Day 6 Continued

 Evelyn felt confusion wash over her when she entered the house and saw the parchment lying upon the table with the hasty writing of Harry, his reply to whatever Severus had been writing still plainly spelt out.

"Wait, what's wrong?" it said, and these words set Evelyn's heart pounding.

The fire was only embers, and barely fought the darkness of the night. She held the bread under her arm, glancing frantically around the room. Severus was nowhere to be found. Quite suddenly she was terrified something had happened, that she had lingered at Ellery's grave far too long. Evelyn took another furtive glance around the room, and she noticed, much to her surprise, that the trapdoor was open. Severus understood very well that they had agreed not to dig without the other there, in case something went wrong. Evelyn rushed over to the black hole in the floor, and she fell to her knees before it.

"Severus?" she cried, down into the deep darkness and calling out as loudly as she could. "Are you down there? What's wrong?"

She waited breathlessly for a moment, heart hammering in her chest. Then, after a few minutes from the blackness came his voice, faint and far away. She had to lower her head into the hole and cup her ear to hear him, and even then she could barely make out his words.

"I heard one of the supports fracture about twenty minutes ago," he called up to her. "The cracked support is about a hundred feet down the tunnel, but the earth around it is still fairly stable. I am working on replacing it before the crack gets worse. I almost have it out. When I do I can magic in a new one."

"I'm coming down to help you," Evelyn said, starting to descend the ladder without bothering to put on her digging clothes. "I can't let you work alone down there."

She stepped down onto the damp floor of the tunnel, the light above her spilling into the entranceway. Evelyn stared down the passage, which was illuminated slightly by the magical flames, which resided in lidless jars dug into the walls. Wooden supports stood between these. Far away Evelyn could see Severus' silhouette. He heard her coming, and without turning around, he spoke.

"Evelyn, I will be fin-" but his words were cut off by a loud cracking noise, like wood splitting.

Evelyn felt her insides grow cold, and before her eyes she saw the supports come crashing down where Severus was, and then a gust of damp air rushed toward her, bringing clouds of dirt and extinguishing the light as it went along, one jar at a time. She heard Severus give a shout, and with the wind tangling her hair she scrambled as quickly as she could toward where Severus was, fighting the scream trying to rise out of her chest. It did not occur to her just how dangerous it was for her to be rushing toward a spot that had just fallen in. The realization that another cave-in was possible did not even cross her mind. Even if it had, she would have run there anyway.

As she ran, Evelyn whipped out her wand and cast lumos. The light bounced off the walls, and as she continued it illuminated the cave-in, now only about ten feet away. There were splinters of wood everywhere, and the ceiling of the tunnel had a huge gouge in it where the dirt had cascaded down. A number of stones were lying atop the wreckage and Evelyn caught sight of something beneath it. Amidst the dirt and debris, she could see a pale, dirt-streaked hand.

"SEVERUS!" she cried. There was no answer, and she threw herself to the ground and started to dig.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Evelyn gasped, and lifted the stones by magic. She gave her wand a jerk, and it drifted to the side of the tunnel, where she let it rest.

Frantically, she pushed away dirt, reaching under it and groping around as she tried to find Severus. There were more splinters of wood than earth however, and with the numerous rocks gone Severus began to stir. With such suddenness that Evelyn almost gasped, Severus broke out from under the pile of dirt and took a huge, shuddering gulp of air. He coughed and retched, and Evelyn took a hold of his arms and pulled him free from the debris, fear giving her the strength to do so.

"Are you badly hurt?" she inquired anxiously, having difficulty speaking.

Severus gave a choking cough and gave a sort of shrug, then shook his head. His face was black with dirt, and he had a gash along his jawline that was oozing blood.

"We should get out of here," Evelyn said quickly, taking his arm.

She made sure that Severus climbed over her and went first along the tunnel, and his wheezing and sputtering created a strange rhythm with their steps. She had him in front of her her as they shuffled through the semi-darkness, ready to catch him should he fall. Though he stumbled, he did not crash to the ground as his body seemed to want to. Wearily, he climbed up the ladder. Evelyn followed, and when she too emerged, she found him lying on the floor and gasping at odd intervals, though it appeared that it was only panic that had induced this state. He looked fairly unhurt, though dirt was caked on his arms and face, and the blood from the gash on his jaw had mixed with it. As soon as she was fully out of the tunnel, Evelyn shut the trapdoor firmly. The little jar of flames on the table was still burning brightly, and the embers in the fire grate danced. She threw another stick of wood on the fire, and as it caught a shaft of light illuminated the small home.

"Can you sit up?" she asked Severus after she had done this.

He nodded, still panting.

"Here," she said, taking his arm and helping him shuffle over and sit with his back resting against the wall. He did not speak, but his breathing was beginning to grown calmer. "That looks like it hurts."

There were several splinters sticking out of Severus' right arm. He was still wearing his robes, rather than his digging clothes, and the splinters had made cuts in the black fabric. A few of the fragments were large, and deep. They had drawn blood.

"I'm going to have to remove the splinters," muttered Evelyn as she stared at the pieces of wood and forcing herself to be calm. "It's not going to feel nice."

Severus gave a slight jerk of his head, as though to say he was indifferent to it.

"Are you alright besides these?" she asked, gesturing to the cut and splinters.

He nodded, still breathless.

"Alright, here it goes," she said, reaching out for the first splinter. Severus's jaw became set as she pulled it from his arm, but he remained silent, and showed no other outward sign that it caused him pain despite the fact that the fragment was at least an inch and a half deep, and stained a deep red. She gingerly set the splinter down beside them. Evelyn then pulled the second and third splinters in quick succession, and yet Severus did not utter a sound, and she was sure that he wasn't in near enough shock for the pain to be that minimal. This baffled her, because all the men she had known in life would have at least winced, albeit quietly. Yet somehow, Severus did not. In fact, he almost looked bored. She wondered what it was that made him so good at concealing his pain. This realization caused her to become simultaneously amazed at his strength, and almost fearful of what this man must have had to experience to make him so silent in his pain. Knowing that now was not the time for serious contemplation, Evelyn pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind, and focused on the task at hand.

After a quick once over, Evelyn was relieved to see that besides the occasional bruise or cut, the splinters seemed to be the only injuries. The cuts could be healed easily, especially if she had been right in recalling that Severus had brought some healing potions with him. She wanted to ask him what he had brought, but the shock finally was starting to set in, and he was staring off into space. So she went over to his rucksack and rummaged around a little. She came up with a small bottle, and drew a breath of relief. It was Essence of Dittany. With a clean flannel and some water, she washed the wounds and put a few drops of Dittany on each of them, able to work through the large holes in the fabric of his robes. She was rinsing out the flannel in a bucket when Severus finally spoke.

"Evelyn," he said hoarsely, and she looked up. "The tunnel, I am so sorry ... I should not have ... this is all my fault. We have lost so much time already - "

"Severus," she began gently, sitting upon her knees before him. It seemed as though now he had finally spoken, he was unable to stop the panicked words from spilling over his lips.

" - and with a cave-in who knows if we can even do this. What if we fail?" His eyes were wide, uncertain. "It is all up to us, the entire wizarding world rests on -"

"Severus," Evelyn said again, but he continued to ramble, not listening.

Yet, Evelyn didn't care that a section of the tunnel had collapsed. She didn't care that they were behind now. She was just grateful he was alive. Before her eyes swam the image of Severus' limp, pale hand under the debris, and her stomach clenched at the thought. But he was alive, and right now, he did not understand in the least that Evelyn was not angry, or why. That him having survived made up for it all.

" - will be my fault, if we cannot break in on time, -"

He continued, his face so wracked with guilt, but Evelyn could not find the words to free him from it, and say just how glad she was he was alive. So she kissed him, in the way she had wanted to for a long time. He tasted of dirt, and sweat. Severus flinched, and Evelyn pulled away quickly, embarrassed.

"Sorry," she said quickly, feeling the blood rush to her face and avoiding his eyes. She had been wrong. Had she imagined the things that had been said over red wine the other night?

"No, you brushed against another splinter," he said, teeth clenched. He reached down, shuddering slightly as he removed a piece of wood embedded above his left knee, not taking his eyes off her as he tossed it aside. There was a fire in his eyes, and to Evelyn's delight he leaned forward and pulled her against him once more. When they finally broke apart, Evelyn couldn't fight the smile, and neither could Severus. They sat for a moment or two before a sudden look of realization slid across Severus' face.

"Oh hell," he muttered, looking disappointed that he had to break the moment, "I have to write back to Harry to tell him about the tunnel. I left mid conversation! He needs to know that I am still coming for him tonight!"

He sprung up, and while Evelyn was worried, she felt some amount of relief that he was there to write back to Harry in the first place.

"Better not let it wait any longer then," she said, getting to her feet and reaching for a broom to sweep the dirt from the floor, limbs still buzzing with all that had happened. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, thanks to you," he replied gravely, staring intently at her. "A little bit more Dittany and I will be right as rain, but first, I must write to Harry."

He shuffled over to the table rather stiffly, and slumped down into the chair, scribbling away with the quill. She was relieved to see that the time on his watch said that it was only quarter to eleven. There was still plenty of time for their message to get to Harry before the time came for him to sneak out.

"Is it worth it?" Evelyn suddenly said, clutching the broom and trying to fight the fear that had been growing within her for days now. "This mission, I mean. Part of the tunnel collapsing, well, it makes me wonder if it's worth our lives to be doing this. I just ... I can't help but question it."

Severus set down the quill and tapped the parchment with his wand, and then he let out a steady breath, eyes thoughtful.

"It would be easier to say that it was not worth it," he muttered. "I do not want to go back into that tunnel, not again. But I will. We know something that the world does not ... we have the power to stop great evil. I think we would be damned not to try, however much I wish we did not have to."

"You're right," Evelyn said heavily, sinking down into the chair. "I know we must continue, I just ... I don't want to have to gamble everything for this. I never realized how much I have to live for ... how much I have to lose. First Ellery, and - and I know I didn't tell you this but," Evelyn took a shaky breath, trying to hold back tears - "I got a letter from my mother's friend, whom she had fled Scotland with. It was only a few weeks after I had come to London looking for Ellery, and then I found out that my mother had gotten s- sick, and ... and she didn't make it. Then, I was left with only Ellery, and he - he passed away so suddenly -" she choked slightly - "I thought there was nothing left for me to lose. And then my greatest hope ... and yet, somehow my greatest fear also ... came true. You returned. The invention actually worked. You came back, and Harry is alive. It is like the world has decided to remind me that I have so much to lose if I give my life to this cause. And worse still - I now see what I would be without should you, or Harry, die, and I survive. I never thought that I would be trying to look for a way out like I am now. I don't want to be a hero," she said, suddenly frantic. "I never wanted that Severus, and neither do I want you or Harry to have to be one either. I don't want to lose it all for this, even though I know that so much rests on our shoulders."

"You won't," said Severus after a moment's consideration, looking into her eyes intently, calming her with his steadiness. "You will not lose everything, and neither will I. We are in this together, and we will come out of it together. Harry too."

"How do you know that?" Evelyn asked, wanting so desperately to believe his words.

"I don't," he admitted, proceeding hesitantly, his eyes staring off into the distance, his brows furrowed. "But ... sometimes you have to believe, because otherwise, how else can you go on? That small bit of hope is why we are doing this. It is the cause worth fighting for."

"You're right, Severus," she replied in a whisper, though she was still afraid.

"It will all work out in the end, you will see."

"I hope so."

And she closed her eyes, and he took her hand in his. Silence fell, but to two souls so worried, the knowledge that someone was there was all that was needed.

It seemed like a lifetime later when the hands on Severus' watch reached one in the morning, forcing them to release eachother's hands. He was almost at the door, her following behind him, when he turned around. With a strange sort of urgency, he kissed her so hard she was just about swept off her feet, and she felt on his lips all the things he couldn't say. That he too never wanted it to end, this moment, this kiss. When they broke apart, panting slightly, she had to watch him go out the door. He glanced back one last timee before plunging into the night to go meet Harry. Evelyn hoped so badly that Harry would indeed come down to meet Severus, for no answer had been written upon the parchment. Fear clinging to her insides, the taste of Severus' kiss still lingering on her lips, she watched out the window as he sunk into the shadows of the alleyway to apparate closer to the Potioneer's Society.

Even after he had gone, Evelyn stood there, knowing that there was nothing for her to do but await his return, and with luck, Harry's as well. She didn't like to think what would happen if he had thought the plan was called off. She did not know what she would do if it all went wrong.