To Free A Chained Soul || Book two (An Open SS Fan fiction)

CHAPTER 12 : Deceit

The tall wizard opened the door to the house rather aggressively. He had to walk all the way back to the other wizard's house just to get a wand that the witch carelessly forgot. He could have apparated to the house of course but he feared for the witch's life.

If what the ghost said was true. If she really is being targeted then my magic will be traced if I apparated, he thought.

He felt sudden sympathy washing over him when he remembered the witch.

"She seemed so torn apart with fear. What did they do to her in that forest? What could have happened to change her mannerism in such a drastic way?" He asked himself in a whisper thinking out loud.

"Maybe she felt the same fear the night her boyfriend died. I once heard from Pomfrey that someone who had depression can be triggered by anything, even if it was minor. Florina isn't usually as scared or timid, she is a Slytherin for crying out loud! Yes, that must be it. Whatever happened in that forest reawakened that horrible memory within her, poor Florina."

He took a deep breath and walked inside the house only to find that the lights were out.

"Great!" he exclaimed in anger, "Just my rotten luck, how will I find it now?"

"Lumos Maxima!" the tip of his wand ignited, lighting up his surroundings for just a brief moment. He moved forward in the dark, taking baby steps to not collide with any piece of furniture. He felt the anxiety and panic rising within him, something that rarely happens. A sudden thought plagued his mind,

She needs me, I cannot leave her all alone. The ghost said I have to be close to her at all times –

"God Florina!" he exclaimed when his knee collided with the coffee table. He winced in pain but that didn't stop him from moving forward. "Why did you have to forget your wand? Even better, why did you force me to go and bring it for you?"

He remembered her tearful face and her pleading looks and the same sympathetic feeling washed over him again.

"I don't like to see you in that state Florina," he spoke out loud as he moved slowly to the kitchen counter "You are a Slytherin, your head should always be held high. How I wish you were here and told you that face to face."

He sighed calming himself down. He hoped that she had left her wand in the kitchen, since it was the last place he saw her at and felt angrier when it wasn't there.

The wizard stopped in his tracks taking a few calming breaths and tried to think rationally. "It will take me ages if I tried to find it with my tiny wand light. The muggle lights always have a switch to turn them on. I have to find that instead."

Nodding to himself, he began caressing the walls hoping to somehow stumble upon a light switch. He moved rather quickly across the walls of the living room shinning his wand at the walls. After a while, he was still unsuccessful and his anger returned.

"Dammit!" Severus cursed out loud "Why is he so dependent on muggle electricity? He is a wizard for crying out loud! I cannot find the switch to turn on these useless lights."

He moved away from the front door and stood in the center of the living room, his back to the door. Severus placed his hands on his sides in exhaustion.

"It is not in the living room. It is not in the kitchen, where else is it supposed to be Florina?" He asked in anger. "Please don't tell me I have to search under the couches next, that seems the most prominent option at this point."

Severus found that if he spoke out loud to himself, it would help him brainstorm for ideas. Usually, he does it when he is alone but cannot help accidentally mumbling a few words when he is around people.