I don't know if you noticed, but I dropped a really big hint in the last chapter about the relationship between Daniel and Severus. Unless you've already figured it out. If you have, good for you. I only finally decided on the nature of said relationship last week.
Waking up the next morning, Daniel stared at the ceiling for a full two hours until the damp stone no longer interested her. Getting up reluctantly, she walked quietly into the bedroom part of the office, and through to the shower room. Showering under water that she knew was too hot, she heard stirrings in the bedroom and hesitated slightly in returning to her sofa. Severus still wasn't meeting her eye after last time. Opening the door a fraction, she saw the figures in the bed were, thankfully, unmoving.
Tip-toeing across the tiles, avoiding the many items of clothing that lay about the floor required all of her stealth, considering as it was 8 in the morning. Alexander mumbled something in his sleep and shifted slightly. Turning slowly, she made sure he was still asleep, and shut the door softly behind her.
Hoking through the various jars and containers that littered the office, Daniel found a miserable-looking teabag and glanced around for a cup. As she stretched to lift a cup off a high shelf, a sharp jolt of pain shot through her abdomen. Bent double against the wall, she wasn't aware of having made any noise, but Alexander was instantly crouching beside her, calling for Severus. The pain was almost unbearable. Her stomach seemed to be twisting to get out, tying itself in knots. Alexander stared at her in horror, and she was vaguely aware of blood dotting the front of her clothes. Severus had the case with her blood in it open besides her, looking quickly at the labels on the bags, he screwed one open and smelt it. Coughing in disgust, he handed it to Alexander, who sniffed halfheartedly at it. He said something to Severus, who nodded, and then the whole scene blurred out of focus.
Waking with a start, Daniel glanced around the room. She was aware of talking somewhere to her right, and tried to look for the source of the voices.
"It appears the blood was contaminated." Said a calm voice. Dumbledore's office. That's where she was. The old headmasters and mistresses stared interestedly down at her from their fancy frames.
"Well it's obvious who set all this up!" shrieked a less calm voice. Severus, of course. The ability to keep calm under pressure had always avoided him. Not that she was good at keeping her temper in check.
"It is? Severus?" replied Dumbledore, still calm and reserved. That would annoy him.
"The man who traffics the blood is Lucius Malfoy's nephew! And Lucius said he'd kill her!" shouted Severus in a very shrill voice. That always happened when he was pissed off.
"But Daniel received the blood a long time ago." Answered Dumbledore, and a shuffling noise indicated he had got to his feet. "Long before Daniel decided to 'discipline' Mr. Malfoy." She heard the footsteps approaching. The darkness she was viewing darkened further as he bent over her. He lifted one of her eyelids gently. It took a huge effort to try to focus. "Welcome back Daniel." He said kindly. Quick footsteps.
"Are you alright?" Severus demanded, looking at her suspiciously. She closed her eyes again. The lights were too bright.
"Maybe Lucius just wanted to make her suffer a bit." Said Alexander's contemplative voice from across the room.
"What do you mean?" asked Severus, although she was sure he was still looking at her.
"Well, he's not really that fond of her now, is he? And I bet he'd love to hurt her a lot without being obviously responsible. He could blame it on dodgy blood cleansing or something. And he's in Wiltshire, so he's a good safe distance away." Severus and Dumbledore thought about this. After a while, Dumbledore sent them out, as he was meeting the Minister for Magic about the Mr. Crouch incident. Daniel remained lying on the sofa. Her head was spinning as though she'd rolled down a hill. She hadn't moved for the past few hours. Daniel heard Cornelius Fudge comment on her presence, but Dumbledore assured him that she was asleep, and not, in fact, listening keenly to every single word.
Then the office went quiet as they filed out to search the grounds. But footsteps sounded uncertainly around the room. Lifting an eyelid, she saw Harry Potter looking curiously at her over the back of the sofa.
She smiled feebly in greeting.
"You don't look too good." He commented, sitting on the arm of the sofa. She shook her head. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, and she gestured at her stomach and then grimaced. He nodded knowingly. Clicking her fingers for his attention, she motioned for a glass of water from the jug on a side table. Raising herself up a bit, the bitter taste in her throat was washed away by the cold liquid.
"How're you?" she croaked, finishing the glass.
"Alright." She knew he was bursting to talk about Sirius.
"Have you heard from Sirius?" she asked, easing herself up some more.
"Yeah. He warned me to stay out of trouble and not to wander off with foreigners." She smiled.
"Exactly the opposite of what he would have done." Daniel grinned, noting the 'don't I know it' look on his otherwise worried face.
Steeling herself against the dull ache in her stomach, she stood up quickly, and to Harry's great surprise, fell down just as fast.
Short, I know, but the next one will be longer. I'm trying to clear this one up. At least writing Krieg has kept me halfway insane.
Thanks so much for all the reviews.
Xanadan