March 16, 2012

Author's Note: Big thank you to AdrienneGracify for Beta reading this chapter. She has a Dolohov fic in progress: "Muggle Missing."

Previous Chapter

The door of the room burst open and a livid headmaster stormed into the room. Snape pulled the girl away from Antonin, placing her behind him. With his wand drawn, he yelled, "What the hell is going on?"

Chapter 5

Antonin let go of Hannah's shoulder and withdrew his wand the moment he heard the crash of Snape rushing through the door of the private room at the Hog's Head Inn.

Snape swung the girl behind him, taking a broad protective stance as he extended his wand. Antonin made a parry, leaving both wizards standing en garde, nostrils flaring.

The headmaster narrowed his eyes. "What business did you have bringing Ms. Abbott to a room?"

Antonin leered at Severus, taking notice of how the younger man shook lanky black threads of hair out of his eyes. "Tired of chasing Dumbledore's robes and being a milksop, Snape?" His eyes flitted to the girl's hand tugging at her professor's shoulder. When Snape ignored the girl, as if it was a normal occurrence for a pretty, young thing to be touching him, Antonin felt his anger boil up through his stomach. "Is it your most fortuitous rise to power that's gotten you randy for playing a bit with a strumpet?"

Snape lifted his chin even higher. "Do I detect jealousy, Dolohov?"

Antonin sneered at the young headmaster, but he caught the look of mortification on the Abbott girl's face as she backed away from Snape. Antonin watched her face wrench into disgust as he made his next verbal stab at Snape: "Young Marcus Flint has been ashamed of your lack of, shall we say, abilities, since the incident with Madam Bulstrode's daughter."

Snape shifted uncomfortably. "You are out of place. I won't discuss such matters, as I do not intend to further embarrass Miss Millicent Bulstrode."

Dolohov snorted in derision. "The Lord's darling, 'Bullie Millie,' has hardly kept the matter quiet. It is well known that you rejected her proposal to deal with her failing marks in Defense. She was willing to serve detentions on her knees in your private quarters, but you rejected the offer."

"Shut it!" came out as a snarl from Snape's narrowed lips.

Idly gesturing to Miss Abbott, Antonin continued, "Your hussy will be glad to know you have standards. Bullie Millie is not fit to be taken as your whore, now that you've ascended to our Lord's right hand." Antonin noticed the pallor of helpless terror taking over the girl's face.

"A word, Snape," he continued, leaning in as if to speak privately. "Instead of accusing me of being dishonorable, you should thank me for protecting her from the men downstairs."

Turning his full attention to Hannah, Antonin forced a teasing smile onto his face. "She remembers Flint drooling at the sight of her. Don't you, young Czarevna?"

Hannah's face screwed up with reddened rage. The candles flickered and the fireplace was engulfed in flame for a moment before all fire in the room was damped. A pale trickle of sepia light filtered through the smoke-covered windows.

Dolohov looked accusingly at Snape, who in turn looked at Hannah. "Impressive, Miss Abbott," the professor said. "It would seem that you have mastered silent, wandless magic."

She wrenched her eyes from Snape's and stomped toward Dolohov. "I don't know what Czarev-whatever means, but I've had it with your insults. Do not ever call me a hussy again." Hannah spoke in measured, precise words. Her tone darkened as her voice grew in intensity. "And seriously? You called me a strumpet!"

Dolohov jerked his head in surprise before deadening his face of all emotions. "Czarevna is my mother tongue. The wife of the – how shall I put it – crown prince. And 'hussy' – it only means housewi—"

"Enough! I've been humiliated, silenced, disarmed, and reduced to nearly pinching myself so I don't piss my knickers."

Snape merely raised his eyebrows at Hannah and glanced at Antonin for explanation. He in turn eyed the headmaster with bewilderment.

She stamped her foot and then danced on her two feet, holding in her piss. "Fuck's sake! If you won't give me back my wand, at least call the elf."

A disgruntled creature appeared with a pop.

"Haven't you a privy attached to this room?" she demanded.

The hunchbacked female elf pointed her gnarled finger at the wall and a sliding door appeared. Shaking her head at the idiocy of the hotel patron, the old elf cracked away again.

Hannah lost no time to scurry into the loo, slamming the door until the lock clicked.

Dolohov glared at Snape. "You taught wandless magic to your Defense Against the Dark Arts students. What were you thinking?"

"Don't be daft." Snape replaced his wand into his arm sheath hidden under his robe. "It's nearly impossible to teach such skills. In addition, Miss Abbott was not under my tutelage last year. She left Hogwarts after her mother's death. The lifeless body was found in her home, the Morsmordre dark mark hovering in the sky above."

"Then she is powerful." Dolohov grinned, showing brown stains on his teeth. "We should persuade her to leave behind Potter's amateur band of followers and so join our Lord's calling."

Snape stared at him. "We killed her mother. She'd be delighted to join our ranks."

Antonin cocked his head at Snape, trying to sort what the man had just said. When he realized he'd been mocked, Dolohov squared his shoulders and allowed a glint of hatred to flee from his eyes. Rummaging in his cloak, he pulled out the girl's wand and handed it over to the headmaster without a word, but with plenty of hateful vibrations coursing through the air.

"Why was she silenced?" Snape asked out of curiosity, twirling the girl's wand through his fingers with practiced boredom.

"I did nothing to alter the silencing spell you cast. You had reason to prevent her from speaking on the train, did you not?" Antonin replaced his own wand in his hip holster. "Do not take me for a fool, Severus. I know you have some clever plan up your sleeve. I will do what it takes to redeem my standing with the Dark Lord. If that means nipping at your heels until our Lord sees me as a loyal servant once again, then so be it."

The sliding door to the loo opened and Hannah's voice rang out. "My wand!" She rushed to Snape and snatched it out of his hand. She did not see Antonin watching her facial expression change from anxiety to security as her fingers clasped the wood and as a bright aura radiated off her.

There was an awkward moment of silence until Antonin turned to Hannah. "I shall take my leave of you, my suka," he said with gentile politeness as he bowed to her, betraying his underhanded insult. She gave him a forced smile in return.

He followed much more stiffly with a simple "I'll leave you to it" as he regarded Snape with wary eyes. He left the room with a smirk for himself and a determination to make Miss Abbott his bitch. He'd kill Snape before he let him bed the girl.

#########

Hannah shifted on nervous feet as Dolohov left the room. She was rather relieved that he had left the door open. She did not fancy being behind a closed door with yet another Death Eater, even if he was her former potions professor.

"Miss Abbott," the professor drawled, quite aware that Dolohov's footsteps had stopped just outside the door and not gone down the hallway to the noisy pub below. "Firstly, let me welcome you back to Hogwarts."

She eyed him with skepticism. "If there's a problem with my tuition, please just get straight to the point."

"Yes," Snape agreed with coldness, "it would seem that your relatives left it to me to announce your disinheritance of the Abbott estate. As it stands, your tuition, room and board has been revoked, leaving it entirely to the school to cover your costs."

"That's absurd! Only this morning Aunt—" Hannah faltered. "Well, my uncle—" Once again she was flustered. "Why can't I remember the names of my family members?" she cried out.

"A complex memory charm was performed after your family dropped you off at the station. Perhaps you remember an aged wizard dropping his hat and you helping him to pick it up."

"Yes. I was going to board the train. He had long white hair, a mustache as long as his beard—"

"You could be describing any wizened old man, Miss Abbott. It will do you no good to dwell on regaining your memories, as the hired wizard was an expert in Obliviation skills. He was an Unspeakable, much like your father." Snape took out a roll of parchment and unfurled it, glancing at it on occasion as he continued. "Your family sent me an untraceable missive, which explains that you will have no recollection of the identity of your family members and you will be unable to locate any addresses of their properties. You will only recall your childhood home, as it has an address known to public institutions, but magic wards prevent you from entering the property. Most memories of your past year have also been obliviated, but you will retain skills and spellwork gained during your homeschooling. You are now the only known Abbott in the wizarding world. Of course your father is still at large, but since his disappearance thirteen years ago, no one can truly say they know if he is alive. Such is the life of an Unspeakable."

"And his daughter," Hannah said with a resigned sigh. She tottered backwards.

"You look rather pale, Miss Abbott. Sit on the bed before you faint."

Is Dolohov right about Snape? Time will tell.