A/N: This chapter and the next chapter were previously just one gigantic chapter, but I chose to separate them. That's probably not that an important of a thing to announce but I felt like letting you know anyway. :3
And as always, Thank you for reading ~
Oddie jogged after Severus and quickly caught up to him. They met up outside of the Great Hall doors.
"Ready Sev?" Oddie asked nervously.
"For retrieving the muggle?" Oddie nodded with a solemn expression. "I thought we were going during-" Oddie spoke up quickly.
"Things have changed I'm afraid. We have to hurry." Seeing her worried look spurred Severus into action.
"Very well." Oddie laid a hand on his shoulder before feeling a pressure on her own. She jumped slightly before looking. There upon her shoulder sat a gorgeous gray tabby eyeing her with a steely stare. Oddie smiled slightly before apparating.
They arrived in front of a muggle hospital.
"Where are we?" Severus mumbled.
"America." Oddie replied quietly before snapping her fingers three times. She shrouded them, seemingly unnoticed by any possible passerby. The darkness of night added to Oddie's feeling of trepidation. Unlike those in the wizarding world, Oddie found that muggles were far more unpredictable. She knew who was here and it made her gut churn.
"Don't touch any of the muggles and try not to knock into anything. It's the only way that you will stay shrouded until we find Ben." Severus nodded silently. Oddie strode forward and Severus followed, glancing up at the few windows that still had lights on.
They entered the hospital to find the lobby rather quiet. Of course, it was the middle of the night so one can't expect too much to be happening unless there was an emergency. Oddie heard the nurses at the front desk gossiping to one another.
"He's here? Again?"
"Yeah. He seemed a bit off, mumbling to himself."
"Was he visiting that guy again?"
"Who else would he be here for? No one else visits him. I think that's his dad actually."
"It's strange how that patient is so secretive. The Doc doesn't want any of the nurses tending to him; said it was some-"
Oddie shook her head before leading Severus towards the stairwell.
"We can't risk the elevator at the moment." Oddie whispered. Severus only nodded in reply.
Oddie began to hurry up the stairs. A few skipped steps here and there, they finally reached the 6th floor.
"Room 642 Sev." Oddie stated quietly. Without a word Severus strode forward, walking along the elongated hall with branching paths to find the right room. After a couple of minutes of searching the impractically laid out floor, a crash was heard. The sound echoed through the empty floor. Oddie and Severus looked at one another before quickly moving towards the sound.
"Think you can just cheat me out of money boy?" A slurred, male voice called out. Finally, they found the correct door. Oddie turned the knob to find it locked. Severus flicked his wand quickly at the door knob and hurriedly pushed it open. Severus looked about the dimly lit room.
The room was trashed. The hospital bed was flipped haphazardly on its side and a vase that was presumably filled with water and flowers was in pieces along the floor of the far wall; it was obviously thrown with force. Books and papers with random sketches were thrown about the room's floor, some torn. Severus felt his eye twitched at the obvious disrespect for the works of literature and art. On the left side of the room, canvases were leaned up against the wall. Some had only rough outlines while others were elaborate landscapes. Severus found himself staring at them in appreciation. One of the paintings however was of a woman that Severus found slightly familiar.
'That is... Sophie, is it not?'
The painting itself was gorgeous, but it was ruined. There was a large tear near the chest of the woman in the painting as if someone tore it open with their bare hands.
"DON'T MAKE ME ASK AGAIN BOY." Severus jumped slightly at the sudden angered voice that filled the room. In the opposite corner of the room from the wall of the paintings, there stood a man, large and burly. Severus watched as he swayed slightly from side to side. Severus' eyes shifted to the young man that was pressed against the wall. He faced the obviously drunk man with a frightened stare. He was trembling and his head was shaking from side to side as if to say 'no'. He was a sickly shade of white and his thin hands were clutching something to his chest. It looked like a device similar to the one that Oddie had used earlier in the Great Hall.
Severus looked towards Oddie. She was glaring daggers at the drunken man's back with her fists clenched. He wondered why she had not made a move towards him yet.
"Who's giving you all this money hunh? Who's payin for all your treatments? I sure as hell ain't. You skimpin out on me boy?" The slurred voice of the drunken man filled the room again. Severus looked towards Oddie, waiting for some sort of signal, but received nothing of the sort.
'Why is she hesitating?' Severus thought to himself. He looked to Minerva who had moved towards the drunken man. Severus began to approach as quietly as he could too.
Oddie watched as they began to approach Ben's father. She felt rooted to the spot. She didn't trust herself to be able to get him away from Ben without hurting him...tremendously; she could easily lose control and kill him. She knew that she was slipping, even Albus made her aware of that. Oddie looked down at her hands to find them shaking, she hadn't even realized.
A cat's cry suddenly echoed through the room followed by hissing and the sound of a struggle. Oddie's head snapped up to see Minerva, still in the form of a cat, clawing mercilessly at Ben's father's face as well as Severus wrestling him to the ground. Ben watched the scene before him play out in wide eyed surprise. Surprise that soon turned to amusement. His head turned towards Oddie who still stood by the door then stared down at the man in black robes that wrestled against his thrashing father.
'Is that...?' Ben shook his head quickly before quickly moving towards Oddie. He had to wave his hand in front of her face a couple of times before he was able to get her attention. Oddie blinked slowly before turning her attention to Ben and speaking softly.
"Are you alright?"
Ben nodded silently with a small smile. Oddie placed a calming hand on his shoulder before just taking him into a tight hug.
'He's still shaking.' Oddie thought to herself sadly. She let go of him and pulled back.
"Get your stuff together kid. I'm not letting you stay here anymore." Ben's eyes widened slightly before his smile widened more. He hurriedly began to put scavenged books and art supplies together and gathered them into his arms before moving towards Oddie again. Before he could drop anything, Oddie pulled a couple of books from him before telling him to wait outside. As he left the room, Oddie turned back towards Ben's father who was still grunting from Severus' firm hold. Minerva now sat quietly by the man's head, her gray tale swishing back and forth. Severus saw Oddie walk towards them.
Oddie nodded at Severus and he returned it. Slowly he stood up. Ben's father began to pushed himself up, but before he could, Oddie brought her foot down forcefully onto his chest, knocking the air out of him completely. Oddie glared down at the pathetic drunk.
Oddie's foot pressed down harder on the man's chest. He began to wrestle crazily but remained pinned in place. He began to grunt and almost cry in pain, yet she still pressed her foot down. Severus looked at her before glancing towards the doorway to see the young man peeking in with a worried expression. He was staring at Oddie. Severus almost jumped when a crunching sound was heard. His head whipped back towards Oddie to see her still pressing her foot down into the man's chest ever harder. Severus quickly grabbed Oddie's arm and tried to shake her out of it.
"Oddie. Oddie!" Severus yelled but she seemed too out of it to notice. Her eyes were dark and her body stiff as she pressed harder. Minerva shifted back to her human form . She heard a quiet gasp behind her. She looked towards the doorway and smiled quickly before moving to Oddie's front.
The smile on her lips faded before she reared her hand back. She drew a deep breath before swiping at Oddie's face with as much strength that she could muster. The slap echoed through the room. Oddie was looking towards the side before her head slowly turned back forward, her hand tentatively reaching for her now burning cheek. She stared wide eyed at Minerva's stern features before she realized what had happened. She looked down at her feet at the whimpering man who's hands were desperately clinging to her pant leg. Oddie stared down in surprise before frowning and removing her foot from the man's chest. She shook her head before looking back to Minerva with a grin plastered on her face.
"Didn't know you were into that sort of thing Min!" Minerva's face reddened but before she could say anything back Oddie whirled around to face Ben. Oddie clapped her hands together.
"Ready to get out of-" Oddie glanced to the side to come into eye contact with the painting of Sophie. Her voice faltered for mere moments before she was able to continue. She looked back at Ben.
"...here?" Ben stared at her sadly before nodding slowly. Oddie stared at him and noticed that his legs were shaking. Oddie looked around for a moment before her eyes noticed a wheelchair turned on its side by hospital bed. Ben quickly spoke up.
"I have everything!" Oddie glanced at him with a serious expression before sighing.
"Look, Ben, I know you don't like it, but if it's necessary then it's necessary."
"Well it isn't!" Ben almost yelled back. His breathing became heavier and he leaned onto the wall more but continued to stare at Oddie with a challenging glare. Oddie heard Severus tsk behind her. She noticed him walk past her towards the knocked over wheel chair. He straightened it out and wheeled it towards Ben.
"You think you can just-" Ben began to argue, but Severus cut him off.
"Sit." He stated clearly. Ben glared up at Severus, dark brown eyes daring him to force him into the chair.
"No." Severus' felt his eye twitch in annoyance. His eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything, Oddie intervened.
"The faster you get into the chair Ben, the faster we return to Hogwarts." Ben's head snapped in her direction.
"H..Hogwarts...? You're actually taking me there?!" Ben's voice became louder in his excitement. Oddie only chuckled before nodding and looking back to Minerva. She was looking at her with a raised brow before shifting back into a cat and returning to Oddie's shoulder.
Ben looked back up at Severus who was looking down at him impatiently.
"I just want to make it clear that I'm not sitting down in this stupid chair because you want me to." Ben stated defiantly before plopping down into the wheelchair. Severus' hands tightened around the handles of Ben's wheelchair.
'Of all the insolent dunderheads...' Severus glared down at the back of Ben's head. Ben turned slightly as he set down his books and art supplies onto his lap, careful not to spill any over onto the floor.
"Well old man? We going or what?" Ben threw over his shoulder. Severus' eyes narrowed into slits before he felt Oddie's hand on his shoulder. He glared at her.
"Oh, don't mind him Sev, he's always like this." Oddie chuckled before apparating again. Suddenly, they were in the field near the main entrance of Hogwarts Castle. Oddie stared up at the castle and chuckled when she heard Ben.
"This place is humongous!" Ben cried out happily before his voice broke and he began to go into a coughing fit. Oddie looked at him worriedly but before she could try to calm him down, Severus handed him a glass of water. Ben took it nervously before sipping the water and clearing his throat. He mumbled a thank you but said nothing more.
"Severus." Oddie called. He looked towards her with a raised brow. Oddie began to levitate the remainder of Ben's books towards them and onto Ben's lap. "Take him to Dumbledore. I have some business to finish up." Without his agreement, Oddie apparated away bringing Minerva with her. Severus stared at the place that Oddie used to occupy before sighing in irritation. Ben chose to stay quiet as he was silently wheeled forward towards the school.