Severus Snape is tired of the lies. (fortiscadere) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-05-31 13:42:00 |
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Three days did not feel like enough time for Severus to come up with a viable plan to question Ted Tonks about Werewolf activity. However, his instructions had come from Rookwood, and he was not about to turn down the opportunity. Whatever the limitations, it was a request to do something that he would do alone, and that was proof enough to Severus that his contributions had been noticed, and that he was being entrusted with something more important and trusted enough that he was being allowed to work alone. Thursday he had spent most of the day - to the chagrin of his potion Master - thinking on how he would accomplish the requested task. He had messed up an antidote to veritaserum, and Augustus had not been pleased. Severus knew he could have mentioned that he was contemplating a task for the Dark Lord and the lecture would have been instantly cut short, but Sev felt that it sounded like he was making excuses, and Severus didn't make excuses for himself. In truth, he would have plenty of time that evening to make the plan, and he should have been paying attention to his work. He took his lecture, and was more careful during the afternoon. The plan Severus had eventually come up with was one he thought was sound. Tonks had a wife and a child, and he worked at the Ministry. Severus had chosen the weekend, as being least likely to attract attention from the Ministry, and fulfilling the "soon as possible" request from Rookwood. Knowing that he worked with magical creatures, Severus had finally determined that he would request a house visit for a wounded hypogryff, forging the signature on the owl, and luring Tonks to someplace away from people, so that Severus could take him someplace for questioning. That bit had caused him more trouble, but finally he had sent Rodolphus Lestrange a note and requested use of the seventh floor of the Lestrange library for the weekend. With the wards down for a brief window of time, he would be able to apparate himself and Tonks into the library, and Tonks would be unable to apparate out, once there, unless he wished to kill himself. Tonks would go missing for a bit of time, but there was nothing Severus could do about that. There would be no reason for him to be suspected to be in Hogsmeade, and no connection to Severus specifically, or other Death Eaters, if Severus could help it. Saturday morning, he'd sent the owl to Tonks, and waited in the shadows behind several trees hoping that the man would be prompt. There was a thirty minute window to get them back to Lestrange's library, and if that didn't work, Severus would have to go with plan B, which he did not like nearly so well. Either way, Severus did not plan on failing. If Tonks arrived, he would be questioned, and Severus would get the information needed by the Dark Lord. Ted received the letter on Saturday morning. There was a name he didn't recognize, but it sounded urgent, and his sympathetic heart wouldn't let him do anything but go to help the wounded hippogryff. It would bother him too much otherwise. The week had been a long one; his new job at the ministry was more difficult than he thought it would be, but not so terribly difficult that he felt as though he couldn't do it. He had learned a lot already-- Ted never knew this much about werewolves before, and he was sure that there was so much more that he didn't know. Kissing Andie and Dora goodbye for the morning, he quickly made his way up to Hogsmeade, a piece of paper clutched in his hand with the address scribbled on one side, and the name of the letter sender on the other. He apparated, landing in the Apparation point there before making his way out toward the main road. It would be easier to find the meeting place from there. Now where to go? Pausing on a street corner, Ted double checked the address and started in that direction. Severus waited impatiently in the shadows, watching the small house where he'd selected the meeting location. He'd been watching the house for the last few minutes, and so far Ted had not shown. Perhaps it had not been a believable enough request. Severus had no way of knowing that Ted was on his way, and his mind began to wonder if perhaps in these times Tonks wouldn't make house calls, and if there would be a return owl with a request to bring the animal to him. If so - there would be nothing Severus could do about that at this point in time. He took a breath and forced himself to calm down. If it did not work, he would think of another plan and he would do it quickly enough that nobody - with the exception of Rodolphus - might know that anything had been other than as planned. The house was on the edge of Hogsmeade, away from easy view of the town, and was in actuality vacant. The fact that the woods closed in close to the clearing where the house was, was merely an added benefit, and it allowed Severus to remain hidden from view, with the help of a disillusionment charm, Severus was certain that nobody would notice him among the trees. His impatience turned to relief as he noticed someone walking towards the house. The only question, something he could not tell from this distance, was whether or not it would be Tonks. It took Ted a few minutes, but he eventually found the house. He was completely oblivious to anything else as he adjusted the strap on his bag and made his way up the walkway to the front door. It seemed a bit quiet, and he couldn't help but wonder where on earth they were keeping a wounded hippogryff. Not outside, but...where on earth would they keep one inside the house? Pausing about halfway to the door, he frowned and double checked the address he had scribbled down. Well. It looked like the right address. Odd. Finally reaching the door, Ted lifted a hand to knock, then stepped back, rocking back and forth on his heels. The house was silent, and he waited a full minute or so before stepping forward and knocking again. Had he written the address down wrong? It was entirely possible. Bugger. What to do, what to do? It was Tonks. Severus' thin lips pressed together with relief and determination. He had arrived, and that meant that it was time to get moving. First to bind him so that he could not reach his wand, and from there, the rest should work smoothly. He checked the road, and seeing nobody about that would be likely to see Tonks get taken - not that Severus was easily distinguishable as anything more than a Death Eater, but Severus would also rather not have people alerted to Tonks being missing quite so soon - Severus stepped forward into the clearing and flicked his wand towards Tonks, and sent the binding spell, incarceratus towards the other man. The thin ropes shot from the end of Severus' wand, heading straight towards their intended target. So long as he did not move in the next second, he would not be able to move. Ted was just about to step back when the spell hit him and he stiffened instinctively. He didn't know what hit him, until he tried to reach for his wand but found that he couldn't move at all. Bloody hell, not again, he thought with a frustrated groan. Merlin, he really needed to be less trusting or more careful or something. Who was it? He tried to turn his head to look around, but the bindings seemed to tighten around him and he sighed, opting not to struggle. Successful, Severus removed the disillusionment charm and stepped out from the tree he had been mostly hidden behind. Of course, nobody passing could have told it was his. Even having removed the charm, he was in long robes and the Death Eater's mask. He hesitated only a moment as he stepped into Tonks line of view. He wanted the other man to be aware of what was going on before he moved him, but he also knew that it was necessary to move quickly before the window of time Rodolphus had given Severus disappeared completely. Assured that Tonks could not reach his wand, Severus pointed his own at the other man, conjuring a blindfold - for effect more than for necessity - and then he reached out and grabbed the man's arm, and used side along apparition to move them both from the house on the edge of Hogsmeade to the seventh floor of the Lestrange Library. Ted's eyes widened when he saw the Death Eater approaching him. He may not have been an Order member for long, but he did recognize the Death Eater mask. Oh, this was not a good sign. Was he going to be tortured again? He really didn't want that. He needed a plan of some sort. Why couldn't he think faster on his feet? Why on earth had he just up and come? Now that he thought about it, he wondered if there ever even was a bloody hippogryff, and he groaned again when he realized that it was probably just some scheme to get him here. But what on earth did they want with him? He didn't know anything! Did he? Bugger. And then the blindfold went over his eyes, sending him into complete darkness. "Who are you?" he couldn't help but ask. He knew that it was probably a pointless question, but he thought he'd try anyways. Suddenly, he felt the familiar sensation of apparation-- ugh, that was horrible when you couldn't see anything-- and he landed, a bit unsteadily on his feet. "Where have you taken me?" For the moment Severus said nothing, but simply shoved Ted down towards a chair. He checked the ropes, which were still tight enough to keep Tonks from moving, and would certainly cause him pain if he tried to move too much. That settled, Severus looked for the man's wand so that he could make certain it was elsewhere from Tonks, thus increasing the likelihood that he wouldn't be able to escape. The wand was found in a pocket and Severus removed it and stuck it in his own for the time being. He'd remove it to another room before he went too much further. Severus left the blindfold on Tonks as he moved about preparing things. He wanted the man on edge, even more on edge than he might be simply by being kidnapped by a Death Eater, and frankly, Severus wanted to torture him as little as possible. He might be a Muggleborn, but Severus had no desire to cause him pain, he simply wanted information. And if the information was given, Tonks would receive very little pain. Severus was fairly certain that it wouldn't be that simple, because if it had been him, for instance, he would not have bowed so quickly and if the man was worth his meddle at all, he wouldn't either. Severus had enclosed a space of about five metres diameter with a large non-descript beige drapery. The full room was not visible, so that when he did take off Tonks' blindfold, as he would no doubt do eventually, there would be nothing about the space that could be described later on to help the other side determine where he had been taken. Severus stepped outside of the curtain, placed the wand in a holding place, and then returned. He stared at Tonks for a moment before speaking, and when he did, his voice was somewhat lower than it normally was. A simple potion that was an added precaution towards any possible identification. "I'm..." he hesitated slightly. "Pleased that you could join me this afternoon," he watched Tonks face - what was visible under the blindfold - for some idea to the other man's state of mind. "I've removed your wand for the time being," Severus said simply. "I have questions for you. If you answer them, you may have your wand back and leave unharmed. I have," he hesitated, and his voice tightened. "No particular desire to harm you, or cause you any great pain. However, I can do both, if necessary, so it is my recommendation that you cooperate with me. Is that clear?" Ted's face probably didn't give a whole lot away except for his confusion as he tried to work out the voice. His head turned in the direction of the voice, eyes straining to see something-- anything-- that might give him a hint as to where he was or who he was with. Pleased? What was that about? He couldn't help the face he made at that-- he rather scrunched up his nose and frowned a little more, trying to work this all out. Wand. He couldn't exactly move to check his wand, so he'd just have to believe the man. Ugh, torture. Ted sighed, really not wanting to go through that again. Bugger and damnation. He really had not planned on spending his Saturday like this. What to do, what to do? He wondered what on earth this man wanted-- what could he possibly know? It wasn't like he could pass on Super Secret Ministry information! He nodded, slowly. "Yes. It's clear." Severus watched him for a moment, wondering what exactly he should do next. Remove the blindfold? Leave him blindfolded? Which was more likely to get the answers that Severus wanted. It seemed as if Tonks wasn't going to be too difficult, but Severus wasn't going to assume that meant it would be easy. After a moment's consideration, he flicked his wand and removed the blindfold. It wasn't as if there was anything likely to be given away by the removal, and Severus decided he'd prefer to see Tonks eyes as he was talking to him. The blindfold removed, Severus turned to stare at Tonks, his eyes hidden by the mask he was wearing. "You're working for the Ministry these days, yes? Where are you working?" Severus knew that Tonks was working with the Werewolves, but he decided he'd see if Tonks was willing to share that information. Ted blinked once the blindfold was removed. The room was dark, after being outside, and it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. His eyes widened as he looked into the face of his- well, kidnapper- and blinked once more. "I- yeah. The ministry." Why on earth would he ask that? Well. He assumed it was a he, judging by the voice, but he supposed with the mask it could have been a woman, but who knew? "Werewolf Support Services." Severus nodded, he knew that much, what he needed to know was of course much more than that. He needed to know what Tonks knew. And he needed to make certain that it was the truth. "Werewolf support services," Severus allowed a sneer to creep into his tone. "Halfbreeds," he said with genuine distaste. He hated Greyback, whatever the Dark Lord might think his use was, and having been nearly killed by a werewolf in the past, he certainly didn't have any fondness for them for that reason as well. "What do you do there? What services" and again the dislike was obvious in his voice, "do you provide?" Ted frowned at the tone of voice. Not all werewolves were so bad! "Some paperwork, registration and regular interviews, when they come in yearly." He hesitated a moment, and then continued. "Lately they've had me out, keeping an eye on some of the areas where more werewolves are known to be located." He didn't see any real point in lying right now, and it wasn't like any of this was any sort of information that needed to be hidden. Severus considered this. The paperwork, registration and interviews made perfect sense. He knew as well as anyone that their were yearly interviews for werewolves, which wasn't nearly frequently enough, in Severus' opinion. The monsters needed to be better tracked, so that they weren't causing problems, but that wasn't something he had any control over at the moment. He was quiet for a moment, his wand still in his hand, he tapped it against his hand, trying to make Tonks nervous, and keep him willing to answer questions. "Where?" Severus asked. "Where have you been out?" "A number of places," Ted replied, eyes widening again for a moment as he eyed the wand in the Death Eater's hands. "Mostly near the English borders. There's been activity. Movement. It looks like they're starting to group for something, or maybe I'm just paranoid. I'm not sure. But there's been a lot of activity than previously reported." Ted could have kicked himself for how easily he was giving up this information, but he really, really didn't want to be tortured again. He couldn't bear to see the looks on his wife and daughter's faces if he were to wake up in St. Mungo's again. And maybe- hopefully- if he cooperated, he'd be able to just...leave. But somehow he knew it probably wouldn't be that simple. Under the mask, Severus raised an eyebrow. He hadn't supposed that this sort of information would be that simple to get from the other man. On the other hand, it certainly made it painless for both of them. Or at least, painless for Severus. No casting of Cruciatus or other unforgivables, and no messy body to dump somewhere. Severus considered for a moment what to ask next. If the Ministry was aware of the activity, that could be a bad thing, on the other hand, it could simply be something that was filed in a report and put away. Severus needed to know which it was. Was it routine surveillance or was it something that had been requested specifically, and if so, what office was it coming for? And beyond that, had Tonks told anyone outside of his office or the office he was reporting to, the information he'd discovered. "So you've been at the English borders?" Severus repeated. "Who's grouping and how many? And who in the Ministry wanted to know this information?" "Yes, I've been patrolling the borders. I don't have any specific names, since I don't know all of them by sight, but I'm told that they're all werewolves. I'd guess about a hundred or so, so far. Just movement; it looks like they're congregating or meeting for something, but I can't tell exactly what they're doing." Ted paused a moment to swallow, his mouth suddenly dry. "I don't know who exactly is asking for it. All of our reports go up to Mr. Scamander-- head of the department." Severus frowned under his mask. Head of department. That was annoying. He flicked his wand slightly and shot a hex at the man, so that three shallow cuts appeared on each arm. Severus thought Tonks was probably telling the truth, but that didn't mean he had to like Tonks' answer, and he wanted to make certain the other man knew that Severus was displeased with the response. "Who besides Mr Scamander might have access to this information?" Severus growled. "Who else might you have mentioned it to - have you talked to anyone outside of your department, or outside of the Ministry about this information?" He had of course, done precisely that, or Rookwood would not have known about it and neither Severus nor Tonks would be sitting in this room at the moment, with Severus trying to figure out how best to get out of Tonks precisely how much he knew, as well as convincing him it was worth his time to stop looking into such things or sharing them at all. Ted sucked in a breath when he felt the cuts on his arms, and he did his best to keep too much from showing on his face. That didn't work out so very well; he never had been very good at hiding his thoughts and feelings. "Smith. There's a James Smith who is my supervisor- I send my reports to him and he passes them up the chain of command." Ted didn't dare look down at his arms. "Outside of the Ministry? I've mentioned it to my wife-- the patrolling keeps me from home sometimes, so I let her know where I'm going." "No one else?" Severus stared at him, wondering if the man was telling the truth. It was at that point it occurred to Severus that there was a way to see for certain if Tonks was lying or truthful. Of course he was still learning, and it might not actually provide him with useful information, but he thought it was worth trying. He looked specifically at Tonks, staring at his face and his eyes. "Who above the Head of your Department might look at this?" "Above?" Ted asked, frowning slightly. "I- I'm not entirely sure. I don't know where the reports go after Scamander sees them. I think he files them, but I don't know that." He wanted to look away, but he found that he couldn't quite do that. He blinked, biting his lower lip. "I'm sorry that I don't know that, though. If I did, I'd say." Severus hit his wand against his palm, frowning. "Of course you would," the tone was slightly mocking, and he started pacing back and forth in front of Ted. Tonks didn't know much really, did he? He knew there were werewolves, he knew there were a lot of them, but he didn't know why they were there. Of course, if he had filed that information with the Ministry, then others would know it, and those people might put more together than Tonks clearly had. Greyback was not remotely subtle in his desire to turn people and do evil. It was one of the many things that made Severus despise the monster. "Look at me," Severus demanded, turning back to Ted. He pointed his wand directly at Tonks and muttered Legilimens. If nothing else, the spell would hopefully tell Severus if Tonks was telling the truth about knowing more than that. Ted didn't dare disobey, and he looked back to the Death Eater. He heard the spell, though he couldn't quite make out exactly what he said. What on earth was he doing? Ted had the vague sensation that he was trying to do...something with his mind-- read his thoughts, maybe? No. He couldn't possibly be doing that, could he? But then...Ted didn't really have much to hide, did he? He didn't think he did. He was still nervous and uneasy-- he just wanted to get back home to his wife and daughter, to make sure that they were safe. With the direct eye contact, the spell hit Tonks, and Severus felt the other man's nervousness, a small girl with short pigtails and pink hair, and the sense that Tonks wasn't certain what else to say. As Severus held the spell, he felt that probably Tonks was telling the truth, that he didn't know who might be interested in the final project, but as he got ready to release the spell, he caught Tonks telling someone about the werewolves - his wife? Severus lowered his wand, feeling pleased that more than likely he was getting the truth, but that there might be additional truth to be gleaned. He lowered his wand, and he glared at the other man, although Tonks would not be able to see it underneath Severus' mask. He held his pose for a moment. "You've told nobody outside of your reports or your wife?" Severus held his wand ready to inflict something more. There was something still not quite right. "Nobody," Ted replied, shaking his head. That sense of unease left him as the Death Eater lowered his wand, and he gave a small sigh of relief. "I've told you all that I know. I swear." He wondered if this was all he wanted to know, and hoped that it would be enough, because he couldn't think of anything else that might have been important. Severus still was unsure about this. "I'm not certain I believe you," he said, snidely. "Perhaps I should just let you stay here a bit. Or perhaps," Severus pointed his wand in the direction of the bound man. "Perhaps I should give you a little extra motivation. Perhaps there are some hexes that would be motivating. Or perhaps," Severus pulled on the memory of the little girl. Tonks was a father, whether he was a good one or not was of no concern to Severus, but the thought that he was thinking of the child, proved he had some interest in her. "Perhaps I should just leave you here and go find that daughter of yours," he sneered. "Perhaps she can pull something from you that I cannot." He allowed a beat, waiting for that to set in. "She's a little young to learn about the Unforgivables, but innocence is so over-rated, isn't it then?" Ted winced when the other man mentioned his daughter and he shook his head. "No. Don't- please." He looked back to the wizard. He hated to beg, but he couldn't stand the thought of anybody going after his little girl. "It may have come up. Just a friend. Nobody important- and only in passing. That's it, I swear. Just that we've noticed activity-- I said nothing about how many or where it's happening." Severus stared at him, and made a decision. The Cruciatus curse was something he could do easily enough, and he shot the hex at Tonks, allowing it to linger for no more than a minute, although that minute, for certain would feel like agony to the other man. He stopped the hex and he moved forward so that he was in Tonks' face. "Right now I could kill you as easily as I could a doxy," he sneered a bit. "Or I could make that hex repeat, continuously, on and off for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Or, I could pull in your family, your daughter - your wife - and I could make you watch as I hex them. We know who they are and we know how to get to them, and whatever petty wards you have in place to guard your home? They can be broken like a twig." Severus stepped back. "What friend?" Ted cried out when the curse hit him, back arching and body attempting to turn as the pain shot through him. He tried to lean back as the other wizard leaned forward, and he struggled to catch his breath. "Not my family. Do what you- anything to me, but stay away from them, please." He paused to swallow, his mouth dry again. "Black. Sirius Black. He comes 'round to visit some times, and he was there when Andie asked me something about it so I told him. It didn't seem very important, since I don't really know what they're doing or why." So Black knew. Fascinating, although not particularly surprising as he was related to Tonks wife and both were blood traitors. However, this piece of information gave Severus something he felt was useful. If Black knew, it was likely that all of his mates knew, and as those people were known to fight against the Death Eaters, it could be important that they knew about the werewolves. He turned on his toe and left the draperies, allowing Tonks to sit on his own for a moment. With any luck, he would be wondering if Snape would be returning with reinforcements. In reality, Snape merely paced on the other side of the curtain away from Tonks for a moment, taking a mental stock of information he had. Tonks knew about the werewolves gathering. He'd given the information to his superiors, who likely had sent it elsewhere in the Ministry. There were contacts within the ministry who might be able to gather that information - it didn't seem that Tonks had any knowledge of what happened to it once it went to his superior's desk, and as he was knew in the department, Snape was inclined to believe that. He had told his wife, no surprise there, and he had told Sirius Black. And he supposedly had no knowledge of what the werewolves were up to. This, Severus wanted to make certain of. If Tonks had ideas, even if he wasn't certain, those ideas might have gotten passed on to Black, and thus all of Black's cronies as well. Plus it had the very nice effect of making Tonks think that the Death Eaters had no idea of what the werewolves were up to either, which was convenient. Severus stepped back into the draperies and glared at the other man. "You have no idea what they're doing?" Snape snapped at the man, his wand held out threatening the cruciatus again, although he had no particular desire to inflict it for the time being. Another piece of useful information - although predictable - seemed to be that Tonks didn't want anything to happen to his family and the threat of that, was possibly enough to keep him talking. "No!" Ted exclaimed, shaking his head. "There's movement and it looks like they're grouping. Why? I haven't the faintest clue, and I've yet to figure it out. All I've done is watch what they're doing and reported it back." He winced as the wizard pointed the wand back at him- God, he was getting a bit tired of that bloody curse. Sirius had been a safe enough name, hadn't it? It wasn't like he was a complete stranger to him or anything, so that shouldn't arouse too much suspicion. He only hoped he hadn't caused Sirius any extra trouble, though he supposed he wouldn't be too surprised if he did. If he got out of here, though-- he'd need to tell him. But for now...He just needed to get out of here. Snape lowered his wand just slightly, enough to give Tonks hope that he might not be forced to endure the pain of the torture curse again. He stared at him for a long moment. "You've reported, so you're the reporter are you then," Snape's voice was a smooth sneer. "Do you have any idea what minds more clever than yours might have put together from this information?" The insult was easy for Snape. This had been much easier than he had expected it to be, and his respect for people who had no tolerance for questioning or pain was rather low. He would not, he thought, give information away so easily, if he were asked similar questions. Ted sighed at the reminder. He knew he never had been particularly smart, but he wasn't a complete fool. "Look. I've only done what I've been told to. That's all." He bit his lower lip, just waiting for the next wave of pain-- he saw the wand lower but even he didn't quite fall for that. No, he maybe shouldn't have given this information so easily, but then again-- he knew he was no Gryffindor. And he didn't quite see what was so important about this movement-- nobody else had seemed to think too much of it from what he had seen. He hadn't really known what to do. Severus stared down at the other man, and finally he moved again toward Tonks. "Such a good boy, doing what you've been told. Well, as the Ministry clearly has no further useful information to give us, and by Ministry, I mean you, although you're hardly its most intelligent representative are you then? Why don't you give this situation a good once over. Consider if you have anything else useful to tell me. Preferably something that might convince me that we don't need to bring your daughter and wife in here so that they can watch you, or you can watch them..." Snape kept his tone light and mocking. "I suppose it depends upon my mood which would be more... useful. I'm going to let you think about that for a moment or two and when I come back, you'd best have something interesting to tell me. Some detail you may have neglected to mention before." Severus stepped back and through the curtains so that he was out of Tonks vision. Although he had not given Tonks any reason to believe it, Severus was finished. He had no more intention of messing with Tonks' wife or daughter, than he had of playing Quidditch professionally, but the man seemed to be motivated to not have his family hurt, and Snape had no qualms about taking advantage of that. He pulled his journal from his pocket, removed the black gloves he had used to cover his hand and scribbled a note to Rodolphus that he felt they were ready for the wards to come down again. That complete, he replaced the journal, replaced the glove, and retrieved Tonks wand. He turned it over thoughtfully in his hand and then stuck it into a pocket where Tonks would be unable to see it until Severus wished for him to see it. Snape returned to the circle where he was questioning Tonks, and stood just on the other side of the curtain, apparently waiting for Tonks to say something. Ted winced as the wizard began moving toward him, and he leaned back in his seat. He just wanted to get away, wanted to get out of here. Alive would be nice. He didn't think the other man would kill him, but then again, he couldn't really say for sure just what he had in mind. He was quiet for a few moments, trying to sort through his thoughts, trying to remember anything useful that might be important, but he shook his head. "I can't remember anything else. I really, really can't." Snape glared momentarily, wondering if he should hex Tonks again for good measure. He stepped up, and moved his wand so that it was in Ted's face. "You can't remember anything else," he sneered slightly. "We'll let you go, this once. And you should be grateful that I'm in such a good mood," Severus added. He stepped forward and pulled Tonks to his feet, not taking any care to be gentle in how he pulled him. Snape was not a particularly tall man, nor was he particularly muscular, but he was stronger than he looked, no matter how thin he might be. He pulled Tonks forward and he stood face to face with him. "You'd best hope I do not discover that you had some other memory you did not share with me," he hissed. "If you do, and I discover this, next time I shall not be so lenient with you or with your family." With that statement, Severus grabbed Tonks and the two of them Apparated together to a clearing in the woods near Hogsmeade. Severus had decided earlier in the week that he would not go back to the house Tonks had been drawn towards, simply because he did not want to risk that people might have come looking for him - even though Snape knew that they had not been gone more than a couple of hours at most. As they landed, Snape stepped away from Tonks and pointed his wand at the other man. "I'm going to unbind you," he said quietly. "I still have your wand, but I will return it here on the ground before I apparate away. If I get any sense that you are going to make an inappropriate movement towards it, you will not live to see that darling daughter of yours again. Is that clear?" Ted grunted in surprise as he was yanked forward, and he stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance. He nodded, too unnerved to say much in response at the moment. "I- no. There won't be anything." Next time? Ted hoped it wouldn't come to a 'next time'. And then they apparated and Ted was quite relieved to find himself not-splinched. He eyed his own wand as the wizard held it out and bit his lower lip, nodding. Even if he could get to it, what on earth could he do? Easier-- and probably safer-- to just do as the other man said. "It is." Severus waited for only an instant, but then he stepped away from Tonks, and he waved his hand at him. "No movements," he reminded him, and then he dropped the binding curse. As soon as he dropped the curse, he dropped Tonks' wand and with that he Apparated away from the place. He would need to report to Rookwood yet this weekend. Ted merely blinked, swaying on his feet as the bindings released. His wand fell to the ground and he watched it, ignoring the other wizard as he apparated away. A hand came up to his head- Merlin, he had a headache- and he closed his eyes for a moment before crouching down to pick up his wand. He pocketed it again and looked around him, idly wondering where on earth he was. Oh well. He started to walk toward the edge of the clearing before stopping and pulling out his wand, closing his eyes to apparate straight home. |