The Keeper

Chapter 12

Yulisa's body laid upon her mother's grave, the magic melody of her song echoed eerily around her. Her thoughts were numb as she was fading from consciousness. Something was flying in the sky. A white owl, with gray spots and pale blue eyes, it soared down toward the graveyard and landed on a tree nearby. A second later, a dark blur landed on the ground. The sound of hurrying footsteps. Yulisa felt herself being lifted from the earth... Snape. Her eyes barely open, she saw his face. Was she dreaming? The snow kissed her cheeks. Snow... It was still snowing. Her song still played through the air... The last song her mother heard her sing...

"Silent night. Holy night. All is calm, all is bright..." she smiled up to her mother as she was placing ornaments high on the tree. "Your voice is lovely, my little angel." her mother's gentle face was smiling down at her; but that precious moment was destroyed when a crash sent their front door in pieces. "Yulisa! Run!" her mother shouted bolting for her wand. "Avada Kedavra!" "Mama!" the green light was blinding. Yulisa watched in horror as her mother fell to the floor. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked up to the death eater mask approaching her. She took a step back, falling over, as he raised his wand. "Sectumsempra." she screamed, a searing pain stretched across the left side of her face. She hit the floor, the blood warm against her skin. She heard him stepping over her. Slowly she turned, hiding the necklace in her grasp beneath herself. She lied still... as still as death...

Everything had gone dark, but this time it was bright. She awoke, lying somewhere, and nowhere. "Yulisa." she heard her mother's voice behind her. She sat up instantly. Everything so bright. She still had the necklace clutched in her small hands. She was five again. Hesitantly, she lifted a hand to her face, gently touching her left eye. Her scar was gone. "Yulisa." she heard it again. "Mom?" her heart jumped when she turned and saw her mother's warm smile. "There you are, my angel! I've been waiting for you." She hurried to her feet to run to her, but stopped when she heard something else. "Madam Pomfrey, please, is she going to be okay?" Hermione shrieked with worry... "When will we be allowed to see her?" Harry, too sounded desperate... "What if she doesn't make it? We'll never get to say goodbye." Ron must have been pleading to Madam Pomfrey as well... Madam Pomfrey. Was she in the Hospital Wing? Was she dying?... "No visitors includes professors. I'm sorry Severus, you must leave." Professor Snape? "Tell me if her condition changes." "Of course, Severus." Yulisa looked down at the necklace still in her hand. It was burning white. She looked up to her mother, her smiling face. Then everything start to fade... her mother just continued to smile.

"How is she, Poppy" Dumbledore was speaking softly, but his voice was clear. "She's pulling through. She must not be allowed to return to that house, Albus! He almost killed her." they must have been standing close to her. "I've already made the arrangements." There was a pause. She wished they'd keep talking, she wanted to hear what they were saying. "Poppy, please inform Professor Snape she's awake. I know it's been troubling him." Madam Pomfrey looked over to her bed and then turned to do as he asked. Yulisa opened her eyes as Professor Dumbledore took a seat by her side. "How did you know I was awake?" she asked. He smiled warmly at her. "Your opes stopped glowing." She quickly looked down and saw the necklace around her neck, exposed on top of the blankets. She hid it back under her clothes. "You're wise to keep it so well protected." "What happened to my father?" her feeling about him were undoubtedly mixed, yet she could help feel a tiny bit of concern. "He's been arrested for his attack on you." he informed her, his face very serious. "Headmaster, please don't let them send him to Azkaban... He's very ill... He was delusional that night. He's very disturbed, but he doesn't belong there." she didn't know why she was defending him, yet she could help feel the panic rising inside of her. "And they have a wonderful psychiatric program at St. Mungo's, where he is." Dumbledore told her. She calmed almost instantly, thinking. "Ah, Professor Snape! So glad you could join us." Dumbledore said looking over as the potions master appeared by the curtain. "Ms. Carmona, I see you are doing better." his voice was calm and empty. "Was it you, who brought me here?" she asked almost immediately. Surprisingly, he stayed silent. "Yes, Professor Snape came busting in during the middle of night, almost scared one of the ghosts half to death." Dumbledore said smiling. "But how did you know to find me?" Professor Snape just looked over to the nearest window. "It seems a friend of yours came tapping for him." Dumbledore said. She looked over to see her owl, resting on the window sill. She stared at it's pale blue eyes, wondering how she had gotten out. "You came to visit me, while I was asleep." she said looking back over to him. "I heard your voice." Snape, again, didn't say anything. "Many of us were worried." Dumbledore stated. "Including your friends." "Yes, I heard them too." she said remembering. "When can I see them?" "Soon." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling at her. "But for right now, you need to rest." he stood and Madam Pomfrey came in carrying a tray of food and medicine.

The next day Harry, Ron and Hermione were allowed to visit. They rushed in, giving her hugs and telling her how worried they had been. Nobody would tell them what had happened, only that she had been in some sort of incident. Yet, they knew enough to guess her father was involved. She told them she didn't want to talk about it but that her father was now receiving the help he needs at St. Mungo's. They had still received her gifts on Christmas and in the corner of her room sat her pile of presents, still unopened. They gathered around, and handed them to her one by one as she opened them. Ron had given her a puzzle from Zonko's, it wasn't much but she knew he couldn't afford a lot. Still, she loved puzzles and gave him a hug. Hermione gave her knew quills and some unusual inks. Now she could take notes in all sorts of cool colors. Harry gave her a new notebook, with a really cool tree illustration on the front. Apparently, he thought she could use it along with her new quills. Ron frowned, feeling out of the loop. She smiled, tossing him a chocolate frog. She had received bags of candy from both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore, each with a get well card tied around it. There was one other present, wrapped in plain black paper, but it had no card or tag. It was a book on uncommon but useful charms. She read through the table of contents, quickly deciding it would be very useful indeed. Hermione looked over her shoulder at it, a little envious. Yulisa promised to let her borrow it. The four sat talking about their Christmas holiday and the upcoming semester. They passed candy around and told jokes until Madam Pomfrey told them they had to leave. Bidding her good night, they left and she laid in her bed staring out the window. It was still snowing.