Bound in Leather

well, well... what have we here? no! not that! anything but that! its.... its.... a disclaimer! NO!!! yes, the evil disclaimer. here to tell one and all that what you find contained here in is purely for fun. its not meant to be serious. and its certainly not meant to take away from anyone else. namely, one j.k. rowling. anything you find in here that is from the world of harry potter belongs solely to her. she owns them all. *sob, whimper* and i make no money from using them and make no claim to them. i am merely borrowing them for the time being. anything you don\'t recognize from the world of harry potter is drawn from my imagination. i make no money from using them, either.

there will be no smut in this chapter, i\'m sorry to say. the evil plot bunnies have already told me, rather nastily too, that this chapter will be of a more serious nature. no smut. i tried to convince them otherwise. but they are having none of it. so here be a chapter full of seriousness. smut will return eventually. i\'m not sure when. but it\'ll be there.

and, finally. reviews are always welcome. in fact, they are so welcome, i get goofy just reading them. they are, however, not required. if you do have one to leave, please be kind about it. no flames, or i will use them to roast your ass. original or extra crispy recipe, anyone?

Chapter Fourteen: Never Waken A Sleeping Death Eater
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Severus Apparated with a small pop into a dark, empty corner of the parking lot behind the diner. He had been pleasantly surprised when Alasdair had called him a few days previous to tell him that she wished to speak with him on a matter of some importance. He\'d had a notion since then of what she wanted to talk about, and he was surprised that she hadn\'t taken any more time. Their last visit, when he\'d brought her to Los Angeles, had been a strange one for him. He had said things he hadn\'t meant to say. But he refused to take words back. Not from Alasdar. She was the one thing in his life that he had found to be more than just pleasant. She was almost something... someone, he needed to live.

Adjusting the long trench coat he wore, he walked at a leisurely pace around the small building for the front door. The wind was chill and harsh, winter moving into this part of the world already. He rounded the last corner and stepped into the mellow light streaming from the front windows of the establishment. A few of the tables held patrons, and it took him only a moment to notice that they all seemed rather unhappy at the moment. They sat on their benches or in their seats, many of them pushing food about on their plates as if they were no longer hungry. Each one wore an expression that he could not immediately define, but that part of him that was still trained to survive as a Death Eater saw it and recognized the situation for what it was.

Something was terribly wrong here.

He stood outside for a few more moments, watching the people move listlessly. The door from the back room opened and the girl named Sheila came through. She wore a solemn expression, something she never did. The woman was always smiling and looking for a man to take home with her. Her eyes, normally full of promises, were now slightly puffy and reddened. Brenda came out moments later, looking very pale. Her face shone wetly in the overhead lighting of the restaurant, as if she\'d been crying. A tingle of awareness snaked it\'s way up his spine. The older woman held her coat in her hands, her handbag in the other. She was leaving, it seemed.

Stepping forward, he pushed the door open and went in. The low murmur in the room went silent in a moment when the usual crowd laid eyes on him. And it wasn\'t because he was Severus Snape, Rock God. It was for another reason entirely. He moved straight for Brenda. She looked up as he approached, and a fat tear drop rolled down her cheek. \'Brenda, what is it?\' he asked her.

\'Come over here and sit with me a moment, Severus. We need to talk,\' she informed him, gesturing limply to an empty table at the back of the dining room. He moved toward it, following behind Brenda. When he sat across from her, he noted stains on her apron that looked oddly enough like... \'There\'s been an accident, Severus,\' she told him, her tone as gentle as a mother\'s when speaking to a small, frightened child.

\'What\'s happened?\' he asked gruffly, his hand going for his wand inside the deep folds of his coat. The smooth, worn wood felt good in his hand.

\' It\'s Allie. She\'s been... taken to the hospital,\' Brenda choked out on a sob. \' She...\'

\'Take me to her at once,\' he barked sharply, standing up.

\'Of course. She\'ll be glad to see you,\' Brenda nodded, standing next to him. She slipped her coat on as she made her way toward the main door. The eyes of every patron were fixed on the two as they walked silently across the faded linoleum floor. He never noticed the cold night air as it slapped him in the face when he stepped onto to sidewalk. He never noticed that Brenda was still speaking to him, or that she looked over at him with a great deal of sympathy on her face. He didn\'t notice anything but the sudden need that welled up within him. The need to hurt someone. To kill. The Death Eater was clawing it\'s way to the surface, and he found no reason to stop it.

He tuned everything out as the car made it\'s way toward the hospital. He concentrated on the fury. It was boiling inside like water in a kettle left on the fire. He could feel it moving out into every nerve ending, every cell in his body. Anger was consuming him, and he was going to let it. He wanted to be mad. Enraged. He wanted to let the dark side of him loose. He knew for a fact that Kevin Marks would soon be getting a crash course in the true meaning of evil.

Severus couldn\'t decide why he was so angry. Why he needed to lash out and hurt someone so desperately. He hated the thought of Alasdair being injured in any fashion. He could find no logical explanation for that, other than he felt some sort of affection for her. How deep his feelings ran, he couldn\'t be sure. He only knew that she had managed to touch him more than any person he\'d ever known. Deeper than anyone he\'d known. He would see to it that Kevin Marks paid for every bruise, every imperfection ever left on Alasdair\'s body.

When the car came to a complete halt, he came out of himself. He found that they were parked before a large building with quite a few lights on. The word \'Emergency\' was lit by bright red lights over the door they were parked near. He threw the door open, nearly pulling the seat belt out of the car wall in his temper. He stepped from the car, allowing Brenda to lead the way. She took him in past the double doors under the blazing sign and up to a desk, where a woman in blue sat.

\'Can I help you?\' the woman asked, barely glancing up from the clipboard before her.

\'Alasdair Wyndham,\' Severus demanded in his coldest tones. This brought the woman\'s head up to look at him. Her eyes widened as if in recognition, then she reached for a second clipboard. Glancing down the papers tucked onto it, she flipped two of them up before stopping.

\'She\'s been moved upstairs to a room. Number three twenty four,\' the woman told them. Severus turned to head in that direction. \'But only family is allowed in to see her, sir!\' He turned to glare at the nurse, his black gaze pinning her where she sat.

\' I am her intended. That is good enough for you,\' he snarled, then headed off to find an elevator. He noted with some satisfaction that the nurse never left her seat. Brenda was hurrying along after him, her shoes slapping quietly on the tiled floor behind him. He jabbed the button to call down the lift, then stood and waited for it impatiently.

\'Her intended? Does that mean?.... \' Brenda asked, not daring to look at him.

\' It means that I am here to look in on her. That is all it means at present. Since her mother cannot be here for her, I shall take her family\'s place,\' he snapped, jabbing at the button once more in agitation. It was somehow very important that he see Alasdair now. There was eventually a ding, then the light over the door slid open. The nurse in the small square lift eyed him warily as she edged out of the elevator and past him, trying very hard to stay as far from him as she could.

Brenda said nothing as she stepped into the moving box with him. He was scowling so fiercely that she didn\'t dare speak to him for fear that he would bite her head off or do some other equally foul deed. The doors slid closed on them as his finger jabbed the three button in hard. The light came on beneath the black number three on the round white circle, then the lift began it\'s ascent. They remained silent as they went up. When it stopped, the two of them stepped out together. Glancing about, Brenda gestured to her right. They moved in that direction in silence.

The door to three twenty four was closed. Severus placed one hand on the handle and pulled. The over sized panel swung open wide to reveal a nearly dark room beyond. He allowed Brenda in before him, then stepped in after her. The door shut behind him with a faint swishing noise. Brenda was to the bed in a few steps, already sobbing as quietly as she could into her hands. He stepped up behind her to glance at the bed.

The faint light that was on over it gave off enough illumination so that he could clearly see Alasdair\'s face. She lay on her back in the center of the bed, obviously asleep. Whether by natural means or medicinal aides, he couldn\'t be certain. Her left eye was nothing but a large, purpleish black bruise that had both lids swollen closed to twice their normal size. There was a second bruise marring her face starting at the corner of her mouth. It travelled down her chin and ended just underneath the curve of her jaw. His teeth ground together in boiling anger.

A few tubes were connected to her arm, taped down so that the needles just under the skin could not be pulled free. He had no words to descibe the rage that threatened to consume him. He had never felt anything like this in all his life. He stood there, staring at her, his black gaze memorizing the exact contours of both bruises on her face. He wasn\'t certain what else had happened, but it had to be something serious for her to be here. There were times when he wished he was still deeply involved with the Wizarding World.

He heard the door behind them, his hand moving to his wand subconsciously in case he needed to defend himself. He turned to find an rather young looking man staring up at him. This was obviously her doctor. The young man wiped his hand on his jacket, then offered it to Severus. He declined to shake. \' I\'m Doctor Williams. I understand that you are Miss Wyndham\'s fiance?\'

\' I am her intended, yes,\' was the response that Severus gave. \'This is Brenda Jensen, a coworker of Alasdair\'s,\' Severus motioned to the woman behind him. \'Kindly enlighten me as to her conditon, please.\'

The tone was barely civil, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He just managed to keep his scowl from deepening into the one he\'d worn teaching. The one that frightened first years and Neville Longbottom out of their common sense and every other ounce of wit they had. He stared at the shorter man, waiting impatiently for him to provide answers to the question that still hung sharply in the air. The doctor paled the slightest amount, then nodded and motioned to the door. Severus did not move.

\'We really should discuss this outside, Mr. Snape,\' Doctor Williams replied.

\' I do not intend to leave her side. Now you will speak or I will lose my temper!\' Severus snarled in his most menacing tone. The doctor gulped and nodded, then consulted the clipboard in his hand.

\'Quite obviously, she\'s been beaten. That was severe enough on it\'s own. Whoever did this was pretty vicious about it. She\'s lucky enough to not have suffered any broken bones, but it appears that this has happened before,\' he told them both, not looking up. Flipping another page, he sighed then went on. \'This is where it gets nasty. We\'ve only just managed to stop the hemorrhaging. The bleeding was fairly bad. And it...\'

\'What bleeding?\' Severus interrupted. He heard Brenda sob behind him and got the distinct impression that he had missed something rather important.

\'You didn\'t know?\' the doctor asked him, his voice full of sympathy. Severus felt a chill slip down his spine. This was not boding well for him at all.

\'Know what?\' he questioned, his gaze locked on the now fidgeting doctor.

\' I just assumed that you knew, since she\'s.... \' he stopped and sighed, then set the clipboard down. \'Mr. Snape, Miss Wyndham was pregnant. The beating she received... Well, it was responsible for the miscarriage she suffered. That was why she was bleeding. She lost your child.\'

\'My child?\' his voice sounded hollow in the silence of the room.

\'Yes, your child. I\'m terribly sorry. I thought you knew,\' Dr. Williams said softly.

\'Thank you,\' he managed to get out without sounding uncaring or nasty. He had a few thoughts on his mind, and at the moment, none of them were centered entirely on Alasdair. He had things that needed done. \'How is Alasdair other wise?\'

\'Physically, she\'s fine. A few days of recovery will see her fit once more. Mentally, I can\'t be sure. Everyone reacts differently to such devastating news. Only time will tell how she\'ll take this. But with love and support from her family and friends, I don\'t see why she won\'t come out of this well enough.\'

\'When can she leave the hospital?\' he practically demanded.

\'The morning, I think. We\'ll need to see how she acts, once she wakes up.\'

\' I want her ready to go first thing in the morning. I\'m taking her to my home,\' he snapped, then turned back to the bed. So much was running through his head now. His suspicions were confirmed in the worst way. Here was his proof that Kevin Marks abused Alasdair. And here was all he needed to let himself slip into the darkness. He could make her step-father disappear and no one would be the wiser. He wanted to make the bastard suffer for this. For his child.

His child. It felt odd to say it. More so than it had been to hear it. A child that he would never know. A child he would always wonder about. Much as he detested children, there was something different about it being his own child. He would always wonder if it would have been a boy or girl. Would always wonder if it would have taken after Alasdair or himself in looks. Would always wonder what kind of intelligence the child would display. He would always wonder if he would have been able to show any kind of affection for his child.

He felt the bitter sting of tears burn at his eyes. He had never cried in his life. He would not start now. Not for a tiny being he would never know. He would channel those feelings, those emotions, into something more worth while than shedding a few tears over something that he couldn\'t change. He would put this intense need to purge himself of his anger, his guilt, to good use and take the one responsible to task.

Severus was going to go to Alasdair\'s house and he was going to make Kevin Marks pay.

Turning, he looked at where Brenda stood. She had tears in her eyes, a look on her face that told him she had known. And she had apparently tried to tell him of this. But he hadn\'t paid any attention to her, he\'d been so lost in his thoughts. He motioned her toward a chair. \'Please, Brenda. Sit and stay with her. I have a phone call to make, then I have other business to attend. I will return shortly, though.\'

\' I am so sorry, Severus. She was going to tell you tonight when you two talked. She told me that when she came in. But she.... \' Brenda sobbed. \'The son of a bitch needs to die.\'

\'Do not fret, Brenda. Kevin Marks will get his. I can promise you this,\' he replied softly. Without another word, he slipped from the room to stalk back up the hall to the lift. He rode it down, then went outside the building. Pulling the small, compact folded square that was his way to communicate easily with anyone in the world. The cell phone flipped open easily enough with a flick of his wrist, then he dialed a number.

The conversation took some time, as Remus was determined to come out now and pound her step father to within an inch of his life with his supernatural strength, and it took Severus quite a while to stop him. He would not let Lupin come out here and take away his intended revenge. Instead, he asked Lupin to port key to the Snape estates in Britian and prepare rooms for both Alasdair and Aletha. As soon as he took care of the step-father and got Alasdair released from the hospital, they were all going to his home in England.

When he had Remus clear on his duties,he disconnected the call and slipped away into the darkness. With two short words, he Apparated to his next destination.

~*~*~*~*~

The house had lights on in the windows, telling him that someone was home. Severus took a moment to school his features into the blankest look he could manage. Then he moved with stealthy, deadly purpose toward the door. He didn\'t bother knocking. He merely drew his wand and blasted the offending panel off it\'s hunges. The sounds of the television reached his ears, letting him know that his prey sat in the living room. He stepped into the main room to find that a rather plain looking man was dragging himself to his feet. He\'d obviously been asleep.

\'Who the fuck are you?\' the man demanded in what was supposed to be his nastiest tone. Severus found that he was not impressed. He leveled his wand on the man and smiled. A very evil smile that he knew was quite scary to look upon.

\' I happen to be your very worst enemy at the moment. You don\'t want to do much more to piss me off, or I\'m afraid I shan\'t be held accountable for my actions,\' he sneered at the man across from him.

\'What the hell do you want?\' Kevin snapped.

\' I am here to make you pay for the injury you have heaped upon Alasdair\'s brow. For far too long, you have treated her like the lowliest of beings. A situation I am here to rectify,\' Severus replied with deceptively mild calm.

\'Alas asked for it. I only made sure she saw the error of her ways,\' Kevin retorted, not bothering to deny his heinous deeds.

\'Alasdair did not deserve what you did to her,\' Severus insisted quietly.

\'She\'s a tramp. She went out and got herself knocked up! I only made sure she saw the error of her ways.\'

\'She is, at present, in hospital. Because you beat the child from her womb,\' he said, his voice going even lower with his mounting anger.

\'Good! That will teach her to whore around. She should have kept her legs together!\' Kevin growled at him. Severus\' eyes narrowed on him, then he offered up that smile again.

\'Crucio,\' he whispered. He watched as the green light left his wand and shot across the room to where the man stood. Kevin Marks fell to the ground, writhing in agony as the curse coursed through his body. \'That child that you helped rid her of was mine! I do not take kindly to people stealing from me!\'

It took some ten minutes before the sweaty man stopped twitching. His eyes were rolling in his sockets like marbles in a jar. He lay on the floor, trying to glare up at the taller man. The effect was somewhat lessened by the way his fingers shook uncontrollably. It was rather sad, as Severus had used a mild form of the curse.Then again, the man was weak and had no idea what real power was.

\'You had no right fucking her. She\'s mine!\' Kevin ground out, his jaw still clenched from the searing pain that he could still feel running along his nerves.

\' I don\'t think she sees it that way. And I know I certainly don\'t,\' Severus shook his head. \'But, I am here to make sure that you never lay a hand on her in anger again. In fact, I will see to it that you never touch her again. Should you do so, I will not hesitate to kill you.\'

\'You wouldn\'t dare! The police...\' the voice, filled with pain, trailed off as he saw the look in Severus\' eyes. His eyes widened at the unholy smile that lifted his attacker\'s lips.

\'Your police would never catch me. I can make it look as if you did yourself in. I can make it look as you merely disappeared. In fact, I can do whatever I wish, and there is little chance that your police will find me. If they could even link the crime to me,\' he sneered. Kevin was now slowly gaining his feet. Severus wasn\'t ready to let him have that advantage back. \'Crucio!\'

The curse was stronger this time, sending the pitiful excuse of a man back to the floor in excruciating pain. Black eyes watched disinterestedly as the prone figure twitched and spasmed while the spell rode his body. He found that he was enjoying this show. He smirked, then settled into the nearest chair with a fluid grace that belied the rage boiling in his veins. He waited with a great deal of patience for the stupid bastard on the floor to stop twitching.

\'Why.. are?...\' Kevin gasped as he tried to still his shuddering frame.

\'Why am I doing this?\' Severus finished the sentence for him. Kevin nodded, swallowing hard as he closed his eyes. Steepling his hands with his wand between them, he leaned forward to stare at his victim. \'Simple. I can.\'

\'You...\' the eyes opened again, pain still clouded them as they stared at Severus.

\' I know. I\'m a bastard. That has been established time and again by better than the likes of you,\' Severus informed him blandly. \'Now, I want you to look me in the eye.\' He smiled when he saw the other man trying desperately to tear his gaze away from the piercing black stare that had him ensnared.

It was easy to use his Legilimency skills on this one. His mind was weak and put up no fight. Any natural defences he might have had were no longer there. He slipped in easily, sifting through the plethera of boring memories that seemed to clutter the lower classes\' minds. His search came to an end when he stumbled across a recent image of the man\'s fist landing a solid blow across Alasdair\'s stomach. He concentrated on those memories.

Severus watched as Alasdair backed from the invisible Kevin, shaking her head. She was pleading with him. \'Please don\'t. I want...\'

\'You\'re a whore, Alas. I have tried to purge you of such thoughts, such actions. But it seems I failed. Tell me who\'s responsible for this,\' the voice that spoke was soft and gentle, belying the viscious actions that accompanied the words. \'I can\'t let his happen. You can\'t have this child.\'

\' It\'s my child!\' Alasdair spat at him, her face suddenly full of intent. Her hands slipped over her belly in a protective gesture. \' I won\'t let you take my child from me!\'

\'You don\'t understand, do you, Alas?\' he sounded sad as he spoke. He stepped closer to her, lifting a hand up to cup her face. Severus could feel the lust course through Kevin\'s body as his fingers caressed her soft skin. She jerked her head back and glared at him. \' I will not allow you to have this child. It will be a bastard. No man would marry a woman like you. A lose woman. A slut. A whore. No man would marry you when he could get into your pants without a ring on your finger!\'

\'You have no say in what I do!\' her voice was strident. \' I\'m an adult, and I can make my own choices!\'

\' I. Am. Your. Father!\' Kevin snapped taking another step toward her.

\'No you aren\'t! My father is dead!\' she screamed at him. Severus felt Kevin\'s rage swell. The man was now completely out of control. His hands became a blur, moving fast and furious. The sickening thud of flesh on flesh. As if in the distance, he could hear Alasdair\'s voice, pleading softly for Kevin to stop. The memory ended with a quick glance at the still form of Alasdair on the floor, then it faded.

Severus delved deeper, looking for more instances. A disturbing one was of Kevin sitting in a chair in near darkness, pulling harshly at his moderate erection as he watched Alasdair through the window. She wore a pair of shorts and a rather tight t-shirt. The grunts and groans that accompanied his hand actions were sickening. No man should think on his child, blood or otherwise, as Kevin seemed to. Severus felt the tenuous grasp he had on his anger and hatred was rapidly slipping away. He wanted the son of a bitch dead.

He sorted through the many thoughts that were stored there, his temper gradually building to the point of irrational behavior. There were so many instances of Kevin abusing Alasdair that it made him sick. So many lurid thoughts of forcing her into his bed. After her mother was dead. There was the most frightening part of the whole process. Kevin was planning Aletha\'s death.

There were memories of his spilling small amounts of rat poison into the woman\'s drinks. Her food. Anything that the woman ingested had been subject to the inclusion of miniscule amounts of poison. Kevin was slowly killing her with plain household pesticides. So small that the doctors couldn\'t even find it in their tests. All done with a smile. Severus had seen enough.

He pulled out of the disgusting pile of foul thoughts that filled Kevin Marks brains. His lip curled in a snarl as the man stared back at him with wide eyes and mouth agape. \'What the hell did you just do? What was that?\' Kevin asked, backing as far away from the dark, menacing man before him. He stopped in his tracks when he hit the wall behind him.

\'That was nothing to concern you. You should be more worried about what I intend to do to you,\' Severus replied, once more levelling his wand at the cowering form before him. \' I will be able to do whatever I wish to you. There will be no one to help you, as no one will hear anything. You may scream as long and as loud as you like. You may try to run. You will not get away from me. I am the one with all the power. And intelligence, it would seem.\'

\'You\'re insane!\' Kevin spat, looking for escape like a cornered animal.

\'Am I? Then why am I the one who will walk out of here without a guilty conscience. I know precisely what I am doing, and I know that you will never, ever, lay a hand on Alasdair or her mother again,\' Severus glanced about the room, heaving a sigh. \'Now, where to begin?\'

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stared at the quivering mass of flesh on the floor, his eyes blank of emotion. Kevin Marks had proved to be rather a disappointing person to terrorize and torture. He\'d given in to whimpering almost immediately once the beating had started. Severus had alternated between beating him with his fists and using magic to batter the man. It had been terribly satisfying to actually use his bare hands to pummel the arse. Something about bringing blood to the surface was soothing to his soul. He only wished that it was Alasdair who was doling out this abuse and not him. It was she who had been beaten. It was she who should be reciprocating.

Severus knew, however, that Alasdair would not return Kevin\'s care in kind. She was not that kind of person. It was one of the things about her that he was drawn to. Her gentle soul. He knew that she would likely forgive her step father before she would inflict upon him the same kind of pain that he had no qualms about heaping upon her.

When the man had slipped into unconsciousness, Severus had stopped and fetched healing potions. He\'d been patient and waited until Kevin was almost himself, then he\'d started the beating again. He\'d made good on his promise that no one would hear him scream. And scream, the man had. Several silencing spells had gone up before the start of the festivities. He\'d ensured that Alasdair\'s mother had slept peacefully on through the events. He\'d even cast some deflection charms to send any curious glances in another direction. He\'d taken his own sweet time in his work, making sure that he told the complete piece of shite exactly what he was doing and why.

It was nearing dawn when Severus finally called an end to it. But not before one last parting gift. Drawing on his vast knowledge of spells, he did one last thing to the man. He hexed him. With two very easy, yet devestating spells. One would see to it that Kevin Marks would never again be able to stay in the company with any other person he ever came across. He would be wary, leary of anyone he wanted to get close to. He would crave company, but would be unable to linger near a person out of fear. And, as a nice little after thought, he cast a spell that would ensure that Kevin Marks would never again maintain an erection.

Striding up the hallway, he moved on silent feet into the bedroom where Aletha lay sleeping. Slipping his cell phone from his pocket, he dialed the number from memory. It was picked up after only three rings. He heard Remus\'s voice on the other end, knowing from the tone that the man had gone to the hospital and seen Alasdair. \' It\'s done. Meet me here,\' he told the other man.

It was only a few moments later that he heard the CRACK of Lupin\'s Apparition into the house, then the steady tread of the man\'s boots on the floor. Soon, his tall frame gilled the doorway. He looked to the bed with a grin expression. Nothing needed saying. Remus silently went to the closet, packing a bag for both Aletha. Severus left the bedroom to make for the stairs, climbing up to the upper level of the house. He found Alasdair\'s room easily enough. Flicking his wand, he packed all of her belongings into a few bags and boxes, then shrunk them down and tucked them into the pockets of his trench coat.

When he got downstairs, it was to find Remus awaiting him, a still slumbering Aletha cradled in his arms. Both men looked to where Kevin still lay on the floor and snorted. \'Take her a moment, Severus. I have something I need to do,\' Remus said, then held the limp form out to him. Moving over the kneel by the still shuddering form, Remus pulls his wand and points it at the man. Kevin stares with wide eyes. \'You will never forget what happened here today. Or why. You will carry with you the memory of this night and what brought it about. And if you ever dare lay your hand on another person in anger again, I will find you and personally finish what Severus has started.\'

It took a only a moment\'s work to cast the two spells. One that would keep the memory of what had transpired from slipping away. It would always be simmering near the surface, ready to remind him of his atrocious actions whenever needed. Another that would bring immense pain if he raised his hand in anger to any other person. If he ever thought of poisoning or killing another soul, he would suffer agonizing flashes of pain. Once he was finished, Remus stood and once more took Aletha in his arms.

Without a backward glance, the two men Apparated from the house.

~*~*~*~*~

Severus stared down at Alasdair, watching her sleep. He had gone back to the hospital after ensuring that Remus had gotten Aletha to his estates and settled in alright. Alasdair had still been sleeping, which Severus was grateful for. He wasn\'t sure how he was going to deal with her when she awoke. He\'d never had to give a woman such sad news before, and he was still coming to terms with the idea that she had been carrying his child. It had been a complete shock to him to find out all at once that she had been pregnant with his offspring and had lost it.

He\'d made sure to keep her asleep. Discretely, of course. Once he had signed the release forms, once the doctor and nurses were cleared of the room, he\'d scooped her up and portkeyed the two of them to his estate house. The room that Remus had prepared for Alasdair was across the hall from the room her mother was in, and next to the one he slept in. When he was there.

He and Remus had decided that Lupin would stay at the house with both women while they convalesced. He had, in fact, already sent for Poppy to check both Alasdair and Aletha over for him. While he may not still hold his position, he knew that he could count on Madam Pomfrey to accept a request for help when he made it. She would be here soon.

He sighed and turned for the door. He didn\'t want to leave, but he had to. The band would be leaving soon for the next gig. He stopped when he saw Remus standing there. \'This isn\'t your fault, Severus. You had no way of knowing.\'

\'Tell that to Alasdair,\' Severus snapped. The truth was, he did blame himself. If he had never gotten involved with Alasdair Maeve Wyndham, she would never be in the position she was in now. This was all his fault. Scowling at Remus, he stalked past the man and down the hall. He had a show to do. He didn\'t have time to stand about and berate himself.

Even if he did find himself to be the one responsible.

end chapter fourteen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thanks go to madam shark for always being here to help, or at least trying, when real life just wants to get in the way. and to my usuals, my ever present support system. i don\'t think half of this would get done with out them.

yes, i know this chapter took a darker turn, but for the most part, this should be it for the nasty stuff. other than the potions master, that is. it should be uphill from here.

for the rest of my thank yous...

to Echo: thanks for the praise, hon. the bunnies are staying fairly regular. exlax covered carrots, don\'t you know? ~snickers~

to Star: ok, so the Master didn\'t hex his dick off, but is this good enough?

to jeanette: thank you for giving me a try. i\'m so glad you\'re enjoying this. and it seems that i did a fairly good job at keeping people guessing through the first few chapters as to who it was. sorry, but no women doing the ass kicking. he needed a special kind of pain. i hope this worked for you.

to Red: in the library. i am so honored. not everyone would go to the library to read me. and to not miss a story, even. i am truly flattered.

to CathyN: i hope this chapter is as good as the last ones. a cold shower, indeed? not to worry, i need one myself after putting some of that stuff down.