The Princess and the Bloodstone

Walpurgis

Holly

Washed in ruby hues, Malfoy Manor might have looked spectacular on any other day that wasn't Walpurgis. The facade of the four storey manor house was enflamed by the sunset, and the many windows mirrored shards of fiery light.

Holly struggled against Severus's steel grip, her heart sinking with every step bringing them closer to the handsome manor. His hands were manacles, bounding her to him as they were herded to the house by the gang of Snatchers walking in a tight circle around them.

Severus, the one she'd trusted with all her heart, had revealed his true role in her fate. And now they were caught and he was hauling her to the Dark Lord Himself.

I should have apparated. Screamed... he could've stayed out of sight and come to get me, maybe hexed them from a distance... But it all happened so fast, and now Lord Voldemort will kill two birds with one stone.

Maybe he wouldn't have come to save me at all. He's a bloody coward, after all.

He didn't know the prophecy was about me, a small voice in the back of her mind countered weakly. But Severus would probably never have come clean on what he did, had she not overpowered his Occlumency shields by accident.

The pain was raw and fresh. Her heart bled all over, spilling silently from her eyes.

How could he betray me like this? US! Mum. Dad. And now me...

He said he hadn't known and she'd seen the memories of him begging Voldemort to spare Lily; his best friend and first love. She'd seen the Dark Lord agree to give Lily a chance. Voldemort wouldn't do that for just anyone... he also wouldn't do that without a price... What else did Severus have to pay that she didn't know about? There must be a lot more he was hiding in that vault of a brain.

Severus didn't know Voldemort would choose us. And when he couldn't save Mum, he vowed to protect me. It was an accident, he has been trying to stop Him... he can't be guilty of Voldemort's actions. He's paid for his mistake every day of his miserable life.

But that didn't change what happened. That didn't bring her parents back from the dead. That didn't make it right. Everything she'd ever known... All the pain was because of him, because of that damn prophecy. Mum, dad, dead because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

He's not a hero. He's just a liar.

Holly dug her bare heels painfully into the gravel and tried to peel herself away from him, his tall mass was mechanical and unforgiving, not budging to her pushing, pulling, and clawing. There was none of the gentleness that she'd come to know in him. She looked up into his ashen face and he returned her mad gaze from a carefully composed mask, his bad hand quivering against her back, but the other holding a wand firmly to her temple. Severus looked so tense he might just spontaneously combust behind the iron curtain of indifference. But he was a brilliant actor, and he'd fooled her too.

'Let go of me,' Holly warned him when he pressured her to walk again. She locked her knees, refusing to move. He nudged her again, sharper this time. She pushed back hard, shoving her shoulders into his chest. But Severus caught her arms and kept her from knocking the wind out of him.

'Be. Still,' he said.

Was he even pretending? Is he just going to hand me over and walk off? He faked his death without his Master's permission, surely he knows Voldemort will kill him for that alone. Or would he be spared for bringing me in? Maybe... maybe it was ALL just a lie.

'You absolute piece of shit,' she raged, kicking him in his shin and feeling satisfied when he gasped in pain. 'I TRUSTED YOU!'