So... I know that I've been drawing this out for a while now, so the next few chapters will be getting straight to the point. Feel free to review and let me know of any questions you have. If there are spelling errors or grammar issues, please let me know where and what it is that is wrong. Thanks!
Severus woke sharply, snapping his eyes open and gasping. Something, somewhere, was wrong, and it rumbled from deep within his chest. He glanced down at Kathryn who slept soundly on his arm. He watched for a minute to make sure that he didn't accidentally smother her in his sleep; she was so tiny that they joked that she'd get lost in his bed.
He smiled, relieved that he hadn't done so. He heard his father's voice call out: "Sheeva, wait", and looked at his door. He crawled out of his bed carefully and put on his robe.
Doubtless that his parents would be fighting in the common room, he made his way to the portrait and peered out. The halls were silent now, and Severus watched as his father limped back to their office/bedroom. Concerned, Severus walked out and up to their room. When he saw that the door was still open, he peered in.
His mouth dropped. Papers from the table were strewn about. Draco's shirt was lying on the floor. Blaise was in his boxers, cradling Draco as he wept. As Severus looked closer, Draco was caressing his cheek, which was already turned pink.
"Dad, what happened?" Severus asked, alarmed. Blaise gave Severus a stern, but frightened look.
"Severus, get dressed and go find your mother. If Joseph's there, take him with you. Sheeva may have gone outside." Blaise ordered. Severus stared at him, bewildered. His mother had really hit Draco? Why?
"Severus!" Blaise barked, catching his son's attention. Severus snapped his head back to Blaise.
"Go, now." Blaise ordered again. Severus came to his senses from the order, and bolted back to his dorm room, throwing on the pants he'd been wearing. He scrambled through his dresser for a shirt, meanwhile waking up Kathryn, momentarily forgetting that she was there. She flicked on the light, confused.
"What's going on, Severus?" She asked. He threw on a grey long-sleeve, and grabbed his sword off of the wall. He tied it to his belt loop and spread his wings, ready to take off.
"Something's happened, I gotta go find my mom. Take care of my dads, please. If Joseph comes back tell him to come help me." Severus asked, throwing on his jacket and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. Kathryn shook her head, still confused.
"Wait, what happened?" She asked, trying to stall him to at least tell her. He took off, calling over his shoulder: "Dad will explain everything".
Kathryn waited for a little bit, pacing the room nervously. Her impatience getting the better of her, she grabbed one of Severus' robes and threw it on, wrapping it around herself tightly. She grabbed her wand and summoned a Patronus. A white, serene version of her fiendfyre wolf emerged from the tip of her wand, awaiting an order.
"Find Joseph. Tell him to go find Severus and search for Sheeva." She ordered. The wolf turned around immediately and bound off in the opposite direction, vanishing through the wall. Kathryn hastily made her way to the professor's room.
She knocked and stepped in without waiting for an answer. She turned around sharply and walked back out when she saw that Blaise was in his boxers and Draco was shirtless. Blaise shook his head, stood, and grabbed the blanket off of the couch, walking to their bedroom to get dressed.
"Huître. Come in." Draco ordered, buttoning his shirt up.
Kathryn cleared her throat and walked in again.
"Sorry, professor. Is everything alright? Severus sent me to make sure." She asked. Draco turned his back on her.
"Everything is fine. What were you doing? You should be in bed. In Gryffindor tower." He hissed, emphasis heavy on Gryffindor. Kathryn rolled her eyes behind the teacher's back. Blaise happened to see it as he walked out, buttoning his pants. Blaise smirked at Kathryn's actions.
"After practically raising myself and the kids at the orphanage, I know a lie when I hear it. Everything is not fine, Professor. What happened?" She asked again, sitting down on the couch that Draco and Blaise had just been lying on. Blaise shifted his glance to Draco, arching an eyebrow as he waited for Draco's response.
"It's not your business. You wouldn't even be caught up in this mess if you hadn't been sharing the same bed as my son." Draco growled. Kathryn glared at him and crossed her arms.
"Despite the fact that I'm sharing a bed with your son, he asked me to come and make sure that his fathers were ok. So that's what I'm doing. Besides, I'm pretty damn sure that Severus is the one that I want to marry. I can only hope that he feels the same way." She blurted, too tired to care what came out of her mouth. She was cranky, tired, and had no verbal filter.
Astonished, to say the least, Draco uncrossed his arms and turned around. He forgot that his cheek was burning, signaling that it was still pink. Kathryn winced at it, and then glanced away. She could easily figure out what had happened. They didn't need to explain. Draco touched his cheek lightly. It was slightly warm.
"Not that Severus would ever hit a woman, I've taught him better than that, but marriage isn't something to take lightly. You will fight. There are times when you don't want to look at one another. Times when you won't know what to say. Just… be damn sure you're ready." He stated, giving her some of his own advice, regardless of whether she'd asked.
She slowly nodded her head as she took his words in. Blaise cleared his throat and sat down across from her, folding his hands in his lap.
"Sheeva wants us to send her away. She…" He glanced around, trying to find a delicate way of stating the news. Kathryn tutted, her impatience getting to her once again.
"I won't judge. Sheeva's like the mother I never had. You can tell me." She encouraged, trying to be polite. Blaise nodded slowly.
"She is afraid of hurting us. She tried to kill Nayeli tonight. I don't know what stopped her, but I'm glad that she did. This is really hard on all of us, but even more so for her. Nayeli was her first flesh-and-blood child after she could have kids again. She's already lost Kadie. To see Nayeli lingering between life and death may be… too much for her." Blaise mused. Draco blinked, and walked up to him quickly.
"Blaise, what are you saying? You're considering sending Sheeva away?" He asked. Blaise said nothing, but leaned forward and folded his fingers together, placing them on his lips. Kathryn looked from Draco to Blaise, baffled. Sheeva'd tried to kill her daughter?
When Blaise didn't answer, Draco stepped closer to him.
"Blaise, we can't! Families don't just… send each other away! That's not how they work! You… you stick it out! You deal with it, together!" Draco hissed, chest tight and throat constricted. Blaise shook his head sadly.
"Sheeva's smart, Draco, you know that. She's probably the smartest and wisest person in the world. We should trust her judgment. If she wants us to send her away, then… we should honor it, and do just that. She seems to still have some sanity left to ask us this." Blaise pointed out.
"Umm… you can still visit her… Draco… sir." Kathryn muttered, feeling odd using his first name. However, this was something beyond a teacher-student formality.
Draco looked at Kathryn as though he'd forgotten she was in the room. He blinked, and scowled.
"So you're agreeing with this? That we should just give up, and send her away?" He argued. Kathryn shook her head, then slowly nodded her head. Her feelings were mixed, and her brain was working overtime to sort out emotion from logic.
"I understand where she's coming from, sir. She's trying to protect her family by trying to get herself away. At the same time, I think she's seeking permission, so that she can feel a little bit more at ease about distancing herself from you." Kathryn put in. Draco stared at her, confused.
How could she know what it's like? She's not married to the mother of our kids! Draco thought.
Seeing Draco's quizzical look made Kathryn chuckle, as it really was comical.
"Every time that my dad had to go somewhere he would say: No matter what you do, no matter where you go, and no matter what you become, I will always love you. That's part of being a family. Unconditional love. Sheeva will always love you, even if she's forcing herself away. I actually think that's why she's forcing herself away. To protect the family that she loves. Prof—er…. Blaise is right, sir. I think…" She paused to gather her thoughts. "I think she needs some time away from this. Maybe time will help her regain some hope that she seems to have lost." Kathryn explained, trying to give a smile. It didn't work, as it almost seemed hard to believe her own words.
They remained silent, musing to themselves. The damn kid made a lot of sense, even though she didn't have first-hand experience in the matter.
"So where did Sheeva want to go?" Kathryn asked, breaking the uneasy silence. Draco sighed, and sat down next to Blaise.
"She said she didn't care. She even said we could send her to Azkaban." He answered. Kathryn raised an eyebrow. That bad, huh? She thought.
"Well. That's… really between the two of you and Severus." She replied, taking a deep breath. She wrapped the robe tighter around herself.
Blaise shook his head.
"You're part of this too, you know. We're not sending her to Azkaban. And we're definitely not sending her to St. Mungo's. She'll never come out of there."
Draco, in agreement, started to say something, but they were interrupted by a knock at the door. All three of them stopped and turned to look. To their relief and slight horror, Sheeva stood there. She'd been crying, her eyes were puffy and red. Her skin had scratches, and there were broken twigs and leaves in her hair.
Severus had an arm around his mother's shoulders, holding her other hand in his, an extremely worried expression on his face. Joseph was standing beside them, looking rather aggravated. He had a bloodied lip and the start of a black eye.
Draco looked down at his hands as he locked eyes with Sheeva. Sheeva looked away in shame, at anything but Draco. Blaise stood and walked up to them, taking Sheeva into his hold, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Severus, Joseph." He greeted. Joseph nodded and walked over to the coffee table, and as he saw the overturned table, he bent down to pick it up. Severus sat down next to Kathryn, taking her hand and hugging her tightly.
"Where did you go, Sheeva?" Blaise asked. Sheeva only rested her head in Blaise's chest, too exhausted, too emotionally raw to want to answer. She bathed herself in Blaise's scent, clinging to his shirt. For the first time in a long time, it seemed, she felt his warmth. It spread over her, calming her. It reduced her to a gooey mess.
Body aching, she pulled away, yearning for Draco's touch as well. She took a step forward, but her legs gave way. She got to one knee as gracefully as she could, trying not to show that she was weakened. Trained to it, Joseph could easily tell.
"Draco," she called to him, voice in a bare whisper. He looked up when she mentioned his name. She edged closer to the couch he sat on, and rested against it, panting. She reached out her hand for his, a small smile on her face.
"Draco, I…" She swallowed, and set her head in his lap.
"I am so sorry." She began.
Kathryn stood and excused herself. Joseph and Severus followed. Blaise muttered under his breath for Kathryn to go wherever she pleased. She smiled at him and nodded. Hand in hand, Severus and Kathryn walked to the Slytherin dungeons, Joseph in tow. Joseph felt the shadowy figure behind him, and he paused to look at it. It was taking even more shape now, rather than just being a wisp of darkness.
It had a womanly figure to it, much shorter than he was. Only then did he begin to realize that the figure had tipped him off to Sheeva's disturbing presence in the hospital wing earlier that night.
Joseph hurried off to Severus' room, wanting to know what had happened, hoping that somebody could explain what was going on.
He shut and locked the door, and Severus silenced the room. Severus sat down on his bed with a heavy sigh. Kathryn sat next to him, taking his hand. Joseph leaned against the bedpost of his bed.
"Kathryn, did they tell you what happened?" Joseph asked, eager to know. Kathryn slowly nodded, and began to twirl her hair in her fingers, a nervous habit that she'd picked up somehow.
"Yes, but you're not going to like it. Sheeva… almost killed Nayeli tonight. She wants… your fathers to send her away. Anywhere, away." She stated, eyes closed and trying to keep her voice steady. Joseph's mouth dropped, and he stared at her, shocked.
"What?" Severus asked, more out of shock than misunderstanding. Kathryn slowly nodded, wringing her hands together.
"Yes. That's what they told me, anyway."
Joseph's gut tightened as he began to realize something. The shadowy figure had tipped him off to Sheeva's presence, maybe to stop her from killing her daughter. Joseph stood upright, and began to pace, thinking hard.
The shadowy figure was watching him interestedly, as though it knew what Joseph was piecing together.
"I saw Sheeva. In hospital, visiting Nayeli. She looked… scary. Like she was… how do you say…" Joseph muttered as he struggled to find the words.
"Potenskye. Um…" He continued, then gave up.
"I am going to see Nayeli. See for wounds." Joseph announced, offering for them to join him. Kathryn stood and walked to the door, ready to help her friend. Severus stood too.
They hurried to the fourth floor, Kathryn struggling to keep up with them. They were walking too fast for her.
"What, was she creeping you out? Did she say anything?" Kathryn asked, trying to figure out what Joseph had been trying to say beforehand. Joseph shook his head.
"Iye. She ran away. I thought she was losing mind." He tried to explain.
Joseph was the first to reach Nayeli's bed, forming a few seals and checking her vitals. The machine still beeped, and the fake lungs that kept her breathing kept its steady pace. Joseph examined her closely, checking her eyes, mouth, and nose. As he saw her neck, he stopped, and tapped Severus' arm.
"Look." He commanded. Nervous, Severus looked to where Joseph was pointing. There was the mark of a hand, somewhat bruised at the fingertips. Severus almost lost his dinner.
"Merlin…" He muttered. Kathryn pushed past, wanting to see what they were gawking about. When she saw the handprint, she gulped, rubbing her own neck in alarm. Her stomach sank.
"I'm glad she stopped. Any longer, and she could be… really dead." She muttered. Joseph looked around for the figure. There was no doubt now. This shadowy thing following him around was definitely connected to this, somehow. He just couldn't fathom what it was.
He slumped down in a nearby chair, sighing heavily.
"Sa ec krückt." (I am tired) He drawled out in Kadessian, yawning as he spoke. Severus was barely able to understand the Kadessian, but sharing a room with him had its benefits, even if he didn't like sharing a room with anyone.
"You can stay here if you want to. Watch over Nayeli?" Severus suggested, yawning himself. Kathryn sat down in another chair, and rested her head against the bed. She yawned, too, their yawns triggering her own response.
"I don't want to leave. I'm scared for her." She whispered, her eyes drooping. Severus picked her up and set her in the unoccupied bed, covering her with a blanket and sitting down next to her. Joseph was already asleep, snoring lightly. Severus shifted to rest his head at Kathryn's feet, falling into a deep slumber.