Figured You Out

34: And Life is Born

“Has she moved?” A man whispered to the Death Eater guard as they stood outside the bars.

“No. The prisoner has not moved from beneath the blanket for a day.”

“You are sure?”

The guard raised an eyebrow, giving the blue eyed man an odd look, “I am. I have not left my post, nor have I slept.”

“There is something wrong.”

“Mr. O’Brien, many prisoners never move. There is no reason to get upset.”

“Shut your trap! Do not speak my name, not in this room, not near her!” David hissed, his fingers gripping the collar of the guards’ robes.

“Yes, sir.”

Walking to the door, David pulled the wand from his robe pocket and whispered the counter-jinxes. The barred door slid open and smoothly, he approached the bed in which Amber lay. She lay on her side, curled into the fetal position with heavy blankets wrapped around her body and breathing evenly. Dragging a finger over her cheek, forehead and chin, he found her skin fevered and the skin covered in a chilled sweat. Creasing his eyebrows, he found her eyes clenched shut and a small shutter shook her body.

“You have been watching over her all this time and you did not find her behavior a bit odd?” David inquired, his voice dangerously soft.

“I did not have orders to enter—”

“You do not need orders to enter, you can walk, can you not? Alert someone! She is clearly sick, this could disrupt the entire layout!”

“Overreacting already, O’Brien?” Severus sneered from the shadows, his black hair curtained over his blanch face. Slowly raising his head, he glided out of the darkness and into the light, nearing the cell.

“You should not be anywhere near her!” David growled, pointing his finger to the unconscious body.

With a curl of his lip, Severus crossed his arms over his chest and replied, “I have strict orders to watch over you. The Dark Lord wanted to make sure you do not attempt to let her escape. Although, he would probably be interested in your carelessness.”

“What carelessness?”

His fathomless eyes fastened onto David’s, “for your delicate prisoner. You put her in a damp, cold dungeon without any source of heat, besides her own.” Raising his hand, a lit fireplace materialized near her bed, warming the cold air.

“You—”

“No,” Severus sighed exasperatedly. “It is not connected to the Floo Network, no one can Floo to or from it.”

“Well, what would I know about pregnant women?”

“It is common sense,” he told David as he approached the open cell. Sweeping passed him; Severus knelt on one knee near the bed and placed his palm over Amber’s temple. She shifted slightly and squeezed her eyes as his lips moved silently.

“What are you doing?” David asked, forcing his voice to steady.

Severus did not answer him, he closed his eyes, and listened closely, to what, David did not know. A moment later, he opened his eyes and swiftly moved passed David and out the door.

“Snape, wishes to speak with you Master,” Pettigrew bowed to the dark room. The curtains were drawn, blanketing the room in black and a fire flickered in the hearth. Where a thin man stood, skin and bones covered by thick black robes. He leaned against the grate; one arm resting on the wooden shelf and his other hand ran over the cotton sash, his bony fingers curling it.