The Bookstore

Severus ripped his arm away from Lucius who was dragging him through the hallways of Slytherin Manor and away from the Dark Lord, "Severus! What are you thinking speaking to the Dark Lord in such a manner!", Lucius berated his fool of a friend in hushed tones, "Are you trying to get yourself killed before we find Livia? I can tell you right now that she wouldn't appreciate the sentiment! What good will you be to her injured or maimed. Did you even think before you started losing your temper again?", Lucius ranted, his worry for both Livia and Severus giving it momentum.

"Lucius I appreciate your concern however, It is not required", Severus interupted, "The Auror mentioned that an Unspeakable tried to find Livy using some sort of Blood Magic, you will help me search the Dark Lord's library for other options to find her, there must be something that will get through strong wards", Severus stalked away, fully expecting that Lucius would follow.

Livia lay panting on the floor, Moody had just left again. He had spent what felt like hours questioning her about the 'Dark Lords Plans' and using a variety of pain inducing spells when she failed to answer them to his satisfaction, she felt it as unconsciousness crept upon her exhusted body once again

She woke with a start, she had no way of knowing how long she had been here or how long she had been alone but she did know that time was of the essence if she hoped to escape before he returned so she rolled over onto her front and began feeling around the edge of the warded area for a familiar pattern. There was only one small candle lighting the area that Moody had forgotten to extinguish, so much of what she needed to accomplish would need to be done by feel.

She moved awkwardly, wincing in pain when the skin around the wound in her side was pulled taught or she tryed to move her useless arm but finally she felt a familar pattern. She ran a finger over the pattern several times to ensure it was the correct one, she was sure it was. Livia rested her head against the cold floor for a moment in silent thanks for her own forethought and Moody's stupidity.

She raised her head slightly when she heard the tell tale 'thunk' of Moody's wooden leg, making it obvious who it was, getting closer and she tensed, this would likely be her only chance, she waited for the footsteps to come closer and then, maneuvering slightly, she dragging her fingers through the injury on her side she gathered her own blood, smearing it over the floor where she had found the pattern, there was a bright flash of light followed by the sound of an explosion and she knew no more.

It was 5am when Thomas returned to his study and asked Rambert for an update.

"You have received an Owl from Amelia Bones requesting that you visit the DMLE at your earliest convenience to give an official statement of what you have already told them. 

Black was called in for questioning regarding his 'rescuing' plot, he tried to play off the comment apparently until Madam Bones informed him she would apply for the use of veritaserum and that he would be charged with abstruction if he didn't volunteer what he knew. He then confirmed that Moody was plotting to apprehend Ms Snape for 'questioning'...", Thomas's magic snaped out sounding like a whip but Rambert continued, "...and that he didn't know the specifics".

"Anything else?", Thomas said tersely, browing the letter from the DMLE.

"Severus and Lucius have attempted a ritual to find Ms Snape but it was unsuccessful and is now in the potions lab brewing another obscure potion in the hopes of locating his sister".

"Go and get some rest Ram, Merlin knows you need it", Thomas said heavily.

"I will use my normal room here if you have no objection and ask that you send for me should you have need of me or should we have information we can act on", Rambert reached forward and clasped his hand upon his friends shoulder, "We will find her Thomas".

"You know as well as I do the kind of 'techniques' that Moody applies when unofficially questioning suspects Ram", Thomas said solemnly, "if we do get her back alive there is no guarantee that either her mind or body will still be intact. He has had her for nearly 20 hours now". Rambert pursed his lips and gave a short nod of acknowledgement at the truth of the statement, he left the room in the hopes of refreshing himself a little before he aided the days search ahead of them.

Severus entered the study looking disheveled and exhusted a good two hours later, he couldn't have slept even if he wished to whilst his baby sister was missing.

"Any news?", he asked and sliding into the chair opposite Thomas, coffee appeared on the tray before him and he helped himself, no longer concerned with propriety.

The Dark Lord informed him succinctly as possible of what they knew, "What of your potion?"

"Usless!", snarled Severus, "Wherever that son of Mordred has her is well protected, the only thing that gives me any hope is that the Prince house elves would know if she was no longer alive and yes...", Severus forstalled the obvious question, "...I have already asked the houselves to track her but they were unsuccessful", he gritted his teeth and gripped his coffee cup.

The Dark Lord stood up abruptly and moved to stare out of his window, angry at Severus' lack of respect but recognised that his behaviour was somewhat understandable even if he felt it was unacceptable. There had been no new news since Rambert had left and he was desperate to hear any scrap of news about Livias whereabouts. At the sound of his floo flaring he turned to see an Auror's head in his fire and hurried over, Severus sat straighter making no effort to appear to be doing anything other than listening.

"Lord Slytherin, she's been found! Livia Snape is at St Mungos right now. She's in a bad way but alive sir. Do you by chance known where her brother may be found, we have already tried Prince Manor?", the Auror spoke urgently through the floo, the woman was not one of his followers.

"Severus is here now, we will be there directly", he said, relief and concern taking the place of despair and anger.

Thomas called one of his house elves  "Inform Lord's Malfoy and Lestrange that Livia is found and at St Mungos. Lord Lestrange is to ensure ours are on the job". When he turned Severus had already exited via the floo and Thomas hurried after him.

When Lord Slytherin entered St Mungos he found that Severus had already elbowed and snarled his way to the front of the queue and was demanding to see his sister. "She is currently in Spell Damage, 4th Floor", the harrassed looking receptionist told him. Without so much as a 'thank you' Severus and Thomas hurried to the lifts, Severus glaring at anyone attempting to enter.

Upon reaching the correct floor a stern looking mediwitch intercepted them, "Sirs, can I help you?" she asked primly, eyeing the two in silent reprimand for rushing around when there were sick people nearby.

"Livia Snape has been bought here, where is she?", Severus asked impatiently.

"Are you a relative?", she asked, mouth pursed at the lack of decorum from the young man.

"I'm her brother, now please where is my sister", he asked again, shooting an annoyed glance at Slytherin beside him, 'what is the point in having Dark Lord with me if he isn't going to hex answers out of annoying medi- witches for merlins sake!' he thought mutinously.

"She is currently being treated by our emergency healers. If you you would like to take a seat in the waiting area someone will be along to speak with you when they have more information", she said curtly, gesturing towards a small square area with dull beige walls and filled with hard wooden seating and a handfull of people, then she strode away before they could delay her futher.

It was an agonising and quiet wait, punctuated only by Lucius briefly visiting to see if they had news yet to tell Lord Slytherin that the Aurors that had arrived to guard Livia were 'friends'. He had then rushed back home to inform Narcissa of what was happening and then before heading back to the ministry to try and gain more information on the investigation.

When Auror Dawlish began his shift on guard duty he reported immediatly to the Dark Lord all that he knew.

"Heiress Prince arrived at St. Mungos via house elf at 7:20am this morning. There had been an explosion that centred on a boarded up ministry building where they found Mad-Eye in critical condition, obviously as a result of the explosion. It's not looking good for him last we heard. We are unsure of how it relates to Heiress Princes' kidnapping however, it is too much of a coincidence to believe that they are two separate instances,  particularly as we have reason to believe that is was Moody who took her".

"You have my thanks Auror Dawlish", Lord Slytherin said courteously, he hoped fervently that Moody would survive, he wanted answers and he wanted the man to suffer.

It had been three long hours since their arrival at St Mungos and they still hadn't been approached by the staff with an update on Livia's condition. Narcissa had arrived a few minutes earlier looking pale and worried with sandwiches and coffee packed by her houselves.

"You both need to eat and drink something. Here I had the elves pack you each something", she handed them a small shrunken box each filled with sandwiches, nuts, fruit coffee and water.

She sat in the empty seat that separated the two men and waited, hoping with everything she was that her dearest friend would be well.

Eventually a healer approached the trio, "Lord Prince?", he asked calmly as he reached them.

"Yes. My sister, how is she? Can I see her", Severus asked standing.

"I am Healer Mayweather, Ms Prince is currently under sedation, she suffered severe blood loss and damage to her left kidney. We are treating the blood loss and it will be a few more hours before we know if we saved her kidney. We have also treated her left arm that sustained damage to the muscle and ligaments, we will have to wait until she is conscious before we can determine whether she will retain full use of it though we are optimistic that she will. We have also treated her for nerve damage caused by the cruciatus curse being inflicted upon her amongst several other pain inducing curses and a concussion from a blow to the head and some minor lacerations."

"May we see her?", Lord Slytherin asked, 

"If her brother is in agreement I will allow you all 10 minutes but no longer. She requires rest and I would suggest you all go home until tomorrow, there is nothing you can do until then", the woman stood patiently waiting for Lord Prince and whom ever he allowed tonsee his sister.

"Thank you Healer, pleade lead the way" Severus said, desperate to see that Livia was alive and well with his two eyes.

Livia woke up to find Severus sitting o the bed beside her, gently brushing her hair back from her face. She licked her dry lips with her equally dry tongue and opened her mouth to speak but found she couldn't. Severus handed her a drink of water silently and gave a relieved smile to his sister.

"Teeth please" she croaked the request with a grimace at the foul taste in her mouth. Severus obliged her and cast the mouth cleansing spell and she gave a weak grin in response, she said a quiet, "Thanks" and gestured again towards the water for another careful sip.

She attempted to shuffled up into a sitting position, a little awkwardly thanks to the mostly healed wounds, and Severus immediately stood to try and help her, the bed began to adjust until she was comfortably reclined upwards and could finally see the room. 

She was surprised to see Thomas seated in the chair beside her bed and gave him a grateful smile when she noticed his wand was out and adjusting the bed for her. Livia felt awkward and embarrassed at being seen in such a condition by the man she had fallen in love with and with a rare surge of vanity wished she had a mirror to examine her appearance in, she could only hope she didn't look too awful.

"How are you?" Severus asked looking at her with concern, "Do you need more pain potion? I need to fetch the Mediwizard anyway now that you are awake. Don't move until I come back", he told her and before she could answer he had left on his mission.

As soon as he left Thomas moved closer to the bed and gripped her hand gently, "How are you feeling Livia? You gave us quite the scare", his eyes darted over her face, sincerely glad to see her awake.

"I'm ok mostly, I think. I would't have expected you to be here when I woke up", Livia said pleased confusion evident in her clearly potion befuddled state.

"Is it really so extraordinary that I would want to be here after what happened?" He asked curiously leaning closer towards her.

"Oh. Are you wanting to know what happened? Would you mind if I told you when I tell the Aurors, to save me telling it twice or maybe thrice", she gave a little giggle at her addled ramblings, "Or do you really need to know now?"

He moved to sat on the bed next to her and took both her hands in his, urging her to look him in the eye "I think you are a bit confused love, I'm here...", he said gently, trailing off as the door opened and Severus with a mediwizard entered the room, Thomas moved off the bed to stand beside her but retained a hand in his grasp.

"How are you feeling Ms Prince?", the Mediwizard asked with a quiet sort of cheer.

"Better than I did, my head is a bit fluffy though", Livia answered honestly with a small smile.
 
"That will be the remainder of the potions we gave you for the concussion, the effects should will wear off over the next hour. Now, I just need to complete a few checks to ensure your healing as you should be. May I begin?", Livia gave him a small smile and nod and the man proceeded with his tests.

"Well, everything is healing nicely, a healer will be along to check your kidney function, all being well it should be fully healed and there is no infection evident from the wounds. If you carry on as you are you could be home as early as tomorrow!", he said happily, his wand flicked and the small pieces of parchment that the tests had dispensed were added neatly to her chart roll. He handed over a pain potion which Livia took gratefully and left the room as Narcissa was entering it.

Narsissa inserted herself between Severus and the bed and carefully placed her small bag on the bed and leaned forward to hug Livia gently. 

"I was so worried Livy", she said with a small hitch in her voice, she pulled back to give the patient a once over, once she was satisfied that Livia was looking as well as could be expected she smiled warmly.

"I bought you a few necessities for while your here", a few necessities it turned out included a large and fragrant bouquet, a cashmere blanket, several books, parchment, self inking quills, new clothes and nightwear, toiletries and a basket laden with fruit nuts and biscuits.

"Perhaps while I am visiting you gentlemen can take a short break. Rabastan is waiting for you in the Café up on the 5th floor and there is no need to rush yourself I will be here for a while", she informed Severus and seeing the pointed glance he directed at their Lord she added, "I'm certain that Lord Lestrange would be glad of an update Lord Slytherin".

Severus left only after he ensured that the Dark Lord had left first and with a kiss on his sister's head left to seek out Rabastan. When Livia had gone missing he had completely forgotten about Rabastan and their date and felt a little guilty for having not contacted him before now, luckily the man had heard from his father what had happened so knew Severus hadn't stood him up, or so he hoped.

"Right then, now the men are gone we can get you spruced up a bit, it will make you feel better I'm sure", Narcissa didn't say it out loud but poor Livy looked haggard and was certain that she wouldn't wish her inamorato to see her in such a state. Seeing that her friend wasn't objecting for once, she called for an apprentice Mediwitch to aid her in bathing Livia while a house elf placed clean sheets upon the bed.

When the bath was completed and Livia was moisturised sufficiently Narcissa spelled a silk nightgown in Royal purple onto her and a matching dressing gown. 

"Beautiful. Now I just need to braid your hair, add a little lip stain and a touch of eyeliner and you will be done", Narcissa proclaimed happily, the assistant Mediwitch looked at her incredulously and checking that she was no longer required left the room, all the while feeling bad for poor Ms Prince for having such an officious friend.

Thomas had only been gone a half an hour before he found himself outside Livia door once again, giving the door a light knock before hearing Narcissa's voice call for him to enter. He had taken the opportunity to speak with his people and lightly freshen up before returning and when he saw the vision that Livia made reclined upon the white sheets of her bed, white sheets that were clearly not hospital issue by the looks of the embroidery decorating them, he was glad he had. She was pale still but looked radient as she smiled at him in greeting, apparently Narcissa had been hard a work since himself and Severus had left the room.

He greeted the ladies as he walked over to the bed and reclaimed one of Livia's hands and kissed it, "How are you feeling now? Any pain?".

"No, the last pain potion is doing its job and my head is beginning to clear. You look tired though, are you ok?", she asked her sharp eyes taking the darkened skin under his eyes, his eyes that seemed a little more dull than usual and the frown that seemed etched into his brow.

"Now that you're back Lord Slytherin I will take my leave, I promised Draco that we would have a picnic this afternoon and I have a few errands to run before then", she leant forward after gathering her things and kissed Livia's cheek, telling her, "I will be back tomorrow unless you are already home by then", then she left them alone, smiling to herself, she was sure that nothing could rouse a declaration of love from someone quite like a near death experience, hopefully all of the pining would be over and done with by this time tomorrow and she could get started on the wedding planning.

Once the door closed Livia turned back to her other visitor, "Thomas you really don't have to stay you know. I'm quite fine now, I will be home soon enough and Severus is likely to be back soon and the Mediwitches are always nearby should I require something..."

"I'm not leaving", he said in a low voice, sitting himself upon her bed he kissed the hand he still held slowly and deliberately. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? How terrified I was that I would loose you?", he asked quietly leaning closer to her.

Livia gazed up at Thomas, he was so very close, "You were worried, I understand that but I'm safe now and healing" she said softly, looking and feeling truly vulnerable for the first time in years, it would take time to process what had happened to her, she would, no doubt, find out more of what happening since her disappearance, but right then in that moment she didn't want to think of it.

She tensed slightly as he moved closer still, his eyes never leaving hers, she became increasingly aware of every breath she took watching as his eyes seemed to grow darker, darker than they usually looked, she wondered somewhere in the back of her racing mind if they were what she had heard described as 'bedroom' eyes by her dorm mates at school. She blushed brightly at the direction her own thoughts had taken and the increased tension in the air she had become aware of as he continued to move closer to her.

When his forehead reached hers he uttered softly "I intend to kiss you Livia, do you object?", her eyes widened and her cheeks felt like they had been set alight, his request taking her unawares in her current state and she shook her head.

His hand lightly and softly moved up her arm and cupped her face, his eyes never leaving hers. The anticipation of what was to come was almost unbearable, she was filled with a sudden gratefulness for Severus and his mouth mouth cleaning spell and Narcissa's pampering! The thoughts tumbled through her mind until she closed her eyes as his lips touch hers gently, as a hand cradled her face, his thumb grazed her cheek lightly, she relaxed into the kiss and tilted her head into the touch and he stroked his other hand up her neck and stroked his thumb along her jaw. He pulled back just enough to ensure she was ok given her injured state, her half lidded, drowsy eyes looked back at him. His warm thumb gently smoothed over her lips and as her breathing hitched and her lips parted a little as his thumb passed over them before he could move again he found himself pulled into an incredibly passionate and desperate kiss. He leaned in and took control of the kiss, moving his hand into her hair and the other around the uninjured side of her waist drawing her closer. He felt all of his worry, fear and love bleed into the kiss as their lips parted, his tongue flicking out to lick the inside her top lip in hope of entrance, his bottom lip was drawn into her mouth and pulled lightly between her teeth in amswer. The kiss deepened becoming a desperate battle of tongues, teeth and lips, a reaffirming of their being together again, an acknowledgement of the fear they had felt, and affirmation of the love thet were feeling but had yet to speak. Confident and sure hands made their way into and up his shirt, pulling him closer to her still, needing to be as close as possible, her whole being centred around how she felt on the receiving end of this mans lips, how his body felt above hers, how his hair felt in her hands and how his arm wrapped around her waist securely. Arousal coursing through her veins as she pressed herself against him, feeling the answering tightening of his arm at her waist and hand in her hair.

Thomas groaned, why did he have to be the one to remember that they were in a hospital and that she was injured. He took her hands, the ones that had snuck under his now partially opened shirt, and held them, slowly breaking the kiss and leaning his head forward on to hers their breath mingling as they tried to calm their breathing.

"Just what do you think you are doing to my sister!", a half whispered shout gained their attention and they both turned to face a furious Severus and a rather unimpressed Bert Lewis, both looking less than amused at seeing an injured and flushed Livia with equally flushed Thomas laying half way over her and in a way that was most inappropriate given that she was in a hospital room where anyone could have walked in.

Thomas gave her a quick kiss on the lips, smirking  at her obvious embarrassment at being caught and stood with his back to the two men as he adjusted himself and his clothing, he leaned down, whispering close to her ear, "I will return this evening, understand that I care for you very much and we will have much to discuss when I return", she nodded with a small wrinkle of concern marring her brow, seeing it he smoothed it away with his finger, following it with his lips.

Grabbing his outer robe and cloak he turned to Severus and Bert and greeted them as if nothing were amiss, "Gentlemen, I will take my leave whilst you visit, I will be returning later", and that said he made a quick exit before either could make a scene.

"Would you care to explain just what you think you were doing?" A scandelised looking Severus demanded of his still blushing sister, Bert looking at her expectantly for an answer.

"I don't honestly think any of us are up for that explanation Sev", muttered a bright red, smiling Livia who couldn't bring herself to look at them.