Disclaimer:
I own nothing save this plot
I know it's sad but true.
Anything you recognize
Belongs to You-Know-Who.
A/N: Wow~Don't worry, I seriously doubt that there are any spoilers for OoTP in here, but just let me say, isn't it amazing how one book has the power to make an AU of any fan-fic it touches? Heheh ~ I suppose I'll have to change a bit around on the sequel so that my story isn't too far fetched ~ unless some of you out there are thinking that it's too far fetched already ~ hmmm. Oh well, happy reading anyway!
Oh, and by the way, my sincerest apologies for the atrocious formatting that this will no doubt show once I upload it to ffnet. It still doesn't like XP very much.
~Chapter 21~
Light streamed in from the eastern window and caused a warm glow on all it touched. Classes were in session, so all was generally quiet. Lupin had offered his services as a potions teacher, provided with Snape's lesson plans, and Snape had reluctantly accepted with a little persuasion from Dumbledore. He was glad to have the week off, although he would never admit it, and he elected to spend the time at Angeline's side. It had been three days and she still had not awoken.
At twelve-thirty, Hermione, Ron, and Harry came up to check on Angeline. Snape glanced over his thick potion book but said nothing to them. They had come several times a day for the last three days. Snape had decided to ignore them most of the time. He had been in no mood for socialization since his encounter with Voldemort, but he figured their presence might bring Angeline around a little sooner.
Hermione walked timidly over to Snape and placed a tray of food down next to him. Snape looked at the food and then at Hermione. She smiled warmly at him and then turned her attention back to Angeline. 'I see the family resemblance,' he thought as he watched her walk away.
An argument erupted in the hallway and drew their attention. Madam Pomfrey came inside and closed the door abruptly behind her. "Mr. Fudge is here, and he is on the war-path," she warned about five seconds before the door was shoved open.
"I demand to know what you have done to my agents!" Fudge yelled at Snape.
"I have done nothing to them. Furthermore," Snape added with a glare, "this is a hospital room, so kindly keep your voice down."
"I demand answers! I'll have all of your jobs ~ starting with the headmaster ~ if I find out that ~" Fudge had continued to yell, despite Snape's warning.
Like a bolt of lightening, Snape shot out of the chair and slammed Fudge into the wall, clutching him by the throat. "If anyone is going to lose their job, it will be you. You have sat around for far too long and played politics while the Dark Lord has secured his power~"
"That is preposterous! Y-you-Know-Who has not returned. It's only a myth that you and that fool headmaster have contrived to cover up the criminal acts going on in this school."
Snape fought the urge to throw the man across the room. He probably would have choked Fudge if it had not been for a tiny, whispering voice behind him.
"He's telling the truth. Voldemort has been the cause of all this mess." Angeline's head throbbed as she pushed herself slowly up in the bed. She felt extremely weak and shaky, and the room swam around slightly, but she was determined to get her point across to Fudge.
"Ms. Atwood, you obviously are not well. Don't worry. I do not hold you responsible for the actions of Dumbledore and his staff. There will be a formal hearing this summer to see to the termination of a large portion of the staff at Hogwarts. I know that you are ill, but that should give you an ample amount of time to prepare your report."
"Oh, don't worry. You'll have my report sooner than you think," Angeline said dryly. "As a matter of fact, I'll take it straight to the Daily Prophet for you."
"Very good. I shall leave you to your rest then," Fudge said. He pushed Snape's hand off his collar and left the room.
Snape and the students looked at Angeline in disbelief.
"The bloody git ~ he doesn't even know when he's being outwitted," Angeline whispered, causing the students to giggle.
"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.
"Angeline leaned back against the back board of the bed and closed her eyes. The sun was streaming in on her from the window, and it felt good. She felt awkwardly cold for a spring day. "I think I finally understand what it is like to have a hangover," she said lightly. She raised her hand to massage her head and opened her eyes again. The room had stopped swimming, but she was extremely light-headed. "How did you find my diary?" she asked, turning her attention to Snape. "Did Lyle tell you?"
Snape's face softened. He remembered how Angeline had reacted the last time she thought Lyle had died. And now~
Angeline analyzed Snape's expression, but she could not decide exactly what he was thinking. It suddenly struck her that their last conversation had been less than pleasant. The events of the last few days came snowballing back to her memory. She had gone to apologize to Snape and had gone back to her room miserable. Lyle had come in ~ and she woke up in Voldemort's hiding place. Her father and Lyle had been there ~ "Severus ~ where is my brother?"
Snape wanted desperately to be somewhere else. How was he supposed to explain to her that her brother had been a double agent, plotting in his spare time ways to trap her? And worse, he had been the cause of her brother getting killed after the man had a change of heart.
"Ms. Angeline," Harry spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. Snape had been acting strangely ~ even for him ~ ever since they had escaped Voldemort, and Harry sensed that Angeline's question may have been too much for her or Snape to handle properly. "Professor Snape went back to get the pieces of your wand after we got you out safely, and Voldemort attacked him. We managed to escape, but Voldemort caught up to us. He almost killed Professor Snape, but your brother stopped him." Harry paused and cleared his throat. "He sacrificed himself so that we could get away."
The reality hit Angeline hard. Her brother had been taking care of her and looking out for her ever since they were young. She realized that her brother must have made a deal with Voldemort to deliver her for the ceremony in exchange for getting their father out of Azkaban.
For as long as she could remember, Lyle had taken the typical big brother role. He constantly fussed over how well she took care of herself and how she was treated by boyfriends. Her father had always hated her because he believed that she was the result of an affair committed by her mother. It wasn't true of course, but Angeline had looked nothing like her mother or father. She had fiery, red hair, bright green eyes, and was a little on the short side whereas everyone else was tall and had dark eyes and black hair. The result had been quite a bit of abuse for her and her mother. Lyle never received any of the hatred felt by their father, so he had not understood why their mother had taken them away in the middle of the night and fled the United States after their father had mysteriously been taken to Azkaban. Lyle grew to accept the name of Atwood, and assumed the role of the head of the family at an early age.
Harry's words rang through her head. Lyle had hated Snape, but he had protected her feelings to the very end. She felt a hollow place forming within her. Since her mother had died, Lyle had been the only family she had. Now he was gone.
Snape watched Angeline's face. She seemed to be completely lost in thought. Snape felt completely inadequate in the art of consoling, and he moved his mouth to speak, but no sound came.
"If you all don't mind," Angeline finally spoke, aware that everyone was watching her, "I'd really like to be alone."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded and filed out of the room. Snape moved toward the bed. "I'm ~ ~ sorry," he uttered before turning to leave.
***
***
***
Well, this was short but necessary. PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE ~ Read and Review. Just a couple o' chapters left!!!
Cheers, and have a lovely week!
I own nothing save this plot
I know it's sad but true.
Anything you recognize
Belongs to You-Know-Who.
A/N: Wow~Don't worry, I seriously doubt that there are any spoilers for OoTP in here, but just let me say, isn't it amazing how one book has the power to make an AU of any fan-fic it touches? Heheh ~ I suppose I'll have to change a bit around on the sequel so that my story isn't too far fetched ~ unless some of you out there are thinking that it's too far fetched already ~ hmmm. Oh well, happy reading anyway!
Oh, and by the way, my sincerest apologies for the atrocious formatting that this will no doubt show once I upload it to ffnet. It still doesn't like XP very much.
~Chapter 21~
Light streamed in from the eastern window and caused a warm glow on all it touched. Classes were in session, so all was generally quiet. Lupin had offered his services as a potions teacher, provided with Snape's lesson plans, and Snape had reluctantly accepted with a little persuasion from Dumbledore. He was glad to have the week off, although he would never admit it, and he elected to spend the time at Angeline's side. It had been three days and she still had not awoken.
At twelve-thirty, Hermione, Ron, and Harry came up to check on Angeline. Snape glanced over his thick potion book but said nothing to them. They had come several times a day for the last three days. Snape had decided to ignore them most of the time. He had been in no mood for socialization since his encounter with Voldemort, but he figured their presence might bring Angeline around a little sooner.
Hermione walked timidly over to Snape and placed a tray of food down next to him. Snape looked at the food and then at Hermione. She smiled warmly at him and then turned her attention back to Angeline. 'I see the family resemblance,' he thought as he watched her walk away.
An argument erupted in the hallway and drew their attention. Madam Pomfrey came inside and closed the door abruptly behind her. "Mr. Fudge is here, and he is on the war-path," she warned about five seconds before the door was shoved open.
"I demand to know what you have done to my agents!" Fudge yelled at Snape.
"I have done nothing to them. Furthermore," Snape added with a glare, "this is a hospital room, so kindly keep your voice down."
"I demand answers! I'll have all of your jobs ~ starting with the headmaster ~ if I find out that ~" Fudge had continued to yell, despite Snape's warning.
Like a bolt of lightening, Snape shot out of the chair and slammed Fudge into the wall, clutching him by the throat. "If anyone is going to lose their job, it will be you. You have sat around for far too long and played politics while the Dark Lord has secured his power~"
"That is preposterous! Y-you-Know-Who has not returned. It's only a myth that you and that fool headmaster have contrived to cover up the criminal acts going on in this school."
Snape fought the urge to throw the man across the room. He probably would have choked Fudge if it had not been for a tiny, whispering voice behind him.
"He's telling the truth. Voldemort has been the cause of all this mess." Angeline's head throbbed as she pushed herself slowly up in the bed. She felt extremely weak and shaky, and the room swam around slightly, but she was determined to get her point across to Fudge.
"Ms. Atwood, you obviously are not well. Don't worry. I do not hold you responsible for the actions of Dumbledore and his staff. There will be a formal hearing this summer to see to the termination of a large portion of the staff at Hogwarts. I know that you are ill, but that should give you an ample amount of time to prepare your report."
"Oh, don't worry. You'll have my report sooner than you think," Angeline said dryly. "As a matter of fact, I'll take it straight to the Daily Prophet for you."
"Very good. I shall leave you to your rest then," Fudge said. He pushed Snape's hand off his collar and left the room.
Snape and the students looked at Angeline in disbelief.
"The bloody git ~ he doesn't even know when he's being outwitted," Angeline whispered, causing the students to giggle.
"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.
"Angeline leaned back against the back board of the bed and closed her eyes. The sun was streaming in on her from the window, and it felt good. She felt awkwardly cold for a spring day. "I think I finally understand what it is like to have a hangover," she said lightly. She raised her hand to massage her head and opened her eyes again. The room had stopped swimming, but she was extremely light-headed. "How did you find my diary?" she asked, turning her attention to Snape. "Did Lyle tell you?"
Snape's face softened. He remembered how Angeline had reacted the last time she thought Lyle had died. And now~
Angeline analyzed Snape's expression, but she could not decide exactly what he was thinking. It suddenly struck her that their last conversation had been less than pleasant. The events of the last few days came snowballing back to her memory. She had gone to apologize to Snape and had gone back to her room miserable. Lyle had come in ~ and she woke up in Voldemort's hiding place. Her father and Lyle had been there ~ "Severus ~ where is my brother?"
Snape wanted desperately to be somewhere else. How was he supposed to explain to her that her brother had been a double agent, plotting in his spare time ways to trap her? And worse, he had been the cause of her brother getting killed after the man had a change of heart.
"Ms. Angeline," Harry spoke up, breaking the awkward silence. Snape had been acting strangely ~ even for him ~ ever since they had escaped Voldemort, and Harry sensed that Angeline's question may have been too much for her or Snape to handle properly. "Professor Snape went back to get the pieces of your wand after we got you out safely, and Voldemort attacked him. We managed to escape, but Voldemort caught up to us. He almost killed Professor Snape, but your brother stopped him." Harry paused and cleared his throat. "He sacrificed himself so that we could get away."
The reality hit Angeline hard. Her brother had been taking care of her and looking out for her ever since they were young. She realized that her brother must have made a deal with Voldemort to deliver her for the ceremony in exchange for getting their father out of Azkaban.
For as long as she could remember, Lyle had taken the typical big brother role. He constantly fussed over how well she took care of herself and how she was treated by boyfriends. Her father had always hated her because he believed that she was the result of an affair committed by her mother. It wasn't true of course, but Angeline had looked nothing like her mother or father. She had fiery, red hair, bright green eyes, and was a little on the short side whereas everyone else was tall and had dark eyes and black hair. The result had been quite a bit of abuse for her and her mother. Lyle never received any of the hatred felt by their father, so he had not understood why their mother had taken them away in the middle of the night and fled the United States after their father had mysteriously been taken to Azkaban. Lyle grew to accept the name of Atwood, and assumed the role of the head of the family at an early age.
Harry's words rang through her head. Lyle had hated Snape, but he had protected her feelings to the very end. She felt a hollow place forming within her. Since her mother had died, Lyle had been the only family she had. Now he was gone.
Snape watched Angeline's face. She seemed to be completely lost in thought. Snape felt completely inadequate in the art of consoling, and he moved his mouth to speak, but no sound came.
"If you all don't mind," Angeline finally spoke, aware that everyone was watching her, "I'd really like to be alone."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded and filed out of the room. Snape moved toward the bed. "I'm ~ ~ sorry," he uttered before turning to leave.
***
***
***
Well, this was short but necessary. PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE ~ Read and Review. Just a couple o' chapters left!!!
Cheers, and have a lovely week!