Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Nope, not me.
A/N: First of all, thanks muchly to all those that reviewed!
I'm afraid no-one got the ten points for why Remus and Aemilia's conversation was my favourite. You were all guessing such deep, meaningful things that I feel rather shallow now! No, I liked it because I lifted it straight out of TS Eliot's The Wasteland, and it worked. It really showed how dysfunctional that relationship has become... ah, angst!
More angst this chapter, which features the perspectives of Severus and Hermione. We have gratuitous Helena and a bit of Niamh, whom we don't really know a lot about. The scene with Helena besides the river is also one of my favourites... but there's no real reason, other than I think it works nicely as a scene!
A note to other authors out there - you are quite welcome to play around with characters and events from the universe of The Space Between The Stars. I'd just ask that you let me know first, so I can:
a) Check that the characters are in character, and;
b) Read it!
I'll shut up now. Here it is, Part III!
Part III - The Fire Sermon
But at my back from time to time I hear
The sound of horns and motors, which shall bring
Sweeney to Mrs. Porter in the spring.
O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et, O ces voix d'enfants, chantant dans la coupole!
- TS Eliot, The Wasteland, Part III, The Fire Sermon
The Thames, April, 1998
Severus Snape, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, walked.
He shouldn't be here, of course. He should be at Hogwarts, helping McGonagall guard the students, or with Voldemort, gathering information, or even with Sirius Black and Harry Potter, who had gone to retrieve the papers from Gringotts.
But he wasn't. He was here, in the cruel month of April, walking beside the Thames.
He saw a rat creeping through the vegetation at the river's edge, dragging its slimy belly on the bank, and wondered idly if it were Pettigrew. It would be terribly ironic if it was. He was the only member of the Order who could not kill Pettigrew, because he was supposed to be on Pettigrew's side.
But, no, this rat had both paws and all its toes. Just a rat. Just a rat.
Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
"Hello, Severus."
He turned. The last fingers of leaves clutched and sank into the wet bank. "Hello, Helena."
She was wearing Muggle clothes today, white as always, her golden hair pinned up on the back of her head, but despite it, she still exuded the inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold. Valerius was in his pram, sleeping.
"What are you doing here?" Severus asked her.
She smiled. "Escaping from trams and dusty trees. Richmond and Kew have undone me. What about you?"
"Walking," he answered. "Only walking."
"Not thinking?"
"Walking and thinking."
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak neither loud nor long.
"About...?"
"Everything."
Silence. Uncomfortable silence.
"How is Niamh?"
Well now that's done: and I'm glad it's over.
"Niamh? Oh... fine. Fine."
"It must be hard."
"What?"
"Being in love. In a time where there is no love to be found."
Her eyes were downcast as she stared into the river. It bore no empty bottles, sandwich papers, silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends or other testimony of summer nights.
"You are in the same position as me," he said gently.
She looked up and smiled, ever so slightly. "I suppose I am."
Valerius woke up and began to cry. Helena took his out of his pram and began to shush him.
Severus could not help but stare.
This music crept by me on the waters.
His son. His son, that he did not know, and never would not know.
Valerius Weasley.
Helena caught him looking. Her eyes met his. "Would you..."
"Yes?"
"Would you... like to hold him?"
Severus found himself nodding. "I would... like that very much."
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept...
Valerius was surprisingly heavy in his arms. Severus could not help but stare at the tiny face, with dark eyes so like his. "How old is he now?" he asked Helena.
"He just turned one," she answered.
Valerius blew a bubble. "Jug jug jug," he said.
Severus smiled. "Jug jug jug to you too."
"You could..." Helena began, then stopped. "You could... come and visit him sometimes at our place in Richmond... if you like."
Severus's heart was melting. His son. His son. He smiled. "That would be... nice."
"And... perhaps... I could bring him to visit you sometimes. In the holidays, when you're not at Hogwarts. At your house in Margate Sands."
"I... would like that."
Silence. Personable silence.
Valerius gurgled. "Twit twit twit."
"You... you had better take him back now," Severus said reluctantly, offering Valerius to Helena like a precious gift.
"Yes," Helena said, taking her son.
The wind crossed the brown land, unheard.
§ § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § §
Niamh was waiting for him when he got back to Grimmauld Place. "Hello, Severus," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Sirius and Harry are back."
"Do they have the papers?" he asked, hanging his coat.
"They do," she affirmed. "Come on."
She took his hand.
He wondered how such a lovely woman could ever have stooped to the folly of loving him.
Three times is magic.
Unreal.
§ § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § §
The papers were spread out on the table. Careful, straight lines of James Potter's handwriting marched on some, Lily's fluid cursive looped across the page in others. Hermione's eyes met Harry's across the table.
"This is going to be very, very hard," she told him.
"But we are going to do it," Harry replied.
"Where are we going to find a coterie?" Neville asked despondently. "I don't even know what that is."
"It's a group of wizards or witches that acts as a power pool or a conduit," Hermione answered. "There is one person for each element - earth, fire, water, air, and spirit."
"And only a very few people are ever capable of doing it," Ginny said gloomily.
"Wizards or witches?" Ron asked. "Not and?"
Hermione nodded. "The four physical elements all have to be the same sex," she answered. "Four wizards or four witches. Then the spirit person has to be the opposite."
"Why?" Ron asked.
Hermione shrugged. "It's not important. What's important is that we find the right people, if we are going to pull this off."
"How do we do that?" Neville asked.
Hermione pulled a page of Lily's notes towards her.
'Elemental powers can be divined by the colour of their thread on the Tapestry. Instead of being coloured, their threads are white. The only known elemental witch today is Diana, a priestess of the third circle.'
"The colour of their thread on the Tapestry?" she mused aloud. "What does that mean?"
Harry and Ron shared a glance, but said nothing. Hermione's head snapped up. "What?" she asked them.
Ron fidgeted uncomfortably. "In Gringotts... that time... when..."
"When Regina was killed. That time." The voice came from a dark corner.
Hermione looked up. "Sirius...?"
Sirius stepped into the light. He looked much older than he ever had before. His jaw was clenched in a manner Hermione recognised as her own. "When Regina died in Gringotts," he went on in a softer voice, "it was because she touched the Tapestry."
Hermione tried desperately to get thoughts of Regina out of her head. "But what is the Tapestry?"
"The record of history as sewn by Arachne," Sirius answered. "Every person has a thread. Regina..." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Regina ripped a whole hank of threads out of it to save us in Gringotts."
Oh Lord Thou pluckest me out...
"But how did she see it?" Hermione asked. She had heard something like this story, but had not wanted to believe it. Had not wanted to make Regina Lupin glorious in her mind. Had not listened.
Oh Lord Thou pluckest...
"Stand back," Sirius warned. Hermione could see the tears about to fall in his eyes, did not want to see.
I can connect nothing with nothing.
Sirius pointed his wand at the table. "Vestis Acclaro!"
The air shimmered, inimical forces coalescing.
And the Tapestry was revealed.
§ § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § §
The Tapestry, created by the Moerae and woven by Arachne. The Tapestry into which all lives, mortal and eldritch, were sown. Before them, summoned by the lover of Arachne's greatest daughter, it shone, material in a material world, beautiful, terrible, fate, destiny.
Weialala leia...
Hermione shivered, closed her eyes, and tried to bring herself back down to earth. "Right," she said matter-of-factly. "White threads. Can anyone see any?"
"There are five," Luna Lovegood said dreamily.
"Where?" Hermione asked. "How do tell who they are?" Maybe Professor Trelawney was right when she said I had a mundane mind, she thought.
Ron had a strange look on his face. "Here," he said, pointing at a group of white threads clustered together.
Wallala leialala...
"Who are they?" Hermione asked. "How do you tell?"
Ron was practically sheet-white now. "I don't know how you tell," he answered, "but I know who they are."
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Luna," Ron began. "She's air."
"And?" Harry prompted.
"Water is..." Ron cast a glance over his shoulder. "Water is Cho."
Hermione saw Cho tense where she stood next to Michael Corner. "Me?" she whispered almost inaudibly.
"Fire is Ginny," Ron went on.
Ginny did not say anything, but Hermione noticed her knuckles were white.
Ron looked at Hermione. "Earth is you, Hermione," he said quietly. "And Spirit... Spirit is me."
To Carthage then I came...
...burning.
§ § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § §
REVIEW!
A quick note on why I equated these five characters with the elements:
Ron/Spirit: Mostly to do with what happened in the Department of Mysteries - ie. Ron and Accio brain! He got his hands coated in thoughts, memories... spirits... Also, it's a new spin on the Seer!Ron theory.
Hermione/Earth: Hermione is one of the most grounded characters in the books, constantly bringing Ron and Harry back to reality. One good example of this is her comment to Harry that he has a 'saving-people thing'.
Luna/Air: She's so dreamy and mystical and never there... what else could she be but air! I believe JK Rowling uses the adjective 'wispy' to describe her as well...
Cho/Water: This is my weakest link, I feel... after Hermione, Ginny and Luna, she's the girl that has been closest to Harry in the books... and she's always crying. Cho Chang, the 'human hosepipe'.
Ginny/Fire: Quite apart from the red hair and the quick temper, the name 'Ginny' sounds a lot like 'djinn' - the fire angels/demons of Arabic mythology.
Part IV, Death By Water, should be out in a couple of days... in the meantime, I suggest everyone should read TS Eliot's fabulous poem The Wasteland from which I am copiously borrowing for this fic. Why? Because it is good...