Severus Snape A Soul Undiminished

Chapter 59 - Two Silos

Sirana climbed out of the sidecar of Hagrid's flying motorbike when they landed. He came around the bike to her to say his farewells. "Take care o' yerself, Sirana. If yeh ever
need me, I'll be there," Hagrid said, and she knew she would miss the giant and his easy natured company. They had grown to be close friends during the time they spent together over the summer, and she cherished his friendship.
"Thank you,Hagrid,I appreciate that.I'll miss you.Hopefully, I will see you again," Sirana said.
Hagrid pulled her into a hug. "I know yeh will, miss. Trust me."
Hagrid had delivered her to a small, old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, and Sirana recognized it as one of the many hideouts she had seen while working with the Order. Her grandfather emerged from the house.
"Thank you for bringing her safely," he said to Hagrid.
"Yer welcome. Anytime," Hagrid replied, and left with a wave to her.
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Sirana hugged her grandfather. He looked younger, but sadder.
"It's been hell without you, Sirana. We make a good team. I'm sorry you had to leave Hogwarts. I know you love it there, but we really do need you. Come, there's some people I'd like you to meet."
There were two ladies and three men staying in the house with her grandfather, and they all looked like they'd been on the run for a while. Her grandfather introduced her to them. She'd met two of them previously with her grandfather.
Everyone greeted her kindly, except one. A big, burly chap stood at the window with his wand drawn. He looked her way and said, "I hope bringing her here was worth it. If anyone saw them arrive, we'll have to be on the move again, and quickly."
"That's Grayson. He's as mean as he looks," her grandfather said, winking at her.
"Not all of us have the luxury of having a nursemaid, and if the young lady here is expecting to be coddled, she won't get it from me," he said gruffly.
That irked her more than she'd like to admit, and she started to tell him, but fortunately, one of the members she knew spoke up. "I've worked with Sirana before. You don't have to worry about coddling her. From what I've seen, you might need a nursemaid if you cross her."
Grayson huffed, then left the room. "Sorry about that," Finn, the man she'd worked with before, said. "His bark is worse
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than—well, actually, his bite is pretty bad too. He'll warm up to you," Finn smiled. "He is really one of our best members once you get used to him."
Finn's wife, Ava, who'd she also met before, chimed in. "We're happy to have you back. We've got lots to do, and we can surely use your help."
"Thank you. I will do whatever I can," Sirana said, and she meant it. This would be her team for the time being, and she wanted to make sure they all made it through.
They sat in front of the fireplace until late into the night, discussing strategies. They could only stay here tonight and then they would be back on the move. Grayson came back into the room to join them.
"So, when it comes time to kill Death Eaters, you will be up to the task?" he asked her. She knew that Severus had been a Death Eater, but as a spy now for Dumbledore. She had never had to kill before when she worked with her grandfather, but she knew she might have to, now that the war was brewing.
"Yes, I know what needs to be done, and I'm ready to do it," she said with conviction.
He looked at her hard, then nodded and left for bed.
"Let's all go to bed," Her grandfather said. "We're going to need our sleep."
"I'll take first watch," Sirana spoke up. "I'm not tired."
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She stayed up until dawn. Finn relieved her so she could get a couple hours sleep. She felt her link with Severus, and she said a silent prayer that she would see him again before she drifted off to sleep.
It had been a week since Sirana had rejoined the Order.They were meeting with Mad-Eye that night. They were in a small apartment in a rough part of town. They didn't stand out among the rough-looking residents of the area. They didn't travel in public in more than groups of three so as to not bring attention to themselves.
Mad-Eye was alone, as he was usually known to be. He greeted her warmly when he arrived.
"Good to see you, again. Although I'm sorry for the circumstances," he said.
They all sat in the cramped apartment, and Sirana brought him a drink. Mad-Eye laid out a hand-drawn map on the small dining table.
"This is where we think they've been meeting. We can't go there when You-Know-Who is there, and we need to take out as many as we can. It's not going to be easy. You seven and four more will have to come in from their blind side, across the river. You will get only one chance, and then you get out. Understand?" Mad-Eye said.
He told them where to regroup afterwards and split them up so they wouldn't all be going to the same place. Sirana and her grandfather were with Finn, Ava, and Grayson.
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"How soon?" Ava asked.
"Tomorrow night," Mad-Eye answered.
Finn reached to hold Ava's hand. Sirana noticed she looked scared.
Mad-Eye noticed too. "Are you all up for it? Now is your last chance if not. Our scouts say there's usually six of them, and we need the numbers on our side. We'll all be on brooms, and we need to be stealthy. I don't want to lose anyone."
Everyone said they were in, and even Ava sounded ready for the mission.
Sirana lay behind a small, rocky hill with her grandfather and Grayson. There was a dilapidated farmhouse with two silos. It looked like it had been abandoned for years. They saw the first of the Death Eaters start to arrive. Sirana had pretty good vision, and she saw something move towards the far side on the hill in a cluster of trees. When she pointed it out, her grandfather couldn't make it out, but Grayson saw it.
"It's probably their lookout," he said. He told Sirana that she was to target that Death Eater first, then swing around to help them. She felt encouraged that he trusted her to do that. They had worked together all week, and she'd proven herself to be a good flyer, and he must have noticed.
They waited for the signal from the other side of the ridge, and she felt her grandfather squeeze her hand in reassurance. When they saw the signal, she mounted her broom, and Grayson slapped her on the thigh. "Go get 'em," he whispered, and she
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took off, flying so close to the ground that she almost brushed the grass with her knees. They were only going to give her a twenty-second lead—enough time to engage—and then they were going to attack the main target at the silos.
As she drew closer, she saw the Death Eater, and broke hard to the left so that she could come up behind him. When she was close enough for good aim, she drew out her wand. She knew she only had one chance, or she would draw too much attention to herself if there was a firefight. She aimed her wand and sent the killing curse straight at the back of his head. She cursed inwardly, feeling the sharp sting of the raw awareness that she had killed another being. As the Death Eater cried out and died, Sirana vowed to herself that she would never allow herself to become callous to the pain from taking another life, regardless of the circumstances, and she felt no shame for the tears that fell in sorrow now, even for those who threatened to bring darkness to this world. She swung around to head to the silos and saw the other members of the Order closing in quickly. One of the Death Eaters must have heard the scream and was headed her way on a broom, his wand drawn. She peeled up hard, and the ball of fire barely missed her. She shot back down, flying fast, pulling up at the last second to come in behind her attacker. She fired her curse, and it missed her target, hitting his broom instead. He went rolling, tumbling down a rocky hill. She flew in to finish him off. He was laying in heap, and she aimed, but he rolled behind a large rock and her shot missed, sending a cloud of dirt and rocks into the air. The dust hit her eyes, and she
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veered off. She couldn't let him get away, and she wiped her eyes, frantically trying to clear them. She stayed low, knowing she would be an easy target in the open air, swinging around trees to come in from a better angle. Suddenly, she felt herself being yanked off her broom, and she landed hard. She tried to roll up so she could have a chance, but her attacker landed on top of her, knocking her wand away. It was almost dark, but she could see the Death Eater's mask only inches from her face. She fought, kicking and punching, knowing it was too late for her, but she wouldn't give up until she was dead. She didn't plan on being captured alive knowing what her fate would be at Voldemort's hands.
The Death Eater had trapped her legs with his, grabbing both of her wrists. He held them down above her head, and then removed his mask. She gasped. It was Severus!
He raised his finger to his mouth to quiet her. "Shhh..." he said. He looked around to make sure they were alone, then kissed her. She was never so happy and sad at the same time to see someone.
"Sirana, we don't have much time. I love you. Please, be careful. Please," he said, and kissed her again before putting his mask back on.
"I love you too, Severus, and I will," she said, as he let her up.
She retrieved her wand and ran for her broom. She looked at him once more before joining the fight. She saw a Death Eater bearing down on Mad-Eye and she broke hard to the right to
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get the angle she needed. She took the Death Eater out in one shot to the back.
"You take the left side!" he yelled, and she swung around left as he went to the right. They met in between the silos to take out the last two Death Eaters.
"That's it! Let's go!" Mad-Eye yelled. They all took off. She looked back towards the direction she'd seen Severus and she felt him in their link. Tears ran down her face when she saw the vision he sent to her of them standing together, clad in armor of love and courage.