31 Days of Flash Fiction July
Potions and Parchments
Day 11
“I told you, we’re here for the girl, not you. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Hand her over.”
“And I told you, over my dead body.”
Words: 1000
Related to The Black Raven, Sequel of sorts. It happens right after.
It seems the Black Raven Universe is getting away from me. So I will be posting all the stories in the verse separately.
Severus rushed towards the fallen girl, all the while looking around widely. They’d almost managed to escape when all the hell had broken loose. The Order had to cut their losses and Hermione Granger had gotten severely wounded.It turned out that mission hadn’t been the Muggles, but the people of the Order, the females, especially. They’d taken Emmeline Vance and had nearly gotten Hermione. She hadn’t even meant to be with the Order, she was with her family when they’d attacked. He’d seen her throw the emergency Portkey he’d given her to her parents and then joined the fight. Severus had to break cover to save her, but he had no intention to leave any of the bastards here alive. The Anti-Apparition shields kept him in, but they also kept the bastards in too.
“Come on, Snape. Hand her over now, we just want to play with her. If you do, we’ll kill you now, no need for the Dark Lord to be aware of your betrayal. But she’ll be dead either way,” Altran said.
Severus greeted his teeth. “Over my dead body. You don’t know who you’re playing with.”
The man snorted. “It’s ten to one, Snape. Even you can’t deal with all of us. And once we’re done, we’ll tell the Dark Lord that instead of helping us, you chose to protect the Mudblood.”
“You changed the mission. The Dark Lord won’t be pleased. I know for a fact he didn’t order any kidnappings.”
“But, see Snape, we’re taking action. We shall move ranks. And you shall die.”
Severus narrowed his eyes. “We’ll see about that.”
And just like that, he changed before their very eyes. The Dark Lord’s best assassin was now in his space, this time filled with one thought: Save Hermione. Save the one person who’d accepted him fully. She knew who he was, and she wasn’t afraid. Severus could tell even Albus worried sometimes that he’d cross back towards the Dark Side, despite the old man’s friendship and words. No one from the Order trusted him. Except Hermione. And ironically, Potter, only because the boy trusted his friend blindly.
He could see they recognised him, and even heard one of them mutter ‘The Black Raven’, but he paid them no mind. They wanted to fight, fight he would.
“Oh come on Snape. It doesn’t have to be like this,” Altran tried again. “ I told you, we’re here for the girl, not you. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Hand her over.”
Severus didn’t give them anymore time for thought. Expelliarmus, Expelliarmus,Sectumsempra, Expelliarmus, Sectumsempra, he chanted, over and over. Within a minute, the ten Death Eaters collapsed, large gashes of cursed wounds on their body.
“And I told you, over my dead body,” Severus replied. “ Crucio, ” he whispered and they all started twitching and screaming. “Avada Kedavra,” he murmured and they all stopped breathing.
Hurriedly, he rushed towards Hermione. “You’ll be alright,” he whispered. He murmured some healing spells before going to check on Emmeline. She was still breathing. He threw one of his emergency Portkeys at her and then went back to Hermione to take her away. The wards had fallen with Altran’s death. Severus would have to think of a good reason to have killed them that didn’t involve Hermione, but it wouldn’t be too hard. Changing the mission and nearly outing him was grounds enough for the Dark Lord to be angry at them and asking for their deaths.
He took Hermione straight to his quarters and called for Albus.
----
“She’ll be fine, Severus. She’ll wake up soon. Poppy said you got to her in time. But I think you should tone down your Aura. It’s a bit hard to breathe.”
He shook his head. “I cannot. I may be called tonight. I cannot afford to lower my shields now, not when I had to raise them so much so abruptly. She’s fine with me. She knows.”
Severus tried to not feel the hurt when he noticed the surprised look in the Headmaster’s eyes.
“Very well. I need to go and speak with Emmeline. Thank you, Severus, by the way.”
“You expected me to let her die?”
“I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did,” Albus said. “I fear I may have chosen otherwise in your place, Severus. You have a bigger heart than you let people see.”
Severus scoffed, but said nothing as the old man left the room. He took back his vigil by his bed, where Hermione now laid. He was so lost in thought, preparing for when inevitably he’d be summoned that he nearly missed her waking up.
“Severus?” she called, and he could see her shiver. Is she afraid of me now? Did she see me torture and kill them?
“I’m cold, I am not scared, stop overthinking,” she said, putting a hand on his arm. She slowly raised herself so she was sitting.
He gave her another blanket. “I’m sorry. But …I can’t let my shields down and Albus said I should…”
She jumped and kissed him, taking him by surprise. “No, Severus, I told you. It’s alright. You don’t scare me. I know I have nothing to fear. The only reason it was hard to breathe a bit the first time I found you was because you were so hurt your Aura got amplified. That and your projection of despair made it so. But I now know it’s you. Please don’t worry. I know you would never hurt me.”
She looked at him so wide-eyed and trusting.. Severus knew he’d do anything she wished. He was hers for him to command.
“Never,” he vowed.
As soon as he said the words, the call came, burning his skin. He hissed. “I need to go.” He stood up, searching for his mask.
“Come back to me,” she said.
“I shall,” he promised and hurried off to disappear, mental shields in place. He had no desire to disobey her. Dark Lords be damned.