Disclaimer: You like Harry Potter? So do I, but he's not mine. He and his fellow Hogwartians all belong to the great J.K. Only Elena and the plot are mine.
Also, sorry for the delay. I became dispirited when my review total fell short of my goal, then I had a wicked case of writer's block. Could they be related? Hhmmm…
10
So how, Severus pondered, did one contact a supernatural spirit that, as far as he knew, was still royally pissed at him? He had been mulling over this problem for the better part of a week, and he still had no clue.
He couldn't exactly ask Albus to make an announcement at one of the school meals and his choices seemed severely limited since Elena had disappeared following her dramatic mini-tornado in his study almost three weeks previous.
For lack of any better ideas, Severus had placed a note addressed to the ghost in question upon the end table that sat in the middle of his living room. This was one of two places that Severus was aware she had visited in the recent past.
If she wandered back to his quarters, either to contact him again or, more likely, to rifle through his personal belongings in an act of petty revenge, Elena would know that Severus wanted to speak with her.
Severus had also made sure to visit the sight of their first encounter, the balcony on the third floor on Hogwarts' western wall, several times each night. His rounds usually took him past this spot, due to its proximity to the troublesome Gryffindors' den, so he simply increased his nightly appearances at this sight.
Still, after nearly a week of fruitless waiting, his patience, already in limited supply, was seriously strained. His carefully worded note was gathering dust and he was sick of facing that empty balcony.
He had also, during his week of waiting, been forced to endure a Death Eater meeting. It had been another nauseating affair, from which he still retained a large collection of bruises and scrapes that were slowly healing. Poppy had fixed the shattered bones of his left hand, but, as always, he had refused her aid for minor injuries.
For Severus, the aches and pains were a necessary reminder of what he had done and what he must do for absolution.
Staring angrily at the untouched piece of parchment addressed to the inaccessible ghost, Severus sighed and poured himself a glass of Bartholde's Best, a brandy of goblin origin that was really too expensive to waste on an evening of drunken guzzling…but, since it was down to just this and a six-pack of practically nonalcoholic butterbeer that Minerva had given him, Severus was going for Bartholde's.
About four generous helpings of brandy later, Severus sat glaring into the flames of his fireplace. If the damned ghost was so eager to help then she should just get over their first encounter. Severus conveniently forgot that he had threatened to have her exorcized and focused on how annoying it was to search for an unreachable spirit.
"I mean, really," he muttered, "you would think that a 'one-thousand' year-old ghost would be a little more mature and have thicker skin. What an absolute, childish, irritating little bit…"
"Hello Severus," a quiet voice hissed from directly behind him. "I thought you might be talking about me…my ears were burning."
As Severus swung around to face his ghostly intruder his brandy sloshed down the front of his robes. Muttering swear words in several languages, he reached for his wand, and with a clumsy swish cleaned his robes with a simple spell.
He looked up to see Elena's face lit with unholy amusement. "You seem to have trouble with the front of your robes, Professor. I didn't want to call attention to it on my first visit, but I recall that you had a rather interesting stain then, as well."
Severus stared at her in confusion for a few seconds before a violent blush stole up his pale cheeks. "Damn that idiotic Longbottom." At his hissed statement, Elena adopted a shocked expression.
"Don't tell me it was a student that caused that stain? I'm shocked that Albus Dumbledore would allow such a relationship to occur at Hogwarts while the school is under his protection."
"Oh shut up, you meddlesome banshee. It was a potions accident."
Severus knew that his face was still red. He could practically feel himself radiating heat. He only hoped that his visitor would assume that the blush was due to his consumption of alcohol and not his embarrassment at her crude allusions.
As he glared at his visitor, Severus suddenly became aware that what he had been working toward for a week had finally occurred. Remembering his mission Severus stood with dignity only slightly hampered by a small stumble.
"Please have a seat, Miss Morreton. I will be back shortly." He let out a sigh of relief when she acquiesced to his request and slowly sat down on the armchair facing his own, or rather, she hovered slightly above it.
Severus made his way carefully to his private lab and pulled a vial from his store of potions. Downing an absolutely foul sober-up potion of his own invention, he waited for a few seconds as it took effect, then glided into his sitting room, with his characteristic grace having been restored.
11
As Elena looked at the now-sober potions master as he settled into the leather armchair, she once again doubted the wisdom of contacting him for a second time. She was committed to providing her help, but this man was insufferable on his good days. His acerbic words from their last meeting rang in her mind. Dismissing these concerns, Elena gathered herself.
Unable to hold back, she couldn't help baiting him. "I noticed that you have been frequenting my haunts recently. Were you looking for someone? This Longbottom you mentioned, perhaps?" His expression grew dark.
"You know damn well who I was looking for. How long did you know I had been trying to contact you?"
Elena answered honestly, "Since you put out that oh-so-friendly parchment addressed to me." His expression became even darker, and in response Elena's lips curved up slightly.
"Miss Morreton, since we have both committed ourselves to saving the wizarding world, perhaps you could leave the taunting at the door."
Elena nodded conciliatorily, "Of course." Snape bowed his head and appeared smug, basking in what he no doubt saw as his magnanimity. "If you do the same," Elena added after a pause. His superior expression fell as he glared at her. He finally let out a terse "Fine."
Having apparently gotten the polite chitchat out of the way, Elena decided to address the issue that had brought them together.
"I believe I have a story to finish, Professor. Would you like me to pick up where we left off?" He made a slight gesture which Elena took as the Snape version of encouragement.
"I believe that I had just mentioned my apprenticeship and relationship with Salazar, am I correct?" Severus nodded his agreement.
"Very well. My seventh year was totally devoted to my work with Salazar, both in the lab and in more personal areas. We would toil over cauldrons and books all day, and retire to his private chambers at night. On the weekends, we would often visit his country estate, Fel Abbey. The name is from the Latin for venom, but the home and surrounding lands were beautiful.
"After our relationship became intimate, which occurred only weeks after the commencement of the fall term, Salazar gave me a suite of rooms which were directly connected to his own. I later learned that they were designated for the mistress of the house.
"I came from a wealthy family, but the Slytherin estate was something more. Everything was amazing. Magic seemed to saturate the mansion and the lands, bolstering the innate magic I possessed and intensifying our relationship."
Elena paused for a moment, contemplating her life with Salazar, before continuing. "We seemed very compatible. Salazar had a wonderful sense of humor, although it slid towards the sarcastic and irreverent, and he made me happy. I was young and so eager; I gave him all of myself, my body, my mind, and my heart. And he loved me back, in his own way. He was possessive and protective, and I saw these things as signs of his devotion.
"As the year passed, all too quickly in my opinion, we made progress in the lab. Our thought processes were also highly compatible, and produced many discoveries." As she broached the subject of potions, Elena saw a glint of interest in Severus' eyes. She decided to elaborate on the subject, since it was less painful than personal revelations and more likely to gain his trust and loyalty.
"Our first major project was the Polyjuice potion. It took us ages to find that boomslang skin's poisonous properties could be nullified by lacewings, which also enhances its transformative abilities. Actually that was my idea. Salazar was so proud of me that day."
She also remembered that she had seen worry in his emerald eyes. A spark of fear in response to her independent thinking. She should have given more credence to that fear, but she had been too thrilled by her discovery and too blinded by love. Laughing off her reminiscence, she looked over at Severus, "There were plenty of singed robes and melted cauldrons in between."
At this, Severus scoffed. "You invented the Polyjuice potion? One of the most complex and useful potions in creation?"
"And not to mention, one of the worst tasting," Elena added with a cheeky grin. "And no, it was not solely mine. I only determined the final, necessary ingredient. If you could hold off on your skeptical comments, then you might learn something." She looked at him silently until he gestured for her to continue.
"We also created the Occaeco potion, which produced invisibility for about three hours. The time varied by body weight."
Severus looked startled. "There is no such thing as an invisibility potion, only an invisibility cloak."
"Well, now there isn't, because the Occaeco has been lost, but we brewed it and used it on many occasions, so don't tell me that it doesn't exist."
Severus leaned forward, eager to learn the details of the concoction. "What was the main ingredient, the catalyst for the invisibility?"
"Have you ever heard of the Commutatus Pegasus?"
"Vaguely…a flying horse native to Persia, I believe. It could disguise itself as an ordinary horse by retracting its wings."
Elena smiled, "Sort of. It was a flying horse of Persian heritage. Small for a pegasus, and fine-boned. You are right in saying that they could appear as ordinary horses, but rather than retract their wings, they make them invisible. Within several glands in their wings, Commutati produce an oily liquid which is released and absorbed by their feathers, rendering their wings invisible."
"Unfortunately, we required the actual glands to complete the potion, and harvesting them from the horses often produced their deaths. The animals were already depleted by years of hunting and collecting, and our potion merely created another threat to their existence. I'm fairly sure the creatures are extinct now, hence no invisibility potion. Salazar and I did search for a less costly, more common substitute, but were unable to find one."
"I wonder how many precious potions ingredients have been lost due to the carelessness of potions researchers," Severus snidely commented.
Elena was affronted. "We were very careful about not wasting any of the Commutati, and searched for other options. I loved those creatures; they were beautiful, noble, and too friendly for their own good. We ceased brewing the potion when we discovered how dire their plight was as a species." She paused for a moment, "Or, that's what Salazar told me. He might have proceeded on his own. I wouldn't put it past him."
Severus appeared apologetic, "I was only making a general comment, not accusing you of negligence."
Elena snorted in a very unladylike, unghostly way. "I'm sure," she said, with a healthy measure of sarcasm.
She took a cleansing breath. "I suppose it's now time to tell you how it all went wrong."
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That's it for now. Next chapter, meet Salazar in a flash back.
Please review if you like it, dislike it, hate it, etc. I'm desperate.