Chapter 24: Lesson Learned

When Brixton woke up the first thing she noticed was the searing pain from her right leg. She tore back the unfamiliar white sheets to see that her leg was bandaged from hip to ankle. Splotches of blood stained the bandages in several places. It hurt like nothing she had ever experienced before. "Fuck," she cursed at the offending limb. After collecting herself she realized she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. She was pleased to see that to her left was a sleeping Severus Snape in a rather uncomfortable looking chair. His head had fallen onto his shoulder in an awkward looking position and one hand was outstretched to rest on her hip.

"He hasn't left your side for more than to go to the loo," said Madam Pomfrey as she rounded the wall of white curtain to stand beside Brixton's bed.

Recognition of what had happened suddenly hit Brixton and she flushed red with embarrassment. "How long have I been out?" she asked.

"Two days. I thought you would be out longer, actually. It was a rather nasty splinching. Worst one I have ever seen to tell the truth. You made a mess of the whole castle while Severus ran you all the way to me. You are lucky you didn't bleed out," the mediwitch fussed as she sat a bundle of fresh bandages and a tub of salve down on a metal cart next to the bed.

"When I do something I do it right and proper," Brixton scowled.

Madam Pomfrey laughed and said, "It appears that way. Now I need to change your dressings and apply some salve. It will hurt quite a bit I'm afraid."

"Can I walk?" she asked tentatively.

"Not for several days," the older witch responded, "and when you do get to walk you will be on crutches for weeks. It's not going to be a pleasant healing process because you can't heal splinching magically."

Brixton frowned, "Damn. I know Ron's experience with splinching was bad, but I was hoping with your help I might be luckier."

"No such thing as a lucky splinching unfortunately," Madam Pomfrey replied. She pulled the sheets back and used her wand to cause Brixton's leg to levitate for easier access as she began unraveling the bandages.

"Two days, huh? You couldn't convince Severus to leave and take care of himself. He looks horribly uncomfortable," Brixton winced as the bandages were pulled back.

"I tried, dear!" she exclaimed, "He wouldn't budge. I had to force him to eat at your bedside even."

Moved by the witch's words and Severus' determination, Brixton didn't say anything at all. She ground her teeth as the last of the bandages came off. She looked down at her leg to see a horrible sight. Her leg had several deep gashes that ran from her hip to her ankle. She thanked herself for coming up with the Scar Removal Paste because it was obvious that her injury was going to leave some nasty marks.

"You know, there is something I think you ought to hear." Madam Pomfrey said quietly.

"That I am a complete lunatic for attempting to apparate so far so quickly against my instructor's much better judgement?" Brixton said, disgusted with herself.

The mediwitch shook her head, "No. I think Severus himself will do enough scolding for the both of us. What I wanted to say is that you have changed him. I'm in the business of healing bodies, but I think you have gone a long way toward healing that man's heart. He's been through hell, as you know, and I don't think that his change in character has solely been his own doing. I think you have given him something to live for and that is a beautiful thing."

Brixton smiled, "Thank you. It's been wonderful to watch him change over the course of the year. I believe he is finally getting to be the man he was meant to be. I don't think it was all my doing though. Not having his strings pulled by Voldemort and Dumbledore has done him a world of good," she brought a hand to her mouth, "Oh gosh! What a terrible thing to say about Dumbledore, I just mean that…"

"Oh, hush dear," she interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I knew that man practically my whole life and he was good at pulling strings, especially when he thought it was for the greater good. I think you are wise beyond your years for seeing that. The man was wonderful, but he was also fighting a war and using people, including children, to do so. He wasn't without his flaws."

"Apparently not wise enough to prevent getting myself splinched," she laughed.

The older woman's reassurances calmed her, but just moments later she began to apply the salve to Brixton's wounds causing her to jump and yell out. This woke up Severus and he looked at Brixton with such relief that it melted her. Before she had time to react he leaned forward, slid his hand behind her head, and pressed his lips firmly against Brixton's. Madam Pomfrey chuckled and slowly Severus broke the kiss. "I'm happy to see you too," teased Brixton.

Severus cleared his throat and looked down at her leg, "It's worse than I thought."

"Two days by my side and you hadn't seen the damage?" Brixton asked, puzzled.

"I wouldn't let him look!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, "Rules are rules and besides, I don't know the full… ahem extend to your relationship."

"That's enough, Poppy. She gets the point," Severus said uncomfortably.

Brixton smiled at Severus, enjoying seeing him embarrassed, "She says I will be on crutches for weeks."

He nodded and replied, "Yes, but you are lucky to be alive. Next time please just listen to me. I know you are a formidable witch, but there are some times when we all have to use good judgement and know our limitations."

"Lesson learned," Brixton answered, "I wanted to get it down before the start of term and now it's evident that I won't be able to do that thanks to my injuries."

Severus held her hand through the painful process of redressing her leg. Brixton was thankful for his support. She stared at the ceiling and tried not to focus on the pain. The process left her feeling sore and weak. When Madam Pomfrey was finished she passed Brixton a pain relieving potion and said, "You probably have some visitors by now. I sent one of the House Elves to let them know you were awake. They have been eager to see you since your accident. Would you like me to send them in now, dear?"

Brixton nodded, "Yes, if anyone is waiting to see me you can send them in."

As the mediwitch left behind the curtain Brixton leaned over and grabbed Severus by the back of the head and pulled him over her to kiss him gently. She pressed her forehead against his and said, "I'm so sorry for being so foolish. I should have listened to you."

He leaned forward slightly to give her a more firm kiss before saying, "You are going to be alright. That is all that matters. I'm just so thankful that you apparated to the gate so that I could find you. I shudder to think what would have happened had you missed your mark."

The couple pulled apart from each other just in time to see Brixton's friends round the curtain and surrounded her bed. She was happy to see Luna, Hermione, Neville, Harry, and Ron. Harry quickly explained that Ginny wasn't able to get away from practice with the Hollyhead Harpies. After lots of hugging and explaining what had happened the group settled in to various conversations. Brixton was happy to hear Harry talking to Severus about his work as an Auror. She was especially surprised to hear Severus sharing with Harry the changes he made to the Defense curriculum.

Hermione and Luna lamented about how sorry they were that their reunion wasn't at Hogsmeade as planned, but they enjoyed their visit with Brixton nonetheless. Luna talked at length about how her trip to Australia had gone, what they had seen, what had evaded them, and how well Brixton's Water Breathing Potion had worked. Hermione talked about her work with Kingsley at the Ministry and how much she was enjoying it and how hard she was working to prevent some of the abuses of power that had occurred during Voldemort's infiltration of the Ministry.

Ron was nice enough to bring her some chocolate frogs and said he remembered exactly how excruciating being splinched was. Neville told everyone about his parents' progress and how it seemed like they would be able to go home eventually. They were both in a state of shock still at having missed almost twenty years of their lives and their son's life, but they were making progress.

After what felt like an eternity to Brixton due to her pain and exhaustion, Madam Pomfrey came back and shooed everyone except for Severus away. Once they were finally alone Brixton said, "Now that you know I am going to be okay I really want you to go sleep in your own bed and come back to me in the morning. There is no reason to stay in that uncomfortable chair tonight."

"Brixton…"

"Don't 'Brixton' me! I'm going to be alright. It's going to be one hell of a recovery and I'm going to need your help getting around. I will need you well rested."

Severus gave her a glare that rivaled any she had ever seen him wear in his classroom, "If you insist, but I do not have to be happy about it."

Brixton was yet again overwhelmed with his care for her. She gathered all of the confidence she could muster and said, "Severus, I need to say something to you that I have been holding back for a while now. I would hate for something to have happened to me without you knowing. Your devotion to me during this time of being hurt really solidifies that my feelings are not misguided. It's okay if you don't say it back, but I need you to know that I love you."

His eyes were filled with an emotion that Brixton couldn't quite pinpoint. He opened his mouth as though to speak to her, but quickly closed it. This happened several times until he finally just leaned over and kissed her. Brixton's heart beat rapidly in her chest and she was immensely grateful that he had not rejected her. She kissed him back and although he had not returned her endearment with words, his embrace spoke volumes.