Chapter Five
Half an hour passed before Albus through his traumatized state of momentary insanity heard the front door click.
"Albus?" The voice of Minerva McGonagall called through the house but it was not Minerva's voice that registered in his mind, that 'mans' voice was the only thing he could hear playing around his mind. He felt a presence enter the room but he was unable to see the owner of the presence or its intentions.
"Albus!" Minerva whispered again as she closed in on the shivering man cramped in the smallest corner of the room. He looked of vulnerably, so lost nothing like the Albus she had known. Albus stared through blind eyes the image of his cell in Balzac imprinted on his eyelids, so real he truly believed he was there once again. He felt two hands lay themselves softly on his cheeks gripping his face in a comforting gesture, but the gesture was false he was sure. He was certain those hands could only mean him harm.
Christian had often comforted him with seemingly friendly gestures just adding to Albus' torment before he did something dreadful to him and this was but another one of his tricks. He gripped the wrists of the offending hands knowing full well that fighting would just result in more torture but also realizing that he had to try just this once, just this time. He pushed the offender easily to their feet his hands still gripping the assailant's wrists painfully. He tripped blindly letting go of the wrists as he fell, he could hear the offender's footsteps loud and clear slowly edging around him. He snapped his arm out his hand coiling around an ankle in a snakelike fashion, the attacker fell along side him with a strikingly familiar gasp.
It sounded like a woman's gasp but no that couldn't possibly be it was surely another trick. He grabbed the assailant's legs rolling them onto their back, he pushed himself blindly up the offenders body and grabbed their wrists again as they came flying towards him in a strike of self protection. He pinned them to the floor staring down at his victim with eyes of venom, plotting his next move.
"ALBUS!" The scream broke through the barriers, crashing down each one of his tormented memories, collapsing the world around him until it once again resembled Minerva's bedroom. He glanced around him not once letting go of the wrists in his hands. It was definitely Minerva's room, how had he come to be here, had he been here all along, what in Merlin was happening to him?
"Albus…" He heard Minerva whisper quietly in an almost pleading fashion. He turned his attention back to the person he was pinning… it was Minerva. Horrified, he stared down at her. Her eyes where large in badly hidden fear, her lips split and blood gushing down her chin staining her porcelain skin. Her striking hair falling out the customary bun, she was beautiful even in this disheveled state she was stunning. It had been a while since Albus had been able to think about his lover in such a fashion, he had believed he would be numb to those feelings of awe and amazement that he had once found when looking at her. It took him a few seconds to remember the current situation; he gasped releasing her wrists and clambering off her lithe form.
"Minerva!" He whispered shocked, how could he possibly apologize for this! How could he possibly explain and correct what had happened, he truly must be insane to be able to act such things against the woman he supposedly loved. "I thought, I thought you where…"
"It's alright Albus, no harm done." She answered clambering to her feet, her eyes staring at him with the oddest and most disturbing expression he had ever seen. Was that hatred in her eyes, hatred aimed at him for doing such a dreadful thing, hatred at herself for not being able to defend herself for leaving herself at his mercy. Yes, Albus recognized that look it was one that he had found in his night at Balzac and one that still haunted him now. It was the same fear, the same worry, the same hatred that someone had violated you in such a way and you had been too weak to possibly stop them.
"Please Albus stop apologizing, I'm alright." She stammered through his many apologizes. "I know you would never intentionally harm me. Tell me what happened."
"I saw things," Albus answered from his position on the floor. "I saw memories but I was reliving them."
"Oh Albus," She whispered comfortingly advancing towards him he guessed to offer a gesture of comfort perhaps a hug, he flinched involuntarily as soon as she same close stopping her in her tracks.
"I won't ever let him have you Albus." Minerva spoke softly gesturing to the picture on the floor, Albus had forgotten how observant she was. "I won't ever allow him to harm you again, we will catch him Albus and the two men that control him I promise you and they will meet their own punishment."