Episode Eighty Two
Sitting in her office Gwen heaved a giant sigh. With her head in her hands, she was debating whether or not to brew a sleeping draught. She hadn't been able to sleep properly since her first supernatural visit from her spectral father. Mage's words did not ease the burden of little to no sleep.
She had of course, spoken to Dumbledore about the strange woman's appearance. She felt that he should know, in case castle security had been breached. It had not.
"Ah, Mage came to see you." He said, leaning back and admiring Gwen. "It's not often that she speaks to anyone. I was very surprised to see her myself."
"She came to you too?"
"Yes. Sometimes."
"Who is she?" Gwen asked, the burning feeling returning to her belly.
Dumbledore looked at her plainly. "Who is a very broad question Ms. LeFey. Who is anyone?"
Gwen frowned, pursing her lips slightly. She had dealt with Dumbledore's riddles before. "I just meant, where did she come from? How does she know the things she knows? Why did she come to see me?"
"I would've thought she'd have told you why. How is a harder question to answer. How does anyone know anything?"
At the disbelieving stare from Gwen Dumbledore nearly laughed. He had nearly forgotten her zero tolerance for his round about way of making someone think. He decided to answer her question in a more straightforward manner.
"Mage isn't much older than yourself, but many call her the greatest seer of all time. As a matter of fact they call her Mage the Sage. She has a wisdom born of being able to see what others cannot. As such, she doesn't let anyone get close. It isn't perhaps the same with Madame Trelawney. She likes to keep her inner eye clear. Mage is afraid of connecting with people who are just going to die."
"How is that?"
"She sees people's deaths the moment she meets them."
Gwen looked down into her lap, her hands folded. She had been pulling at her fingers, something she did when she was nervous.
"Perhaps she said something you didn't want to hear?" Dumbledore asked.
"No. She was very vague. Hinting about something I don't have the time to worry about." Gwen replied simply.
Dumbledore's mouth creased into the tiniest smile. "As with all things, the answers will come with time."
"It's just that I can't sleep at night."
"No. I wouldn't imagine you could. When someone hints at some truth you cannot see it unsettles you. It would unsettle anyone."
Sitting alone in her office, she felt more unhinged than unsettled. There was something in Mage's words that had set that fire in her soul burning again. Something about her past didn't ring true and with the dreams of her father still clinging to the edges of her mind she realized that she had to dig up buried memories. She didn't think she could avoid it anymore by delving into her work.
A soft whisper at her ear and a pair of warm hands on her shoulders told her she was not alone. It was Graves, hidden under the folds of his invisibility cloak.
"How long have you been here?" She asked.
"Long enough to know that you need a back rub." He said, kneading her shoulders tenderly.
She smiled. She felt so good when he was around, but as soon as he was away she felt cold and empty again. Perhaps this was love, the kind of love where an ache filled the hours when you were apart.
