Mended

Twenty-Eight

Severus' foul mood had at last begun to calm in the days leading up to Danu's departure. He had taken it upon himself to not only invite Rose but book several days in a hostel for the two of them: plus, Molly, Hermione, and Ginny. She had written to Luna on two occasions during the week to invite her as well, despite Severus' protests that it likely was not a good idea for her to tag along with Rose being there, but she had not written back. They couldn't afford this without dipping into the gold hoarded in the vault at Gringott's, she knew that much for certain, however, the potion that Severus fed her each morning ensured that she did not care.

Danu had felt lighter, optimistic; the irrational thoughts and paranoia that supporters of Rita Skeeter were following her no longer plagued her day and night. She no longer sat awake each night, unable to rationalize her thoughts or quell her pounding heart. She did not stay locked in the attic, staring into space as her mind raced, too afraid to sit on the main floor in case someone looked through a window to find that she was home. Now, she was able to play with Lorna, found interest in her plants once more, laughed for the first time in what felt like years, and even began a friendly correspondence with Neville Longbottom, who wrote to her several times a week. They discussed ideas of crossbreeding different plants to see what would happen, and what properties the seedlings would inherit. Thus far, none of their ideas had been successful, but it was exhilarating to not only try, but to have someone who was just a passionate about the flora as she was.

Neville had not only brought her a tiny, sickly-looking pod from his mimbus mimbultonia, but had helped her nurse it to health. She had traded him a niffler's fancy, two pritcher's porritch's, and a lady's mantle for the tiny grey cactus, Severus raised a brow at this due to the price and rarity of the pritcher's porritch alone, but to her, it had been more than worth it simply to study the mimbus; not to mention the fact that he could use and make good money from the potions he would be able to brew using the stink sap. The mimbus mimbultonia, while almost healed, still wept often and made a pitiful, low whimpering sound that was impossible to hear unless you put your ear right up to it, which was often inadvisable as the weeping often turned to sobbing which would cover the listener in the foul, putrid smelling sap seeping and spurting from the newly forming boils rising from the flesh. Lorna had, on more than one occasion, run gagging from the greenhouse after being covered in the noxious green substance.

Leaving her plants, Lorna, and even Severus for five days seemed more than a little daunting, as she had never been away from Lorna for that long. Danu watches from the bedroom doorway as Severus packs, and then unpacks her suitcase. She had assured him that she was an adult and more than capable of packing her own suitcase, yet he insisted. First, he packed cloaks and thick jumpers before realizing that not only was it summer time and ordinary shop owners do not tend to keep their spaces as cool as he was prone to keeping theirs, but she would stick out like a sore thumb in the crowds of Muggles that they would be around that week. Severus dumps the contents of the suitcase onto the bed, sighs loudly as he runs his hands through his sleek black hair and turns to her armoire once again to remove several light, flowing sun dresses that he loved running his hands under while she wore them. After several minutes of contemplation, and five days' worth of under garments were successfully packed, he turns to his bedside table, opens the top drawer, and places three vials of a shimmering, yellow liquid on top.

"Take one of these every other day, do not forget, as you will become quite ill." Severus instructs her as he zips the bag and places it next to her armoire in the corner of the bedroom. "You will begin weaning yourself this week, taking one potion every second day, until next week where you will take one every third day, and so on until you are able to simply take one dose per week. Should you wean yourself correctly, you will not experience the...unsavory side effects that I suffered."