22.  Crash Landing

When Evangeline opened her eyes the next morning, memory of the night before came rushing in immediately and set her thoughts whirling once more.  What the heck did it mean?  Something bad had happened to Severus.  That was obvious from one look at his abused face, but clearly he didn't want her to know what it was.  He'd been cold, even cruel in his manner, but she didn't buy it.  He was trying to scare her off, to stop her questions.  But why?  It simply didn't make any sense.

Hopelessly confused she sat up, wrapped her arms around her knees, and stared blindly out the window.  Maybe I don't have the right to ask, she thought.  It's his life, after all.  He doesn't owe me any explanations.  It's not like I'm his mother…or his wife.  With a frustrated sigh, she hauled her weary body out of bed and went to put some clothes on.

As she was brushing her hair, there was a knock at the door.  When she opened it, Minerva McGonagall walked in carrying a tray, which she deposited on the table.  "Good morning, Evangeline," she said briskly.  "I trust you slept well."  Then she turned and really looked at the younger witch and sighed.  "No, I can see that you didn't."

Evangeline gave her former teacher a wan smile as she joined her by the table.  "You don't exactly look like you slept well either, Minerva."

The two of them stared at each other.  Unsure of what to say next.  Hoping to ease the tension a bit, Evangeline decided to forge ahead.  "Minerva, you don't need to worry.  I came to a decision this morning.  I know there's something that you and Severus know, that I don't.  I also know that for some reason, you're reluctant to tell me about it.  I'm not going to push.  You're both right to say that it isn't my business."  She sighed.  "I just hope he's okay.  He didn't look okay when I finally saw him last night."

Minerva smiled in sympathy.  "I'm sure that Severus is fine, Evangeline.  I'm glad that you decided not to question him anymore.  It's really the best decision you can make for all concerned.  Now let's have some breakfast.  You'll feel much better once you've eaten something."

So the two of them sat down to breakfast, and Evangeline let Minerva talk on about her students and her classes without much input from her.

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Evangeline spent many of the next few days putting up cleaned paintings and taking down dirty ones with Filch's help.  True to her word, she didn't question anyone who showed up to take a meal with her.  Not even Albus Dumbledore, although, she was certain if anyone would have the answers, he would, since he always seemed to know everything that anyone else was up to.

Once or twice, she saw Snape stalking about the halls with his usual sneer firmly in place.  Apparently he was just fine as the bruises seemed to be gone, and he certainly wasn't limping anymore.  He also wasn't taking any notice of her.  Even appearing, on at least one occasion, to look right through her without acknowledgement.   Well, she thought sadly, he's not the forgiving type, after all, and he must still be very angry with me for putting my nose in his business.

One morning about a week later, Evangeline was up on the top of a particularly tall ladder, trying to repair some damage to a very large portrait of a giant in a wood and trying to ignore all the advice she was getting from those around her.  The giant was very unhappy because she was working so slowly and wasn't shy about making his opinion known while she worked.  Filch, at the bottom of the ladder, was unhappy because he thought she was being careless, standing on the top of the ladder on tiptoe to reach the top edge of the painting.  He wasn't shy about putting his two cents on either.  Unfortunately Filch turned out to be right, much to his dismay.

As classes were let out, a hoard of chattering students suddenly barreled around the corner and careened right into Filch and the ladder.  Filch and the kids ended up in a tangle on the floor, but Evangeline went flying.  She had just time enough to think, Oh, damn, now I'll never get the painting finished, before she slammed into a body, and then struck the floor hard with her forehead.

Filch hauled himself out from under the tangle of kids, checked to see if they were okay, and then ran up the corridor to where two crumpled bodies lay.  Evangeline was on top, and Remus Lupin was on the bottom, both were unconscious, and with spreading puddles of blood under their heads.

Poor Filch didn't know what to do for them, but he didn't want to leave them there alone, so he sent one of the kids from the tangle by the ladder, a third year Hufflepuff, up to the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey.  The kid was back in record time with both Pomfrey and Snape at his heels.

"What happened, Filch," growled Snape roughly as he and Poppy examined Evangeline and Remus.  Filch explained as best he could, then took himself off to give detention to the kids who caused the accident.  Grumbling all the while about the mess he'd have to clean up, in order to cover his concern.

A rather paler than usual Potions Master turned Evangeline over once Poppy determined that neither her neck nor her back was broken, cradled her gently in his arms, and eased her off Lupin.  He held a cloth to the blood flowing from her forehead, and looked worriedly to Poppy for advice.  The mediwitch had her hands full with Lupin, though.  Obviously he'd broken Evangeline's fall, good for her, not so good for him as it turned out. 

Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself as she cast diagnostic spells over the awkwardly sprawled body of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and shook her head, frowning at the results she was receiving.  "I need to get them both up to the infirmary, at once.  Can you handle Evangeline, Severus?  I'll need to see to Remus first."

Snape nodded shortly and carefully lifted Evangeline's limp form up in his arms, holding her carefully against his chest.  Poppy magicked up a stretcher for Lupin, and they headed up to the hospital wing as quickly as possible, leaving a corridor smeared with blood in their wake. 

When they arrived in the infirmary, Poppy laid Lupin out on a bed and immediately began to tend to his injuries.  Snape asked her what he should do with Evangeline.  She gestured abruptly to the next bed over, answering absently as she concentrated on her patient.  "Put her there.  Remus is the more seriously injured of the two, Severus.  I need to tend to him first." 

Sensing his concern, she took a moment to raise reassuring eyes to him.  "They should both be okay; I think they both have concussions, but Remus also has a fractured skull.  He needs immediate attention.  Evangeline's injuries can keep for a bit…honest."  Without another word, she bent back to her work.

Snape sat down on the appointed bed and began to ease Evangeline out of his arms.  As he shifted her body in preparation for laying her down on the bed, her eyes flew open, and she grabbed at him with insistent fingers and moaned painfully.  "Oh, god, why is everything spinning?  I feel sick.  What happened?"

Relieved to hear her speak to him, he answered her gently,  "You fell off a ladder, Evangeline.  Do you remember?"

"Severus?" she asked in a small voice as she raised her head just a touch trying to focus her bleary eyes on his face.  "Is that you?"

"Yes," he said, still in his calm gentle voice.  "It's me.  You're safe now.  You'll be all right."  Once more he tried to get her to lie down, but she clung desperately to him.  "Oh, please, don't make me move."  She closed her eyes tightly once more.  "Everything is spinning, and I don't feel well at all."

"I know," he said sympathetically, "Poppy will tend to your head in a moment.  She's a little busy right now with Lupin."

"Lupin?  What happened to him?"  Evangeline asked in a small pain-filled voice.

Snape sighed.  "You landed on him when you fell, don't you remember?"

"No, I don't even remember falling."  There was a pause.  "I remember that you're angry with me, though," she said in the same small voice with her eyes still tightly closed.  "I'm sorry I made you angry."

He expelled a faint breath and held her a little more tightly.  "I'm not angry with you, Evangeline.  Please, don't worry about that."

"You're not angry?"  She sounded hopeful.  "I don't like it when you're angry with me.  I promise I'll stay out of your business.  I won't make you angry anymore."

Gently he stroked her hair.  "Please don't upset yourself, Evangeline.  Just try to relax.  I'm not angry at you."  He paused, then, added in a voice too soft for her to hear. "I never really was."

The two of them sat quietly for a while.  She concentrated on calming her roiling stomach, and he gently stroked her hair and held her securely against his chest.

"Severus?" she whispered.

"Yes?" he murmured softly.

"I really fell off a ladder and landed on Remus?"

A faint smile crossed his face at the uncertainty in her voice "Yes, Evangeline, you really did."

"Is he okay?  I hope I didn't hurt him too much."

"Poppy said he'll be fine.  Don't worry.  It's always been my understanding that Gryffindors possess particularly hard heads."

"Oh…" she moaned, as she tried not to laugh at his dry comment.

At that moment, McGonagall and Dumbledore came running into the infirmary followed by the bounding Black in his canine form.  Minerva put a hand on Snape's shoulder, and he turned his head at her touch and looked up at her.  "Filch told us what happened.  Are they all right?"

Before Snape could answer, Poppy straightened up and looked at them.  "Remus should be all right now, but I'll feel better when he wakes up.  I mended his skull and stopped any internal swelling.  I'd like to have a coherent conversation with him just to be sure, though."

Briskly she turned to Severus and Evangeline.  "Here, Severus, lay her down now, and let me look at her."  The two of them together managed to get Evangeline to release her death grip on Severus' robes and lay down so that she could be treated.  Poppy grunted after a moment's examination and said, "Mild concussion and a nasty cut on her forehead.  She'll be fine."  Then she asked Evangeline, "How do you feel, dear?"

"Dizzy and a little sick, actually.  I'm so sorry.  I feel terrible that I hurt Remus.  Is he okay?"

"Don't worry about that, dear.  He'll be fine.  You just take a little drink of this and get some rest."  She held a cup to the young woman's lips.  Once she drank the proffered potion, Evangeline lay back, closed her eyes, and fell instantly to sleep.

Suddenly Lupin groaned and opened his eyes.  Once he got his eyes to focus, he saw four people and a dog staring at him, and he said with a touch of confusion, "What hit me?"

Dumbledore replied.  "What do you remember, Remus?"

The injured wizard frowned and winced as he moved his head.  "I'm not sure…I seem to remember that I left my classroom and started walking down the hall toward where Evangeline and Filch were working.  There was a loud crash…. Oh!"  He jumped slightly.  "Evangeline was knocked off the ladder.  She was airborne!  I tried to catch her…uh, I don't really remember anything else."

Poppy snorted, "I'm not really surprised.  Well, Remus, you caught her, but not exactly successfully.  You were both knocked out cold."

"How is Evangeline?  Where is she?"  He tried to look around, cried out, and fell back and closed his eyes.

"Let that be a lesson to you," said Poppy.  "Evangeline is going to be fine.  She's asleep in the next bed.  Here drink this, and you'll soon be asleep, too.  You'll both feel better when you wake up."  Obediently he drank the potion she handed to him and was soon sound asleep.

Poppy addressed the others.  "They'll be fine by tomorrow, but they'll have to stay here overnight."

Dumbledore turned to Snape.  "Severus, can you take over Lupin's afternoon classes or shall I cancel them?"

Snape sighed in annoyance.  "I'm free this afternoon, Albus.  I can take over the classes.  I wish you had allowed me to ask him where he keeps his lesson plans before you put him to sleep, however, Poppy."

"Well, you'll just have to wing it.  You'll want to change your clothes before you go to class, too.  You're covered in Evangeline's blood."  Surprised at the comment, the Potions Master glanced down at the blood smeared on the front of his robes and got noticeably paler.  He looked over at Evangeline as she slept peacefully on the bed next to Lupin.  "There's so much of it."

"Yes, head wounds tend to bleed a lot.  They both lost a fair amount of blood, but that potion I gave them will boost them back up, quickly.  Don't worry."

"If they're all right for now, then I suggest we all leave them to get their rest," suggested Dumbledore.

"Excellent suggestion, Headmaster.  Severus, thank you for your help," said Poppy as she began to shoo everyone towards the door.

Snape nodded and turned to go, when he heard Dumbledore say, "Are you coming, Sirius?"  He turned back to see the dog lay down between the beds.

"He's okay, as long as he remains a dog," said Poppy.

Sirius wagged his tail in agreement, and the others quietly left the room and let Remus and Evangeline sleep.