What Have I Done?

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter Six

Time slowed as the dual flashes of red light hit her straight in the bare skin of her chest. She was thrown sideways off the bed, hitting the hard castle wall before sliding unconscious to the floor. A drop of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth as both Severus and Remus rushed to her side.

Severus felt the side of her neck and found the faintest of pulses. He looked up at Remus, still holding both wands in his hand and looking both sick and guilty. He fought the urge to kill him on the spot as he pulled his wand away. Later for revenge, first get Larentia help. He whispered a spell over her and her body was instantly wrapped in a soft lavender robe. Another incantation and she hovered, as though on a stretcher, before him. He rose and pointed her body toward the door. He followed as she floated into the sitting room, hovering at the portrait hole. He paused, looking back at the stricken Lupin.

“You, Lupin, are coming with us.” He waited until Lupin was standing beside him to open the portrait hole and guide Larentia’s body through.

They walked in silence, two condemned men and what appeared to be a corpse. Luckily it was very early on a weekend, so there were no nosy children occupying the halls they took toward the Hospital Wing. Severus’ mind worked, feeling as much guilt in Larentia’s condition as the werewolf beside him. If only he hadn’t went for her wand, if only he hadn’t given into temptation the night before, she’d still be. He shook off the thought. She was alive, he’d felt her pulse, weak though it was. Surely Madame Pomfrey would be able to heal her. He vowed that he’d do anything in his power to help her make Larentia right again.

Beside him, Remus was lost in his own thoughts of guilt and shame. He had told her he anticipated her dallying with Severus again. She was right on that count. If only he’d been able to control his temper, but seeing her with him, in their bed, he shuddered. She’d been so scared of him. Instead of her fear tempering his anger, it had fed it, made him feel more powerful. He shouldn’t have attacked Severus, should have known that she would step in. Now she was, he looked at her prone body, so still. Surely she was alive, but he hadn’t checked. Only Severus had the inspiration to check for a pulse and he hadn’t said if she were, but he definitely would have said something if she wasn’t, wouldn’t he have?

The trip to the Hospital seemed to go on forever in the silence of the castle. Finally they arrived outside the doors. Severus stepped in front of Larentia’s body and opened the doors. He waved her body inside as Madame Pomfrey rushed up from her office.

“Professor Snape, what on earth?” She asked, looking at the levitated body of Larentia. “Put her over there,” she said, motioning to an empty bed to the side of the door.

He carefully lowered her to the bed and stepped away, letting Madame Pomfrey get closer to her. She muttered spells, examining Larentia’s still form.

“How did this happen?” She asked, not taking her eyes off of her patient.

Severus saw Remus about to speak, but he stopped him with a glare. “It was, she was hit with two Stunning spells. Her chest was bare at the time.” He said, leaving out the details for the main causes. Knowing that Remus had caught him and Larentia after a long night would hardly help in healing her.

Madame Pomfrey shot him a look, but said nothing. She continued casting spells to gauge the extent of the damage. She tsked when her examination yielded broken ribs, a punctured lung, bruised kidneys, not to mention a concussion. She looked up at the two men watching her and wondered for a moment what the real story was behind these injuries. Putting it out of her head, she rushed to her cabinet for several bottles of potions along with salves and bandages. It wouldn’t be an easy journey out of danger, but it could be done.

“Come here, one of you.” She ordered. Severus stepped up, and she thrust two bottles of potions in his hands. “Give her the purple one first, then wait five minutes and give her the yellow.” She watched for a moment while he tenderly lifted Larentia’s head and tilted the first potion into her open lips. Turning to Remus, she dictated, “You, Floo the Headmaster. He’ll want to know of this accident.”

Remus walked to the fireplace with lead legs. Picking up a handful of Floo powder, he tossed it into the fireplace and stuck his head inside while saying “Headmaster’s Office”. Dumbledore was seated at his desk when the fire roared to life. He turned to the flames and waited while Remus informed him of Larentia’s condition. He nodded to Remus and he pulled out of the flames shaking. Did he imagine it, or did Dumbledore look more than just disappointed in learning that Larentia was injured?

“If you’re finished with that, come here.” Madame Pomfrey called.

He walked back to Larentia’s bed and saw that Severus still held her head in his arm. Part of his anger reared back to life, but his guilt at causing her condition stamped it out. Madame Pomfrey was handing him salve and instructing him to smooth it over her ribs as she enchanted bandages to weave around her body. Severus was giving her the second potion, careful not to drip any outside her mouth. He slowly lowered her head back to the pillow, smoothing her hair away from her face. Madame Pomfrey levitated her body again, this time smoothing salve on her lower back before wrapping more bandages around. She carefully lowered her back to the bed and with a flick of her wand a blanket fell over her body to her neck.

She motioned for them to walk away from the bed as Professor Dumbledore walked in. His usual twinkling eyes were shadowed as he looked at the two men with Madame Pomfrey. He looked up, glancing at the bed where Larentia lay, then back to their guilty faces.

“Madame Pomfrey, what is Professor Dorrington’s condition?” He asked, not taking his eyes away from Remus and Severus.

“I was just about to tell these two, actually. She’s had quite a trauma. She has several broken ribs, one of which punctured her lung. She also has two bruised kidneys and a concussion. That’s not even considering the pain she’s in from being hit by dual Stunning spells.” She looked over her shoulder at the unconscious woman. “It’s lucky she’s not conscious. It will take several days for her internal injuries to heal, her bones are already mending.”

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. “She’ll be unconscious for some time then?”

Madame Pomfrey nodded as she answered. “Yes, I’ll also be keeping her sedated. It’s easier for the body to heal without the mental trauma to interfer.”

“Very well,” he said, turning toward the doors. “Gentlemen, I’ll ask to you accompany me back to my office.”

Severus felt like a chastised school boy and had a feeling it was only going to get worse. He followed Dumbledore out of the Hospital with Remus closely behind him. The only good thing in all this was that he hadn’t been the one to actually been the spell caster. However, he was hardly innocent in the entire fiasco. At least Larentia was going to be alright. His mind whirled considering the alternative.

They marched silently to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore’s office. He muttered the password and they all stepped onto the moving stairs. Inside his office, he walked behind his desk and sat down, waiting for them to sit in the two chairs before him.

“Would the two of you care to explain to me how my goddaughter came to be so injured?” His voice remained quiet, but they didn’t miss him calling Larentia his goddaughter. Neither had known, she’d said nothing. “I’m waiting.”

Severus found that his voice wasn’t capable of working at the moment. His goddaughter? Bloody hell, I’ve shagged Dumbledore’s goddaughter. He noticed that Remus was no closer to answering than he was. He wondered if he’d known, then internally smacked his own forehead. Of course he knew, they were a couple after all. How would they explain this whole situation to a man with that connection to her? It would have been awkward enough with him just being the Headmaster.

Remus tried to wrap his head around this new bit of information. His goddaughter? She’d never said, never mentioned that little tidbit. And Dumbledore, knowing that he was what he was, he’d never spoken against their relationship. Dear Merlin, he’s going to want to kill me when he learns what I’ve done. Taking a deep breath, he knew he had to tell it anyway.

“Professor, sir,” he started. “You see, I came back from last night’s transformation and found...”

“He found me, Headmaster,” Snape said, finding his voice. “With Larentia.”

Dumbledore said nothing, letting his silence show he expected more.

“They were, I mean to say,” Remus considered how to explain just what he walked into, without having to explain that Larentia had sex.

“We’d been intimate, sir.” Severus helped. “Lupin found us together in bed.”

A nod was all the push they received.

“I was angry, so very angry to find him in our bed. I’d picked up his wand and held it in my hand with my own. I’m not sure what I planned on doing, to be honest, but keeping his wand seemed important.” Remus’ remembered how he’d felt when he first saw them together, holding each other. “He woke up, or I woke him up, I can’t remember. I threatened him, told him to get out of the bed, away from her. He did, but she woke up. She tried to calm me down, tried to talk me into putting down the wands. I saw him move, he was going for her wand and I just reacted. I raised the wands and said the Stunning spell. She jumped in front of him, and the spells hit her.” Remus looked down, tears in his eyes as he saw her thrown from the bed, saw her hit the wall.

“I shouldn’t have reached for her wand,” Severus said, shaking his head. “If only I’d just stood still, maybe...”

Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him. Taking a breath he glanced at each man in turn. “It seems to me that there are no innocent parties in this. Not even, it would seem, Larentia.” He lowered his gaze to the desktop. “I’m very disappointed in you, in all of you. Go, please.” He hadn’t raised his voice, but the order wasn’t one that either man cared to question. They rose and retreated.

Dumbledore, alone in his office, pulled open one of his desk drawers. He pulled from it an oval silver frame. The picture inside depicted a much younger Larentia, smiling and waving. How she’d always made such rational decisions, he thought, until now. He sighed and sat the picture on his desk, studying it.

“Larentia, what were you thinking, my dear?”