Midnight Petal

Chapter 5


She whizzed through the air and landed on her back. Just like the countless times before. She inhaled deeply, registering the pain, that was spreading from her chest fast. She remained motionless, trying to locate the source of the pain, so she could figure out, which one of her inner organs was injured. "Need I to remind you we are in the middle of battle practice, or do you want me to fetch a pilow for you, so you can spend the rest of the afternoon on this floor relaxing?" a cold voice asked from somewhere above her. She tried to shift into a sitting position, but failed miserably, sinking back to the cold stone. "Are you hurt?" the voice spoke again, this time concern woven into it. "I think my ribs are wounded," Iris groaned. "I had them broken a few times before and this feels exactly like it felt back then." She fell silent as breathing was becoming increasingly difficult. She closed her eyes, gathering all remaining strenght. Cold fingers touched her arm soothingly. "Let me call for madam Pomfrey. I´ll be back in a minute, try to stay conscious." Then she heard footsteps and the sound of heavy oak door being pushed open. Few seconds later Snape´s voice echoed in the adjacent corridor. He was clearly summoning someone, then giving orders. Her husband´s voice sounded intimidating, but even from this distance she could recognize he was worried. She smiled a weak smile and steadied her gaze on the ceiling, waiting for the healer to come.

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This was going nowhere, Severus thought angrily while pacing in front of the hospital wing. He was ousted here by madam Pomfrey, who wanted to examine her patient closely. He obliged happily, not really keen on seeing that blasted girl´s face (or any other part of her body) any longer. She was hopeless. If she ever faced Voldemort or some skilled Death Eater, she would be killed instantly. He cursed under his breath. She wasn´t such a bad spell caster. Her spells were well performed and powerfull. The trouble was, she used them at the wrong time. She defended herself when it was time to attack and by the time she realized her mistake and charged, she was usually hit by an opponent´s curse. In short, she lacked the instinct. And instinct was something, that could not be learned. It was a gift you were born with. Or - like in her case - without.

One thing was clear: If she was ever going to help them defeat the Dark lord, it wouldn´t be on the battlefield. Dumbledore should be informed about this development soon, Severus decided on the spot. Together they will have to devise a different strategy. That probably meant another sleepless night for him.

Five minutes later the matron opened the door and let Severus in. He expected to find his wife in bed, but to his surprise she was already fully dressed and ready to leave. Madam Pomfrey looked positively alarmed by this. "Professor Snape, you have to help me convince your ... protégée to stay in here for tonight. She sustained a serious injury! Not only her ribs were broken, but she bruised her lungs, liver, spleen and one of the ribs missed her heart by mere inches. The potion I gave her mended the wounds somewhat, but it´s necessary she stays under my close supervision!"

Severus raised his hands in defensive gesture, addressing the matron with a frown. "You overrate my authority, Poppy. I am in no position to force this girl to do anything she doesn´t wish to do." "Yes you are!" Pomfrey huffed, looking ready to explode. "You are her professor. And her ... her ... husband!" Severus registered with amusement the lapses in the healer´s speech whenever she touched the subject of his relationship with the girl. The matron was one of the few people, who knew about their secret, and just like most of the others, she opposed the idea vehemently. Severus really couldn´t blame them.

"Madam Pomfrey, please, let me go," the girl pleaded in a hushed voice. "I feel much better now. I promise I will rest tonight. You are leaving me in safe hands. My husband will make sure I follow your orders. He will look after me." The healer puffed at this, letting the other two know, what she thought about Severus´s care-taking abilities. "He better would as he was the one who caused you all your distress in the first place," she gestured angrily to the teenager´s chest, which was still heavily bandaged. With the last waspish look at Snape matron turned her back on them and strode out of infirmary.

"Thank you for taking me out of that place," the girl said to Severus once they were in the corridor. "I hate hospitals, I always feel so helpless there." Severus didn´t answer. He refused to preoccupy himself with such a meaningless chatter. There were more important tasks calling for his attention. "Where are we going?" the girl asked as soon as she realized he wasn´t leading her back to the dungeons. "Headmaster´s office," he snapped at her. "I need to consult our strategy with him, as it is clear to me we can´t use you as a frontline warrior as we previously intended. Maybe he will finally exempt me from the duty of babysitting you." Severus half-expected her to start crying at his intentionally cruel remarks, but she didn´t move a single muscle in her face. She just hung her head a little lower and stayed focused on the floor until they arrived at the headmaster´s office

Dumbledore seemed to notice a slight tension between his two guests, but did not comment on it. Instead he prompted Severus to speak out his mind. He did not have to ask twice. "I came here to inform you," Snape started, "I refuse to waste my time by giving this girl duelling lessons any longer. She," he accentuated the word heavily and pointed his long finger at his spouse, "is a pitiful fighter." Dumbledore calmly observed Snape´s face, then turned to Iris. "What do you think, missis Snape?" he inquired. "I must agree with professor," the questioned girl admitted. "It seems I have no talent for battling. I always get myself hurt before I manage to even think about a spell I should use. I´m afraid the battlefield is not the place where my strenght lies." "Then we shall try a different approach," Dumbledore smiled at her encouragingly. "Your husband teaches potions and he is a true master of this virtue. I believe we could try this magical discipline next. If we succeed, not only will we achieve our goal, but our proceedings will stay under wraps."

Severus opened his mouth to protest, but before he had a chance to speak, they overheard the footsteps outside Dumbledore´s office. Then the door banged open and Dolores Umbridge entered, eyeing them all with suspicion. "Professor Dumbledore," she cried in her most unpleasant voice, "I have an information I need to share with you. The action needs to be taken immediately to ensure the order in this school." "How nice of you to stop by, Dolores," headmaster declared without showing a slightest bit of annoyance towards the intruder, "please do come in. Severus, I believe our congregation is over. I expect you to continue with the set plan. Nice day to both of you," he waved his hand dismissively. Severus stomped out of headmaster´s office fuming, forgetting the girl completely. She trailed behind him in a safe distance.

Once they reached their dungeon home, Severus headed straight to the library. He needed a drink. He didn´t expect his wife to join him and was therefore disgruntled, when she spoke behind his back. "Don´t be angry with professor Dumbledore. He had no choice but to send us out when that atrocious woman burst in. She means nothing but trouble. I bet she just discovered the students are rallying against her, forming a secret society." Severus´s head snapped up, his eyes boring into his companion. "What?" he exclaimed. "What secret society? How do you know about it? Why are you telling me? What makes you think I won´t go to professor Umbridge and betray this secret?" "Please, professor," the girl shook her head, "you might be cruel, unfair, unpleasant, proud and unfriendly, but you are not a traitor." "And you know that, because you´ve lived with me for a few weeks..." Severus asked, not really sure, if he should feel offended or honoured. "I can see it in your eyes," was the simple answer he received. Severus observed the girl for a few moments. He was getting used to her insanly honest remarks by now. He wished he could be so direct with his students and colleagues from time to time. But his status did not permit such liberties.

His wife was starring back at him with interest. Severus concentrated on her unusually light eyes. The last time he saw them in their full beauty was at their wedding, he remembered. He suddenly thought how enchanting they were. The changed the girl´s vissage completely, they gave her an aura of mystery.

Snape mentally slapped himself. Now was not the time to admire anybody´s eyes. Now was the time to listen, to gather all the information he possibly could and contemplate it. He gestured to his wife´s favourite chair by the fireplace. "Sit down and tell me everything you know."

Half an hour later his curiosity was satisfied. He should have known Potter was behind all the trouble once again. What was he thinking, running an illegal fight club? If they were discovered, he would be expelled and would become an easy pray for Dark lord! Severus eyed his wife sternly. "I hope you´re not thinking about joining that bunch of reckless no-brainers!" The girl smiled bleakly, shaking her head. "I think I have proven enough I´m not good at this sort of thing. Besides I have a much better teacher guiding me." It took Severus some time to realize she meant him. "Do not try to flatter me," he remarked, but something in his chest tightened neverthless. "Sorry, sir," the girl reacted, "I guess I am too tired to think straight. If you will excuse me I will retire to my chamber." Snape watched her cross the room and leave. When she closed the door quietly behind her he emptied his glass of wine in one gulp.