A Rude Awakening

[prof_stargazer]

Date: Saturday April 19, 2002
Time: just after 8:00 AM
Location: the Moore's house
Characters Involved: Stella and Caleb Moore
Rating: PG-13? for angst?

Stella did not notice anything different when she woke up on Saturday morning.  On the contrary, she awoke to what was quickly becoming comfortingly normal- being curled up in Caleb's arms, feeling his

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[wolf_caleb]

It took only a moment for Caleb's sleep addled mind to register that Stella sounded scared to death. He nearly fell out of bed in his haste to get to his feet, grabbing his wand from the bedside table. Heart pounding in his chest, his eyes scanned the room. "What? What is it?" he asked, ready to tear the head off whoever was in the house.

After a few moments, the rest of Stella's words registered. Confused, he summoned his bathrobe and held it up. "Why am I summoning bathrobes?" he asked, sitting heavily on the bed, waiting for his racing heart to slow.

[prof_stargazer]

"No, no," Stella said, grabbing at his wrist. She was confused and frustrated, looking at Caleb pleadingly. "My wand, there's something wrong with it-" she grabbed Caleb's wand out of his hand and replaced it with her own.

"Do a spell. Anything- just see if it works for you!" It was the only thing she could think of at the moment- that somehow her wand was malfunctioning. If Caleb couldn't do anything with it either, at least she would know what was wrong.

[wolf_caleb]

Still feeling off kilter, Caleb used Stella's wand to summon her dressing gown. It felt odd, but using someone else's wand never felt normal. "I think it works alright," he said, setting her gown on the bed.

The implications began to sink in. If it wasn't her wand that was malfunctioning, then it was...her.

"Stella?" he asked, not even sure what he was asking.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella watched anxiously as Caleb summoned her dressing gown over with no problem. Still holding onto his wand, she tried again.

"Lumos. Lumos!!" Stella cried, flicking Caleb's wand over and over again, tears starting to fall from her eyes with her frustration.

"What is going on?"

[wolf_caleb]

Completely flabbergasted, Caleb wrapped his arms around Stella. "Shh, we'll figure it out," he said reassuringly. "You probably just caught some kind of bug," he said, grasping at straws. "We'll go over to Saint Mungos and get your sorted, alright?"

What the hell was going on?

"If all else fails, we'll find Soren, maybe he'll know something." He was a ruddy Unspeakable after all, they should know things!

[prof_stargazer]

Stella tried to breathe, though it was difficult as she was still rather panicked. She'd never heard of anything like this, someone just spontaneously losing their magic. She tried to take comfort in Caleb's words and his strong arms around her, but it took several minutes before she was able to speak again.

"You- you'll have to take me there," she hiccuped, raising her eyes to look at him. "I can't apparate! I don't think the Floo will work, either-" After all, while it was seemingly simple, the act of directing yourself to the correct Floo gate was an act of magic. A sense of despair washing over her again, Stella began to cry, burying her face in Caleb's shoulder.

[wolf_caleb]

The more Stella cried, the more panicked he became. It couldn't be permanent. Witches didn't just lose their magic out of the blue. It was a part of her, and whatever was going on, it was temporary.

It had to be.

When her sobs finally began to ease, he pushed her gently away, cupping her face. "Hey," he said softly, lifting her chin to look at him. "Let's get dressed and we'll go to Saint Mungos," he said reassuringly. "They'll give you a potion and everything will be fine," he said, a small smile on his face.

It had to be fine. There was no other acceptable option.

[prof_stargazer]

Stella just nodded, trying to draw strength from Caleb. He was right- the hospital would be able to explain this, would be able to fix whatever was wrong.

There was an odd feeling that Stella could not shake all while she was getting dressed and ready. Not that she usually used magic all that much during this time of the day anyway, but just knowing that she couldn't was keeping her nerves on edge. Somehow, though, (with a few gentle reminders from Caleb) Stella got herself showered and dressed and ready to leave the house. She tucked her wand into her purse, not wanting to go without it even if it was of no use.

"Alright, love," Stella finally said, looking towards the couch where Caleb, already dressed and ready, was waiting for her. "We can go now."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb jumped to his feet, hurrying to Stella's side. She still looked nervous and shaky, but that stark fear was gone from her eyes. Despite that, he could still feel her anxiety coming off her in waves. He didn't need his heightened senses to know she was worried.

Kissing her softly, he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you," he said. "Hold on."

A moment later, they Disapparated to the hospital

[prof_stargazer]

Side-along apparition had never been Stella's favorite thing to do, but today it seemed to be worse than usual. Caleb, still (thankfully) with his wits about him, had gotten her checked in, though they had to wait nearly an hour before getting called back by one of the Healers.

After doing several complicated scans with her wand, the Healer just looked at Stella sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. "But I'll tell you the same thing we've been telling everyone- it seems to be a temporary condition. The people who first came down with it a few weeks ago seem to be recovering lately, so you'll just have to wait it out."

"Everyone?!?" Stella asked, now thoroughly confused and glancing at Caleb. "How long has this been happening? Why hasn't anyone said anything about it

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb had listened, his shock seeming to grow. How could so much go wrong in two weeks? Who else had been affected? And why wasn't he?

He didn't care if the things was bloody contagious or not, he wasn't going to leave Stella alone to deal with it.

When she began to snap at the Healer, he wrapped an arm around Stella's shoulders.

"So there's nothing we can do?" he asked, rubbing his hand up and down Stella's arm.

"Wait it out," the Healer repeated, shrugging. "Nothing else seems to be working."

After filling out some paperwork, Caleb was able to take Stella home. Once they were standing in their living room again, he ran a nervous hand through his hair. "We need to see who else is affected. Make sure Char, Seamus and the baby are okay, then see if Snape has anything that could help."

[prof_stargazer]

While Stella was somewhat concerned about their friends, at the moment her main worry was still for herself.

"I won't be able to get myself to school," she said, the truth of the matter finally seeming to sink in. "I won't be able to open my own doors- they're all warded and locked. And how on earth am I going to teach?" She asked, more to herself than to Caleb as she started pacing around the room, her arms crossed protectively in front of her. "I put up all of my notes and diagrams with magic. It's going to take nearly a whole class to draw just one star chart on the board, let alone the 5 or 6 I use in just one lesson!" She was starting to panic again, her eyes darting aimlessly around the room as she continued muttering.

"Can't take away house points, I won't even be able to get in the teacher's room! And you can't be apparating me back and forth to come home at one in the morning..."

[wolf_caleb]

Caleb moved to stand in front of Stella, trying to get her to focus on him. "Hey," he said, grasping her arms. "Look at me," he ordered as her eyes continued to dart wildly around the room. "Two weeks love, then things will go back to normal. We just have to get through two weeks."

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms securely around her. "We'll find star charts in books, and you can show me how to recreate them for classes. You can tell me how to get around your wards, you'll be able to get to your stuff. If this is happening to more people, I doubt you're the only Professor affected," he said, needing her to focus. "If it's been two weeks, I'm sure the staff at Hogwarts has already figured out how to deal with this."

Caleb couldn't imagine McGonagall being anything short of organized by now.

"Just two weeks love," he repeated, running his fingers through her hair. "I'll help you get through this, I promise."

[prof_stargazer]

Stella's face crumbled a bit, though she tried to keep herself together as much as possible.

"But you'll have to work, love, and I won't be able to come home-" Stella could feel the tears beginning to well up again, and she bit her lip to try and stay them.

"Maybe Minerva will let you come and stay at the castle. I can't go a week without seeing you-"

[wolf_caleb]

"Shhh," Caleb murmured. "You won't have to go a single day," he assured her. "I don't care what time of day or night it is, I'll come get you and bring you home. Do you think I'd give up the perks of being married for even a single night?" he teased, trying to get Stella to smile. "If I can stay at the castle with you, that'd be great, but if I can't, you'll still be coming home every night."

The shop was the last of his worries right now, and he doubted it was particularly high on Char's mind either. She'd be more concerned for her friends than the store. He'd work as much as he could, but Stella would always come first.

"Breathe love," he said, rubbing her back.

[prof_stargazer]

"I just don't understand this," Stella cried, sobbing into Caleb's shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "How on earth could this happen? And what if you get it too?" Stella suddenly asked, pulling back and looking at Caleb with fear in her eyes.

Stella felt like her world had been turned completely upside down, and not in a good way. She had never felt so out-of-control of her own life, and she hated the feeling of helplessness that had set in since they'd been at the hospital.