Chapter 4: It Comes Slowly, But Hits Hard!
"Go, Severus, take your wife home," the Dark Lord said. "There is time before the term at Hogwarts begins. I expect you to tame her till then. Do not disappoint me."
"Yes, My Lord," Severus bowed.
The girl was already on the ground, having collapsed into unconsciousness again. He was thankful for that or he would have had to force her to bow to the bastard.
Severus bent and made a show of unceremoniously dragging the unconscious girl to her feet. "I will not disappoint you, My Lord."
"Keep this arrangement well protected from Dumbledore," the dark wizard said darkly. Severus dipped his head, and took his leave, dragging the girl after him. Dolohov's eyes followed him sharply all the way to the door. Or rather, his gaze was fixated at Granger.
As he stepped out of the meeting room, relief washed over him like a gush of water having sprayed on him after spending a day walking in the Sahara. He let go of a long-held sigh, but dared not let his Shields get any looser. The Malfoy territory could be anything but safe for him to be caught off-guard.
"Married, Snape?" The slurred intone belonged to Rabastan. "We missed the show, had'ta dump the filthy Muggles in the garbage pit."
"At least, she seems'ta 'ave a good body to keep you happy, the Mudblood." Rodolphus chuckled.
Blood boiled in Severus' veins—and not for the first time, he felt ashamed of himself to ever have shared their mentality as a teenager to have entered into their circle. "I hope so, but one can't be too sure with bad-bred bitches like these." Too much my Father's son.
"Right!"
"True!"
They exchanged some formalities before leaving Severus to drag the girl into the Entrance Hall from where he could Apparate away.
Looking around, when he was sure nobody was watching them, Severus gingerly picked the girl up, carefully arranging her in his arms, mindful of her injuries. He considered Apparating them to Hogwarts but the girl needed medical attention. But Poppy was visiting with her family somewhere in Wales. He decided to Apparate them to the Spinner's End for the time being. He could postpone informing Albus.
The storm outside had calmed but where Severus found himself was in the midst of another, more chaotic a storm. With that dramatic comparison of their situation, he tightened his hold on the girl, and left the Malfoy Manor for good.
UUUUUUU
Severus landed in the living room of his house, the only point he had let un-warded against magical transportation. He looked at the still unconscious girl—her face was bruised and bloodied, so was her hand that Bellatrix had left battered under her hold. The skin on her third finger was red, where the band 'adorned' her finger. Her body was still shaking—it could be the Cruciatus or the after-Cruciatus sensitivity to cold, or both.
He carefully laid the girl on the old leather settee, praying for her to remain unconscious for a while longer. He had no idea how he was supposed to deal with her if she were to wake up. At least, he could quickly administer some medication to her before the inevitable.
He quickly summoned some vials and bottles from his Potions Lab, they landed on the coffee table with a clutter. After a moment's consideration, Severus cast a Silencio around the house. If Granger woke up, he was not willing to deal with nosy Muggles, too, because of the shouting which was certainly to follow. He also locked all the doors, in case the girl tried to flee away. He could not condone such behaviour in her fragile state.
He dragged a chair by the settee on which she laid and uncorked the potions one by one. Severus eyed the Granger girl warily. His hands hesitated before holding her head with one hand and pouring the liquid into her mouth with the other. The potions would take care of the Cruciatus. After every potion, he had to massage her throat manually to make her swallow. Under the pad of his fingers, he could feel the sensitive bruises that marred her skin.
All the while he worked, he was lost in a daze. His hands worked mechanically while his mind registered little. Despite holding the parlous position of a spy for more years that he cared to count, today was possibly the first time that he had absolutely no idea how they were going to move further with this.
The corner of Granger's lips was bleeding. The rivulets of blood marked her chin. Flashes of a different woman harbouring the similar wounds, laying on the very same settee, assaulted his vision. Severus shook his head. He spelled the blood clean from her face. Her skin knitted itself together with another wave of magic. Granger's hand had gashes where Bellatrix's nails had dug into her flesh. Severus repeated the Charms on her hand, with an addition to avoid infection.
His gaze fell on the bruise salve. He picked it up, and dipped two fingers in to scoop some up. Then, looking at the girl's face, he stopped. He would not cross that line, especially not when she was not even aware of his touch. It was not his place by any means. Severus vanished the salve from his fingers, and replaced the container on the table.
He looked at her finger-band for a moment. What have I done! He wasn't even sure if the girl was of age yet, or if she was even cognisant of the concept of a Dark Wedding, or that she was forced into a marriage... With him.
He covered his face with his hands. He had ruined a girl's life! He had destroyed all hopes for the girl! He had killed her patents, had made her an orphan! And now, she was bound to him for life. Him! Her Professor—the most disliked wizard—but an adult who was supposed to protect her. What have I done!
Granger's face still had bruises, perhaps one of them due to the slap that he had- He had slapped the girl! He had called her a...Mudblood! He had called her a bitch! Several times. He had laughed and smirked while they had made vulgar jokes on the girl.
He had ruined her life. And she would never forgive him. Hell, he could never forgive his own self!
After all, he had proved to be his father's son.
And what was to follow would destroy any hint of humanity in him, and any trace of life in Granger. When they would have to consummate the marriage- No! He could not bear to be a rapist, too. No, he would lose himself. He would rather die than be a rapist! He would rather accept death than force himself on the girl—on anyone.
The last time he had cried—over fifteen years ago—was over losing Lily, now it was over losing his own self. Last time, he had caused a woman to die, now he had snatched life away from an innocent girl.
Tears spilled down his cheeks as he wept very quietly, sitting by the girl whom he had taken away everything from. Severus could feel that burden weighing heavily on his shoulders, painfully snaking over his chest and making it hard to even breathe.
"What have I done!"
He couldn't tell how long he had sat there, weeping into his hands, after fifteen long years. He only stopped when he heard a whimper from Granger.
But the girl was still unconscious—thankfully. Severus wiped his eyes angrily and shook himself out of his pathetic misery. He was not the victim here, he was the perpetrator! The girl was the one who would suffer the most—all because of him.
He needed to inform Albus, he needed to find a way out of the mess. Severus stood up and after a moment's thought, transfigured a cushion into a blanket, and laid it over the girl.
With that, he strode to the fireplace, to firecall the Headmaster, and try to find a respite for Granger. And perhaps one for himself, too.
A/N: Sorry, it's a short chapter. But the next one will be longer. In fact, Chapter 5 will be updated in a few hours if I receive good response from my readers!
Leave a review and let me know how you find my plot! Constructive criticism is welcome. :)
And again, thanks for reading!