Chapter 9
DISCLAIMER - None of these delightful characters are mine, all belong to JK Rowling.
***** AUTHOR'S NOTE ***** It was as I was writing this chapter that I learned, with great sadness of the death of Alan Rickman. It changed the experience of writing Professor Snape for me. As mentioned very eloquently by another Fanfiction author, RainCity Writer, it is his voice I hear when Severus speaks in my stories. I would like to take a moment here to express my regret at the news of his passing and also to acknowledge his enormous skill in breathing life into such a complex and unforgettable character.
The following morning was just as bright with flowering of high summer as the previous one had been, just as free of dark threats and evil intent. Severus Snape sat at his breakfast table, dressed in a suit of midnight blue, the collar and cuffs of his shirt snowy white in contrast. At his hand, a cup of tea steamed, and beside it, a plate held the crumbs of the toast he'd eaten for breakfast.
True to her word, the girl was ready as soon as him, she had finished her meal and was flicking through an old copy of the Quibbler, which was upside down in her hands. She was reading intently just the same.
Still, he lingered, thoughts tumbling in his mind, stewing in the fury he felt every time he thought of how close he had come to losing his charge the day before.
Today, he would find some of the answers that had eluded him like drifts of smoke, he was bound to it. Whatever had drawn Barty Crouch to his home, he would explain it. If he had anything to do with the attack on the child, then Merlin help him, for he would beg for the mercy he himself had never shown another living being.
"You won't hurt her, will you?"
The question interrupted the violent turn of his thoughts but surprised him by being very close to the direction they were taking.
"Who?" he frowned at the girl who was watching him with interest over the top of her magazine. Or the bottom of it, depending on how you viewed it.
"The elf. If we find her at the Crouch house? She would not have harmed me if her master or mistress had not directed her to do what she did. You can't hold her responsible," Luna said.
His expression was level, his gaze hooded but within, rage seared him.
"I can't? What would suggest instead? Perhaps I should congratulate her on her excellent service? Invite her to come have a rummage through my potions store so she can get hold of something even more potent for the next time?" he quirked a brow.
Luna gave him a look that reminded him of a muggle matron skewering a disruptive patient with her disapproval.
"I think that you must be calm or we won't learn much from this visit," she said in serene tones.
"You are giving me instruction on how to proceed today?"
If Hogwarts crumbled before his very eyes, he would not have been more flabbergasted.
"Well, it's only my advice. I watched my father do some very tricky interviews, you know. But that's not it. I just hate the idea that the elf will pay for something that she could not help. I don't want to help get her hurt," she said.
"Do you want to accompany me today?" it was his turn to pin her with a sombre look of his eyes.
"Yes,"
"Then we do this my way. Don't get any half baked ideas into that head of yours of protecting a house elf. If the one that attacked you belongs to Crouch I want to know about it, immediately. You can let me worry about how to deal with the facts once we have procured them," he warned.
"Very well," her agreement was sincere but the unease lingered in the jade eyes. So much strength in her, he thought and yet so much tenderness. He could almost envy her that.
"But I am not interested in harming the elf," he sighed, not able to ignore the plea on her face.
"What I want to know is who sent her," he said and rose to his full height. Luna mirrored the gesture.
"So stop looking at me as if I unleashed a cushion load of yezzirs at you and let's go," he swept to the hallway.
They alighted on an avenue, dimly lit despite the sunshine, as overhead, a canopy of leaves formed a shady overhang as the branches of old trees which lined the roadway met. It was quiet and there was no one around to see the sudden apparition of the darkly clad man and the little blonde girl.
Snape ran a hand, palm downwards along the front of his jacket, smoothing invisible wrinkles. His eyes took in the vacant street, the silent houses that lay far from the road.
His wand was tucked in his sleeve, his fingers felt the tip of it and he nodded once at Luna before moving towards a gateway nearest them.
The gates were open but the premises did not look inviting just the same. The grass looked scorched, turning a custard colour in patches, its growth thin and unkempt. The path to the house was clear of debris but no flowers lined the way, no ornaments of any kind were to be seen. The house, red bricked, two storeyed, had soaring chimneys but the windows were dark, like empty eyes staring into nothing.
If Luna had been asked to guess what the building was used for she would have said a muggle orphanage or perhaps a funeral home. It had an air of utility but lacked any personal touch that would have spoke of it being a home.
"Crouch is here. He is not working at the Ministry these past few weeks, his wife is too ill to be left alone. He won't be expecting us. Remember, make an excuse to leave the room and see if you can't catch sight of that elf," Snape said softly.
Luna followed his swift progress up the drive to the front porch of the house, waited with him as he drew on the bell pull, saw the disdain flare in his eyes, when Barty Crouch himself heaved it open.
The man stood in a scant vee of the door opening, his own expression registering his shock to see his visitors. For all that it was plain he was not expecting company, Crouch's hair was carefully combed, his moustache razor sharp across his lip, his shirt pristine, pressed to a crisp finish. His eyes were as cold as Luna remembered.
"I am sorry, Professor Snape, this is not a good time," he said, sounding for all the world like he was rejecting a door to door salesman.
The Professor stepped forward confidently, with the air of one given a profuse welcome. He put a hand flat against the door and pressed forward. Crouch resisted but minimally. Snape's face was a hardened mask. There would be no turning him back.
Yet, Crouch still clutched the door as though holding onto the hope of closing it against them. He did not object further to their entry, neither did he invite them into the main part of the house.
"Time is what I want from you, Crouch, good or otherwise. You enjoyed my hospitality, now I think it is my turn," Snape said smoothly.
"This is where you invite us in," he continued in the same mocking drawl.
He lifted a hand and indicated Luna at his side.
"But we are prepared to bypass the niceties in favour of a little truth. Starting with the whereabouts of Xenophilius Lovegood," Snape voice did not rise but his eyes had fastened on the other man, holding him as though he had his hand at his throat.
"Have you gone insane? I know nothing of the man," Crouch's lips were a little too white, too thin.
"Well, we can try again. Why did you arrange to have this child attacked in Diagon Alley yesterday? What is it that you think she knows?" Snape pressed.
As she watched and though Luna knew not how, the air around the Professor seemed to dim, as though the darkness of his form was seeping into the atmosphere.
The ministry man seemed to feel it too for he licked his lips, a clearly nervous gesture and when he spoke, his voice was not exactly even.
"You have gone mad! Attack her? That is a dangerous accusation, Snape! A man like you can hardly afford to go around throwing out remarks like that, no matter how high your standing at Hogwarts. Now," the last word came out like an insult.
"Ah Barty. You may not know quite as much about a man like me as you seem to think. For one thing, I see no value in making accusations. Too much talking for my taste. A man like me likes get his hands dirty once in a while. If you know what I mean."
The Professor sounded to Luna like he was reciting poetry, his tone eloquent, if you could ignore the venom leeching from every word.
"In fact, it might surprise you to think that a man like me is not so different from you. You always did like to act on your gut feelings, didn't you, Barty? I'm sure you too have found an appetite for retribution is hard to sate in these civilised days?"
"Now, you will know as well just how … unsatisfactory it is when one cannot get the answers one wants. So far, you haven't exactly given me much to make me warm up to you. But I have one more question for you. The convict or reprieve type of question that you might recognise," Snape was almost whispering, a hissing sound that still managed to grate like nails against a board.
"Severus. I think you are being unfair," Luna's voice was mildly scolding, completely at odds with the menace Snape had conjured.
He broke his hold on Crouch's gaze, looked down at her, a curious expression on his face.
"Mr Crouch hasn't even had a chance to invite us in. I know he was not the one who attacked me and if he knows who did, he would tell you, wouldn't you, Mr. Crouch?" Luna looked into the pasty face of Barty Crouch, seeing the fear in his eyes but also the dislike that still lived there.
Distracted by the gentle but jarring vote of confidence in him, Crouch moved back from the door.
"I tell you, I know nothing of it. I have no reason to hurt you, young lady. I would never wish it," Crouch insisted, addressing Luna directly.
"My guardian is very worried about it. I am sorry if we caused you disturbance," Luna said lightly.
"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to use your bathroom?" Luna said and nonplussed by the contrast of her polite, if bemused presence compared to the wrathful figure of the Professor, Crouch was nodding before he had thought about it.
"Then you will leave. My wife is ill, this unpleasantness would upset her too much if she hears. She must have rest," Crouch straightened, aiming to take back control but not quite succeeding. Snape stood too close to him, his face filled with spite.
"Upstairs. First door to the left. Please be quiet and do not delay. I don't want you to disturb Mrs. Crouch," he waved a hand at the stairs that rose behind him.
Luna felt that if the Professor had not been standing at his elbow, rancour just about rolling off him, Crouch may not have been as accommodating.
She bounded up the stairs just the same, leaving the two men eying each other with ill disguised resentment.
Once on the landing and out of sight of Barty Crouch, she darted quickly along the corridor, finding once again that strange lack of homeliness. There were no family portraits, no vases of flowers, no books, nothing to indicate who lived there or what their tastes might be.
The corridor was lined with doors, heavy, mahogany doors and bypassing the bathroom, Luna put her hand on the door opposite, thinking that the little trespass might draw the house elf to chivvy her out of the room.
The door opened easily beneath her hand but no four foot tall creature manifested to block her way.
Curious, Luna peeked her head around the threshold, seeing at once that it was a bedroom. She was about to withdraw, fearing that Mrs. Crouch was in bed and not wanting to disturb the sick old woman but she saw the bed was empty.
Aged blankets lay smoothly over the mattress, the pillows were full. The curtains were closed but she saw that there was a winged chair close to the window.
In the half light that soaked through the heavy fabric of the curtains, she could see that the shadow seemed thicker in the chair, more solid, though it was facing mostly away from the door. Was there someone sitting in it, a lady dozing in the murk? She squinted. Yes, it was a human hand resting on the arm. She could not see the profile of the person the hand belonged to, the light was too bad but Luna knew with absolute certainty that they were not dozing.
There was no face to study, no eyes to look into but Luna felt the weight of a gaze upon her. It was more than that, it was as though she was being feasted upon. Her voice caught in her throat, Her skin prickled.
"I am sorry to have disturbed you," she spoke in a scramble, the words freed suddenly, the way a fizzy drink spills from a bottle when the cork pops.
"Think nothing of it. We seldom see anyone here these days. Come in, then girl. I think I would like a little company. Perhaps it would do me good."
It could have been that the voice seemed disembodied, the gloom cloaking the speaker or perhaps it was an off key in the tone but Luna felt revulsion flood her.
It propelled her feet into movement, she almost tripped over her own shoes as she backed away from the door. She would never have been able to explain it but she could not turn her back to that strange, incorporeal voice. This was no house elf. Whoever sat in that chair was woven of a blackness that did not come from the lack of light in the room. Luna knew that if she had taken one more step into that bedroom, she would never have come back out again.
The knowledge had her practically skidding down the narrow passageway once she had cleared the doorway. She dared a look backwards as she neared the top of the stairs but the corridor was empty, just a carpeted, slightly dusty walkway through the upper floor of this sad house.
Luna took the stairs two at a time and Severus looked up at the sound of her descent. Concern flashed quickly across his already austere features and he lifted a foot to take a step towards her.
But before he had set it back down, she was at his side.
She said nothing but she looked up into his eyes, a silent message that warned him not to react. She was already feeling a little silly at the force of the dread she had felt. Here, with Severus towering over her in his familiar way and Barty Crouch looking uncomfortable but completely normal, Luna wondered what it was she had found so awful.
The horror that had assailed her was receding now that she was out of that doorway, out of sight of the spectre that sat within.
The Professor gave her an appraising look, curious as to her haste. He did not say anything to her though, taking his cue from her. Instead, he fixed his eyes back on the befuddled host.
"I said I had a last question, Crouch. Your answer will mean a lot, either way," he glared at the man.
"And do not think to lie to me. I will know and as you might have guessed, a man like me could get very nasty if I were displeased," Snape's tongue glided over the warning. Crouch paled further.
He leaned forward, the older man almost staggered as he tried to pull back.
"Why did you come to my home?" Severus made each word sound like a sentence in itself.
His eyes locked to the unhappy man's watery gaze. His stance was unyielding and Severus' fingers twitched just at the hilt of the wand tucked into his sleeve.
"I had to know if anything valuable had been taken. What you had stolen from you."
Crouch's thin, anaemic lips closed like a vault after the words. There would be nothing else. For endless seconds, Snape maintained his stare, a predator taking its prey hostage. Then, he appeared to lose interest in his quarry. His eyes flickered to the rug at his feet, his shoulders slumped, he was no more than a man with a small girl, an unwelcome guest about to take his leave.
"Luna."
He placed his hand on the child's shoulder, his meaning clear. It was time to leave.
Barty Crouch reached forward and widened the opening of the door, making little effort to mask his relief at their leave taking.
Snape did not look at him again but swept out with Luna in tow, his quick steps taking them to the gate of the property and it was then he spoke.
"The elf?"
Luna met his eyes and shook her head.
"Nowhere in sight."
"A pity. If you could have identified it as belonging to Crouch, he would have to produce it and it would link him to yesterday's incident without question," he said, half in thought.
"The visit didn't give you much of a lead, then," Luna said.
"On the contrary, Luna. Crouch told me much more than he intended. Come, there is someone else I need to see. You may accompany me or I can take you home," his eyes were keen, the spark ignited by the first glimmer of his quarry.
"Severus, something happened in there. Please take me home," Luna's eyes were shadowed.
There was something he had seldom seen flitting across her face, repugnance. A thousand questions swarmed like irate hornets in his mind at her words but he allowed none to leave his lips.
Instead, he extended an arm, a silent invitation to leave and with no regret whatsoever, Luna accepted.
Her feet had barely touched the ground at his house in Spinner's End when she flung herself against him, her arms winding around his waist, her face pressed against his coat.
He teetered a little, caught by surprise and he had only just found his own footing after apparating. Automatically, his arms closed around her, returning the hug without conscious thought.
"What happened? What's wrong?"
"There was someone there, Severus, at Mr. Crouch's house. In the bedroom upstairs. I couldn't see their face but they were bad, really bad. I don't know how I knew that but I did," she said.
"Mrs. Crouch is reportedly quite ill, Luna," his response was vague, thoughtful.
"My dad says that sometimes evil can form body waves that not everyone can sense. Maybe it was that. But what they were, it wasn't sick, not like you mean. They were diseased with something worse than an ailment," Luna continued to cling to him, a small shudder going through her as she thought about the shadow person in the chair.
His fingers ruffled her hair softly and his voice was still speculative.
"Mrs. Crouch, could it have been her? This person, were they male or female?"
He felt another tremble. Whoever she had met, they had certainly affected her keenly.
"They were corrupted in some way. But I couldn't tell if it was a woman. The voice was just raspy. And I never saw anything more than the shape of their hand," Luna pressed her eyes closed as though trying to squeeze the memory from her mind.
"And the plot thickens," he intoned, sounding not at all perturbed by this thought.
Luna, I need you to come with me afterall. There is someone else we need to talk to," Snape's mind was moving fast, pieces of the puzzle assembling, reshaping, new but definite pictures forming.
Then he looked down at the small form pressed against him.
"But if you would like a little time, first, then that is alright too," he added, his tone far less brusque.
Luna took a deep breath, paused, let herself lean into the strength of him for another beat and then stood away. She rolled her shoulders.
"No. I'm ready,"
Then she looked at him quizzically.
"Where are we going?"
His lips quirked in a wry smile that she had not asked this before agreeing to accompany him so readily. If she was placed into Slytherin, he would eat his shoe!
He extended an arm once more.
"Hogwarts."
The word was barely out of his mouth when the scene before was shifting with gut wrenching swiftness and his hallway vanished.
Luna's feet settled on the dusty pebbles of a laneway that wound through a a country village, redolent with summer sunshine. The sleepy magical hamlet of Hogsmeade soaked up the heat and quiet of holiday time.
It was as though darkness was an imagined thing, standing here in the contented afternoon sunlight.
Yet Snape knew it was near. He could feel it. And for the first time since this airy creature had floated into his life, he felt that he could name it.