Sequel to The Immeasurable Marauder.
Someone is stalking Yves, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. She needs help, she needs The Order. The only problem is... she's supposed to be dead.
Based on the characters written by JK Rowling.
I opened the door to my house; Yves's small hand enveloped in mine, and led her inside. She walked as though her muscles had seized, ambling along quite unlike her usually graceful self. Her eyes were wide but unseeing. I closed the door behind her quietly, careful not to give her a fright, before leading her upstairs to my bedroom and straight into the bathroom. While the bath filled with water, I ran downstairs to secure the house, magically locking the door and putting an undetectable charm on the house making it invisible. This was something I would usually do but it felt more necessary than ever now that Yves was here. I had to keep her safe. I didn't think anyone would follow her here but one could never be too careful. I vaulted up the stairs taking two at a time and found her standing in the same position as I had left her in the bathroom. The bath was nearly filled to the brim with water. She stared at the floor; her muscles in the same rigid pose as before. I dipped my head to make eye contact with her.
"Yves" I said and her eyes flickered with recognition at her name, "the bath should be ready."
She began moving but her stiff muscles would not cooperate. I helped her out of her jacket, which clung to her wet body. Beneath it she wore a simple button up shirt. I wanted to rip it from her body and dump her in the bath. She was cold as a corpse and I needed her to be warm, to be human again. Perhaps then this tight feeling in my chest would subside. But I left her.
The moment I closed the door I sunk to the floor, my back pressed against the door listening, my legs outstretched. I found myself incapable of moving. I felt anxious not being able to see her. Something was wrong with her. I heard the water move and strained to hear her. She was completely silent, were it not for the sound of the water, I would have opened the door to see that she was still there.
I sat for a long time, my heart beating uncomfortably in my chest. I wasn't an anxious man, I didn't usually feel fear but tonight I did, for her. Suddenly, there was the sound of water sloshing out of the bath, violent splashes. I vaulted to my feet and just before I wrenched the door open, Yves screamed. I heaved the door and it slammed against the inside wall.
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Yves was still in the bath, her hair wet and hanging limply to her face, trailing down her back. She was clawing to get herself out of the bath but her muscles did not seem to be of any assistance. I ran to her side and she lifted her head, her face creased in pain, her eyes jet-black. I slid my hands underneath her arms and pulled her from the water. She weighed nothing in my arms. Her entire body was shaking but she managed to stand. I tried not to look at her body but it was difficult. She was black and blue, angry scars covering a lot of her very pale skin. She had pressed her eyes together, her face scrunched up in obvious pain, tears escaping her shut eyes. My instinct was to grab her, to hold her until she felt better, until she found a safe place in her mind but I couldn't. Instead, I threw a large towel over her before picking her up to take her over to the bed. I put her down gently. She immediately hid her face from mine, her body shivering as though she had been out in the snow and not a hot bath. I placed a hand on her shoulder to placate her but I was raging inside. I wanted to take it from her, take the pain, fix it but I didn't know how. The most I could do was be here for her while she suffered through it. Her breathing grew more steady and I knew, from the previous occasion when this had happened, that the worst of it was over. She had said she had found something; perhaps what she found had triggered this? It was useless to speculate now. I had asked Dumbledore what he thought it was but he did not give me any answers. He did not know but he had a theory. He didn't tell me what it was but after this evening, I would make a point to find out. This could not continue. I would not allow it.
