Cast Aside

Last Minute Reminders and Too Late Warnings

Chapter 38

"And you remember how to trigger the dispersal?"

"Yes," Severus hissed at the curly-haired witch in exasperation.

"And you have your protective charm?" He opened his mouth to answer when she thought of something else with a jolt. "And your galleon?"

He made a frustrated sound halfway between a groan and a sigh. "Yes, YES! For fuck's sake, Hermione. I have everything. We've been over this a hundred times. Calm down, you're getting hysterical."

The look she gave him told him he had stuck his toe over the line. Thankfully, before she could scream at him anymore, her husband came to the rescue. George put his hands on her shoulders from where he'd come up behind her and frowned at Severus.

"Rude. You should never call a woman hysterical, mate. Fastest way to get hexed in the bollocks." He smiled and looked down at his wife. "But you do need to relax, love. We trust Snape, remember? He's incredibly competent and everything is going to be fine."

The red-head's tone was bordering on jovial, but when he met Severus's eyes again over her head, the worry she'd expressed was mirrored in his.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Severus."

Severus nodded once at her before turning to the approaching foreigner. The thin bespectacled man approached him with the small, lead-lined case. Despite George's reassurances, Severus could not help the thread of dread that coiled around his gut at the sight. Taking a steadying breath, he reinforced his mental shields and finally felt ready.

"Here. Now, remember. The ward on this case only lasts so long. When the case is opened..."

"It will trigger the dispersal, yes, yes. I remember." Severus nodded along and accepted the elaborately decorated case and slid it into his robes.

"Hmm." Ambrosi eyed him with something that looked like tempered approval and nodded once. "Remember, from the moment the ward falls, it will begin emitting radiation, and once the dispersal is triggered your protection will only last fifteen minutes. You will need to get out as fast as you can. No sticking around to gloat."

Severus clicked his tongue and straightened. As if he would be so senseless. "Of course."

With a final nod to the twins who stood off to the side, he turned and faced the manor. The six of them had apparated to a wooded area approximately a hundred meters from the edge of the Malfoy wards. He watched as two of his fellow Death Eaters appeared and went through the gates. Prepared, he moved.

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Everyone was there. This was the largest gathering of the Dark Lord's followers Severus had ever seen. Marked, unmarked, people he didn't even know supported the cause filled the grand ballroom.

The Dark Lord, sitting at the head of it all in a ludicrously lavish—the only word for it Severus could think of was throne. If he was honest with himself, the great crowd of people almost gave him pause. They hadn't planned to kill so many Ministry toadies.

Then, a man he'd never seen before guffawed loudly behind him. "Of course we should do something about the muggles. They don't even have magic, how difficult could it possibly be to subdue them?"

The small group of people he was speaking to all chuckled as if he'd told a hilarious joke and Severus felt sick. Of course, these people were all here for a reason. The sheer irony, that they thought so little of the muggles and yet they were all about to die from modified muggle technology.