Second Chances



Chapter 08: Now get the hell out of here.



A gentle hand on his shoulder woke him from deep slumber. Opening his eyes sleepily, he saw a predatory smiling vampire glancing down at him. He jerked into a sitting position instantly, wide awake, before the events of the previous night dawned on him.

"Morning, boy."Claire smirked at him. "Lily wanted to wake you up herself, but I told her I could do so faster. Looks like I was right." She put a pile of clothes next to him. "You better change into these. Your own are not only badly suited to the environment, but also dirty and smelly. In the cauldron is some warm water and here is soap, so you can wash before you put them on. Breakfast is on the stone beside the fire, tea in the pot. Waste no time. You have to be gone soon." she said and left him alone in the cave.

Snarling, Severus started to do as she had told him. Merlin, that woman treated him like a child, and he actually let her get away with it. The past few days really seemed to have taken their toll on him. Though he had to admit he felt considerably better after washing, he surely wouldn't let her know that.
A bit curious he took a closer look on the pile of clothes. There was winter-underwear, a shirt, a sweater, trousers, stockings, a pair of boots and a heavy cloak. Everything was gray in color, soft and warm. Severus put them all on quickly. Surprisingly, they fit him quite well.

'Must have some charms on them.' he assumed and made a mental note to ask Lily about it later. Seating himself next to the fireplace, he found some bread, cheese and dried fruits, and began to eat. When he was about half-way through his meal, Claire returned, nodded at him in consent, extinguished the fire, and set to packing the rest of their gear. They finished almost simultaneously, and she put his cup back into the bag after cleaning it.

Handing him the bag, she asked: "Are you ready to go, boy?"

"What happens if I say 'no'?" he retorted grumpily.

She regarded him coolly, her blue eyes glittering like ice. "You don't want to know, boy. Not really. Follow me."

And without waiting for him to rise, she lead him out of the cave.

Once outside, he saw day had already broken. Although the sun was shining, the air was still chilly and cut into his lungs. It took him several moments to adjust to the unaccustomed light, so he didn't realize what he was looking at until after Claire was gone and Lily came over to him.

"Good morning, Severus." Her face was slightly flushed from the cold and her eyes twinkling brightly as she smiled at him. But her friendly greeting was completely wasted on him, as he could just stand there and stare in astonishment at the...

"Horses?" he managed to ask finally.

"Forest-bred, " she confirmed, "smart as a cat, loyal as a dog, tough, sure-footed and enduring. When the weather stays like this, they can get us to Hogwarts in approximately three days. They have their way with distances, you know?"

"You're joking, aren't you?" Severus demanded faintly.

"Why should I? How did you think we would get to Hogwarts? By foot?" she replied genially.

"Well, I thought we could use brooms..." he said, still eying the two beasts disbelievingly.

Lily shook her head. "Even if I was a witch and actually had a broom, flying in the DarkWood would be far too dangerous. The trees don't like humans carrying cut wood with them, even if it is enchanted, and there are more than enough hungry creatures on their branches that wouldn't mind a little snack.
Goa and Saga spent their life here and are well acquainted with the forest and its dangers. They saved my life more than once."

That struck him. "Pardon me? Did you just say you are not a witch?" Severus requested utterly perplexed.

She looked him square in the eye, her gaze dark emerald in the sunlight. "You're an attentive listener."

"But the potions...! And the charms on the clothes...!" he exclaimed.

"The latter are not my performance, and as to the former... I'm nearly a squib, but I have a little talent which happens to suffice for potion-brewing. So I mostly rely on that and it works out just fine."

"So you were at Hogwarts? When did you go there?" he inquired further.

"I haven't been there at all. I told you I'm not a witch." Lily answered, eyes darkening to moss-green.

"And who taught you potions?"

"There are witches and wizards in my family. I learned from them what they knew."

"Indeed? And which family would that be? You haven't told me your last name yet. Perhaps I know some of them."

Her now dark eyes glittered warningly. "You don't. And I can't tell you."

Suspicion rose inside him. "Can't or won't?"

"Leave it. Please." was all she said.

Not at all satisfied with her response, he nevertheless decided to leave it at that for the moment. Pressing her would do no good, and he needed her help to get back to Albus. If he didn't learn more about this mysterious woman during their journey, the old wizard surely would, once they were at Hogwarts.

Taking the bag from him gently, she went to the mares and fastened it to the saddle of one of them. They were quite a sight. Standing about five feet tall, they had a long, thick coat of fur, and full, unruly manes and tails. One was of the same silver-gray as the clothes he now noticed Lily was wearing as well, with a white mane and tail. The other was so dark a chestnut she seemed to be almost black, with some red highlights. Both were watching him calmly with astonishingly intelligent eyes.

Lily patted the gray affectionately. "This is Saga, and the dark one is Goa. Ladies, this is Severus Snape. We are going to accompany him to the castle of Hogwarts and make sure he arrives there safely. Come over here, Severus, and let them get to know you. Your life may depend on their trust in you."

Obediently, he went to them and let them sniff at him. The gray, Saga, seemed amiable enough, but Goa just snorted and bared her teeth at him.

"Mind your manners, Forest-Lady!" Lily scolded her. "I told you he's not a Death Eater anymore."

The mare seemed to consider her words, and approached him again. This time she only took his scent in and shook her mane. Saga shoved her gently away. Positioning herself directly in front of him, she nuzzled his hand softly.

Lily chuckled, the twinkle returning to her once more brilliant green eyes. "Seems they just decided who's going to carry whom. Do you have any riding experience?"

Now it was Severus' turn to snort. "Not on a horse."

"Well, then just try to stay on her back. Don't cling to the reins, there's a strap on the saddle to hold on to instead. And let her have her way. She'll know what to do." she told him. "I'll show you how to mount, and then we better get started. Time is running away."

She did as she had said and he found himself on the gray mare's back some moments later. Handing him a woolen scarf and a pair of gloves, she turned to Goa just in time to see Claire appear between the trees. A big, uncomfortably familiar wolf was with her and two little fireballs seemed to follow them in a constant distance.

"Ah, Claire, there you are. And Ria! It's good to see you are well." Lily greeted her friends.

The black wolf dog-grinned up at her, and Severus noticed she was wearing a collar with a pearly glowing gemstone on it. That had to be the reason she was still in her wolf-form although it was bright day, as well as several days after the full moon.

'Very interesting!' Perhaps I can coax Lily into telling me more about it. Lupin certainly would like to know.'

"You better hurry. The Soulsuckers can't be more than two hours away. Ria found you two guides, I guess you have met them before." As Claire spoke, the two flying flames drew nearer and he could see they were in fact two tiny humanoids with a dragonfly's wings, each surrounded by an aura of fire.

'Fire-Fays! But they're believed to be extinct...'

Lily smiled gladly. "Yes, we have worked together quite a few times. Hullo Glimmer, hi Ardent!"

The Fays were zig-zagging around her excitedly, and she laughed. "Well, as we are now complete, I suggest we take our leave. You two will be careful?" she added to Claire and Ria.

Her friends snorted in unison. "Sure, Lily. Now get the hell out of here." Claire said, rolling her eyes at her.

Lily nodded and mounted the dark mare gracefully. "Goodbye, my friends."

"See you, Lily. Good luck, boy."

And with that, the mares set into motion, and Lily and Severus started their trek through the DarkWood.



***************

A/N: Wow, that was a long one and I'm quite tired now. It's half past one in the morning... *yawns*

The Fire-Fays are inspired by Wolfgang Hohlbein's 'Feuerfliegen', though I think I altered them a bit. It's been quite a while since I read that book, so I don't remember too exactly.

Thanks to all reviewers, it's always nice to hear from you.



Who is Lily really? What difficulties will the two encounter on their ride? Will they finally get to Hogwarts?

We'll see...



Greetings,

Scheckie