21.
Vivian stared at him in amazement.
"I thought you were away." She said stupidly. Dumbledore smiled.
"I was." He said. "But I have returned, in the knick of time by appearances. Hagrid told me you were somewhere in the vicinity. Now let's see what you've done to poor Professor Snape." She was relieved to see that he didn't look angry with her, although his face was serious. Dumbledore bent over Snape and said
"You've done a good job here, Miss Leroux."
"I'm sorry." Vivian said, gesturing to the remains of the circle of candles and the knife, "I was going to-" Dumbledore silenced her with a gesture.
"Explanations can wait. We must get Professor Snape inside before he catches a chill. I must say you've put your powers to extremely good use. Madam Pomfrey couldn't have healed this wound better herself."
"What do you mean, my powers?" Vivian asked. She was feeling extremely puzzled about everything that had happened.
"Explanations can wait." Dumbledore said. "You evidently only read the first page of that report from St Mungo's."
"You know about that?" Vivian asked. Dumbledore nodded.
"Now help me get Professor Snape indoors, and then we can talk."
Several hours later, Vivian was sitting in Dumbledore's office wrapped in blankets and clutching a mug of hot chocolate. She looked at Dumbledore nervously, wondering if she was in for punishment or even expulsion.
"I'm sorry." She said, breaking the silence.
"What for?" Dumbledore asked. Vivian explained what she had done, how she had broken into Snape's office and read the report. How she had set off for the forest intent on killing a unicorn to save her own life, and what had happened there.
"Are you going to expel me?" she asked. Dumbledore smiled.
"What can I expel you for?" he said. "All you have actually done is enter the forest without permission, which considering the amount of students who make a habit of it is hardly a reason to expel you."
"I don't know if I would have done it, if Snape hadn't turned up."
"We none of us know what would have happened." Dumbledore said. "I suggest you put it behind you."
"I don't see how I can. I've got five years to live, that's what the report said."
Dumbledore nodded.
"I won't lie to you." He said, "The worst case scenario is that you will only live for five years more. But I must stress that this is far from certain. With determination, who knows what you can achieve. You must see that it matters not how long you live, but how you live."
"I don't understand." She said.
"You, for instance, have lived far more during this one year at Hogwarts than you did in the decade you spent as an invalid. It is our experiences that matter, not how long they last."
Vivian was about to say anything when there was a knock at the door. Before Dumbledore could say anything, Snape came in, leaning on a crutch.
"I don't think you should expel her." He said faintly. "She has not actually committed any crime. In fact she practically saved my life." Dumbledore smiled.
"I assure you Severus, I have no intention of expelling Miss Leroux. For one thing It will be a great credit to the school to contain one of the few modern day Portenti, don't you think?"
Snape looked at him.
"Is it true?" he said, "I thought…"
"Please tell me what's going on." Vivian said. "What am I?"
"One of the Portenti." Snape said, as if this explained everything. Vivian looked baffled.
"Did you ever read the Greek myths?" Dumbledore asked. Vivian nodded. "Well, they're true." Vivian laughed.
"Not literally of course." Dumbledore went on, "But even the Muggles became aware of the existence of the Portenti, these immensely powerful beings, and they explained them by worshipping them as gods."
"So I'm a god?" Vivian said incredulously. Dumbledore shook his head.
"The Portenti are not gods. They will die, but their powers are always passed on. Only part of them is immortal. Portenti are extremely rare nowadays, and perhaps it is a good thing. In ancient times many used their powers in ways which were not intended, for evil, and caused great destruction."
"Then the power is granted to help the rest of mankind." Vivian said. Dumbledore nodded.
"I think that is why you were born." He said. "In our greatest need – facing Lord Voldemort – a Portentus should come to our aid. However, something went wrong."
"The curse." Snape said. He was pale, and looked as if he might collapse any minute.
"Shouldn't you be in the Hospital wing?" Dumbledore said, but Snape shook his head irritably.
"What did the curse do?" Vivian said.
"It damaged you." Dumbledore said. "My guess is that it almost destroyed your earthly body, but couldn't kill the power you contained. The body you now inhabit is the weakest possible vessel for the power you inherited. That is why you are so weak, and why you have suffered as you have."
"And why I'm dying." Vivian added. Dumbledore looked at her sympathetically.
"I think Professor Dean might have something to say about that." He said. "Now go and get some rest, and we'll talk again tomorrow. And that goes for both of you." He added, looking at Snape. "But as you've both been out all night you'll be rather behind on the news; you'll be glad to know that the heir of Slytherin had been caught, and Ginny Weasly is still alive."
"How-" Vivian asked, but Dumbledore looked at her with mock severity and said
"Bed first, news afterwards."
Snape looked as if he was about to argue, but at that moment Madam Pomfrey burst in looking rather harassed and dragged him away to the Hospital wing.
Vivian was about to go when something occurred to her.
"Snape – I mean, Professor Snape- said that I wasn't like my mother. But I almost killed a unicorn. I could have been cursed forever."
"You could have been cursed forever." Dumbledore said. "But you aren't. You almost killed a unicorn. But you didn't. True goodness doesn't lie in not being tempted towards evil, but in resisting the evil impulses within us. You're your father's daughter, Vivian, as well as your mother's. Now get yourself to bed before I change my mind about expelling you."
Vivian made her way to her dormitory feeling curiously happy. Maybe she was beginning to accept what had happened, or perhaps she was just too tired to feel anything. As soon as she reached the dormitory she kicked off her shoes and flung herself into her bed, without bothering to take off her clothes.
Her last thought before she fell asleep was that she had left Lorna's broomstick in the forest.
Vivian stared at him in amazement.
"I thought you were away." She said stupidly. Dumbledore smiled.
"I was." He said. "But I have returned, in the knick of time by appearances. Hagrid told me you were somewhere in the vicinity. Now let's see what you've done to poor Professor Snape." She was relieved to see that he didn't look angry with her, although his face was serious. Dumbledore bent over Snape and said
"You've done a good job here, Miss Leroux."
"I'm sorry." Vivian said, gesturing to the remains of the circle of candles and the knife, "I was going to-" Dumbledore silenced her with a gesture.
"Explanations can wait. We must get Professor Snape inside before he catches a chill. I must say you've put your powers to extremely good use. Madam Pomfrey couldn't have healed this wound better herself."
"What do you mean, my powers?" Vivian asked. She was feeling extremely puzzled about everything that had happened.
"Explanations can wait." Dumbledore said. "You evidently only read the first page of that report from St Mungo's."
"You know about that?" Vivian asked. Dumbledore nodded.
"Now help me get Professor Snape indoors, and then we can talk."
Several hours later, Vivian was sitting in Dumbledore's office wrapped in blankets and clutching a mug of hot chocolate. She looked at Dumbledore nervously, wondering if she was in for punishment or even expulsion.
"I'm sorry." She said, breaking the silence.
"What for?" Dumbledore asked. Vivian explained what she had done, how she had broken into Snape's office and read the report. How she had set off for the forest intent on killing a unicorn to save her own life, and what had happened there.
"Are you going to expel me?" she asked. Dumbledore smiled.
"What can I expel you for?" he said. "All you have actually done is enter the forest without permission, which considering the amount of students who make a habit of it is hardly a reason to expel you."
"I don't know if I would have done it, if Snape hadn't turned up."
"We none of us know what would have happened." Dumbledore said. "I suggest you put it behind you."
"I don't see how I can. I've got five years to live, that's what the report said."
Dumbledore nodded.
"I won't lie to you." He said, "The worst case scenario is that you will only live for five years more. But I must stress that this is far from certain. With determination, who knows what you can achieve. You must see that it matters not how long you live, but how you live."
"I don't understand." She said.
"You, for instance, have lived far more during this one year at Hogwarts than you did in the decade you spent as an invalid. It is our experiences that matter, not how long they last."
Vivian was about to say anything when there was a knock at the door. Before Dumbledore could say anything, Snape came in, leaning on a crutch.
"I don't think you should expel her." He said faintly. "She has not actually committed any crime. In fact she practically saved my life." Dumbledore smiled.
"I assure you Severus, I have no intention of expelling Miss Leroux. For one thing It will be a great credit to the school to contain one of the few modern day Portenti, don't you think?"
Snape looked at him.
"Is it true?" he said, "I thought…"
"Please tell me what's going on." Vivian said. "What am I?"
"One of the Portenti." Snape said, as if this explained everything. Vivian looked baffled.
"Did you ever read the Greek myths?" Dumbledore asked. Vivian nodded. "Well, they're true." Vivian laughed.
"Not literally of course." Dumbledore went on, "But even the Muggles became aware of the existence of the Portenti, these immensely powerful beings, and they explained them by worshipping them as gods."
"So I'm a god?" Vivian said incredulously. Dumbledore shook his head.
"The Portenti are not gods. They will die, but their powers are always passed on. Only part of them is immortal. Portenti are extremely rare nowadays, and perhaps it is a good thing. In ancient times many used their powers in ways which were not intended, for evil, and caused great destruction."
"Then the power is granted to help the rest of mankind." Vivian said. Dumbledore nodded.
"I think that is why you were born." He said. "In our greatest need – facing Lord Voldemort – a Portentus should come to our aid. However, something went wrong."
"The curse." Snape said. He was pale, and looked as if he might collapse any minute.
"Shouldn't you be in the Hospital wing?" Dumbledore said, but Snape shook his head irritably.
"What did the curse do?" Vivian said.
"It damaged you." Dumbledore said. "My guess is that it almost destroyed your earthly body, but couldn't kill the power you contained. The body you now inhabit is the weakest possible vessel for the power you inherited. That is why you are so weak, and why you have suffered as you have."
"And why I'm dying." Vivian added. Dumbledore looked at her sympathetically.
"I think Professor Dean might have something to say about that." He said. "Now go and get some rest, and we'll talk again tomorrow. And that goes for both of you." He added, looking at Snape. "But as you've both been out all night you'll be rather behind on the news; you'll be glad to know that the heir of Slytherin had been caught, and Ginny Weasly is still alive."
"How-" Vivian asked, but Dumbledore looked at her with mock severity and said
"Bed first, news afterwards."
Snape looked as if he was about to argue, but at that moment Madam Pomfrey burst in looking rather harassed and dragged him away to the Hospital wing.
Vivian was about to go when something occurred to her.
"Snape – I mean, Professor Snape- said that I wasn't like my mother. But I almost killed a unicorn. I could have been cursed forever."
"You could have been cursed forever." Dumbledore said. "But you aren't. You almost killed a unicorn. But you didn't. True goodness doesn't lie in not being tempted towards evil, but in resisting the evil impulses within us. You're your father's daughter, Vivian, as well as your mother's. Now get yourself to bed before I change my mind about expelling you."
Vivian made her way to her dormitory feeling curiously happy. Maybe she was beginning to accept what had happened, or perhaps she was just too tired to feel anything. As soon as she reached the dormitory she kicked off her shoes and flung herself into her bed, without bothering to take off her clothes.
Her last thought before she fell asleep was that she had left Lorna's broomstick in the forest.