#8 ~ A Rather Catty Situation

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR (except Odessa Divine and Marcus Delaluci). All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 18 ~ Strange Assistance or Raw Nerve will Get You Far

At about six-thirty in the morning, a faint pounding awakened Severus. Hermione was curled up next to him sleeping heavily, exhausted from the night before. When they returned to their rooms, she was in a foul mood, and Severus convinced her to practice transforming, to take her mind off Odessa. She managed her first fully clothed transformation, much to her delight. For Severus it was a bittersweet victory for his wife. He had liked her being naked.

Then, lioness-Hermione insisted on ‘playing’ with her husband, playfully mauling him, knocking him down repeatedly in the study with lioness love-taps, pretend-biting on his legs and arms a little less tenderly than he’d liked, tackling him several times as he made a run for the bedroom, and lovingly encasing his head almost entirely in her mouth, giving his hair a saliva-moussed cowlick in the process. Severus reached around the back of his head and touched the sticky mass of hair sticking up wetly and grimaced as his wife sat back on her haunches, panting loudly and showing her large teeth in a way that was suspiciously like she was laughing hysterically. She changed back to human form and apologized. After Severus’ hair was properly scourgified and back to its usual silky softness, they had made love. There really was a difference making love to his jealous wife.

For the first time in his life, Severus knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of another’s possessiveness. Hermione had straddled him, and held his shoulders down as she rode his cock almost insanely, her belly rolling deliciously, pleasuring him almost to his limit. He couldn’t close his mouth as her soft, firm inner flesh squeezed and massaged him, sheathing him repeatedly in her heat. Her eyes blazed down into his with passion as she asked him, gasping, who he belonged to, over and over. He felt a thrill every time he panted her name back to her, and she’d thrust herself on him harder. She brought herself and him to a shrieking, groaning, babbling orgasm that delighted and soaked him thoroughly, then collapsed on his chest, falling asleep with him still nestled inside her, refusing to get off him. It had been amazing. He would have thanked Odessa, if it were appropriate. Which it wasn’t.

The pounding continued, and Severus realized it was the door to the Potions office. He extracted himself from the tangle of limbs that was his wife, slipped on his boxers and his silk robe, tying the sash securely, then walked through his study, opened the bookshelf and entered his office. The pounding was heavy, but slow. Who would disturb him so early in the morning? He unwarded the door and opened it, scowling. His scowl faded as he saw Marcus. The wizard looked awful, pale and holding himself up by the doorsill.

“Hey Snape, “he said weakly, “Got any blood replenisher?”

The wizard almost fell through the door. Reflexively, Severus caught him, and helped him to a chair. He was wearing a mis-buttoned robe that was half-open, and what appeared to be smiley-faced boxers underneath. Severus could see several poorly healed gashes on his chest that were still oozing.

“Marcus, what happened?” he asked.

Marcus looked up at him, pain evident in his eyes.

“Got tangled up in something I didn’t expect, Snape. It happens sometimes,” he replied, “You have any potion?”

“Yes, I do…but you need medical assistance. Let me take you to the infirmary,” Severus said, wondering how badly the wizard was injured. Marcus gripped his arm.

“No. No infirmary,” he said fiercely. “I don’t want anyone else to know about this.”

Severus nodded, understanding. There had been times when he was in bad, bad shape but couldn’t go to Pomfrey for aid for one reason or another. Drawing out his wand, he transfigured the chair into a cot with Marcus still in it.

“Lie here, I’ll be right back,” Severus said.

Marcus closed his eyes, breathing shallowly.

Severus made his way back to the bedroom. He bent over his wife and shook her gently.

“Hermione, wake up love,” he said.

Hermione groaned and attempted to roll back over. He shook her again.

“Hermione, wake up and get your wand. Marcus needs help,” he said again.

Hermione opened her eyes, her brow furrowed.

“Marcus? How do you know he needs help?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

“Because he’s in my office. He has wounds,” Severus replied.

“Why can’t he go to the infirmary?” Hermione asked, sitting up in the bed now.

“He doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want what’s happened to him to be known,” Severus said as she got out of bed and stretched.

“But…Marcus?” she said, frowning at her husband.

“He helped us, Hermione. We couldn’t have destroyed Alistar without him,” Severus said softly.

This was true. Hermione pulled on her nightgown, and her housecoat. She fished her wand out of her robes pocket.

“Ok,” she said tiredly, “I’ll see what I can do for him.”

Severus led her to his office. Marcus was lying on the cot, and his robes had fallen open. A nasty gash was visible on his chest. It could only have been made by a claw, and was poorly healed and oozing. He was very, very pale.

“Oh my gods,” Hermione said, rushing to his side. As much as she disliked Marcus, his condition brought out the nurturing instinct in her. She couldn’t stand to see anything in pain.

“Marcus, what happened to you?” she asked him.

His violet eyes cracked open.

“Bad situation,” he replied, closing his eyes again and taken a labored breath.

Hermione knew that was all she’d get out of him.

“Severus, help me get him out of his robes.

The Potions Master assisted his wife. They found the back of his robes were stuck to his flesh, and had to pull it gently from him. He groaned in pain as the fabric stripped away a portion of his flesh. Hermione covered her mouth in horror as she looked at the vicious slash that went from his left shoulder to right above his right buttock. It looked like something had hooked into his lower back and ripped through his flesh. It was deep and nasty. She could tell he had taken healing potion, but the wounds were so severe that they couldn’t have done much for him, other than keeping him from bleeding to death. By his paleness, he had lost a lot of blood. His shoulders were almost in tatters as well. It was amazing he made it here. Something had tried to kill the blonde wizard. His reluctance to say what happened told Hermione he was probably involved in something illicit when it happened.

“Severus, get some blood replenisher, more healing potion, and something for pain,” she said as she rolled up her sleeves. “I’m going to work on his back first.”

The Potions Master nodded and left the office to retrieve several vials of the replenisher.

“Marcus, this is going to hurt. I have to reopen these wounds a bit deeper and sterilize them before healing them,” she said softly to the wizard.

Marcus groaned acceptance. Hermione said an incantation, and the tip of her wand glowed blue. Then she hesitated, and ended the incantation. She put a body-binding spell on him, so he would not be able to move while she worked on him. Then she said the incantation again. She carefully traced the long wounds, opening them back up. It had to hurt Marcus terribly, but there was nothing else for it. She then ran the wand back over them, cleaning and sterilizing the deep gashes. Severus returned with the potions. She took a healing potion from him, and poured it into the wounds. They began to close, slowly. Using her wand, she assisted the potion in its work, enhancing the healing power. The wounds finally closed, leaving a diagonal line of four thin red raised welts, that ran waist to shoulder.

“He’s going to have scars,” Hermione said as she went to work on his shoulders. Severus watched as his wife carefully tended to the wounded wizard. They turned him slowly.

“Why is he so stiff?” Severus asked.

“I put a body bind on him, to keep him still. This hurts a lot, and he’d be writhing around otherwise,” Hermione replied.

When they turned him over, Marcus eyes were tearing with pain, but more alert than they were when he first arrived. He looked at Hermione.

“I’m almost done, Marcus. Then I’ll release you,” she said sympathetically. Not even Marcus deserved this much pain. Well, then again…

Hermione healed Marcus’ chest wounds, and released the body bind.

“Merlin’s nubs, that hurt,” Marcus said through gritted teeth as they both helped him into a sitting position. Hermione uncapped a vial of blood replenisher, as Severus held another vial, ready for consumption.

“Drink this,” Hermione said, holding the vial to his lips. Marcus swallowed it down. Then the next one. His color returned almost immediately as the potion bolstered his blood. Then Hermione gave him the pain medicine. Marcus slumped with relief as the worst of the pain dissipated. He swung his legs over the cot, and stood up. He looked at Hermione and Severus, and picked up his robes. He examined them, then held them out to Hermione.

“Would you mind? I don’t have my wand with me,” he said, indicating the dried blood and skin clinging to the fabric inside the robes. Flicking her wand at it, Hermione cleaned the robes for him.

“Thanks,” he said shortly, “for everything.” Marcus said, shrugging into his robes and fastening them. He knew the two would not say anything to anyone. Snape had been a deatheater. He understood these things. And Hermione would go along with her husband.

“Marcus, what happened to you?” Hermione asked again. He looked at her.

“Honestly, Hermione, I’m not sure…but I’m going to find out, believe me,” he said with a grim expression. He nodded at her and Severus once more, then exited the office.

Hermione looked at Severus.

“How could he not know what happened to him?” she asked.

Severus shrugged.

“Marcus has a way of attracting trouble, Hermione. It looks like this time it caught him by surprise,” he said, ”He’s lucky to be alive.”

Severus looked down at his wife and kissed her on the top of her head.

“What’s that for?” she asked.

“For putting your feelings toward Marcus aside, and helping him,” Severus replied gently.

“I would have helped anyone in that condition,” she said, “though I’m not as sympathetic towards him as I could be…” she said a bit guiltily.

“But you helped him. That’s enough,” Severus said as he transformed the cot back into a chair and picked up the vials. “I’m going to take these back to the storeroom.”

“I’ll be in the bed,” Hermione said with a yawn. They both departed.

As Hermione walked back to the bedroom, her mind was reeling. She didn’t say anything to Severus, but she could smell Marcus, and he smelled strongly of cat. And the scent was familiar to her…it was the same as the scent around their doorsill. Maybe Marcus was in the dungeon area, skulking around for some reason and the cat attacked him. But how could a cat that size do that much damage? There had to be more to this. She meant to find out how much more.

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Odessa awoke on the sofa in the living room, dressed in her nightgown. She didn’t remember getting out of the tub or dressing. She must have been half-asleep. She stood up and stretched. Then the events of the night before came back to her. Her stomach clenched. Why hadn’t she been arrested yet? Was Marcus dead, and no one had discovered his body yet? All kinds of thoughts went through her mind. Then she heard the door to the Potions office open. She slunk over to her own door and cracked it open to see who was exiting. She gasped and pulled the door back shut just as Marcus turned in that direction, hesitating, with a scowl on his face. He was debating whether or not to confront Odessa. Apparently, he decided to wait, because he left the dungeon area.

Odessa waited for Marcus to come pounding on her door, her face pressed against the wood, her chest heaving. After several tense minutes, she realized that he wasn’t coming. She sighed in relief. She would have to face him eventually. She wondered why he hadn’t turned her in yet?
She had seen him though. He looked all right. But why was he at the Potions Master’s rooms? Did he tell them what happened? Hermione would love sending her to Azkaban. It would solve her man problem nicely.

Well, if she were going to Azkaban, she might as well do it on a full stomach. Odessa walked into her bedroom and selected a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She slipped off her gown, put on her lingerie and donned the clothing, slipping her robes on top of it. She started to fasten them, but paused, sniffing. Her robes reeked of Marcus. She took them off, knowing that even if she scourgified them, her sensitive sense of smell would still pick him up for days afterward. She pulled out a fresh set of robes and put them on, leaving the other on the floor for the house elves to collect. Maybe they could get his scent out of it.

She walked into the loo, brushed her teeth and applied her lipstick, a spritz of rose scent, then ran a brush through her hair. She looked into the mirror. Beautiful as always. Her blessing and her curse. She looked at herself again and decided the casual observer/admirer would never have dreamed that the night before, she tried her best to kill a man. Taking a deep breath, she exited her rooms, heading for the Great Hall.

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A/N: Man, Marcus really has nerve, doesn’t he? Just pops up at Severus’ place. Well, he knew they’d help him, even if he is an ass. They owe him, after all. Wonder what he’ll say or do to Odessa when he sees her. Let’s find out next chapter, shall we? Please review.