Author's Notes: Writing this chapter was particularly difficult because my boyfriend of six months decided to break up with me on Monday. I only got over the writer's block that came from the a night or two ago. This chapter is dedicated to all those who have helped me through and stopped me from drowning in self pity (as I often do!). Thank you, as always, to my decadent betas, Big Momma and Ria. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Don't forget to write me rave reviews!
Chapter Ten – The Lion Shall Lay Down with the Lamb
It was the dead of night, and blackness swelled into every crack and cranny of the MLE holding cells. A single, poorly paid wizard stood at the entrance to the hall of cells, drowsy and close to sleep. The prisoners themselves all slept soundly in their bunks. Indeed, it was though time had been stopped for the night in this part of the wizarding world.
And then there was something different. A faint shimmering of the air that travelled along the long passage of cells, like a small breeze only not. It swam through the air and the stone and the iron alike, becoming slower as it came towards the end. Eventually, it stopped completely, and just hovered expectantly.
The shimmering seemed to pulse and move in the air, becoming quicker and stronger. It began to take form and become almost solid. It shaped itself into a human-like body, and gave itself flesh. Then the flesh and form became more detailed, stretching out into long golden hair and sharpening into pale green eyes. It became clothed, and developed lips and two pointed ears. Then the shimmering stopped, and it simply was.
The elf that the shimmering had become stared down at the man that lay asleep before her. In this peaceful state, he seemed younger than she had imagined. His long black hair splayed across the grimy pillow contrasted with his skin, which was pale as the moonlight that shone through his small window.
The elf whispered a small incantation, and the man began to wake. His eyes fluttered open, and he frowned as though trying to remember what had made him wake. His deep black eyes swept along the wall and rested on her form. He started visibly and sat up right, gazing at her in wonder.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I am Arianwyn. I was asked to see you." Her voice was soft and slippery, as though made of water, and yet as she spoke she did not move her lips. It was though she spoke directly into his head.
"By whom?" He looked at her warily.
"An old friend of yours - and a newer one. There are more people concerned for you than you may think."
"Are you an…an elf?"
The elf smiled serenely. "I believe that is what my kind is called by yours, though I have many names."
The man stared at her, taking in every detail.
"My time here is limited. I must come to the point. The fey people may hold converse with the living, and those who have moved on to a higher plane. It is such a spirit that first bade me visit you. When you knew him, he was Albus Dumbledore."
Snape's eyes widened. "Albus?"
The elf nodded silently. "He watches over you still, and is with you through these times of torment. He has asked that I pass on a message he could not. He asks that you place you trust in the one who is trying to help, in more than the most immediate matter. He asks also that you believe in yourself as much as he did," the elf smiled widely, "and that you eat a bag of sherbert lemons when you leave this place, for him."
Snape smiled even as his eyes welled up. He swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Did he say anything else?"
"Nothing that I may tell you, for it will effect the future. But I may tell you that he is at peace. There is no pain or fear with him now."
Snape nodded, "Thank you."
The elf reached out a hand. The pale skin of it seemed to glow ethereally in the moonlight as it touched his cheek, wiping away the tear that had fallen. "I must leave you now. Please, do not forget the words I have spoken."
He shook his head.
"May we meet again under more fortunate circumstances, Severus Snape."
Her voice became weaker in his mind, and she began to shimmer and melt away into nothingness. She was gone in seconds, though the feel of her skin against his cheek stayed long after she had departed.
***
Although it did not hold quite the stillness that the MLE holding cells had, Deptford was also reasonably quiet. The high-rise towers were almost totally dark, with only a few lights lit. The light of one particular window, in one particular high rise blinked out every so often, as though there was someone sending morse code across the city. If you were to look a little closer, however, you would see that the blinking out was a shadow passing over the window, blocking out the light. If you were to look closer still, you would see that the shadow was that of a young man, pacing back and fore across his bedroom floor.
Harry had been pacing in this manner for the last twenty-one minutes. He knew this because, while pacing, he watched the second hand creep around the face of his wrist watch. He was waiting for his friend from the office to return. He had been trying to figure out in his head how long it would take for her to get into the cells, talk to Snape, get out (without being caught) and get back to Deptford safely. He guessed it should have taken twenty minutes. Harry was a natural worrier.
It only took three more lengths of the room, however, before the tell-tale shimmering appeared in front of him. He had begun talking in Elvish before the elf had materialised. "Did it all go to plan? What did he say? Is everything alright?"
The elf gave him an amused expression. "I find you to be very over-excited and am led to wonder how much caffeine you have ingested tonight. It went to plan, he said very little and everything is fine."
Harry looked like he was trying very hard to stop his legs from continuing to pace. "Right," he said. "Right. Good. And my name wasn't mentioned?"
"Not once. I see no reason why it should have been. The fact that you know the man is a mere coincidence, Harry Potter. I was carrying the message from another."
"I know. I just wondered…" Harry frowned at himself. "Doesn't matter. Thank you for stopping by so late."
The elf Arianwyn nodded. "You are welcome." Her form began to shimmer and glass over once again. Before she disappeared altogether, though, Harry heard her voice in his head, "He has the potential to love you, but he knows it and it scares him. Just in case you were wondering."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the now empty space. "Gee, thanks."
Harry sighed, and went to bed.
***
Hermione sighed over her cauldron top. She lifted the ladle, and let the thick slime green concoction slop back into the cauldron. She looked again at the thick, dusty book. "Well, I'm getting closer to yellow."
She picked up the cauldron, with some effort, and carried it over to the sink to poor it down the drain. She groaned and set the taps running to wash the cauldron out. "Why won't this work?"
"You're trying too hard." A pair of bare arms circled her waist from behind, and Hermione leant her head back against a firm chest.
"Or not hard enough."
She felt a firm kiss pressed to the top of her head. "Come to bed. You've done all you can do."
She shook her head firmly. "I have to do this. I really, really have to. Harry-"
"Hang Harry. You're exhausted and I'm worried about you. Come to bed. Please?" He squeezed a little harder around her middle.
She pushed his arms away, and turned to look at him. His long, red hair fell loose over his naked shoulders. She reached up and laid her hands on his neck, tilting her face up to kiss his lips lightly. "You go. I'll try once more. Then I'll have done all I can."
Bill nodded. "Fair enough. But don't be too long, or I'll come and make you sleep."
She smiled, and he turned to walk back into the room. She went back to scrubbing out her cauldron.
"Doesn't this here say unicorn horn?"
Hermione turned the taps off and went to look at the book over Bill's shoulder. "Yes. That's what I've been using, isn't it?"
Bill laughed dryly, and held up the jar. "It's my fault," he said. "My hand writing's pathetic. This says unicorn hoof. Not horn."
Hermione gave a short burst of laughter. "That's why it won't turn yellow. Because it's the wrong bit of unicorn!" She grinned and flung her arms around her lover, kissing every bit of skin she could reach. "You're amazing, you know that?"
He smiled and kissed her back. "You're pretty special yourself. Now, how can I help?"
She turned back to the book and traced the recipe with her finger. "Well…"
***
Harry had always loved the silence of Hogwarts school at night – now more than ever. In his hands was a small roll of parchment, worn from constant handling. He intended to go to the vast emptiness of the Great Hall and sit and read it under the stars.
When he reached the huge oak doors, they were not closed as he had expected. One of them was ajar, and from inside he could see the warm glow of candle light. Harry slipped through the small gap, and looked curiously around the room.
At first he thought the room was empty, and the house elves had simply forgotten to close the doors properly after cleaning the room. Then he noticed the source of the light. A single, white candle burned at the centre of the top table, illuminating a single, hunched figure. It took Harry a moment to identify him, but eventually his eyes grew accustomed to the dim light and there was no mistaking the long, greasy hair and hooked nose.
"Professor? Are you alright?"
The figure moved his head slowly, until it was at a level where he should be able to see Harry. A bolt of lightning shot light through the large hall. It painted the professor's face white, and reflected silver off of two thin tracks that ran down his face. His eyes were blacker, if possible, than they ever had been. He frowned as though disappointed, and lowered his head again.
Harry walked over to the table. "Professor…"
"I know I've done wrong. I know that I am nowhere near perfection. I know that I'm crabby, and harsh and I have an attitude problem. I know I never deserved a second chance. But why? Why did they have to take him away from me?"
His voice cracked and broke into sobs that echoed dryly around the room. Harry dropped the scroll on the table and sat into the chair next to Snape's, encircling him in his arms. He murmured soothingly and rubbed the older man's back, as Hermione had done for him.
"I should have tried harder…" he gasped, muffled by Harry's robes. "I should have been able to help him…It should have been me…He never did anything wrong…"
Harry drew away slightly and searched for the older man's eyes. "Listen to me. This was not your fault. There was nothing any of us could have done. You know that." He felt a tear run down his own cheek, but made no effort to wipe it away.
Snape hid his head in Harry's shoulder, shaking it. "You don't understand. He was the only one…the only one that would take me back. He always believed in me…the only one who believed in me…and now he's gone and I'm alone again."
Harry held him tight, the boundaries between student and teacher vanishing in the need to comfort another hurt soul. "I believe in you. You won't be alone so long as I'm here."
Snape said nothing. He just sobbed quietly into Harry's robes, while Harry continued to soothe him and comfort him.
The scroll on the table unrolled slowly, as though by an unseen hand. The candle flickered slightly, catching Harry's eye. He turned his head and saw the scroll. Reaching out one hand, he picked it up. He had forgotten to show it to Snape.
Pulling away from the potions master slowly, he offered the other man the scroll. Snape took it without thinking, and glanced over it. "It's the scroll that Professor Dumbledore asked me to take. Read it. It might help you through."
Snape cleared his throat, and read aloud:
"'My dear friends,
If you are reading this, it is because the time for me to leave you has come. I knew many years ago how my life would end, and I cannot but admit that it disappointed me slightly. That, however, is neither here nor there. The point is that this time has now come, and I know it will bring you some distress. At a time like this, I think (or at least hope) that very few things I could say would comfort you. In my own times of bereavement I have always found these words to be comforting:
Do not stand by my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the breeze that ruffles the sea
In children's laughter; that is me.
And when you're sad, lay down your head
My arms are here, they have not fled
As months pass by and summer comes
I am the sunflower chasing the sun
And later as September follows
Martins leave and then the swallows
I am the leaves that twist on the branch
In red and gold I fall and dance
And when the nights are clear and cold
I soar with the stars and scatter their gold
I fly with the angels past moon and sun
And then in the morning to you I come
So do not stand by my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep
I am only sorry I cannot be there to help you through myself. Take whatever will help each of you from my office and rooms. I will not need them any longer. See that Fawkes goes to one who will give him the appreciation he deserves. Remember that you are not alone, but you must rely on each other.
Your friend, teacher, advisor and confidante,
Albus Dumbledore.'"
Snape replaced the scroll on the table. He drew further away from Harry, and smiled weakly. "Albus always knew the best thing to say."
Harry nodded silently. "I meant to come here to read this on my own, but I'm glad you were here."
Snape gave a snort of derision. "Pleased to see me, Potter? I never expected that sentence to leave your lips."
Harry smiled wryly. "Ditto. But I was. I don't think this is something anyone should go through on their own."
Snape's eyes were cold. "I don't want you pity, Potter."
"And I'm not going to give you any. What I will give you is a solid shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to you, because that's what you need. I don't care if you're my teacher, and I don't care if you don't even like me that much. This isn't about that. I just don't see why you should have to be alone."
Snape's eyes were brimming again. He spoke in a very small voice, "Because it's what I deserve."
Harry shook your head firmly. "I don't think that. And neither did he."
Harry moved his arms fractionally, and Snape sprang into his embrace once again.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled overhead, as the Gods showed
their own grief for a great man's passing. The two lone figures sat
in the vast room, holding one another for dear life and shaking with each
breath as they cried. One of them drew back to rest his forehead
against the other's and pushed tousled hair from his face. The candle
that lit them was extinguished, as though by magic, and they were left
together in darkness.
Harry had been pacing outside the courthouse entrance for ten minutes before the grumpy old caretaker unlocked the doors. Now, pacing in the entrance hall, he began to wonder how many calories he was burning off simply from walking backwards and forwards. He was waiting to find out whether or not he had anything worth using to cross-examine Draco, or if the man he…respected was going to be thrown in prison.
"Harry!"
His head snapped up and his eyes sharpened on the slight figure with fly-away hair and over-sized robes that all but flew towards him. He smiled at his old friend hopefully, although that hope dimmed a little as he couldn't see her holding any small bottles or phials.
"Hermione, did you manage…"
She held up her hand to stop him, gasping for breath. "Yes, I did. I've handed it to the MLE apothecary. He needs to check it's pure and hasn't been tampered with. But it will be there. We're safe."
Harry gave a small mile. "Not safe yet. But safer. Thank you so much, Hermione." He hugged his friend tightly to him.
"Oi! Hands off, she's mine!" Harry raised his eyes and grinned at Bill Weasley as he strode through the doors.
"You can't share?"
"Not my 'Mione." The taller man shook his head, and kissed Hermione's cheek. "How's things, Harry?"
Harry smiled. "The better for hearing that news. You?"
Bill yawned widely. "Tired, but happy. What time's it meant to be kicking off?"
Harry looked at his gold pocket watch. "In about half an hour. Got my speech worked out and everything. Hopefully, I know exactly what I'm doing, except I just jinxed myself so now everything's going to go wrong and we'll all get chucked in prison with him."
Bill frowned. "I hope not. I've heard nasty things about the food in Azkaban."
The doors creaked again, and the small group turned to see who else had arrived. "Oh, hello Bill. What're you…oh," Ron stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes locked with Harry. "I see. I might have guessed."
"Hello, Ron," Bill said, sliding his arm around Hermione's waist.
"There was me thinking you might be here to support me." He gave a derisive snort of laughter and shook his head.
"I am," Bill smiled weakly. "I hope you fail very gracefully."
"That's a comfort. If you'll excuse me, I have to set up." Ron brushed past the group and down the steps into the dungeons.
"I should really go, too. I don't want to have to put things together at the last minute. See you two after."
"OK. Good luck, Harry." Hermione kissed his cheek, and Bill shook his hand firmly before he disappeared after Ron.
***
AN: I promise you, I will get to the trial eventually...I just wanted to do it all in one chapter!...So next chapter, we will finally be getting to grips with the courtroom. For this reason, it might take a while, cos will have to consult friends who take Law and things. Far too complicated for lil ole me! Oh, and PLEEEEEASE review, because it makes my brain warm up a bit!