Forever and Always Yours, SS [Book 3]

Chapter 119

Severus and Amilia relaxed on the shore of the Black Lake. Amilia sighed happily while laying out on a blanket that Severus had brought. All of the students had gone home for Easter break and the castle was quiet...too quiet. 

The silence disturbed Amilia, it reminded her of when she was in the United States and Eric had taken her to the middle of the country to see a few happy places from his childhood. While they were there, a storm rolled in, much darker and louder than the ones she had experienced here, but then it all stopped. The silence was deafening. Eric had run to the closest door and stepped outside, the wind whipped his jacket around his shoulders, and a siren started to wail. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

Eric just stood there laughing for a moment before rushing inside to pull her out with him. Together they watched the funnel meet the dirt that was rising to it. Amilia had been terrified before but never about the weather, and that terrified her.

"What happened after that?"

Severus's voice jerked Amilia out of her thoughts, "I begged him to go inside. He laughed at me and said with how big it looked, being inside would not exactly matter and that we could not apparate out without risking getting caught or killed."

"Did you go inside?"

"Yes," Amilia sighed and propped herself up on her elbows, "it sounded...well, I do not know what it sounded like. Eric said if the wind sounds like a freight train, it is a tornado. We went down into the basement, and I could hear the windows rattle and things hit the side of the house."

Severus scowled, "That sounds terrifying."

"It was but not as scary as the silence before it came. There was no wind, no rain, not even the birds chirped. The silence here reminds me of that."

"I see. So you are waiting for the tornado to touchdown."

Amilia nodded, "But at the moment, I want to soak in the spring sun."

"Careful, you might blow away if you relax too much."

Amilia groaned, "Hush now, let us enjoy this, please."

Severus gently touched her shoulder, "Have you spoken to Minerva or Poppy?"

Amilia scowled, "No. If we do not have to talk, they will not talk to me."

"I am so sorry."

"It's fine, I guess." Amilia sighed, "I suppose it was going to happen at some point." She tipped her head back to stare at Severus, "I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. It is good that the blade twisted early; had it happened now...it would have just made things much more painful especially knowing that—"

"That the Dark Lord is still searching for Potter, and we have no idea where he is after fleeing Malfoy Manor." The tone in Severus's voice shifted, alerting Amilia that they were no longer alone.

"Yes, exactly." She sat up and looked down the shoreline. Two figures were approaching fast.

Severus stood up and held his hand out to her, which she took, and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet. Amilia dusted off her clothes and placed her hands behind her back. She found that this was the easiest thing to do to keep her from getting too twitchy.

"Headmaster, we should discuss the punishment for those who try not to return to Hogwarts after the break."

Amilia stared at the Carrows; they both had wide grins as they started spewing ideas at Severus. 

Severus, on the other hand, lifted his hand, silencing them, "I think you are getting ahead of yourselves. Yes, several students tried to stay home after Christmas, but they were brought in, and you punished them. I do not think that will be the case this time."