The Dark Lady (Severus x OC)

16. Risky decisions

The smell of blood invaded her nose. Her hands flinched as they touched the sticky ground. Ginny couldn't help it, the smell and proximity of the blood made her sick. Ginny curled in on herself and vomited loudly. Her body shuddered, fighting disgust. Not even Hermione was able to say anything.

"What are you doing?" cruel hands pulled her hair violently, forcing her to look up. "You've ruined everything! Useless girl," Ginny could see that some of her vomit had fallen into the tub of blood.

Fretzu pushed her away violently, and she cowered against the wall, scared.

"There is no way out. I don't see any more doors."

"We have to start over," the creature lamented. He opened the drain, and the pool began to slowly empty, making a nauseating sucking noise. "You will be the first to fill it, witch."

Furious, Fretzu left the room. Ginny stood trembling, watching the blood slowly descend, leaving red trails on the walls. How many girls had died to fill that bathtub?

"Don't lose your head. They've left you alone."

"How can you be so calm?"

"I don't have a body. I can't feel emotions."

"Then let me be scared for both of us," Ginny looked around, taking in the shackles hanging from the ceiling, and the sharp instruments resting on the table. "What are these creatures? Vampires?"

"They don't look like the vampires I've studied. I'd say they're demons. They need human blood to survive in our world."

"And the woman they are talking about?"

"I don't know, but she's surely their leader."

"Hermione, look," Ginny pointed to an area of the floor near the door. Eily's stuffed seal was lying on a stain of blood. "Poor girl, they have taken away the only thing she had."

"Do not move."

A movement inside the bathtub caught Ginny's attention. Now that the tub was empty, she could see the sticky bottom, where several drains opened. From the mouth of one of them, the head of a snake protruded.

***

The last letter was taking longer than usual to arrive, and Severus was getting nervous. He had gotten the impression that Hellen was depressed again, and he didn't know what to do.

He couldn't sneak out in the middle of the school year to travel to Hawaii, and he didn't dare call Win, fearing that the sudden silence was because they were being spied on.

Dumbledore had eyes everywhere, and Severus had set up four different places to meet the house-elf without raising suspicion, but even that might not be enough.

One day he received a note through an owl. The parchment had only one handwritten line, indicating an address in London. Despite his curiosity, Severus took every possible precaution to reach the place, including using various means of muggle transportation.

When he finally knocked on the door, he was shocked to see Hellen on the other side.

"What are you doing here? Have you lost your mind?" he asked, more abruptly than he intended. The woman's smile faded, replaced by an expression of insecurity.

"I have taken a vacation. I thought that if I rented an apartment in London, it would be easier," the woman tried to make her voice sound cheerful despite the man's surly expression.

"Easier?"

"To see each other."

"What if someone followed you? Are you aware of the risk you run? And you?" he snapped at the elf angrily. "How do you allow it? What if they track you down?"