Disclaimer: oh, come on. as if you don't already know. if you see a name and you think "hmm, that seems familiar" then it belongs to Rowling. if you see a name and you think "what the hell?" then it's mine. have fun.

The Winged Serpents

Chapter Seven: Unspoken Conversations

***

Snape paced back and forth across his office. The fireplace burned brightly, flickering, casting shadows upon the walls. It was a quarter 'til eight, they would be here any minute. He glanced over at his desk, searching for some sort of enlightenment. He knew he had to speak to them, but he hadn't the slightest idea what to say. Scanning the room for anything that might give him an edge on the situation, he finally settled into the chair behind his desk. Unconsciously tracing the carvings on the arm of the chair with his pointer finger, he waited.

At precisely four minutes after, he heard a tentative knock at the door. This was followed by some muffled dialogue and then a much stronger knock on the door. He sat up at his desk and straightened his arms out before him, interlacing his fingers and doing his best to look as if he was in complete control. Muttering a brief "Enter" he allowed his eyes to linger near the door.

Raven opened the door and marched inside, walked right to one of the chairs on the other side of his desk and sat, waiting. Dove took much more time. She glanced at him quickly before entering, then shut the door softly behind her and approached. She gave a long glare in Raven's direction, but finally sat when the other girl refused to acknowledge her. Snape noticed that she was making a distinct effort to keep her eyes on his hands, whereas Raven seemed to be staring straight through to the back of his skull. Both unnerved him.

A full minute and a half passed without a word. Finally, Raven got fed up and spoke.

"So, what did you need, Professor? I hope this isn't about the little incident with the Tricky Tarot cards, because I have to tell you…that was all me." She grinned broadly, proud of what she obviously found to be a great achievement. "Well, I mean, the Weasleys did help a bit, but it was entirely my idea. So if there's going to be anymore punishment, I expect to be able to take full credit."

Snape barely controlled the snickers that threatened to burst forth, but his lips did twitch up a few centimeters. He'd heard about that little prank, and had been rather impressed, frankly. He'd never been too fond of Professor Trelawney or her field of magic, and was always amused by Raven's little jokes. She wasn't quite as infamous as the Weasley twins, of course, but she had her moments. "No," he said, "This isn't to do with that. Although it was rather ingenious to mix in that little Twitching Charm. She kept winking at Madame Pomfrey in the infirmary. Rather threw the poor woman off her game, I daresay."

He was surprised to be rewarded by a small chuckle from each of the girls. He was always surprised when they laughed at his remarks, no other students had ever had the gall to do so before. Although he was quite sure that if any other student had dared, he would immediately have made them regret it. But from these two…he'd never seemed to find. He'd actually sometimes found himself trying to elicit a little smile from them. Yet another strange symptom he should have to look into.

"No, this is about…you two. And your newfound responsibilities." Both girls immediately sobered and looked up at him. They each nodded, and he continued. "Headmaster Dumbledore has filled me in on the details," At this, both girls winced, although he was unsure why. "…and I thought it best to discuss it with you. But first, I'd like to know…Where did you learn Animergency?"

A quizzical look flashed briefly across Dove's face before she sank into deep thought. Raven merely looked ahead at him, as if seeing him for the first time.

"An emergency? Wait. What's an emergency? What's going on?" Raven pummeled him with the questions, one after the other, and sat tensely for his reply.

"No, not an emergency. Animergency. As in, the act of Animergence. Your wings, how did you get them?"

"Ohhhhhhh, I gotcha," Dove let out. "The wings. Animergence, huh? Never heard of it. We were just trying to develop some Animagus abilities, but we got stuck at the wings part. Never got any further than that. We figured we just screwed something up. But you're saying we actually did something else right? Cool." She shrugged and grinned over at Raven. The two looked at each other intensely for a few moments, and Snape got the strange feeling that they were somehow communicating on another level.

As they stared at each other, Snape finally took the time to look them over. They seemed…much older than he remembered. The last couple of months have worked wonders for them, he thought vaguely. They don't look like they're fifteen, they could easily pass for college students. Snapping back, he chastised himself for his crude thoughts. He growled softly at himself and tried to focus. Moments later, the girls turned back.

"Sorry, 'Fess, but what exactly is Animergency then?" Raven now.

"Animergency is the rare ability to Merge parts of your body into a new formation and Transfigure them for a new structure. One might gain the hind legs of a cheetah, or the eyes of a hawk, or even the antennae of some insect.  However, it is extremely difficult. Most people can barely attain a state of successful Animagus. But once they are able to grasp onto the full concept, it comes easily. The entire body and mind are Transfigured, so it is easy to obtain. It is an extension of the Soul. Animergence, however, is more tricky. It is not an extension of the Soul, but of the Mind. It requires a great deal of concentration and skill to retain those parts which emerge. While neither gives you the choice in what develops, Animergence has the distinct disadvantage that one usually cannot control it. If someone were to glue an extra arm onto you, do you think you would be able to use it?" Both girls shook their heads emphatically. "So it is with Animergence. It is very rare that anyone is able to achieve, more less actually manipulate their new appendages. Which is why I find it so fascinating in you two. You are both extremely young to have managed such a feat of magic, and the fact that you can actually utilize your wings is near incomprehensible."

The two girls stared at him, wordless, for a few long seconds. "Oh," said Dove finally. "Cool."

Snape narrowed his eyes at them. "Cool, Miss Thomas?"

"Aw, come on, 'Fess. Admit it, if you had wings too, you'd think it was cool," Raven argued. She gave him her best "I-dare-you-to-disagree" look. He merely sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Ha. Thought so." She also leaned back, but with more satisfaction. "That wasn't all you wanted to talk about, was it?"

Snape straightened again and debated. He couldn't honestly think of anything else to say, but he didn't particularly want them to leave either. He was so used to solitary nights in his office, he felt it was rather a nice change to have…Company, he sniffed. I have company. Next thing you know, I'll be hosting cocktail parties and telling pathetic jokes while Minerva sings karaoke. He grinned inwardly at the thought. He decided not to keep them any longer under the guise of premeditated discussion. But he allowed himself to at least leave it open to them. If they choose to stay, I won't argue.

"No, I suppose that is all. But I will warn you that Professor McGonagall may be asking for a few moments of your time later in the week. Animergency has always been a personal interest of hers, no doubt she'll want to bombard you with questions. Otherwise, I have nothing left to say at the moment. But if there's anything you'd care to discuss…" He left the question open and waited for their answer. He fully expected a quick refusal followed by frenzied footsteps out the door, but a smidgen of his brain hoped they might stay.

"Actually, we were sort of wondering something…" Dove said hesitantly. Snape beamed mentally, but only nodded his head to encourage her on. "Erm…we just wanted to know if…you aren't disappointed, o-or angry with us, are you?" The two pairs of pleading eyes made Snape's breath catch at the back of his throat. Dumbledore was right. They were worried I might disapprove.

"Silly girl, of course not." Gah, how did I hit Bastard mode so quickly? he thought angrily to himself. He spoke again, this time more softly. "Of course not. I think you have both handled yourselves extremely well under the circumstances. However, that is not to say that you may slack off in any way. I expect you to keep your minds open and attentive. This is not an excuse to start screwing around. Understood?" Both girls beamed at him, unable to hide their enthusiasm at his easy acceptance. Before he knew what had happened, he found himself grinning back. It was rather awkward for him, as he was not used to such displays, but he found himself quite incapable of subduing it once it had begun.

Rather abruptly, both girls stood up. "Thanks, Professor," said Dove.

"Yeah, thanks. Really." Raven's eyes glittered.

"We ought to go, though. Curfew's coming up. Goodnight, Professor." Dove waved feebly in his direction before turning and walking to the door. Raven gave her own small nod before following. Snape watched them leave and shut the door behind them. He waited a few moments before setting the wards, and then got up to head for his rooms. As he went about his normal nightly routine, he tried to think back to the last time that someone other than Dumbledore had wished him a good night. He fell asleep that night unable to think of a single instance.

***

"Heart, can I ask you something?" Raven had a strange curious look on her face, which Dove was unused to. It gave her a strange nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew what Raven was going to ask, but couldn't decide how she should answer. Throwing a few ideas about in her head, she finally came to the conclusion that, if Raven did go ahead with this train of thought, she could always disguise the truth. She could never lie to her, she would feel it immediately, but she would be able to veil it just enough that Raven might let it go.

"Alright. Of course, anything you want to know." She stopped her movement and kept her eyes on the ground. She flinched when Raven spoke, but managed to keep her breathing normal.

"Why were you so quick to trust Draco? I mean, it was my idea to tell him, but even I had a few apprehensions. You just gave in so quickly. Is something going on between you two?" Raven stared wholes through Dove. She watched as her sister straightened up and sat down on her bed. She seemed to be trying to decide what she should say.

"Well, if you're implying that Draco and I are romantically involved, then no. I could never see him that way, nor the other way around I'm sure. Besides, Drew would kill us both." She threw a weak smile in Raven's direction and tried to distinguish her emotions. Would she let it go now? The gently push of her gaze quieted that thought quickly. No, she must continue. "Look, I just trust him, that's all. I-I'm not sure why. It's difficult to explain. I just…I feel like I've known him for a long time. And I've never really had any reason not to trust him." She gave one last pleading look in Raven's direction.

Raven sighed loudly, giving in. "Alright. I suppose if that's all I can get out of you, then that will have to be enough. Finish getting ready for bed." Raven stumbled into her own ragged nightclothes and pulled back the sheets on her bed. "You know," she began, looking down at her old nightie, "These nightgowns really are crap." A muffled laugh came from Dove's immediate direction as she struggled to change into her own nightgown. "No, really. They're horrible. We should get ourselves some new things next time we drop into Hogsmeade, you think?" Dove nodded her head urgently and jumped into bed. Moments later, they were both snoring.

***

"Hey, Chris! Chriiiiiiis. Cha-risss. CHRIS! Chrischrischrischris-"

"What?!" Chris looked up from a heavy game of exploding snap to look at Kello. While his back was turned, Fred and George hastily made a few "improvements" to the game in their favor. "What do you want? Jeezy Chreezy."

Kello stalked over to him and placed herself between him and the Weasley twins. She straightened out her hair and settled herself down. Giving her best "now-this-is-serious-so-don't-interrupt-and-say-something-funny-because-I'll-laugh-and-get-distracted-and-won't-be-able-to-continue" look. It was a very difficult look to master, but Kello had it down. "Chris, have you noticed anything weird about the twins?"

"Yeah, they've been cheating with a lot less difficulty lately. They must have been practicing over summer." He kept his face straight in case she decided to take him seriously. Which she did.

"Chris! I'm serious! You know I'm talking about the Thomas twins, so come on. Do they look different, or seem different, to you?" She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to force the importance of the matter onto him.

"No, they seem the same as they ever did. I mean, sure, they look a bit older, but it's been two months since we've seen them. That does happen, you know. They seem just like themselves, as far as I'm concerned." He narrowed his eyes right back, and even went so far as to cross his arms in front of his chest. He raised his eyebrows slightly to see if she would try to continue the conversation. She looked at him, curious, then sighed and got up.

"Alright. If you're sure…"

"I am. Now, if you don't mind, my fist has an appointment with Fred's face, and he's never tolerated tardiness." He gave a low mock-growl and balled his hands in a semi-threatening way as he turned towards the two redheads across from him. They mustered up a few stray innocent looks and attempted to keep from laughing as Kello turned away from them all. She wasn't entirely convinced, but decided to let it go. If something happened, she would be ready. But there was no need to raise any baseless suspicions. She headed out of the Gryffindor common room and made for the library. I'll just have a little chat with Alex. He'll know what's what.

***

In the library, Alex was already occupied. Drew was sitting across from him and they were both very deep into their conversation.

"So that's it, is it? Are you sure?" Alex's disapproval was thinly veiled behind disbelief. What Drew had proposed made a rather grudging sense to him. Everyone (excluding the twins, apparently) had known of his affections for the past year or so, but he'd never made an obvious move. So it should have come as no real surprise.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm really sorry, Alex. But I thought you ought to know. I've noticed them staring at meals, but I wanted to be sure. I caught them talking to him earlier. I don't think they're aware that I overheard them, but I suppose it's better. I expect they wouldn't want it getting out, considering who it is." He gave Alex a meaningful look. Thankfully, it was not lost on his Ravenclaw friend, who was taking it rather better than he'd expected.

"I guess it's better that I know now. And I'm actually glad it was you telling me. I don't think I could have handled Kello's sympathetic nods and half-smiles, and Chris' jokes may have sent me over the edge. Don't worry, I won't say anything. Everyone else can find out when it's time." He looked down at his hands, studying the lines and crevices there. He'd never been a fan of Divination, and thus didn't know much about the practical application of palm-reading, but it suddenly seemed to him that his love line was looking a bit shorter than he'd remembered. Clearing his throat, he met Drew's eyes and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Besides, I don't suppose it would have been very fair to Daphne. All of that unspoken attention." He grinned as he saw Drew struggling to recall the earlier context of this "Daphne" character.

Just as realization kicked in for the poor Slyth, a familiar scuffling of feet came through the library doors. Both boys tried to clear their faces and do their best impressions of the unwavering heartthrobs that they suspected all Hogwarts students took them for. Kello marched up towards them, slighting a bit at the sight of Drew across from her favorite Ravenclaw.

"Oh. Hi Drew. I wasn't expecting you to be here. But it's just as well, probably." She studied both boys. She had the fleeting feeling that they had just had a serious conversation and were trying to dissuade her from considering it. But these were two of the least likely people she could think of to be actively involved in any form of serious banter. Especially with one another. "Erm…Have either of you noticed anything strange about the twins lately? Chris said no, but I doubt he's really been paying much attention. You two are the people-watchers, what do you think?"

Drew and Alex looked at each other quickly, their expressions murky and unreadable to anyone but each other at the moment. Finally, Drew looked up at their friend and spoke. "No, nothing out of the ordinary. You know how those two are. Weird is normal for them." Alex managed an amused nod. Kello gave them both a curious expression of her own invention, but reluctantly dropped the subject.

"Ok. But you two really ought to be heading back to your dorms, it's almost curfew." The boys gathered the few things they had with them and the three left the library without another word.

***