𝑨 𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯 𝑶𝑭 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟒: 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

FROM THE MOMENT Severus had left Lilith in that room after their brawl, he wanted to go back inside. But he couldn't. Lilith needed to calm down, as did he. They had both spoken from a place of anger and he knew that she didn't mean what she had said. Or at least he hoped she didn't mean it.

Severus had apparated to an open landscape that was blanketed by snow. It was beautiful, but it wasn't Lilith. It would melt at his touch, but it would flourish under Lilith's. When he had so abruptly left last night it was through his own pride, there was no way of stating that he was leaving to protect Lilith without it raising the most notoriously asked question; why?

Why had he done it?

He did it because he couldn't abide by the idea of iniquity possibly lurking in the same place where Lilith's innocence would tread. He did it because Lilith had lived through a great deal of suffering and he wanted to be her peace. He did it because for so long she had been the protector and even the protectors need protecting.

It was no use him thinking these things to himself, he needed Lilith to know what he was thinking. He stood from the floor which he had been sat on, adjusted his cloak and apparated back to the Sleepy Hollow.

"Severus, my dear. Lilith left here a while ago, said she will be back later. Oh, and she wanted to me to give you this." Beatrice fumbled around the pocket of her apron before pulling out an envelope and holding it out to Severus with a shaky hand.

His eyebrows furrowed at the envelope. The contents were most probably inside the envelope to prevent Mrs Bordeaux from reading what it said without being caught. He ripped open the envelope and unfolded the parchment. His eyes scanned the words, reading them over and over again hoping that the words on the page were in fact not true.

"Severus." Mrs Bordeaux called out to him in a serious and concerned tone. "What's wrong? What is it? What does it say?"

His heart had ceased and his mind had entered delirium. The constricted feeling that girdled itself around his lungs had reduced his oxygen intake making his head ache.

'I owe many favours to you Severus. Many of which I will never be able to compensate entirely for. You have already done so for me and now it is my turn to protect you Severus, which is why I've come to the Deathly Hallows alone. DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to apparate, you will get splinched. Besides, I need someone to be back for on Christmas Day. Stay waiting.
All my love.
L x'

His rough hands gripped the edges of the paper, ruining her delicate and cursive writing. His mind abundant in all thoughts. What have you done, Lilith?

The Deathly Hallows was still exactly the same as Lilith had left it in her past. The overgrown shrubbery being the only life in the area and the air remained just as tauntingly inviting. The building itself closely resembled that of the Malfoy Manor except the insides had been decorated by the plants, leaves, and dirt from the outside. Everything inside the building had died consequential to the evil of the place coursing through it. The large surface area of the place meant that her safety, if one could even have any in such a place, was compromised. The number of rooms and possibilities of the rooms containing Death Eaters left Lilith as the weaker subject. In that sense, part of her longed for Severus to be with her. Not wanting to be alone.

But this was something that she had initially been involved in without Severus and so her return needed to be the same. Furthermore, she would never forgive herself if Severus was harmed in the process. By going alone although the risks for her had suddenly heightened, the sole success of it was that only one of them would be placed at the risk of being harmed.