Chapter 6 – As Simple As a Kiss
It had been too long. Where was his Angel? She should have been here by now. He was hungry, but he hardly noticed. Where was Angel? He needed her. He needed her voice, her hands, her music. She was teaching him to sing. He wasn't ready. Where was Angel? He could feel himself grow warm, then cold and warm again. His throat was tight. What was happening? A noise resounded through the room, one filled with pain and longing, like the cry of a dying animal. He hardly recognized his own voice. Wet. How was he wet? Angel could fix it. His face was wet and tight. What was happening? What was going to happen?
Where was Angel?
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Adelynn Blighton had not been to Hogwarts in years. She had only recently begun training as a healer at St. Mungo's, but she did her job well. Her dedication earned her the respect of her superiors, so they often left her with the more important tasks of the trainees and novices, not that any tasks assigned to trainees were terribly significant. But Adelynn's shock was total when Head Healer Gabriela Auxin stopped her in the hallway, panting and out of breath, and told her to race to Hogwarts and return with Headmistress McGonagall immediately. Like a well trained novice, Adelynn had not asked any questions, though there were plenty to ask. Had the Headmistress been hurt? Was there an injury at the school too great for the professors to handle? Not being part of the psychiatric ward, Adelynn was in no position to have knowledge on the potion's master, but she had seen the headmistress coming and going frequently through the other wards.
As she burst into the Great Hall, she found she didn't have to say a word before Headmistress McGonagall stood silently and followed her without a question, as all the students wondered who Adelynn was and where was McGonagall going. Adelynn had barely returned with her to the waiting room of St. Mungo's when Gabriela came up and took the headmistress by the arm and led her forcefully down the hall without a word.
Adelynn was a well-trained novice. She knew better than to interfere with the business of the superior healers. She knew better than to try to get information in St. Mungo's about the outside world. She knew better than to interfere with the personal life of Hogwarts' beloved Headmistress. But this was all too strange and Adelynn had not yet learned how to control her urge for gossip. She followed quietly behind the two older witches, carrying a tea tray from the waiting room first to the left, then up the stairs, with a quick turn to the left again and down a ward she knew very little about. The psychiatric ward was not off limits, but it was usually avoided by trainees. The rumored screams and howls of the patients did not exist, but the silence was eerie in itself. Adelynn was careful not to get to close and found that the hall carried sound easily. As she positioned herself by the last turn, just out of sight, the head healer spoke for the first time.
"I'm sorry, Professor." Auxin choked a bit, "I should have listened. I've always trusted you before, I guess I still had memories of your last visit here, when you were the one in a ward, but it doesn't matter now." Adelynn had heard stories about that infamous stay. The professor it seemed was not an ideal patient and had proved more than eager to leave well before she was ready. It had been quite a stir, and the stories still circled around the novices.
"You were right all along this time," Gabriela continued, "He did speak," the headmistress gasped, "and that's not all. He was crying and calling for someone. Someone named Angel. We can only assume it was you. I sent for you as quickly as I could, Headmistress. Will you speak to him?" The professor didn't answer. She didn't need to. She simply stepped through the door and shut it firmly behind her.
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"Severus?"
"An…..Ang…….A….Angel"
It took more strength than Minerva knew she had to restrain herself. She didn't want to overexcite him, but she still nearly ran to his side before embracing him. As Minerva hugged her old friend tightly, she felt a glimmer of sorts. A feeling that she had never felt before, especially not with Severus Snape, but it was not unwelcome. In fact, it was something akin to a glimmer of recognition, as though for the tiniest moment he knew who she was and was almost glad to see her. Not just glad to see his angel, but actually glad to see the headmistress, glad to see Minerva. As she lay there, almost sprawled out on the floor clinging to Severus, she felt another sensation. A warmth on her back and on her head. Her head took a minute to register what was happening, but Minerva's heart told her immediately. Smiling through her tears, Minerva McGonagall leaned into her old colleague's embrace and he clutched her clothes and hair, whispering in his harsh voice, "Angel…angel…angel"
Minerva tried to pull back, but found that Severus' grip was too strong for her. She didn't mind, however. Minerva was content to let herself be held by the man she had never really known. It was a strange, rather misty feeling, but not an unwelcome one. It was…lovely, she supposed. A welcome feeling: to be held, to be wanted, to be needed, to be…loved. Not that she wasn't needed and occasionally loved by her students, but this was not the same. It seemed deeper somehow, perhaps stronger.
He tugged at her back, bringing her sharply into reality. Minerva gasped as his tired arms pulled at her with all the strength his unused muscles could muster. She relaxed into his grasp and allowed him to drag her into his lap, which forced his stiff legs away from his chest for the first time in days, maybe more. Minerva dearly hoped in the back of her mind that none of the healers were watching, but the thought was not allowed to remain long. Severus pulled his arms around the headmistress' waist and pulled her close, burying his head in her chest. Minerva felt oddly touched by this simple, almost childish action. A different warmth pervaded her this time, not one from a human touch, but one from an emotional touch. It tugged at Minerva's heart in a way no student had ever accomplished. So serene had his actions made her that she felt compelled to give him something he had only received a few times in his life and something Minerva herself had never given another soul.
Without really thinking about what she was doing, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall gave Severus Snape a delicate kiss on his forehead.