Angel Watch Me Through the Night
Chapter 4
"It's not healthy for you, Headmistress! I cannot allow it!" Gabriela Auxin stood in front of Minerva, her eyes ablaze with concern.
"He responded to me! What is unhealthy about that? I'm only trying to help!" Minerva tried to reach past the head nurse, but found the way blocked by the rather robust woman who seemed completely immovable.
"You're losing sleep and meals over this, I can see it. Don't try to fool me; I've been a healer since you were at Hogwarts as a student! Your health will not last if you continue on like this. Keep helping, and you'll be in ward 25 yourself, of no use to anyone! I will not have you sacrificing yourself for a lost cause!"
"He recognizes me! He knows my voice now! He spoke to me!" Gabriela froze and Minerva pushed her way past, nearly breaking into a run. She did not get very far before the head nurse recovered however and grabbed Minerva by the wrist.
"He cannot speak. It's not possible. He can't even move, Headmistress. You've been hallucinating." The mediwitch's eyes were clouded with fear. She obviously did not want to condemn the renowned Headmistress of Hogwarts to the psychiatric ward at St. Mungo's.
"I am not hallucinating, Madam Auxin!" Minerva broke free of Gabriela's grasp with a sharp snap of her wrist. "He can move and he can speak! I've completely run out of children's literature, so I think I'll go sing some Christmas carols to him now!" Minerva was well aware of how incredibly dimwitted and inane that sounded, but she didn't care. All that mattered now was getting back to ward twenty seven and talking to, no with Severus again. She had to. She couldn't stop now. He had spoken to her, maybe even recognized her or remembered some small piece of Hogwarts. Not now. She wouldn't lose her friend now. Finding the ward with ease now, Minerva roughly grabbed Severus's dinner from the young mediwitch outside the door, barely recognizing the woman's shouts of how she shouldn't be there, and calmly walked through the door.
She was back. He lifted his eyes and saw her. Crawling on her knees to him, still glowing and making the soft music. Angel. His Angel. She was not holding a long thin thing this time, but it didn't matter. She could make the music without them he had learned. She came close to him and he looked down at her. She had brought food. Good. He wanted some. He willingly relaxed his jaw so that she could feed him. She sang very sweetly about that.
He felt her touch him again, but did not look down at her hand on his. He looked at her face again and tried to understand her. He knew now that she was telling him things. He wanted to know what she said. He wanted to know what his Angel knew. She guarded him from the brightness and the terrifying quickness of everything else. He wanted to thank her. Her wings were beating again. He could feel them now. From his very center he could feel her wings. He liked the feeling. He liked the warmth. She made music still, looking at him. He heard her singing and laughing in his mind.
She began to repeat the music again. It was not the same as before, though it sounded similar. This piece had more of a hiss to it, not the flowing music of before. He recognized it. She sang that music when she walked in. She was looking at him differently now. Her eyes were glowing. She wanted him to do something. She wanted him to make music. He knew. She was smiling again. She sang the hissing music still, and he knew she wanted him to sing. To make the same music. He tried. He wanted to do whatever his Angel wanted him to do. He tried. He wanted to sing, to make the music that would bring his Angel close to him again. To make her glow and sing. He tried and she sang, her warmth on his hands.
Minerva had known it was hopeless, for the time being anyway. She knew he wouldn't get it on the first try, but he had spoken to her, and Minerva was determined to teach Severus Snape everything he had once known, starting with his own name. A few minutes after coming into his ward, she had begun to repeat his name over and over again, clasping his cold hand in hers and looking into his almost clear eyes. He was trying, she could see, though she doubted he could understand her.
"Severus"
She would simply keep trying. Minerva knew in her heart and in his face that her old friend had spoken to her and could recognize her. She was not going to let him down. The devil with her own sanity. She could at least get the mediwitches to room the two of them in the same ward, she supposed. Severus's jaw tensed. She knew he wanted to talk with her almost as badly as she wanted him to speak. Even though he could get no sound out, she kept saying his name encouragingly and holding his hands in her own. She was his angel for now. She would have to be, she supposed. Minerva the guardian angel. Oh how her students would laugh about that! She didn't care though, sitting on the floor of the twenty seventh war of St. Mungo's, trying to teach Severus how to say his name. If he needed an angel, she would be there. And if he needed a confidant, she would be there. Hell, if he needed a pet, she would be there. Now was not the time to give up. Not now, when he could move on his own, albeit with some difficulty. Angels did not give up. They did not leave people in the muck of the world.
"Ssss…..ssss…ssss" Minerva looked closely at her charge, her thoughts and eyes hopeful. Severus had successfully made a breathy hissing sound. Well, it was certainly a start! To hiss was also to get the beginning and end of his name. The rest wasn't so hard. She enunciated harder, stressing each syllable beyond what it should have sounded like.
"Se-ver-us" she called softly again and again, trying to break through whatever barrier that dratted potion had placed on his mind that wouldn't allow him to speak to her. Lord knew he was trying. His face had begun to turn red with the effort it took him to speak and his eyes were concentrated fully on her face. Minerva smiled sweetly and lifted one hand to cup his face gently. He stopped trying for a moment and stared at her, his eyes clearer than ever through their mists.
"I will be your angel, Severus" Minerva said, "and I will help you come back to me. I promise."
He tried his best to smile.
A/N: Good lord, did I update? Took me long enough I know. I promise to be a bit more faithful to this from now on. I will also revise this capter later, as I'm sure it has plenty of mistakes and things that shouldn't be there. I'm hoping to make it a good 10 chapters at least (I'm not really one for long stories if you can't tell! ;)) I hope this lives up to what you've been waiting for!