Summary: Repercussions

A/N: Thanks for reading! Evil Voldie alert!

Chapter 15

Severus entered Draco's dormitory and nodded at him. Draco did not acknowledge him or say anything. Instead, he got up and moved so he was nose to nose with Severus.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Draco snarled.

"To what are you referring?" Severus asked blandly.

"I was summoned late last night. The Dark Lord told me you were involved with the attack in Hogsmeade. Severus, you just about killed that Death Eater!"

"He's still alive? I'm surprised. I'm the only one who knows that countercurse."

Draco grabbed at his robes. "Do you not understand what I'm saying? The Dark Lord is livid! He's questioning your motives and your loyalties."

Severus looked at Draco crossly. "What was I supposed to do? Those cretins were trying to kill us. I'm not going to stand by and be killed no matter how much I agree with the Dark Lord just because his stupid followers are acting like assassins."

Severus wheeled around and began to pace.

"For Merlin's sake, they know that the Dark Lord needs to finish Potter, but what do they do? Shoot him with a hex that will drain his magic. Well, do you know what happens when someone's magic is completely drained? They die!"

Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out a comb with several teeth missing. He placed it on the table near them.

"This is a Portkey to Malfoy Manor. The Dark Lord wants to speak with you. I suggest you convince him that you are still on his side if you want to keep breathing."

Severus sighed and looked at the comb. Reaching out, he looked quickly at Draco, who nodded his acknowledgment that it was time to touch it. His finger made contact, grasping it, and he spun out of existence, only to appear in the main living room of Malfoy Manor. Lucius was seated before him.

"Severus."

"Mr. Malfoy."

"I will take you to the Dark Lord. He is anxious to see you."

Lucius rose, eyeing Severus as he did so. He stepped in front of him and led the way to the library. Opening the door, he ushered Severus in, closing it behind him. Severus saw the Dark Lord in the center of the library, sitting on a throne-like wingback chair.

Severus approached him with his head bowed.

"My Lord, you wished to see me?" he said calmly.

Inside he was terrified and unsure how to convince Voldemort that he was still on his side. He feared for his life, but he had to appear calm and unaffected. He breathed in lightly and awaited his fate.

"Severus, explain yourself!" the Dark Lord demanded.

Severus glanced up slightly, only to look back down again. "My Lord?"

"You almost killed one of my right-hand men! Why?"

Severus kept his head bowed. "My Lord, we were being attacked. I was defending myself."

Voldemort shot up from his chair and got up in Severus' face.

"He almost died! Fight back, yes, but it seems like you have a vendetta against us."

"My Lord, that's not true. I am loyal to you."

"Then why?"

"If I may speak freely?"

"Go ahead," Voldemort commanded.

"Your Death Eaters were foolhardy and careless. They almost killed Potter. I know he is to be saved for you, so when I saw them attacking the Boy-Wonder like they did, I knew that something had to be done to stop them or Potter would be dead, and you would not have your revenge. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I shot a hex at them that was so terrible, they would need to retreat."

"Look at me," Voldemort demanded.

Severus lifted his head, Occluding like crazy, as he felt the Dark Lord rip into his memories. After a few moments, he felt him withdraw.

"What was that spell you cast, Severus?"

"It is a spell of my own making. It is a cutting spell, but can be used to fatally wound someone."

"Very innovative. I will talk with those who did the attack. You were right, they were only supposed to scare all of you, but they were… overzealous in their attack, and Potter could have been killed. They won't make that mistake again."

"My Lord, when do you plan on moving against Potter?"

"Soon, Severus. I will need your help when the time comes."

Severus bowed. "Yes, my Lord."

"How goes the potion I asked of you?"

Severus kept his eyes on the floor. "I have gotten ingredients to start my first trial. I am brainstorming how to brew the potion and am almost ready to make my first attempt."

"You haven't brewed a trial yet?"

"My Lord, I was in the Infirmary. I had no chance to…"

Voldemort glowered at Severus. "I do not accept excuses, Severus. Get to work."

"I will, my Lord."

"Go. I will send more information through Draco about moving against Potter."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Severus touched the Portkey that he'd put into his pocket and disappeared from the Manor. He wound up back in Draco's room, but the other man wasn't anywhere to be seen. He made a hasty exit and headed toward the Room of Requirement. He stopped at the Fat Lady while en route.

"Please tell Hermione Granger I need to speak with her."

"I'm not your Owl," she said coldly.

Severus rolled his eyes at her. Just then Neville Longbottom came by.

"Neville, could you tell Hermione to come out? I need to speak with her."

"Yeah, sure."

Neville went back into the Common Room, the door shutting behind him, leaving a glowering Fat Lady glaring at Severus.

All the Gryffindors were used to Severus hanging around the trio. He'd become a normal part of them, so Neville didn't think twice about getting Hermione for him.

In no time, she was coming through the painting.

"Hi!" she said with a smile.

Severus took her hand and without saying anything, moved to the Room of Requirement and passed by three times. The door opened to reveal a cozy room with a sofa in front of a fireplace. There was a shaggy rug in between the two. Severus led Hermione into the room and closed the door behind him. He came up to her and hugged her furiously.

"I have had quite an evening," he sighed.

Her arms wrapped around him, and she squeezed him back.

"Are you feeling side effects from the curse?"

He pulled back. "I am ok. I feel pretty much myself."

"Good." She kissed him softly. "Now, what were you going to tell me?"

"I was summoned."

"By You-Know-Who?"

Severus nodded and led her over to the sofa. The fireplace spurted into life, with a crackling fire roaring in it almost instantly.

"Thank you," Hermione said to the room as they settled into the sofa.

She turned her attention to Severus and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. "What happened?"

"Draco told me that the Dark Lord was very upset that I almost killed one of his Death Eaters. I had to go before him and explain myself."

Hermione reached out and stroked his hair. "Did he hurt you?"

"Thankfully no. I think he is reluctant to fully show his anger because I haven't taken the Mark. He used Legilimency on me to prove my story."

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth, mostly. His Death Eaters were out of control, and they almost killed Harry. He corroborated all of it in my mind. I made sure the Death Eaters seemed even worse than they were. The Dark Lord said he was going to have a talk with them. I'm sure it won't go well."

"Oh, Severus, I hate that you are taking your life into your hands like this. He could do anything to you."

"I know, but it is the only way to beat him."

She ran her fingers through his hair. "You're being so brave, Severus."

His lips thinned. "I don't think I'm very brave," he admitted.

Hermione met his gaze and gave him a sharp look. "But you are! You faced You-Know-Who and didn't crack. He doesn't know you're a spy. That's incredibly brave if you ask me."

"I just did what I had to."

Leaning in, she kissed him lovingly. "Isn't that the biggest part of heroism? Doing the hard things and not cracking?"

He shrugged. "I suppose." He looked away. "I wasn't very brave in my past. I want to change that."

"You have," Hermione noted. "And I love that about you."

Severus turned back to her, smiling shyly before pulling her to him and kissing her.

"Thank you for supporting me. You have been a bright light in this new world I traveled to."

"Of course," she said. "But has it been that bad here?"

He looked away as he contemplated her question. "No, it's actually been better than I expected. Part of my desire to come here was to find good friends, but I wasn't actively seeking that out. I have been pleasantly surprised that you lot tolerate me."

"Why wouldn't we tolerate you?"

He shrugged. "Few people do."

"Which supports my theory that you've been friends with the wrong people," Hermione argued.

"Well, I had little choice."

"I wish you had, Severus."

"Me too."

Hermione kissed his cheek. "Did you want to work on the potion?" she asked.

Severus nodded his head. "We'd best do so. The Dark Lord sounded like he's only willing to wait so long."

"Well, that's not fair!"

"I believe that as long as I'm making progress, it will be okay for a little bit. Besides, life isn't fair."

"Well, it ought to be."

Hermione pulled a shrunken notebook from her pocket and enlarged it.

"So, we were discussing combining the Boomslang venom and the tar before adding it to the potion. Does that still sound good?"

"Yes, the slow-acting venom will hopefully be even more stabilized with the tar."

Hermione jotted that down, and they moved to the next step.

"How long do we let that sit?"

"Overnight, then into the potion. I'll need to stir it counter-clockwise seven times, then let it sit for two days. Once that time has elapsed, I can test it."

Hermione finished up her notes and then handed the notebook to Severus.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help brew this?"

"I am absolutely, positively sure. Thank you for your help thus far, but you must not touch any part of this potion, or it might show in my memories."

"Are you going to brew it now?"

"Yes, I may as well get it started. It will need to sit for a bit after the initial ingredients are combined so the Doxy egg will marry with the Dandelion root."

Hermione stood, then leaned down and kissed Severus sultrily.

"I'll leave you to it, then. I will see you at dinner."

"Blast, woman, how am I to concentrate after that?" he remarked.

She smirked at him. "It's just a promise of things to come when you're done."

"Hmm," Severus said as he arched a brow. "I look forward to seeing you at dinner, then."

"See you then," Hermione said and turned to go. He watched Hermione leave, then spoke to the room.

"I need a place to brew that will not be disturbed for three days."

The room remained much the same, except a small lab with a table and cauldron were set up in the corner. There was also a shelving unit with several ingredients on it. Severus raised an eyebrow at that before moving over to the shelves.

"Very useful, thank you," he said before he got to work.