Prohibition | Severus Snape

Inverness Castle

"How long are we staying here?" 

"Should only be tonight. We will search the castle at dusk, and return tomorrow morning." Severus responded coldly placing his things on the table across from the bed. Unlike the other inn's this one was dark. Different. Being inside made Sofia feel uneasy. The clerk downstairs seemed on edge, there was not another soul in the building, and the building itself was grim. The walls were black brick, and the window barely let any of the light into the small room. Biting the inside of her cheek, Sofia walked up to the window. Outside, she saw dark clouds looming over the fields. She couldn't see any people around, let alone hear anything. Even the birds. 

"It's a ghost town." Sofia murmured under her breath.

"Hm." She heard him respond from behind her. There was uncomfortable tension in the room between both of them. Severus' hasn't shown any interest in Sofia since their last encounter on his office couch, he was either busy with work or the thoughts in his own head during the past few days. It was beginning to seem like he was almost reverting back to his original brooding state. However, Sofia refused to take it to heart. Especially remembering the last time they went to a hideout, and how much it had affected him. She knew it was not the time, nor place for her to talk about her displacement with his attitude. She continued to stare outside through the small window. The dark cloud seemed to move closer to them. Everything she could see from the window took on a sickly shade of grey, the whole sky covered by black clouds which reminded her of factory smoke. 

"When are we leaving?" She asked. 

"Soon. It will take time to get there." He muttered under his breath. Softly nodding Sofia sat down at the table, without even taking off her jacket or shoes She ignored Severus as he paced around the room, clearly sulking on some matters which she did not dare ask him about. Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her arms over her body and waited. A few minutes later she saw the room flash, furrowing her eyebrows she abruptly turned towards the window. Within seconds, she heard the loud bang of thunder above them. Followed by the sound of rain. The rain quickly changed from a drizzle to a fierce storm. The water was harshly hitting the small window as the thunder continued to rumble outside. Cautiously Sofia counted to herself, hoping the thunder was nowhere near them. For now, it seemed to be at bay, with the time between the flashes and the thunder being prolonged enough for Sofia to assume it was a few miles away from them. She watched as Severus picked up his wand and turned towards the door, he gestured his hand for her to follow. With a small huff, Sofia got up, glancing one last time at the window. 

As soon as they stepped outside, Sofia was soaked. The large droplets of unstoppable rain hit her face, as she tied her wet hair back. Squinting to see better, she followed Severus who was heading across the field. Sofia had hoped for the rain to ease up but it only seemed to get stronger. In an instant, she saw another flash of lightning which caused her to flinch, stopping in her tracks the counted the seconds, paranoid. In the town she was raised, she had experienced numerous storms. Her mother always warned her about the lighting and how fast it can catch up with you. Not only that, but the untimely death one single streak of lightning can cause. Looking around Sofia noticed that they were walking through a completely open field. If the lighting were to get any closer they wouldn't stand a chance. 

"We have to hurry up!" She yelled at him. Turning around Severus looked at her, squinting his eyes. 

"Scared of the rain, Sofia?" he muttered. Sofia didn't appreciate his remark as she clenched her jaw at him. Severus watched the drenched girl as another flash of thunder stroke above them. He watched her mouth something at him. As he heard the bang she held up her hand showing him five fingers. 

"Five Severus." She yelled over the rain. "The lightning is a mile away, and I don't have to tell you, that it moves rather quickly." She nudged her head to the side as he rolled his eyes. Speeding up, both of them continued down the field. The ground under them becoming soft and muddy. Every few seconds Sofia would wipe the water off her face in an attempt to see better. She started noticing some green hills begging to surround them. In the distance, she noticed a large grey stone building standing at the edge of the furthest hill. The castle looked like it was seconds away from toppling over the edge of the hill. She followed close to Severus as they approached the hill. Walking around the castle she noticed how vast it truly was. What seemed to be one small tower looked like the only tower left within endless ruins. Sofia stepped over the collapsed leftover structures as she followed Severus to the tower on the edge. There was some wooden flooring leftover on the damp ground and endless amounts of rubble. Squinting she could see some other objects like a shattered chandelier and some wooden pieces of what seemed to once resemble furniture. As they approached the tall tower, she watched Severus quickly unlock the large castle door.