Cecilia stood in the doorway, shocked and motionless. She couldn't believe she was in the same room as him, after all this time. She waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to speak or even look at her, but he too remained unmoved. For a moment she hoped that he would never turn around to face her, for fear that she would meet his eyes and melt into the floor. Instead she watched as he absentmindedly scratched behind Lucy's ears while the dog rested her head in his lap. Traitor, Cecilia thought bitterly.
Severus could sense that she was watching him from the other side of the room. It would be so easy just to turn around and tell her why he was here and that would be that, but he was afraid; something that he didn't admit to himself often. He feared that if he looked at her, every drop of desire and yearning for her that he had managed to push out of his head would come back with a vengeance. He needed time to gather his thoughts. He was sure that the attention that he was giving her dog was making her seethe, and it helped a little. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," he finally said, standing up to face her.
"Mostly I'm wondering how you found me, and why they're after me as well," she said defiantly. "Or has it become a joint effort to finish off the rest of the family?"
Her cold words were another severe blow to his heart, but this was no time to grieve, at least not for her. "Damn it woman, don't you have any inclination of what is happening to the living member of your family? You're uncle is in very serious trouble and I was sent by the rest of the staff to come find you."
"Why should I believe you?" she spat coldly, meeting his eyes fully for the first time with a glare.
His patience was beginning to run thin. "Have any strange nightmares lately?" he yelled, seeing realization and horror creep into her eyes. "Now listen, you stubborn bi…" He stopped his obscenities as he studied her eyes, whose sadness did not match the hateful words she had just uttered. He suddenly felt apologetic; he wanted to hurt her, after all the pain she had caused him, but he didn't have the energy, especially not when it came to this. However, he soon realized that her sadness was focus elsewhere as her gaze dropped down to her open hand. His also followed and he saw the blood red mark on her palm.
"Somehow I knew something was wrong…the dream last night…but I put it in the back of my mind because…" She looked up at Severus, and then quickly looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"…because you were still afraid to go back," he finished for her. She nodded numbly. They both stood in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity. He cleared his throat sternly. "Cecilia, I'm afraid what's happening right now is bigger than you and I. If you don't come home your uncle will be dead in a matter of days."
Cecilia shuddered to think that she could be at all responsible for the death of her last living family member after she had failed to protect the rest. "I need to get some things from my house."
"Then I suppose I should cover my eyes the rest of the way so I can't know where you live," Severus said coolly. Cecilia opened her mouth in protest, but nothing came. She returned his frigid stare. "No matter," he finished, "after this is over you can return to this place and we'll forget about each other all over again." He breezed past her, with Lucy skipping after him. Cecilia sighed heavily and trudged after the two.
He followed her to the parking lot where her car sat. Severus looked at the car with a sneer. While fishing her keys from her pocket, Cecilia looked up and caught the look of distaste on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just a plain muggle car," she said with mock disappointment, glaring at him. "By the way, Lucy sits in the front seat." With that she got in the car and stared ahead until she could hear him get into the back seat. Severus complied with an exaggerated roll of his dark eyes. The car started and they were on their way.
"Do you want to know anything else?" he asked, trying to divert her attention back to her uncle.
"Are you the only one who can tell me?"
"Well, no. Professor McGonagall—"
"No thank you. I'll talk to her when I get there," she replied quickly. Not another word was spoken between the two for the rest of the trip.
The train ride to Hogwarts went quickly, which was a relief for the two. They had managed to find separate compartments, although Cecilia was forced to sit with a so-called divinations expert who kept insisting on reading her aura. She managed to talk the woman into reading Lucy's aura and pretended to sleep. She was sure that her pet would forgive her. Although they had managed to avoid each other on the train, they had to take the same carriage to the school. Awkward silence loomed in the air.
Finally, Severus cleared his throat. "Was the train ride what you remembered?"
She kept her gaze out the window, but she could feel his stare. She searched for something to say. "My aura is blue," she said with a smirk. "Lucy's is purple." Lucy barked happily in reply. "I guess I should thank you from coming to get me…"
"Forget it," he said quickly. "I'm just doing this for Albus, as I'm sure you are. What other reason would you have to come back." His tone grew cold again.
She matched it, her gaze turning icy as she watched the trees zoom by. "None," she said simply.
They arrived at the school five minutes later. "Seeing as you wish to rely on Minerva to give you the news, you can rely on her to find your way around as well," he spat as he stalked off into the building. Cecilia fought the urge to pull out her wand and hex him. Exhausted, she grabbed her trunk and dragged it towards the entrance. She smiled as a large, familiar figure approached her.
"Well look who it is," Hagrid said as he grabbed her trunk. "Been too long! McGonagall says I have ta help move ya in."
She smiled for the first time since the trip. She hugged him, grateful for a friendly face. "It's so good to see you, Hagrid. Are you taking good care of those creatures?"
"Been followin' all yer instructions," he said proudly. "We best be gettin' in the castle, doc. McGonagall's waitin' for ya."
Her face fell as she remembered why she was back. She followed him into the castle. Hogwarts was just as she remembered it, but she was still as awestruck as the very first time she stepped foot in there during her first year as a student. The portraits were full of life today; the students were hustling to their next class. A thought struck her. "Hagrid, do the students know about this?"
Hagrid tugged at his scruffy beard and looked sheepish. "Err…maybe a few, but most of 'em don't. Probably just think he's a little under the weather." He dropped her trunk and looked down at her. "It's a great thing you comin' here, Ceil. I know that it must be hard, considerin'…"
She stopped him by placing a hand on his massive forearm and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Just take me to my uncle."