Rain
Chapter Seven
Sunlight
--
They talked that night.
It was probably the longest stretch of time Koda and her father had not gotten into a fight, yet were in the same room. The gingerbread, Koda thought smugly, helped. In a few hours of talking they managed to make up all of the years they had missed of each other. Koda laughed at her father telling her how awful and rowdy his students were; he shook his head at all of her mishaps on tour with the little glorified garage band. The closer the events creeped to the present day, the quieter they got.
Severus didn't bother asking her why she took Cei in - he knew the answer - in fact, he was a little proud that she did. He could laugh in the face of all those who thought that he had been a terrible father now, for he had proof that his daughter did have some morals. Instead of just turning away or giving Cei a pittance for alms, she actually did something, which was more than he or anyone else he knew could say.
The one regret that night is that they had neglected presents for one another. Koda was the most embarrassed, and after a good blush, she threatened to go and buy him a (very Muggle) necktie once this was all over. He countered that the gingerbread and being alive was quite good enough, thank you. Yet, somehow, that excuse - that just seeing her was enough - didn't settle quite so nicely for him.
As the pallid glow of predawn light muffled by clouds began to be barely visible, they finally decided that it was finally time for bed, the last crumbs of gingerbread having been scraped from the glass pan. But as she was halfway out the door, he stopped her.
"Wait, Koda."
A moment of rummaging around in a forgotten, dusty box, and he found what he was looking for. Gingerly, he limped over and pressed something into her hands. She took a moment to look, smiled bordering on tears, and hugged him before finally going.
--
It was midmorning by the time Koda dragged herself out of sleep, tiredness wieghing her down like water the first few steps out of a pool. The one thing that spurred her to get up was the hard knot of worry in her chest. Her father had told her one thing - that by mid-morning today Cei would either be dead, or he would be cured. The poison would either have him, or it would finally be broken.
She stood up and fingered Mother's golden locket - no, her golden locket, now, Father had given it to her - around her neck. The chain was long and graceful, as fine as a strand of hair but infinitely strong, and the metal cool to the touch. She opened it to stare at the worn picture of two young and vaugely familiar faces, smiling, happy, before she closed it again, feeling sick. She didn't have time to think about love; she didn't have time to worry. She had to find Cei. Now.
The hallways were eerily empty and silent, Koda realized that most of the students were not yet back from Christmas holidays... and those that stayed were in their commonrooms, enjoying their presents. She felt oddly giddy. Yes - it was Christmas day, wasn't it? Christmas...
A painting pointed out the way to the Hospital Wing. For some reason, Koda took her time. She wanted to find him so badly - to see his clear blue eyes open and laughing again, to see him up and alert, to feel his arms about her. But the chance - there was always the chance - that left her chest tight also made her go slow. What if she would never see his eyes again, what if she would only see him stiff and dead, and what if she would never feel his touch again...? The fear was unbearable.
She stopped a few feet from the door to the infirmary. It was open, diffused sunlight spilling into the hall. She could hear a nurse humming and the flapping noise of sheets. After popping her head in, she determined that Cei wasn't there. For a moment her heart sank, until she realised that the nurse was unusually cheerful, and if Cei was - well - dead, logically, the panic and grief would still not have subsided quite that easily. Koda crept away, the knot slowly untying itself in her chest. He was alive. He had to be. Now, if she only could find him...
The students began to trickle down from their dorms. It was lunchtime, but nobody seemed to be in much of a hurry. She saw Harry and gave him a pallid smile, wandered a bit, found herself in the dungeons and talked to her father who verified that Cei was indeed alive, and probably with his father - why didn't she try looking in Dumbledore's office? Of course, it was three moving staircases, fourteen halls, and five interrogated paintings before she finally reached the right corridor.
It was a long hall, rather cool and dark. Very faintly, she could hear voices... one old, one young, both familiar. She knew one was Cei's, the other it took her a moment to place... Albus Dumbledore? Yes, it had to be Cei's father, in a moment she saw them - shaking hands and then finally embracing. She smiled faintly before calling out his name. "Cei?"
He turned, looking startled, then thrilled. His father smiled knowingly as he ran forward, smiling, rushing up to her. For a moment they simply clung to one another, Cei burying his face in her shoulder, Koda pressing against his chest and breathing deeply of the herbs of the bandages he still wore. Time stopped for awhile, at least for them, the superb relief that each felt upon seeing the other safe and sound stretching out the moments. They cooed each others' names for awhile, Koda's voice high and sweet, Cei's still a rough and hoarse purr from unuse. They kissed. And although the few professors and students that did see them laughed and shook their heads, they didn't seem to mind nor care, because everything was suddenly right in their world.
After a moment, she laid her head on his chest and relaxed, listening to the small sounds of his breathing and heartbeat. He kissed her one more time on the cheek before whispering softly: "Look."
"Uhmm?" She lifted her head.
"The window." His voice was very quiet, but she followed his gaze. At the very end of the hall was a window, arching up from the floor to cieling. Someone had drawn back the heavy velvet curtains to show the forest and the dim, cloudy horison. Enchanted, she moved forward with him, still snuggled up against his chest.
As they watched, the last of the cold rain died. For a few moments, the air was still, and then the clouds began to slowly part. A small sunbeam sliced through as the tips of clouds began to be tipped with golden honey tones, and then the slice grew larger and larger until finally the sun in its brilliance showed its face. The lake glimmered, the trees shone, the light hit their faces. And they kissed. Because it was over, and somehow they knew that now everything was going to be fine.
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Author's Notes: It's fiiiinished, it's fiiiinished! I actually finished a fic! I know this is a super-short chapter, but really, nothing much happens... A sequel may pop up later, but for now, Rain is finished. Teehee. Hooray.
Now you have to write that sequel to Happy in the Meantime, Hayley. XD