It's Called Unorthodox for a Reason
Chapter Ten:
Mending After a War
The quietness of the Infirmary didn't bode well for those in the beds. Dusty's gaze swept over the bodies that covered every inch of the large room that had been enchanted to become larger. The extra nurses from the UWN bustled back and forth, checking on the injured and dying.
Dusty slowly started to make her way to the Potions Masters bed. She passed a bed and swallowed back the lump in her throat.
One of the Mediwitches coved a young mans face with a white sheet. Dusty had known him. He was one of the fourth year Gryffindors she had seen in the Common Room.
She tried her best not to look at any of the people lying in the beds. The tears where already brimming and threatening to fall.
She sunk into the chair next to Snape's bed, feeling older and more miserable then she had even felt before in her life. Her head found it's way to her hands. Liquid slowly made it's way down her arms as she silently sobbed.
She stifled her sobs and looked up at the solemn man standing beside her. She spun around and grabbed his waist, tears falling once again.
"Ch-chase," she choked out, "Betty! Betty! Sh-she's—"
Chase pulled her into a strong hug and buried his head into her hair. Dusty felt horrible for doing this to him. After all, she wasn't the one who lost her fiancé.
"But you lost your best friend. Just like me," Chase whispered. In her state of breakdown, she had whispered her thoughts. She just shook her head and cried a while longer.
After a period of time, Pomfrey had given both of them a Calming potion. An hour later, she handed Chase a Dreamless Sleep. Gratefully, Chase chugged it down and fell asleep in a free bed. He had suffered from blood loss as well as mental trauma.
"You need your sleep as well."
Dusty shook her head. "I want to stay here for a little longer," she told Pomfrey. The Mediwitch shook her head but left the woman alone beside the unconscious professor.
Dusty quietly continued to watch the man, wishing that her stomach would stop twisting into knots. It was her fault he was laying there. Just like it was her fault for everyone else injured, dead or dying in that room.
She shook her head and leaned back into the chair.
It wasn't her fault. It was the Dark Lords fault.
Damn him to the lowest depths of hell, she hissed, let him have a miserable afterlife for the rest of eternity.
Even with her anger and loathing raging, her eyes started drooping. Everything blurred together and soon she fell asleep.
Her rest had been anything but peaceful. She awoke from it with a start, slipping off the chair and onto the floor. She rubbed her eyes, taking a look around her. She couldn't have been asleep for more then two hours. She climbed to her feet then settled back into the chair.
The Mediwitch came over, holding a potion. Dusty tried to cover up the sweat on her brow and her clammy hands from the nightmare.
"Drink this," the witch said sternly. Dusty obeyed, feeling too drained to do anything else. She felt her body start to relax as Pomfrey led her to a cot. She laid down and fell asleep.
----
It was a feat to keep reminding herself that the Final Battle had been over a week ago. It was still a shock to her that it was finally over and Voldemort was dead.
Too bad so many others had to die before he did, she thought bitterly to herself. Dumbledore had died, using the last of his magic to help Harry complete the spell needed to kill Voldemort. McGonagall had also died for the same reasons.
Dusty leaned back against the large chair in the before mentioned professors office. Pomfrey had asked her to retrieve a certain book from the old witches shelves. For a moment, Dusty had wondered why the woman wouldn't get it herself before she remembered that the two had once been good friends. It would have been too painful for the Mediwitch to enter her dead friends room.
Dusty knew how Pomfrey felt. She had hidden everything that reminded her of Betty from sight as soon as she had been able.
Dusty thought over what her young Gryffindor friends had told her. She slowly mulled over the long list of names of those who hadn't seen the age of peace dawn.
"Tonks, Lupin, Mad Eye Moody, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Luna Lovegood, Bill Weasley, Sprout—"
She stopped Hermione's list before it got any longer. The young woman's voice had been breaking as she listed the names of the dead. Dusty rubbed her brow as she thought about a few more people dead.
Neville died fighting against a Death Eater by the name of Lestrange. Ginny had been knocked unconscious by a troll and killed when she snapped her neck landing. Betty was killed by a Death Eater and even Darrel had perished in the fight.
Dusty sighed heavily. She grabbed the book from in front of her and headed towards the Infirmary.
"Thank you dear," Pomfrey said quietly, taking the book. A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. Dusty nodded and retreated back, leaving the older woman to her memories.
She stopped by Chase's bed, smiling to see him sleeping peacefully, and then went straight towards Snape's bed.
The man would wake every now and again but never longer then to eat something small and drink a potion. Dusty had been there most of the times he awoke. He didn't scowl at her but then again, he was probably too tired to do so. So she was pleasantly surprised when she spotted said man reading a book.
"Hello Professor," she said softly. He glanced at her then nodded before returning to his book. She inwardly sighed, knowing she shouldn't have expected anything else from him. "Thank you." He looked at her and Dusty could tell she had his full attention. "Thank you," she started again, "for saving me. You didn't have to."
Snape snorted and closed his book. "Miss Ellard, do you really believe that I could do little else after you chose to interfere in my duel with Malfoy?"
Dusty smiled. In his own way he was saying 'you're welcome'. Or 'I owed you' or he was annoyed with her for interfering… Why was she so bad at reading people?
It annoyed her greatly.
"Still," she smiled awkwardly, "thank you."
Snape studied her for a moment before going back to reading his book. Dusty stood there for another moment, searching for something to say. She spotted his book title.
"Do you really love potions that much to read on them even while recovering?" she asked, setting herself in a chair beside the bed.
Snape glanced at her. "I see you have made yourself at home," he sneered.
Dusty shrugged. "I've been sitting here at least five hours everyday. I have officially claimed this chair as my own."
He seemed to be shocked at her words. "Five hours?" he whispered.
Dusty nodded, leaning back into the chair. "Yup. I think my lower half went numb more then a couple times this past week."
She thought she saw a glimmer of a smile flash through his eyes but his face scowled.
"And why would you waste time here? Don't you have other duties to attend to?"
Dusty shrugged. "At this point in time, the UWN is trying to get everything back in place and tracking down the remaining Death Eaters. My job right now is too make sure people here are safe and to help clean up after the battle." She was annoyed with herself for allowing her voice to break when she mentioned cleaning up. She was sure Snape would point it out. To her surprise, the man let it slip.
"So you have nothing better to do at the moment then bother me?"
Dusty smirked. "Bothering you is what I do."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Why do you insist in doing such Juvenal things?"
Dusty fell quiet. She knew that it wasn't the time to tell him about why she really wanted to be around him but she didn't know how to answer his question.
Snape shifted uncomfortably. Dusty snapped herself out of her mussing to grin at him. "Because it's what I do. I've worked with kids my whole carrier. I tend to pick up the more Juvenal habits."
"Why did you take such a job? I'm sure you where well aware of the treatment you would receive from the elder professors."
Dusty sunk into the chair, stretching her legs out. "I did know what I was getting into but when if took the job I had been very adventurous. I wanted to 'see the world'," she used air quotations, "and do things before I got too old."
Snape seemed to accept her answer, nodding before falling silent.
Dusty sat up and crossed her legs. "I can tell you that I got plenty of excitement the last five years. Death Eaters started popping up everywhere like maggots," Snape snorted at her metaphor and she grinned, "and I often found myself being the one to deal with their antics. I almost got myself killed trying to stop one of them from hurting a student."
"Considering how clumsy you are, I am not surprised." Dusty felt the sting from his words but when she looked at him, she realized that he was teasing her. She smiled, laughing a bit.
Things went on like that for the next few weeks. Dusty would visit Snape and they would talk about anything that came to their minds. Snape would tease her in his strange way and Dusty would laugh or make an equally sarcastic remark back, normally earning her a smirk from the professor.
Snape was rather frustrated at how long it was taking him to heal. Dusty kept having to repeat the same thing to him each time he cursed Pomfrey for keeping him charmed to the bed.
"You where hit with a gigantic mallet used by an even bigger, heavier (uglier and smellier) troll. It damaged your spinal cord, you're lucky you're not paralyzed by the way, and it's going to take a long to heal. Using magic, potions and muggle therapy. Stop complaining."
He would make a sarcastic remark but would never challenge her on the subject. Dusty thought he might be doing it on purpose to get the satisfaction of getter on her nerves instead of the other way around. When she voiced this to him, he smirked and returned to reading his book. That was the only answer Dusty needed.
After the first two weeks of the same thing, a man came in the hospital wing dressed in UWN official robes. Dusty noticed him and straightened. Snape followed her gaze, raising a brown as the man crossed over to them.
"Dustella," the man bowed.
Dusty nodded. "Minister. Can I help you?"
The Minister of American Magic nodded sadly, looking very torn. Dusty felt a surged of panic and whipped around to look at Chase, who was sleeping peacefully, unharmed and alive.
"I'm sorry," he pulled out a black letter, "I'm aware of everything that he did for the Ministry. He will receive a hero's burial."
Dusty sucked in a breath and took the letter with a shaky hand. She held the letter in her hand, fearing opening it.
"What is that?" Snape's silky voice pulled her out of her fret.
"A Death Letter. It's the official letter sent out to family members when someone had died while the line of duty."
Snape's eyes landed on the letter, an almost sympathetic look in them. "Whom does it pertain to?"
Dusty smiled a bit at the big words he used before slowly opening the letter. "My cousin."
She read the letter, allowing the tears to run down her face, not bothering to wipe them away or caring about who saw them. When she finished the letter she stared at the floor.
Neither spoke. Dusty was sure that if she started talking she wouldn't shut up so she kept her mouth closed. Or she planed to until Snape asked her a question she felt she needed to answer.
"How?"
"He was a spy for the Light side." She didn't need to look at him to know that he was surprised. She could feel it radiating off him. "He spied on Voldemort of his own free will."
She told him about how Hawks had first become a Death Eater. How, when the war was over, he moved to America with her family. How he went back to spy on Voldemort in the lower ranks and gave her information regarding Death Eaters progress. She told him everything she could remember.
When she ran out of stories about her cousin, she told him about Betty. How she died and how she left behind her fiancé. After she tired herself out from the emotional stories, she simply went back to silence.
A hand touched her shoulder gently. She looked up into Snape's eyes. She saw the emotion flickering through them and understood. She smiled at him gently. Their silent conversation ended on good terms and before she left for the UWN meeting that was being held at Hogwarts, she thanked him.
She stood by his bed awkwardly before leaping head first into what she was sure would end in a painful death. She gave the potions master a quick, heart felt hug before sprinting out of the room.
---
"Harry! Hermione! Ron! Hold up!"
The three Gryffindors stopped and waited for their older friend to catch up. The halls where nearly empty from lack of students that had fled home once transportation was available so the woman easily bounded up to them.
"Hello Dusty," Harry said in a tired voice.
"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked worriedly, wondering why the older Gryffindor would be in such a rush.
"Yeah," Ron agreed, "You look pale."
Dusty shrugged it off. "I'm fine. I wanted to say goodbye before you leave for the, um, really long summer."
The school was closing early due to the war but everyone had been assured that it would reopen on time when the next year rolled around.
Harry smiled but pointed out that they still had the last banquet to go to before everyone left. Dusty gave a one-shoulder shrug, saying that she wouldn't be going.
"Why not?" Hermione asked, feeling a bit alarmed.
Dusty's face fell and her shoulders sagged. "The funeral for my friend is being held this week so I'm leaving early."
"Oh."
They lapsed into silence, thinking about everyone they lost. Ron cleared his throat before inviting her to come to both Bill and Ginny's funerals. Dusty smiled sadly, knowing that it must have been ten times harder for the young boy who had lost two of his siblings.
"I sure will Ron. I promise I'll be there."
He nodded before swiftly escaping down the hall, most likely to find a place to cry alone. Hermione gazed after him, worry evident.
"I think he might need someone to be with him," Dusty said, giving Hermione the chance she needed to sprint after her new fiancé.
"So he actually purposed to her?" Dusty asked, slightly amused.
Harry nodded. "Yeah. He said the family needed something good to look forward to after the funerals and he was already planning on asking her."
Dusty smiled, her eyes twinkling. "I'll be there for that too I hope you know."
Harry grinned. "Yup."
"Are you up to spiking the fruit punch Sir Harry?"
"Oh yes, Miss Dusty. And I'm sure you'll be my partner in crime?"
Dusty grinned. "You betcha."
They laughed. A true laugh. Not strained like you would think it would be.
He's on the mend. It's gonna take a long time but he'll get through, Dusty thought proudly to herself. She had come to think of the 'Golden Trio' as her own kids. She wasn't going to tell the sixteen year olds that but she was pretty sure they had an inkling of how she viewed them.
"Say Harry," the green eyed boy looked at her curiously, " I have a rather large house that I stay in whenever I'm not working. I think I have a couple extra rooms. If you guys would like to stop in sometime during the summer I would enjoy the company. The Missouri woods can get lonely when you're by yourself."
Harry's face lit up. "You mean it? In America?"
Dusty grinned at his enthusiasm. "Yup. And I have quite a big Quidditch Field that my dad had made (Harry's face went to pure delight) and many connections to the American Wizarding World and many magical creatures live around my house. So I'll be expecting a letter telling me when you plan to visit?"
Harry nodded, glasses nearly falling off from the force. "Oh yeah! I'll talk to Ron and Hermione about when we can go. I can't believe it! America! A Quidditch field! The American Wizarding World! Hermione will have a blast seeing everything! Oh and is it alright if we bring from other friends of ours?"
Dusty grinned. "Sure! I love company."
Harry slip into an almost dreamy look. Day dreaming about how big her Quidditch field was no doubt. Dusty leaned in and pecked the boy on the cheek. Harry looked at her a little startled. Dusty grinned and ruffled his hair.
"Can't wait to have you guys. See ya Harry."
"Yeah, you too Dusty," Harry said with a smile, waving to the witch as she went down the hall.
Dusty stopped a ways down the hall, trying to remember what she had forgotten to tell the young Gryffindors.
"What was I going to tell them?" she asked herself, annoyed that it had slipped her memory. Suddenly the light bulb lit up and she smacked her fist into her hand. "That's right! I was going to tell them that I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for next year! Darn my short term memory! Oh! And that Snape's the new Headmaster… Aw well, they'll find out next year."
She shrugged and continued down the hall, singing loudly and annoying the portraits.