Mend Me

Twenty-One

Danu is jolted from her sleep by a scream. Something is holding her down, she screams and thrashes but can't free herself from whatever it is. Her eyes are open but unable to adjust in the bright light, a whirl of black fabric cocoons her. It smells of cinnamon and cloves.

"LOOK AT ME!" The figure shouts as it grabs her face in both hands and forces it forward.

Snape.

Snape pulls her head into his chest and cradles the back of her neck as she grips his sleeves for dear life. Danu is terrified, every inch of her body aches and she doesn't know why. She attempts to take a deep breath and tries to stop the tears she just now realizes are running down her face, but she can't. The pain is overwhelming, all consuming. The pain in her ribs and spine in particular make it impossible to draw enough air into her lungs. Her throat constricts, raw and painful from screaming. She is hyperventilating, she claws at Snape's arms as a deep groan escapes her lips, desperate for air. Snape wraps his arms around her, pulling her tighter into his chest and rocks her back and forth in his arms. She listens to his heart hammer in his chest as he cradles her like a child.

"Breathe. Just breathe." He whispers into her hair over and over again until finally she is able to just breathe.

Slowly, she begins to calm, and Snape releases her from his arms. She feels hollow, something inside of her remains fearful but she doesn't know why. What happened to her? Her eyes begin to adjust, she doesn't know where she is. Hysterics bubble beneath her surface and she tries desperately to stifle it. Danu attempts to knot her hands in her lap as she did each time she was nervous, but gasps when the pain radiates up her wrists. Looking down at them, she realizes why. Nearly every fingernail on both of her hands were ripped to the cuticle, at least two of her fingers were broken entirely. Her hands were bruised and unrecognizable. She whips her head around the room, searching for any clues. Snow. It is snowing, she can see it out of the window to the left of her bed. It is August, how is there snow in August?

"What month is it?" She asks, scanning Snape's face or any sign of injury. He's exhausted, his eyes bloodshot with dark circles beneath. His hair disheveled, as if he had been running his hands through it for days. Faint black hairs have popped up on his face, she had never seen him anything other than cleanly shaved before.

"February." Snape finally answers, his voice deep with sleep and worry.

"N....No. That's impossible. It's-"

"It is February tenth, Miss Black."

"What happened to me?" Danu asks as she looks back towards the window, unable to argue the time of year with snow falling heavily outside.

"What do you remember?" Snape presses her back down on the pillow and sits beside her on the mattress, staring down at her with a concerned expression on his face. She wanted him to hold her to his chest again.

"I..You-" Danu tries desperately to recount anything at all, but nothing is there. Everything is fuzzy and far away, she can't focus on a single memory, only pain. "I was cold. You brushed my hair. Then I woke up."

"What else?"

"I was-Bram! Where's Bram?" Danu lifts herself once more from the pillow and tries desperately to get out of the bed despite the pain radiating throughout her body, and rush to..to where? She had no memory, no recollection of a single event past August, but knew that Bram needed her, and she needed him. Snape pushes her back down on the bed.

"You are in no condition to leave this bed, Miss Black."

"Will you bring him to me, Sir? Please." Tears well up in her eyes, silently begging for Bram to be safe. She grabs Snape's hand and grips it tightly, he jerks ever so slightly, but allows her to continue holding it. It's large and warm in her own. Safe.