Sors Vita- Chapter 4

Okay, I lied. I thought I would be putting my head in to writing the minute my exams were over but then again as many may know writing isn't any fun when it feels like work. So the thought that I had to write when my exams were over didn't feel like a fun, relaxing holiday so I left it aside. I can't keep promises but I can assure you that I won't forget about this and I'll write when I feel like it.

I feel like writing now, so I hope you enjoy my work.

Disclaimer: I know, I know, I'm fully aware that I'm not J.K. Rowling and the whole of the Harry Potter universe belongs to her, I'm just borrowing it.

Hermione slowly rose from her transfigured bed and cautiously approached the master bedroom. The frightening noise had ceased and all seemed quiet. She considered returning to her bed but could not without good conscience so Hermione tapped the door lightly to listen for a response.

"Go to bed."

Hermione heard the man sneer. Against orders she pushed the door open to see Severus sitting on the bed gripping his forearm. Quietly she approached him to get a clearer picture of the scene and soon she could see the outlines of the dark mark scorched on to the skin of the Professor. With that Hermione had enough information to understand what had just occurred. She swiftly turned towards the closet and opened it, locating the black robes and mask inside.

"I thought I told you to leave," Severus said as he rose from the bed and drew closer to the wife he had just found that morning.

Hermione handed Severus the mask as she assisted him with his robes. "Stay safe. I'll make sure to find a way out of here as soon as possible," Hermione reassured her long time colleague as she continued to help him in to his robes.

Severus nodded as he donned the mask and headed towards the door. He had surprised himself with his own screams. The pain of the dark mark had never been too much to bare but years of peace had made him accustomed to the lack of constant pain. He now feared that his years without the Dark Lord had meant that he could no longer face him as he had done before.

At the noble house of Nott, a small group of Death Eaters feasted and drank. The Leader, the Commander was not happy. He sat at the head of the table, wrinkles slowly forming on the face of a teenager. He awaited for an unfaithful servant, one that he had once greatly trusted only to become disappointed in.

"My Lord will you drink?" the elderly master of the house offered.

"I'm sure dear Severus will be on his way shortly. Not easy with two Mudblood brats in the house."

"You're wrong, Goyle. It's three Mudblood pests. Can't imagine why Severus bothers."

"Well, I assume the little Mudblood bitch is quite the little minx in bed."

A slight pop and a cloaked man appeared in the room. "You can assure she is, Jugson," the man responded snidely before scanning the room. Quickly he noticed that he had found himself in the ancestral house of Nott. However the guest belatedly recognized the presence of the leader and succumbed to his knees as soon as he had gained his senses.

"My lord, I apologize for not coming sooner." The man started to inch towards the head of the table in an effort to kiss the robes of the master.

"Stay where you are Severus," the Dark Lord ordered. "How are the wife and children?"

Unsure of how to answer Severus looked to the room for answers but found none. Severus resorted to giving the most typical answer he's seen his peers give the lord, "They are fine, my lord."

The Dark Lord chuckled at his followers response. He then pointed at the seat at the very end of the table, the one furthest from himself. "Severus, why don't you take a seat and have a drink?" he asked.

Severus hesitated for a moment before taking the seat assigned to him. He noticed that there was an empty seat next to the Dark Lord one that he had often found himself in during both his glory days as a full fledged Death Eater and a spy. The seat he found himself in now showed how much his position had dropped within the circle, however he relaxed slightly deducing that by his attendance at such a private dinner that he had not been removed from the Dark Lords inner circle. Severus obeyed his masters command and unmasked himself to take a sip of the wine placed in front of him.

Moments later a young, platinum blonde man entered the room from the back. It seemed safe to assume that he was joining the table after a trip to the loo. He took the prized seat next to the Dark Lord with dignity and without hesitation. The man had nodded his head towards the group as a slight greeting before he took a sip of his drink. It was then that Severus noticed the boy's parents were no where to be found.

The Dark Lord acknowledged the arrival of the young man by turning his attention towards Severus. "Now that you have enjoyed your drink Severus, where is the thing I asked for?" Voldemort questioned.

Severus was confused, was there something he had to bring? He had not found anything near his cloak, the place he would usually keep an item meant for the Dark Lord. Severus recognizing his mistake fell to the ground and lowered his head towards the ground in apology.

"Perhaps you forgot?" the Dark Lord sneered as he hexed his follower. Anger made his face flushed and new wrinkles formed in his skin, he grew frailer in appearance within seconds. "You think this is a joke, Severus? I let you come and enjoy some wine with the inner circle and yet you betray me again?" the evil wizard raised his head to look at his most faithful. "In front of your old friends? Don't you have any shame?" the Dark Lord jeered as he raised his wand again to hex the man.

With the second curse Severus found himself convulsing on the ground. It was unlike him to be so weak. The criticism did not cease and Severus found himself being hexed continuously with the Dark Lords favourite torture spell. Soon it wasn't just the Dark Lord himself but the rest of the followers had started to turn their wands on him. The last he saw was the pitiful look of the young Malfoy before he fell in to unconsciousness.

Back at the Potions Masters quarters a young lady sat in front of a warm fire as she poured her attention in to the book in front of her. The book was on dream potions, which she had found within the master study. While she found it unlikely that she will find her answers in the book, she found no harm in using it as a reference as she tried to calm herself down from the absence of her flatmate.

It has been an hour since she had sent her colleague off to a dreadful meeting. One that she nor her so-called husband could have predicted. Having gotten used to the days of peace, she worried her former professor may have lost his touch and from what she had gathered the currents weren't in his favor. It seemed likely to her that Severus Snape was in for a rough meeting, she worried that the man would not make it back in one piece. While during the war none of the Order Members would have worried for the safety of their lone spy due to his capabilities it seemed in this war the accomplished spy was not as successful as previously. Her writings had not thoroughly described the horrors of her husbands work and she assumed that the secrecy of the Order may had to do with it.

It seemed odd that any sort of dream will give it's participants such extremes. On one hand a happy family, on the other a raging war. Most dream potions that created simultaneous dreams were likely to have a single purpose of allowing it's users to experience something out of this world. For instance exotic sexual encounters or adventures of war however such potions were unlikely to produce both effects. The theory of dream inducing potions was mostly crossed out in the morning when the experiment of sleep had not gone as planned. However that only removes certain dream potions and spells from the list as many can only be released from a counter spell or potion. It is also possible that the dreamlike state can be countered by longer periods of sleep, thus more research in to dream magic may be acceptable.

The clock struck one and Hermione Granger, no, Snape looked up to find herself in another day. Suddenly she felt the wards fall and presence of a strangers magic, her guard up she treads cautiously and slowly towards the door.

The door slams open and a masked man in a black robe drags another similarly cloaked man in to the living room. Shocked by the strangers presence, Hermione unconsciously moved aside to let the stranger in to the quarters. The masked man drops the unconscious man on to the couch and the sound of the body meeting the couch brings Hermione to her senses. She raises her wand and points it towards the man, "Expelliarmus!"

The man's wand flies out of his pocket and towards the caster. "What the-? Hermione. It's me, Draco." He looks at the woman in disbelief as he takes off his mask to reveal his handsome face. "Do you need the password?" Draco takes a look at his former classmate again and seeing the befuddled expression on her face adds, "Beaver."

Hermione continues to stare at her old school enemy in disbelief. Was she supposed to trust him? What was that password for? As she thought that Draco approached her stunned self to retrieve his wand.

"Going to need this and don't you have more pressing matters to attend to?" Draco asked as he snatched his wand back and spared a glance towards Severus on the couch.

Hermione returned to her senses again when her attention was shifted towards her colleague that was brought in battered up and unconscious. She ran over to Severus to check over him, she could tell that the meeting didn't go well. On the side she heard Draco conjure a patronus and send it off to the order with a brief summary of events. With that Hermione calmed having confirmed that Draco had joined the order in this world.

After sending off the patronus to Harry, Draco turned his attention to the couple. He was shocked to see Hermione still sitting beside Severus on the couch. "No need to be this shocked, it's not like the first time this has happened and it's likely not going to be the last." Draco walked over and tapped Hermione on the shoulder, "You know it would have been better if you had reminded Severus to take the potion with him." He extended his arm and lifted Hermione back up on to her feet, "Come on get moving, your husband needs you."

Okay, that was a little shorter than usual. I'm trying really I am but I tend to get caught up in other interests. I'm not abandoning this, don't worry! Please review, it helps pressure me in to writing more.