11. Unveiled

                                    

                                          
Severus got back into his office around six in the evening.  He only had an hour or so before he had to go and patrol the halls.  He couldn't imagine Quirrell being guilty of anything like Dumbledore had been suggesting.  Death Eaters?  Quirrell just wasn't the type.  He was too nervous to speak plain and he wrung his hands all the time.  He had said himself that his stuttering was due to his apprehensiveness while they were talking during the very first feast.  Snape was curious and had asked him.  None of that mattered now though.  He would have plenty of time to mull over Quirrell and the question of his loyalty while he was walking the corridors on patrol like Albus had asked him to.  Right now he had just enough time to write, at least part, of a letter to Lucy.
                          
He got out the necessary tools and began to write.  Once he finished, he sealed it up in an envelope and walked back into his quarters.  Speedy, which he had named after Lucy's suggestion, was let out of her cage.  She flew excitingly around in circles for a few seconds before finally landing on Severus's outstretched arm.  He shook his head and smiled.  He had grown fond of her for the time he had owned her, and her demeanor was the reason why.  She was always so....excited.
                          
Severus took the letter off of his desk and nestled it in Speedy's beak.  "Take this to Lucy, Speedy.  I just hope this isn't the last time, but after what I revealed, I don't know if she'll ever write to me again."
                          
Speedy flew off and disappeared through the open door.  Severus sighed.  Now all he had to do was wait.  The question is, how long would it be this time?
                          

                          
~ * ~
                          

                          
 Lucy was eating supper when she heard a peck on the window at the front door.  She grinned from ear to ear when she saw that it was Severus's owl.  She couldn't wait to hear what he thought about her revelation.  She felt guilty for not telling him that she was sick, but why worry him if she didn't have to?  Besides, they were penpals.  She would probably never see him again unless he came into Jo's store, and probably not even then because she was rarely ever there.  October 5th was just a mishap, a coincidence.  At least that was what she told herself.  Had she been a hopeless romantic, she would have described it a little differently: fate.  It definitely seemed a little odd that he would decide to show up at The Potion Notion the very day that she was there.
                          
Lucy put it all out of her mind as she opened the letter slowly.  She was almost afraid to see what was inside, afraid it would only depress her.  Knowing that she was dying was one thing, but to be the only one who knew was another.  She sighed.  Her life had become so complicated all of a sudden.  She stopped and held the letter close to her heart and walked back toward her bedroom.  She knew Jo would be home soon and, in case the letter was upsetting, she didn't want her to see her cry.  She had already been suspicious enough in the past few days with Lucy staying in her room more and more.  She was afraid she would start blacking out around Jo.  She had passed out again already just a couple of days ago and woke up, just before Jo arrived home from work, on the floor of the living room.  She scrambled to her feet just before the door opened and acted as if nothing had happened.  It was a close call, a mistake she couldn't afford to make again.
                          
She walked into her bedroom and closed the door.  It was the day she was supposed to take her medicine anyway.  Twice a week, she had to drink that awful tasting tonic that Adam had given her.  The worst part was that it didn't seem to be helping her at all.  She had taken it twice already.  She supposed that it would take at least a couple of weeks for the medicine to actually start working, but she was impatient.  If it could help her live a little longer, she wanted it to start working immediately.  Of course she was probably hoping on a broken stick, but still she was full of hope anyway.