A/N: I must thank my beta-reader, Elyse, for her great advice and patience in editing. To her, I owe a great deal.
Chapter 6: It Wasn't a Dream
She woke suddenly that morning and looked intently around her, as though trying to find a tangible trace of our adventure. I remained among the shadows as usual as her _expression became wistful. Were her thoughts roaming to Severus? Had she fully dismissed our experience as a figment of her imagination? Had she resigned herself to loneliness? Ah, the misfortune of an inability to read minds.
No matter, I wasn't done. Another tour of Severusville? It would just be considered a dream as this one was. I needed something she couldn't deny, something seen and heard by her in the conscious reality. Then, an equation began to formulate: Invisibility Cloak + Mirror of Eirsed + Predictable Severus + Observing Gryffindor = ?. With preparations to organize, I trusted my newly recruited four-legged assistant to keep a vigil on his mistress during her inevitable hours of research.
As the sun fell behind the rim of the horizon, the weary occupants of Hogwarts arrived at the Great Hall for their evening meal. Among them was one antisocial Potions Master on which everything depended that evening. Sitting in the corridor of the professors' exit, I waited for Severus to make his required appearance and then retreat to the dungeons. Preferably, to the room harboring a dangerous piece of reflective glass.
Oh, didn't you know about the Mirror? Albus didn't dispose of the Mirror of Erised following the Sorcerer's Stone Incident, as it has been aptly labeled. He would never think of destroying a precious family heirloom. He instead chose to place it in the guardianship of Severus in the dungeons, assured that Severus would never fall victim to its spell of desire. An assumption disproved.
The creaking of the door hinges caught my attention as I squeezed closer to the wall of the dim and narrow passageway, fearing he might unknowingly trip over me. He swept passed me in a fury of billowing black robes and remained oblivious to the padded footsteps keeping tempo with him. Our approach to the dungeons felt eternal to my anxious mind. Finally, he slowed nearing his private chambers and my heart fell, but to my relief he continued to the single suit of armor.
"Password," requested the benign voice of Sir Galahad.
"Alone," he whispered, averting as though expecting the knight to judge him.
Nodding, Galahad moved aside to allow Severus access. Severus had been visiting the Mirror frequently since his and Miss Granger's argument, though not as often as he did when Voldemort lived. But then it had been another form of self torture, reminding him that he had made the choice and would suffer the consequences. Now, it was an indulgence.
Though my direct involvement violated our unspoken agreement for discretion, I was not refused in my request for assistance. With the invisibility cloak placed in Miss Granger's bed by Minerva with a spelled note, I was curled up upon the cloak and waiting. Luckily, Albus had Madame Pince close the library under the pretense of the extermination of a cursed book. A ruse that effectively cut Miss Granger's research time down and drove her to me.
She came in with arms loaded with books, appearing determined to continue where she had left off. I was under the impression you could only borrow a third of the library at once, but apparently apprentices are extended the privilege of half. Placing the stack on her already cluttered desk, she was startled by my presence. I had that effect on her.
"Raven?!"
Being unable to verbally respond, I began pawing at the rolled up scroll, bringing it to her attention. I needed her to cooperate before Severus returned to his rooms. Otherwise, this was a futile venture.
She noticed it quickly enough and rolled it to reveal the message:
Our adventure has not yet begun, Miss Granger.
Her questioning gaze landed on me then the invisibility cloak. She recognized it for what it was.
I slept from my position and loped toward the door, casting an expectant look over my shoulder. She stood still as the stone that was the castle with defiance in her eyes. Without basis, I was asking for her unconditional trust. Growing up in a world where survival depended on suspicion, I was seeking a privilege she would not lightly grant.
Turning to the scroll, I conceded that this last resort was my only resort. I had anticipated she would not follow me blindly and planned accordingly. I centered my thoughts on the curled parchment and the magic held in its edges. Having not been the actual caster of the spell, the connection was difficult to establish, but the magic finally welcomed me as if it was my own. Minerva had attuned it to my brainwaves perfectly.
Noticing my intense concentration, Miss Granger followed my gaze.
Miss Granger, time is of the essence. Ask what you will, but do so quickly.
Her brow furrowed in thought as the words finished writing themselves. "The Receptor Charm."
Yes.
We needed get beyond the obvious before it was too late.
Tick-tock, Miss Granger.
"Last night wasn't a dream, was it?"
No.
I could practically see the gears turning and questions accumulating.
"Why have you returned? What do you want with me anyway?"
I have but one thing left to show you, and I will not trouble you again. I desire only to help you see what you refuse to.
"How cryptic."
Some things require viewing with one's own eyes for them to be believed.
"I won't get anything useful out of you unless I follow you, will I?"
No.
Her sheer curiosity was her downfall and my saving grace.
She sighed abjectly and reached for the cloak, striding to my seated form. She met my almond eyes with determination having replaced resistance, nodding her readiness before donning the cloak. She seemed incognizant of my ability to see through such magic in this form. Opening the door, I trotted ahead enough to avoid injury but close enough to keep her awareness of me.
The span from her chambers to Sir Galahad was not greater than ten feet, but still I worried. Any unexpected calamity could ruin it. As we passed the two torches mounted on the walls along our path, I found a new appreciation for them. They might prevent her from tripping.
Upon seeing me, Sir Galahad moved silently and subserviently to permit us access. His formality hurt but I was glad for it just this once. He always knew when we could have friendly chat and when it was best to be distant. If only he was more than a possessed suit of armor....
Creeping cautiously inward, I invaded the dark and scantly occupied sanctuary, only spared complete barrenness by the presence of the Mirror and Severus. In my ironic opinion, the chamber reflected Severus's inner self precisely: Sad and Alone.
Severus stood in front of the ancient artifact amid the farthest wall, gazing longingly into the hypnotic glass. His long elegant fingers brushed the smooth surface. Fortunately, he was too absorbed to notice our entrance. Feeling her presence uncomfortably close, I went and took a seat in a dark corner while she watched as inaudibly as possible, unwilling to distract him for whatever could enthrall him so completely. Though her primary focus fell on him, she became mesmerized by the Mirror of Erised. My role was as a spectator until I saw need to be otherwise. She wasn't even aware I had left her. Drawn to it, she unconsciously stepped forward. A few more steps...then she would see what I had brought her here for.
My desired answer came when she stopped abruptly, too stunned to continue moving. Frozen in shock would be a befitting description. The image in the Mirror was the Gryffindor Know-It-All fitted in a gorgeous dark green Victorian style gown. Slytherin green. That was the dress she wore each time I had caught him here. He always did have exquisite taste.
While her defenses were down, I abandoned the passive observer attitude and darted from the shadows. Locking my jaws on the pooled edge of the cloak, I stormed back from whence I came. When she realized her vulnerability, it was too late. I was already safely hidden in the darkness under the silken fabric.
She was trapped like a rat without means of escape or cover. Galahad wouldn't allow her to leave without me, lacking assurance of my safety. He wouldn't run the risk of allowing any hypothetical attacker to escape. How exactly he knew who was leaving will forever be among the many mysteries of Hogwarts. She couldn't even murmur an invisibility charm or moved to the shadowy corners for fear that he would see or hear her. Her only options were to await discovery or confront him on her terms. As a Gryffindor, there was no choice.
"Severus," she whispered hesitantly.
He was visible startled by the intrusion, and perhaps familiarity. He pivoted in the direction of her voice, attempting to shield the reflected desire from view. "Miss Granger," he spat, trying to cover his surprise with scornful indifference. "Curiosity killed the cat. What did you see?"
"Enough."
She had witnessed him unguarded and exposed. An impression he would mercilessly endeavor to replace with one of the ridicule and sarcasm that characterized his public demeanor.
"And yet you don't flee in horror," he noted with a sneer, his defenses firmly in place. "Have I not provided sufficient entertainment? Are you anticipating further humiliation? Or, better yet, have I been promoted from 'vampiric and vile' to 'forlorn and enigmatic'? I, like the house elves, exist contently without your pity, so kindly don't bother me with it."
She waited for the end of his peevish rant with her Gryffindor temper rising to the occasion despite delay.
"I suppose it never occurred to you that I see the same thing in the Mirror? That the feeling is mutual?" She stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing with ire.
That simple truth froze his seething wrath. Her response left the normally shrewd and bitterly-tongued professor speechless with astonishment. Miss Granger herself seemed rather shocked by her own confession. Neither one seemed able to put two words together as they gaped at each other.
Had I expected them to run into each other's arms and claim their undying love? Not to that extreme, but two intellectual people staring dumbfounded at one another wasn't my idea of romantic. Call me cynical.
Emerging from my comfortable vantage point, I allowed myself a good running start and leapt at her back and pushed her forward, unbalancing her toward Severus. His reflexes reacted without hesitation and caught her mid-fall in his arms. He helped her regain her composure but kept his arms lingering around her, pulling her against his chest and surrounding her with his voluminous robes. Leaning into the welcomed closeness, her hand entwined itself in his midnight locks to bring his mouth to hers, and his moved to cradle her head. The kiss looked tentative at first but the passion was quick to gain momentum. Easily surmising their intentions, I decided to give the pair their privacy.