Too Far Gone (Don't Save Me Book 4)

Chapter 32: A Sign of Life

The next few days passed agonizingly slowly as they waited for Y/n to give some sign that she was alive but there was nothing. She didn't leave her room no matter what they did. Albus and Minerva were growing nervous as the new term quickly approached. It was less than two weeks before the new term was to start and Y/n hadn't moved. She still wore the same clothes she'd arrived in and she hadn't left her bed in days. No one could get her to move or even look at them. She simply stared straight past them whenever anyone tried to approach her.

Finally Severus arrived, knocking on the door loudly. Molly answered the door and he greeted her before quickly entering the burrow. "Is she still upstairs?" he asked, his eyes looking toward the staircase.

Molly nodded and he quickly went upstairs, gently knocking on Y/n's door before opening it.

"Darling... It's me... it's Severus."

Silence.

He wasn't surprised by this as he made his way over to the lump in her bed. He gently pulled back the covers and pushed her hair away from her neck.

"I'm going to help you, my love... It's going to be okay."

A single tear slipped from her eye and he brushed it away with his thumb before gently lifting her off the bed. He carried her into the hall and into the upstairs bathroom. He placed her on the tub, conjuring a towel and washcloth, before placing them on the counter and turning on the shower. He lifted her off the tub, cupping her face in his hands.

"I'm going to take off your dress, okay, love?"

Nothing.

He sighed softly but began unzipping the dress and helping her out of it. He took off the rest of her clothes and helped her step into the shower. She curled her arms around her body as she stood beneath the running water and he gently began to wash her, trying to ignore the scrapes that littered her skin. He knew she must've received them during one of their missions but he hadn't realized just how much she'd suffered. He pressed his hand to her stomach and she clutched his arm tightly. He looked up, his eyes locking with hers.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he promised her as he began healing the wounds. Some were several weeks old, whereas others were much more fresh, he imagined within the last week or so. She loosened her grip on his arm but her hand remained there. He smiled softly at the action. It wasn't much but it was the first sign of life from her in the last few days.

When he'd finished washing her, he helped her step out of the shower, wrapping the towel around her body and drying her skin, before helping her into warm pajamas.

When she was fully clothed he gently lifted her chin. "I'm going to hug you, now, darling... you may push me away at any point."

Never.

He tilted his head slightly as he heard her voice inside his head and he breathed a sigh of relief, before wrapping his arms around her. She collapsed against him, a strangled sob erupting from her throat.

"I know, my love... I know," he soothed, gently rubbing her back. "Darling." He gently lifted her chin, cupping her cheek. "I need you to listen to me." Severus gently rubbed her cheek as she looked at him. "What happened was not your fault, okay?" Once again he saw her eyes glaze over as she seemed to look past him and he tried to pull her back. "Darling, you saved them." Her eyes slowly refocused. "I spoke with Narcissa. The reason you didn't find their bodies is because she got them out. She went back for them after our mission before Bella was able to burn the house. She put them in a safe house somewhere along the coast and she was able to wake them. They're alive, my love."

"Th-they're alive?"

He smiled at the sound of her voice. It was hoarse from lack of use but it was hers nonetheless.

"They're alive, my darling. You saved them."

Severus watched as her shoulders relaxed and the light slowly returned to her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, afraid to let go.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, darling... always."

***

The next few days everything seemed as if they might be okay. Y/n began slowly rejoining the family downstairs for meals and opening up to them, though she never spoke about what happened on her missions and she didn't know if she ever would. Bellatrix and Narcissa had been helping her control her magic and she was far better at controlling the glowing when her emotions got the better of her. There had only been a few instances since her training that she'd felt her skin buzz and the glowing would return, but she found herself able to control it much easier now. A week before they were supposed to return to Hogwarts Severus and Y/n were laying together. They hadn't spoken about the events at Malfoy Manor and he knew he shouldn't bring this up now but he feared he would lose his nerve if he didn't.

"Darling... when you went to the Department of Mysteries with Potter... his wasn't the only prophecy you came across... was it?"

"Severus..."

Her voice was low, as if warning him against asking this very question, as if by breaching this subject she feared crossing a line they couldn't come back from.

"Darling, please... I only want to help you. Just talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about," she replied, her body becoming stiff against his as his fingers played with her hair.

"And if I told you I knew of the prophecy... would there be something to talk about then?"

The girl's eyes widened and she pushed away from him, quickly sitting up, her arms curling around her stomach, as if trying to protect herself from something neither of them could see.

"Y-you know... y-you... how long..."

"Y/n..."

"How long?" she hissed, looking up at him. Her eyes were wet but she glaring daggers at him, her jaw locked in anger.

"I..." Severus trailed off, trying to find the right way to explain, as he knew the truth would destroy her and make her question everything he'd ever told her.

"I knew of the prophecy before you graduated Hogwarts."