Disclaimer: if you don't already know, i'm not going to tell you. (typical slyth bitch, eh? haha. yeah, right.)

A/N: no author's notes cuz i'm too lazy. i hope this chapter's better than last, there's certainly more happening. but things're definitely going to pick up soon. (ps – if you find any mistakes, tell me, and i'll be sure to fix them and will definitely give you credit!!! like michelle, who's my hero for chapter ten. lol)

The Winged Serpents

Chapter Eleven: Hectic Holidays

***

Just as she had promised, Dove had indeed had an idea. And after a day or two of resolute sulking, she gave in to Raven's incessantly nagging apologies and told her.

"Well, you were complaining so much about not having anyone to buy for...and then there was Snape being all Snape-like...and I just thought, why shouldn't we buy him a gift? He can't get very many. Besides, I think it's about time someone did something nice for him. Don't you?"

Raven nodded in silent agreement. Her eyes were glowing with enthusiasm as she warmed to the idea.

"Yes, of course! That's perfect! And I've got just the thing too!" Raven spoke quickly and eagerly, spilling every detail that she could, ironing out the little bits. After a few short hours, all aspects of the gift had been thought and rethought and eventually agreed upon. Both girls were alight with giddy energy at the enchanting prospect before them. They immediately set to work. A couple of owls were sent off to Alex and the Weasley twins, then it was off to the library.

Later that evening, the two stumbled back into their room. They had found just the spells they were looking for and had sent copies out to the Weasley twins immediately. Now all they had to do was wait for the replies. As they waited, they got ready for dinner. As there were so few students left about during winter holiday, especially with Sirius Black on the prowl, they would more than likely be sitting at a table with the faculty and whatever students were left.

After a short bout with her unruly hair, Dove finally coaxed Raven into a Detangling Charm, and they raced to the Great Hall. Decorations of every sort were strewn about in a most dizzying, but glorious, manner. In the center of the large room was one long table. Most of the staff were already seated, and a small number of students as well. Only a few seats were left, so the girls were forced to sit between Professor Sprout and Devon Ryle. Muttering at their misfortune, they made themselves comfortable and looked quietly about.

The meal was casual and had an air of intimacy about it, but the girls paid little attention to those around them, not even pretending to engage in chit-chat. With Snape on the other end of the table, and Dumbledore caught up with Professor McGonagall, they could only sigh. They had no intention of mingling with anyone below their intellectual standards. Dove picked absently at her plate, Raven feigned thirst as she played with her goblet, and neither really noticed when Ryle sprinkled a bit of orange-y powder on the last two biscuits before passing the platter to them.

Raven absently took one and placed the other on her sister's plate. She tried to start some easy conversation with the young Ravenclaw across from her, but to no avail. The girl's only interests seemed to be in make-up, fashion, and "gorgey Professor Lupin". She ceased all communication with the girl immediately. Such things were below her, and besides, she preferred not to think about Professor Lupin just yet. He made her sincerely uncomfortable, both in class and out. It wasn't the secret itself that bothered her, she'd read it in the Fabric of others before him, but it was the manner in which he kept it, as if he was ashamed. Gods knew she and Dove had more to be ashamed of than he did, but they had resigned themselves to the Fates long ago.

Trying to ward off any wandering eyes, she picked at the biscuit on her plate. Sullenly, she took a bite and chewed, preparing to excuse herself. But as she pulled herself away from the table, everything suddenly rushed away from her and she lost her balance. Stumbling over her own feet, she reached out to grab the table or her sister or anything that might anchor her, but her hands felt nothing and she fell. As her head smacked the floor, her eyes fluttered open and landed momentarily on the smirking figure of Devon Ryle.

Then everything went black.

***

Bleary-eyed, Raven reached for the glass of water next to the bed. She was in the infirmary again, Dove at her side. She'd woken only a few minutes earlier to the fussing insistence of Madame Pomfrey. A small vial filled with a creamy purple liquid was swallowed, and then the nurse had left her with her sister. Dove stared at Raven curiously, but said nothing.

"What? Stop looking at me like that." She mumbled groggily, the room still seeming to weave about lightly.

"I just want to know what happened out there. You seemed fine one minute, then the next you were crumpled on the floor. You weren't sick or I'd have felt it. So what happened then?" Her eyes betrayed her worry, but her face was a mask of annoyance.

"Ryle. He put something in my food, I think. I could see it on his face just before I passed out." Dove's eyes immediately burned with anger. She started in her chair and had to hold on to the sides with white knuckles so that she wouldn't fly out of it.

"Ryle? That little bastard! I knew he was up to something. He'd been too quiet." She seethed, spitting the words out in her fury. She began to vent her frustration in colorful obscenity, crowing about all the different ways that she would make him pay for doing this to her sister. But Raven only watched, half-amused, as her sister vented her fury. She rarely got to see Dove mad, and it warmed her to know that it was Dove's compassion for her that had caused it.

As Dove finally quieted, the door to the infirmary gently opened. In walked three tall wizards. Dumbledore, Snape, and Lupin approached quietly, all three with softly rebuking smirks on their faces as they had obviously heard most of Dove's rants down the long hallway. Dove went pink at the realization, but swallowed the apology that quaked to engulf her. Slowly, Dumbledore settled himself on the edge of Raven's bed and smiled.

"I trust you are feeling better, Miss Thomas?"

"Yes, thank you. I'm still a bit dizzy, but I'm usually a bit scattered anyway when I first wake up." She smiled weakly back at the old man and waited for him to proceed.

"I am glad to hear it." He stopped then, as if he wanted to say something but knew better, and turned to Professor Snape. Snape, taking his cue, approached cautiously.

"Miss Thomas, what happened precisely?" Raven described the events as well as she could remember them. After she'd finished, Dove looked up suddenly and spoke.

"Hold on, then. I think I remember-" Don't mention Ryle, Dove, Raven thrust in her head. Don't mention him, we'll deal with it later. Dove leered awkwardly at Raven, wondering why it should matter, but did as she bade. "I-I think I remember an orange powder on her biscuit. I didn't notice it at the time, but it seems strange to me now. I only remember because it looked sort of like one of the ingredients we've been using in Potions recently, Professor." She looked hesitantly at Snape, but relaxed when she saw a faint look of admiration trespass across his face.

"Indeed. An acute observation. If that is so, then it would explain a great deal." He paused slightly, unused to explaining himself. "The drillox dust we've been using for a basic sense-enhancing brew has a fickle property about it. When ingested by a human, it has an allergy-inducing effect. But in birds, it has the tendency to increase eyesight momentarily. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in owl treats." He gave a knowing look to Dumbledore and then the girls, before glancing at Lupin and adding, "Although it is strange that it seems to have affected you towards the latter degree rather than the former. No doubt the trespasser is just as curious about the results as anyone else. If it is as you say, Dove, then it would explain why Raven lost her balance and fell. The oversensitization of her ocular organs probably overloaded them and she may have briefly lost her conception of distance, causing a slight sense of vertigo. It should have worn off by now, however." He turned to Raven and nodded almost imperceptibly. "You should be fine in the morning."

"Well then, we'll let you rest. Sleep well, girls." Professor Dumbledore excused himself and Professor Snape followed him out without another glance. Professor Lupin, however, stayed. Inclining his head slightly at Dove, then at Raven, he maneuvered himself a bit closer to the bed, with only a slight shake to betray his recently weak state. Dove tried to catch Raven's eye so that she might know how to react, but Raven was blocking her out, physically and mentally.

"Raven," he seemed to speak only to the girl in the bed, "I think there is something I must speak to you about." Raven made no move to agree or disagree, only kept her eyes on him at all times. "Perhaps some tea?" Raven nodded finally. Lupin looked up at Dove with a questioning look. She also nodded and he moved away to conjure a tray of tea and biscuits. He poured the steamy liquid and offered it to both girls. They each hastily declined the biscuits, to his quiet amusement.

Raven waited, eyeing him suspiciously, but courteous in her manner. When it became obvious that he would not be the one to broach the subject, she spoke harshly.

"I know, of course. I could see it on you. But I haven't told her. I didn't think it would be right for me to divulge your secrets without your knowledge or permission." Lupin started slightly at this blatant exclamation, but kept his tongue. "And judging from the way you sniff at us whenever we're around, I suppose you know a bit about us as well. In case you were wondering, it's true." He started again, more sharply this time. It seemed he wasn't expecting such honesty so quickly. But, as it has been mentioned before, Dove and Raven had no reservations about their past, only a sensible reluctance.

Dove jumped up from her chair now, red-hot eyes on the two people before her. They each knew something that she did not, and neither seemed about to tell her.

"What is it?! What do you know that you haven't told me?!" She growled angrily at her sister. They very rarely kept secrets from each other, and on the few occasions that they did, it was never something as important as this seemed to be. She then directed herself towards Lupin. "And what do you know about us? Hmm? Tell me! Both of you!" She was glaring angrily at both in turn. Her livid form dared either to deny her the knowledge she now desired. Raven cast a quiet glance at Lupin, who nodded softly in return.

"Dove, Professor Lupin is a werewolf."

***

The next jumble of days were a blur. Lupin had explained a bit about his being a werewolf, careful to tell them only the bare facts. Raven, in turn, explained to a stunned Dove and a curious Lupin how she had known about it.

"You see, everyone's Fabric is different," she'd begun. "It's like their soul. It's what holds them together. Everything about them is woven into the Fabric. Experiences, friends, emotions, characteristics. And there are some things that tear the Fabric, rip it. Sometimes if something really horrible happens to you, it might rip your Fabric. If you lose a loved one, then where they're woven into you might tear just a bit. Like when people say that their heart's broken. But it's not their heart that's broken, it's their Fabric that's ripped. All I have to do is look at a person's Fabric and I can know everything about them. Some of it is very detailed and hard to see, but they're usually private things, and I try not to look anyway. It wouldn't be right to pry into someone like that without their knowing. But other things are right there on top so that I couldn't help seeing it if I tried. Like yours, Professor, it's...well, werewolf-shaped, I guess. There's really no way to describe it. I can just look at it and know that you're a werewolf. I've seen it before. And there's a long slit up it too, like it tears you apart to be a werewolf. Only I don't see why it should. It's just another part of you, like the color of your eyes, nothing to be ashamed of."

He had averted his yes then, but could not resist asking some questions. It had taken a great deal of time to fully explain it to them both. Dove, while she had known about the Fabric before from Raven, had never heard such a detailed description, and it eased her to know more of what her sister knew. Raven had also come to find that Lupin had not known quite as much as she had thought. He was a bit mixed up about it, but had a general idea.

"When I first smelled you both, I hadn't yet seen you. You were down the corridor a ways, but your scent reached me above any other. I'd never smelled anything like it before. I felt like I wanted to run straight to you both and embrace you and thank you, but I wasn't sure what to thank you for." He had stumbled over the words, almost embarrassed to say them. But Dove had urged him on.

"Why? What do we smell like?"

"I'm not sure, really. It's hard to describe. When I first smelled it though, I thought it smelled like...like..." He paused, unsure of whether to go on or rush out the door.

"Like what?" Dove pressed.

"Erm...Like angels. I thought that it must be what angels smelled like." He sighed heavily as he let go of the thought. He slumped down onto the bed, trembling minutely, looking to Dove as if he was afraid of what they might think of him now.

"Like angels..." she whispered. "Well, I suppose you weren't far off." She had put a gentle hand on Lupin's shoulder to comfort him. His shaking had abated at the touch, and he'd looked up in earnest curiosity.

"What do you mean?" he'd said.

"Well..." It was Dove's turn to explain now. "We do have wings, like angels. We'd show you, but it's awfully cramped and Raven's so tired. Perhaps later. But also...well, we sort of heal people." His eyes had grown wide at the statement, so Dove had gone on. "See, I've always been able to heal people. Physically, I mean, and not with a wand. Just...I only have to touch them and think about it healing, and it does. There are a few sort of rules though. I can't do it if I don't know what it is. Like I can't just heal generally. I can't just make you feel better all of a sudden, without any idea of what I'm doing. I have to have something to concentrate on. But if you have a cut, I can fix the cut, as if it were never there. And...well, I think I have to have permission to do it. Because I don't always know what the consequences might be of someone being healed. Sometimes, bad things can happen just because I've made someone better, so I have to leave it up to the person whether they get better or not. And then...this is the most important thing...it seems to me, although I haven't got it figured out exactly, that I can only heal people if it's...erm, an innocent wound."

"What do you mean?" Professor Lupin had seemed strangely child-like at the time, breathless in his awe.

"Well, it doesn't matter who's hurt. If I like the person or not, I feel an obligation to heal them. If I don't, then I begin to sort of feel their pain. I used to fight it sometimes, until eventually it just hurt too much and I'd have to heal them. But no matter who the person is, friend or enemy, good or bad, I can only heal them if the wound is innocent. Like, imagine that you started a fight with Raven right now and you both hexed each other. Because you started it, I wouldn't be able to heal you. Because you deserved it, and it's a guilty wound. But I could heal Raven, because it wasn't her fault and she didn't deserve it, so it'd be an innocent wound. You see?"

He had nodded slowly, genuine understanding beginning to seep in. He had turned to Raven in his amazement and asked, "And can you do it too?"

"Sort of," she had said. She smiled and went on. "I can't heal anyone physically, like Dove can. At least, no more than any other student here. But I can fix Fabric. Like I was telling you, the rips and tears that happen to people throughout their lives, I can sort of mend them. It's very difficult to explain, I've tried telling Dove how to do it, but there's just no real way to describe it. It's sort of like what she does, only I have to piece the Fabric together with my hands instead of my mind. The same rules apply though. It's impossible for me to fix a tear if I don't know why it's there, and I would never, ever, ever even think about touching a person's Fabric without their permission. And, like Dove, I can only mend innocent wounds. So if Dove went crazy right now and killed somebody," Lupin chuckled softly at the example, "I wouldn't be able to fix the tear that would appear in the moral part of her Fabric, as it was her fault. But I could fix the Fabric of the victims' friends or family where it tore when they lost the person, cuz they were innocent of it. Do you see?"

After that, it had been a slight matter of question and answer between the three. Dove and Raven had never really talked to a real werewolf before, although Raven claimed to have seen many, so they wanted to know all about it. Professor Lupin also had numerous questions to put forth. It had been well into the night before any of them had gotten any sleep.

The days after that were spent quietly. Dove and Raven had promised to visit Professor Lupin more often, now that he was a sort of confidante, but they wanted to get something out of the way first. Snape's present.

They had finally gotten the materials they'd needed from Alex, sent special delivery from his home in Muggle London. They'd prepared the materials as best they could in the little time they'd had and sent them right back off to the Weasley twins. The charms and spells that were needed were not entirely difficult, but Dove and Raven didn't want to trust their weak Charms skills to mess things up. As the Weasleys were quite handy with such things, they had entrusted the two boys to get it done for them. Usually, Dove would have been skeptical, but Raven had told the boys a few choice secrets about their mutual friend Chris which had eased their mischief for a time. In exchange for the information, they promised not to do anything to the gift besides what the girls specified.

As Dove and Raven had already sent the boys their research on the different incantations and the instructions that would be needed ahead of time, there had been sufficient time for the boys to practice and perfect, and it was only a short matter of time before the little parcel came right back to the girls the evening before Christmas.

They had stared at the box for a few minutes, unable to believe that it had pulled together so quickly. But after the disbelief had been discarded, the package was opened and the contents inspected. The girls tested every way that they could think of, looking for defects or flaws, imperfections or any ill-mannered little hex the boys might have tried to sneak by. But they had kept to their word, the gift was ready. And just in time, as well.

***

Christmas morning passed uneventfully. With no relatives (besides Her), and the 'no presents between friends' rule firmly in place, the girls had no gifts to open. A note of Christmas greeting from Professor McGonagall, and a friendly wave from Professor Lupin were the only clues to the holiday. Breakfast had been slept through, as neither girl was looking forward to seeing everyone else so cheerful from their early-morning gift-opening. They had finally clambered out of bed only upon the insistence of a hawk at the window.

The hawk had flown in immediately once they'd opened the window, dropped the note attached to its leg, and sped quickly off again. The girls, still wide-eyed from seeing a hawk deliver post, finally reached for the little scroll and opened it. It was from Draco.

"Figures. He would have a hawk deliver his post, wouldn't he?" Raven sneered at Dove's dark remark and yawned.

"Yes, well, what's it say then?" Raven rolled off the bed and onto the cold stone floor, effectively jolting herself awake.

"It reads 'Dove and Raven – I've spoken to each of my parents. For very different reasons, each looks forward to making your acquaintances. You can expect a note from my father before the end of holiday. - Draco.' Aw, isn't that sweet." Dove crumpled the scroll and threw it into the fireplace. "Well, it looks as thought everything's in order then. Come on."

They both got dressed, peeling out of their new nightgowns (to their unending despair - they'd never take them off if they had the choice) and shrugging into some plain warm robes. Raven's first thought was to track down Ryle and speak with him, but they never managed to find him. He wasn't at lunch, and they were forced into reluctant conversation with a few members of faculty before they could properly search for him.

When they finally slipped out of Madam Hooch's grasp, they found themselves at the mercy of a very bored Peeves. He chased them about, throwing plates and barking at them, for nearly an hour. When they'd finally thought to call the Bloody Baron to help, they were too out of breath to do much else. They stumbled up to their rooms to relax and immediately fell asleep.

They awoke only just before Christmas dinner and had to take the steps three at a time to get there on time. Squeezed between their new acquaintance, Professor Lupin, and the ever-cheerful Professor Trelawney, they managed to recover their breath. Dove was lucky enough to be able to spend the evening in happy conversation with Lupin, while Raven was forced to suffer the morbid foretelling of the flighty Divination professor. Her only saving grace was her own sarcasm which she aimed, unobstructed, at the ditzy diviner. At meal's end, Raven was only too glad to excuse herself to her own (apparently) impending doom.

Raven and Dove wandered about, filling time, eventually heading back to their own common room. Bored to tears with nothing to do, they struggled to wait for Flitwick's festive cries to signal that the staff Christmas party was over so that they could finally give Professor Snape his gift. Sitting anxiously with the little velvet box in her hand, Dove became restless, storming about the room. Eventually, Raven challenged her to a light game of Wizard's Chess just to get her to sit still.

Near one in the morning, well past curfew, they heard a shrill voice ringing in the hallways.

"Oh Crystal Tea, Oh Crystal Teaaaa,

You shrug off my advances!

Oh Kitten Treat, Oh Kitten Treaaaat,

Spilled cider on my pants-es!"

Both girls listened attentively to the pathetic warblings which raged to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree". They had to hold onto each other to keep from falling down, they were laughing so hard. They had heard of Flitwick's strange yuletide tunes, but this was beyond anything they might have imagined. Tears streamed down their faces, red with laughter. It took them nearly ten minutes to compose themselves, as every time they managed to quiet down, one of them would hum a bit and they would both break out into fits of giggles again. Finally, they had wiped the last vestiges of the humorous proceedings onto the sleeves of their robes, and they crept out.

Confident that Snape was still awake, they snuck quietly down into the dungeons. Raven's hopes wavered momentarily when she saw no light in the classroom, but Dove was quick to point out the soft glow stealing from beneath the door to Snape's office. Both girls straightened their robes and patted down their hair. When they had given themselves a moment to breathe, Dove reached up and gingerly knocked on the door. A slight scraping of wood on stone was heard, presumably his chair, and then the door was pinched slightly open.

"Yes?" came the growled answer. Both girls quaked beneath the sound, but held themselves fast. His eyes adjusted to the dark outside of his office, and he finally spotted the girls. Surprise irritated his face slightly, but he stepped back, opening the door further as he moved. "Miss Thomas, Miss Thomas. It is rather late for you to be out. Come in, quickly, before Peeves catches you and makes a scene."

The girls entered, grateful at his unexpectedly easy acceptance of their presence. They paused for a moment, unsure how to proceed, until he gestured towards two chairs in front of a large desk. They sat, quietly, and he moved to the other side, sitting in his own chair. He rested his elbows easily onto the desk and steepled his fingers. He scanned them both, trying to read their expressions, but what he found puzzled him. "Why have you both come here?"

Dove glanced cautiously at Raven, who gave a strong nod of assurance. Slowly, Dove stood up. She moved a step or two towards the desk, then hastily set the small velvet box in front of Snape and sat back down. At her sister's silent insistence, Raven spoke.

"It's a gift, sir. For Christmas." His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his mouth nearly fell open. But he made no sound. "We'd have given it to you earlier, but..." Raven made as if to finish the sentence, but cut herself off abruptly. "Anyway, merry Christmas. Open it."

Snape merely snorted weakly at the vague command she used, but only leaned forward to seize the box. The velvet was soft beneath his fingers, and he cradled it gently. Gods knew he hadn't had a present in years, he almost didn't remember how to open one. He slid a fingernail into the straight crevice where the box opened, and gently forced the lid up. Inside, on a bed of silky cloth, was a ring. It was a flat silver band, plain but with an air of sophistication, and there was a thinner band of some foreign mineral inlaid within it. He took it out, shocked at its simple elegance, and turned it about between his thumb and forefinger.

As he observed it, the thinner band began to change color from a solid blue to a strong yellow color. He glanced up at the girls in curiosity. Not a word had passed yet, and he was afraid to break the silence. At his glance, however, Dove finally spoke.

"It's an emotion ring. Based on an old Muggle toy from years back, only this actually works. It changes color according to what you're feeling. It's keyed to the wearer, so it displays the color you'd most closely relate to the emotion. Raven thought you'd like it." She spoke quickly, as if afraid that he might interrupt. But he only looked on at the ring as she spoke. Finally, Raven petered her voice back in.

"Yes, well. Because the other day...you said you didn't know how you felt. I thought, if you meant it, then this might help you. And you don't have to worry about anyone else seeing it, in case you're embarrassed or anything, because there's a real easy Concealment Charm on it so that when you put it on, only you can see it. Look." Raven pulled at a space on her own finger and a ring fell into her hand, seemingly from thin air. It was identical to the one Snape held, but smaller. Dove did the same, and a third ring was on view. After giving a moment to allow him a quick eyeful, they both thrust the rings back onto the fingers they had apparently been occupying. At once, they disappeared.

Snape, cautiously, slid the ring onto his right hand. He saw no difference, it was still visible to his eye. But a quick Discovery Spell revealed that it was, in fact, invisible to every other eye. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up at the two girls, cautious expectation on each of their faces. He was suddenly struck by a strange sense of beauty emanating from them. He waited a few moments, allowing his voice time to catch up with his mind.

"I'm not sure I can accept this-" he began.

"Of course you can!" Both girls blurted at once, nearly jumping out of their chairs. He paused, awkwardly, gazing at the two of them. Looking down at the ring, the solitary gift, he smiled. Still wearing the unpracticed smile, he mumbled a soft "thank you," and the girls beamed at him. All three sat silently for a few minutes, then Dove and Raven stood up together. As one, they said, "Well, merry Christmas then. See you tomorrow," and they left. He could hear them both scrambling back to their common room as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing at the warm ring with his other hand. The ring melted into a dark metallic blue, with slivers of silver, and he gasped at the sight. He knew precisely what the ring meant.

***

In their own rooms, the girls had jumped into bed, and were sitting up, thinking.

You don't think the Discovery Spell told him, do you? Raven thought.

No, it's buried too deep. I gave the Weasleys particular instructions to make sure it was the first spell they did. She paused, then went on, thinking in a lighter tone. It was partly their idea, you know. I mean, I was the one who thought to charm our rings to show us what he's feeling instead of what we're feeling. But it was their idea to keep the colors keyed to us. No point, really, if we see the colors and don't understand them. I never would have thought of it, it was terribly brilliant of them.

Yeah, I guess so. You think he'll be angry if her ever finds out?

I'm not sure. I suppose he might be. But he never needs to find out, does he?

What if the Weasleys tell? The worry in Raven's mind struggled to contain itself, and Dove found herself comforting her sister.

They don't know it's for him.

Yeah, you're right. Do you suppose he liked it, then?

Well, I dunno. Let's have a look.

"Lumos." Both girls looked down at their hands, eyes alighting upon the little bands that only they could see. Dove's ring was a rich purple color, tinged with green. Raven's was pure white with just a hint of silver around the edge, blending into the metal that housed it. They both smiled.

He does like it! He's...happy, they each thought joyfully. Their doubts melted away from them and, after a few more exhausted minutes, they both fell asleep, soft snores shimmering through the air.

***

Next Chapter: the girls finally get a game of quidditch, a few convos with alex and drew, an invitation from lucius, and we get to meet cute little wowie, dobby's successor in the malfoy home!