Rolling Doubles

Severus opened his eyes. He blinked several times, but it didn't seem to be making a difference, except that when they were open, more dust got in them. There was a dull pain in his head, a sharp one at the base of his skull, and several more dull ones scattered around his body. He tilted to the side slowly, attempting to remove some of the large stones still resting on his back. He could still see nothing, but now felt that he could at least move enough to pull his wand out.

"Lumos," he uttered quietly, and watched as the familiar cold moon glow emitted from the tip. There was an eerie stillness around him, and he couldn't see very far, as the air was full of dust and bits of falling mortar. Every few seconds, he would hear the echoing crash of another rock falling from the ceiling. It was in a pause between several of these that he began to hear the whimpering.

Severus Snape despised whimpering. He momentarily considered finding whatever creature was so incompetent as to do so in his presence and put it out of its misery, but he quickly remembered that it was either a student or a teacher, neither of which would it have been acceptable to kill on school property. Using a convenient charm, he managed to collect and banish much of the dust from the air. It was far easier to distinguish the shapes on the floor when they were more than shadows. There was a large pile of debris right outside what had been his office door, that seemed to be on top of a person. That person seemed to have gotten a few more hits than he.

And the whimpering was getting louder. Perhaps he ought to go see if he could legitimately end the suffering of whomever that was. Or perhaps, they were badly injured enough that he really could justify a swift clubbing to the head. Morgana, that sound irked him. He neared the body, kicking stones out of his way as he went. They seemed to drown out that infernal noise, at least. And then there was a squelch, and he looked down, and saw that he was standing in a growing pool of blood. Raising his eyes to the gaping hole that had once been a ceiling, he muttered "You couldn't have made this simple, could you?"

He began lifting the stones of the battered body. It only took a few for him to realize, of course, that it was Miss Granger. She was on her face, luckily for her, or she would have had almost no chance for survival. "Miss Granger? Miss Granger, can you hear me?"

A minute passed, and her whimpers seemed to increase. Then, and indistinct "Mm hmm."

"Miss Granger, you have been wounded. You are bleeding heavily. Allow me to inspect your injuries."

"Mm hmm," again, this time reenforced by a minuscule movement of her head.

He didn't really trust moving her, considering her state, and so did a rapid series of transparency spells, allowing him to see inside of her. And it wasn't pretty. Four ribs appeared to be broken, along with bruising of several internal organs. Her legs seemed smashed, as was her right hand, and in it her wand. The blood was coming from a gash on her forehead. "If you would be so kind as to desist in your childish wailing, I might find myself able to treat you."

Finally, something that shut her up. "I am not optimistic about this healing. You have been badly injured, and I think even with Poppy's skill a full recovery would be unlikely. And Poppy's skill would be largely in administering a select few of my potions, none of which we have access to now. I know of one spell besides superficial healing and pain relieving charms, and it is a spell that will not come cheaply to either of us. There is every possibility it will not work, it is likely to have unpleasant side effects, but I can promise you that it will take away the pain. Consider carefully, Miss Granger, for it's your life either way."

There was a long pause, and I grew increasingly impatient. Finally, I caught her barely audible croak, of "Anything," before she seemed to collapse back into the floor.

So that is your decision. Anything. Rarely the right decision, and seldom a wise one, but so you have chosen. I rolled up my sleeves again and began the words of the incantation.

Disclaimer: I continue not to own these characters.

Author's Notes: This is going to continue to be a dark!fic, and I don't think it will be a romance, though that's always a possibility. And we will return to evil monologues (and evil bake sales) soon.

Thanks to those who reviewed-

pixieindisguise - Thanks for your suggestion. I probably will, but there are a few things we need to see about first.

bafmbabe - I'll finish it if nice reviewers keep responding. I've grown a little too fond of cliff-hangers for my own good.

KristalBlazeJerikor - Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. I'm posting this one as-I-go, so there might end up being gaps between chapters occasionally.

Sarah - Thank you for your review. I hope this fulfills some expectations.

Kerbi - What did you think of the rest of it?

Lady Laughing Owl - Well, yes, it's my choice, but I often like to follow popular opinion. My writing isn't always that dark, but it's fun sometimes.

kmorse - Well, I'm not sure if this particular Snape is a "good guy" or a "nice guy." And of course, you aren't either, because he was about to make a rather important decision when his office blew up.

Paladin Starfire - Well, he's a traitor to someone, we are yet to see who.

JediHermione - I'm very pleased that you liked it so much. It's hard to make a middle of the line Snape without pushing him over either way. And of course, every decision has to be carefully calculated.

ArchArtist/Writer - Thank you exceedingly much for that review. That's the sort of thing that just makes my day. I am doing my best to keep the characterizations clean, but they might have to adapt a little bit as the plot gets weird.

Green Eyed Lady - Thank you for giving suggestions bluntly. Though, the thing is, Sevie has to figure out for himself if it does matter day-to-day, which side he's fighting for and which side he believes in. And if it will matter in the bigger picture. And he does have rather a superiority/inferiority complex, as you say. Perhaps he's trying to compensate for something... *grins cheekily* Somehow I doubt the request for a third chance would go very well. If he goes, it'll be a little too late for absolution, even from Dumbledore. I actually did think I wanted the present tense, but I changed that whole sentence around some. Thank you very much for your compliments, threats, and warnings. They have a lot of influence on this, really.

Slytherin's Silver Snake - Though, with OOTP, we know Dumbledore can't kill Voldemort, unfortunately. What does IMO stand for? Anyway, thanks for your opinion.