Updated September 2016

The Visit

It was only after several nights of wide open windows, curtains billowing in the warm breeze, reading, resting, swimming, sunbathing, befriending cats and donkeys, that Elena got the sense that something was wrong. Out of nowhere, while drinking cool white wine out of a chunky glass on a terrace, a question occurred to her. 'Where was I before this?' She couldn't remember. She couldn't even remember how she had got here, to this paradise where – if truth be told – she could have stayed indefinitely. It worried her a little. Also, it irked her that Severus never came. At least twice a week he should have shown up for lessons. Had she done something to put him off again? However, she couldn't remember that, either.

She paid for the wine and went to the beach which was at this time bathed in the red glow of a spectacular sunset. Waves crushed against the shore in a fierce roar, a warm wind chased small veils of sand across the deserted beach. Elena turned her head to all sides, looking, searching the horizon. From afar, she could discern the shape of a lighthouse, painted red and white. It looked incongruous in the Mediterranean landscape and the sight stirred something, a memory, a feeling of discomfort. Hadn't she seen this before?

Suddenly, her eyes became sticky, as well, and fell shut as if she had no control over her lids anymore. When she tried to open them again, she found that she couldn't. They appeared to be glued together.

She put up her hands, rubbed, tried again. A grey haze came through the reddish darkness behind her eyes. Figures were moving back and fro in it, all in green. Structures came into view, however, their outlines were too blurry to tell what they were.

"Excuse me", she accosted one of the figures, surprised to find that she wasn't able to move and that her voice sounded scratchy and hoarse. She also became dimly aware of an uncomfortable constriction in her chest which made it hard for her to breathe.

One of the figures approached her. A woman. Middle-aged, good-natured face.

"Who are you?" Elena asked, mystified at the change of scenery. She wanted back to that bloody beach ...

"Madam Hollis", the woman replied kindly. "I'm the matron here at St. Mungo's. Yes, honey, you're in hospital, but don't you worry, we've got you."

Hospital? How the hell had that happened? And why were her lungs burning like hell? She hadn't felt it at the beach. However, Madam Hollis looked at her so kindly that it was hard to believe that anything was seriously wrong.

"Where's Severus?" Elena asked.

"You mean Professor Snape?" Madam Hollis raised an amused eyebrow. "He was discharged earlier today."

"Discharged?"

"Yes, honey. He surely looked bad when he came in, but after all he had no more than a few broken bones and bruises. We took care of it right away. You, however …", she raised a hand and showed Elena a tube which was running into her nose and held a candy-pink liquid, "you breathed in too much smoke. You have pneumonia brought on by smoke poisoning. But like I said: not to worry. You'll be fine."

Madam Hollis prattled on some more, but her voice was drowning in the roar of the waves crushing against the shore of the lovely beach. Elena was relieved to be back. This here was far less complex. Sure, it irked her a little that Severus had gone home. Who would prefer rainy England to this mellow Mediterranean night with its gorgeous starry sky and the sweet breeze cooling your sun-kissed skin? Sometimes he really was a killjoy …

She came back to the hazy room sooner than she would have liked to. This time she could more easily discern the structures, the frame of her bed, and a bar from which the drip hung, as well as a gleaming sphere beside her in which a figure closely resembling that of da Vinci's perfect proportions flipped around its axes. A magical system to monitor her vitals, most probably. She realized that the room was not hazy grey, but merely dimly lit, and that there was complete darkness behind the windows. This time, there was no one about, probably because it was the dead of night.

Elena realized then that this was reality, and not the beach. Drat. Why did good things never last?

She tried to concentrate and to remember. Slowly, details came back. Gilly, the house-elf, offering her a nut cracker. Pawel Komarek diving out of the shadows with a menacing grin. Archie Selwyn tied to a chair. And finally … flying through black smoky clouds and rainy air …

This made her head spin. Could it be real? Then her head started to hurt and she had to cough, which, in turn, left her so exhausted she quickly dozed off again.

Hours seemed to have passed. However, when she woke up with a jolt, the windows were still pitch black, the dim lightning unchanged, and still no one about. Elena sat up and looked about herself. Everything was quiet and she couldn't tell what had startled her out of her sleep. After a while, Elena nestled into her pillow and yawned. She realized that she had probably been asleep for only a short while. Dreams had the power of upsetting time, stretching second into hour. Had the sense of a presence been an illusion, as well?

She was too uneasy to go back to rest. The room was full of deep shadows and Elena felt that they attracted her eyes, as if she sensed something there. Suddenly, one of the shadows started to move and approach her bed. It was a black-clad, hooded figure. Elena stifled a scream just in time.

A white hand came out of the large cloak, moved up, removed the hood. Black eyes pierced her, and he put an admonishing finger to his mouth. Slowly he moved closer. As always, his face didn't betray any emotion or state of mind. It had, however, improved considerably. The swelling was gone, the broken nose had obviously been repaired and only a blackened eye and a few remnants of bruises called to mind what had happened to him.

"No one must know I'm here", he said in his usual low tones to explain the caution to silence.

"Hello to you, too", she whispered, sensing the broad smile which, in spite of herself, she felt was splitting her face in half. The moment she had heard the silkiness of his voice again, her skin had started to tingle and the memories of that night and of what had happened between them came back. Elena wondered whether he was thinking of the same thing. He must, mustn't he? But then, who knew with Severus Snape? He certainly didn't let it on.

She watched him sitting down gingerly on the edge of her hospital bed. Only now did Elena realize that there was something moving in his cloak. Snape drew the garment aside a little and out onto the blanket that enveloped her hopped Lux, yellow eyes ablaze. He greeted her with a silent meow, stalked up the length of her upper body and enthusiastically bunted her chin.

"You brought my cat!" She flashed him a grateful smile.

Snape shushed her and scowled. "How could I not? You were moaning for him all the way here."

"I did?"

He nodded and, with a slightly disgusted expression, brushed cat hair from the lining of his cloak.

"I don't remember anything", she mused.

"Yes, you do like to faint."

She made a face and turned to Lux, giving him a thorough petting treatment before she directed her attention at Severus again. "You look much improved", she observed.

Snape shrugged. "I always tell myself that the good thing about being ugly is that it doesn't get any worse." Though he never spoke loudly, his voice was now only just audible.

"I like looking at you", she said, gazing into his eyes.

He sat very still and sneered a little. "You certainly are peculiar", he observed.

"No", she said quietly, "I like your contrasts. They suit you and who you are." At the same time she thought that she must be mad, that she didn't usually do this, come on to a man like that. It was a desperate need to find a connection to that night in the tower that made her say it.

There was a very slight smirk around the corners of his mouth. "You almost make me sound interesting", he said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Telling you that you are will only make you more arrogant, so I won't", she said pointedly. "It would also upset the balance of compliments unduly in your favour."

He gave a derisive snort and looked down onto his lap. Elena got the impression that he was a little embarrassed. When his eyes met hers again, his face was serious. "I don't have long. But I need to talk to you."

"Did you tell my aunt where I am?" she asked, suddenly distracted and nervous. She was afraid, she realized, of what he might want to talk to her about. Was he about to tell her that what had happened between them had been a mere folly, brought on by an extreme situation, and that it must never happen again, that they were to act as if it never happened?

"Of course", he replied to her question, sounding a little affronted.

"Thank you."

There was a silence. Elena had taken up her ministrations to Lux's black fur again, eliciting a blissful purr, and although she felt Snape's gaze on her, she avoided his eyes.

"What happened to Komarek?" she asked. "Is he dead?"

"Very probably. They couldn't find his body, though. Dragon fire is very aggressive, especially to organic material. The lighthouse is little more but a heap of ashes, it took the Ministry's fire squad ages to put out."

"He couldn't have … gotten out?"

"I hardly think so. Given how quickly the fire spread, it's unlikely." Out of the corners of her eyes, Elena could see him lean forward slightly. "Do you think he should have … been saved?" It sounded a little apprehensive.

Elena considered this, then shook her head fiercely. "No."

"Good", he said, with a touch of relief.

"What did you want to tell me?" she asked, willing herself to breath calmly.

Again, an intense gaze, but this time he was taxing her. Maybe he wondered how she would react. He quickly looked about himself, making sure that no one was approaching, then focussed on her again.

"There is going to be an inquiry."

Elena was a little stunned. She had not expected this. "An … inquiry?" she repeated uncertainly.

"At the Ministry. The Wizengamot, in fact. About what happened. The date hasn't been set yet, but I was told to keep myself available."

"Does it worry you?" she asked, searching his face.

Again, he was hesitant to share any emotions. "That's not why I'm telling you about it. – The fact is that it's very likely you're going to be questioned in some form."

"Me?"

"Yes. You."

"Why?"

"Because my word doesn't seem to be enough."

She shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand."

Again, a few seconds passed during which he watched her attentively. "I have been warned", he finally said. "Lupin. There appear to have taken place some changes at our wizarding authorities and it looks like I'm no longer the hero of the day." A bitter scowl appeared on his face. "Didn't I tell you? Public opinion is a fickle bitch."

She raised her eyebrows. "You did. – But I still don't get it. Why this inquiry? Is that … normal procedure? Can't you just tell Remus what happened, he is a Ministry official, after all …"

Snape gave a quiet but harsh laugh. "That's what I thought. However, it seems that I have offended some people by my, ah, lack of communication in the past months. So now they are making a big fuss with this inquiry, for no other reason, it appears, but to wheel me out into the open and let me have my say on … well, officially on the Leshnikov thing, but it will certainly go way more back in time." It was clearly visible that he hated every bit of this prospect.

Elena digested the information. "But why would anyone want to talk to me?"

"To corroborate my testimony. There seem to be doubts concerning my credibility." Severus' voice was laden with sarcasm.

"Oh, I see." She considered all this for a few moments. "Well, alright. I guess I have no choice."

Another silence. Snape had turned his head away and stared into the shadows, flexing his fingers. "I expect it will be pretty straightforward. I am not even sure whether you will be called to the Wizengamot. However, very probably someone from the Ministry is going to turn up at some point to ask you questions. As far as I'm concerned, you can – and should – tell them everything, exactly how it was. Except for one thing."

'Here it comes', she thought.

"They will ask you about the Time Turner. I'd be obliged if you didn't tell that I let you use it so liberally. Before you returned it, I mean." More flexing of fingers. He still didn't look at her. "Strictly speaking, giving it to you constitutes gross negligence."

Elena exhaled. "It seems like a small thing compared to what happened …"

"If I understand Lupin correctly, I am to be taught a lesson. That I cannot walk between raindrops, or something to that effect, although I never assumed that I could. – Leshnikov wrote that to me, by the way."

"What … do you mean by that? That he …"

"No, he certainly had nothing to do with this. But it worries me, that the same words were used. Like it was a metaphor for something."

"A symbol of the time quality at work", she said quietly.

His eyes met hers, held them. He nodded, and Elena realized that he, too, had been thinking about time quality and hence about that night when she had first told him about it. Suddenly Elena remembered the moment when she had come back to the lighthouse after her travels with Novikov and after Severus had taken Komarek out of commission, almost choking him. How he had grabbed her, kissed her roughly, how his thin frame had shook with adrenaline and relief. No sign of that fierce emotion now. Elena sighed.

"Of course, I will not tell them about the Time Turner", she promised. "I will say that you lent it to me a few times so I could manage my day. No more."

Severus nodded.

"Anything else I'm not to talk about?"

"I'll leave that to your discretion."

Elena watched him, waited, still suspicious. However, he appeared to have nothing to add. At the same time, he gazed at her so coolly that again she could have believed that the events of the night in the tower were nothing but a figment of her imagination. But then, what had she expected? That he would suddenly become all gooey and sweet? Not Severus Snape, certainly.

She smiled at him. "So you can fly without a broom, huh?"

Another simple nod.

"Who taught you?"

Severus shook his head ruefully. "You don't want to know."

"I do."

"Another time." But there was the ghost of a smile. Then something seemed to occur to him. "By the way, I still have your wand. I thought you wouldn't need it as long as you were here."

"Does it do what you want it to do?"

"It works surprisingly well for me", he admitted. "Must be the dragon heartstring. – But of course, I will get a new one." He scowled, not much liking that prospect, either.

For a while, he remained seated at the edge of her bed, until suddenly a jolt went through his body as if he had remembered something important. "I have to leave. I shouldn't be here in the first place." He cocked an ironic eyebrow. "There's another thing you shouldn't tell anyone: that I was here. Influencing your testimony …"

"Gosh, is it that bad?" Her eyes widened. In spite of what he had told her, Elena had hoped that any kind of questioning that she might be subjected to was only a formal matter. However, there seemed to be much more to it.

Instead of answering directly, Severus got up. "We should not see each other for a while."

She looked up, stared. "Why?"

"Because you are the only other witness to the Leshnikov affair", he explained evenly. "And we are not to make any arrangement with regard to our respective testimonies. I was very sternly cautioned about it." He scoffed, then looked at her over his shoulder. "I don't like it much, either."

"But we shall see each other?"

His gaze intensified and he slowly inclined his chin.

Impulsively, she stretched out her hand. She found that she needed to touch him. Severus looked coolly at her hand, hesitated, then took it very gently. As he stood on the left side of the bed, it was her left hand. Elena sat up abruptly, squealed.

"What?" He looked alarmed, but held on to her hand.

"My finger's whole!"

Another faint smile. "It's called Skele-Gro. Be glad they gave it to you when you were out of it, because I had to take it once as a kid and it tastes awful. Regrows bones, though."

She grinned. "The wizarding world never ceases to amaze me."

"They couldn't do anything about your earlobe, though. Skele-Gro only works for bones."

She shrugged. "I suck at Apparition."

"Yes, you do."

While talking, his thumb absentmindedly caressed her little finger. In spite of lying in bed, Elena started to feel a little weak. It occurred to her that she couldn't even remember the last time a man holding her hand had made her that dizzy.

"Sleep well now", he whispered, looking down at her hand. "And don't think about that inquiry too much."

"Same goes for you. I'm sure it will be alright."

However, Snape looked doubtful. He let go of her hand, and with a last intense gaze he swept towards the door, hood drawn, and slipped out like a ghost. Elena settled back in her bed again with Lux snuggling up to her side.

It took her a while to go back to sleep again. Thinking of the inquiry kept her awake. She wondered what was going to happen, and whether this was only the beginning of something else. It worried her and she went through a couple of scenarios in her head before she realized that she still knew far too little about the wizarding world for any of them to be realistic. She would just have to wait and see, but there was a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

However, there was also a warm and elated feeling, one that made her grin every now and then, even laugh softly. Lux told her in no uncertain terms that he thought it was ridiculous, that a witch of any dignity didn't behave like that. She told him that she was, after all, a Muggle witch and that she would not have her good mood spoilt by a jealous cat. Which, in turn, offended Lux – because cats are very proud and will never admit that they depend on a human being – and he rolled into a ball and went to sleep in a huff.

Only a short while later, she followed.

THE (PROVISIONAL) END

Thanks to anyone who reviews this, leaves comments or alerts me to spelling or grammar mistakes! I appreciate any kind of feedback, even - or especially - if it's reasonable critizising. Usually, I make a point of saying at least a quick 'thank you' to any reviewer; however, this is of course not possible in the case of guest reviewers as I cannot harass those with personal messages - doesn't mean, though, that I'm not very much obliged to them, as well!