Body Snatcher (Invite)

Senium was very very nervous, she had gone around making sure that everything had been clinically scrubbed down for when Richard and Humphrey arrived, she didn't want them to catch what her Grandpapa had, and if they did it would be so horrible, it would be all her fault for not making them stay away while she had this procedure done, as she had wanted to when she had first found out about what was going on with her Grandpapa. It seemed strange, she was more worried about that, than the procedure she was going to go through.

Once she was satisfied, Senium slowly heaved herself to the room where she was going to be having this procedure done, her Grandpapa was waiting in the center of the room, having not touched anything since Senium had cleaned up before. He knew how much having these people here meant to her, and he didn't want his little flower to be left alone while she got used to her new body. So he had relented, and allowed the men to come into his home, one last time.

Smiling at her softly Grandpapa Nex couldn't believe how grown up and strong his little girl had become, she was the strongest person he knew, and his biggest regret was not being able to live to see her grow to be the woman he knew she would become.

"Are you ready my flower?" he asked in his heavily accented English.

"I am..." Senium admitted, chewing her lip a little "Only...I'm scared about what will happen afterwards..."

"Don't you worry about that, you just concentrate on yourself Senium, you know that I have always wanted the best for you and this is how you will recieve that."

Senium's lip wibbled a little and she moved to give her Grandpapa a hug, but he shook his head and held up his hands to keep her away. Taking a deep breath when she heard the knock on the door, she looked once more at the puppet, the empty lifeless form that would soon contain whatever made her 'her' before she called out;

"Come in the door is open!"

Richard had arrived an hour early and spent a good twenty minutes walking half a mile to Senium's home. He could have apparated to the front door of course but he felt that he needed the time the walk gave him to think about what was going to be happening soon. Although he still didn't agree, he knew that there was nothing he could do to change Senium's mind. She was determined to honour the wish of her dying grandfather who seemed to have delluded himself into thinking that it was better to be a puppet than a healthy human being.

But today wasn't about whether or not he agreed with her choices, Richard knew, today was about being there for her when she needed him. Knocking on the door, he only had to wait a few seconds before he was told to enter. Opening the door, he stepped into a room that his nose could tell was clinically clean. He smiled softly at Senium,

"Hallo Tochter. I'm happy to be here for you Tochter." he greeted her with a small hug, very aware of her grandfather's unfriendly gaze, "Mr Nex."

Senium smiled widely when she saw that her Papa was here and she was glad that he was here however she needed to wait until Humphrey was here until they started, she knew that it meant a lot to him to be here even though he would be waiting outside while the procedure was carried out.

"Hello Papa!" she grinned happily giving him as squeezy a hug as she could manage, she was already tired and weak after cleaning the house from top to bottom for them, she didn't mind but, it zapped her already limited energy "Im glad that you're here, youre early though, we need to wait for Humphrey...before we begin."

Biting her lip she shifted her gaze between her grandpapa and papa.

"Mr, Romain." Grandpapa Nex stated stiffly.

He smiled when Senium called him papa. Always did make a little smile come to his face, even now when there was something so very serious about to begin. He hugged her back, careful not to hug too hard in case he accidentally hugged anywhere the necrosis had spread to in large amounts,

"You think I'd be late for this?" he asked with a weak little chuckle, "No I had to be early. Not going to be second here to a Gryffindor now am I tochter?"

Richard gave her grandfather a polite, fake but polite, smile and a little nod even as he assessed the man's condition. The grandfather was about as far along as Raven was. And he wasn't in a hospital. He'd die within the next few days,

"Thank you for allowing me to be here. I know it means a lot to my tochter and it means a lot to me too."

Humphrey walked up to Senium's grandpapa's house. The place looked like she had described, so he figured this was the right address. He heard voices within, and the door was unlocked. Opening the door, he stepped inside, immediately he noticed Richard Romain, one of his professors there. Perhaps Senium and him had patched things up, the last time he'd talked to Seni they had been fighting.

Walking over to the old man, he offered his hand to shake. "Hello Mr. Nex, I'm Humphrey Williams. I'm sure you already know all about me of course. Your daughter is a very special girl, it's an honor to meet the man who raised her, sir." he told him respectfully. Then he simply nodded to Professor Romain, acknowledging him.

Now he was finally down to saying hi to Senium, the girl he loved. Reaching down, he wrapped her in a gentle hug and kissed her cheek. "Hii, it's great to see you. Thank you for letting me come. If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know. I love you, and this is all going to work out alright." Humphrey said optimistically.

Senium heard Humphrey coming in and she gulped a little although she was happy to see him, it meant that now she was going to have to go through with this and the thing she had not wanted to happen at all, would be occuring any minute, but she tried very hard not to let any of this slip, nobody could know.

Her mouth opened into a little 'o' when he tried to shake her Grandpapa's hand, and the look he recieved from the man was not one of kindess, but then again, he was a very stern man, and only really ever smiled for Senium. Ignoring the handshake, he spoke;

"I am not doing this for either of you two." he stated pointedly "I'm doing it for my Granddaughter. It is because she wishes it that you are here."

Senium laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head with some difficulty, she was comforted slightly by Humphreys optimistic nature, however, she still was worried about something rather than herself, although, she probably should have been.

"Thanks Humphrey, and thanks Papa for coming, it makes me feel much happier to know you will be just outside the door." she smiled happily "I guess...we should get started then?"

Humphrey nodded at the man's words. His attitude was a bit cold, but that was understandable considering the situation. It was hard to stay positive when you are sick and your granddaughter could die if the procedure went wrong. He was ever the optimist though, and he kept his smile on.

"No need to thank me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." he said with a warm look at her. She was still so beautiful, and always would be to him. "Probably, umm, what should I do? I don't really know if there's any way I can be of help." he admitted.

Richard also watched Humphrey as he interacted with Senium but he didn't watch with quite the same level of coldness that Senium's grandfather did. He just kind of watched, trying not to have an opinion on their relationship. Often fathers did not have their opinions asked when it came to daughters' relationships and since his wasn't open to critism from Senium then hers wasn't from him,

"It's not a problem at all tochter." he assured Senium with a smile, "I'm here for you if and when you need me to be."

He shrugged a little bit at Humphrey's question of being of use. Neither of them was going to be of any use. And even if they were capable of being of use, her grandfather wouldn't allow it.

Senium looked between Humphrey, Richard and her Grandpapa and smiled softly, she knew that she had better get this over with even if she really had no desire to go through with the process any more, knowing what would happen at the end of it. But it was what her Grandpapa thought best, so, she would happily comply with his wishes for her.

"I guess it's time for you guys to go and wait outside then, it should take around fifteen minutes half an hour, depending if everything has gone right or not." she smiled warmly as she gingerly hopped up onto the table next to the one her puppet was laid on.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Senium reassured them as her Grandpapa ushered them out of the room, when the room was empty he gave her a small smile. placed some gloves on his hands and gently stroked her cheek with a finger.

It felt strange to know that this was the last time she was going to get to speak to her Grandpapa, it didn't feel real almost, like...like it was a dream and she was going to wake up back in Russia in a few months, as if this had never happened, as if none of this had happened.

"Are you ready, Senium?" he asked softly

"Y-yes." she whispered, her voice crackling as she became more and more upset thinking about the idea of him dying through this.

"Now now, no need for those tears." he cooed gently making sure she was laid out straight and parellel to the puppet "This is what I want Senium, I've lived my life, I've had plenty of good things I've experienced, and now it's your turn...."

"But Grandpapa!" she protested before she was cut off.

"You've been so brave, my little flower, and if I'm half as brave as you, I know that I'm going to be just fine, and, wherever I'm going, I'll wait for you there moye serdtse. Now, close your eyes, and it'll all be over, before you know it."

Nodding her head Senium closed her eyes, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks as she did so, she had to be strong, this was what her Grandpapa wanted. As soon as she felt herself slipping into her sleep, Senium felt a desperate sense of loss overcome her, but could do precious little about it.

A few moments later, or so it appeared to her, she opened her eyes again, but she felt different, she felt...lighter and...she didn't feel like she was breathing, but still she was moving albeit slowly. Senium sat up, looked bewilderedly around for a few moments, before realising it had worked!

Then she remembered and in her effort to move swiftly clattered to the ground as she fell of the table she had been laying on, her Grandpapa was slumped in his wheelchair seemingly asleep but to her, she knew that it was different, and there her old body lay, dead and lifeless. As she gazed upon both of them she felt her eyes grow wet around the edges, so...she could cry after all.

Richard made his way out of the room at his little tochter's request, knowing that her Grandfather didn't trust him not to fuck with the proceedure so that Senium had a human body. But it was her decision to go with her Grandfather's plan and it was her decision that mattered in the end.

So he merely smiled softly and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He would see her soon enough. Nervousness wasn't something that Richard was suffering from right now. Senium and her Grandfather had spent years perfecting this, of course it was going to go well.

Standing outside the room with Humphrey, Richard nodded once to the teenager before leaning up against a wall. The silence between the two of them was uncomfortable but then again it was bound to be for a little while at the very least.

Hearing something clatter to the floor, Richard moved over to the door quickly. Presasing his ear up against the door his eyes widened when he heard quite sobbing coming from inside. He opened the door, not caring if he broke up the proceedure if it was Senium crying.

Apparently the proceedure had been a success.

Senium was slump against the ground, having obviously fallen over, but she smelt of wood. She was a little wooden girl from now on and he knew it. Moving over to her, he wrapped her up in a tender hug, hoping she could still feel it,

"It's alright tochter..." he whispered, "Let it out... let it all out little one..."

Humphrey didn't trust himself to say anything now, he was so nervous and concerned. Putting on a brave face, he smiled and waved at her. Later he could say how nervous he'd been, but now Senium needed him to be strong. As soon as the door closed he leaned against the wall, bracing himself against it. A few tears started rolling down his face, this could be the last time he ever saw her if things went wrong. For certain it would be the last time she was flesh and blood, he would never see her cheeks pink up when he made her blush anymore.

Thankfully, Professor Romain didn't press him, just acknowledge him with a nod. Nodding back, he sat on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. From what he understood, this would kill her grandfather. Even though from what he'd gathered Professor Romain could heal her without making her a puppet, she was going through with it to please him. It was her choice, but it made him a bit angry at the man for being so selfish that he wanted to see his creation even if she could stay flesh and bone.

"Professor, could you really have fixed her sick body?" he asked quietly. "Was it possible?" Despite the fact it would hurt to know that maybe he could have, he wanted to know the truth of the matter. "I need to know the answer to that question, or it will always be something I wonder about..." he said, sighing deeply.

Suddenly he heard a clatter and then soft crying. The sound was not a man crying, but a girl. So the surgery had worked then, and her grandfather was dead. To his displeasure, Professor Romain beat him to Senium's side. Now she was a puppet, he could smell the wood of her easily with his heightened sense of smell. Somehow, her puppet body could still cry, maybe she was more flesh and bone still than he had expected.

After giving the man a minute, Humphrey put a hand on Richard's shoulder. The man would know that he needed to hug her by the gesture. When he released her, Humphrey wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her into his chest, kissing the top of her head as he did so. "Shhhh, it's going to be okay love." he whispered in her ear.

Senium could hear the door opening, without much difficulty and she could even feel Papa's arms around her like she would used to, apart from the fact that it was obviously a less distinct feeling, she knew that her Grandpapa had put so much work into this so it would be so close to human in the future it would be impossible to tell.

When Richard told her to let it out she could see the water drip down her cheeks, but she couldn't feel it, it was too fine a feeling for the moment it would seem, but she knew she was crying and emotionally she felt no different than she had done before.

As soon as Humphrey came in too she felt suddenly quite smothered she just wanted to be away from everyone for a moment, or at least not to have them touch her, she hadn't even gotten used to her body herself yet. But that wasn't even the biggest problem. Not in her eyes.

"Let go of me!" she squeaked out and she crawled on the floor to sit at the bottom of her Grandpapa's wheelchair, resting her head on his lap as she cried softly into his tartan blanket wrapped around his waist "H-he's dead...h-he's...I..."

Curling up into a little ball on the floor Senium tried not to look too weak but right now, things were so unsure she didn't know what else to do.

Humphrey was hurt that she didn't want him there, but he could understand why. She had just gone through a drastic chance and lost the most important person in her life, the man who raised her. Right now even though he wanted to comfort her, she needed her time alone to grieve. So when she asked to leave he let her go.

A couple more tears slid down his cheeks, and he walked up to Professor Romain. "Even though she's a puppet, she has remarkably human qualities still. Now she needs time alone to grieve sir. Perhaps if we prepared a calming draught for later that might be of some use." he whispered to him.

Then he left the room to give her the time she needed. At present a calming potion so she could sleep later would be of more use than his own comfort to her. Senium was a tough girl, but this...it was going to take a lot of time for her emotional wounds to heal from all of this.

Senium was glad when Humphrey drew away and left her alone, although she was happy he was here and wanted to help she needed this time with her Grandpapa and Richard, she needed an adults help and advice as to how to feel better, and Richard had always managed to make her feel happier in a way that was different to Humphrey.

Looking up at the door that Humphrey had just left through she looked back at Richard before burying her face in the blanket once more, not wanting to face the world around her just yet, but wanting to hear words of comfort and solace from her now only remaining family member.

Senium was alone in the world, and she needed to know how to deal with that.

Leaving Senium when she was in such a bad state was extremely difficult for him to do. Humphrey knew this is what she needed him to do, so he had to do it. To occupy himself he started brewing the calming draught, it would come in handy later too he knew. Eventually the potion was all brewed, and just had to set on a low boil for a while.

Returning to the room, he waited outside the door. Pulling out a book that he carried shrunk in his pocket, Humphrey occupied himself reading. It was the book written about a Utopian society, a perfect place. The world would most likely never be able to achieve such perfect unity and balance.

Since he was so distracted though, he ended up reading the same page three times without really understanding any of it. His thoughts kept going back to Senium and he wanted so much to help her. Humphrey knocked softly on the door. "It's...it's Humphrey." he said, barely able to speak past some tears that started to fall thick and fast. "C-can I...c-c-come in?" he asked, barely intelligible for the people inside to make out.