Serpents and Thorns: The Building Storm
By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large
IMPORTANT Note: My personal life has recently taken several horrible turns, and school has become my top priority. This will explain the lack of updates of late, and the reason I feel I need to take a further break from this fic. I will post two chapters today and then I'm taking a short break. I'm hoping to have things back to normal a couple of weeks into April. Thank you for all your support and kind reviews.
Beta: Foggy Librarian - But she was horribly rushed, so it's not up to the usual standards she strictly adheres to. My fault completely. :-D Sorry, Foggy.
.s.L.y.T.h.E.r.I.n.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Dumbledore's Advice
.s.L.y.T.h.E.r.I.n.
Rose kept her eyes focused on a point just behind Albus Dumbledore's desk, where there was a small shelf of odd globes and instruments, and a few scattered photographs. She only half listened as Severus explained, in very plain terms, about the meeting he had with Lucius Malfoy and his own opinions of what should be done.
"I will not put Rose in this danger," he said at last, his cool exterior and indifferent tone would normally make it seem as if he truly did not carebut it was this demeanor and attitude that Severus used to distance himself from that which he did not like. What the Headmaster could not see was Severus's right handit was slightly below the deskholding tightly onto Rose's left hand. At some point during his narrative he had reached to still her handshe had been drumming her fingers on her own armrestand he had continued to hold it.
The revelations of that weekend were beginning to astonish Rose more and more. After their exploration of the attic the previous night, they had cooked a small and delightful dinner together. Then they had sat across that small table, as they had so many times in the past, and found themselves laughing and talking about a few of their brighter memories of school days.
They had returned to Hogwarts, and he had politely left her in her chambers... after stooping only slightly and brushing a kiss across her forehead. The tender, gentle gesture had touched her greatly and she had gone to bed that night feeling more comfortable with her situation than she had previously. She had almost asked him to stay again...but had hesitated a moment too long and then he was gone.
But he came for her in the morning, his demeanor serious, and his expression dark. They had gone, first thing, to the Headmaster.
Now here they sat, waiting for the advice and instruction of the one man they trusted above all others.
Of course, as always, Albus Dumbledore was not going to make it easy for them.
"Have a lemon drop?" he asked, holding a candy dish out to them.
Severus's right eye twitched, but Rose quickly squeezed his hand before reaching out and taking one of the proffered candies if only to distract herself with the sweet. A muggle treat, of course she knew, but only a moment after putting it in her mouth she felt herself relaxing and her mind clearing. She had feared a headache was coming on, and now...peace settled over her. Her eyes flashed surprise. "They're enchanted," she breathed, surprised. Like so many students and teachers before her, when the Headmaster had held out a treat in the past she had waved it away impatiently. She, like all the rest, had never suspected that what he truly was offering was comfort.
Albus smiled, the expression warm and kind. "Of course," he answered. "Severus?" He offered the potion's master the dish.
Although he wasn't one for sugary substances, and he had never partaken of any such sweets before, Rose's soft exclamation made him curious enough to try one. The relief that filled him, the peace which pooled around him, was astonishing. "What?"
"A spell of my own devising," Albus said lightly, popping one of the sweets into his own mouth. "I never force them on anyone, of courseyou cannot force someone to be comforted or at ease. But I do what I can to offer it. I find that when my students, or my staff for that matter, are at ease that we have things resolved before too long.
"Now," he waved his hand to indicate them both, "I take it you have mended those bridges which your past burned and obliterated?"
Unable to answer this, Severus looked to Rose and found she was watching him and waiting for his response. Her smile appeared, hesitantly, and his own lips twitched upward.
Dumbledore took in that exchange and his own expression changed to one of distinct approval. "Good. You're well on your way to settling your past accounts. Very good." He leaned back in his large chair, elbows on the arm rest, and steepled his long fingers before him. He looked over his spectacles at them, as if contemplating them carefully. The Headmaster sighed and looked down then. "If Rose does not go to this demanded meeting," he said, "you will lose credibility and another Death Eater will be sent for her. Mister Malfoy made that very clear, did he not?"
"As clear as a Death Eater ever is," Severus answered, his body taut despite the calming candy. Some things never changed, and Severus's silent vigilance was one of those things about him that would always be the same. He always had to be readyfor one challenge or anotherfor anything the world threw at him.
"What would you advise, Headmaster?" Rose ventured, her voice soft and quiet. Her gaze was trained on the silver, bent head of the ancient wizard and her hand remained holding Severus's tightly.
"I would advise," Albus said, looking up at them carefully, his light blue eyes serious and steady, "that you devise a safe-guard. A port-key, a spell, some enchantment, that could take you away from the Death Eaters in an instant if need be. You're both very smart young people, I'm sure you can think of something such as that. Then you must deposit harmful memories somewhere safe." He gestured to the glass cabinet in which his bowl with the silvery liquid rested. "Finally, go to that meeting and do what you must to insure your husband does not fall out of favor with the Dark Wizards. Lives hang in the balance here, and should they grow to distrust Severus many souls will be lost."
"We always sacrifice for other people," Severus said, the hand not holding onto his wife clenching the arm of the chair until his knuckles were bone-white. "People who don't even know about uswho don't care whether I live or die. When will it end, Headmaster? When will we live for ourselves and none else?"
Albus Dumbledore looked at the 'young' man and blinked, looking surprised. "I should hope, Severus, none of us are ever that selfish."
.s.L.y.T.h.E.r.I.n.
She found him in his office, flying through essays with a red-inked quill, ruthlessly crossing out entire paragraphs of the students' work, sparing no one in his anger.
Severus had flown from the office, his lips sealed tightly against heated words he had wanted to shout into the Headmaster's face.
He was very dangerous to be around, in that moment, but Rose closed the office door and locked it firmly behind her. She had dealt with his temper before; she had faced his anger as well as his impatience. She came forward and perched herself on the end of his desk, watching his bent head. His long black hair trembled and swayed as his body shook, blocking his expression from her view. She reached forward and touched him, lightly, on the head and was relieved when he pausedif only for a momentwhen she did so.
"He's right, Severus. If you don't take me they'll send someone else, and we won't be prepared for it."
"Of course he's right." Severus snarled and threw down his quill, disgusted. "He's always right." He shoved himself away from the desk and whirled towards her, grasping her shoulders in a tight, uncomfortable grip. His hair partially hid his eyes from her, but she caught the dangerous glint there and the expressionwhite-faced angerwas not hard to miss. "But you, Rose? Why must you be caught up in all this? It's all my fault, making you take part years ago"
"You didn't force me to join them, and we've talked about this before. You sound like a broken record." Her attempt at humor was lost on him, as was the allusion to the muggle-device. He thrust her away, causing her to stumble off of the desk, and then turned his back to her. "Severus, stop being an idiot. Throwing a tantrum like this isn't going to help the situation any, we need to come up with something to guarantee our safety in this matter." She reached into her robes and pulled out a small tin box. "Here, have a lemon dropthe Headmaster gave me some when you left, and I think you need to calm down"
"I don't want to calm down," he insisted stubbornly. "I want to be angry."
"It's wasted energy," she countered. "And you know it. We've got better things to do with our time than sit and disagree with Albus Dumbledore. Now take a bloody lemon-drop before I cram the entire case down your throat!" She threw the tin down on his desk, the metallic 'bang' as it hit echoed off the stone walls of his dungeon office.
He didn't move.
"I'm warning you, Severus!" she shouted, meaning every word of it. "Take it or I'll"
A tremor went through his shoulders; he turned and glared icy daggers at her. He swept the tin box into his hand, popped it open, and inserted a candy into his mouth. Despite himself some of his color returned, his eyes lost their hardness, and his jaw relaxed. He handed the box of sweets back to her and then dropped down into his chair. "I hate when you do that," he muttered.
"It's for your own good," she answered, feeling momentarily triumphant. "We have work to do, Severus. We must figure out something"
"I've all ready got an idea," he cut her off, holding a hand out to her. She took the offered hand, sliding her own into it; he led her around the desk and pulled her down into his lap. He sighed and reached for her spectacles, taking them off and folding them before carefully placing them on his desk. "It's complicated, but I think it will work. I'm not sure what the spell necessitates, so I'll need to do some research first. We can talk about it tomorrow, after Potter's remedial lesson. I'll have found the final references I need by then."
"All right, Severus." Her fingertips brushed his hair behind his ears and she offered him a smile. "Whatever you say."
"You're too trusting," he answered her, bending to rest his forehead against hers and closing his eyes to inhale her scent, her essence. "And I thought you were a smart witch."
"You're too kind." She chuckled and slid her arms around his neck. "We're getting better at this arguing thing."
"So I've noticed. We used to end them by running to opposite corners to lick our wounds." Humor laced his words; he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Now you end up in my lap or in my arms. I find I could come to enjoy the change."
"Severus?"
"Hm?"
Rose moved to rest her head against his shoulder and sighed. "That balm I gave you, did it help?"
"Healed everything I had," he answered. "Vampire saliva was an interesting concept. You said it was something you and Mankiller thought up."
She nodded. "Yes." She did not voice her question, but he felt it there. What DID that to you?
Some things were better left alone, and unknown. He shuddered and pulled her closer, resting his cheek against the top of her head. So little in the past had he protected her from, now he would grant her some small mercies. "You are brilliant, Rose."
She clicked her tongue at him. "You think I don't know that?"
Laughter, quiet but strong, left his lips and he sighed into her auburn hair. It was braided and back, a 'lazy style' she had called it in the past. He hadn't given her much time to get ready that morning, merely showed up in her quarters and waited for her to get dressed. He reached one hand up to her back and tugged lightly on the braid, his expression curious. "You look like a schoolgirl again."
"You know you like it," she countered breezily, sitting back to look up at him. Her expression was one of amusement and her smile was crooked. "Go on and admit you like it."
"I like it well enough." He smirked. "I like it better down, though. I prefer it that way."
"Good for you. It's up for today and you'll have to deal with it." She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his sallow cheek. "Have I ever told you how much I love breakfast?"
-end of chapter-