That transgression had no particularly serious consequences. The next day, Omegas arrived at his office around eleven in the morning and began working beside him, as usual. Severus was careful not to look at her or say a word. He waited for her to make the first move.
She did not, however, and the two of them continued to brew potions in absolute silence; until, thanks to the growing awkwardness that was beginning to make him lose his concentration, he knocked over a jar next to his hand, almost spilling all the Bat Spleens it contained on her. She caught it in mid-air, gave him a polite smile and murmured, "I forgive you, just this time."
Her look and tone were eloquent enough to let him know that she was not referring to the Bat Spleens at all. From that moment on they both found back their normal manners.
The only real change was that from that morning on, Omegas began to arrive at his office later and later, to the point where Severus had to go to lunch without her on a couple of occasions. The reason for the change was no mystery: she had stopped taking her Sleeping Potions and was spending most nights awake.
Severus did not know the reason for her decision and was careful not to ask her; he suspected that he would receive only vague and unsatisfactory answers, and he didn't want to waste his moves.
One Friday morning, when Severus got up at the usual time for breakfast, she was not asleep. She was curled up under the covers, staring stubbornly at the wall to her right. He had no doubt that she was not already awake, but rather still awake. Nevertheless, he ignored her, and when he heard the door to his office open at half past nine, he was sure that she had given up trying to sleep.
When he looked up, however, he was surprised to see, instead of Omegas' long raven curls, Draco's blonde-silver head. He had apparently stopped cutting his hair altogether; it was now long past his shoulders. He entered without knocking, closed the door and placed a heavy leather-bound tome on the desk.
"What is it?" Severus asked.
He smirked. "A school yearbook."
Severus raised an eyebrow and looked down at it. The cover read: Hogwarts, 1978.
"Is this what Potter is doing while we're here slaving away for him?" he snarled. "Whining about old photos of his father playing Quidditch? How touching."
"No," Draco replied. "He doesn't go to the library anymore. He spends most of his time in the Room of Requirement now."
Severus looked up at the boy with growing impatience. "So?"
Draco stood beside him and flipped through the thick book for a while until he reached the pages dedicated to the Slytherin students.
A photograph in the middle of the page showed them all together, from first year to last, with the tallest sitting in front and the shortest standing behind. Severus recognised himself in the front row between Avery and Mulciber: almost motionless, grim, with his long hooked nose and the usual greasy black hair. He did not like the vision.
He was about to open his mouth to tell him that yes, that was him, and that if he wanted to waste time brooding over past times that he had not even lived through, he was welcome to do so without disturbing him, when he saw one of the boy's pale fingers pointing to the back row, to the smallest girl of the group. She was very thin, with a cunning little smile and unmistakable pair of violet eyes.
He looked at Draco, whose mischievous grin at that moment was surprisingly similar to that of the child in the photograph.
"That's her, isn't it?"
Severus looked at her again and nodded.
The boy flipped through a few pages, stopped at a list of names and birthdates, and pointed to one.
Omegas Sylith, 18th November 1967.
Severus stared at it, stunned, for at least two minutes. Weeks of burning curiosity, endless conversations and vague answers, and he had never thought to look her up in a yearbook. He looked at Draco, who met his gaze with a certain arrogance.
"When you told me she was a Slytherin, I thought I'd look her up," the boy explained. "I was curious to know her full name, since she's always so evasive. Weren't you?"
The Professor felt like both slapping him and kissing him on the forehead, but did neither. Instead, he went back to his work, feigning a disinterest that he knew Draco wouldn't buy.
"Well, I'll be off then," said the boy.
He closed the book and tried to take it with him, but Severus placed a firm hand on it.
"Leave it," he commanded.
Draco paused for a long moment, giving him a knowing look that wasn't returned. Eventually, he left the room with an impertinent grin that took the Professor considerable effort to pretend not to have seen.
Severus did not take his hand from the book for hours. He carried it with him into the Great Hall as he ate, staring at it as if it were some sort of relic. Sylith, he thought. Sylith…
But that name meant absolutely nothing to him. What was the point of hiding it? Could it really have been just a sentimental matter? Did Omegas hate her father to the point that she didn't want to say his name, even knowing that no one would recognise it? Or was it just part of her game? Maybe she just needed to be mysterious enough to keep people interested. But it didn't seem that way; in fact, she seemed to hate questions on the matter.
When he returned to his office, he was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the door was open. He stepped through and found himself in front of an odd scene. Omegas' black bag was open on the desk, and the upper part of her body was buried inside it.
Severus hurried to hide the yearbook in a nearby bookshelf before speaking.
"What are you doing?"
The visible half of her body jumped. She emerged from the bag, panting, her cheeks flushed and her hair dishevelled.
"Hi," she said vaguely, as if she hadn't expected to see him enter his own office. "Looking for my Dragon Liver. To no avail…"
"Have you tried summoning it?" he asked, moving to stand beside her.
"Of course I've tried summoning it. What am I, an idiot?" she replied. She spoke in a hostile tone she had never used with him before.
"You must have run out," he remarked.
"A truly astute observation," she deadpanned.
Severus gave her one of his best deadly glares. He had never had to use it on her before. It had its effect, as Omegas closed her eyes, sighed and seemed to regain her usual cordiality.
"Sorry," she muttered. "I just… I hate not being able to go and restock."
He ran his eyes over her face a few times. Then he turned his back on her and walked around the table, heading for the door again.
"Follow me."
She looked up curiously and walked right behind him.
They reached a wooden door not far from the office, which Severus opened with a wave of his wand. The room was small and lined with wooden shelves. An unquantifiable number of bottles, vials, flasks, boxes and containers took up most of the space.
Severus summoned a ladder, moved it to one of the shelves at the back, climbed up and came down with a large dark glass jar. He handed it to Omegas, who took it absentmindedly. She seemed utterly dazed by her surroundings. Her lips were parted and her eyes wandered restlessly on the objects around her. She looked like a child in a sweet shop. She spent at least two minutes in silent amazement; then let out a disbelieving huff, looked at him and smiled widely.
"This is exactly how I imagine heaven to be," she breathed.
He had to make a conscious effort not to give her a half-smile. When she turned and began to examine the shelves to her left, that smile crept out of him unwillingly. He lowered his head, cleared his throat and forced himself to find his usual brooding air.
He approached her slowly and pointed an imperious finger at her. "Don't you dare come in here without me," he warned.
She looked at him, a subtle, cunning smirk on her lips. "Oh, Severus," she whispered. "What kind of person do you think I am?"
He raised a sardonic eyebrow and looked up at the woman who had confessed to him to have survived for seven years by sneaking into places she shouldn't have, lying and stealing here and there. The irony added to his already weakened control, and he couldn't help himself. He let out a tiny, quiet hint of a laugh.
She seemed startled. She lost her smirk and stared up at him in growing astonishment. Severus, now decidedly uncomfortable, opened his mouth to spat something contemptuous enough to distract her, but he didn't make it in time.
A loud noise of slamming doors and a woman's scream caught their attention. They rushed out of the room; the corridor was empty. They looked around in puzzlement until a second cry came from the other side of the dungeons.
"The hospital wing," she said.
Before he could reply, she was already running.
The large hall was almost deserted. Most of the many beds with their white sheets were now empty. One of them, however, was surrounded by a group of people, among whom Severus recognised Lupin, Tonks, a couple of Weasleys and the usual trio: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
He and Omegas approached decisively and made their way through the crowd. On the bed lay Charlie Weasley, pale, dirty and with a pained expression on his face. His mother sat beside him, crying and holding his hand.
"I… I don't know what happened to him," said Tonks, also pale and with crumpled clothes. "We were standing guard at the shield, in the forest, and he… he was screaming. I ran to see, but…"
Madam Pomfrey entered, waving her wand and making her way through the onlookers. She reached the boy and ran the wand over his body a few times, her expression growing increasingly grave.
"It was the Cruciatus Curse, Molly," she whispered sombrely.
Molly gasped. "But… but he'll recover, won't he, Poppy?"
"Of course he'll recover, Mum," Bill Weasley interrupted. "Charlie's used to dealing with dragons. Do you think he'll be stopped by a Cruciatus Curse?"
A tense silence followed, broken only by Mrs Weasley's sobs and her husband's murmurs of comfort.
Severus, whose attention was already elsewhere, noticed Harry signalling to Lupin. The man nodded, and him, Tonks and the boy walked fast towards a secluded spot in the hospital wing. He turned to Omegas and knew immediately she'd noticed something was amiss, too. They nodded at each other and both followed the group.
"If Charlie was attacked, that means someone managed to get through the shield, doesn't it?" Harry was asking.
"It's possible," Lupin replied, equally worried.
"We have to go and find them," the boy said firmly.
"You know why they're trying to get into the forest, don't you, Potter?" Severus interjected.
All eyes turned to him. Harry seemed uncomfortable; he bowed his head, but didn't argue.
"The shields are much easier to penetrate from above," Severus insisted. "If they were trying to get into the castle, they would try from the edge beyond the Astronomy Tower, not from the forest."
He approached the boy cautiously, studying him with piercing eyes.
"They're not trying to get into the school. They're looking for something in the forest. And you know what it is."
Harry locked eyes with all of them in turn, then bowed his head again and nodded weakly.
"What is it, Harry?" asked Tonks urgently.
"I can't tell you," he replied.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell us?"
"No, I can't," he confirmed.
The Professor's eyes continued to dart in his direction for a while. Harry stoically returned the cold gaze.
Then Omegas coughed softly and all heads turned towards her.
"I… imagine this thing they're looking for isn't supposed to be found," she said quietly.
Harry shook his head. "It absolutely mustn't."
"And you know where it is, Mr Potter?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"But you can't tell us."
Harry shook his head again.
"I see…" she mused, a finger resting on her chin. "Do they know where it is?"
"They might, yes."
"Hmm…" She began pacing. "We are at a considerable disadvantage…"
"Not exactly," the boy replied.
Everyone looked at him again.
"The… the object is enchanted," he explained. "I think it can only be found if you have no intention of using it."
Severus' lips parted slightly; Omegas' opened wide in astonishment.
"Interesting!" she remarked. "That's a powerful spell!"
"Powerful, yes," Severus cut in. "Strikingly similar to another powerful spell that was cast upon another mysterious object to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands." He took a slow step towards the boy. "I wonder if the two spells were the work of the same wand."
Harry looked at him for a moment, then nodded quietly.
"But if the Death Eaters want to find it…" Omegas said. "Not to use it themselves, but to give it to Riddle—"
"They can't take it anyway," Lupin interrupted. "They would be looking for it to use it indirectly."
She looked at him and accepted the objection with a brief nod.
"But we still have to scout the area," Lupin added. "If they did manage to get through the shield—"
"I believe the wisest course of action is to concentrate the shield around the perimeter of Hogwarts," Severus declared. "That way we can keep it under closer surveillance."
Lupin looked at him in bewilderment. "And leave the whole forest to the Death Eaters?"
"The Forest has always been neutral territory and will remain so," he replied curtly. "The creatures that inhabit it ensure that no one can claim it, not even the Death Eaters."
"If that thing they're looking for is in there—" Lupin insisted.
"You heard Potter, Lupin," he spat. "They can't take it anyway."
"But they will try to take control of the area," Lupin retorted, raising his voice. "The last thing we need is a Death Eater camp right outside—"
"We need to focus on the school," said Severus harshly. "We need to protect our headquarters, not embark on potentially suicidal missions for no logical purpose."
Lupin huffed. The two glared at each other, neither clearly convinced by the other's words.
"Let's do both," Omegas offered.
They turned to look at her. She had stopped pacing and was now staring at an undefined point in front of her.
"We'll concentrate the shield around the school, so if it's been compromised, we'll know immediately. Meanwhile, we'll scout the area, and if anyone has crossed, we'll take them out. Then we'll send someone to talk to the creatures of the forest to make sure they don't ally themselves with the Death Eaters."
She turned and shot first Severus, then Lupin, a hopeful glance. She seemed excited; amused, even.
"What do you say?"
No one answered for a while.
"Hagrid," Harry murmured eventually.
She turned to him, frowning. "The gamekeeper?"
He nodded. "He knows all the creatures that live there and how to talk to them."
"Excellent!" she exclaimed. "So, what do you think? Can we cooperate, just for a while?" she asked, casting penetrating glances between the two men.
Lupin nodded and, though reluctantly, Severus was finally forced to do the same.
After several protests from Harry—"You can't come, Harry. If they see you, they won't just use the Cruciatus Curse on you," Lupin had told him categorically—and just as many complaints from Tonks—"No, Dora. You've already been almost attacked once today. It's out of the question."—the three of them had made their way to the Forbidden Forest.
Harry had insisted that no one else should know that there was a mysterious object the Death Eaters were looking for, and Omegas had assured him that there was no need to involve anyone else.—"I mean, it's an Enagisis Charm, after all. They probably haven't even gone through it, that red headed boy must have crossed it. You can't get past an Enagisis Charm!"—.
Severus agreed. The idea that the shield had somehow been breached was ludicrous, and even if someone had managed to get through, it could only have been one or two people at most, given that the guards hadn't noticed.
Omegas had tried to convince him to stay in the castle—"Didn't you tell me you were one of Riddle's most wanted? Maybe it's not a good idea for you to come"—but he had given her one of his deadly glares for the second time that day and she hadn't said another word.
Severus, Omegas and Lupin walked for a long time through the woods. Starting from the exact spot where Charlie Weasley had been attacked, they walked along the edge of the shield, stepping over the protruding roots of the trees and untangling themselves from the brambles. They found nothing.
Night had fallen, taking with it the stifling heat that had accompanied them until then. If it hadn't been for Lupin, Severus thought, it might have been a pleasant walk.
The two men kept as far apart as possible throughout the expedition; or rather, Severus kept as far away from the other as possible. If they were forced into a particularly tight space, Lupin would usually give him a friendly nod or a polite smile, which was invariably met with a scowl. Omegas had lowered her head during some of those interactions and stifled a laugh.
Finally, as they made their way back, she took advantage of the momentary distance from Lupin to walk closer to Severus.
"What has he done to you?" she asked.
He shot her a glare; she had never dared to ask him questions before.
"You have every right not to answer. But know that if you don't tell me, I will go and ask him," she warned.
Severus gave her the third deadly look of the day. This time it seemed to have no effect.
"We were schoolmates. Same year," he grumbled.
"Hm…" She chuckled. "Not the same house, I imagine."
He gave a sardonic snort. "You think?"
She laughed. "Please don't tell me this is about the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry thing."
"No, it's not about the houses," he replied.
"Then what is it?"
He pondered. He didn't want to explain the real reason he hated the man. So he adopted her method and gave a true but incomplete answer.
"He's an idiot," he stated.
Omegas gave him an amused smirk, then fell silent for a while.
"I agree," she whispered.
Severus turned to her in surprise. "You do?"
She nodded. "I don't like the way he treats Tonks. He tells her what she can and can't do. You saw it earlier, didn't you?" she said, clear disapproval in her tone. "I told her I wouldn't let him treat me like that if I were her. Who does he think he is, her father?"
She spat the last sentence with a fury that left him speechless. That was the angriest she'd ever looked since he'd met her. He was so pleased to see that outburst be directed at Remus Lupin, that he didn't bother to point out that perhaps worrying about his wife not being tortured and killed by a Death Eater wasn't such a good reason to call someone an idiot. Instead, he nodded firmly and walked on.
Throughout the day, Severus had never stopped thinking about the yearbook and the name he had read in it, and wandering in silence through the dark forest had left him with nothing to do but brood over it. So, pleased that Lupin seemed determined to keep his distance from them, he decided to take advantage of the idle moments to start a conversation that he was absolutely certain would continue in his quarters once they returned.
"You know, I was in the library the other day…" he said vaguely.
"You were?" she asked.
"Mhm," he nodded. "I happened to stumble across the section where the yearbooks are kept."
She stopped abruptly. She looked at him, gave him a cunning smile and resumed walking.
"Oh, finally! I thought you would have rushed there as soon as I told you I went to school here!"
Severus felt the urge to call her an idiot, but he refrained.
"Your name is Omegas Sylith," he sneered.
"Of course not," she said calmly. "It's my middle name. Dumbledore allowed me to use it as my surname when I began my studies."
He stopped.
That meant not only that her surname had to be recognisable, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed her to use a false one, but also that she hadn't been stupid enough to try and hide something so easily discoverable. He was both disappointed and pleased.
"Coming?" she called from a few steps ahead.
Severus looked at her and lifted a foot to reach her.
As soon as he did, a grey mist spread around him. The air grew thin and a sudden chill made him shiver. He heard a rustling above his head and looked up: a hooded figure with a billowing black cloak was hovering above him.
Omegas and Lupin were beside him in an instant. All three of them raised their wands in unison and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!"
A large dog resembling a wolf, a doe and a hedgehog appeared from the tips of their wands and charged at the Dementor, forcing it to fly away. They watched in silence as it disappeared beyond the treetops.
"That's how they did it," Omegas whispered.
They turned to her.
"Did what?" asked Lupin.
"Breach the shield, obviously," she replied breathlessly. "It's an Enagisis Charm! If it's based on positive emotions, such as love, courage and self-sacrifice, then—"
"Then the Dementors can feed on it," Severus finished.
She nodded. "But it was alone," she noted. "Dementors move in packs."
"They couldn't have brought more to the edge of the shield. We would have noticed," said Severus softly.
Omegas smiled. She looked at the sky above and let out an impressed huff. "A single Dementor to breach such a powerful shield… it must have taken days!"
"A week, to be precise," said a deep voice from behind them.
They turned quickly, wands at the ready. In front of them stood three people with their own wands pointed at them. In the middle was a tall man with grey hair and beard, hard features and a smile that didn't reach his blue eyes. To his left was a short woman with auburn hair tied back in a ponytail. She had a strangely sweet face, rosy cheeks and large dark green eyes. To the right was a young man, barely out of his teens, pale, with long, jet-black hair and a sharp chin.
Severus recognised only one of them, the older man, who didn't fail to recognise him in turn.
"Snape," he greeted.
"Selwyn," he replied.
Selwyn gave a contemptuous smirk. "So what Bellatrix has been shouting from the rooftops seems to be true," he remarked, still pointing his wand at him. "You have betrayed us."
Severus shook his head gravely. "I have not. My loyalties have always been elsewhere."
Selwyn laughed. "Impossible. The Dark Lord would have known."
He approached them menacingly and all three stiffened.
"You betrayed us because you thought we would lose," he hissed. "Like the vilest of cowards."
He spat on the ground and hit his shoe.
"But you were wrong," he added, smiling cruelly. "No one will suffer as you will when I bring you before him."
Severus swallowed. He gave him a look that conveyed nothing but hatred and disgust; meanwhile, that annoying thought crept from a dark corner of his mind. He did not want to die, and apparently he did not want to suffer either.
Selwyn nodded to the woman to his left. "Speaking of pain, I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting. This is Agon Epsley," he said, giving her a knowing look. "She seems harmless, doesn't she? But she can cast the most powerful Cruciatus Curse I've ever seen. Apart from the Dark Lord's, of course. I imagine you saw what it did to what's left of that Weasley."
He laughed, and Agon Epsley followed suit. Her laugh, too, sounded strangely innocent. Almost childish.
Then Selwyn nodded to the young man to his right. "This is Noctis. You must be especially careful with him," he said with a wicked grin. "He bites."
Noctis opened his mouth, revealing two large fangs instead of canines. Severus felt Lupin freeze in place.
Selwyn took a few steps closer and all three retreated, tightening their grip on their wands.
"If you're clever enough, you've probably realised that, although you're not outnumbered, at least until our Dementor returns, we stand a much better chance of leaving this forest unscathed," he sneered. "So why don't we end this here? You tell us how to get it," he nodded at Omegas and Lupin, "you give us the traitor and we'll leave without slaughtering you. What do you say?"
Severus, Omegas and Lupin exchanged a single, fleeting look. Then, in perfect unison, as if they had read each other's minds, they began to cast spells at the three Death Eaters.
Lupin fought a fierce battle with Noctis, who showed two long, razor-sharp fangs and tried to lunge at him.
Omegas began casting Shield Spell after Shield Spell, while the other woman hurled a barrage of curses at them with remarkable fury.
Selwyn dodged a Sectumsempra from Severus and threw a Killing Curse at him. Unable to block it with a spell, he dodged it by taking flight and landing behind him.
Taken by surprise—Selwyn was one of the few Death Eaters who'd never seen him fly—the other didn't have time to turn, and Severus' second Sectumsempra grazed him. He screamed as he bled out.
Agon, fighting a little further away, turned to see the wounded Death Eater. A flash of pure, insane cruelty crossed her delicate features. She stopped casting spells at Omegas and struck Severus with a swift Cruciatus Curse.
He collapsed to the floor, screaming. It was excruciating, unbearable pain. It was far worse than any Cruciatus he had ever experienced, including Voldemort's, despite what Selwyn claimed.
Omegas raised her wand to stop her, but Selwyn deflected each spell aimed at Agon.
Severus writhed on the floor in agony. The torment continued for what seemed an eternity until Omegas, between one Shield Spell and another, changed approach. Instead of attacking, she pointed her wand at Severus.
"Ecstasium!" she cried.
It was an extraordinary sensation. The Cruciatus Curse was still there: he could see it, he could feel it, and the pain hadn't gone away completely, but it was as if a great heat had invaded his body. It started from the bottom and he felt it flow through his veins, his abdomen, his stomach, his chest, up to his face. He stopped screaming and Agon, stunned, glanced at her wand as if expecting to find it was broken.
Severus used that moment of hesitation to help Omegas block Selwyn's curses. They cast two different Stunning Spells on him; he only managed to block one. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
Agon let out a scream that seemed to tear the air around her and resumed her curses at double speed. Severus and Omegas had to raise two shields simultaneously to stop the barrage.
"Help Lupin, I can manage!" she shouted, trying to be heard over the noise of the spells.
"Lupin can manage!" he retorted.
"No, he can't!" she objected. "He's one man against a vampire. That thing will eat him alive!"
She was right: Lupin, a little further away, wasn't managing it too well. His spells were keeping Noctis at bay, but he would never be able to take him down alone. The vampire would wear him down eventually.
Reluctantly, Severus left Omegas to fend for herself and rushed to his side.
"Can you stun him?" Lupin panted. "He's too fast. I can't even—"
He couldn't finish. Noctis had managed to slip through the spells and was lunging for his neck, knocking him to the ground and opening his mouth wide.
Severus took flight. He enveloped the vampire to prevent him from seeing; then regained his form and clung to his back, trying to pull him away from Lupin's neck.
"NOW!" he shouted.
Lupin pointed his wand over the vampire's head and cried, "Lumos Solem!"
A powerful yellow light struck Noctis, who let out a high-pitched, choking scream and began to smoke. He waved his hands in front of his face, trying to shield himself, but they blistered and he screamed in pain.
Lupin pointed his wand at a large pointed branch landed beside him. "Accio!"
"Snape!" he yelled.
Severus, still clinging to the vampire's neck, caught the sharp stick thrown at him in mid-air. With one decisive motion, he pierced Noctis' chest.
The vampire let out a weak, choking hiss and hung in the air, impaled from side to side as the branch sank into the ground.
Lupin rose slowly. Panting furiously, he approached the lifeless body and stared at it for a few seconds. He turned to Severus and offered him a faint smile.
"Well done!"
Severus opened his mouth to reply, but a voice behind them cut him off.
"If you are done congratulating each other, I could use some help here!"
Omegas was still engaged in a gruelling battle with Agon, who continued to try and hit her with a Cruciatus Curse. The men took a step towards her; as they did, they heard another rustling above their heads.
For a moment, all four of them looked up to see the Dementor hovering ominously above them. Both Lupin and Severus raised their wands, determined to drive it away once and for all.
Out of the corner of his eye, though, Severus saw Omegas distracted and Agon ready to strike. He left Lupin to deal with the Dementor, but it was too late: the Death Eater had already cast her curse.
A powerful green light shot from the tip of her wand and struck Omegas squarely in the chest. Severus raised his wand and pointed it at Agon, but something stopped him.
Omegas didn't scream. She wasn't writhing on the ground, she didn't even seem to be in much pain. She let out a weak, hoarse moan and stood stoically, letting the beam of light pass through her.
He watched her, stunned. His wand was still pointed at the Death Eater, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything. His astonishment only grew as Omegas, instead of retreating, took the first step forward. Then the second. Then the third.
Agon hesitated. She halted her attack for a moment, then let out a shrill battle cry and cast a second Cruciatus Curse.
The scene repeated identical to the previous one. Omegas continued to advance, more and more determined, until she eventually reached the other. Agon stopped casting spells altogether. Pale and in utter shock, she stood frozen in front of Omegas as if struck by a Petrificus Totalus.
Omegas glared at her, snatched the wand from her hand, threw it to the ground and stomped on it furiously. Then she glanced at the wand in her hand and seemed to weigh her options. Finally, she calmly tuck it inside her pocket, raised an arm and punched the Death Eater's large, innocent face with such force that she fell to the ground.
Omegas tilted her head from side to side, as if stretching after a particularly uncomfortable night's sleep. She turned to Severus.
"Ah, you made it!" she remarked.
He snapped back to attention. He turned to see Lupin approaching, no sign of the Dementor behind him. The three of them looked at each other, their cloaks askew, panting in unison.
Omegas examined the body of the vampire beside them.
"Well, he's gone," she noted cheerfully. "What do we do with the others?"
"We take them to the castle," Lupin replied. "They may have useful information."
She nodded. She took out her wand and waved it. Agon's body began to float above her head. Severus imitated her, and an unconscious Selwyn joined them. The three of them, with the two Death Eaters hovering ominously above them, made their way to Hogwarts.
They arrived late at night. The castle was already asleep. They passed through the main doors to find a very worried Harry and a tearful Tonks waiting for them. Seeing her husband, Tonks rushed to him and hugged him, breaking into a small, muffled sob.
"It's all right, Dora. It's all right," he said softly, caressing her back.
She embraced him for a while longer, then let him go, ran up to Omegas and hugged her as well.
It was a bizarre scene. Omegas remained motionless, as if paralysed. She raised one arm and almost put it on the other's back, only to lower it a moment later. She opened her mouth to say something, but not a sound came out.
When Tonks moved away, she didn't seem to have noticed her friend's reaction.
"I was scared to death!" she blurted out.
"What happened?" asked Harry, pointing to the two unconscious Death Eaters above their heads.
"A Dementor," explained Lupin. "That's how they did it. Dementors can feed on the shield."
Harry and Tonks looked at him in horror.
"Anyone who can produce a Patronus, even an incorporeal one, must use it in the service of the shield," said Severus firmly. "They must not enter Hogwarts."
Harry nodded. "I'll take the Death Eaters to their friend."
He waved his wand and took control of the two above his head.
"Careful with that one," warned Omegas, nodding at the unconscious woman. "She's bonkers."
Harry gave her another quick glance, then turned and disappeared up the stairs.
A tense, awkward silence fell over the remaining four.
"Well, then…" Lupin muttered. "I… I think I need a shower and some sleep."
He stepped closer to Severus and Omegas and murmured a tentative, "Thank you."
Omegas smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, too."
Severus didn't answer. He looked him over from head to toe. Eventually, he lowered his head solemnly and gave him a faint, barely perceptible half-smile.
Lupin was so taken aback that for a moment his eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. Tonks parted her lips and put a hand on her husband's shoulder in astonishment.
Severus found his scowl back. He turned to Omegas and gave her a quiet, "A word."
She gave a weak nod to Lupin and Tonks and turned to follow him.
They entered his quarters and both began to pull off their cloaks.
"Make it quick," she said briskly. "I need a shower and some sleep, too. But most of all, some quiet."
She reached the armchair and sank into it.
Severus hung up his cloak and sat opposite her. He waved his wand and two glasses, already full, floated from the cupboard into their hands.
"I only have three questions," he declared.
"Good," she replied, taking a sip. "Go ahead."
His eyes narrowed into two scrutinising slits. "Ecstasium?"
She almost choked on the wine. "Yes, uh… that…" She coughed.
"There are no counter spells to the Unforgivable Curses," he claimed.
"Of course not," she replied evasively. "It's… it's not a counter spell, it's… well, if you must know, it's…"
She leaned towards him and cleared her throat.
"Its… its purpose is to cause pleasure in the target. Lots of pleasure. As much… as much pleasure as possible, if you know what I mean…"
A flash of understanding crossed Severus' face. He quickly looked away and bowed his head to hide the trace of his faint blushing.
She didn't notice, though, as she had begun to carefully examine her own nails. "You know, I'm not… not particularly fond of physical contact, so I…"
They exchanged a fleeting glance. She was embarrassed as never before. All he could convey was a silent plea to stop talking about it.
She cleared her throat again. "Anyway, I had never used it in battle. I saw you there, in agony, and I thought… I mean, why not?"
For the fourth time in a day, Severus' eyes widened in a murderous glare.
"What?" She shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
He forced an impassivity that costed him remarkable effort and averted his gaze again.
"The second question?" she asked.
He sighed. "It was supposed to be 'How did you resist the Cruciatus Curse?', but I presume you simply cast your own spell on yourself."
"Nah…" she muttered bitterly. "I found out too late it was one of those spells that only work when cast on someone else. Absolutely useless most of the time you'd want to use it."
Severus completely ignored the last statement.
He leaned forward on the edge of the armchair, his interest piqued once more. "Then how?"
Omegas hesitated. She looked up at him, smiled faintly and seemed to consider not answering the question. Eventually, though, she did.
"You know that," she murmured. "I've learned to deal with pain."
He gave her a sceptical glance. "Dealing with pain is one thing," he said quietly. "But the Cruciatus Curse?"
She didn't answer.
It took Severus a while to understand the unspoken meaning behind her grave stare. When he did, his lips parted in disbelief.
"Did he… did your father…?"
Omegas nodded weakly.
"The Cruciatus Curse?" he asked, his rigid tone cracking with bitter astonishment.
She nodded again and emptied her glass. "I told you. A delightful man."
No one spoke for a while. Severus didn't know what to say. He had no idea what could drive a man to use an Unforgivable Curse on his own daughter, and he hoped he never would.
"Who could ever do such a thing?" he pondered out loud.
"Is that your final question?" she asked.
His eyes darted to her again. The pain had gone, and the usual cunning smile had returned.
"Why, would you answer?"
She shrugged. "Who knows. You can try, if you feel so inclined."
He considered. No, he didn't want to waste his last question. She wouldn't answer. And why should she? She had refused for weeks. He shook his head.
"No. I have another."
She nodded. "Go on."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "A hedgehog?" he asked, his tone regaining his usual irony.
Omegas burst out laughing. "Really? My Patronus? That's the question you think is more important than my father's name? The man you've been trying to identify for weeks?"
He pulled a scornful grimace. "It doesn't suit you," he stated.
"And yours does?" she shot back.
They looked at each other. Both their faces now wore an utterly blank expression, which more than obviously concealed the feeling they truly longed to betray.
"You know what?" she said after a pause. "I'm giving you a bit too much information, and I'm receiving a bit too little." She pointed a finger at him. "I'll tell you the story of my Patronus if you tell me yours."
Pure, unabashed anger distorted Severus' face. He felt the urge to stand up and shout at her, but he didn't. She had asked him the same question he had just asked her; it would have been too blatant a display of hypocrisy.
He quickly searched for a way to give an evasive answer, one as vague and imprecise as hers, but nothing came to mind.
Omegas smiled bitterly. "Thought so."
She got up, placed her glass in the cupboard beside them and headed for the bathroom.
"Well, I'm going to take a shower," she said softly. "Think about it."
She disappeared beyond the bathroom door.
When she crossed it again, Severus was no longer in the armchair and the door to his bedroom was locked.