Allyna spent a few moments blinking sleepily before she fully opened her eyes and realized where she was. She groaned and tried to sit up, but was quickly pushed down by strong hands. She was enveloped by the scent of dried herbs, parchment and musk. She smiled and looked up to see Severus hovering over her, his hands still on her shoulders. "Severus," she breathed, smiling at him. She coughed and a goblet of water was almost instantly at her lips.
She nodded when she'd had enough to drink and he took the goblet away. "What happened?" she asked.
"After a rather spectacular battle with Miss Parkinson, you threw up a shield that encased everyone from the effects of a slicing spell...everyone EXCEPT you, Allyna. What the hell were you thinking?"
Allyna had the grace to blush. "I was thinking that no one else knew what the spell was and wouldn't have time to throw up a shield. It was instinctive to protect, Severus. I'm sorry. I thought I told you those of my bloodline were protectors?"
Severus merely sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. Allyna reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "I am sorry, Severus."
Looking around quickly to make sure Madam Pomfrey was in her office, and with the hospital otherwise empty, Severus leaned down and quickly pressed his lips to her forehead. "I know you are. But don't EVER scare me like that again." He sighed as he slid a finger along some of the small scars now littering her bare arm. "I'm sorry about the scars, Allyna. Even the dittany didn't remove them."
"Will you think of me differently because I have scars, Severus?" she asked softly.
His head jerked up. "What? Of course not. Why would you think that? You've seen some of mine, and they are much, much worse."
She smiled. "Then I don't have anything to worry about, do I?"
He leaned his forehead against hers. "You are such an odd woman."
She laughed. "As if you'd have me be any different. Now can I get out of here? I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time in the hospital wing."
"I'll get Poppy. You stay right there, young lady," he teased as he stood and walked to Madam Pomfrey's office to knock on the door. Poppy Pomfrey opened the door and looked at Severus questioningly.
"Miss Wilson is awake and wishes to leave."
"Oh dear. I'm coming Miss Wilson!" Poppy called, grabbing a few potions from her cabinet before shutting, locking, and warding her office door. She hustled over to Allyna and looked down at her. "How are you feeling dear?"
"A bit sore, honestly, but I would really just rather go to my own room to recuperate, if possible, Madam. Hospitals make me twitchy." she grinned at the older woman.
Poppy laughed in return. "Very well, Miss Wilson. But I will be sending a house elf to check on you periodically throughout the day, at least once every hour. They will also be bringing you your meals that have been specifically approved by me. Is that understood?"
"Of course, Madam. Professor Snape, would you be willing to escort me back to my room?" Allyna asked, looking over at Severus. He scowled, but nodded, slipping easily back into his mask of indifference. When Poppy's back was turned, she grinned at him and he had a hard time not smiling back at her.
Poppy and Severus stepped outside of the curtained-off portion of her room to allow her privacy to dress. Allyna was happy to see her favorite pair of jeans, a soft warm green sweater and her moccasins. She pulled them up and tied them around her calves. She walked on silent feet out of the cubicle. "Ready when you are, Professor Snape."
He nodded and led the way out of the room. Allyna called goodbye to Poppy and hurried after Severus, her movements hindered a bit by the soreness of her muscles. She caught up with Severus just outside of the infirmary and was surprised when he placed a hand on her shoulder as if guiding her to her room, but knew that it was just a way of being able to touch her and know that she was safe and secure. She smiled at him and started humming to herself, which had Severus rolling his eyes at her. She grinned, seeing it, and sent a wordless pulse of emotion towards him, where he touched her shoulder.
Severus gasped and stared at her, his eyes dark and soft. "How did you do that?" he whispered.
"I'm not entirely sure. I just thought about how I feel about you and sort of directed it with my mind towards you." she explained.
He nodded and they continued walking. When they reached Allyna's room, it was almost time for lunch and the halls were deserted. So on impulse, Allyna leaned up and kissed Severus on the cheek. "Thank you, Severus," she said and he nodded. She watched as he turned and left, his robs billowing behind him. Allyna closed and locked the door behind her, hearing the wards go up with a strange buzzing sound that wasn't so much a sound as it was a feeling of them being there. She took off her moccasins and placed them in her wardrobe, and walked barefoot on a soft rug to her bookshelf. Her meager amount of books needed to be updated, she thought. Maybe next Hogsmeade weekend, she could hit one of the bookstores in town. She thought she'd heard that Flourish and Blotts had a smaller outpost here in town. And she could always order by owl, she supposed. She found a muggle fiction book she'd bought before coming and snuggled under the covers as she read. She admired the main character, a young woman named Jane Eyre, and her odd romance with Mr. Rochester.
She dozed off before she realized it and was jerked awake at the sound of a loud POP, the sound of a house elf arriving. She sighed happily when she saw the little creature was holding a tray of lunch. "Where would Miss like her tray?" it asked.
"On the desk, please. What's your name?" Allyna asked.
"Name is Twinkle, Miss. Is there anything else Miss needs?"
Allyna thought for a moment. "If it's not off of Madam Pomfrey's list, could I have a pot of hot chocolate?"
Twinkle smiled. "Is not off list. Twinkle be back in a moment. Please eat, Miss. You needs to keep up your strength. Professor Snape has sent potion for Miss to drink as well. May want to drink first so that food washes away bad taste."
Allyna nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Twinkle."
The little house elf bowed and with a loud POP was gone. Allyna stood and wandered to her desk where the tray was. True to Twinkle's word, there was a vial there filled with a strangely glowing blue liquid. A note was wrapped around it. She read it quickly
Allyna,
This is a brew of my own making. It will help with the lingering soreness and stiffness of your muscles that were damaged by the slicing spell. It will also help with the shortness of breath and ache in your lungs. Try to figure out what's in it, I'll quiz you on it later.
-S. Snape
Allyna drank the potion down. She was glad that there was food to eat, afterwards, because it was rather awful tasting. As she drank, she thought of what she tasted. Mint, some kind of berry, a hint of sage...she would write it down and think on it more later. For now, her stomach was protesting and hungry, and it growled it's displeasure.
She lifted the lid off of the tray and found a large bowl of chicken soup packed with noodles, a chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, a bowl of sliced peaches, and a large piece of chocolate cake. She sat at her desk and sampled the soup. It was delicious and as she began to eat, she heard Twinkle reappear with her pot of chocolate and a mug for it. "Thank you. Twinkle. The meal looks and tastes wonderful. I was wondering, however, if you could find a catalogue of books to order by owl post?"
"Of course, Miss. Will have Missy Hermione bring it with your assignments, as Professor Dumbledore has asked her to do." Twinkle said, and was gone.
"Excellent." Oh, I do hope Hermione's not too bothered by getting my assignments, Allyna thought, as she continued eating her meal. When she was finished, her stomach was comfortable full. She curled up on the armchair in front of the fire her pot of hot chocolate keeping warm on the hearth. She opened Jane Eyre and immersed herself in the Victoria England muggle world.
Hours later, after having finished Jane Eyre and started reading another book, the same Interview with the Vampire that Severus had been reading a few days ago, there was a knock at Allyna's door. She smiled and opened the door, and was happy to see Hermione there, with Luna in tow. "Luna, Hermione, hi! Come in, please!" Allyna stepped back so that the two girls could come in.
"Oh, your room is lovely, Allyna," Hermione exclaimed. "It's so much nicer having the stone walls panelled with wood, it makes the room seem more homey, doesn't it?"
Allyna nodded. "It does, it also helps to keep the room a bit warmer, especially since I'm used to warmer temperatures than this. Winter in England is far different than winter where I was from."
"Your bathroom is enormous!" came Luna's observation as she peeked into Allyna's bathroom. Luna sighed appreciatively over the claw foot bathtub. "You are so lucky to have your own bathroom, Allyna."
Allyna smiled. "You're welcome to come use the bathtub when you want, Luna."
Luna smiled and skipped over to her friend. "And your room is mysteriously nargle-free. I've never seen anything like it."
"Hmm...must be the wards Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape put up, then," Allyna said, looking over as Hermione perused her shelf of books. "I know, I'm sadly lacking in reading material right now. That's why I asked Twinkle to have you bring me that owl-order book catalogue."
"If you need something to read now, I'm perfectly willing to lend you something to read, minding you don't injure it at all." Hermione said, grinning. She could tell from the well-loved books on the shelf that ripping, staining or otherwise destroying a book (such as Harry or Ron were prone to) was the least thing on Allyna's mind when enjoying a book.
"That would be amazing, thank you. And thank you so much for bringing my assignments. Madam Pomfrey forbade me from classes tomorrow and since we leave for Holiday break day after that, I was worried I wouldn't be able to get them before we left." Allyna spoke quietly.
"Oh, and we'll exchange presents tomorrow before we leave!" Hermione said, smiling at her new friend. "Where will you be spending the holidays, Allyna?"
Allyna sighed. "Well, while I'd much rather stay here and study, I'm afraid my father has ordered me home for the holidays."
"But aren't you of age, legally, in both the muggle and wizarding world?" Luna said, a confused look on her face.
"Yes, I am. But unfortunately, he's got guardianship over me until I'm twenty-one or married, because of some stupid blood-law my mother insisted upon." Allyna explained.
"Oh!" both girls exclaimed, now they understood. As a blood-law-bond, Allyna's father had to do what had been contracted, otherwise he would become very ill, or possibly even die. "However did she manage that?" Hermione wondered under her breath.
But Allyna heard her and grinned. "My mother had a tendency to be a wily one. She probably slipped it in right before he signed the blasted marriage license."
"Wait, so your Father's not your real father?" Luna asked.
"Caught that, huh? No, he's not. I'm not sure who my real father is, except for the fact that he was a pureblood wizard from England. My mother traveled here when she was sixteen for a holiday with her best friend. She met him, they played the game and she paid. She went home four months pregnant with me. When she met the man I call father, he had to agree to her blood-bonds. Since we were the ones with the fortune, at least, a small fortune, he agreed. He's tripled that fortune now, but I hold the majority of it in trust until I'm twenty-one. He can't touch it. But trust me, he's got his own fortune that would rival that of the Malfoys, from what I hear."
Both girls, sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at her. Then Hermione began to laugh and Allyna looked at her strangely. "Just think, Draco can't brag about being the richest kid in Hogwarts anymore!" and then Hermione laughed all the harder, leaning back on the bed. An hour later, Allyna sent Luna and Hermione off to dinner. Twinkle brought her a meal of more soup, a plate of poached salmon with dill sauce, roasted potatoes and spinach, and a slice of chocolate-covered cherry cake.
Allyna worked on her homework for a short while, writing out a potions essay for Severus. She missed him, smiling slightly as she thought of the scent of him again. Parchment. Dried herbs. Musk. They suited him, she thought, dipping her quill into the ink again. Finally finished, and more than a little tired, Allyna changed into her nightgown and slipped into the warmed blankets of the bed. She allowed sleep to claim her and dreamt of Severus again.
In the darkest part of the morning, there was a loud rush of sound, and Allyna jerked awake to see Severus stepping out of the fireplace. He looked paler than usual and his eyes flashed to hers. "Severus?" she whispered and he slumped into her armchair, his head cradled in his hands.
"We have a very serious problem, Allyna." were the first words out of his mouth. And they scared Allyna to the core of her being. What had happened now?