Neveah Crow
I was falling... I was falling and there wasn't a single thought in my mind. Perhaps there was... but I can't remember. Maybe it was something along the lines of, "I'm sorry," or, "I'll miss you."
No... It doesn't feel quite right. It feels too close to goodbye.
I was at peace. I felt the rain, I felt my magic drain, and I was okay with the end. But then there was panic.
The cold was a sting against my spine. I felt my bones crumble to ash and my heart beat the speed of a phoenix. Alas, you would never be able to tell. You would look at my body and see nothing. No pain, no agony, just waiting for signs of life.
There is something that makes us all equal. Muggle or wizard, we share the same rule. You cannot cheat death... or so we thought.
Where light should have greeted me, I met fire against my skin. A body ripping itself apart to live again. And it succeeded.
I gasped the empty air, my eyes whirling for an understanding. There wasn't a second to think before I had leaned over, vomiting on the stone floor. Tears caught in my eyes, my body aching at every movement.
"There, there... you're alright, sweetheart." A warm hand ran up and down my back, brushing the hair from my face. "You're okay now. You're okay."
I finally caught my breath, shutting my eyes to prevent nausea. Slowly, I sat upright. Daring to open my eyes, I turned to see...
"Narcissa?"
"Hi, darling..." She gave me a weak smile before wrapping her arms tightly around me. The last thing I felt before I lost consciousness again.
When I awoke again my body felt weak. Still feeling as though every inch of my body was bruised, but I was mobile. A warm lit lamp brought light in the dim, unfamiliar room.
I was in different clothes, belonging to someone other than me. Knit blankets weighed down my legs. Vials among vials stood on a far table, some empty. My head rang a thousand bells. I couldn't think. I couldn't understand.
It was as if every thought I tried to conjure was hit into space before I even had the chance to hear them. Nothing made sense. The only question I could summon... How am I alive?
The metal door shuddered. Someone was coming. I rushed to find my wand, searching beneath the blankets, the pillow. Nowhere.
"Don't be frightened, love. It's just me." Narcissa stood before the door, a soft smile on her face. She held a tray of fruit and tea, setting it on the table next to me. "I'm glad you're up. That journal really was correct, hmm?"
"The journal? Do you mean-"
"You must have so many questions... I'm afraid I only have half the answers." She walked toward the far table, sorting through the vials before choosing one.. "I'm only an accomplice in this all. Severus will answer anything you need."
"Snape?" My voice echoed inside my head, causing a flinch in my body.
"Now, now... Don't overwork yourself so soon. You're still healing." She sat back down, uncorking the vial containing a deep red and orange liquid. "Drink this."
I stared back and forth between the vial and Narcissa, skeptical without answers.
"Look, one thing I can tell you is that we are not the bad guys. Severus will not harm you. Not everything is as it seems, Neveah." She had truth in her words, gesturing the vial towards me once again.
I took the vial before another doubt could surface into my mind. I felt fire spread throughout my body. Like a furnace was stoked in my heart, the liquid flowed through my body. But within the pain I felt... a flciker of magic... power.
"Better?"
"More than that." I chuckled.
"Here, eat up." She smiled, setting the bowl of fruit onto my lap. "He'll be here soon, but I'm afraid I must go."
She left with a warm kiss on my forehead, and I was alone.
I quickly set the bowl aside before throwing the blankets off my legs and standing. I rummage through every table, drawer, and cabinet. Nothing. No journal, no wand.
"Looking for something?" A low, strung out voice appeared in front of me. "I don't suppose it would be this? Would it?" Severus held the journal in his hand, drilling his eyes into mine.
"Hand it over." I straightened my back, a stern look to meet his. "Now."
"A 'thank you,' would be nice. I did save your life after all." He dropped his hand to his side, walking to a nearby table.
"Save my life? You're the one who killed me!"
"You're still standing, aren't you?" I watched as he lifted a false bottom in a drawer. "Here."
He turned around, tossing a wand in my direction. My wand.
"I am not your enemy."
"That seems to be the theme here, isn't it?" I raised my wand but he did not move.
"Don't strain yourself, you'll ruin all my hard work." He stepped closer, my wand a foot away from his neck. "You don't even need this... do you? Not every witch could survive the battle your body endured. Yet here you are. Ready to fight."
"What did you do to me?"
"Why do you fear your magic? You were so quick to let it all go, and for what? The uncertain idea that everything would be just fine?" He lowered my wand. "You could do so much more..."
"Don't change the subject, Snape." I silently fumed, accepting his words. Denying all the same. "Explain, now."
"Sit down, Miss Crow. Leave your ears open and maybe I'll return your precious journal."
I hesitated... but I found myself sitting at the edge of the bed all the same. Snape pulled a chair not far off, preparing for the truth to come out.
An unbreakable vow. Narcissa asked Snape to protect her son at all costs. What he didn't expect was me in the way.
"I knew that boy's thoughts inside and out. He would have done anything for you, even lose his life by going against the Dark Lord. That is a broken promise on my end."
"If he killed you... I could only imagine what he would do to himself. Yes, I did this for Mr. Malfoy, but I also did it for your parents, Neveah." I held my breath, trying not to interrupt.
"Allies," he said. He admired my parents as much as he envied them. He too made a promise to them. To protect their daughter.
At the time, Voldemort was out of control. Death would suit anyone in his way. Severus knew only half the spells and potions in that journal and still knew it could not land in Voldemort's hands.'
It started out as a rumor. A spell to cheat death. Even after the killing curse, it had the power to stop the magic before it reached its destination. Pulling it out like a leech, draining the victim from any trace of the curse.
"I had to take a chance. The only solution I could think of. And that journal was my best bet."
And thank Merlin he took the gamble. It was not just a rumor, it was true. Written on coffee spilled paper in a student's backpack.
But, there was a flaw in the spell. Unsolved by the owners, never quite finished.
"I tampered with their work for months, but nothing worked. I realized I was stuck on their way of work, instead of my own. Being a potions teacher had its benefits after all."
There was no way of knowing it would work, but there wasn't enough time. Narcissa was the one who caught me mid-air. Letting me fall gently. She didn't dare think before letting the potion fall into my mouth.
Once again, there was a flaw. Green light expelled from my body, the curse fleeing from the fire. What they didn't expect was the fierce red magic that followed. My magic.
The potion didn't just take away the curse, it drained every ounce of magic I had. Nothing more than a muggle laid in the grass before the tower.
"I've been giving you supplements, trying to regain your strength for the past week. But so far... there's been minimal improvement."
The room spun and his words muffled. My magic... was gone?
"You- you took away my magic?" My voice sounded childlike, scared.
"I didn't know..." The expression on his face was the most emotion I had ever seen him have. It was as if he were a different person. "I'm sorry... truly. I will fix this, Miss Crow."
Snape stood, walking in front of me. He placed the journal into my still hands.
"I'll be back. Rest well."
The iron door slammed shut. Tears fell onto my hands, but there was no sound. No sobbing, no whining.
Silence.