Chapter 27

"Keep going," Parvati gasped, her face twisted in pain as she kept a hold on Mag's wrist and continued to run. Mag did, but she knew the robed, masked figure could run as well, so that wasn't going to be enough. So many thoughts were running through Mag's mind at once, or at least very rapidly one after the other. There was a Death Eater on Hogwarts grounds...Why was there a Death Eater on Hogwarts grounds? Was it here for Potter? POTTER! Blast Dumbledore for letting him attend Hogwarts and putting everyone else in danger. It certainly wasn't as if he was better...because he really wasn't anything to write home about. Even worse than a Death Eater on Hogwarts grounds, though, he was attacking them! Why? Likely because they'd seen him. Still he'd either kill them or take them to Voldemort which no one in their right mind wanted.

To use any Unforgivable on him would draw attention to them...Bring the worthless useless Ministry down on their heads and with them not really trying to believe in Voldemort, who knew what unfair punishment they'd give Mag and Parvati. Though this seemed like a lot of thinking, Mag's mind only took about ten seconds to work it all out. The bottom line was that something had to be done and now. They had to be protected and do their best to avoid Ministry attention at the same time. Mag lifted her chakra wand and turned as they ran, aiming it at the Death Eater as he rapidly approached. She spoke three words in ancient Egyptian. Green light shot out of the quartz and the robed man's running slowed to a stumbling walk as he gasped in pain and doubled over. As he slowed, Parvati sped up, dragging Mag along. Dragging because Mag was slowing as well.

"What's wrong? Come on," Parvati cried.

"Can't," Mag gasped. She glanced over her shoulder to see the man falling. Laughing in relief she bent double then sank to the ground herself.

"Mag!" Parvati leaned over her, tugging at her arm.

"I can't," Mag said weakly. "That spell...it saps a lot of energy, but the Ministry won't be able to track it." She laughed in breathless triumph. "It's too old and obscure for them. He was going to kill us so I had to stop him but we couldn't risk the Ministry finding out. They'd probably not believe us and..." She sighed and dropped her head to her knees. Talking had just become too difficult and maybe the ground was spinning...

"You aren't going to die too are you," Parvati asked, voice becoming high with panic.

"No...Just go get Severus...Professor Snape...Please go and get him and don't tell anyone else why. Hurry!"

"Okay," Parvati said and Mag heard her feet running down the path.

Mag very much wanted to lift her head to make sure the Death Eater wasn't getting up, but she just couldn't move. She didn't hear him moving, though, so she hoped for the best while wishing Parvati would hurry up and get back with Severus.

Prof was grading papers and Nightshade sat on the back of his chair, his mind still on last night's Death Eater meeting. The Death Eaters themselves didn't impress Nightshade much, but Mr.. Lizard Brain was just wrong on so many levels from the inhuman high voice in which he spoke to his snake ass looking face to the waves of fucked up energy that radiated off him. It was unlike anything Nightshade had even imagined when picturing the worst of how he may appear. He wondered how all of his followers couldn't feel that. He was sure they didn't, because if they did, there would be the pungent smell of all of them shitting themselves at every meeting. Not to mention they'd not be following him in the first place if they weren't being forced to do so. A pounding on the door to Prof's office caused both man and owl to jump and Severus dropped the quill in his hand to his desk with a clatter. Rising, he hurried to the door as Nightshade twisted his head around to see who would be on the other side once it was opened. The girl was speaking as soon as the knob turned. "Professor Snape...Please! There was an attack...I think we killed someone...You've got to come now! And Mag says not to tell anyone else."

"Mag," Severus asked and was out the door like a shot. "Where?"

"Near the lake...I'll show you," the dark haired girl answered and they rushed off down the hall leaving Nightshade hurrying to catch up. As he landed on Severus's shoulder, the owl's mind struggled to process the girl's words. And who was she anyway? How and why had she and Mag killed someone? Prof didn't ask any of these questions as he and the girl rushed out of the castle and toward the lake. When they reached Mag he knelt at her side.

"Magritte! Are you alright?"

"Severus!" Mag smiled weakly without lifting her head. She was curled on her side on the ground. "Hi!"

Severus blinked. "Hi? What happened!"

"A Death Eater was skulking on the grounds and attacked us so...I had to stop him. I used an ancient Egyptian curse that kills by shutting down all the organs in the body. The only drawback is it saps a lot of energy from the caster...So it's a one shot spell rather than something one would use in battle."

Mag spoke quietly, words slurring together a bit, but Nightshade could still understand her. Apparently so could Severus.

"Where is the Death Eater," he asked.

"He's back there," Parvati said, pointing down the path behind Mag. "I sort of threw a knife at him before I left to get you...Just in case he got up again...I couldn't leave her out here alone if he could've still attacked her. I don't know where it hit him, but if it left a mark, I don't want to go to prison!"

"We have to get rid of the body anyway," Severus said numbly.

Then turning to look at the dark haired girl, "You can throw knives, Patil?"

Parvati grinned. "Yeah. I learned when Padma and I went to summer camp when we were ten. Until today, though I only got to practice on trees. Turns out I can hit a moving target too," she said, then bit her lip to keep from stress crying.

Severus rose and walked over to the dead man on the ground. Pulling back the mask, he peered at the face then flicked his wand at the body, muttering a spell that transfigured the corpse into water. The water sank into the ground in a matter of seconds. Even the man's clothes were gone, only leaving Parvati's knife gleaming on the grass. Lifting it Severus tossed it to the dark haired girl handle first.

"Wow," Parvati breathed, easily catching the knife. "He's just gone!"

"Most of a body is water anyway. That spell merely capitalizes on that fact," Severus explained as he returned to where Mag lay. Bending, he scooped the red head into his arms and slowly straightened. "I need you not to breathe a word to any of your little friends about this, Miss Patil," Severus said.

Swallowing hard, Parvati nodded. "No Sir, I won't...I don't want to go to prison!"

"And you certainly don't want Voldemort's attention," Severus added.

Parvati nodded hastily. "And I don't want to get Mag in trouble. I promise I won't ever say a word to anyone."

"That is good to know," Severus said and carrying Mag he headed back toward the school.

"If anyone asks, Miss WestCraven was dehydrated and fainted," he said, and Parvati nodded. Due to the late evening hour, fortunately no one was in the halls so no one even saw them coming in. As he carried her, Mag snuggled her head contentedly against Severus's shoulder. The trying events of the evening were almost worth it to be in his arms, she thought as she drifted in and out of awareness. Severus carried her to the dungeon and into his private quarters, placing her gently onto a sofa. "If you're going to insist on staying around, you may as well help me make her a replenishing draft," Severus told Parvati, giving her an annoyed look over his shoulder.

Parvati nodded quickly. "I just want to make sure she's alright. She's my friend."

Severus found that odd, but now wasn't the time to ask, so he merely nodded and began to give clipped instructions as he set a cauldron of water to boil. With the two working together, the restoring draft was ready in five minutes. Severus helped Mag to sit up. As the room was spinning, she clutched at his arm, wishing she could enjoy the contact more. "Did I do the right thing," she asked, hoping she hadn't just landed herself in a world of trouble by following her instincts to live.

"Of course you did," Severus said quietly. "I would have done the same thing. Now drink this and you'll feel much better." The potion tasted nearly like chicken broth and Mag drank it down as fast as she could. As fast as she could wasn't very fast, because she kept having to stop to rest, but once the cup was empty she did feel far stronger. "I want you to rest for the rest of the evening," Severus said. "Everyone is at dinner now. If you hurry, you'll have time to get some food and both of you need to eat."

"Thank you," Mag said, standing slowly. She wasn't dizzy, and the room was keeping still, so she thought walking should work out well enough.

"Yeah, Thanks, Professor," Parvati said, and gave Severus a quick hug that caused him to blush and push her away.

"Do that again and I take points from Gryffindor," he told her, but a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he waved them away.

"Aren't you going to eat," Mag asked, pausing in the doorway to peer back over her shoulder at Severus.

"I will. Right now, though, I must speak to Albus. We need to improve the protective wards on Hogwarts grounds at once. That Death Eater wouldn't have gotten inside but we should've been alerted that he was at the lake."

/I'll keep you posted,/ Nightshade thought to Mag. /And for fucks sake stay the fuck inside!/

Mag nodded, knowing the gesture would be understood by man as well as owl. She and Parvati left. Parvati didn't speak until they were nearly at the Great Hall, though she did grab Mag's hand and give it a tight squeeze as they walked. "I know who your crush is now," she whispered. "I could see it every time you looked at him...Don't worry, though. I promise not to tell a soul. It's not as if I'm not keeping bigger secrets now," she added, her smile slipping just a bit.