Chapter Ten: Another Arrival
A/N: Thank you to bigkihap, Quill of Minerva (I'm sorry I keep confusing you!), DumbledoresKitten, Jaya, foci, Kristen and mugglemin for their reviews. Let me know what you think of this twist; I haven't tried this theme before, but my beta and I agree that it's a nice change for Severus.
And thank you to Flying Auk, for being the fastest beta ever.
Sorry it took me so long to post. I am in Quèbec on a strange computer in the hotel that I am not sure I am allowed to use because the Internet cafe I tried would not let me on.
They landed in a jumbled heap in the center of one of St. Mungo's private wards. The sanitized smell of the hospital struck his nostrils first, followed by a deluge of white walls.
Safe, Severus thought hazily.
Beside him, Albus shuddered violently. "POPPY!"
Severus heard a woman's single frightened gasp before a cacophony of sound descended. His ears caught the sound of various people running back and forth and he felt strong arms lifting him up and pulling him away.
"She's not breathing!" Somehow Albus's simple, panicked statement cut through the hubbub, only to cause more panic. Severus swayed dangerously on his feet, only to be grasped more firmly by his helper. To his disgust, he found that the werewolf was the one supporting him. Throwing off Lupin like a dog with water on its coat, Severus shook his head to clear it.
Poppy had Minerva on a stretcher and halfway out the door before Severus was cognizant enough to realize what was going on. "The ER, stat!" the school nurse shouted at the two young hospital assistants with her. Turning back to Albus her eyes narrowed. Two flicks of her wand and Albus was following Minerva again, this time flat on his back courtesy of a magical stretcher.
After Albus and Minerva had been taken out, Poppy following in tow, Severus collapsed heavily into one of the room's hard wooden chairs. He leaned back slightly but did not relax. A quick glance at the clock revealed the time as just forty-eight minutes past midnight. So little time for so much blood, he thought numbly. So much blood…
Lupin was discreetly taking care of the bloodstains on the floor, but the sight of the bright red on white was burned into the back of his brain. Minerva's blood, all over the floor…Lucius's blood on your hands—
"Severus?" Molly questioned gently, interrupting his train of thought as she stepped away from her husband and towards him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Severus said sourly, knowing that the meddling woman would never just leave her inquiry there. He turned away and crossed his arms, discreetly observing her from the corner of his eye.
Indeed, Molly frowned, her face taking on that stern expression that her children knew quite well. Damn. "Severus, you can't just—"
Thankfully, at just that moment the door opened with a bang. A tall, dark-haired young woman wearing a heavy traveling cloak strode in, blue eyes fierce and frantic. Lupin leapt up in surprise, wand at the ready, but she ignored the werewolf. Spotting Severus sitting in the corner, she veered towards him immediately. "Where are they?" she demanded, completely ignoring the other three people in the room.
She took one look at his face as he turned towards her and sucked in a sharp breath. I must look worse than I thought, Severus noted abstractedly. "The emergency room," he said quietly, desperately trying to ignore the stunned, stricken expression on her face.
"Are they all right?" she whispered, eyes wide and suddenly vulnerable as she fiddled nervously with her hands.
Severus suddenly felt the need to lie, and lie well. He paused for a moment and then looked up at her, offering her a dry smile. He shook his head slightly. "You worry too much," he said lightly, his tone admonishing. "They'll be fine."
She was too distracted to notice his hesitation. "Thank Merlin," she said, letting out a loud breath. "Can I see them?" she asked hopefully.
Severus shook his head regretfully. "They're still in…the mediwizards are still…not yet," he snapped finally, exasperated with his fumbling speech. Some spy you are, Severus!
"But they'll be all right?" she insisted, intent on his face.
"They'll be just fine," he promised again, this time without hesitation.
She closed her eyes for a moment and stood very still, as if processing that information. "Thank you, Severus," she said finally, opening her eyes slowly. Severus resisted the urge to sigh in relief as she slumped into the seat next to him, appearing utterly spent. He allowed her the time to collect herself, giving a discreet "let me handle this" wave to the three Order members watching them intently. Sure enough, she turned to face him moments later. "What happened? And what are you wearing?" she asked, her voice hinting of amusement at the last.
Severus looked down at himself and grimaced again. "It's a long story," he said shortly.
"I have time," she replied lightly, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow skeptically. Despite her easy tone, Severus could see that she bit her lip nervously and her fingers clenched her upper arms tightly.
Frowning, Severus turned to Lupin. "My wand?"
Lupin said nothing. Fishing the desired article out of his pocket, he slowly handed it over to Severus, who resisted the urge to snatch it from his hands.
Beside him, the young woman sighed, rose, and drew her wand. "Allow me," she said sarcastically, before casting a complex series of spell that left the room glowing faintly for a moment. She turned back to Severus, slightly exasperated. "Satisfied?"
Severus raised an eyebrow. "Not entirely," he said archly. She rolled her eyes childishly. Ignoring the small voice in his head that suggested perhaps this was not one of his best ideas, Severus cast a few more privacy spells on the room. He sheathed his wand with a flourish, inclining his head slightly to the woman on his left. "Now, what was it you wanted to know?" he asked solicitously.
She laughed despite herself, and although the sound was slightly strained, a little tension left her shoulders. A smug smile tugged at the corners of Severus's mouth. Ten points to Slytherin. "Oh, Severus…" Her half-delighted, half-exasperated tone was painfully familiar. "You're impossible."
She glanced down at him and sobered immediately. "What happened, Severus?" Damn it, man, control yourself! "I got your note three hours ago. Your owl was quite insistent, I might add," she said with a wry smile. "Crazy animal hooted loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood." Severus smirked, playing along with her attempts to distract herself. "Do you know how infuriatingly vague your blasted missive was?"
He shook his head; he really didn't know. After all, he'd written to her only a few hours before his "appointment," and how much of his sanity he'd retained at that point was rather questionable. Severus ignored the slight pounding in the back of his head and attempted to focus on her words. "Read it," she ordered, thrusting a small slip of paper at him.
Severus unfolded the tiny paper slowly. It had been crinkled, creased, and crumpled more times than he cared to count. A slight pang of guilt struck him, quickly suppressed by the larger logical portion of his brain. He glanced down at the parchment.
You're needed at home. It's urgent. Come now. S.
Severus looked up at her, a slight smile playing on his lips. He had been rather brief, he supposed. "Yes?"
Her small hands tightened into fists and her lips thinned. "Have you any idea what it's like to get a note like that? Do you know how long I spent trying to figure out if this was some cruel prank to get me to fly across the bloody channel? What happened?"
"Well did you?" he asked curiously.
"Did I what?" she snapped.
"'Fly across the bloody channel?'" Severus wondered idly how long he could keep her distracted enough to avoid telling her the truth.
Her eyes widened indignantly. "No," she growled. "Since you were so wonderfully unspecific about the 'urgency' of the matter, I apparated five times to get here faster. I considered apparating directly, but I probably would've splinched myself twice over." She glared at him. "You could have been a little more specific, you know."
"I was a little preoccupied at the time," he returned evenly, offering her the paper back. She snatched it out of his hand and plunged it into her pocket, still glaring at him. "You came, didn't you?"
"Yes, you bastard, I came," she said angrily. "Anyone else would have given me an explanation."
"Then it worked just fine, didn't it?" he replied, closing his eyes slightly. Why am I so tired?
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare, Severus Snape!" His eyes flew open, startled that they now matched the shock in hers. "What?" she said softly, reaching down to brush her fingers against a damp spot on his school robes. When they came away bloody, her eyes widened even more. "Why didn't you say anything?" she demanded, drawing her wand and rising from her seat. Severus was too tired to object or defend himself.
Muttering quietly to herself about the stupidity of men, she sliced his robes open from neck to navel with a single spell, and gasped loudly at the sight of the bleeding sore in his side. "Why didn't you say anything?" she asked him again, tearful this time.
"Didn't want to…worry you," he replied hoarsely, hissing as she pulled back his shirt gently. The removal of the tight fabric had ripped away the partially-formed scab and stung terribly.
"Idiot," she told him, blinking back tears. Raising her wand again, she cast a series of powerful healing charms that left him tingling. "Anywhere else?"
"Left shoulder," he replied shortly, doing his level best to remain upright.
Shaking her head, she cast another spell to slice his sleeve open and pulled away the rags. Severus sucked in a sharp breath as the movement tore open the wound again and felt her shake a little. Silently, she cast the required charms. "Is that it?" she asked, knowing that he would have already assessed his injuries, though he was too stubborn to ask for help.
Severus shook his head weakly and the young woman nodded. She cast a few more spells to help heal the small scratches and bruises adorning his body and clean him up. The young woman inspected him carefully. Apparently satisfied with the state of his injuries, she cast one last spell.
"Diana!" Severus exclaimed, finding himself suddenly attired in fitting robes of a deep green.
The young woman raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather have them in Gryffindor red?"
Severus backed down hastily, and she smiled. "Much better," she declared. Turning to the others in the room, she finally introduced herself. After she interrogated, stripped and redressed me to her liking, Severus noted sourly. Blasted, meddling Gryffindors.
A/N: Please review! What do you think of her?