Disclaimers: I do not own these characters except for Jessica Weaver and
Other characters that you do not recognize. The others belong to J.K.R.
RWH
~~~
***
Twenty
Saturday 5/10 Hogwart's dungeon
"YES!"
The object on the table brightened with an orange energy and a humming rose from the parchment beneath it.
"You can do it.. come on.. show me." A husky voice whispered excitedly as he watched the object's reaction. The barrette twisted and turned on the paper as his eyes watched its movement, not daring to breathe to loudly.
"Where is she.. "
He could feel his heartbeat thudding in his chest. He was so close to locating her. He could feel it in his bones. This was it, this was the spell that was going to work, he was sure of it. As if feeling his excitement the gold barrette jumped and twisted one last time before coming to a rest on point. He looked closer.
Pilmour and Turnhound, London
He recognized the names as cross streets close to The Leaky Cauldron. Could she be so close as that?
Not daring to hope too much, he grabbed his cloak pocketed the barrette and parchment and literally ran out of the door. He barely acknowledged Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Sprout as he bolted past the startled teachers.
"Severus?" Dumbledore called out after him. "The students need.. "
"NOT NOW!" Severus yelled back and ran.. bolted.. out of the door leaving his headmaster and the teachers looking after him in bemusement.
"Well, looks like we are alone in our supervision of the students to Hogsmeade." The headmaster smiled and led the others on.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Minerva glanced back as she heard another door slam after the fleeing man."
Albus quickly wrapped an arm around both witches' shoulders and led them on. "I'm sure whatever it is, he is quite capable of fixing it." Inside he smiled at the man's actions. He wasn't sure, but he had an idea what the problem was. If only Severus had come to him in the first place the poor man wouldn't be in such a sad state.
"You know something, don't you Albus." Sprout gave him a raised eyebrow knowing that look on his face.
"I know bits and pieces, nothing specific, nothing to get worried about, Ladies. Now, lets get the students around and into town."
~~~~
Severus ran all the way to the gate and without hesitation apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. He appeared in a purposely darkened corner of the brick building and stepped out glancing around to assure himself that there were no Muggles to see him. Satisfied that he was alone, he moved out of the shadows keeping a wary eye out for anyone, unknown or known. It was imperative that no one saw him here today. It wouldn't pay to have Malfoy or one of his cronies to see him at this critical time. Tonight he had some serious work to do and he didn't want to be distracted. Noting that there was no one of consequence he gathered his cloak around him and headed to the pub.
He paused just inside of the door and looked around not seeing anyone that he recognized he moved to the bar to have a word with the owner.
"Tom." Severus leaned against the bar and the man at the bar approached him with a glass already filled with good brandy.
"Severus, It's been a while, where have you been hold up lately?"
"Busy, Tom.. " Severus took the drink and swirled the amber liquid around the glass before taking a sip. "I may need a room later.. "
Tom looked nervously around and leaned in, whispering. "I've been warned not to help you, Severus."
Severus scowled and pulled out his money pouch. "Last I heard you owned this Inn, Tom. Voldemort is dead, they have no hold over you or me anymore. Now, how much?"
Tom sighed and looked about him again before holding out his hand for the money. "Five will work, just don't let anyone see you come in.. with anyone. The place has spies everywhere."
Severus nodded faintly and withdrew the required amount and Tom retrieved a key from a cubbyhole and handed it to him. "Room number six, lower level, far down on the right.furthest away and opens onto the alley. Be careful, Severus, whatever you are doing. THEY are not liking it."
Severus pocketed the key and turned around, glaring at anyone that looked at him. If any of them knew what he planned on, they would all ostracize him. With a nod to Tom, he swept out of the pub and into the street not seeing the small cleaning girl emerge from a side room strapping on an apron or feel the barrette spinning like mad in his pocket.
~~~~
Tom watched the man leave then looked towards the new girl and called her over.
"Hey, Jess, There's three rooms upstairs to clean, three galleons each if you get them cleaned up before six."
"No problem, I'll get to it immediately." She smiled up at the man and bent down to pick up her cleaning supplies. Three of their Galleons seemed to equal almost nine dollars to her. That would mean almost thirty dollars for the day. At least she would be able to eat and pay for a few nights' stay here.
She found the stairs and made her way up to where she knew the rooms to be. It was simple work, but she took a fair amount of pride in it. Her parents would kill her if they could see what she was doing now. She chuckled at that thought, opened a door to one of the room, and entered. Even if it was just cleaning, she found it comforting that she had the job. She could just as easily still be on the streets or in the shelter instead of here with a roof over her head and three hot meals a day. She owed Tom a lot and was grateful that she had found this place, literally fell into it.
She grinned as she recalled how she had discovered the mysterious Inn quite by accident last week. She thought that she was heading for a major headache after the unknown man shoved her from behind, unintentionally, causing her to lose her balance and fell, head long into a brick wall. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain but the next thing she knew she was sprawled on her hands and knees in the doorway of this place. She remembered looking around in open-mouthed amazement at the old looking pub and the oddly dressed people inside.
"Muggle.. "
"Woman.. "
"Should not be here.. "
She heard the whispers and ducked her head trying to shrink into herself. Under lowered lids she saw a pair of boots approach her and when she finally realized that the boots weren't going to move away she looked up and into the eyes of one of the strangest people she had ever seen.
"Ah, are you lost miss?"
"I.. Uh.. I was pushed.. I fell into a wall.. " She frowned wondering where that wall was now.
The man smiled a toothless smile and reached out a hand of assistance to her, helping her to her feet. "You look tired, come in, sit down and have a hot bowl of soup."
Her stomach growled noisily at the mention of food but she shook her head and stood shakily to her feet with his help.
"No, no thank you. I.. can't afford it, but thank you." She gave the man a small smile and turned back to the door.
The man placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her and turned her towards a table by a window.
"I insist, you look like you can use a healthy meal."
She sighed and allowed herself to be manhandled into a booth, but still wanted to refuse his offer of soup. "I can't.pay."
"I didn't ask you if you could pay.do you wish for a bowl?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. The man gave her another grin and pulled out a long stick of wood. She watched in silence as he muttered a word that sounded to her ears like 'ah-chee-oh' and 'soup' and to her utter astonishment, a bowl came flying towards him at an incredible rate. She shrieked and ducked her head, fearing that the bowl would crash on the table and burn them both. When she peeked up the man was looking at her with an apologetic look.
"I apologize, I wasn't thinking.here." He placed the bowl before her and handed her a small loaf of bread and a spoon. "Eat."
She watched him as he moved away then allowed her eyes to scan the room. Everyone was watching her with something like amusement in their eyes. They were an odd bunch of people. Everyone seemed to possess a similar long wooden stick. Some were carrying them, others had theirs near by within easy reach. Feeling conspicuous she stopped looking around and picked up the spoon. The soup did smell delicious and she was hungry. She scooted more towards the darker corner to avoid as many looks as she could before finally starting to eat.
Tom moved back behind his counter and one man leaned forward.
"Feeding Muggles now Tom?"
The tall man shrugged and watched the woman eating. "The worlds have to combine sometime, what's one in this world more or less, Jack? Besides, I could never stop myself from helping helpless ladies.
The man named Jack looked back at her and shook his head. "I don't know Tom, this could mean trouble for you.if Malfoy was around."
"Well, he isn't.and what I do in my own establishment is NONE of his concern.or yours." Tom stated and with a flick of his wand cleaned the stack of glasses. He didn't see the look on the woman's face, her eyes widen in astonishment at the work of magic nor hear the gasp that escaped her lips.
Jessica watched with the spoon halfway to her mouth as the glasses were, somehow.cleaned. What was this place? Where was she? She glanced out of the window and frowned. She knew the area, knew it well, but this place was new to her. She had never seen it before and from the way it looked it had to have been around for decades, if not centuries. Her eyes wandered to the door as it opened to let another cloaked man enter and her eyes widened at the name hanging on the shingle just outside.
"The Leaky Cauldron" She whispered. This was it. She would find Severus here she was sure of it.
She put her spoon down with shaky hands and looked around. The tall man noticed her action and smiled at her, walking back to her table wiping his hands on a bar towel.
"Finished?"
She swallowed and nodded turning her gaze up to his. She reached out a hand to him. "My name is Jessie. Can I do anything, like clean up for you for payment.for the soup."
The man smiled and studied her for a moment. She looked tired, and appeared to need some decent rest, but he had a feeling that this was a woman that preferred to work for her rewards. The other wizards would more than likely kill him with what was going through his mind at that moment but he pushed that thought aside and made a decision.
"Deal.you clean up this room for the soup and we will talk about further employment following that." His hand connected with hers in a handshake of agreement.
She smiled up at him feeling better already.
"Thank you."
"I'm Tom, I own this establishment. The only thing you need to know about working here, is.keep your head down and do not say anything of what you see or hear to anyone outside of this Inn."
"Tom.Thank you, but.where exactly am I?"
He tilted his head at the direction of the room. "Another world, Jesse.another world."
~~~~~
Severus walked for hours without any luck. The streets that the indicator pointed out were empty. Few were around and no one he had shown her picture to had seen her or remembered seeing her anytime in the past. He was beginning to grow weary and his heart was beginning to break in the acceptance that he might never see Jessica again.
He walked heavily back to the Inn, the tiredness clearly evident in his face as he stepped through the door of the Leaky Cauldron. He nodded a silent acknowledgement to Tom and made his way up the steps to the room he paid for.
The feeling of loneliness enveloped him and he fell into the mattress without undressing.
"Jessica."
In a room, below him.the woman in his mind was doing the same thing. Lying on her bed and sobbing softly.
"Severus."
~~~
A/Ns and Acknowledgements: Thank you all so much for your comments. They are very helpful.
Barrie: MUST.HANG.ON! "quote from Cliff Hanger of 'Between the Lions'" hehe.I love cliffhangers, makes things SO much more exciting.don'cha think?
Emma-Kitty: Ah, I'm sorry, but you know how RL can be, HOWEVER. I have a nice vacation coming up so a lot will be accomplished then. Thank You.
Cathryne: Aw, Thank you. I love you for taking the time from your busy schedule to review this little story. See you soon. Sis.
NiteQueen: Oh, you think you know where this is going? Hum.and here I was thinking that I had it all up in my head.all along.must be a leakage somewhere. LOL.Lets see if we are on the same wavelength.
Someone28: Ah, Well.I think this chapter will answer some of your questions
~~~
Please don't forget to review!
Blessed Be!
RWH
RWH
~~~
***
Twenty
Saturday 5/10 Hogwart's dungeon
"YES!"
The object on the table brightened with an orange energy and a humming rose from the parchment beneath it.
"You can do it.. come on.. show me." A husky voice whispered excitedly as he watched the object's reaction. The barrette twisted and turned on the paper as his eyes watched its movement, not daring to breathe to loudly.
"Where is she.. "
He could feel his heartbeat thudding in his chest. He was so close to locating her. He could feel it in his bones. This was it, this was the spell that was going to work, he was sure of it. As if feeling his excitement the gold barrette jumped and twisted one last time before coming to a rest on point. He looked closer.
Pilmour and Turnhound, London
He recognized the names as cross streets close to The Leaky Cauldron. Could she be so close as that?
Not daring to hope too much, he grabbed his cloak pocketed the barrette and parchment and literally ran out of the door. He barely acknowledged Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Sprout as he bolted past the startled teachers.
"Severus?" Dumbledore called out after him. "The students need.. "
"NOT NOW!" Severus yelled back and ran.. bolted.. out of the door leaving his headmaster and the teachers looking after him in bemusement.
"Well, looks like we are alone in our supervision of the students to Hogsmeade." The headmaster smiled and led the others on.
"What do you suppose that was all about?" Minerva glanced back as she heard another door slam after the fleeing man."
Albus quickly wrapped an arm around both witches' shoulders and led them on. "I'm sure whatever it is, he is quite capable of fixing it." Inside he smiled at the man's actions. He wasn't sure, but he had an idea what the problem was. If only Severus had come to him in the first place the poor man wouldn't be in such a sad state.
"You know something, don't you Albus." Sprout gave him a raised eyebrow knowing that look on his face.
"I know bits and pieces, nothing specific, nothing to get worried about, Ladies. Now, lets get the students around and into town."
~~~~
Severus ran all the way to the gate and without hesitation apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. He appeared in a purposely darkened corner of the brick building and stepped out glancing around to assure himself that there were no Muggles to see him. Satisfied that he was alone, he moved out of the shadows keeping a wary eye out for anyone, unknown or known. It was imperative that no one saw him here today. It wouldn't pay to have Malfoy or one of his cronies to see him at this critical time. Tonight he had some serious work to do and he didn't want to be distracted. Noting that there was no one of consequence he gathered his cloak around him and headed to the pub.
He paused just inside of the door and looked around not seeing anyone that he recognized he moved to the bar to have a word with the owner.
"Tom." Severus leaned against the bar and the man at the bar approached him with a glass already filled with good brandy.
"Severus, It's been a while, where have you been hold up lately?"
"Busy, Tom.. " Severus took the drink and swirled the amber liquid around the glass before taking a sip. "I may need a room later.. "
Tom looked nervously around and leaned in, whispering. "I've been warned not to help you, Severus."
Severus scowled and pulled out his money pouch. "Last I heard you owned this Inn, Tom. Voldemort is dead, they have no hold over you or me anymore. Now, how much?"
Tom sighed and looked about him again before holding out his hand for the money. "Five will work, just don't let anyone see you come in.. with anyone. The place has spies everywhere."
Severus nodded faintly and withdrew the required amount and Tom retrieved a key from a cubbyhole and handed it to him. "Room number six, lower level, far down on the right.furthest away and opens onto the alley. Be careful, Severus, whatever you are doing. THEY are not liking it."
Severus pocketed the key and turned around, glaring at anyone that looked at him. If any of them knew what he planned on, they would all ostracize him. With a nod to Tom, he swept out of the pub and into the street not seeing the small cleaning girl emerge from a side room strapping on an apron or feel the barrette spinning like mad in his pocket.
~~~~
Tom watched the man leave then looked towards the new girl and called her over.
"Hey, Jess, There's three rooms upstairs to clean, three galleons each if you get them cleaned up before six."
"No problem, I'll get to it immediately." She smiled up at the man and bent down to pick up her cleaning supplies. Three of their Galleons seemed to equal almost nine dollars to her. That would mean almost thirty dollars for the day. At least she would be able to eat and pay for a few nights' stay here.
She found the stairs and made her way up to where she knew the rooms to be. It was simple work, but she took a fair amount of pride in it. Her parents would kill her if they could see what she was doing now. She chuckled at that thought, opened a door to one of the room, and entered. Even if it was just cleaning, she found it comforting that she had the job. She could just as easily still be on the streets or in the shelter instead of here with a roof over her head and three hot meals a day. She owed Tom a lot and was grateful that she had found this place, literally fell into it.
She grinned as she recalled how she had discovered the mysterious Inn quite by accident last week. She thought that she was heading for a major headache after the unknown man shoved her from behind, unintentionally, causing her to lose her balance and fell, head long into a brick wall. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain but the next thing she knew she was sprawled on her hands and knees in the doorway of this place. She remembered looking around in open-mouthed amazement at the old looking pub and the oddly dressed people inside.
"Muggle.. "
"Woman.. "
"Should not be here.. "
She heard the whispers and ducked her head trying to shrink into herself. Under lowered lids she saw a pair of boots approach her and when she finally realized that the boots weren't going to move away she looked up and into the eyes of one of the strangest people she had ever seen.
"Ah, are you lost miss?"
"I.. Uh.. I was pushed.. I fell into a wall.. " She frowned wondering where that wall was now.
The man smiled a toothless smile and reached out a hand of assistance to her, helping her to her feet. "You look tired, come in, sit down and have a hot bowl of soup."
Her stomach growled noisily at the mention of food but she shook her head and stood shakily to her feet with his help.
"No, no thank you. I.. can't afford it, but thank you." She gave the man a small smile and turned back to the door.
The man placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her and turned her towards a table by a window.
"I insist, you look like you can use a healthy meal."
She sighed and allowed herself to be manhandled into a booth, but still wanted to refuse his offer of soup. "I can't.pay."
"I didn't ask you if you could pay.do you wish for a bowl?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. The man gave her another grin and pulled out a long stick of wood. She watched in silence as he muttered a word that sounded to her ears like 'ah-chee-oh' and 'soup' and to her utter astonishment, a bowl came flying towards him at an incredible rate. She shrieked and ducked her head, fearing that the bowl would crash on the table and burn them both. When she peeked up the man was looking at her with an apologetic look.
"I apologize, I wasn't thinking.here." He placed the bowl before her and handed her a small loaf of bread and a spoon. "Eat."
She watched him as he moved away then allowed her eyes to scan the room. Everyone was watching her with something like amusement in their eyes. They were an odd bunch of people. Everyone seemed to possess a similar long wooden stick. Some were carrying them, others had theirs near by within easy reach. Feeling conspicuous she stopped looking around and picked up the spoon. The soup did smell delicious and she was hungry. She scooted more towards the darker corner to avoid as many looks as she could before finally starting to eat.
Tom moved back behind his counter and one man leaned forward.
"Feeding Muggles now Tom?"
The tall man shrugged and watched the woman eating. "The worlds have to combine sometime, what's one in this world more or less, Jack? Besides, I could never stop myself from helping helpless ladies.
The man named Jack looked back at her and shook his head. "I don't know Tom, this could mean trouble for you.if Malfoy was around."
"Well, he isn't.and what I do in my own establishment is NONE of his concern.or yours." Tom stated and with a flick of his wand cleaned the stack of glasses. He didn't see the look on the woman's face, her eyes widen in astonishment at the work of magic nor hear the gasp that escaped her lips.
Jessica watched with the spoon halfway to her mouth as the glasses were, somehow.cleaned. What was this place? Where was she? She glanced out of the window and frowned. She knew the area, knew it well, but this place was new to her. She had never seen it before and from the way it looked it had to have been around for decades, if not centuries. Her eyes wandered to the door as it opened to let another cloaked man enter and her eyes widened at the name hanging on the shingle just outside.
"The Leaky Cauldron" She whispered. This was it. She would find Severus here she was sure of it.
She put her spoon down with shaky hands and looked around. The tall man noticed her action and smiled at her, walking back to her table wiping his hands on a bar towel.
"Finished?"
She swallowed and nodded turning her gaze up to his. She reached out a hand to him. "My name is Jessie. Can I do anything, like clean up for you for payment.for the soup."
The man smiled and studied her for a moment. She looked tired, and appeared to need some decent rest, but he had a feeling that this was a woman that preferred to work for her rewards. The other wizards would more than likely kill him with what was going through his mind at that moment but he pushed that thought aside and made a decision.
"Deal.you clean up this room for the soup and we will talk about further employment following that." His hand connected with hers in a handshake of agreement.
She smiled up at him feeling better already.
"Thank you."
"I'm Tom, I own this establishment. The only thing you need to know about working here, is.keep your head down and do not say anything of what you see or hear to anyone outside of this Inn."
"Tom.Thank you, but.where exactly am I?"
He tilted his head at the direction of the room. "Another world, Jesse.another world."
~~~~~
Severus walked for hours without any luck. The streets that the indicator pointed out were empty. Few were around and no one he had shown her picture to had seen her or remembered seeing her anytime in the past. He was beginning to grow weary and his heart was beginning to break in the acceptance that he might never see Jessica again.
He walked heavily back to the Inn, the tiredness clearly evident in his face as he stepped through the door of the Leaky Cauldron. He nodded a silent acknowledgement to Tom and made his way up the steps to the room he paid for.
The feeling of loneliness enveloped him and he fell into the mattress without undressing.
"Jessica."
In a room, below him.the woman in his mind was doing the same thing. Lying on her bed and sobbing softly.
"Severus."
~~~
A/Ns and Acknowledgements: Thank you all so much for your comments. They are very helpful.
Barrie: MUST.HANG.ON! "quote from Cliff Hanger of 'Between the Lions'" hehe.I love cliffhangers, makes things SO much more exciting.don'cha think?
Emma-Kitty: Ah, I'm sorry, but you know how RL can be, HOWEVER. I have a nice vacation coming up so a lot will be accomplished then. Thank You.
Cathryne: Aw, Thank you. I love you for taking the time from your busy schedule to review this little story. See you soon. Sis.
NiteQueen: Oh, you think you know where this is going? Hum.and here I was thinking that I had it all up in my head.all along.must be a leakage somewhere. LOL.Lets see if we are on the same wavelength.
Someone28: Ah, Well.I think this chapter will answer some of your questions
~~~
Please don't forget to review!
Blessed Be!
RWH