Chapter Six: Secrets Revealed
In spite of her longing to tell someone about her true self, she was apprehensive about it; so she tried to drag the façade on as long as she could.
"I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about Professor," she lied. Unfortunately, he could see right through her. He got up from his desk and glided to a halt right in front of her. He seemed much taller than before.
"I would not recommend lying to me, girl. I have ways of extracting the information I want to know from those who can supply it to me." His eyes were glacial and sinister, and his voice was deep and menacing. But Dorrin continued playing.
"I'm not lying to you sir. I assure you that--"
"YOU HAVE ASSURED NOTHING!" the Potions Master shouted as his fist pounded the desk. "I know you are hiding something from me, Miss Chambers. You have been acting out of place ever since you first arrived. You seemed to act superior to your peers. You did not talk like them, but soon you learned. You caught on all too quick, and you know too much about potion making. I didn't question Dumbledore as to why he let you into this school, but I knew it had to do with something more than you just having to be a transfer student. And my suspicions have been confirmed this very afternoon with your little spectacle. No one—wizard, witch, or muggle—can move like you did today." He moved in closer to her, his lips practically touching her ear, their hair falling in sync with each other, and his breath hot on her skin. Then he whispered, "I want the truth."
Dorrin practically fainted. She couldn't believe the power he had over her. But instead of falling limp to the ground she looked him square in the eye and said, "If you have any respect for me or your employer, you will first seek his permission before I tell you anything of who I really am."
While this is what he wanted to hear—that she did indeed have a secret—he wasn't expecting it to come out like this. Severus Snape stepped back, looked into the dark green eyes of this strange student of his, and replied, "Fine". He went back to his desk and pulled out another piece of parchment. While he was writing, Dorrin walked silently to the door. "Where do you think you are going?"
"I thought we were finished here." Snape raised a solitary eyebrow at her.
"Perhaps that is your problem. You think to much."
Dorrin was drawn to his side again. The parchment he was writing on was no ordinary piece of paper. She watched him, mesmerized by his angelic hands.
Albus,
I have Dorrin Chambers with me, and she is willing to confess whatever she has to hide as long as you give her permission to do so. I ask you now if you will grant that authorization.
Almost as soon as he was finished the paper soaked up the ink, and an invisible hand now wrote:
Of course, Severus. If she is ready to tell others, then let it be so. She has my permission. I only hope you will accept her as eagerly as I did.
Professor Snape leaned back in his chair, looking quite satisfactorily at Dorrin as she plucked the paper from his desk. She raised it in the air to get a better look, and mumbled, "I guess I should give some credit toward human inventions." Now the professor was exceedingly curious, and he let her know by clearing his throat unusually loudly. Dorrin gave him a look of extreme annoyance but instead of announcing her disapproval, reached into her pouch and pulled out another vial—this one filled with a deep crimson liquid. She placed it in front of her Potions professor, right next to the green bottle.
"This potion," she said, pointing to the green, "prevents me from turning into what this liquid [the red] reveals as my true self." She studied the professor, who now wore a look of sheer bewilderment. In order to clarify, Dorrin lifted the cork out of the red vial and took a few sips of its contents. The transformation that took place then was much less painful than that of a few hours ago. Snape's eyes fell onto the floor as he watched his student's long brown hair fall to the ground as brilliant silver-white hair took its place. Dorrin's muscles flexed and grew, and when she opened her eyes, they were a brilliant emerald green instead of the dark forest green they had once been. Two thin marks had appeared under her left eye--one on top of the other--with the former having a small freckle-like dot on the end toward the nose. A mark also spread over her left shoulder--a backward crescent moon with three stars above it. But when he really looked her over, the most noticeable difference in her appearance were her ears…they were pointed.
Professor Snape jumped up from his desk.
"You're…an ELF?"
Dorrin placed her hands on her hips.
"You say that as if you are disgusted with the fact." He fumbled for words.
"No, it's just, I suppose…I wasn't expecting this."
"Well what exactly were you expecting? A troll?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Dorrin gave him a moment to collect himself. When he did, he folded his arms and began to interrogate her. "So if you are an elf, how old does that really make you?"
"One thousand and three years old; which explains why I know far more about potions than you." Her comment made the professor shudder with choler an instant, but he surprisingly let it slide. Perhaps this was because she was now herself--her very powerful self.
"Why are you at Hogwarts then?"
Dorrin flinched—she knew that would be his next question, and she wasn't quite sure if she wanted him to know. But he wanted the truth. So she reached once again into her pouch of potions and took out yet another vial filled with a deep sapphire-colored liquid. She placed it next to the other two bottles and said, "This is why." After noticing that perplexed look of Snape's, she continued with, "Tell me Professor, have you ever heard of the Siberian Korento Dragon?"
"Yes, but that species has been extinct for hundreds of years now."
"No, they are an endangered species. Or at least he is. I met one on one of my journeys. We got to talking and eventually joined forces to create this potion—which contains his blood." The professor picked up the bottle and passed it between his hands.
"And what does this potion do?"
"It will make its consumer immune to all magic—from that of a mere first year to the greatest and most powerful wizard or magical creature ever to exist. Any magic directed toward him/her would be reflected off their body and back on to the one who cast the spell or ignited the harm. Mind you, this doesn't make the person's magic stronger, but they do become unstoppable. So you can imagine," she said as she yanked the bottle from him, "what would happen if this got into the wrong hands. Hands like those of your previous employer." With that remark Snape gave a low grumble of dissatisfaction.
"Why haven't you just destroyed it?"
"Well, I would have, except I don't know how. I cannot recall how we even produced it in the first place, so I can't very well come up with a counter potion, and all the magic in the world could not destroy it. Voldemort knows about it," Snape flinched at the sound of that name, "and he has been chasing after me to get it. That is why I came to Hogwarts. I knew I would be safe under Dumbledore's watchful eye. I also knew that if I came here, I could seek out the help of a certain Potions master who might be able to help me deceiver how this potion came to be—and perhaps come up with a way to get rid of it." Snape thought hard for a few minutes, and then his pain began.
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