Chp. 2 of my story

Rain was pouring down by the bucket load as Avielle looked out the window in her office. She had only been employed at St. Mungos for two months now, but those two months seemed like two years. They had been swamped with those injured from Death Eater attacks and Auror raids that didn't go as they planned. And on top of everything else she already had to do, she had agreed to become a silent partner of the Order of the Phoenix. And as this "silent" Partner, order members who had become injured on the field were instructed to come to her as instructed by Albus Dumbledore.

But that was on rare occasions and only happened when Poppy Pomfrey could not handle the work load on her own. With a sigh, Avielle drew her aqua colored eyes away from the onslaught of water that was pouring from the sky; instead, she returned her attention to the Potion's formula before her. She had been converting the recipe of the sample batch of a stronger dose of dreamless sleep potion into one that she could actually make a batch for.

She was almost done with her conversions when there was a soft yet firm knock on her office door.
"Come in" She shouted adverting her eyes away from the paper in front of her to see Albus Dumbledore open her door. The headmaster stood holding the door open for a figure she had not noticed before. The figure appeared to be tall, but she couldn't tell, they were slightly slumped over, their arm wrapped protectively around their middle, she could not see a face because their hood was drawn, but whoever they were. They were soaked.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything" Albus stated as he shut the door behind him, guiding his mystery companion to the hard wood chair by the fire. "But this could not wait"

"No, Headmaster, you are not interrupting anything" Avielle replied as she pushed herself up from her desk and carefully approached the figure in front of her fire. "May I ask why?"

"Poppy is taking care of a handful of quidditch player that were hurt this afternoon, and I am afraid, he could not wait for her" Albus replied as he began to pace back and forth.

Avielle nodded her head and stepped towards the man perched on the chair. It was now quite obvious he was seriously injured. Slowly she withdrew the hood from his head, revealing a man around her age, his face was pale, and contorted in pain, yet he said nothing. Instead he tightened the grip of his arm around his chest.

"I am sorry, Avielle, but I must leave, I need to update the order" Albus stated after a few moments of pacing,

"Sure sir." She replied as she moved her hands to undo the clasp on his robes.

"Don't" The man stated in a growl as the door closed behind the headmaster.

"How do you expect me to heal you?" Avielle asked as she took a step back. The man in front of her wasn't that bad looking. But he wasn't that handsome either, he was as that expression goes, easy on the eyes.
"I don't" The man stated as he got up from the chair, however, he did not make it very far before collapsed.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked as she moved to help him up and the guided him back to the chair that he had been perched on.

"Yes, I am fine"

"Who are you trying to convince?" Avielle asked as she managed to undo the clasp on his robe "You or me"

"Both" The man replied as he finally gave up fighting. His attempt at running away had drained him of what little energy he had, besides, she was quite pretty, prettier than any other healer he had seen in this place.

"What's your name?" Avielle asked as she moved towards her desk and picked up an empty file and the tray of gauze and bandages she had for these occasions.

"Se.. Severus Snape" The man replied as he looked up at her.

"Can you remove your shirt please, Mr. Snape?" Avielle asked as she moved to her desk and grabbed the emergency tray that lay besides it.

Severus Looked at the girl, Avielle, he had been surprised she did not look repulsed at him. After all his face was on a few of the wanted posters that where outside the hospital.

"Mr. Snape?" She asked again, her eyebrow raised questionably

"Severus" he stated as he managed to move his arm from its place.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him.

"Call me Severus, Please" he ha asked. He was tired of being called Mr. Snape. That was his father, not him. "Do I have to take this off?" He wanted shove that question right where it was. He didn't want to take his shirt off, even if it was soaked with water and blood. The last thing he wanted her to see was his dark mark.

"Yes you have to remove your shirt Severus" Avielle smiled slightly. "I can't heal you properly otherwise"

Severus glared at her for a few moments, he really didn't want to obey, but he was in no position to fight. Dumbledore had brought him here so he could be healed. Slowly Severus began to unbutton his black shirt, pulling it away from his skin as he went. He focused on some spot on her wall, not really wanting to see her reaction when she saw all of the scars that littered his chest and back, and he sure in the hell didn't want to see her face when she saw his brand.

He was doing quite well until it came to taking it off of his shoulders, the rather large gash and possible broken bones made it hard for him to move, seconds later the feeling of soft ware hands brushing against his skin caused him to look into the aqua colored eyes that she had. Slowly she drug the heavy fabric off of his body, exposing his upper body.

Avielle couldn't help but stare at the man who was sitting in front of her. For some one so young, he had so many scars on his back and chest she wasn't sure what to do or say. As her eyes took in the sight in front of her, her eyes fell upon the mark on his left arm.

Severus could feel her staring at him, but he wasn't going to say anything, he knew by her silence she had seen the mark and in a moment she would rush to the door and find a way to alert the Aurors. He had told Albus that this was a bad idea, he could handle it himself, but the man being the meddlesome old fool he was had insisted.

If it had been one of her colleagues, they would have run from the room, but what was there to be afraid of? If Dumbledore had brought him here, then he was alright, even if he was a Death Eater. Snapping out of her daze, she picked up a large piece of gauze and a roll of bandages. She knew he was looking at her quite curiously, but she had expected that. She laid the gauze carefully on top of the mark before winding the bandages around it to secure it in place.

"You're not going to call the Aurors?" He asked quietly, his face turning red.
"What would that accomplish?" She asked "Other than getting us in a heap of trouble. Which is why you now have a bandage on your arm, but I doubt anyone is going to come and get me anytime soon."

Severus looked up at her in surprise that was not what he had expected. Not at all. Hell he had known poppy for years, yet she had refused to treat him at times, like today, because she thought he was a danger to those who were near him.

"Besides" Avielle began as she began to examine the rather nasty looking gash that adorned his side. "I doubt Dumbledore would have brought you here if you couldn't be trusted"

Severus gasped in pain as she applied pressure to his ribs,.

"Well they will be sore for a while" She stated as she ran her wand over the area, they are bruised, but not broken. And as for your side, well I can have that done in a few moments."

"You do this often?" He asked as he focused on her face and not her hands as the treated the wound with a purple salve that looked more like mashed up purple people eater.

"fix up people?" Avielle asked, "I kind of do that for a living"

"i mean fix up members of the Order" Severus replied, for a brief second their eyes locked, and for a brief second, he was lost.

"Only when Madam Pomfrey is unable to." She replied as she grabbed a liberal amount of gauze and began to place it on the large laceration. She knew she was answering more questions that she should have been, but he was willing to talk to her, which was more than she could say for the other people she had healed that were in knee deep in the war.

"You don't talk to people much do you?" She asked after a few minutes in silence, she was now wrapping his chest with a rather dense layer of bandages in order to support his bruised ribs.

"What gave you that idea?" He asked, stiffening slightly as he spoke. He hated when people that he didn't know could tell things about him, like random healers who had warm soft hands that where currently circling around his chest as she wrapped him in bandages.

"You talk about everything except yourself" Avielle stated as she tied the bandage. "Then again it just might come with the territory, but everything we talked about was about me."

Severus stayed silent as he push himself up from the chair and grabbed his now dry shirt, threw it on and began to button it up. There was an uneasy silence that filled the space between them as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Take this in a few hours" Avielle instructed as she handed him a vial full of thick blue liquid after he had put on his outer robe.

"And if I don't?" Severus asked as he pocketed the potion and headed for the door.

"That is your call." She replied as she went back to her conversions, out of the corner of her eye he could see him standing there, a question dancing in his lips.

"Avielle?" Severus asked, his heart was racing, but he knew he had to ask now if not he may never get another chance"

"Yes Severus?" she responded as she picked up her head.

"If. . . If I ever need help. . . "He couldn't find the courage to speak the rest of his question.

"You can always come to me "Avielle stated, relief washed over Severus' face as he turned to walk out of her office door.

~**~
Who would have known that that simple sentence would have turned into something more? Avielle had no idea that that one sentence would have changed her life, let alone lead her to where she was now, pulled close against his chest as he slept. She was vaguely sure that he remembered that first encounter better than she did, but did that really matter now? Not really.

With a sigh, Avielle leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Severus' cheek before laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.