Whatever makes you tired the resting always fails
'Cos anywhere you lay yourself's a bed of nails
Whatever you exhale I breathe it in the end
You offer me a seat in your electric chair
Every day you ask yourself, "Why was I born?"
'Cos every migraine feels like wearing a crown of thorns
And all the time I find you crawling on all fours
'Cos any movement sends you falling through trap doors
dSz
January 1 3AM, Sunday
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
The room was dark when I woke once again. I reached toward the bedside table but stopped when a sudden feeling of being watched overwhelmed me. A rustling noise drew my attention to the window where a figure stood, his face hidden in shadow.
"I see you are awake," the man stated in a cold tone and I recognized the voice instantly.
"Severus," I whispered in relief, "It's good to see you again."
"Indeed," he replied icily, "I am beginning to wonder if the Potter's are born into incompetence or if it progresses as they age."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked indignantly.
"Not one Potter has ever followed the rules nor listened to those who know what's best, and eventually it leads to their downfall."
"Give me a break Sev, I'm going through some pretty fucked up shit right now. I'm just trying to deal with all of this the best I can."
Severus let out a deresive snort. "Everyone has problems to deal with."
"And how would you suggest I deal with my problems Snape?" I ground out angrily, "Should I act like a complete bastard to everyone and follow Dumbledore around like a good doggy?"
Within seconds he was across the room and gripping the front of my shirt. His pale face was reflected in the moonlight and his eyes glinted dangerously as he glared down at me.
"You would do well to remember with whom you are speaking," he hissed, "I have done and seen things that you cannot even fathom. Dumbledore, the man you say I follow around like a dog, is the man who saved my life and he is also the man who saved your father's life countless times. Without him you would not even exist today."
"He's also the man who manipulated my father and turned him into a monster," I spat angrily, "And if you think this little demonstration will intimidate me or scare me then you obviously have no idea of what I've been through or what I'm going through." He loosened his grip on my shirt and I pulled away from him.
"Go back to your dungeons and hide Professor," I sneered, "Go back and hide behind Dumbledore's robes because I can tell you one thing." I grabbed the front of his robe and pulled him down toward me until our eyes met. "You wouldn't last a second in my shoes just like you wouldn't have lasted a second in my father's shoes."
"How dare you..."
"Don't interrupt me Snape," I continued, my voice taking on a serpent like hiss that caused Severus to shiver involuntarily in response, "You think because you spied for Dumbledore that you're some kind of brave and heroic wizard? As far as I'm concerned you were saving your own skin which is just as cowardly as not refusing the mark in the first place."
The most feared professor at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry appeared, for possibly the first time in his life, regretful. He slowly pulled his robes from my grip and stood straight and tall next to my bed. The expression of regret on his face soon turned to one of determination.
"What would you have me do?" he asked and I gave him a questioning look in response. "Your father saved my life many times and I am intelligent enough to know that without him I would not be standing here today. I owe him a life debt and I plan on repaying it."
"So now you want to help me?" I questioned in disbelief and he nodded in reply. "Can you tell me where Khalida is?" Snape gave me an uncomfortable look before his eyes settled on the floor. "What is it Severus? Is she okay?"
"She is well but..."
"Yes?"
"The Ministry has taken her into custody," he stated and then quickly backed away from the bed as if he was afraid of what I would do next. He had the right idea. I myself was scared of what I would do next.
"THEY WHAT!" I exclaimed loudly.
"The both of you are considered fugitives so what did you expect they would do."
His words barely reached me as I sat on the hospital bed, seething in anger. How dare those bastards arrest Khalida and how dare Dumbledore let something like that happen. The manipulative old coot had lied to me.
"Where did they take her?"
"I believe they are holding her at the Department of Mysteries."
"The Department of Mysteries?" I asked in confusion, "Why in the world would they take her there?"
Severus shrugged. "She is a vampire, possibly they plan on doing some kind of..."
"Some kind of what?"
"Experimentation," he concluded in a nervous whisper.
"Get my clothes and my bag Snape," I ground out hoarsely.
"But you are not..."
"I said, get me my clothes and my bag."
A few minutes later I was dressed and standing weakly next to the bed. As we walked toward the door to my room I leaned against Severus for support. He went to put his left arm around me to hold me up but a sudden pain in my scar caused me to violently push away from him.
"What is it Jenny?" Severus asked in confusion.
"My scar," I hissed, "it hurt when you put your arm around me." Severus pulled up his sleeve and I unconciously recoiled from the skull and serpeant brand hidden underneath.
"It's becoming darker," Severus stated thoughtfully as he ran a finger over the mark, "He truly has returned."
"No," I said while shaking my head, "He's not the same, there's something different. He's been living as a muggle and I don't think he can do magic anymore."
"What!"
"When I saw him he had no wand and he didn't do any magic," I explained, "He seemed to be depending on the Death Eaters with him to protect him. He looks like Charles Smith. Speaking of Charles Smith, did the Ministry get him too?"
"Khalida had no one with her when she returned to the cottage so I have no idea where the real Charles Smith is."
"How in the world did the Order get there in the first place?" I questioned. Severus gave me a puzzled look.
"I really have no idea," he replied.
Severus slowly pushed open the hospital room door and we stumbled out into the hallway. He paused for a moment and stuck his hand into his pocket. I gave him a questioning look when he pulled out a long, thin cloak.
"Invisibility cloak," he explained, "I thought it might come in handy."
"As long as we don't run into Dumbledore," I replied, "I bet he'd see through it. I'd still like to know how the hell he found that cottage."
"Perhaps Draco sent for help," he suggested, "Or one of Khalida's friends."
"No way would a vampire ask the Order for help and Draco was out cold at the time," I stated thoughtfully, "Something tells me that it might have been Voldemort."
"Voldemort?" Severus questioned doubtfully, "Why in the world would he do that?"
"I don't know," I responded, "but I do know that he's been orchestrating almost everything that's happened since my father died. I feel like I'm falling into traps but I don't even know what the traps are for or why they're there in the first place. You know what I mean?"
"Not really."
"It's like the dreams I've been having," I explained, "I have no way of knowing which ones are real, which ones are memories and which ones are tricks from that bastard. I'm even wondering if some aren't visions of the future, especially those damn Gilgamesh dreams."
"Gilgamesh dreams?" Severus asked in confusion, "What in Merlin are you talking about?"
"There's these dreams that Gilgamesh supposedly had. Three of them were written down on tablets while two of them were unreadable. I've had two of them, I know that much and all five of them have come true."
"Are you sure they've come true?" Severus asked doubtfully.
"Well, the first one was about a mountain falling down and I figured that was Godric's Hollow. Then there was one about a bull splitting the ground and him falling to his knees, I think that's about the time that my father was captured by Voldemort. The third one says something about lightning and fire, that was the Evans farm explosion. The fourth had to do with Lovegood Mansion being destroyed and Draco being captured and the fifth was about me being shot and meeting Charles Smith."
"That is odd," Severus replied, "I'd like to study this more, perhaps it is only coincidence."
"I've got a book in my bag from Khalida..." My voice trailed off as Severus pushed me up against a wall. We watched silently as two medi-witches walked by.
"We should probably talk about this later," I whispered and Severus nodded in agreement.
Both of us breathed a sigh of relief as we exited the hospital and stepped out into the night. Severus directed us to the edge of the anti-apparition wards. Once there he pulled off the invisibility cloak.
"You know where the Ministry is, right?" I asked hopefully and Severus nodded his head.
"I do but the Department of Mysteries isn't there anymore."
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"They moved that department after the war," Severus explained, "I've heard it's nearly impossible to find."
I tapped the bottom of my chin and let out a thoughtful "hmmm..." There had to be some way for us to get there, something that the ministry wouldn't have thought of.
"Hey, wait a minute," I exclaimed, "How did my dad get to there in his fifth year?"
"I believe he and his friends rode thestrals to the ministry," Severus explained.
"Thestrals?"
"They are winged horse-like creatures that are invisible to anyone who has never seen someone die."
A sad laugh that sounded more like a cry of pain escaped me. "We should have no trouble finding a couple then, should we Snape?"
Severus gave a curt nod and pulled me into his arms. A split-second later we disappeared with a crack and reappeared in a room I'd never seen before. I didn't get a chance to investigate the new surroundings because seconds later my scar exploded in pain and I felt slightly dizzy.
"Where in the hell are we?" I hissed.
"Hogwarts," explained Severus, "Actually we are in the only room in the castle where someone can apparate in or out. It is a room I have not employed since my days as a spy. The Forbidden Forest is the only place I know of to find thestrals."
"We have to get out of the castle," I stammered weakly, "Or I'm afraid I'll never be able to leave." My body was screaming that I needed to flee but a comforting whisper in the back of my mind was telling me to stay.
"Are you in pain?" Severus asked worriedly.
"I am but there's something else," I explained, "The castle...it's trying to talk to me. I can hear it in my head."
"But why? What is it saying?"
"I'm not exactly sure," I stated in a hoarse whisper, "but I feel like it's killing me while at the same time it's telling me it can save me."
