The next morning, Severus was in his room, finalizing a test for his seventh-years that was to be given the next day. There was a knock on the door. Severus sat back in his chair and commanded the visitor to enter. Draco swept into the room in a flourish of robes that would rival one of his father’s entrances. Severus looked at him with an arched eyebrow. He had not expected to see Draco quite this soon.

“I assume you got my owl, Draco?” Severus asked.

“I came as soon as I could get away, Professor. What is it that’s so urgent that you needed to see me in person?”

“It has to do with your father again, Draco.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “What has he done now?”

“He abducted Professor Trelawney and nearly killed her. I appeared just in time and killed Lestrange before they could do too much harm to her. Draco, this has gone way too far. Will you please help me find your father and stop him?”

Draco studied Severus seriously. “Professor, if I were to divulge the location of my father, I’m sure I would find him dead by morning.”

Severus narrowed his eyes at Draco. “If you don’t tell me where to find him, he will be killed anyway because of his stupid actions. This is an opportunity to keep everyone alive while stopping your father from doing something drastic.”

“So, you’re not going to run out and kill him?”

Severus heaved a great sigh. “Even though I would like nothing more than to see your father dead at my feet for what he did to Sybill, I would rather see the man rot in Azkaban for the rest of his measly, conniving, little life.”

“And why should I help you put my father into Azkaban?” Draco asked slyly.

“Because it’s a better alternative than death!”

“You are giving me no choice?”

“We always have a choice, Draco. Yours just isn’t a palatable one. You can either tell me where your father is so I can capture him and send him to Azkaban, or I can use Legilimency on you and find out the hard way.”

Draco became angry. “Don’t think that the thought of my father dead or in Azkaban horrifies me. I care little as to whether he lives or dies! It is my mother who I am worried about. I will not sacrifice my father, for she would fall apart!”

Severus leaned over the desk and looked straight into Draco’s eyes. “If you do not help me, he will soon be dead. He will make another move on Sybill, he has already promised that. I will be there, and he will not survive. Your mother would much rather her husband be alive and rotting in a cell than dead, rotting in the ground.”

“My father is as good a fighter as you are!”

Severus sneered at Draco and gave a low chuckle. “Are you willing to wager on that supposition?”

Draco looked down, breaking Severus’ glare. He said nothing for a few minutes.

“Draco, I assure you, your father may be skilled with a wand, but ultimately he will not prevail.”

Draco remained silent, and Severus let him stew about their conversation, coming to his own conclusions. Finally Draco looked up with a grimace on his face.

“You will promise me that you will not kill him, for my mother’s sake.”

“I promise.”

Draco put his head into his hands. “My mother is going to kill me,” he whispered.

“She will understand eventually.”

“My father will not. He will know I betrayed him.”

“He need never know of your betrayal.”

“He will know,” Draco said as he bent over and cradled his head in his hands. “No matter how I try to hide it, he will know.”

Severus looked down, understanding the fear and sadness that were enveloping Draco at this moment.

“Will you help me then?” he asked Draco finally.

“Yes,” Draco murmured in anguish.

“Thank you,” Severus said with relief.

oooOOOooo

Sybill stared into her crystal ball. She watched as Severus walked swiftly down the hall and stopped in front of her door. She heard an urgent knock at that very door. Rising from her seat in front of the crystal, she meandered over and pulled the door open. She saw Severus and threw her arms around him.

“I saw you coming,” she told him, before planting a kiss on his cheek.

“You missed,” Severus said as he replaced his cheek with his lips.

Sybill couldn’t help her chuckle as he kissed her lovingly. He pulled away after a long while, and they entered her room.

“What else did you see in that ball of yours?” Severus asked.

“Nothing, I was just watching you. You see I miss you when you're not here.”

Fire rose in Severus’ eyes. “I miss you too.”

They sunk down into the sofa and resumed their kissing, barely coming up for breath. Severus caressed her neck as she pressed into him. Sybill’s heart was fluttering madly with his affection. She knew he could feel it, it was pounding so hard. Finally, Severus broke away and pulled Sybill into his chest.

“Although this is quite lovely,” he told her, “I did not come to get lost in your kisses, witch.”

“Is there something else I can interest you in?” Sybill asked in a silky voice.

Severus groaned. “You are going to be the death of me.”

“Come now, Severus, I know you long to be near me,” Sybill said darkly as she traced her finger along his jaw line.

Severus grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes. “You are nothing but a tease!”

Sybill giggled. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No… I mean… yes… I mean… you are exasperating!”

oooOOOooo

Sybill gave Severus such a loving look that he thought he should just hand his heart to her right then and there. The realization that he would do anything for her did not seem as horrid as it would have a few months ago. He was not one to do things for others, especially nice things. He didn’t go out of his way to be nice to anyone. The thought of being pleasant and helpful was quite foreign to him. Granted, he had given of himself as a spy for years, but that had been different. The recipients of his actions had been hidden to him, just a bunch of ungrateful people who hadn’t cared one way or the other for him. But this was different. He cared about Sybill and therefore, wanted her happy. He would stop at nothing to see her happy. Severus sighed. He had grown into the biggest sap on the planet. Even that realization didn’t faze him as much as he thought it should have. He surely was losing his snarky touch.

“I’m sorry, Severus, I didn’t mean to exasperate you,” Sybill said as she looked deep within his eyes.

“You may be exasperating, but I would have you no other way,” Severus told her sincerely.

“Who would have thought that Severus Snape, colossal grump, would be such a romantic?” Sybill sighed.

“Who would have thought that Sybill Trelawney, crazed loon, would be so beautiful and enticing?”

“Damn, you’re good,” Sybill muttered before covering him in kisses.

“All right, all right!” Severus cried as he pulled away from her. “I am here on official business that does not involve snogging you senseless.”

Sybill heaved a sigh and pulled away to a safer distance. “You’ve already accomplished the snogging part, why are you really here?”

“Draco stopped by this morning.”

“What did you find out?”

“I convinced him it was in his family’s interest to tell me where his father was hiding. He’s in Spain, on the outskirts of Barcelona.”

Sybill raised her eyebrows at that. “Who would think to look for him there?”

“No one, that’s why it’s such an excellent hiding place. I hadn’t even realized that the Malfoys owned property in Spain. It is a family retreat that has been kept secret from everyone. Unfortunately, Lucius will know that Draco has given up his secret when I show up to confront him.”

Sybill placed her hand on Severus’ arm. “I told you I want to go with you.”

“Sybill,” Severus pleaded, “I would rather you not be involved.”

She looked to Severus angrily. “We have already discussed this, Severus, and you agreed to let me help. Don’t renege now!”

“It will be dangerous.”

Sybill rose from the sofa and began to pace. “I know that! Why should you just waltz in there by yourself? I want to help!”

“I couldn’t stand losing you.”

Sybill sat back down again and looked at Severus with determination. “I couldn’t stand losing you either. Please stop trying to protect me. A relationship involves working together. If we can’t do that, we might as well just forget about each other right now.”

“This has nothing to do with our relationship!”

“It has everything to do with our relationship, Severus! You’re pushing me away. You want to keep me from being involved with something that I am invariably involved with.”

“This is about your safety, Sybill, not pushing you away!”

“It’s the same thing.”

Severus took her into his arms. “No, it’s not. I love you and don’t want you hurt. It’s my job to protect you. I don’t want to see you in any danger.”

“But I am in danger! I have a right to fight for myself.” Sybill stroked his face. “Look, there will be times when neither of us can shield the other from danger. It is a fact of the life that we lead. I love that you want to protect me, but you can’t shadow me constantly. I don’t need a parent, Severus, I need a partner. That means we share in things, not push the other away when there’s a threat of danger.”

“I just want you safe, Sybill.”

“You will be right there, Severus. I couldn’t be anywhere safer.”

“Sybill…”

“Shh!” Sybill placed a kiss on his cheek. “I will be fine, and so will you. We are done arguing about this.”

This would normally be the time when Severus would lose his temper, stand, and stalk off in a billow of robes. He surprised himself, however, by kissing Sybill’s cheek instead. What was becoming of him? He didn’t even recognize himself. Perhaps Sybill Trelawney had cast some sort of spell on him, for he had no desire to yell at her whatsoever, no matter that she deserved it. No matter that she needed to understand that he would not see her hurt. No matter that she was a stubborn witch who would put herself in danger simply for the fun of it.

“You are insufferably stubborn,” he said to her finally.

“I know,” Sybill conceded as she pulled him to her, kissing him with abandon.

oooOOOooo

The planning phase of the attack had taken a week. Severus and Sybill had dueled every day, honing their skills. Severus was hard on Sybill. He knew that Lucius would hold nothing back, and he advised her how to dodge killing curses and shield herself from the Dark magic that Lucius was bound to throw at her.

They used the Room of Requirement to create a mock version of Malfoy’s hideaway where they stealthily snuck around and ambushed a dummy of Malfoy. Draco had given them the layout of the Malfoy retreat and which rooms were frequented by his father. Draco was to take his mother on an excursion on the day of the attack so she wouldn’t be harmed or wouldn’t interfere in the abduction. Draco would also drop the wards before his departure so that Severus and Sybill’s arrival would go unnoticed.

Finally, the day came for their attack. Sybill paced nervously in her room, awaiting Severus. When he knocked on the door, she ran to it, threw it open, and fell into his arms. He squeezed her tightly and kissed her.

“Are you sure you want to do this with me?” he asked.

Sybill scowled at him. “Of course!” she cried.

“Please, Sybill, don’t be heroic.”

“The only hero in this room is you, love,” Sybill admonished.

“Let’s get going then,” Severus continued.

“All right,” Sybill agreed.

She took Severus’ hand. Severus quickly went over all the things that could go wrong and what they would do if it did. Sybill and he looked at each other. They both were apprehensive, but not to the point of panic. Severus reached into his pocket and removed the Portkey they would use to get to Barcelona. They both put their hands on the crinkled water bottle and disappeared.

oooOOOooo

Lucius rolled his eyes at his son.

“I told you, Draco, I am going to take your mother out to lunch!”

Draco’s lips thinned. “No, Father. I have been promising to take her to lunch today for the whole week. It’s just supposed to be her and me.”

“Draco, we are a family. Certainly I can tag along.”

“No!” Draco cried, a little too sharply. “You can’t. I never get to spend much alone time with Mother. It’s just a lunch date. You can take her out any other time.”

Lucius regarded his son and mulled over the boy’s argument. Something was not quite right. The boy was making excuses… for what, he did not know. He would let this play out and see where it all went. Giving a sigh, he addressed his son once again.

“Very well, Draco. Take your mother from me. I just hope you don’t choke on your soup.”

Draco eyed his father warily. That had been a bit too easy. He gave a bow of his head. “Thank you, Father. We shall be back within a couple of hours.”

“Don’t hurry on my part, Draco,” his father said with a wave of his hand.

Draco turned and left the room, not seeing his father narrow his eyes at him suspiciously. Within a few minutes, he had led his mother out of the home, secretly lowered the wards, and Apparated the two of them to a fine restaurant in Barcelona. He hoped this plan that Severus had hatched up would work. He hoped his mother would understand what had to be done… that she would accept that his father would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. He also hoped beyond hope that she would be able to forgive him for his role in arresting his own father.

oooOOOooo

As soon as Draco had Dissaparated with Narcissa, Lucius had done a check of the home. He found the wards had been lowered but not restored. There was no other change in the home. Now what is that sneaky cur of a son up to? he thought. Draco had left the wards down for a reason. Obviously, someone wanted to surprise Lucius, and Draco didn’t want his mother to be around when it happened. The only person he knew that was looking for him at this time was Severus Snape. Lucius grinned to himself. He would not have to go looking for that stupid Seer. Hopefully, Severus would bring the woman straight to him.

He quickly did a mental search of the house, deciding on just where Draco would tell Severus to appear that would be the most hidden. The spare bedroom would be the perfect place. It was empty, and no one ever went in there. Well, someone would be in there today! Lucius wheeled around and stalked to the bedroom. He would put a damper on Severus’ little plot. Opening the door, he entered the empty room. Drab brown carpeting and tan walls assaulted his eyes. The room was ugly, but it would serve its purpose today. He settled himself against the far wall, smirked to himself, and waited.

---

Next up: The showdown with Lucius.

Well, the fluff fest is over. Thanks for reading, and thank you, Lilith Kayden for your help.