J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishers
Own the © on Severus and his mates
I do not own, I gather no riches
I'm merely toying with their fates
Andolyn
Return
"Hrmpf!"
It was the wind, toying with her long tresses and blowing them in the wizards face that made for the annoyed comment. Ari however, could hear de amused undertone in the ill pronounced murmur, so far removed from Sev's usual eloquent sarcasm. Snuggling a bit closer, eyes firmly shut, she tried to do nothing more but enjoy the closeness and sense of protection the man radiated.
And oh dear lord how Ari needed the sense of protection Snape radiated. She was nauseous, cold, would have fallen of the broom if the Wizard had not held her so firmly, at least half a dozen times already- And that was even before they had reached the treetops.
Flying towards safety on a broomstick, held by the conquering hero who had just saved her life, was -not- romantic. It was sickening, wild, terrible, cold, horrifying, and way to far from the ground.
It was this flight that convinced Ari she would never, ever be a witch.
Yet in her tight embrace she could freely hold the slender body of the man she had yearned to touch and who- oh wonder- enjoyed her closeness as much as she did his. Who pulled her even closer to be filled with the scent of her hair and who stole a taste of the skin behind her ear.
It were moments- precious moments.
But only moments.
"Oh Severus- thank Goodness you have found her."
McGonagall's worried voice.
"Damn girl! That was a pretty scare you gave us!"
Ari peeked with one eye and saw a dark bolt coming for them incredibly fast. It was Harry, green eyes sparkling and smiling broadly, echoing McGonagall.
"You've found her!"
"Now isn't that a dent in your reputation." Snape answered the Seeker's enthusiasm coldly. He didn't yelp, but Ari felt him cringe while she pinched him.
In the butt.
Hard.
Her hand sliding south unseen over his back, under his cloak, the warm body in her arms heating up more than was wise on the narrow broomstick. Severus wisely refrained from provoking the boy further.
On the ground, in front of the castle, Pomfrey, Flitwick Filch and his cat and Dumbledore himself were eagerly awaiting them.
Snape gracefully touched down, and before anyone could stop her, Ari was on her knees before Mrs. Norris, swooped the startled cat up in a tight hug that almost crushed the scrawny animal and apologised.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs Norris! I should have listened to you, and I promise, next time I will!"
She gently let go of the cat and was helped up by Harry and the mediwitch, standing unsteadily in between.
Filch beamed proudly at her and at his cat, Mrs Norris half hid herself behind her human's legs to avoid further familiarity, and washed herself behind her ears to alleviate her confusion. But she accepted Filches petting and his human prattle, and started to look very happy with herself while he coaxed her inside with the promise of catnip.
Filch had acknowledged Ari's return with a relieved sigh and a grin and apparently to him, that was all- The lady was back so there was nothing left to fuss about. Muggles, like squibs, were a lot less delicate than the wizards thought them to be, he knew.
But the wizards and witches crowded Ari with well meant over concern and, while Snape stepped back, next to Dumbledore, with a scowl on his face and an amused glint in his eyes. Flitwick conjured up a stretcher, Hooch, McGonagall and Harry were all talking at once, hugging and patting and asking questions from the dizzy woman, until somebody touched her arm and Ari gave a small cry of pain. That was when Pomfrey asserted herself, pushed the others away and Ari down on the stretcher.
Ari asked where Lupin was. Black, he and Fang were still in the woods, looking for her. Harry and Hooch were sent away to warn them of her safe return. Dumbledore beaconed Snape to come with him and McGonagall to inform them about what had happened, but the mediwitch took one glance at the Potions Master and would have none of it. If the headmaster wanted to interview the Professor, he could do so at his leisure, down in her ward! His bruises needed seeing to, even if her immediate concern went to Ari.
So there was an odd procession of Ari on her floating stretcher, quite comfortable actually, fawned over by Mrs Pomfrey, sided by Flitwick who steered the thing and followed by Dumbledore and McGonagall. In their turn trailed by the chagrined Potions Master, who just audibly muttered something about having better things to do than chasing after brainless muggles or being submitted to Pomfrey's not so delicate ministrations. Ari chuckled, Dumbledore frowned and McGonagall at one point gave a rather exasperated -Severus!- before they arrived at their destination.
Behind a screen, Ari was ordered to undress an lay down on one of the hospital beds. She described the creatures by whom she had been attacked and was told they were probably Pogrebins, who for some mysterious reason had been migrating al over Europe for months now. Originally, they came from the dark forest of the Balkan and the European side of the former USSR.
Pomfrey told her that Snape had done a fair job on her healing her, high praise indeed form the Mediwitch. Snape snorted from the other side of the screen.
Pomfrey said some additional spells to alleviate pain and heal the bruises. She assured Ari there would be no scars. She also gave Ari some pills against the blood loss and a mug of hot chocolate to ward off residual depression. The feelings of hopelessness and loss Ari had felt during her trek through the woods had been caused by the nasty Progrebins. What the little buggers did was considered less serious than the loss of feeling a Dementor could cause, but well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Ari shivered, thinking of the powers of a Dementor. If what she had felt was nothing compared to one of those creatures, no wonder Snape had been so dishevelled and weary after warding of no less then five of them.
By the time Ari lay back under the sterile covers of a hospital bed, dressed in a white Victorian nightshirt and sipping from the steaming brew, Snape had related how he had found her, omitting some obvious specifics, while Black came thundering in. Followed by a still grinning Filch and his small shadow, Mrs Norris, Harry and Hootch.
Snape and Black glared ominously at each other, Dumbledore annoyed at them and McGonagall seemed royally -not- amused. Mrs Norris jumped up Ari's bed and settled herself at her feet, looking insufferably pleased with herself.
Both men's robes were soiled and torn, both had a black eye, tousled hair, and bruised knuckles. Snape's lip was split and Black limped a bit.
Lupin rolled his eyes and looked at Ari as if to say 'they're hopeless!'. Ari grinned back.
"So-" she said, while Mrs Pomfrey beaconed Black to sit down and be -quiet-, at the same time manipulating Snape's face to get a got look at his bruises, "who won?"
Dumbledore and McGonagall -tried- to look stern and failed, Lupin chuckled softly and Filch beamed proudly and answered.
"Mrs. Norris did!"
Both Black and Snape seemed to grow a little smaller. The cat purred.
"She came running from the tunnel, she did. But the -er- boys, (Snape cringed, he was good at that, and Black looked up, indignant and wide eyed) paid no attention to her and -I- was at the other end of the room, so I could not get to her or understand her. But then she simply jumped those two and…"
"She -bit- me!" hissed Black, rubbing his rear.
Snape coughed. "Then she jumped on my head and clawed my scalp!"
"Quite effective." commented Dumbledore wry. "Next time I'll make an attempt to have a discussion with the -both- of you present, I'll ask Mrs. Norris to referee."
The two men scowled.
Ari bent over to the cat and scratched her behind the ears. The volume of purring turned to that of a small motorboat.
"I take it you were the one responsible for making the boys come to look for me?"
"She was", The Headmaster said. "But my dear girl, -why- did you go into those woods?"
"I was looking for Remus. I thought -he- had gone for a walk in them- And I had no idea it could be dangerous." Ari told them how Mrs. Norris had warned her. How the lovely forest had drawn her in and barred her way back. She told about the fright the spiders had given her- Harry shivered knowingly and McGonagall gave a soft 'O deary me!' at that. She sighed and put a hand over her breast, shaking her head. Ari spoke about the Centaur and was given the comment they were always like that. Ari did not tell about Venus being bright, but she smiled to herself. The creature had been quite right after all. She told about the attack of the midgets and how Snape rescued her from the fire. She also said she was sorry for starting it in the first place, and causing the trouble she had.
In the mean time, Pomfrey was seizing up both Snape and Black, flicking her wand over them to clean up their faces and shaking her head in disbelieve over their conduct.
The old wizard shook his silver head. "Don't be. It is so evident to us that the woods are far from safe, that we neglected to warn you. If anyone is to blame, I blame myself. Please forgive me my dear. You could have met a grave fate in there, you nearly did. I really must compliment you on the way you held yourself. You have proven to be a most resourceful individual. Many a witch or wizard would not have been so practical as you have been, and would have perished."
Snape, dizzy from the spell the mediwitch just spoke to heal his black eye, hissed under his breath an annoyed "Oh please!"
Black reacted as if bitten by a snake.
"What do you mean by that!"
To everybody's surprise, Mrs Norris let out a low growl. The two men turned to her, startled. Dumbledore chuckled and McGonagall nodded approvingly. Filch seemed to have a bad coughing spell that made Flitwick a bit nervous, but Pomfrey merely pulled up her shoulders and ignored it.
"Anyway," continued Ari. "I'm really grateful you all went out, looking for me." She stared across the room at Snape. In spite of her mind, telling her not to act too kindly towards the Potions Master, she could not help her voice colouring with warmth when she addressed him.
"I'm very grateful you got me out of there, Severus. It means a lot to me that you were there for me."
Dumbledore frowned slightly. Snape stood, regarded Ari coldly and drew a blank mask.
"All this means, is that now we are even." And without another word or sideways glance, he swept out of the ward into the dark corridors of the castle.
"Well I never!" McGonagall started surprised. Dunbledore lost his frown and in his friendly unobtrusive way, looked exactly as bland as Snape just had. It earned him a befuddled frown of the Transfiguration Teacher.
"Typical." sneered Black. Lupin pounced his shoulder for that and Black frowned up at him.
Ari no longer paid notice to the others. She had know Snape would have to retreat inside himself, as soon as they were under the headmaster's scrutiny. She had not expected his attitude, even when faked, would -hurt-.
But it did.
************************************************************************************************
THANK YOU, everyone who is still reading this and urging me on to -finally- continue with questions about my health, howlers and pleas. I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting for such a long time.
Please forgive me for not answering the wonderful comments you all gave me, or sending this chapter or a message that it has been posted. My computer has suffered a major breakdown and I've lost -all- the addresses of the people I mail to. Please let me know if you would like a notice the next chapter is up, or the chapter itself.
Inspiration has struck (at last!) once more and I'll write on. I'll promise to better myself and you will hear from me soon. I'll make no excuses- the story just would not come to me for a while. But now my muse is back, I fully intend to tie her down and keep her up with coffee and candy until the story is done.
So this chapter is named 'Return' both for Ari's return to Hogwarts, and mine to my keyboard.
After a few chapters I will post a kind of interlude chapter filled with writers notes- the kind that seems to become quite popular on FF. net, to answer your wonderful remarks and critique. Bye for now.
Andolyn
Own the © on Severus and his mates
I do not own, I gather no riches
I'm merely toying with their fates
Andolyn
Return
"Hrmpf!"
It was the wind, toying with her long tresses and blowing them in the wizards face that made for the annoyed comment. Ari however, could hear de amused undertone in the ill pronounced murmur, so far removed from Sev's usual eloquent sarcasm. Snuggling a bit closer, eyes firmly shut, she tried to do nothing more but enjoy the closeness and sense of protection the man radiated.
And oh dear lord how Ari needed the sense of protection Snape radiated. She was nauseous, cold, would have fallen of the broom if the Wizard had not held her so firmly, at least half a dozen times already- And that was even before they had reached the treetops.
Flying towards safety on a broomstick, held by the conquering hero who had just saved her life, was -not- romantic. It was sickening, wild, terrible, cold, horrifying, and way to far from the ground.
It was this flight that convinced Ari she would never, ever be a witch.
Yet in her tight embrace she could freely hold the slender body of the man she had yearned to touch and who- oh wonder- enjoyed her closeness as much as she did his. Who pulled her even closer to be filled with the scent of her hair and who stole a taste of the skin behind her ear.
It were moments- precious moments.
But only moments.
"Oh Severus- thank Goodness you have found her."
McGonagall's worried voice.
"Damn girl! That was a pretty scare you gave us!"
Ari peeked with one eye and saw a dark bolt coming for them incredibly fast. It was Harry, green eyes sparkling and smiling broadly, echoing McGonagall.
"You've found her!"
"Now isn't that a dent in your reputation." Snape answered the Seeker's enthusiasm coldly. He didn't yelp, but Ari felt him cringe while she pinched him.
In the butt.
Hard.
Her hand sliding south unseen over his back, under his cloak, the warm body in her arms heating up more than was wise on the narrow broomstick. Severus wisely refrained from provoking the boy further.
On the ground, in front of the castle, Pomfrey, Flitwick Filch and his cat and Dumbledore himself were eagerly awaiting them.
Snape gracefully touched down, and before anyone could stop her, Ari was on her knees before Mrs. Norris, swooped the startled cat up in a tight hug that almost crushed the scrawny animal and apologised.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs Norris! I should have listened to you, and I promise, next time I will!"
She gently let go of the cat and was helped up by Harry and the mediwitch, standing unsteadily in between.
Filch beamed proudly at her and at his cat, Mrs Norris half hid herself behind her human's legs to avoid further familiarity, and washed herself behind her ears to alleviate her confusion. But she accepted Filches petting and his human prattle, and started to look very happy with herself while he coaxed her inside with the promise of catnip.
Filch had acknowledged Ari's return with a relieved sigh and a grin and apparently to him, that was all- The lady was back so there was nothing left to fuss about. Muggles, like squibs, were a lot less delicate than the wizards thought them to be, he knew.
But the wizards and witches crowded Ari with well meant over concern and, while Snape stepped back, next to Dumbledore, with a scowl on his face and an amused glint in his eyes. Flitwick conjured up a stretcher, Hooch, McGonagall and Harry were all talking at once, hugging and patting and asking questions from the dizzy woman, until somebody touched her arm and Ari gave a small cry of pain. That was when Pomfrey asserted herself, pushed the others away and Ari down on the stretcher.
Ari asked where Lupin was. Black, he and Fang were still in the woods, looking for her. Harry and Hooch were sent away to warn them of her safe return. Dumbledore beaconed Snape to come with him and McGonagall to inform them about what had happened, but the mediwitch took one glance at the Potions Master and would have none of it. If the headmaster wanted to interview the Professor, he could do so at his leisure, down in her ward! His bruises needed seeing to, even if her immediate concern went to Ari.
So there was an odd procession of Ari on her floating stretcher, quite comfortable actually, fawned over by Mrs Pomfrey, sided by Flitwick who steered the thing and followed by Dumbledore and McGonagall. In their turn trailed by the chagrined Potions Master, who just audibly muttered something about having better things to do than chasing after brainless muggles or being submitted to Pomfrey's not so delicate ministrations. Ari chuckled, Dumbledore frowned and McGonagall at one point gave a rather exasperated -Severus!- before they arrived at their destination.
Behind a screen, Ari was ordered to undress an lay down on one of the hospital beds. She described the creatures by whom she had been attacked and was told they were probably Pogrebins, who for some mysterious reason had been migrating al over Europe for months now. Originally, they came from the dark forest of the Balkan and the European side of the former USSR.
Pomfrey told her that Snape had done a fair job on her healing her, high praise indeed form the Mediwitch. Snape snorted from the other side of the screen.
Pomfrey said some additional spells to alleviate pain and heal the bruises. She assured Ari there would be no scars. She also gave Ari some pills against the blood loss and a mug of hot chocolate to ward off residual depression. The feelings of hopelessness and loss Ari had felt during her trek through the woods had been caused by the nasty Progrebins. What the little buggers did was considered less serious than the loss of feeling a Dementor could cause, but well, it was better to be safe than sorry. Ari shivered, thinking of the powers of a Dementor. If what she had felt was nothing compared to one of those creatures, no wonder Snape had been so dishevelled and weary after warding of no less then five of them.
By the time Ari lay back under the sterile covers of a hospital bed, dressed in a white Victorian nightshirt and sipping from the steaming brew, Snape had related how he had found her, omitting some obvious specifics, while Black came thundering in. Followed by a still grinning Filch and his small shadow, Mrs Norris, Harry and Hootch.
Snape and Black glared ominously at each other, Dumbledore annoyed at them and McGonagall seemed royally -not- amused. Mrs Norris jumped up Ari's bed and settled herself at her feet, looking insufferably pleased with herself.
Both men's robes were soiled and torn, both had a black eye, tousled hair, and bruised knuckles. Snape's lip was split and Black limped a bit.
Lupin rolled his eyes and looked at Ari as if to say 'they're hopeless!'. Ari grinned back.
"So-" she said, while Mrs Pomfrey beaconed Black to sit down and be -quiet-, at the same time manipulating Snape's face to get a got look at his bruises, "who won?"
Dumbledore and McGonagall -tried- to look stern and failed, Lupin chuckled softly and Filch beamed proudly and answered.
"Mrs. Norris did!"
Both Black and Snape seemed to grow a little smaller. The cat purred.
"She came running from the tunnel, she did. But the -er- boys, (Snape cringed, he was good at that, and Black looked up, indignant and wide eyed) paid no attention to her and -I- was at the other end of the room, so I could not get to her or understand her. But then she simply jumped those two and…"
"She -bit- me!" hissed Black, rubbing his rear.
Snape coughed. "Then she jumped on my head and clawed my scalp!"
"Quite effective." commented Dumbledore wry. "Next time I'll make an attempt to have a discussion with the -both- of you present, I'll ask Mrs. Norris to referee."
The two men scowled.
Ari bent over to the cat and scratched her behind the ears. The volume of purring turned to that of a small motorboat.
"I take it you were the one responsible for making the boys come to look for me?"
"She was", The Headmaster said. "But my dear girl, -why- did you go into those woods?"
"I was looking for Remus. I thought -he- had gone for a walk in them- And I had no idea it could be dangerous." Ari told them how Mrs. Norris had warned her. How the lovely forest had drawn her in and barred her way back. She told about the fright the spiders had given her- Harry shivered knowingly and McGonagall gave a soft 'O deary me!' at that. She sighed and put a hand over her breast, shaking her head. Ari spoke about the Centaur and was given the comment they were always like that. Ari did not tell about Venus being bright, but she smiled to herself. The creature had been quite right after all. She told about the attack of the midgets and how Snape rescued her from the fire. She also said she was sorry for starting it in the first place, and causing the trouble she had.
In the mean time, Pomfrey was seizing up both Snape and Black, flicking her wand over them to clean up their faces and shaking her head in disbelieve over their conduct.
The old wizard shook his silver head. "Don't be. It is so evident to us that the woods are far from safe, that we neglected to warn you. If anyone is to blame, I blame myself. Please forgive me my dear. You could have met a grave fate in there, you nearly did. I really must compliment you on the way you held yourself. You have proven to be a most resourceful individual. Many a witch or wizard would not have been so practical as you have been, and would have perished."
Snape, dizzy from the spell the mediwitch just spoke to heal his black eye, hissed under his breath an annoyed "Oh please!"
Black reacted as if bitten by a snake.
"What do you mean by that!"
To everybody's surprise, Mrs Norris let out a low growl. The two men turned to her, startled. Dumbledore chuckled and McGonagall nodded approvingly. Filch seemed to have a bad coughing spell that made Flitwick a bit nervous, but Pomfrey merely pulled up her shoulders and ignored it.
"Anyway," continued Ari. "I'm really grateful you all went out, looking for me." She stared across the room at Snape. In spite of her mind, telling her not to act too kindly towards the Potions Master, she could not help her voice colouring with warmth when she addressed him.
"I'm very grateful you got me out of there, Severus. It means a lot to me that you were there for me."
Dumbledore frowned slightly. Snape stood, regarded Ari coldly and drew a blank mask.
"All this means, is that now we are even." And without another word or sideways glance, he swept out of the ward into the dark corridors of the castle.
"Well I never!" McGonagall started surprised. Dunbledore lost his frown and in his friendly unobtrusive way, looked exactly as bland as Snape just had. It earned him a befuddled frown of the Transfiguration Teacher.
"Typical." sneered Black. Lupin pounced his shoulder for that and Black frowned up at him.
Ari no longer paid notice to the others. She had know Snape would have to retreat inside himself, as soon as they were under the headmaster's scrutiny. She had not expected his attitude, even when faked, would -hurt-.
But it did.
************************************************************************************************
THANK YOU, everyone who is still reading this and urging me on to -finally- continue with questions about my health, howlers and pleas. I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting for such a long time.
Please forgive me for not answering the wonderful comments you all gave me, or sending this chapter or a message that it has been posted. My computer has suffered a major breakdown and I've lost -all- the addresses of the people I mail to. Please let me know if you would like a notice the next chapter is up, or the chapter itself.
Inspiration has struck (at last!) once more and I'll write on. I'll promise to better myself and you will hear from me soon. I'll make no excuses- the story just would not come to me for a while. But now my muse is back, I fully intend to tie her down and keep her up with coffee and candy until the story is done.
So this chapter is named 'Return' both for Ari's return to Hogwarts, and mine to my keyboard.
After a few chapters I will post a kind of interlude chapter filled with writers notes- the kind that seems to become quite popular on FF. net, to answer your wonderful remarks and critique. Bye for now.
Andolyn