Chapter Twelve: In Room 255
A/N: At long last (I'm so sorry, guys!) and without futher ado, I present chapter 12 in answer to the question "how are they?"
Thanks to my beta, Flying Auk, who as always reprimanded me for shorting on the description. Hope you like it better now!
Minerva blinked painfully and drew in a ragged, rasping breath. Eyes gently closed, she carefully catalogued her injures in an all-too-familiar routine. Her chest was terribly sore again, and although her breath rattled in her body, she no longer felt as though her lungs would collapse in flames at any moment. Her right arm throbbed in time with her heartbeat, but she knew that the shattered bone fragments had been refused and were now safely encased in a tight cast, as was her left leg, which merely itched. Best of all, for the first time in seven days Minerva felt clean. It was wonderful.
With a little sigh of contentment she slid a little farther to the right and nestled her head against her companion's shoulder, leaning back into his chest. A gentle hand brushed back her hair and then pulled her closer. Eyes still closed, Minerva smiled slightly. Having Albus beside her was better than all the medicine in St. Mungo's, and thankfully her primary care physician and old friend knew it well. Having a husband who was quite handy with wandless magic take down the bars and merge the beds while the nurse was out didn't hurt, either.
Someone knocked on the door quietly, and Minerva resisted the urge to groan. The intruder opened it after a moment's silence. Minerva pretended to be asleep—if the mediwizards wanted to poke her again, they would have to wake their patient first.
She heard light footsteps as one—no, two—figures moved towards her bed, the door swinging shut behind them. Neither spoke, but Minerva's Animagus-enhanced ears caught a sharp intake of breath and some agitated rustling of robes. What was wrong? All right, you win. I'm curious, she admitted, opening her eyes slowly as they adjusted to the light.
"Oh God," a familiar voice choked. Minerva's eyes flew open; beside her, she heard Albus stir.
"Diana?" Minerva croaked hoarsely, reaching out with her left hand blindly. How did she get here? Behind her she could feel Albus rising, helping her into an upright position firmly braced against his chest.
"I'm here, Mum," her daughter sobbed, catching Minerva's hand in both of hers immediately. "Oh God, Mum, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Mum," she finished in a whisper, tears streaming down her face.
Oh, Diana…you're too much like both of us for your own good. Minerva looked down at her daughter and smiled slightly, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "It wasn't your fault, darling."
Diana shook her head furiously. "I should have helped. I should've found out and come for you. I never should have left in the first place and—"
"—And let your mother be captured by your enemies, just as I did?" Albus interrupted, the lightness of his tone belying the serious self-condemnation in his eyes. Minerva turned to face him sharply, disapproval written across her features, but he ignored her, his attention fixed upon their daughter.
"But you didn't," Diana replied instantly, looking up at her father with a frown. "You'd never let anything happen to Mum…" Diana trailed off, finally understanding the significance in his regard, even as she registered the sharp flash of self-castigation.
"There's more than enough self-blame in this family to go around," Minerva declared. "Let it go," she ordered firmly, staring down both her husband and her daughter in turn. After a minute both nodded reluctantly, a light color in Diana's cheeks and a little pallor in Albus's. Just like the fifth years, Minerva thought with a slight smile. "That includes you, too, Severus," she added without turning around.
Minerva heard Diana's laughter as she turned around to face Severus, and knew instantly what she would find. Indeed, the young man's dark eyes were wide and more than a little incredulous. Severus composed his face almost immediately, but all three Dumbledores were already smiling.
Severus raised an eyebrow archly. "Me, Minerva? Unlike you three Gryffindors" he drawled, lips quirking slightly as he attempted not to smile, "we Slytherins don't bother blaming ourselves for events beyond our control." Albus, Minerva, and Diana looked at each other. The youngest shrugged slightly, wordlessly acknowledging the indisputable truth; the eldest smiled knowingly at the speaker. "On the other hand, when those events go in our favor, of course we planned them."
Albus laughed outright; the two ladies glared them. Severus smirked at them all.
Even Severus Snape conceded defeat, however, when Minerva reiterated herself after his performance anyway. A moment's silence had fallen before Minerva spoke, the marked gravity of her voice giving them pause. "My capture was You-Know-Who's—oh, all right," she grumbled, looking at Albus, "—Voldemort's fault. Only Voldemort's fault." Her green eyes met Diana's, Albus's, and Severus's in turn. Every one of them dropped her gaze.
Minerva smiled in satisfaction. Good. "Thank you," she said softly, turning to Severus, who stood watching her in slight confusion. "Thank you for saving my life—and for keeping my daughter away from danger." Severus nodded solemnly in acknowledgement; beside him, Diana's eyes blazed but she remained strangely silent, staring instead at the white gauze bandages that bound Minerva's chest.
Minerva resisted the urge to shout; breathing was difficult enough. "Is it wrong for me to want to keep you safe?" she asked her daughter quietly.
"Yes!" Diana exclaimed heatedly, taking a sharp breath when she realized what she had done. Seeing Minerva's unmoved expression, she continued in a quieter, though equally animated voice. "You didn't try to keep Severus away from danger! You were…you could have been…" Diana struggled with the thought and Minerva's heart constricted painfully at her daughter's stricken expression. "You didn't tell me!" she shouted finally. "Severus is a—he works for Dad doing Merlin-knows-what every day. You get kidnapped and nobody thinks to tell me?"
All three of them observed her calmly and said nothing.
"Dad?" Diana asked tearfully, a mix of disbelief and anger dominating her expression.
Albus hesitated. "I love you," he told Diana, the open honesty in his manner making his daughter swallow hard. "I'm your father. It's my job to keep you safe. No matter how I do it," he finished, meeting his daughter's eyes without a hint of remorse.
"What about Mum?" Diana asked, knowing a dead end when she saw one. Minerva's ears perked up and she looked at her husband questioningly, intrigued.
"Sweetheart, if I thought your mother would let me get away with it, I'd have her in France with you in a heartbeat, safely installed in a house with twice as many wards as you let me put on your flat." Diana's eyes widened fractionally; Minerva raised an eyebrow. Albus had put a record twenty-two wards on Diana's flat, each more complex and powerful than the last, making their little girl's flat quite possibly the safest place in France. "Actually, we do have a house there," Albus suggested mildly. Minerva looked at him sharply.
"No." Her voice was adamantine. The two professors stared at each other and the room suddenly shrunk in size. Minerva's chin was lifted, defiant, as she faced down her husband. Albus's expression was desperate, pleading, as he reached for her hands.
Minerva, please!
No. Minerva set her jaw determinedly. Never.
He knows about you now, Albus said, swallowing, the pain etched across his face shaking her resolve. It's too dangerous for you to stay here now.
Hogwarts is safe.
There was an infinitesimal pause. No, it's not, Albus said softly. Minerva's heart twinged. She knew how much it had cost Albus to admit that.
It's the safest place in England, Minerva asserted calmly, touching his arm in a show of support.
Albus shook his head. It's not nearly safe enough anymore.
Minerva's face darkened. If it's safe enough for Harry, then it's safe enough for me, she challenged, frowning deeply.
No. Now it was Albus's turn to become stone.
Minerva's eyes narrowed. So Hogwarts is safe enough for a half-trained boy but not for an ex-Unspeakable? We've been over this before. I'm not leaving you.
Things have changed. They know now. They'll be after you as my wife, not just because you're my second. He paused for a moment; her expression remained unyielding. I can't risk losing you, Minerva! Albus exclaimed, throwing his hands up. She heard a rustle of cloth as someone started at Albus's sudden violence.
Like I risk losing you? she countered immediately. We've talked about this before. We agreed to keep our marriage a secret because you wanted to protect me. That's never protected you, Albus. The risks haven't changed, not for me. The only way I'm leaving you in this life is dead.
Albus flinched and looked away, breaking their connection. From the corner of her eye, Minerva saw Diana whispering to Severus, who relaxed a little, though he still eyed Albus warily.
Albus sighed deeply and Minerva returned her attention to her husband. Minerva, I can't…I can't do this without you. Again, she faltered a little at the unadulterated truth in his words, knowing them as nothing less than the defining aspect of the part of his soul that belonged solely to her.
You won't have to, she replied firmly. I'm not leaving you. Ever.
Minerva, please! Albus tried one last time to persuade her, reaching out to her in supplication.
Never.
The flash of agony that tore across his features at her final declaration was like a knife to the heart. Minerva reached up to cup Albus's face gently, asking him to look at her. "I love you," she whispered gently.
He closed his eyes for a long moment, then caught her hand and pressed it to his lips. And I love you. God, Minerva, how I love you. The blaze in his blue eyes was everything she had dreamed of as a girl, everything she could still barely believe she had. They drew closer—
"We're going now," their daughter announced loudly. Albus and Minerva started, blinked, and then turned to face their nervous child, identical smiles appearing on their faces as they realized the source of her discomfort.
"Right now," Severus muttered, shaking his head in disgust. The slight color in his cheeks betrayed him, however, and their smiles widened appreciably.
Albus laughed. "Can it be true? I do believe that Severus is actually embarrassed by us, Minerva!"
"I'm always embarrassed by you," Severus muttered grouchily, glaring at both of them. Much to his chagrin, Albus only laughed harder.
"Are you sure you want to go? We'll behave," Minerva promised, the hint of mischief in her voice alarming her daughter even more.
"Yes," Diana confirmed hurriedly. "We'll go tell the other Order members that you're all right and then come see you in the morning, all right?"
"That's fine, sweetheart," Albus said to Diana while looking at Minerva.
"Sleep well, Mum, Dad," Diana said, giving them each a kiss on the cheek in turn. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Severus and Diana were out the door in seconds. Minerva laughed as the door closed behind them and turned to Albus. "Now, where were we?" she asked, smiling.
"Just about to go to bed, I believe," Albus replied blandly, his eyes twinkling madly.
"Oh, yes," Minerva replied, leaning back against the pillows—and Albus—with a yawn. "Goodnight, Albus."
"Goodnight, Minerva." She smiled at the smile in his voice, and they drifted off to sleep together.
A/N: So, what'd you think? Didn't want the long thanks to get in the way of the story, but I haven't forgotten:
Many thanks to bigkihap, Silverthreads (doubt my mom would believe me), foci (nicest review I've gotten yet! and of course you're right), DumbledoresKitten (you're right about Diana and Remus--he did nearly kill Severus, after all), TabbyMin, mmcgonagall, SolaTira (the jury's still out on the Severus/Diana--my beta thinks (and I agree) that it's cliche), JoanneM, Leta McGotor, Windsib, girlfromiceland, Lady Urguentha, Lizella and kidarock for their reviews! You guys are great!