Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,165
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,165
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.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Chapter 31 - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Radha looked down at the smoke still rising in the distance, her bandaged hand pressed gently against the glass. It had happened so fast - the dementors, the Death Eaters swarming the town, the screaming children running for their lives as the curses flew.
This is what she had wanted to escape from - she wasn’t a warrior and she sure as hell didn’t want to fight death Eaters for years on end. She was a pretty face whose sole purpose was to get weasel information from rotten, sleazy politicians and report back to other rotten, sleazy politicians. All in all, not the glamorous position she had so eagerly signed up for the week after she graduated. And that damn Undercover Agent’s Code of Secrecy she had signed was the worst part of the whole thing.
Of course, being committed to a Code of Secrecy meant that she hadn’t been allowed to tell Severus she would be able to see him again when she left him all those years ago. That didn’t stop every single owl he sent from finding her, although Radha had to give him credit for sending those bitter letters to her in covert or hidden ways. Finally, after a couple of years of receiving his alternating pleading and threatening notes, she relented and sent him a long letter. He had appeared at her doorstep two days later, his navy blue buttondown soaked in sweat, his face pale in fury. Not exactly the reaction she had expected from him, but when had she ever predicted his reactions correctly?
“Well, are you going to let me in or leave me here sweating on your doorstep?”
“What in the bloody hell are you doing here, Severus?” exclaimed Radha, pulling the door wider to let him in. “And how did you find me? No one is supposed to know where I am!” Severus raised his hand, displaying a crumpled letter.
“Then you should find a post office that doesn’t stamp its outgoing mail, Daniella,” said Severus tersely. He took the door from her and slammed it shut, tapping it with his wand that he had flicked into his hand. He advanced on her menacingly, forcing her back into room.
“How long have you been working for them, Radha?” he asked silkily, stopping as he backed her into a chair. He glanced around the room. “They certainly aren’t paying you enough to live in this squalor.”
“I don’t think you’re one to talk about employers, Severus,” hissed Radha, her eyes darting towards the cracked window. “How is your Dark Lord doing these days?”
“You could have at least told me what you were doing!” growled Severus, ignoring her dig at him. “Did you think I would just forget about you, that I wouldn’t worry about whether or not you had been kidnapped or worse?”
“I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone where I was going,” said Radha. “I could be fired and Obliviated if anyone knew you were here.”
“Then maybe I should take the damn charms off the door,” threatened Severus.
“You wouldn’t dare,” said Radha quietly. “Shouldn’t you be at Hogwarts? I heard you were being Dumbledore’s stooge, since you can’t get a real job. Funny how being a murdering bastard will kill your appeal to potential employers.” Severus’s temple bulged.
“And to think,” murmured Severus, “I came here on partially on Albus’s behalf. For some odd reason, he thinks you would be a great addition to our little group who are fighting against the Dark Lord, while you’re here -“ he waved his hand at the room, “-fucking information out of Spanish Consulara members or whatever it is that you do. Tell me, do they show you a better time than I did? I like to get constructive criticism whenever I can, so please enlighten -“
“Fuck you,” whispered Radha, tears springing to her eyes. “Get the bloody hell out. I never want to see you again.”
“I can assure you the feeling is mutual,” said Severus evenly. He turned and thrust the handful of daffodils he had brought with him into the empty vase on her coffee table.
That flat had smelled of daffodils for the rest of her assignment in Madrid. The flowers themselves never once wilted, despite lacking water and sunlight. His words echoed sharply in her ears every time she had to resort to physical means to obtain the necessary information her supervisor required. Luckily, she was a good enough actor to fool the men who had been concerned when she burst into tears while in bed. At first, she had pushed away thoughts of him and the look of hurt that she had seen on his face that day. Eventually, she couldn’t stop thinking about him - what he was doing, if he was safe, if he still loved her the way she loved him --
God, where did that come from, thought Radha, her eyes going wide. She shook her head and refocused her eyes on the dissipating cloud of smoke outside her window.
“Damn you, Severus Snape,” she muttered, angry at herself. “Damn you to hell.”
“I’m already there, love,” said a quiet voice from the corner. She turned around ever so slowly, her fury drowning in her regret. Severus stepped out of the shadowed corner of her room and set a few daffodils on her coffee table.
“I brought flowers this time,” he teased. “Although Pomona my have a fit when she sees they’re missing.” Radha noticed a reddened bandage peeking out from the sleeve of his robes.
“I can’t stay for long,” said Severus, avoiding her gaze. “I’m just here to get the kids. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh, I’m just fine,” said Radha unconvincingly, turning back towards the window, “Considering you and your friends blew up an entire village for no reason.” She closed her eyes, waiting for a bitter retort. None came. She looked over her shoulder, turning completely to face him at the sight of his face. Severus nodded and roughly threw up his hands.
“Remind me why I fell in love with you again,” he snapped, “because I’m having a bloody hard time remembering, myself.”
“I don’t know,” said Radha softly. “Probably the same reasons I fell in love with you.” Severus snorted softly and rubbed his eyes.
“Right,” he said. He tapped his head with his wand and disappeared under a Disillusionment charm. “Nikolai was in Hogsmeade earlier today, Radha. Be careful where you go with that damn thing around your neck.”
“I will go wherever I wish,” spat Radha, unnerved at this new information.
“Then give my regards to Albus when you see him,” said Severus. Radha heard his boots move across the floor. The door opened and slammed shut.
~~+~~+~~+~~
“We were wrong, Alastor. Wrong about everything.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time, I suppose.”
“That’s hardly reassuring.”
“It wasn’t meant to be reassuring, Mina. I was being honest. I don’t think we can really doubt Snape’s intentions any longer.”
“But you still do.”
“It’s my job to be vigilant, Minerva.”
“And now - now we’ve lost them all. The twins, Harry, Ginny -“
“No, we haven’t. If I know Snape and Potter at all, they will show no mercy after what happened today. All hell is about to break loose.”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Kingsley rushed down the darkened staircase, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. God, he was tired. Hogsmeade was a verifiable disaster area. Half the town’s businesses that were still operational after Albus’s death were now either gone entirely or so heavily damaged that the repairs were hardly worth the effort. Aberforth had been very helpful in assisting Kingsley with search efforts along the main drag. Honeydukes had been the only shop on the High Road to avoid any major structural damage.
“Curious, isn’t it,” Aberforth had said offhandedly as they stood outside the building, “that the bar and this place are basically the only two things left standing.” Kingsley had never really spoken to the man before, and had been caught off guard.
“Why should that be significant?” asked Kingsley. Aberforth had giving him a very unnerving smile.
“Shacklebolt, you’re about as opaque as clear glass,” said Aberforth. “Go back to the castle and sleep a little. We can handle things down here for a while until you get rested up.”
So Kingsley left -- past the piles of blood-soaked brick and the sight of arms peeking out of the rubble, up the gravel path lined with slowly dying grass to the chained gates of the school, and into the nearly deserted Entrance Hall. Halfway down the staircase leading to the dungeons, he froze in front of a door set into the wall.
Laughter. Feminine laughter. He smiled half-heartedly and pushed open the door.
“You’re such an idiot, Blaise,” said Ginny. “Anyone could have told you the spell would have backfired.”
“Thanks a lot, muttered Blaise angrily, running his hand over his bandaged arm. He straightened at seeing Kingsley in the doorway. “Sir.”
“At ease, Zabini,” said Kingsley teasingly. He looked around the crowded room, his eyes lingering on the emptied shelves. “Where’s Harry?”
“Here,” said a voice behind him. Harry walked into the room as the door was taken from Kingsley’s hand. Severus appeared from underneath his charm. He met Kingsley’s gaze for a fraction of a second - enough for Kingsley to know that it wasn’t good and that Severus was in no mood for questions.
“Good,” said Kingsley, his tone forcibly brighter. “Is that everybody then?” Caitlyn jumped awake when Pansy shook her shoulder. Harry pulled a small package out of his pocket. He walked over to her and broke off a bit of melting chocolate.
“Eat this. It helps,” said Harry softly. Caitlyn tried a smile as she gladly took the chunk of chocolate from him. As soon as it touched her lips, she could feel the warmth flood her body.
“We need to go,” said Severus, glancing at his pocket watch. “Cate, will you be alright?”
“Yes,” she said weakly. Neville and Blaise both stepped towards her as she pushed herself up.
“ALL REMAINING STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL IMMEDIATELY,” rang a voice through the hallway. “ALL REMAINING STUDENTS, PLEASE REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL.”
“Where is your apparition point, Professor?” asked Blaise, slipping his arm around Caitlyn’s waist to help her walk. Severus lifted the hood of his tattered cloak and placed his hand atop a jar filled with a nasty-looking frog. He twisted the jar on the shelf.
“Come,” he said tersely. Harry frowned at his back, glancing quickly at Kingsley, who shook his head. He waved Neville and Pansy before him and waited until Blaise and Cate shuffled past him. Harry grinned softly at Ginny, who winked at him as she passed.
“I’ll be by the house as soon as I get a chance,” said Kingsley. “McGonagall is still waiting on the Board’s decision about keeping the school open.” Harry held out his hand for Kingsley to shake.
“I can’t thank you enough for all of your help,” said Harry, grasping the man’s hand. “You have saved us a lot of trouble.”
“Just so you could get into even more, I’m sure,” said Kingsley ruefully. He sobered a little. “If any of you need anything - anything at all - you just say the word, Harry, and I’ll be there.”
“Thank you, Kingsley,” said Harry, his eyes shining in the torchlight. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah,” said Kingsley. He turned towards the door at the sound of shouting in the hallway. He grabbed Harry’s shoulder and pushed him at the secret passageway. “Go. Now.” Wordlessly, Harry ran through the doorway. Kingsley pulled it shut and walked around the room, looking for anything they might have missed.
“There you are, Shacklebolt,” said a deep voice from the door. Kingsley jumped despite himself. “Where in the hell have you been? Robards is about to blow his top.” Kingsley rolled his eyes, keeping his back to Dawlish.
“Is there a fire?” asked Kingsley wearily. Dawlish just raised his eyebrows.
“He’s waiting for you in the side room off the Great Hall,” said Dawlish. Kingsley nodded and waved the lights out in the office. He slid past Dawlish in the doorway, straightening his robes as he walked up the staircase to the Entrance Hall. He paused outside the door to the side room, pulling a bit of thread loose from the rips across his stomach. He threw it away from him and stepped into the room.
“Well, well, look who decided to show up,” said Robards loudly. Kingsley held his tongue, his sharp eyes scanning the faces of the other men in the room. Robards narrowed his eyes.
“Why didn’t you report back with the rest of your squad, Shacklebolt?” asked Robards.
“I left to make my report to the Headmistress, sir,” said Kingsley. Short and to the point, he thought, mentally steeling himself like he’d seen Severus do so many times. “I wanted to make sure she didn’t need anything else from me before I reported back to you.”
“You work for me, not her,” growled Robards. “Your allegiance is to the Corps, not to the school. Or to any other group to which you may or may not belong.”
“You don’t need to quote the Auror’s Oath at me, Robards,” said Kingsley intensely. “I have a very good memory.”
“As do I, Shacklebolt,” spat Robards, “and I will not tolerate your insolence any longer. You will perform your duties as instructed, without deviation and without amendment. You will report to your superior officers first, not as an afterthought. And be sure, I will know if you choose to disobey orders, Auror Shacklebolt.”
“Are you saying I’m under surveillance?” asked Kingsley incredulously. Robards smiled.
“All I’m saying,” said Robards, “is that perhaps you should reevaluate your activities over the past several months. The Wizengamot has just passed new additions to the Articles of Treason. Wouldn’t want you to inadvertently be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Kingsley clenched his jaw, just barely keeping the disgusted sneer off his face. He glanced quickly at the other stony faces in the room.
“I understand,” said Kingsley. “Sir.”
“Good,” said Robards. “Dismissed.” Kingsley spun sharply on his heel and strode from the room.
~~+~~+~~+~~
Severus sighed to himself as Harry stepped through the front door of the house. He shut the door, locking and warding it a bit stronger than usual. He rubbed his temple, feeling the telltale pounding that signaled a hell of a migraine coming on.
“Severus, do we have any food in the house?” said Harry from the kitchen.
“Professor, your library is wicked! How did you get so many -“
“Severus, did you hear me?”
“Professor Snape, do you have an owl? My parents will want to know I’m alright.”
“Oh yeah. My grandmother’s going to throw a fit. Can I use the owl next?”
“Hello? Earth to Severus.”
“Shut up, you lot,” shouted Ginny. She walked over to Severus, who had closed his eyes, the light piercing through them and stabbing into his head. “Are you alright?” Severus chuckled mirthlessly.
“No,” he said honestly. “I need a drink.” Ginny gave him a disapproving look as he pushed himself off the door and walked over to his liquor cabinet, shielding his eyes from the overhead light as a wave of nausea hit him. He took an entire bottle of scotch and pulled on the potions volume to open the staircase door. He pulled it shut behind him as he walked up the stairs.
“That doesn’t look good,” muttered Neville.
“No,” agreed Blaise. “No, it doesn’t.”