Written for a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Assignments and Challenges.
Assignment 8: Defense Against the Dark Arts / Task 3/ Write about someone doing something against their will.
Warnings: Violence
Word Count: 3000
For her.
Kiss
This place, his home, his sanctuary, warmed the cockles of Hippocrates's heart; he threw himself whole-heartedly into his work, and he'd reaped his reward a long time ago. As a Healer-in-Charge, the leader of the Dai Llwellyn ward, he enjoyed freedom for research and healing academia. Blissfully, almost stupidly happy, he grinned like some idiot and took his wife off her guard with small kisses.
"So, we're all right with this?" Abbey fought to hold onto her serious tone. In the middle of a shift, she'd dragged him into the sleeping quarters to tell him about child number four. Hippocrates held up four fingers, showing her he received the message without an owl.
"Mmmm hmmm. Another baby. We're good at this." Hippocrates kissed her again.
Ever since Abbey got bitten by the savage werewolf, Greyback, they'd headed down a dark road, and she'd held onto this persistent, unbroken optimism. With the stress of the war looming over their heads, he desperately needed good news, and she found it in the oddest places.
Chuckling, coming back to earth, Hippocrates remembered he had tasks, too. "Got to brew a batch of Wolfsbane Potion.
"It has to be you?"
Hippocrates shrugged. "Yeah. You want to do it?"
"No."
Abbey shuffled her feet uncomfortably. With her lycanthropy transformations underway, Abbey left the hospital as a lycanthrope specialist, and although she no longer worked there, she stopped by to see her husband and made sure her research stayed in good hands. She didn't get an easy out because she was an expert in her acquired affliction. Her round face paled as she handed him a folded owl, a summons, an owl from the Ministry.
"What's this?" Hippocrates's surge of happiness evaporated.
Hippocrates, frowning, shook the owl before he read through a letter from the Muggleborn Registration Committee. He hated Delores Umbridge on principle; she reminded him of a persistently painful canker sore; she kept coming back no matter what. Hippocrates frowned as he continued to read through the tedious correspondence again and again until he memorized it.
Since early August, Muggleborns volunteered themselves for questioning and interviews. But the movement hadn't gained enough support, it seemed, so the government resorted from volunteering to voluntelling.
Abbey bit her lip and she tore the Star of David pendant from around her neck before she placed it in his hand. A squat, determined witch with a large nose, she continued with her work by other means after the passage of anti-werewolf legislation, so it made perfect sense why Delores marked her as a target. Abbey, furious when Hippocrates dismissed the summons, showed him a reminder from her early childhood. It was a serial number burned into the outer side of her left forearm.
"Abigail." Hippocrates's face drained of color. "You got caught."
A wizard, he'd heard horrifying stories. Abigail's family got erased. But an Englishman among the ranks, a Jew called Ezra Abraham, rescued her and countless others from a concentration camp. He'd adopted Abigail as his ward and took her as his eldest daughter. She didn't often talk about it, yet Ezra proved a gift, as a second father. Abbey enjoyed her safe place. Hippocrates wasn't a religious fellow. Judaism went with the mother, and Hippocrates wanted his girls to stay rooted to their history.
"You're going to say it's all right? They can't touch me?" Abigail shook her head, not believing his words, backing off, her hand resting on the doorknob. Where had she heard this before? She stifled a sob. "I can't go through this again. And you don't always come back, Hippocrates. What's going to happen to the girls?"
"Okay." Hippocrates put his foot down and took control of the situation. He locked her face in his hands and distracted her as he slipped into his usual leadership role. "I love you, and nothing's going to happen to any of us. You and me? We've got this."
"What're we doing having kids? We're old," said Abbey, turning away from him.
Hippocrates had other ideas. "Who're you calling old?"
Abigail gathered herself as Hippocrates nipped playfully at her neck, distracting her again. Allured by his confidence and his comfort, she nodded when he led her over to the bunk beds and pushed her down on the uncomfortable cot. She said yes. If she turned herself in tomorrow, Hippocrates wanted to be with his wife. He laughed, saying this explained the children. Abbey nodded, lying back and forgetting her problems for the moment.
XxXx
They spent the night switching from love making and telling stories. Whenever Hippocrates returned from a procedure or a consultation, they got comfortable, desperate to make the most of their time. The following day, exhausted and exhilarated, they walked into the Ministry holding hands. They both wore simple clothing.
Remus Lupin, who should not have been anywhere near the government, let alone on the premises, stood by the grotesque statue. Abbey mouthed this phrase, falling apart as she struggled to keep her already shaky composure: "Magic is Might." She walked the other way, ignoring the fact she'd surrendered her wand to the security wizard at the desk. As Abbey had stuck her neck out for Remus over the years, it hardly surprised Hippocrates he was here in . She and Hippocrates found him shelter, food, and steady work whenever he needed a helping hand.
"Abbey. Abbey, please." Shifting a rucksack on his shoulder, Remus held up a hand to stop Hippocrates. Remus's wife, Nymphadora, walked alongside him. Today, she'd tied back her blonde hair in a ponytail and wore a winter coat over a knit jumper and jeans. She expected a baby. Remus quickened his step, catching the pendant Hippocrates tossed him. "Abigail."
"What?" Abbey refused to look at him.
"Let me help you," Remus plead with her.
"No, Remus, no." Abbey approached him. She kissed him softly on the cheek and embraced him like a brother. "This isn't worth risking absolutely everything."
"You are." Remus refused to back down.
Remus, one of the few who knew about her past, broke these things down to their simplest elements because he grasped at straws here. Hippocrates, who'd tried desperately to circle things back towards home for hours and hours, shrugged hopelessly. Remus started walking backwards, apologizing for accidentally bumping into a witch carrying prototype broomsticks.
"You're … you're supposed to stay with me. What am I supposed to do without you? What happens when I mess up again with her?" Remus pointed at Tonks, and Hippocrates, unable to help himself, laughed. Tonks rolled her eyes at the ceiling, and Remus shrugged. What else was he supposed to supposed to say? Harry Potter set him straight, which was embarrassing enough, but Abbey kept him on the right path. "Tell me again."
"You're an ass. That's on you. I'll fight for you because I love you," said Abbey, her voice breaking. She stopped when Remus took her by the arm and spun her around.
"I love you," he said fiercely.
"Ezra promised me I'd never suffer anything like this again." Abbey, talking to herself, waving towards the lifts, writhing as if she experienced actual pain.
"I know," said Remus softly. He released her.
"No. You don't. How could you?" Abbey's voice quivered as her eyes darted towards two small families getting into a lift and sighed when the grates clanged shut. Hippocrates couldn't craft an argument out of thin air. She took down her hair and breathed into a paper bag Tonks conjured for her. She nodded, breathing in and out, as Tonks gave her simple instructions. Abbey eventually calmed down and handed the crumpled bag back.
"Dad always says he likes being on your service." Tonks shook her head, insisting she keep it.
Until recently when he fled back in September, Ted Tonks operated as one of the chief matrons on the Creature Induced Injuries ward. They stepped onto a lift. Tonks, muttering under her breath, fumbled around and eventually pulled the emergency latch. "He said you suffer from panic attacks. So he conjures one of these and pulls this move."
Abbey laughed shakily. Hippocrates raised his eyebrows, making a mental note to thank Ted once he returned.
"Did he tell you he delivered our eldest daughter in a lift like this during a Magical Maintenance strike?" Hippocrates winked at Tonks when she nodded, giggling when he said this was a long, long day. "Yeah. He considers humor fine healing medicine because he refers to her with this crafty nickname."
"Poland. Yeah, that's you," said Tonks, reaching over to clasp Abbey's sweaty hand in both of hers. In a hurry, she bumped into Remus and accidentally tripped over her two left feet. Abbey nodded, cracking her neck and readying herself for a fight. Abbey wiped something from her eye. Tonks trudged on a little awkwardly. "Dad says you're the fighter any lost man or woman wants in their corner. You fight."
Remus nodded, for he no doubt witnessed this in action countless times. Remus's father, Lyall, had turned down help time and time again whenever Hippocrates and Abbey had offered it. CAbbey made the man listen. Abbey had been born in Poland as Abigail Bernstein. Tonks nodded and pulled the latch so they continued on their way. They stopped outside a queue, a huddled crowd.
"You stay with her. You don't let her out of your sight." Remus waited for Tonks to promise him. An Auror hardly needed telling, thought Hippocrates, and he certainly didn't want to leave Abbey in these last few minutes.
"Smethwyck, Abigail," called a girlish voice.
Hippocrates, who had paced back and forth while they hurried up and waited, wondered why he hadn't asked Ezra Abraham to come down into London with them. Hippocrates's greying hair stood on end because he detested the sound of this woman's voice. They went into the courtroom, and Delores Umbridge shuffled through papers. Hippocrates stood by Abbey's side, and the Lupins stood in the back by the Dementors. Hippocrates couldn't tell whether Tonks was affected, but Remus stared straight ahead, determined and relentless, reminding Hippocrates of when they used to play chess.
"Nadia and Ezekiel Bernstein," read off Madam Umbridge as Abbey gripped the arms of her chair. The chains rattled. Delores checked her paperwork, and when she next addressed Abbey, she spoke as if to a toddler in a sickeningly sweet tone. "The point of a form is to fill it out. You're not illiterate, and you make our jobs difficult."
Abbey stared back at her blankly. "You know nothing about me."
"It's a simple form," said Madam Umbridge, meeting Remus's eyes briefly. Hippocrates, pleased Remus didn't back down, gripped Abbey's shoulder. "Were they unemployed?"
"They were imprisoned," said Abbey, repeating herself when the wizard on Umbridge's right laughed and asked her to say it again.
Umbridge snorted, dropping a little of her sweetness. "Aren't we proud, Abigail? And you spend your time helping dangerous half-breeds. What was their offense?"
Abbey acted as though she refused to answer. Umbridge threatened to hold her in contempt of court. "They were Jews."
Completely lost, Umbridge looked to the witch to her left and the wizard on the bench. "What does that mean?"
"You're so brilliant, Madam, you figure it out." Abbey refused to help her anymore and crossed her legs. She sat up straighter in the chair.
"No matter. You're the wife of Hippocrates Smethwyck? Mother of Margaret, Meredith, and Victoria?" Umbridge stared at Hippocrates as she said this, savoring every word because she had the upper hand and read his tortured expression. "You're a lycanthrope specialist?"
"You know this already. " said Abbey, feigning boredom, though her tapping foot shook with fear. They could have ran for it, but Hippocrates couldn't leave the hospital like Ted. When she refused to give Madam Umbridge further confirmation, the interrogator signaled to the Dementors.
"I don't do this because I want to," said Umbridge, not quite slipping back into her girlish tone.
"Go to hell." Abbey laughed mirthlessly. "You've been waiting for a chance to catch me. Let's be honest, ma'am, you'd watch me burn at the stake."
"Mrs. Smethwyck," said Umbridge. "This was a voluntary submission, so you can hardly claim we brought you here against your will. You have nothing to fear if you have nothing an to hide, but I promise you, the Dementors will do the most horrible things imaginable, and you care for your children …"
"Nothing to fear? Where have I heard that before?" Abbey shot at her.
Madam Umbridge said nothing.
"If you touch my kids, I swear to God," threatened Abbey, raising from her chair in anger. The chains wrapped themselves around her wrists. The wizard left the bench and took Hippocrates away, steering him towards the door. The Dementors, sensing Abbey's weakness and hesitation, latched onto her. They pulled Abbey's head back and pried her jaw back.
"No."
"No! Wait. What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hippocrates fought against the strong wizard. Wasn't she entitled to legal representation? "That's not … you never said! We came here because you said you needed to question Muggleborns!"
"Hippocrates." Abbey reached out for him.
"Can't you see what you're doing to her?" Hippocrates shoved Remus back, for this wasn't his fight. Hippocrates couldn't imagine the horrors flashing into her mind, though he caught hints of a buried foreign tongue. Her voice sound childlike, but unlike the woman who questioned her, Abbey sounded frightened as she asked for her mother. Abbey resisted, stretching out her fingers. Hippocrates, frantic, tried one more thing. Like Remus, Hippocrates shoved a hand into his pocket, forgetting he left his wand with the security wizard. "She's pregnant! I'll give you whatever you want. Please stop. She's pregnant."
Madam Umbridge seemed to pause for a moment. "I ask for nothing, Mr. Smethwyck."
Hippocrates, with the help of four other lycanthrope specialists, operated an underground network to support werewolves. Abbey ran it, really, and Delores Umbridge had demanded a list and their cooperation a couple years ago. Abbey said no.
"But let me be the first to congratulate you." Umbridge's smile never met her eyes, and she said this as a rehearsed line. "Remember this moment. How did Abigail phrase this? The answer's still no."
The Dementor leaned in, and Abbey, gasping, touched the creature's robes. Next moment, her body went limp and she fell back in the chair. The Dementors Disapparated and the chains released Abbey. Hippocrates, horrified, stared from the government official to his wife.
The questioners left. Remus fell to his knees, his cries muffled behind his trembling hand. Tonks knelt down next to him, saying words Hippocrates couldn't catch. Hippocrates took Abbey in his arms, saying her name over and over again. Abbey, a lifeless shell, said nothing. She eventually came around, for she still had a pulse. She got to her feet, stared straight at him, seeing nothing at all, and walked away.
"Abbey?" Remus, gripping the rucksack, chased after her.
What else did he he have to lose? Hippocrates, desperate and dazed, got to his feet too, and Tonks, shocked, followed them. The queue had dispersed because Abbey's was the last one on the docket. Abbey, her eyes empty, without their warm light, stood like a statue as Hippocrates kissed her passionately. She didn't reach up and run her fingers through his hair. She did nothing.
"She's not there, Mr. Smethwyck," said Tonks sadly.
"She didn't say goodbye to the girls. Or her father." Hippocrates turned back to his wife. "Come back to me, baby. I'm not… I can't do this alone. What about Ezra?"
"Hippocrates," said Remus.
Remus, noticing people staring at them, got them into the lift. When they got into the lift, Tonks pulled the latch again. Remus tossed the rucksack on the floor. Things spilled from it: Muggle passports, documentation, blankets, and Muggle money. Hippocrates, lost, picked up an I.D. card with one of his daughter's faces on it. Abbey stared at the wall. Remus punched the wall of the lift repeatedly, and he said not a word. Hippocrates, connecting the dots, froze as the grilles of the lift clanged open. Abbey left, disappearing into the crowd. Remus hastened to pick it up.
Hippocrates snatched something off the floor.
"Remus." Thinking none of it mattered, Hippocrates raised his hands in surrender, collected both his and Abbey's wands, and ran off to search for Abbey in the rain. He ran into two women with dark hair. They weren't her. He stopped by a food cart. Remus and Tonks followed him in the downpour.
"Hippocrates." Remus spoke up after fifteen minutes.
"You shouldn't get involved," said Hippocrates, conjuring an umbrella.
"Too late, and I'm not a child," said Remus. He gestured as Abbey approached. The vendor turned her away without money . Hippocrates walked over purchased oranges, apples and a scone.
"What're you doing?"
"Breakfast for dinner." Hippocrates handed the bag to Abbey. He unwrapped the scone, helped himself to a bite of it, making Tonks smile, and offered it to Abbey. "You eat this."
"What are you going to do?" Remus watched a ravenous Abbey.
"She's my wife." Hippocrates took the Star of David he'd taken from Remus, fixed the clasp with a simple spell. Hippocrates had no answers. If he had to, he'd search for her everyday because she wouldn't come back home. Abbey reminded him of their daughter, Maisie, and he brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"But the girls," pressed Remus.
"Yeah, I don't know! Can you give me a moment?" Hippocrates snapped at him, impatient, for he didn't have all the answers. Hippocrates sipped the rucksack and tossed it to Remus. Hippocrates bit his lip, trying to remember this the way he'd phrased it on their wedding day. "You can't hear me Abigail, but I will love you until our dying day."
Abbey took the umbrella disappeared. Hippocrates clutched the pendant and the Star of David imprinted itself on the inside of his hand.