Chapter 10 - cleansing and comrades

In case you didn't know, I don't own either the Potter universe (that one belongs to Ms. Rowling) or the Goddess Universe (that one belongs to Kōsuke Fujishima). The characters have just been telling me stories in my head.

Urd watched as the student that was leaving Umbridge's detention massaged his hand. The hand itself was wrapped up. Casting a look at the door, she reckoned that this was the third student this week. She knew that Snape gave out a lot of detentions, she secretly thought it was because he didn't want to wash the cauldrons, but Umbridge was giving him a run for his money. And while the students dreaded Snape's detentions they feared Umbridge's. Storing the thoughts to be investigated later, she continued towards the top of the spire. She had heard that Professor Trelawney was the divination teacher and she wanted to see her class.

As she entered the room, the sweet smell almost over powered her. A quick glance about showed the students comfortable settled in groups around small tables. With a quick smile at the spacy looking teacher, Urd chose to settle at the table that held a couple of Gryffindors. "Don't mind me, just pretend that I am not here." The two boys looked at each other before turning away from her.

"Okay, today were are going to work at reading a crystal ball. So, one per pair." The balls flew out of the cupboard to land on the tables between the partners.

Halfway through the class, Urd had to leave before she ended up trying to teach the two boys who, understandable, could not figure out what they were supposed to do. A more muddled, even if slightly gifted, teacher she had never seen.

It was latter that evening, at dinner, which Dumbledore insisted she eat with everybody, that she decide to question Umbridge about her detention practices. Leaning slightly forward, she spotted the woman in her pink robe. "Excuse me, Professor Umbridge?" When she had her quarry's attention, she tilted her head slightly. "I was curious what you students have to do in detention. I know that Professor Snape has them wash cauldrons, Professor McGonagall has them clean boards, Professor Flitwick has them write essays that explain in great detail the charm of his choice, but none of the students regret getting detention with them as much as they do with you." She made sure her voice sounded as if she was in awe of this accomplishment.

Umbridge battened on what she perceived as praise. "I just have them write lines. Over and over again. Until they get the point." 'And the blood quills make sure that they get the point rather quickly, too.' "The only really stubborn one is that Potter brat. But I'm sure that he will eventually get it, too."

Urd nodded, letting her eyes round with amazement. "To think that it was that simple. I'll have to remember this for the future." Sitting back in her seat, she suppressed a shudder. That woman was one nasty piece of work.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Urd called forth the image in a flame that was burning in a brazier which sat in the center of her work table. The table was currently clear of anything flammable. In the center of the dancing flame, she watched as the poor girl that had received detention with Umbridge started writing with a quill that seemed a bit off to Urd. As the girl wrote, Urd noticed that the words were being carved into the back of her hand. 'This is the tainted objects that I felt when she arrived. I can't believe that she is using them intentionally... no actually I can believe it. I think I am going to have to do something about this. But what...?'

She dismissed the image as she racked her brain for the answer. It wasn't long before she had it. Finding her chalk, she cleared a section of the floor and started on her power circle. Long distance purification took time and lots of precise runes, but it could be done. And if one was prepared and had their circle ready, the time was greatly reduced. It would be a lot easier to just walk into the room and purify it there, during someones detention. No circles or runes needed for something as low power as that would be, but Umbridge would figure out who did it. And Urd didn't want her to know. She wanted the sadistic woman to wonder what had happened to her little toys. To think that they had just failed her while they were being used. To never know precisely what happened. She wanted her to have a mystery to ponder.

Her circle waited for over a week. Umbridge's students were getting better about not being on her bad side. But Potter had to change that. At the time Harry headed for Umbridge's office, she headed towards her room. She had the brazier lit and set in the middle of the circle by the time Harry had his first sentence written. Standing just outside of the outermost ring, she stared into the flames watching as Harry wrote his lines. She never heard her door open, nor Snape walk through.

Snape closed the door quietly behind him. Treading softly, he crossed over to the work table, doing his best not to call attention to himself. Something about the way she held herself said that she was working and was not to be disturbed. He watched as she raised her arms slightly and chanted in some language he did not recognize. Looking away from her, he caught sight of the image in the flame. 'Blood quills? Why is Harry using a blood quill?' Even as he watched the blood quill stopped writing. The words that were being carved in the back of Potter's hand petered out, and the quill began to scratch across the paper leaving nothing behind. Umbridge leaned forward and snatched the quill out of the boy's unresisting fingers and shoved another one in its place. When it didn't work, she tried again. It was to no avail. None of her quills worked. Snarling in frustration, she sent Potter from the room.

Smiling, Urd dismissed the image in the flames. It was only then that she noted that someone else was in the room. She knew who it had to be, there was only one person who could pass through her door without her wards screaming at her. She looked over to where he was leaned against the table. "So, are you going to report me?"

With a quick flick of his wand, he vanished the circle that was drawn on the floor. There was no power radiating from it anymore. "Report you? For what?"

Urd cooled the flame in the brazier before she carried over to the hearth. "Thank you. I just couldn't stand that woman doing that to innocent children. Even brats don't deserve that."

A small smile creased his face. Somehow over the past months he had developed a since of camaraderie with her. 'Maybe it is because she not with either side... she is on my side. I don't have to be anyone but myself. Nothing more is expect than that.' "I'm not sure about brats, some do deserve a strong punishment. But I agree, not for a basic detention. Of course now we have no evidence that she was using them on students as they don't work anymore." He glanced over to her, a question showing in his eyes. "So, what did you do?"

Hefting the special storage box onto her table, she unsealed it. "I am not only a potions master, I am also the master of mystical cures. One type of cure is to remove the taint of putrid magic from things. That is all I did. I purified them and the back of his hand." Pulling out the three tomes that she had been researching through, she flipped open to the pages she had booked marked.

"Now, it is time to change the topic." She looked up from the first book, catching his questioning eyes. "Your Dark Lord is not operating alone. And I don't mean the branded followers. He has enlisted demonic help."

Snape's eyes widened in disbelief and slowly narrowed as it faded into belief. "So, you have been searching for the demon that he has hooked up with?"

Urd nodded and then pointed to the book that was on top of the stack. "There are four different demons that use the skull as depicted on you arm as their symbol. I can't get a clean power reading from your mark, which is a good thing. That means the demonic taint on you is really light. But it also means I need your help. Take a look at these four demons and see if you can determine which one it is."

Snape turned the book around and then frowned at the illegible runes, at least illegible to him. "I can't read this."

Urd handed him a pill. "Trust me and take this. It will help you understand all languages written and spoken for one hour."

Snape looked at her for a long moment. Trust... that is what went with camaraderie. Swallowing the pill quickly, he waited to see if he was wrong to trust her. Instead he saw the runes swim about and form words that he could understand. He decided he needed to read quickly before the potion wore off, he wasn't sure how much he had to read through, and that he wanted her to write down how to make this one, too. Scanning the pages, it wasn't until he reached the last one did he stop and stare. Tapping the page he looked up at her, his face as pale as if he had seen a ghost.

Urd looked at the name he had chosen. "So, it is Voldemort." She notice that Snape almost flinched when she said the name out loud. "Now that I know who I am dealing with I can start making a sealing vessel." Resting her hand on top of his, she leaned across the table towards him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. How much longer, by the way?" His voice was cold and tense. He hated hearing that name said aloud.

Ignoring his tone, she closed and locked up the books. "It depends on how soon we can get those two together. But before that, I have to make the sealing vessel."

Nodding his head, Snape left her room in a slight daze. 'The Dark Lord is a demon. I swore allegiance to a demon.'