Sub Rosa

A/N - I am posting two chapters today because this one ends on a cliffhanger and I am not as cruel as many authors are. :). Thanks as always to my beloved Beta, Kate, whose encouragement has kept all of you entertained and me from flagging. I finished the story last night, so I will probably post two chapters a day till it is complete. Lady Aidil, Kate, Ventrue66, Tamargirl, Droxy and anyone I have missed, thank you for the kind reviews and for sticking through this long (not monstrous - sorry Lady A) story.


Chapter 60 – Shadowed

Kathryn looked up when he entered her sitting room and was across the room and in his arms in a heartbeat. Severus looked like death, gaunt and paler than normal. His eyes were filled with more pain and sorrow than she thought one man could bear. She held him close against her and felt him begin to sob into her shoulder. Kathryn felt a frisson of fear go down her spine.

She had never heard him cry before. She clutched him tighter, trying to pour her own strength into him. Somehow they ended up kneeling on the floor, arms wrapped around each other, with her rocking him gently as he wept.

He managed to choke out the story to her as he slowly calmed down and by the end of his tale, he was lying on the floor with his head in her lap talking softly.

“When it was over, she forgave me.” Severus’ tone was flat and bitter.

“There was no choice.” Kathryn said softly and tucked a strand of his silky black hair behind his ear. “Besides, she was lucky.” She gentled him when he gave a start and looked at her incredulously. “It could have been Shiv Quicken or Peter Pettigrew or Franco Malliori.” A sad resignation washed over his features as he absorbed her words.

“Shiv and Franco would have hurt her on purpose and Pettigrew’s fumblings would have hurt her by accident.” He admitted. “At least I tried to make it pleasant.” He shivered.

“I know you did your best.” She caressed his cheek gently with the back of her fingers.

“There is something decidedly odd in your comforting me about my having to sleep with someone else.” The sarcasm was back; that was always a good sign.

“Would you sleep with anyone but me of your own free will?” She asked.

“No.” His answer was decided and fierce. She felt a warmth move through her at his defive ave answer.

“Then what’s so strange? I love you and you’re in pain, of course I will comfort you.” She answered softly and dropped a kiss on his brow.

“But who will comfort Miss Parkinson?” His voice was so soft she wasn’t sure that she heard him speak.
She tucked him up in her bed that night as though he were a small child. He curled around her as they slept, cuddling her close and not saying a word.


The next morning he seemed better, but she overheard comments from the students about his ragged temper and explosive anger. Today wasn’t a day to try the Potions Master, they all whispered. It was so bad that Hermione Granger approached Kathryn after dinner to enquire after Severus’ well being.

“He’s been awful all day, so it must be bad, whatever it is.” The bushy-haired girl whispered to her in the hallway as they exited the Great Hall.

“It is. He had to meet an old friend; it went badly.” Their code for Voldemort, taken from Narcissa’s unsubtle conversation made Hermione blanch.

“Is he hurt?” Her voice wavered a little and Kathryn essayed a grim smile.

“Not physically.” She replied and watched understanding and compassion flash across the young woman’s face.

“I’m glad he has you.” The girl looked up at her with far more trust and faith than Kathryn thought she had any right to. It was warming and scary at the same time. She mustn’t let these children down.

“I’m glad I have him.” She responded with more honesty than she had intended. There was something about Hermione that invited confidences. You just knew that she could keep all your secrets safe. Still, it was unfair to burden a sixteen-year-old girl with the inner thoughts of hardened spies. Not that anything about the war with Voldemort was fair.

“What will happen next year, when you are gone?” Hermione voiced the question that had been plaguing Kathryn for the last several months.

“I don’t know. But I know I can trust you all to take care of him for me.” She placed a hand on Hermione’s shoulder and looked deeply into the girl’s eyes. She watched the young woman straighten and shoulder the additional burden that was being laid on her. Hermione nodded back with the maturity of a woman twice her age and Kathryn merely smiled. “You remind me a lot of me at sixteen.” She said absently and Hermione gave her a rueful smile.

“Except for the two doctorates, of course.” Hermione rolled her eyes in hopeless jealousy and Kathryn laughed.

“Not to worry, when you need a letter of recommendation for University I will write one so glowing they will kneel to kiss your feet.” Hermione grinned at her and the two women, one tall and curvy with a brisk stride and air of decision, one short and straight with a dreamy, distracted air paced in opposite directions with identical expressions of amusement.

Severus was waiting for her in her chamber, pacing and angry.

“Miss Granger had a question about her homework.” She offered as his head whipped around and he pierced her with a sharp glance.

“That foolish girl has nothing but questions.” He grumped and Kathryn gathered that his mood was unimproved.

“Yes, she can be tough to handle in class sometimes, but it’s so nice to have a student who really wants to learn.” Kathryn smiled indulgently at the absent Hermione.

“Hmm.” He returned a non-committal reply that was as close to a compliment as he would ever give a Gryffindor.

“I hear her team is still in first place in the Scavenger Hunt.” She dropped idly.

“True, but Draco’s team is first overall.” He responded with a pride in his young protégé that Draco would have been in shock to see.

“Not too shabby for a spoiled, arrogant brat of a Malfoy.” She chuckled at his raised eyebrow; her ruse had worked, and his anger was rapidly diminishing.

“Better than that know-it-all, hand-waving Gryffindor.” He snarked right back at her.

There was a pounding on the door of her chambers and a desperate voice coming muffled from the other side.

“Professor!” It was the aforementioned know-it-all and she sounded panicked. With a quick wave of her wand the door opened and Miss Granger fell into the room with a white face and a letter clenched in one shaking fist.

“Hermione!” What is it?” Kathryn picked the girl up off the floor and had the letter shoved into her face.

“Dear, ‘Mione,

You were busy talking to the Professor so I didn’t want to
bother you. I’ve taken the cloak and gone to Hogsmeade.
Min got a message from her mother to meet her in town
and I don’t want her to go alone. Be back soon.

Harry”

Kathryn read the note aloud as Severus began cursing a blue streak. Hermione was looking at him with rounded eyes and open mouth, impressed with his range and vocabulary, no doubt.

“Severus, get Albus and inform him I’ve gone to Hogsmeade.” She stated calmly and summoned her broom to her.

“Not without me!” He growled and she sighed, pushing her hair from her eyes.

“You will blow your cover to no good purpose.” She responded, watching his face darken with anger.

“If there are Death Eaters there your cover will be blown as well.” He snapped at her. She nodded, for after all there would be no protestations of neutrality if she fought the Death Eaters and they lived to tell the tale. Grabbing her broom she ed ted the kitchen window and launched out of it.

It had been more than two years since last she had flown, but her skills came back with gratifying speed. Her broom was an extension of her soul as she swooped down from the castle towards town. Spring winds surrounded her and the smell of the thawing Highlands filled her nostrils.

The town of Hogsmeade was just ahead and the flash of light off to her left drew her like a magnet. Harry, Minuet pushed behind him, was cornered between three Death Eaters. Her teaching was paying off, because his shield spell held against them. She could feel the anti-apparation spell they had cast about the area and she cursed; there was no way to just grab the kids and go.

Kathryn called down hexes upon the attackers, nimbly dodging their return spells from her broom. In the windy dark, between buildings and sky, it was hard to maneuver. She had to jerk her broom around hard at one point as a disarming charm came close to her.

“Stupefy!” She called and stunned the first of the three. Harry used her distraction to shove Minuet behind some crates and cast.

“Petrificus totalicus!” He shouted and brought dowe see second one. The third grabbed his compatriots and fled the scene by handy portkey.

Kathryn landed next to the shaking Minuet and the fiercely grinning Harry.

“Great flying Professor!” Harry crowed, still caught up in the adrenaline rush of the fight.

“Mr. Potter, get yourself and Miss Ravagienne back to the school immediately.” She kept her voice low, but the snarl of fury was unmistakable. Now that the fight was over, Kathryn allowed herself to feel the terror and anger that Harry’s actions had generated in her.

Harry froze, never having seen such rage in Kathryn’s face before.

“I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have come.” Minuet was crying and Harry wrapped her up in his arms, stroking her hair.

“She wanted to see her mother.” Harry began.

“You promised Harry.” She said with a feeling of betrayal she hadn’t expected. Harry went white in sudden realization of what he had done.

“Professor!” His sudden shout made her whirl about in alarm but, not fast enough. Her leg, still weak and under-strength slowed her just that little bit. She felt the curse graze her, but it was enough to cause agony to rip through her side.

She threw up a wall of fire, between her and the unseen attacker and thrust her broom at Harry and Minuet.

“Get her out of here!” She shouted.

“What about you?” Harry looked mulish and she had no time.

“Get the hell on that broom and get going or I’ll kill you myself, Potter!” She snapped and he obeyed, startled into obedience.

She watched him kick off with Minuet clutching him around the waist and dashed into the nearest alleyway, hoping to put some distance between herself and her attackers, but the wall of fire dropped.

She heard the next curse coming and was able to drop and roll through the snow away from the flames that rushed past her. She was up and moving from the roll with no pause and was dashing for her life between houses and shops.

She conjured two figures to stand in for Harry and Minuet and set them to run beside her, hoping to distract the Death Eaters from the broom receding into the distance.

Shouts behind her told her that her ruse was successful. Bolts of energy flashed past her and she used every scrap of her Agent training to dodge and evade. She couldn’t stop and fight, as she had to make it seem that she was protecting the children. So she played cat and mouse with an increasing number of Death Eaters.

Red-hot agony coursed across her back and she fell into the muddy street with a cry of pain.

She pulled herself to her feet, but knew that there was no way she could run. Four black robed figures formed from out of the darkness and she prayed that Dumbledore and the others would hurry up. A wand lowered itself to point at her.

“It’s the girlfriend.” A low throaty voice muttered.

“You shouldn’t have interfered in the Dark Lord’s plans, girl.” Another voice added.

“He should’ve stayed dead.” She tossed back. She watched them gather themselves to cast at her and she thought of Severus and how this was going to be yet another burden for him to carry. “Fuckers.” She muttered angrily and drew her wand.

As they began to cast, shet ast as well, throwing everything she had into a last-ditch curse. She screamed as the first Cruciatus hit her and added her anguish to the curse. She would make them suffer as Severus had suffered -- as their victims had suffered. It was all that she could give her lover as a parting gift.

“Insomnium aeternus!” She cast with every last drop of her strength and collapsed. The screams followed her into darkness, but she was unsure if they were hers or theirs.
.