Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HP world.
Authors Notes: This was by far my favorite chapter to write so far. I really hope that you guys enjoy it because you get a real look at what's been going on with Rinoa for the last few months. Harry has a sort of revelation as well, you'll see. There is smoochy goodness as well. Yey for that. Don't you all love the smoochy goodness?
It was 1:30 am and Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the Gryfindor common room unable to sleep. The accident with Rinoa had definitely shaken them to say the least. Now that all of the chaos was over the four were sitting in silence in front of the fire, until Hermione asked a question.
"Do teachers know all of our passwords?"
"They know the passwords to all of the common rooms for safety reasons, but not to individual rooms...I think," answered Ginny.
Hermione didn't say anything for a while and simply stared into the fire. Ron kept glancing in her direction as if he were afraid she might disappear at any second. Finally he sighed dramatically and stood up in exasperation.
"That's it! I'm sitting with Hermione!"
He walked over to the single person chair she was seated in, picked her up and sat her down in his lap. Everyone was rather shocked, Ron wasn't really a very bold person and here he was taking charge of a situation. Hermione looked startled if not pleased and was smiling down at him.
After some explanation from the couple and hysterical laughing from Ginny and Harry (who had known about the relationship for sometime, and had begun a game out their friends' attempts to keep it between themselves) the group finally headed up to bed with a significantly lighter heart than before.
Rinoa was discharged from the hospital wing the next day and allowed to attend classes as usual, except for the slight limp that she had for a few days. She was more disappointed in not being able to train more than anything else. The girl was a maniac about training sometimes, and the boys loved to tease her about it. Of course then she would beat them all up on Saturday's with Sirius in the room of requirement so they very soon realized that it wasn't best to pester her about it.
The next week found the group in the Room of Requirement as usual, along with Sirius, and practicing weaponry. They were divided into groups of two and everyone took their turn dueling each other in front of Sirius and the rest. Ron and Hermione were the funniest because Ron did not want to hurt her. Hermione however, did not have that problem, in a matter of minutes Ron was on his back and had Hermione's sword at his throat. The most exciting match was between Harry and Rinoa, they were almost equally matched and spent a very entertaining and interesting thirty minutes dueling until Rinoa finally got the upper hand and won. The group was moving along well and with the end of the session went their separate ways in good spirits.
October 10th 12:00am
Hermione and Ron were sitting on the common room floor with all of their homework spread out in front of them (well, more accurately it would be Ron's homework was spread out in front of them).
"Ron I think you got confused here," said Hermione pointing to a line in his procrastinated potions essay. "Frogs breath and worms blood are fine separately, but if you put them together they would cause a very deadly gaseous poison killing everything with in forty meters."
"Oh, thanks Mione."
With that he leaned over and kissed her gently. All homework forgotten, the two became lost in each other and didn't notice the portrait hole open and close behind them.
Harry and Ginny were safely in the kitchens after tickling the pear and again wishing that their best friends would get a room of their own. With the news of the relationship now out, Ron and Hermione were taking enjoyment in public displays of affection. Ginny had now stumbled upon her brother and best friend snoging a total of five times and was beginning to wish for blindness.
"Do they really have to do that out in the open all of the time?" asked Ginny in exasperation.
"No, but they're happy, and I haven't seen them this happy in a very long time," Harry said once he had swallowed his pastry.
"I guess your right."
The two remained for another hour until they headed back for the common room, where on the way they very nearly missed running directly into Neville and Luna headed up towards the astronomy tower. Harry had to crush Ginny against a wall with his body to keep them out of the way, while the invisibility cloak was a blessing it didn't help if you ran into someone while under it.
Neville and Luna were leaning on the railing to the astronomy tower looking out at the moonlit grounds when they saw a small figure moving quickly across the lawn.
"What do you rekon that is?" asked Neville pointing toward the figure.
"From here it looks like a dementor, but they glide. That's a human," said Luna quietly.
"It looks like Professor Snape," the minute the words were out of his mouth he and Luna locked eyes and knew where he was going. They did not care for the man very much, but sent up a silent prayer for his safe return.
The next day proved to be very difficult for everyone in the school, especially those in the Order. Severus Snape was gone, not likely to return. Lost to the cause. At breakfast the headmaster addressed the school.
"My students, as you may have noticed Professor Snape is not present today. It is likely that he will not be returning to our ranks here at Hogwarts. I will not step around the issue here, Severus would not have appreciated it," at this point he paused and put his hand to his forehead in a very defeated manner. Never in all of the years that Harry had known him had he seen him look so forlorn and aged. "Professor Snape was a spy for the side of light. Last night he went to a Death Eater meeting, one of the many he has been attending for our side for over twenty years, and did not return. He has been a valuable member of our staff and a good friend to all. I do know that he would want all of you to look at the mistakes he made in his youth and to learn from them," at this his eyes fell onto a very pale and wide eyed Draco Malfoy. "Potions classes will be canceled until further notice, and Ms. Edwards and Ms. Granger could you please come to my office following the meal?" after receiving a nod from the girls he sat down and everyone turned back to their table.
No one spoke for a while until Draco Malfoy stood and left the hall, and when the doors clamored behind him every table broke out into hushed speculation.
The Headmaster's Office after breakfast...
"I realize that this will be difficult for the two of you, especially since you've been working very closely with Severus as of the summer, but I would like the two of you to take over some of his classes. I can get Poppy to teach the older students, but she still has her own duties. It would only be first through forth years, and we could combine some classes to fit them to your schedule," said Albus to the two girls gathered in his office.
Rinoa didn't speak. She was curled in a ball on the large chair, with her knee high Doc Martins pulled underneath her in her seat. She nodded and stared blankly out of the window. Hermione graciously thanked the Headmaster and accepted the lesson plans from him with a promise that they could be prepared by the next day.
The rest of the day went on very quietly, no one really felt that it was right to talk about what was happening. That or they were afraid Draco would be lurking waiting to kill them when they did. A second year Ravenclaw had mumbled something like 'good riddance' and Draco had broken his nose in one punch.
Hermione and Rinoa were doing a good job with the younger kid's even though there were now a lot more in each class to accommodate their school schedules, and while Madame Pomphrey wasn't a qualified Master of Potions she did an admirable job as well. The school was almost back into a routine until the Halloween feast.
Normally the Halloween feast was very exiting to everyone involved, but this one seemed a little more reserved, especially on the Slytherin end. Sirius had been named the honorary Slytherin head of house for the time being, something he was not thrilled about but took on out of respect. He seemed to be getting along alright at the moment because the students were either depressed about Snape or frightened that Sirius would kill them.
Rinoa had left the feast early claiming that she needed some air, but when a scream reached the hall from outside foursome knew that there was a serious problem. Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna all rushed out of the hall from their respective tables completely ignoring the headmaster's attempts to stop them.
When the group finally reached the lawn of the great castle what they saw brought tears to their eyes. Rinoa was floating ten feet in the air with her arms above her as if they were in invisible restraints, and her face was contorted in pain. There was a steady stream of blood dripping from wounds on her wrists, they looked to be sores rubbed raw from what would take weeks of being bound. Her bare feet dangled loosely in the air and her clothing was torn and soaked with blood. The most disturbing aspect of this sight was that new wounds were appearing as if some invisible torturer were there with her in the air. Tears were streaming down her bloodied face and she seemed to be expending a great deal of energy trying not to cry out again.
Very suddenly a dense fog of darkness formed around her and began to swirl about her like a fierce wind. Her once shining hair, now soaked in blood and sweat, was flying wildly around as her floating form was engulfed in shadows. The last thing anyone saw before the limp form of their friend was consumed were her eyes, that were once a bright and piecing blue, turn an inky black.
Just as suddenly as the darkness appeared, it retreated leaving Rinoa Edwards to fall from the sky like a limp doll. The six students, and now many others rushed towards her at once. Harry and Hermione reached her first and fell down beside her.
"Check for a pulse," Hermione said. Harry was reaching for Rinoa's white wrist when her hand sprung up and grasped his forearm, Harry felt what could only be described as a bolt of lightning go through his body before things became really weird.
It was like he had stepped into a pensive. At first he thought he had been knocked unconscious, maybe he was, but once Harry had a hold of his surroundings he realized that he was not by the lake outside. He was in the hospital wing inside and Poppy Pomphrey was bustling about cleaning the room. This infuriated him. Here his almost sister was grievously injured and Pomphrey was cleaning. He began to give her a severe talking to when he noticed that she could neither see nor hear him. It was then that he noticed the two figures at the end of the wing. One was in a seated position on a bed and the other was in a very ornate armchair. Upon closer inspection he found the figures to be Rinoa and Dumbledore, Rhin was sitting up in the hospital bed and listening intently to what Albus was saying. Harry wondered if he really had been knocked out and had recently awoken here, but that couldn't be right. He was still in the same clothes he was in the night of the feast. What kind of magic could this be? He thought back to the incident with Rinoa, did she mean to send him here? Harry felt as though he was invading, but he began to listen to the conversation between the two.
Rinoa seemed to be taking all of what had just been said in still. Her face was focused and thoughtful, that was when Harry knew where he was. The scar on her lip was brand new. Still a gash on the left about two inches long, but it looked as if it had not even fully scabbed over yet. He was in the past, it was still summer here, right after the attack on the orphanage. Were these her memories? Then Rinoa spoke and all thoughts on the subject ceased as he listened to her words.
"You want me to join the Order of the Phoenix?" she asked in amazement.
"Yes, my dear. You have proven yourself well beyond what was needed tonight. We were already considering you when we appointed you as the Head Girl last term, but now I know that you are ready for this task. Will you join us Rinoa"
"Yes." It was very small and simple, but it got the message across well.
The Headmaster rose to his feet, banished his chair and made to leave the wing.
"Headmaster?"
"Yes, child?"
"Since I'm stuck at Hogwarts for the week, is there anything that I can do to help out here? Research or something in the library? I don't think I can stay in here all week with out going insane."
"I do believe I can find something for you." A look of dawning emerged on his face as he spoke. "Professor Snape will be refilling the potions stores for the hospital wing this week. If I remember correctly you were fairly adequate in potions, I'm sure Severus wouldn't mind some help."
With that said a mist seemed to filter into the room making it impossible for Harry to see, even with his glasses. Suddenly, as if a great wind had swept in and blown all of the fog away, Harry could see again with great clarity. He was standing in the middle of the potions room, and all around him were bubbling cauldrons of every color imaginable. He saw Professor Snape's greasy head hunched over a roll of parchment, scratching furiously with his quill. He wasn't wearing his teaching robes, which came as a shock to Harry, because even when he had seen Snape at Grimmauld Place he had always worn the same black frock coat. Now he simply wore a white, cotton shirt and slacks, he found that it made him look more human. As Harry finished assessing what his potions professor was wearing there was a timid knock on the door. Snape let out a curt 'enter' with out even looking away from the parchment. Rinoa quietly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Snape didn't look up until she was standing in front of his desk with a hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. Harry made his way to the front of the room so he could accurately hear what was being said. Snape looked somewhat surprised by her presence in front of him and put down his quill.
"I had thought our collaboration was finished Ms. Edwards. I assure you I can handle the bottling process. Go fly around the Quidditch Pitch or something," as he said this he flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture.
When Rinoa did not leave he looked mildly annoyed until she spoke. Until then Harry could not fathom why on Earth she would remain here of all places when she didn't have to.
"I wanted to thank you Professor," she quietly stated. When Snape's utterly shocked face was the only response she received she continued. "You saved my life you know? And then you let me enter your domain and gave me something to keep my mind off of things for the week. Thank you," she finished rather timidly, noticing Snape still hadn't moved. Harry was almost to the point of thinking that the man had died from pure shock, until he let out a painful scream. Snape clutched his left arm and fell to the floor writhing. It looked to Harry like he was under the Cruciatus Curse, the most painful curse to ever exist. Rinoa had rushed to his side and was trying to calm him down. She seemed to know what was going on a lot better than Harry did, so he simply watched the scene unfold. She was whispering something to him but Harry couldn't hear her, so he moved closer to the scene.
"shhhh," she whispered as she wiped a lock of sweaty hair from his face. "Let it pass, shhhhh. It's almost over." Harry had no idea how she knew what was happening was almost over, but from her tone and look he would have believed her in a second.
When Snape's body ceased it's convulsions Harry was just what kind of shape the man was in. his white shirt was drenched in blood and he had open cuts all over his pallid face. As much as he hated this man he found himself wishing he could do something to help him. However, Rinoa seemed to be on top of things rather well. She had gathered a large bowl, washcloth, and some sort of healing potion together, and placed them by his side as she helped him into a sitting position.
Once Snape was leaned against the wall Rinoa poured the solution into the bowl and dropped the white cloth into it. When she reached up to unbutton his shirt he very weakly tried to bat her hands away, but it ended up with him wincing from the movement.
"Leave me, I can manage," he said quietly, his voice horse from screaming.
"Not unless you'd like to bleed to death," Rinoa responded as she rolled her eyes. When he continued to protest she finally threatened to get Madame Pomphrey and he quickly shut up.
Harry watched as she carefully treated the wounds on his face first. When she reached his chest and stomach she finally spoke again. There was a huge gash from his right shoulder across his chest and various slashes in his midsection, all bleeding.
"How many times have you been hit with the Crutiatus?" she asked quietly while closing the wounds. When he didn't answer she looked up at his pale face. His eyes were diverted from hers and no matter which way she moved he would not look at her. Finally, she became aggravated and grabbed him by the face and pulled him towards her until they were eye to eye.
"How many times Professor?"
"271," he said, never breaking eye contact with her. Harry gasped right along with Rinoa and finally understood what had happened, it was a phantom curse. People who had been exposed to extreme doses of the curse over time developed phantoms. It was just like the real curse but every scar on your body opened and bled anew. It was obviously very painful and many bled to death before they could get help. When he looked back at the pair Rinoa was seated behind Snape and was tending to his back. Her face was pale and tired looking, completely contrasting the girl he had come to think of as a member of his honorary family. She held back a sob as she reached up to clean the wounds, but a stray tear managed to fall down her cheek. Harry looked to see what was so bad and saw what looked like whip marks criss crossing all over Snape's back. Harry felt a new respect for him and the danger he put himself into. Rhin managed to wipe her eyes before she moved to face him again.
She cleaned the mark on his arm without flinching and foiled any efforts by Snape to remove it from her grasp. Just as she seemed to be finishing up she noticed one last cut dripping blood down his left cheek. Rinoa moved closer to him and tilted his face in her left palm while she closed the wound. Harry was getting a bit uncomfortable by how close the two were seated. There had to be some significance to this moment if it was Rhin who was showing him this right?
His question was answered when the two leaned closer and brushed their lips together. Even Harry did not see who made the first move, and he was in such a shock that he could not look away from the horror of seeing his "sister" and enemy snogging. Neither had moved away and Rinoa's hands were on his neck and shoulder, while Snape's hand was at her waist. Snape suddenly pulled away, much to Harry's relief, and looked just as shocked as Harry felt. Just when things couldn't get worse Albus Dumbledore came into the room.
The mist was back, which thoroughly annoyed Harry because he wanted to see what the Headmaster had said about all of this.
Once again the clarity returned and Harry became aware of his surroundings. He was in a dark room that was fairly well decorated, if a little bit on the gloomy side. He immediately started to look for Rinoa, he had decided that these had to be memories. Things were coming together, all of the looks Rinoa would give Snape and the "understanding" Albus had spoken on. But why? Of all of the people who had joined in the war, this couple was definitely the least expected. As Harry searched the room he again found the prone form of the Potions master lying on his stomach on a bed. For a supposed accomplished warrior the man sure did get hurt a lot. He finally recognized the room, he had cleaned it in the summer before his fifth year. This was Grimmauld Place! Harry's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the room 'clicked' open and Rinoa walked in carrying a first aid kit. When she saw Snape's still form on the bed she rushed to him.
"Severus?" she softly spoke as she gently shook him. He turned his head and Rinoa sighed at his bloodied face. "It seems like the only times I get to see you is when I'm healing you."
Authors Notes: Did you like it? There will be a continuation of it in the next chapter, but I like this one.
Authors Notes: This was by far my favorite chapter to write so far. I really hope that you guys enjoy it because you get a real look at what's been going on with Rinoa for the last few months. Harry has a sort of revelation as well, you'll see. There is smoochy goodness as well. Yey for that. Don't you all love the smoochy goodness?
It was 1:30 am and Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the Gryfindor common room unable to sleep. The accident with Rinoa had definitely shaken them to say the least. Now that all of the chaos was over the four were sitting in silence in front of the fire, until Hermione asked a question.
"Do teachers know all of our passwords?"
"They know the passwords to all of the common rooms for safety reasons, but not to individual rooms...I think," answered Ginny.
Hermione didn't say anything for a while and simply stared into the fire. Ron kept glancing in her direction as if he were afraid she might disappear at any second. Finally he sighed dramatically and stood up in exasperation.
"That's it! I'm sitting with Hermione!"
He walked over to the single person chair she was seated in, picked her up and sat her down in his lap. Everyone was rather shocked, Ron wasn't really a very bold person and here he was taking charge of a situation. Hermione looked startled if not pleased and was smiling down at him.
After some explanation from the couple and hysterical laughing from Ginny and Harry (who had known about the relationship for sometime, and had begun a game out their friends' attempts to keep it between themselves) the group finally headed up to bed with a significantly lighter heart than before.
Rinoa was discharged from the hospital wing the next day and allowed to attend classes as usual, except for the slight limp that she had for a few days. She was more disappointed in not being able to train more than anything else. The girl was a maniac about training sometimes, and the boys loved to tease her about it. Of course then she would beat them all up on Saturday's with Sirius in the room of requirement so they very soon realized that it wasn't best to pester her about it.
The next week found the group in the Room of Requirement as usual, along with Sirius, and practicing weaponry. They were divided into groups of two and everyone took their turn dueling each other in front of Sirius and the rest. Ron and Hermione were the funniest because Ron did not want to hurt her. Hermione however, did not have that problem, in a matter of minutes Ron was on his back and had Hermione's sword at his throat. The most exciting match was between Harry and Rinoa, they were almost equally matched and spent a very entertaining and interesting thirty minutes dueling until Rinoa finally got the upper hand and won. The group was moving along well and with the end of the session went their separate ways in good spirits.
October 10th 12:00am
Hermione and Ron were sitting on the common room floor with all of their homework spread out in front of them (well, more accurately it would be Ron's homework was spread out in front of them).
"Ron I think you got confused here," said Hermione pointing to a line in his procrastinated potions essay. "Frogs breath and worms blood are fine separately, but if you put them together they would cause a very deadly gaseous poison killing everything with in forty meters."
"Oh, thanks Mione."
With that he leaned over and kissed her gently. All homework forgotten, the two became lost in each other and didn't notice the portrait hole open and close behind them.
Harry and Ginny were safely in the kitchens after tickling the pear and again wishing that their best friends would get a room of their own. With the news of the relationship now out, Ron and Hermione were taking enjoyment in public displays of affection. Ginny had now stumbled upon her brother and best friend snoging a total of five times and was beginning to wish for blindness.
"Do they really have to do that out in the open all of the time?" asked Ginny in exasperation.
"No, but they're happy, and I haven't seen them this happy in a very long time," Harry said once he had swallowed his pastry.
"I guess your right."
The two remained for another hour until they headed back for the common room, where on the way they very nearly missed running directly into Neville and Luna headed up towards the astronomy tower. Harry had to crush Ginny against a wall with his body to keep them out of the way, while the invisibility cloak was a blessing it didn't help if you ran into someone while under it.
Neville and Luna were leaning on the railing to the astronomy tower looking out at the moonlit grounds when they saw a small figure moving quickly across the lawn.
"What do you rekon that is?" asked Neville pointing toward the figure.
"From here it looks like a dementor, but they glide. That's a human," said Luna quietly.
"It looks like Professor Snape," the minute the words were out of his mouth he and Luna locked eyes and knew where he was going. They did not care for the man very much, but sent up a silent prayer for his safe return.
The next day proved to be very difficult for everyone in the school, especially those in the Order. Severus Snape was gone, not likely to return. Lost to the cause. At breakfast the headmaster addressed the school.
"My students, as you may have noticed Professor Snape is not present today. It is likely that he will not be returning to our ranks here at Hogwarts. I will not step around the issue here, Severus would not have appreciated it," at this point he paused and put his hand to his forehead in a very defeated manner. Never in all of the years that Harry had known him had he seen him look so forlorn and aged. "Professor Snape was a spy for the side of light. Last night he went to a Death Eater meeting, one of the many he has been attending for our side for over twenty years, and did not return. He has been a valuable member of our staff and a good friend to all. I do know that he would want all of you to look at the mistakes he made in his youth and to learn from them," at this his eyes fell onto a very pale and wide eyed Draco Malfoy. "Potions classes will be canceled until further notice, and Ms. Edwards and Ms. Granger could you please come to my office following the meal?" after receiving a nod from the girls he sat down and everyone turned back to their table.
No one spoke for a while until Draco Malfoy stood and left the hall, and when the doors clamored behind him every table broke out into hushed speculation.
The Headmaster's Office after breakfast...
"I realize that this will be difficult for the two of you, especially since you've been working very closely with Severus as of the summer, but I would like the two of you to take over some of his classes. I can get Poppy to teach the older students, but she still has her own duties. It would only be first through forth years, and we could combine some classes to fit them to your schedule," said Albus to the two girls gathered in his office.
Rinoa didn't speak. She was curled in a ball on the large chair, with her knee high Doc Martins pulled underneath her in her seat. She nodded and stared blankly out of the window. Hermione graciously thanked the Headmaster and accepted the lesson plans from him with a promise that they could be prepared by the next day.
The rest of the day went on very quietly, no one really felt that it was right to talk about what was happening. That or they were afraid Draco would be lurking waiting to kill them when they did. A second year Ravenclaw had mumbled something like 'good riddance' and Draco had broken his nose in one punch.
Hermione and Rinoa were doing a good job with the younger kid's even though there were now a lot more in each class to accommodate their school schedules, and while Madame Pomphrey wasn't a qualified Master of Potions she did an admirable job as well. The school was almost back into a routine until the Halloween feast.
Normally the Halloween feast was very exiting to everyone involved, but this one seemed a little more reserved, especially on the Slytherin end. Sirius had been named the honorary Slytherin head of house for the time being, something he was not thrilled about but took on out of respect. He seemed to be getting along alright at the moment because the students were either depressed about Snape or frightened that Sirius would kill them.
Rinoa had left the feast early claiming that she needed some air, but when a scream reached the hall from outside foursome knew that there was a serious problem. Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Luna all rushed out of the hall from their respective tables completely ignoring the headmaster's attempts to stop them.
When the group finally reached the lawn of the great castle what they saw brought tears to their eyes. Rinoa was floating ten feet in the air with her arms above her as if they were in invisible restraints, and her face was contorted in pain. There was a steady stream of blood dripping from wounds on her wrists, they looked to be sores rubbed raw from what would take weeks of being bound. Her bare feet dangled loosely in the air and her clothing was torn and soaked with blood. The most disturbing aspect of this sight was that new wounds were appearing as if some invisible torturer were there with her in the air. Tears were streaming down her bloodied face and she seemed to be expending a great deal of energy trying not to cry out again.
Very suddenly a dense fog of darkness formed around her and began to swirl about her like a fierce wind. Her once shining hair, now soaked in blood and sweat, was flying wildly around as her floating form was engulfed in shadows. The last thing anyone saw before the limp form of their friend was consumed were her eyes, that were once a bright and piecing blue, turn an inky black.
Just as suddenly as the darkness appeared, it retreated leaving Rinoa Edwards to fall from the sky like a limp doll. The six students, and now many others rushed towards her at once. Harry and Hermione reached her first and fell down beside her.
"Check for a pulse," Hermione said. Harry was reaching for Rinoa's white wrist when her hand sprung up and grasped his forearm, Harry felt what could only be described as a bolt of lightning go through his body before things became really weird.
It was like he had stepped into a pensive. At first he thought he had been knocked unconscious, maybe he was, but once Harry had a hold of his surroundings he realized that he was not by the lake outside. He was in the hospital wing inside and Poppy Pomphrey was bustling about cleaning the room. This infuriated him. Here his almost sister was grievously injured and Pomphrey was cleaning. He began to give her a severe talking to when he noticed that she could neither see nor hear him. It was then that he noticed the two figures at the end of the wing. One was in a seated position on a bed and the other was in a very ornate armchair. Upon closer inspection he found the figures to be Rinoa and Dumbledore, Rhin was sitting up in the hospital bed and listening intently to what Albus was saying. Harry wondered if he really had been knocked out and had recently awoken here, but that couldn't be right. He was still in the same clothes he was in the night of the feast. What kind of magic could this be? He thought back to the incident with Rinoa, did she mean to send him here? Harry felt as though he was invading, but he began to listen to the conversation between the two.
Rinoa seemed to be taking all of what had just been said in still. Her face was focused and thoughtful, that was when Harry knew where he was. The scar on her lip was brand new. Still a gash on the left about two inches long, but it looked as if it had not even fully scabbed over yet. He was in the past, it was still summer here, right after the attack on the orphanage. Were these her memories? Then Rinoa spoke and all thoughts on the subject ceased as he listened to her words.
"You want me to join the Order of the Phoenix?" she asked in amazement.
"Yes, my dear. You have proven yourself well beyond what was needed tonight. We were already considering you when we appointed you as the Head Girl last term, but now I know that you are ready for this task. Will you join us Rinoa"
"Yes." It was very small and simple, but it got the message across well.
The Headmaster rose to his feet, banished his chair and made to leave the wing.
"Headmaster?"
"Yes, child?"
"Since I'm stuck at Hogwarts for the week, is there anything that I can do to help out here? Research or something in the library? I don't think I can stay in here all week with out going insane."
"I do believe I can find something for you." A look of dawning emerged on his face as he spoke. "Professor Snape will be refilling the potions stores for the hospital wing this week. If I remember correctly you were fairly adequate in potions, I'm sure Severus wouldn't mind some help."
With that said a mist seemed to filter into the room making it impossible for Harry to see, even with his glasses. Suddenly, as if a great wind had swept in and blown all of the fog away, Harry could see again with great clarity. He was standing in the middle of the potions room, and all around him were bubbling cauldrons of every color imaginable. He saw Professor Snape's greasy head hunched over a roll of parchment, scratching furiously with his quill. He wasn't wearing his teaching robes, which came as a shock to Harry, because even when he had seen Snape at Grimmauld Place he had always worn the same black frock coat. Now he simply wore a white, cotton shirt and slacks, he found that it made him look more human. As Harry finished assessing what his potions professor was wearing there was a timid knock on the door. Snape let out a curt 'enter' with out even looking away from the parchment. Rinoa quietly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Snape didn't look up until she was standing in front of his desk with a hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. Harry made his way to the front of the room so he could accurately hear what was being said. Snape looked somewhat surprised by her presence in front of him and put down his quill.
"I had thought our collaboration was finished Ms. Edwards. I assure you I can handle the bottling process. Go fly around the Quidditch Pitch or something," as he said this he flicked his hand in a dismissive gesture.
When Rinoa did not leave he looked mildly annoyed until she spoke. Until then Harry could not fathom why on Earth she would remain here of all places when she didn't have to.
"I wanted to thank you Professor," she quietly stated. When Snape's utterly shocked face was the only response she received she continued. "You saved my life you know? And then you let me enter your domain and gave me something to keep my mind off of things for the week. Thank you," she finished rather timidly, noticing Snape still hadn't moved. Harry was almost to the point of thinking that the man had died from pure shock, until he let out a painful scream. Snape clutched his left arm and fell to the floor writhing. It looked to Harry like he was under the Cruciatus Curse, the most painful curse to ever exist. Rinoa had rushed to his side and was trying to calm him down. She seemed to know what was going on a lot better than Harry did, so he simply watched the scene unfold. She was whispering something to him but Harry couldn't hear her, so he moved closer to the scene.
"shhhh," she whispered as she wiped a lock of sweaty hair from his face. "Let it pass, shhhhh. It's almost over." Harry had no idea how she knew what was happening was almost over, but from her tone and look he would have believed her in a second.
When Snape's body ceased it's convulsions Harry was just what kind of shape the man was in. his white shirt was drenched in blood and he had open cuts all over his pallid face. As much as he hated this man he found himself wishing he could do something to help him. However, Rinoa seemed to be on top of things rather well. She had gathered a large bowl, washcloth, and some sort of healing potion together, and placed them by his side as she helped him into a sitting position.
Once Snape was leaned against the wall Rinoa poured the solution into the bowl and dropped the white cloth into it. When she reached up to unbutton his shirt he very weakly tried to bat her hands away, but it ended up with him wincing from the movement.
"Leave me, I can manage," he said quietly, his voice horse from screaming.
"Not unless you'd like to bleed to death," Rinoa responded as she rolled her eyes. When he continued to protest she finally threatened to get Madame Pomphrey and he quickly shut up.
Harry watched as she carefully treated the wounds on his face first. When she reached his chest and stomach she finally spoke again. There was a huge gash from his right shoulder across his chest and various slashes in his midsection, all bleeding.
"How many times have you been hit with the Crutiatus?" she asked quietly while closing the wounds. When he didn't answer she looked up at his pale face. His eyes were diverted from hers and no matter which way she moved he would not look at her. Finally, she became aggravated and grabbed him by the face and pulled him towards her until they were eye to eye.
"How many times Professor?"
"271," he said, never breaking eye contact with her. Harry gasped right along with Rinoa and finally understood what had happened, it was a phantom curse. People who had been exposed to extreme doses of the curse over time developed phantoms. It was just like the real curse but every scar on your body opened and bled anew. It was obviously very painful and many bled to death before they could get help. When he looked back at the pair Rinoa was seated behind Snape and was tending to his back. Her face was pale and tired looking, completely contrasting the girl he had come to think of as a member of his honorary family. She held back a sob as she reached up to clean the wounds, but a stray tear managed to fall down her cheek. Harry looked to see what was so bad and saw what looked like whip marks criss crossing all over Snape's back. Harry felt a new respect for him and the danger he put himself into. Rhin managed to wipe her eyes before she moved to face him again.
She cleaned the mark on his arm without flinching and foiled any efforts by Snape to remove it from her grasp. Just as she seemed to be finishing up she noticed one last cut dripping blood down his left cheek. Rinoa moved closer to him and tilted his face in her left palm while she closed the wound. Harry was getting a bit uncomfortable by how close the two were seated. There had to be some significance to this moment if it was Rhin who was showing him this right?
His question was answered when the two leaned closer and brushed their lips together. Even Harry did not see who made the first move, and he was in such a shock that he could not look away from the horror of seeing his "sister" and enemy snogging. Neither had moved away and Rinoa's hands were on his neck and shoulder, while Snape's hand was at her waist. Snape suddenly pulled away, much to Harry's relief, and looked just as shocked as Harry felt. Just when things couldn't get worse Albus Dumbledore came into the room.
The mist was back, which thoroughly annoyed Harry because he wanted to see what the Headmaster had said about all of this.
Once again the clarity returned and Harry became aware of his surroundings. He was in a dark room that was fairly well decorated, if a little bit on the gloomy side. He immediately started to look for Rinoa, he had decided that these had to be memories. Things were coming together, all of the looks Rinoa would give Snape and the "understanding" Albus had spoken on. But why? Of all of the people who had joined in the war, this couple was definitely the least expected. As Harry searched the room he again found the prone form of the Potions master lying on his stomach on a bed. For a supposed accomplished warrior the man sure did get hurt a lot. He finally recognized the room, he had cleaned it in the summer before his fifth year. This was Grimmauld Place! Harry's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the room 'clicked' open and Rinoa walked in carrying a first aid kit. When she saw Snape's still form on the bed she rushed to him.
"Severus?" she softly spoke as she gently shook him. He turned his head and Rinoa sighed at his bloodied face. "It seems like the only times I get to see you is when I'm healing you."
Authors Notes: Did you like it? There will be a continuation of it in the next chapter, but I like this one.
