Portkey was never the most comfortable way to travel. One false move during transport and you wind up flat on your arse.
Which is where, unfortunately, Severus found himself when the spinning stopped. Granger was also flat on his arse – or rather his unbuttoned and undignified pelvis. He tried to extract his right hand from her impossibly bushy hair, found it hopelessly tangled and switched tactics, using his other hand to roll her by the shoulder until she tumbled off of him and landed on her back in the leaves beneath a forest of towering trees.
A few awkward wand movements later and he was once again in possession of his right hand and his dignity. He stood up and looked down at the unconscious witch sprawled at his feet.
"Well, Granger, we meet again," he murmured. "I do believe we have some catching up to do. I can only hope that, when you wake, you are as pleased to see me as I am to see you."
With a sigh, he bent over and hauled her up to rest in the cradle of his arms. Stepping up to the nearest oak tree, he lifted a knee to help balance her weight while he used his wand to tap an intricate pattern on three knots on the trunk. He straightened just as the air around them crackled and the concealment wards dropped, revealing a clearing where previously there had been a dense stand of trees.
Adjusting his grasp on the girl, Severus strode into the clearing. Just as he reached a boulder in the center, another set of wards dropped and a small cottage shimmered into view. Stepping up to the door, he hoisted her over his shoulder just enough to free his hands so he could use his wand to make a small slice in his left palm. Pressing the fresh wound against the door, Severus heard the locks unclick. He quickly healed his hand and grabbed the handle to open the door.
As the door opened, a rush of air escaped, signaling the breech of the final wards, which were designed to protect the contents of the cottage from decay. With a small grunt, he once again adjusted his cargo in his arms and stepped over the threshold. Glancing around the small living space, he was assured that all was as it should be, so he walked to the sofa and laid Granger down.
Casting a quick tempus charm, he saw he only had three minutes left before his modified (and highly illegal) button portkey would return him to the exact place and time from which he had disappeared. Walking quickly to a small cupboard, he flung it opened and dug through its contents before surfacing with two small vials, examining the contents of each with a practiced eye before pocketing one.
He hurried back to the sofa, bit off the cork of the other vial and leaned over Granger, grasping her jaw and squeezing gently so her lips parted. He poured the potion down her throat, causing her to splutter slightly. But he firmly closed her lips and rubbed her neck until she reflexively swallowed. Within seconds, her breathing slowed and evened out and her body relaxed even more than it already was.
Satisfied that she would remain unconscious until he returned to administer the antidote to the stasis potion, he turned his attention to her hair. Merlin, she is absolutely covered in blood.
A cursory visual scan showed that she was relatively uninjured, as least as far as Severus could tell, but there wasn't time for a more thorough diagnostic. He could see a cut on her forehead and a rather ugly hex injury on her shoulder but those injuries certainly couldn't account for the vast amount of blood staining her hair, clothes and face. The rest must have been acquired during battle. The obvious source was Potter, as he had seen what had happened in those moments before he intervened on her behalf. Who else have you seen killed – or killed with your own wand? he wondered.
Refocusing on the task at hand, his long fingers sifted through her hair, removing the elastic that had nearly come free of its own accord. Digging deep, he found a portion of hair that was somewhat clean – at least, it was free of who knows whose blood and therefore could be used for his intended purpose. Using his wand, he cut several strands and levitated them into a hidden pocket within his robes.
Another tempus charm showed he had 28 seconds left, so he flipped a blanket over her sleeping form, cleaned his hands, walked out the door and reset the wards. With a final glance around the clearing, he casually reached a hand back toward his groin, almost as if brushing a bit of lint from his trousers, and spun out of sight.
/
Jugson and Selwynn looked on as Snape jerked the girl's head backward. Her hands reached up to fight his arms but it was no use.
Good, thought Jugson with a leer. I like 'em with a little fight. His face fell a little at his next thought, though. I hope Snape lets us 'ave a go before he kills her. It's no fun when they're dead.
Selwynn's thoughts were slightly less eager. I should never 'ave stayed behind. Snape'll 'ave our 'ide for sure after this. I 'ope 'e don't tell the Dark Lord. I've 'ad enough Crucio for one night. But then he consoled himself. At least I'll get a show before I die.
Both men craned their necks to see what would happen next. Only what happened next didn't make a bit of sense. One minute Snape had the girl, and the next he was holding empty air and seething with rage.
"What in Merlin's na— Gods be damned! The girl must have had an emergency portkey!"
Turning, he glared at the two Death Eaters. "Well, what are you waiting around for? Start looking! She can't have gone far."
Jugson looked at Selwynn and saw his own confusion reflected back. Looking back at Snape, he said, "Maybe she apparated. You lowered the wards, you know."
"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." Rolling his eyes in disbelief at the man's stupidity, he continued, "You unbelievable idiot. You cannot apparate without a wand. And she did. not. have. a. wand." He reached up to rub his hand over his face, as if the very presence of these two imbeciles was wearing on his nerves.
He continued, "As it happens, you cannot portkey within Hogwart's grounds without the headmaster's express permission. I am the headmaster, or did you forget? I can assure you I did not grant permission. Therefore, her attempt has failed and she is likely lying splinched somewhere within a few hundred meters of this precise location. All the better for us, because that means we can rid ourselves of her sooner. But we must know for certain that she is dead… unless you wish to tell the Dark Lord what happened here?"
Two faces drained of blood simultaneously before the Death Eaters turned and scattered, looking amongst the bodies for a bushy-haired Mudblood. Severus watched them for a moment before turning toward the edge of the forest, under the pretense of searching there.
Once he was sure he was alone and unwatched, he stunned the first thing that wandered past – a small rabbit – and knelt over its motionless form. Taking the hairs and the remaining vial of potion from his pockets, he proceeded to drop the silken strands into the murky liquid. Once it stopped bubbling and settled into a lumpy russet-hued sludge, he pried the rabbit's small mouth open and poured the concoction in, forcing the rabbit to swallow.
Almost instantly, the rabbit's ears started to retract into its head. Its legs stretched out and the fur receded. Whiskers disappeared, teeth transformed and, within a moment, a perfect replica of Hermione Granger lay at his feet, completely naked.
Pausing for a brief moment to appreciate the view, Severus proceeded to transfigure leaves into clothing similar to what she had been wearing when she disappeared. Spelling them onto the body and dirtying them up, he said a silent blessing on the poor rabbit-turned-girl and proceeded to cast a powerful Sectumsempra. Blood gushed from severe cuts that had appeared all over the body. Carefully levitating it – her, he left the forest with the body bobbing slightly ahead of him.
"I found her," he spat as he rounded the corner of Hagrid's hut. His comrades looked up from their searches and quickly walked back to his side, eager to see the state of their captive.
"Blimey, she did a number on 'erself," whispered Selwynn in awe. "Look at that mess."
"Bugger," muttered Jugson. "There goes my fun."
"Indeed," Snape replied, having heard Jugson's comment with disgust. And with that, he aimed his wand at the girl's face and muttered, "Avada Kedavra." In a flash of green light, she breathed her last and fell to the ground with a thump.
"It is time we return to our Lord. You should be grateful you have this to present as atonement for your transgressions. If you are lucky, perhaps he will be merciful on you, as I have been."
With that, Severus turned on his heel and strode away, robes billowing behind him. On his fifth step, he dissolved and flew away in a cloud of smoke.
Two very anxious Death Eaters watched him leave, then turned to each other in utter terror before grabbing the girl's body and following Snape's lead.
A/N: I can't thank you enough for the kind reviews so far. As I mentioned in my profile, this project is a solitary pursuit. No one in my real life knows what I am up to, so my only feedback comes from your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Sorry for the short chapter, but it was a necessary transition. Up next: We'll find out what Severus has been up to for the past three years, and we'll see what Hermione has to say about it.