Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,162
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,162
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Love and War
Chapter 28 - Love and War
Radha gave the password to her guardian portrait, rubbing her temples. She walked slowly inside her quarters, instantly relaxing in her dimly lit rooms. The
entire week before term started she had locked herself in her rooms, transfiguring every single piece of furniture and every wall from pale blues and creams
to blacks and burgundies. She had balked at the Headmistress’s bold assumption that the new professor would want her quarters decorated with her former
House colors. She had always hated that bright blue.
She undid the top buttons of her dark red robes, rubbing her neck to relieve some of the tension. Feeling the chain around her neck, she gently tugged on it
and pulled a beautiful golden medallion from the insides of her robes. She held it in the palm of her hand, rubbing her thumb over the huge ruby set in its
center.
“That’s a very dangerous thing for you to be wearing around your neck, Daniella,” said a soft, familiar voice next to her ear. “Nikolai is very good at what
he does - almost too good. He will find out you have it and have yet another reason to kill you.” She stood absolutely still, her fear and apprehension
paralyzing her completely. A pair of hands ran up her arms and began slowly kneading the tense muscles of her back.
“Relax, Daniella,” whispered the voice. The silky tones sent tremors down her spine. She bit her lip at feeling lips press against the side of her neck.
“Why are you here?” she asked quietly. A low chuckle was her reply as the hands on her shoulders slid down her back, resting lightly on her hips.
“I’m sure you could think of a hundred answers to your question,” said the voice.
“You always said I had an overactive imagination,” she said. The hands tightened around her hips. With one smooth motion, she was spun around to face a
furious Severus.
“Indeed,” he said intensely. “That, mixed with your surprisingly cavalier attitude towards your own safety, will rush you to a grisly and untimely end.”
“I’m not going to ask you again,” she growled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I came to talk to you,” said Severus, his temper piqued. “Like a real live adult. I know this may be difficult for you, but I promise to try and be patient.”
“God, you are so conceited,” hissed Radha. “Don’t you dare try and blame this all on me.”
“I don’t see why not,” said Severus bitterly. “You’re the one who left.” She raised her hand sharply, but Severus caught her wrist firmly in his hand before it
could make contact with the side of his face.
“Now then,” said Severus through his teeth, pinning her against his body with his other arm. “You are going to tell me what’s got you so bloody pissed at me
you can hardly see straight and why you’re taking it out on Harry.”
“Get your filthy Death Eater hands off of me!” she cried. He surprised her by releasing her instantly, as if burned. She stumbled at the loss of her support
and looked up into his pale and drawn face.
“Are you going to punish me for that too?” he asked. “Are you going to join them in torturing me for a horrible mistake that I’ve spent years - years,
Radha -- repenting for?” He quickly pulled a dagger from his belt, holding the blade in his hand and offering her the handle. “If so, please end my misery
now.” He roughly grabbed her hand and forced the hilt into it. He raised her hand to his chest and held it there, the point pressing against the left side of his
chest.
“Do it,” dared Severus, staring heartlessly into her terrified face. “You’ve already torn my heart to shreds. Might as well have a little blood on your hands to
show for it.” He released her hand, feeling the blade tremble against his chest. Suddenly, the portrait opened again.
“Hey Dani,” said Kingsley loudly, carrying a single daisy in his hand as he stepped into the room. “You should really -“ he froze at seeing Severus’s tense
profile, his eyes widening further at the dagger in Radha’s hand.
“This is obviously a bad time,” he said slowly. “Very bad. Yeah, I’ll just - uh -- go, and come back later.” Severus glanced at him, his eyes flicking to the
flower.
“Damn,” he said tiredly, stepping away from Radha. “I knew I was forgetting something. Flowers. God, I’m such an idiot.” He gently took the blade from her
hand and resheathed it. “She doesn’t like daisies, Kingsley. It’s daffodils.”
“Shit,” he said, smacking his forehead. “Knew it started with a ‘d.’” Severus chuckled despite his heart being firmly lodged in his throat. He tried to slip past
Kingsley without looking up, but Kingsley grabbed his arm.
“You don’t have to go,” he said quietly. “I can leave.” Severus looked up and saw the apology in the man’s eyes. He shook his head.
“No, it’s alright,” said Severus, almost whispering. “I’m sure she’d rather talk to you anyway. Make sure she sets some decent wards around her rooms,
please.” Kingsley let him go and watched him walk out the door. He glared at Radha.
“What did you do?” he asked. The unexpected question snapped Radha out of her confused thoughts.
“Me?” she cried incredulously. “He was the one who broke into my chambers!” Kingsley rolled his eyes and touched his wand to the wall.
“He hardly broke in,” said Kingsley harshly, lowering his arm, “seeing as you have no wards around your rooms. Was the door even locked?” Radha
sneered at him, but didn’t answer. He walked over to where she was standing and tossed the flower onto a table. He rested his hands on his hips and
stared at the floor.
“He would have married you, you know,” said Kingsley softly, looking back up into her pale and shocked face. “If the Academy hadn’t sucked him dry and
you hadn’t run in the complete opposite direction, he would have spent every single day worshipping the ground you walked on. He still would, even
though you’ve screwed things up royally.”
“I wasn’t the one who decided to have a bloody skull tattooed on my forearm,” said Radha hatefully.
“And you weren’t the one who came back to help the Order when the shit hit the fan, Radha,” replied Kingsley furiously. “You ran and hid, for Christ’s sake.
You applied for every field assignment that took you as far away from here as you could possibly go. And now, when you’re finally back and you two can
talk, you fuck it up all over again.”
“What am I supposed to do, Kingsley?” she cried. “I can’t do this again. I just -“ she shook her head and put a hand to her lips. Kingsley sighed and turned
away from her.
“I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do,” he said sadly. “If you can’t see how much he absolutely adores you, then maybe you don’t deserve him.
He is a good man - a much better man than I am, and I’m sure as hell not going to sit back and watch you destroy one of the few friends I’ve got right
now.”
She waited until the door had shut softly behind him before bursting into tears.
~+~
Harry and the others sat around Neville’s bed in the hospital wing, working on various bits of homework in silence as Neville slept. The injured boy’s face
was still tinged green around his eyes, his lip cracked on one side. Madam Pomfrey had told them that he would be released in a couple more days, after
she was completely satisfied that his ribs and lungs had fully healed.
Pansy shut her Transfiguration book and slipped it back into her bag. She scooted her chair closer to the bed and gently took Neville’s hand in her own.
Her chin trembled as she stared at his sleeping face, her eyes welling up with tears. She laid her head down on top of their joined hands, her shoulders
shaking with silent sobs.
Harry glanced up at her and sighed softly, which got Blaise’s attention. He glanced over to where Harry was looking. He exchanged a sad look with Harry
before getting back to his Potions essay. Harry knew there wasn’t anything he could do - he had always hated the trite words of comfort people had told him
to try and relieve the guilt he felt over things. He tensed at feeling a hand on his shoulder.
“How is he?” whispered a disembodied voice. Harry instantly relaxed.
“He’s fine,” said Harry quietly, getting the attention of the others. “Pomfrey’s keeping him here until Tuesday.”
“Typical,” muttered the voice. Ginny smiled as Severus removed his Disillusionment charm, glancing back at the nurse’s office door.
“She’s not here,” said Ginny. “She’s up with the Wicked Witch, I think.” He placed his hand gently on her head, returning her smile as he walked over to
where Pansy was crying. He sat down on the edge of the bed and softly ran his fingers through her hair.
“Pansy, look at me,” said Severus quietly. She hesitantly lifted her head, staring at Neville’s rising and falling chest.
“Look at me,” he repeated, his tone still gentle, but tinged with a hint of firmness. She slowly shifted her red-rimmed eyes to his face.
“This is not your fault,” he said. “It is no one’s fault but the boys who did this to you both, do you understand me?”
“He’s right,” croaked a weak voice. The others shuffled the books and parchment off their laps and stood around the bed, but Neville looked only at Pansy.
He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand. His eyes widened as she burst into tears and laid her head down on his chest. Severus chuckled, causing
Neville’s eyes to bulge out of his head.
“Don’t worry, Longbottom,” said Severus. “She’ll be alright.” He stood up and looked at Harry. “I need to talk to you.” Harry’s face paled at his tone.
“Yes sir,” said Harry. Blaise and Caitlyn gave him sympathetic looks as he shuffled over to the far corner of the room. He stood in front of Severus, unable to
raise his eyes from the floor. Severus gently lifted his chin with his hand. Harry forced himself to stay calm as Severus’s penetrating eyes gazed into
his.
“I’m sorry about what she said to you,” he said, releasing Harry from his grip. Harry stuffed his hands in his robe pockets, returning his gaze to the
floor.
“Whatever,” said Harry. “It’s fine.”
“Liar,” said Severus. Harry just shrugged. Severus let it go, not wanting to stir everything up now.
“How are you sleeping?” he asked, careful to keep his words from reaching the other kids’ ears.
“Okay,” answered Harry. “Quidditch practice makes me really tired, so I sleep better, but it’s still hard sometimes being here.”
“Well, I know it’s not bad enough to be affecting your studies,” said Severus casually. Harry bit his lip, unsure if the man was teasing him or not. He glanced
up and grinned at the smirk on the man’s face.
“Sorry about the water thing,” said Harry. “You can take the money out of my vault if you want.”
“It’s already come out of mine,” said Severus. “But I’ll consider a transfer from your vault to mine.” Harry winced a little. Severus’s expression became
serious again.
“And your meetings, how are they coming along?” he asked. Harry sighed.
“Good,” he said, ruffling his hair. “I’ve taught them all of the shields you taught me. We’re still working on patronuses right now, but I think we’re close.
Hopefully, we can get to some of the hexes and jinxes before break. I may have to cut down the number of Quidditch practices I have every week so we
have more time.”
“What’s this?” gasped Severus in mock astonishment. “The Gryffindor captain is going to reduce his practice time? I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Yeah, well, Ron can have as many as he wants in the spring,” muttered Harry. “I would have given the badge to him at the start of term, but his head’s big
enough for the moment being.” Severus caught a flash of anger race across the boy’s face before Harry could stop it.
“I see,” was all Severus said. He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. He handed it to Harry.
“I thought you might want to look it over,” he said softly. “They aren’t due until mid-February, but the earlier you send it in --” he smiled to himself. “Let’s just
say it’s a big relief to have it done and over with as quickly as possible.” Harry carefully pulled out the parchment and unfolded it, reading The Auror
Academy of the United Kingdom emblazoned at the top of the application in green ink. He swallowed thickly.
“Uh, thanks,” said Harry half-heartedly. “I’ll - uh - I’ll take a look at this later.” Severus furrowed his brow at Harry’s reaction as the boy replaced the
application inside the envelope and stuck it in his pocket. Harry smiled quickly at Severus, hoping the man wouldn’t push it further. He looked over at Ginny,
who was smiling at something Caitlyn said.
“After this war is over, you can do whatever you want,” said Severus quietly. “Do not let anyone force you into something that does not make you happy,
least of all me.” He pushed the hair back from Harry’s head. “I have to go. Minerva wanted me to stop by her office on my way out.”
“You have fun with that,” said Harry. “And I’m sorry for whatever she says I did.”
“Christ,” muttered Severus. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me before I go up there?”
“Not that I can think of,” said Harry, “but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have something to complain about.” Severus groaned and walked back over to the
crowded bed.
“I expect each of you to be diligent in your studies,” he said firmly. “And please keep an eye on each other.”
“Yes sir,” they all said.
“Oh, and Cate,” said Severus, raising his wand to cast his charm. “I talked to your parents. Expect an owl soon.” He tapped his head and walked swiftly out
of the room, missing the horrified expression on the girl’s face.
“I hate it when he does that,” muttered Blaise.
“Shit, my parents are going to murder me,” whispered Caitlyn, putting her head in her hands. Blaise smiled and wrapped his arm around her
shoulders, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“I need to go to the library,” he said as Harry walked back over to them. “I’m sure Longbottom is sick of us already.”
“Well, I didn’t want to be rude,” teased Neville. Blaise grinned at him and turned to the bed next to his to gather up his books.
“I’ll come with,” said Caitlyn despondently. “I need another source for my Charms essay anyway.” She looked pointedly at Harry as she gathered up her
roll of parchment.
“Right, well,” said Harry awkwardly. “Uh -- Ginny, I think we had some Quidditch maneuvers you wanted to go over.”
“Yeah,” she said swiftly. She smiled at Pansy’s slightly panicked look. “We’ll be back tomorrow, Neville. See you later, Pansy.”
“Thanks,” he said, grinning at the realization of what they were doing.
“Bye,” said Pansy softly. She nervously tucked a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear as she turned back to Neville. He patted the space on the bed
next to him and started to sit up.
“You’re not supposed to move!” said Pansy sharply. Neville sighed.
“Pansy, I’m fine,” he said as she hurriedly stuck his pillow behind his back. “Sit down.” She looked at his intense face and sat gingerly on the edge of the
bed. He reached out his hand and took hers, softly brushing his thumb across her wrist.
“Have you changed your mind?” he whispered. “About - about us?” Pansy sighed shakily, willing herself not to cry again. She shifted her hand, threading
her fingers thorough his.
“They’ll come after us,” she whispered fearfully. “What if you get hurt again?”
“I’m probably going to get hurt again,” he said with a half grin.
“That’s not funny!” said Pansy fiercely, slapping his arm.
“Ow!” said Neville. “I wasn’t trying to be funny! I was serious!” He muttered under his breath, rubbing at his arm. He continued in a softer tone. “This isn’t the
first time I’ve been hurt fighting Death Eaters, and it won’t be the last. But if you - if you don’t want to - I’ll understand if you --“
“Okay,” said Pansy quietly. Neville’s eyes immediately glued themselves to her face as he waited for her to explain. When he couldn’t take the suspense
any longer, he took a deep breath.
“’Okay’ what, exactly?” asked Neville warily. Pansy smiled at him.
“I want to do this,” she said. Neville sighed in relief, resting his head back on his pillow.
“Thank goodness,” he muttered quietly. Pansy scoffed and hit his arm again.
“Ow!” growled Neville. “Okay, we’re going to have to work on this hitting thing of yours. Merlin,” he rubbed his arm again, but the pain didn’t wipe the bright
smile of his face.