Chapter Twenty-Six

Another Chance

            "Räénh."  The young elf opened her eyes slightly as a brilliant white light stung her pupils.  She squinted into the light at a figure standing over her.  Lying on her back, she turned her heavy head from side to side and found nothing but the same pure white surroundings.  As she lifted her head the pain she had been expecting did not come.  She raised her torso and smiled when she felt nothing. 

            "Räénh," the figure said again.  It held out a hand to her and she gladly took it.  When she was standing in front of the man she strain to see once more, trying to recognize him.

            "Albus?" she said, noticing the white hair and jaunty disposition.  The man smiled and shook his head.  Reign took a tentative step forward and gasped when she registered who the man was. 

            "Paero!" she shouted, falling into the arms of her deceased father.  The man held his daughter close and stroked her hair.  His touch melted Reign and she cried into his shoulder. 

            "Tu ita stèlaã," he said as he pushed her away and gazed into her eyes.  Reign nodded.

            "Yes, your little star.  Always and forever, Paero."  She embraced him again, and the white light surrounding them shone even brighter as father and daughter were reunited. 

"But...how is this possible?  How can you be here?"  Reign asked as she lifted her chin.  She met the grieved and heartbroken eyes of her father and frowned.  His hand found hers and as soon as it did their white environment faded into the sterile colors of the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts.

Reign's eyes bulged when she saw herself lying in one of the beds.  Severus was sitting by her side, holding her hand.  It was wrapped in gauze and stained with her blood.  Albus stood behind Snape and rested his hand on his shoulder.  On the opposite side Poppy was wiping her hands and shaking her head.  Reign could see Severus squeeze her hand even tighter.  The warmth he passed to her body could be felt even in her own soul-like fingers.

            "What is this?  What has happened to me?"  She asked as she walked to the end of the bed.  Her father came up to her side, picked up her wrist, and held it in front of her face.  Reign noticed the ugly scars.  "No...I couldn't have..." she looked pleadingly at her father.  "Does that mean...?"  He laughed and shook his head.  Then he motioned for Reign to take notice of the others in the room with them.

            "She lost a lot of blood, Albus," Poppy was saying.

            "I know."

            "Is she going to be OK?" asked Severus impatiently.  The nurse sighed.

            "She should be fine.  But she needs her rest!"  Madam Pomfrey glared at the two professors, then promptly turned on her heels and strode away from the bed.  When she was out of sight Severus let out the breath he had been holding.  From above him, the Headmaster smiled.

            "If I'm going to be fine, then why-" she didn't finish.  Her father put a finger to his lips to quiet her and pointed to the men at her side.

            "It's a good thing you found her, Severus."

            "Yes," he whispered.  His eyes traced the lines of her face and he shook his head.  She was causing him all sorts of stress.  Then he remembered something.  "Professor, how fluent are you in Elvish?"  The old wizard laughed.

            "Well, that depends..."

            "Reign was mumbling something when I found her," he drew his eyebrows together as he fought to find the words she had said.  "Say...too...ree los...mia?"  He looked up to the Headmaster.  "Does that make any sense?"  The old man gazed at the elf with sad eyes.

            "Save me...from myself." 

Snape's jaw fell into his lap.  His body sank as he turned back to the elf. 

            "Good God, Reign," he sighed, leaning forward and pushing a stray strand of hair out of her face.  "Why didn't you tell me you were so depressed?"

            "You wouldn't let me!" Reign shouted from the end of the bed.  She froze as a sharp pinch invaded her soft arm.

            "Perhaps you didn't let her," Albus repeated.  He turned around and left before Severus could retaliate.  Reign watched as he rested his head on his hand and watched her body sleep.

            "Are you still here?"  He snapped his head up as the nurse strode back into view.  The look on his face did not sway her from chastising him.  "I don't want to be rude, Professor, but Reign needs to relax in peace."

            "I am by no means disturbing her rest, Poppy.  She sleeps calmly even while I am watching her."  The nurse crossed her arms and scowled.  "I'm staying," he said sternly.  Madam Pomfrey threw up her arms in disgust.

            "Fine!  Don't listen to the nurse...she doesn't know a thing...no, not her...doesn't know a band-aid from a worm..." she mumbled as she left the vicinity.  Severus smiled triumphantly and returned to his elf gazing. 

Reign wanted desperately to awaken her body and gaze back into his obsidian eyes.  But she looked to her father and also wanted desperately to stay with him.  He seemed to read her mind and smiled.

            "Y sâ layu di â," he said as he embraced her one last time.  "But you will not be with me for a long time."  It was more of a command then a statement.  Reign nodded in reassurance and smiled at her father.

            "El amor, Paero," she said softly.

            "El amor, tu ita stèlaã."  He put his hands over her eyes and her world turned to black as she fell into a deep slumber.

***

The next time Reign opened her eyes and turned her head she endured a tremendous amount of pain.  Every muscle and bone screamed out as her movements tortured them.  But she didn't stop until she could see Severus.

He was sleeping in a chair by her bed with his arms folded across his chest and his head lying against his shoulder.  His hair was a mess, as were his clothes.  She noticed the dried blood on his black attire—her blood—and frowned. 

Slowly she turned her whole body to the side so she could watch him sleep.  A smile crept up on her lips as she observed his chest rise and fall gradually and his hair fall into his face.  She was about to reach up and remove the locks when he opened his eyes.  Her smile grew as he stretched his arms and yawned.  After rubbing his eyes he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

            "How are you feeling?"

            "A lot better than I felt last night."  The Potions Master chuckled.  Reign held out her hand and touched his arm.  "Thank you for saving my life, Severus…I know that must have been hard for you.  I'm so-"     

            "Sorry.  I know."  He leaned forward.  "Don't be."  Reign's mouth hung open as he fell back into the chair.  He wasn't mad at her?  "What?" he asked, noticing her stunned look.

            "It's nothing," she said as she lifted herself up—with his help—to sit upright against the headboard, "it's just that...I thought you'd be furious with me...taking the easy way out and all..."

            "I wasn't going to let you."

            "Obviously," she smiled.  They lapsed into silence as Reign looked out the window.  The clouds from the previous night's storm were just now starting to clear out, making way for beautiful beams of sunlight to stream through the window and fall into her lap.  Her fingers weaved happily through the light.  The elf smiled like a small child playing with a new toy.  She jumped when Severus started speaking again.

            "I've been thinking," he began.  Reign gave him a look.  "Not for long periods of time...just in short little spurts now and then."  He smiled at her and Reign had no choice but to return the notion.  "I've realized that it was wrong for me to condemn you for what you did.  I was hurt and I let my pain run my life.  It's been doing that for eighteen years," he said sadly, "but the pain shielded me.  It set me up to push others away so I wouldn't have to get hurt again.  But you...Reign, you've been through so much.  Far worse things then I can even imagine...I had no right-"

            "Yes, Severus.  You did," she interrupted.  "I don't blame you for acting like you did.  I would have probably acted the same way."  She looked down at her hands and frowned at the sight of her wrists.  "I've been doing some thinking myself, actually."

            "Oh?"

            "You probably don't even want to hear this...not after all that's happened."

            "You can't say that and not tell me, Reign."

            "I know, I know...it's just...don't get angry, alright?"  He raised his eyebrow at her but didn't say anything.  He just watched as she sighed and looked down at her hands—which were now playing with her sheets.  "I don't think I am as in love with you as I originally thought."

            "Really?" 

            "Are you mad?"  Severus laughed.

            "No, no-"        

            "Don't get me wrong, Severus.  I still have feelings for you...it's just-"

            "Just what, Reign?  Spit it out already."  The elf turned toward him and swung her legs over the side of the bed. 

            "I just have this feeling that I'm cursed in the ways of love—especially with humans.  I know that sounds crazy.  I know I sound crazy…after all I've said and done to try to win you back-"

            "Don't worry about it," he said, putting his finger to her lips.  "Our relationship was doomed from the beginning."

            "You think?"

            "I know."  Reign averted her gaze and looked around the sterile room.  She rocked back and forth, nodding with her whole body.  When she returned her attention back to Severus, she saw the sympathy and kindness in his eyes that she had longed to see again after so many years.  And it was that moment when she realized that even though she did not love him, she wanted to be with him forever. 

It wouldn't have made sense to anyone if she had tried to explain it, but it made sense to her.

And that's all that mattered.  She fell out of the bed and into Snape's open arms, embracing him with more emotion than ever before.  Her fingers gripped the back of his cloak like she was hanging on for her life.  Severus noticed the power and returned it by wrapping his arms tightly around her weak body.

            "Thank you, Severus.  Thank you for everything."  He rested his cheek on the top of her head and closed his eyes.  She fit so well in his arms, like she was made for them.  It broke his heart to hear her say that she didn't love him anymore.  When she had first told him he wanted to throw himself out the window. 

But then he remembered how she had every right to act a little insane after what she had been through.  And he honestly believed her when she said she was cursed in the ways of human love.  And he had almost believed himself when he said their relationship was doomed from the beginning.

Almost.

Reign released herself from his grasp and slipped back into her covers.  Severus leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest once more.  He watched as the elf removed her bandages and gazed at her wrists.

The scars were horrible.  Granted they matched the stencil formed from the moonlight perfectly, but they were hideous carvings that she desperately wanted to get rid of.

Elves didn't have a lot of scars.  If they ever got one, it was easily cleared up with a little of their saliva.  So Reign brought her wrist to her mouth and sucked on the skin.  It tasted bitter; she received a nasty shock and immediately withdrew her hand.  The scar was still there.  It didn't disappear like it was supposed to.  That could only mean one thing.

            "What is it?"  Reign was staring in disbelief at her injuries.

            "No...it couldn't be..."  She attempted to kiss the scars again, and this time Severus literally saw the sparks fly from her wrists to her mouth.

            "What the-" Reign explained to him why elves never had scars. 

            "The only explanation as to why these are still here is that they were created by a great evil—like that of Voldemort."  Severus stopped breathing.

            "But how is that possible?  You were the one who-" Reign rubbed her scars and thought long and hard about the previous night.  She had taken the arrows and...

            "Oh Kor," she sighed, throwing her head back and hitting her forehead with her fists.  "Why—didn't—I—think-" Severus grabbed her hands to stop her self-mutilation.

            "What, Reign?  Jesus, what is it?"

            "The arrows!" she hissed at him as if he should have known.  "I found them in the woods a few days ago…they were lying right in front of me.  I saw a figure far off in the distance…it must have been him!"

            "But how did he know you would use them to hurt yourself?"

            "He knew because he planned it.  A wizard can't curse an elf's possessions, but they can charm them into seeming attractive.  I don't really know how to explain it.  Somehow he knew I was depressed.  He used my weakness to draw me to my own weapons and use them to inflict harm on myself."

            "But why would he want to kill you when he's been after you all this time?  Wouldn't he want you alive?"  Reign thought a moment.

            "He probably knew you would save me.  In fact I'm sure of it.  He knew you would find me…and you wouldn't let me die.  And he knew that I wouldn't be able to rid myself of his mark."  She looked down to her scars.  "He's got me."

            "Who's got you, dear?"  Both Reign and Severus jumped at the sound of Madam Pomfrey's voice as she came into their view.

            "Oh, it's nothing," she quickly replied, shoving her hands under her sheets. 

            "Too complicated for an old nurse, eh?" she replied sarcastically.

            "Oh Poppy, don't be like that."

            "Hmph, well-" she sneered as she pulled back the sheets.  "Reign!  I swear…the things I do for you…and this is how you repay me!?" she scolded after noticing the elf had removed her bandages herself.

            "Oh Poppy, give it a rest," Severus sighed from his chair.  The nurse snapped her head up and glared at him.

            "That's enough out of you, Professor.  You either stay and shut your trap or leave." 

Needless to say Severus folded his arms and tightened his lips.  Reign smiled as Poppy cleaned her injuries and re-wrapped them in new gauze.

            "Keep these covered for at least a week.  No peeking!"  The elf beamed.

            "Where would I be without you, Poppy?"  Her smile melted the nurse's heart and she returned the notion.  She laughed and shook her head as she gathered her supplies.

            "Six feet under, child."  The smiles faded as Reign was reminded of the seriousness of her actions.

            "Thank you, Poppy…for saving my life yet again."

            "It's what I'm here for," she winked and left.  Reign watched the nurse go and was filled with the deepest respect for her. 

She turned back to Severus when he cleared his throat.

            "Right, well, as I was saying," Reign continued, "even if he knew I would make it through this, why is he still after me?  He knows I destroyed the potion-"

            "But he knows you created it."

            "Yes, but I don't remember how.  I'm of no use to him whatsoever."  She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them as she thought.  "And why would he send Lucius after me?  Surely there are other ways to become 'all-powerful'.  The potion wasn't that great."

Severus stared long and hard at the stone floor as he thought.

            "Perhaps it's not the potion he's after anymore." 

            "What do you mean?"  Severus moved to the edge of his chair and rested his elbows on his knees.

            "Maybe it's you."

            "What are you talking about?  You mean my elvin powers?"

            "Perhaps…" Reign laughed.

            "That's ridiculous…I'm by no means the most powerful elf there is.  I'm just a common, regular old elf.  There are more powerful versions of my kind that he could go after."

            "Are you sure you know the extent of your powers?"  Reign froze.  Her left eyebrow lifted.

            "Severus, I think by now I would know what I am capable of."  The man shrugged.

            "I'm just saying-"

            "What?  I don't understand.  Elves always know how powerful they are by the time the turn one thousand years old."  Severus shot forward and point at her nose.

            "But you're what, 1,020?  That's just barely over 1,000."  Reign laughed.

            "So?"  Snape leaned onto her bed.

            "Couldn't it be possible that you may have some sort of hidden powers that he knows about?  Just maybe?"  The elf hesitated.  Looking out of the window, she thought hard about her own abilities.  She looked back into Snape's eager eyes and sighed.

            "Maybe it's possible, but I just don't think-"

            "Well perhaps that's your problem."  He smiled at her.  "You don't think."  Reign hit him playfully in the chest before he sat back in his chair.

            "How would Voldemort know more about me than I do about myself?"  Severus shrugged.

            "Perhaps someone, somewhere, knows the truth about Reign the elf."