Forsaken
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
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Reviews:
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,172
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.
In Inches, In MIles, In Laughter, In Strife
Chapter 38- In Inches, In Miles, In Laughter, In Strife
Title taken from the musical Rent
“My lord, what should we do with the bodies?”
“That is a stupid question, Lucius. Get rid of them.”
“May we send the Order something to remember them by? Such young lives -“
“Yes, yes. I know you like that sort of thing, Bella. Just do it quickly. Go!”
“Yes, master.”
“Lucius, how is our guest doing?”
“She’s quite uncooperative. She hasn’t said anything further about him. Just what I reported to you.”
“Hmm. And her brother?”
“Apparently, she left him a cryptic note detailing her whereabouts. He’s known for some time where she’s been hiding.”
“Has he, now? Well. Isn’t that interesting?”
~~+~~+~~+~~
Severus, Harry and Kingsley sat at the kitchen table, each smoking in silence. The house was deafeningly silent after Molly’s hysterical crying when Severus gave his report to the Council. The three of them hadn’t moved in two hours.
A black owl swooped into the room, landing imperiously on the table bearing a parcel. Severus jumped up out of his chair, the blood draining from his face.
“What is that?” asked Kingsley, glancing at Severus. Severus didn’t answer, deftly untying the parcel from the owl’s leg. Without a sound, the owl rose up and flew out of the room. Severus carefully lifted the lid and dropped it on the table at the sight of what was inside.
Two hands - one with ashen skin dotted with freckles. Another bearing a delicate gold ring with a sapphire in the middle - the birthstone for September.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” whispered Harry slowly. Severus furiously grabbed the lid and crammed back on top of the box.
“Not a word to anyone, agreed?” he said intensely. “Especially Arthur and Molly. Got it?” Getting nods from both Harry and Kingsley, he drew his wand and vanished the box.
~~+~~+~~+~~
The funerals were held at the Burrow the next Monday. Few were invited, as security was kept tight. Molly had all but demanded Ron be buried under the huge tree in the garden - the one he climbed when he was younger, the one he fell out of due to one of the twins’ many pranks, the one where he cut his and Hermione’s initials into the bark.
The two black coffins sat side by side. No one dared to ask why they were empty.
Harry and Kingsley had taken the brunt of the arrangements upon themselves, as all of the Weasleys were inconsolable, and the Grangers were understandably confused and shocked. Caitlyn and Pansy had arrived at the Burrow early that morning, along with Felicity - Pansy’s mother - to help with feeding everyone afterwards. Blaise and Neville got there soon after, and helped out wherever they could.
Aberforth, being the eldest Order member, performed a simple ceremony, alleviating the Council’s fears of leaking information to the Ministry. The rest of the Order stood respectfully behind the line of redheads, broken only by one head of platinum blonde hair, and two heads covered in rich, brown hair.
Harry stood towards the back of the crowd, along with Blaise and the others, not really hearing a word the elderly wizard said. All he could think about was that day on the train, and how he had never apologized. He bowed his head, screwing his eyes shut in defiance of the tears that overflowed and ran down his cheeks. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder, another his arm as he fell to his knees and wept silently.
It should have been me…
~~+~~+~~+~~
Severus’s eyes flicked up at the chiming that floated down the hall and underneath his door. He glanced back down at the parchments scattered before him as he picked up the bottle of scotch sitting on the corner of his desk. Sighing, he capped the bottle without taking another drink and got up from his chair, setting the half-empty bottle on the bedside table.
His skin itched to be out of his room. He’d been locked up for several days now, as Order members had been in and out of the house at odd hours of the day. He paced up and down the length of the rather small room, a hand worrying his bottom lip. He hated being locked up. The irony of that being the one thing he could successfully nettle Black about two years ago wasn’t lost on him at all.
Severus ran his hands through his hair, growling softly. God, he hated this house. Every thing reminded him of Black. He tried so hard to forget that the man existed, never mind that the idiot had bloody died -- honorably in the line of duty, no less. Severus had been ordered to stay at Hogwarts while the battle raged on at the Ministry that night. If Albus hadn’t had that look in his eyes when he left Headquarters, Severus would have been right there next to Black cursing the hell out of Bellatrix.
But he had been outside that office when Albus returned. Oh yes, he had heard every raging word that poured from that child’s mouth - every word he himself had wanted to say to Albus, but never had the courage to utter. Albus must have figured out he was eavesdropping, because everything had gone eerily silent once Harry stopped yelling. Severus had waited until that exhausted boy with haunted eyes shuffled from the room.
He caught the door with his hand, watching Harry’s bowed shoulders disappear from sight. Severus frowned and stepped into the destroyed office. His jaw dropped of its own will at seeing glittering shards of silver and glass litter the floor. He glanced up and froze at the sight of tears streaming down that aged face.
“Albus?” whispered Severus, his footsteps crunching as he rushed to the old man’s side. He knelt down beside the man’s chair and put his hand on the man’s arm. Albus chuckled morosely and cupped Severus’s cheek with his hand.
“We lost Sirius,” said Albus. Severus’s eyes went wide, his face paling.
“And Harry?” asked Severus.
“Saw the whole thing,” said Albus shakily. “And now - now I’ve added the weight of the world to that child’s shoulders.”
“You’re rather good at doing that,” teased Severus cautiously, unsure of the man’s mood. He relaxed at seeing Albus smile.
“I truly wish Harry had stayed,” said Albus. “He would be shocked to not see you jumping up and down in celebration of Sirius being gone.” Severus rolled his eyes.
“Lupin is hardly an acceptable verbal sparring partner,” muttered Severus.
“Indeed,” said Albus. “Well, seeing as how Harry just spent the last hour railing at me, I don’t suppose you have anything you would like to add?” Severus bit the inside of his lip and glanced away from Albus’s piercing blue eyes.
“No sir,” murmured Severus. Albus gently tilted his head upwards, causing Severus to snap up his Occlumency walls on reflex.
“I do hope you lie better than that to Tom,” said Albus.
“I learned from the best,” said Severus without thinking. He winced, his eyes popping open again at the sound of Albus laughing.
“For being the Head of Slytherin House, you have quite a few Gryffindor tendencies, my child,” said Albus. “Sometimes I wonder if your mouth is even attached to that brilliant mind of yours.” He wiped his eyes with long fingers and straightened his glasses. Severus stood and scowled at him.
“I think I’m slightly insulted,” muttered Severus. He walked around and sat down in the chair before the desk, slouching down as he crossed his arms over his chest. He raised his eyebrow at Albus expectantly.
What he had gotten had been an explanation of what Albus had been doing on his Ministry-appointed sabbatical and a new task in addition to his usual duties for attending gatherings. Not really what he wanted, but with Albus, you took what you got and didn’t complain. Complaining got you extra guard shifts or boring field assignments, something Tonks and Kingsley never learned.
He threw himself into the chair at his desk and dug around for the notes he had taken from a book downstairs. He hurriedly began scratching a quill across the parchment, his other hand reaching down for a book on top of a huge stack by his feet. The quill tore through the parchment as his left arm erupted in horrific pain. It had never burned so badly in his entire life.
Panting through the pain, Severus immediately flicked his wand into his hand but stopped just shy of shooting off a patronus. Everyone on the Council was at the funeral, most likely beside some member of the Order who didn’t know where in the hell all this new intelligence was coming from.
“Damn it!” hissed Severus, conjuring his cloak instead. He swung it over his shoulders and touched his wand to the back of his right hand.
“Defero Nullus,” spat Severus, retching as the pain clenched at his stomach. He ran to his door, wrenching it open as he practically flew out into the hallway and down the stairs.
In a field near Ottery St. Catchpole, a green-eyed boy screamed in agony, blood running down the middle of his forehead.
~+~
Unlike all the other times he had apparated to the Dark Lord’s side, Severus appeared inside a dark room. He immediately drew his wand and lit it, the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up. He took a step forward and recoiled as his foot landed on something soft. He pointed his wand at the floor and felt his blood chill.
Nikolai Moran - or at least he thought it was Nikolai - stared up at him with empty eye sockets. His face was a mess of blood, bruises and dirt. Severus swallowed thickly, stepping carefully towards the body. Every inch of naked flesh was covered in drying blood. Severus bent down and pressed a finger against a patch of clean -- well, cleaner -- skin on Nikolai’s neck.
It felt warm. Or perhaps Severus’s hands were just that cold.
Severus quickly wiped his fingers on his robes and stood up, his mind pushing past the shock to think about why he had apparated here instead of the receiving chamber.
I have a very bad feeling I’m being fucked with.
~~+~~+~~ Thursday prior ~~+~~+~~
Radha strode confidently down the corridors towards her guardian portrait, praying to anyone who was listening that she wouldn’t run into an Order member or an Auror. She was sick of this. McGonagall could fight her own goddamn war.
She mentally completed her letter of resignation as she muttered her password. She didn’t even notice him standing in the corner until she had completely unbuttoned the front of her robes.
“Shit!” she cried, clutching the front of her robes together. “Severus, what in the hell are you doing here? I thought you left with the kids!”
“Oh, I did,” he said, his eyes glinting strangely as he stepped out of the shadows. “But I had to see you again.”
“And why is that?” snapped Radha, tired of the man’s mind games. “You left here in quite a snit the other day. I had hoped that this time I wouldn’t have to deal with you anymore, but obviously I have shitty luck.”
“Radha, I could never stay away from you for long,” he said. Alarm bells went off in Radha’s head. Severus never called her by her first name unless he was furious with her. She turned towards him again and looked him directly in the eyes.
No fire. No hatred tinged with adoration. These black eyes were cold as ice as they raked down her now slightly trembling frame.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered, setting a bunch of roses on her coffee table. Her eyes went wide. She immediately drew her wand, but he was too quick for her. He disarmed her and grabbed her arm.
“Get away from me!” screamed Radha. “Let me g -“ her cries were choked as the man hit her with a Silencing charm, followed by a Binding charm. She fell hard to the floor, trying to free her arms from the thin black ropes surrounding her torso. He knelt down beside her and reached around her neck, pulling out the golden medallion.
“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises,” he muttered. He checked his watch and smiled at her maliciously. “We seem to have a bit of time before we need to leave. Perhaps you and I can get reacquainted.” Radha struggled harder as he pulled her towards the bedroom.
By the time she was dumped unceremoniously onto the frigid stone floor, she couldn’t feel anything but the bruises on her hips and thighs. She was barely clothed and shivered as a torch on the wall flared to life.
“So this is her?” asked a cruel voice above her head.
“Yes, my lord.” Her beloved’s voice. Severus, where are you?
“Good. And the medallion?” She caught a glimpse of gold flutter past above her head. Indignation welled up inside her chest.
“That’s mine,” growled Radha, pushing herself up off the floor. She could care less that the man seated comfortably before her had blood red eyes that glowed in the semi-darkness.
“It was yours,” corrected Voldemort. He stood up gracefully and draped the chain around his own neck. “Thank you ever so much. I trust there were no problems, Lucius?” Radha spun her head around, pinning the man inside her lover’s skin with a death glare. The smirk on that face broke her heart. How many times had she seen it before?
“No, there were no problems,” said Lucius smugly. He lurched forward, grabbing at his stomach as deafening cracks echoed off the walls, his bones readjusting as the Polyjuice wore off. After a minute or so, Lucius Malfoy stood before her, all blond hair and shining white teeth.
“Put her in a holding cell for now,” said Voldemort. “Then bring me her worthless brother. I would like to speak with him.”
“Of course, my lord,” said Lucius. He roughly grabbed Radha and hauled her off the floor. Her legs gave out beneath her, throwing her body against his.
“Oh, and Lucius?” said Voldemort silkily. “Get her out of those dreadful clothes.”
“With pleasure, my lord,” growled Lucius.
~~+~~+~~ Return ~~+~~+~~
Severus was beginning to panic. His fingers fluttered over the slimy walls, feeling for anything that might be taken for the outline of a door or a latch - anything that would let him out of this room of death. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, taking a deep, slow breath. He stumbled backwards as the wall he was leaning on gave way. Scowling and with his wand held out in front of him, he cautiously pushed the wall forward.
“Come here, Severus!” commanded a sharp voice. Severus immediately walked out of the room and into the receiving chamber.
“CRUCIO!”
Constant vigilance, you idiot! cried a voice inside his head before he could think of nothing but pain. The spell ended surprisingly quick.
“You’re late,” said Voldemort icily, watching Severus scramble to kneeling.
“My apologies, my lord,” said Severus. He pressed his hands firmly against the floor to hide their shaking.
“You haven’t even begun to be sorry, Severus,” hissed Voldemort. Severus raised his head, meeting those flashing eyes head on. He narrowed his eyes at the sheen of sweat across Voldemort’s brow and dropped his gaze back down to the eyes. The red was swirling with another, darker color.
Harry.
“Ah, yes,” said Voldemort harshly, noting Severus’s widening eyes. “Your beloved Potter is here.” He pointed a finger at this temple. “I’ve invited him to watch, although he’s being a very poor sport about the whole thing.” He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the door to the holding cells. A cloaked figure swiftly opened the door and disappeared down the hallway. Voldemort snapped again, conjuring up thick ropes from the floor around Severus feet. Severus fought as hard as he could against the ropes. He knew the game was up. There was no possibly way he could salvage this. All he could do was get out as soon as humanly possible.
As soon as he saw her, all the fight left his body. The ropes pulled him down to his knees, and he let them, staring in horror at the bruises covering her pale, formerly perfect skin.
“Ironic, really,” said Voldemort casually, snapping Severus’s trance. “The woman you love being your downfall and all. I would have never thought of you harboring a secret lover from us, Severus. Especially a Callahan.” His smile grew at feeling the room chill. “Angry, Severus?”
“Yes, you bastard,” hissed Severus through clenched teeth. “Let her go. Your quarrel is with me, not her.”
“Indeed,” said Voldemort firmly. “Lucius, leave us. I will summon you and Bella again soon.”
“Yes, my lord,” said Lucius. Severus sneered at him as the man had the audacity to turn his smug, grey eyes to Severus’s face.
“He’ll kill you too, just you wait,” snarled Severus. “You will pay for what you’ve done. You will fucking pay!”
“Go, Lucius!” shouted Voldemort. With a final, brilliant smile at Severus, Lucius turned on his heel and disapparated.
“DAMN IT, BOY!” screamed Voldemort, clutching both sides of his head. Severus leaned forward as much as the ropes around his wrists and legs would let him.
“Daniella!” he hissed quietly. “Daniella, wake up!” Radha’s eyes flickered before opening wider.
“Severus?” whispered Radha, reaching out her hand. Severus reached and was just barely able to rest his fingertips against her palm.
“I’m here,” he whispered. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
Severus, thought Radha. I’m not worth saving.
I am not going to argue about this, thought Severus back at her. Just hang on a little longer and we’ll get home, I swear.
I’m so sorry, my love, thought Radha. Severus tried to grab her hand as he felt the link weaken.
“Radha, stay with me,” growled Severus, blinking back tears at her words. He glanced back up at Voldemort, who was slowly regaining control over his and Harry’s minds.
“Grab onto my hand!” said Severus. “Harry! Keep him distracted!”
“NO!” bellowed Voldemort. He aimed a Slicing hex at Severus. Severus was just quick enough to move so that the hex slashed through some of his ropes. He immediately freed his right hand and aimed at the serpent slithering towards Radha’s limp body.
“Vipera Evanesca!” shouted Severus. Nagini let out a long, angry hiss as fire consumed her from the tail up. Severus resheated his wand and scrambled forward towards Radha, but was ruthlessly pulled back by the robes around his other wrist. Another wrapped itself around his waist as Voldemort rose sharply from his throne.
“What have you DONE?” shouted Voldemort, staring in horror at the ashes of his familiar. Severus scrambled harder against the ropes, which seemed to be multiplying as Voldemort’s fury grew. He couldn’t feel the blood running down his arms from where the robes had tore through his robes and into his skin.
“Daniella!” yelled Severus. “I’m not leaving you here! Get up!”
“You damn fool!” snarled Voldemort, stalking towards Severus in a towering rage.
“NO!” shouted Severus, seeing the gleam in Voldemort’s eyes as the monster closed in on Radha. “NO!” Voldemort kicked Radha onto her back and pressed his wand firmly into her neck. With a vicious slash, her blood splattered across the room as he slit her throat. Her head rolled towards Severus, pinning him with a blank stare.
Love…you… The link died completely. Severus roared in fury, easily snapping the ropes around his body. Voldemort stumbled backwards in shock at the display of unfettered power. Severus didn’t even bother drawing his wand. His eyes darkened unnaturally as he lifted his hand and spoke the curse.
~+~
“Oh fuck!” hissed Harry, grabbing at his hair. His head was going to explode. He just knew it was. His brain would splatter all over the grass.
“Harry!” said Kingsley worriedly. “Harry, are you alright?” Harry didn’t answer him. Instead, he grabbed at his cross around his neck and concentrated on Severus. A loud crack followed by a dull thud sounded to his right before he passed out.