A dozen wizards sit in the operations center of the Augusta branch of
the Bureau of Magical Affairs, each monitoring five or six crystal balls
that cover different areas of the state of Maine.
Things are relatively quiet on this Tuesday afternoon, but it isn't long before one of the wizards sits upright and takes a closer look at the sector he's been monitoring in South Portland
"Bloody hell!" He spins his chair around and calls to his supervisor at the other end of the room. "Code Red, Charlie! We got a WHaM going!" (Wizard Hexing Muggles)
Charlie looks up from where he's penning a report on parchment and leaps to his feet. "What is it?" He crosses rapidly to gaze at the indicated crystal.
"Borders, four wizards out of line," the first confirms, "and the store is crowded."
"Dammit!" Charlie says. "Alright, let's get a team in there pronto."
Alarms begin to sound throughout the Bureau. Once again, two dozen uniformed wizards gather quickly, running to the apparation room to be dispatched.
Back at Borders..
People nearby are starting to glance at the two people in the corner that are obviously having a quiet argument.
"You can't!" Nytd gasps, trying to pull her hand away unsuccessfully.
Tom draws his wands out of his robe. "Oh, but I can..." He trails off as a commotion breaks out near the café entrance. People are starting to leap up from their seats as three men in robes rush through the door, wands drawn.
Nytd spots the three familiar faces and yells across the room. "Over here!"
Sirius runs for the back of the store as Remus and Severus rush to confront Voldemort, who spots them and leaps from his seat, dragging Nytd around the table with him. More people are starting to run screaming from the store.
The two wizards face the Dark Lord, who no longer is making any effort to keep up his pleasant appearance. Voldemort yanks Nytd's arm behind her, and points the wand at her throat.
"Afternoon, Severus," he says, eyeing his former Death Eater.
A woman nearby screams and Voldemort whirls on her. "Shut up!" A flick of the wand, and the woman is duct-taped to her chair and gagged. Voldemort turns back once more to face Snape and Lupin...
*
*
*
A Tumble ~*~
*
*
It was now Perth that was upset on the edge of the clearing as he saw Lorien fall to her knees, crying. He wasn't sure exactly what Snape had done to her, but obviously it was something awful. He muttered agitatedly under his breath and glanced at Remus and Sirius, who looked just as concerned at seeing their friend reduced to tears.
Rachel looked at the three worried men from where she stood with Althea and Ilizabeth and rolled her eyes. She leaned over to speak to them. "Honestly!" She whispered. "I can't believe you three are even buying that." She smiled mischievously at them, as did the other two women. "You men are all alike. Just can't stand to see a woman crying, can you?"
They stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment until Taber realized what Rachel was saying and chuckled. He looked at the two men beside him, grinning. "He's in trouble if he feels half as bad as we do." He directed their attention back to the duel.
*
*
*
"Lorien." Snape said her name, trying to get her attention. She didn't respond, and remained where she was, face buried in her hands and sobbing. Damn. If there was one thing he hated to deal with, it was a crying woman. Especially this one. He lowered his wand and stepped next to her. "Lorien, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she sobbed, "especially now." Her voice suddenly held little trace of the tears that were falling a moment ago.
Snape knew instantly that he'd been had, and cursed the woman on the ground silently. She'd played on one of the weaknesses she knew he had, and now he was in trouble. Even as he saw her scramble back to her feet, he realized she had cast a spell while she was on the ground, and he found himself unable to pursue her as the vine that now sprouted from the dirt wound its way quickly several times around his ankle.
"You bitch!" He hissed quietly, as the vines continued to sprout and grow under her direction, grabbing his other ankle.
"Not having fun anymore, Severus?" She asked, wiping away the last of her tears. She had one last thought about being able to tear off his robes while he was restrained by the plant, and then the remains of that spell faded as well. "Well, let's see if we can do something about that."
"This is ridiculous!" Snape spat, eyeing the large number of vines that were snaking upward. "You think I can't get past a stupid vine?" He raised his wand and blasted a new vine, only to have it replaced by another.
Lorien shrugged. "It's not really the vines you have to worry about. It's the flowers," she said, pointing at the buds now appearing on the ends of many of the vines.
"Flowers?" He asked, looking at where a trumpet shaped blossom the size of a snitch had opened near his hand. He peered at it closely. "What kind of flowers are..dammit!" He cried out as the small flower had snapped at his fingers, narrowly missing him with its sharp little teeth. Teeth?
Lorien smiled at him sweetly, directing the plant further with a finger, and another blossom tried to snatch the wand from Snape's hand, as a third attacked from the rear.
"No, you don't!" He said, yanking the wand out of reach. He would have put the wand in his other hand, but that hand reflexively jerked to defend himself as he yelped in pain at the bloom that had just sunk its teeth into his rump. He crushed the flower between his fingers, and quickly swatted at another coming near his face.
"Dammit, Lorien!" He said, now blasting and swatting at more flowers that were intent on tasting his flesh.
Lorien stood before him with her arms folded, surveying her handiwork as Snape fought off the vicious blooms. "Do you yield?" She asked.
Snape was about to offer a scathing retort, but gasped dramatically and winced in pain as a single nasty blossom sank its teeth into his leg, quite high up on the inside of his thigh. He glared at Lorien as he tried to pry it off. "That," he snarled viciously, "was a bit close."
*
*
*
Draco and Harry watched the newest development in the battle being waged with Beska a short distance from the others.
"I thought for sure that she'd lost it." Draco commented.
Harry hated to agree that he'd been upset as well when he saw Lorien on the ground crying, and was now grinning at the summoning he was witnessing.
"What the hell is that?" Draco asked, watching the vines snake up out of the ground around Snape.
"It's a plant summoning spell," Harry answered knowingly. "This one is the Vine of a Thousand Teeth," he replied, pleased that he knew something that Malfoy obviously didn't.
"That's right!" Beska said. "Since when do Hogwarts students know about Nemorosi summoning spells?" She asked, apparently impressed with Harry's knowledge.
Harry merely smiled at her, and then smiled more at the fact that it looked like Malfoy was unhappy that the dark haired girl was now paying attention to him.
The three of them returned to watching Snape trying to fight his way free of the plant, and both boys suddenly cringed and gasped sympathetically as the flower grabbed their professor in a near miss.
*
*
*
Lorien clapped a hand over her mouth, amused at Snape's new plight. She finally composed herself and spoke again. "Give up and I'll call it off," she offered sweetly.
Severus finally managed to pry the offending flower off. "I don't think so," he said dangerously, and then blasted the very spot he was standing on with a large ball of fire that leapt up over his head.
Lorien gasped and backpedaled furiously to get out of the way of the flames, and then she realized what he'd done. The fireball would kill off the entire plant, and Severus was still wearing the dragon's tooth around his neck.
The smoke cleared a moment later, and Severus coughed once, and then looked at her dangerously, as he flipped his wand over once in his hand. "You are so dead," he hissed.
He moved quickly, blasting a spot to Lorien's left, and jumped to intercept her as she went right. She cried out a little as he yanked her arm behind her. "So you want to fight dirty?" He asked. "Alright, that can be arranged," he said smugly. The tip of his wand was resting at her throat, and he spoke a word and drew it quickly down the front of her robe, letting go of her and stepping back at the same time.
Lorien knew what he had done as petty revenge, and she also knew as she felt her robes falling apart that she was about to be facing him in front of a lot of people in her underthings if she didn't act quickly. Severus would expect her to modestly try to repair her robes, and that was when the attack would come. Well, the hell with that.
Severus frowned as Lorien let the robes slide from her shoulders, but mostly because it instantly became apparent that it wasn't her own pale skin that was now being revealed, but the blue-green scales of the dragon that was facing him with glittering gold eyes. Damn. Well, he could hex the dragon's ass into next week as well as hers, and he went towards her knowing she couldn't harm him with dragonfire.
The dragon lowered its head, golden eyes glittering menacingly, and rumbled at him with its snout inches away from his face.
"Oh, get off it! You don't scare me in the least with that big bad lizard act," he said, staring her down. "Not going to be able to fry me, are you, my love?" He asked smugly, patting his chest where the amulet hung. The dragon narrowed its eyes, and he realized his mistake as his legs were swept brutally out from beneath him when she swung the tail he hadn't been watching.
*
*
*
A cheer went up from the edge of the clearing as Remus, Sirius, and Perth watched Snape hit the dirt once again, dropped by the swipe of the dragon's tail. They leaned forward to get a better view of what was happening as the dragon pushed her front feet against Snape's shoulders, effectively pinning him to the ground.
Sirius was pounding Remus gleefully on the back. "She's going to do it! She's going to beat him!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "He's never going to hear the end of this if I can help it."
Remus said nothing, but it was obvious that he was just as amused as his friend.
*
*
*
Snape now had the unique experience of having an animal the size of a small dairy cow pounce on him, and he knew that if she pinned him for very long, the duel would be over. What the hell happened? He thought back to a few moments ago when she had nearly been on her knees before him, completely helpless in the grip of a double hex, and decided he definitely preferred that scenario. Merlin's wand! She was actually going to beat him......Snape suddenly had a thought.
Merlin...Merlin had faced a dragon and defeated it at one point. As a matter of fact, if Snape recalled correctly, he'd faced a witch that had attacked him in the form of a dragon. How had he done it? He couldn't recall the exact details, but he remembered the way was something very simple. Very basic. Was there something simple he had in his arsenal that he'd overlooked, he wondered as the dragon snarled at him again.
'What could be more simple than the disarming spell?' He wondered what would happen if it were used against a wandless opponent, and decided that he had nothing to lose or the duel would be over.
He made one last tremendous effort to wrench his right arm free, and cried the word as he pointed the wand at the dragon. "Expelliarmus!"
Lorien knew that she'd been a moment from victory as she suddenly experienced being wrenched out of dragon mode and into her own form for the very first time. It was something that she decided she never needed to experience again, and she knew the duel was over the moment she felt Severus move quickly and roll to pin her to the ground. She lay there a bit disoriented and breathless as she felt the point of his wand at her throat.
"Do you yield?" He asked, a bit breathless himself.
She looked up at him for a few seconds. He'd beaten her outright, and he'd also done it without going easy on her. Well, not too easy anyway. She decided as she nodded that she couldn't have been happier with the way things had turned out.
Severus drew his wand away from her with the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Green today?" He asked wryly, still panting a bit.
Lorien suddenly realized she might be a little happier if she weren't laying there in nothing but the green lace that he had his eyes on at the moment, but then Severus got to his knees and shrugged off his own robe, helping her slip into it as she sat up. He then stood and offered her his hand, pulling her smoothly to her feet.
Lorien went with Snape to stand before the head of the council, where the woman pronounced him the victor, and the dueling at an end. They turned to walk back toward the group awaiting them, when Lorien caught Marius out of the corner of her eye. She met his gaze steadily for a moment, and then purposefully placed her hand on Snape's arm and turned and walked away with him.
*
*
*
Harry left the spot where he had been standing with Draco and Beska and made his way through the dispersing gathering to where Sirius was.
Beska turned to Draco when the duel was over, eyes narrowed slightly. "You knew she gave him back his wand, didn't you?"
Draco smiled disarmingly at her and shrugged. "Yes."
"And you still let me take that bet?" She asked, smiling back at him.
"Of course. How else could I be sure to win?" He said.
Beska shook her head and laughed. "Such a scoundrel you are, Draco." She tipped her head a little and regarded him carefully for a moment, and then turned to walk off. "I'll have your payment after dinner tonight," she said over her shoulder with a laugh.
Draco watched her go, noticing the pleasant way her robes moved with her hips as she walked. "I certainly hope so," he said under his breath.
*
*
*
Lorien's girlfriend were all in a gush about the romance factor of the whole duel, Perth was happy that no one had been severely injured as he spoke to Remus, and Sirius stood next to them with his arms folded across his chest, clearly disappointed that he hadn't gotten to see Snape get his ass kicked to nearly the extent that he thought it should have.
Remus clapped him on the arm as he turned away from Taber. "Cheer up, Sirius."
"Give me one good reason." He said, pretending to pout a little.
"Dinner." Remus replied.
"Dinner?" Sirius asked.
"Yes. Perth says there's going to be a banquet," Remus answered. "So, you may not have gotten to see Snape get flattened, but you'll be wined and dined and surrounded by beautiful Nemorosi women," Remus said, making the last half of his comment loud enough for Althea, Rachel and Ilizabeth to hear. They all smiled at them sweetly.
Sirius clearly brightened at the picture Remus was painting.
*
*
*
*
The banquet was rather like a large family reunion, with Nemorosi that had come from all over to attend the council meeting, and then stayed for the duels sitting together at long tables that had been laid out under the open sky since the weather was fair. House elves bustled about efficiently.
The group from Hogwarts had been invited to sit at the table with the head of the Council, and Perth and Lorien made the introductions for the rest to the woman that sat at the end of the table.
Fagan LaRue was a woman of great age and great bearing that smiled easily, but met the gaze of each of the people she greeted with hazel eyes that still held great intensity in their depths. She turned those eyes to meet Snape's as Lorien finally introduced him to her.
"Professor, so nice to finally meet you face to face," the woman said courteously. "I must congratulate you on a fine showing in both duels today."
Snape nodded his head in acknowledgment of the older woman before he sat on her left, "Doci, Elixani Atora," he said politely, and met her eyes unblinking.
Fagan LaRue laughed. "I can see now why you have been such a quick study."
*
*
Lorien sat next to Severus, and could hear Sirius beyond Remus to her right snort a little. She glanced in his direction as Snape continued to speak with LaRue and spoke to Remus quietly. "What's his problem?"
Remus shrugged. "He's just being Sirius - he's irritated at Snape trying to impress the head of the council with few words in Nemorosi."
Lorien grinned. "Well, tell my friend next to you that it's what he said, not how he said it, that impressed her."
Remus thought it over for a minute, trying to recall the little that Lorien had taught him in their time together. "He said 'thank you....Potions mistress?" Remus looked puzzled. "She's a Potions mistress?"
Lorien nodded and whispered. "Not just any Potions mistress - La Sorciere Rouge," she announced very softly.
Remus's eye's went wide. "The Red Witch?" He asked incredulously. "I never knew."
Harry leaned closer from across the table. "What did you say about the Red Witch?" He asked quietly, recalling something recently from History of Magic about her.
"Evidently," said Remus, indicating the woman at the head of the table talking to Snape and Taber, "she's a Nemorosi."
*
*
*
Dinner was excellent, and the conversation turned to the recent attack on Hogwarts.
LaRue listened carefully to the recounted attack by the mangabeys unleashed through the tunnel by Voldemort's minions. She nodded. "Mangabey toxin can be tricky business, indeed. I'm surprised you had enough antidote on hand."
Lorien spoke up. "We didn't, but Severus was able to make enough in time."
"Really?" LaRue looked impressed again. "You knew the antidote was Culpeper's?"
Snape shook his head. "Professor Lupin knew the specific antidote, thankfully." It killed him to admit it.
"I see," she said, glancing at Lupin, who looked a bit uncomfortable. "So, then you were able to look up the formula and brew the potion...."
Snape cut her off a bit. "I did not need to look it up," he said, a bit defensively.
LaRue smiled, knowing the man's ego must have just been bruised, and she smoothed things over skillfully. "Ah, but that is a very old formula to have committed to memory, especially when it's needed so rarely. Was it 1650?" She asked, knowing it wasn't.
"Fifty-three." Snape corrected her, apparently appeased at that point.
Sirius rolled his eyes at Harry across the table, who stifled a snicker.
"Pity the man didn't continue his work on antidotes," LaRue commented.
Snape snorted in agreement. "Wasted an awful lot of time with that blasted love potion of his."
"Yes," she said with a laugh, "but he perfected it, didn't he?"
Snape shrugged and took a sip of wine. "Who would have thought to add gooseberry?"
LaRue's expression darkened for just a moment and then it passed. "Who would have thought?" She agreed. She turned to Lupin again. "Now, tell me, Professor Lupin, do you find that the wolfsbane potion is everything that it's rumored to be?"
Remus wasn't prepared for her question, but composed himself quickly. "Absolutely," he said softly. "Short of a cure, it's about the best thing I could ask for."
LaRue nodded. "You'll have to forgive my curiosity. I haven't had the chance to explore the formulation myself, or to see it work."
Remus smiled and then nodded at Snape. "Professor Snape brews the potion with the utmost skill. Perhaps he would be willing to show you."
LaRue turned back to Snape, who was trying not to look annoyed at being volunteered. Trust Lupin to make it look like he was paying a compliment, and simultaneously create a lot of aggravation. He noted the way the older woman was looking at him. "It would be my pleasure to show you tomorrow if you wish, Elixani atora," he said graciously. He wished Lorien wasn't sitting next to him so he could have kicked Lupin under the table.
*
*
*
As the conversations continued around the table, Draco found himself eventually bored with the discussions of potions, and mangabeys, and was extremely thankful that Beska, who had been sitting next to him listening with apparent interest, suddenly leaned closer. "Let's get out of here," she whispered.
He turned surprised eyes to meet hers.
"I'm going to fall asleep on my plate." She smiled at him, and they quickly excused themselves from the table.
Beska led him along a wooded path at a casual pace. "I didn't know how much more of that I could stand," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You appeared quite fascinated," Draco said dryly.
"Yes, well it's always wise to err on the side of being polite with my grandmother. I should have known it was going to go bad in a hurry when she sat the Potions master next to her." Beska smiled.
"Fagan LaRue is your...?" Draco asked, eyes widening.
"Great-great-grandmother," Beska finished. "Yes."
Draco gave a low whistle. "Well, I'd better watch my step then," he said, flirting with her.
"What, you weren't going to watch your step before you knew?" She asked, teasing him back.
Draco shrugged noncommittally and smiled.
"I see," she said quietly with a smile. "Well, that brings me to the topic of payment for our wager."
Draco frowned a little. He wasn't interested in the ten galleons, and he didn't want to jeopardize his chances with the dark haired beauty. "Beska, keep your money. The bet was just for fun anyway."
She looked at him in an odd way and then laughed. "Who said I was going to give you the ten galleons? I believe you cheated."
"Can I help it if I'm more observant?" He protested with a laugh.
"You could have shared the information," she said, scolding him good- naturedly.
"But then I wouldn't have the upper hand," he said wryly.
"You still don't, Draco," she said softly. Beska quickly stepped closer, and before Draco knew what had happened, her lips met his briefly and then she was gone.
Things are relatively quiet on this Tuesday afternoon, but it isn't long before one of the wizards sits upright and takes a closer look at the sector he's been monitoring in South Portland
"Bloody hell!" He spins his chair around and calls to his supervisor at the other end of the room. "Code Red, Charlie! We got a WHaM going!" (Wizard Hexing Muggles)
Charlie looks up from where he's penning a report on parchment and leaps to his feet. "What is it?" He crosses rapidly to gaze at the indicated crystal.
"Borders, four wizards out of line," the first confirms, "and the store is crowded."
"Dammit!" Charlie says. "Alright, let's get a team in there pronto."
Alarms begin to sound throughout the Bureau. Once again, two dozen uniformed wizards gather quickly, running to the apparation room to be dispatched.
Back at Borders..
People nearby are starting to glance at the two people in the corner that are obviously having a quiet argument.
"You can't!" Nytd gasps, trying to pull her hand away unsuccessfully.
Tom draws his wands out of his robe. "Oh, but I can..." He trails off as a commotion breaks out near the café entrance. People are starting to leap up from their seats as three men in robes rush through the door, wands drawn.
Nytd spots the three familiar faces and yells across the room. "Over here!"
Sirius runs for the back of the store as Remus and Severus rush to confront Voldemort, who spots them and leaps from his seat, dragging Nytd around the table with him. More people are starting to run screaming from the store.
The two wizards face the Dark Lord, who no longer is making any effort to keep up his pleasant appearance. Voldemort yanks Nytd's arm behind her, and points the wand at her throat.
"Afternoon, Severus," he says, eyeing his former Death Eater.
A woman nearby screams and Voldemort whirls on her. "Shut up!" A flick of the wand, and the woman is duct-taped to her chair and gagged. Voldemort turns back once more to face Snape and Lupin...
*
*
*
A Tumble ~*~
*
*
It was now Perth that was upset on the edge of the clearing as he saw Lorien fall to her knees, crying. He wasn't sure exactly what Snape had done to her, but obviously it was something awful. He muttered agitatedly under his breath and glanced at Remus and Sirius, who looked just as concerned at seeing their friend reduced to tears.
Rachel looked at the three worried men from where she stood with Althea and Ilizabeth and rolled her eyes. She leaned over to speak to them. "Honestly!" She whispered. "I can't believe you three are even buying that." She smiled mischievously at them, as did the other two women. "You men are all alike. Just can't stand to see a woman crying, can you?"
They stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment until Taber realized what Rachel was saying and chuckled. He looked at the two men beside him, grinning. "He's in trouble if he feels half as bad as we do." He directed their attention back to the duel.
*
*
*
"Lorien." Snape said her name, trying to get her attention. She didn't respond, and remained where she was, face buried in her hands and sobbing. Damn. If there was one thing he hated to deal with, it was a crying woman. Especially this one. He lowered his wand and stepped next to her. "Lorien, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she sobbed, "especially now." Her voice suddenly held little trace of the tears that were falling a moment ago.
Snape knew instantly that he'd been had, and cursed the woman on the ground silently. She'd played on one of the weaknesses she knew he had, and now he was in trouble. Even as he saw her scramble back to her feet, he realized she had cast a spell while she was on the ground, and he found himself unable to pursue her as the vine that now sprouted from the dirt wound its way quickly several times around his ankle.
"You bitch!" He hissed quietly, as the vines continued to sprout and grow under her direction, grabbing his other ankle.
"Not having fun anymore, Severus?" She asked, wiping away the last of her tears. She had one last thought about being able to tear off his robes while he was restrained by the plant, and then the remains of that spell faded as well. "Well, let's see if we can do something about that."
"This is ridiculous!" Snape spat, eyeing the large number of vines that were snaking upward. "You think I can't get past a stupid vine?" He raised his wand and blasted a new vine, only to have it replaced by another.
Lorien shrugged. "It's not really the vines you have to worry about. It's the flowers," she said, pointing at the buds now appearing on the ends of many of the vines.
"Flowers?" He asked, looking at where a trumpet shaped blossom the size of a snitch had opened near his hand. He peered at it closely. "What kind of flowers are..dammit!" He cried out as the small flower had snapped at his fingers, narrowly missing him with its sharp little teeth. Teeth?
Lorien smiled at him sweetly, directing the plant further with a finger, and another blossom tried to snatch the wand from Snape's hand, as a third attacked from the rear.
"No, you don't!" He said, yanking the wand out of reach. He would have put the wand in his other hand, but that hand reflexively jerked to defend himself as he yelped in pain at the bloom that had just sunk its teeth into his rump. He crushed the flower between his fingers, and quickly swatted at another coming near his face.
"Dammit, Lorien!" He said, now blasting and swatting at more flowers that were intent on tasting his flesh.
Lorien stood before him with her arms folded, surveying her handiwork as Snape fought off the vicious blooms. "Do you yield?" She asked.
Snape was about to offer a scathing retort, but gasped dramatically and winced in pain as a single nasty blossom sank its teeth into his leg, quite high up on the inside of his thigh. He glared at Lorien as he tried to pry it off. "That," he snarled viciously, "was a bit close."
*
*
*
Draco and Harry watched the newest development in the battle being waged with Beska a short distance from the others.
"I thought for sure that she'd lost it." Draco commented.
Harry hated to agree that he'd been upset as well when he saw Lorien on the ground crying, and was now grinning at the summoning he was witnessing.
"What the hell is that?" Draco asked, watching the vines snake up out of the ground around Snape.
"It's a plant summoning spell," Harry answered knowingly. "This one is the Vine of a Thousand Teeth," he replied, pleased that he knew something that Malfoy obviously didn't.
"That's right!" Beska said. "Since when do Hogwarts students know about Nemorosi summoning spells?" She asked, apparently impressed with Harry's knowledge.
Harry merely smiled at her, and then smiled more at the fact that it looked like Malfoy was unhappy that the dark haired girl was now paying attention to him.
The three of them returned to watching Snape trying to fight his way free of the plant, and both boys suddenly cringed and gasped sympathetically as the flower grabbed their professor in a near miss.
*
*
*
Lorien clapped a hand over her mouth, amused at Snape's new plight. She finally composed herself and spoke again. "Give up and I'll call it off," she offered sweetly.
Severus finally managed to pry the offending flower off. "I don't think so," he said dangerously, and then blasted the very spot he was standing on with a large ball of fire that leapt up over his head.
Lorien gasped and backpedaled furiously to get out of the way of the flames, and then she realized what he'd done. The fireball would kill off the entire plant, and Severus was still wearing the dragon's tooth around his neck.
The smoke cleared a moment later, and Severus coughed once, and then looked at her dangerously, as he flipped his wand over once in his hand. "You are so dead," he hissed.
He moved quickly, blasting a spot to Lorien's left, and jumped to intercept her as she went right. She cried out a little as he yanked her arm behind her. "So you want to fight dirty?" He asked. "Alright, that can be arranged," he said smugly. The tip of his wand was resting at her throat, and he spoke a word and drew it quickly down the front of her robe, letting go of her and stepping back at the same time.
Lorien knew what he had done as petty revenge, and she also knew as she felt her robes falling apart that she was about to be facing him in front of a lot of people in her underthings if she didn't act quickly. Severus would expect her to modestly try to repair her robes, and that was when the attack would come. Well, the hell with that.
Severus frowned as Lorien let the robes slide from her shoulders, but mostly because it instantly became apparent that it wasn't her own pale skin that was now being revealed, but the blue-green scales of the dragon that was facing him with glittering gold eyes. Damn. Well, he could hex the dragon's ass into next week as well as hers, and he went towards her knowing she couldn't harm him with dragonfire.
The dragon lowered its head, golden eyes glittering menacingly, and rumbled at him with its snout inches away from his face.
"Oh, get off it! You don't scare me in the least with that big bad lizard act," he said, staring her down. "Not going to be able to fry me, are you, my love?" He asked smugly, patting his chest where the amulet hung. The dragon narrowed its eyes, and he realized his mistake as his legs were swept brutally out from beneath him when she swung the tail he hadn't been watching.
*
*
*
A cheer went up from the edge of the clearing as Remus, Sirius, and Perth watched Snape hit the dirt once again, dropped by the swipe of the dragon's tail. They leaned forward to get a better view of what was happening as the dragon pushed her front feet against Snape's shoulders, effectively pinning him to the ground.
Sirius was pounding Remus gleefully on the back. "She's going to do it! She's going to beat him!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "He's never going to hear the end of this if I can help it."
Remus said nothing, but it was obvious that he was just as amused as his friend.
*
*
*
Snape now had the unique experience of having an animal the size of a small dairy cow pounce on him, and he knew that if she pinned him for very long, the duel would be over. What the hell happened? He thought back to a few moments ago when she had nearly been on her knees before him, completely helpless in the grip of a double hex, and decided he definitely preferred that scenario. Merlin's wand! She was actually going to beat him......Snape suddenly had a thought.
Merlin...Merlin had faced a dragon and defeated it at one point. As a matter of fact, if Snape recalled correctly, he'd faced a witch that had attacked him in the form of a dragon. How had he done it? He couldn't recall the exact details, but he remembered the way was something very simple. Very basic. Was there something simple he had in his arsenal that he'd overlooked, he wondered as the dragon snarled at him again.
'What could be more simple than the disarming spell?' He wondered what would happen if it were used against a wandless opponent, and decided that he had nothing to lose or the duel would be over.
He made one last tremendous effort to wrench his right arm free, and cried the word as he pointed the wand at the dragon. "Expelliarmus!"
Lorien knew that she'd been a moment from victory as she suddenly experienced being wrenched out of dragon mode and into her own form for the very first time. It was something that she decided she never needed to experience again, and she knew the duel was over the moment she felt Severus move quickly and roll to pin her to the ground. She lay there a bit disoriented and breathless as she felt the point of his wand at her throat.
"Do you yield?" He asked, a bit breathless himself.
She looked up at him for a few seconds. He'd beaten her outright, and he'd also done it without going easy on her. Well, not too easy anyway. She decided as she nodded that she couldn't have been happier with the way things had turned out.
Severus drew his wand away from her with the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Green today?" He asked wryly, still panting a bit.
Lorien suddenly realized she might be a little happier if she weren't laying there in nothing but the green lace that he had his eyes on at the moment, but then Severus got to his knees and shrugged off his own robe, helping her slip into it as she sat up. He then stood and offered her his hand, pulling her smoothly to her feet.
Lorien went with Snape to stand before the head of the council, where the woman pronounced him the victor, and the dueling at an end. They turned to walk back toward the group awaiting them, when Lorien caught Marius out of the corner of her eye. She met his gaze steadily for a moment, and then purposefully placed her hand on Snape's arm and turned and walked away with him.
*
*
*
Harry left the spot where he had been standing with Draco and Beska and made his way through the dispersing gathering to where Sirius was.
Beska turned to Draco when the duel was over, eyes narrowed slightly. "You knew she gave him back his wand, didn't you?"
Draco smiled disarmingly at her and shrugged. "Yes."
"And you still let me take that bet?" She asked, smiling back at him.
"Of course. How else could I be sure to win?" He said.
Beska shook her head and laughed. "Such a scoundrel you are, Draco." She tipped her head a little and regarded him carefully for a moment, and then turned to walk off. "I'll have your payment after dinner tonight," she said over her shoulder with a laugh.
Draco watched her go, noticing the pleasant way her robes moved with her hips as she walked. "I certainly hope so," he said under his breath.
*
*
*
Lorien's girlfriend were all in a gush about the romance factor of the whole duel, Perth was happy that no one had been severely injured as he spoke to Remus, and Sirius stood next to them with his arms folded across his chest, clearly disappointed that he hadn't gotten to see Snape get his ass kicked to nearly the extent that he thought it should have.
Remus clapped him on the arm as he turned away from Taber. "Cheer up, Sirius."
"Give me one good reason." He said, pretending to pout a little.
"Dinner." Remus replied.
"Dinner?" Sirius asked.
"Yes. Perth says there's going to be a banquet," Remus answered. "So, you may not have gotten to see Snape get flattened, but you'll be wined and dined and surrounded by beautiful Nemorosi women," Remus said, making the last half of his comment loud enough for Althea, Rachel and Ilizabeth to hear. They all smiled at them sweetly.
Sirius clearly brightened at the picture Remus was painting.
*
*
*
*
The banquet was rather like a large family reunion, with Nemorosi that had come from all over to attend the council meeting, and then stayed for the duels sitting together at long tables that had been laid out under the open sky since the weather was fair. House elves bustled about efficiently.
The group from Hogwarts had been invited to sit at the table with the head of the Council, and Perth and Lorien made the introductions for the rest to the woman that sat at the end of the table.
Fagan LaRue was a woman of great age and great bearing that smiled easily, but met the gaze of each of the people she greeted with hazel eyes that still held great intensity in their depths. She turned those eyes to meet Snape's as Lorien finally introduced him to her.
"Professor, so nice to finally meet you face to face," the woman said courteously. "I must congratulate you on a fine showing in both duels today."
Snape nodded his head in acknowledgment of the older woman before he sat on her left, "Doci, Elixani Atora," he said politely, and met her eyes unblinking.
Fagan LaRue laughed. "I can see now why you have been such a quick study."
*
*
Lorien sat next to Severus, and could hear Sirius beyond Remus to her right snort a little. She glanced in his direction as Snape continued to speak with LaRue and spoke to Remus quietly. "What's his problem?"
Remus shrugged. "He's just being Sirius - he's irritated at Snape trying to impress the head of the council with few words in Nemorosi."
Lorien grinned. "Well, tell my friend next to you that it's what he said, not how he said it, that impressed her."
Remus thought it over for a minute, trying to recall the little that Lorien had taught him in their time together. "He said 'thank you....Potions mistress?" Remus looked puzzled. "She's a Potions mistress?"
Lorien nodded and whispered. "Not just any Potions mistress - La Sorciere Rouge," she announced very softly.
Remus's eye's went wide. "The Red Witch?" He asked incredulously. "I never knew."
Harry leaned closer from across the table. "What did you say about the Red Witch?" He asked quietly, recalling something recently from History of Magic about her.
"Evidently," said Remus, indicating the woman at the head of the table talking to Snape and Taber, "she's a Nemorosi."
*
*
*
Dinner was excellent, and the conversation turned to the recent attack on Hogwarts.
LaRue listened carefully to the recounted attack by the mangabeys unleashed through the tunnel by Voldemort's minions. She nodded. "Mangabey toxin can be tricky business, indeed. I'm surprised you had enough antidote on hand."
Lorien spoke up. "We didn't, but Severus was able to make enough in time."
"Really?" LaRue looked impressed again. "You knew the antidote was Culpeper's?"
Snape shook his head. "Professor Lupin knew the specific antidote, thankfully." It killed him to admit it.
"I see," she said, glancing at Lupin, who looked a bit uncomfortable. "So, then you were able to look up the formula and brew the potion...."
Snape cut her off a bit. "I did not need to look it up," he said, a bit defensively.
LaRue smiled, knowing the man's ego must have just been bruised, and she smoothed things over skillfully. "Ah, but that is a very old formula to have committed to memory, especially when it's needed so rarely. Was it 1650?" She asked, knowing it wasn't.
"Fifty-three." Snape corrected her, apparently appeased at that point.
Sirius rolled his eyes at Harry across the table, who stifled a snicker.
"Pity the man didn't continue his work on antidotes," LaRue commented.
Snape snorted in agreement. "Wasted an awful lot of time with that blasted love potion of his."
"Yes," she said with a laugh, "but he perfected it, didn't he?"
Snape shrugged and took a sip of wine. "Who would have thought to add gooseberry?"
LaRue's expression darkened for just a moment and then it passed. "Who would have thought?" She agreed. She turned to Lupin again. "Now, tell me, Professor Lupin, do you find that the wolfsbane potion is everything that it's rumored to be?"
Remus wasn't prepared for her question, but composed himself quickly. "Absolutely," he said softly. "Short of a cure, it's about the best thing I could ask for."
LaRue nodded. "You'll have to forgive my curiosity. I haven't had the chance to explore the formulation myself, or to see it work."
Remus smiled and then nodded at Snape. "Professor Snape brews the potion with the utmost skill. Perhaps he would be willing to show you."
LaRue turned back to Snape, who was trying not to look annoyed at being volunteered. Trust Lupin to make it look like he was paying a compliment, and simultaneously create a lot of aggravation. He noted the way the older woman was looking at him. "It would be my pleasure to show you tomorrow if you wish, Elixani atora," he said graciously. He wished Lorien wasn't sitting next to him so he could have kicked Lupin under the table.
*
*
*
As the conversations continued around the table, Draco found himself eventually bored with the discussions of potions, and mangabeys, and was extremely thankful that Beska, who had been sitting next to him listening with apparent interest, suddenly leaned closer. "Let's get out of here," she whispered.
He turned surprised eyes to meet hers.
"I'm going to fall asleep on my plate." She smiled at him, and they quickly excused themselves from the table.
Beska led him along a wooded path at a casual pace. "I didn't know how much more of that I could stand," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You appeared quite fascinated," Draco said dryly.
"Yes, well it's always wise to err on the side of being polite with my grandmother. I should have known it was going to go bad in a hurry when she sat the Potions master next to her." Beska smiled.
"Fagan LaRue is your...?" Draco asked, eyes widening.
"Great-great-grandmother," Beska finished. "Yes."
Draco gave a low whistle. "Well, I'd better watch my step then," he said, flirting with her.
"What, you weren't going to watch your step before you knew?" She asked, teasing him back.
Draco shrugged noncommittally and smiled.
"I see," she said quietly with a smile. "Well, that brings me to the topic of payment for our wager."
Draco frowned a little. He wasn't interested in the ten galleons, and he didn't want to jeopardize his chances with the dark haired beauty. "Beska, keep your money. The bet was just for fun anyway."
She looked at him in an odd way and then laughed. "Who said I was going to give you the ten galleons? I believe you cheated."
"Can I help it if I'm more observant?" He protested with a laugh.
"You could have shared the information," she said, scolding him good- naturedly.
"But then I wouldn't have the upper hand," he said wryly.
"You still don't, Draco," she said softly. Beska quickly stepped closer, and before Draco knew what had happened, her lips met his briefly and then she was gone.
