Mend Me

Thirteen

I'm going to be expelled.
I'm going to be expelled.Dumbledore will come, he'll ban me from the castle. Will he snap my wand, too?How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I just go back to Bernadette's? I've done this to myself. I've destroyed everything. 

Danu's mind rushes, her heart pounds in her chest. She attempts to focus and string an actual sentence, but the words don't come to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry." This is all she is able to produce as Snape drags her from the Shrieking Shack to his office.

His grip is tight on her wrist, her fingers begin to numb. His eyes darken with rage. His jaw remains clenched, as if he's desperately trying to suppress screaming in face. Snape bursts through his office door, robes flying around both of their ankles. Turning her sharply, he flings her on a chair across from his desk. The chair legs skid sharply across the stone floor with her weight, verging on toppling over. Her arms flail in an attempt to keep her upright, she grips the edge of Snape's desk and catches him looking down at her in disgust. He snaps his fingers, causing her to jump slightly at the sudden sound in the otherwise silent room. A house-elf appears, she thinks the little creature may be a girl, but can't be certain. They're wearing a dingy dish towel with a hole cut in the center for the head as a frock, a length of rope wraps around their waist to keep it closed. Atop their tiny, wrinkled head sits a crooked purple bow. The elf bows deeply to the both of them, Danu attempts a polite smile, but the elf is focused on Snape. They take the roll of parchment Snape has drafted and disappears with a soft pop.Danu lowers her head and focuses on her hands nervously knotting in her lap. She lifts her eyes towards Snape, he stands tall and straight behind his desk, arms behind his back, scowling down at her. She quickly averts her eyes back down to her lap, her face heating from fear and embarrassment.

Darkness falls, Snape has been pacing back and forth for hours. No candles are lit; the room is dark and shadowy. The only light comes from the moon reflecting off of the surface of the Black Lake from the small porthole window high on the wall. Either he's too busy fantasizing about murdering her before Dumbledore comes to have noticed, or this is the way he prefers it when no one else is here. Still used to the conditions in the Shrieking Shack, her eyes adjust to the darkness rather quickly. She doesn't dare speak to him. Every sound she makes; the squeak of the chair beneath her when she shifts her weight on it, clearing her throat, even breathing too loudly is met with his terrifying glare. Danu crosses her arms on Snape's desk and lays her head on them. Although he scoffs in disapproval, he does not tell her to move.

Hours pass as the night drags on painfully slow. Danu drifts in and out of restless sleep. On several occasions, Snape is facing her when she opens her eyes, she can only tell this by the soft glow of a cigarette dancing through the air as he slowly brings it to his lips. Scents of clove and ash waft throughout the room when he takes up the pacing again. The wafting smoke causes her nose to tickle, but she does not dare move an inch. Despite it being well into July, the stone room is cool. She shivers and attempts to bring her neck closer to her shoulders. Something warm is placed across her back, she can feel the weight of it, the warmth causing her to involuntarily curl into it. It smells of cinnamon and cloves.

A soft hum fills her ears, and she can sense the light filling the room despite the fact that her eyes are closed. She finds herself trapped between sleep; awake enough to notice her surroundings, but too tired to even open her eyes. Suddenly, the humming stops, the light behind her eyelids is blocked. A hand is on her shoulder, comforting and warm. She leans into it for just a moment, then opens her eyes.

Dumbledore.

Heart racing, Danu jumps to her feet, something heavy falls from her shoulders to the ground and wraps around her ankles. She tries to speak but no words come out. The time has finally come. The moment she has been dreading for hours. He's come to tell her to leave. She tries desperately to find any words at all. None come. Dumbledore raises his hands to stop her. Her heart stops.