Lost

Lost

Chapter Nine

Severus kissed the top of Hermione's head as he watched her sleep. Gods she's beautiful he thought, looking at her naked form pressed up against him. Thinking of what they had just done put a stupid smile on his face. It hadn't just been sex to him, which was part of why it had been so good. It was making love, as cliché as that was. He sighed contentedly; hopefully he would spend many more nights like this, holding her in his arms after being together.

He could feel himself drifting off into sleep, although he tried to fight it. He wanted this moment to go on forever, wanted to spend eternity with her wrapped in his arms. His world was perfect, at this moment. For years he had looked towards the future with an uneasy reluctance, never knowing what he wanted or where he was going. Now he welcomed the rest of his life with open arms, knowing that this angel would be in it. He closed his eyes and pulled her closer, so that he could feel the beat of her heart against his chest. He fell into a light sleep, oblivious to the soft hissing sound coming from the door.

***

Sirius grimly kept his wand pointed at the handle to Hermione's door. I've never seen this many locking spells in one place before he thought angrily. Finally the locks were broken, and he pushed the door open, being careful to be quiet. Even in his rage he knew it would do no good to wake the entire tower. He shut the door behind him and uttered a soft silencing spell; things were bound to get noisy.

He shut the door softly behind him and turned to the bed. A low growl escaped from his lips as he saw what lay before him. They were on the bed together, naked. He noted, with disgust, where Snape's hands were placed on her body. They were both smiling in their sleep, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Rage boiled and bubbled inside of Sirius. He became blinded with hatred for the boy in front of him. With a deft movement he pointed his wand at the candles in the room, causing them to flare to life.

***

Hermione woke up first, confused about the candles. She sat up and looked around, her eyes finally locking on Sirius. They stared at each other for a moment, her eyes wide in horror, and his with an unmistakable anger; though she was sure it was not directed at her. Finally realizing the situation they were in, she gave a short shriek, and pulled the sheet to cover herself. Severus grunted and woke up, looking at the terrified expression on her face. "What's wrong love?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't answer, and he turned to where her gaze was locked, gasping as he saw Sirius.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Black?" He asked, trying to get control of the situation. He took his wand from the bedside table, and in an instant he and Hermione were dressed.

"I could ask the same thing of you, Snape. What the hell are you doing in here?" Sirius clenched and unclenched his fists angrily.

"I should think it would be obvious what I am doing in here," Severus said with a nasty sneer.

Hermione looked between the two of them with growing apprehension. "Just calm down," she tried to say with authority. It didn't work, however, as Sirius merely turned to Hermione with a hurt look on his face.

"How could you do this, Mya? This is Snape we're talking about... are you just trying to hurt me?" He looked at her pleadingly, as if he wanted to believe that this was some sort of revenge on her part, and not anything real.

"This has nothing to do with you, Sirius. I'm with Severus because I love him," she realized a second too late that this was the wrong thing to say. Sirius' eyes went wide and he recoiled as if she had slapped him. He couldn't seem to stand looking at her anymore, and instead he turned back to Severus with even more of a loathing.

"You! You've done something to her!" His voice was almost a growl, and he pointed his wand directly at Severus' throat. Noticing that Severus still had an arm around Hermione he narrowed his eyes. "Get away from her, don't you touch her."

Severus smirked and drew Hermione closer. "I've touched her in ways you can only imagine... and trust me when I say she likes it."

Hermione looked at him in horror. "Stop this, both of you!" They paid her no attention. Sirius' face got redder and redder, looking as if he were about to burst.

He took a deep, ragged breath and seethed, "Expelliarmus!" Severus' wand flew into Sirius' hand while Severus was thrown against the back wall. Hermione let out a small scream and moved to go to him, but Sirius pushed her back down onto the bed. "You're staying here; I'll deal with you later," he said, before grabbing Severus and lifting him to his feet. "You and I are going outside," he snarled to the other boy, "I don't want to do this in front of her."

Severus regarded him for a moment, and then nodded curtly. Sirius handed his wand back and they made their way towards the door. Hermione looked at them with absolute horror written all over her face. "No! I'm not going to let you two do this! If either of you care about me at all, you'll stay here and talk like civilized people." She hoped that this last line would be enough to stop them, but neither seemed to notice what she had said. She decided to be drastic and reached for her wand, but Sirius beat her to it.

"Accio!" Her wand shot into Sirius' hand, and he gave her a hard look. "You are staying here until I get back," he said shortly, before pushing Severus through the door and slamming it. She rushed over to the door, but he had put a locking spell on it.

She started banging against the door, and shouting as loudly as she could, but she knew it would do no good. She tended to be overzealous with the charms when Severus came over, and there were more than a few powerful silencing charms on the room.

"Bloody hell!" She slumped down against the shut door and buried her face in her hands. Severus and Sirius were on their way to kill each other, and she was stuck in her room, with no way to stop them. Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she remembered something that she hadn't thought of before. She got up and ran to the window, hoping that she was wrong. A small moan escaped her lips as she stared out at the bright and full moon.

Oh my god... Sirius is really going to try to kill him. She clung to the window, watching as whomping willow's branches danced hauntingly in the shadows.

***

Sirius dragged Snape down to the common room, his blood boiling with hatred for the boy. He had lost any sense of sanity about the situation when Hermione had said that she was in love. Seeing them in bed together had been one thing. He could let himself believe that she was doing it out of some sort of misplaced spite... but love? He shook his head violently. Don't think about her... just think about how you're going to kill him. He looked up with a half crazed grin on his face.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Snape's voice brought him back to the situation at hand, and he looked up wanting to smack the sneer off of the other boy's face.

"I'll kill you; I'll kill you for touching her," Sirius growled at Snape, "but not here. That's a pleasure I want uninterrupted."

"Agreed," Snape sneered.

"There is a place I know, where we won't be bothered. It's under the whomping willow. Meet me there in twenty minutes, alone." Sirius was smiling now, which was obviously disturbing Snape.

"How exactly am I supposed to meet you under the whomping willow?" Snape was unconsciously backing away from him.

"There is a knot, at the base of the tree. Hit it with a stick, and the branches will stop moving and a passageway will open. Wait for me there." Sirius started to walk towards the boys dorms.

Severus grabbed his arm before he could walk away. "What? You want me to go wait while you gather up your little friends? This is between you and me."

Sirius yanked his arm back as if he had been burned. "I'm getting an invisibility cloak. I'm not about to get caught by Filch before I can beat the bloody hell out of you."

"Fine, twenty minutes, under the whomping willow, and you better be alone." Severus practically spit out the last few words before turning and stalking out of the portrait hole. Sirius watched him go with the same insane grin over his face.

After the portrait swung closed behind Severus, Sirius turned and bolted up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. He pushed the door open softly, and walked to James' bed, crouching low next to the pillow. He nudged the other boys' shoulder a bit, hoping to wake him only slightly. James gave a low grunt to show that he was awake and Sirius whispered into his ear, "Prongs, I need to borrow the cloak... where is it?"

James opened his eyes the slightest bit, and looked at Sirius in confusion. "What do you need it for?"

"Just give it to me, okay?" Sirius nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, "I need it to go meet a girl, alright?"

James nodded slightly, although his eyes showed that he didn't quite believe his friend. "It's under my bed."

Sirius grabbed the cloak and threw it over his shoulders, giving the appearance that he was nothing more than a bobbing head. "Thanks," he grinned devilishly, before raising the hood to cover his face. He turned and made his way towards the door, unaware that James had silently risen out of bed to follow him.

He walked quickly through the halls, wanting to get down to the whomping willow as soon as he could, afraid that his nerve would run out. He knew that he had wasted too much time talking to James, and that if he didn't hurry he would miss the main event. He slipped through the doors to the grounds and made his way over to the tree.

He paused by the branches, watching as they swung madly, illuminated by the full moon. For a moment, he considered stopping Severus before he went down there, just fighting the boy hand to hand. He shook out the thoughts of mercy as the images from Hermione's room replayed themselves in his mind. He could see her naked, saying that she loved Severus... he clenched his hands violently. It was too much for him to bear.

He stood close to the tree, his breath coming in quick and excited as he saw a shadowed figure drawing ever nearer.

***

"Fine, twenty minutes, under the whomping willow, and you better be alone." Severus spit the words out before turning and sweeping out of the common room. Once the portrait was closed behind him, he let out a low growl and punched the wall behind him.

"Damn it!" He shook out his fist and stalked down the halls, not bothering to make himself invisible, he felt almost invincible in his rage. Things had been perfect, his life had for one sweet moment been absolutely perfect, and Black had to go and screw it all up.

Severus tore through the hallways, he was supposed to meet Black in twenty minutes, and he'd be damned if he went alone. He knew that Black, true to his Gryffindor nobility, wouldn't bring along any other member of his little gang. Severus, on the other hand, was not tied down by those sorts of sentiments. No, he was a Slytherin, and no Slytherin would walk in alone if he had the choice.

There was only one that he could go to, Lucius. That in its self was almost as big a problem as Black. Lucius would never come on blind faith alone... faith was something a Slytherin did not possess. He knew that Lucius suspected about Hermione, but now he would have to confirm the boy's suspicions. That would be enough of a trade, the information Lucius craved for protection in a fight.

Severus practically flew down the stairs to the dungeons, reaching the common room in a matter of seconds. He stealthily made his way into the seventh years' dorm, and over to the four poster where Lucius lay sleeping. Drawing back one of the curtains he gave a half hearted smirk. The boy looked almost angelic in sleep. He placed a hand over Lucius' mouth and promptly shook the boy awake.

"Lucius, get up. I need your help." Lucius looked at him with sleepy eyes, but quickly woke up when he saw the deadly expression on Severus' face. Raising his hand and standing up, Severus threw a cloak at the bed and walked towards the door, with Lucius following him. They walked in silence until they reached the common room. Lucius knew better than to start asking unnecessary questions, and merely waited for the other boy to speak.

"We don't have much time, I'll explain as we go." They made their way out of the common room and up the stairs towards the school grounds. "I was in Mya's room, when Black broke in. Needless to say he was not amused. I am to meet him, alone, underneath the whomping willow." He turned to look at Lucius, noticing the satisfied grin on the other boy's face.

"What is the plan then?" Lucius licked his lips, obviously up for a fight.

Severus thought for a moment. "I'll go in first. I would like the pleasure of beating Black by myself, if I can manage it. If I can't... if it looks like I'm losing, that's when you come in." He paused, his eyes flashing darkly, "I don't want Black to walk away from this." Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a vial that he had grabbed before leaving the dorms. "Take this, it's an invisibility potion."

Lucius grinned and downed the contents of the vial. The boys looked at each other resolutely before heading out of the door. Severus walked quickly towards the whomping willow, aware of Lucius' presence close behind him. It gave him cold comfort to know that he was not alone, that either from his hand or another's Black would get what was coming to him.

He drew near to his destination, and looked to see if there was any sign of Black. Satisfied that there was not, he set to looking for a stick long enough to get by the swinging branches. He was becoming tired of his search when something smacked into him from behind. Figuring it was Black, he turned around with his wand out. He almost laughed as he was greeted by the sight of a long stick hovering in mid air.

"Thanks Lucius," he muttered taking the stick roughly and crouching low to the ground. He had located the knot right away; it was rather conspicuous when you were looking for it. Now the only problem was avoiding the branches long enough to poke it. It took him several minutes, but finally he managed to hit the knot, effectively stopping the movement of the willow.

Taking a deep breath he made his way towards the new opening in the bottom of the tree. It was slightly foreboding... a secret passage lit only by moonlight. He shuddered involuntarily before lowering himself through the hole. He almost didn't make it inside, as the branches started to swing wildly again. Turning around, he became somewhat frantic as he saw that there was no noticeable way to get out, something that Black had failed to mention.

"Damn," he swore, becoming aware that this was some sort of trap. He started to bang against the now closed tree trunk, trying to find a way out. Suddenly, there was a low growl that almost made him jump out of his skin. He looked around for the source of it, but the dim light from his wand could not reach far down the tunnel.

The growl came again, long and dangerous. Severus pounded harder on the interior of the tree, sweat beginning to form at his brow. He could hear something approaching him in the dark; the growls were becoming more frequent and louder in their approach. He thought for a moment that it could just be Black in an attempt to frighten him, but that thought was driven from his mind as an unearthly howl rose came ever closer towards him.

Severus panicked, pounding against the walls and screaming at the top of his lungs. The growls were no longer muffled by the tunnel; the beast was almost upon him. He could feel the walls start to shake as something massive approached him. Clinging to his wand he pressed his back against the wall. His breathing was ragged and his heart was pounding in his ears. He felt that he would die of fright before the beast even got to him.

He wasn't that lucky. Into the dim light of his wand stepped something out of a nightmare. A huge, snarling, werewolf, fangs dripping in saliva, eyes wild, and claws sharper than a sword stood before him. Severus screamed and pressed his eyes closed, he was going to die.

***

James followed Sirius down towards the grounds, having little trouble following the invisible boy. Sirius was being careless, walking loudly and muttering under his breath, it was obvious that he was not going to meet some girl.

They slipped out of the doors and to the grounds. James could tell where Sirius was heading almost immediately; they had walked the path to the whomping willow together too many times for him not to recognize the route. He furrowed his brow as they swiftly came towards the menacing tree.

What is he up to? He thought, searching his mind for some explanation. They had decided not to visit Remus this full moon, as Peter was laid up in the hospital with the flu. He bit his lip, worried. Surely Sirius didn't plan on going alone? It was dangerous enough when they all went together.

He heard Sirius stop, and hid himself in the shadows. Sirius didn't move. James was more than confused at his friend's behavior. It was almost as if he was waiting for something, but what could he be waiting for at this hour of the night?

His question was answered as he saw a cloaked figure drawing nearer to the tree. He narrowed his eyes, Sirius had said that he was meeting a girl, but he could tell by the way the figure moved that it was a boy.

The boy stopped in front of the willow, and began looking for something. James had had enough. He walked over to where he knew Sirius was watching and whispered into his friend's ear. "What's going on Padfoot?"

He could tell that Sirius was startled, as the cloak fell off when he jumped. He looked at James guiltily, but found himself unable to tell his friend what he had been plotting. They looked at each other for a moment before a noise caught James' attention. He turned around towards the willow in time to watch as the figure of Severus Snape slid down and into the tree.

His eyes went wide as he realized what was going on. "No!" He screamed out too late, the tree had already closed behind him. He swirled around to Sirius in horror, "What have you done?"

Sirius looked as if he were waking up from a dream. "He... I..." he couldn't get the words out, but it hardly mattered as James was already running away from him and towards the tree.

He got near to the tree and began looking for a stick long enough to hit the knot. Snape's stick lay just out of reach near the base of the tree. James could hear the other boy's frustrated poundings on the other side of the tree, he was still unaware of the danger he faced. James crouched as low as he could towards the ground, and inched his way towards the stick. It was a slow process, and Snape's poundings were becoming more frantic.

James heart was in his throat as he heard Snape start to call out. He knew what would happen if he didn't hurry. He reached his fingers out as far as they could go, finally grasping the stick as Snape's cries turned into screams of terror.

Without a moment to spare, James hit the stick against the knot, stopping the branches and revealing the passageway. Thrusting his arms into the hole, he grabbed Snape's shoulders, aware that the werewolf was inches away from ripping out his throat. Snape kicked at the creature, hitting it in the face, and giving James the extra seconds he needed to pull the boy out. He had gotten Snape's body mostly out of the hole, when the werewolf grabbed at one of his legs, ripping through the skin.

Snape cried out in anguish, but James managed to pull him the rest of the way through the hole. The second that Snape's body was clear, the willow sprang to life again, with the two boys caught in the midst of its rage. James was hit on the leg, and could feel the bone breaking. He gritted his teeth against the pain and focused on getting Snape clear from the branches.

There was a sickening thud as one of the branches hit the side of Snape's face. James grimaced at the blood, but managed to pull the boy away from the tree at last. Sirius was there in an instant, hovering above the broken figures, unsure of what to do. James looked up at him with intense anger, unable to believe that his friend would have done such a thing.

"Go get Madam Pomfrey," he ordered Sirius, who was still staring down at him. Sirius nodded then took off towards the castle as fast as he could. James shut his eyes and tried to block out the blinding pain coming from his leg, but the sudden lack of adrenaline and the throbbing in his leg caused his vision to fade, and his head to grow heavy.

The two unconscious figures lay bleeding and broken, the silver white light from the moon making them look like ghosts.

***

Lucius watched as Severus slid through the passage into the tree. It was an odd place to meet for a duel, but what could you expect from a Gryffindor?

He was more than happy to be accompanying Severus on this little night time excursion. For one, he finally knew for certain where the boy was spending his nights, and of course, the prospect of beating up an unsuspecting Gryffindor was always a good one. He had been relatively sure that Severus had been staying with Hermione. They were always talking between classes and studying together in the library. He smirked a little at that, he had never known Severus to be so sloppy before.

Lucius' mind was churning with this new information. There had to be a way to exploit this somehow. He started mulling over the possibilities in his mind, unaware of Severus' plight.

He was brought back to earth by the sounds of Potter struggling to get into the tree. Lucius' face screwed up at that. Just like Black to send someone else to do his dirty work. Of course, it didn't really matter to Lucius which Gryffindor he hexed, so he let the boy work without interruption. He watched idly as Potter finally managed to grab the stick and poke it against the knot.

His eyes widened in horror as he saw the scene that played out next. Potter struggling to get Severus away from the snarling grasps of a werewolf was an unexpected sight indeed, and Lucius felt himself rooted to the ground in fear. He felt himself breathe again when the boys were finally clear of the werewolf and the tree. He moved forward to help his friend, when he saw Black rush up and speak to Potter.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the exchange. Black had known about the werewolf, of this he was certain. He watched as the boy ran towards the castle, and without a second thought raced after him. The injured boys could wait; in his mind, vengeance always came first.

He caught up with the boy and saw that he was indeed making his way towards the hospital wing. Thinking quickly, Lucius pointed his wand at his back, muttering, "Stupefy!" The light shot out of his wand and hit Black, making him fall to the ground. Lucius grinned and walked over to him, giving the fallen Gryffindor one good kick in the ribs. He paused for a moment, wondering what to do with Black, when a devious thought crossed his mind.

"Mobilcorpus," he said, the other boy's body lifting off of the floor. Lucius hurried down the corridors and away from the hospital wing. He reached the stairs to Gryffindor tower, and placed Black on the ground. A few minutes of work made it look as if Black had been running up the stairs and fallen. Lucius grinned, it now looked as if the Black had deserted his friend, and had gone to bed instead of to Madam Pomfrey.

Lucius grinned at his handiwork, and then sauntered down the stairs and towards the Hospital Wing. He had done his job, Black would not be walking away from this one.

***