Saving your life

He reluctantly broke the kiss when he heard Lupin call her name again, closer this time. He caressed her face for a moment longer and then Apparated away.

He’d only gone there to make sure everything went according to his plan, just as an observer, but when they cornered Mad-Eye he had little choice but to help. He was lucky she was the only one to see him, or he would have been in real trouble.

As he entered headquarters again, he found the house full of masked men hurriedly walking and whispering to each other. He kept his own mask on and his mouth closed as he walked around, trying to remain unnoticed and hear what the others were saying at the same time.

“I heard they killed Goyle.”

“Who told you that? I saw him not five minutes ago.”

“I saw him too; he told me they had to take old McNair to one of the Healers in the back room. He said they had hit him with a pretty nasty curse.”

He kept walking, catching bits of conversations on his way.

“…those two. They’re interrogating them now. They want to make sure the Imperius curses weren’t lifted.”

“And how did they know where to find them?”

“No idea, apparently they had an informant in the ministry.”

He entered yet another room and found about five more Death Eaters sitting and gossiping like schoolgirls.

“They took Rabastan to the infirmary, but they can’t get him to wake up. Bellatrix said they had no idea what curse they used on him. Rodolphus was livid.”

“They said they killed two of those bloody Aurors on the fight.”

“Well, good for them I say.”

Silence fell on the room when the Dark Lord himself walked in.

“Severus,” he simply said and then motioned for him to follow. He always knew who everyone was, even with the masks.

They walked silently and entered the studio. He watched his Master as he sat down on his usual chair by the fire and then he did the same.

“As you probably know by now, the information you provided proved to be very useful.”

“I am glad I could be of help, My Lord,” he said, “Do you know where they were being kept?”

“I do. We will make the necessary arrangements to free the ones that remain there, but that is not why I called you,” he told him.

“It is not?” he asked, slightly confused.

“No, we won’t need information from your witch for this,” he continued, “I have a mission for you.” He waited patiently for him to speak again.

“As you well know, the wandmaker we brought refused to make new wands for us, and still continues to fight the Imperius Curse. Yesterday we finally managed to make him speak, and he reluctantly told us there is another gifted man that could make the kind of wands we need. You will be in charge of the mission; I want you to bring him here, alive. You will take Amycus and Jugson with you. Do not disappoint me, Severus; you will not have another chance.”

“When will we…”

“You will leave tonight, he interrupted. “He is in Australia.”

“But the other Death Eaters…?”

“Rodolphus will take care of that as well. The wandmaker is in hiding, but I am sure you will find him. Amycus already knows the details; he will tell you everything you need to know,” he finished, and then dismissed him.


Well, the good part of this was he seemed to have gained his Master’s trust back, the bad part was he would be gone when they attacked the Order again. He needed to find out the details of their plan without raising suspicion, and fast.

He walked around the rooms, discreetly trying to hear what they were saying and looking for someone he could use, someone who knew about the plans for the attack and whose mind he could easily read. It took him almost an hour, but he finally found what he needed.

He quickly made his way back to the library and unrolled a piece of parchment.

‘We need to talk,’ he wrote, and waited for an answer.

‘Are you there?’ he scribbled after a few minutes without response. He waited some more and then decided he would have to find another way to contact her.

He left the building and as soon as he was far enough he focused on the Order’s headquarters and Apparated away. He stood in front of the house and disillusioned himself before reaching for the door.

He entered, moving slowly and making sure no one was around. He walked down the corridor, surprised by the heavy silence. Moving closer to one of the windows, he saw a small backyard. Everyone seemed to be there, some flying around and others just sitting and talking, all of them enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon.

It took him a moment to find her, mounted on one of the broomsticks and chasing one of her friends. He needed her to walk inside, but how? It was probably mean, but he pointed his wand in her direction and the next second she was falling to the ground. The others soon landed around her, laughing at her clumsiness. She was laughing too but examining her bleeding knee at the same time.

“Hermione, are you alright, dear?” he heard Molly ask her.

“Yes, it’s nothing. I think I’ll just go inside and clean it.”

“Do you want me to help you?”

“No, stay here, thank you” she told her and began walking back to the house, limping slightly.

He watched as the others went back to what they were doing and as she walked down the hallway towards the stairs, he grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the kitchen.

She gasped in shock at first, but relaxed when he lifted the Disillusionment Charm and she could see who it was.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. He warded the room before answering.

“I needed to talk to you. I tried the parchment but you didn’t answer.” She buried her hand in her pocket and then frowned.

“I must have left it upstairs,” she said.

“I told you to always keep it at hand.”

“I know, I’m sorry”

“I will be gone for a few days,” he said “I won’t be around for the attack.”

“When will it happen?”

“Tomorrow night, I’m not sure exactly what time. There will be over twenty men and a few will stay outside to stop anyone from coming out.”

“There’s hardly any time to prepare.”

“That is why I needed to warn you,” he continued, “Rodolphus will be leading it again. You will have to tell the others and be ready for them.” She took a few moments before speaking again.

“What will happen if we do it?” she asked, and he frowned, confused by the question. A few seconds passed before he realized what she was really asking.

“I will be alright, there’s no need to worry.”

They locked eyes for a moment and she took a step closer, but winced as she moved the injured leg.

“Let me see that,” he said putting his hands on her waist as he sat her on the table.

His touch was soft as he examined her knee, and then he reached for his wand, muttered a few words and the damage was gone.

“Better?” he whispered, his hands still lingering on her leg.

“Yes,” she breathed, and then moaned as his hands travelled up her thigh.

“Sorry about the fall.”

“You did that?” she asked, but didn’t really seem to care.

“I needed to get you back in the house,” he muttered as his hands slithered under her skirt.

Soft kisses followed his hands and he felt her lean back against the table, her hands buried in his hair, pulling him closer.

Forgetting all about where they were and the fact that anyone from the Order could walk in any minute; he hooked his fingers around the waist of her knickers and pulled them off, his hands soon making their way back up her thighs.

He kissed her inner thighs and felt her arch against his lips. Seeing how impatient she was, he slipped a finger inside and heard her groan in pleasure. Parting her thighs further, a second finger joined the first one as his mouth found her waiting nub, nibbling and rubbing and making her groan for more. It wasn’t long before she was writhing in ecstasy under his touch.

As soon as she came back down from her orgasm, he leaned over her and replaced his fingers with his throbbing erection. Moving faster with every thrust his hands pulled her top up and his tongue traced her breasts, making her nipples harden. She hooked her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, deeper, with her hips meeting his every thrust. Her muscles contracted around him, making him growl as they both went over the edge.

Panting, they took a few moments to calm down before getting up again and straightening their clothes.

“I should go now,” he said.

“Me too, or someone will come looking for me.” He took a step closer and kissed her softly.

“Tomorrow night, stay away from the attack.”

“I can’t do that, everyone will have to go.”

“It will be dangerous and I won’t be there to help, I don’t want you to go.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised. He started speaking again but she moved her hand behind her neck and pulled him closed, silencing him with a kiss.

“What are you doing to me?” he whispered, his eyes closed and his lips still touching hers.

The moment was lost when she heard Ron calling her from the hallway.

“Go back outside and make sure everyone stays there for a few moments as I leave,” he said and took a step back, lifting the wards he had placed on the kitchen and watched her leave.

“Ron, I’m here,” he hear her say.

“What took you so long, are you alright?”

“Sure, look.” A few seconds passed and then she spoke again. “Let’s go back outside with the others.”

He heard a door slam shut and the voices fade away, and then he stepped out of the kitchen and left the house.


The cold wind hit his face as he let go of the portkey. It was past six a.m. in Australia but the streets were still deserted. The two men by his side looked at him, waiting to hear what he wanted them to do next.

“Give me the papers,” he said, and one of them handed him a file where he read the wandmaker’s former address.

“We will go here first, and see if anyone there knows where he is.”

With a loud pop all three of them Apparated in front of a small house. Heavy wards were set around it but he broke them and stepped inside. They searched the place carefully but found no one there.

“Let’s pay a visit to the neighbours,” he said and walked to another house.

Breaking their wards just as easily, he searched the place, then walked to one of the bedrooms, and found a sleeping couple. The other Death Eaters wanted to wake them up and torture them until they said where the man was hiding.

“We don’t have time for that,” he told them, wanting to get back as soon as possible.

He pointed his wand at them and quietly probed their minds in search for the information he needed. It was easier with them asleep.

“They know nothing,” he finally said, and then walked back out of the house and entered another one.

They were lucky this time. The old lady living there didn’t know where he was, but he found out where the man’s sister lived. That would be the next stop.

The sun was up by the time they entered the sister’s house. They walked inside and he opened the first room he found. He saw a sleeping child and closed the door again before the others could enter. He moved on to the next bedroom. There was a man there, and he awoke as they stepped inside.

“Sally?” he mumbled, but as he saw the three masked men standing by his door he quickly reached for his wand.

He saw Jugson lift his wand and then the man was screaming in pain, his back arching off the bed.

“Enough,” he said, and the curse was lifted.

“Where is your wife?” he asked the panting man, and he just shook his head in response. Another shot of light was sent his way and he was screaming again.

“I said enough,” Snape repeated dangerously and the two men took a step back. He walked closer to the bed and saw fear in the man’s eyes.

“Where is she?” he asked again, but still he didn’t answer.

“Very well” he sighed, and pointed his wand at him. Soon his thoughts were flashing before him, and it wasn’t long before he knew the answer to his question. He looked at the watch by the bed and then back at the man.

“She is at work; she will be back in a few hours. We will wait for her here.” He saw images of the child now.

“Wait outside, make sure no one else comes in,” he told the two Death Eaters and waited for them to leave the room before he spoke again.

“There’s no need to worry, your son is asleep and he will not be hurt. We just need to talk to your wife and then we will leave.”

He knew the other man probably didn’t believe him, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. With a flick of his wand, he bound him to the bed and placed a silencing charm on the room before going back outside.

He tried to use legilimency on the woman when she arrived, but she managed to hide her thoughts from him. Not even the Cruciatus made her speak, and he finally had to threaten to kill her son if she didn’t cooperate. He hated doing things like that.

She did know where his brother was hiding, but it was no use. There was a Fidelius Charm protecting the place. They would need to find his Secret Keeper.

She reluctantly told them where the Keeper lived and soon they were on their way.

Breaking the wards proved much harder this time, but they finally made it into the house. As they stepped inside, a Stunning Spell hit Amycus and he fell loudly to the floor. Snape fired back and managed to disarm the man and then stun him too.

He searched his mind and found he wasn’t the one they were looking for. The Keeper would be back after dinner, and the man had no idea where to find him before that.

They patiently waited for him to return, the others not too happy with just waiting but following his orders all the same.

Finally, almost by midnight, they heard the door open and someone walk inside, this time it was the Keeper.

Unable to read his mind, it took a few hours and many Cruciatus to break him, and Amycus and Jugson were more than happy to do it.

They stood on the sidewalk, between an old building and a tavern and watched a small house suddenly materialize in front of them as they remember the address they had been given. The hard part was over.

They took the wandmaker, alive and unharmed, and used another portkey to go back to London.

It hadn’t taken long and he knew his Master would be pleased.

They walked the new prisoner to one of the dungeons and left him there. He made his way to his Master’s studio to report back but found him too upset to care about the wandmaker. Most of the Death Eaters he had sent to attack the Order had been captured.

He knew the best thing to do in that kind of situation was to just stay away, so he quickly made his way out of the studio and back to the door when he heard something that froze him on the spot. He needed to find her, and fast.