I'm not pretending
To make it simple
Try to be something
Experimental
-Perfect Enemy, T.A.T.U.
It had been quite some times since Tempest had found herself waking in a bed, and the comfort was unfamiliar enough for her to lie there for some time, bathing in the newfound surroundings. When she finally opened her eyes, she noted that the room was not as unfamiliar as it had been before, and recognised it almost immediately to be Severus's bedchamber. She sat up abruptly and rubbed her eyes, wincing at the abrupt movement. The night had left her aching, the tears having been too much for her to stand.
On leaving the room and entering the office, Tempest noted that it was bright outside, and blushed as she realised she had been asleep for far longer than she often expected of herself. Severus waited patiently at his desk, seemingly unaware of her presence in the room. It wasn't until she had made her way down the staircase and sat in the chair opposing him at the desk that he finally looked at her, albeit with a nonchalance that bordered insolence.
"So you finally graced the room with your presence?"
"You could have woken me up if you wanted to," Tempest replied, half smiling. "If I could have been put to better use."
"I'm afraid you wouldn't. All that can been done has been done."
"You're overly polite today."
Severus seemed vaguely amused at this, leaning forward slightly with a thin smile.
"Is it a crime to be civil?"
"You're never civil. And after what I did yesterday..." She trailed off, finding the sentence self-explanatory and not wishing to embarrass herself further. There was a hazy sympathy in Severus's eyes that was almost unrecognisable, yet all the while still undeniable.
"I will admit, that is one of the more surprising outcomes of your upbringing, but not the harshest I expected to deal with."
"But you were so angry, I just thought-"
"An initial reaction is nothing to judge me on," Severus interrupted. "I did not expect nor wish for your actions, but they could have been far worse. As I said, I expected worse."
"What do you mean worse?"
He paused, uneasy with the question but knowing full well that it would be childish to not answer. It wouldn't be fair. Severus stood from his seat and moved around the desk, his gaze almost distant.
"You have been raised in a world where you were taught to hate whatever you saw to be unworthy of you," he began slowly, stopping short in front of her and looking into Tempest's eyes, a seriousness in the way he did so expressing no end of sincerity. "You did so without the influence I had to do any good in the world. And yet, through it all, I cannot see how you did not end up far worse than you are today."
"Whatever you say, I did have the right influence."
"You thought me a faithful Death Eater until not long ago."
"But I thought you honourable enough."
"No, you didn't. You thought of me as evil. It is why you were so frightened of me before you learnt to fight back,
if only with a wit I could not help but admire in someone of your age."
"You only admired the spells I could cast."
"They were impressive, I will admit. You were a powerful child, Tempest."
"And now only mediocre," Tempest sighed with a shrug, looking downwards. It was true. She had felt her powers slipping for years now until she was consumed by the mediocrity that her wand brought.
"Only if you allow it."
"It's not like I wanted this to happen."
"But you have been far too concentrated on fighting everything else but refused to fight what bothered you most."
"That sounded almost positive," Tempest said weakly with a wan smile. She saw Severus's hand move to place itself on her shoulder but was stopped abruptly as the sound of knocking at the door echoed through the room, reverberating off of the walls.
"Come in," he called, his hand returning quickly to his side as he backed away. The door opened slowly enough and the Callow siblings entered, a war between meekness and delight on their faces. They stood either side of a young boy whose pale face hid no secrets of his fear.
"Young lad here refuses to take part in his detention, sir," Amycus said, licking his dry lips. "Thought we'd bring him up to you."
"And what do you expect me to do with him?"
"You're the headmaster, I'll remind you," Alecto said quickly, her cheeks flushing. "We expect you to be the one to administer a more severe punishment."
"In other words you expect me to do your job." The two siblings stood there, wavering slightly. "Let the boy go. If you will not carry out your job as ordered then I think he has been given the right to excuse himself from it."
The young boy shook slightly and smiled half heartedly. Looking up only briefly towards his two teachers, he turned sharply and ran back down the stairs, his breath heavy enough to be heard down the hallway. The siblings looked towards Severus, an unhidden malice in their eyes.
"You just let him go? But he was a trouble maker, a-"
"A Ravenclaw, all of whom according to you are trouble makers. If you cannot see fit to firmly punish him then I see no reason for him to be punished at all. Now leave, before I make it my business to report the two of you."
They scurried onwards, taking the threat as seriously as was intended and disappeared down the corridor as quickly as the student before them had.
"That was awfully brave of you."
"It had to be done."
Tempest nodded, looking at the wand that she had brought from her pocket as the Carrows looked as if to overstay their welcome.
"I wish I could be braver."
Severus looked at her for a moment, noting the strange way in which she looked at her wand, the way her fingertips glowed a strange pink with the force she gripped it with.
"What are you considering?" he asked quietly, unsure whether to think his suspicions true. Tempest looked
alarmed as he asked it, her eyes wide as if she were in danger.
"I wondered... what if I didn't have it? Would that make things better?"
"It is meant to harness your powers, not diminish them, I very much doubt it would make a difference."
"But how do you know that? Maybe it is diminishing whatever amount I can do."
"You're thinking like a child."
"Sometimes it's the best thing to do. Sometimes you come up with the more ingenious ideas when you think like a kid." She paused, looking at the wand, before holding it out in an outstretched palm. "Destroy it."
"One of your ingenious ideas?"
"Not one of my better ones, but good enough."
"You're mad."
"Just do it, Sev!"
They were quiet for a moment as Severus attempted almost to stare down the girl, waiting for her to give in. His own weakness, though, disallowed it. He reached out and took hold of the wand, gently placing it on the desk behind him.
"Are you quite sure?" he asked, producing his own wand from his pocket.
"Definitely," Tempest replied, her eyes glittering with excitement. She looked only at the wand as Severus raised his arm and brought it down, a sudden shower of sparks hiding the initial fire that consumed the wand.
There was something sad in the destruction of a wand. Something more than Tempest expected at that moment in time, and never could comprehend until the day she died. Yet looking on, Severus himself could not understand why she would willingly let go of that source of magic she possessed.
"Are you pleased now?"
"Yes," she said immediately, smiling. "Yes, utterly."
"You are defenceless now. When the future battle comes, you will be alone."
"No. No, I won't. It's gonna be fine, I know it."
"Then don't expect me to save your skin."
"I won't need it. I can feel it, Severus; I know it'll be fine. I just need to remember, that's all."
Severus could only roll his eyes as he watched Tempest make her way to her own strange corner of the room, practicing immediately.
The panic that settled in Tempest's mind through the coming days was well hidden, but not once did she doubt it was there. She knew the power was there, she simply knew it. But why wouldn't it make itself known as soon as she wished it? Even with three days practice she had only mastered a first year's education of spells, knowing how to perform others but without the ability to do so.
Severus did not seem to have a clue of her situation and she doubted very much that he knew. Even in the darkest of times he would not refrain from the chance to taunt her for her childish decision. The right decision, though, she thought. It was still the right decision.
It seemed to be that along with the heat that the late spring months had brought, the depths of sorrow tried to drown each and every last one of them. They had just entered into the month of May, a time which had often brought the students a far friendlier Whomping Willow and the company of the Giant Squid if they wished it. Now, the tree seemed more ferocious than ever, craning its trunk at the slightest movement of feet, attempting to thrash out even with students passing by yards away. The squid seemed to have disappeared altogether, finding solace elsewhere where the air wasn't as thick with the malice of the Dark Lord.
Less and less news came from the outside world to the point where contact was deemed almost impossible. The Malfoys had still been condemned to their house imprisonment and Voldemort was still nowhere to be found, having disappeared from his disciples' sight since he had returned not long ago.
The oncoming battle seemed almost too close to bear by this point. Many knew that it was destined to come, though only a handful knew that it was to come soon. This opinion was almost too strong in the Headmaster's office, Severus and Tempest both reflecting on the fact privately without the other acknowledging it for quite some time.
Tempest sat in her corner, only looking up once or twice to ensure that Severus did not see her practicing almost demeaning spells. He remained ignorant, and she happy enough, though it could not last long. The silence was overwhelming, only broken by a crackling fire.
"When it comes," she began with a hoarse voice, not needing to explain herself, "what side must we fight on?"
"I have been given my instructions as to when I should make my own position known," he said matter-of-factly.
"As for you, I suppose you'll know when the time comes."
"And what if I don't?"
"I won't need to tell you, I should think."
"And will I have to fight with you?"
"A battle is an ugly thing; I doubt you'd be able to concentrate on following me."
Tempest nodded, smiling weakly and returning to her place, again reaching out and attempting any spell that would come to mind. Any spell at all. The idea of a battle so drastic that they could sense was so near sent that familiar electricity to her fingertips, and only her will could force any magic through.
