"Nimue?" Ophelia rolled her friend over from where she had collapsed in the snow, "Nimue please be alright," she whispered. Ophelia looked around desperately, trying to figure out what to do. She reached for her wand and lifted the body bind from Angie, who quickly joined her kneeling over Nimue's still form.
Nimue felt as though her head had been beat with a hammer as she opened her eyes slowly, "what happened?" she murmured.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Ophelia shrieked. "You tell us what happened! You're the one who did that," she pointed, with a shaking hand, to the charred corpse of the death eater who had threatened them.
"How did I..."
"All I know is that he grabbed me, and then went for you. And when he tried to grab you this purple... thing... it was all shimmery, like an electric shield or something, surround you. And when he touched it he dropped me, and then he was like... that."
"I killed him..." Nimue could barely breathe. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, staring blankly off into the darkness, "I killed him..."
The three girls clung to each other, shaking, as they tried to take what had happened. They all jumped when they heard a shout, and saw several figures coming towards them at a run.
"What are you two up to?" Morgan asked as she dropped a stack of books on the table.
Severus looked up, "I was beginning to worry about you, what took you so long to get back?"
"We'll discuss it later," Morgan said, nodding her head in Olivia's direction. This was not a conversation she wanted the child to hear. Apparently several death eaters had been found in the Forbidden Forest.
Severus locked eyes with his wife, trying to figure out what she was keeping from him. "I think," he said evenly, "that it's someone's bedtime."
"What were you girls thinking coming out here at night?!" Charlie snapped as he, Remus, Harry, and Zach led the three girls back towards the school. They would come back to deal with the corpse later. So far they had gotten the basic story out of Ophelia and Angie, but Nimue had yet to say anything.
"We didn't think..." Angie started.
"You're damn right you didn't think!" Charlie interceded, "Do you realize how dangerous this little escapade of yours was? You could have easily been killed, if not by a death eater, than by one of those dragons. What do you think your father is going to say when he hears about this?" He tightened his grip on his niece's arm slightly.
Ophelia chanced a glance at her own father, who looked more worried than angry at the moment. She hoped that would last.
"We're glad you're safe," Remus calmly inserted, "but that does not excuse the fact that you snuck out of the school." He wasn't surprised to find Kalliope waiting for them when they entered the school. "I want you girls back in your dorm now, we'll decide exactly what is going to be done with you later, once everyone has had a chance to calm down," he shot a meaningful look at Charlie.
"Nimue, come with me please," Kalliope softly commanded.
Nimue shot a longing look at her friends before turning towards the priestess, "I didn't mean to kill him," she muttered miserably. "What's going to happen to me?" tears were freely flowing down her face.
"I won't let anything happen to you child, but you need to understand what happened tonight," Kalliope took her by the hand and let them into an empty classroom. "First, I owe you an apology child. I have not been entirely truthful with you. Some of it was because I thought I could protect you, and another part was that there are just certain things I cannot tell one who is not initiated. You need to understand that good and evil are relative terms," she sighed, "the point is child; you have powers that very few in the magical world exhibit."
"Like what?" Nimue sniffed.
"The gift of prophecy for one, and you showed another one tonight. You managed, though it may have been subconscious, to protect yourself from that man tonight. You may not have meant to kill him, but your will to survive was so strong that you did whatever was necessary to save yourself and your friends."
"Is this something to do with the goddess?"
Kalliope sighed again, "that, child, is a difficult question. I think I need to explain to you how these things work. Throughout history humans have given the immortals certain attributes and characteristics. While many of us only recognize one goddess, who may be worshiped in different forms, there are still a few who recognize each of her personalities as separate entities. Over the centuries the priestesses have had to accommodate themselves to deal with... inconsistencies."
"Are you saying that you've lied to me?! Does this goddess even exist, or deal in the mortal world?"
"Yes, she does! But she does not always make her presence known. This is a question of faith child, not one of fact. But, I wonder if I haven't asked too much of you, perhaps you are not ready for all of this..." Kalliope thought for a moment, "the goddess is not always kind and forgiving, she is also vengeful and violent when she needs to be."
"And so, just as there are dark and light sides to the goddess, so there are dark and light sides to women. That's why I killed that man tonight." Nimue shuddered.
"You learn quickly child, even though I am not the best teacher."
"I'm not sure if I like the idea of a vengeful goddess."
"Nimue, the goddess has many different sides, and different cultures have explained her differently. I want you to consider Gefjon, perhaps she will be a way for you to come to terms with the goddess. I think you will understand her, and if you see the goddess in that light, perhaps this whole business will be easier for you."
"Will I have to kill again?" Nimue was desperate, she wasn't sure if she wanted to have any part of this whole priestess thing now.
"You will do as the goddess bids you."
"Charlie, darling, please calm down," Meg kept her voice low and soothing as she tried to talk him out of the rage he had worked himself into. She had learned that the red hair the Weasleys were known for was accompanied by a rather violent temper at times.
"Meg, I don't know what those girls were thinking tonight, but if Lupin doesn't put them in at least a month's worth of detentions, I sure as hell will!"
"I know you're worried about them love, but they are safe now. We can all be thankful that nothing worse happened. Besides, I think they've had enough of a scare to last them for quite awhile."
Charlie sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands, "maybe we should rethink the dragons as a security measure. They are obviously a lure to the students to sneak out, and when I think what could have happened if the girls had gone any closer to that Common Green and her baby..."
Meg perched on the bed next to her husband and wrapped her arms around him, "the dragons are the reason that the rest of the death eaters in the forest didn't get onto the school grounds."
"I know, I just... how could I face Fred, or the rest of my family, if anything had happened to the girls tonight? Let alone Severus and Harry... what if our own children decide to do something like that, the dragons just may be too big a risk factor."
"Yes, they do have an uncanny appreciation for dragons. I wonder who they could have gotten that from?" Meg tightened her hold on her husband and kissed him soundly, "I'm glad you care enough about your family and the students to get his upset, but I think that you just need a good night's sleep and you'll be a little bit more rational about this in the morning."
"I think I could use more than sleep," Charlie pressed a kiss to the top of his wife's head.
"Whatever are you thinking of Mr. Weasley?" Meg asked sweetly.
"Give me about two minutes to make sure the children are sleeping and this room is soundproofed and I'll show you."
"Why do we have girls?"
Morgan hid a smile, "that would be your fault Sev darling."
He scowled, "they are too much trouble."
Morgan shook her head, "that's not nice Sev. I know things are not going particularly well now, but..."
"But nothing," he glared out the window at the bleak February morning, "Dierna is going to drive me over the edge. All she does is hang around the dungeons claiming that Serena and Nick don't have time for her anymore. Serena... I'm not going to even start about what I think of her dating someone, especially when they could be doing Circe knows what up in the Gryffindor Tower. Nimue has drawn completely into herself since that attack. I don't think I've heard her speak two words together since then."
"And of course your son isn't any problem at all," Morgan shot back acerbically.
"I did not say that."
"But you implied it. And I'm worried about him Sev. That boy hasn't caused any trouble since Christmas, and I'm afraid that means that he is up to something."
Severus shrugged, "I'll ask him, but I doubt he'll tell me. By the way, Eric is coming to the school for a few days to help with Quintessence."
"Do you trust him enough to allow him in the school? I know how you feel about that man."
"We don't have much choice. I'm not thrilled about it and I doubt Zach will be pleased. But we have to set aside our differences if we are going to defeat Voldemort once and for all."
Morgan uncurled herself from the bed and moved to place a hand against her husband's forehead, "you feeling alright Sev? It's not like you to be this congenial towards Eric... here I thought I was married to a complete ogre, I think you've gone soft." she grinned impishly.
Her husband scowled at her, "Morgan Elaine..."
"Pulling out my middle name? I must be in trouble," Morgan interceded. "Perhaps you still are the vile, slimy, git that everyone insists you are. Maybe I should have run off with Oliver Wood when I had the chance..."
He continued to glower and crossed his arms over his chest, but said nothing.
Morgan looked down at the floor, and then up again, a bit warily, to meet Severus' black eyes, "I shouldn't have teased you," she conceded. She had known what a dangerous mood her husband was in, and realized that perhaps the teasing hadn't been one of her brightest ideas. She waited to see if he was truly mad at her, these days she just couldn't seem to tell. They were all on edge with the increasing attacks, nerves had become frayed and tempers were rather short.
Severus continued to glare at his wife for several seconds, which felt like an eternity to Morgan, before gently taking her face between his hands and kissing her rather forcibly. "I love you dearly Morgan, but I want you to know that I was this close to upending you over my knee for that. I think it is fair to say that I usually put up with your teasing with good grace, and even enjoy it on occasion. But not now, I have too much on my mind."
"I'm sorry Sev," Morgan wrapped her arms around his waist and was immensely grateful when the embrace was returned, "I'm just worried and scared and..." she broke off as a sob caught in her throat.
"And looking for an outlet for all that frustration," Severus finished for her.
"I feel so helpless sometimes," Morgan mumbled as she buried her face in the front of her husband's shirt. "And it's just not fair! Haven't we suffered enough grief to last us for a lifetime?!"
Severus sighed deeply and held his wife a bit closer, "I'm worried about you. You're under far too much stress, have barely slept in days, and are about to fall to pieces. I'm tempted to slip something in your pumpkin juice that will knock you out for the next three days so that you can at least get caught up on your sleep. Care to tell me what brought on this little outburst?"
Angie, Nimue, and Ophelia sat silently at the Gryffindor table, only picking at their breakfasts. Ever since their nighttime escapade the week before they had been a rather subdued group. Angie had gotten a rather longwinded letter from her parents over her part in the adventure, and was just thankful it hadn't been a howler. Ophelia still couldn't look her father in the eye after the one-sided discussion he had directed at her. And Nimue wasn't talking to anyone. She was stuck in an internal battle over the fact that she had actually killed a man.
"I'm going to the library," Nimue announced as she pushed away from the table and hurried out of the Great Hall.
"I'm worried about her," Ophelia muttered as she played with her toast. "She's miserable."
Meanwhile, Nimue reached the library, and sunk down at one of the tables. She buried her face in her hands, "I can't do this anymore," she said to herself, "I don't want to keep going."
Kalliope silently watched Nimue, unobserved from her place among the bookshelves, and steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. She slipped out of the library and down towards the dungeons, intent of finding Professor Snape. He was the one she had to convince. She whispered a word of thanks to her goddess when she found him alone in his office, "Professor, a word."
Severus looked up, after letting Morgan cry herself out in his arms earlier he had rather been hoping to avoid the fairer sex for awhile, "this had better be important priestess," he snapped, "I have a lot of grading to get done."
Kalliope, always adept at concealing her emotions, swept forward determinedly, giving away nothing of her intent, "I wish to discuss your daughter, I am worried about her."
"That has been on my mind as well, I'm not sure how eager I am for her sessions with you to continue. The girl is miserable."
"She is only miserable because she doesn't fully understand."
"Because of your teaching my daughter killed a man and it is tearing her apart!"
"And I want to help fix that, I want her to return to Greece with me."
"Absolutely not."
"I believe it would..."
"I said no! She is my daughter and as such..."
"Do you not care for her mental well being?! She needs further training!"
"She needs to be with her family!" Severus snarled as he rose out of his chair, "you may not understand the seriousness of the situation we are in at the moment priestess," he used a voice that normally was enough to bring any student to tears, "Hogwarts is the safest place to be in the wizarding world, I will keep my daughter where I can protect her."
"You fool! You think I know nothing of the threat these dark forces are?!" Kalliope spat back at him, "I, who had to watch while these wizards slaughtered innocent people, and watched the damnable Draco Malfoy killed my precious daughter. I know exactly what we are up against. Your daughter..."
"SHE STAYS HERE!"
Kalliope made a growling noise deep in her throat, and with a burst of orange flames she was gone.
Kamen stalked through the hallways moodily. He wanted Celeste Markham and he wanted her now! However, the lady in question had politely refused his request that she go on another date with him. He was accustomed to getting what he wanted, and this did not sit well with the self dubbed 'ladies' man' Snape.
He absolutely refused to ask his sisters for help. He was not ready to sink low enough to admit to needing their guidance when it came to women. He continued to brood as he stormed through the hallways, trying to come up with a plan. He automatically stepped to the side when Eva came around the corner, letting the petit blond by.
Suddenly he stopped, and turned around, "Miss Bhaer, would you help me with a project?" He didn't need his sisters, especially if he had this little German to help him out.
"And so we meet again child. I must say it is nice to see you out of the infirmary my dear. Now will your tyrannical father be letting you help us out, or is he still trying to protect you from all the evils of the world?" Eric leaned against a cane, a recent acquisition after a run in with one of the less savory inhabitants of his enchanted forest.
Dierna tossed her hair out of her face, "we'll see. Of course it wouldn't hurt if someone were to help me talk him into it..."
Eric wheezed out a dry chuckle, "No need to fake subtlety with me child, I would enjoy working with you. Potions is an art form not fully appreciated by the younger generations, it's very refreshing to see one as young as yourself possess such an innate talent in it, and to put so much passion into it."
Dierna blushed at the praise, "I do love it."
"And I bet your father is very proud of your talent. Parents like to see their children excel in their own passions. Or grandchildren for that matter... I wish I understood Zach's passion for dragons..." his voice grew a bit distant, "perhaps we would get on better then..." he shook his head. "That's enough of personal matters, now tell me child, what are you working on in your private study now?"
"Well, I was researching the properties of hydra bile, and I was thinking that it could be used in place of..."
Severus swept into the classroom, "you, out now!"
"Why?" Dierna scowled at him.
"Because I told you to!" Severus was in a dangerous mood after his 'discussion' with Kalliope. "I have told you before that I do not want you near my family," he spat at Eric.
"Now Severus my boy," Eric started in a low voice, "we were just having a nice conversation; no harm in that now is there?"
"Dad, don't make me leave. Please? I could help..."
Severus glared at both of them, "this is not open for discussion. She leaves. Dierna, do not make me tell you again. I want you to leave now."
Dierna crossed her arms over her chest, "make me." She had no intention of going anywhere if she could help it, especially if they were going to be working on Quintessence.
Severus very slowly counted to ten in his head, "Adelaide, I am in no mood for this kind of childishness from you right now. If I have to physically remove you from this room I promise that you will regret it."
Dierna wasn't her father's daughter for nothing, "I have no intention of going anywhere," she snarled, "considering how long you lied to me about the true nature of this project, it would be the least you could do to let me stay and help."
Severus took several long strides to cross the room, and grabbing his daughter by the arm, unceremoniously dragged her out into the hallway.
"That's not fair!" Dierna was outraged, "you know I have every right to know what is going on!"
"This attitude isn't getting you anywhere. Try again," Severus said in a deadly calm voice.
Dierna looked at him with pleading eyes, "please Dad, I want to help. Please..."
"While I don't appreciate the whining either, I am not opposed to having you help. We need all the extra hands we can get, and I trust your ability in the lab enough to use you. However, right now I need to talk with Eric, and I do not want you around. When Eva comes down and we actually get to work I will let you know."
"Thank you!" Dierna threw her arms around her father and brushed a kiss across his cheek.
"You've gone soft Severus," Eric said from the doorway, "back when I first knew you heads would have rolled before you gave in to anyone."
"I'm wouldn't be opposed to seeing your head roll," Severus growled.
Eric continued as though the potions master hadn't spoken, "I think we can credit your wife with that change," he mused, "I can't imagine what you would do without her. I assure you that hordes of potions students are thankful for whatever she does to you, I've heard that the number of students who leave your class in tears has dwindled over the years."
"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" Alberto leaned against the wall.
Eva looked up and flashed him a brilliant smile, he was so dark and handsome, and with such a wonderful sense of humor... "We're discussing tactics."
"Tactics? Are you planning a war?"
Eva wrinkled her nose, "nein, this is much more difficult. Kamen wants help in winning over the Head Girl; I'm taking him on as my charity project. Provided that," she fixed Kamen with a meaningful look, "Kamen only has the best intentions at heart. He's promised me that he truly cares about this girl."
"What have you got planned?" Alberto asked as he flopped down in a chair.
Kamen grinned, "She doesn't stand a chance of turning me down, this one is in the bag."