Unfathomable Desire

Chapter 35

I woke up and blinked through the darkness. I noticed that I was lying in a bed with dark sheets. My eyes scanned my environment until I realized I was in Severus's room. Severus was sitting in an armchair, his legs crossed, reading a book. I rubbed my eyes, trying to piece together what had happened. 

"Ah," Severus spoke. "You're awake." He placed his book on a small wooden table beside him.

"What happened?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"Well," Severus leaned forward, "let's see. You got sick all over my office floor. That was a pleasure cleaning up. Then you passed out so I brought you here." 

"What?" 

"Then I went to teach and when I came back, you were still asleep." 

"What time is it?" 

"It's dinner time," Severus said, glancing at his wristwatch. 

"Shit." I swung my legs over the bed. I tried to get up but the room spun and I sat back down. "I feel like crap." 

"I don't doubt it," Severus said. 

I glanced at him and he was chewing his lip nervously. "You're not going to reprimand me?"

Severus sighed and looked to be deep in thought.

"What is it?" I asked. 

Severus looked at the floor, concern growing on his sharp features.

"Severus, tell me," I ordered.

He looked at me for a long moment before speaking. "Dumbledore is looking for you." 

I jumped out of bed instantly, fighting through the dizziness, and made my way to his door.

"Y/n, wait," Severus said as he stood up and tried blocking my path. 

I pushed passed him and rushed out into the empty corridor. I quickly walked towards Dumbledore's office, hoping that's where he would be. Severus chased after me.

"Where are you going?" he asked, slightly breathless. 

"To see Dumbledore," I said without looking at him. 

"Let him come to you." 

"Why? So you can deter him from assigning me any tasks?" 

Severus sighed but didn't speak the rest of the walk. We made it to Dumbledore's office and I turned to Severus, cocking an eyebrow expectantly. 

Severus sighed again. "Acid pops," Severus said while looking at me. 

The statue guarding Dumbledore's office moved, revealing the staircase. We both got in and were brought the Dumbledore's door. I knocked twice and a moment passed before Dumbledore's voice granted us entry. 

"Ah, Miss l/n," Dumbledore said upon seeing us, "And Professor Snape." 

"Hi Professor," I said. 

"Professor Dumbledore, please don't do this," Severus said from beside me. I looked at him and was surprised to see desperation in his eyes. "You have put her in danger multiple times now, this is unnecessary." 

"Severus," Dumbledore said, "please excuse us." 

Severus clenched his jaw before turning on his heel and leaving with a slam of the door. 

"Have a seat, Miss l/n," Dumbledore said. 

I took a seat across from Dumbledore and noticed how tired he looked. He took a long pause before speaking again. 

"I do apologize for having to ask this of you..." he said. 

"What is it?" 

"I believe that Voldemort is after something. Something very important to him. I need you to help us ensure that this item does not fall into his hands." 

I was walking through Diagon Alley, looking for Kingsley. There were tons of people and it was difficult to make my way through. It had been a month of planning with Dumbledore after he had told me what he wanted me to do. It was Valentine's day and couples were crowding the streets. Part of me was annoyed I couldn't spend it with Severus, however this was more important. 

I stopped beside a busy shop entrance, scanning the crowd again for any sign of Kingsley. He was meant to pass something along to me that I was meant to deposit at Gringotts Bank. If he didn't appear soon, I would assume something went wrong. 

I continued walking down the street, keeping my eyes open and alert. I started getting nervous that something had happened, when I noticed a familiar silhouette. I saw the back of Kingsley, however he was still pretty far from me and deep in conversation with someone I didn't recognize. 

I started making my way to him, but hung back just in case. Finally Kingsley turned and his eyes landed on me for a split second. He walked by and casually handed me an envelope. He was so slick with it, you wouldn't have seen anything unless you knew what you were looking for. 

The envelop was small and thin, it seemed to be just a simple letter. I tucked it into my coat pocket and made a detour towards the bank. 

Just as I started feeling good about how smoothly this mission was going - finally -  a large hand covered my mouth and dragged me into a small passageway. I instinctively fought for a second before I relaxed a little, trying to calm myself. The arm around me was much stronger than I was and fighting wasn't going to help. 

A firm body pressed against my own from behind and lips found my ear. "We need to stop meeting like this," the familiar voice said. 

A hand slipped into my pocket and pulled out my wand, leaving me defenceless. I bit the hand around my mouth hard and the man yelped and removed his hand. I took this chance to spin myself around, his other arm now gripping my upper arm tightly. 

Lucius was cradling his hand to his chest. "You bitch," he said through gritted teeth. 

He grabbed my other arm and spun me back around so I was facing the wall. His body was again pressed to my own. "Why do you keep following me?" he hissed in my ear. 

"Believe it or not, I wasn't following you Lucius," I said loudly, hoping to get someone's attention.

"It's very crowded here today, don't you think?" Lucius said. "Couples buying each other gifts, spending time together. Romantic, isn't it?" I struggled slightly against his hold, but his grip tightened. "I think we should go somewhere more private."

Before I could protest, Lucius and I apparated. When I opened my eyes, dizzy from the apparition, we were in a room that looked abandoned. Old wooden chairs were scattered throughout the room, some toppled over, and a long wooden table sat in the middle. Cobwebs and dust layered the furniture. An old hearth sat at the far wall. 

Lucius shoved me into one of the chairs and pointed his wand at me. Without uttering a single spell, ropes coiled around me, binding me to the chair. Fuck.