A Mortal Enemy

Chapter 9: Lovers Never Pondered

Severus had waited for Kara to leave before leaning over the desk and resting his head on his arms. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to completely exchange his well-practiced and instinctive behavior for that of one of his students, but the pressures were piling up on him. His shoulders felt as if they would crush from the weight of his new responsibilities. Just a bit ago he had revealed his true intentions to Kara for the first time although he could tell she hadn't quite grasped the full reality of it yet. It was only a hint of what he and Dumbledore had been planning for so many years: the defeat of Voldemort at the hands of his own self-righteousness. There was so much she still didn't know, and so many things he couldn't tell her. Severus was glad to have her in his life now, to help him carry this burden and to right him when he was wrong. Not that that was a common occurrence. In her mind he was strong, but in his mind he still had doubts.

They weren't doubts born out of fear. Snape was too powerful to ever really experience fear. Instead, they were inconsistencies in his knowledge of the present combined with guilt over the greatest of deceits he had ever been required to carry out: hiding the truth about the plans against Voldemort from Kara. It was almost too much of a burden to bear.

The Daily Prophet now sat just inches from his face and he could smell the fresh ink and the morning dew soaked parchment. It haunted him. Severus knew what the paper would say this morning: "Dumbledore dead." "Wizarding community in an uproar." "Is all hope lost?" But it wasn't these startling truths that he feared; it was what he knew was hidden inside the scroll. With Dumbledore's death THEY would be calling again, demanding to know things he couldn't tell them; things he couldn't tell anyone. He would have to face up to the fact that he continually lied to Kara by not telling her all that he was involved in. Before, she had been properly kept out of the inner workings of Dumbledore's plan for security reasons, but now she would expect to be in control of what she knew and didn't know. It was only a matter of time before he would have unguarded thoughts while she was reading his mind. He couldn't hide them from her forever.

Severus raised his head and was met with a dizzying moment of clarity as he unrolled the Daily Prophet to scan the headlines. He recalled Kara's discreet but watchful eye as she observed him reading the paper cover to cover. In truth, he didn't care about what the ridiculous writers of this rag had to say unless it was something amusing about Harry Potter. But normally, it was the 'supplemental' reading that Snape was always searching for and with ritualistic regularity, a tattered piece of folded up parchment fell out of the scroll and onto the desk. It appeared to be a typical advertisement with flashing text and pictures of young children racing around on brooms.

"Quality Quidditch Supplies for all ages! Need to throw out that old broom? Never replaced your favorite pair of Knickerbockers shin pads? Well now is the time! All stock on sale! -- QQS London, Paris"

'Aparecium Litalis' Snape said in his mind before he picked up the advertisement. The simple incantation followed by a secret code word began transforming the words into what he had expected.

"To all. Great loss. A meeting is desired at the Corpeum. 3am next."

All over Europe various witches and wizards would be performing the same spell to reveal these words, and then tomorrow morning they would gather at the 'Corpeum'. Severus heard himself groan.

The message itself was simple enough to understand. Dumbledore was dead and there would be a meeting to discuss the event. But more importantly they would want to know whom Dumbledore chose as his replacement. They would expect Severus to know, they would demand that he tell them, and he would have to outright lie to them. Lies that would force his blood to boil. He was painfully reminded of Kara.

A knock on the door shook Severus from his present state of mind and he wrestled the tiny scrap of paper into his robes.

"Enter," he said forcefully. The visitor came through the door and closed it behind him. It was Sirius Black.

"You've seen it?" Black asked him in a hushed voice.

"I have," Severus replied as he sat up straighter in his chair. There was no need to appear flustered in front of his greatest nemesis. How ironic that the once filthy convict was now a 'peer.' Severus felt a sneer cross his lips at the thought.

"What are you going to do about her?"

"That is none of your business Black," Snape replied in an icy tone. It was a fair enough question but one he wasn't willing to give credence to in front of Sirius Black. Waves of guilt passed over him and he suddenly felt nauseous. The shower he was due to take in a few minutes was going to be a welcome gift.

"The hell it isn't and if you think I'm the only one who will ask you about it, you're a fool," Black said.

Severus realized he had a good point, although he would rather crawl on his knees back to Voldemort than admit it. Kara was his closest ally, not to mention his future wife. Hiding anything from her at all brought a pain to him that was unprecedented in his life; feelings that were amplified with the removal of his Dark Mark. Couple that with the fact that she could read his mind at anytime. If the Oracle hadn't already predicted their marriage he would have concluded that his relationship with her was doomed. She would learn the truth eventually and then his oath would force him to do something he dared not think about.

Despite Severus's most desperate attempts to shield his feelings at this moment, he couldn't help it when his eyes closed and he brought a hand up to rub his left temple.

"There are too many lives at stake to risk making a mistake, Snape," Black said harshly. Severus opened his eyes to see the dark haired man staring back at him. "I wont let you risk my Godson's life because you're too egotistical to do what needs to be done."

Severus's patience was growing thin, but he knew flat out that there was nothing he could do about it. The words were eating him alive because they were true and it was more than he wanted to think about at this moment. He rose from the desk and walked towards the door.

"I will deal with it when it's necessary to. Until then I do not want to hear you speak of it. Gather the other Professors and tell them we will have breakfast in the staff room in a half hour," Snape replied in a cool voice as he beckoned for Black to leave.

He desperately wanted the shower now, but he knew Kara would be in his quarters and he couldn't risk revealing these thoughts to her. He needed to distract himself. Severus let his eyes roam around the naked room hoping to find something else to think about. Maybe he could focus on how he would fit all his books in here, or which nasty creatures he would put on the empty desk to scare students.

Fawke's golden perch was still near the window. Severus made a mental note to have it moved down to the Chamber. And then his eyes fell on the silver instrument sitting on top of a filing cabinet. It was spinning away mightily. Severus felt his heart sink when he realized it was moving. The object was the Orb - the indicator that Dumbledore's replacement had been chosen. It hadn't been spinning when Draco Malfoy was here which meant that sometime between then and now someone had spoken the words of the coronation incantation. The Order had a new leader.

Realizing that the room was not going to provide adequately distracting thoughts, Severus took a deep breath and recalled the contents of Prixel poisons. He opened the door and headed towards his quarters. He was trying to not to think about how he was going to keep the secret from Kara and how was he going to excuse himself at three in the morning to attend the meeting this evening. For now he needed to force his mind to focus on the Staff breakfast, the Aurors, the bezoar disappearance, the new Slytherin Oracle, Voldemort, and oh yes Harry Potter. But then again, Severus never had a problem keeping bloody Harry Potter in mind.

---

Hermione Granger was never one of those students that Kara would have considered to be poorly adjusted. Her academic skills, desire for knowledge and attention to detail put her in a category that screamed intellectual. So it was quite a surprise to find the girl, who was normally so calm and collected, sitting at the door of the teacher she hated the most. And in some way, it was a clear indication that whatever was upsetting her was probably something that was of extreme importance.

"Ms. Granger. Why are you not in Gryffindor Tower?" Kara asked after sighing inwardly. She thought briefly about tormenting Hermione, pointing out that she was a Prefect and therefore responsible for ensuring the other members of her House were safely confined to their common room or dormitories. However, she looked tortured already.

"I... I..." Hermione was stuttering through the tears, gasping for breath. She could hardly speak, let alone come up with a valid explanation for her presence at Snape's door.

"Get up Ms. Granger," Kara said harshly. With her mind she disabled the wards guarding Snape's door and opened it. Hermione entered and Kara closed the door behind them.

The young student's eyes instantly shot around the room like a child in a toy store. Perhaps it wasn't such a wise idea to let her in, Kara thought to herself. There was a good reason why no students, to date, had ever been here. Snape's private library held books that most students would never come into contact with; in fact most of them were so illegal that one could be sent to Azkaban for owning them. Snape, under the watchful eye of Dumbledore, had been allowed to amass his collection on the premise it was required for research. But now, Kara was hoping the library could serve as a means to keep Hermione distracted long enough to calm her down.

"Unfortunately Ms. Granger I have only a few moments to attend to whatever it is you need. I am going to leave you here, alone, for ten minutes. Do not touch anything. I assure you if Professor Snape learns that your fingerprints have graced any of his personal belongings that both you and I will be very sorry," Kara said in a harsh tone that distracted Hermione's eyes from the bookcase she was studying intently.

Hermione nodded.

"When I return, you and I will discuss why you have come here."

And with that Kara withdrew into the bedroom where she locked and warded the door. She undressed and headed for a quick shower. When she was finished, she would deal with the Granger girl.

* * *

The room was unreal, Hermione thought to herself. Lurid titles like Vampire Victims and Legendary Substances of Atlantis sat on the dusty bookshelves. These were infamous topics that Hogwarts' library didn't have and shops such as Flourish and Blotts refused to sell. Hermione thought the smell in the room was splendid; it was like an ancient library squeezed into one tiny sitting room. Snape had numerous papers on his desk. She briefly saw the names of some of her classmates on them. Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini, Ginny Weasley. God, if Snape caught her looking at them she would be dead.

What if Snape caught her here at all?

She knew where this room was because of the map. Harry and Ron had been going over it last year and spotted Professor Lynch and Professor Snape here together. It had been late in the evening and the implication was that they were 'seeing each other' - a thought that had simultaneously sent giggles and feelings of horror across the three of them. At the time Hermione had thought the idea impossible. Professor Lynch was nothing like Snape. She was strict with academics in the way he was, but she was also kind and understanding. Look at all the things she had done for Harry. She had bought him a Christmas gift, lent him her Ring of Epa and then dedicated herself to teaching Harry about his gifts as an Oracle. Snape surely would have never considered those things. He hated Harry, despite the fact that he had no real reason to. But then again, Snape had done all those strange things to save Harry's life since their first year. Hermione had to constantly tell herself to be careful with harboring negative feelings about Snape. She knew there wasn't something all together right about her perceptions.

But Snape would definitely kill her if he caught her here. But he wouldn't really have caught her, would he? She hadn't touched anything, and she hadn't broken in. Professor Lynch had invited her inside and so here she was. None of her fingerprints were left on his personal belongings. She hadn't given in to the temptation of picking up one of his grand books and thumbing through it. She hadn't... the door was opening. Hermione felt her heart jump into her throat.

Snape walked through moments later and slammed the door behind him. He was halfway across the room before he stopped abruptly, turned on his heal and stared at the teenager in his sitting room. Hermione was standing up as straight as she could, her face still stained with tears with strands of hair were sticking to it. The pajamas she was wearing were disheveled from sleeping in the anteroom of the Chamber. In general, she was a mess.

"Ms. Granger you have exactly ten seconds to tell me what you are doing in my private quarters," Snape snapped as he his brow furrowed and he crossed his arms.

"I needed to speak to Professor Lynch and she told me to wait here," Hermione said quickly without taking a breath or stopping to think twice.

"And precisely where did Professor Lynch go?"

"Through the door," Hermione said as she pointed to the closed door that led presumably to Snape's bedroom.

"And why has she asked you to wait here?"

"I... I needed to speak with her. I... I think she had something to do first."

"What did you need to speak with her about, Ms. Granger?" Snape was willing to bet it was important, but the mere sight of this normally brave girl trembling in his quarters was too much - he felt some sick desire to make her feel more nervous than she apparently was already.

* * *

Kara tied her long black hair up and took a quick glance at herself in the mirror. She could hear Snape's voice coming from his sitting room. He didn't sound angry, she noted with a great sense of mental relief.

Kara opened the door and caught Snape's eye before speaking.

"Now what have you come to discuss Hermione?" She asked, hoping Snape would not interrupt.

"Um. I um..." Hermione said. Kara looked into her eyes and heard 'Animagus... tell her about what is in the jar.'

"I do not have all day Ms. Granger," Kara said in a menacing tone. "What precisely about the Animagus in that jar would you like to tell me about?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kara noticed Snape jump and his eyes rest on the item Hermione was clutching. He then walked towards her, snatched it out of her hands and held it close to his face. His eyes inspected the jar as he turned it around in the air.

"Ms. Granger where did you come upon this... creature?" he asked. Snape's face had lost all of its normal reserve and he was obviously shocked by the spectacle in front of him.

"Sir, I..." Her words stopped. She was searching for them and they were hiding from her.

"Out with it!" he snapped.

"Thatnightinthehospitalwing!" she began as the words slurred together. "The night when You-Know-Who came back. When Harry was in the hospital wing - she was there. She saw you and Sirius. She heard everything. I caught her that night."

The look upon Snape's face at that moment was priceless. His face, already engraved with lines indicating he was fatigued and frustrated now morphed into horror, concern and shock. His mouth fell open. Hermione eyed him with the utmost caution; clearly intrigued by his reactions, but unwilling to earn herself a rebuke for staring.

"That was over a year ago Ms. Granger. Are you implying you have kept this... her... for that entire time?"

"Yes, sir." Hermione replied. The tears were forming in her eyes again.

Snape opened his mouth to speak, but no words emerged. Kara wanted to hear his thoughts, but he kept his eyes glued to the jar. He was thinking and his lips were moving slightly. He was thinking quickly and attempting to come up with some sort of solution to whatever problem plagued him. What this was, precisely, Kara didn't know. Was this beetle an Animagus that Snape knew?

"How did you know who this was, Ms. Granger?" he finally asked.

"I saw Malfoy talking to her. She was also there the night Hagrid told Madame Maxime he was half giant, and when..."

"Enough, "Snape interrupted. "Leave Ms. Granger. Return immediately to your dormitory,"

Hermione's face wrinkled and she reached for the glass jar he was holding.

"Leave it. Go!" Snape snapped.

"But what about her, what if she tells..."

"I will not tell you again Ms. Granger. Get out of my sight!"

Hermione's eyes filled with tears again as she ran for the door and slammed it behind her.

Kara looked up at Snape, hoping he would begin explaining. He didn't.

"Severus? What is going on?"

"I will explain after breakfast. I must get ready. Whatever you do, do not touch the jar," he said in a hushed voice as he set it on his desk. He then retreated into the bedchamber to clean up.

* * *

Breakfast was relatively somber. There was little discussion about anything except the next steps that would be taken to ensure the sanity of the students, and the safety of the school. Sirius was formally introduced as Kara's replacement, and for the first time, everyone discussed Snape's new roll openly. Surprisingly, everyone seemed warmed to the idea - Dumbledore had no doubt informed everyone prior to leaving and ironed out any concerns the rest of the staff might have had.

Snape made a quick exit with Kara after dolling out instructions to the staff about checking the castle for wandering students and encouraging them to get some sleep. The Ministry Aurors would see to the protection of the castle round the clock. All the staff needed to do was worry about the student populace and their schoolwork.

Snape opened the door to his chambers with a fervor Kara had never seen. He seemed anxious, angry and confused all in one moment. As soon as the door was shut, he spoke in a hushed voice.

"She is an Animagus by the name of Rita Skeeter. She was never formally a Death Eater, but she did work for Voldemort. She was also close with Lucius Malfoy, since he fed her information from the Ministry and she would publish whatever he told her to. It made her very popular in certain circles. She has been missing for over a year and it was presumed she was dead," Snape said as he walked towards the table on which he had set the glass jar.

"Rita Skeeter the journalist?" Kara asked. She remembered reading some of Rita's articles in Witches Weekly. Come to think of it, it had been quite some time since she had seen one.

"Yes."

"And what does this have to do with Hermione?"

"Rita wrote some... unflattering things about Ms. Granger and her friends during the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"So Hermione kidnapped her?" Kara gasped. This was serious. "Severus, she could go to Azkaban for that!"

"I am aware Kara," Snape said in a calm tone.

He picked up the jar and unscrewed the lid. The beetle flew out flawlessly. In fact Snape had to be controlling it with his mind. After buzzing in the air for a few moments it landed gently on the ground and then turned into a human.

The witch that stood before them was short and had horn rimmed glasses. She looked startled, and then looked at Snape... almost... lovingly?

"Hello Rita," Snape said as he looked at the witch now standing in front of him. Kara noted with absolute horror that this woman was wearing purple robes with green diagonal stripes. A red scarf was draped carelessly over her shoulder.

"Well hello Severus," Rita said with a smirk on her face. "Thank you so much for saving me." She then walked towards Snape, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. Kara felt her heart begin to race.

Snape, who seemed to sense Kara's anger at that moment, unwrapped the small witch's arms from around his neck and stepped back away from her.

"Rita, I'd like you to meet my fiance, Kara Lynch," he said.

"Your fiance?" Rita asked in a voice that failed to mask her emotions: jealousy, rage, doubt.

"It is very nice to meet you Rita," Kara said in a condescending tone as she strode forward to shake the woman's hand. Rita didn't oblige and instead rushed forward, interlaced her fingers with Snape's and pulled him down into a chair nearby.

From that point on Rita attempted to pretend Kara wasn't in the room. Thoughts of murder and rage floated through Kara's mind. Was this what jealousy was like? She had never felt it before, at least not over a man. And precisely why wasn't Snape overreacting and forcing this detestable creature out of the school?

"Severus, you must come with me to see the Dark Lord. I want another person to testify to him precisely what the Granger bitch has done to me. She will pay!" Rita began dramatically. "She will regret the day she ever tried to play with me."

"I will do no such thing Rita," he said slowly. "And you will say nothing to Him about Hermione Granger." The words appeared to sting the tattered journalist. She squinted her eyes and peered at him curiously as if attempting to determine precisely what he was thinking.

"I don't understand. I thought you'd jump at the chance to deliver someone so close to Potter to Him."

"Things have changed Rita. I am, nor was I ever really one of His."

Rita's mouth dropped open. She stared wide-eyed at him on the verge of fits of rage. Blood had rushed to her cheeks and her glasses were slipping off her nose slightly.

"I don't understand. What do you mean you were never really a Death Eater? You wore his mark! You did his bidding!"

"I have left Him Rita. The Wizarding world has undergone many changes since you left." With these words, Rita's eyes fell on Kara and then she gazed at Snape. She sat back into the wing-backed chair she was sitting in and appeared to be pondering what to say next. Then a small but vicious smile crossed her face.

"You're saying this for her benefit aren't you?" she asked, motioning her head slightly in Kara's direction. "She thinks you've really left him." A hideous groan of laughter erupted from the tiny body of Rita Skeeter as she tilted her head back slightly to look at the ceiling. She seemed to be enjoying this.

"Oh I know you too well Snape. You forget what we once had together. You could never leave him. You wanted what he could give you too much."

Snape rose, apparently uncomfortable with the current conversation. Kara had never seen him so unnerved before. What did Rita mean by 'what we once had together'? Was Snape disturbed because Rita was exposing things about his past that Kara had never bothered to inquire about? Was she a former lover? The thought brought a sick feeling to Kara. There was no way Severus Snape would ever be attracted to this horrid woman; that much she was sure of.

Kara and Rita stared at Snape for several minutes as he paced around his sitting room. Kara was wondering where he wanted to go with this conversation; Rita was no doubt waiting for Kara to erupt into some sort of jealous fit. But Kara was more restrained than that, and she knew Snape would have a perfectly plausible explanation for the events at hand.

"I want your assurances you'll keep this to yourself," Snape snapped finally.

"What? About our sex life? Severus, I think it's too late for that," she replied slyly. Kara felt her heart jump.

"About the Granger girl. Swear it to me."

"Or you'll do what? Remember Severus, all I have to do is walk out that door and tell the entire world about your little Death Eater activities. I'm sure the Ministry is quite curious where Lucius Malfoy acquired all those illegal poisons that were confiscated."

Snape was still pacing the room as Rita gave this little speech. When his back was turned to her he glanced at Kara and a wicked smile grew on his lips. Kara heard the rough sketch of his plan when he looked into her eyes. He then turned back towards the witch, who was still seated.

"Speaking of the Ministry, I'm sure they would love to know that you're an unregistered Animagus. And furthermore, I know you were in the Hospital that evening when Ms. Granger caged you like the disgusting creature that you are. Imagine how Fudge would react when he found out you used your Animagus form to spy on him. I believe that is known as espionage and would earn you a few years in Azkaban?"

Rita Skeeter's face turned white.

"That's right. I know exactly what you heard. You don't believe I've left Voldemort? Don't be stupid. Why else would I play to the Minister of Magic the way I did that night? How careless you've become Rita. And how pathetic," he spat. Snape walked towards Kara, wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Now I want your assurances you'll keep your mouth shut about the Granger girl," Snape said. Kara could feel his body was unusually stiff. He was no doubt forcing himself to be calm.

Rita stood from her chair, gave them a cool look and walked promptly out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Snape's body went limp next to her and they stood in silence for several moments before he began to speak.

"I apologize. I had not expected her to react that way nor to bring up our past together," Snape said in a loving voice. His breath was warm next to her ear.

"We can talk about it later. You should make sure she leaves the castle," Kara replied as she turned and looked into his eyes. Snape seemed unwilling to move. "I mean it. Go. I'll be here when you return."

Reluctantly, Snape left his quarters and Kara retreated to the bedroom where she prepared for a midday nap. It had been nearly thirty-six hours since she slept and he body was pushed to the point of exhaustion. Even the seemingly trivial words spoken by Rita Skeeter about her sex life with Snape were getting to Kara. Emotions normally overridden by calm intellect were raging through her body now. Sleep, rest and privacy were the only things she desired now. Sure she would be here when Snape returned, but thankfully she would be asleep.

---

by Ezzie http://ezziem.livejournal.com

Updated: 10/5/02

I can't express how difficult it was to write this chapter, and I look back

and wonder how I could have ever considered the story complete with just

Destiny of Souls. There are so many unanswered questions in Canon and

like many people I can't wait for book 5.

I hope you enjoyed this and I'm sorry to my Beta reader, Sarah. I put

this out without your input because I was getting anxious. Call it a

writers publishing itch!