On a Night Like This

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Chapter Seven: Emotional Rescue

Severus and Sirius went straight to Minerva. Sirius quickly explained to her that they went to check on Draco and not finding him; looked elsewhere and could not locate the dream team either. Her mouth pursed into an angry line. “The only thing we can do is wait for them to return from whatever fool excursion they have gone out on. We must make them realize this was a very unwise action on their part. Anything could have happened to them and Merlin knows who might have seen them.”

She frowned and continued. “There really is nothing we can do other than chastise. They are all of age and since school is not in session we don’t have any solid authority.” Snape raised an eyebrow at her lack of resolve. “I see no need for them to know that.”

Minerva smiled, reassured. What they didn’t know wouldn’t allow them to act irresponsibly. She was certainly not above withholding the fact that they were under no obligation to obey as long as it kept them safe. She worried that they might not grasp the consequences their actions could potentially have. Sighing, she realized this was not true. They simply wanted sometimes to act their age, not be the bearers of such a heavy burden. They understood the situation all too well.

Severus patted her on the shoulder, then retired to the dungeons where a potion needed his attention. Grimmauld place originally had a basement only, but Minerva transfigured it into a dark and damp dungeon for Severus to work in. She might love the man as a son, but sometimes she wondered about him and his subterranean dungeons. Normal people did not enjoy spending so much time in them. Then again, she thought, rarely was Severus Snape referred to as normal.

Sirius rose and began to make tea for the two of them. Handing her the cup, he smiled gently. “Don’t be too hard on them. They are still young.” He said. She nodded, understandingly. “I will try, Sirius. But most young people are not in this situation, so it is only fair that they are held to different standards. He-who-must-not-be-named is not interested in just anyone.”

Down in his dungeons, Severus was expertly chopping roots while his wand stirred the cauldron. He hoped nothing ill befell them on their outing. Despite his cold front toward them, he was concerned for their welfare. Perhaps not so much Weasley. Honestly, how could a boy be so dense? He abhorred dunderheads and Ron was most definitely one.

Yes there was a lot more to Severus Snape then met the eye. Though he liked it that way, mind you. He shuddered, imagining the way first years would look at him if they really knew him. The only way he liked a first year was running away crying. Chuckling, he dumped the minced roots into the cauldron. That was another thing he toned down around the students, smiling and laughing. It was very difficult at times not to laugh at their inane mistakes but he had become quite adept over the years into turning a half smile into a fearsome scowl.

He was afraid that someday he would slip. He knew that if Neville exploded another potion that caused him to erupt furry purple boils everywhere; he would probably roll on the ground with laughter. That itself would most likely cause a heart attack among the rest of the students. It would be a very busy day for Poppy.

In the living room Minerva had quietly fallen asleep in her chair. Sirius collected her tea cup and sat down to peruse a newsletter that had been left on the table. It was one of Severus’s Potions Master periodicals and was proving to be quite boring. He felt himself slipping off to join Minerva in slumber. He smiled thinking that the fearsome Order must look like a couple of toddlers napping in between playtimes.

He only closed his eyes for a moment when he heard the door creak open. If they were hoping to be stealthy they failed miserably, he thought, hearing Minerva spring out of her chair.

He looked up to see her barrage them with questions. “What were you? What were you thinking? Are you hurt? Did anyone see you? What exactly were you thinking?” They looked rather scared but never had a chance to answer. A young woman he didn’t recognize walked in the door behind them. Upon seeing her Minerva stopped abruptly and stared. Sirius looked at her appraisingly. Not bad, he thought, though he suspected he only noticed because of her resemblance to another little brown haired witch.

He wasn’t sure what was going on here. Minerva was looking at this girl like she had three heads and seemed to have completely forgotten the other four. Suddenly she swept her up in a ferocious hug, murmuring in her ear.

Standing back and looking at her from arm’s length, she said “It certainly has been some time, Bella. Two years I believe?” Bella looked at her and nodded with eyes that shined with tears. “I’m so sorry, Minerva. I would have told someone if I had any notice myself. He called me with the rest after the incident at the tri-wizard tournament and took me with him. I spent the time helping him recoup and adjust to his new body. He only released me to prepare my estate before the final battle. He wishes to leave with me after he emerges victorious. That he released me should be an indicator of exactly how close the end is.”

Minerva looked at her sadly. She knew that the final battle was at hand. She also knew that these past two years must have been hell for Bella. There were few who could spend so much time with Voldemort and remain intact. Of course, there are not many he would require to.

Sirius recognized her immediately from the name and situation she described but concealed it. Her secret was not his to tell. He rose and shook her outstretched hand, then deftly brought it to his lips. “Sirius Black. The pleasure is all mine, Bella.” Ron was incensed to see that Sirius was rewarded with a coy smile. He really had to work on his moves. He was particularly interested in this beautiful new stranger.

Minerva led them over to the sitting area and fixed Bella cup of strong black tea, recalling she liked it hot and strong enough to strip paint. Bella looked at her gratefully and took a sip. She made a small contented noise and began her story.

She explained how she followed the Deatheaters to the Leaky Cauldron, suspicious Bellatrix was up to something. She saw them snatch Draco, Ron, Harry and Hermione and followed the trail left by portkey. Sirius cringed a bit when she mentioned the cruciatus. She could do what was needed, not squirming about. He would expect no less from someone in her position.

Minerva said nothing to the troublemakers, only frowning in her direction. Sirius understood that she forgave them but it would probably be in their best interest to avoid anymore unannounced daytrips. She and Bella chatted for a bit, catching up on the past two years. There seemed to be an easy friendship between them. He wondered idly why neither she not the headmaster ever mentioned her. There was more her than meets the eye, he told himself.

“He is here, you know.” Bella quickly looked up. “What?” she said sharply. Minerva only nodded sadly. “I imagine he will be angry. I don’t know how warm your welcome will be.” Bella looked for a moment as if she would burst into tears. She quickly composed herself and adopted a hard look. “He knew this could happen. He should have expected it, really. If he is angry then to hell with the bastard.”

Draco looked at her interestedly. It was obvious that the only person they could be talking about was his godfather, Severus. He wondered exactly what went on between them. She did not seem to be too pleased with him. Maybe they never got along and she was not eager to be back in his company.

Snape did have a knack for getting on people’s bad sides. Suddenly Draco realized where he knew her from. Smiling to himself, he wondered if the others would figure it out. He supposed not, though he bet Sirius had.

“I suppose I should go see him. Don’t worry, I know where to look.” Bella swept out of the room. Ron looked at his friends pointedly. “I think we should follow her to make sure they don’t kill each other. I’d hate to think what would happen when someone confronts Snape.” He shuddered quietly.

Hermione laughed. “You just want to rescue her from him. I highly doubt that it will melt her heart.” She looked thoughtful. “Still, it might be a good idea to give her an escape route.” Draco rolled his eyes. They obviously had no idea what was going on here.

After about five minutes had passed, Harry rose from his seat, motioning for the others to follow. They made their way quietly down to the dungeons.

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You may have noticed I renamed the chapters. Having taken the title from a song I decided it would only be fitting to do the same for the chapters. Emotional rescue is a Rolling stones song.