Righto... what's this all about... I believe it is time to find out why Sev was running in the first place... yeah?
Off you go then... frolic... :D
And another plea for reviews... you see, I'm addicted...
Chapter 3 – The Three Phials
Severus 'came to' with the distraught sounds of crying echoing in his ear. He felt the odd weight of something hooked over his left leg, and the shuddering of a warm body against his side.
His chest was stinging ferociously and he was finding it quite difficult to breathe in a decent lungful of air. Through the dizzy, fogginess of his mind he was feeling wholly disoriented. His reclined position confused him; he had no idea where he was.
He concentrated on recalling what had happened to him, and small snippets that came to him of his flight from Malfoy Manor elucidated to him at least why his chest hurt so much!
His last memories were of travelling as a passenger in a car, he thought, with the girl… no, woman, the Muggle woman… but, he could not detect any sounds of the vehicle.
Where in Merlin's name was he?
He cracked his eyes open a fraction and reconciled that he was in fact still in the small car by his, somewhat odd, viewpoint of the steering wheel through the darkness. That aspect also cleared up the fact that he seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, lying down. The seat must have been reclined at some point, he decided.
Severus also took note that the woman – Sarah, he just now remembered – was not sitting in the driver's seat. But of course that was who was lying against him on his other side, wasn't it? And she was crying… quite distraughtly it seemed.
He summoned enough energy and rolled his head toward the warm body sobbing against his shoulder.
"What's wrong… why have we stopped?" he managed to croak out between huffed breaths.
She gasped in surprise and raised her head to look at him. "Oh thank God," she blurted swiping at her eyes and cheeks with her fingers, trying hard to make her snivelling subside.
"You… um, I didn't know which way to go and you… you wouldn't wake up," she blurted, her distress at the revelation almost setting the sobbing in motion again. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, fighting to calm herself.
'I was unconscious?' he questioned silently in alarm, frowning in consternation. 'That is bad, very bad!' he thought… deciding immediately that he was exceptionally foolish for allowing his injuries to affect him so acutely; especially when he actually had a remedy – or more accurately a treatment – for his worst symptom about his person, despite having lost his wand.
He'd not considered using it earlier simply because he didn't want to waste it unnecessarily… but now he could see that had been an excessively idiotic and dangerous judgment. Obviously his injury was far worse than he had realised, and had affected him far quicker than he anticipated. He could not afford to take risks with his life as it stood now… he currently carried essential intelligence for the Order of the Phoenix within his mind, and simply must deliver it to Dumbledore as soon as he possibly could!
"In my pocket… inside my coat there is a phial…" He tried to reach across for it himself with his free hand (the one that was not trapped between his side and the woman) but was brought up short by the stabbing pain that shot through his torso at the twisting effort. He gasped and hissed, clutching toward his chest under the coat draped over him instead.
"What have you done?" he demanded breathily, feeling evidence of the bulky bandages beneath his clothes.
After a brief frown of confusion and concern Sarah quickly pushed herself up onto her elbow, her coat slipping away off both of them.
"Just cleaned the wound with alcohol and wrapped it… you were still bleeding, I was hoping this would help."
Well that explained the stinging, Severus decided with a sigh, nodding his understanding… and if he was honest, his gratitude as well. It seemed Sarah wasn't as obtuse as he'd first assumed.
He tried to move his other hand to retrieve the phial, but there was no chance he could free it without greater effort… and he was loathe to attempt it given the pain his previous efforts had resulted in.
"Here, let me, I'llget it out for you… your wound is quite severe, you should really avoid moving too much," she offered with a shudder of her breath, placing her hand over his and guiding it away from the bandages to gently lie on his stomach away from the injury. She hated to hear the evidence of pain; it made her cringe with sympathy.
"Where abouts?" she asked, reaching for the opening in his cloak, but hesitating a moment until she received further directions, sniffing away the remnants of her crying fit.
He blew out a breath, swallowing thickly, fighting against his head spinning from the sudden, sharpened pain.
"Left side… inner breast pocket," he instructed, his voice strained. He could feel his hands begin to shake and realised abruptly just how severe his injury must be… and also just how much blood he must have lost for him to be feeling quite so weak. The notion startled him.
The woman rifled through the appropriate pockets closest to her and eventually produced three such phials from their depths.
"Which one?" she queried. "There are three here. This one… the big one… it feels warm."
"The blue one… the small, blue one," he replied breathily, willing the woman to work out which one he needed quickly. He could already feel himself fading back toward the dim fringes of unconsciousness. He closed his eyes as the pull became too intense to resist.
The woman seemed to scrabble backwards from him and he briefly lamented the warmth of her proximity. He felt an increased weight across his left leg, and strangely delighted in the sensation of a small, warm hand balancing her weight upon his right leg as she reached across him to somewhere.
A sudden bright light abruptly pierced through to his eyes despite his lids being closed. With a slight hitch of breath he flinched away from the dazzling glow; turning his head to the side.
"Sorry," the woman apologised softly, and with another slight shift of weight across his legs he felt the sudden, welcome return of warmth from her palm as she cradled his cheek; her thumb tracked lightly over his cheekbone.
"Here… this is the blue one," she said, "What do you do with it… what is it? Do you have to drink it… is it some kind of… er… potion? Will it help you?" she asked uncertainly, the questions tumbling out quickly in her anxiousness.
He forced his eyes to flutter open, squinting against the harsh light to confirm the woman's claim. Indeed the indigo blue potion swirled inside the small glass vessel held out for him to see. He nodded lightly, "Yes."
He lifted his arm to take the phial, but his hand shook with such a force that he worried he might drop and smash the precious brew.
"Here, let me help," the woman offered immediately; and wrapped her own hand around his trembling fingers as he took hold of the phial. She helped guide the glass tube to his mouth and he greedily swallowed the mixture down knowing how much better he would feel once it took effect.
He struggled to maintain his poise as waves of dizziness crashed over him and his chest throbbed at even this meagre effort. The Muggle woman squeezed lightly around his hand still grasping the phial and he scrunched his eyes shut. With a slight twist of his wrist he unconsciously trapped the woman's fingers, that were curled around his own hand, against his cheek at the corner of his mouth; feeling his warm breath bounce off her skin and back to him. Her solid presence was comforting and he used it as a base for his focus. After several moments when the dizziness settled a little and as soon as he became conscious to what he had done, he released it immediately; permitting her to take back the empty phial from his grasp.
He kept his eyes closed and lowered his arm back to his side; letting his hand rest against the seat. He concentrated on calming his breathing and trying to relax his entire body while waiting for the potion to work. There was no point in fighting the pain, it invariably only made it that much worse.
"Severus…?" the woman spoke, her tone quiet, yet an element of distress more than evident.
"Give me a few minutes!" he demanded tersely despite his poor condition; the scowl shaped on his brow he felt more than adequately conveyed his irritation at her interruption to his focus, without needing to open his eyes to glare at her.
She was silent and still for several moments after his outburst, and through his calming, soothing meditation Severus found a trace of regret for the harsh tone he'd taken with the woman who had afforded the time to help him while he was weakened and quite vulnerable.
But he did not apologise… it was against his habit to do so, and he hardly had the strength to give his regrets tangible responses right now. And besides, somewhere deep down he attributed a good deal of responsibility to his being injured in the first place to the Muggle woman anyway. If she'd just done what she was told straight away they would have gotten away without incident!
Well, probably… … maybe…
He huffed out a small sigh. He was suffering badly, and he was very worried… burdened. Both contributed to his exceptionally short temper and disagreeable attitude, and for a man who was ordinarily brusque and quite frequently snide the outcome was rather unsightly… even to his own observation. Out of a small feeling of guilt (and not liking that feeling one bit) he deliberately turned his mind to dwell on more specific and important concerns.
The Potter boy was at risk!
In recent weeks the Dark Lord had discovered a possible loophole in the protection invoked by the child's mother at the time of her death and had been working toward exploiting it. Tonight had brought the first news that the fiend had finally made a breakthrough of sorts and was currently implementing an imminent plan to test the wards of the teen's summer home with the hope of gaining access.
Severus had been assigned an urgent potions task, the product of which was to be used in the scheme, and was supposed to have been busy brewing at this very minute. However, unfortunately, against adamant objections that he did not under any circumstances require an assistant, he'd been appointed a partner anyway; Alecto Carrow.
He'd started the project in the deep, subterranean rooms of the Malfoy Manor with the brutish, unappealing witch helping to prepare the ingredients alongside him, and Severus had begrudgingly had to acknowledge the woman had sufficient skills… but he knew he needed to get rid of his witness if he had any chance of alerting the Order to the potential peril in time.
It had been a risky move, but Severus had weighed the act against not acting at all and had come to the inexorable conclusion that he had no choice.
So, half way through the brew, when Alecto had turned her back on him to gather further equipment or ingredients showing no obvious intentions of leaving him alone to work, he had withdrawn his wand and stunned her with plans of Obliviating her recollections of the incident upon his return. He'd further restrained her with bonds that had sprung from the end of his wand ensuring she could not raise the alarm of his duplicity before he returned, in the event the spell were to wear off early.
After snatching a phial and filling it with a sample of the hot potion he'd so far completed, Severus sabotaged the rest of the cauldron full of bubbling liquid, locked and warded the door to the cellar workroom and had stealthily snuck from the grand building and headed immediately for the iron gates at the end of the long driveway. He hoped he would be gone for no more than approximately thirty minutes… not so long as he couldn't make up for lost time in the lab once he resumed his brewing, or that he was likely to be noticed missing, as he was rarely interrupted during his work.
Unfortunately, he'd only managed to achieve a few minutes head start before another Death Eater had found the lab locked with no response to his insistent pounding upon the door whilst delivering an urgent, critical message regarding the brew process from the Dark Lord. He disabled the wards with not a small effort and entered the lab and had discovered Alecto incapacitated in the corner of the room; raising the alarm. He'd called for reinforcements and they had immediately interpreted the worst about Severus' absence and the witch's binds and had begun their pursuit of the turncoat. And now, because he'd been delayed in his flight after he had literally collided with Sarah at the estate gates, Severus faced the possibility that he might not impart his warning to the Order in time to get Lily's boy and his relatives out of their house before the Dark Lord's attack; for even though he was unquestionably considered the best potions brewer within the Death Eater ranks, others, such as Alecto, could still complete this task adequately in his absence.
In his condition now the anxiety and strain of succeeding in his duty was getting to him. His breathing had become quick and shallow over the previous few minutes and he groaned softly as his chest stung bitterly in protest.
"You okay?" Sarah's voice whispered from somewhere above him. He cracked his eyes open and peered at her.
"That would be rather subjective, wouldn't it?" he hissed back snidely, resting his eyes again. He clamped his mouth shut after the comment had escaped… it seemed he could not stop the caustic retorts even if he wanted to. The pain and torment was eating away at his tolerance for anything and everything.
After a few silent moments he felt the woman begin to clamber off his legs, allowing the cool air to seep through the fabric of his trousers and into his skin, and Severus suddenly realised how much he didn't want her to move. She helped keep him warm, sure, and it was cold… but that wasn't the reason he wanted her to stay put. It turned out he relished the contact and the comfort it brought when he was feeling so low and vulnerable. To know she was right there took away a great deal of his fear… if not for the circumstances, then at least for his own personal health, anyway.
With a small gasp he suddenly and desperately grabbed out with his hand and clutched at her wrist, hoping to halt her retreat. It had the desired effect; she froze in her current position.
"It's not you…" he tried to explain, catching her gaze, "it's the pain. I… I'm a bit frustrated… edgy."
She looked quite incensed and somewhat distraught at the same time, and seemed unlikely to accept his admittedly lame attempt at an apology.
"What… do you imagine you're the only one?" she shot back at him bitterly.
He frowned in puzzlement. "What?" he said, questioningly. What did she mean by that? Was she edgy too? No doubt. Frustrated? Probably. But what about in pain? Had she been injured too? He hadn't initially thought so.
"What do you mean?" he asked, wanting clarification.
She stared at him for a couple of moments, almost gauging him… measuring, before she responded with a firm, "Nothing."
She continued to climb off his lap and into the adjacent seat with a loud, wet sniff.
His confused gaze followed her for a minute, taking in her saddened expression before something clicked in his mind.
'Oh, Merlin, she had been crying… when I woke up… sobbing distraughtly, in fact,' he remembered. His mind suddenly clung doggedly to the new mystery, trying to work out what her behaviour was all about.
At first he'd vaguely assumed Sarah had been upset over him and his injury… and then she had mentioned that she had not been able to rouse him. But surely that would not bring her to such mournful tears. He then nearly scoffed at the idea of any woman crying over him… the notion was absurd now that he deliberated it closely; nobody had shown any kind of consideration like that for him in the past. And it was especially unlikely when he'd known he'd been so unpleasant to her.
And if she had only wanted to wake him to ask him which direction to take… well, surely she would have eventually just chosen a path for herself when it became evident he could not assist – not break down sobbing next to him.
'So what then?' he considered, his eyes skimming over her frame as she removed some articles from the driver's side seat and settled herself into it.
"Sarah, were you hurt?" he asked, his tone unfortunately not sharing the concern that was rapidly building.
Her only response after a pause was to sniff loudly once more. Severus took it as confirmation; for if she had not been, then surely she would deny it.
"Where… how badly?" he demanded. All of sudden he recognised that these circumstances were no longer just about him and his mission anymore.
Sarah waited for a little while before she responded, turning to face the reclined, injured man; her expression sombre.
"It's not what you think," she explained. "I'm pregnant… and, well, I've had some pain down there. I don't really know if it's a problem or not…" She turned back to stare out into the blackness beyond the windscreen, fighting a fresh well of tears.
She was downplaying her real feelings, she knew, but she wasn't really in the mood for sharing herself that intimately with this pig of a man. He'd been nothing but short and irritable with her since she had literally run smack into him.
One tear escaped her resistance and tracked down her left cheek. She quickly brushed it away before wrapping her arm around her belly, shifting uncomfortably after another sharp twinge spiked deep in her abdomen.
Severus blanched in shock at the discovery of the woman's crisis. He gasped out a sigh, instantly acknowledging his own culpability in her misfortune.
"From the fall… er, our collision?" he confirmed.
She nodded, "I think so… yes," she responded succinctly.
His heart sank lower. He'd fallen very heavily on top of the Muggle woman and was undeniably responsible for her injury, which was now potentially threatening the life of her unborn child. He could not have felt worse. Of all the hideous and foul things he had partaken of in his life, harming a child had remained across that line of acceptability for him.
He'd had no problem with intimidation, or punishment… or even outright derisiveness, especially toward his dunderhead, teenaged students… but to physically harm young, innocent, vulnerable children? That was beyond evil; the notion made him feel decidedly ill.
But he was feeling quite sick now anyway. Whether he had intended it or not, him hurting a child is exactly what had just happened.
He sighed regretfully. "I'm… sorry," he succinctly, yet sincerely, offered.
She glanced at him, taking in a deep breath. "It's not really your fault… it was an accident. Neither of us knew the other was there, I understand that."
It was good that the man was finally apologising for knocking her down, but Sarah knew he was not to blame… she just wanted at least a little consideration shown from the terse man. Of course he was obviously suffering; his injury was quite severe… but did he have to be so snide and spiteful about everything?
Severus was now considering the woman's latest comment.
"What were you doing there?" he asked, genuinely at a loss. He could not envision any conceivable reason why a Muggle woman should be walking up that particular driveway so late at night… or at all, come to think of it.
She hesitated a little before she answered; Severus noted the anomaly vaguely.
"I was looking for someone. But… well, I don't think it was the right place, using the benefit of hindsight," she added with a touch of disillusioned sarcasm.
"Not likely, no," he agreed with a slight drawl. "Who?" he added sharply.
"Pardon me?" she asked, perplexed as to his meaning.
"Who was it you were seeking?" he repeated, still curious… and also a smidge suspicious at the same time. The gates at the Malfoy manor had been locked tight to Muggles, with various Notice-Me-Not and Muggle Repelling Charms active upon the estate. Had he himself simply and inadvertantly let her in when he'd opened the gates to allow his own escape, or had she genuinely had some business with the Malfoys after all? This was a crucial fact Severus really needed to ascertain before he allowed the woman to learn anything further about himself or his affairs.
"Er… well… I don't actually know his nam-" she began a little reluctantly, before she was abruptly interrupted by the man's urgent hiss.
"Shh!" he intoned, flinging his arm suddenly out toward her, yanking sharply on her elbow to gain her immediate attention and emphasise his warning. "Quiet, I heard something… get the light out!" he demanded with a harsh, urgent whisper; staring out into the dark beyond the window to his left.
"What?" she whispered in a panicked and flustered way, but immediately leaned forward and reached up for the switch to turn off the car's interior light.
Once the darkness had engulfed them again Severus strained to listen closer, but he was instantly distracted by the little red, glowing dot flashing intermittently on the dashboard of the car.
"Cover that red light!" he ordered at a whisper, and waited in alarm until the dot had been effectively extinguished from view.
Severus felt extremely inadequate and helpless in his condition. He felt he could do little more than bark orders - which the Muggle woman fortunately seemed to be heeding promptly now - but still, apprehension was growing in his gut as he wondered just what he would be able to do about it if his pursuers actually caught up with him and he needed to act to protect not only himself, but Sarah too. A pregnant, potentially miscarrying Sarah, he reminded himself.
He wished intensely that he had been cognizant and mindful enough to search out his wand after it had been stripped from his hand when he had been cursed, because at the moment he and the Muggle woman were practically sitting ducks with no effective means of defending themselves. He could Apparate them away without a wand, he acknowledged – well, in theory at least – but he didn't know if he could even physically move very far or quickly enough without passing out if his earlier efforts had been anything to go by. And a splinching added on top of his current injury did not sound at all appealing either if his symptoms kept him from concentrating sufficiently.
A warm hand suddenly landed upon his thigh, startling him. He gasped a short breath, but soon recognised the gesture as being the Muggle woman seeking reassurance from him through contact. It did not go unappreciated by him either; he could barely see anything with the sudden loss of the bright light and it helped to be able to feel exactly where she was.
"Listen… concentrate hard," he directed very softly, "Tell me what you can hear."
Severus' own breathing was echoing loudly in his ears; he was still struggling with his breaths being sharp and shallow from pain and blood loss – though thankfully he had begun to notice a marginal improvement since taking the Blood-Replenishing Potion – but it was making it difficult to focus on the outside noises. Nevertheless, he'd definitely heard something moments ago, that he was sure of!
They both sat completely still and quiet, straining to hear in the darkness for a few minutes before Sarah broke the silence.
"I can't… what is it I'm supposed to be listenin-" she whispered, but abruptly stopped before she had finished her sentence when the answer became alarmingly apparent on its own.
"There's no sign of him! You certain you saw one of those Muggle carts?"
Both occupants of the car snapped their chins up to the ceiling of the vehicle, attempting to 'see' where the muffled, yet audible voice had come from. The rough, male tone was answered by a silky, female purr.
"'Car', idiot! And no… I didn't see it, but I saw lights… which I supposed to have come from such a contraption."
Sarah gasped audibly and seemed to lean closer to Severus' leg; the dark man tensed and shot a hand forward in her direction in warning to be absolutely silent and still. He made contact with her shoulder and squeezed probably too tightly when his injured torso twinged badly at the effort; he was hard pressed to prevent his own gasp from escaping. He silently prayed that the woman was intelligent enough not allow the removal of whatever it was she had used to cover the red, blinking light; for its (and subsequently her) position under the windscreen made it extremely susceptible to being detected by whomever it was likely circling on broomstick above them.
Quite frankly, Severus could scarcely understand how they had not yet noticed the car parked beneath them anyway. Surely the moonlight (though not full, but present nonetheless) would allow enough illumination to discover the vehicle?
They vaguely heard the man scoff at his companion. "It's not bloody likely ole Snape went in a car though, ya daft hag… he bloody well hates Muggles!"
Sarah leaned away from him again, seemingly in the direction of the windscreen. Severus assumed she was trying to see if she could spot their pursuers. He attempted to warn her against such an idiotic action with a sharp squeeze with his hand, but she'd pulled her shoulder out of his already tight grasp with a quick tug. He nearly hissed with frustrated irritation.
"You stupid inbred," the witch shot back, "apparently Snape might be a fucking spy; he'd obviously want you to think that! Who the fuck knows what he really does or doesn't like?"
Severus couldn't help but think Estelle (well, it sounded like Estelle Flint, older cousin of his ex-Slytherin student Marcus Flint) had a point, despite the fact that he had, at least at one time in his life, detested Muggles quite genuinely. He subconsciously catalogued the woman in his mind as being one to watch out for; she was evidently fairly astute.
His eyes now more adapted to the meagre light he thankfully made out Sarah's form moving back toward him; shifting back in her seat a little so she could lean closer to his face; an arm still stretched out to the dash, apparently obscuring the light with her own hand.
In a very low, urgent whisper she informed him, "I can't see them. I parked under a tree, a little off the road… just in case. They must be over the top of it." Her breaths were shuddering with apprehension and he was tempted to encourage her to calm herself lest she become hysterical. But he did no such thing, for his own anxiety was through the roof just now; the circumstances did warrant it, after all.
So they were off the road… and under a tree for cover too, apparently. That explained just why they had not been discovered at this stage, at least. Once again this woman proved herself not to be as obtuse as Severus was evidently accustomed to dealing with. This knowledge lessened his unease marginally… things were not yet as dire as he'd initially imagined… yet.
"Shh…" he reminded Sarah, the gesture meant to be soothing at the same time. He watched as she blew out a soft calming breath after a light nod of acknowledgement.
Severus instantly decided he ought to become a little more pro-active in this situation in case things were to escalate and he lifted his arm to beckon the woman closer to him again.
"The phials… you said there were three?" he asked in a soft whisper, realising that the third phial would be quite useful to him now. He hadn't deliberately stored the other brew within his robes, so hadn't immediately considered its use. Severus had merely left the bottle in his pocket from a previous occasion and had failed to remove it, though however inadvertently it had ended up in his possession right now he could certainly appreciate its existence.
The voices continued overhead instantly halting the exchange between the two inside the car.
"Maybe it ain't got here yet… the car, you know," the male voice suggested.
'Fuck,' Severus thought to himself, 'please don't wait.'
"Or maybe it's come and gone," the female companion responded. "I'm going down here to have a look around. Perhaps it left some trace… tracks or something."
The two fugitives sheltering in the car beneath the low tree ceased breathing in horror, glancing quickly at one another; mirroring the other's alarmed expressions. They were about to be discovered for sure!