Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, the places or anything else, which
is copyrighted or trademarked by people other than me. It's JKR's or Warner
Brothers or both.
Author note: Pretty slow chapter, beware of the cliffy.
Damien
by Sarah Black
Chapter fourteen
No not the hospital smell! She couldn't take the cleanness of it. What was
wrong with those people, submitting her to the obnoxious cruelty of white
sterilized sheets? She wanted to thrash about and moan in protest but she
felt too drained to do anything. Well, anything but suffering from the smell
of the place. Her nose seemed uncommonly tender. What on earth had happened
to her? The last thing she remembered properly was Damien putting his arm
around her in her room. She had just put on –or had she merely been about
to? –Her dress. After that everything was rather hazy. A sudden pounding in
her ears interrupted her thoughts. Who was trying to wake the whole school
up by using a set of drums? She wondered for a small amount of time. Then
her wondering was interrupted with the answer to all of her questions. It
was footsteps! Why were they so loud? Were there elephants trying to
stampede? She managed to groan out a complaint. But something told her that
those damn elephants wouldn't understand a groan of frustration.
"Shhhhhh" She hissed, and with an effort she managed to bring her hands to
her ears. Where she closed off the ear area with her hands.
No matter how hard she pressed though, she could still hear the hushed
voices.
"Poppy, is she all right?" Albus's voice oozed with concern. Wait, how had
she recognized his voice right away? Something was not right.
"She thinks we're noisy." Poppy's very loud –when I say loud, I mean
extremely loud– voice chirped.
Her lips gave another moan. An intense headache started to build up in her
throbbing head. Why were they so god damned loud? She couldn't take it. She
wanted to scream– to do something drastic to make them all quiet. She
thrashed about on the bed in a wild rage. She pulled the pillow from
underneath her head and pressed it over her head. Praying it would muffle
the voices out. It worked– a little.
"We aren't that loud. I mean we're whispering, aren't we?" Albus's voice
sounded now a bit louder than normal. But she could stand it. Her headache
was a bother though. It was as if Þór stood in there with his hammer
smashing her brain into a porridge of gray.
"Some of her– er, extra senses haven't left her quite yet. I suppose it'll
be another week before they lessen at all." Poppy sighed and she could hear
her bustling about with some sort of soft fabric. If it hadn't been for the
pillow over her head she would have probably been able to tell exactly what
sort of fabric she was using. But at that time, she couldn't. As she did
actually have a pillow over her agonized head.
"You mean she isn't a Vampire anymore?" The soft –even silky– voice of
Severus sounded. He was thoughtful. Probably pondering something of
importance. But then again, when was he not?
"I believe, that by biting that blond haired man she undid most of it."
Poppy chirped happily.
She didn't understand very well what they were talking about. But slowly it
started to make sense. She remembered her talk with Dumbledore, where he had
explained about the Dupre family. He had said that Vampires would have more
powerful senses. Had she been made a Vampire? How could she have been so
weak? All that training for nothing! She had almost reached her toes last
Wednesday... day? What day was it? How long had she been out? She had to
find out properly what happened. Maybe she could even get Severus to get her
some nice tasting Headache Cure.
Slowly, she pulled the pillow off her head. The noise was almost unbearable
and the pain in her head nearly blinded her. Everything was too bright! She
forced her eyes to open up a bit more and in a few seconds, after many
blinks she could see –vaguely– what was around her.
"Are you quite all right, dear?" Poppy's voice seemed to be as loud as a
scream in her ear. She clamped her hands over her ears again.
"Please, be quiet. Close the window. Too bright, too loud." She gasped out,
her voice was dry and too loud and she needed water. She was utterly
parched.
She could hear Severus walk over to the windows, shut them and draw the
curtains shut. She recognized his robe billowing behind him and his
footfall, light almost beyond hearing. She thanked him mentally, although
she would have thrown herself at him and hugged him if she had had the
strength. She was that grateful.
She felt an icy glass of water being put into her hand. She took a great
gulp from it. The feel of the icy liquid running down her throat surpassed
every kiss she had received in her life. Every good feeling she had felt
before seemed like a pain compared to this.
Her curiosity was overwhelming and she felt that if she didn't get some
answers soon she'd burst.
"What happened?" She asked, finally able to see properly enough. Albus
smiled weakly. There was a twinkle in his eye, but it wasn't as bright as it
usually was.
"'What happened,' indeed. We were hoping you would be able to help us in the
matter of explaining things." Albus muttered stroking his beard. He had
actually just been muttering to himself, but she heard it anyway and
responded.
"I can't remember anything." Admitting the fact seemed to trigger her memory
though, for a large palace popped into her head.
"Then we must wait for you to recover your memory." Albus spoke gently. He
was careful not to upset her hearing and for that she was thankful.
"I remember one thing; a large palace, very beautiful." She gasped out the
last part as her headache flared up.
Poppy came over with a foul smelling potion.
"Drink up dear." The Madam ordered. She allowed the vile potion to be
stuffed down her throat. And it's relaxing affects kicked in right away. She
had been propping herself up on her elbows. But now she allowed her body to
rest against the soft (but a bit rumpled) pillow and mattress.
"I'll tell you our side of the story. Why don't you rest while I tell you?"
Albus softly began telling her what had been happening. It was apparently
near the end of June and school was almost out. She had been away for a
while and they had thought her to be dead. The students had been a bit
troubled at her sudden disappearance, but they were soon comforted when they
learned it was for personal reasons. They were comforted because they had
feared news of Voldemort. Odd, she had nearly forgotten about him. Albus
kept talking and she learned that Sirius who had been keeping near the
castle almost all of term had gone away after her disappearance. She smiled
at that. No more bewaring of large black dogs being around the corner. At
least that was good news. Not much had happened, though. Except, –of course–
for the increase in Voldemort's power. They knew about a number of Death
Eater attacks, but the minister of magic refused to believe the dark wizard
had indeed returned. She fell asleep when Albus started rambling bravely
about his plans and their duty. The man didn't seem to even notice her
nodding off.
*
A week had passed and thankfully her senses were nearly back to normal.
Poppy said that it would probably take longest for the hearing to return to
its former state. It had something to do with some sort of sensing things in
her ears that had become strong and blah, blah, blah. She didn't really
care. It was all right to hear whether someone was in the next corridor or
not, but it was a completely different matter when she could hear a fly
buzzing in the dungeons when she was on the third floor. Actually, she had
never been able to hear anyone walking in the next corridor, but you catch
my drift.
Severus was visiting again. He had arrived to see her every single day of
her hospital stay, always insisting that he was here to see if she could
remember anything at all. The fact remained that she had told him and Albus
everything she could remember two days ago. They had been amazed at her
tale. Albus had even told her something he had probably not meant to say. He
had told her –after she described the interior of the palace– that it
hadn't looked like that to him. Severus had been most helpful though. He had
been the one to realize why she hadn't been able to remember most of it at
first. He had realized himself when she told him that Damien had slipped her
necklace off. She had been under some kind of hypnotism. It was more subtle
and less powerful than most, but it had made her easier to control. Anyhow,
as she had been under that sordid spell the whole time she hadn't been able
to remember some of the details; like where exactly the place was. Damien
had told her once, but her mind refused her admittance to the memory.
Albus had been angry sad and jealous all at the same time. She had
recognized the jealousy, but she didn't know why he had felt envy. What had
she done to deserve his envy? Or perhaps it wasn't her at all. Maybe it was
some private feud between him and Lysander? Who knew? Not her, that was for
sure. And she didn't really want to make it her business.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked suddenly. Severus hadn't said
anything for a while and she was beginning to wonder if he had fallen asleep
with his eyes open.
"Just how much I hate this place." Severus sighed. His expression didn't
change and he was staring –almost unblinkingly– out the window.
"Hogwarts?" She asked with a yawn. Although she knew he was referring to the
hospital wing. He didn't answer.
"What time is it?" She asked to prevent another long silence.
"Nearly lunch." He answered and turned to face her. She was glad he did. He
had started to remind her of Damien. That reminded her. They still hadn't
told her what became of him. They wouldn't tell her what happened. She was
getting more than a little tired of asking.
"What happened to Damien?" She tried her luck. Maybe twelve was a charm? Or
was that three?
"That's what I came to tell you." He looked into her eyes. And she knew,
whatever he was about to tell her. It was bad.
"You killed him." He said bluntly. And when she thought about it, there was
no other way of telling her this. If he had gone some huge difficult way
around it the impact of the truth would have been even harder to bear. The
taste of his blood on her tongue returned for a fraction of a second and she
knew. She knew what he said was true. She'd never see Damien ever again. He
was gone. Even if she were to look upon his body, it wouldn't be him. It
would be a shell. Damien was so much more than just flesh and bone. He was
her boyfriend. She had always thought she'd marry him eventually. How could
this happen? She felt tears running down her cheek. No noise was coming from
her. She couldn't portray her agony in any earthly sound. Pain and sorrow
welled up inside her. It was pressing her vocal cords; finally she gave up
the fight and let a piercing scream escape her. She buried her head in the
covers, crying her eyes out. The pain she had experienced whilst
transforming into a Vampire wasn't comparable to the agony of losing him. He
wasn't just her boyfriend. He was a part of her soul.
Some time later she quit crying. She had no more tears to shed. Her heart
felt cold and empty. It was as if Damien had taken her heart with him.
Wherever he had gone...
Severus had gone a few minutes after she had opened the gate, letting the
flood of tears flow. He had probably wanted to allow her to grieve in peace.
How thoughtful of him. How very thoughtful.
*
The students were gone.
The castle was quiet.
Her heart was gone.
Her mind was quiet.
She was out of the hospital wing. Thank light. She had nearly thrown herself
out the window, unfortunately; Albus had expected her to response in that
way; and ordered someone to stay by her side at all times.
Sometimes it was Severus. Sometimes it was Albus. Sometimes Madam Pomfrey.
When it was Albus he would talk to her gently. As if she were a fragile
glass full of some unidentified "liquid". If broken, the "liquid" would pour
out. And Albus didn't seem to know whether the "liquid" was dangerous or
not.
Severus was mostly quiet; sometimes he'd bring a book with him. The titles
were mostly rather dangerous sounding and she found herself being happy that
she didn't have to read those books. Sometimes he'd talk to her though. In a
soft voice. He seemed suspicious of her and she knew she had to regain his
trust. It was something she didn't look forward to.
Poppy just bustled about. She had a feeling the woman was awkward about her.
She had learned so far, from Albus that she had made quite an entrance. By
that he didn't mean the car (which he had kindly been returned to the rental
service) he meant that she and Damien were quite the couple. She had gotten
a bit choked up when he told her that. She still missed him. How on earth
she had managed six months without him was beyond her. Had she really feared
him that much? She remembered that horrid horseback ride; where all of her
most painful memories had rushed back to her mind. He hadn't been very nice
to her at times. Actually he'd been horrible to her. She found herself
wondering how on earth she had managed seven years with the guy. He was a
nightmare: just another horror to hunt her dreams. But her more than that!
She was contradicting herself. And now another headache was brewing. She had
better stop thinking about it.
Anyway, Albus said the reason for her and Damien's grand entrance was that
they had looked spectacular. When he had spoken the words she had nearly
giggled. But she had still been choked up from his telling her she and
Damien made a grand couple, so she had settled for coughing.
"You looked more beautiful than I had ever seen you look. It was because you
were smiling, I think so anyway..."
Those had been his exact words. She had been rather flattered, but as she
had been coughing she hadn't made any sort of polite remark.
Had she really never smiled? Of course she had... the old professor had just
been trying to compliment her and tell her at the same time she needed to
cheer up. But she didn't feel like cheering up. She felt like brooding in
the dungeons.
"Hello Jack" She muttered as she entered his chamber. She couldn't see him,
but she knew he was there. It was too cold for the chamber to not have a
ghost in there.
Jack came into view.
He looked at her patiently. He motioned for her to sit, and she did. She
almost expected a purplish black chair to pop out of nowhere. But she caught
herself in time. Letting herself sink to the floor, she apologized for not
having come to visit for a while.
"I know what happened. Don't be sorry." He whispered softly.
She had nothing to say to that. So she just sat there in quiet for a while.
Pondering the meaning of life and such. A sudden knock on the door
interrupted her thoughts. Jack disappeared suddenly. The door opened with a
creak and Severus stepped into the pale light of the small chamber.
"I thought I'd find you here." He muttered sombrely.
"Why were you looking?" She questioned without really wanting an answer.
"Albus wants to speak to you." He seemed impatient. When he glanced at his
wristwatch she decided she knew something was about to happen. She didn't
ask him, though. She felt sure he would just find a way to avoid responding
to her. But he wouldn't lie. That wasn't like him.
Once inside Albus's office a feeling of dread settled on her chest. What if
she was about to be fired? She hadn't exactly been doing the best job in the
world.
"I just want to inform you that another caretaker has been hired." Albus
said seriously. She knew it! She was being sacked. But she wasn't ready to
face the Muggle world yet. She felt desperate; if Damien hadn't already
departed with her heart with him she'd feel a very cold fist grab hold of
it. Her despair must have shown on her face because Albus quickly spoke
again.
"Don't worry, you can still stay here. He'll be here to do the more
difficult things, just until you recover fully."
She relaxed her tensed muscles. Did this job really mean that much to her?
She hadn't missed it while she was off with Damien. Odd.
"His name is Larnes, Bert Larnes." Albus smiled. "I just wanted to warn you
that he'd be arriving tomorrow." He added.
"Thank you." She muttered quietly. Now she was being treated like a weak
little girl. Again. Oh well, it would be nice to have someone around to do
all the hardest work for her. She felt a small smile creep to her lips.
"How old is he?" She couldn't help herself. The question just popped out.
"He'll be 49 in August I believe." Albus didn't seem to want to stop
smiling.
"All right." She answered. Perfect! He was young enough; he'd do all the
work for her. She suppressed an evil giggle.
"You won't go lazing about will you?" Albus suddenly asked, a hint of worry
in his eyes.
"Of course not!" She faked being offended and shocked very well. I mean you
would get pretty good at it after a hundred, 'Did you know Mary bought a
dress exactly like mine the other day? I mean, she probably did it just to
spite me!' She shook her head discretely at the memory of the shallowness of
some of the women in Damien's parties.
She and Albus chatted for a while. Well, he chatted. Chatted about how he
missed the students, how worried he was about Potter, how he couldn't wait
to see the new students... blah, blah, blah. But then they– he was
interrupted by the door to his office swinging open. Severus walked in and a
very frightened Draco Malfoy followed.
Author Note: Sorry about the slight cliffy! Leave a review if you like. ^_^