Happy weekend ya'll! I'm locked in my room because I found out I've been exposed :( Glad to report I don't feel sick, but I don't get my test back for a few days, so trying to play it safe.
We finally made it to Halloween in Penny's time...lol I honestly thought I'd be here at ACTUAL Halloween, sigh. This fic is going to be sooo long, hope you don't mind!
In this chapter SNAPE RETURNS. Ahh yes, missed you bbe.
You may or may not notice, but a lot of this was inspired by the LOTR movies, so if you recognize a reference, make yourself known! Thanks for hanging with me in this story, it's my readers and the amazing people who write to me about their thoughts on this story that keep me motivated and sane during this time!
Alright, there will be more notes at the end because some IMPORTANT things come to light here !
Spending time at Grimmuald Place was a good distraction for Penny, who found herself constantly occupied with something. While Sirius let up on the severity of his training of her, he still got her up before dawn every morning to exercise with him. Gradually, the course stopped being torture, her muscles finally remembering themselves making her determined to beat Sirius' time before she returned to Hogwarts. Penny found the early mornings also cleared her head and helped her mood during the day, so she couldn't complain.
Lupin sat in with Penny whenever she did her homework, helping and instructing her when it was needed, commenting on her efforts and talent, making the heart in Penny's chest constantly flutter with glee. It was a true dream come true for Penny, who loved Lupin's teaching style and to have his company. It reminded her of the single year of bliss they'd spent together at Hogwarts. Penny also couldn't help but notice how much Lupin loved teaching and how often he put extra thought into things they'd discussed during the week, coming back with what he thought was a better way to describe the concept to her. Sirius' input was much less laced in the reassuring comments, and got straight to the point. He'd read over her work, sometimes laugh, leave his dirty finger prints on her papers, and bluntly tell her what she needed to rewrite. He was a harsh critic, but Penny had developed a tough skin due to Snape, and she found she improved a lot on her essays because of Sirius' input.
Many members of the order came and went, most stopping to chat with Penny, ask about her schoolwork or to have a meal with them. Mrs. Weasley made a point to stop by a couple times a week, determined to ensure Penny was eating properly and that her caretakers were doing the laundry. She often brought Penny clippings of articles she thought Penny would enjoy, and small crafts to do in the evenings, which Penny found to be adorably thoughtful of her. Sirius did not feel the same and rather appeared to resent this, taking it as a criticism to his parenting skills, but came around when Mrs. Weasley commented on how much healthier Penny looked with the weight she'd put on, and even asked Sirius about the obstacle course he'd set up. She was much less pleased, and even a bit shocked when she learned the details, but she bit her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself, apparently deciding the benefits Penny had gained from it outweighed all the potential dangers of it.
All the day's noise, however, quieted in the evenings, leaving Penny trying occupy her mind to prevent herself from drifting into thoughts about the Dark Lord, while also wishing she could drown out the loud sex Lupin and Sirius liked to have each night, when they thought she was asleep. Unfortunately for Penny, her room was located below Sirius', so every thrust and moan made its way down to her ears, intriguing and mortifying her.
Though she was curious, much too curious, and the spot between her legs seemed to ignite every time they got going, Penny felt looking them in the face come morning would be too awkward if she listened to the whole exercise, so she'd retreat down the stairs into the sitting room in which Snape had allowed her to fall asleep on his lap over the summer. Curled up in a ball, Penny's mind would drift to her potions master, a horrible sorrow filling her heart to bursting.
Against her better judgment, she would lay there thinking about the man and the summer they'd had together, wishing very much she could go back, if only to capture those moments like one might catch fireflies to enjoy their beauty over and over again. But she couldn't, and the truth of the matter was, the thought of Snape brought her more pain than she knew she was capable of feeling. A mixture of emotions would course through her ranging from anger, hatred, betrayal, pity, heartbreak and disbelief. Part of Penny couldn't comprehend it, refused to believe the truth, and much like her time in the Hospital Wing, she found herself half expecting him to arrive through the door at any minute and they would go back to the way things had been. But every time she looked at the door only to find it empty, her heart would break all over again as the realization he wasn't coming back would sink a little further into her lonely heart.
The prospect of going back, of fixing things, Penny beginning to accept was impossible because things had changed, Penny had changed. The questions she'd asked him, they plagued her, the horror of what she witnessed not diminishing in the least. Even if Penny could ignore how desensitized Snape was to it all, allowing he'd changed sides and even risked his life to atone for the evil he'd done, she couldn't ignore how horribly Snape had treated her. Whatever his motives were, he'd made one thing plain, and that was whatever he felt too ashamed to share with her was more important to keep locked up than trusting Penny to believe in him. As painful as it was, Penny knew that short of a thorough apology, this could not be resolved, she could not let this transgression go. As horribly as her heart ached at the thought, Penny had to accept the possibility that her and Snape would part ways, and she needed to start figuring out how to come to terms with that.
This was easier said than done, and Penny found herself anguishing more than she liked, having small things trigger reminders of Snape that would give rise to a burst of emotions. Thankfully, Sirius was completely oblivious to the struggle, freeing Penny from answering questions she knew would only send Sirius into a tangent about how awful he thought Snape was. But Lupin did his best to just be with her when he knew she was feeling sad. He'd even made a habit of checking on Penny when he thought she was asleep, giving her a soft kiss and rubbing her head gently in the dead of night. Penny always pretended to be asleep, savoring his thoughtfulness and not wanting to burden him further with the thoughts she struggled with in the evenings.
Lupin, though Penny had no idea when he'd contacted Snape, took over caring for Penny's curse, which Penny was highly thankful for because she did not know how she would respond were she to see her potions master. Lupin turned out to be a gentler doctor and his warm hands were much more welcome on her abdomen. He was so attuned to her ever squirm and flinch, unlike Snape, who'd always paid more attention to what he was looking for than the responses coming from Penny.
As the weeks had gone by, both Penny and Lupin noted how pain became a frequent visitor of Penny, the dittany, while keeping the wound closed, no longer providing the long stretches of freedom from the pain in her abdomen, which seemed to grow increasingly worse as time went by. The bags beneath Penny's eyes became so deep that she made Lupin look well rested. She'd found it almost impossible to sleep more than a few hours and had troubles falling asleep. As such, she was experiencing more and more fatigue and irritableness.
Penny knew Sirius and Lupin were worried, but they did their best to make no remarks to her, but Penny could not help but think of what Hermione had confessed to her about only being able to hinder the curse for so long before it would inevitably begin to progress. What progress would entail was a prospect she did not want to think about, so she did her best to pretend the pain did not bother her and began considering a life of coping with the pain rather than wishing for it to go away.
Arriving at the topmost landing, Penny peaked her head around the door. "Where'd Remus go?" Penny asked, finding Sirius rummaging in his bedroom cupboard, which was atrociously full of junk.
"Someone has to get groceries, and seeing as you're supposed to be at Hogwarts, and I can't go outside without being arrested, it's up to him to keep us from starving," Sirius answered as he began tugging at something sitting at the bottom of a very unsteady looking pile.
"I was hoping to catch him before he left to ask him to get some of those weird American sweets."
"What sweets?" said Sirius, barely paying attention.
"I think candy corn is what they call it," said Penny, moving further into the room to settle herself on the floor, her back resting against Sirius' bed.
"They're disgusting, why would you want those?"
"Because it's Halloween! Americans always eat it on Halloween in the movies, and I just thought it might make things feel a little more. . .festive today."
"We're festive enough!" Sirius said, defensively, pausing his struggle momentarily to give her a very disgruntled look.
"Did you even know it was Halloween before I mentioned the sweets?" Penny asked, arching her brow in skepticism.
"'Course I did. And I've got the most Halloween activity-if I can just get it out."
Sirius gave a great tug, the small box finally springing free, Sirius toppling backward, and the pile tumbling on top of him. Penny laughed watching him try to dig himself out. For a moment he looked as though he were contemplating if he should put the mess right, but then seemed to decide against it, wiping the dust from the battered box in his hand.
The two of them met in the middle of the room, Penny seating herself crossed-legged, Sirius pulling off the lid.
"Is that a Ouija board?" Penny half laughed. "I didn't realize wizards used them."
"We don't, this one belonged to your mum," Sirius grinned, a glazed look falling over his features, telling Penny he was thinking of a time or two he'd used it.
Penny's laugh faltered and she looked at it, reaching out to skim the surface of the wooden board, imagining that her mother's own fingers had once touched the same spot. She thought about Lily, her laughing, trying to call up. . .what would she have tried to speak to? She would have already known about ghosts from Hogwarts.
"Don't tell Remus I told you, but we used to get really wasted, and Lily would convince James to stop being such a stickler and let us use it. Hated this board, your dad," Sirius said with that bark-like laugh of his.
"Dad? Why?" Penny said, utterly surprised by the revelation.
"James always was the superstitious type, probably your grandad's fault, used to tell him these stories he reckoned were handed down in the family about how death had a keen interest in the family because of something someone way down the line had done. Load of rubbish, but James was always unsettled by it. I think a part of him expected death to just show up, reaper in hand," Sirius said, affectionately.
"Do you remember the details of the story?" Penny asked, feeling a prickle go up her spine that she wasn't sure was associated with her eagerness to learn all she could about her father, or the unsettling feeling growing in her stomach at the prospect of death searching all the earth for her and Harry.
"Me? Nah, never paid it much mind. But Moony might. C'mon, let's take it to the downstairs sitting room, the window up here makes it much too bright to try."
"Wait, we're trying it?" Penny stammered, jumping to her feet and following after Sirius.
"You wanted it to feel more like Halloween, so here you go."
"B-but I was thinking more along the lines of some candy and a movie, something low key like Hogwarts."
Sirius waved his hand as though shooing the idea away, bounding down the stairs three at a time, Penny following helplessly after him. She never had been superstitious, or afraid of the dark. It'd always been Harry who asked Penny to go with him to the bathroom when they were younger. But Penny was a muggle, and there had always been a different association with Ouija boards for muggles. Wizards, they knew ghosts were real, knew monsters existed, but for a muggle-born, all those questions were shrouded in mystery, and there was a kind of taboo-breaking that came with summoning anything, and though Penny was not afraid of monsters, she did not like breaking the rules, very much disliking the consequences that typically followed.
But her pleas fell on deaf ears, and Penny found herself unable to crush the spirits of her godfather who looked much too excited for their game so she gave up and resigned herself to going along with whatever Sirius wanted to do, wishing very much Lupin would arrive home before they really got going. Sirius took the process very seriously, telling Penny about how Lily had always set things up in the same strange fashion, which made Penny laugh, seeing as it looked like a basic seance to her, but for Sirius, it was like an alien ritual.
When he'd finished, he and Penny sat inside a circle of candles, all of which Sirius scrounged from various drawers and cupboards, making them all different sizes. Between them sat the board, Sirius already placing his finger on the planchette which was used to allow whatever entity they managed to summon to communicate with them. Penny eyed it warily, but Sirius gave her an impatient prod, so Penny extended her hand, half expecting something akin to an explosion to occur when she touched it. To her relief, it felt like a normal piece of wood to her.
"Now, what was it Lily always said? She'd make some speech," Sirius said, thoughtfully. "Oh right-Hear these words, hear my cry, spirits from the other side, come to me, I summon thee, cross now, this great divide."
Penny waited, watching Sirius screw up his face in concentration for a moment before he opened his eyes and looked around.
"Guess it doesn't work after all, what do you say we-" Penny said, seeing her opportunity to abandon ship, but Sirius would not let her off that easily.
"We need to say it together, now close your eyes," said Sirius.
"B-but I don't want to-"
"What, are you afraid?" Sirius accused, his eyes glinting with amusement.
"No!" Penny said, irritated, sitting herself up a little straighter and closing her eyes. Last thing she was going to let happen was Sirius tell Lupin she was a coward.
"Take in three deep breaths with me, still your mind, and then on the third exhale, begin to summon with me."
The first breath in was full of irritation, the second one no better, but by the third one, Penny allowed her thoughts to depart and emptied her mind much in the same way Snape had taught her. Her mouth opening almost of its own accord, she and Sirius began the chant in unison: "Hear these words, hear my cry, spirits from the other side, come to me, I summon thee, cross now, this great divide," they said almost tentatively the first time.
"Again," Sirius commanded.
They were louder this time, Penny's heart pumping in her chest and the sound of blood rushing in her ears, deafening her. Sirius called for the third, and this time, Penny felt like the words were being tugged from her throat as though attached to a string that someone else was pulling. Her chest was working laboriously and her eyes shut tight.
As soon as the last word left her mouth, an unnatural chill crept over Penny, the room became eerily silent, the sound of her own chest rising and falling seeming to be swept into the blanket of nothingness. Her eyes snapped open and she found Sirius grinning at her. All the candles around them flickered dangerously as though a strong wind had just blown through them, unsettling Penny more.
"Haha, very funny, Sirius," Penny said, trying to convince herself it wasn't real.
"They're here, they've come," Sirius said, in a hushed whisper, sounding much too at ease for whatever was happening.
"Sirius, I don't think I want to do this anymore," Penny said, making to pull her hand from the board after she could have sworn she felt something pass right by her, but Sirius yelled, stopping her.
"No! If we don't properly close the connection they can linger ."
"Then cut the connection!" Penny said, incredulously, her fear growing by the second.
"We can't until we ask them why they've come."
"I assure you we can. "
"It's alright, kid. It'll be fine, they're harmless. Just close your eyes and concentrate, I'll do the asking," Sirius said, in what Penny assumed was supposed to be a comforting tone, but came across more akin to one of blatant peer-pressure.
Wishing very much she knew who they were, Penny obliged, not wanting to find out what lingering meant,reminding herself Sirius had a wand that he held in his left hand. "Those of the beyond, you who have answered our summon, why have you come?"
A tug at her fingers sent Penny's eyes snapping open once again, the planchette moving quickly from letter to letter beneath her. Penny looked instinctively at Sirius, hoping to find him guilty of moving it and discovering this entire thing to be a joke, but she was disappointed to see his eyes wide with surprise as he tried to keep track of what was being written.
UNFINISHED, FIND THEM
"Who's them and why?" Penny said, not meaning to say the words out loud, but, alarmingly, whatever was listening heard her and replied.
DEBT MUST BE PAID
"What kind of debt and how must they pay?" Sirius asked in a gravelly tone, clearly engrossed in the conversation and completely unaware of all else.
STOLE IT FROM US It paused for a moment before beginning to scurry again. CANNOT ESCAPE PUNISHMENT
While Sirius was reading off the letters, waiting for it to continue, something else caught Penny's attention and she squinted past Sirius. The silence that had enveloped the room was now being filled with what Penny swore was a whispering but she could not be sure. She strained her ears, ignoring Sirius as he started reading again, the planchette moving of its own will beneath Penny's finger, but Penny was too preoccupied with the growing sense of dread she felt to pay it much mind.
She craned her neck, searching the room for a sign, or a source, but her eyes found nothing and for a moment she thought she'd imagined the whispering, but then they returned in greater fervor and ferocity, as though trying to get her attention. Now that her ears were better able to make out their sound, she realized they were not speaking real words, giving her the feeling these voices were eerily familiar, but she could not place where she'd heard them before, but her brain remembered to be wary of them, the alarms going off in every corner of her mind.
"Sirius, we need to stop this now," Penny said, finally turning back to him and feeling suddenly very afraid and foolish for allowing him to convince her to do this.
But Sirius wasn't listening, he had his eyes closed again, his form very still as though meditating.
"Sirius, now!" Penny said, urgently as another sound joined the whispering. A drumming coming from the deep-it resounded off the walls, shaking the very soul within Penny.
"Sirius!" Penny said more forcefully, looking wildly around for the source of the drumming, a light just behind Sirius catching her attention.
It fluttered to and fro, making its way down a long tunnel that now stood where the fireplace had been. Penny recognized it as the same endless tunnel she had seen in her dreams, the one that took Cedric from her. But this tunnel was slightly different, Penny could see the end of it, unlike the one she'd chased Cedric down, at which stood a large wooden door with brass handles and a large knocker, the details of which she could not make out because the little light did not stay in one place long enough. What Penny did notice, however, was that the closer the light got to the door, the louder whatever was behind it pounded, demanding its freedom, luring the feeble creature into its clutches.
Terrified of what would happen when the light reached that door, Penny turned back to Sirius and to her horror found him looking back at her, his head cocked slightly to the side, his eyes vacant and black, having no pupil at its center anymore. Before she could even muster a scream, the board beneath their hands began to shake and lift slowly from the ground, the planchette zooming backwards and forwards.
Horror struck, Penny glanced down at it as over and over again it spelled N.
"Sirius!" Penny yelled, turning back to Sirius and finding him leaning across the board, his face merely inches from hers, a putrid raspy voice coming from his lips. "O-p-e-n, o-p-e-n, o-p-e-n," he chanted, his voice getting steadily louder, the board shaking more violently, Penny certain it would burst into pieces at any moment.
"This isn't funny, Sirius!" Penny yelled, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She tried to pull her hand free of the board, but she couldn't, it was like it was holding on to her, holding her hostage until whatever was trying to make its way toward them was freed from the door.
The banging in the deep was louder now, Penny realizing how reminiscent of a drum procession it was, making her eardrums feel as though they would burst from the frequency of it; the whispering feeling as though it was behind her now. Their fervor was also getting more frantic, excited almost, following the tempo of the drums. Penny knew she needed to do something, needed to cut the connection before whatever was behind that door found its way out, but Sirius had not told her how to do it.
She looked back at Sirius, the eyes in his sockets were rolling, his limbs twitching unnaturally as a low choking sound replaced his chant, what little color he'd had in his face was gone, leaving a sickening grey hue to his complexion. For a moment she thought to reach out to him, to ensure he was breathing and to try to snap him out of it, but then the sightless eyes stopped their rolling and fixed on Penny. With a startled yell, she tried to lean away from him, but she was still trapped by the board, a horrid smile twisting Sirius's normally handsome features.
"I s-e-e y-o-u," he rasped, slowly, almost lovingly. "Y-o-u c-a-n-n-o-t h-i-d-e f-r-o-m m-e."
One by one the candles flickered and went out plunging them into a thicker blanket of darkness,Penny feeling certain nothing good would come when the last one went out.
"Wake up Sirius!" Penny screamed, frantically racking her brain in an attempt to figure out how to end this and get the real Sirius back, afraid that when the light from the last candle went out, Sirius would be lost to her completely.
Possessed-Sirius began to cackle, "N-o e-s-c-a-p-e - f-o-u-n-d y-o-u." And then he reached across the board, his long thin fingers slimy, scabbed and rotting, searching for Penny and finding her throat.
At the same moment, a horrible throbbing erupted in her right temple, blinding her for a moment. She closed her eyes, feeling in her bones, the shaking of the door, how close the meager wood separating her from whatever was coming to shattering. But she refused to give up and with a burst of determination, she ripped herself free of his grip, an idea appearing in her brain as though placed there, and she knew what she must do.
"Hear these words, spirits from the other side, return, I command thee, go now, I close this great divide," she yelled, still wrestling against the hand that was determined to prevent her from finishing her chant. Louder still, she repeated it, "Hear these words, spirits from the other side, return, I command thee, go now, I close this great divide!"
The whispering was angry, enveloping Penny in a whirlwind, making it impossible to hear herself, impossible for the board to hear her, so she looked inward, letting loose a shockwave of power as she focused on the words, willing them into every corner of the room HEAR THESE WORDS, SPIRITS FROM THE OTHER SIDE, RETURN, I COMMAND THEE, GO NOW, I CLOSE THIS GREAT DIVIDE.
The board rattled and shook and then fell, Penny getting hit with a blast of wind, a screeching and wailing filling her ears. She closed her eyes, covering her ears with both hands, certain this was the end, anticipating what awful thing was to come next. But what met her ears was something she was not expecting.
"You're worse than James, it didn't even work," came Sirius' voice.
For the third time, her eyes snapped open, finding Sirius standing, his wand returning the normal light to the room as he cleared up the floor.
"A pity, I would have welcomed a little excitement," he sighed.
"Sirius!" Penny cried in relief, jumping to her feet and throwing her arms around him. "Is it really you?"
"I've been here the entire time, kid, who'd you think I was?" Sirius said, looking at Penny as though he were worried for her sanity.
"B-but, just a moment ago, after we'd opened the divide?" Penny said, confused, pulling away from Sirius, her brows furrowed in concern.
"You had your eyes closed for no reason, nothing happened."
"I heard whispering and then-"
"You're just like James, he always reckoned he heard things too, active imaginations do that," Sirius said, shaking his head and giving a small smile at the thought. "Used to tell us the most wild stories about what he thought he'd seen."
"What did he see?" Penny said, desperately.
"It's been years now, but there was always something about a door. Convinced someone was speaking to him. We all knew he was full of it, trying to convince us we'd all been possessed except him," Sirius went on, making for the door.
Penny scurried after him, afraid to be left alone in the room. "Sirius, wait. That's exactly what-"
"'Bout time, Moony! I'm starving," Sirius said as they entered the hall and the door opened, letting a flurry of snowflakes in as Lupin entered, ladened in bags.
He unwrapped his scarf and looked between the pair of them, squinting in concern at Penny.
"Is everything alright?" Lupin asked, his eyes finding the box in Sirius' hand.
"Don't give me that look, Moony, I had to. It's like a family heirloom. Think I scared her though," Sirius said, taking the bags from Lupin and heading towards the kitchen. "She's just like James too, superstition must be a genetic trait," he called, the door swinging shut and leaving Penny with Lupin.
She raced across the hall, Lupin's concerned brown eyes surveying her, his right hand reaching for her cheek.
"You're all clammy, Penny, do you have a fever?"
"Remus, please you must listen to me," Penny said, her voice pleading.
Setting down his shoes, he turned and said, "You have my full attention."
"Sirius doesn't remember, but I saw something, Remus. It was supposed to just be a fun game, but something came and it-it took over Sirius-" Penny said, her words falling from her mouth in an incoherent fashion, her body trembling from head to toe. "Something was coming, Remus, it said it found me, and Sirius told me this story, something about death and my family-"
Looking slightly irritated, Lupin glanced toward the door Sirius had disappeared through. "I told him not to, but Sirius likes to get a rise out of people, Penny. Probably thought it would scare you. It seems he grossly over exaggerated, yes, your grandad liked to tell stories about death, but James was hardly looking over his shoulder."
"But the Ouija board-" Penny protested.
"I'll admit, there were a few strange instances, I've never seen James like that, but they were all isolated to when he'd use the board, and after a couple of days of being a little jumpy, he'd typically calm down. Now come here," he said, engulfing her in his embrace.
Penny let his comfort swim over her and ease her racing heart, focusing on the things she knew were real; the feel of Lupin's strong body; the smell of pine on his jacket; the tickling of melting snowflakes on her nose; and the sense of security she felt when she was near him.
"Am I losing my mind, Remus?" Penny asked, burying her face into his chest, wishing she could be absorbed by him.
"No, Penny, we all have experienced things we could not quite explain. Be kind to yourself, your psyche is working hard to process a lot of emotions, these things can manifest in many ways. That isn't to say I think you imagined what happened, but I'd just remind you, you are safe here and whatever happened is over now, and will stay that way," Lupin said, pulling away to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll ensure the board gets put away and that Sirius will clear all his ideas of a good time with me first, alright?"
Penny nodded, the world tilting as she did so. She stumbled slightly, causing Lupin to feel her head again. "You're burning up," he said, the lines in his face deepening.
Tossing his coat onto the rack, he wrapped an arm around Penny's shoulder and led her upstairs. By the time she made it to her bed, Penny's teeth were chattering and she could barely focus on anything in the room. Lupin laid her down and covered her with several blankets, Sirius joining them. They talked in low voices, Penny not able to catch anything because all of her energy was spent trying to right her vision, which was going back and forth to being unusually sharp to blurry. However, she did notice when they made for the door, Penny bottling upright, "No! Don't leave me alone!"
The two exchanged more words, Sirius heading out and Lupin returned to her bedside.
"I'm sorry, maybe I am superstitious, but I just don't want to be alone right now," she said, trying to give Lupin a weak smile.
"You have no reason to apologize, I won't go anywhere."
"Even to the bathroom?"
"I wouldn't dream of it," he smiled. "Now get some rest, I promise to watch over you."
"Will you wake me if I'm having a nightmare?" Penny said, her head falling backward and her eyes lulling into the back of her head.
"I'll do one better, I'll catch them before they make it to that pretty head of yours. So do not let your heart be troubled, tonight I'll make sure you sleep in peace."
Clutching his hand, Penny drifted in and out of consciousness, tossing and turning as she went from feeling as though she would freeze to being certain her skin would melt from her bones. She was unaware of her surroundings, her consciousness hovering somewhere between her dream state and an out of body experience, where she looked down on herself and Lupin, neither completely aware, or completely asleep. Images of a room filled with doors, all of them leading to something she knew was possible, but she was uncertain which was the correct door, came and went. A nagging feeling within her told her it was important that she identify the correct door, but every time she got close something inside of her would resist and she'd roll over again, losing the vision.
After some time of tossing and turning, Lupin's hand left Penny's, and though she wanted to call him back, she could not remember how to work her mouth nor open her eyes.
"Severus, thank you for coming. Sirius, you may go, I can manage," said Lupin's voice.
"Moony if he-" was Sirius' reply.
"I can manage," Lupin repeated, more sternly this time.
"What have you done to her, Lupin! Can you not even follow the most basic of instructions!" a third voice hissed.
Penny knew that voice, it sent a strange fluttering through her stomach, but she could not rouse herself enough to look at his face.
"I'm certain you know full well I've meticulously followed the routine, and I trust Albus has shared with you the developments I've reported the last couple of weeks."
A cold hand touched Penny's face, a familiar shock of electricity emanating from it before it traveled to her neck, taking her pulse like it always did.
"Tell me, precisely in what order things progressed," the cold voice demanded, the hands pushing aside the blanket exposing her abdomen, which they began to prod.
There was pain, but there was also relief. For every twinge, Penny felt a release, a release of something that had snaked its way inside of her and resisted the effort to pull it out. She tossed again, the hands pulling away, her dream state threatening to pull her back again, but for some reason she hung on, unaware she was even awake.
"It started with her sleeping, it seems to only come in short stints, it's like she's unable shut her brain off, struggling to fall asleep. Then the pain came, it was isolated to her stomach, but I believe it's spread though she has been unwilling to say so. She's fatigued, almost like she's constantly battling something, and sometimes, it's like she becomes another person entirely, moody, irritable, angry. The length between this progression and the administering of your regime has significantly shortened," said Lupin.
"There should have been more time," the other voice said, more to himself than the room. "The fever suggests the curse has breached her cardiovascular system."
"How much time had you expected this would give her?"
"A year at least, before any more significant manifestations should have arisen. Something has changed, sped up it's process. I ask you again, what have you done, Lupin," the voice accused.
"I have told you already, nothing has changed. But what you have said makes me think I was right-You see, I asked you here, Severus, because I have a hunch," Lupin said, slowly.
"Well, spit it out. I do not have all night, no doubt Umbridge will go snooping soon and I would prefer not to have to explain a prolonged absence," the respondent snapped.
"The difference is you , or rather your absence , Severus."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It is rather perplexing how a man as intelligent as you gives so little thought to the connection you share with Penny. I do wonder if it is not indicative of the fact you do not believe yourself to be her coordinate, and have eschewed the responsibilities that come with that."
"Your speculations are of little interest to me, Lupin, so if you care for my assistance then get to the point. Unlike the girl, I am not a captive audience and have no intention of listening to the indictments of a man who has refused to explain to her exactly what the relationship of a dyad entails. So spare me," the voice snarled, and Penny suddenly remembered the pair of black eyes that accompanied it-Snape!.
"For the sake of time, I'll set my response aside," Lupin said, tersely. "I think you'll not protest when I say you and Penny spend quite a bit of time together. I'd go so far to say she was attached to your hip during my time at Hogwarts."
"So-"
"While I have the utmost confidence you have done your part to put a professional, if you will, distance between you. Penny is not the type to be deterred, and for being so closeted at times, requires a lot of of assurances and comfort which I believe causes her to flout some social norms and totally disregard the personal space of others."
"Yes, Lupin, I am fully aware the girl is a nuisance. . ." Snape drawled.
"Then it's safe to assume, between tending to this curse and your typical interactions, you and Penny have quite a bit of physical contact," Lupin continued, ignoring Snape's remarks.
"If you are suggesting-" Snape said, his voice low and dangerous.
"I am not suggesting anything, but making an observation," Lupin sighed. "But if you have a confession to make, feel free to clear your conscience," Lupin added, a slight edge to his voice.
A long silence followed, Penny feeling annoyingly cold once again due to the draft the removal of the blanket allowed to hit her bare stomach. Her teeth began to chatter, and someone draped it back over her before they resumed their discussion.
"Expression can be understood as chaos, the coordinate balance, when brought together they create harmony. While this may sound theoretical, it explains the physical phenomena that takes place. Penny's magic requires an outlet, that outlet being you, I daresay I need not remind you of the destructive nature of her outbursts last year? You were the key to calming those storms within her. But that ability, I believe, includes more than her magic."
"How readily you seemed to have forgotten how your last brilliant plan nearly killed the girl!"
"Yes, I remember, Severus, and I carry that memory with great weight and sorrow. I have never experienced misery like I did when she laid lifeless on that table, nor as much unbridled joy when she returned to us. However, in this case, you have already proven the effectiveness of my hunch."
"And how is that?" Snape sneered.
"As I said, the only thing that has changed is your proximity to Penny. It is my belief that your connection, specifically, your physical contact with Penny holds within it the capability of healing. Something about your connection has kept that curse at bay, strengthening her and perhaps sharing her burden. I think it is your presence which keeps this curse under control, and without your nearness, she is fated to succumb to its effects."
"I've never heard anything more ludicrous-"
"Call it whatever you will, but I ask you to at least test my hypothesis. Even if you have set your heart on distancing yourself from her, I beg you to ease her suffering if it is within your power to do so. I think all things aside, we can at least agree Penny has suffered enough."
There was no response from Snape, but after a moment Lupin said, "Thank you, Severus. I'll give you some privacy, but if she wakes, call for me."
Confusion twirled it's way through Penny's brain. She was trapped within herself and she did not know how or where to find the exit. She wanted to open her eyes, to look up at the man she could hear taking the seat beside her, but even her most basic instincts were lost to her and she was consumed again by the discomfort of all her nerves being ablaze. But then the most pleasant of sensations pulled her from that agony; it came as a cold hand closing around her own, something taking up residence on her abdomen. The humming coming from Snape sang to Penny, it's melody twirling through her stupor and gathering her unto itself. She ran after that sound, every atom in her body receiving the electric shock it needed to start moving again.
Drowned in relief and the smell of bergamot, Penny's mind quieted, the unsettling intrusion of the room full of doors being permanently banished from her mind's eye and replaced with a contentment.
The haze around her transformed and Penny stood at the edge of a very large field, its expanse covered in an untouched blanket of snow. The world in perfect tranquility, Penny sensed that all of the life around her huddled together, finding warmth in the one next to them. Penny gazed across that field, taking in a deep breath of frozen air that filled her chest and made her shiver; it was a feeling that always reminded her-she was alive. Realizing she was not alone, Penny turned and found Snape beside her also gazing across the field, the lines on his face somehow less prominent. He did not seem to notice her, but she did not need him to, his presence was enough.
She rolled to her side, drowsiness finally taking hold of her, her own hand remembering itself and pulling his to her chest, letting out a content sigh. Her movement had sent him back into his rigid sitting position, Penny unaware of how the dark eyes looked at her. She would never know how the lines of anguish rippled across his face or how desperately he soaked in her every features, noting how much she'd changed in such a short period of time, a terrible fear oozing its way through the cracks in his facade; because when the color in her face returned and she began to stir, he made his exit, cursing life for the turn it had taken. He understood now that it didn't matter what he did, there would be no escape-for either of them.
Yepp, that happened. lol. I've always been interested in the tale of the three brothers and the deathly hallows. I know Dumbledore liked to think it was just a myth to cover up amazing talent that created the hallows but I'll be taking a different direction and go more in depth about death and the veil. Penny has a lot of storylines intersecting in her own having expression, sharing similarities with Grindelwald, being of interest to studies regarding the veil in the DoM, having a horcrux linked to her, her twin being Harry Potter , and having a shared destiny with Snape, but I really wanted to think about Penny as a Potter, and what that means. From my research James was an only child of an only child, and if he had twins, and the invisibility cloak is only passed on to Harry, was does that mean for Penny in regards to the story of the third brother hiding from death. Did James intend for the cloak to go to Harry or was that Dumbledore's doing? Did James know he was having twins? So much to explore!
No spoilers, but we shall see. I'm also taking a class on the comparative study of death and really just wanted to consider death as a character rather than an event. alright, thanks for reading!