Fury

Severus was pacing back and forth outside Miles's room at the hospital as he listened to the inane ramblings of the Muggle Liaison officer and Aurors, watching at the same time Lily, Mary (who had only just arrived), and Marlene hold a distressed Marley in an embrace while friends and family surrounded them.

"... and the fact of the matter is," the Muggle Liaison officer said, "that there's very little we can do?"

"'Little you can do?!'" Severus snarled, turning to face the officer as his blood began to boil. "Some thugs try to drug my daughter, and you won't do anything because she didn't drink it?!"

"It's c-circumstantial," the officer explained with a tremor in his voice. "All we know for certain is that a drink was served, and that Mr. Glenn drank it."

"And when my daughter explained everything to you, it wasn't enough?!"

"I apologize, Mr. Snape, but your daughter wasn't the one who drank it. And as it stands, there's very little precedent of Muggles drugging witches-"

"MY MOTHER AND FATHER ARE THE PRECEDENT!" Severus roared, and the officer and Aurors staggered back. "AND NOW MY DAUGHTER-"

"Severus!" Severus felt a hand touch his arm, and he turned to see Lily's worried eyes. "Please-"

"You want me to calm down, is that it?!"

"No," Lily said, gently cupping his face with her hands as her burning eyes locked with his. "No, you have every right to be angry, and I'm angry too. But we need to work with them to find the men who did this."

Severus was trembling, all the pressure in his body building behind his eyes.

"... oh Sev, your eye's red again..."

Severus broke eye contact and rested his hands on Lily's. "Sorry-"

"You'll go blind again at this rate," Lily said gently, resting her forehead against his.

Severus controlled his breathing as he closed his eyes, leaning forward against Lily as the red within him simmered down. He opened his eyes once more as Mary approached and took something out of her bag.

"Maybe you should have some of this," Mary said, holding out a jar of Wear-and-Tear salve.

"... you can still get this?" Severus took his forehead off of Lily's and took some, applying it to the lids of his right eye.

"What the hell happened?" Mary asked.

"Marley says she took Milo to a nightclub in Birmingham," Lily explained, "and that she got approached by a group of men who offered her a drink. Milo drank it."

"... I thought you said he was smart?" Mary said dumbfoundedly.

"He can explain when he wakes up," Lily said. Her eyes widened. "Did anyone tell Cokey what happened?"

"I-I called him," Marley sniffled as Marlene led her over. "He's coming o-over right now-"

"Marlene Snape," Severus said stonily as the red began to rise again. "I want you to swear to me that you will never go to one of those clubs again."

"D-dad, I didn't mean- I just wanted to go out for fun-"

"Did Miles want to go?"

Marley fell silent.

"... you will answer me," Severus stated quietly.

"... no," Marley admitted as fresh tears started falling.

"Why did he go with you?"

"I-I don't know-"

"Can you think of nothing?" Severus pressured. "Not one, solitary, reasonable explanation?"

Marley shook her head in shame, but not because she didn't know.

"I highly suspect," Severus answered for her, "that he was worried about your safety, about this exact situation. And I highly suspect that he knew exactly what was in that drink, which, need I remind you, was blue."

Marley appeared confused behind the new bout of crying.

"Were you even aware," Severus asked, "that Rohypnol causes beverages to turn blue, which can be masked by placing it in a blue liquid or a dark or opaque glass?"

"How-"

"I have two daughters, and you expect me not to research this?!" Severus's patience was thinner than he would admit.

"Then why didn't you tell us?!" Marley shot back.

"Because I didn't expect you to partake in single behavior once you were with Miles." Severus felt the pressure return. "You went there for fun, you said. Was Miles not enough fun for you?!"

"Severus." The four in the group turned to Marlene (Lupin, this time), whose voice was hard and whose eyes were now fixed on Severus's. "Do you need to step outside?"

Severus glared at Marlene, but nodded and followed her outside. The cold air caught him in the face, and he felt the heat from before radiate from his face and out of his mouth with each breath.

"There's precedent to go after them," Marlene said firmly. "We can pursue this. But do not take your anger out on your family."

"I raised her better than this," Severus retaliated. "She should've known better!"

"She made a mistake. She knows she made a mistake. And right now, she's suffering for it. Don't make her go through more."

"... what did I do wrong?" Severus asked as all the heat in his body evaporated. He felt a stinging sensation coming from his eyes.

Marlene rested a hand on Severus's arm and squeezed it. "It's not your fault."

Severus almost lost his composure, but he was spared the humiliation when an old man hobbled up to the entrance, one eye noticeably paler than the other.

"Snape," Cokey greeted, his voice wavering with old age. "Your daughter called about Milo."

"He's inside," Severus replied.

Cokey nodded and was about to go in but stopped to greet Marlene with an outstretched. "Thomas Glenn. I'm Milo's great-uncle."

"Marlene Lupin," Marlene greeted, shaking his hand.

Cokey nodded, mumbled something to himself, and hobbled through the entrance and down the corridor where Miles's room was.

Severus and Marlene remained outside, staring out into the parking lot.