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Leech	By : ccino49 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 2919 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I own nothing but this sordid little tale. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not making any money by writing it. I must be insane.

LEECH

Oo. A longer chapter. Lots of information to tell. : ))

Chapter 42

Minerva accompanied Albus a couple more times over the coming weeks, and each weekend several Order members would arrive and meet Kathy in the ROR so they could act as guinea pigs.

Remus Lupin was amongst the first to appear after the initial tests with Tonks, Kingsley, and Charlie, and Severus was not pleased.

He demanded that Kathy be told of his condition before she was allowed to attempt anything.
To say she was shocked would be an understatement, but she didn�t reject him on that basis. She�d read about werewolves and thought at the time it was most likely a fallacy, but Remus himself admitted it was true.

�It�s alright, I understand if you prefer I not take part.
�Mr Lupin, we don�t know what, if any, effect your wolf will have on me, so I would prefer to do the others first. But I�m not refusing you because of it. I�m a bit scared yes, but then again you probably feel the same about me.�

�Don�t be ridiculous. You can�t possibly mean to include him in these trials. It could prove fatal to you.� Severus was close to frantic, he did not want Lupin Leeched. �What if it somehow leaves you cursed with the same condition as him? You will be ostracised the world over. No one will employ you, you will� �

�Severus I�m already ostracised. I don�t have a job. I didn�t even have any friends until I came here. And I�m certainly not going to treat him the way I�ve been treated my whole life. I want to do it. So there.�
After Leeching the Weasley twins, who thought the whole experience was worth putting in a bottle and marketing at some point, it was Remus� turn.
He again suggested they abandon the idea, with the full support of Severus of course, but Kathy wouldn�t hear of it and she drew Albus into the argument.
�I believe that ultimately, it is for you to decide Kathy. The risks have been discussed, as a result none of us are any the wiser, and we will remain so, unless of course you decide you wish to go ahead.�
�Right then lets do this. Sit.� She said to Remus, who in turn raised an eyebrow but sat anyway.

Kathy began with the same hand stroking she used with the others before resting her hand on his. She was watched much more closely this time by Severus and Albus.
A soft, animalistic growl rumbled deep in Lupins throat as she Leeched him, but other than that it went as all the others had.
When she removed her hand Kathy was heartbroken and angry all at once. Unable to endure the familiarity of Lupin�s inner self, she returned his essence a minute later, rather than wait as she did the others.

She also felt extremely tired, that had never happened before.

�I�m sorry Mr Lupin, I couldn�t hold onto it any longer. Your life has been too� similar to my own in many ways, yet unbearably worse.�
Remus understood fully what she was telling him, but he did not complain. He felt so much better than he could ever remember feeling before. His usual constant weariness had gone, along with certain other aspects of his Lycanthropy that usually began to emerge around this time of the lunar month. Always a week before the full moon, he would feel a need to hold back on his temper, often feeling aggressive to anyone who irritated him even a little bit. Certain other urges seemed more contained as well. At least once the initial return was over with, he did not want to have to explain that to anyone.

It was three weeks before Severus dare approach her for so much as a kiss after she'd Leeched Lupin, her urge to bite him was overwhelming once she got excited, and he valued his throat greatly. During the full moon she had to fight the urge to run outside and howl at the moon before running into the woods to hunt. Severus was forced to lock her in her rooms that night. She took to eating her meat so rare that it bled all over her plate and caused those sitting closest to her to blanche at the sight of her eating it.
Kathy also came to the realization that her panic at having curly green hair thanks to Tonks' Metamorphisms powers was unnecessary, because she retained a certain amount of whatever magic or ability the Leeched victim passed on to her for up to three weeks.
Lupin reported back that his time of change over the full moon was like none he�d ever experienced before. Although he still transformed, it wasn�t painful, or even uncomfortable, and there were none of the usual after effects when it was over. He felt fit as a fiddle when he reverted back to human form.

Severus, although pleased and rather smug about the fact he was immune to her Leeching, was envious of the fact that the others all reported enhanced magic for several weeks after the Leeching. It was as though Kathy took what they had, and cleansed and enhanced it, before returning it to them.

He wouldn't have minded a bit of that, especially as he knew the time must be drawing near for a summoning from the Dark Lord. Enhanced powers might help him deal with the Crucio better.

When Albus arrived to join them for tea after Kathy's fifth weekend visit from the Order, he said he'd been speaking with Professor Binns.
Apparently Binns had once written a dissertation on Leechers and he was eager to discuss her ability.

�Well I don't mind, when does he want to come and talk about it?�

�Kathy Professor Binns is a little different from the other professors here. You have of course read about our resident ghosts in �Hogwarts: A History�, though I do not believe you have actually met one as yet. I gave strict instructions they were not to make their presence known around you.�

�Yeah! O-oh! Are you gonna tell me this Professor Binns is a ghost?� She asked warily.

�He is indeed, a kind and friendly one I might add. He is also limited somewhat as to which parts of the castle he can visit. The dungeons is not one of those places. Unlike the rest of the ghosts at Hogwarts, the Professor actually passed on one day in the staff room, when his spirit awoke it went to the classroom and continued to teach History of Magic, leaving behind his corporeal body. Sometimes I wonder if he even remembers he's a ghost.�

�Blimey, I dunno if I can bring myself to talk to a ghost, I mean, will he do anything... spooky? Float about, rattle chains, moan and scream and stuff? If he does I�m screaming back at him. Then I�m running away. If I don�t faint that is.�

Severus and Albus laughed.

�No Kathy, Binns is a very reserved ghost. He was my Professor when I attended Hogwarts and he was a ghost then. He might send you to sleep while he drones on monotonously, he manages to send most of his students to sleep, but it would not occur to him to act like a ghost.� Severus told her.

�Well okay, so long as he doesn't do anything too spooky. And I'm not seeing him on my own, one of you will have to stay with me, just in case.�

�In case?� Severus queried.

.

�In case I get the heebie jeebies, I've never even seen a ghost, never mind talked to one.�

Severus took her to the staff room on Wednesday evening and introduced her to Binns.
Hanging back a little, Kathy noticed he didn't actually sit in his chair, rather he seemed to hover in it, and she could see the faint outline of the cushions through him. Nor was he white and dressed in a sheet as she�d expected. He actually looked quite normal, apart from his translucency and the dead appearance of his eyes. She tried very hard not to shudder, and even harder not to show her fear, but a ghost. She was gonna talk to a ghost for heavens sake.

�Mrs Ripley, it is indeed an honour to meet you.�

�Hello Professor, it's nice to meet you too.� She said nervously, extremely relieved that he didn�t offer a hand for shaking.

The unearthly Professor soon put her at ease, asking what she already knew of her ability, and was delighted to discover she'd taken a keen interest in magical history since she'd arrived.

What he did reveal to her, that neither she, Severus, or even Albus had known, was that �Leech� was also another, if rather archaic term for a healer. Although never able to prove his theory, Professor Binns was of a mind that Leechers were capable of great healing power, and would be able to heal in circumstances where a regular healer could not. He hoped she would be interested in researching it further.

This was something that raised her spirits to a new level. Severus too was intrigued to discover more about this possibility. Though he knew it would not avail him personally since he was immune to her, perhaps she might be able to help others affected by some of the darker curses, as well as some of the more virulent illnesses suffered by muggles. It was definitely something they would need to look into.

�Professor, Severus isn't affected by me, do you know why? Do you think there might be others like him?�

Binns eyebrows raised so high they floated above his head for a second or two, before settling down to where they should be.
It was the most expressive Severus had ever seen him. Then he smiled, something else Severus had never witnessed before and it unnerved him slightly.

Binns looked directly at Severus and studied him quietly for a few minutes. Then he turned his attention back to Kathy. �Yes, I know why our esteemed Potion Master is unaffected by you, I also know that he can be Leeched should you choose to do so. If the Leeching proves successful, then so would the healing if my theory is correct.�

Severus and Kathy both looked at each other, then turned back to Binns.

�It is because you care for him. Very deeply if I am not mistaken.�

Kathy turned a nice shade of cerise.

�That cannot be the case Professor.� Severus corrected. �I was unaffected by Mrs Ripley very early on in our relat... acquaintance. At the time she was brought here we had no feelings for one another other than rescuer and victim. An extremely unconscious and distraught victim I might add.�

�Albus told me the full story of her rescue Severus, I believe Mrs Ripley already knew on some unconscious level that you were her savoir, or perhaps more. As afraid as she was of you at the time, she also knew that you, Sir Stephen, and the man who saved her from recapture, were one and the same. As such she already held a deep respect for you, as well as trusting you, after all, you had never appeared threatening to her when she was a child. I think also that now there is more between you two than mere acquaintances would account for.�

For Kathy, cerise became crimson, whereas Severus developed two rather unbecoming red spots on his pale cheeks.

As soon as he felt his cheeks burning Severus stood and made his way over to the refreshments table. He would do anything rather than allow Kathy and Binns to witness that he, Severus Snape, was actually blushing. 'Dear Gods, I have not blushed since I was a teenager, even then it was a rare occurrence once I was over that debacle with Potter and Lily.'

'Lily. How long is it since I thought of you? Not long surely, in fact I thought of you only... when was it? Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Several months ago? I'm sorry Lily, I should never have forgotten you, not even for a minute, but there is someone... new and refreshing in my life. She is not like you, not even similar, but she is... I do not know what she is, I only know that I find myself more and more attracted to her by each passing day. She fills a void within me, a void I never realized existed until she began to fill in the cracks, then little by little the level of emptiness you left behind has dwindled.'

It suddenly hit him that Kathy consumed the majority of his thoughts. She excited him, made him feel alive, aroused a passion in him he did not know he possessed. He felt a need with her, a need to protect, a covertness to not share her with others no matter how innocent the interaction with might be. He knew she liked him, how much he had no idea, but she'd allowed him to bed her hadn't she? And Kathy was definitely not the type of woman who would willingly jump into bed with anyone. She had to feel something more than mere like for him surely. Binns said it was because she cared for him that he was unaffected by her Leeching, well she trusted and liked Albus but he was still affected. Only her husband, David, had been immune before now, at least as far as they knew. Could it be possible she felt the same for him as he felt for her? Or at least something close to it. Gods he hoped so. If so, what was this feeling? Love? He doubted it, there again he had never been in love before. Yes he'd loved Lily, he always would, but was he in love with her? No. His feelings for Kathy were so different than those he had for Lily, he thought, if he was honest with himself, that what he felt for Lily was more a longing for what he could never have, and perhaps the love he felt for her was more what a brother would feel for his sister. Maybe.

TBC
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Leech