Suffering: Part 5

Secret Keeper Part 4

It was a couple of hours later, when Y/N was eating her lunch that Severus showed back up. He walked through the door of her room with a cheeky look on his face, hands behind his back. The tall raven-haired man came to the side of the bed while Y/N pulled her walkman headphones down and switched it off.

"Couldn't stay away I see," she grinned. "You wasted no time in attempting to manipulate Lucius, did you?" he asked blankly. "How was I manipulating him? You know I wanted to speak with Potter. I'm sure that wasn't a surprise. Are the girls at my grandmothers?" she grinned.

"Yes, Lucius is dropping them off. Along with your note," he grinned. "Did you both read it together like little gossiping schoolgirls?" she teased. "We both read it, of course," he replied.

"Of course. I would hate for you to not be privy to a private note, Headmaster," she smiled while eating her food. "How's your lunch?" he grinned. "About 10,000x better than anything else I've had here," she replied cheekily. "Did you taste the shake?" he grinned.

Y/N rolled her eyes, "Horrid," she scowled remembering it. "I went to speak to Potter personally, with your note," he stared blankly at her. "Where did you hear that phrase and how did you know Tom said it to Harry?" Severus asked as he sat in the chair beside the bed.

"I don't know. I kept hearing it. That and diary. Did you bring me one?" she asked. "Lucius is going to purchase you one after he drops the girls off," Severus replied.

"I'll tell you now. You will not be able to read it. I'm going to put a passphrase on it that you could not know," she informed him. "For what reason?" he glared at her with a tilt of his head.

"For privacy. I should be allowed to have things that only I know. Just as you do. I need a place to get these thoughts out of my head before I'm eaten alive by them," she admitted.

"Thoughts about hurting yourself?" he asked softly. Y/N's eyes went to Severus for a second, before very softly closing the hospital room door with her mind. "Myself, others. When you told me that about my father last night, I was having the most intense visions of his death. Doing it myself. I felt wrath," she admitted.

"Just him or both?" he questioned further. "Both of them. But in that moment, him specifically. You don't get to stand by, do nothing to protect me from her my entire childhood, then act as if you care. The most he ever did was take me out on Saturday mornings, so we could both get air. I apologize, I'm getting worked up about it again," she remarked with a long sigh staring in the distance.

"I think those are very normal feelings given the circumstances," Severus replied softly as he leaned over, laying a hand on her leg. Her eyes immediately went to his hand of comfort, a grin forming on her lips.

"What I wouldn't give to put that hand under my blanket right now. A gentle brush of your fingers," she grinned.

Severus grinned, squeezing her thigh firmly, "There's nothing gentle about how I want to touch you right now," he informed her. "Did you think about me?" she grinned. "Every chance I get," he teased.

"Wait, is Potter coming? Did he think I was being a freak? An odd cryptic message sent from someone he hadn't spoken to in years," she remarked.

"When you got sick, I pulled him aside privately at Hogwarts. I explained the family connection and that we didn't know until a year ago. I told him you kept asking to talk to him about Voldemort, the whispering. He was very concerned about you, as we all were," Severus replied with a long sigh.

"How is Harry? Mentally, I mean? I cannot imagine the psychological trauma this has caused him," she remarked. "Rebuilding his life, I assume. He and Ginny Weasely are engaged," Severus informed her.

Y/N scrunched up her nose as if she smelled something disgusting. "Lovely," she giggled to herself. "Are you jealous?" Severus grinned.

"Not a bit. Ginny hates me. I'm sure you could guess why," she smiled back at him. Lucius knocked on the door, opening it softly, grinning at her with something in his hand.

"Oh no, we aren't talking about Ginny Weasley, are we?" Lucius chuckled as he walked in. "I didn't know they were engaged. I was telling Severus, she disliked me at school. I assume it's because I was blowing her wannabe boyfriend," Y/N smirked.

"How uncouth," Lucius glared at her as he sat in the free chair. "Uncouth. That is me. What did you bring me?" she grinned.

Lucius started handing it to her but pulled it back when she reached for it. "Say please," he teased her playfully. A thoughtful look came over her face. "He said that to me. 'Say please'. He was teasing me with something. I think the pajamas, holding them above my head," she recalled.

"My apologies. I just thought of that. Please, Daddy," she smiled at Lucius.

He handed it to her, a leather-bound journal with a sparrow delicately carved into the leather cover. An ear-to-ear smile spread across her face as she examined it, even smelling the fresh leather and parchment. "Thank you. I appreciate this," she smiled at him.

She smelled it again, "You smell so good," she told the book. "Apparently she is going to put a passphrase on the diary so we cannot read it," Severus remarked.

"I guess she doesn't want this surprise her grandmother sent," Lucius grinned as he opened up a little brown sack he had been sent with.

"What is it?" she grinned. "Are you going to put a passphrase on it so we cannot read it?" Lucius questioned her. "That was the plan," she glared at him. "It's a piece of lemon loaf she baked this morning," he grinned at her before closing the bag back.

"Ruthless," she glared at him. She picked the diary up, whispering an inaudible incantation to it before turning back.

"It's too late. Might as well give me that treat," she grinned at him. "What we should do is eat this in front of you, you insolent little brat," he glared at her before handing the bag to her.

"Thank you, Daddy. Am I terribly difficult?" she smiled at them as she took the wrapped-up piece of cake out of the bag. She wiped her fork off from her lunch and started digging into it. "Terribly difficult," Severus remarked.

"This is so fucking good," she sighed as she ate it. She handed the diary back to Lucius. "Attempt to open it," she grinned. "You know our magic doesn't work here," he glared back at her before tossing it back on the bed.

"Well, well, what a shame," she teased. "I have Tom Riddles destroyed diary at the Manor. Would you like to see it? Inspect it for clues?" Lucius asked curiously.

"Why do you have his destroyed diary?" she glared at him. "A story for another time. Tell us the passphrase to this and I'll retrieve it," he offered. Severus was positively beaming that the two finally had leverage.

"Enemies of the heir beware. I keep hearing that in my head. I need the diary and a knife," replied blankly. "You're not getting a knife," Severus gave her a long slow blink.

"A ceremonial blade then. I'm sure you have one Lucius. I'm going to bleed on the journal," she replied with utter calmness. "The fuck you are," Severus spat back at her.

"I'll be speaking to Potter alone when he comes," she replied. "In what word do you believe you can make these sorts of demands? Absolutely not," Lucius sneered at her.

"Has he got something on you Lucius?" she grinned curiously.