Author's note: This chapter was written in celebration of my first 100 reviews! Thank you very much for reading my story and reviewing it, you have all become so dear to me! I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter, which I have written especially for all my readers. Thanks again! Until the next 100 ~ The Bard.
The Great Hall hummed with hushed whispers as students swapped theories of what had happened to the Potions Master. Alarm rang through the hall as they heard the skies thunder, shaking the very grounds of Hogwarts; then light illuminating the castle with its sacrosanct glow. Everyone buried their heads in fear that their eyes would be burnt out. After what seemed an eternity, the light subsided, leaving staff and students alike in a daze. The hall erupted in a din of wonder at what had just occurred. The trio waited edgily, searching with worry amongst the students for their Slytherin friend, but to no hope.
Everyone fell silent when the door opened, revealing the old Headmaster. Great power still burned in his eyes as his voice resonated throughout the hall.
"Professors, please lead the students back to their classes. Students from the Potions class, follow Professor McGonagall to the Transfiguration classroom." He scanned the crowd quickly, in search of a person. "Madame Pomfrey, please assist me in the Infirmary."
The quaint woman and the Headmaster headed to the hospital wing with worry etched on both their faces.
"Albus, what has happened?"
The wizard looked at her, shadows tingeing his eyes.
"I am afraid something has gone terribly amiss."
Natalia sat by the professor's bed as she wrapped a makeshift splint to her finger. She looked up to see the Headmaster and the school nurse entering the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey gave out a small cry of alarm at seeing the Potions Master. Dumbledore's face turned grim. He laid a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder.
"I expect that he will be well taken care of now. Natalia," the girl turned her anxious gaze from the professor to the Headmaster, "Please come with me to my office."
Dumbledore sat like a statue at his desk, so lost in thought that the former headmasters on the walls thought he had become one of them.
"Headmaster…"
The wizard raised his eyes to her, looking like the world had been placed on his shoulders. He sighed deeply, fearing that the future had finally arrived.
"Natalia, why were you in Professor Snape's office?"
"I went to feed Amicus this morning. That woman," she gestured with her hand, "I do not know who she is, but she let me into his office. However, she did not let me come out because she did not want anyone aiding the professor. I had to administer Unicorn's Blood to him because he had lost too much blood already. I hope I was not wrong to do that."
The Headmaster gave her a reassuring look.
"No, no, you did the correct thing. Natalia," he looked very closely at her, "Do you know who Mab is?"
The girl frowned, lines creasing her gentle brow.
"She is the faerie queen, said to be the most powerful of–" horror swept across her face, "Are you implying that the woman was Mab?"
The old man nodded gravely, his blue eyes darkening a shade.
"She has been brought back, freed from imprisonment. I do not know how she had enough strength to regain her powers again."
The girl sank back in disbelief.
"Headmaster…what does this mean?"
He leaned forward, looking at her with dread and expectation.
"It has begun."
Crease of worry stretched its way across the girl's face, making the delicate slope of her brow knit together. She had sat at the bedside of the unconscious man for three hours already, watching as life slowly drained out of his body. For the past hours, parades of thoughts marched through her mind. She searched in vain through the crowds of her consciousness, hoping to find a method of restoring the Potions Master's health. But not a soul in the endless parade, not even the ludicrous mascot in the front, held a single glimpse of a cure.
The Headmaster had left an hour ago to create a shield around the school, preventing the faerie from having any effect on Snape while he was within Hogwarts' grounds. Mab…Intense anger tore through the Slytherin. She could not believe anyone would do such a thing, even if they had been imprisoned for centuries. What kind of mentality did she have to refuse and prevent aid from a dying man? Over the next half hour, she began nodding off into sleep, her weary mind longing for rest. Darkness enveloped her as she slowly laid herself in Hypnos' arms. Memories dripped through her mind like dreams. She drifted from Hermione to Harry, a smile playing on her supple lips. She wandered further to Amicus, wishing that he were here with her. I wonder if Amicus would get along well with Fawkes, she thought. Her eyes suddenly flew open. Fawkes. She got up in a hurry, nearly running out of the infirmary. Why did I forget about Phoenix tears? she asked herself as she ran to Dumbledore's office. She stopped almost immediately when she reached the gargoyle entrance, remembering that she did not know the password. Having no idea what the secret word was, she tried the one that she had last heard.
"Lemon Drops."
The gargoyle did not budge. It stood there stubbornly with the usual scowl on its face. Natalia frowned. Not knowing what else to do, she began listing off random names of sweets.
"Lemon sherbert, chocolate frogs, Canary Creams, lemon pastries, butter beer, cherry co–"
"He has already used all of those before."
Natalia turned around, startled. She nearly stumbled back when she saw a tall sinewy man standing before her. He had tousled, slightly unkempt hair that swept past his neck and rested on his shoulders. His perceptive gray eyes peered curiously at her.
"Aurelia?"
Natalia blushed. This was the second time someone had made this mistake.
"No, I am her daughter, Natalia."
A faintly surprised look appeared on the man's face.
"Daughter? I was not aware of the fact that Strages had a daughter."
The girl smiled, seeing that he knew both her parents.
"You knew my Father?"
The dark-haired man smiled, his gray eyes becoming warm at the mention of his old friend.
"Yes I was in his campaign for Part-Muggle Magicals protection. He is certainly one of the most virtuous and extraordinary men I have ever known." He looked kindly at Natalia, fond memories slipping back into his mind. "I haven't seen him for…sixteen years, ever since he and Aurelia moved to Norway. How is your Father doing these days?"
Natalia's eyes darkened, realizing that the man did not know of her Father's death.
"My Father died seven years ago." she said quietly, "He was killed by a group of Pureblood followers."
A tempest could be seen brewing in the man's eyes. He closed them in grief, letting the words sink in.
"The bastards…" He raised his eyes to the girl that stood before him. "I am utterly sorry. There must have been many things I could have done to prevent that. If only–"
"No, please," she said, interrupting him, "No one is to blame for his death except for the followers of my Grandfather. I assure you that the fight for unity has not died with him."
He smiled inwardly when he saw the courage and determination that had borne in the girl's eyes.
"Yes, he shall not have died in vain." He extended his hand to her, "My name is Sirius Black."
She took his hand, smiling warmly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you." Gesturing back to the door, she said, "Perhaps you can assist me in entering the Headmaster's office."
Sirius tilted his head, looking at her inquisitively.
"Is there something particular that you are in need of?"
She turned back around, answering him.
"Yes, I need Fawke's tears for Professor Snape."
The wizard's face clouded with concern.
"Has something happened to Severus?"
Worry materialized on the girl's face once more.
"Yes, he has been hurt very badly. Someone left him to die in his office yesterday."
Fury crossed the man's face at the maliciousness of the deed. Not even Severus deserved this.
"Who would do such a dire thing?"
Natalia looked him in the eye, asking carefully,
"Do you know of the faerie Mab?"
Sirius nodded his head cautiously, dreading where this was heading.
"Someone has brought her back and she has been guarding the professor's injured body, preventing anyone from aiding him. The Headmaster drove her out of the school this morning and is now creating a defense around Hogwarts for the safety of Professor Snape. He was approaching death, therefore I thought it necessary to administer Phoenix tears to him."
Sirius stood in astonishment. He could not fathom the amount of calamity that lay in the future, now that Mab had been summoned.
"Sirius, I see you have met Natalia."
The man lifted his head to see Dumbledore walking towards him.
"Albus, is it true, about Mab?"
The Headmaster looked gravely at the other wizard.
"I am afraid so. She has left the realms of Hogwarts, but I can assure you that we have not seen the last of her."
"Headmaster," Natalia began, "How did she leave? I had the impression that one could not apparate to or from Hogwarts."
The old wizard's face became grim.
"As you may know already, the faerie is capable of very powerful magic. She has," he looked closely at the two that stood in front of him, "The power to slip in and out of existence. Her means of apparating are nothing related to wizards' apparation. What she does is very similar to what the Muggles call wormholes. She has the ability pass out of a physical existence and travel by light, where, in certain light molecules, there are passageways linking to other particles of light in another part of the world. Thus, it is very much like a Muggle wormhole." He looked at Natalia, trying to see if she understood. "Natalia, how is the professor's condition?"
She shook her head, saying in a dour voice,
"He is getting worse, Headmaster. I came to get tears from Fawke's for him, but could not get into your office."
The old man's eyes twinkled.
"You should have just asked me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial of Phoenix tears.
The three headed to the infirmary, walking with urgency for the Potions Master's life was at risk. Dumbledore poured a few drops of precious Phoenix tears into the professor's mouth, instantly reviving his health. Snape's faint heartbeat slowly strengthened, blood flowing in his veins once again instead of the sickly potion that had been administered to him. After a good ten minutes, his consciousness slowly came back, allowing him to sense those around his side. His eyes fluttered open and squinted back close again, aching from the first ray of blinding light.
"The light…" he whispered hoarsely.
Sirius quickly got up and drew the drapes close. The professor slowly opened his eyes again, this time more careful to allow his pupils to adjust. He looked around him, relieved to see that Mab had not taken Natalia away. His eyes rolled to the Headmaster, who looked at him with concern, and then to the dark man that sat by his feet. Sirius…what in the world is he doing here? the Potions Master wondered. The wizard must have seen the confusion and slight irritation on his face, for he answered the professor's thought.
"Albus sent for me – for business."
Snape understood immediately, and tried to nod in acknowledgement. The Headmaster cleared his throat.
"Severus, you will have to explain to us what happened."
They helped him up, propping him with two pillows as Natalia handed him a glass of uncontaminated water. He thanked her silently with his eyes. After the first glass, he found his voice again.
"I will have to start from the duel I had with Natalia last week."
Both the Headmaster and the girl raised their brows in surprise as Sirius smiled amusedly to himself, entertained by the thought that Natalia had dueled with the Potions Master.
"As you know, the Shangri-La was activated during the duel. The reason for the wand's reaction was, my Dark Mark had begun to burn as Austerus was counting."
Sirius frowned, completely astounded.
"The Shangri-La? But it is only a myth."
The old wizard turned to him with a glimmer in his eyes.
"No, Sirius, the Shangri-La is real. And the bearer of it is sitting directly next to you."
The dark-haired wizard looked at the girl sitting next to him, half in awe, half in shock.
"Continuing on," the Potions Master drawled, irritated by Sirius' reaction, "Obviously, the wand nearly destroyed me entirely. By doing so, it rid me of all my ties to Voldemort. If I had been a true Death Eater, I would have been demolished completely."
Natalia shuddered at this statement, slightly repulsed by the power she contained.
"The Dark Lord learned that I was not bound to him anymore, therefore used some kind of Dark Magic to bind me to him – by blood." He rubbed his eyes wearily, wishing for nothing more than sleep. "I suspect that he did so by means of a potion, although I am almost certain I would have been able to detect it were I to consume it voluntarily."
Dumbledore's eyes were overcast by a grim shadow; he was now realizing the degree of severity in the situation.
"Through this same potion, Voldemort made a pact with Mab, promising her the ability to abstract my power to strengthen herself until she is fully regenerated, if, in return, she joins his legions."
The Headmaster looked Snape in the eyes.
"I believe you understand this process will take more than a thousand years, Severus. Your life will undoubtedly be extended beyond the means of the usual wizard lifespan."
The Potions Master nodded gravely, hiding all emotion behind his hooded eyes. Natalia's mind began connecting the facts together. She looked up at the professor with dismay in her eyes.
"Professor, you said that you think the Dark Magic was most likely administered to you by means of a potion?"
He turned to her, looking at her closely. He remembered how he had thought her to be all the hope in the world that morning as she held him through his seizures.
"Yes," he replied softly, "I believe it was."
Anger, disappointment, and shock all appeared on her face at once. She got up in a hurry and said in a hasty voice,
"I am sorry, but I have to leave. There is something that I must attend to."
The clashing of metal rang through the Slytherin Fencing Hall. Foils flashed under the lights, both duelers demonstrating great skill, speed, and accuracy. Slytherin banners swept down from the ceilings, displaying the Gladius Dimicare Guild crest of Salazar Slytherin proudly. At both ends of the hall were towering suits of armor that pounded their swords upon the ground to indicate the end of each match. The taller of the two fencers stood at the south end of the hall, taking a stance like a spider in its web. His swift, graceful motions sang of a mastered ability in epée fencing. His opponent ducked under an attack and simultaneously lunged at taller fencer's thigh after knocking his blade off balance. The fencer leaped over his opponent's advancing sword in a one-handed cartwheel, striking his competitor for the third and final touch on the back of his thigh. The thumping of the armors' swords resounded through the hall as the fencers bowed to each other in a gesture of courtesy.
The winner took off his mask and wiped the gathering perspiration off his brow. Draco won all five of the duels he had fought in that afternoon. He had been trained by his Father in swordplay since the age of four, and was the reigning Slytherin Fencing Champion since his second year at Hogwarts. His gladius had been molded into one of great power, as each gladius mirrored their master in strengths and weaknesses over time. Though, in training duels like the ones of the afternoon, all the fencers used their practice foils in place of their gladii. The proud Slytherin watched as his next challenger stepped onto the strip, foil lightly balanced in their hand. The new fencer had his mask on already, leaving the spectators to wonder at his identity. Draco frowned curiously and slipped his mask back over his head. The two opponents bowed and took their stances. Draco began with a quick upward feint and shifted, executing a perfect balestra followed by a deadly accurate lunge to his opponent's stomach. The other dueler recoiled back like a snake, leaping up and arching his entire body in a single fluid motion. The anonymous swordsman flicked his wrist in a barely perceptible movement, gaining his first touch on the back of Draco's head while simultaneously launching the Slytherin forward, causing him to lose his balance. Draco turned and caught himself before falling to the floor, only to see the rubber tip of his opponent's foil before his eyes.
The Slytherins around the room held their breaths, shocked at seeing Draco receive his first touch in four years. He fell into an on guard position again as the pounding of the armors' swords resonated through the hall. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated on being more precise and careful in the following match. He parried an attack and attempted an upward slash at his enemy's chest. The opponent shifted his weight to the side and easily blocked the attack, allowing Draco to slide past him. The Slytherin boy quickly turned and regained his balance, frustrated and determined to beat his faceless contender. He delivered a series of compound attacks in a flurry, the clang of metal humming through the room as his opponent blocked all of Draco's assaults with ease. The Malfoy advanced on his competitor, pushing him to the end of the hall. In the moment before they hit the wall, his opponent suddenly snapped his foil up, knocking the blade out of Draco's butterfly grip and launching the Slytherin's sword directly at the audience, pinning it to the wall. The dueler turned and brought his arm down in a deathblow, finishing off the match with a vicious down slash to the chest, ripping open Draco's fencing vest.
Everyone in the hall sat in a stunned silence as the dueler lifted the mask off his head. Black hair fell from within the mask and cascaded down the fencer's shoulders. Draco's breath fell short. Natalia…She looked at him with contempt and scorn.
"I thought you were better than your Father, Draco."
The boy cringed at what she had spat at him and watched as she left the soundless hall, before realizing the double meaning behind her words. He ran after the girl and stopped her in the corridor.
"How can you walk away from an unfinished match?" he demanded, desperate and infuriated at the same time. "You have already beaten me twice, you cannot take away my honor also."
Natalia turned to face him.
"That is nothing compared to what you have done," she hissed, "You took away a man's life and bound him to things worse than death."
Draco stepped back, his face furrowing into a frown.
"What are you talking about?"
Anger boiled in the girl as she restrained herself from slapping him.
"Don't give me that shit, Draco." she whispered, seething, "At least be enough of a person to admit to your treachery. The potion you gave to Professor Snape has ruined him."
The boy's eyes widened in horror, remembering what he had done two days ago.
"No…but, it was–"
"I thought that you of all the Malfoys had some sense and honor. Obviously, I was very wrong."
She turned and stormed away, leaving Draco astounded, standing alone with his thoughts in the corridor.
Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape sat in the infirmary, deeply involved in their plans for the upcoming fight against the Dark Wizard.
"Mundungus and Arabella have been contacted. The Weasleys are waiting for a reply from Bill." Sirius said, looking intently at the other two men.
"Have you made an allegiance with the giants yet?" Snape asked, making circles idly on the bed with his fingers.
"No," the Headmaster replied, "Hagrid and I are working on it."
"Albus," Sirius started, a certain worry shadowing his eyes, "I was not able to contact one person."
The old wizard looked up from behind his spectacles.
"Oh? Who might that be?"
"The dryad of the willow. I have searched in every grove and forest, but have not been successful in finding her."
Dumbledore's eyes lit up in amusement.
"Well, Sirius, that is because Daphine Austerus is already at Hogwarts."
