Saving your life

The arm loosened around her as he Apparated them away, and she took the chance, kicking him again, and then biting his hand when he tried to move it. With a growl, he pushed her away so hard, her head hit the wall, and she fell to the floor. Ignoring then pain, she reached inside her pocket for her wand, but before she could use it, he yelled, “Expelliarmus!” and then “Accio wand!”

She tried to keep the wand, but it slipped between her fingers and flew right into his waiting hand. Desperate, she looked around the room, trying to find something she could use against him, and only then did she realize where they were. The cabin in the woods.

“So, you recognize the place, don’t you?” the man asked with a sneer, as he pushed back the hood that had been hiding his face.

“Who are you?” she asked, when she finally saw him.

“Patience, Mudblood,” he said, with an arrogant sneer that strangely didn’t fit his face. “First, we have to contact an old friend, make sure he joins us for the fun part,” he said, calmly. Confused, she watched him as he took a small roll of parchment from his pocket and tapped it with his wand, making it glow blue and then vanish.

“What do you want?” she asked then, her hand inching carefully to the side, trying to reach the log that was lying on the floor, by the fireplace.

“Justice,” he answered. “I believe you have… hey there!” he yelled, just as her fingers wrapped around the log.

She lifted it, as fast as she could, trying to hit him before he could do anything to stop her, but she was still lying on the floor, and he was too far away for her to reach him. She didn’t even see him move his wand, all she knew was that she had barely lifted the log when she felt searing pain in her arm, the sound of the bone breaking so loud, she could hear it over her pained scream.

She cradled her arm against her chest, biting her lip hard to stop from screaming again; she wouldn’t give him the pleasure. She heard him laugh coldly, as he stepped closer to her, lifted his leg and kicked her on the head, and then everything went black.

She woke up on the same spot, and saw his wand aimed straight at her chest. She guessed she hadn’t been out for long. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her head was too much.

“It took me three days to get to you, you know?” he asked, and she gasped out loud when she looked up into his face; it looked as if it was boiling from the inside. She watched, with her mouth wide open, as blond hair grew out of his previously bald head, black eyes turned to a steely grey colour, and the round face turned angled and aristocratic.

“Malfoy,” she muttered in recognition, and he merely smirked. With a flick of his wand, he adjusted the robes to his taller, thinner form, but he looked so different from the wizard he had been the last time she remembered seeing him. His face looked gaunt, paler, his expression tired, he had lost a lot of weight, and his once silky hair now looked greasy and dirty.

“I have been told your memories of the last few months had been erased,” he said, lowering the wand. “Is that true?” he asked.

Did he know something about it? Who could have told him? She wondered if he also knew who had taken her memories, if maybe he would say something important, but apparently, she took too long to answer. She barely heard him whisper, “Crucio,” but was immediately overtook by the blinding pain. She felt as if she was burning from the inside, as her body shook uncontrollably, and in that second, she knew it had happened before, knew the man standing in front of her had tortured her, even if she couldn’t remember when or how it had happened.

She was sure her body couldn’t take any more, that it would all be over soon, when he lifted the curse.

“When I ask a question, you answer,” he said firmly, but with a sneer. “Now, is what I heard true?” he repeated, and she simply nodded, as she tried to catch her breath. “So, you don’t remember what happened the last time we met?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Well,” he said, raising his wand and aiming it straight at her again, “we don’t want what happened then to repeat itself,” he said, and with a flick of his wand, she was lifted from the floor and thrown against the wall again. She didn’t fall his time, however; her arms were magically bound to the wall, her feet dangling inches from the floor.

He stepped closer to her, his movements slow, teasing, and as soon as he reached her, he wrapped his fingers around her throat, so tightly he was almost strangling her. “We were interrupted last time,” he said, tightening his hold, and smirking as she fought for breath. “The Dark Lord even punished me for hurting you. Who would have thought? Me, one of his most faithful followers, sent on a suicide mission for harming a filthy Mudblood whore. But it will be different this time.”

Her vision was starting to blur, and she didn’t have the strength to struggle anymore. Sensing it, he finally let go, and watched amused as she gasped for breath. A loud bang was heard in the room, along with a red flash of lightning, and she turned her face to Lucius Malfoy, surprised to find him smiling broadly.

“He’s here,” he said, and waved his wand in her direction. Suddenly, the magical bindings were gone, and she fell hard on the floor, landing on her broken arm. She tried to move away, but he was right behind her in two steps. He buried his fingers in her hair and yanked her head back hard, forcing her to get up on her feet. He stood behind her, using her body as a shield, and with the tip of his wand pressed painfully into her neck.

She could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest as they waited in silence for minutes that felt like hours, both staring intently at the door. Who was it he was waiting for? She had the feeling that, whoever he was, the man was coming to help her, and she could only hope he hadn’t gone alone.

Suddenly, the door was blown open, and Lucius tightened his hold on her. A figure appeared on the doorway, a man, dressed in black robes and wearing a Death Eater’s mask. His wand was pointing in their direction, but he didn’t use it; he seemed to hesitate at the sight of them. It barely lasted a second, but was enough for Lucius to disarm him.


Severus had been sent on yet another mission. His Master had been upset by the last one’s outcome, and had practically blamed the failure on him alone. He had advised Voldemort against it, had repeatedly told him an attack during the day wasn’t a good idea, that the Aurors and the Order would be alerted too fast, but he hadn’t listened.

That had been the main reason why Severus had been surprised to find himself on the wrong end of his wand, fighting not to scream from the pain the Cruciatus Curse was causing. No matter how many times one was put through an unforgivable, it never got any easier.

It hadn’t taken him long to find out exactly why he had been blamed for the entire failure. Bellatrix Lestrange. When Severus had suggested they should wait until it was dark for the attack, she had convinced Voldemort of the opposite, claiming it was the best way to prove his power to the wizarding world, and later on, when the mission had failed, she had managed to get him to blame Severus for it, instead of herself. He had a good idea of exactly how she had managed to convince the Dark Lord of that nonsense, but he didn’t really want to know.

He had been noticing a few strange things lately. It had been Bellatrix that had informed Voldemort that Potter and his friends had left the safety of the Order, and she that had provided the information of their whereabouts. Needless to say, Severus had been punished both times. She was also getting more benefits and ‘rewards’ than any of the other Death Eaters, including Severus himself. She had managed to keep her sister safe after she had moved to their headquarters, the Dark Lord himself forbidding his followers from harming her in any way, when any other woman staying with them, and not a Death Eater herself, would have been killed, or begging for death, within the week. She had also gotten her nephew out of the dungeons, where he was sure to have died in a matter of days, and had been the cause of more than a few deaths among Voldemort’s followers. Severus was sure she had tried to convince the Dark Lord to kill him too, but as long as he was useful, Severus would be relatively safe.

Severus pushed open the door to headquarters and stepped inside, groaning as he dragged the dead body with him. He had been sent to kill a Ministry official and his family, just him and the Death Eater currently lying dead on the floor. He hadn’t had enough time to warn the Order beforehand, and had been forced to make a hard decision again; kill the target, or risk his life and his cover. This time, as he usually did, he had chosen the dangerous path, and had killed the Death Eater sent with him, just a stupid, young kid, blindly following his family’s ideals, probably not fully realizing what he had gotten into.

“Severus, what has happened?” Voldemort asked, as he saw him carrying the dead body inside the building. He looked up to see about a dozen Death Eaters gathered around his Master, all eyes suddenly on him, and he realized he had interrupted a meeting.

“Stupid kid couldn’t watch his own back,” he answered, as he bowed in front of his Master. When he remained in silence, Severus continued. “I believe the wizard had somehow been tipped off, knew we would soon go after him, and he had been ready. He,” he said, with a disdainful look on his face, as he flipped the body over with his feet, “didn’t last two minutes.”

“Are you saying the mission failed?” Voldemort asked, in a dangerously low voice.

“No, my Lord, it was a success,” he replied. “The wizard and his family are dead, and the Dark Mark was conjured as you ordered, Master,” he said. He had contacted Kingsley after killing the Death Eater, and told him to hide the family, and make everyone believe they were dead.

“Good,” Voldemort simply replied. “Go now, we have other matters to discuss,” he said, turning back to the other Death Eaters. “Leave him in the dungeons, and contact his father,” he said, as an afterthought. “Tell him I expect his other son to prove more useful.”

“Yes, Master,” Severus replied, reaching for his wand again, and levitating the kid’s body in front of him.

He slowly walked down the stairs and into the cold dungeons, making his way past the prisoners until he reached the far wall. He let the body fall on top of three Muggles that had been murdered the night before, and wondered if the war would ever be over.

Pushing the thoughts away, he walked back towards the stairs, but he had barely reached the first step when a flash of blue light made him turn back around, just in time to see a small roll of parchment fall to the floor by his feet. He took a moment to eye it carefully, and performed a few spells to make sure it was safe. He wouldn’t put it past Bellatrix to try something as foolish as cursing it, so he had to be careful.

He slowly leaned down and took it, with a sense of unease he couldn’t quite understand. He simply stared at it for a few moments, before he finally opened it. A simple glance told him everything he needed to know, bringing back memories of the last time he had received a blank roll of parchment. He could be wrong, maybe it was nothing, but he couldn’t take the chance.

He put the parchment in his pocket and hurriedly walked back up the stairs, thankful everyone seemed too distracted to notice him. As soon as he was out, he Apparated to the cabin, feeling the wards around it as soon as his feet touched the ground.

The wards were strong, and it took him a few minutes to get through them, but as soon as they were down, he carefully approached the door. If Lucius was really in there, which he didn’t doubt after the kind of wards cast around the place, then he would probably know Severus had arrived by now, so he had to act fast.

He stopped merely a foot from the door and, taking a deep breath, he raised his wand and blew the door off its hinges.

He knew what he would probably find in there, but still, he froze at the sight. She looked so vulnerable, barely able to stand, her lip bleeding, bruises on her face, and one of her arms clearly broken. Lucius was standing behind her, and when their eyes met, he smirked at him, before moving his wand in Severus’ direction and disarming him.

It had all happened so fast, there was nothing he could do to stop it. As soon as the wand has slipped past his fingers, Lucius had sent him flying against the wall, pushing Hermione to the floor as he stepped closer to Severus.

“I am glad you are here, old friend,” he said, with a smirk, before muttering, “Crucio.”

Severus felt the pain take his body, but he didn’t scream. He should have brought someone else with him, but there hadn’t been enough time. All he could think now was that he had to find a way to save Hermione. He had to do something to help her. He could hear Lucius’ laugh, as he towered over him, his eyes lit as he watched his body tremble and convulse. He saw a shape then, movement behind Lucius, and the next second the curse had been lifted.

Gasping for breath, he blinked a few times, as the room focused around him, and he saw Hermione pinned against the wall, Lucius’ hand wrapped tightly around her throat as he whispered something Severus couldn’t quite hear. He noticed deep scratches in the man’s forehead, and he guessed Hermione had done it, trying to get him away from Severus.

He saw her fight Lucius and, hoping he was too distracted to notice, he tried to get up. His legs were still too weak, but using the wall behind him for support, he finally managed to stand. He silently took a few steps closer to Lucius, but before he could get close enough, the wizard turned around, anger evident in his face, and pointed his wand at Severus.

He was thrown against the wall again, only this time, he didn’t fall to the floor. His arms and legs were pinned to the wall, and he tried to break the magical bindings, but knew he wouldn’t be able to do it fast enough without a wand.

“That’s better,” Lucius said, smirking at Severus before turning back to Hermione. He flicked his wand again, and bound her to the wall as well, opposite Severus. “She is a feisty little thing,” he said, stepping back from her, and healing the wounds on his forehead. He remained in silence for a few moments, looking from Severus to Hermione, as if trying to decide what to do next.

“What do you want, Lucius?” Severus finally asked.

“You thought it would be so easy?” he said, slowly stepping closer to Severus. “You thought you would be rid of me, just like that?” When Severus didn’t respond, he continued. “It takes more than a few giants to kill me; you should know that by now.”

“There was no need to bring her here; she has nothing to do with this,” he said calmly, his eyes fixed on Lucius.

“Oh, but she does; she is part of it. She is the reason why I was sent there. You may fool her, even the Dark Lord, but you cannot fool me, Severus.”

“What are you talking about? Just let her go, and we can discuss this ourselves.”

“Let her go?” he asked, laughing. “Then she would miss all the fun.”

“She doesn’t even know what this is about, Lucius. Just…” he started, but was interrupted.

“Oh, but of course! So it is true, you took her memories away,” he said, calmly, but he could see the evil glint in his eye. Severus turned his head to Hermione, to find her eyes wide open in surprise, and fixed on his own. “I found it hard to believe at first, Severus Snape doing something so foolish, but now I see it is true.”

“Lucius, don’t d…” he started, but was interrupted again.

“So you really didn’t know it had been him, did you?” he asked, turning back to Hermione, easily reading the surprised and confused look on her face. “What did you ever tell her, Severus?” he asked then, still facing the girl. “Maybe you made her believe it had been someone else, or perhaps some kind of accident?” he asked, and then laughed at Hermione’s expression. “And you believed it? I had been told you were rather smart, for a Mudblood. Now I see that was a lie.”

“Why are you doing this, Lucius? Your problem is with me, just leave her out of it,” he said.

“What would be the fun in that?” he asked, and then waved his wand in Severus’ direction, calmly whispering, “Crucio.”

“Stop it!” he heard Hermione scream, again and again, and finally the curse was lifted.

“Now stop interrupting,” he calmly told Severus, and then turned back to her. “You know,” he said, slowly walking closer to her, “you,” he continued, placing the tip of his wand on her cheek, “have caused all sort of trouble.” He slowly traced the side of her face with the wand, making it cut the skin open, leaving a trail of blood as it moved. Severus could see the tears welling in her eyes, but she didn’t scream. “I wonder what it is about you,” he said, moving the wand to the other side of her face, “that could make it worth it.”

“Lucius, stop it,” he said, hating to see what he was doing to her. He watched the man turn around to face him, a wide smile on his face.

“You were a Death Eater, remember?” he asked, moving to where Severus was standing. “You were loyal to your Master, believed our blood was superior, that Muggles didn’t deserve to live. And now look at you, throwing it all away for a filthy Mudblood. I wonder what it is about her, that makes her so special,” he said, a glint in his eyes that made Severus’ blood freeze, as he watched him move back to where Hermione was. “Maybe I should see for myself,” he said, as he moved his hand up her thigh. “Oh, good. I love it when you fight,” he said, pushing his body closer to hers.

“No, stop!” he heard her scream, but he simply laughed.

“Lucius,” Severus yelled, and this time he did stop.

“Does it bother you?” he asked, his hand still resting on her thigh. “You never minded sharing before,” he said. “What makes this one so special?”

“What do you think will happen this time, when the Dark Lord finds out what you have done?” he asked, trying to sound calm.

“He will know the truth, this time. I will make sure of that. He will know you are not loyal to him, that you are only loyal to yourself; and when he does, my family will finally get the recognition it deserves.”

“So this is what it is about? Then why drag her here?” he asked. Lucius smirked, and turned back to her.

“Crucio!” he yelled, and laughed as he watched her shake in pain, hitting her head hard. Severus was surprised Lucius lifted the curse so fast, and more so when he stepped closer to her. Only then did he notice her eyes, moving about the room, as if she was seeing something they couldn’t.

“My, my, we are full of surprises,” Lucius said, when she shook her head, her eyes focusing on the man in front of her again. “You could have simply Obliviated her, why go through so much trouble to take away the memories with such a complicated spell?” he asked, turning back to Severus. “Could it be that you were afraid to damage that little brain of hers?” he asked, but received no answer. “Well, this will be even better than I expected,” he said with a smirk, turning back to her.

With a flick of his wand, he broke the spell binding her to the wall, and she fell hard on the floor. Severus watched her reach inside her pocket with one hand, but didn’t pay much attention; he was sure Lucius would have taken her wand away long before then.

She screamed when Lucius grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up on her feet. He pushed her against the wall again, wrapping one hand firmly around her neck, keeping her in place.

“Lucius, what are you doing?” Severus asked, fighting even harder against the magic binding him to the wall.

“I am going to give you a little present,” he answered as he touched her forehead with the tip of his wand and muttered a few words.

Severus knew what Lucius was saying, even if he couldn’t hear the words. He could feel the magic in the air, and could do nothing to stop him. He watched her close her eyes, her back arching as she screamed in pain, and then her body fell limp for minutes that felt like hours. Nothing could be heard in the room, except for their breathing, and then she started coughing. She opened her eyes, and he noticed they were unfocused again, but this time he knew she was watching him. He didn’t even see Lucius reach inside his pocket, not until the silvery shine of the knife caught his attention.

“Now you can say goodbye to her,” he said, as he moved his arm back, and then pushed it forward, burying the long knife in her body.

“Severus,” she gasped, a mixture of recognition, anger and fear in her eyes, as she stretched her arm his way, as if trying to reach him, asking for help. He couldn’t speak, or help, he could only watch as Lucius moved again, stabbing her a second time, and then a third.

He didn’t even hear the voice by the door, screaming, “Father, no!” or see the flash of light that hit Lucius, throwing him to the side, away from her. All he could do was watch her, as she looked back at him, gasping his name again, before finally sliding down the wall, collapsing on the floor, surrounded by her own blood.

The scene playing in front of him was so strange he wondered for a moment if it was really happening. Draco had run inside the room, but instead of helping his father, he had stunned him, and then kneeled by Hermione’s side, his movements frantic and caring at the same time, but Severus was too worried to really notice those details.

“Hermione. Hermione, can you hear me?” the boy asked, caressing the side of her face.

“Draco?” she whispered, her eyes still closed, and Severus sighed in relief when he heard her voice, as weak as it might be.

“Everything will be all right, love, I’ll take care of you,” Draco said, waving his wand, making the bleeding slow down. He stood up then, walking to where his father lay unconscious.

“What are you doing, Draco? What is all this?” Severus asked when he saw him kneel by his father, searching his pockets to find his and Hermione’s wands.

“If the Aurors find him, they will kill him,” he said, almost to himself.

“What are you doing?” Severus asked again, as he watched him reach for the log that was lying on the floor by them.

“He is my father, I cannot leave him here to die,” he murmured, and flicked his wand once, turning the log into a Portkey. In a matter of seconds, Lucius was gone, and Draco was kneeling by Hermione again.

“Get away from her,” Severus said, but Draco wasn’t listening.

“Hermione,” the boy whispered, worry evident in his voice, although Severus wasn’t sure just what he was worried about. Her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds, and he saw her lips move, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. Draco reached forward and tilted her face up, so she was facing him, whispered something back, and then carefully took her in his arms.

“Draco,” Severus said, when he saw him stand up, carrying her with him. “What are you doing?” he asked, as he watched him step closer to the door. “Untie me,” he ordered, but Draco didn’t seem to listen. “If you hurt her, I swear…” he said, struggling against the bindings.

“Everything will be all right,” he heard Draco whisper, as he pulled Hermione closer to him. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you,” he said, oblivious to Severus’ presence. “You will be all right,” was the last thing he heard, as Draco stepped out of the cabin and Apparated away, with her in his arms.