Fierce Consequences [a main character x Snape/Malfoy fan-fiction]

Chapter 33: Bits and Pieces

Songs for this chapter:
when the party's over - Billie Eilish

It was as if time had stopped. The unforgivable curse shot out of her wand as she kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. It hit Blaise head on; her aim was perfect. He collapsed silently to the ground.

Strong arms were restraining and pulling her back she stumbled into a tower of familiar black robes. Severus held her tight, telling her it was going to be okay. She was screaming. Her vision blurred as a million things rushed to her head.

For a split second, her memories collapsed and invaded her senses. It was a feeling she had never before experienced, like she was remembering so many things at the exact moment she was forgetting them.

Like the flashes of a camera, unfamiliar memories came back to her. They were split and broken, only bits and pieces comprehensible. She saw herself during the war, the now familiar green sparks shooting out of her wand towards a girl she didn't recognize. She saw Severus covered in blood as Draco shouted to her, his words muted. She was frantic. Everything was flooding back too quickly, but none of it made any sense.

Draco tried to run over to her, but Lucius restrained him. She yelled for Draco as she tried to reach out to him, but Severus was holding her down. Tears were streaming down her face, hot and full of the pain she was carrying.

She heard the dark and ominous laughs of Voldemort. "Better than I could have ever predicted," he said. His praise made Elora want to vomit.

She met the Dark Lord's eyes as Severus continued to restrain her. He looked at her with an admiration she had never seen before. A thought struck her that she had done exactly what he had wanted, and even more so. She had managed to impress him and further seal her ties as a Death Eater. She had done it. She had killed someone. She had cast an unforgivable curse. And he loved her for it. Elora broke her stare from him as he continued his praises for her actions.

Her eyes landed just behind him where Aurelia's lifeless body lay. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking if she tried hard enough she would rid her mind of everything that had transpired. She opened them again, willing it to go away. But it didn't. With each long blink she saw Aurelia's body. The image of her was forever burned into Elora's mind.

She screamed again, unable to help it as the pain and anguish became unbearable. This was worse than suffering the Cruciatus curse. This didn't feel survivable. She was hysterical, hyperventilating and screaming to the point of exhaustion.

"Get her out, Severus" Lucius seethed. He was still holding Draco, preventing him from getting to Elora. Severus lifted her from the floor, still holding her arms tightly behind her back. She couldn't move. All of the physical feeling in her body was lost. The only things she felt were despair and rage.

He dragged her through the room as she continued to sob. She heard Draco yelling for her, but she couldn't turn herself to look at him. Severus guided her out of the meeting room and into the dark halls of the manor. Her screams echoed throughout the mansion, bouncing off of the walls and reverberating back to her buzzing ears.

He moved them into an empty room at the far side of the manor, the location seemingly unoccupied. She was shaking uncontrollably. Severus threw her forward and she fell to the floor, catching herself on her hands and knees. Within an instant, she vomited, overwhelmed and overtaken by everything that had happened.

He stood panting in the doorway watching her. Severus knew she had made everything that much more complicated. It was impossible for her to move past this in a normal way. And people would ask questions. He would have to cover for her, or perhaps they would have to disappear as they fully committed to their roles as Death Eaters.

He felt sorry for her. She was just a girl, a girl who had made a mistake that had cost her everything. Memories of the war flooded back to him. There was no way for him to sufficiently answer all of the questions that Elora would ask. The truth would break her. She didn't remember for a reason, and he wanted so desperately to keep it that way. But plans and strategy had been thrown out the window the moment she killed Blaise. It changed everything.

"What did he mean when he said 'The moment I saw that green flash fly from your wand on that fateful night'? He couldn't possibly be talking about me" Elora said. Her voice was strained as she crumpled into a ball on the floor. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead and mixed with her tears. "I couldn't- I wouldn't..." she trailed off as another sob wracked through her body.

"Elora, there is no sufficient and easy way for me to explain this to you. It is quite complicated. The only way for you to truly understand is for you to relive the memories through the pensieve" he explained. His voice was soft, afraid that his words could shatter her further.

"No, I know what happened. I know what I did during the war. I couldn't- I wouldn't..." she trailed off as another sob wracked through her body. "It's not me!" she cried out. Severus walked over to her and picked her shaking body off of the floor.

"Come with me, Elora," he said carefully. "It's time you understand." He guided her out of the room and into Lucius's study. He moved her by her shoulders to sit in a chair. He stood in front of her with a concerned look on his face.

"What's going on?" Elora asked slowly. Her head was pounding with confusion.

Severus sighed deeply before providing Elora any insight on what she was seemingly missing. "During the war, you were obliviated" he said simply. Elora's mind swam with questions. She opened her mouth to speak, but he held his hand up to silence her.

"It will not do much good for me to explain the situation to you. It is a rather messy and unfortunate one. Obliviating you was the best thing we could do to keep you safe," he said. Pausing, he took a shaky inhale. Elora had never witnessed the uncertainty that laced his expression. It unnerved her to see him so uneasy.

"I can restore your memories, but I think it best that you see them through the pensieve first. It will be much less destructive to your mind if you already have an idea of what happened." he finished.  Elora looked up at him, unsure of what could have possibly transpired to justify obliviating her. Did she really want to know if it was so bad?

He unlocked the door to a normal-looking cabinet and revealed the pensieve. He grasped at a small vial and pulled it out of his robes, the messy ink scrawled across it labeling it as hers.

E. Townes, 1995

Elora stared at him, the crease between her brow deep and wrinkled permanently. She took a breath and stood from the chair before walking towards the floating disc. Carefully, she bent over, her face skimming the shimmering object. Within an instant, she plunged into it.