Soul of the Fire
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everyone and anything you recognize from the HP world. The title of the fic, Soul of the Fire, belongs to Terry Goodkind, as does several other things contained within, and they will be noted in each chapter as they first appear. The first would be Franca from this first chapter. Franca Ashton is based off of Franca, Dalton's sorceress 'spy'. As does her eyes, and the reason behind them will be explained in later chapters. Later on several details and ideas will be found to have been borrowed off of the Disney version of the Little Mermaid.
A/N: Enjoy the fic. I need a BETA, and so if you are interested, please email me at ShatteredNyx@goddess.com
Franca Ashton swept her dark brown hair away from her face with her fingertips, staring thoughtfully at a small little creature known as a Podge. His name was Cheddar and he looked very much like a large, golden hedgehog. Cheddar twitched his nose and waddled to her side. Using his sharp little claws, he clambered up onto her knees, and pawed at her necklace. She snatched it away from him and clutched it to her chest. Cheddar, not the least discouraged, gave a little sigh and settled comfortable into the pocket of her cloak. Franca snorted and got up off of her knees.
Wiping the earth from her hands, she looked around her curiously. It was midday and the sun was shining down on her, hot and uncomfortable. Muttering to herself and wishing she had worn lighter clothing, she set off for the direction of Hogsmeade.
She had intended to Apparate on the outskirts of small village and make her way up to the castle before lunch. But, owing to her poor Apparation skills, she ended up just west of where she wanted to be. It hadn't been a pleasant land, either, as she had accidentally Apparated into a tree. The branch she landed on had snapped, and she had tumbled to the ground. The Podge, however, had been perfectly fine, as he had used her as a landing pad.
Cheddar stuck his nose out of her pocket, sniffing wistfully. Franca breathed in the air around her, and could faintly smell chicken. Burning chicken, to be exact. Her nose scrunched in distaste as she walked on, getting closer and closer to the not-so-pleasant smell.
Soon, she came upon a small cottage hidden in the trees, and she would have passed it on but for the smell that wafted from it. She saw a small grill on the edge of the wraparound porch, and looked on in interest as it wafted thick clouds of grey smoke. That was where the smell was coming from.
Sighing, she hopped over the gate and clomped noisily up the wooden stairs. She made it to the door without tripping (which, she admitted, was quite a feat, considering all those creaky stairs) and knocked softly on the door. No one came.
Muttering to herself again, she took a peak through the window, and cursed under her breath. The window was magically shielded, and she couldn't see a thing. Again she knocked on the door, and again she received no answer. With a determined look, she lifted her slender wrists and pounded upon the door with all her might. It finally opened.
A tall man with long black hair glared at her over his hooked nose. His black eyes sparkled at her in annoyance, and he tapped his gloved fingers on his crossed arms. He looked familiar. Franca smelled the air, and, over the smell of burning chicken, she could detect wolfsbane and, she wrinkled her nose, garlic.
"What do you want?" he barked, his voice harsh.
Franca blinked at him, and cocked her head to the left, crossing her own arms. "Well, I was walking along and I couldn't help but notice the fact that your chicken is burning."
The man stared at her in confused annoyance for a moment, before understanding dawned, and he pushed passed her and rushed over to his smoking grill. He slammed open the top, and coughed as he breathed in a bit too much of the smoke. He let the door fall closed and pulled out his wand. With a quick flick, the smoke cleared. The top of the grill came off to reveal two blackened chicken breasts.
The man gave them a glare that would have killed them had they not already been dead, and threw them to the ground. Cheddar immediately shot out of her pocket and started gobbling on the burnt meat. The man stared at him in surprise, before turning his cool gaze back to Franca.
She smiled at his inquisitive look and said, "That is Cheddar."
He crossed his arms over his chest. "And what exactly is a Cheddar?"
Franca giggled. "He isn't a Cheddar. His name is Cheddar. He is a Podge."
He snorted. "Okay then. What is a Podge?" He looked down at Cheddar in disgust.
Franca raised an eyebrow. "A Podge is a cross between a Knarl and a Streeler, otherwise known as one of my horrendous Transfiguration experiments."
The man looked at her in disgust. "You can't do Transfiguration?" Franca confirmed this with a nod. "What are you, a squib?"
Now it was Franca's turn to snort. "Of course not, idiot. I am a full-blooded witch. I can do everything else, but I've always been bad at Transfiguration." She shrugged. "Normally I would dispose of the poor creature, but I grew too attached to the little guy." She smiled fondly at the Podge, who was busy licking his slightly blackened chops. "I'm Franca, by the way." She looked up at him, happy to see that he didn't flinch when looking into her eyes.
The man shook her hand delicately, as though she would contaminate him. "Severus Snape."
Franca squealed and looked happily up at the slightly taller man. "Are you serious?" Severus nodded slowly. "I can't believe it! You don't look at all the same." Severus gave her a calculating look. "Don't you remember me, Professor?" He shook his head, and Franca smirked. "That is odd, isn't it? I was in your House, after all." Severus appeared to be racking his brain, trying to place her.
Franca nudged him. "Oh, come on, you remember me. I was a sixth year your first year as a Professor; I blew up the Gryfindor Common Room."
Severus' eyes widened as he remembered the incident. He looked down at her, the corners of his thin mouth turning up slightly. "Ashton? Franca Ashton?" Franca nodded and his small smile turned into a full-fledged smirk. "I remember now. Minerva was so upset…"
"That old bat?" Severus turned a disapproving eye at her. "What? She is old. Must be nearing eighty. Never could stand her…"
Severus nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, just like I remember you. Now," he said, tapping his fingers on his hips, "if I remember correctly, Minerva didn't much like you either."
Franca giggled. "Of course not! I blew up their Common Room. And then you can't forget the time I turned all the Gryffindor's and half the Hufflepuffs green and silver the day of the big Slytherin – Gryffindor match."
Severus smiled fondly at the memory. "Yes, and the stuff didn't wash out for weeks." He smirked again, and then turned to look at the Podge, then back at her. "Well, are you going to come in, or are you just going to stand here all day?" Franca laughed, scooped up Cheddar, and followed her old Professor into his house.
"Since your creature ate my chicken, I suppose I'll have to make something the old fashioned way." He waved her into a chair, and waved his wand. Silver plates appeared, filled with steaming food. "Hope you like lemon chicken." He then proceeded to delicately eat his food.
Franca grinned to herself as she picked at the chicken. She wasn't all that hungry, and so she fed it to Cheddar when her old professor wasn't looking. Cheddar stuffed himself eagerly, and Franca had to slap him a few times, because his eating habits were horrible.
When Severus had finished, he waved his wand and the plates disappeared. He sat back in his chair and folded his thin hands in his lap, and looked at her with his dark eyes. "So, Miss Ashton, how is it that you are in this part of the Forbidden Forest at this time of day?"
She sighed and leaned back, idly petting Cheddar. "I'm actually not sure. I was asked to come to Hogwarts by Albus."
Severus gave her a disbelieving look. "And you ended up in the Forbidden Forest how?" Blushing, Franca told her former professor about the incident with the tree. By the time she was finished, he was smirking at her. "I should have known. I assume you remember your first three Apparation tests?" Again, she blushed, recalling the embarrassing incidents. The first time she had taken the test, she had misjudged her direction, and landed on the Great Wall of China. She was supposed to be aiming for Stonehenge. The second time she jumped three miles south of her landing spot, Honolulu, at the edge of an active volcano. The third time, she had landed just three yards away from where she was to land: right on top of Severus Snape, who had been waiting for her to pop in. Fortunately for her and her instructors, she had managed to get it perfectly on her fourth try.
Cheddar hopped on to the table, and Severus made a startled noise. Cheddar was now silvery-blue. Franca smiled and said, "He used to be a Streeler, remember?" Severus nodded slowly. "When I performed the spell that was to transfigure him, it reacted to his complex magical essence, causing him to take the form of a hedgehog, instead of a Knarl, but keeping all of the magical properties of a Streeler, luckily minus the poisonous slime it is known for."
Severus frowned and leaned forward, looking at the Podge with interest. "So he changes color every five hours?" Franca nodded. "Most intriguing. Why did you try to Transfigure him?"
"I do it every day. I think up new spells, and put them on paper. After I get the basics down, I spend weeks, sometimes months working on the intricate formation of the actual spell, and then I perform it. Often, I screw up as I did with Cheddar here. Other times, I manage to get it done on the first try. t is a lot of fun, though failures aren't that wonderful, and often get me down. It's my job though, so I learn to live with it." She grinned and Severus raised his eyebrow again. Franca started to remember how often he did that.
"You're telling me you get paid to make up Transfiguration spells?"
Franca grinned at him and scratched her neck. "Of course. I also sometimes do Charms, and I have a few Potions being tested right now." Severus' eyes were widened in disbelief. "I work for a small sect of the Ministry called the Department of Magical Research and Development. Not a bad job, as I get paid one-hundred-fifty galleons a month…"
Severus shook his head. "And I thought I had it good getting a hundred a month…" He leaned back in his chair, his attention off the Podge.
"It is an odd time for you to be here, it being April, and the middle of the school week."
Franca stood up and walked over to the fireplace. "I know. I have been trying to figure out why Albus would want me here since I received his request three days ago." She sighed and picked up a framed photograph of a young witch waving merrily at her. She fingered the edge of the gilded frame before setting back on the mantle. "Why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be in class?" She turned around to face him, and he rolled his eyes.
"I should be, yes. But Longbottom blew up my classroom this morning, and Albus cancelled the rest of my classes for today." He rubbed his temples and closed looked over at a large tome mournfully. "I had planned on catching up on some reading while the Wolfsbane Potion finished brewing. Unfortunately, I am having trouble focusing."
Franca nodded and went to the window. Cheddar scrambled over to Severus, and climbed into his lap. Franca watched Severus' reflection wince as Cheddar curled up and settled himself upon his lap. Franca turned around, hiding a smile behind her hand.
"I should get going. Do you suppose I could get directions back to the castle?"
"I think I'll just show you the way. I can't stand being here very often." He scowled down at Cheddar, who dug his claws into his black robes in order to stay hooked on as the man stood up.
With a smile, Franca pried Cheddar off Severus and stuffed him into her pocket. "Are you sure about that?" she asked as she pinned her cloak at the neck. "Because I don't want to take away your free time…"
He waved his hand, ignoring her worry. "Not a problem. I need to get back anyways. The potion needs to simmer for another five hours, and I don't want to stay here that long." He pulled his black cloak over his shoulders and slipped his wand up his sleeve. "I have exams to grade, and I might as well get them over with." He let her out the door, and locked it behind him with a large jeweled key. Without another word, he started down a path to his left, and Franca scrambled after him.
It was then that she realized why he hadn't flinched when looking into her eyes. Whenever she traveled, she put a charm on her eyes to make them appear the slate-blue color they had been before she had learned to control her power. Casually, she swiped her hand across her face and her eyes were the returned to the inky black they normally were. They were without the whites; a pool of blackness, surrounded by a fringe of black lashes. Her eyes marked her as dangerous. They were the mark of a trained Dreamwalker.
She sighed and gripped her cloak closer to her body. She had lied to Severus. She had never even been inside the Department of Magical Research and Development. She wasn't some lowly researcher; she was more, much much more.
TBC