Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter 55: The Mission Begins

Another two days had passed in which Severus, Tolmie and Peter were busy putting the finishing touches on their plan of rescuing Miss Hermione Granger.

Tolmie had never explained to Severus what he had meant by the last comment made on the night of his return. And the dark-haired wizard watched and waited for some kind of sign that would make clear Tolmie’s statement, however, it never came.

Dumbledore had made his presence scarce since Tolmie had briefed him on his progress on his return to Hogwarts. Tolmie had told the Headmaster that everything would be in place early on the 12th day of Miss Granger’s incarceration.

As the elderly wizard had raised his face from his desk to look at Mr Crobobin, he gave Tolmie a stare that clearly stated that he was cutting it a little too close for comfort. The empath just shrugged both his shoulders as he explained to the Headmaster that this was the only time that he could get all the parties involved to agree to converge in the one location and, that this, in fact, was a miracle in itself.

The visions of Hermione only grew in their intensity and Severus found that he could barely concentrate with the witch in his head at all hours of the day and night. Although it was most welcome, now was not the time to lose concentration, and he was often seen staring blankly into the empty fireplace with a ghost of a smile hovering upon his lips, as if he were having a private conversation in his head, which of course, he was.

The three wizards were becoming more and more on edge as the days passed and Severus had almost hexed Peter when he had approached him whilst he was having one of the said visions. Fortunately, Tolmie was there to calm down the Potions Master and he had ushered Peter back to his own rooms to get some rest.

Severus couldn’t eat, barely slept and drilled Tolmie relentlessly about their preparation, wanting to leave nothing to chance. Although he knew it was not flawed in any way shape or form, he couldn’t help but think that they were missing something, although try as he might, he could not place his finger on it and it remained elusive to him.

Severus’ moods were running hot and cold, Tolmie noticed, and he would have to tell him soon about the link that he had unknowingly forged with Miss Granger.

***

Remus had been given the Wolfsbane Potion and was safely tucked away in an unused room, far away from any students, in the substructure of the dungeons.

He had wanted to help with the rescue of Miss Granger, however, his aliment was once again in the way and he cursed, with all his might, the infliction that prevented him from doing so.

Remus was feeling every single one of his years as he thanked Severus for the Wolfsbane Potion; he wasn’t quite sure what he would do without it. Remus thought he probably would have taken his own life years ago if it weren’t for the dour Potions Master and he thanked the gods that he was fortunate enough to have Severus on his side.

So it was with a heavy heart that Remus Lupin was barricaded away in the small sparely decorated room in the belly of Hogwarts castle awaiting the transformation from man to beast.

***

Cornelius Fudge had spent the last eleven days making sure certain that everything was perfect and that his rise to world domination would go unhindered. He made sure that he had all the right wizards and witches on his side, the useful ones who would help his ascent. Those who were not willing to help him would be the first to fall when his new regime took over in approximately twenty four hours.

Fudge had to go about his business like nothing was out of the ordinary. The little setback with Miss Granger was not anything to worry about, besides he could have his choice of women when he became the most powerful wizard alive and didn’t really want to sully his name with the Mudblood. If he truly thought about it, what decent pureblood wizard would want to do that anyway?

The first two days of Miss Granger’s internment had proved to be trying for Cornelius. She was grating on his nerves and the constant migraine that he had had in that time had seen him almost throttling the young witch.

The stupid Mudblood wouldn’t eat or drink a thing and he had thought that she was ready to give up entirely. He didn’t want that, well not yet anyway, and he had had a plan. If she wouldn’t start taking sustenance, he would have to force her to eat, and he had marched into her rooms with that one thought in mind.

Cornelius had barged into Miss Granger’s rooms, wand raised, and was about to cast the Imperius Curse on her once more, however; he paused when she turned around hastily.

He was pleasantly surprised to see she had come to her senses and that her entire meal had been consumed. He was smirking to himself at this totally unexpected turn of events, when she had made another comment about how his shoulder was holding up and if he wanted her to take a look at it.

Cornelius had turned a shade of bright red -- not from embarrassment, mind you -- but more from the infuriating nature of her question. He had to remind himself that in just ten more days, he could torture the Mudblood to his heart content and that one thought had kept him from doing something that he knew he would regret later.

His shoulder was hurting him every now and again though; he figured that was due to the golden dagger’s nature of making an almost excruciating wound, one that would not heal without the proper spells. He smiled inwardly at the thought of the Mudblood’s hand hurting as much as his shoulder, although there was no evidence to point to the fact that there was any kind of wound on either himself or the witch.

He had never been entirely proficient in Healing Charms, but had done his best. His now closed wound would be one of his first priorities when his new administration rose to power with him being the head of the said organisation.

***

The Headmaster had gone for a visit to Calan Park, not that he didn’t believe in Remus and Mundungus’ assessment of the place but he had wanted to get a feel for where Miss Granger had been imprisoned and also where Mr Poles had spent the majority of his adult life.

He was pleasantly surprised to find it a tidy hospital with helpful and courteous staff. They were all in a little bit of a state, as it seemed they had misplaced their head psychiatrist, but with Dumbledore's senile old man trick, they were quite willing to open up to him. However, it probably was the little bit of magic he performed before entering the hospital.

The Dark wards had been taken down and he marvelled at Remus’ ingenuity. From what all three wizards had described of the place, it was now a much better facility than the one that had stood in its place previously.

The elderly wizard hoped that it would all turn out in the end for them. He wished them the best of luck in locating their missing doctor as he stepped in the vigorous night air and heading down a deserted alley way, vanishing into the night.

***

It was a relatively warm, clear night. The stars were twinkling madly in the night sky, with the full moon making its appearance in the east. Three wizards made their way to the boundaries of Hogwarts wards and towards the Apparation site.

Had anyone been looking down from the castle, they would have been hard pressed to notice the three wizards dressed in heavy dark robes, their hoods pulled up over their faces, striding silently across the lawns of Hogwarts.

If they had been on the grounds themselves, they may have been able to make out the looks on the wizards' faces as they passed them by and they would have ran in the opposite direction in a panic, their screams piercing the otherwise silent night.

That is to say had anyone been looking, but as luck would have it, there was no one about at this particular hour.

All the children were in their warm beds, in blissful slumber, unaware of the danger that these three were about to place themselves in.

If anyone had asked them for an honest explanation to where they all were headed at such an hour, they would have received three totally different responses.

Severus, of course, being the true Slytherin that he was, would have lied through his teeth and told some story about collecting potions ingredients in the Forbidden Forest. That would be after first berating you, with a sneer firmly planted on his face, and telling you that it is none of your business where he is going.

Although this was a likely story for those who didn’t know him too well, those who had seen him during the Final Battle knew that the blazing look in his eyes was one that meant business. Those who were smart would have run away at the first glimpse of those eyes and cowered in their room until daylight came.

Tolmie, being able to mask his emotions and feeling more successfully than most, would have told you that he was just going to help a friend out of a bind. He wouldn’t elaborate anymore than that and would have just smiled kindly had he been asked anymore questions.

Peter Pettigrew was an entirely different kettle of fish. He knew that there was no way that he could live a normal life if he didn’t fight along side of Tolmie and Severus, and he knew that this was his one chance for redemption, to make all the wrong choices in his life right, the one night in his whole existence that he could start to act like the Gryffindor that he was supposed to be.

So, in short, he was really only looking out for his best interests, but had anyone asked him, he would have sworn on his wand and both of his parents’ graves that he was doing nothing suspicious and it was just by pure chance that he was heading to the exact same location as the other wizards.

Peter had a stern look on his face, although he was almost running to keep up with Severus and Tolmie. He had decided that tonight would be his saving grace and that he would do his finest work yet. If that meant that he would have to die in the midst of battle, then so be it, but he’d rather have preferred to stay at Hogwarts in one piece.

As they neared the point of no return, Severus turned to face the two wizards.

“We finish this tonight,” he said, his voice like steel and a look on contempt on his face when he glanced over at Peter.

Peter tried to stand up straighter but the dark man’s glare seemed to cut into him like a thousand knives. He hunched his back as he immediately fixed his gaze on the grass in front of him.

Severus turned to face the Apparation site, which he could see not fifty metres in front of him, just beyond the wards that protected Hogwarts and all of its inhabitants. He was halted by a single hand on his shoulder and tensed up immediately.

“Severus,” Tolmie simply stated, the uncertainty in his voice startling Severus; however, he didn’t turn around. Instead, he just stiffened under the older man’s hand as he waited for him to continue.

“Severus,” Tolmie whispered once more; this time his voice was an open plea for the wizard to listen to what he had to say.

“I have to tell you about the potion,” Tolmie continued.

Severus slowly turned around to face his friend, concerned for what he may say. The Potion Master’s face momentarily softened when he saw the worried look in Tolmie’s open eyes.

“There are consequences,” Tolmie continued quickly, he didn’t want to lose his nerve. He knew that the dark-haired wizard standing before him had the right to know and he had decided to tell him now. Tolmie cursed himself for not telling his friend before now, as he pushed onwards.

“The potion you used to find Miss Granger, all those months ago, it links you to her and is…” he faltered as the younger man scowled at him to continue.

“Irreversible,” Tolmie whispered out this last word, his gaze suddenly dropping to the ground as he tore his eyes from the unreadable look he saw on Severus’ face.

Severus stood still, caught like a deer in headlights. He realised that he was blown away by this one revelation and slumped slightly. Regaining a little of his composure as the seconds ticked by, he straightened up. Finding his voice that had left him moments before, he said in a hoarse whisper, “But it never said…” However, his voice broke away and faded into silence once more.

“No,” Tolmie agreed, looking up into the stony face of the wizard before him, “no it never said.”

***

AN: Although reviewing is not a requirement of reading this story, it is greatly appreciated. Please take into account the time and effort that has gone into this tale and if you don’t want to review it, then that is fine, but please leave a review for someone else’s work on this great site.

That being said I wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed this far and stuck with my story. You all have been my foundation that keeps me going and I love all of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So now you know why Severus is having the vivid imagines of Hermione and vice versa. Also why he is the only one who can touch her although I think that trauma in the hospital had a lot to do with it also.

Next chapter we shall find out about Tolmie’s quest, so stick around for that. Also there are more plot twists to come, so don’t think that I am done with them just yet.

Thank you, LariLee, for betaing this for me and I can’t wait to meet you at ‘Phoenix Rising’ next year, Yippee!

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, except for perhaps the OC, J.K. does.