Three - A Man Cloaked in Shadows

~ + ~ SWEET MEMORIES ~ + ~

an original fanfiction by olivia

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Three

A Man Cloaked in Shadows

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"W-well," Grace began, looking nervous. Elphan squeezed her shoulder and gave her a wry smile. She continued, her voice shaky at first but then becoming stronger:

"Um, well, you k-kind of collapsed in the store room while I was unpacking boxes. Do you remember?"

Patrick thought, then nodded. Yes, it was all coming back... Grace had been chastising him for showing up late to work and nearly being fired. Then, the raging pain in his forehead, then... nothing.

Grace went on. "After you collapsed, I yelled for Elphan. He came in and saw you and the look on his face...," she smiled wanly. "Well, then he magicked you onto a stretcher he conjured and took you with Side-Along Apparation to St. Mungo's. The Healer... um, I think she should tell you herself."

At that moment a tall, cheery woman with a huge toothy smile, clipped shiny blond locks, and a fearless demeanor walked in the room. She was dressed in a long white coat and carrying a silver clipboard. Her wand was stuck into the space at the top where a pen is usually kept.

"Hello... Patrick, is it?" Her voice was high and chirpy, like a twittering bird. "I'm Healer Bransworth. Well, I see you've collapsed... Unfortunately, we didn't find any medical reason for this occurrence. We'd like to run some tests to make sure everything's shipshape, and if everything is, you can go. Is that all right?"

She talked at a rapid pace, so it took a few moments for Patrick to digest everything she'd said. After a couple of seconds had passed, he finally replied, "Okay, sure. I just want to find out what's wrong with me." He looked up at Victoria, and she smiled sadly and waved a little with two of her fingers.

Healer Bransworth smiled her wide grin again. "Fabulous," she replied, then quickly scribbled something on the clipboard with a pen that had been tucked behind her ear. "We'll start right away."

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Victoria stayed over at St. Mungo's that night after an increasingly uncomfortable series of medical tests, stealing into Patrick's hospital bed when the Healers weren't looking. Elphan and Grace had long since left when she finally crawled in bed and under the sheets. She snuggled up beside him, her body curving almost perfectly into his like they were molded to fit, like a puzzle being completed. She kissed his cheek, and he smiled, even with his still-lingering headache.

"Good night, my love," he whispered, and then they were both fast asleep, him clutching her tightly and vice versa.

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The fog-laden street is thick and the air itself seems to suffocate all who pass. Patrick, wary, steps onto the quiet suburb, the full moon casting a ghostly light on its inhabitants. He walks down, wondering if he is the only human being left in existence. His footfalls make thick, hard thunk-like sounds on the asphalt as he walks.

Quickly, nervously, he takes out his wand and says quietly, "Homenum revelio." Yes, there are a few more humans here tonight... but where, that is the question....

In response, the man turns his body so his face is reflected in the sheer moonlight. And what Patrick sees is both terrifying and familiar.

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Patrick awoke with a slick sheen of sweat coating his entire body. He sat up slowly and gasped for breath. Victoria was dozing on an armchair by the window. At her boyfriend's outburst, she suddenly looked up. "Oh, Pat, you've woken," she said, smiling. "About time. It's nearly ten o'clock."

Patrick nodded, unable to take his mind off that horrifying dream. What had happened?! Who was that man? In the dream the man had been familiar, but now... he couldn't even picture the face. The silhouette, though, he remembered down to the bottom of his shoes. The shadow-cloaked man... what had it meant?

Suddenly Healer Bransworth walked in, her tall heels clacking on the tiled floor. "Good news!" she announced cheerily, clasping her hands in front of her. "You're perfectly normal. You can go home this afternoon." She talked on, describing exactly what the medical tests had detailed about his body, but Patrick wasn't listening.

"...And that MCAT scan, well, that didn't show anything either羊eally, it's amazing what you can and can't find on these things..."

All he saw, all he heard, was the shadow-cloaked man and his cold, clacking footsteps.

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A/n: Another chapter gone! 4 down, 4 to go... we're halfway there.

Oh yeah, almost forgot葉he 'MCAT scan' stands for 'Magical CAT scan'. I didn't know if anyone could figure that out besides me. ;]

One last note: sorry if this chapter was a little shorter than normal, but as I say, quality over quantity. :]

xxOlivia