Reluctant Seer
Fiddler only but held her breath and nearly dropped Triskelion to the floor. It was his offended bark what broke the kissing couple apart, and Fiddler's expression turned unfathomable at the sight of Severus' face. She turned on her heels and closed the door silently behind her, although she'd very much wanted to slam it in his face.
She didn't go back to her room, for she knew that would be the first place where Severus would look for her. She took a detour and walked out of the glass door, going past the archway into a hidden spot among the York & Lancaster bushes, and sat awkwardly amidst the roses to cry away.
She wept until she thought her eyes would fall off, she cried until there were no more tears to be shed, but the pain in her heart didn't diminish in the least. She hugged, sort of, her knees to her chest, crushing her belly and not minding at all, and closed her eyes.
Oh, Gods… It hurts so bad…Fiddler remained like that until she calmed, which didn't happen for quite a while. She finally got numb and decided to go back into the house. She looked at her wristwatch and realised it was past five in the afternoon. She blinked, somewhat startled, for she hadn't supposed it had been that long. Getting to her feet laboriously, Fiddler waddled her way back into the house, the traces of her tears still imprinted on her face.
Severus was waiting for her at the glass door.
"Fiddler, I want to talk to you".
Fiddler squared her shoulders and her eyes darkened.
"Leave me alone".
And she shifted out of his grasp before he could take hold of her arm. She ended up in the library, thinking she'd sunken low indeed if she seriously thought that bawling at the magical portrait of her dead father would do any good, but to be honest she couldn't think of anything else. There was always Molly, of course, but she knew the reach of the woman's screeches, and she didn't want a Jericho trumpet in her house, thanks the same. Fiddler had thought she had no more tears, but she did, and she cried again as she told Wallace what she'd witnessed, curled in a sofa, hugging a cushion, until she fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
Severus walked in and saw her in the sofa, still clutching the cushion; her face reddened and blotched with half-dried tears. He approached her silently and smoothed away a damp tendril of her hair. She didn't stir, and Severus, encouraged, held out his other hand to touch her belly, but then Fiddler's left shot forward, grabbing his forearm with such strength the delicate tendons of her wrists marked on her pale skin. He felt pain, as he'd never felt before, not even under Cruciatus, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't loosen her grip on him.
His face twisted in agony.
"Does it hurt?" she hissed, dangerously.
Severus neither nodded nor shook his head. He stared at her greenish blue eyes, shining with a terrifying light he'd only seen in another pair of eyes before… and his heart lurched.
She squeezed harder, and Severus was a second away of issuing a scream of pure pain.
"I know it hurts. But trust me, what you're feeling doesn't even compare to what I feel right now".
She finally released him and Severus brought his intact hand to the damaged forearm. It was bluish-black in color, and Severus mused, had she clutched a little bit harder she might have ripped it off.
"Fiddler, I—"
"Why?" she interrupted him, sitting up in the sofa and hugging the cushion to her chest and belly. "Why, Severus? What did I ever do to you? You know, if you wanted to kill me, that was the very best way to do it, compliments from your Slytherin mind, I am sure."
She wasn't crying (yet), but it was a close call.
"I can explain".
"Oh, yes, you males can always explain", Fiddler barked scathingly. "So what was it? Got carried away? Just horny? Lost in the moment? Did she force you into it? Did you get caught into a treacherous memory and suddenly thought you were twenty years younger and you were, not with Briallan, but with Wynn, your obscurely wedded, murderer-wife? Did she put you under Imperius? Did she drink Polyjuice potion and turned into me? Well, go on!" she howled, as Severus remained silent, "I am waiting. Which one is it?"
"Oh, Fiddler…"
"Don't you 'Oh, Fiddler' me", she hissed, her voice low. "I am waiting to hear your lousy excuse".
"I… do not know what happened".
"Damn, I forgot to mention that one!", she said, shielding herself in irony as she always did. "Well, I do know what happened and quite well, in fact. So, if you want to go to her, I am right behind you. I won't stop you".
"Fiddler—"
"I am a good loser, Severus… I learned a while ago to step out of lost fights with my dignity intact. Gloria victis, I salute the beautiful winner", she bowed her upper body mockingly. "I won't go on my knees, beg and cry for you to stay. I love you, but apparently that wasn't enough, was it? So that's the deal", she got to her feet, throwing the cushion away. She took out the rings she wore on her left hand and held them out to Severus. "Here", she finished, putting them in his resisting hand. "I am sure they'll look better in her hand. I wish you joy".
And she managed to walk out of the library in three long strides, feeling utterly heart-broken but strangely proud that she had succeeded on not bursting into tears again front of him.
Severus stared at the closed door blinking slowly. He heard Wallace McGonagall clearing his throat behind him and Severus held out his hand.
"Spare me", he said. "I do not need advice from a painting".
And he, too, left the library, leaving Wallace McGonagall with a very rude word in the tip of his tongue. He sighed resignedly. Being in a library full of Muggle motionless portraits was a very boring place to be indeed.
Severus searched for Fiddler around the house to no success whatsoever. She seemed to have banished, and he was growing worried although he wouldn't admit it. She was utterly vulnerable in her condition… Not that she'd take it the right way if someone dared to mention it…
"Stupid", he hissed to himself.
He made a full account of Fiddler's outburst and shook his head ruefully thinking his act of idiocy was a mix of a bit of each of Fiddler's list of excuses. He really could not explain what had happened, but he had the nagging feeling he had just ruined his life.
Badly.
Severus Snape wasn't used to be harassed by beautiful women, and shamefully enough, it had gotten into his head. He had felt incredibly flattered by Briallan's constant attentions and even a little thrilled at the perspective of getting reacquainted with a long-forgotten past, a past he once had embraced willingly.
Years had been incredibly kind with Briallan, despite the circumstances, and the fact that she was Wynn in the flesh but not in the mind had besotted him terribly, shadowing Fiddler away… Just for a moment, but long enough.
"You fool", he told himself. "How much more do you think she will take from you?"
He remembered remorsefully the night he'd bruised her hand when she had tried to help him; how had he nearly strangled her when she first mentioned Lucas; the utterly unkind way he'd first taken her, and calling out Wynn's name on top of it; how had she spent the early stages of her pregnancy because she'd seen what he had thought of her…
And the worst part was he had actually wanted to kiss Briallan, and he'd done it against his better judgment… but, setting all consequences aside, the truth was it hadn't been as magnificent as he thought it would be. Briallan had been more than responsive, and her body language signaled she was eager for more, and Merlin knew so he was. What could have happened if Fiddler hadn't walked on them, only Fate knew…
But still, it had felt… Different, not as besotting as expected. Something was missing, some sort of coziness that felt just right when it was Fiddler he had in his arms, her scent of fresh rain, the ironic glitter in her eyes and the way she looked at him, as if she couldn't believe her luck. She had told him very clearly, she had never believed someone would actually find her attractive, and he understood suddenly what she'd meant when she told him that was the best way to kill her; by kissing Briallan, he'd practically confirmed the lousy opinion she had of herself.
"What are you trying to do, Snape?" he asked out loud, angrily. "Wreck your life because it is easier for you to live among darkness and deceit?"
No, that was not it. Not entirely at least. He wasn't used to emotional struggles, to share his life and personal space, but he most certainly didn't want to lose what he had with Fiddler. But maybe he'd just pushed his luck too far this time. He had hurt her badly in the past, but not like this. Somehow he feared this would be the final strand for her. She wouldn't forgive him so easily this time.
"Oh, Fiddler…" he said with a very unusual soft voice.
He realised his distracted steps had taken him outside, and followed a pebbled path among the bushes. He stopped in his tracks as Fiddler surged before his eyes, her back turned to him, sitting on the grass, apparently writing something. She had her hair gathered high on her head, exposing the length of her neck, and Severus suddenly very much wanted to run his lips over the smooth-looking skin, to hold her and kiss her until their lips felt raw, but he set the thought aside as he knew she'd probably kick his groin if he came close to her.
He shifted a bit to get a better angle, and watched her wordlessly as she filled pages and pages with her curly writing.
Her diary.
His heart lurched at the endless waterfall of tears on her cheeks. Not a sound was heard, but Severus had never felt so much sadness around him, substantial enough to feel threatened by it. His hand wandered to the pocket in which he had put the rings she'd returned to him and enclosed them in his fist.
If Briallan's attentions had infatuated him, Fiddler's silent and pained tears utterly overwhelmed him. No woman had ever cried for him. Not once. Not even his mother.
He wasn't a man to beg, but he couldn't lose this woman, no matter how much it cost his pride.
"Fiddler…" he whispered, but she didn't turn around. "Fiddler, please. I need to speak to you".
"I told you to leave me alone". She bit every word.
She got to her feet with difficulty and put her diary under her arm.
"Go and fetch Briallan", she spat. "I am sure she's waiting for you to finish what you started".
And waddled away.
She wasn't far when they both heard Ginny's urgent cry.
"Fiddler! Come quick! Something's wrong with Hermione!"
Fiddler's head shot up at the sound, in the exact same way Triskelion's did. An unfocused part of Severus' mind thought that she in fact had many corporal expressions that strongly resembled animals, and she enhanced them as if she was immensely proud of them. He watched her run towards the house, holding her bulging belly with one hand, her hair flowing behind her, free from the hairclip that had kept it gathered up. He followed her steps calmly, picking up the hair item, and walked through the glass door in time to see his wife crouching next to Granger, who appeared to be unconscious on the floor, next to one of the flowery chaise longues that adorned the room.
"What happened?" she asked, panting slightly.
"I don't know… we were just talking and her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head and she fell over… I couldn't wake her… I… Oh, Merlin…!", Ginny was growing hysterical by the second and Severus wondered wickedly if he should slap her. But that would give Potter the perfect excuse to use an Unforgivable on him, so he'd best leave it.
"Shut up, Ginny, really not helping", Fiddler said. "Ron, run to my room and get my case. Fred, George, Harry, help me to put her on the chaise. I am getting really numb here".
They did as told and Fiddler carried on with her examination, finding Hermione's pulse was all right, but her pupils were incredibly dilated. She told the kids to pile up the cushions and she put the girl's feet up, at the same time a very worried Ron returned, carrying her medical case and with Molly and Tonks on tow. Fiddler didn't exactly realise the time when the whole of the Order gathered in the room, but by then she had even performed a quick glycaemia test on Hermione and found it within normal levels. There didn't seem to be a reason for her to be unconscious, but she stubbornly remained that way.
"Well, I don't get it…", she muttered, and she held out her hand to peer at the girl's pupils again when a sudden movement startled the wits out of her. Hermione had grabbed her hand with incredibly strength, and no matter how hard she tried, Fiddler couldn't get away. Severus moved forward out of instinct to help her, but he found himself trapped as well in Hermione's other hand. Out of the corner of his mind he registered Briallan's entrance but he paid her no attention as his hand was going numb.
Hermione opened her eyes at that very moment, frighteningly empty and unblinking, and spoke with a hoarse, deep voice:
"The life of the Unforgivable shall end with Birth.
Born to the embrace of bloodred waters,
Engendered by the sinner who regained innocence,
Carried by the Moonwitch of the dark mane.
Bliss to the Serpent and the Wolverine.
Thus shall the Liquid shield His equal,
Hence shall her mane bond their births,
Await for the Summer Solstice,
A time of triumph for the light;
The waxing Moon shall guard their birth".
Everybody went entirely still.
Hermione was still unconscious, but she was holding Severus' and Fiddler's hands together nonetheless.
The Serpent and the Wolverine indeed.
Fred and George always found the funny side of things, and they had taken it to themselves to tease Hermione to no end after the prophecy.
"Hail to the new Seer!", they yelled everytime they saw her. "Today she shall announce the twists of Fate and the mysterious ways of the Inner Eye…!"
She didn't find it amusing, and nor did Ron. He had detached himself a bit from her saying that he actually felt he was snogging Trelawney, and Hermione had smacked him so hard his cheek still burned. Harry and Ginny didn't find it amusing either, but for different reasons, though.
Dumbledore, of course, had been informed of the twist of events and he had even showed up in Elvenpath, looking worried and older than ever, gathering everyone but the kids and Fiddler away in a room to conspire about Merlin knew what, and he had finally left, advising Fiddler to take care of herself.
"Why didn't they let us in?" raged Harry.
"Oh, I bet Snape had something to do with it…", Ron said, and for once, Fiddler didn't stood up for him.
"I mean, all right, so they still look at us like children", Ginny said thoughtfully. "But Fiddler? I mean, she's in the prophecy and so are her babies! One would think she has the right to know what the heck are those manly morons planning…"
"I was with them, might I remind you", said Tonks.
"And? What did they say?"
"Can't tell".
"Screw you".
"Someone does that for me, thanks", Tonks said smugly. "But, honestly, you didn't miss anything big. We merely… um― analyzed the prophecy".
"What's there to analyze? I think what is says is pretty obvious", Ron said.
"Some parts, yes. Not the whole picture though".
"It's funny how Voldemort is always threatened by babies", Harry said. "Makes you think, doesn't it".
"Yeah…", Ron said distractedly. "It does".
"Oi, didn't you say something about Trelawney babbling about Fiddler once?", Hermione spoke suddenly, startling everybody as they'd forgotten she was there as well.
"Did I?"
"Yes… back at Hogwarts… you said Trelawney had said an evil force was fogging her Inner Eye and that she could see the dark mane of the Moonwitch approaching… She then said the Fate wouldn't let her know if the Moonwitch was good or evil… But she did mention something about Birth links between the One born in Ostara and the One Born in Lughnassadh… She also said that those born from the Ocean would vanquish darkness".
"Blimey, I didn't remember… But that's right, she did say that… Who would have thought she meant anything by it?"
"I certainly didn't", Hermione said smugly. "But, given the circumstances… I guess you're the Moonwitch, Fiddler… When's your birthday?"
"March 21".
"The Vernal Equinox… And Harry was born in August Eve…", Hermione tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But how does that link you two?"
"No clue whatsoever", Fiddler said.
No one said a word for a while. Then Tonks spoke:
"Does anyone know when will the Summer Solstice be held this year?"
Of course, someone did.
"June 21", Hermione said.
"Will there be a waxing Moon?"
"Well, we could check the calendar…", Ron said and ran to the kitchen. He came back a bit later, with a frown.
"Yeah… Waxing Moon, starting a day before".
"What's so important about Waxing Moon?", asked Harry.
"The idea is that as the light of the Moon increases… waxes, sort of speaking, so does the energy for manifesting or bringing forth your desires", Hermione lectured them. "It is a time to create and bring into effect whatever you want to happen. It is an attracting energy that is Creative in Nature. The Waxing period is a time of attracting energy."
"Aaaaaah…!", Ron said. "Still don't get it, though".
Hermione rolled her eyes exasperatedly.
"There are many uses for this type of power or force. In the event that you were to do a spell to make something happen, this would be a more ideal time for it… and results will be far more tangible and of a positive nature than otherwise".
"Now you're speaking sense".
Tonks nodded thoughtfully.
"So the babies are supposed to be born that day, according to the prophecy", Tonks said.
"But that's stupid", Fiddler said. "I am not due until early August… I'd be around 34 weeks on June 21, they'll be premature and most certainly not helpful for this… thing".
"Well, that's something, but the prophecy is the prophecy", Ginny said.
"How do we know it's actually true?", Hermione asked.
"Um, girl… You made it!"
"Yeah, so? I have never been regarded as a Seer".
"Which is probably why Dumbledore found it so trustworthy".
Hermione snorted. She was about to say something else when the door sprang open and Briallan walked in. Fiddler regarded her with hatred-filled eyes, but didn't say a word.
"Hi", Briallan addressed Tonks, because she wasn't sure any of the others would answer her. "Is the meeting over already?"
"Yeah. Dumbledore just left".
"Ah. Um― Seen Severus around?"
Fiddler's hands curled into fists and her eyes beamed with rage. The gall of her, honestly!
She felt Hermione's soothing hand in her shoulder and that stopped her from getting up and ripping the former Dumb Blonde in two.
"No… He might have accompanied Albus back to Hogwarts for all I know. Fiddler, do you―?"
"No, I am afraid I do not", Fiddler finished dangerously.
"Oh. Well. It was worth the try", Briallan mumbled.
"I am sure it was".
Briallan didn't hold Fiddler's gaze. She retreated slowly and left, closing the door behind her.
"Bitch", Ginny said.
"Don't you insult animals", Hermione and Fiddler said in unison.
They laughed at their timing and similar thoughts, and Fiddler concluded, with a very nasty expression:
"Besides, she's worst than a bitch. At least, they get paid for it".
And with that, she got up from her chair and left the room as well.
A/N.
"Gloria victis" = Latin for Hail the Victorious
TBC, please R & R!!!!!
Thanx a lot to my kind beta Ian for his BRILLIANT thoughts!!!
Disclaimer: All characters and HP universe belong to J.K. Rowling, except for the ones you don't recognize. The plot as well is mine and solely mine!! No profit is being made!!!!