Potions in the Moonlight

Lucius yawned and stretched, padding his way down the lengthy corridors of Malfoy Manor. Another glorious weekend at home. No more being trapped at school, Lucius had a lot to be thankful for. He thought about sending Dobby off to find Severus, but he could do that later. For now he would let the little half breed lick his wounds, Lucius had more important things to do.

The sound of shuffling feet came from the hall and Lucius knew exactly who it was. He heard the bathroom door down the hall open and then close again.

He smiled, there she was. His point of sway over Severus. As long as she was his, Severus couldn't touch him. He swayed down the heavily carpeted hall enjoying the feel of the thick carpet against his bare feet. He stopped outside of the bathroom and listened.

Rowena paused as she sat on the toilet and listened as she heard Lucius come down the hall. She finished quickly and pulled up her pants and flushed the toilet. She didn't dare leave the room.

Lucius scowled, he was so sick of this little game she played. Every day wandering between the bathroom and her room, looking at him with her baleful eyes, accusing him. Malfoy didn't care for it, how could a child denounce him for what he did with her brother?

Rowena waited and listened. It reminded her of being back at her fathers house. Being scared and hiding in the bathroom. Or in her brothers room. Only difference here was her brother didn't have a room. He didn't stay. Not long anyway, and when he did it was more often than not in Lucius' bedroom.

Repressing a shudder of self control, Lucius reached up a delicate hand to knock sharply on the door.

"Rowena?" His voice wrapped her name, cutting through the wooden door.

Rowena flinched at the sound of his voice but none the less moved to the door. She knew that if she obeyed, like her father, he would be... kinder.... to her if she listened. She opened the door slowly and stared at the floor.

Noticing her baleful look, Lucius sneered.

"You spend too much time in here. What is wrong with you?"

Rowena flinched from him. Her father asked that a lot. 'What's wrong with you?' because she couldn't talk. Or wouldn't talk as it where. She didn't even talk to Severus but at least he understood.

"You don't talk much do you brat?" Lucius reached down brush his cool fingers along her young face. "Oh don't look at me with your freak brother's eyes!"

Rowena looked back down at the ground and cringed at his touch.

"Oh please. Don't act like you don't like it. You really are just like your brother. You don't think I let you both stay in this house for nothing."

Rowena wanted to run. But she knew what would happen if she did. Of course that was with her father. If Lucius was different.... She chanced a glance up at him. He wasn't she knew, but she could only hope. She whimpered but didn't speak

She was just so pathetic, her whole family were. Lucius had no pity for her, only disgust. The back of his hand met her face with a sharp snap.

"It doesn't get better. Severus doesn't rush in and save you every time. He's off hiding, hiding from me. Because he's worthless, like you are."

Rowena looked up at him. She didn't cry. She was beyond crying. She had learned long ago crying only made it worse. She shook her head at him. She wasn't worthless and neither was her brother. She wanted to scream at him. Tell this man that her brother was a better man than he'd ever be. But as she opened her mouth to speak no sound came out.

With a smirk, Lucius grabbed her shoulder.

"What are you? So dumb that you can't speak. How inadequate of you. Not even gratitude for giving my home to you."

He hauled her down the corridor to her bedroom, certainly not big by the standards of Malfoy Manor, but compared to Rowena's room growing up it was enormous. Wrenching open the door, Lucius hauled her inside.

Rowena whimpered and made a noise that sounded like please but was still not a word at all. She tried pulling away from him. Where was Severus?

Her room was, as always immaculate, Lucius scowled.

"You really have no sort of life, do you?" He pushed her to the floor. "You are pathetically weak, from a half-blood, half-breed family."

Rowena shook her head and tried to pull away from him again.

His hand met her face again, his perfectly sculpted composure slipping.

"Don't you dare defy me!"

Gripping her wrist with a vicious fist, Lucius threw her against the iron bedpost. There was the sound of bone crunching and a near silent gasp as the wind was knocked out of her little lungs.

Rowena lay on the ground gasping for air, her lungs burning. She stared up at him daring him to do his worst. There wasn't much this man could do that would be any worse than her father.

Smirking, Lucius shoved her against the bed. He knew she would never speak, but that didn't stop him from teaching her some manners.

---

Snape entered the Malfoy mansion. It was a little too quiet. "Lucius?" He called. He hated weekends. Due to their agreement he had to come here on the weekends.

There was no reply, of course Severus wouldn't know where his 'lover' could be. The house was eerily silent.

"Lucius?" He called out again.

A noise echoed from down a back corridor. Severus turned to look, and the awkward figure of the Malfoy house elf skittered towards him.

"Dobby?" Severus asked. "Where is Master Lucius?"

Wincing at the name, Dobby pulled at his ears.

"Master Lucius is.... he is not... Master Severus shouldn't be here..."

"Why not Dobby... what's wrong?" Severus asked. "Where's my sister?"

Shaking his head again, the elf whined and put his hands against his head.

"Master Lucius is... they... " Dobby wailed, pulling a bundle from his tattered pillow case. It still smelled of magical developing fluids, Lucius' camera swung from his little crooked arm.

"What Dobby?" Snape asked getting angry. "Where is my sister?!"

Crowing and weeping, beating his head with a tiny fist, Dobby couldn't betray Master Lucius could he? What had possessed him to hide and take these pictures? Was it because he liked Severus and Rowena and didn't want to see them hurt any more? Or was it just because Master Lucius was mean to him?

"Dobby can't... Master Lucius... Master Lucius......"

"Dobby.... tell me or I will tell Master Lucius that you are misbehaving...." He said angrily.

Staring up at him with petrified eyes Dobby shrieked and shook his head.

"No! No Master Severus, Dobby only wanted to help... Dobby only... only..." stuttering with lack of breath, the house elf extended his trembling hand, clutching the photographs.

Severus took the photos from Dobby and looked at them. Closing his eyes and put the pictures into his pocket.

"Thank you Dobby." Severus said wanting nothing more than to kill Lucius right now. Restraining himself from running into that room and stopping the man... if he did it would only be short term. He needed to think. He needed to bring this to Dumbledore.

Dobby eyed the boy nervously, had he done badly?

"Master Severus?"

"Don't tell Master Lucius that you have given me these... if you do he will punish both of us most severely... do you understand?"

Bowing low, Dobby whimpered. Praying he would have the time to hide his Master's camera. Edging away backwards, he scampered away down the corridor before disappearing with a crack.

Severus made his way back towards the door. He could now hear Lucius down the hall in Rowena's bed room. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth before walking out the door.

---

Dumbledore looked up at the sound of a soft knock at his door. It was late and a weekend and he normally didn't get visitors.

"Come in Severus." He said when he realized who it was. Severus walked in the door. "What can I help you with my boy." Dumbledore asked.

Severus walked up to his desks. "You wanted a reason to get us out of there..." He said miserably as he threw the pictures down onto his desk in front of the old man.

Putting his quill down, the headmaster curiously took the black and white, moving images. His bright eyes narrowed considerably, before he sighed.

"I never would have expected this..."

"I would have... I should have known...." Severus said. "She was better off with my father... at least he... cared... about her." Severus said feeling revolted. He felt like he was going to be sick. She was only five years old. How cruel and... sick... could people be. Was there anywhere safe for yet. And what made it worse... he was the reason she was there. Would she ever trust him again?

"I understand, Mr Snape, and with this evidence I believe we can allow you to extrapolate yourself from this little arrangement. It is likely his family will try and protect him from the scandal this will cause, he may attempt... underhanded methods to hurt you. Are you prepared for this?"

"There's not much worse than this he can do to me Professor..." He said. "I don't care what happens to me.... I want her safe... But I don't know who to trust anymore..."

Taking the photographs and slipping them into an inner pocket, Dumbledore rose from his seat, giving Severus an unreadable look.

"Might I suggest the library."

"Why the library?" Severus asked confused. "How are books going to help me?"

Sweeping past the boy and out of a side door, Dumbledore smiled.

"I will contact you when a date is set. Try not to worry too much, I assure you this will be alright."

Severus hated it when he did that. Never the less Severus stood up and made his way towards the Library.

Tucked away from the sunny windows, Remus was ordering his notes. He had been finishing his research before the summer, once the results were back he would know exactly what he wanted to do next year. It was worth an afternoon out of the sunshine.

"Somehow I knew you'd be here." Severus said sitting down next to Remus. "Dumbledore said I'd find my answers in the library... I think he was referring to you... crazy old coot."

Remus gave him a tired smile and lent back in his chair.

"Dumbledore knows a lot of things... I was just about to go, but now I don't think I will. It's good to see you out on a weekend."

"Personally I think I'd rather be with Lucius." He said pulling down a book and opening it.

Raising an eyebrow, Remus started putting his papers away.

"Oh really?"

"Remus that's not what I meant... It's just.... if I was there then he wouldn't be..." Severus paused and looked away from Remus not wanting to tell him what Lucius is doing.

Knowing when Severus was upset, Remus laid a gentle hand on his lover's arm.

"I know Sev... I hate you two having to stay with him. I've been trying to work out if we can break an non-binding agreement... I'm worried about you pissing off the Malfoys." Remus returned to a stack of his papers, rummaging through pages of scrawled notes. He'd clearly not been sleeping.

"Yeah well Dumbledore has the proof to get us out of there..." He said. "With any luck... though it's going to start a war with Lucius."

Remus looked at him awkwardly, scratching his neck.

"War? That sounds dangerous. Are you sure you can take the pressure? I don't want him hurting you again..." he sighed. "Are you going back into court?"

Severus sighed as well. "Yeah... and I have a feeling it's going to be much tougher than the last one."

"Well... you'll have me this time..." Remus blushed and looked at the scratched table.

"You'll come with me?" He asked.

"Of course I will! I wouldn't leave you to face Malfoy alone." He gripped Severus' hand. "I know I let you down before, but I shan't abandon you again."

"Shan't?" Severus asked. "When did you start talking like that?"

"Since I got you back..." Remus mumbled. He wish he had been stronger, and not lost Severus to Malfoy. He wished he hadn't ruined his boyfriend's life in the first place.

Severus smiled. "We still need to keep this secret until we get my sister out of there... we're lucky no one's here right now cause Lucius may be out of school early but... he still has his 'minions' so to speak."

"I understand." Remus rose from his desk, swiftly kissing Severus on the forehead. "You'll get hold of me as soon as you know, yeah?"

"Yes..." He said. "Of course..."

Smiling warmly, Remus hauled up his bag and made his way to the door. He took one last glance back at the boy in the library before heading back to the common room.

((Sock, Kock and Uhock?

Pasha: (Sigh) I missed you but at the same time....

Schiff: .....))