Death Whispers

Chapter Fourteen - Plans Hindered

Just as a reaching hand becomes a reaching heart,
I wonder, my love, where did this all start?
Was it when my father had cursed his only son
Or when I started cursing others just for fun?

Stumbling for a reason -
searching for the cause.
You can see them crying
yet, you use your claws.

Just another addict,
is it me you despise?
I can't handle this honestly
please tell me only lies.

This liquid poison that seeps within my veins
is different from the knowledge that I sought to gain.
When I saw your eyes
they murmured my contempt.

Not ever seen so clearly,
not even when I dreamt.
I cannot see the future and
I cannot comprehend so

I need you by my side
my love will never bend.

xxxxx

Auchou, July 23rd 1980

Severus returned to the place that harbors evil. And Dolohov was waiting. Waiting, with his usual glare.

"I am going to see Lucius, his wife is pregnant again," Dolohov stated without preamble. (Narcissa had miscarried thrice already.)

Dolohov's eyes flashed with loathing and his face screwed up in disgust. "Your prize is waiting for you in your rooms," Dolohov spat spitefully.

Severus was shaken, Lallie, he thought desperately.

"Good," Severus nodded afraid he had given himself away. Voldemort must have spoken with Dolohov also and Severus was too concerned to be smug.

If Dolohov was shocked by Severus' offer of the high road, he didn't show it. He just sneered and stepped out of the camp to Disapparate.

Watching Dolohov's sneering form disappear he ran toward his rooms. Death Eaters greeted him as he past yet he ignored them. With a heavy breast he pushed the black door to his room open. He was in a state of shock. There was blood everywhere and Lallie lay eagle sprawled over the bed.

Severus rushed down to her, desperately trying to wake her. He didn't know where to start, it seemed like she was still alive but he could barely tell. Summoning potion vials he tried to get her to drink them while simultaneously trying to patch up her battered body.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked, lost and confused yet looking surprisingly calm.

"It's okay now Lallie, we are going to leave," he whispered, wiping her hair and mattered blood from her face with a potion soaked towel. She was breathing, it was shallow but thank God she was breathing.

He worked for the next three hours and then watched her sleep it was too dangerous to move her. He was skilled at potions, even medipotions, however he was not a nurse. Panicking that he had done something wrong, once she was sleeping soundly, he began to pace.

He turned again to look at her and check that she was breathing. Her beauty momentarily trapped him. It wasn't a physical beauty, she wasn't going to be instantly appreciated in a room, but there was something, something indescribable. Like if you actually were to look on her, your eyes wouldn't stray, there was something capturing about her. Her lips were regaining color and shining pink in them flickered in the candlelight. He fleetingly wondered what it would be like to kiss them.

How could anyone harm something so beautiful? Severus thought, It would be like slaying a unicorn.

And so Severus sat beside her, his hand gently holding hers until late into the day. She stirred gently.

"Drink this," he ordered and she obeyed.

The pain potion took away some of the pain away and she was able to turn and face him.

"Severus," she smiled, "I knew you would come."

"Of course," he said genuinely.

"Do you think you can travel?" he asked.

"Travel?"

"Yes, we are leaving, Dolohov has left for a couple of days I think," he said.

"No." Lallie stated pushed herself up from the bed and pain flickered through her face.

"No, what?" Severus pushed her back down.

"I'm not leaving."

"What?" Severus was confused, "Dolohov is away, this is our only chance."

"I won't leave the others, we can do what we can to save them, we can't run from this," Lallie stated, "to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it."

Severus was aggravated, this wasn't how he had planned it, did she know how much he had risked to come for her? Did she know how hard it was for him to come to this point?

"We can't, there are at least ten trained Death Eaters, against what? Me, some Muggles and a cripple," he spat.

"Go to the Ministry," she urged.

"Yeah," Severus laughed sarcastically. "And if I make it through the front door, then what? 'Hi, my name is Severus Snape and I am a Death Eater but I am having a lapse in my conscience to tell you to save the people at this concentration camp that I have been working at because this woman won't leave with me until I do.'"

"You have to go to the Ministry, you have come this far."

"I'm not like you, I'm..." Severus trailed off uncomfortably. He was scared. "I'm not a Gryffindor."

"Neither am I, Ravenclaw actually," she declared proudly, "I'm not leaving you. I'm scared too."

Severus looked at her small face set with steely determination.

"Well," he said deeply, "if that's the way it has to be, leave the plans to me ....."

xxxxxx

The next day Severus helped Lallie across the camp, diverting Death Eaters from their attention to return her to the rest of the prisoners. Severus then tried to return to his camp duties. He stayed locked in the labs and shouted whenever someone tried to enter. This wasn't too unusual seeing the camp knew him as a mad scientist with a brash temper.

Unforeseeably Dolohov returned early. Severus was nervous yet with steady hands he posted the owl. As the wide wings beat and took flight Severus watched the owl leave toward London. This is it.

Meanwhile, Lallie rallied the group about their liberation. Her return caused much excitement.

"We thought you were dead," Alex Weasley whispered to her as he guided her to a spare bed.

She talked about their escape, as a group they could overpower some of the guards and then with the Ministry's help... Alex agreed and helped organize the men, breaking them into battle groups so that they could make it out successfully.

"If I get out of this alive," he told her privately, "I'm becoming an accountant."

Lallie laughed and a sharp pain shot down her side making her cough up blood. The deep red marked her hands. Hiding it from the rest of the group she walked over to her bed. The others slowly followed suit.

The air was anxious about the battle tomorrow.

"Come on everyone," Weasley called, "we need our rest for tomorrow."

Lallie lay down to sleep and looked through the tiny window to see the moon. I can make it, she thought to herself, I can.

Severus was looking at the same moon filled with a similar nervousness. On opposite sides of camp they drifted into an uneasy sleep.

xxxxxx

There was, however, one man who didn't fall to sleep so easily. Jude Davies, a tax attorney, from Surrey, was less motivated to drift into an easy sleep this night. He listened to the rooms deep sleepy breaths as the group prepared itself for the war tomorrow.

He had seen enough of fighting, enough of their kind. Freaks! He could not be so easily swayed and he certainly wasn't going to trust these "Aurors" or whatever they were called. These people had taken his family, these people had killed his son, these people were abnormal, evil, freaks! And, he wasn't going to trust Lallie the freakiest of them all or the redheaded nutcase.

"Guard," he whispered determinedly.

"What?! Go to sleep."

Jude quickly looked around worried that someone might have woken but nobody stirred. The bald guard was already in a bad mood after being accosted by Severus earlier that day.

"Let me speak to Dolohov," urged Jude, the name branded in his mind, this was the man who killed his family - and yet this was the man who held the power.

"No, go to sleep!" repeated the guard.

"Please," Jude continued, he would not give up, "tell him I have information."