Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Snape pushed Aurora back inside of their room violently. She would have tumbled to the ground below them, were it not for his forceful grip around her upper arm. She grimaced at the tight stretch of her wounded thigh, as she fought to regain her footing.
"What was that?" He seethed, once the door shut violently behind him.
Aurora shrank back from his angry tone and instantly said, "I'm sorry." It occurred to her as she uttered the words, that she had no idea what it was she was apologizing for. She had just wanted to appease his ire before he hurt her.
Snape released her arm abruptly, glaring down at her, he snapped. "You're sorry are you? I asked you a question?"
Aurora pinched her brows in confusion. What did he want from her? "I - I don't understand." She told him truthfully, her eyes pleading with him to be forgiving.
He curled his lip in displeasure, "tell me what happened to you, you stupid girl!"
Stupid girl. There it was again. Those words like venomous roots creeping into her brain, convincing her of their truth. Her father had always tried to tell her what life awaited her, she had naively disbelieved him.
"My parents do not agree with the marriage plans. More specifically, the intended suitor of the arrangement." She mumbled quietly.
Snape arched his brow, scowling down at her he snarked, "this tells me nothing of how you came to be covered in blood."
Aurora's throat closed up at the reminder of what her father had done to her. How he had callously threatened the unborn life within her. She was not a fool, she knew her father was a malicious person and her mother was just as bad if not worse. However, for them to treat her so cruelly, all because of her unplanned conception with a halfblood, was too much for her to bear.
Aurora sobbed loudly and struggled to release the words lodged in her throat. "My father.. wanted t- to rid the....ab- abomination..." She broke off, trying to catch her breath unsuccessfully. "I managed to move out of the way th- though, he only hit my thigh." She told him, her vision obstructed by the never ending stream of tears pouring down her face.
Snape's expression had only darkened as she had been speaking. When he stepped towards her purposefully, she recoiled in terror. His hand touched her face tenderly, and she flinched when the heat of his palm connected with the left side of her face. The bruised skin was mottled darkly, and the deep indents from where her mother's nails had dug into her face burned hotly. Aurora was sadly beginning to become accustomed to the feeling of her face being discolored. She rarely had time for her skin to completely heal before she was struck again.
His obsidian orbs locked with her stormy grays passionately, "I shall oblige his need for violence. His actions will not go unanswered." Snape vowed to her.
Aurora's features widened in surprise, "what can you do?" Her emphasis on the word 'you' had not gone unnoticed by him and he frowned at her.
"Do not mock me." He grit his teeth in anger, searing her with his molten gaze.
Aurora took a step back, his hand falling back down between them. "I- I wasn't.. I mean I didn't....I just meant that he is my father and there isn't much anyone can really do about the matter." She stammered out, and silently cursed herself for her newest impediment. She had never had trouble speaking clearly before, but lately she felt like her body was stuck in a constant state of panic.
Aurora shifted her feet slightly in the wake of Snape's uncomfortable silence, "short of killing him." She murmured, not really intending for Snape to hear the words.
"That's an idea." Snape said jovially, her head snapped up in alarm. His previous anger filled features were smoothed out into an uplifted appearance.
"You can't!" Aurora suddenly shouted, ignoring the pain in her leg and surged forward. She grabbed Snape's arm desperately, "Please... I know he deserves it...but you've got to understand how he thinks...please Snape, he's a bastard, but he's.. he's my father."
Snape shrugged her grasp off his arm and glared down his nose at her, "I don't care."
Aurora chewed her lip anxiously as she tried to think of ways to make him see reason. "The dark lord probably won't like you killing one of his followers." She said, a smirk sliding across her face. She knew Snape wouldn't want to displease his master.
"The dark lord would probably reward me for my initiative in punishing those who threaten to disobey him. Your father was just reminded, moments before his violent attack on you, that you were now mine, and he had no actual say in the affair. If anything, he has brought this sentence upon himself!" He finished spouting at her, and gave her a cruel smile.
"I won't do it right away of course. There is still the matter of getting you checked over by a healer, as well as your punishment to discuss." he said deviously.
Aurora floundered, "B- but, what did I do?" she squeaked.
Snape leaned forward, until his lips were nearly touching hers. He put a single digit underneath her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. There was amusement reflected in his dark pools, "My initial question of what had transpired against you, went unanswered, as you threw yourself, willingly, into another male's embrace. How would it look if I let such a blatant act of disrespect slide?" He said.
Aurora's gut twisted in revulsion at the implication of his words, "Regulus is my brother. Which you obviously know. How can you insinuate that there was anything at all involved in our hug? "
Snape grinned at her cruelly, and he twisted her head slightly to the side. He brought his lips to her ear as he breathed, "How do I know what sick thoughts pollute that disgusting mind of yours." He moved his nose down slightly in order to nuzzle the base of her throat provocatively. "Perhaps I should purge you of the filthy notion. "
Despite hating every word coming out of his vile mouth, and not at all agreeing with him, Aurora still moaned from the attentions he was giving her neck. Snape pulled back and looked at her in amusement, "I'm starting to think you have come to enjoy our little punishing sessions. Maybe we shall up the game and start introducing more corporeal reprimands." Aurora shivered at the intense way his eyes roved over her skin. A finger trailed down from her neck, and left a path of goose bumps as he dragged the appendage down to the ripped opening in her robes.
She hissed sharply in pain, and glared hotly at Snape. He had pushed the pad of his finger firmly against the raised area of her recently marred thigh. He frowned, "I really should have you see a healer first." He murmured.
Snape stepped away from her regretfully and walked over to the entrance of the room, "stay here. I will return with a healer shortly." He said, looking at her intensely, conveying the likelihood of his anger should she disobey.
Aurora nodded her head tiredly, there was no way she was going to leave the rooms again that night. She had barely even been at the celebration for more than twenty minutes before her father had attacked her. However, she felt drained, and the thought of climbing into the bed was beginning to sound more appealing than mingling with a bunch of dark lord, worshippers.
He left the room and she immediately walked over and sank into the couch. She leaned her head back on the armrest and brought her legs up to the cushion next to her. Closing her eyes, she hoped she would get some sleep before Snape returned with the healer.
Although her thigh was pulsating heatedly, Aurora brought her hands down to her baby bump. She stroked the swollen flesh tenderly, and prayed that everything turned out to be okay with her child. Her leg was a nuisance, but she was happy that it was her thigh that had taken the hit, and not her stomach as had been her father's intention.
Hopefully, the strain of the injury doesn't affect the baby in any way. Aurora thought of how it would be easier to tell if everything was okay, if she were able to feel her child's movements. She was still too early in her pregnancy for that to happen yet, and it killed her that other than severe bleeding, she had no idea what to look out for, if something were wrong.
Aurora was just beginning to dose off when the door opened again, and a woman with lime green robes entered. Snape was following closely behind her, his features fixed in a neutral expression. The Mediwitch ambled over to her, and Aurora rose up to a seated position at her approach.
"Mr. Snape informed me that you were hit with a wayward spell in the midst of a friendly duel. Is that correct?" The Mediwitch asked her once she stood in front of her. The healer's eyes were resting heavily on the blackened skin across Aurora's face. Aurora's eyes flicked to Snape's and she nodded after he inclined his head slightly in her direction.
The Mediwitch tsked at her disapprovingly, "in your condition it is extremely dangerous to engage in a duel, even a friendly one." She reprimanded her.
Aurora ducked her head but managed to timidly nod once more. "Now let's see if the baby is faring well. Then I will tend to the nasty cuts on your face and thigh. Any other injuries I should be aware of?" The healer asked, patiently.
Aurora unconsciously brought her hands to the still glamoured bruise around her throat, and rubbed the skin tenderly. She caught the wrathful glare that Snape sent her at her actions, and she hurriedly dropped her hands back to her lap. Looking the mediwitch in the eyes, she shook her head determinedly, "just the ones that you can see." She mumbled.
The mediwitch raised her brow, unconvinced. Still she shrugged and lifted her wand to Aurora's abdomen, and she flinched faintly. It was hard to keep her protective instincts from kicking into gear once again, in the face of someone else's wand pointed at her defenseless child within her.
Aurora watched in amazement at the spell the mediwitch cast. A distorted image of her baby appeared in the air next to her, and she gasped as she got to see her child for the first time. There were no discernible features, but she could clearly see a head with a small body. There were two little balls where the hands and feet were meant to be, and the baby kicked one out aggressively. She laughed at the movement, content that her child seemed to be okay.
The mediwitch leaned forward and pointed to a small flickering in the center of the baby's chest, "that's her heartbeat. It's fluttering along at a good rate. She seems to be in perfect health, which is great. I would definitely recommend postponing any strenuous activity until your child makes her arrival, however."
Snape had been looking at the moving image in awe and a small mixture of pride. When he heard the mediwitch say her, his stance switched to a much tighter position. He stood ramrod straight and the corners of his mouth turned down into a frown as he asked blandly, "her?"
The mediwitch gave them both a small smile, "it's a little too early to tell for sure, but i'm nearly positive that you have a baby girl in there."
Aurora's heart clenched unexpectedly, of course she would love her baby regardless of their sex. However, she couldn't stop throwing nervous glances in Snape's direction. He had assured her that he would not harm their child, even if it turned out she was a female. He was standing impassively to the side, a hard glint in his eye, but otherwise his emotions were unreadable. She worried that he blamed her for the gender of their child, and suddenly she desperately wished the mediwitch had kept the information to herself.
Aurora barely paid attention as the healer ran her wand over the incision in her left thigh. The wound closed the rest of the way and sealed into a silver lined scar. The area was still tight and tender, but no longer pulsed with aching pain. Next the mediwitch moved to the bruised skin on her face, using the same healing spell as before she closed the small nail indentations on her cheek. Aurora heard a small clanging of glass vials inside the mediwitch's robes and observed interestingly as the witch withdrew a small canister of bruise paste, as well as a small vial of a sheer blue liquid.
"Would you like me to apply the paste, or would you rather do it?" The witch asked kindly.
Aurora replied that she would be more than capable of administering the paste. She really didn't want anyone else touching the sensitive skin around her eye. The healer had nodded and placed the jar of paste as well as the blue vial on the coffee table in front of her. "This is a vial of dreamless sleep, I would not advise that you drink it regularly as the effects can be bad for the baby if used in excess. However, after the stress of today's ordeal I think it would be prudent to get some much needed rest." She said fixing Aurora with a hard stare.
Aurora nodded once more, but kept her gaze rooted to her feet. The physical wounds were no match for the ones that were beneath the skin. Maybe rest was exactly what she needed, in order to not feel the crushing weight on her chest. Aurora's breath hitched quietly, and she struggled to fight a sob. She stared at the reddened indentations on the tops of her feet pitifully. She had slipped the heels off before lying on the sofa, the strappy marks left in her skin still hadn't completely faded away. She felt disgusting with all the blood caked over her skin and she desperately wanted a bath.
The witch backed up a few steps, and then asked Snape if he would be kind enough to escort her out. Aurora caught the annoyance in his gaze but the mediwitch remained oblivious to it. Once Snape had left the room again, Aurora turned towards the bathroom. She needed to cleanse herself first, and then she would apply the paste as well as take the dreamless sleep potion. She was overdue for a restful night of sleep.
Aurora sighed contently as she sank into the hot bath and allowed the heat to release the tension in her fatigued muscles. She was nervous of Snape's return. She was not sure what reaction to expect from him, he had been stoically silent the entire time the mediwitch had been assessing her. Besides the tightness of his features when the witch had revealed the gender of their baby, he had not given away much more of his thoughts.
Then there was the promise of his punishment still, something she knew she didn't deserve. She had been stupid to ignore Snape in favor of Regulus, but in truth she had been too distraught to realize her error. Snape hated to be ignored, it jilted his self arrogance. The punishment was really to remind her who was in charge. That he was the only one she should look to for guidance, or comfort, because he owned her. At least he felt like he did, and each day she was becoming more convinced of that truth.
Aurora hurriedly cleaned herself, the extent of her bleeding evidenced by the dark maroon color of the water. She toweled herself off, and left her ruined robes on the floor next to the tub. She couldn't be bothered to clean up after herself, the events of the night had depleted her energy. With the towel tightly wrapped around her, she stepped over to the sofa and grabbed the jar of bruise paste. She scooped up a blob of the cool jelly-like substance, and grimaced slightly as she rubbed it across the wounded flesh of her face.
Once the ache had cooled to a barely noticeable twinge, she recapped the canister and grabbed the vial of dreamless sleep. Walking over to the bed, she uncorked the bottle and downed the contents without a second thought. Her heart was heavy with the knowledge that her parents no longer wanted her, and that she was now hopelessly stuck in a relationship she wanted no part of. It's all my fault. She thought sadly, and a few tears beaded off her lashes, falling to her lap below. A wave of exhaustion hit her, and she knew the potion was taking effect. The soft fabric of the towel rubbed her skin soothingly, as she lay back against the pillows on the bed. She vaguely thought of how Snape should have returned already. However, her weary mind was not able to contemplate the thought further as she slipped into a deep slumber.
A/N: Thoughts?