Dark Coil

Dark Coil Chapter Seventeen

Gods, he was thirsty! He didn't remember eating anything before retiring that would have left him so parched. Even so, his entire body ached with the need for moisture. He wanted nothing more than to shove his head in the wash basin and gulp cool, refreshing water. He would get up and go to his bathroom. The water was always so cold in the dungeons.

And he was hot! Damn, the bedclothes were smothering him! It was usually chilly in his subterranean lair. Not so now. Now he was burning up, uncomfortably warm. Perhaps that was the cause of his craving, a fever.

He was so thirsty!

Trying to rise brought shards of glass racing through his frame and he felt he must have screamed aloud his agony. The pain rolled back slightly before returning, lapping over him like ocean waves.

Lying still was better. Why was there so much pain?

He tried to gather his thoughts but they darted away from his hands much like the silver minnows his boyhood self attempted to snare in the pond shallows by the family home.

Now where had that memory come from? He hadn't thought of the old home in years. The cool stone manor with steps leading down to a sloping lawn. You could sit on the steps in the early evening and watch the setting sun sparkle on the rippling surface of the pond. Flashes of magenta, azure, pale orange and gold.

The sparkling lights would dance and dazzle his young eyes.

The flashes became brighter. He tried to raise his hand. Shield his eyes. Something was holding him down.

The flashes became faster. He could almost feel the pulsing throb of the colors as they deepened to bright red and blue. He tried to close his eyes, but the lights were still there!

They were making him dizzy and he felt he would be sick.

He was so thirsty!

Someone had him by the hand, pulling him from the flashes of fire and ice. He concentrated on the hands, his and the other's. Here was focus.

Then the lights vanished. All was gray and he understood he rested on a bed, his hand still confined by another's.

There was a voice, one he thought he recognized, but it was so far away. He didn't want to slide back to the flashing lights, the stabbing pains. He tried to find the voice, but it was moving farther and farther away.

Gods, he was going to die of thirst!

He focused on the hand in his, squeezed his fingers.

And opened his eyes.

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His eyes darted rapidly around the room like a trapped bird seeking an avenue of escape. They found it in the woman still holding his hand as she hovered over him.

"Severus," she whispered, stroking his cheek.

He attempted to clear his throat. The sensation of choking sand filled him. His tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth. He forced it free pushing it from his mouth to lick parched lips.

The woman released him and was gone. He closed his eyes and tried to raise his hand in entreaty. No, don't leave.

Something hard and slender pressed against the corner of his mouth, slid through his lips.

"Suck, Severus. It's water."

He pulled on the straw and felt a rush of pleasure flooding his mouth, the cool, sweet wetness washing the sand away. Each drop could be felt sliding down his throat, the cells of his parched body consuming the moisture like a desert soaks up the life-giving rains. He could have gone on for hours, savoring the taste of the fluid, swirling it around in his mouth, feeling it caress his tongue. A wet slurping sound told him the cup was empty, he could feel the straw being pulled from his lips and his hand shot up to capture the cup.

"Hold on. I will get you a bit more, but you have to go slowly. Poppy will kill me if you get sick to your stomach on top of everything else."

The voice was calm, steady, but there was a hint of laughter there as well. He opened his eyes once more, searching for the source.

"Olivia?" His voice sounded weak to his ears. He, who couldn't abide weakness in any form, was creaking like a long unused hinge. "Where?"

She put the straw to his lips once more and answered. "You are in the Royal Marsden Hospital in South Kensington. You were shot by a Muggle police officer." Olivia smiled brightly as Snape cocked a disbelieving brow, still drawing on the straw.

"It's true. All true. You were shot twice and here you are. Brought low by a mere Muggle." She couldn't resist the gentle jab.

Snape allowed the straw to slip from his lips. "How long?" Good, he thought. The voice is gaining power.

"Nearly two days," Olivia replied, setting the cup aside. "Minister Fudge came by Floo to Dumbledore that evening and informed the Headmaster of your injuries. We came as soon as we could."

"We?" he asked, glancing around the room.

"Yes, sort of a rescue mission. Poppy, me, Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger."

"Shall we go then?" Snape attempted to shift in the bed, bring his legs to the floor only to suffer a repeat of the slashing tide of pain.

"Severus!" Olivia hissed, attempting to ease him back to the pillows. "It is not as easy as Disapparating out of here. You are moments away from being charged with the murder of a Muggle child."

Olivia rearranged the sheets, speaking in a calmer voice. "You were found with the body of a young girl. Do you remember what happened before the police arrived?"

"I remember." His voice was heavy with the memory of the young girl. Her terror, the manner in which she had died. He remembered the purpose for her death.

"Olivia!" the wizard snapped. "You must return to Hogwarts, now! It is not safe for you to be here. Voldemort knows of your presence. He has his Death Eaters scouring the land searching for you."

"I can't leave now," Olivia said. " I am your only hope of clearing your name. Fudge has refused to step in unless the Muggle authorities ask for Ministry assistance."

"I don't need your help!" Snape hissed, pulling himself up higher on the pillows. Olivia moved to assist him, but he waved her away.

She folded her arms across her chest and glared down at Snape as he struggled with the bedding and the pain in his body. "Okay, Superman, what's your plan for getting out of this? Think you will wait to get a little stronger and just pop over to Hogwarts? The story is all over the paper! You would be forced out of your position at the school. Where would you go when most of the wizarding world believes you guilty of killing this child? And not just this girl either. There are the other deaths to take into account, Severus. People would believe you killed them all! You would be hunted down and dragged before a Wizard's court. You want to go back to Azkaban?" She knew from the first he would be stubborn about this, and she planned to attack his arguments head on.

Snape attempted a forbidding glare, but in his present state could only achieve a dark frown. Damn! It was in the Daily Prophet? He could just imagine the press he was receiving over this. The traitorous Professor Snape, Death Eater, caught at last!

"Who the hell is Superman?" he grunted as his tired brain struggled for a means of escape.

Olivia sighed in exasperation and pulled a chair close to the bedside.

"Severus, I have been in contact with Bill Lewis at the Ministry's Legal office. He gave us what help he could by setting up a meeting with me and the Chief Prosecutor this morning. The police haven't got much on you besides the fact you were found with the body, but with their own press and the public outcry… We have to prove you innocent of this child's death."

"And how do you intend to do that?" He had closed his eyes once more, and the voice, while reeking with trademark sarcasm, was tired.

Better to just be out with it, Olivia decided.

"I want you to agree to use the Visum Memoria Scroll," she stated baldly.

The eyes snapped open again, this time filled with anger. "The hell you say!" When she didn't flinch or change her determined expression, he continued. " And if I refuse?"

"Look, you are still very weak…" Here Snape interrupted with a rude snort. "...and the doctors have no plans on releasing you for a few days. We will talk more later. Just think about what I said, okay?" Olivia rose from her chair, intending on fetching Madam Pomfrey.

" I will not change my mind."

She ignored this. "I almost forgot! I have messages to deliver." She leaned over his bare chest positioning her hands on either side of his pillow. Bending nearer she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "That is from Mama." Moving to the other cheek she repeated the kiss. "And this is from Cat." She could see herself reflected in the obsidian pools before her before she lowered her mouth to his. The kiss was brief. His lips were slightly dry from his ordeal as she traced them lightly with her tongue. He made no response, nor did he turn away.

"This is from me," Olivia whispered against his mouth. Moving away from the bed, Olivia told him with out turning, "I will send in Madam Pomfrey. She will want to know you are awake."

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Exiting the room, Olivia found Remus and Madam Pomfrey regarding her with keen interest. Lupin raised one slender brown brow, his lips quirked in a tiny grin. Madam Pomfrey simply nodded firmly, " I can see the boy is weak. He should have either grabbed you or tossed you across the room. We need to get his strength up."

"Yes, well…" Olivia stammered. " I thought you would want to see him, Poppy." The mediwitch grinned and slipped past Olivia into the room.

"What?" Olivia demanded when Lupin's grin grew wider.

"You like him, don't you?" the handsome wizard drawled.

"Of course I like him!" Olivia stated, ignoring the implication in his statement. "We work together, after all."

"I've worked with loads of people, Olivia. I don't go around kissing them like that, though." Lupin took her elbow and steered her towards the hall. "Do you know what he thinks about you?"

"He thinks I am a complete idiot who refuses to dress appropriately, runs when I should walk and thinks Wizard Duels are a joke. Yep, that pretty much sums up his opinion of me."

"And yet you kiss him?" Remus said softly.

"Well, did I forget to add that I am also a hopeless romantic?"

"Miss McGonagall?" came a powerful voice from behind them.

The couple turned, Lupin placing his body between Olivia and the stranger who approached them.

"Let me introduce myself," the man said, running his right hand inside the breast of his coat.

Remus responded by pushing Olivia firmly behind him and snaking his hand quickly into his own pocket.

The older man froze, his hand still under the lapel of his coat. "Son, that had better be a pack of smokes you're reaching for." He stated calmly. Slowly he removed his hand and held up a folded leather case. Allowing the case to fall open, he revealed a gleaming badge above an identification card bearing his likeness. "Inspector Doyle. Metro Police."

Olivia shifted her position until she stood beside Lupin, her hand restraining him on the upper arm, as she addressed the man before them.

"I remember your name from the police report. I must advise you, I am Professor Snape's council in this matter."

"I'm aware of that, miss. That's why I wanted to speak with you. Off the record, if you take my meaning." His features remained controlled however, Olivia could see the apprehension in his gray eyes. It caused her to be wary.

"No, I am afraid I don't 'take your meaning.' You will have to be a bit less oblique."

The inspector slipped his identification back into it's hiding place and glanced up and down the corridor where they stood. "Look, is there anywhere we can discuss this in private? I believe I have something to say that may interest you."

Olivia and Remus looked at each other, then the graying wizard addressed the Inspector. "Sir, I do not know who you are, or your business with Miss McGonagall, so I am not inclined to trust you at this moment. You may speak your mind here or not at all." Lupin's voice was firm.

The older man scowled. "Are all you wizard types always this damn cagey?" he demanded. At this statement, Olivia and Remus both tensed, the Inspector noted with satisfaction. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but she made me promise I would talk to you." Grimacing he leaned closer and whispered, "Wormtail lives. Whatever the hell that means."

Olivia frowned in incomprehension then flashed her gaze to Remus as she felt his body grow stiff and he sucked a breath in with an audible hiss. The werewolf held himself rigidly and glared menacingly down at Inspector Doyle. "How do you come by this information?" he growled.

Olivia, alarmed by Lupin's reaction quickly flicked her attention from one man to the other. "Remus, what...?"

Lupin stepped forward, his face mere inches from the Inspector. "Once again I ask you, man, how do you come by this information? Be careful in your answer. I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand." The threatening wizard had to give the Muggle credit for courage, for he met Remus glare for glare.

"From my wife!" Doyle ground out through clenched teeth. "Now step back boy-yo, I am not entirely defenseless." Lupin felt a sharp jab in his ribs and glancing down saw the tip of a wand projecting from the Muggle's coat sleeve. Looking back at the Inspector's face, Lupin found the older man grinning. "Looks like we have us a bit of a stand-off. So what's it going to be, son?"

A feral gleam in his green eyes, Lupin backed away till he once more stood by a startled Olivia who placed a calming hand on his arm before addressing the grinning Muggle.

"Sir, you have us at a disadvantage. You seem to know a great deal about us. You say you have information we may find of interest. While I have no knowledge of this Wormtail, it appears that Remus is very much interested in how you came about this name. Shall we move to the waiting room where we can discuss this in private?" And turning, quickly made her way down the hall leaving the men to follow in her wake.

Thankfully the waiting room was empty when the trio entered. Olivia addressed the police officer. "I am going to ask Remus to cast some protective spells on this room to guard against our being spied upon. I also ask that you allow him to cast a revealing charm on your person to detect any magic that may prove harmful to us. If you cannot agree to this request, then this meeting is over and you will leave."

"Sure, sure. Patience told me this would happen, so lets get it over with."

Remus had removed a miniscule wand from his pocket and was murmuring an enlarging spell when the Inspector spoke. "Patience? Patience Bell?" He inquired.

"Well, it's Patience Doyle now. Been married going on seventeen years." The older man laughed at Remus' amazement. "What? Can't picture the old girl settling down with a Muggle copper?"

Olivia was fast loosing her own patience. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" she snapped.

"Olivia, your language! And you a divinity! For shame," Remus teased as he quickly placed silencing charms and protective wards around the room. Finished with that task he turned to Doyle and ran his wand up and down the policeman's body. "He's clean," Remus observed. "Heard that on a Muggle police show once," he told the older man.

Inspector Doyle gestured Olivia and Remus to chairs, and, drawing another close, he began to speak earnestly. "Look, this is what's going on. I got the 'Wormtail' bit from Patience. Told me she figured any one that come for the lad would be sent by Dumbledore and they would recognize the name. Don't ask me what it means 'cause I don't have a clue. She doesn't tell me everything that goes on at her job. Says it is safer that way."

When Olivia opened her mouth to speak, Doyle raised a hand. "Please let me finish. My team was out the other night near Battersea Bridge, down on the river. Our forensic guys say that the bodies have been dumped into the river somewhere near that area, judging from the condition of the corpses, current, the times the bodies were recovered, all that. We had been staked out for a few hours when we observed two figures moving near the water. One of them was dragging something. I had my men go closer and then gave the order to close in. One of my officers claimed he saw a gun. He popped one subject twice. By the time I arrived on the scene, we had your guy on the ground and the other one gone. Where? I don't know. He was in my sights one second, and then…nothing. When I rolled your friend over to check for a weapon, all I found was his wand. I knew then what I was dealing with."

Doyle ran splayed fingers through his hair. "There was the little girl's body with him, looking just like the others, and a wand. The wife and I had suspected it was the work of magic all along, now here was proof. As soon as we got him loaded up in the ambulance, I called Patience." Doyle paused for a moment, drew a breath and continued. "She met me at the station and I told her everything. That's when she asked me to describe the fellow we nailed. The more I told her, the more upset she became. Finally she did that Accio thing and her Hogwarts yearbook shows up in a bit. Patience flips to the fifth years and shows me this kid's picture. Had to take into account that was some time ago, but yeah...same hair, same expression, and his eyes. That's what pegged it. The eyes matched perfectly. The name on the page said Severus Snape. When I told Patience that was our man, she lost it. Told me I had to get in here and watch over him. Made me promise I would take note of anyone who came looking for him. She said that Dumbledore would send someone to get the guy and I was to give you a message."

Olivia took advantage of his pause and jumped in. "Inspector Doyle, why didn't your wife simply meet us on her own, or even better, contact Professor Dumbledore? I am confused."

"Well, Patience has herself and the family to protect, you see. That's why she doesn't mix much with the wizard world and such, outside of work that is." Doyle lowered his voice to a whisper. "She works for the Department of Mysteries." He nodded when Olivia and Remus drew back and exchanged startled glances.

"But what has this to do with Professor Snape?" Remus inquired.

"Everything! Patience knows your professor is a spy for Dumbledore. She has known about it for years. Now she wants you to be aware, not only is there a spy for Voldemort in the Ministry, but whoever it is, they're also high up in the Muggle government."

Olivia and Remus matched gasps.

"Your professor is going to have to very careful in his revelations about what happened that night. One wrong word and his cover will be blown. He'd be a walking dead man," Doyle told them unnecessarily.

Remus recovered enough to ask, "Does Patience have any idea who the spy might be?"

Doyle chuckled without mirth. "Lad if she knew, we wouldn't be having this little talk."

Olivia stated firmly, "We need to get Professor Snape out of this hospital as soon as possible. He is too unprotected here. Will we be able to get him released into our custody, considering the possible charges he will be facing?" she inquired, looking firmly at the Inspector.

"You might be able to work something out with the Chief Prosecutor. Patience tells me he has worked with your Ministry several times in the past. I wouldn't go and tell him about the spy, though. You never know who might be listening, if you take my meaning."

Olivia nodded. "Understood."

Doyle rose, extended his hand. "Well, I've done my job for the moment. I will be off. Patience will be wanting to know how you took all of this. Is there a way for me to contact you if I should learn more?"

Shaking the Inspector's hand Olivia informed him, "We will leave a message and a number where we can be reached at your station." Doyle nodded briskly. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but changed his mind and turned to Remus.

"Pleasure meeting you, sir," Remus said as the two men exchanged farewells. "May I inquire about one thing that puzzles me?"

Doyle cocked a questioning brow.

"Your wand." Remus stated. "You are a Muggle, yet you carry a wand. How is this?"

Doyle shot the tall wizard a sly grin, shaking the wand from his sleeve. "It's something Patience has been working on, clever girl. It's a fake, you see. I got one shot of magic and it's a good one. Would've laid you flat on your ass for a few hours. Glad I didn't have to waste it." The wand disappeared back up his sleeve. "Now if you could please..." Doyle gestured about the room.

"Certainly," Remus replied, pulling his own wand and releasing the charms he had placed about the room.

"Good day to you, then," Doyle said, and, giving a brief nod, he left them.

Olivia sighed heavily. "We have really got our work cut out for us. I have to speak with Uncle Albus."

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Thanks go out to Luvillie for her lovely beta work. She is my sister, so she doesn't have to be real nice to get her point across, yet she is. Thank you dearest.

Thank you also to puddleducks12001 for her support and information on all things British. Huggs and kisses to you and little Miss M.

Cwfrey2, you have been a doll, hanging with me on all of this. Your encouragement keeps me going. If I have slighted the Metro Police of London in any way--sorry. I downloaded loads of information from your webpage and whoever it has been who has answered my email inquiries for this story, BIG HUGS!