Saving Grace

Authors Note: I owe an apology to all of my readers, I know it is not fair to make you wait for so long and I promise to do better. I can only hope that will continue to read and not be too angry with me.

On a different note, I need a Beta, so if anyone is interested PLEASE let me know be either leaving a review with your information or contacting me at Demosthenes73@gmail.com

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Saving Grace
Chapter 16

It was Monday evening at Hogwarts and the castle had already retired from dinner, everyone off to their own work. Hermione and Draco were sequestered in the library, working on their class work, on learning new dark spells, and on researching their upcoming task. Severus was in his lab in the dungeons, preparing ingredients for the class the next day with Hufflepuff third years – they always burned through his stores. He was reveling in a memory of a recent interlude with Hermione when his peaceful solitude was shattered.

“Severus”

The name slid into the room like a serpent. The man in question felt a cold shudder crawl up his spine as all of his senses piqued. She always had that effect on him, and he hated her for it. Still, he could not suppress the carnal tug she always inspired.

“Yes Satan?” he quipped but did not turn around. He wanted to prove she couldn’t ruffle him. He continued the careful slicing of a Morbusces root.

Bellatrix smiled coldly and slinked into the room. She was wearing ragged robes Severus knew to cost hundreds of Galleons and her hair was in its usual whispy nest. But what Severus also knew, intimately, was that there was a firm luscious body hidden underneath the purposefully tattered robes. A body that had lured him to the darkest pleasures he had ever known. It was her smell that first reached the Potions Master. That dark mysterious smell of herbs and forest and sex and then, faintly, blood. He shuddered again.

He heard her stop right behind him but she said nothing. He did not rush his pace and finally turned only after he felt she had waited sufficiently.

She said nothing, only stared at him with her wide and solemn kohl lined eyes. This had always been her way with him, holding power in mystery; He never knew her thoughts.

“Do you want something?” he demanded. He was in no mood for her games.

“Aw. That’s no way to speak to an old friend, Severus.”

“We are old friends?”

“Aren’t we?” she said pulling her eyes away and looking to the floor. On any other women it would have sounded bashful. From her it was a challenge.

“No. I don’t believe so.”

He should have seen it coming; the way she looked back up to him and locked her eyes onto his. But like always he felt as if in a stunned haze when around her. She raised her hand and grazed his jaw ever so tenderly with a clawed finger “Don’t you remember?”

Severus blinked and when he opened his eyes again he was not longer in his potions lap standing inches away from the evil witch. He was back, 20 years ago, in a dark room, naked and panting.

He was wrestling furiously with Bellatrix on an enormous bed in one of the deserted tower rooms of Voldemort’s old fortress. He bled from bites on his shoulders and scratch marks on his chest and back. She was bruised all over with marks from his mouth and hands. He tackled her, pinning her to the bed, forcing himself between her thighs. She grunted in angered lust as he thrust long and hard. She screamed and gripped him close, her nails digging fresh wounds. He took her as hard as he knew how, thrusting in and out with as much force as he could. She screamed and then pushed him over, flipping them so that suddenly their positions were reversed. She held his wrists to the mattress above his head, her breasts swayed inches over his gasping mouth. She held his eyes and ground into him viciously, torturing him with a slow rhythm. She claimed his mouth and forced his tongue into submission. He didn’t notice she had released one of his wrists until he felt her hand slide ever so gently over his throat. As she moved upon him, rocking back and forth she began to apply increasing pressure to his windpipe. He let her, wanting the blackness and then shock release. She pulled back from his ravaged lips and held his eyes as she fucked him into unconsciousness. His vision began to dim then tunnel just as he finally felt the inevitable, inescapable final crescendo of pleasure. At that last second breath finally failed him and he fell into blackness. She released his throat as she arched back to her own release. He pulled a breath as the most intense orgasm rocked his body and made him see fireworks.

He blinked and gasped again to find himself back to the present. He jerked instinctually then stared at her, wide eyed and panting from the intensity of the pleasure that was still echoing through his body. She smiled seductively.

“You had no right taking me back there.” He said raggedly.

“I have every right Severus. You forget too easily. I’ve seen it in you. You are forgetting the dark lust. Your old age has dulled the blade you once were.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He scoffed but had to turn away from her, feeling too weak and off guard from her attack.

“Look at you,” she spat with disgust “Dumbledore’s lap dog. Where is the wizard that commanded legions of the dark? Where is the man who equaled me?”

He whipped around, the intensity of his emotion suddenly turned to rage, “Watch your words witch.”

She spat in his face. And even as the spittle landed on his cheek he jerked forward wrapped his fingers around her throat in a death grip. He lifted her slightly off her toes but her eyes showed not a hint of fear. He held the breath locked in her, squeezing tighter and tighter as his anger only grew. But then her hand came up to caress his wrist and he watched as she closed here eyes in obvious ecstasy and let out the last of her air with a guttural, “Yes”.

The tug of lust that gripped his stomach almost dropped him to his knees. All the blood seemed to rush to his manhood as his body betrayed his judgment and jumped to respond to her; just as it always did. With a great effort he thrust her away from him. “Ach! Off with ye, you treacherous snake.” He wiped her spit off with the back of his hand and stepped back until he pressed up against his workbench. He gripped it and tried to regain his grounding.

She panted through a predator’s grin. Holding her hand to her throat, she grazed her fingers over the abused flesh. “I see I was wrong. I am glad to find you not as impotent as I feared.” She said coldly.

“What interest is it of yours?” He demanded, wishing to know her motives for this attack.

“Great, Severus. It is of great interest.” He opened his mouth to retort but she cut him of; “You see we have been given a task, you and I. One I feared you were no longer the man for. However our Master disagreed with me so here I stand, indeed very much interested in the strength of your convictions.”

Severus narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “What task?”

She reached inside her robes and pulled out a small black scroll with a flourish.

He snatched it from her and opened it quickly as she studied him haughtily.

In a spiky script written in shining silver the message seemed to glow up from the parchment;

“Severus and Bellatrix,

You are in joint command of organizing and executing an attack on the families of the agents of the Order of the Phoenix listed below. To be done on the next full moon. Cause as much destruction as possible, strike to the very core of enemy’s heart. Do not fail me.

Weasely
Longbottom
Chase
Tonks
Ramsey

The Dark Lord”

Severus locked his jaw even as his stomach dropped out. His brain swarmed with a buzz of thoughts. The great balancing act that was his life swung into action as he thought of the effect of this news would have when he turned it over to his true allegiances.

Bellatrix’s sharp questioning “Hm?” brought him out of his wondering.

“I can only imagine what charms you had to employ with our master to escape being under my command, Angel.” He tossed back spitefully, reminding her of her lesser rank.

“Im afraid you will quickly find that merely a legality my dear Severus. You are no longer the praised son you once were. Yes he keeps you close, but it is I who sits at his hand.”

“At his feet you mean, on your knees groveling like a bitch in heat. Unlike you I have reserved my dignity within the ebb of servitude.

She refused to rise to his bait however and only smiled. “As you like,” she responded vaguely. “We have three weeks and I was thinking of calling upon-“

He cut her off with a gesture. “Not now. Not here. I am busy. You will have to wait.” He shut her down as rudely as he could. “I’ll call upon you tomorrow at my leisure.”

She bristled, and raised her hand to slap him, “You smug bastard.”

He grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, “I shan’t warn you again Belatrix. Believe what you will; but I do remember. And if you think I can be so easily manipulated than perhaps it is you who has forgotten.” With that he thrust her brusquely away from him so that she stumbled back a step. She regained her composure and straightened her spine rebelliously.

“That remains to be seen. I await your call then.” She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, adding a biting “Sir,” to the end. With that she turned on her heel and glided out of the room, leaving her scent to taunt him in her absence.

Severus felt the rush of relief that always came after he ended an encounter with Bellatrix. Yet even though he muttered, “Bitch.” under his breath, he could not suppress the desperate gnaw of lust that she had left him with.

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Dumbledore closed his eyes and shook his head sorrowfully after reading Snape’s directive. The Death Eater stood at ease with his hands locked behind him, waiting for the Headmaster’s response. He waited patiently as Dumbledore looked out the window wistfully. The minutes dragged by with only the sound of Fauk’s soft chirping amidst the light tinkle of magical machinery that was constantly whirling in the tower office. The portraits of old headmasters were all watching with sharp attention.

Finally Severus cleared his throat, breaking Dumbledore out of his reverie.

The older man blinked and looked back at the scroll before setting it down and arching his fingertips. “Bellatrix involvement complicates things, we must wait for how she plans the attack before preparing for it.” He sighed as Severus nodded.

“At least we have time. Full moon isn’t for another three weeks. I shall begin looking for safe houses to hide the families in. There is an Order meeting on Thursday evening at which I would like to present this news, along with a contingency plan.” Severus nodded again. Dumbledore paused for a long moment, obviously deep in thought.

“In your discussion with Bellatrix, try to keep the number of death eaters to a minimum, it will make any deception on our part easier.” He tapped his fingers on his desk agitatedly before standing quickly to pace. “Sit Severus, I want to talk with you.” He waved his hand and a chair near Severus wiggled invitingly. The potions master took a seat and tried to ignore the headache starting to build between his eyes.

“The war is reaching a climax, Severus. I can feel it. As you know, I have spent the past year desperately building our alliances with the Wizarding community abroad. Unfortunately, I fear this has been to no avail. For every ally I gain, Voldemort gains five.” Dumbledore braced himself against the window frame and let his shoulders sag. “This has been very disheartening to me. It is too easy for our brethren of light magic to sit in presumed safety and let us fight ‘our war’.”

Severus stood and went to his friend. He clasped the old man’s shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “Strength in numbers is not the only way to win a war.”

Dumbledore covered Severus’ spindly hand with his wizened own. “I know, my son. I know.” He sighed again and went back to his desk. Sitting down, he began again, “That is why I must leave for a while.”

Severus gave an involuntary jerk. There was something in the way Dumbledore spoke, the soft tone of resigned mourning that gave Severus an eerie premonition.

“For a while or forever?” He asked softly.

Dumbledore smiled benignly. “You were ever the astute student. I don’t know. I hope only for a while, but…I do not yet know where I must go.” Severus went back to his seat to wait for the explanation.

“I have been in contact with the Centaurs and they have shown me the start of a path, a path that they believe leads to the lost world of magic where the Druids and the Priestesses of Avalon have lived beyond the veil for the past century.”

Severu’s eyes went wide. Dumbledore was speaking of myths. “You can’t be serious Albus. Those are only stories! The Centaurs have removed themselves from reality, You seek to do the same?”

Dumbledore’s voice was low and serious, “They are not just stories, Severus. When the veil closed the magic therein spread like wildfire through this world, erasing the people’s memory so that the feint whisper that remained of them was deemed just a legend. But the Centaurs remember.”

Severus made to interrupt but Dumbledore silenced him with a gesture and continued, “I have learned a great deal about the magic of old from the Centaurs and from their stories I have realized that some of the tides of magic still washing through this world were initiated by the Druids and Priestesses. I believe that if I can find a way through the veil, I could tap into the powers there and instigate a revolution of magic here.”

Severus was dumbfounded. It was as if Dumbledore had just said that he planned to go to the North Pole and get Santa’s elves to come back and fight the death eaters.

“Headmaster, I’m sorry, but this sounds a great deal like madness to me.”

“Life is madness, Severus! I know you may find it hard to understand but I know that this earth is glutted with stores of magic that modern wizards have long forgotten. You think I am silly to look to the past? Voldemort does not think so. Why else would he be sending Hermione and Draco to get a book about ancient Egyptian sorcery?! The signs are all there! The veil must exist.”

For the first time Severs saw a spark of desperation in Dumbledore’s eyes and he felt his stomach clench with pained fear. He shook his head “As you would, Headmaster.”

Dumbledore let his breath out and stood with a groan. He moved to stand in front of Severus and laid his hand gently on the potions master’s head. Like a father, he patted the black hair reassuringly. “Don’t be frightened my son. This is my fate. I feel it, have felt it all my life. I was meant to do this.”

Severus looked away, gritting his teeth against the ebb of emotion welling up within him. “When will you go?”

“Friday, after I have explained everything that I can to the Order.” He moved away to stand, arms crossed, looking out of the window. “I will leave you in charge, Severus.”

Severus could have sworn he felt a physical weight drop onto his shoulders.

“Please don’t go.” He whispered, barely audible.

Dumbledore looked back and the moonlight illuminated one tear making a path down his wrinkled cheek. “I wish I could stay my son—“

Severus jumped up angrily, “You wish nothing but to run away and join the legends. You will leave us here to die. I never thought I would see the day when Albus Dumbledore would slink off with his head down, too scared and beaten to face the enemy!”

All of the portraits gasped at the potions master’s nerve, making angry noises of disapproval.

Dumbledore only hung his head. “I believe in what I must do Severus. I hope one day you will understand.”

“I’ll be sure to tell that to the other members of the Order when we stand, chained to a wall in the Dark Lord’s dungeon: Our leader believed he was right in abandoning us.”

With that Severus turned in an angry whirl of robes and stormed out, slamming the door behind him, leaving Dumbledore to weep silently in his darkening office.

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Authors Note: hope you enjoyed, please review and let me know your thoughts, and again, I need a beta!!!