Bittersweet Dreams

 Confusion. Simple, plain confusion must have been evident on her face when she looked around her old room in Snape's old chambers. It was untouched even though ten years had passed since she was here last. 

 Artemis was sitting in her old bed like she used to back then, crossed-legged and in her favourite nightgown. It was the same one that Orion had once told her she looked cute in. Her eyes travelled around the room again for the second time and this time she noted that some part of her desk was out of focus even though she was looking straight at it. 

 Puzzled, she got off the bed and walked towards it and she saw that there were books strewn all over the desk but somehow she could not read any of the covers. Now more curious the witch tried to pick one of them up but her hand went through it like she was a ghost which made her jump back in fright. Taking a deep breath the brunette placed her hand carefully on the desk and her eyebrows knitted together when she could feel the cold wood beneath her fingers. Artemis then started to walk around the room touching different things in it as she went. She had been sitting on the bed so that was obviously a solid object, same with the desk and wardrobe but the clutter on her desk, her clothes in the wardrobe and some other knick-knacks around the room were all non-touchable. It was like they were not there, to begin with, and her imagination had only put them there to make the room more real than it was. 

 Shuddering the brunette looked to the door of her bedroom and wondered if it leads to anywhere or if a wall of nothing would greet her. Once again taking a deep breath Artemis slowly approached the door. The handle was cold to the touch as it always had been but somehow she got the feeling that there was something on the other side so before she could think more about it she pulled the door open in one fast motion. 

 Severus Snape old living quarters came to view. Same as her bedroom it seemed frozen in time. The furniture was still the same and books were strewn around the place, most of them were out of focus but a couple were in clear view. Curious, Artemis walked into the room and picked up the book that was closest to her. 'How to take care of your cauldron'. The witch rolled her eyes, of course, it had to be that one that she could pick up. She wondered how many times Severus had made her read it through the years at school and by now she could still remember some of the chapters by heart. 

 Putting the book down again she turned to look at the rest of the room. Her heart stopped for what seemed like a minute as she looked at the Potion Master's favourite chair. 

 Severus Snape was seated in it as if he had never left, the usual cup of tea was placed on the coffee table and a book was in his hand. Rooted in place all she could do was stare at him if this was her imagination playing a trick on her it was a cruel one. Suddenly the man looked up from his book and raised his eyebrow at her.

 "It is rude to stare Artemis, I've told you this many times." Speechless, the witch nodded at the man. It was true, he had told her that many times during her school days.

 "What are you standing around for girl? Sit down." Out of habit the witch moved on her own accord by an order from the older wizard and proceeded to sit down in her usual chair. A teacup appeared on the table in front of her smelling faintly of ginseng and she just looked at it dumbfounded. It was her favourite cup and it even had the crack in it from the time Mips had accidentally dropped it on the stone floor. The house-elf was still young then and had desperately tried to fix it but she had been so distraught that the spell had not quite worked right and a small crack still remained. Artemis took hold of the cup and cherished the warmth that spread through her.

 "What are you doing here, Artemis? It is not your time yet." Her brown eyes looked at the wizard in the chair confused.

 "Pardon?" Severus shook his head as he put the book down.

"You seem to be wavering on the edge of Death, girl. What did you do?" The old Professor was his usual serious self as he spoke and there was no humour in his voice. Artemis' head went into overdrive as she tried to remember how she had gotten herself there.

 Images flashed in front of her eyes in quick succession. Draco enjoying a blueberry tart. His scared face when she pulled his hood over his head. Death Eater masks. The blond yelling at her with blood all over his shirt. The brunette clutched her head in her hands as she let out a groan of pain dropping the teacup to the floor in the process. It was too much at once and she took a few deep breaths and nearly jumped out of her chair when she felt a cold hand on her back. 

 "Don't force yourself. You will remember in time."

 Instead of listening to the man she lifted up her nightgown to look for any damage and was close to vomiting when a fresh wound came to view. The Potion Master studied it fascinated and looked almost proud of her. 

 "It seems like my Godson was paying attention when I taught him that spell." Looking at it again she could tell that it had been neatly closed with a steady hand.

 "Draco did this?" Severus snorted at her.

 "Obviously. I know my Godsons spell work." Artemis let the nightgown drop back into place as she rubbed her face with her hands.

 "I was supposed to protect him and instead he protects me. I should just quit my job at this point." She let out a laugh before continuing. "What am I saying? I'm dead anyway. I might as well move on." A book hit her hard in the back of her head and she grunted in pain while looking back at the wizard in anger.

 "What was that for?!" The older wizard gave her a disappointed look.

 "You are not paying attention. I said you were wavering on Death's door, not that you were dead. Obviously, you felt pain just now, would a dead person do that? Don't tell me you have grown this stupid in your older years." Blinking at him dumbfounded she rubbed the spot he had hit her and found that it still hurt.

 "So what am I doing here then?" She asked angrily. Severus sighed as he sat down in his chair again.

 "You tell me. Someone gave you a second chance perhaps?" Artemis studied the floor where her teacup had landed on the stone and saw that it was empty, there was no tea spilling anywhere but the cup was still intact somehow. This place was not normal, that much was evident. 

 Trying to think clearly she obviously did not want to die, not now. There was too much she had to do and say. An image of Orion floated passed her eyes and she suddenly remembered why she had been angry at him, to begin with.

 "Why did you tell Orion not to tell me that you were dead?" The wizard in front of her showed no emotions as they looked at each other.

 "How long were you left in the dark?"

 "Over a year." Severus gave her an impressed expression.

"He had to make sacrifices to do that I believe." Artemis had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep her anger in check.

 "He had Cyril, Septimus and Zacharias take an Unbreakable Vow each so that they would not spill the secret to me." Laughter escaped the Potion Master and the witch looked at him like he had gone crazy.

 "King of Slytherin to the core. I see I made the right choice by giving my request to Mr Silver. As for the reason why I did it, it is simple enough." He gestured for her to come sit on the floor in front of him as she had done as a child. At first, she wanted to be seated in the chair but figured that she might as well humour the man and went to sit on the floor. Surprisingly, it was warm like she was sitting on a fluffy blanket. 

 Suddenly a hairbrush was going through her hair followed by gentle hands moving it behind her shoulders.

 "Your hair is a mess. When was the last time you cut it?" She tipped her head backwards to look at the man who had a glint of sadness in his eyes.

 "I can't remember. You said the reason was simple?" Pushing her head forward again he hummed and continued to brush her hair. Several minutes went by without any of them saying anything. Artemis was about to ask the man again when he answered.

 "Everyone behaves differently when they feel grief. Some don't show it, others scream to the heavens. While you, my dear, become dangerous. Do you remember why I had you moved to this chamber in the first place?" The witch thought for a second but her mind came out blank so she shook her head.

 "They had just started to figure out that something was not 'normal' with you and had started to tease you. Innocently at first, of course. But it quickly accelerated and McGonagall soon got involved to take care of the situation. Instead of listening to your case she brushed you off and took the side of the other girls. Deeming you the guilty instead of the innocent. The consequences of this were almost fatal. Your grief of losing the few friends you had and being looked at like an outcast wherever you went soon became too much. In a fit of sorrow infused with anger, you attacked one of the girls in your room late one night almost killing her in the process. At this point, I got you out and made you live here with me, away from prying eyes. I could not let this happen again, therefore I made that request of Mr Silver." 

 The man did not stop brushing her hair as he spoke and it lulled her into a relaxed state. What she heard should have surprised her but at this point in time, it did not if he said that this happened all she could do was believe him. There were a lot of episodes that she had forgotten over the years only to be told later by her closest friends.

 Sitting on the floor like this made Artemis feel like a little girl as the silence once again filled the room. If she could stay here forever like this it would still not be long enough. Severus started to hum a song that she hadn't heard in a long time, he had only used it on occasion and only when they were completely alone. It was an old siren lullaby that calmed the nerves as well as lulled you into a deep sleep. She bent her head back again to look at him with tears in her eyes.

"Why did you have to die?" Severus looked down at her with shiny eyes as he put the hairbrush away.

 "It was unavoidable, girl. You know I was on both sides of the war, I foresaw my death long before it happened. My only regret is that I did not get to say goodbye to you, but it seems that someone gave us the chance to do so now. Goodbye, my sweet daughter, it's time for you to go back to the world of the living it is not your time yet. Tell my Godson that he is doing a good job protecting the ones he loves." Artemis could feel herself slipping into a deep sleep as it seemed the song had continued to play in the room even though Severus was talking to her. Tears were flowing freely down her face as she tried to stand up but her legs wouldn't listen.

 "Please, wait! Don't leave me again!" The late Potion Master just smiled at her as she watched him fade before her eyes. 

~ཐིཋྀ~

Runes were blinking erratically in front of her face and the room was filled with the noise of wards going off. Someone came running up to her shaking her slightly.

"…moore… you… me?" Artemis blinked rapidly and when she opened her eyes again, met the eyes of a worried-looking nurse.

"What?" Her throat felt like she had spent the last month in a desert and her voice was hoarse.

"Auror Blackmoore, can you hear me?" The brunette nodded at the question as she closed her eyes again.

"I will go and get Healer Crane, please stay put." Artemis had no time to answer as she heard the other witch run out the door. Her memory was hazy but she could tell that the dream she had was a peculiar one. Had it even been a dream? She managed to get herself up in a sitting position and looked around the room with a sigh. Not surprised to find herself in the hospital, again.

A jolt of surprise went through her suddenly as she realised the bond was open and it was Orion reacting to her being awake. If she were to guess he was already on his way to her. While wondering how long it would take him, the nurse from earlier came in the room followed by Healer Crane.

"Miss Blackmoore, glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I am guessing that my colleagues are already outside the door." Healer Crane gave the nurse a weird look which made her leave immediately, closing the door behind her. The wizard cleared his throat before saying anything.

"Not quite, Miss. You have been in a coma for the past five days. We got you out of Miss Loftwind's shop on Monday afternoon, it is now Saturday night." Artemis looked at him dumbfounded for several seconds before the images of Draco covered in blood flashed before her eyes.

"What about Draco?! Is he alright? Did he get out?!" Wincing she calmed down slightly as the Healer waved his wand over her head for a few moments.

"He is absolutely fine, Miss Blackmoore. In fact, he saved your life. You managed to get yourself splinched when you Apparated from the Leaky Cauldron and into Miss Loftwind's shop. Had it not been for Mr Malfoy's quick wand work I can not guarantee that you would be with us today." Astounded, she looked at the wizard.

"He… saved me? Wait, did you say five days?" The wizard said nothing as he studied the runes over her head and wrote down his findings on a clipboard. His eyebrows knitted together in something that resembled fascination.

"Indeed I did, now it seems you have some memory problems which we have to look into to make sure you are all right and fit for duty. However, your wounds are almost completely healed, I would say that you can go home tomorrow if you take it easy for the next week or so." She continued to look at him confused but in the end, just nodded at him.

"Why did I end up in a coma?" Quickly looking at her Healer Crane then went back to study the runes above her head again.

"I am not sure about that I'm afraid. It could be your magic trying to help with the healing process or it could be an after-effect of one of the hexes you were hit with during the duel with the Death Eaters. Hard to say really." Images continued to flash before her eyes of the different events that had happened and she continued to get scenes of Draco. Her hands started to shake a little as she suddenly heard Severus's voice in her head.

 "Tell my Godson that he is doing a good job protecting the ones he loves". Hugging herself she started to shake more violently and the Healer was quick to grab a potion from the shelves and administer it to her.

"Now now, Miss Blackmoore, calm down. You are safe, there is nobody that can hurt you here."

"I want to see Draco." Feeling herself getting drowsy the wizard helped her down into a lying position.

"I will get the Aurors to bring him here. Take it easy in the meantime."

"I need to see him." Healer Crane gave her a reassuring smile before she could feel her eyes close.

"I will get him here, don't worry. Now go back to sleep, Miss Blackmoore. He will be here when you wake up." Artemis heard the man leave the room and could faintly feel that Orion was close to her at that moment but she could not get herself to open her eyes to check before she found herself lost in the darkness.

~ཐིཋྀ~

Someone was in the room she noticed as she lay still trying to figure out who it was without revealing she was awake. Healer Crane had gone through every psychology spell imaginable on her earlier and she was sick of answering stupid questions. The magical core of the person was calm, almost unnoticeable but familiar.

"Cyril?" A soft hand caressed her cheek as she opened her eyes and met the gentle ocean-blue eyes of the other Auror.

"Hey, sleeping beauty." His face showed great relief and it almost seemed like he was about to start crying as his voice cracked when he spoke but he managed to catch himself by clearing his throat.

"You gave us all a scare there, Artemis." The auburn-haired wizard sat down on her bed as she sat up slightly smiling softly at him.

"Business as usual then?" He laughed softly in response as his eyes turned glossy with tears again. Looking at her for several seconds he reached out to grab her hand. It felt good feeling the warmth of another person, knowing that they were real and not something out of her imagination. Severus's voice had not left her after she had woken up and at this point, she was not sure if it was a dream anymore. She caressed his hand while studying it, the faint Unbreakable Vow scars now made her more sad than angry and she wished dearly that she could be just a normal witch among the crowd. Tears prickled behind her eyes again as she looked up at Cyril. The wizard's eyes overflowed with worry as their eyes locked.

"What is it? You feeling ill? I can call Crane." He was about to get up from his seat but she gripped his hand harder, making him fall back to the bed again, looking at her surprised. Artemis could feel the tears run down her cheeks freely as the wizard climbed further onto the bed pulling her into an embrace.

"It's alright, I'm here." The brunette clung to the man in front of her like her life depended on it even though her body protested she did not let go as she eventually managed to talk through the sobbing.

"I didn't ask for this power. I just hurt everyone around me. Someone should lock me up somewhere far away from civilisation and let me rot alone." Cyril pulled back forcefully as anger radiated off the man.

"The powers are what makes you, you, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Without them we would probably never have met at school, you would just be another Gryffindor in the sea of Gryffindors, no one special, no one at all. Is that really what you want? To be nobody?" Artemis took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself enough to answer but as she was about to flashes of him sitting on top of her came to mind. His uniform cut to shreds and blood running down his skin.

"I… I could have killed you! You were an idiot! Why did you not get Orion back then?! If you died, I… I…" The brunette was lost for words as she desperately tried not to think about what could have happened if they had not woken her up that morning. It seemed so long ago now. Cyril shook her out of her spiral of thoughts before she managed to get too deep and his eyes resembled a stormy ocean.

"I did not call him because I knew that I could wake you, besides, he is being a fucking idiot these days. He doesn't deserve to even see you right now. Do you know where he was when you needed him the most? I looked for the fucker for an hour only to find him half-naked in Burns's office doing Merlin knows what." Artemis' blood froze to ice when the last words left the wizard's mouth and she looked at him with a surprised expression.

"You're lying." Cyril shook his head.

"I wish I was Artemis. There was some sort of potion fumes in the office which made his muscles grow numb but he kept insisting that there was something else in the room. But from what I can tell he has not done anything else with it. The man has spent most of his days in the office after that. But it was pretty obvious what they were doing." Her thoughts were spinning out of control fast to remember back to the moment she had tried calling him for help only to get silence in return. Sudden fatigue came over her then and she felt herself go limp in Cyril's arms. He was quick to embrace her again, holding her tight against his chest.

Silence fell over the room like a blanket and the brunette focused on the wizard's heartbeats underneath his shirt. For once he had not worn the entire uniform probably out of haste when he had made his way to the hospital. He started to draw soothing circles on her back as she noticed the tattoo over his heart. If she focused enough she could see the butterflies fly around in an erratic pattern mimicking what the man was actually feeling.

Faint lines from the morning she had attacked him were also visible and before she could stop herself she wedged her hand inside the opening of his shirt to touch one of them. The wizard froze for a second before relaxing into her touch. The two butterflies followed her fingers across the one closest to the tattoo that somehow had been spared for damage and she wondered if her subconscious knew that it was Cyril she had been attacking and left it clean on purpose.

"Remember when you begged me to get a tattoo so that you could tell if it was me if an undercover agent died?" Cyril's voice was like a whisper.

"You yelled at me that it would get you caught one day." She whispered back. A deep chuckle escaped the man.

"I went and did it anyway didn't I?" Artemis could not help the chuckle that escaped her. One of the butterflies looked like it had landed on the top of her ring finger as she laid her hand flat against his chest. His heart was beating fast but on the outside, he was calm and collected.

"I'm sorry, Artemis. But there is something that I have to do because I am not letting this chance escape me again." Voice still a whisper he pushed them slightly apart, just enough so that they were face to face. The witch looked at the wizard in confusion before nodding in understanding.

The confusion was quickly replaced with surprise, however, as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. She had never been kissed by him on the lips before this, it was only slight pecks on the cheeks and soft touches on her lower back. This was different, dangerous and the brunette was not sure if she wanted it to continue.

At the same time, it was completely different from when Orion kissed her, his kisses were more sexual and demanding. He had the bond to control her flow while Cyril had nothing but his own feelings that he had to try and convey through the kiss. Normally, if it had been Orion she would not think twice about kissing back but if she were honest with herself this situation was proving too tempting to ignore.

Quickly closing the bond partly she responded to the auburn-haired wizard's kiss. Who in turn deepened the kiss as he took hold of the hand she still had inside his shirt and pulled it out so he could intertwine their fingers. His other hand he placed between her shoulders keeping her steady as he closed the little distance that was between them. Cyril started to rub his hand up and down her back slowly but never going under her hospital gown and in turn, she used her free hand to comb through his hair. They stayed like that for several minutes, just enjoying what the other was doing until Artemis felt she couldn't breathe anymore. Putting her free hand on his chest she pushed slightly and he pulled away immediately, looking down at her with hooded eyes. Both were out of breath as they looked at each other before the ocean-blue-eyed wizard broke the silence.

"I still stand by what I said to you. I wish that it was a chameleon instead of a raven and I know that I can never go back to change that, but I will continue to protect you with my life. If we don't go any further than this know that I will always be looking your way and I'll always be there. Even if you can't always see me." He was smirking at her when he finished and his eyes filled with the lovable mischief she knew so well. Smiling back at him she kissed him softly on the cheek, mimicking the way he had done to her many times before.

"Thank you, Cyril, my knight in disguise." The wizard chuckled as he kissed her on the cheek in return then whispered in her ear.

"Anything for the Prince of snakes." They both laughed at each other as they separated and Cyril got off the bed to stand next to it. His eyes softened when their eyes met again and he smiled knowingly.

"Don't be scared of killing me off in the future, Artemis. Seems like you like me too much." Puzzled she tilted her head to one side. Laughing again the wizard looked around the room for something before he took down a potion vial from one of the shelves then proceeded to transfigure it into a mirror. Quickly, he turned it towards her smile still on his face. Her eyes widened when she saw they were liquid gold and wondered when they had turned.

"I got some power over you, after all, I'm honoured." Artemis tried her best to figure out how it had happened as they never usually turned on their own accord in that way. It was usually when she was under more extreme emotions, even though she could control it to some extent. Looking at the man in front of her she did not feel anything, in particular, only a slow warmth that spread through her like firewhiskey. Cyril was still smiling knowingly at her as he defigurated the mirror back to its original state and carefully put the vial back. It was then she noticed the presence of Orion in the building and a knock could be heard on the door.

Artemis looked over to Cyril almost panically but he simply winked at her while taking a potion out of his pocket and swallowing it down. Slowly he turned see-through before he disappeared completely as Healer Crane came through the door.

"Ah! Miss Blackmoore, you are awake, good. Is everything alright? Auror Silver just arrived with Mr Malfoy and I just want to ask you some quick questions before I let him in." The wizard stopped for a second at the foot of her bed seemingly frozen to the spot, obviously noting the state of her eyes. She simply nodded at him as she felt the invisible wizard leave the room silently.