Wohoo! Finally and update! Am I the worst? Answer: Yes.

YAAAH WELCOME SilverDreamRider, Mini Luna, SymphonieFantastique, Overlordess, Andromeda Athena, Coonchitaa, CherryBlossoms016 and dallas1990 THANKS FOR FOLLOWING AND ADDING THIS STORY TO YOUR FAVORITES! YOU ARE AWESOME.

But if we're talking about awesome, the most awesome has to be vampirela69! Thanks for reviewing! You are the best.

And because this chapter is less than 1K words, I'll post another one right after this one.


XIV
Breaking


Juliana barely managed to pass her exams. She became unable to focus, and in the end most of her professors gave her an Acceptable out of pity for what had happened. She didn't mind. She couldn't bring herself to care enough about that kind of things— for now, anyway. She just couldn't.

The night before the graduation ceremony— while everyone celebrated the ending of the year— she packed her bags silently in her room. But when she went to retrieve the things from her drawer, she saw a small bottle that made her stop and sigh heavily.

She was supposed to drink it the night she was attacked. For the first month she had been hopeful, but when her period didn't come and she started experiencing morning sickness every day, she knew it was a lost cause.

And now she sat alone on her bed, bottle on her hands, looking at her stomach. It looked like it always did, but she knew that was going to change soon, and fast. She threw the bottle on her suitcase and closed it angrily.

She still didn't know for sure that she was pregnant because she hadn't taken any tests and she obviously hadn't told Madam Pomfrey, but at this point it seemed stupid to deny it.

How am I going to tell him? She had been asking herself.

The answer was simple. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before standing up.

You're not.

...

Severus was already gone by the time the graduation ceremony began. Avery had stayed, of course, but he just couldn't do it. He had tried to avoid seeing Juliana at any costs, and if he stayed he would destroy all the walls he had carefully built around his emotions.

One week. That was what Avery told him. In one week, he was going to join his side, giving up the best thing that ever happened to him.

You're doing it for her, he had to remind himself day after day.

The single thought of the things he was going to start doing from now on was enough to begin a fast ride towards insanity.

...

It was one dark night when Severus finally managed to find him without any company. It was the first time Avery had gone out by himself in a long while, but Severus knew now why he had decided to be alone this specific night. He was inside a small but dark-looking pub celebrating the successful rape and murder of a young muggle woman, gloating while most of the other wizards inside cheered him on. Severus contained the need to blow the entire place out in that very moment, barely managing to resist the urge to gag as he stared at Avery from his place outside, in front of one small window. There was a large bottle of firewhiskey sitting almost empty right next to him on the table.

Around an hour later Avery finally walked unsteadily out of the pub, drunk enough to not notice he was being followed. He walked without knowing where he was going, and very soon found himself lost in a dark alley.

"Avery." He heard a low voice say, making him turn around abruptly.

"Severus!" He slurred, swinging unsteadily from side to side. "Old friend." He added, his hand going to his pocket to retrieve his wand. Severus disarmed him in a second, and Avery raised his arms in surrender with a smirk on his lips. "Hey, no need to make a mess."

"I just have a question for you." Severus said, walking forward. Avery took a few steps back until he felt the cold wall behind him. "How did you find out?" There was no need to clarify— Avery knew what he meant.

"That was just luck." He answered with a sardonic laugh. "But... I suppose I could thank Sirius Black for that." Severus eyes widened in anger and he pointed his wand directly on Avery's throat.

"What?" He growled, his tone dangerous.

"He said it that one day, when he thought no one was listening. But I was there!" He pointed at himself proudly. "It was on Hogssssmayd." He slurred and laughed stupidly. "He was drunk and tried to kiss her, she hit him hard. That was fuuuunny." He finished.

Severus anger had reached a point it never had before. The hatred on his eyes was so intense that Avery sobered up and felt truly scared of him for the first time.

"Silencio." Severus whispered as Avery's eyes widened in fear. "Crucio."

He didn't know how long he spent looking at Avery writhe on the floor and scream without making any sounds, but once he stopped he worried he might have drove him insane.

"Luckily for you, you won't remember any of this. Or about her, for that matter." Severus growled in disgust. "Obliviate."

When he finished Avery lay unconscious on the floor. Severus threw his wand at his feet and, with one last disgusted look, disapparated from the scene without leaving any trace.

Unfortunately, he learned to master that crucial spell when the Dark Mark was already burned on his skin forever, and trying to get out of His side meant a fate worse than death.