A Memory Found
by: Mystical Dragon
A tug on his robe and Nathan looked down to see Severus straightening himself up into a standing position. He must have tripped. Severus looked away, not meeting Nathan's questioning eyes, and stared at his feet.
"I sorry," he whispered.
"Did you trip?" Nathan asked.
Severus nodded, ducking his head so the blow wouldn't hurt so much. At least the blow he assumed was coming.
"Severus," Nathan said patiently, having gone over this countless times during the one month they had been here so far, "I'm not going to hit you."
"I will put him upside down on his head if he hits you," Ivan said, moving to stand next to Severus.
Nathan, amazingly enough, found himself liking Ivan quite a bit. The elf wasn't submissive to humans, one bit, but he was a wonderful companion for Severus and for that Nathan was grateful. Things were going much smoother than he had thought with the Dark Elf around. Severus had immediately taken to the small blue elf. Nathan idly wondered why Severus had taken to Ivan so easily. Probably because Ivan was shorter than him, blue, had long ears, and didn't resemble anyone that had ever hurt him. But why did a Dark Elf care so much about Severus? It was strange.
Severus moved slightly behind Ivan, grateful for the protection, and nervously giggled. "You can do that?" he said, his voice a whisper.
Ivan nodded his head and Nathan found himself upside down. Severus put his hands over his mouth and looked shocked, while giggling. Nathan was just as quickly on his feet again and rolled his eyes at the elf. But it worked. Severus stood beside Ivan, instead of behind him like he always did, and seemed to relax a bit more. Every day Severus was relaxing a bit more than the previous. Another month, hopefully, and Severus would start acting like a fairly normal six year old.
"Now," Nathan said, bending down next to the raised bed Ivan had put in their yard and picked a tomato. "This is a tomato."
Severus eyes widened. "A tomato?" he said carefully. "It grows on a plant."
Ivan walked over and took the tomato from Nathan. Severus stayed where he was, shyly looking down at his feet and Ivan handed him to the tomato when he came back to him. "Your tomato," he said.
Severus carefully handled it, looking quite amazed with it. Nathan wondered if Severus had ever seen a tomato before.
"You can eat it," Nathan said. "And there's more."
Ivan nodded his head and pointed to the green plants where the tomatoes were growing. "There's even some orange ones."
Severus carefully walked over to Nathan, Ivan at his side, and peered into the vegetation. "There's lots! And orange ones!"
Nathan grinned. Ivan crawled into the raised bed and motioned for Severus to join him.
Severus looked nervously at Nathan.
"Go on," Nathan encouraged.
Severus fearfully smiled and followed after Ivan. Soon he was standing in the midst of plants, a small smile on his face.
Nathan conjured a basket. "Pick the tomatoes that are red or orange all over, that means they are ripe and ready to eat, and put them in this basket."
Ivan started to do it and Severus soon followed his example, paying strict attention to what the tomatoes looked like that Ivan was picking.
"Very good, Severus," Nathan praised when the last tomato had been dropped into the basket. "Now, we pick the beans."
"Beans?" Severus asked, curiously, looking around.
"Next bed," Nathan grinned, taking Severus's hand and helping him down from the bed.
Severus, with Ivan, ran over to the bed and Nathan instructed them on how to tell which ones were ripe. Next came the different colored corn, then the eggplants, and several other food crops.
"Now," Nathan said, transporting the basket back to the house, "we have to pick the watermelons."
"Watermelon?" Severus whispered, looking at Ivan. "What's that?" he said, hoping Nathan wouldn't hear.
"It's a large melon, green and white striped usually, with a juicy red center and lots of black seeds. Come on," Nathan said, pointing to the house. "It's on the opposite side of the house."
Ivan darted off and Severus ran after him. Nathan followed after and nearly ran over Severus and Ivan as he rounded the corner. The boy had stopped and was staring, openmouthed, at the large display before him. Here were the watermelons, the pumpkins, the apple trees, the vines for the berry crops, the sunflowers, and all the large plants were kept. How Ivan made everything grow at the same time, Nathan didn't know, and was slightly nervous about. Dark Elves were a lot more powerful than he had been taught to believe.
"What... plants everywhere," Severus whispered in astonishment.
"You like plants?" Nathan asked, kneeling down next to him.
Severus nodded.
"You can have them," Ivan said. "You can raise everything and harvest it with my help if you want. You can be a farmer."
Severus turned to Ivan, his hands clenching together. "I can be a farmer?"
"Yes," Ivan smiled.
"I don't have to be a Dark Wizard," he breathed, his eyes filling with tears.
"You don't want to be a Dark Wizard?" Nathan softly questioned.
Severus shook his head. "No. I thought I'd have too to be safe. But... it's safe here," he said, looking around at the sky, hills, and their little house. "And Ivan will protect me?"
Ivan nodded his head. "Yes. I will protect you."
Nathan watched Ivan grab Severus's hand and haul him away to the watermelons. Severus had never wanted to become a Dark Wizard? But he was right about being safe. The only people in Knockturn Alley that were safe were the Dark Wizards because no one dared messed with them. So that was why he had been so obsessed with the Dark Arts. They had, unconsciously, given him a feeling of safety that he didn't get from anything else. A deep-seeded belief that to be a Dark Wizard meant no one would hurt you and you didn't have to be afraid. And for a frightened child, afraid of even dark, that would have been a temptation the child couldn't have resisted.
Ivan seemed to be giving Severus that feeling of safety now so he wouldn't turn to the Dark Arts like he had before. But there was still a chance Severus would find the Dark Arts fascinating. Nathan wouldn't push Severus into them, but he would leave that door wide open for the boy to walk through himself.
Getting up, Nathan conjured a knife which caused Severus, upon seeing it, to hide behind Ivan, shaking. Nathan ignored this behavior and knelt down next to a ripe watermelon and cut a piece off and extended it towards Severus.
Ivan took it and started to eat it. Severus accepted the next piece and, while still standing behind Ivan, started to eat it.
"It's good," he said shyly.
Nathan grinned. "It's very good," he said and cut himself a piece out and, sitting on the ground, devoured it.
Ivan walked over and sat himself down on Nathan's lap. Seeing that Nathan didn't mind this, Severus walked over and did the same.
After the fourth piece they were all in need of a shower. Red sticky juice was covering their chins, hands, and had dripped on their robes.
"Swimming time!" Ivan announced and all three off them were instantly next to a clear blue lake surrounded by a meadow of green grass and the occasionally yellow or blue weed in flower.
"I don't know how," Severus protested as Ivan stood up and beckoned for him to join him.
"I'll hold you," Nathan said. "Change us into swimming trunks, Ivan, please."
Ivan grinned at Nathan saying please, but it was the only way to get the elf to do anything. Once they were in their swimming trunks Nathan picked Severus up, who tried to hold himself as far away from Nathan as he could, and walked into the water.
"Don't drown me," Severus pleaded, very frightened.
"I won't," Nathan promised as he sat down in the shallow part. "See, you can stand here."
Severus pulled away and walked to where Ivan was, giving Nathan a worried look. Nathan refrained from sighing. Even after a month, Severus was having a hard time trusting him but Nathan was determined to win that trust.
Ivan looked at Nathan and then Severus, his blue ears rising just a bit, which meant he was thinking, and headed towards Nathan.
"Carry me into the deeper part, please?" Ivan said. " Severus? Come on!"
Severus moved his way through the water as Nathan gathered the Dark Elf in his arm and then Severus in the other one.
"Don't put our heads in the water," Ivan said, shaking his head. "We don't like our head in the water."
"Me neither," Severus agreed, quite serious, as he nodded his head at the elf.
Nathan grinned at Severus's face. He was quite cute when he was serious. Taking what Ivan had said seriously, Nathan slowly went into the deeper water but kept both of their heads above water the entire time. Severus's body slowly relaxed at seeing that Nathan was keeping his word.
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"You see, Jacenty," Ivan said as Nathan listened through the bathroom door. Why the elf called Severus, Jacenty, Nathan had no clue but Severus seemed to like it. "He can be trusted. Your Daddy said he would not get our heads wet and he didn't get our heads wet."
"Yeah," Severus said as Nathan heard a splashing sound, "I like him. He's nice. He never yells at me. And," Severus said importantly, "Mommy is going to let me help her make something tomorrow. She said I could have whatever we made!"
Nathan was surprised. Severus hadn't seemed interested when Florence had suggested that.
"He wants to help you make something," Nathan whispered to his wife as she passed by.
"He does?" she asked, stopping. "He didn't seem to want..." she trailed off as she pressed her own ear to the door.
"What are you going to make?" Ivan asked.
"I don't know," Severus said, sounding worried. "Maybe a bowl? I like watching Mommy making bowls. She's nice too me too! She talks to me while she does it."
Florence's eyebrows went up. Nathan understood her confusion. Severus just sat there while she talked, coloring in his coloring book and looking down the entire time.
"They are both nice," Severus declared.
"Why don't you talk to them more?" Ivan asked. "They like to hear you talk."
"They do?" Severus asked, surprised. "But children are to be seen and not heard."
Nathan could have cursed himself as he slumped against the wall. "The stupid orphanage people told us that," he hissed. "Don't talk, don't talk," he mimicked. "No wonder Severus won't talk much."
Florence folded her arms and leaned against the door, staring at Nathan. "When are you going to tell him that you're Michael?"
"Never," Nathan said, his voice soft and deadly. "I made a promise to Severus that if I got adopted I would take him along but I didn't keep it. And while I slept in a nice bed, had meals, and read books Sev was stuck in the Alley, barely surviving. I'm never telling him. I broke my word to him."
"You were told he was dead," Florence argued. "Just like he was told you were dead. It wasn't your fault."
"I can't tell him now," Nathan said, shaking his head. "It'd only confuse him."
"He still cries at night over your so-called death and Elizabeth's real one," Florence said, her voice trembling. "He misses you and her something dreadful."
Nathan knew that. He could hear Severus while he cried in his sleep as Florence rocked him. But it would confuse Severus too much to see his friend as a grown man while he was still six and Nathan didn't want to do that to him. Better if Severus just accepted his friends' deaths and went on. That was what Nathan had had to do with Elizabeth's death. Well, he went on with his life after he had permanently damaged the kids that had caused that fire. Nathan grinned as he remembered visiting them once at Saint Mungo's. Poor kids, completely paralyzed from the neck down and unable to talk or hear. How old were they now? Forty-six? Forty-eight? And still alive though Nathan was sure they wished for death every day. At least he was assuming they were still alive, he hadn't bothered to check after he had gotten out of Azkaban.
"I'm going to make a bowl!" Severus yelled happily. "A bowl made from a snake rope and then one on Mommy's potter's wheel! I want to see which bowl is better."
Florence smiled at Severus's interest in what she did. It was a hobby that Nathan had introduced her to while still at Hogwarts, to keep her calm, and she loved it.
"Severus?!" Florence called through the door. "Want to start making something tonight?"
"Okay," Severus shyly called back. "Er... yeah... I'll be there in a minute!"
"Good, Jacenty," Ivan said approvingly.
It wasn't long before Nathan was sitting next to Ivan while Severus and Florence worked on the potter's wheel. Severus was standing between Florence's legs while she held his hands against the clay and directed them in the process of making a bowl. Severus looked excited. Just like he had looked when he had seen all the plants that afternoon.
Nathan grinned. They were getting through to Severus, slowly, but they were getting through to him.
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Dumbledore stepped inside the classroom, aware of how unusual this was, but more aware of Draco's expression upon seeing him. The boy looked horrified.
"I would like to see Draco for a minute," Dumbledore explained to Professor Flitwick.
Flitwick nodded his head and Draco, forgetting to get his stuff, ran out of the classroom, slamming the door behind him.
"Where's Snape?!" Draco demanded, his gray eyes wide with fear. "Why aren't you watching him?"
"I don't know how, Draco," Dumbledore gently explained, his voice trying hard to tremble but Dumbledore wouldn't let it, "but Severus is no longer in Hogwarts. I had the Marauder's Map. Nothing showed on it. Nothing at all. Binny, a house-elf, was scared of something but..."
Draco didn't wait to hear the rest as he ran towards the kitchens. Dumbledore followed him, wanting to speak with Binny himself. Binny, however, would not speak.
"Tell me!" Draco screamed, his face streaked with tears. "Tell me who has him!"
Binny was in no better shape than Draco. His nose and eyes were running and he kept shaking his head, trembling.
"Dobby knows," Dobby suddenly said, his own voice trembling with fear. "Dobby popped in after Binny came back because Binny was so scared. Dobby was invisible like... like it was."
"What was it?" Draco asked tiredly, wiping his face with his sleeve, not expecting to get anywhere with Dobby either.
Dobby squeaked, then drew himself up to his full height, and though his hands were covering his face, he tried to look brave. "A... a.. Da... Dark Elf," he gasped out.
"A Dark Elf?" Dumbledore repeated. A Dark Elf? But those had been all banished back to the Shadow World thousands of years ago.
"What was a Dark Elf doing around Severus?" Dumbledore asked Dobby and Binny, as if they had an answer.
Binny mopped his face with a towel another house-elf had given him. "He.. he said that Jacenty was his."
"Jacenty?"
Draco stopped in mid-motion of wiping his eyes. "Jacenty? That was one of the names Snape gave me, remember?"
Dumbledore thought back to when Severus had still been in the hospital wing and had given Draco a list of names and a potion too. "Yes. Jacek, Illyana, Cezar, and Vasya too, right?"
Draco nodded. "Yeah."
What did that mean? Dumbledore wondered. And how did a Dark Elf escape being banished back into the Shadow World? Well, that last wasn't too hard to believe. It took a long time to get all of the Dark Elves banished and some of them, maybe many of them, might have had time to escape. But they certainly had been keeping a low profile if that was the case. Dumbledore had never heard of one until know.
"Draco, I know you don't like Harry, Ron, or Hermione, but I'm going to need all the all help I can on finding out where Severus is...."
"Tell them, I don't care. Tell Lupin when he recovers from the full moon. Tell anyone, just get Snape back."
Dumbledore smiled at him, placing a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Thank you."
"I'm going to ask my father if he knows anything."
"You're excused for the rest of the school day," Dumbledore said, conjuring a piece of parchment and signing his name to it underneath the hastily written excuse note. "Give that to anyone who bothers you."
Draco took the parchment and headed off to send his father a note.
"Dobby, Binny, what else do you know about this Dark Elf?" he asked.
Dobby shook his head. "Dobby knows nothing else, sir."
"Binny knows nothing else, Professor Dumbledore!" Binny wailed.
"Have either of you ever seen another Dark Elf before?" he asked.
They both shook their heads.
"Luly has, Professor Dumbledore, sir," a small, female, house-elf said, her eyes wide. "Luly saw a Dark Elf with a human man where I worked before. He visited us. He was very sad. No one but me saw her."
"Who was the man?" Dumbledore questioned, bending down to look the house-elf in her eyes.
"His name was Dimitrius Savin," she reported. "The Dark Elf told Luly not to be afraid."
Dumbledore gently smiled. "Thank you, all. I'm sorry, Binny, but I had to know where Professor Snape was."
Binny nodded his head. "Binny understands."
Dumbledore quickly left to write out a note for an owl to take to this Dimitrius Savin, hoping that the Dark Elf that had taken Severus wasn't in league with a Death Eater. But why would a Dark Elf take Severus in the first place?