PART ONE CONCLUDED
Chapter 3 - The Girls Gang Up On Severus
Mur looked remarkably weak as Severus and Sirius took up chairs on either side of her bed. Sirius took her hand again. He was finally getting used to her asking for her best friend when things like this happened, and for the first time, he hadn't been annoyed at having to fetch him.
"Were you hit with anything else we should know about?" Severus asked quietly. She looked awfully pale to him. Muriel looked up at him curiously. His expression wasn't right. Then she noticed the woman behind him, who looked extremely confused. She fought back a grin.
"How many curses do you think I'd let myself be hit by, Sev?" As she'd expected, her use of a nickname seemed to irk the thin woman who was staring at her. She'd never met her before, but she knew who she must be. Severus seemed to notice that Mur was looking past him. He began to introduce the women, but Muriel cut him off, grinning impishly.
"Manasa, right?" she asked, sitting up against Sirius' protests, and offering her hand. "I'm Muriel Black, and this is my husband, Sirius." She felt the woman's mind become less tense as they shook hands. She winked at Severus, who was beginning to look very uncomfortable. Impish grins on Mur's face were a dangerous thing. Last time he'd seen one, he had spent two weeks dodging hexes in the hallways as part of her DADA assignments!
"Severus has told me a lot about you," Mur continued. This was true. During their Sunday evening chats, he had confided to her everything about Manasa. He scowled at his old friend. That was NOT something he'd wanted Manasa to know, however.
The women's eyes were locked, and Severus knew that they were passing information somehow. He had always HATED that about Muriel. Suddenly she seemed a bit paler, and she sat back against the pillows.
"My head!" she exclaimed. "Where did this headache come from?" She was whispering, and had a hand over her temple, her eyes closed.
"Perhaps from trying to read the mind of a full blooded Slytherin?" Manasa offered in a dangerous voice. Severus looked up, surprised.
"I don't know how NOT to read you!" Mur sounded really frustrated. "Sev, could you take her outside? We're going to have to get used to each other gradually, I think."
Sirius was glaring angrily at the woman as Severus stood and led her quickly out into the hall. But as soon as their backs were turned, he looked back at Muriel. He was surprised to find her relaxing with an arm behind her head and grinning again.
"I'm going to like that woman," Mur said, laughingly. "Now, can you get me a quill and some parchment? I need to write the Minister of Magic about Hermione and Sev's Order of Merlins for that potion." Sirius, who had already written a similar letter when he'd awoken yesterday, summoned the items to them and leaned over to read what she would write.
Severus closed the door of the hospital ward and was prepared to ask Manasa what the hell she'd done to Mur when he turned to find her wearing a smile that was uncannily like the grin Muriel had been giving him.
"I'm going to like that woman," Manasa said quietly. He looked at her questioningly. "Do you know what she told me?" He shook his head no. "She said you've been waiting a long time to kiss me, and you're a very impatient man, so we needed to find a way to get you back out of the hospital ward."
Severus couldn't help but laugh. Things were going to be very interesting at Hogwarts with these two around. He pulled her into a tight embrace and leaned down to kiss her. But he paused before their lips met.
"Will you stay?" he asked carefully. He didn't want to begin this again if she was just going to go back into hiding. She nodded slowly. There was nothing left to hide from.