Nightbirds

And when the wind draws strong

Across the cypress tress

The Nightbirds cease their songs

So gathers memories.

-Loreena McKennitt, "Courtyard Lullaby"

An hour or so after the curious encounter with Snape, Tinuvial found herself enjoying some sort of tea in Hagrid's small hut.  Hagrid had always been one of her favorite people around Hogwarts and she was delighted to find out that the groundskeeper had not changed one bit.  When she first arrived at Hogwarts a few days earlier, Hagrid had been so thrilled to see her and know she was safe that he nearly broke every bone in her body with his hug and cried monstrous tears. 

"Back down, Fang," Hagrid growled at the large dog, who was hovering in anticipation around Tinuvial.

"He's alright," she said lightly, stroking the dog's ears.  She broke off part of what looked like a biscuit and tossed it to the dog, who barked with happiness and chased the bit around. Tinuvial laughed softly and then stopped, almost surprised at the sound of her own laughter.  Somehow, it did not seem appropriate with all that had been happening.

"So, Hagrid," she said, putting down her teacup, "tell me about Harry."  She looked at him seriously.  "I mean, truly tell me about.  What kind of a boy is he now?"


Hagrid sat down with his pipe.  "Aye, Harry is the best of 'em.  He's a lot like James was, 'cept not getting' in ter as much trouble. That'd be the Lily in him."


"What about his abilities?" she asked.  "I heard he's been the Seeker for Gryffindor since his first year."

Hagrid nodded, his face glowing with pride.  "That Harry is the best Seeker at Hogwarts and ev'ryone knows't." He chortled.  "Makes Malfoy a bit testy."


"Malfoy?" Tinuvial said sharply.  "As in Lucius Malfoy?"


He nodded.  "Yeh, Lucius Malfoy 'as a son, Draco.  An' Draco's ev'ry bit as mean an' nasty as his father."

Her face had gone bleak.  "It would take talent to be as bad as Lucius Malfoy," she said, her voice grim.


Hagrid regarded her closely.  "I know yeh had a bit o' a rough time with Lucius…" he said gently.

"A bit?" Tinuvial cut in.  "Try a lot of a hard time. If Severus hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."

He nodded.  "Aye, that's true." He looked at her a bit sheepishly.  "I never thought much of Professor Snape until he helped yeh that time."

"No one thought much of him, Hagrid," she replied rather sadly. "In all honesty, he was a mean, cold sort back then, but he did have his good points. It's just no one ever saw them."

"Not even when you 'came friends wit' him," he mused, puffing on his pipe.  " 'Spect that's why he hates Harry so much."

"What?" Tinuvial exclaimed. "Severus hates Harry?"

Hagrid nodded.  "An' Harry's not too fond of Professor Snape, neither." He leaned a bit closer to her.  "I see a lot of what 'appens here," he said seriously.  "An' if I din't know better, I would have thought that he was out for Harry 'stead of You-Know-Who."

Tinuvial pursed her lips.  "Interesting," was all she would say.  To change the subject, she asked Hagrid about some of his "pets," a topic upon which he was all too delighted to speak on.  It was nearly an hour later when she left his hut, tired and wanting a cup of tea.

However, as she headed back to the castle, she had the strange feeling that she was being watched.  Several times, she glanced over her shoulder into the trees, but saw nothing.  Vaguely uneasy, she continued her trek.  Finally, she turned around, resolved on finding the watcher.

"Alright, come out," she muttered in irritation peering hard through the trees.  Something did come out.  Tinuvial stared at it for a second and rolled her eyes at her own foolishness.

"Where did you come from?" she asked the shaggy dog, moving over to it.  "One of Hagrid's, are you?" The dog rubbed its snout against her leg as she scratched its ears.  It was a fairly large animal- not as big as Fang, but large enough to suit Hagrid.  "Come on," she said, gently leading it back towards the path. "I'll take you back to the hut."  But the dog jumped back into the trees and disappeared.  Tinuvial watched after it for a few seconds and shrugged.  "Or not."


She continued up to the castle.  It was a short walk, but uphill, so by the time she was back in time, she was exhausted and trying to catch her breath.  Bloody fool, she berated herself.  Trying to prove a point here with knocking yourself out?

No one else seemed to be around, thankfully, to see her weariness, so she quietly went to her room to have a bit of a lie-down.   She reproached herself silently with a blistering tongue on how moronic it had been to push herself like that along the way.

However, when she reached her room, she saw Snape approaching her.  She bit her lower lip and shifted her gaze away, not sure if she truly wanted to talk to him at the moment.  She could readily believe Hagrid when he said that Snape hated Harry and this was not the time for her to approach him about it.  Even if he did, there was nothing Tinuvial could do or say to change his feelings. Besides, she didn't want anyone else to see how overconfident she had been in thinking she could make the trek to and from Hagrid's hut after what she'd been through.

"You look tired," he remarked matter-of-factly.

"I am."  She looked down and saw that he was holding a potion bottle that had a little liquid in it. "What is that?" she asked, nodding towards it.

Snape handed it to her.  "It's for you," he said.  "The Headmaster asked me to make this.  It's to keep you from tiring too quickly."

"I could surely use that now," she murmured, examining the liquid with a serious eye.  She had never been one for taking brews and potions, but if it would keep her energy level a little higher, she supposed it was worth it.  "What do I do for it?"


"Just drink it whenever necessary."


"All of it?"

 "I can brew some every day if needed."

"I see," she said.  She looked at him straight in the eyes.  "Thank you."

He nodded rather curtly and turned to leave.  Tinuvial watched him walk away. "Severus!" she called suddenly.  He turned back to her.  She stood speechless for a second, unsure of why she called him back.  "It's…it's been…do you want to talk or anything?" she asked finally. 

Snape stared at her for a few breaths, his brow slightly furrowed and eyes vaguely suspicious.  "Alright," he said, returning to her. "What shall we talk about?" he asked in a tone that she fancied to hear some degree of patronizing in.

She shrugged slightly.  "Just…talk, I suppose.  It's been awhile."

Snape gestured down the hall. "You can come with me to my classroom."  They walked together in silence down the corridor.

"So, what is it like teaching here?" she asked, breaking the stillness.


He didn't answer right away.  "You shall know soon enough."

"But what do you think about it?" she pressed.  "What are your feelings on your position here?"

He stopped and looked at her gravely.  "I think it's hard work, like many things.  You have to possess a certain temperament and patience with others."

"Do you possess them?" she asked seriously.


He looked away and started to walk. "Not entirely," he said.


"Then why do you teach if you don't have those traits?" she asked, walking after him, knowing that if this had been anyone asking, he would have invariably told them to bugger off long ago.  "How could you be head of an quarter of the students here if you say you do not have the qualities of a good teacher?"

He didn't answer or look at her.  "What do you think?" he shot back suddenly, looking at her sharply.  "About your position here?"

"Well, I should hardly know, as I've been back at Hogwarts for hardly a day and have had no pupils to speak of yet," she retorted lightly.

"You know what I mean."

"As a matter of fact, I do not." She glanced sideways at him.  "What do you mean, Severus?"


Snape stopped and looked at her intently.  "You being here," he said.  "We both know that you're here partially for your own protection, but mainly to protect Potter."

"And you," she added quietly. "Don't forget that all three of us are in danger here."  She touched his shoulder.  "If the situation becomes any worse, any more dangerous for Harry, you know that we're both sworn to protect him. As are Remus and Sirius.  With our lives if necessary, I know, but if Voldemort succeeds in gaining complete and absolute power, Harry will be our only hope."

Snape closed his eyes.  "I wish you hadn't sworn to Dumbledore," he said in a flat tone.  "I wish you weren't involved."

She looked at him tenderly.  "But I am," she said softly.  "And it isn't just to Albus Dumbledore that I swore my life for.  My family…" her voice broke slightly and she swallowed hard.  "My parents, Tobias… it would be disrespectful to their memory to not help the one person who could defeat Voldemort.  And we all owe James and Lily that much."

Snape turned away.  "I paid my debt to James Potter when I kept Quirrell from killing his son during his first year," he said stiffly.

Tinuvial nodded sadly. "I know that you saved his life… but, Severus, is the lives of many worth a schoolboy grudge?"


His eyes burned angrily into hers, but she did not look away.  They stood there for several seconds until he melted under her calm and wise gaze.  He turned from her and walked down the hall.  She did not follow or call him back this time.

***

A pair of cold eyes opened slowly and it's head raised up.  "Wormtail," it said coldly, "when were you going to inform me that she was still alive?"

The short, pathetic man with the watery eyes swallowed hard.  "You-your Lordship, I didn't think…"


"That's right, you didn't think," it interrupted. "You're too much of a fool to claim that your past friendship with her would keep her safe."

"She means nothing to me!" he squeaked.  "I would have her torn open now in front of you…"

It held up a long, white hand. "But your stupidity has worked to your advantage once again.  She is with one of my former followers now at Hogwarts.  It will make our task easier when the time comes."  The lipless mouth twisted into a grotesque smile.  "My greatest enemy shall, in a year's time, be dead, and all those who swore to lay down their lives for him will be as well." It began to laugh, a sound that sent chills down Peter Pettigrew's spine.

And that night, Harry Potter awoke from a horrifying nightmare that he could barely remember, his scar burning like fire. But he carried the echo of a laughter he knew all too well in his mind.