Author's Note: Hello again! I realize that I haven't updated this stuff since September! Sheesh. I guess it took me that long to figure out where I wanted the story to go. Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed, way back when. And here we go again! TG
Disclaimer: With the exception of the Pittsburgh people and the dog, they all belong to JK Rowling. Yay for her.
Chapter 4 New Surroundings, Old Memories
Severus stepped off of the plane and glanced at his surroundings. Never in his life had he been surrounded by so many muggles. He sneered at one little boy who stared at him the whole trip. He was dressed in his usual attire: black, but he decided to leave his cloak behind in exchange for a black blazer to try to stay inconspicuous. It was not entirely successful, however, as one young boy ran into him and said snidely, "Watch where you're going, Dracula." The urge to whip out his wand had never been greater. Muggles, he thought bitterly. He already couldn't wait to return home to more years of avoiding them. That would certainly put a smirk on his stoic features. Especially now since Cecilia was living amongst them, his loathing for them increased with every year that she stayed here.
Although Severus resented the boy's comment, he realized that he was probably a little over dressed for the season. The warm September air in Pennsylvania contrasted greatly with the chill of Hogwarts castle, causing beads of sweat to gather around his brow as he hastily made his way through the heavy crowds of the airport. The medallion that Professor McGonagall had given him glowed a deep orange, which meant that he was close to finding her. Once she was within eyesight, it would turn red.
As he hailed a cab he desperately tried to push aside the emotions that were surfacing inside him. How would he react to seeing her after five years? How would she react? Would she run, or worse, look at him with the same bitterness that she had showed him the last time that he saw her? He swallowed his feelings when he remembered the most important task…Albus. However, he wondered if saving him was worth reliving the pain all over again. He assumed that her feelings hadn't changed, otherwise she wouldn't have stayed away for so long. As long as her family was still dead, she would hate him, for an affiliation to which he had long deserted. If only she had realized that his love for her ran deeper than any mark that he still carried from his past.
They had bumped into each other on a spring day in Hogsmeade. Punctuality had never been her strong suit, and she was running late from her lunch brake with her uncle. In her mad dash back to the hospital, she barely saw the cloaked figure in her path carrying books and parchment. They collided and she fell to the ground, along with his belongings. "Watch where you're going, you silly g-," he lost his words when she looked up at him with her large dark eyes. He immediately forgot his anger and scrambled to pull her up. She tucked her hair nervously behind her ear and smiled at him. "I'm so sorry, sir," she giggled. "I was running late for work." She bent down to help him gather his supplies. Overcome by his immediate attraction for her, he offered to walk her to her building, amidst the stares of the public, who knew of his callus reputation.
From that point a friendship blossomed between them, and she often spent her lunch breaks with him, discussing everything under the sun. From the outside they were complete opposites, Cecilia with her permanent smile and sunny outlook on life, and him with his pale, dark features and even darker disposition.
It was only with her that he felt he could truly be happy; her compassion and open-mindedness to the world, magic and muggle alike, had inspired him to be a better person. That's why it crushed him to find that she no longer accepted him. He had never even had the time nor the courage to tell her that he loved her, although he assumed that everyone around him knew it.
Severus tried not to let these thoughts resurface for fear that they would hinder him from his initial task, but the closer he was to her, the stronger the feelings became. She would always have a permanent grasp on his heart that never weakened, nor did it dull the pain. He hailed a taxi and directed the driver to go downtown. He pulled the slip of paper out of his pocket containing the address of where she worked after finding it in Albus's drawer. He knew that he would have never found it otherwise; she had specifically requested that only her uncle could contact her. The anger that he felt resurfaced again at this thought, and for a moment he regretted being so far away from home. Let's just get this damn thing over with, he thought.
The taxi dropped him off next to a small brick building that read Caring Companion Animal Hospital. Severus glanced at the address in his hand and then back at the numbers on the building. They matched. He sighed deeply and tried to take a step forward, but his legs failed him. Swallowing hard, he reassured himself that he was doing this for Albus and no one else. No one else indeed. Regaining composure, he walked to the front entrance and peered in the window. It was dark. The only signs of life in the waiting room were the fish in the glowing aquarium. She's not here, well, no other means of contact, time to go home...
It was then that he saw a tall figure appear into the room. It was her. Severus ducked below the window just enough that he could see but not be seen. He watched her as she fed the fish. She was exactly how he remembered her, if only her beautiful figure had not been hidden by hospital scrubs. Her shoulder length auburn hair, shorter than he had remembered, was tied behind her, allowing full view of her sparkling eyes, which now, after all that she had been through, still sparkled as if he was seeing her for the first time again. A wave of admiration overcame him. Although part of him still resented her, her optimism was inspiring. The medallion in his hand glowed a deep red.
A rumbling in the sky interrupted his thoughts, as well as the smile that he didn't realize had formed on his face. Odd, it was only sunny seconds ago, now the air felt damp and cold. The sky had grown dark, but there was not a cloud in the sky. Panic gripped him. They were here. They were trying to get to her before he could. Severus ran from the window, desperate to find a way to her before they could.