𝑨 𝑻𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯 𝑶𝑭 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟏: 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫

LILITH WAS SWARMED by clusters of people, roaming the streets without a single thought inherent to their minds all the while her mind produced a thousand and one thoughts, all of which preventing her to conclude on any rationality. She feared the worst because with Severus that always seem to be the thing to fear. The man was simple but he most certainly made up for it in moments like this where his simplicity was replaced by utter chaos and it was only a matter of time before that chaos possibly turned into carnage.

He could defend himself beyond the methods expected when placed in imminent danger but he was also too calm in the face of danger. While some concede that being calm in such circumstances has its benefits, with Severus you could never quite decipher how it would end. He was almost always calm and thus, Lilith could never tell entirely if there was something more behind that outward tranquility.

He had been deceitful. The bloody boggart. Deceitful as to the fact that he had purposely arranged for them both to spend the remainder of their time here in The Fox and The Flame and also because he had purposely left whilst Lilith had still been sleeping. Perhaps there wasn't even a method to his madness but Lilith had grown too accustomed to the fact that just like an iceberg; hummock level Severus was not equal to bummock level Severus. There was something deeper in him that he either didn't want to show to Lilith yet or simply refused in doing so. But whichever it may be, that wasn't the focal point of any of this.

Lilith feared that just like their last visit to the Sleepy Hollow she would be greeted by another unwelcome visitor. Maybe not exactly Dolores Umbridge but perhaps someone even greater.

Someone like Voldemort.

Out of all the scenarios her mind had so ruthlessly conjured up, that one had been playing repeatedly and in all honesty it had been a prevalent thought on her mind since arriving. With Mira returning to Voldemort and still not making an appearance, Lilith feared that now was the time of her return. That she would bring Voldemort too. And that as she continued to plough through the seemingly endless crowds of aimlessly walking people, she feared on the opposite end some harm, whether serious or mild would be being exerted onto Severus.

Just as Lilith had tried to mindfully tackle before, she understood completely that deception was not a trait Voldemort found appeasing. Of course it was only in himself that he admired the trait but when learning of another's deception...

Their deception turns into Voldemort's destruction.

It was just something they both couldn't run the risk of indicting. Her mind continued to deepen its search into every crevice of her brain, latching onto each and every mental creation of how she would find Severus, whether he would be fine or not, whether the tingle in her mind that Voldemort could be there was more than just a tingle. Her stomach ached at the thought that somehow... someway Voldemort had gained information that the pair had also been to Crystal Cave and that the note she had pulled from the basin was the only deciding source of Severus' safety.

She found her hand lifting to the locket, pressing reassuringly against the clasp to keep the note inside of it hidden. The attention she had placed onto this scenario made the words on the secured parchment echo in her mind, reverberating loud and yet equally melodically.

The words on the parchment alone were not a threat. They were a lure.

But those words became a compromise of Severus' safety because Lilith still hadn't told him about the basin. In the chance that Voldemort was there and knew about the basin, his sole purpose would be to attain whatever the basin had provided.

Unfortunately, this also meant that even though Severus was truly unaware of the parchment, Voldemort would view it as Severus withholding information. That's where his safety was compromised; in Lilith's irrationality.