Insaitable: Ch4

“What are you stopping for this time, woman?” Snape scowled as he looked down to Hermione.  

“What was Lilly Potter’s maiden name?”

“I…what?  Where is this coming from all of the sudden?”

“This story just made me think of something,” she answered.

“Which is…”

“Oh will you just bloody tell me already?!”

“Evans.  Now, explain,” he impatiently growled.

“Harry and I may be cousins,” she said softly.  “My mother’s grandmother married an Evans man.  I wonder if we could possibly be in the same family.  It would be nice finding out that I’m related to my best friend.”

“Indeed,” he drawled in a bored tone, “But if you wouldn’t mind holding your random tangents till the end of the chapter, I would be much obliged.”

“I’ll have you know that that was the end of the chapter,” she murmured before licking her thumb and turning the page.  “Chapter six.  The battle of the heart…”

It was hard for her to look away from him with this new knowledge.  She remembered the stories her mother used to tell her as she grew into a young woman; stories of love and loss.  

Sevastian Shaw, at the tender age of 16, was a talented young man.  He had apprenticed his father, a blacksmith, since he could weld the tools of the trade.  By the age of 18 he was the most sought after blacksmith in the region. Her mother described a piece of armour he had made for an honored navel captain as a dark mirror; as black as night and reflected the moon and stars as if it had always been a part of the sky itself.  That very navel captain would soon become the man who fathered Avalyn, but not before Sevastian left her mother crestfallen and desperately in love with him.  

Sevastian was a shy boy who would often find solace on the end of the longest docks.  He would stare out into the ocean for hours on end, dreaming of the world that existed beyond the waves, when one day he was joined by a young woman named Elyse.  

“I sometimes wonder what is beyond that horizon,” Elyse murmured as she carefully arranged herself next to him on the end of the dock.

He looked over to her and agreed softly, “As do I.”

She gave a soft laugh as she looked off into the sunset causing him to raise a brow in question.

”When I was younger, I would always listen for the sound of the sun sizzling as it sunk into the water.”

A soft chuckle escaped him as he looked over to her which earned an equally wide grin from her.

”What is your name?” she asked softly.

”Sevastian,” he murmured softly.

”You can’t be the Sevastian Shaw.”

“I am,” he said shyly.

”I’m honored to finally meet you, in that case,” she smiled and held out her hand, “I’m Elyse.”

“Just Elyse?” he asked as he looked down at her hand before softly grasping it in his own.

”Yes, for now,” she said with a grin, turning over his hand and tracing his palm lightly with her finger.  “You have quite talented hands.  I’ve seen some of your work and honestly, I’m quite awed by it.”

She moved her fingers over the hard calluses on his hand saying with a smile, “If ever you decided to take on an apprentice, I would love to see how it is all done.”

“You?  You wish to be a blacksmith?” he asked with a laugh, trying to take his eyes off of her soft hands.  

“Why not?” she said letting go of his hand and abruptly standing, “at least it’s a trade that is useful, unlike embroidery,” she scowled as she twisted her arms around her back to undo the lacing of her dress.  “I’m not going to be one of those women who are stuck in a home, endlessly baring children and gossiping to fill the time in between,” she said in an angry tone as she pulled her over gown off.

“What are you doing?” Sevastian asked in shock as he quickly hid his eyes with his hand.

”I’m going to have an adventure,” she said as she looked resolutely out to the setting sun.  “It can’t be that far away.”  She pulled off her remaining layers, leaving only her chemise and bloomers.  “I’ll not settle for being the young lady Norrington,” she murmured with hatred in her voice before diving off the dock into the warm salty water.

“Lady Norrington?!?!” he asked in shock.  “Have you lost your mind, you’re…you’re…the governors daughter!  You can’t just…”

“Live my life?  Of course I can.  And I’m going to start by finding out if the sun really does sizzle when it sinks into the ocean,” she said happily as she started swimming.

”My Lady!  I can’t let you do this.  You’ll surely catch your death!” he cried out as he removed his furry lined boots and cast them aside.

”Do you intend on stopping me Mr. Shaw?”

“I do,” he said surely as he removed his boot hose followed by his shirt.

She smirked up at him, taking in his form before murmuring, “Then I should warn you that I was a mermaid in a previous life.”

Her eyes widened as a predatory glare was aimed at her moments before he dove into the water.  With a squeal, she started swimming as fast as she could away from the man, hidden by the depths of the water.  She felt a soft tug at her hips before she was completely submerged.  

She gasped for air as she sprang to the surface once more only to see those dark eyes staring back at her through his dripping raven locks.  

“…and I was a shark,” he grinned at her before tucking her fiery locks behind her ear.

She moved her hand to brush his clinging hair from his face and let her fingers linger and caress his smooth jaw before murmuring, “Kissing a shark would be an awfully big adventure.”

“Why would you wish to kiss a shark?” he smirked before his hands circled her waist as they waded in the current together, “It would be quite dangerous.”

“That’s what makes it an adventure,” she said softly as he finger traced his bottom lip.  

They slowly moved together; eyes closing, breath slowing, lips lightly touching, when a rough voice called out, “MR. SHAW, MISS NORRINGTON! You will come out of the water immediately!”

They both looked up to the navel captain, startled by his loud command.

“We might be able to make it if we go now,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

”I cannot out swim a ship,” he said with a soft laugh.  “Come now, before they wrap my neck in the finest rope your father can find.”

They reluctantly swam back to the dock.  Sevastian easily hoisted himself out of the water before bending down to lend a hand to Elyse.  With the Captain pulling at her other arm, the lifted her from the water as if she was nothing more than a small childs doll.

“Cover yourself,” Captain Baldwin Grace spat at Elyse with all the contempt he could muster.  “And you!” he growled looking to Sevastian, “You are not to come near her again!  You despicable curd.”

That earned the Captain a sharp slap across his noble face from a fuming Elyse Norrington.  “You will not speak to him in such a way, nor will you speak to me as such,” she spat as she threw her shawl over her shoulders and gathered her belongings in a bundled heap.  She…

Hermione dropped the book as she heard Severus cry out in pain.  She quickly got to her knees, stroking his hair out of his face.  “What’s wrong, Severus!” she said in a panicked tone.  She continued to stroke his hair and his face, trying to soothe the answer out of him.

”I’m being summoned,” he croaked out as he gripped his left forearm.

”It’s never been apparent that it hurt so much, before,” she said softly as she looked down to his arm.

”It’s a personal summons,” he explained through gritted teeth.

“Oh,” she said softly as she took up his arm and softly massaged it.  “Does that mean you’re in some kind of trouble?” she asked in concern.

“Perhaps.  The Dark Lord is a fickle creature,” he admitted.  “Have some healing salves and potions waiting for me when I return…and try not to worry.  Keep reading this,” he said as he moved from the couch, dropping down on one knee to place the book back in her hands.

“Be safe, Severus,” she said softly as she leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

He nodded stiffly, pulling himself to his feet before exiting the room and apparating shortly after he collected his mask and robes.

She sighed as a shiver ran down her spine as she thought of what it was Severus might be going off to face.  As she went to collect all that he asked for, she feared momentarily that her little stunt of opening the window could have been the reason for this sudden call.

She thought of all the punishments that might be inflicted upon Severus and wondered briefly if Voldemort would be so cold as to leave him as unresponsive as Barty Crouch Jr. through countless hours of torture.

She returned to the study, placing the vials and salves on the small table at the edge of the couch and plucking up her rose which was left there with a fond smile.  She sat cross legged on the couch, holding the rose to her nose with one hand as she opened the book and tried to read to take her mind off of Severus.

But it was no use.  She wanted to know what was going on with Severus, she didn’t care about the silly pirate and his silly romance.  

She chewed on her bottom lip as she forced herself to read, turning the page and expecting to see more about Elyse when she was stunned to see blank pages.  Her brow furrowed and she gasped as she saw words slowly start to form on the blank page.  She placed the book down quickly beside her, remembering Tom Riddle’s diary and carefully peered down into the pages.  Hermione slowly read the forming words out loud.

“I…think….you’re….hiding…something….from…me Severus,” the…dark…lord…sneered.

She sat back and swallowed hard as her breath became unsteady.  The words were forming quicker and quicker as each line was spoken.  

“It couldn’t be,” she murmured.  It seemed to be exactly what she thought it might.  It was as if this book was recording a secret conversation of the dark lords with Severus.  She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding when she picked the book back up and began frantically reading.

”I assure you my lord, I have no secrets from you,” Severus said calmly as he bowed before the evil man.

”Look into my eyes, Severussss,” Voldemort hissed as he narrowed his eyes.

Severus complied, and the dark wizard launched into his mind, picking through the memories and finding nothing satisfying. With an angry hiss, the dark lord cried out, “Lucius, come forward!”

”Yes, my lord,” Lucius said with a bow as he came up beside Severus.  

“Remove his wand from his possession.”

“Of course my lord,” Lucius said, complying with his orders and disarming the dark haired man.

“Dammit!” Hermione cried out, “I’m getting him a collection of fake wands to keep with him at all bloody times!”

She turned back to the book, flipping the page as fresh words started to appear.

”Escort Severus back to his home,” the Dark Lord hissed as his eyes bore down on Severus. “Search everything and if anything seems to be out of place, report back to me at once.”

“Yes my lord,” Lucius said, taking his final bow.

Hermione slammed the book shut and stuffed it in one of the larger pockets of her pants as she yelled out in horror, “RITZY!!!!”

“Yes mistress!” the worried house elf cried as it scurried into the room.  

“Get rid of the roses!  All of them!  Do it quickly before they arrive!  No one must know that I’ve ever been here!”

With a nod, Ritzy was off doing her task with a few quick snaps while Hermione ran the up the stairs to her now flowerless room.  With a flick of her hand, everything that led to her such as clothing, books and her toiletries were combined in a trunk and shrunk to fit in her pocket.  She summoned the massive white sheets that used to cover everything in the room, and replaced them with another swish of her hand just as she heard a loud pop.  Her heart stopped as she heard the front door open with a squeak only to slam shut behind the booming voice of none other than Lucius Malfoy.

”Well then, this should be fun.  Where should we start then?”

”Anywhere you please, Lucius.  As I said, I have nothing to hide.”

“The study then?”

She heard the sound of boots on hard wood walking towards the opposite side of the house beneath her and she knew she had to act quickly.