[A/N: Yes, I do short.]
Keayalnea refused, absolutely refused, to be intimidated by just, whatever the hell… had happened. She smacked herself in the jaw, full force, for that thought.
Get over it, get it done. There are more important things than what you want, dammit!
She was a few minutes later than everyone else walking into the meeting, and knew that she could not just slide quietly into her accustomed position, but would be bombarded by every person there, none of whom, she assumed, realized she had come back. She would rather have skipped the entire thing, but the formality of it was inescapable. The plans had changed, and they needed to know that. She opened the door as little as possible, and slid through the opening, quietly as physically possible, and, in force of habit, shut the door with her back to it. Everyone was just taking their seats, but Albus was looking straight at her with a piercing gaze she'd never seen him use before. She looked back at him with as much impartiality as she could muster, she didn't move, realizing that they'd been holding gazes for quite some time and that every other person in the room was gawking at her. She was not moved to comment. Maybe that was the most surprising thing.
Albus walked over to her, grabbing her jaw and pushing her lip upwards, much as one would check the teeth of a horse. She pulled her head forcefully to the side, glaring at him, lips clamped shut.
"So that's where you've been," Albus's quiet voice was sharp with fury. "Do you realize that I cannot fix that?"
"Whoever said it needed to be?" Keayalnea's voice was near a whisper, uncertain of herself in the situation, but infuriated at his meddlesome, patronizing role in her life.
"I, for one," Albus replied, stepping back slightly. "I'm loathe to place you in the battle lines against Voldemort, Keayalnea. Marked by the Sphynx I will allow you nowhere near him."
"How do you propose to stop me? Sinia has none of the personality traits required to see this through."
"Yes she does. She's loyal."
"And weak willed, or have you not noticed how she clings to Black's every word without thought of herself?"
"Selflessness," Albus turned to walk to his chair. "Can be considered a strength."
"Then why have you never seen my own?"
"You are far too difficult for me to waste five words complimenting you, let alone trying to convince you I would."
"Thank you," she leaned back against the door and crossed her arms. "I figured I'd inform you myself that the plans have changed."
"Of course they have. You wrote them."
"I'm seeking him out in July."
"No," Albus's head snapped up at the word. "You will not."
"I repeat: how do you propose to stop me?"
"By any means necessary or in my power to do so."
He stood, pulling back the sleeves of his cloak. "It has been a long time since I drew the Sphynx out of a sorceress…"
"You touch me and you die," each word was accented heavily, her small frame almost invisibly pressing against the door.
"Maybe, her replied, pointing his wand in her direction.
With an earth shattering thunder, the Sphynx appeared directly in front of Keayalnea, metallic blue wings splintering the wood of the ceiling and the plaster of the walls in their full spread, the look on her face taunting Albus to cast anything similar to a spell.
"Albus," the name was enunciated heavily, soft and dangerous. "I'm afraid we have met one time too many for my pleasure."
Behind her, hidden from view, Keayalnea let out a small sigh, her fear draining slowly.
With that, the Sphynx folded her wings and stepped forward, slowly and deliberately, in his direction, clearly with murder in mind.
"No!" Severus launched himself at her, trying to stop her impending assault on the headmaster, and she gripped him by the shoulder and slung him across the room, watching him crash into the wall with a satisfied smirk, and began walking in his direction.
"Petrificus totalus!" chanted Alastor, but the spell reverberated back and he fell face first in his own body bind. Keayalnea could recognize the minute signs of blind panic in Severus's face. Spotting her chance, she balled her hand into a fist, yanking it straight down.
The Sphynx crashed to her knees in the cherry wood floor. And Keayalnea, although she knew she would pay dearly for this, understood quite well that she would do it again.
"All right, then," she stood, facing Keayalnea, "we'll deal with you."
How she did it, Keayalnea would never be able to explain, but as the Sphynx slung her face first toward the far wall, she just flung out her wings and…
stopped.
She spun as quickly as she could, nose grazing the wallpaper, and found herself locking arms with the Sphynx, caught in a battle of wills she hadn't dared attempted before, when all the sudden she disappeared.
Keayalnea found herself inexplicably yanked toward the doorway, and she spun, flaring her wings so she was caught, like a fishing hook in a tree limb, in the doorway.
Her eyes landed on Severus, who was shaking his head slightly in fear. For her? She didn't know.
"Good bye," she breathed, before she lost her hold and disappeared.
Severus was almost too stunned to notice that everything in the room was restored exactly. For that is how the truth is- it comes in an explosion of energy, but never changes anything permanently, for it was already there.
