Armilla

Chapter Eight

"And so she just appeared on the floor of my office in that condition, Severus?"

"Yes, Headmaster. I had been waiting several minutes there for that meeting we had scheduled when suddenly Miss Kemp appeared out of nowhere. She fainted before I could get any information as to what had happened."

"It is unfortunate I had not been there with you, but Dolores insisted on an urgent meeting in her office. But I am glad someone was there when she arrived."

"It is certain that her situation would have become a lot more serious had she been alone in your office for a long time."

"And you think she was attacked?"

"Undoubtedly. Miss Kemp's injuries are not the result of any accident, I assure you. She was very obviously stabbed in her right shoulder, and she has several broken ribs. As for the black eye and other cuts and scratches, I believe she must have been hit or had something thrown at her. Either way, someone deliberately caused this to happen."

"This is most vexing, Severus. My goodness, the poor child left Hogwarts to say goodbye to the only person she has ever considered family, and what a way to have to return..."

"Do you think it right that I brought her here? I did not think taking her to Madam Pomfrey the best path to take."

"Of course. I would rather that Dolores does not know about this. As far as she knows, Miss Kemp took the train back to London to see Merle. She knows nothing of the port key and I would prefer to keep it that way. I also think that Dolores would use Miss Kemp's injuries as a weapon against my abilities as Headmaster of this school. In fact, I am sure she would take great delight it putting it all over The Daily Prophet that I allowed one of my students to become so seriously injured during the school year, when I am responsible for them. But the important thing is, Miss Kemp is safe now, thanks to your efforts."

"I did my best clean the wounds and prevent any infection occurring. I have a whole selection of potions for her to take, but they can wait until she wakes."

I opened my eyes, thinking I had dreamed that conversation between Snape and Dumbledore. As the room came into focus and my head stopped spinning, I realised that they were just outside the door, which was slightly ajar.

After a second or two, I wished I had never woken. All the pain I had felt when I had first reappeared in Dumbledore's office suddenly came rushing back. My shoulder and sides throbbed. I didn't move, fearing the pain would only get worse if I did. I tried to focus on other things instead.

I was lying in huge bed with a deep blue cover. There was a fire crackling in a very ornate fireplace to my left. On the nightstand next to me was a tray with at least a dozen potions, all labelled in Snape's spiky handwriting.

Snape! The memory of him being the first to find me flashed before my eyes and suddenly everything seemed to hurt a lot more. Where was I? And where was Madam Pomfrey? I glanced at my right shoulder and gasped. It was covered by a large bandage, with a considerable amount of padding underneath. I dared to move my hands and saw that several of my fingers had plasters on them and my right wrist was bandaged. I heard Snape's words to Dumbledore in my head.

"...but I did my best clean the wounds and prevent any infection occurring. I have a whole selection of potions for her to take, but they can wait until she wakes."

Ahhh! I had been unconscious in the care of Snape! Of all people, he had to be the one to find me. He would come in here, gloating that he had saved the day and would then give me detention for wasting his time in the first place. He would probably make me brew all the potions he had to waste on me.

I stared at the ceiling; all those terrible thoughts were running through my mind. I heard a creak as the door opened wider and I saw Dumbledore come in, closely followed by Snape.

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have lost their twinkle, but he sat down in the chair next to the bed with a kindly expression on his face. Snape, on the other hand, remained standing at the foot of the bed with his arms folded. His dark eyes bored into mine, but his expression remained indifferent as usual. I looked at Dumbledore instead.

"I am so very sorry, Armilla," he said, sadly. "I honestly thought you would be safe. What happened to you was most unexpected."

"It was unexpected," I said slowly, still looking at Dumbledore.

"I know it may be painful to talk about," he said, quietly. "I know that the last few days have been some of the most painful for you to experience, but I think it important for you to tell me what happened."

"I was attacked by my neighbour," I said simply.

"Shar?" Dumbledore looked astonished.

"You know him?"

"I know of him. Strange sort of fellow I was told, but I always thought he was harmless." Dumbledore leaned back and scratched his chin, thoughtfully.

"He was harmless...I thought he was anyway.' I then proceeded to tell Dumbledore of everything that had happened, from the day of the funeral to the moment when I was in his office again. He listened in silence and Snape followed suit, never taking his eyes away from mine.

"And that's all I remember," I finished. God I hoped one of those potions next to me would take away the pain, but I didn't want to ask Snape for one.

As if he had read my mind (sometimes I thought he could), Snape suddenly moved towards the nightstand and uncorked a bottle. He poured a few drops of it into a glass and held it out to me. I took it from him, trying not to grimace from the pain in my ribs as I moved my arm. I downed the potion quickly, pretending I didn't notice how bad the taste was. Snape took the glass and handed me another one with a different potion. The process repeated until I had drank a number of various disgusting potions. I did start to feel better though; the pain was slowly starting to numb.

"There are a few issues we need to address, Armilla," said Dumbledore. "I will contact the Order and we will handle Shar privately. I think you would agree that we should keep it from the Ministry, as long as justice is served."

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"There is also the issue of your guardianship. Merle's solicitor contacted me, though I knew about the arrangement previously, as Merle and I discussed it years ago. I don't think it necessary for me to appoint anyone straight away. If you are happy to remain here over the Christmas and Easter breaks, we can decide on your guardianship later in the school year. Until then, I will be responsible for anything that comes up."

Again, I just nodded. There was a rather large lump developing in my throat. The thought of not being able to go home to Merle was enough to make me want to break down. But I was not going to cry in front of Snape. Dumbledore changed the subject anyway.

"The third thing is the care that you will need for all your injuries. Professor Snape has examined them and they may take some time to heal properly. You must be wondering why you are not in the hospital wing?"

"Because of Professor Umbridge?" I asked.

"That's exactly it."

"I was wondering where I am though," I said, looking from Snape to Dumbledore. They exchanged a meaningful look. Dumbledore suddenly looked extremely serious.

"Armilla, if I tell you where you are, you are not to let anyone else know that it exists when you leave here," he said gravely. "Is that understood? I must have your word."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well, I trust you. You are in a secret wing of the school. No one knows it exists, except for Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout and I, of course. This wing does not show up on any plans of the school and there are no doors in the school that have access to it. Well, no real doors anyway. We use this wing only for extremely private matters. You can imagine that it has been used more often this year, after the arrival of Dolores Umbridge."

I nodded, absolutely amazed that I was in a room in a hidden wing that was not supposed to exist at all.

"You will remain here until you are well enough to return to school. I will inform Professor Umbridge that you are staying with a friend of Merle's for a few more days."

"So, are you staying in this wing too while I am here?" I asked Dumbledore hopefully.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I will be," said Snape softly, looking straight at me.

Wha huh? Snape? I hoped the alarm I was feeling inside was not showing on my face.

"Unfortunately, I have a lot of business with other members of the Order this week," said Dumbledore. "Professor Snape is the next best person for the job after Madam Pomfrey."

Personally, I had to agree. I may not like the git, but I could not deny how skilled and powerful he was.

"He will continue teaching," Dumbledore went on. "But he will spend his other time in this wing. It is a very powerful space. As soon as anyone on the outside wants one of us, we have the means to reappear in our own quarters as if we had been there the whole time."

Dumbledore stood up and took my hand. "I must be going. I have a meeting with Remus Lupin." Dumbledore eyed Snape who had given a slight grunt at these words. "I will come back and see you, Armilla. You know I am always here to talk to you. I am leaving you in the care of one of my dearest friends-"

I glanced at Snape in time to see him roll his eyes

"-and I know that Severus would always have a ready ear also if you needed someone to talk to."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Snape give Dumbledore a look that seemed to say, "Are you for real?" Yep, I felt so comforted by those words.

Dumbledore continued. "You may even find that you two have something in common," he said lightly, looking from me to Snape, and then down to my bracelet. I guessed Snape caught the significance of that look because he suddenly glared at me accusingly. I stared back at him and he was the first to look away.

"Very well then," said Dumbledore. "Must be going." He kissed my hand before letting it go. "Goodbye, Armilla." He smiled at Snape. "Severus."

Snape nodded. "Headmaster."

After Dumbledore had gone, Snape picked up the tray of potion bottles and walked towards the door, obviously intending to leave as well. He stopped suddenly, as if a thought had just occurred to him. He set down the tray on a small table by the door and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a thin silver chain and walked over to the bed, holding it out for me to take. The chain had a small pearl attached to it. I thought it was simply beautiful.

"You are to wear this at all times until I tell you otherwise," Snape ordered, watching me closely. "You will use it to contact me when I am not in this wing. All you have to do is press your index fingers against it until it turns red, and I will come. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," I said quietly, trying to undo the clasp. I wasn't meaning to look clumsy, but I couldn't quite manage it with all the plasters on my fingers. I couldn't even bend most of them properly.

"Here," said Snape, irritably, snatching the chain from me and doing it up around my neck.

"Thanks," I muttered, not looking at him, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

He didn't answer. He went to the door, picked up the tray, and then turned to face me. "I will be down the hall, first door on the left," he said.

I nodded and watched as he swept from the room.

Oh boy. A couple of days of seeing no one but Snape. I wondered if I had enough magic in me to make time speed up.