Elves Without Clothes
by: Whomping Willow ~
Disclaimer: I still don't own Hermione, Draco or any of their other friends in J. K. R.'s world. I want to be Snape's house-elf, but I guess I have to live vicariously through Hermione.
Author's Note: In response to anyone who has inquired: Yes Ony is now and always has been in human form. . . . She is a house-elf in mind only. (Kinda thought the big floppy ears would be a turnoff.) Sorry if I confused anyone, I had mentioned it back in early chapters, but I am occasionally too subtle.
***
Chapter seven: Miss Understood ~
Snape and Ony were back in the lab working on the experimental potion once again. The original formula was decidedly influenced by the far from subtle aphrodisiac properties of the Narwhal Horn and needed adjusting.
It was definitely harder to focus on the potion today than it had been before. The memory of the dream made Ony's mind wander, and when her mind wandered to Draco it eventually made its way to the subject of the spell. She still didn't know what the spell had done to Draco and it was nagging at her the way any unanswered question did.
"I believe you are becoming obsessed with that ridiculous spell," Professor Snape announced from behind the large cauldron.
-How did he know I was thinking about the spell? -
"Were you attempting to cast it?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.
-What?! NO! - "No sir," Ony squeaked.
"Well then congratulations, you have just preformed wandless magic." Well not entirely wandless, he mused.
-Oh No! Not again! - She looked long and hard, searching for any visible sign of what the spell had done. "Please let me fix it sir. I'm sure I can help. I didn't mean to do it . . ." -Bad Ony -
"Will your obsession with that particular spell diminish if you learn what it does?" he asked, his voice like velvet.
-Please tell me - "Yes sir," she answered timidly.
The professor stepped out from behind the cauldron he was tending. He didn't say a word, merely raising his eyebrows as he waited for her to realize.
Ony noticed with some embarrassment that his wand was once again situated awkwardly in his pocket. She was mortified when she eventually noticed his wand was in fact resting on the worktable near the cauldron. She looked away immediately, eyes to the floor widened with shock.
-No, I couldn't have - "You mean? I didn't . . . did I?"
"Not so eager to rectify your error now are you?" Snape said with a leer.
Ony turned three shades of red, with her eyes fixed on the floor. She changed to an unnatural shade of white, eyes attaining the size of saucers the instant she remembered that was the same spell she had cast on Draco.
"How- how do you fix it? Is there a counter curse, sir?" she asked stammering and nervously bunching her sheet in her fists.
Snape looked down at her, eyebrows raised, "are you being purposefully obtuse or just playing coy? Perhaps I have discovered some hole in our little-miss-know-it-all's vast knowledge?"
Ony looked indignant after the little-miss-know-it-all comment but remained silent.
"If you are through with this most inappropriate display of skill Miss – " he stopped short and corrected himself, clearing his throat before continuing, "Ony . . . If you will excuse me, I will take care of the counter curse on my own," he stated and left without waiting for a reply.
Ony was immensely relieved.
***
Professor Snape returned with no sign of embarrassment or the earlier problem. He advised Ony not to speak of the incident again and hoped that it would be the last time she cast that spell, till after she'd left Hogwarts.
Ony had returned to the task at hand pushing all thoughts of the spell to the farthest corners of her mind. She was well into the prep work for the modified potion when Draco burst into the room without so much as a knock.
"I need to speak with Ony," he said with a calm that didn't coordinate with his entrance or the flush of his cheeks.
"And what exactly do you need – " he began but was cut off.
"I need to speak with Ony alone and I have the Headmaster's permission already," he said with a cold look toward the professor.
Hermione was stunned, she'd never seen Draco speak to any of his professors that way, never mind Snape.
Draco held out his hand to Ony, "come on," he said with an almost desperate look.
-Those eyes, from my dream -
She nervously accepted the proffered hand and followed her master out of the room, fighting the blush that overwhelmed her body at the memory of that dream and avoiding all thought of the spell. Once they were locked in Draco's chambers and concealed within a silencing spell, Draco turned and spoke anxiously.
"How are you? Are you okay? Has he done something? Anything?" Draco rambled off nervously.
-What is going on? - "Master? What's wrong?"
"That is what I'm asking you Ony . . ." his cheeks still pink, he approached the subject with apprehension. "I heard – last night, Ony what did he do to you?"
-He heard?! - "Master . . . I - it wasn't anything really. It was just a dream," she finished pointedly avoiding the eyes that had looked so hungry in her dream.
"A dream? Don't lie for him Ony that didn't sound like any dream. Those sounds, like you were being tortured . . ."
-You have no idea -
"I tried to get in, but the door was spelled shut. I couldn't get in and you didn't answer when I knocked . . . I went to speak with the Headmaster first thing this morning."
-Oh no, please tell me you're joking - "Master, I was testing a new potion and it . . . created a very realistic dream," she wondered exactly how red it was possible for cheeks to become.
-Very, very realistic dream -
Draco looked prepared to argue, but then replayed the memory of the sounds filtering through his door early this morning. His face reddened to match Ony's once he realized the gravity of his error. "I need to go speak with the Headmaster. I've made a terrible mistake."
"And I'll take care of Professor Snape," Ony offered.
"Thanks," Draco called over his shoulder as he exited the room to fix his mistake before it got any worse.
-Will my cheeks ever be the same? -
***
When Ony returned to Professor Snape's private lab, the Headmaster was already there. He was wearing a grim expression that may have explained Snape's shocked one. They both turned as Ony entered the room.
"Ah, Ony so good to see you," the Headmaster greeted her cordially. "I am hoping you will be able to shed some light on this situation."
-Uh oh, this doesn't sound good - "I'll do what I can Headmaster."
"Have you by chance spoken with Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes sir, Draco just left his rooms to find you."
"It appears that I missed him, but I am sure he will find his way here," he said calmly. "I want you to feel free to answer my questions honestly without fear of retribution from any of the parties involved. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," Ony nodded wondering how muddled this mess was.
"Good, good," the Headmaster reassured her kindly. "Now Ony can you tell me, has there been any problems since you have been under the ownership of Professor Snape?"
-Problems? Maybe this isn't about the dream - "Problems? Well, I did pass out on the floor in the lab, but the professor gave me a warm bath and that helped."
The Headmaster's eyes flashed dangerously in the Potion Master's direction. Professor Snape rolled his eyes but remained conspicuously quiet.
"You lost consciousness and Professor Snape gave you a bath?"
"Yes sir. He said I had a negative reaction to some potions that were absorbed into my bare skin and it needed to be rinsed away before it penetrated any more."
"Do you have any idea how long you were unconscious or what the potion was that caused the reaction?" the Headmaster asked.
"No sir. I assume it was a combination of the floor cleanser and whatever had stained the floor where I was scrubbing. I don't know what the stains were."
"And what was Professor Snape doing at the time?"
"He was brewing a potion. I think it was for Madam Pomfrey, but I don't know what it was. He said he didn't need my help with it."
Snape's eyes were by this point clenched shut and he was breathing loudly. "Madam Pomfrey requested some cure-all for the flu."
"And was this potion delivered to Madam Pomfrey?" Dumbledore inquired.
"No Headmaster, it was ruined when it was left unattended," Snape growled.
"I see. Ony, did you come to consciousness before you were put in the tub or after?"
"I awoke in the tub. The water was a bit cool and startled me."
"Do you think you had been in the tub for a while or just placed in?" The Headmaster was beginning to worry that Draco's story had more credibility than he gave him credit for.
"I don't know sir."
"Try to remember . . . were your fingers wrinkled as though you'd been soaking?"
"Now that you mention it, I think they were."
"Good lords, Albus she was scrubbing the floor, of course she would have dishpan-hands. She is being purposefully obtuse."
"If you do not hold your tongue Severus, you will be removed from the room."
The Potion Master glowered at them both, but remained silent.
"At any time did Professor Snape encourage you to remove your garments?"
"Of course, they were soaked," she said calmly. "He did suggest a robe, but I was afraid that would set me free, so I declined," she prattled on unaware of the matching scowls on the two men's faces.
"Are you telling me you stayed in Professor Snape's presence in the nude?"
-What?! - "Oh no Headmaster. Professor Snape brought me a blanket to wrap up in."
The Headmaster's relief was palpable. "Did anything else unusual occur due to that incident?"
"I had a rash on my legs, but the professor spread an ointment on them that made it disappear."
"Did this make you feel uncomfortable in any way?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Oh yes," she nodded eyes widening at the memory.
"Please, kill me now," Professor Snape declared morosely. Every word from Ony's mouth was like another nail in his coffin.
The Headmaster was lamenting his decision to allow Ony into the Potions Master's care. Ony continued to speak unaware of Dumbledore's inner turmoil. "That ointment itched something terrible, sir."
"Excuse me?" Dumbledore's expression had turned to confusion and wasn't helped as Draco burst through the door for the second time that day.
"Thank goodness I found you, Headmaster. I made a terrible mistake."
"I was discussing that very subject with Ony, and I'm inclined to believe it was no mistake."
-What we haven't discussed the dream?! - "What? We weren't discussing what Draco heard," Ony stated.
"We simply haven't gotten to that yet, Ony. Would you like to explain to us about the sounds Draco heard coming from your room last night?"
Hermione's cheeks turned crimson and she stared through the floor. "It was a dream sir. I was testing a new potion for the professor and it caused . . . vivid dreams."
"Are you very sure you were dreaming?" Dumbledore asked.
Ony's eyes widened considerably and she chanced a glance in Draco's direction. "I am very sure, sir." -Very very sure -
"Well that doesn't dismiss the possibility of other inappropriate behavior. Ony, I would like you to return to the care of your master immediately."
-The dream, the spell, how will I look him in the eye? -
Snape rested a hand on Ony shoulder to catch her attention before speaking. "Thank you so much for straightening out the misunderstanding so quickly," sarcasm dripped from every syllable.
"I was trying sir," Ony replied.
"Yes, very," he added coldly. Snape gave the Headmaster a smug look that screamed, 'I told you so'.
"Thank you Headmaster. Come on Ony, I want to hear about what I missed," Draco said as he took Ony by the hand and escorted her out the door.
The Headmaster turned to the Potions Master still wearing a disappointed look. "I expect you to be on your best behavior with Ony from now on. I'll be keeping an eye on you Severus." With that said, he turned and left.
Professor Snape remained silent, grateful there had been no mention of this morning's spell. It may have been embarrassing and he lost his house-elf, but at least he still had his job.
***
Draco led Ony back to his chambers. He stiffened and pulled away when he realized he had still been clutching her small hand in his. He turned away absently gazing at nothing in particular, hoping to conceal his blush. "I'm glad to have you back Ony," he finally admitted as he glanced briefly over his shoulder in an attempt to gauge her reaction to the statement.
-Draco is GLAD to have me back? - "Was the other house-elf's work less than satisfactory, Master?"
Draco considered his answer before responding. All of Hogwarts' house-elves did an extemporary job without a doubt, but somehow he knew better than to say so. "No one does it quite like you, Ony."
-That was a compliment! - It was Ony's turn to blush. "Thank you, Master." She thought a minute before she reciprocated, "I am glad to be back as well Master."
"Was the professor harsh with you . . . did he do anything to hurt you?" Draco was doing nothing to hide his concern.
"No Master, he did nothing wrong. In fact I learned a great deal from him . . . about ingredients and spells, but I prefer to be your house-elf."
Draco paled at the mention of spells. No, he couldn't have . . . Professor Snape wouldn't be so cruel . . . please tell me he didn't, he thought desperately . . . tell me he didn't tell Ony about the spell . . .
***
tbc . . .
Thanks to my reviewers, I love you all. I'd love the rest of my readers as well, but I don't know you =)
~ Whomping Willow ~