This is a fanfic that I've been keeping in my phone for ages, but I've not continued further than two pages, for now (I'm working on the third chapter). However, if anybody is interested at all in what happens next, then I'll gladly continue the story.

Chapter 2. Contact

A voice was calling out to her, echoing deep within her mind where she slumbered, refusing to wake. But she was slowly coaxed out of her hiding spot, and Quirina opened her heavy eyelids, the daylight seeming too bright at first. When her eyes adjusted, she saw the unexpected face of her headmaster, professor Dumbledore; he was hunched over her, kneeling - the expression on his face spoke only kindness and slight worry as he looked down at his student.

"What...? How..." Quirina barely managed to say before she was overwhelmed by terrible nausea. She felt abnormally weak, as if all her strength had been sucked out...and that was exactly what had happened - she realized, remembering running for her life as the dementors chased after her like starving vampires. "...the dementors ?" She asked weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Don't worry, I took care of them. They will not be returning anytime soon." Dumbledore reassured. "However, I must say...if we had arrived a minute later, I'm afraid we would have been too late." Quirina swallowed hard at the thought, recalling how it felt when they threw themselves at her soul, mercilessly. Death had come too close to her liking. "It was incredibly lucky when professor Snape entered the potions classroom right when you disappeared."

Just then, the man in question walked to them, the dried leafs crunching under his feet. "The Thorns' house has been completely ravaged, turned upside down from every corner. There are no signs of Mr. and Mrs. Thorn, nor the culprit." Reported the professor in his usual voice.

"My parents...!" At the mention of her parents, Quirina sat up too fast and swayed, falling on her elbow as her dizziness acted up. Dumbledore steadied the poor girl, looking past his shoulder to professor Snape. "Severus, could you...?" Not needing to say another word, the professor stepped towards Quirina and bent down. Before she could understand what was happening, he slid his arms under her trembling body and lifted her as if she weighed only but a feather. She gasped, startled as she was held against him - but easily took comfort in the man's touch, relaxing as she knew she was now safe. Unable to fight back against the fatigue weighing down on her, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against her carrier's chest.

Professor Snape looked down at her face as her body had suddenly gone limp in his grasp; had she fainted, or was she simply resting ? Despite her dark complexion, she looked abnormally pale with circles under her eyes, as if she had come back from the dead. His jaw clenched as he did not like what he was seeing, but cared not to admit to himself that he was worried for the girl he carried in his arms. Quirina Thorn had never been one to falter, always strong and balanced - but it was a shock to both professors when they saw her in such a state, even if one of the two refused to admit it. Dumbledore approached Snape and offered him his arm.

The professor raised an eyebrow in question. "Should we not try to find out more as to why Ms. Thorn's family is gone and why she was attacked by dementors ?"

"As much as I would like to know more about this whole affair, Severus, Ms. Thorn's health must come first before anything else." Answered the headmaster calmly. He changed his focus to Quirina, observing the lack of colour in her cheeks. "Traveling through portal isn't very wise when one is so weak, but I'm afraid we don't have a choice. She must be brought to Madam Pomfrey at once."

Snape shifted her legs farther down his arm so that his hand was free to grab the old professor's shoulder. In a short few seconds, they teleported back to Hogwarts, landing in a student-filled corridor. "Move away, there is nothing for you to see here !" Shouted Dumbledore as they started walking towards the hospital wing, but the students seemed to think otherwise. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw who it was being carried in the potions professor's arms, unconscious once more; it was not long at all when a cacophony of whispers and murmurs started echoing between the stone walls, irritating professor Snape. Thankfully, the hospital wing wasn't too far.

As soon as they arrived, Madam Pomfrey hurried over with a worried look. She gasped when she saw the troubling sight that was Quirina's discoloured face and her slow breathing. "Put her here !" Snape did as he was told and gently placed the girl in the bed that was pointed to him, before stepping back. Madam Pomfrey nearly ran to her side and placed her hand across her forehead. Quirina's skin was clammy and worryingly cold. "What happened to her ?"

"It's a miracle Ms. Thorn survived, Madam Pomfrey, with all the Dementors..."

"Dementors in Hogwarts ?!" The nurse's voice squeaked at Dumbledore's words, whilst at the same time tending to the weak girl.

"Worry not, their target was not our school but rather the home of Ms. Thorn." Explained the headmaster, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he did so.

"But that's even worse !" Added Madam Pomfrey.

"I quite agree, but it brings up the question as to how it is possible that Dementors - beings under the authority of the Ministry, would attack Ms. Thorn's family and herself. Which is why I shall head to the Ministry this instant and inform the Minister of Magic of what has happened. Severus." Severus lifted a brow to show that he was listening, holding his hands behind his back. "In the meantime, I would like you to return to Ms. Thorn's house and see if you can find anyone still there - even a simple trace will do."

The gloomy professor nodded curtly before making a sharp turn around, heading towards the open archway- the crowd a moment ago gathered there, scattered away at the sight of the approaching bat-like professor.

...

Only when daylight had gone and darkness reigned over the land, did the Slytherin girl feel her consciousness begin to float back towards the surface. Her eyelids fluttering open, Quirina's sharp green eyes wandered over the dimly lit room, filled with nobody but herself and the leaking candles. Seeing that Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight to scold her for what she was going to do next, she carefully pushed herself to a sitting position and jumped to her feet, sneaking out of the eerily silent hospital wing. Before continuing onward into the empty corridor, she took a moment to reach out using her mind only, feeling for individuals that might spot her. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone - as there shouldn't be at this time.

Despite wishing that the last memories engraved in her mind were nothing more than awful dreams, she was desperate to know more of what had happened to her parents. And the only way to do that, was to speak to the one person who had given her the letter in the first place; Clairette, her house elf. Multiple thoughts coursed in Quirina's mind as she traveled throughout the sleeping castle, careful not to run into Filch or his cat, Mrs. Norris. What was Clairette's role in her parents' disappearance ? Was she a victim ? A witness ?

Or the culprit ?

The heavy amount of trust she had for her little elf friend began to waver - and she almost felt ashamed for it, if not for the one thought of a single word that kept repeating itself in her head; treachery. Although her blood boiled at the idea of betrayal, Quirina knew better than to jump on conclusions based only on suspicions, which is why she needed to talk to the elf in question and find out more about this mess that she was in.

Using the passageways that she knew people were the least likely to use, she made her way through the astronomy tower's swirling staircases before climbing all the way to the top, as far as she could go without having to risk her life at the same time. The wind blew strong that night, almost whistling as it flew, but Quirina paid no mind to the harsh cold as she approach the ledge of the balcony, and hopped over it with no fear for the emptiness before her. She had never been one to be affected by height - not before, not now, not ever. Her eyes briefly traveling across the large mass that was the forbidden forest, she shut them close and took a deep, calming breath.

She focused her every thought to the small, female elf, calling her name by voice, at first, repeating it over and over again on her tongue until it felt as natural as breathing, before letting her mind take over. Quirina could feel herself reaching forward, weightlessly spreading above the forbidden forest and much farther beyond...yet, her feet had not stepped away from the stone ledge, let alone moved. It was her mind that was flying, flying free from the contraints of her body towards the intended person, but still somehow connected to it, chained...she called the elf's name one more time - knowing that this time, she could be heard.

There was a sound. A sound not quite human, nor was it something she would expect to hear from any other living creature. It was close to the noise of a broken television, or at least that's how she envisioned it - not that Quirina knew much about muggle machinery, but that's as close as it would get. Pulling her eyebrows closer together, she began to hear the faint murmur of words, spoken from a voice she knew too well to miss. "Clairette, can you hear me ? Come to me." Quirina called, speaking in thoughts.

The voice suddenly grew louder from quiet murmuring to loud shouting, frantic with a tone of extreme urgency. Quirina's heartbeat sped up considerably at the distressing sound, eyes flying open, now fearing for her friend. She pressed her fingers to her temples as if that would make it better, trying to get a better understanding of the muffled words sent back to her.

Can't...dangerous...trap...sorry...must not...

And that was all she heard, before the connection was cut like a door slamming in her face. She stared at the night before her, unblinking as she could not seem to form a single thought inside of her numb head. A feeling of dread quietly pulsated inside her like a faint vibration, barely noticeable but still there nonetheless.

"What are you doing, you silly girl ?!" A voice suddenly spoke from behind her back, hissing in anger.

Flinching in surprise, before Quirina even had the time to turn around to face the person, she caught the glimpse of a black blur move towards her rapidly, gasping as arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ledge. She was spun away from the ledge and her feet were placed back upon the stone floor, her eyes widening as she confirmed who was the person that had joined her on the balcony. She knew all along... after all, she would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Professor Snape..."

"Have you lost all sense of reason or are you so weak that you'd entertain the idea of death every time you are faced with a problem ?!" He nearly shouted, furious at her.

Quirina's eyes became rounder as she listened to him, blinking at his uncharacteristic outburst and the words that came out of his mouth. Did he...did he think she was going to kill herself ? Was that why he was in such a hurry to get her off the ledge ?

Was he worried for her ?

Biting back a smile, she replied, "I wasn't trying to kill myself, sir."

"Then WHAT were you doing, standing on the ledge of the Astronomy Tower, pray tell ?" His pitch black black eyes glared at her, but Quirina was not afraid, she never was - not of this man, anyway...she was fascinated by those eyes that seemed to lack all colours.

"I was only..." She frowned and looked away, suddenly at a loss for words. What was she going to tell him ? Reminding herself that nobody knew of her secret, not even her own parents, would she reveal it to her potions professor ? What then ? It would certainly complicate things, and perhaps, even arise suspicion over the credibility of her grades - people could think that she cheated with the use of her telepathy, and she certainly did not want that, in the least. But did that really matter with the state of the current situation ? Her parents are gone, her house was filled with Dementors that came from who knows where, and now her friend, Clairette, is gone too and appears to be in danger.

Knowing that revealing her secret wouldn't help or do any good to anyone, she chose to keep it to herself...for now. "I was only taking a walk, Professor Snape, truly." She replied with a small smile, hoping her answer was enough to reassure him.

He didn't look nearly convinced, a gleam of suspicion in his eyes as he watched her. "Must I remind you that you are 'taking a walk' in the middle of the night, Ms. Thorn ?" Apparently so, because Quirina had indeed forgotten that she was openly breaking a rule in front of a professor. She cursed internally. "If you think you are permitted to do as you please and overlook the rules because of the past occuring events, you are a fool - Thorn, but that was obvious enough. Detention tomorrow after class. And if I see you one more time wandering about in the night, I won't go so easy on you." He warned in a way that would've scared any of the student in this school, but not her.

She wordlessly watched as he walked away, striding back inside. Little did he know that Quirina did not mind detention in the least, especially if she could spend it with him.

To be continued...

I'm sorry if my chapter endings are a little messy, I'm not exactly sure when I'm supposed to stop or how' but please bear with me, I'll eventually get it sorted out. Hopefully /