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Practice to Deceive	By : SailorSol Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 12424 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Disclaimer: Any characters & situations you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. Any characters you don�t recognize belong to me. You can borrow them, but email me first and check on the characters.

Author�s Note: This story is AU after book 5. It contains NO REFERENCES to book 6 or 7 in any way, shape or form.

CHAPTER 22: RECOVERY

Astrid pushed her way through the fog, intent on getting to the source of the sobbing. It seemed to take forever. Since she had no sense of time, she did not know whether it did or not.

Finally, she saw something ahead of her. She quickened her pace, intent on reaching Severus and finding out what was distressing him so.

She found his spirit-self kneeling, with wracking sobs tearing at his body. A parchment lay in front of him, and the message on it made her blood run cold, and made her burn with fury at the same time:

Snape;

You are a pathetic, ugly man. We have gone away
to live free from you and your wretched
worshipful ways. Do not try to contact us or locate us.

Maximillian Malfoie

Astrid Tyler-Malfoie

Alfred Rumstead

Lilith Evans-Rumstead.

Without pausing to consider whether she should or not, Astrid destroyed the parchment with a muttered �Incendio� and knelt next to the broken man at her feet.

�Severus,� she said, wrapping her arms around him. �Severus, they are wrong. We would never leave you. You are our life. We would die first.�

She lost track of any passage of time while she stayed there, saying anything that came into her mind, hoping that either her voice or her touch would bring him out of his grief. One of his attackers must have said something to make him believe that he was going to be abandoned.

Finally, it wasn�t her actions, but a voice that seemed to echo through the fog, that brought him around.

�Mrs. Snape-Malfoie,� Madam Pomfrey�s voice reverberated around. �You must come out of this. You are placing undue stress on yourself, in your condition. If you keep this up, you will miscarry your child. Severus would not want you to endanger his son.�

Astrid felt the man in her arms shift, and Severus raised his head to stare at her in disbelief.

�You are here?� he asked. �You didn�t leave me?�

�Never,� she said firmly. �They said that to demoralize you. We would never leave you. It wasn�t Lucius that attacked you, either. Father is not displeased with you. He is as furious as I am over this attack, and all of his resources are being bent to find out who is impersonating his people.�

�He is not angry?� Severus asked. He looked terrified and hopeful, at the same time.

Astrid stood up and held out her hand to him.

�Come back to me, beloved,� she said. �Having found you, I have no desire to live without you. If you don�t go back, neither do I.�

�You would kill them, to stay with me?� he asked, incredulous. �Max loves you as much as I do. He can give you so much more � �

�I have all that I want,� she said. �Max was and is an unexpected treasure. You are the one who holds my heart in his hands. You are the one that I fell in love with. You are the one that I love first and best for the rest of my life. I don�t want anything if it means that I have to live without you.�

�You can�t lie to me,� he said. �Not like this, not here. If you�re saying this, then it must be true.�

�If you want,� she said, looking down at him. �I will swear to you that I will let no other wizard ever touch me again, including Max and Alfred, if that would reassure you and you would come back to me.�

�I cannot do that,� he said, rising to his feet next to her. �Max loves you as much as I do. I love him. To keep you from him would cause him great pain.�

�As you wish,� she said. �Come back to us, then.�

~*~*~*~

Astrid came back to herself lying on her side with one of Severus� arms painfully tight around her. She could feel the cast on his hand pressed into her back. She opened her eyes and gazed into his face.

When she had lain down next to him, his face had been tight with pain and distress. Now, it was much more relaxed, and the hint of a smile lingered on his lips.

While she waited, nearly holding her breath, his eyelids fluttered a bit, and then they lifted. Severus looked down at her, staring as if he hadn�t ever expected to see her again.

�You did come to me,� he whispered, his voice hoarse. �I almost didn�t believe it, even after what I saw.�

�You are part of us, Severus,� she whispered. �We can�t leave you any more than I can leave Lilith.�

�I promise to never doubt again,� he said. �It�s just � when I saw who was attacking me, I thought � �

�I am perfectly capable of telling you myself, Severus Snape,� she said, mock-stern. �When I am displeased with you. I would not need to resort to other means.�

�I should have realized that,� he said. �When can I go home?�

�This is the first day of classes, beloved,� Astrid said. �We have to re-grow the bones in your hands. You won�t be teaching or brewing for a while.�

�I can teach without my hands,� he told her sternly. �The only other Potions Master here is you, and you cannot be near some of the potions that the seventh years are brewing.�

�I am able enough for the other classes, though,� Astrid said. �All I would have to do is put the day�s potion up for the seventh years, and leave the room while they brew. If they blow something up, then they don�t belong in your NEWT level class.�

�Well said,� he replied, nodding wearily. �Let me talk to Poppy.�

�Very well,� Astrid said. �I need to pull out my teaching robes again.�

She extricated herself from Severus� embrace and got up from the bed.

Severus watched her go into Madame Pomfrey�s office, and silently started counting. When he reached eight, he heard the nurse�s agitated voice.

�You are most certainly NOT teaching Potions!� she shouted.

�I AM teaching Potions!� Astrid shouted back. �There is no one else! I�ll stay out of the NEWT level classes when they�re brewing something dangerous! You can�t dictate to me, Poppy!�

�The Headmaster can!� the nurse replied, louder than Astrid. �I will be seeing him immediately!�

Severus was so involved in listening to the two of them that he did not hear the door to the Hospital Wing open. He noticed Dumbledore when the other wizard crossed his field of vision and stepped up to the office door.

�The Headmaster is here,� he said. �I have been looking into replacements for Severus all night. Every potions master in England is otherwise occupied, and none of those in Europe are willing to come here to teach for a few weeks. I am afraid that Madame Snape is the only choice we have.�

�She cannot be near some of the potions that the NEWT level classes brew, Albus,� the nurse said.

�She will not be,� Dumbledore said. �I have asked Professor Malfoie to assist with the sixth and seventh year classes. She will do all of the preparatory work, and he will be present while the students brew. She can watch through a mirror from the next room. She and her child will be in no danger.�

�I see that I can�t talk you out of this, Albus,� was the grudging reply. �Madame Snape, I insist that you come to me every day that you have a NEWT level class, or if you start feeling anything abnormal. Do you understand?�

�Yes, Poppy,� Astrid said. �Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get out my teaching robes and get downstairs before the students wonder where their Potions professor is. I will assume the duties of the head of Slytherin House, as well.�

�Make certain that you have Maximillian assist you,� Dumbledore told her. �You should not overextend yourself.�

�Yes, Headmaster,� Astrid said. �I do need to get going.�

�Please make certain that Severus takes his potions before you go,� Madame Pomfrey said.

�Of course,� Astrid said, smiling. She accepted a tray of potions from the nurse, and returned to her husband, visually checking all of the potions.

When she reached Severus, she handed him the tray and relieved it of one of the potions.

�You don�t need a calming potion,� she said, pocketing the phial. �The color�s a little off, too. Either the potion�s old or it�s not what it says it is. I think I�ll give some of your brighter sixth years something to do besides brew. I wonder what Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger will think of the opportunity to reverse brew a potion.�

�As you wish,� Severus said. He looked at each phial on the tray, and then allowed Astrid to give him each one. She saved the Skele-Gro for last.

�It�s the strongest tasting of the lot,� she explained. �It doesn�t taste that bad. I thought it could cover up the rest of them.�

�When will my hands be normal?� he asked, looking at the casts with dismay.

�It will probably take another day to re-grow the bones,� Astrid said. �After that, a couple of days for full mobility. I won�t have your students for more than a week.�

�I am not worried about my students in your hands,� he told her as he settled back into the bed. �I am concerned about Potter being loose in this school, with no one to stop him.�

�If he abuses a student,� Astrid said, scowling. �I will abuse him. I don�t have to care what Dumbledore says. I can always leave the school. Before I do, though, I will make certain that James Potter no longer has the ability to abuse anyone.�

�You should go,� Severus said. �Tell the others that I will be downstairs by tomorrow night.�

�Yes, love,� Astrid said. She leaned down to kiss him and picked up the tray in one fluid motion. �I�ll return these to Madame Pomfrey, and tell her about the potion. I�ll check the rest of her calming potions, as well.�

She walked over to the nurse�s office, to find that Dumbledore had left in her absence.

�I didn�t give Severus the calming potion,� she said. �He�s perfectly rational, and the color was a bit off. I would like to see your store of them. It�s possible that they�ve gotten old.�

�That is possible, dear,� the other witch said as she rose and opened the cabinet. �They are from last school year, but I thought calming potions were supposed to have a shelf life of over a year. Severus made these last term of last year, just before we closed for the summer. I had so many students that needed calming, I ran out.�

�From what I�ve heard, I�m not surprised,� Astrid said. �That Umbridge cow sounds like a right piece of work.�

�Oh, she was,� the medi-witch said as she pulled out phials of calming potion.

�Only some of these are discolored,� Astrid said, sorting through the phials. �They�re all the lot that is dated during last year�s second term. I wonder if someone tampered with them.�

�Tampered, how?�

�Well,� Astrid said. �Calming potion is a deceptively simple brew. Adding another potion to it makes it change color. The more subtle the other potion, the more subtle the color change.�

�And a color change like this?� queried the nurse. She carefully returned the unchanged potions to the cabinet and locked it.

�Something VERY subtle,� Astrid said. �Something meant to be concealed in food or drink. Something like ��

�What?� the nurse asked.

�I need to check,� Astrid said. �You see, there is one combination that is so toxic as to be nearly lethal when combined with a calming potion. If someone did this, then I want to know who.�

�What do you mean?�

�If you mix a calming potion and Veritaserum,� Astrid said, looking the other witch in the eye. �Then you have a potions reaction that would cause very little visible effect, but would nearly put a witch or wizard into a coma. The interesting part of it is that the stronger the imbiber, the stronger the effect. For someone with a power level of Dumbledore, or Harry, or Voldemort, it could kill them.�

�I knew that toad was up to no good!� Pomfrey exclaimed. �I found her in my office, shortly before the � incident. She said she was checking that my stores were of sufficient quantity and were within the potency dates. Do you think she knew?�

�If she knew enough to put it in there,� Astrid said. �She could have known. I�ll check the records between classes.�

~*~*~*~

Astrid found her teaching robes, ironically a great deal like those that Severus wore, and she seated herself at the Main Table in the Great Hall. The other three joined her, leaving a space where Severus normally sat. Max carried Sarah in and handed her to Astrid, but the infant was despondent and showed none of her normal enthusiasm for her surroundings or for dinner. She turned tear-filled eyes to her adoptive mother and spoke one word of entreaty, which told Astrid volumes.

�Dada?�

�Daddy�s sick, sweetie,� Astrid said. �Daddy will be back tomorrow night.�

�Dada si?� Sarah queried. When Astrid nodded, she sighed and leaned her head against Astrid�s chest.

Footsteps behind Astrid alerted her to another presence, moments before Sarah started fussing in distress.

�I see someone is missing, tonight,� the voice of James Potter. �Did he get tired of the respectable life and leave you? I�ll be happy to step in.�

�Over your rotting corpse,� Astrid said venomously. �Do you ever learn to take no for an answer?�

�Hope springs eternal,� Potter said, moving as though he would sit in Severus� seat.

�If you put your backside into that seat,� Max said through clenched teeth. �I will put it and you into Hospital Wing.�

�Now, now, Max,� Dumbledore�s voice interrupted them. �I am sure that James is just trying to convey his sympathies about Severus� unfortunate experience.�

�Unfortunate experience, Albus?� Alfred cut in. �You make it sound like Severus had an accident.�

�We must keep in mind Voldemort�s unpredictability,� Dumbledore said. �He could have sent those Death Eaters on a whim.�

�Perhaps,� Astrid said neutrally. �You never know what a power-hungry megalomaniac will do.�

�Now, my dear,� Dumbledore said. �How is Severus, today?�

�He�ll be fine,� Astrid said. �The worst problem was his hands, but Poppy took the broken bones out of his hands, and he�s had two doses of Skele-Gro. The bones should be regenerated by tomorrow night.�

Potter leaned over so that his mouth was next to Astrid�s ear.

�There�s nothing wrong with my hands,� he murmured.

Astrid�s reaction was immediate and negative. Before he could more than blink, she had shifted Sarah away from him and drawn her wand. She pressed the tip of the wand against his throat.

�Get away from me and my children,� she hissed. �One more time, and we will see how a cutting charm works on your neck.�

�That could get you sent to Azkaban, my dear,� he said.

�Not if I tell the Ministry that you�re putting my life and my pact with the land in danger,� she hissed. �Now get away from me.�

�You�ll regret this,� Potter hissed. He swept away in a swirl of Quidditch robes and sat at his place on the far end of the table.

TBC
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Practice to Deceive