A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 16: Memory Overload

Severus continued to stare at Laura and her eyes slowly shifted to meet his. Severus could see the pain of betrayal lurking in those green eyes.

Laura's mouth opened slightly, like she wanted to say something, but Lucius walked in, taking in the sight of Laura, exhausted on the floor, and Severus, disheveled and sweaty. "Did you find anything interesting, Severus?"

Severus's eyes moved from Laura to Lucius, still not knowing how to react to what he witnessed, but he knew it was best to lie in hopes of protecting Laura. "No, there was nothing about Dumbledore, except him asking if she wanted a job since she had experience in the dark arts. I don't believe she's working for anyone."

"Well, let her go then," Lucius said.

"What? After all that?"

"She's more valuable alive than dead and if she has no plans with Dumbledore, there's no point in killing her. And we'll see her again. She's free to go, for now. The Dark Lord will find her again when the time is right. You might want to obliviate this from her memory, though." A smirk grew on Lucius's face. "You could always leave her here. I'm sure I could make use of her."

In that moment, Severus wanted to annihilate Lucius; he wanted to rip Lucius limb from limb thinking about the damage he had done to Laura, but he tried to hide those feelings and he tried to ignore that he had also inflicted damage on Laura. "I'll take her with me. I'll get her back to her home. She has people in her life who would know she went missing, even if just for a few days. We don't need the attention right now." Severus pulled Laura from the floor, holding her up so she didn't fall. Lucius rolled his eyes before walking out of the room.

Severus walked Laura out of the manor, moving as quickly as he could to get her away from it. "Let... go of me," Laura said weakly.

"No, you can barely stand. I'm taking you somewhere you will be safe until this wears off." Severus kept his grip on Laura, nearly dragging her with him, worried she would try to break away from him, despite being too weak to walk. Severus didn't know exactly what Lucius had given Laura, meaning there was no antidote that could help, and the potions would have to run their course through her body.

Severus pulled Laura against his chest before apparating to his home. Severus walked Laura inside and she dropped to her knees, unable to stand any longer. Severus picked Laura up and carried her upstairs, into his bedroom. He used magic to pull the covers down before laying Laura gently on the bed. He carefully removed the rope from her wrists, feeling a tightening in his chest as he saw friction burns, bruising, and open wounds hiding beneath the rope.

"Why... are you doing this?" Laura sounded near delirium as she spoke.

Severus's eyes stayed glued to the marks on her wrists. "I don't want something to happen to you."

Laura didn't say anything, and Severus realized she had fallen asleep. He touched her forehead, realizing it was warm, as if she had a fever. Severus sighed before going downstairs. He sent an owl to Dumbledore, letting him know something had happened to Laura and Severus would not be at Hogwarts for the next few days. He never missed classes, but he couldn't leave Laura like this.

Severus rustled around in his desk, finding a small vial of a healing potion before moving back to the bedroom, sitting next to Laura, watching her. He opened the vial and dipped his fingers in it. Severus hesitated for a moment and carefully rubbed the potion on Laura's face, healing the bruising. He moved to her wrists, studying the horrible abrasions, realizing how much Laura must have struggled against her bonds to end up tearing her skin open, and dabbed the potion on her wrists, causing the wounds to disappear.

Severus sat in silence and his mind began to wander to Laura's memories, trying to figure out how she survived some of the things she did, how she could create storms, how she could have killed someone the way she did. Severus's head was spinning as he delved deeper into her memories. He felt a pain in his chest as he thought of the losses Laura faced in her life, the pain she faced. He didn't understand how Laura didn't tell him about the loss of her own child.