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UnBroken	By : OddDoll Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 6172 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 39
- 40
- 41
Unbroken
By Odd Doll
Chapter 40
Phoebe rose to her feet and went looking for Severus. On the other side of Harry's slab he lay unconscious, his back to Dumbledore, as if he's been thrown there. She called his name and felt his pulse, which was fast but weak. She could do nothing about it, but hold his wrist and call his name.
Around her, the others were also struggling to their feet and calling to each other, Ron embracing Hermione, and Ginny taking a definite interest in Harry Potter. The boy rubbed his eyes as if his sleep had been no more than a few hours.
Only Bill, the odd man out, had no one to look after, so he set about waking Dumbledore. The old wizard groaned in a very undignified manner and rolled to a sitting position.
"Easy there," Bill said.
From his slab, Harry said, "Ginny? What are you doing here? Where am I, anyway?"
Severus's eyes fluttered open and Phoebe's chest unclenched. For many minutes he lay there, unmoving. A sheen of unhealthy sweat coated his face when Phoebe placed her palm against his cheek. His breaths came rapid and shallow. She remained there by his side, unaware of the commotion around her, until Yew knelt beside her.
"Can he be moved?"
"I could probably Apparate with him, but I don't think he should even try walking."
At this Severus tried to sit up, his hands flailing about for purchase against the slick marble floor.
"Take it easy, Severus. Don't try to move." She grabbed one of his hands and held it. "I'm taking you back to the house, so you can rest."
Yew stood, and she looked up at his beautiful face, for that moment unreadable.
"I will take the others to my mother. Please join us at the palace as soon as you are able."
A prickle touched Phoebe's nape. She had never been a seer, but at that moment a sick dread filled her gut. Across the way, Ginny, holding Harry's elbow as he lowered himself from his slab, looked up and met her glance. The girl shivered and her eyes darted to Dumbledore. The old wizard wore a grave expression, and unobtrusively buried his wand deep in his robes.
There was nothing to be done about it. "Of course," she said, the prickle intensifying until it ran down her spine. "I think we can find the palace."
*****
Severus awoke alone in a darkened room, to the comforting strawberry scent on the pillow beneath his head. Phoebe was nowhere near, but had been. He vaguely recalled Phoebe Apparating him back to the house they had appropriated, directly into the room they shared.
Judging by the slice of darkness at the window, he had slept a long time, but still his limbs lay heavy against the mattress. At least his heart had settled into a steady rhythm. Reluctant to test it, he lay quietly for some time, staring at the dark shadows on the ceiling. For the first time in several years, he could completely relax. He knew they had other obstacles to face, but he had accomplished the task Dumbledore had laid on him two years before.
After a while, Phoebe entered. She hovered over the bed, and seeing his eyes open, watching her, she sat down beside him, the soft mattress dipping.
"Make love to me," he said.
She bent down and kissed his cheek. "As tempting as that is, I hardly think you're up to it." Her rich, low voice was soft, but held a tinge of amusement. "Besides, you need to shave and you have mung-mouth."
"Then lie with me."
She shifted. Her shoes hit the floor with soft thumps, and she pulled aside the covers to stretch out beside him fully clothed. The fabric of her jeans rasped a little against his bare legs. He slid his hand under her shirt to feel her skin. Perhaps it was for the best. The thought of seducing her, while pleasant, felt like the prospect of a marathon. He rolled toward her and buried his face against her neck, instead.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Improved. You?"
Her sigh sounded content, happy. "The medicine kicked in. I slept with you for a while. Best sleep I've had for a couple of weeks. I'm worried, though."
"You always worry," he said before he could censor his mouth. Her body stiffened ever so slightly. "I'm sorry."
"No. It's true." But she didn't relax. "The others are not back. Yew said he couldn't vouch for Titania letting them go. He said she would be angry. Do you remember that?"
"I do, but at the moment I have a hard time caring." He kissed the side of her neck.
"Severus, stop that."
He smiled and kissed her again, but then pulled back. "I'm not yet up to any shenanigans."
"I would say so. Do you want to go to the palace? Are you up to that?"
"Not really, but I'm concerned now, too."
"I think we should go in under invisibility."
He shook his head. "They would probably just see through it."
"Maybe, but it's worth a try."
"I think you're right. I've got a bad feeling."
*****
They Apparated to a street adjacent to Titania's palace, beneath a wall choked with vines, patches of rose-pink marble glowing in the light of the street lamps. Severus took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose, to steady himself. Night-blooming jasmine were the vines that grew here, sweet and delicate, but the scent was too strong for his weakened state. Nothing could make him admit to Phoebe that his head felt a little hollow and his pulse beat faster than normal. He wondered if he'd had another heart attack, but he didn't feel the debilitating weakness.
In the same manner that he had cast invisibility on the entire populace of Hogwarts castle, he cast a much smaller spell that allowed him to keep track of Phoebe. Unfortunately, it made the spell unstable, fuzzy around the edges. They would have to keep to dark corners and shadows.
With Phoebe beside him, they rounded a corner into an enormous square paved in gray flagstones. Massive blocks of rose quartz rose in graceful, fluted columns. The effect should have been gaudy, and perhaps it was during the daytime, but Severus doubted it. Somehow, despite the city's abundance of colored stone and sunburst murals, odd angles and seemingly random archways, everything fit. Still, it would be easy to become lost here.
"Stay close. We don't want to become separated."
"Okay."
Massive doors embossed with gold stood open at the top of a tall, wide flight of steps leading into the palace itself. Soldiers flanked the entrance, but Sidhe dressed in bright tunics and gowns seemed to come and go without challenge. Severus and Phoebe eased themselves up, step by step. Twice they paused while Sidhe couples with delicate, luminescent wings passed close to them. The invisibility spell seemed to be holding.
The biggest test of their invisibility came when they drew near the left-hand door to the palace, with a tall, robust soldier standing guard. He bore an oak cluster outlined in silver threads on his tunic, a sign of the realm of Titania. Like Yew's had been, the silver was tarnished. Dirt and dry leaves had collected in the corners of the shallow portico before the doors. The Sidhe would need time to restore their kingdom to rights.
They tiptoed past the soldier, the spell only hiding visibility and not sound. Once past, they moved more quickly, confident now that they remained unseen. The doors opened into an anteroom, bigger than their entire cottage in Scotland, and crowded with even more Sidhe milling about. It seemed a subdued celebration, voices raised in relief and laughter, but a fair amount of angry muttering rumbled beneath the lighter voices. Phoebe and Severus remained at the edges of the room as they made their way to the next set of massive doors.
Severus kept his eyes peeled for the other members of their party. He took the risk of whispering, "Do you think we should split up?"
"No. This crowd isn't as happy as they should be for people who just woke up from a two-year sleep."
"I wouldn't be happy either."
They passed by several archways and smaller doors, and edged through the next set of golden doors. If possible, these were even taller than those on the outside, although narrower and thinner. They opened to an immense hall of more pink marble and rose quartz, all accented with gold leaf. An even larger crowd of brightly dressed Sidhe, sprouting jewel wings and streamers of gaily waving cloth, gathered toward the far end, where Titania herself, with her diaphanous white gown and crown of gilt oak leaves, sat in state. Kneeling before her, was Albus Dumbledore.
"Oh, shit," Phoebe said a little too loudly for their spell. Severus reached a hand out to hush her.
"Do you see any sign of the others," he whispered, barely audible about the angry murmurs of the crowd.
"No. Let's move around the outside."
A colonnade of more rose quartz framed the hall on three sides, leaving a walkway around the room where few where gathered. Moving slowly, Severus and Phoebe made their way up the left side of the hall. Four archways led off from that side of the hall, and each was flanked by a pair of guards. The invisibility spell held. After the last arch, they found Ginny and Bill, unconscious on the floor.
Severus knelt down to feel their pulses. "They're alive."
"Why would they be sleeping?"
"A spell or potion to keep them under control."
"Are you listening to what's going on up there?"
"I'd rather not think about it."
On the dais, Titania and Dumbledore argued about the terms of her promise to keep him safe and allow him to leave at the time of his choosing.
"You allowed us here," Dumbledore said. "I never promised that it was without risks, but you promised that we were under no obligation."
"That was before you abused our hospitality," Titania returned.
Phoebe knelt beside Severus. "I'm going to try Ennervate."
"Might as well."
It took three tries, each loud enough to test the limits of their concealment, but finally Ginny groaned. Severus clamped a hand over her mouth. "Quiet. Don't make a sound."
Ginny's eyes grew round and she began to struggle.
"It's Phoebe and Severus," Phoebe whispered.
Bill woke with his wand in his hand. Phoebe and Severus both had to restrain him and keep him quiet, but he was quick to assess the situation.
"What do we need to do?"
"Apparate down to the boat and wait for us there," Severus said. "Do you know where the others are?"
"Dumbledore took them to the far corner by the doors. He said he had things he needed to tell them."
"Dumbledore is in trouble," Phoebe said.
"I think we all are," Ginny said.
They looked around, and while it seemed no one paid them particular attention, the two Disapparated.
From the dais, Titania said, "Two years, Albus Dumbledore. You owe us two years of our lives which we will never recover."
Severus shivered, thinking of the year he had lost in the Hell of Felicity House.
"This way," he said to Phoebe.
They drifted toward the opposite corner of the room, easing into and out of gaps in the crowd, moving slowly. Once they had to duck to the side when a young Sidhe boy ran into the crowd, headed for the dais. They nearly stumbled into another small grouping, but Phoebe grabbed his arm at the last second and yanked him back.
So far, the invisibility held, and they reached the remaining three members of their party without mishap. They were asleep, as well.
"They gave us something to drink," Harry mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "Getting tired of being put to sleep."
"Hush," Phoebe said.
They stood, their attention turned toward the dais.
"My companions had nothing to do with the curse," Dumbledore said. "Keep me here, and let them go. I trust they have all they need to end the scourge that is Lord Voldemort."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That was a message to us."
"Dumbledore told us a bunch of crazy stuff before they came around with the food and drinks," Ron said.
"We should go to the docks," Severus said. He looked around and then dispelled the invisibility.
"They should go and I remain!" Dumbledore said vehemently in response to something Titania said.
At that moment, Yew, Karill, and Lake came striding down the passageway between the wall and the colonnade. As he passed each archway, he waved his hand and the soldier there joined them.
"Go!" Severus hissed. "To the docks. Now"
Shouts rang down the passageway. The Sidhe soldiers ran in their direction, their soft boots making muffled footfalls on the stone floors.
"Go, go, go!" Phoebe said and threw her arm around Harry. Severus waited a few precious seconds to make sure the others were clear, and Disapparated just as Yew appeared in the doorway.
At the dock, everybody was either on the boat or scrambling into it. The second they were all aboard, Severus set it in motion. The little craft, nearly swamped with their numbers, still cut through the water like a motorboat. Everyone looked back anxiously as they left the dock further and further behind, watching for signs of Yew and his soldiers. After a minute they popped onto the dock, each shining with gathering Sidhe magic.
"Oh, dear," Ginny said. Ahead of them the rocks had reappeared only a few feet away. The small craft shuddered when Severus tried to halt its progress, but its forward momentum carried it on. The boat slammed into a rock the size of a house, splintering the bow, and instantly began to take on water.
"I can't swim," Severus said in Phoebe's ear.
"Don't worry. I've got you."
"We can Disapparate from here, can't we?" Hermione said. "The professor did it several nights ago."
"We have to try," Phoebe said. "Here they come."
The listed forward, the bow sinking rapidly, burdened by more people than it was intended to carry. Behind them Yew and Karill floated across the water almost as fast as the boat had gone.
"Quickly," Severus shouted. "Before they're in range to get our wands.
"Where?" Several asked at once.
"Headquarters."
Bill, with Harry, left almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Severus kissed her lips, hard. "Go," he said."
"No. You're not well, and we don't have time to argue. Side-along with me."
Severus scowled, but complied. He hooked his arm in hers, looked up to see the Sidhe nearly in range, and Disapparated.
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UnBroken