"Professor, how are we supposed to know where Juniper went?" Millicent Bulstrode asked with sleep still in her eyes. Severus had rounded up everyone who was still here, which had been Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode. All of the Weasley's beds had been left vacant, seeming to have left in a rush. "We don't, but I can feel her pull to me. That's all we have," Severus explained, turning to look at his coworkers. Over the past year, he had grown much closer to Minerva and Albus. He could only hope that they wouldn't hold how he was acting now against him. As they both know very well, grief compels some to act in strange ways.
With a confirming nod from Albus, Severus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Reaching out with his mind, he could feel a tug in the direction he had been afraid of. Opening his eyes slowly, he turned around to face those who had joined them. "You dare to even mention a whisper of my actions tonight, I will be sure that you never speak again," Severus hissed as he scanned the faces of those around him. That was only until he met Albus' all-knowing eyes. Clearing his throat in embarrassment, Severus chuckled slightly before adding, "Respectfully...sir,".
With that, they were off toward the forbidden forest. Not only were they trying to rescue Rowan, but they were also trying to rescue Severus Snape. Everyone that had ever known Severus before Rowan became his assistant would describe his personality as similar to that of a rabid animal. Of all the children that had gone through Hogwarts, Severus hadn't ever found one that he would treat decently. Then, Rowan Lenox Knight became his assistant. It was almost like a light was finally shone in Severus' world and be even befriended a few students; something he would surely deny if ever asked about it.
The forbidden forest had never scared Severus; if anything, he found comfort in the darkness. However, now that he knew that Rowan could be somewhere in this darkness, it felt eerily quiet. Suddenly, he could hear a familiar voice ring throughout his head. Where are you, Severus Snape? With the voice came an unusual pain forming within his skull, almost as if something were trying to escape from the inside.
Clutching his head, Severus dropped Rowan's wand that had been lighting the way. "Professor? Are you alright?" Millicent asked, running over to pick up Rowan's wand from the cold ground. Severus, still shaken from hearing Rowan's voice, nodded slowly. All eyes were on him, most of them showing concern. "Severus, what's the matter?" Albus asked with a small tilt of his head. "I- I heard her. Rowan- she asked where I was," Severus said shakily, taking Rowan's wand back from Millicent as the pain in his head subsided.
"What do you mean you heard her?" Blaise Zabini, who hadn't spoken a word to Severus, asked rather loudly. Glaring at Blaise, Severus turned to the rest of the group to explain it to them. "Rowan- she had been working on legilimency and occlumency. She had only practiced it once in front of me and I had figured that she gave up, but maybe she didn't," Severus explained, furrowing his brow in confusion. It would take years for Rowan to be able to reach out into someone else's mind; None of this made any sense.
Shaking his head, Severus turned around so that his back was facing the group. "It doesn't matter, let's just keep going,"
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"Miss Knight... Rowan,"
Rowan was ripped from what little sleep she had been getting when she felt someone shake her awake. Opening her eyes, she could barely make out the figure of Greyback. Sighing quietly, Rowan shifted back against the pole she was tied to, preparing for Greyback to take his revenge from a few days ago. It was perfect timing, Rowan had been growing weaker. She was constantly sick to her stomach and her head hadn't stopped aching since she had arrived.
"Go ahead, do your worst," Rowan whispered, being careful that she didn't wake Lockhart. If she was about to face Greyback's wrath, the least she could do is keep Lockhart asleep so that he didn't have to watch. The way he reacted to the wounds on her wrist, she couldn't imagine how he would react to this.
Greyback seemed shocked by Rowan's words, sighing loudly. Silently, Greyback released Rowan from all of her restraints and gently yanked her onto her feet. "You're going to go out of that window and run. There will be guards out there, so don't look back," Greyback whispered, turning back to look at the door. It seemed as if he were panicked that he would be caught. "What? Why are you doing this?" Rowan asked, taking a few steps away from him.
"You'll understand soon enough," Greyback answered cryptically and began to climb the stairs that led back into the dining room. Before he had opened the door he turned around again, his face seemed worried under the light from the door. "Oh, and congratulations Miss Knight," Greyback said before disappearing onto the other side of the door.
"What the fuck," Rowan whispered to herself, shaking her head slightly. Taking a deep breath to try to calm her nausea, she turned her attention to Lockhart. While she wanted nothing more than to leave him here to pay for the foul things he had done, she ultimately decided against it. They had gotten here together and she would be damned if they didn't leave together. Shaking him lightly, she began to release Lockhart from his restraints. "Rowan? Oh, I knew you were going to be our savior!" Lockhart exclaimed, causing Rowan to glare in his direction. "Stay quiet until we are out. We are going to leave out of that window and you are going to run," Rowan said, gulping at her own words.
"Marvelous! When we get back to- wait-," Lockhart started, finally processing Rowan's words. "What do you mean I'm going to run? Do you think they'll let you just- leave?" Lockhart asked as he was finally freed from his restraints. Unlike Rowan, he hadn't needed help standing up. It seemed that over the few days, Lockhart's strength hadn't waivered. Yet, Rowan's had been depleting and she knew there was no way for them both to get out of there. If she was going to do one last thing with her strength, she was going to help someone else live.
Rowan's silence seemed to help Lockhart understand what was happening, and he was not happy with the plan in the slightest. "No, Rowan. We're going together," Lockhart announced as he walked over to the window. Not having enough strength to argue back, Rowan just nodded. If anything, she could be a distraction for Lockhart to escape and bring back help. If she had enough time left, that was.
Pity could be seen all over Lockhart's face as he held his hand out for Rowan to climb on. Truthfully, Rowan wasn't sure she could do this at all, let alone with Gilderoy Lockhart. Together, they climbed out of the window and landed on the cold ground. As Rowan pulled Lockhart to the top, they took a moment to look around at their surroundings. "Holy shit," Rowan whispered as she turned to see that they were surrounded by tall trees.
"We have to go, Rowan. Now," Lockhart said louder than either of them had spoken in days. When Rowan turned back to face Lockhart, she could see the reason for his panic. Two men were quickly approaching them, one of them being Fenrir Greyback. "Rowan!" Lockhart screamed, causing Rowan's throbbing head to get worse. It was almost as if his words rattled around in her head and began to bounce violently off of her skull.
Just as the man whom Rowan didn't recognize was about to grab her, Lockhart had shoved her out of the way causing her to fall roughly to the ground. Rowan could hear Lockhart's screams as he was grabbed roughly. Before she could react, the face of Fenrir Greyback was looming over her. "Goddammit," He seethed as he gently picked her up bridal style. "Hyde is going to have my skin for this," He added before taking off in a fast sprint toward the forest. The last thing that Rowan could hear before everything went black was the horrifying screams of Gilderoy Lockhart.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
"Albus, we have been walking for ages! Don't you think we should get the students back to the school and inform the ministry?" Minerva asked, her tiredness could be heard laced within her voice. Albus didn't answer; instead, he turned to Severus who had stopped to sit on a fallen log. "Severus-"
Just as Severus was about to agree, they could hear several voices in the distance. Snapping his head toward the noise, Severus stood up and began to quickly run toward the source. He could hear Minerva's voice calling out to him, but he couldn't stop. He had to find the source of the sound just in case it was Rowan. Although, when he found the source, his heart dropped down into his stomach.
"Ginny quit whining!" One voice said. "Yeah, what he said!" Another chimed in, slightly peppier than the previous voice. When the rest of Severus' group caught up with them, Minerva's mood seemed to greatly improve. "You've done it, Severus! You found the Weasleys!" She exclaimed, catching the attention of the group.
It was true; every single one of the Weasley children, along with the addition of Juniper Montgomery, were gathered around a small map. While Severus was relieved to know that the students hadn't gone and gotten themselves killed, there was still the lingering disappointment that he hadn't found Rowan. "Professor McGonagall, take all the children back to Hogwarts and have Madam Pomfrey look over them. That includes Zabini and Bulstrode," Dumbledore spoke in an authoritative tone, giving a warning look to the children. Severus knew that look, he was daring them to go against his word.
"And what of you and Sev- Professor Snape?" Minerva countered although Severus could tell she was relieved to be leaving the forbidden forest. Albus simply shook his head and Minerva seemed to understand. Albus had been Severus' friend for long enough to understand that Severus would leave with Rowan, or not at all. "I'm not leaving! Nobody wanted to believe me when I told you where Rowan was, so I will find her!" Juniper chimed in loudly, causing everyone to look at her.
Albus went to respond but Severus held up his hand. "You will all leave, including the headmaster," He began, walking over to Juniper and placing a hand upon her shoulder. Dropping his voice down to a whisper only she could hear, he spoke once more. "Rowan has lost you once, and I will not let that happen again. I will find her, Miss Montgomery,"
"Professor, will all due respect, over my dead body will I lose you too," Juniper's words had confused Severus, and when he didn't respond she began to speak again. "I lost you both in the other reality, Professor. Watching you lose yourself while Rowan is missing is just as bad," She explained, wiping a lone tear away from her eye. Sighing, Severus turned back to the group.
"Miss Montgomery will stay with me and continue to search. Headmaster, if you would please escort the remaining Slytherins back to their dorms, I would greatly appreciate it," He stated, and much to Minerva's protest, Albus eventually agreed. When everyone had left, leaving Juniper and Severus alone, neither spoke a word to each other. They simply carried on walking in the direction that Severus had originally felt a pull to.
Hours seemed to have passed and the sun was starting to rise before they both heard loud snapping from behind them. "Professor-" Juniper tried but Severus quickly snapped his hand over her mouth. The last thing they needed was for Juniper's loud words to attract whatever was big enough to make such a noise. Severus watched as Juniper's eyes widened as she stared behind him. Quickly drawing his wand, Severus turned around and met a familiar face.
"Fenrir Greyback," Severus said, not lowering his wand away from the wolfish man's face. The two hadn't left off on the greatest of terms, seeing as Greyback had stayed loyal to the dark lord. Severus instinctively stepped in front of Juniper, hiding her small frame. If they did find Rowan, and she found out that Severus allowed Juniper to be harmed, she would never forgive him. "Severus, I'm glad that I ran into you," Greyback stated as he bent down to the ground and placed something down. "What do you-" Severus began, but as he flicked his light down to see what Greyback had set down, Severus lost his ability to finish his sentence. Laying before him was a lifeless Rowan Knight.
"Professor- that's not-," Juniper tried to speak but it appeared that this view was all too familiar to her. Severus could feel anger building up in his core as he turned his attention to his old friend. "What the fuck did you do to her?" Severus yelled, putting his wand against the man's throat. Fenrir's face hadn't moved and showed no fear; they both knew who would win in this fight. "Watch your temper with me, Snivellus. I am not responsible for her condition,"
Severus stepped away from Greyback and he visibly relaxed. Turning his attention to Rowan, Severus got onto his knees beside her and gently took her into his lap. Though he could barely tell, Rowan was breathing. Her face had paled considerably and she had many deep wounds spread around her body. Severus also noted the absence of the necklace that she had gotten from Millicent Bulstrode. She was wearing it the night of her disappearance, along with a ballgown that had been replaced by more suitable clothing.
"My boss- Hyde- She had put in the order for Gilderoy Lockhart to kidnap Rowan weeks ago, but she was never alone and he's not much of a criminal," Greyback started to explain as he shifted uncomfortably. Juniper hadn't taken her eyes off of him and Greyback could feel it even if he couldn't see her. "A few of Hyde's men, along with me, went to have a talk with the ignorant man. We must have gotten loud and Rowan turned the corner and found us. Before I knew it, Hyde gave the signal to catch her and Gilderoy. We had no idea she was-"
"Shut up!" Severus screamed as tears fell from his eyes. He hadn't cared about the details, he just needed to get Rowan back to Hogwarts where she could be treated for her wounds. They were at least a few hours away and from the way Rowan looked, Severus was unsure they had that kind of time. "Fenrir, how fast could you get her to Hogwarts?" Severus pleaded, never taking his eyes off of the dying woman in his arms. While Fenrir seemed hesitant, he sighed and shrugged. "Maybe half an hour if I run,"
Juniper, who hadn't said anything, got onto her knees and took one of Rowan's hands into her own. The scene was all too familiar to what she had gone through in the alternate reality; watching as Severus Snape slowly lost hope while clinging to a lifeless Rowan Knight. "Could you take her?" Juniper asked before Severus could. She didn't fully trust that Snape would ask for help seeing as he was never the kind to need help.
Fenrir flicked his gaze between the three of them, before nodding slowly. Leaning down, Greyback slowly took Rowan's body away from Juniper and Severus, gently angling her so that she would not fall. "Hyde will have my head for this," Greyback stated angrily before taking off in a fast sprint away from the pair.
"Professor?" Juniper called out as she stood up, holding her hand out to Severus. He took her hand and brushed off the dirt that had collected on his robes. "Yes, Miss Montgomery?"
"Professor Lockhart was missing?" Juniper chuckled, almost in shock at the events that had occurred before her. Severus, realizing nobody had noticed his disappearance, joined in on Juniper's laughter. It was the first time either of them had smiled since Rowan had disappeared.