found them and take them back? A quick glance at his professor indicated to Harry that the man must trust Malfoy with his life as he didn't seem at all worried about the change in direction. Harry didn't know if this convinced him to trust Malfoy but it did comfort him slightly. After all, he thought, he would trust Ron in the same situation and this must be at least somewhat similar to the relationship he had with Ron.
Lucius quickened his pace and Severus followed suit, dragging Harry behind him. Severus had no idea what Lucius was thinking, but he trusted him. He must have a plan.
Each step deepened Harry's feelings of dread. They were closing in on their pursuers with no hope in sight of finding another method of escape.
Suddenly, just as Harry thought they were about to come face to face with a group of Death Eaters, Lucius turned down a narrow corridor that lead to winding stairs. Harry hadn't noticed the hall before but it was probably because they had been in such a hurry.
Lucius was the first to disappear into the safety of the passage, followed first by Severs and then by Harry. Just as Harry pulled his foot into the cover, he heard the voices and steps of the Death Easters break into the room that they had just been in.
Loosing no time, Lucius lead them up the stairs that wound in a spiral shape. They passed a few windows and from what Harry could tell, they were only at least four stories above the grounds. Shortly, they came to a large wooden door where Snape finally let Harry's arm free.
Lucius pushed the door but nothing happened. Severus then joined, but still the door didn't budge.
Lucius quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. He whispered the incantation and Harry could hear the latch give.
With Lucius' help, Severus pushed the door open and Harry smelled the fresh night air that was so different from the stale air in the dungeon.
Severus resumed his grip on Harry and pulled him into the frigid night air. Lucius was the last to pass through the door and closed it behind them, whispered another spell which Harry assumed locked the door again.
Harry looked around at his surroundings. They were at the top of an open air tower, much like the astronomy tower at Hogwarts, though not quite as large, he noted to himself.
Severus turned to Lucius with a confused look on his face. "What now?" he asked with his voice devoid of its usual collectiveness.
Lucius' expression didn't give Harry much encouragement. "I don't know. This is the best that I could come up with," he replied defensively.
Severus turned away from his companion. He didn't want to blame Lucius for this, but as he stepped further toward the edge of the tower, he couldn't help but notice the extremity of their height above ground. The wind was blowing hard and at the altitude, its effects felt ten times as much.
Severus backed away from the edge, bringing Harry back protectively with him.
He wasn't exactly Harry's ideal of a guardian, but with these circumstances, he was grateful to have someone there that seemed to care about what happened to him.
Lucius brought his hands to the back of his head and thought for a moment. Harry could see that he was just as nervous as both he and his potions master. If he was caught with them, he too would surely join in their fate.
Severus suddenly kneeled down and took Harry by his shoulders, looking directly into his eyes. Harry fought hard to hide the fear in them. "Stay here, do you understand?" Severus' voice was stern and, Harry thought, a bit parental.
Harry nodded in response as his didn't trust his voice not to give away his fear.
Severus quickly got back to his feet and made his way to the edge of the tower. He had always hated heights. He had never excelled in flying because he was always too nervous to get too far off the ground. He was aware of his hands sweating despite the chill of the air against his skin. He swallowed before again looking over the edge. He felt his legs going weak so he lowered himself onto his hands and knees. The wind didn't feel so strong that way and he was pretty sure he could keep himself from passing out this way.
He took in a deep breath as he cast his eyes downward. It was a cloudy night and difficult to judge exact distance. The ground looked black as night and he wondered how much time they would have before they were found.
Severus looked up at the clouds for a few moments. They were moving quickly but he could've deducted that, judging by the intensity of the wind affronting the tower. Suddenly, there was a break in the clouds and the moon shone its light over the earth. Severus looked down quickly to survey the environment.
They were directly above the lake. That was most likely the reason that the ground had seemed black before.
The ground disappeared again as another cloud covered the moon. Severus sighed and cautiously backed away from the edge a bit before he pushed himself to his feet.
He turned to the others, his gaze pausing on Harry for a moment. The boy had been watching him but had quickly averted his eyes when Severus' met his own. Severus then turned to Lucius who was looking back at the door with consideration.
Severus addressed him, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Lucius, how high do you think we are?" he inquired, his edginess apparent in his tone.
Lucius turned to him and considered this for a moment. "Thirty meters, perhaps. Give or take a few, I'd imagine."
To Harry, Severus seemed to pale and turn an odd shade of green at this news.
Lucius cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
"We're directly above the lake," Severus stated in the calmest voice that he could manage.
Lucius' mouth dropped open. "Severus, you of all people, can't be serious," he exclaimed incredulously.
"What other choice to we have, Lucius?" Severus countered. "As you can imagine, this is not exactly my ideal of an escape, but it looks like our only option unless you have a better idea."
Lucius let out a deep breath. "Well, as a matter of fact, I think I do."
* * * * *
Pettigrew and a group of fellow Death Eaters that had gone with him to look for their escaped prisoners came to a halt when they came face to face with another group of Death Eaters that they had known were also looking for Snape and Potter.
"Did you see anything?" Pettigrew spat out in a desperate tone.
"If we saw anything, what would we be doing here empty handed?" one of them replied scathingly.
"They couldn't have gotten far. They must still be in the castle. There's no way out of here that they wouldn't run into any guards!" Pettigrew cried desperately. He knew that he would be punished severely for this.
The same Death Eater that had spoke before rushed forward and grabbed the short man by the collar. "It isn't our fault they got away so stop ordering us around and help us find them!"
Pettigrew struggled out of the man's grip. "It doesn't matter who's fault is was. The Dark Lord will punish us all if we let them escape," he shot back in a threatening tone.
The man held his glare but Pettigrew saw something change in his eyes and he knew that he had chosen the right tactic.
"Backtrack! Look everywhere. They must still be here!"
Both groups turned and hurried back into their respective paths.
* * * * *
"Well, let's have it then," Severus said, crossing his arms. Inwardly he was relieved that Lucius had another plan. The thought of even looking back over the edge of the tower made him sick.
"No one knows that I helped you escape," Lucius began. "So, I can go back down ahead of you and the boy. I can confirm whether or not the danger has passed."
Severus nodded. "All right then, let's go."
Lucius turned back to the door and once again pulled out his wand. He unlocked the door, and again with Severus' help opened the door.
Harry hadn't moved from the spot where Severus had told him to stay and turned to the man, awaiting instructions.
Severus took hold of Harry's arm. "Come along, Potter."
Harry allowed himself to be led back to the door way. Severus waited a few seconds before following after Lucius.
Lucius quietly made his way down the spiraling stairs, being sure not to be heard. He hoped that the Death Eaters had dismissed the corridor, knowing that it only led to a locked tower.
* * * * *
The group of Death Eaters that had been behind the group were making their way back in the direction that they had come. Their eyes were keenly observing any shadow or other place that could be a potential hiding place.
One of the men narrowed his eyes. "We didn't check over there," he said, pointing to the corridor that Harry, Severus, and Lucius had just recently made their narrow escape from.
"It just leads to a tower," another man from the group said.
"Let's check it anyway. No harm in being sure," the first man responded.
The group agreed and a moment later they were in the corridor leading to the stairs.
* * * * *
Lucius cautiously made his way down the winding stairs. The wind was blowing fiercely from the outside into the castle. The noise would probably drown out any of his footsteps, but he stepped carefully anyway.
Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he heard voices and about a second before he was noticed, he turned and bolted up the stairs. But it wasn't soon enough. He heard one of the men shout his name and then he heard their paces quickening behind his.
* * * * *
Harry looked up expectantly to his professor when the man had come to a stop.
Severus narrowed his eyes and strained his ears to listen. He thought that he had heard something but with the wind blowing at this intensity, it was difficult to tell.
"Why are we stopping?" he whispered.
"Shh," Severus said as he tightened his grip on Harry's arm.
Harry fought the urge to rip his arm away from the man and demand an explanation. He was tired of being lead around and treated as a child. It was his life at stake as well and he wanted some say in the matter and with that thought, he emotions won out.
"How do you know that we can even trust him?" he demanded of Snape attempting to free his arm.
Severus' grip only tightened as he glared down at the boy. "He's our only option, Potter," he snarled.
Harry glared back at the man until he heard footsteps and turned to see a panic stricken Lucius rushing up the stairs toward them.
Severus didn't waste any time and pushed Harry back toward the top of the tower.
Harry ran as quickly as could until he came into contact with the wooden door leading to the tower.
Severus and Lucius were right behind him and forced the door open. Once the three were outside, Severus pulled Harry to the middle of the tower and placed himself between the door and the boy.
After closing the door, Lucius had taken out his wand and was about to cast a locking charm when the door suddenly burst open and four Death Eaters stood in it with their wands ready.
Harry could feel Snape tense.
Severus' eyes darted back and forth between the Death Eaters standing between himself and the stairway and Lucius. For a moment, Lucius looked just as alarmed as he felt but he quickly masked it behind a glare.
"Good work, Malfoy," the Death Eater that had suggested looking in the tower said smugly.
Severus began backing toward the edge of the tower slowly, pushing Harry with him. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. He briefly wondered how Lucius was going to react to this but he didn't have to wait long to find out.
Lucius turned his attention to the group as he spoke. "Do you know how they escaped?" he questioned with an annoyed tone in his voice.
"It seems that Pettigrew wanted to have his revenge on Snape before the Dark Lord finished him off," one of them replied.
Severus couldn't blame Lucius. After all, he had a family to look after and to protect. If it had been discovered that he had helped them, Narcissa and Draco would likely be killed as well.
"That fool will have much to explain," Lucius said, maintaining his charade.
Severus could feel Harry tense in indignation at this but he shot a look at the boy over his shoulder in an attempt to keep him as calm as possible and to not give Lucius up.
Harry saw the look and interpreted its meaning correctly. He couldn't understand why Snape was standing up for the man though.
Suddenly his attention was brought back to the group of Death Eaters when one of them pointed his wand directly at Severus. "Where do you think you're going?"
Severus halted and glared back but said nothing in response. As much as he tried to keep himself from looking back to Lucius, his eyes darted over to the man. He saw Lucius slightly shake his head and give him a meaningful look. So, Lucius knew what he was planning.
Lucius couldn't believe it. Severus was going to jump off the tower. If he even survived the jump, where did he expect to go?
Severus eyed the group before him. It didn't look as if he had any other choice. If they were captured again, Voldemort would ensure that they would not get another chance at escape.
Casting a look over his shoulder at the edge, his eyes caught Harry's for a brief moment. He had thought the boy would look frightened and he did, but what was more pronounced was his resignation. He actually seemed resigned to death. The thought chilled Severus.
"I'm tired of waiting," one of the Death Eaters stated in an impatient tone. "Let's just kill him," he said jabbing his wand in Severus' direction.
Lucius narrowed his eyes. "You fool. Are willing you to accept the consequences of going against the will of the Dark Lord?" His voice was steady but Severus could detect a hint of desperation in it.
"How would he know what happened?" the man persisted with a challenging undertone. "We could just say that it was an accident. He won't mind as long as we bring back the brat."
Some of the Death Eaters were starting to eagerly agree with the man and Lucius was beginning to lose his calm demeanor.
"Fools! You seriously underestimate him if you believe that he will be deceived." Lucius exclaimed in an edgy voice.
Severus turned back to Harry. "Get ready, Potter," he whispered.
"Ready for what?" Harry asked in a voice that flaunted his terror.
Severus didn't answer, which did nothing to console Harry. Instead, he turned his attention back to the men before him. It appeared that Lucius had not won the argument as one of the men was striding toward him.
Severus, who had been clinging onto Harry with one hand, grabbed Harry's other arm with his other hand.
Harry swallowed. He had no idea what he was supposed to be ready for, but it looked like whatever it was, was going to happen soon.
Severus cast another glance at Lucius who was looking back at him with petrified eyes.
The man's wand rose. As the curse escaped his lips, a green light exploded from the wand's tip.
Severus made to pick up the boy but his feet were planted. He wouldn't budge. As a last desperate act, Severus covered the boy's body with his own, waiting for the curse to hit.
* * * * *
Author's note: Ok, I am really sorry about taking so long to update! A lot is going on with school and at home so I never got a chance to work on this chapter until now. It's longer than usual so I hope that helped make up for the delay a bit. Also, one of my reviewers asked that I read her story and I promise that I will during my winter vacation. I'm looking forward to reading it because all of the reviews were very good :) Hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know as reviews make me feel guilty for not updating…