A/N: I apologize for the long absence. I've been doing some serious reworking of the earlier chapters and neglecting the new material. Send me some motivation in the form of reviews! Thank you.
Dr. Cornwell
"I know, Mrs. Brown. I am deeply sorry for this, but I assure you we are doing everything possible to get them back." I poured every genuine emotion I could muster through the telephone receiver. I needed here to trust me still, despite losing all credibility.
"Them?" The woman's voice questioned. I cursed myself for not being more careful. This was the reason I had put off this conversation for as long as possible, but now there was no turning back. I needed the information that she could provide, if only I could convince her to actually be forthcoming with it.
"Yes, well, I need to ask you a few questions about that in a moment. But first, do you have any idea where she could be headed?"
"I doubt she would come back here. She still hasn't forgiven us for giving her up to you." I heard the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice.
"Okay. Anywhere else?"
"Um, well..." I could sense the hesitation. There was something major she was keeping back from me. Dammit, I had lost her trust, I knew it now for sure.
"We will let you know if we hear anything from her, Doctor." The woman's words seemed hollow as she tried to end our conversation.
"Yes, of course. But please, where could she be headed? Any information will be helpful at this point." I begged.
"I can think of many places. Anywhere really. I am sorry I can't be of more assistance..." She sighed. Even through the phone, I could tell she was not being completely truthful. She knew what I needed to know. Why wouldn't she just tell me?
I had one more chance of getting more from this woman so I played my last card. "Would you have a better idea of where she could be headed if I told you she was with a Mr. Severus Snape?"
There was a loud, frightened gasp. "Oh Merlin, no!" Then the line went quiet. She had hung up on me.
I redialed, but no answered; not even a machine. I tried again. Then a third time, but still there was no answer. I slammed the phone onto the receiver hard enough that my entire desk shook with the impact.
I swallowed hard. That was certainly not the response I had expected. I had this gnawing feeling that things had just went from bad to worse. Lunchtime had came and went, and the search had as of yet been unsuccessful. If they weren't found soon, protocol said I would have to alert to public to be on the look-out. I sighed. I did not want it to come to that. The reputation of the hospital, not to mention myself, would be tarnished. Plus, I feared what sort of hysteria it may cause in the community. The media frenzy alone would greatly affect my ability to find my missing patients and destroy any quality of care for those still within my walls. I had only myself to blame. I had lost my objectivity, and now I was paying the price. Why had I let these two get under my skin like this? Why had they received special treatment? What made them so damn special?
I let my fists hit hard on the surface of my desk as I cursed loudly. There must be something else I could be doing. I stared at the press release glaring at me from across my computer screen awaiting me to hit the send button. I considered how long I could possible avoid sending the email.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and one of the nurses entered. "Doctor, some of the patients are getting anxious to meet with you today..."
"Alright, alright, I will be right with them!" I quipped and stood from my desk to slip on my white coat. I noticed its weight upon my shoulders and the Shrink in me immediately began her analysis; feelings of inadequacy topped the list. Time had run out. I leaned over and clicked SEND. I quickly turned away and the door slammed loudly behind me as I left the room. One fact continued to haunt me more than anything else; why the hell did everyone else seem to know about Mr. Snape than I?
Lavender Brown
I glanced at the pale light appearing above the horizon; it was almost daybreak. I had managed to get through the night without hurting myself or anyone else. In just a few more hours, the worst of this madness would subside. In just a few more hours, the rush would slow. Now I had to find a way to get us through the day unnoticed. My head was spinning from the adrenaline overdose the full moon forced upon me. I wasn't moving very fast, but my heart was racing as though I had ran a marathon, and I was actually sweating despite the slight chill in the air.
We needed a place to hide, a place to rest, a place to spend the day until we could have the safety of darkness again. It was our only chance. There must be something nearby that would work. Any piece of forgotten shelter would serve our purposes for one day. Then we could work on finding some fresh attire and trying to blend in a bit more as we...I cut my thoughts short. I didn't want to become overwhelmed by hugeness of our task. I needed to focus on one step at time. "We need someplace to spend the day, I think. Then we can continue again after dark..."
"Agreed. Some rest would be appreciated." Snape replied quietly although in a still unnerving way. He was worn out. I could hear it in his footsteps. I felt guilty suddenly. Why was he helping me? Why was he putting himself through this torture for something not even the least bit of his concern? And most of all, why did he trust me in a way that my own parents had forgotten how to do? Perhaps it was because he could get inside my head. Perhaps he had seen what I had seen and felt what I had felt. Or perhaps it wasn't trust at all... He was Snape, after all. I didn't trust him so why would he trust me? Besides, if he truly knew the thoughts in my head, he would be stupid to trust me. I felt the warmth of a blush spread across my cheeks.
Then my stomach growled...shit. I was starving; yet another obstacle I had neglected to consider. "I need food..." My eyes scanned as far as they could see, but all I found was more grass. Then I spun quickly to look behind. Snape froze suddenly and I heard his heart skip a beat. Ha! There was an odd taste of irony. He feared me. I narrowed my eyes and watched him for a long moment. I tried desperately to enjoy the sense of power I felt as our eyes met, but joy was no longer something I understood. I would have to settle for the twisted sense of amusement instead. I snorted.
"If I was going to harm you, I would have done so already..." I then turned away with a shrug, but my ears remained tuned to his rapid pulse.
"Perhaps, but I would still be unwise to let down my guard, don't you agree?" His dark voice went straight to my still aching nerves. Damn, why did I torture myself by encouraging him to speak? And why did I care enough to listen to what he was saying?
"...I wouldn't trust me either..." I sighed as I attempted to hold back the tears that unexpectantly filled my eyes. I quickly wiped them away.
We continued our walk in silence. Using the rising sun as our guide, we moved southeast. I had no idea how far we had made it during the night, but I knew it couldn't have been more than thirty kilometers which put us much too close to St Dymphna's for comfort. If we didn't find a change of clothes and a safe place to stay soon, we would surely be reported to the authorities and end up right back where we began. I couldn't allow that to happen so I increased our pace as much as I could without leaving Professor Snape behind.
Eventually, we came to another road cutting through the fields. I scanned it in both directions. "Ooo, there is a bridge up ahead. Maybe we can stay under there for the day?" I pointed.
The Professor did not respond verbally, but I saw him nod his head from the corner of my eye. He was exhausted. Again, I felt guilty, but at least relief was in siight.
As we closed in on the bridge from the ditch alongside the road, fortune hit us yet again. "Look, Professor, berries." I reached down to pluck one from the vine beside me and moved to eat it as my thirst and hunger cried out. But before I got the juicy fruit passed by lips, Snape had me tightly around the wrist. The berry fell from my grasp.
"What are you doing, your foolish girl? You can't eat just anything you come across. That could be deadly." He hissed.
I pulled away from his grasp roughly, but against my will my skin still tingled in response to his touch. I cleared the lump in my throat with a growl. "Relax, Professor. They're only blackberries." I grew up in this area. I knew the berries well. I had spent many summer days gathering them.
He eyed the fruit suspiciously for a long moment before taking one between his fingers. He brought it to his eye and analyzed it for a long moment before crushing it roughly. Then he brought his stained fingers to his nose and gave them a sniff. Gingerly, he stuck his tongue to sample the mash. Then he nodded slowly. "They are indeed blackberries."
I began picking the berries furiously, sticking them into my mouth and pulling up my shirt to create a vessel for more. It was as thought I hadn't eaten for weeks, not hours. The amazingly sweet juice coated my parched throat with intense flavor thanks to my enhanced sense of taste, and eventually the hunger pangs were silenced. I watched Snape from the corner of my eye. He was clearly not as impressed with the berries as I was, or else he just wasn't as hungry. "What?"
"When you are finished with your immense display of gluttony, we should probably move on. This sun is up and this appears to be a major roadway..."
He could judge me now for my binge, but I did not care. I knew he would regret not joining me later, and I needed the refreshment, not to mention the distraction, in order to remain in control. "We may not have another chance like this one," I snarled between ravenous bites. When I had gorged myself completely, and the vines had been picked clean of their fruit, we continued the fifty paces or so to the bridge.
"Can you believe our luck? There is a perfect hideout under here." I ducked under the bridge and into the shade. It was at that moment that I realized how warm the sun had been on my face and the sweat that had built up under my scrubs. As I sat down on the cool stone beneath the bridge, I watched the water trickle by longing to strip down and dive in. Had the water been a bit deeper, or my company someone other than Snape, I probably would have done so, but unfortunately, neither was true so I settled for daydreams in the shade instead. I absently continued to eat the berries I had collected in my shirt with loud sigh as the Professor slowly took a seat on the cement nearby as his joints creaked loudly.
Severus Snape
To sit was a welcomed relief. I reached for my tender foot and rubbed it roughly to release the tension that had built from a night of walking without proper footwear. I did the same to the other foot.
"You don't remember me, do you?" Ms Brown asked me, as she turned to face me suddenly.
"Not in the least," I replied acridly even as my mind struggled to find something familiar about the girl sitting across from me.
"Back then I would have been offended by that..." She shrugged.
"And now?" My eyes narrowed as I watched her.
"I guess I've got bigger problems, don't I?" She said sarcastically and then sighed deeply. "Why are you helping me?" She then asked bluntly. Even without Legilemency, I knew that question had been burning her thoughts since I first crawled out the window.
"Old habits..." I replied. I preferred not to divulge further details. I had my reasons, and that was all that mattered.
She rolled her eyes and huffed in response. It was definitely a gesture unbecoming to a female of her age, but very reminiscent to that of a former student.
I raised on eyebrow and my lips pursed tightly in disgust as I watched her childlike performance. It hit me then - Lavender Brown. "Ah yes, I do think I remember you now...you were the one Trelawney always went on about..." I snorted sarcastically as I thought of the many ramblings of Sybil's two "gifted" Gryffindors. "Wouldn't she be thrilled, she was right all along."
Her cheeks burned red as I suppressed an amused grin. Perhaps she would have rather remained anonymous. Interesting that she would prefer herself in her current form despite her obvious contempt for the situation. Regret? Shame? Or perhaps I was misreading her. If only her mind wasn't such a war zone, as I was again tempted to delve into it briefly, but I resisted. I would wait until I felt more capable.
I sighed then as I gave in to the pleading stare that she was sending in my direction. "Ms. Brown, until your appearance at St Dymphna's I believed all my memories to be false. I had accepted that I truly was crazy. You have reminded me who I was, and unfortunately that person has a twisted sort of debt to Mr Potter that I just can't seem to be rid of..." I paused as I studied her reaction. "Why did you request my assistance? I thought you distrusted and despised me?"
"That is not entirely true..." she mumbled.
"Strange. I would expect nothing less. It is what I deserve, no doubt."
"You may find this hard to believe, Professor, but on some twisted level, my seventh year at Hogwart's was my best year..."
I again raised an eyebrow. She was accurate; I did find her words difficult to believe. Now that I remembered the girl, I knew for a fact that she had been Crucioed at least half a dozen times for various offenses during her final year. Once, after mentioning Potter Watch in Alecto Carrow's class, she had even ended up in the Hospital Wing afterward. And those were just the tortures I was aware of. I had no doubt she suffered much more as one of the few that remained resistant throughout those dark times.
"It's silly really..." She gnawed on her lower lip and stared blankly at the ground in front of her toes.
"Either tell me or don't, Ms. Brown. I doesn't really matter to me either way." I quipped, despite the slightest bit curiosity she had managed to evoke.
She took a deep breath as her gaze shifted from the ground to the bridge rafters above us. "Seventh year was the first time in my life, when it was all about something bigger...It was the first time my life was more than gossip, more than assignments and exams, more than the hour I spent getting my appearance just right each morning. And it was the first time I ever felt like I could actually be part of something important, something meaningful." She paused and shrugged her shoulders. "I told you it was silly..."
In my head, I considered disagreeing with the girl, but instead I just snorted in response. It hoped it was cryptic enough without being too offensive. After a long, uncomfortable silence, I added. "We should attempt to rest now."
