Saving your life

The first place he went back to in London was Spinner’s End. He didn’t really like the house, even if most people who knew him would say it fit him perfectly. It was cold and impersonal, but the perfect place for working. It had wards protecting it, and no neighbours around, so it was as safe as it could get without drawing too much attention. He needed a place to stay, one where he could be found if needed, and it was also a good way to keep any other house a secret.

As he entered, he carefully searched every room, making sure no one had broken in while he’d been away, and was relieved to notice everything seemed to be in place. He opened the hidden door behind the wall of books and walked up the narrow staircase that led to his potions lab.

Without wasting a moment, he went to check on the potion he had been working on. The colour and thickness were correct, as was the silver mist swirling above it. It was a good thing the potion still needed to rest for a few more days before the last step, or else it would have been ruined by now.

It was more of an experiment actually, and he had been working hard on it for months. If the potion worked correctly it could help Potter find the remaining Horcruxes, but he still needed more time to finish it and test it.

He was tired, but there was no time to waste, and so after quickly changing his clothes he Apparated at headquarters.

The other Death Eaters already knew what had happened, and as he walked in they looked at him with a mixture of surprise at him being alive and curiosity as to why he was there again. In his place, most of them would have fled by now. Cowards.

He knew where to find his Master as he rarely left his study. As he knocked on the door and stepped inside, he saw a feigned look of delight on his face.

“Severus, it’s good to see you here. And quite healthy I might add.”

“Thank you, Master,” he merely replied

“So what brings you here? After our last encounter I wasn’t expecting a visit, at least not so soon.”

“I came because my place is here, Master. I’m a faithful Death Eater,” he said, bowing slightly

“Of course you are.”

They stayed in silence for a few moments and he could feel his Lord trying to enter his mind. He showed him what he wanted to see, him alone at his place and slowly recovering from his wounds. He was careful not to let a single image of the girl cross his mind.

“I know I failed you, Master, and I will do anything in my power to make up for it.”

A cruel smile formed on his lipless mouth before saying, “Oh, I’m sure you will.”

Another few moments of tense silence filled the room.

“Have you spoken to your witch yet?”

“Only for a short moment, Sir,” he said, unsure of what he wanted to know

“Has she said anything about the other night?”

“She confirmed my suspicions. Nott was working for them.”

“And why didn’t you find that out earlier, before I lost those men?”

“She didn’t know, Sir. Apparently, only a few people from the Order knew it. They had been waiting for an attack but hadn’t told anyone about it until the last possible minute.”

“Is there anyone else working for them?”

“Not that she knows of.”

“Very well. Go back to whatever you’re working on now, I’ll call you if I need anything from you,” he dismissed him in a bored tone.

He started walking out of the room but then stopped, an idea suddenly crossing his mind.

“I asked her to find out where they’re keeping the men they captured,” he said, turning back around. He could see a glint of interest cross his Master’s eyes.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Sir. I thought it could be useful.”

“Very well, go talk to her and report back to me as soon as you have any news.”

“I will, Master. Thank you,” he said, bowing again and leaving the room.

He quickly left and Apparated by his place in Ireland once more, hoping she would still be there. He hadn’t been in that house so often since… well, never.

He wasn’t surprised to find she had already left by the time he got there, but noticed something strange fallen by his bed. The girl had left the invisibility cloak behind. It was too late to contact her, he decided. He’d get some sleep and talk to her early in the morning. The cloak would be most helpful.

Telling the Dark Lord he could find out where the Death Eaters were being kept had been risky, but he needed something to offer his Master. It was the only way he would be safe until he gained his trust back. He had to prove he could still be useful. And most importantly, by doing that, he had made sure she would be safe too. There would be no need to hurt her as long as she could provide information.

As morning came, he took the cloak and went to see her. He had followed her to headquarters once, over a week ago now, and so he knew where to find her.

There were wards protecting the house, but not enough to keep him out. Making sure he was completely covered by the cloak he carefully opened the door and crept inside. He followed the voices and found a bunch of red heads sitting on a table eating breakfast. She was sitting there as well, but not talking to anybody.
He waited patiently until she was finished, and followed her as she left the small kitchen and walked into the library.

Covering her with the cloak as well, he had started saying what he needed from her, but soon stopped. He just couldn’t believe the effect that woman had on him. He found it so hard to concentrate whenever she was around, all he could think of was how good it was to kiss her, how soft her skin felt, how arousing it was when she writhed and moaned under his touch. Her friends were there, sitting just a few feet away. He knew it was crazy, but couldn’t help himself.

He had finally made his way back out of the house unnoticed, and managed to tell her what he needed.

By the time he got back to his place a plan was starting to form on his mind. Instead of asking her where they were keeping the prisoners, he told her he needed them sent to Azkaban. Maybe he could help some of them escape, the least dangerous ones, and gain his Master’s trust back, and at the same time, he wouldn’t risk exposing the real place they were being held by the Ministry.

For hours he went through everything he knew about the prison, trying to think of better ways in and out, and how he would manage to let only some of them out, not all. It was almost dark already when he noticed the warm parchment on his pocket. She was trying to talk to him.

‘Are you there?’ she had written

‘Yes.’

‘What you asked, it can’t be done.’ He noticed she wasn’t giving much away on the parchment. She had clearly learned her lesson after Malfoy had pretended to be him to lure her into that cabin.

‘Why not?’

‘They won’t risk them escaping, especially when I can’t even tell them what will happen or why they should help me.’

‘You can’t tell them that.’

‘I don’t even know it myself.’

‘We’ll have to meet again, come up with another plan. Can you get to London on your own?’ he scribbled.

‘Not tonight, they’ll be keeping an eye on me.’

‘Tomorrow morning?’

‘Probably.’

‘Go to Kings Cross. There’s a flat three blocks south, one with a golden door right next to a small pharmacy. Third floor, first door to your left. I’ll be waiting for you there, around 10. Do not Apparate and don’t be late.’ It took her a few seconds to answer this time.

‘I have to go, I’m not alone.’

That was just his luck, just when he’d come up with a way to get things back to normal. It had been so much easier when it had been him dealing with both sides directly. Back then, he could get things done himself, but now there were just too many people involved.

Well, at least he had the whole night to think of something new.

Thinking about anything other than her proved to be a challenge, however, especially late at night. The memories of the day kept coming back. Still, there was no denying those dreams instead of the usual nightmares were certainly a good change.

He had always been able to control his impulses, but around her, suddenly he didn’t want to. That was a problem and he knew it. He kept trying to be cold, to push her away, but it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been.

With all that in mind, he wasn’t surprised he didn’t get much sleep. He was already on the flat by sunrise, and he was getting impatient. After the fifth cup of tea, he finally heard the door creak open. He slowly walked to the kitchen door and glanced that way. She had poked her head around the door, her wand out and pointing out front.

“Miss Granger,” he called, and saw her visibly relax at his words.

He heard her footsteps as she followed his voice and stepped inside the kitchen.

“I can’t stay long; I’m supposed to meet Harry and Ron in the Leaky Cauldron in an hour.”

“I told you to come alone.”

“I know, but Harry said he needed new robes, and insisted on coming with me.”

“Then we better hurry,” he said

He had been facing the window as they spoke, and when he turned around, he couldn’t help but stare at her. She had her hair up in a ponytail, was wearing a light summer dress and he thought to himself that she looked breathtaking.

She clearly noticed, and took a few steps closer, looking at him intently as she said

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to get much from them without giving some explanations. They’ve already done too much out of trust.”

He stepped even closer, and he could feel her breathing faster.

“Then you’ll have to explain part of it. This has to be done, it’s too important.” Their lips were almost touching as he kept talking.

“The problem is the Dark Lord still has spies among Ministry workers, and I don’t know who they are. You’ll have to be sure only a selected few know what we’re planning.”

“Right.” Her gaze kept moving from his eyes to his lips and back again.

“This is important,” he whispered, trying to control himself.

“Yes,” she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment, but he felt her body inch closer to him.

Well, she clearly wanted it, and so did he. What was there to think about?

He closed the distance between their mouths, tongues caressing as their hands pulled each other closer. He kissed her neck, then the soft spot behind her ear and he heard her moan and tilt her head to the side, giving him more room. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her up onto the desk, her legs soon circling his hips, pulling him to her, as her lips found his once more. His hands on her thighs, pushing the dress up, their mouths melting together once more

The sound of the door creaking open brought them back to their senses. They jumped apart and he quickly stepped back and reached for his wand, his other hand pointing behind the open door, telling her to hide there and keep quiet.

He hadn’t told anyone he’d be there, and had made sure no one had followed him. Whoever that was, it certainly meant trouble.

Two hooded figures entered at a crawl, and he was about to curse both of them when he noted one of the figures was wearing glasses, and he could see a lock of red hair by the other’s neck. It wasn’t long before he figured who they were.

He edged away from them as he decided what to do; he couldn’t let them see him.
They couldn’t Apparate in or out of the apartment, but neither could he. The only way out was the door they’d come through, and there was no way he could walk out without them noticing.
Taking a deep breath, he did the only thing he could do, making sure they wouldn’t see him he sneaked into the other room, pointed his wand at them and watched them fall to the floor.