Mended

Four

Severus sits in his favorite chair in the parlor, with his feet propped up on an ottoman. A mug of his favorite tea on the coffee table before him, and a book resting upon his lap. He still had trouble seeing, but his vision was improving. Over the last two weeks, his hands became stronger, allowing him to now confidently grips things without spilling or dropping. For the first time, he had been able to lift and carry his own mug of tea from the kitchen to the parlor.

Danu watched proudly from the sofa as he slowly made his way to the chair, sat his mug on the table, and sat down with a long sigh before picking up the book resting on the arm of the chair. He places it in his lap, runs his fingers over the warn spine as if trying to memorize the way it felt beneath his skin, then closed his eyes.

"Would you like for me to read it to you?" Danu asks patiently. Severus nods his head slightly and passes her the book.

The cover is well worn, and had possibly been green, or even brown at some point, but was now so faded the color was indecipherable. Lorna Doone is written in large, curling letters that were likely golden in another time, and black vines stand behind the L and D. Danu runs her fingers over the thin, worn title page, and begins reading.

"If anybody cares to read a simple tale told simply, I, John Ridd, of the parish of Oare, in the county of Somerset, yeoman and churchwarden, have seen and had a share in some doings of this neighborhood, which I will try to set down in order."

Danu pauses and lifts her gaze to Severus. His eyes remain closed, his thin face relaxed, and his head tilts slightly back to rest on the back of the chair. The thumbs of both hands fiddle with the seam on the arms of the chair. She smiles to herself, takes a sip of her coffee, and continues reading.

"Vayther'll be at the crooked post, t'other zide o' telling-house. Her coodn't lave 'ouze by raison of the Christmas bakkon comin' on, and zome o' the cider welted."

Danu stumbles over the thick, exaggerated dialect, her face reddening slightly at the embarrassment over the accent, and lifts her eyes to see Severus grinning slightly, his eyes still closed. She huffs but continues on with the story.

"I had never heard so sweet a sound as came from between her bright red lips, while there she knelt and gazed at me; neither had I ever seen anything so beautiful as the large dark eyes intent upon me, full of pity and wonder. And then, my nature being slow, and perhaps for that matter, heavy, I wondered with my hazy eyes down the black shower of her hair, as to my jaded eyes gaze it seemed; and where it fell on the turf, among it like an early star was the first primrose of the season. And since that day, I think of her, through all the rough storms of my life, when I see an early primrose."

Danu finishes the second paragraph of the fifth chapter, but before she can open her mouth to resume, Severus clears his throat. She looks up to him once more, but his eyes remain closed.

"Lorna." He croaks as he clears his throat. "Lorna is a beautiful name."

—

Mallory, the midwife assigned to her for the duration of her pregnancy, prods her swollen stomach with cold, yet soft hands. She pushes, pinches, and measures before smiling warmly up at her before producing her wand. Mallory presses the tip of her wand into her flesh to the left of her stomach between her navel and pelvis, and a soft thumpthump thumpthump fills the room. Danu squeezes her eyes shut and swallows a lump in her throat.

"Right on schedule." Mallory begins. "A little over twenty-two weeks now, just over halfway there! Anything you would like to discuss today? Any concerns?"

Danu shakes her head, her eyes still closed as Mallory continues prodding her exposed stomach with her wand.

"She is dizzy often." Severus announces from the doorway. Danu jumps and attempts to shield her bare stomach from his watchful eye, despite Mallory still examining it. He had not seen the faint stretchmarks that traveled up her sides, or the now obvious spider veins on her thighs. "Along with swollen feet, difficulty sleeping, and she consumes an excessive amount of ice and apples."