• 1-A Most Trusted Soldier
• 2-2
• 3-3
• 4-4
• 5-5
• 6-6
• 7-7
• 8-8
• 9-9
• 10-10
• 11-11
• 12-12
• 13-13
• 14-14
• 15-15
• 16-16
• 17-17
• 18-18
• 19-19
• 20-20
• 21-21
• 22-22
• 23-23
• 24-24
• 25-25
• 26-26
• 27-Author's Note: update
• 28-Still getting reviews...

Thanks to Slyth for the beta work and for pointing out a rather serious flaw in this chapter before I posted.

Wood pulled his arm back once more, intent on seeing just how much more crooked he could make Snape’s nose. However, his arm became suspended in mid-air, unwilling to follow his command.

“Who knew you’d turn out to be such an slimy bastard?” came a steely female voice from behind him. “Stupefy!”

Wood looked over his own shoulder just in time to dodge the spell, his mind already planning to obliviate the wayward customer who had no doubt stumbled upon this little scene. Ducking behind a short, glass display case and peering around the side, his eyes widened marginally when they fell upon the figure of a slim, blonde, familiar looking witch. Wood vaguely recalled that the young witch had attended Hogwarts but couldn’t remember much beyond that, having not associated with the younger years all that much.

“In case you haven’t grasped the full meaning of this situation, allow me to inform you that the shop is closed,” Wood ground out irritably, sneering at the blonde woman from his protected position.

Luna didn’t even deign to respond, immediately spreading her arms wide, gathering her magic. Shards of glass was swept up into the air as the force of Luna’s magic swirled about, whipping both Severus and Wood with a fierce, glass and grit-filled wind.

Wood crouched down to steady his center of gravity, using his position to cast a sharp, bright sliver of blood red light at Luna, which hit an invisible shield before ricocheting back at him, shattering the display case into a million pieces and forcing him to spring aside to avoid being blown up by his own hex.

He dodged the spell with a powerful spring, the force sending him slamming into the baseboards along the floor, his breathing fast and heavy, his eyes stinging and nearly blind from the grit in the wind.

Luna remained unmoved, her body stiff as a board and her arms spread wide like angel’s wings, with her pale peach summer robes flapping about her. She was not even looking at Wood. Instead her eyes were focused intently on Severus, who was still suspended against the demolished shelving, his brow furrowed in pain, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Severus’ moans could be heard above the whoosh of air circulating wildly around them, as his body arched and struggled to be free of Wood’s binding magic.

Severus grunted deeply, his head lolling as he grew weaker; using what was left of his energy to fight both the poison and his injuries. He wanted so desperately to get down, to help Luna. For the first time since this ordeal began Severus felt utterly helpless, the shame nearly bringing him to tears, watching as Luna tried to both fight Wood and free him.

“Luna, don’t. Run.” Severus wheezed loudly.

Before Luna could respond Wood stumbled upright and ran full out at her, throwing his massive weight at Luna, only to find himself rebuffed once again by the invisible shield, but managing to make it ripple and buckle in the air like thin plastic. His attempt at bodily penetrating the shield distracted Luna to the point where her focus shifted from Severus to Wood, her eyes going cold at the sight of the mad wizard.

With a sneer Luna brought her wand hand down sharply, a snap of light indicating she had dropped the shield. “You, Oliver Wood, should leave. Now. Don’t make me hurt you.”

Wood, chest heaving and face beet red in anger took advantage of the lowered shield and once more tackled the petite witch, pinning her to the ground and slapping her roughly across the face, causing her top lip to bleed.

“Listen, wench!” Wood yelled. “This! Does not! Concern you!”

Luna, being no physical fighter, took the only option she could. She kneed Wood in the groin, buying herself a moment to roll from beneath him. As she stood, Wood leapt after her, wrapping a beefy arm around her middle, spinning her around and throwing her bodily across the counter head first into the iron register. Her head connected with the large iron cash drawer with a loud thud. The register fell to the stone floor with a ringing crash, its bounty of wizarding money spilling onto the floor in a ripple of pings.

Severus growled weakly, wishing with every fiber of his being that he at least had his wand. Even in his weakened state he could cast hexes that would make Wood scream so sharply in pain only canines and vampires would be able to hear it.

Thinking Luna knocked unconscious after her run-in with the register, Wood turned his attention back to Severus, his rage amped ten-fold at having been disturbed.

“I hope she was not a valued client, Snape. I don’t think she’ll be coming back for your superb concoctions,” Wood said without mirth. Severus grimaced and shut his eyes.

“Funny. Even as a Keeper you failed to see beyond the obvious,” Luna’s voice taunted, echoing all around as though they were in some empty cavernous space.

Wood spun around quickly, his wand poised to end the witch once and for all, yet no one was there. His amber eyes squinted like a hawk’s, inspecting every corner of the shop, wondering how the little witch was managing to project her voice yet remain invisible.

“Come out, pretty,” said Wood, stepping backwards closer to where Severus was dangling, no longer struggling to free himself, his eyes drooping from the strain of his diminished magic. “Show yourself young witch and I promise to let you live.”

“How generous, but I make you no such promise,” Luna’s voice threatened from multiple corners of the room, before she revealed herself, appearing out of thin air not two feet from where Wood stood.

Catching the muscular wizard by surprise, Luna took the opportunity to snap out a sharp “Levicorpus”, lifting Wood upside down in the air and dangling him by one ankle. Anger was apparent in her icy blue eyes, her hair in disarray and blood trickling from her temple Luna pressed the tip of her wand against Wood’s sternum and hissed “Flagrante”, drawing a fiery line along the dangling man’s chest, the repugnant scent of burning hair and flesh filling the air. She was done trying to disarm the wizard, now she wanted to see him in pain.

Wood screamed loudly as Luna burned a thin, charred path down the center of his chest, one leg kicking wildly about in the air as his arms flailed about grabbing at Luna, who stood just out of reach.

As the hot top of Luna’s wand neared his belly button, Wood managed to smack Luna’s had away and use his own wand to poke the woman in the eye. It was crude but it got the job done, causing Luna to break eye contact and falter backwards, her Levicorpus ending and dropping him unceremoniously to the floor. As soon as he hit the floor he quickly cast a minor healing spell on the charred path along his chest, watching warily as Luna tried to regain her bearings. With the young witch still working to get her full eyesight back, Wood took the chance to finally incapacitate the meddlesome witch, shooting a hastily yelled “Sectumsempra!” directly at Luna’s face.

Severus gave a weak yell of warning for Luna to dodge; it was a warning not quite heard in time for Luna to avoid contact with the hex all together, but she did manage to lift her wand arm to cover her eyes. Wood’s spell made contact with Luna’s forearm, slicing through her robe sleeve and into her flesh, blood spouting forth in a gush as an artery was opened.

Luna fell to her knees with a scream her uninjured hand reflexively coming to grip tightly over the cut, trying in vain to staunch the bleeding.

“I told you to leave you meddling, do-gooder bitch. You didn’t listen,” Wood said menacingly, stalking forward toward the spot where a bloody, painting Luna was kneeling.

As Wood got closer, Luna felt a sharp pain in her mind, like a fine needle tunneling through her cerebrum. She bent her head trying desperately to fight the pain of both her arm and head, when she heard Severus’ voice echo in her mind. Let me in. Please!

The Ravenclaw immediately lifted her head to stare past Wood into Severus’ dark eyes, relaxing her mind and allowing her struggling friend’s thoughts to seep into her mind, ever glad Severus was such a highly skilled Legilimens.

You cannot beat him. Stop going head to head. He has taken a magic enhancement cocktail. You must listen. Gather what magic you have and Disapparate. Get help. Get Harry.

Wood stepped up to Luna, pulling her up by the hair and forcing her to stand. Her wand arm was dangling uselessly by her side, blood oozing copiously from the cut on her forearm, down onto her wand before dripping heavy crimson droplets onto the floor. She looked past Wood to Severus once more, her eyes furious. I won’t leave you!

“Who are you witch? You look familiar. I want to know who I am about to make a new ward mate of Lockhart.”

You must! You must! You cannot save me this way!

Luna was now trembling from blood loss, her mind working overtime, wondering why the call she sent through her Patronus had not yet been answered. She was terrified, in part for her own life but more so for having not been willing to kill Wood when she had the chance. She gazed into his amber eyes and there she saw nothing but madness. There was none of that schoolboy charm and happiness she remembered from his Hogwart’s days. What had happened, she wondered, to turn the charming, cocky athlete into the raving lunatic she saw before her now?

“Why are you doing this?” she asked in a whisper.

“That is of no concern to you. All you need know is that this man,” Wood sneered, gesturing with his head towards Severus, “has something that he does not deserve and I do. I want it. It belongs to me. Now tell me your name!”

“NO!,” Luna screeched at both Severus and Wood, before raising her wand with great effort and casting, “Abominatio memoria inimicus.”

Wood released his hold on her immediately, squeezing his eyes shut and bringing both hands up to clutch the sides of his head as though trying to keep his head attached to his neck. He thrashed and stumbled about, unable to clear his mind of horrible images and feelings of intense pain; and blood, so much blood. He felt as if her were drowning in it, choking on it. Loud voices were screaming: women, men, babies, all wailing in agony so loudly Wood felt as if his head would explode. He fell against the wall with an agonizing scream, his wild eyes staring at Luna in disbelief.

Luna sank to her knees breathing rapidly. She hurriedly tore a strip from the hem of her robe to make a tourniquet for her arm, pinching the vein and bandaging the wounding tightly. There would be time to fully heal it later but for now she had to get rid of this bastard if either she or Sev were to live through this. She knew her last hex, as nasty as it was, would not last long as her strength was waning when it was cast. Luna gathered her remaining strength and with great effort and pain, lifted her wand one last time to blast Wood through large storefront window and out into the street, hoping that having this messy drama go public would cause the ex-Keeper to flee.

Luna stumbled up to her feet, stumbling over to Severus, who had been freed from Wood’s binding spell and now lay in a groaning, bloody sprawl on the floor. She knelt down beside him, caressing his sweaty forehead and smoothing his lank hair away from his face.
“Oh, Severus. Gods. What’s he done to you?” Luna asked hurriedly, her wand already scanning for injuries.

“Foxglove?” Severus wheezed; his breathing was labored. “Need…”

Luna shushed him and read the air above Severus’ head which listed a series of cracked ribs, some minor internal bleeding, a fractured jaw, low oxygen circulating in the blood, irregular heart beat, and lastly poison, which caused Luna to gasp and pale further.

She grabbed Severus beneath both arms, dragging the heavy man into a more upright position, propping him into a sitting position against the wall.

“What are you doing? Get me to the lab. The antidote for the aconite needs to be brewed,” Severus said, breaking into a coughing fit at the end.

“No time. Takes at least thirteen hours. You haven’t got that,” Luna snapped in reply, looking around on the floor for Severus’ wand.

Spotting it she summoned it and placed it in Severus’ palm, curling her fingers around his, forcing him to make a weak fist around the dark wood. She began undoing the tourniquet on her arm, the blood beginning to flow out once more. Severus reached over and grabbed her wrist as tightly as he could manage given his weakened state.

“Luna, listen to me. You have to promise me something. If I don’t recuperate… If I am…”

Luna held a finger against his dry, cracked lips, shushing him softly. “None of that. You’ll be fine. Just trust me, alright.”

“No! Damn it! Listen!” Severus yelled through his coughing, rattling sounds coming from deep within his chest with each labored breath. “There are no guarantees. The poison has been in me too long to have done no damage at all. We can’t know how much, but…but if I am unsuitable…unable to breed, you must go to Harry. He will need you. Breeding is coming very, very soon. Promise me. You’ll take care of him. I can…I can face this, whatever happens, if…if it’s you. Only if it’s you.”

Tears were pooled in Luna’s eyes, poised to drop. She batted her eyes rapidly, banishing the tears back into their ducts and nodded her promise.

“Thank you. Thank you,” Severus said, his arm falling away limply back to the floor.

“Now, hush and let me work,” Luna said with a sad smile as she released the tourniquet fully. As her blood pumped through the wound on her arm she palmed a large shard of glass from the floor and sliced Severus across the wrist.

“What are you…” Severus hissed as the jagged shard cut through his flesh.

Luna ignored his question and his pain; Chanting, she pressing her wand tip into the bleeding wound on her own forearm before doing the same to the cut on Severus’ wrist. She repeated the action seven times, each time a circle of iridescent powder-blue light enveloping them.

When she finished she busied herself sealing both wounds, taking her time meeting Severus’ eyes, which she could feel staring at her. After inspecting the arm wounds longer than necessary she looked up to meet the dark, watery gaze of Severus.

“You…didn’t have to. But, I thank you,” Severus rasped.

“The blood sacrifice will buy us some time to get rid of the poison and strengthen your magical core,” Luna said, banishing the blood soaked bit of her robe.

“At the expense of your own, you realize?”

Luna looked him in the eye steadily and nodded, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “I know.”

Outside the broken storefront window a small group of curious wizards and witches were gathering, inspecting the damage to the Apothecary and peeking in at Luna and Severus. Luna heard the whispers and turned to ask the crowd if any of them had seen the man who had flown through the window. They all began nodding, pointing and talking over one another. Luna gleaned that Wood had been stunned for a bit but shook it off rather quickly and Apparated off to who knows where. That unsettled her greatly.

Then as she was explaining to the small crowd to disperse, Harry came pushing through the crowd, which parted like tall grass in a storm.

“Oh, Harry, thank Merlin!” Luna said, relieved at the sight of the one person she trusted to set everything to rights.

Harry acted as though he had not heard Luna at all, entering the shop through the demolished window, stepping over what remained of the wall. He didn’t even flinch when his bare feet crunched onto shards of glass and splinters of wood strewn about the floor. His deep green eyes surveyed the scene before him: a bleeding, battered Severus propped against the wall breathing shallowly, next to a kneeling Luna who looked as if one side of her body had been dipped in blood. Even from where they rested, Luna and Severus could both see the flash of amber erupt around Harry’s eyes, his entire body rippling with rage. Severus had to close his eyes as the force of Harry’s rage hit him full force, followed by the heavenly aroma of his Dom’s pheromones, which saturated the air like fog.

Luna stumbled to her feet but found her feet rooted to the floor by magic, her voice silenced. Harry brought both his hands together in a massive, booming clap, which cleared the floor of all detritus and forced the crowd back several hundred feet. Then waving a hand he repaired the shop window and wall, managing to obscure the newly repaired window with a tinting spell.

Luna, unsure of what was happening, began gesturing frantically with her wand towards Severus. Harry held out of hand, calling both her wand and Severus’ to him easily.

He stalked forward quickly, reaching Luna in five long strides, grabbing her by the back of the neck and lifting her off the floor so that only the tips of her toes remained in contact. The heat emanating from Harry’s nearly naked body consumed Luna like an oven; it was stifling, making her dizzy and confused as her body was pressed firmly against Harry’s chest. Her mind became hazy, but she couldn’t help but shiver when Harry buried his face in the soft flesh just behind her ear, inhaling deeply while clutching the back of her neck so tightly it hurt.

Severus, also unable to speak likely do to something Harry had done, could only watch as Harry nuzzled his face into Luna’s neck, her body pliant against that of his dom. The potion master felt helpless and bereft, like an unwanted voyeur or ill pet, privy to a private moment. He shut his eyes tightly and turned away, unable to watch another moment of Harry and Luna entwined like lovers. A tear of shame and heartache trailed down his sweaty, marred cheek and something deep inside him gave up, conceded defeat; for Wood had possibly proven his point, that Severus was undeserving of Harry’s love. If he could be this weak, this vulnerable, then was he truly good enough to be Harry’s mate, to father his children, to guard him where others had failed. Had the Amoral in Harry finally decided that taking Severus as primary mate had been a mistake?

The maudlin wizard’s attention was pulled from wallowing in sorrow when he heard Luna give a startled yelp. He opened his eyes to find her pinned to the wall, not at all unlike the way Wood had him not long ago. Only Luna’s eyes had a dazed, almost zombie-like quality, staring directly back into Harry’s Confused, Severus tried to speak, relieved when he heard the sound of his own voice.

“Harry. It’s not her fault. Listen,” Severus rasped, struggling to get to his feet.

Harry moved like a blur, reaching down and dragging Severus into a stand, flipping him so that his front was pressed into the demolished wall of shelving. Luna was released from her binds but was trapped behind a shield of some sort. Severus could only watch helplessly as his beautiful, young friend banged frantically against the invisible dome, yelling for Harry to let her out.

Severus felt his robes being torn from his body, the tearing of fabric like nails of a chalkboard.

“Harry. Let us explain,” Severus tried again, to no avail, as Harry refused to respond, continuing the strip him by force, purposely avoiding using magic to remove Severus’ clothes. Severus took in as deep a breath as his ribs would allow, his mind thinking that Harry was upset and that his lover was stripping him to inspect him for injuries. What he did not expect once all his clothes were removed was for Harry to murmur a hasty lubrication charm and enter him roughly, forcing a anguished scream from his lips that combined with a simultaneous cry of “Don’t!” from Luna.

Harry wrapped one strong arm around Severus’ waist and the other around the older man’s throat, pushing his cock in and out of Severus’ tight, unprepared entrance in long, hard strokes. Severus continued to scream in time with each thrust, as the glass shards that remained lodged in his back were embedded deeper and deeper as Harry pressed into him from behind.

“I can…I can sense it,” Harry breathed out angrily, oblivious of the fact that the glass fragments in Severus’ back were carving jagged, bloody gashes into his own chest with each movement he made. “It’s all over you. Someone else’s magic is all over you.”

Before Severus could explain further, he felt his mind being pried open like sticky pages of a magazine, the images and memories of the last several hours flooding his mind again as Harry searched for the culprit that had tainted his sub. The potions master tried to relax his Occlumency shields against the invasion. After years of protecting his mind against Voldemort it had become second nature to him to Occlude, but Harry’s Legilimency sliced his mind open like a hot lance. Severus noted that even if he had been at full strength he could have hardly prevented Harry from entering his mind. The Amoral magic was strong, and while it had not made Harry too terribly more powerful, it had added an effortless grace and agility that was intoxicating in its awesomeness.

As the final frames of memory flickered in his mind, Severus bowed his head into the wall and spoke a weak apology which he doubt Harry heard. He began to tremble with guilt, mentally berating himself for allowing Wood to not only get the better of him, but he had also unintentionally put Luna in danger. Harry loved Luna so much. Would Harry ever forgive him for placing the young woman in a room with a lunatic like Wood?

And worst of all, Wood now knew the one thing Harry had tried so hard to keep private, and Severus could not help but believe that it was all because of him. If he had never wanted Harry so badly, fallen so deeply in love with him, then the younger man would be able to live in peace, his secret in tact. Instead now, Harry had yet another megalomaniac chasing after him.

He gasped when his magic felt Harry’s rage intensify; yet he recognized that it somehow had retreated deeper into the background, waiting to erupt like magma in some unpredictable volcano. Severus relaxed his opening, doing his best to accept his lover inside him with minimal resistance; even in this moment, as ludicrous as it was, he focused on his dom’s hands clutching him tighter, thrusting deeper inside him like a man desperate to climax, remembering that his Harry was here with him and allowing a sense of relief to wash over him.

The potions master turned his head to look at Luna, who wore such a look of absolute horror and sympathy on her face that it made Severus’ heart hurt. He watched as the young woman struggled futilely to break the dome, kicking and pummeling the shield, her platinum blonde hair strewn wildly about her head.

“Harry, Stop!! He’s not well! He’s not strong enough! NO!,” Luna yelled through her sobs, tears rolling down her face freely.

Severus winced as he felt Harry press his nude upper body against his back, further grind the glass into his skin.

Luna, it’s alright. I think…I know why. Stay there. Don’t…Don’t be afraid,” Severus projected into Luna’s mind. He knows. He…He understands. Just remember your promise.

Harry continued to grunt and growl as he pounding into Severus, every primal Amoral instinct he had inherited forcing him to reclaim his mate; to reassure himself that his mate was alive and still belonged only to him. His own more rational conscious was drowned out by his instincts. Seeing his sub, his mate, harmed and bleeding not by his own hand, but by some other, Harry could only feel. His thoughts became like third party dictations or to do lists in his brain, telling him how and when to act. Luna, being a former lover and potential secondary mate to his Amoral, only complicated matters. It was only by the sheerest of margins that he had not taken her first, ripping off her clothes and claiming her as his own. His magic and senses had alerted him that Severus was more in need of him; more in love with him; and in more physical danger. He knew now that his sub reeked because of evil intervention, not because of natural incompatibility. He also knew that Oliver Wood was about to become a short footnote in wizarding history.

As he neared his peak, Harry’s rage began to recede enough to let his more rational feelings through. His rhythm picked up and he glided a hand along Severus’ front, stopping over his left flank, a soft glow of purple light flashing beneath his hand. Severus gasped as he felt his ribs being mended, along with a deep penetrating warmth in the area. His heart and body were so overwhelmed by what was happening that he failed to notice the mark left behind when Harry moved his hand away. There, etched in high relief on his pale skin, was a perfect rendition of Harry’s oak tree, the only spot of color being a mahogany colored P identical to the emblem on his armband embossed on the trunk.

Yet, Severus was in turmoil. Harry still loved him, enough to reclaim him in front of Luna, but what would happen when Harry found out about the poison? How would he feel once he knew Severus might never again be strong enough to breed?

He felt Harry begin licking along his shoulder blades, now doubt tasting blood and sweat. If it were any other moment Severus would be wildly turned on but what little remained of his magic and physical strength was waning; and he felt his consciousness start to fade. His head dropped back along Harry’s shoulder, who continued to hold him, thrusting more and more erratically as his orgasm crested.

Just as Severus lost his battle with consciousness he heard the soft sound of Harry’s voice whisper breathily into his ear. “I’ve got you.”

Hermione and Ron came bursting into Severus’ shop just in time to see Harry disapparate with a limp Severus wrapped tightly in his arms.

The minute Harry disappeared, Luna fell through what had been the dome wall and onto all fours, screaming at the empty space that had once held Harry and Severus. “No!! Severus!”

Hermione ran over to the blonde, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and demanding to know what had happened. Luna’s face was scrunched in anguish, her features twisted like some Veela on the verge of transforming.

The blonde stood, brushing Hermione’s hands away irritably and smoothing her hair. She recounted everything that had happened from the moment Webster showed up until the moment the other two thirds of the Golden Trio arrived, carefully glossing over the violent mating she had only just witnessed.

“What took you two so goddamned long!?” Luna yelled.

Ron’s eye widened comically as he stared at the normally soft-spoken witch. He couldn’t ever remember hearing Luna swear; come to think of it he had never really seen Luna in a full on rage, which she looked pretty well into at the moment.

Hermione was busy babbling about having to verify the Patronus and then going to find Ron, who was buried in the Ministry archives researching cold cases. After getting through all the new layers of security at the Ministry and finally tracking down Ron’s partner, it had taken the brainy witch almost an hour to locate her spouse, explaining that she didn’t want to send her own Otter scurrying through the ministry in search of Ron, drawing even more attention to a situation that may have turned out to be nothing at all.

“Well it is something, Hermione!” Luna snapped, barely noticing as Ron came over to stand between the two, making a great show of examining Luna for mortal wounds.

Ron shook his head slightly at Hermione, begging her with his eyes to leave Luna to him for the moment. Ron guided Luna over towards the store counter and conjured a chair for the blonde. He began speaking softly, asking detailed questions as any Auror would but being sure to remind Luna that she was also confiding in Harry’s best male friend.

The redhead grew first pale then as red as a Chinese Fireball when Luna told him about Ginny’s involvement and how Wood had not only used truth serum on his sister, but had also learned the one secret that could put both Harry and Severus in danger for years to come.

“I don’t know where Harry has taken him, Ron. I hope…maybe home? Maybe to the farmhouse?” Luna said sadly, worry evident in her voice.

“We’ll know soon enough I suspect. Just remember, Snape is with Harry. Harry loves him. He’ll take care of him. You’ll see,” Ron assured her, before walking back over to converse quietly with Hermione, leaving Luna sitting alone in her bloodstained robes looking bedraggled and small, her sticky wand clutched tightly in one hand, as she worried about the health and well being of her friends.

A/N: Be careful...you sure you don't want to review?:)

** “Abominatio memoria inimicus”---loosely translates as the most abominable memory of your enemy