Dark Magic

Resolutions

When I awoke, I expected to find darkness. And I did. But I had never found darkness so comforting, my only solace in Severus' eyes. A chair had been drawn beside the bed, had he stayed all night? Guilt curdled in my stomach at the thought; this was his bed, not mine. "How are you feeling?" His voice croaked tiredly. How was I feeling? I inhaled a deep breath, sitting up to assess my state. A slight wobble occurred in my head, but overall I was much better than I had anticipated. Snape noticed this, extending one last potion towards me without hesitance. "This will alleviate the dizziness."

His words were true, the moment the liquid traversed my throat any previous feelings had dissipated. "May I?" His questioning confused me, as he motioned towards the bandages atop my head. "Oh. Of course." I breathed, allowing him to remove them and take a look at the back of my head. Momentarily, he reached into the cabinet beside the bed and took out a potion, placing a few drops onto where my injury had occurred. "Dittany will help with the scarring. Everything else seems to have healed well." An almost sigh of relief emitted from him, as I sent him a small smile of appreciation, "Thank you."

Before I had a chance to try and leave, however, he stopped me in my tracks, "Now, are you going to tell me what happened last night?" My eyes glazed over at the thought, my hands beginning to tremble uncontrollably, which did not go un-noticed.

"How do I know you're you? That no-one else is listening?" I croaked, a tear streaming down my cheeks as fear began to overwhelm me.

Without hesitance, Severus produced his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at the door, "Muffliato." And when his eyes met mine again, Severus' hands instinctively placed themselves over my own, "I'm here. Always." His sincerity caused the convulsions to cease, my nerves dismissed as I took a deep breath, readying myself to tell my truth.

And, this time, I did...

"The night I slipped that note under your door, I was introduced to you-know-who," I sighed, watching the fear flicker like a small flame in his coal eyes. "You was right, Severus. He's alive...Weak, but alive." I clarified, watching the colour drain from the man's already paling complexion.

"Merlin's." He breathed, his mouth agape at the notion.

Nodding, I tried to steady my heartbeat a little more, the pounding in my chest now loud enough to hear from across the room. "In exchange for my loyalty, he promised to spare your life and Harry's. And he has helped me regain some of my magic. But, I fear where it's now coming from."

Severus' eyes glistened with tears, but he did not allow a single one to fall as his gaze latched onto my own, "Where do you believe it is coming from?" He asked, but I knew he did not truly wish for an answer. The man knew what I would say before my lips parted to speak it, "Somewhere dark. I can only produce darker magic, now. And, last night, he asked me to perform Necromancy on a dead crow." I gulped, trying to force back down whatever I had eaten the night prior, for dinner.

Severus, too, turned a shade of green, all hope in his eyes diminished at my words. "And did you? Perform Necromancy?" As though he, once more, had already calculated my answer, his eyes averted to the dark, stony floor in his room. I shook my head, "No." And before I had a chance to explain anymore, a sigh of sheer relief escaped him, his hand squeezing my own tighter than ever before. "But, when I got back to my dorm, there was a dead mouse on my bed. And I thought, what if there was a way to bring someone back with their soul still in tact? So, I formulated my own spell in Latin and...Tried it out." I breathed, a regretful tear trailing my cheek at the thought of him judging me for my deed, unable to bring myself to meet his eyes.

"And that was what caused you to hit your head?"

I nodded, hearing the weariness in his tone of voice. A sob escaped me, the tears falling down my cheeks at an uncontrollable rate, now.