"On ne sait jamais" ~ Le Petit Prince

            Isabel was in front of a large castle that she had never seen before.  It seemed to be empty and yet it still emanated a feeling of comfort. Pain was still running through Isabel, and she hadn't the energy to flee from Snape as he led her up to the main entrance. Her feet struggled to move. She didn't take pain well. Her arm seemed to be the source of her current pain. It was coming in waves from her left arm to the rest of her body. She knew why, and she knew how to fix it, but getting her other arm to move and focus on the task was too much currently. Snape opened the door and with his arm around her led her to a gargoyle. He said something and the gargoyle led to a staircase that moved them up to a door. Snape walked in without knocking and sat her down on a chair.

            "Take deep breaths and focus on something. It will help to ease the pain." Spoke Snape's voice of experience. Isabel took deep breaths and ground her teeth, trying to think of anything that might help ease her pain. Then an old man entered the room. Immediately the pain seemed to calm, though it still caused sobs of pain. She held back on fixing it. She didn't know if this old man was on her side or just another person who wanted to hurt her. The man, after all, had told Snape to "do something" with her. Sometimes, one could never be certain of intents. "Malfoy tortured her for the whereabouts of Farbon. She doesn't know. I am to 'do something with her'. I brought her here."

            The old man nodded then looked at Isabel. "Take it off child. It's not worth the pain." Isabel's eyes widened but she complied. She reached up her right shirt sleeve and detached her arm. As soon as it was off, her pain subsided further until only a dull ache remained. Snape looked incredulously at her.

            "What, never seen someone with a fake arm before?" she asked. "It was making the pain worse; otherwise, I wouldn't have taken it off." She usually didn't in front of people. She didn't take pain or rejection very well. She used her now empty sleeve to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Woo….that really hurt." Isabel blew her held breath out and tried to sound brave. The old man looked at her knowingly.

            "I'm sure it did. My Name is Albus Dumbledore, by the way. This is my colleague and spy Severus Snape. We are not on the side of Voldemort." He said. "I want you to stay in our hospital ward to make sure there aren't any complications. Where is your home? Perhaps we can send someone to go get enough of your clothes for a three day stay. Would you like me to inform your family?"

            "No…it's not like my dad would care anyway. He's the only…family… I have." Isabel said massaging her temples. "Have you any ibuprofen?" she asked forgetting she was once again in the wizarding world. "I mean headache potion, of course." She amended looking at their faces for signs of disapproval. Her father was really disappointed that she didn't act more "pureblood" as he put it. He thought of the muggles as pesky pets, pets that though they were annoying, couldn't be killed. She, however, viewed them as a culture that had come so far so fast without the aid of magic everyday. It was amazing. Unfortunately her "muggle-love" was looked down upon by people of high social standings. She even had a muggle arm, favoring the realness of synthetic material to the silvery substance used in prosthetics in the magic world. Dumbledore and Snape, however, didn't seem to be disapproving of her integration into the muggle world, but then again one could never be sure…

A/N: In French Four we are reading Le Petit Prince. It's a lovely children's book and even holds meaning when older. While translating, certain phrases will catch my eye, the first one being the quote that was the inspiration for the last chapter. I've decided that most all, if not all chapters will be themed by a quote. I have five quotes already lined up...so at least five more chapters. I'd like to thank all the people who have reviewed my other stories and added me to their fave lists. I'd also like to thank Aude and princess17 for reviewing this story. It was a nice surprise to find today after school.

Happy Birthday Zoë! ~11/22/02