Severus Snape had never considered himself a reckless man. Being a spy for two such opposing sides in a war ensured that he was careful in almost anything he did. It would seem that he wasn't careful enough. He was a fool to believe that the Dark Lord would trust him enough to be alone with him for the sake of just being there. In the heat of a battle, he had let his guard down at the worst of times, and managed to ensure that he was the target of that thrice damned snake in the process. After Arthur Weasley's run in with the demonic snake in the Department of Mysteries, Severus wanted a back up plan, just in case. He didn't take into account the paralyzing agent of the venom, or the immense pain he would have to fight through to maintain a thought process long enough to try and get to the little vial of tears, hidden deep within the pockets of his robes.
He had given himself up for dead, and had finally resigned himself to his fate after ensuring Potter had had the necessary memories off him to know what he needed to do. It was probably for the best this way. He wouldn't have to argue with the infernal boy about whether or not he was telling the truth and waste precious time. After to witless trio had left, giving him up for dead, (honestly, they didn't even check!) he lay there on the filthy floor of the boat house, waiting as the venom to slowly run it's coarse through his body. Not that it would help Arthur Weasley now, but Severus had actually managed to figure out what type of venom the Dark Lord had imbued his snake with.
It was a mix of basilisk venom, as if that weren't deadly enough on it's own, and most interestingly, acromantula venom. The bastard always did enjoy his little experiments. Taking two venoms that were completely opposing, the basilisk venom being a blood thinning venom, while the acromantula venom coagulated, and mash them into one being. Madness. It shouldn't have been possible! Magic however, rarely takes into account that which should be impossible. It was then, Severus knew that the only real chance he had was with phoenix tears. It was this, that caused him to make a deal with his dying predecessor. For the insurance that Severus would live, he had to kill Albus Dumbledore, rather than Draco Malfoy, to whom the original task was set.
Just his like his rotten luck. Luck, that seemed to have shifted when he heard a giggle. I was soft, and full of relief, but he heard it! Trying his damnedest to stay conscious, he attempted to make some sort of sound out of the shredded meat that had been his throat. It seemed to have been just enough, because a few moments later, he heard someone slowly approaching.
"Sweet Circe, Merlin, and Morgana!" he heard a young woman gasp in exclaimation. American, he thought randomly. She knelt down beside him, and he could feel her fingers gently moving cloth away from his ravaged neck, presumably to better see his wounds. If only he could open his blasted eyes! He was then surprised as she placed something in his mouth and encouraged him to swallow. He would know that taste anywhere. The taste of bile, a bezoar, afterall, was found in the stomach of a goat and would taste of bile, made itself known and he opened his eyes in shock. This person obviously had some sense of healing and he reached out with his mind to hopefully convey to her of the vial hidden in his robes.
It was difficult. Extremely so, and more work than he had anticipated as the average person didn't have the faintest groundwork of Occlumancy practiced. It seemed this young woman had very strong natural shields. Strong enough to repel even concentrated surface scans. He persisted however, and finally managed to send her an image of the vial and it's location. The young woman showed more brains than three quarters of the students he had ever taught and immediately used magic to open the buttons on his teaching cloak and took out the vial. She then sniffed it, presumably to ensure that she wasn't assisting him in his own suicide and found herself nodding in shocked appreciation. She then poured the tears on his wounds and even had him ingest a few drops before washing the salty liquid down with a glass of water.
He would have to remember to thank her in some way when he woke up. He owed this young woman his life, and he somehow didn't mind. After pledging his life to two masters, each ruthless in their own way, he found he really couldn't muster up the indignation needed to care in this instance. In fact, he couldn't muster up any sort of feeling at the moment as he finally allowed darkness to claim him.
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Severus woke to someone softly reading aloud at his bedside. The voice was soft and welcoming as he made his way back to awareness. It didn't take long for him to realize that whoever the woman was that was reading to him, she was reading a potions text. Something he could get used to quite quickly. He didn't open his eyes quite yet, not wanting to break the spell of absolute peace that permeated the space they were both in.
"When chopping a Billywig Sting for your potion, to ensure maximum retention of the slime within, be assured to cut at an angle of 42 degrees, before mixing it thoroughly with the pus of a Clabbert. Ensure that every chopped sting is coated before adding to the armadillo bile and baneberry balm mixture." He heard the young woman make a noise of disgust.
"You know Professor, even though it is meant to help heal burns, some of this, I can't help but feel will make the burn worse rather than heal it," the young woman said. Not able to let a good potions debate slide by, and years of teaching acting against him, he answered her softly.
"Indeed not. Neither the pus or the bile help. It is more advantageous to use powdered fairy wings in place of the clabbert pus, and African honey in place of the bile. Honey being a natural antibacterial and the magic of the fairy wings ensures the slime of the billywig sting doesn't react negatively with the dead flesh of the burn."
There was a soft gasp, and Severus opened his eyes to look into a rather captivating pair of dark chocolate orbs. He saw a small smile creep onto her face, after a moment.
"You know, adding week old bread mold to the potion, ups the healing factor by a power of 20 percent, and cuts the amount of time needed to be on the wound in half," the woman countered.
"Indeed? Must be the inherent penicillin in the mold. Again, an antibacterial agent. Used since the time of the Ancient Egytians," he said softly. In little more than a whisper. He moved his hand up to his neck to check on the progress of his wounds.
The young woman set her book to the side and moved to stand by his bedside.
"They are, for the most part, completely healed. You can speak, as you are well aware, but just to be on the safe side, I wouldn't attempt to speak any louder a tone than you have been. Just to assure that your vocal chords haven't sustained any more traumatic damage. I checked your blood, to make sure that it was clear of the venom. There are traces, still, but I don't think it will hinder or harm you in any way. It is truly a miracle on the scale of Merlin that you hadn't died before I found you, Professor. There were some minor complications after, but you healed nicely," she said.
"Severus, please. The woman who saved my life more than earned her right to call me by my given name," he tells her.
"And I am Isabella. But my friends call me Isa, and only an absolute small handful have the okay to call me Bella, though I don't care for the name as I used to," she smiled.
"Isabella it is. Tell me, Isabella. Where are we?" he asked, looking about the room they were in. It was a comfortable room, with hardwood floors with a black rug to keep the chill from one's feet, and light blue walls. A satin and lace curtain was drawn back from the window, offering a picturesque view of a forest. He turned to her as she giggled.
"Don't you recognize the trees, Severus? We are still in Hogsmead, in my cottage on the far edge of town. Farthest from the school in fact."
Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The old Swan residence. I thought the family had decided to finally tear it down three years ago."
Bella gave a good laugh at this. "No, no. The last Swan just decided to ensure her safety. I placed it under the Fidelius and have been here ever since. You, me, my cousin Hermione, and my house elf, Mei Mei, are the only ones who know it is still here." Severus balked, and then asked the question his mind brought up at the name Hermione.
"Hermione Granger?" he asked.
"The very one. Don't worry over it, though. If you do not wish to see her, the wards alert me with enough time for you to come to your rooms, which are warded for you alone, or, if need be, I have another home in America that you can use. The current inhabitants are looking for another place, as they are expecting yet another child, and this finally makes their family too big for the house. They should be out in their new place by the end of the week if you would rather go there to get away. Judging by what the prophet is publishing about you, I dare say, you might rather go that rout," she said. While soothing one concern, she merely brought up another.
"And what is the Daily Prophet publishing this week?" he said with a dark edge to his voice.
"Ah, it's been celebrating the downfall of the Dark Lord to be sure, but it seems that Harry Potter got his hands on some memories that he said were yours, and while he won't share the memories themselves, he does seem to be divulging some of their contents."
Severus rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Just how long have I been alseep?"
"Two full days. While the tears did their job and healed you, you still developed a slight fever. I thought it best to wake you up as soon as it broke, thinking you would prefer to take care of yourself rather than have me fuss over you. Not that I can't fuss if you want me to."
Severus gave a slight smile at her attempt at cheering him up and sighed. "Suppose it was too much for the little pest to just let me fade into obsurity."
"The option of America is still open to you, should you wish for a new start. The whole of magical Britain believes you dead. Let them continue to think so. Change your name, and we can both move to America. No fuss, no muss," she said, giving a shrug.
"Both of us?" he asked, raising a brow at her.
"You don't think that just because I saved your life, I would let a man I don't know into my home without my supervision, do you? Tsk. And here I thought you were clever." Any reproach in her voice was tempered by the amusement dancing in her eyes and the smirk on her lips.
"Besides, I would be crazy to let a fine speciman of a man out of my sight. Especially one with your eyes and voice. They are enough to make a girl turn to goo."
Severus choked on air and Bella threw her head back and laughed at his expression.
"You can not be serious?!" he asked incredulously.
"Completely. Honestly, you must be beating the sixth and seventh years off with a trolls club!" she said with a look of genuine honesty.
"Not hardly. I am the greasy bat of the dungeons, with a toucan's beak for a nose. No one finds me attractive," he said with a slightly sullen air.
Bella gave a rather impressive unladylike snort. "Then they are blind as well as vapid. Honestly, as if their hair is the model of perfection after a double block of potions. And your nose isn't a beak. It has a rather old world Roman quality I rather like, so please, for the sake of my blood pressure, and your sanity, don't put yourself down again, or I will go off on a rant worthy of my cousin."
Severus looked at the delicate but deceptively strong woman at his side. This woman he didn't even know, that saved his life and was willing to help him get a fresh start in a new country, free of masters and expectations. It was more than he had dared hope for when he envisioned the end of this bloody war. And he was a smart enough man to take it with both hands!
A/N:You know, I don't think I've ever made the disclaimer in any of my stories, So just to cover my a$$...Twilight belongs to SM, HP belongs to JKR, and Labyrinth belongs to the Jim Henson company, I believe. So there. Also, this isn't going to be a long story. It's just an errant plot bunny that wouldn't leave my head as I thought about how to continue ABOOT. (XD A BOOT! rofl) Here's hoping it will knock something loose.