Now I'm back in the groove, it's been forever. That last chapter may be rusty, but now I'm back into it.
Disclaimer: You all know it so I ain't writing it.
Selene's sleep that night was restless, filled with wild, passionate dreams of her and Severus making love by a roaring fire, sweat covering their skin, as hands slid over skin and voices were breathy and feral. She woke with a start; sweaty, the sheets twisted around her ankles, and quite out of breath. Where did these dreams come from?, she wondered, not exactly caring. In fact they were a welcome comfort to her dreamless nights of the past few years. But why all of the sudden had they started? The thought stayed with her as she showered and dressed for the mission ahead of her. Albus had requested they wear Muggle attire, much to Severus' chagrin. Selene kept a few articles of Muggle clothing in case of such events and found she had just the things she needed.
Dressed in a cerulean blue wool sweater, jeans, and heavy hiking boots; she made for Dumbledore's office. In a knapsack she carried a down jacket, her wand, and other personal effects. Albus had requested she bring her broom, but she couldn't see the logic in bringing it as they were going to Apparate to their destination. But she trusted in his knowledge of things and brought it anyway.
"Chocolate Chip." she said as she stood before the door to Albus' office, which slowly creaked open at the password. She entered and found Severus already there, dressed in a floor length black leather coat, black sweater, black jeans, and black leather boots. I should have known he would wear all black, doesn't he own any other color? she mused as she checked her watch.
"Am I late?"
"No, you're right on schedule. Severus was early, he had a few questions for me." Albus said as he motioned to two chairs by the fire. Taking their seats, Albus went over a few things he had forgotten to mention such as duration of the trip and the location of their safe house. With a parting good luck and hand shakes, Dumbledore lead them to the Astronomy tower, the proposed location of their Apparation.
"Now, if anything should go wrong, send me an owl immediately." Clapping them on the back, he smiled and left them.
Turning to Severus, Selene quipped, "Here goes nothing." With that, they disappeared from the tower, the only remaining indication of their presence was the echo of Severus' chuckle.
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Seconds later, a pop reverberated against the wooden walls of their safe house. Selene and Severus found themselves in a two room cottage that would be their home for the next few days. One room had pre-made bed and the adjacent room contained a table with chairs and a fireplace.
"I guess Albus wasn't kidding when he said cramped quarters." motioning to the single bed. Her voice, however, sounded as though she was not disappointed in the least. Severus picked up on it, but decided that he leave it alone, they had work to do. After all, the faster they got this mission out of the way, they could think about far more enjoyable things.
"We should find these dragons, deal with them accordingly, and move on to other things." The tone of his voice hinting at something that Dumbledore had definitely not briefed them on. Selene just smiled and replied, "Yes, lets."
Stepping out into the cold early morning air, they followed the directions on the parchment they had been given. It had snowed the night before and the fresh powder crunched beneath their feet as they came closer to their destination. The climbed hills and crossed valleys before a range of snow- covered mountains appeared before them. Caves dotted the peaks here and there, looking like splotches of ink on paper.
"There. The one halfway up the first peak, that's where they're hiding." said Severus, pointing to the cave, which was not far above the base of the mountains. Folding the parchment and tucking it into the pocket of his coat, they made for the cave. Selene was anxious, she hoped that it would go smoothly and wouldn't require her to do anything drastic. Severus picked up on her worry, and clasped her hand in his, holding it firmly. Her fear began to ebb away, for she knew that he would never let anything happen to her, as long as he was there. They hiked up the face of the mountain, his hand still holding hers, helping her climb. She could hear the heavy sleepy breathing of the dragons, and counted a family of four; two adults and two adolescents.
They reached the outer ledge and Severus peered around the rocks into the cave. "Ok, I'll go in first and then you follow. I'll address them initially and then you can try if it doesn't work." Selene nodded in reply and followed him in. The cave was warmer, the air heavy. In the dim light, she could make out the sleeping forms of the dragons, the adults curled around their young. "Lumos." and his wand lit up the cavern with its glow. Their scales shimmered an emerald green in the light, the steady rise and fall of their torsos now clearly visible, they were much bigger than she had expected. Their wings were massive blankets of scales over their bodies, shiny just like their bodies. Their steps echoed off the cavern walls, waiting for the dragons to stir. The male's eyes were the first to open, their obsidian pupils eyeing them closely. He rose his head, now on the defensive, and opened his powerful jaws to roar. The sound was defining as it resounded on the walls, causing Severus to clasp his hands over his ears. Selene, however, was stoic by his side, as the sound did not bother her.
As the echo faded, Severus removed his hands from his ears and spoke in a clear strong voice, "We are here to request that you leave this area and move to another location." The dragon stared at him, a look of non-comprehension in his eyes. Severus addressed him again, "Do you not understand me? I said that you must take your family and leave this place. You are troublesome and are not welcome here." This time his voice had a note of anger in its cadence, and the dragon, despite not understanding his words, understood the tone. He stood on all fours and stepped toward Severus, his heavy footfall shaking the ground. Without notice, two jets of thin bright flame issued from his nostrils, hitting Severus across the chest. The force knocked him to the ground his clothing ablaze. Selene went to him, putting out the flames with a spell.
As she crouched near his body, she turned to face the dragon. Opening her mouth she spoke to the dragon for the first time since they had arrived. But the words that came from her mouth were not English, but a guttural language, filled with growls, hisses, and melodious roars. The dragon stepped back as if he had been hit by something heavy. Shock was etched on his face as he listened to Selene's voice. No one had ever addressed him this way and the dragon, much to Severus' astonishment, smiled; his yellow teeth slowly exposing as his lips curled back. He sat back on his haunches, and began to speak. The words were the same, only louder and deeper. Selene and the dragon continued to speak as Severus lay on the floor in awe. I didn't know she spoke Drachesprache, Dragon Language, Severus thought as he watched them converse. Selene turned to Severus and told him what the dragon had just said.
"This family has no where else to go. They have lived here for centuries and since food has become scarce, they have had to resort to scaring the villagers for food. He knows that it's not right but he feels he has no choice. I told him that if they wish to stay they must be respectful of the humans if they want to continue to live here. And about the scales and talons, he says you can have as many as you wish, just leave him with enough to get by." Severus just lay there, listening to her, but not hearing all of what she said. He nodded mutely, and she went to retrive the articles from the dragons. Once that was done she thanked the dragon and his family in their tongue, and helped Severus to his feet. As they were leaving the dragon called after Selene, and told her to tell her compainion he was sorry and hoped he could understand why he had done what he did. She relayed the message and Severus told her to tell him he accepted his apology. She passed the mesasage back to the dragon, who smiled, bade them good day and promised to be respectful of the village and its people. He offered to fly them to their home and Selene agreed, for she didn't think she could carry Severus all the way back to the house.
Moving Severus onto the dragon's back, then hoisting herself on as well, the dragon stepped on the ledge and, in a flurry of wings, they were airborne. He flew them to a clearing just behind their cottage, helping Severus off with his wing and then Selene in turn, before taking off into the gray cloudy sky. She swung his arm across her shoulders, and carried him into the house.
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Once inside the house, she sat Severus on the bed. Removing his coat and sweater gently, not wanting to cause him any more pain, she surveyed the wound. Not life-threating, but still painful, covering his left arm and shoulder with blisters and red raw skin. I'm no mediwitch but i know a few spells that will ease the pain and take away the blisters, she thought as she planned her course of action. She lay him back on the bed, and Severus winced. He looked up at her and spoke, "Why didn't you tell me you spoke Drachesprache?"
"Shh, rest now. We can talk later when you are well." Lighting a fire in the fireplace with her wand as she spoke. In the soft glow of the firelight, she saw something black on his inner forearm. Thinking it was burnt black skin, she went to rub it away, but it didn't move. Qizzically, she lifted his arm, and saw it was a tattoo. Realization dawned on her and she swallowed hard. He's a Deatheater, but why did he not tell me? she thought as she watched him sleep. I guess we both have something to hide, something we aren't proud of. Tomorrow they would both have things to explain. But, for now, his health was more important than the lies they had both told.
What will happen when the explanations start flowin'? Stay tuned, another chapter in a couple of days, 3 tops.
