I don't own Harry Potter, only the Elemental characters.
Lucius was making a speech. Dull and boring, the same crap he had spewed at least a hundred times before. His followers didn't seem to care though, cheering at all the appropriate times. Airiala just felt sick.
It was getting so bad that she was having a hard time controlling the wind from time to time. The little food she got barely stayed in her stomach and sometimes just the smell of food would cause her stomach to roll.
Despite the wind control slipping, Airiala still had a strong control over the other three elements. It was enough to keep others from her, at least for now. She feared if she became got any more ill her powers would all but vanish, leaving her defenseless.
She looked out over the crowd. Lucius had recruited many to his cause, but it was still vastly smaller than Voldemort's army had been at the battle. He only had about 100 people there.
Airiala closed her eyes and thought about Severus. How she wished that he was there with her. Even though she knew there was no future, she wished that his arms would hold her and that he would tell her it would all be okay. She almost smiled at the thought.
Seconds later the whole area filled with pops, causing Airiala to open her eyes in surprise. Wizards, Aurors, had just appeared in the field and were arresting Lucius' followers. There were hundreds of them and Airiala had never felt so excited in all her life.
Lucius seemed shocked for only a moment before he tried to apparate away, only to find himself unable to do so. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Airiala and used her as a shield as another pop sounded and Airiala couldn't help her smile.
It was Severus with her Elemental friends. She had never know such relief as she did in this moment. "Severus."
His eyes met hers and it was like electricity filled the void between them. It wasn't until she heard Lucius squeal and felt his grip on her slacken that she realized it was actual electricity. There was no elemental on Earth that could create electricity, but somehow she had done it, with Severus.
She took the weakness of Lucius as her chance and elbowed him in the gut, which caused his grip on her to disappear completely, and rushed forward straight into Severus' arms.
Seconds later, two more Aurors appeared and Lucius was captured. The battle, if it could be called that, was over.
Airiala breathed in Severus' scent and calmed. She had missed him so much and she couldn't stop the tears from falling now.
Exhaustion filled her as well now that she was free of Lucius and the knowledge that Severus was safe. She held him close before pulling back and looking up at him.
"How did you find me?"
Before Severus could respond, Pyro and Raina rushed forward and engulfed Airiala in their arms. Lando joined at a slightly slower rate, but no less enthusiastic to find Airiala alive.
The three explained, each trying not to talk over the other but failing miserably, how they found Airiala and how they realized about the new Air Elemental.
"But if I'm not the Air Elemental, then what am I?"
Pyro shrugged. "Does it really matter? You're still Airiala to us."
Airiala smiled in response. "That's true." Her stomach growled loudly and Airiala groaned. "Sorry about that. Lucius barely remembered to feed his own men and me even less than that."
Airiala gasped as Severus lifted her into his arms. "There's food at the school," he said before apparating away, leaving the other three Elementals behind.
"Those two are going to work this out," Raina said with a smile.
"It's about time. I was worried I'd have to lock them in a closet or something," Pyro replied as he wrapped an arm around Raina's shoulders.
"They both deserve all the happiness in the world," Lando said, a soft smile on his own face. The three waited until there was someone who could help them back to Hogwarts, enjoying the setting sun in the distance.
Severus apparated as close to Hogwarts grounds as he could before walking the rest of the way with Airiala still in his arms.
Airiala didn't complain, just rested in his arms as he walked. This was so nice that she almost wished it was real. That he could love her as she did him.
Severus took her through the back entrance he used to use when he was an double-agent for the order. He carried her through the corridors to his own private chambers. Now that he had her, he wasn't going to let her get away.
But first he needed to to get the girl fed and checked out. She felt so thin and helpless in his arms, nothing like the strong woman he knew.
He laid her on the couch in his rooms, when he noticed that she had drifted off to sleep. He took a moment to be grateful that she was still alive before calling Madam Poppy to come and examine her. He had to know if Lucius had done anything to her. If he did, Lucius wouldn't make it to the trial before Severus killed him.
The medi-witch arrived at the rooms quickly and went straight to the girl. She cast a quick spell over her to examine her medical condition.
Severus knew very little about medicinal magic, but he could tell that Poppy thought something was up when she cast the spell a second time, her eyebrows narrowed in concentration.
"Is she alright?"
Poppy blinked before turning to Severus, as if unaware that the man was still in the room. This did nothing to settle Severus' nerves.
Poppy took a deep breath before turning back to Airiala. "The good news is she is going to be just fine. It doesn't appear as though there are any injuries, just fatigue from hunger and slight dehydration. She'll be okay after she rests and gets some proper nutrition."
Severus narrowed his eyes at Poppy's words. "Then what is the bad news?
Poppy shook her head. "It isn't bad news as far as I can tell, but I won't know anything for sure until Airiala wakes up and is a little more rested. There is an strange reading that I noticed when examining her and I won't know for sure what it is until I'm able to talk to her and she is better rested."
That didn't do anything to help Severus' nerves. Airiala was out for who knows how long. There had to be a way to know what was going on now. He opened his mouth to question her further when Poppy shook her head.
"Sorry Severus," she said firmly. "I'm not going to discuss it just yet, not until I talk to Airiala first."
Airiala was feeling much better about a week later after being properly fed. Poppy and Severus were constantly in her presence, but when the two were in the room together it was like there was a feud or something going on. Airiala couldn't figure out why.
Severus had demanded that Airiala remain in his rooms during her recovery and Poppy had arranged it, setting Airiala up in Severus' bed.
At night, Airiala could swear that she could still smell Severus in the sheets, but she knew that couldn't be possible as he was sleeping on the couch in the other room.
She hadn't seen the other Elementals, although she had been told they were back safely at Hogwarts, waiting to see her for themselves. For some reason Poppy didn't want her to see them yet.
After the longest week of her life, at least that was how it felt to Airiala, Poppy came to see her alone while Severus was teaching. Poppy didn't usually come alone, but Airiala just figured everyone was busy and didn't question it.
After conducting her usual check-up on Airiala, Poppy sat on the bed and looked Airiala in the eyes.
"Did Lucius Malfoy...hurt you in anyway?"
Airiala seemed confused by the question for a moment before her mind cleared and she understood Poppy's true meaning. Had Lucius raped her?
"No, other than the malnourishment he didn't hurt me at all. He just wanted me around mostly as a status symbol and as a jab at Severus I suppose. I wasn't hurt otherwise." This didn't seem to help Poppy at all because the medi-witch just looked more confused. Airiala raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
Poppy pulled out her wand and cast the same spell she did each time she came in. Like every time areas of Airiala's body lit up with various colors. Some were red, most was green, one area was pink.
"These are the vital signs of your body," Poppy explained. "For the most part these colors should always be green, the red parts indicating treatment is needed in some way." She pointed to a scar on her arm that had a red spot above it. "Not all red spots are immediate attention."
Airiala nodded before pointing to her stomach area, where the color was pink. "Okay, so what does pink mean?"
Poppy looked Airiala with seriousness in her eyes. "Pink is pregnancy," she replied. "You're pregnant."