Chapter Ten: Understanding Deception
Natalia...
How in the world...his logic escaped him. Maybe she is telepathic, he thought. But then I would only receive her thoughts and not her emotions. And also, he reasoned, I would assume that this is something that is rather...private to her. He drew a sharp intake of breath. A dull pain blossomed deep within the core of his being. Doubling over, he knelt on the ground, supporting himself against the wall. He felt as if his chest had sunken in, causing his breathing to become slow and labored. The pain that had bore itself in him struggled to force its way out. Slumping onto the ground, he leant back against the wall, taking slow, painful breaths. After a long struggle with the pain, he finally succumbed to it. It tore itself out of his body, ripping his soul apart. The pain poured itself out of his body in waves of tears.
A torrent of emotions ran over him. His heart sank into the belly of grief, only to be lurched back up again with the next wave of pain. As the storms died down, his mind slowly regained conscious thought, or what was left of it.
"Why do I have to feel your pain?" he whispered, choking on his own sobs. He searched his mind through his extensive knowledge of telepathy. Nowhere in his memories could he find an explanation for this. How if it is some other form of magic? he thought. Maybe it was a curse or a..., his eyes cleared, realizing that it was something he should have thought of first. Could it be...a potion? He shook his head in disbelief. He did not know any student that would be crazy enough to want him to feel and understand her emotions, and much less, have the skill to make an Emotion Conveyor. His eyes flew open, realizing that there was one person who would fit perfectly in both factors...Dumbledore.
Snape's drained body was still hunched in his washroom as the students entered the Potions classroom. The empty shell that was left of his body wearily turned to the source of the noise. Snape doubted that he would be able to feel much for a long time. The emotions that had tormented him left him as weak as an infant. He sighed, deeply disturbed from experiencing Natalia's emotional spectrum. He knew one thing for sure - that he would never accept tea from the old man again without a full inspection first. He had never thought that the degree of devastation she felt would be so immense. How in the world did the girl withstand these emotions and yet still uphold the image of a perfect aristocratic young woman? All these thoughts muddled his mind, making him wish he had a Pensieve.
Making a Herculean effort to stand up, Snape slowly inched his way to the Potions classroom. Before entering the classroom, he took some Reinforcing Potion to rejuvenate his body. After a moment, he was ready to fare with the crowds.
In the dormitory part of the dungeons, Draco Malfoy was in his chambers reading an owl from his Father. He had written his Father, Lucius Malfoy, to complain about the embarrassment Natalia had subjected him to. His Father wrote back, informing Draco that the Dark Lord had plans for her. Due to her heritage, the Dark Lord planned to force her to the Dark Side, making her a Deatheater. He instructed Draco to lure her to the graveyard that night, where a Deatheater would be waiting for her to bring her to Voldemort.
Draco set down the letter, satisfied with the turn of events. Tonight, he would be King of the Slytherin House again.
Natalia found Hermione walking out of her Arithmancy class. She clutched a scroll from her Mother, eager to show Hermione the procedures for making the Mirage-Generating Potion.
"Hermione! My Mother has sent me the instructions!"
The dutiful bookworm turned around, happy to see her friend and even happier yet to see that they could start the potion tonight.
"I have read through it, and unfortunately, we cannot start the potion tonight because we have to wear the leech carcasses around our necks for three days first."
Hermione blushed, remembering that she did not have any supplies for the potion.
"Natalia, you still have to get your ingredients before you can begin. Maybe you can talk to Dumbledore about this."
Natalia thought over this for a moment and shook her head.
"No, I want to settle this with Snape tonight. I do not want to have to manipulate my way around him anymore."
The girls headed to the bathroom to wash up for supper. When they arrived at the Great Hall, Fred and George were already waiting for them.
"Hullo ladies, may we escort you on this fine evening?" they asked in good humor.
They sat at the Gryffindor table, waiting for Ron and Harry. Ginny beamed at seeing Natalia and Hermione.
"Thank Merlin the two of you are here. Fred and George were driving me crazy!"
Fred turned to Natalia.
"Natalia, would you happen to have Golli with you?"
She grinned, remembering her little enchanted pet. She pulled it out of her pocket, at which it instantly buzzed around on her palm.
"Oh, good! Colin hasn't seen it yet and is dying to. Do you mind if I borrow it for a second?"
Dinner passed by like a pleasant dream. As always, the Gryffindor table was bustling with laughter, which brought a smile upon the Headmaster's face and a scowl upon the Potions Master's.
Natalia descended the steps to the dungeons after dinner. The night was getting a bit chilly, thus she made a mental note to herself to fetch her warmer cloak from her chambers before meeting up with Hermione again. An elegant blond figure sauntered towards her. Draco smiled graciously, greeting Natalia as though she were Salazar himself. Following the pleasantries, he invited her to a Slytherin nightly event.
"Natalia, we are having a game of Confessions and Challenges tonight in the Common Room. Can we expect the honor of your presence?"
Natalia thought carefully. She knew better than to participate in Slytherin games but did feel a responsibility for associating with them once in awhile due to her bloodlines.
"Yes, I will be pleased to join you for Confessions and Challenges tonight. At what time shall I be there?"
Draco smiled, pleased that convincing her to come had turned out to be easier than he thought.
"Ten O'clock. I must inform you in advance, the Slytherin Confessions and Challenges rules are different from the usual. Every player must do at least two Challenges before the evening ends. I shall look forward to seeing you there. Until then."
He bowed, doing a grand sweeping gesture that fit his persona perfectly. Natalia fought hard to keep her eyes from rolling and headed off to the Potions classroom.
Knocking on the door firmly, Natalia heard a weary "Come in." She entered the room, comforted at once by the musk of dried herbs. The professor looked up from his work, surprised to see Natalia waiting patiently for him to acknowledge her. Still recovering from the shock of feeling her emotions in the afternoon, Snape slowly found his voice.
"Miss Slytherin, is there something you need?"
Natalia looked very directly at him and said firmly,
"I have come to acquire my ingredients for the Mirage-Generating Potion. I have received the procedure for making it from my Mother already, and now all I need are the supplies."
Snape nodded in understanding. Slowly standing, he went over to the cabinets, pulling down the ingredients Hermione had picked out earlier in the day. He put them into her satchel and handed it to Natalia.
"I expect you will find everything you need in there."
He stood silent for a second, deep in thought.
"Miss Slytherin," he began quietly, averting his eyes from her gaze, "I would like to - it would greatly relieve me to apologize for the things I have said over the past week. I must admit that it was rather unprofessional and...insensitive of me."
Natalia looked at him, searching for signs of deception. Seeing that he was genuinely weary and grieved, she forgave him generously.
"Professor, I understand why you would have said the things you did about my Father. Not many people knew of his actions and the ones that did, killed him. But now that I know that you were unaware of his death, I can forgive you wholeheartedly."
The Potions Master sighed in relief. The girl was as gracious as she was intelligent. Maybe his impression of her was not so accurate after all. After much debate in his mind, he decided to ask the question that had troubled him throughout the week.
"Forgive me if I am being overly inquisitive, but in what way - how did Strages die?"
At the mention of her Father's name, Natalia lowered her eyes, allowing the painful memories to flood back.
"My Father had started an organization that specifically protected wizards with Muggle relations. The followers of my Grandfather's beliefs had long been trying to stop him, threatening to kill my family if he did not terminate the association. Out of caution for our safety, my Father moved us to Norway, where he changed my last name to my Mother's - LaRoche, for fear of my future safety. On the eve of All Elves Day, my Mother left to visit her Godmother, as she always does in the summer."
She closed her eyes, thinking fondly back to the memories of summers spent by the coast. She could almost smell the salt from the sea and feel her hair fluttering in the wind. The songs of the sea nymphs came back to her...
"My Father and I were playing a game of Wizard's Chess when followers of my Grandfather stormed into our house and took my Father into the forest. They took me with them and tied me to a rock, planning to drown me in the lake near our house."
She had always refrained from remembering what happened, and yet, now that she had begun telling about it, she felt she could not stop.
"But instead, they dragged me to see them slaughter my Father. They threatened to kill me if he did not surrender all his powers to their leader. Seeing this, he did so, leaving him as weak as a Muggle. They flogged and beat him repeatedly, telling him that his cause for the Mudbloods had turned him into one in the end. After hanging him, they brought me back to the house and prepared to kill me. Thankfully, one of them convinced the others that I would be a powerful ally to them when I grew up. They left me tied to the roof of my house, where I stayed for three weeks before my Mother came back home."
Snape stood in a dismayed silence. He could not think of words to say. He sat down shakily, using the desk for support. He could not believe that the Strages Slytherin he had known had been killed in such a disgraceful fashion. Now he understood the incredible pain that Natalia carried. He cautiously looked up at her.
"I cannot express my regret sufficiently enough to be even slightly significant to your grief. It must have been devast-"
"I have learned to live with it. Now you understand why I uphold my Father's morals so firmly. He gave his life for me and I can only alleviate my guilt by continuing his cause."
Snape nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps she would be the one to follow through with her Father's cause. Natalia looked up, speaking clearly,
"But let us not dwell on this matter. I accept your apologies and only ask that you will assist me in this cause as you had my Father."
Thankful that he could be of service to her, he nodded in agreement.
"Miss Slytherin, as an apology to my irrational actions and words, I wanted to propose an idea to you. As I understand it, Albea was a present from your Father to you, and being that I have slighted your Father, I would like to make it up to you. I can allow you to retain Albea on a few of conditions."
Natalia smiled in relief. She had been dreading the end of the week when she had to send Albea back to her Mother.
"You may keep Albea if she stays in my office. Then, technically, as a student, you will not be breaking the rules, but you will still be responsible for her maintenance. What do you think of this proposal?"
Beaming, she replied hurriedly,
"Oh yes, yes, that would be most wonderful. Thank you very much, Professor. This means so much to me."
Snape smiled softly.
"I understand. Just see to it that she is moved to my office by tomorrow."
Natalia thanked the Professor again and turned to leave.
"Oh, Miss Slytherin, you might want to take a set of supplies for Miss Granger also, as she was unsuccessful in her attempt to smuggle them out of my classroom this afternoon."
Natalia smiled sheepishly, collecting an extra set of ingredients for Hermione. As she was leaving, she heard the Professor say quietly to her,
"See? The Potions Master does have a heart. He just keeps it in a jar with all the other potions."
Natalia...
How in the world...his logic escaped him. Maybe she is telepathic, he thought. But then I would only receive her thoughts and not her emotions. And also, he reasoned, I would assume that this is something that is rather...private to her. He drew a sharp intake of breath. A dull pain blossomed deep within the core of his being. Doubling over, he knelt on the ground, supporting himself against the wall. He felt as if his chest had sunken in, causing his breathing to become slow and labored. The pain that had bore itself in him struggled to force its way out. Slumping onto the ground, he leant back against the wall, taking slow, painful breaths. After a long struggle with the pain, he finally succumbed to it. It tore itself out of his body, ripping his soul apart. The pain poured itself out of his body in waves of tears.
A torrent of emotions ran over him. His heart sank into the belly of grief, only to be lurched back up again with the next wave of pain. As the storms died down, his mind slowly regained conscious thought, or what was left of it.
"Why do I have to feel your pain?" he whispered, choking on his own sobs. He searched his mind through his extensive knowledge of telepathy. Nowhere in his memories could he find an explanation for this. How if it is some other form of magic? he thought. Maybe it was a curse or a..., his eyes cleared, realizing that it was something he should have thought of first. Could it be...a potion? He shook his head in disbelief. He did not know any student that would be crazy enough to want him to feel and understand her emotions, and much less, have the skill to make an Emotion Conveyor. His eyes flew open, realizing that there was one person who would fit perfectly in both factors...Dumbledore.
Snape's drained body was still hunched in his washroom as the students entered the Potions classroom. The empty shell that was left of his body wearily turned to the source of the noise. Snape doubted that he would be able to feel much for a long time. The emotions that had tormented him left him as weak as an infant. He sighed, deeply disturbed from experiencing Natalia's emotional spectrum. He knew one thing for sure - that he would never accept tea from the old man again without a full inspection first. He had never thought that the degree of devastation she felt would be so immense. How in the world did the girl withstand these emotions and yet still uphold the image of a perfect aristocratic young woman? All these thoughts muddled his mind, making him wish he had a Pensieve.
Making a Herculean effort to stand up, Snape slowly inched his way to the Potions classroom. Before entering the classroom, he took some Reinforcing Potion to rejuvenate his body. After a moment, he was ready to fare with the crowds.
In the dormitory part of the dungeons, Draco Malfoy was in his chambers reading an owl from his Father. He had written his Father, Lucius Malfoy, to complain about the embarrassment Natalia had subjected him to. His Father wrote back, informing Draco that the Dark Lord had plans for her. Due to her heritage, the Dark Lord planned to force her to the Dark Side, making her a Deatheater. He instructed Draco to lure her to the graveyard that night, where a Deatheater would be waiting for her to bring her to Voldemort.
Draco set down the letter, satisfied with the turn of events. Tonight, he would be King of the Slytherin House again.
Natalia found Hermione walking out of her Arithmancy class. She clutched a scroll from her Mother, eager to show Hermione the procedures for making the Mirage-Generating Potion.
"Hermione! My Mother has sent me the instructions!"
The dutiful bookworm turned around, happy to see her friend and even happier yet to see that they could start the potion tonight.
"I have read through it, and unfortunately, we cannot start the potion tonight because we have to wear the leech carcasses around our necks for three days first."
Hermione blushed, remembering that she did not have any supplies for the potion.
"Natalia, you still have to get your ingredients before you can begin. Maybe you can talk to Dumbledore about this."
Natalia thought over this for a moment and shook her head.
"No, I want to settle this with Snape tonight. I do not want to have to manipulate my way around him anymore."
The girls headed to the bathroom to wash up for supper. When they arrived at the Great Hall, Fred and George were already waiting for them.
"Hullo ladies, may we escort you on this fine evening?" they asked in good humor.
They sat at the Gryffindor table, waiting for Ron and Harry. Ginny beamed at seeing Natalia and Hermione.
"Thank Merlin the two of you are here. Fred and George were driving me crazy!"
Fred turned to Natalia.
"Natalia, would you happen to have Golli with you?"
She grinned, remembering her little enchanted pet. She pulled it out of her pocket, at which it instantly buzzed around on her palm.
"Oh, good! Colin hasn't seen it yet and is dying to. Do you mind if I borrow it for a second?"
Dinner passed by like a pleasant dream. As always, the Gryffindor table was bustling with laughter, which brought a smile upon the Headmaster's face and a scowl upon the Potions Master's.
Natalia descended the steps to the dungeons after dinner. The night was getting a bit chilly, thus she made a mental note to herself to fetch her warmer cloak from her chambers before meeting up with Hermione again. An elegant blond figure sauntered towards her. Draco smiled graciously, greeting Natalia as though she were Salazar himself. Following the pleasantries, he invited her to a Slytherin nightly event.
"Natalia, we are having a game of Confessions and Challenges tonight in the Common Room. Can we expect the honor of your presence?"
Natalia thought carefully. She knew better than to participate in Slytherin games but did feel a responsibility for associating with them once in awhile due to her bloodlines.
"Yes, I will be pleased to join you for Confessions and Challenges tonight. At what time shall I be there?"
Draco smiled, pleased that convincing her to come had turned out to be easier than he thought.
"Ten O'clock. I must inform you in advance, the Slytherin Confessions and Challenges rules are different from the usual. Every player must do at least two Challenges before the evening ends. I shall look forward to seeing you there. Until then."
He bowed, doing a grand sweeping gesture that fit his persona perfectly. Natalia fought hard to keep her eyes from rolling and headed off to the Potions classroom.
Knocking on the door firmly, Natalia heard a weary "Come in." She entered the room, comforted at once by the musk of dried herbs. The professor looked up from his work, surprised to see Natalia waiting patiently for him to acknowledge her. Still recovering from the shock of feeling her emotions in the afternoon, Snape slowly found his voice.
"Miss Slytherin, is there something you need?"
Natalia looked very directly at him and said firmly,
"I have come to acquire my ingredients for the Mirage-Generating Potion. I have received the procedure for making it from my Mother already, and now all I need are the supplies."
Snape nodded in understanding. Slowly standing, he went over to the cabinets, pulling down the ingredients Hermione had picked out earlier in the day. He put them into her satchel and handed it to Natalia.
"I expect you will find everything you need in there."
He stood silent for a second, deep in thought.
"Miss Slytherin," he began quietly, averting his eyes from her gaze, "I would like to - it would greatly relieve me to apologize for the things I have said over the past week. I must admit that it was rather unprofessional and...insensitive of me."
Natalia looked at him, searching for signs of deception. Seeing that he was genuinely weary and grieved, she forgave him generously.
"Professor, I understand why you would have said the things you did about my Father. Not many people knew of his actions and the ones that did, killed him. But now that I know that you were unaware of his death, I can forgive you wholeheartedly."
The Potions Master sighed in relief. The girl was as gracious as she was intelligent. Maybe his impression of her was not so accurate after all. After much debate in his mind, he decided to ask the question that had troubled him throughout the week.
"Forgive me if I am being overly inquisitive, but in what way - how did Strages die?"
At the mention of her Father's name, Natalia lowered her eyes, allowing the painful memories to flood back.
"My Father had started an organization that specifically protected wizards with Muggle relations. The followers of my Grandfather's beliefs had long been trying to stop him, threatening to kill my family if he did not terminate the association. Out of caution for our safety, my Father moved us to Norway, where he changed my last name to my Mother's - LaRoche, for fear of my future safety. On the eve of All Elves Day, my Mother left to visit her Godmother, as she always does in the summer."
She closed her eyes, thinking fondly back to the memories of summers spent by the coast. She could almost smell the salt from the sea and feel her hair fluttering in the wind. The songs of the sea nymphs came back to her...
"My Father and I were playing a game of Wizard's Chess when followers of my Grandfather stormed into our house and took my Father into the forest. They took me with them and tied me to a rock, planning to drown me in the lake near our house."
She had always refrained from remembering what happened, and yet, now that she had begun telling about it, she felt she could not stop.
"But instead, they dragged me to see them slaughter my Father. They threatened to kill me if he did not surrender all his powers to their leader. Seeing this, he did so, leaving him as weak as a Muggle. They flogged and beat him repeatedly, telling him that his cause for the Mudbloods had turned him into one in the end. After hanging him, they brought me back to the house and prepared to kill me. Thankfully, one of them convinced the others that I would be a powerful ally to them when I grew up. They left me tied to the roof of my house, where I stayed for three weeks before my Mother came back home."
Snape stood in a dismayed silence. He could not think of words to say. He sat down shakily, using the desk for support. He could not believe that the Strages Slytherin he had known had been killed in such a disgraceful fashion. Now he understood the incredible pain that Natalia carried. He cautiously looked up at her.
"I cannot express my regret sufficiently enough to be even slightly significant to your grief. It must have been devast-"
"I have learned to live with it. Now you understand why I uphold my Father's morals so firmly. He gave his life for me and I can only alleviate my guilt by continuing his cause."
Snape nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps she would be the one to follow through with her Father's cause. Natalia looked up, speaking clearly,
"But let us not dwell on this matter. I accept your apologies and only ask that you will assist me in this cause as you had my Father."
Thankful that he could be of service to her, he nodded in agreement.
"Miss Slytherin, as an apology to my irrational actions and words, I wanted to propose an idea to you. As I understand it, Albea was a present from your Father to you, and being that I have slighted your Father, I would like to make it up to you. I can allow you to retain Albea on a few of conditions."
Natalia smiled in relief. She had been dreading the end of the week when she had to send Albea back to her Mother.
"You may keep Albea if she stays in my office. Then, technically, as a student, you will not be breaking the rules, but you will still be responsible for her maintenance. What do you think of this proposal?"
Beaming, she replied hurriedly,
"Oh yes, yes, that would be most wonderful. Thank you very much, Professor. This means so much to me."
Snape smiled softly.
"I understand. Just see to it that she is moved to my office by tomorrow."
Natalia thanked the Professor again and turned to leave.
"Oh, Miss Slytherin, you might want to take a set of supplies for Miss Granger also, as she was unsuccessful in her attempt to smuggle them out of my classroom this afternoon."
Natalia smiled sheepishly, collecting an extra set of ingredients for Hermione. As she was leaving, she heard the Professor say quietly to her,
"See? The Potions Master does have a heart. He just keeps it in a jar with all the other potions."
