Disclaimer: No rights to Harry Potter, but I will take liberties!
Chapter 32- Selkie and Other Troubles
Within the privacy of the curtained four-poster bed, the sleeping figure dreamt of sleeping in her lover's arms. In the dream, her eyelids opened to try and pierce the darkness once a voice broke the silence to say wonderingly, "I never knew it could be like that..." Slender hands reached out and felt curtains- she was in a single bed! Reaching up, her shaking fingers touched short, unruly hair. A terrible pressure built in her chest. The pressure was released in a bloodcurdling scream...
Sitting up in bed, Lorelei kept a hand pressed over her mouth to prevent whimpering with horror. Her heart thudded in her chest. The girlish-appearing body shook with the effort to suppress sobs. She stiffened when male arms wrapped around her. Her body relaxed when she heard Severus ask,
"Did you have a nightmare? Are you alright?"
Snuggling against the man she loved, the woman calmed and said, trying to convince herself as much as him, "It was just a dream...darkness...." He reassured her that he could handle the darkness and shadows. She realized that Severus thought she'd been dreaming about the dangers of his work for The Order again. Lorelei allowed him to think it, reluctant to share her real terror. She murmured, "I'm fine, now that I know you're here beside me." Resting her head against his chest, Lorelei closed her eyes and allowed Severus to soothe her back to sleep.
Monday morning found her hurrying to get to the Great Hall in time to eat a bite of breakfast before her first class of the day. She smiled wryly at the thought that it was also her first class as a student- ever. The woman who would look like a girl for one school week had awakened early, kissed her lover goodbye and gone for a run through the deserted school corridors. Her brother Kieran had joined her, frowning at what he called her 'unhappiness'. She'd tried to ask him a few roundabout questions about Selkies, but he didn't know if half-Selkies had empathic abilities or not.
Entering the Gryffindor Tower at the same time her favorite gang was leaving for breakfast didn't improve her mood any. Harry glared like a jealous boyfriend, and Hermione and Ron's frowns of disapproval only abated when they heard she'd been out exercising with her brother. Brushing past them to run up the stairs to shower and change, she looked back to see Harry still watching stormily. There was a drop of something dark on his mouth- had he bit his lip? For a moment, the world seemed to spin and all she could think was that Harry needed her, and...shaking off the weird feeling, Lorelei dazedly noticed she was a half a dozen steps lower than she remembered being. The boy was looking at her oddly. She turned and rushed upstairs.
Opening the door to the Hall a short while later, the 'girl' moved toward the Gryffindor Table after looking over at Slytherin and throwing a smile and wave Kieran's way. Snape was long gone from the Staff Table. Guiltily relieved at not having to deal with Harry and Severus' reaction to the boy's attentions to her, she smiled at Colin, who greeted,
"Good Morning, Ronan!"
"Morning, Colin, you're looking chipper for a Monday."
"You're not."
Sliding onto the bench beside the boy she alternately wanted to hug and smack upside the head, Ronan pushed her annoying wavy hair back behind a shoulder, turned to Harry, and said facetiously, "Thanks". She reached for a muffin that was kept warm in a bespelled basket in the middle of the table and then broke a piece off, gently refusing Neville's offering of butter. After forcing half a muffin down, she drank a goblet of pumpkin juice and turned to the boy who'd been staring at her the entire time and demanded, "What?"
His eyes flickered down and up, "Your uniform."
"What about it?"
Hermione placed a hand on her arm to get her attention and explained in a tone that must be a sore trial to every professor the girl had,
"It's not regulation. Your tie is hanging down, the uniform appears custom-made instead of standard, and it's all very noticeable when your robes are opened. If you closed them, and fix the tie, perhaps none of the professors will take House Points, and..."
A black eyebrow rose and halted Ms. Granger's spiel. The black-haired 'girl' asked the brunette, "Have you read the dress code?" Forehead creased in thought, Granger eventually replied in shock,
"No, I haven't. I can't think why not- I've read everything else."
The 'new girl' explained to the one who was attending for her sixth year, "That's because there isn't one. Students have always just assumed so and acted accordingly. Watch and see, no professor will call me out on it because they don't want the word to go round that you could wear jeans and a jumper with your school robes and be perfectly within Hogwarts guidelines of correct student conduct."
"I think you look like you're a bad student with a bad attitude."
Turning back to the teen who considered her business his business, Lorelei lowered her voice, "Good." She pushed herself up and shook off the hand that tried to restrain her. Harry caught up to her in the corridor and said,
"Do you even know where you're going?"
Stopping, she admitted without looking at him, "No." He laughed and after a moment, her irritation dissipated and she smiled ruefully, "Where are we going?"
"Transfiguration."
Oh Merlin. Harry laughed and told her McGonagall wasn't that bad. Chagrined at speaking aloud, she argued, "Oh yes she is. You're her golden boy, so you don't get her glare of death." The teen had to take off his glasses and wipe his eyes he laughed so hard,
"Are you kidding? Just because she likes me doesn't mean I haven't gotten the glare, although I don't know anyone who's died of it, she's not a basilisk you know."
She countered, "I was thinking more of Medusa."
"I don't think she's had that kind of effect on anybody, either, except maybe Dumbledore."
Smacking him upside the head felt even better than she'd thought it would. The sound of his laughter turned heads when they neared the classroom. Saying sternly, "I meant petrified, Harry. Really...I used to think you were sweet and innocent, but now I know better."
"But you like me anyway."
She gave him a withering glance before allowing the corners of her mouth to turn up, "Yes, unfortunately for me, I like you anyway, Potter." Their smiles faded when the crisp voice of a Gorgon announced from the doorway,
"Happy as I am that you've made a new friend, Mr. Potter, tardiness to my class is not permitted. Pray continue your conversation later." Looking down her long nose, the professor un-pursed her thin lips long enough to say, "You must be Ronan. I see the resemblance to your sister." The older woman entered the class in a billow of green teaching robes. The students exchanged an ironic look and followed.
Harry knew that since Hermione's roommate had transferred to Beauxbatons, the girl's seat- happily across from his table, was empty. He gestured to it and Lorelei...Ronan...sat down. He heard her say to the student beside her, "Hullo, I'm Ronan." The mousy-brown haired girl stared at her with little rodent-dark eyes and said breathlessly, "Oh, I know who you are...everybody in Gryffindor does...I'm Sally-Anne Perks..." The girl's avid interest made Lorelei uncomfortable. She shot him a 'This girl's weird' look. He nodded and crossed his eyes. She covered her mouth to suppress a smile and content, he looked to where the martinet professor was demonstrating that today; the class would be learning to transfigure a sea shell into a shell complete with a living hermit crab.
He'd never done it before, but it seemed rather simple. Ron seemed to have more trouble- his shell kept falling off the table onto the floor and twirling in circles. Surreptitiously, he watched the 'new girl' make no attempt to transfigure her shell. Instead, she scanned the room and watched her fellow Gryffindors attempt the transfiguration. Neville was having a hard time, and she bit her lip observing him. The action reminded Harry of earlier, when she'd seen the drop of blood on his lip and started walking down the steps toward him...almost in a trance...she'd seemed bemused when she'd become aware again. He wondered what that was all about.
It was daylight, so she obviously wasn't a vampire... Hermione's tenth successful transfiguration caught his attention. She always did like showing off. Ron had just made a first complete hermit crab carrying the shell when Harry covertly checked on the girl only an aisle away. He knew he'd acted like a prat about her uniform at breakfast, but thankfully she hadn't stayed mad at him for long. Now she was frowning at her table-mate's inept wand waving which only made the shell shudder across the surface in a comical manner. He could tell she was just about to help the girl when a cool voice asked behind her,
"Do you not feel up to the task of Transfiguration, Ms...Ronan?"
Meeting the professor's haughtily enquiring gaze, the 'girl' shrugged and replied casually,
"I thought they were practicing because they need to learn how to do it. I could transfigure that without a wand, but I didn't want to be a show-off, so I was going to wait until the end of class."
"Indeed...I have never seen a sixth year yet capable of doing what you say, but by all means, transfigure your shell...I'm sure no one will consider you a show-off...if you are actually able to do it."
Ronan returned the woman's tight-lipped smile. She reached down without taking her gaze from McGonagall's and picked up the shell. Her fingers closed around it and then opened to reveal a shell...from which a hermit crab's legs extended and began walking across her palm. Lorelei placed the crab onto her table, where it walked over to Sally-Anne's vibrating shell and promptly withdrew into its home. The professor frowned, discomforted and disbelieving.
"With whom did you study Transfiguration?"
"Emeric Switch...I believe he wrote the book on it..."
Unappreciative of the dry humor, McGonagall replied curtly,
"I see. Please remain quiet and try to keep from disturbing others."
Harry saw the youthful Lorelei cover her face with her hands while her shoulders shook. She was probably trying not to burst into laughter. It must be weird to change from being a teacher to a student.
"Can you stop staring for a moment and watch me, mate?"
Ron was giving him that disapproving look again. Did he act that intolerantly when his friend was mooning over Hermione? Giving the matter a moment's thought, Harry realized that he did. The boy made a conscious effort to behave and watched his best mate turn the shell into a hermit crab and then back into a plain sea shell again and smiled his admiration.
"I believe I asked you not to disturb others, Ms...Ronan..."
Turning his head, Harry saw the 'girl' close her eyes briefly before she replied lightly,
"I was just trying to help Sally-Anne; she seems to be having a hard time using conventional methods."
Running a hand over his hair in a reflexive nervous gesture, the teen waited for McGonagall to bite the new student's head off. It wasn't long before the professor insinuated,
"Are you trying to say you know a better method than the one proscribed by curriculum?"
"No"
The austere woman at the head of the class unbent to give the merest trace of a smile. It was replaced by unveiled irritation when the impertinent girl added,
"I was trying to show I know a better method."
A few "Ohhhs" sounded, but mostly students gaped at the new Gryffindor's audacity. The looks people gave her said if she wasn't smart, at least Ronan was bold. Professor McGonagall lowered her voice in a way that made Neville prepare to hide under his desk,
"If you truly know a better method, then by all means, come up and share it with the class- at once."
The scraping sound Ronan's chair made as it scraped backwards on the stone floor reminded Harry of Old Western movies Uncle Vernon used to watch. Lorelei and McGonagall looked like two gunslingers ready to duel in the street at High Noon. Standing before her classmates with the same confidence she exhibited toward her classes when teaching, the 'girl' smiled and said,
"If we haven't met, I'm...Ronan. I'm an exchange student, and never had structured schooling before, so the wizards I studied with never treated me like a regular kid who had to stick to a textbook. They called it learning outside the box. One thing I was taught was a wand focusing trick. I know it looks and sounds funny, but if you can't do stuff like this easily, you can still do it...just try this..."
Lifting her wand, the girl held it and explained,
"In fencing, stance, movement, and technique are united in a way that brings success. If you're having problems, just focus on your wand, consider it your sword, your instrument and deliver a thrust when you work magic." She demonstrated a forward thrusting move, "Stocata, a thrust delivered with nails upward, and imbrocata- thrust with nails down both work equally well, so pick the one that feels more comfortable and see if it helps you focus and makes your transfiguration a whole lot easier. Sally-Anne, would you come up and help demonstrate, please?"
Harry watched while the mousy girl twitched with excitement all the way to the head of the classroom. The girl held her wand in the way she preferred- nails upward- and made her thrusting, fencing-like motion in the direction of the shell on the front table. The girl squeaked when a hermit crab crawled out of the shell and skittered across the surface. The class applauded, and Harry saw Neville immediately try the fencing inspired method on his shell, with success.
"Order, Order! Thank you Ms. Ronan, for that demonstration of...unusual technique...class dismissed."
Professor McGonagall didn't sound thankful- she sounded like she'd been sucking on a lemon. Behind round glasses, The-Boy-Who-Didn't-Like-The-Way-That-Bloke-Down-Front-Was-Chatting-Up-The-New-Girl decided to do a little experiment. He reached down and deliberately cut his finger on the jagged edge of his sea shell. The response was immediate and electrifying. The eyes that had been looking at another boy turned and looked at him with a soft, concerned look. She left the youth who was still speaking to her and started to walk towards him, bumping into a couple of other students and continuing on. It was like she didn't even notice them. Harry was mesmerized by the look on her face. She reached him and gently took his hand in hers, lifted his finger to her mouth and kissed it until the blood was gone. He grasped her shoulders. Neither noticed their friends staring in shock. Ron protested while he pulled Harry back from the girl,
"What do you two think you're doing? Leave off before you get detention!"
He had thought he was about to kiss the girl, but he didn't know what she'd thought. Her eyes blinked with confusion before she asked,
"What...what happened?"
Shaking his head, he said while watching her face for a reaction, "I cut my finger and you came back to kiss it." Her skin blanched as her eyes widened for a moment, looking from his finger to his face in distress before covering her feelings with a false smile and lame joke about that's what friends are for. Harry acted like he accepted what she told him, but he knew there was more to it than that and he was determined to find out what.
Ron ate his lunch while trying to ignore the way Harry kept making a fool of himself over the new girl. It was bloody embarrassing, and he knew he needed to have a talk with his best mate about it. Hermione made a huff of exasperation and leaned against him to whisper fiercely,
"If Harry asks Ronan to pass the salt one more time…I'm going to make it shake itself over his head!"
His eyes met hers while he smiled. Ron always liked it when his girlfriend got feisty. He sniffed. She'd used that strawberry conditioner again. Looking down at her lips, he wondered if she was wearing the strawberry lip gloss he liked. She gave a half smile and asked,
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at your lips. I haven't got a kiss all day- that's deprivation, that is." Fluffy hair brushed against his shoulder as she leaned closer to say,
"Let's leave and go 'patrol' the hallways. I think there might be some students making out behind the statue of Bertha the Behemoth."
Standing abruptly, Ron tried to look like a duty-minded Prefect as he and Hermione left the Hall. Walking beside the girl who made having a girlfriend the most brilliant thing ever, the boy said straight-faced as he checked out the space behind the statue, "No one's making out behind here." Smiling in the way that caused his heart to race, 'Mione stood close and slid her arms around his neck,
"They are now."
Snogging made Ron feel a lot more tolerant of his mate's behavior. If Hermione stopped wanting to be his girlfriend, didn't want to kiss him anymore, maybe he'd act as mental as Harry too. The rest of the day went well- Ronan kept quiet and didn't disrupt any more classes. In Divination, the youngest Weasley boy was complacently looking into his teacup- dotty old Trelawney always made them go 'back to the basics' and study Tasseomancy every month or so- when Harry noticed a piece of broken china on the floor and bent to pick it up. Sitting in the overstuffed chair between the boys, Ronan cried,
"No, Harry, don't!"
It was too late. With a peculiar smile, Harry had picked up the shard and pricked the tip of his finger. As a drop of blood appeared, Ron was taken aback to see the girl's face change from apprehension to tenderness. His stomach clenched in dread as Ronan got up from her chair and...oh no, oh gods no, don't- people are staring, oh gods...sat on Harry's lap. Face scrunching unhappily; he heard his house-mates whispering. Ronald tried to be the voice of reason to the girl kissing Harry's finger, stroking his cheek, his hair, and the boy hugging her tightly,
"Get up Ronan! Trelawney's on her way over! Harry, don't close your eyes! You're in deep trouble!" Wishing Hermione was there to help, the boy shook his red-head in agitation. There was something not right about those two, and it was starting to seriously freak him out. The professor's eyes behind her thick glasses looked ready to pop out of her head. She stopped beside the table and exclaimed agitatedly,
"Oh merciful heavens...I had not thought it possible...dear, oh dear..." Raising her voice, the woman gestured to the trapdoor with the hand not fluttering at her throat and said, "Class excused, you may spend the rest of the time in the library writing a half-scroll essay on what you have seen in your teacup and the ramifications of today's Tasseomancy on your future."
The students filed out, still gawking at the sight of the couple in the chair. Ron wanted to leave too, but the professor asked him to stay. Ronan was running her fingers through his mate's hair, while Harry smiled blissfully and the sight was upsetting in so many ways. He was surprised when Trelawney knelt down beside the pair and said urgently,
"Mr. Potter...Mr. Potter...!" When Harry opened his dazed green eyes, the woman said firmly, "I saw you pick up that shard deliberately, young man, and I must insist you not use a selkie's extreme empathy against this poor girl."
"Ronan's a selkie? Like she turns into a seal? Her brother too?" Ron wished he'd kept his mouth shut when the professor turned her severe gaze his way.
"I do not know, Mr. Weasley, but her father is, and I ask that you and Mr. Potter not take advantage of that fact, and also...keep this knowledge to yourselves. I shudder to think of the consequences otherwise."
Crikey, did the nutter mean that if he cut himself…Hermione would kill him! Figuring he'd better find out now, Ron deliberately used the shard to prick his finger. Immediately, Ronan looked at him drowsily,
"Did you hurt yourself? Suck it a minute and the bleeding should stop- doesn't look bad." Realizing just where she was seated, the girl looked like she wanted to cry. She jumped up and backed away, asking distraughtly, "What happened?"
"Mr. Potter cut himself accidentally, and you apparently felt a...urge...to...erm...comfort him...but...not Mr. Weasley..."
Ronan's hair shook wildly at Trelawney's words,
"No..." She declared, "Stop trying to force something that's never going to be, Harry! If you do it again, I swear I'll...I'll leave...before...!" Pivoting the girl dashed for the ladder and descended. The sound of running footsteps was heard soon afterwards.
Grabbing his friend's arm as he tried to follow Ronan, Ron refused to let go until Harry stopped trying to pull free. Looking away, his mate said,
"Thanks, Ron; I should let her have some space, some time to calm down."
They turned toward the professor, who was staring into the crystal ball sitting on their table and muttering,
"Oh Poseidon, or Neptune, or whoever...not a wave, anything but a wave..."
"What's that Professor?"
Swinging around in a swish of gray teaching robes, the woman laughed nervously and said, "Nothing, nothing...go on and remember to keep this to yourselves."
The boys nodded and descended the ladder. At the bottom of the tower, they turned toward the library corridor. Ron gathered his courage and said, "Er, Harry..."
"Yeah?"
Merlin, what could he say? In desperation, the taller boy blurted out the first thing that came to mind, " Look, it might be hard to take, but she's made up her mind, and you've got to walk away from her, find somebody else."
Harry snickered. Not the effect he was going for. His mate asked, "Did you just paraphrase the words from that song Colin was singing last night...the one by The Streets?"
Blue eyes shifted guiltily and then looked sheepish as Ron admitted, "Yeah. I didn't know what to tell you...and it seemed to fit." He grinned, "At least I didn't sing, Dry your eyes mate..."
"You just did...and don't do it again! Look, I appreciate you...trying to...whatever...but this thing between me an Lor...Ronan...is just that...between us, so leave off, okay?"
"No, it's not okay." He was miserable, but determined, "You almost said Lorelei, didn't you? Look, I know you had...a thing for her, and I don't want to talk about it, but it was pretty obvious when you got back from searching Snape's that you'd...uh...kissed...somebody...so...if you're going after Ronan because of her sister, that's...that's not Quidditch!" Feeling relieved to get everything into the open, Ron saw Harry open his mouth, close it, shake his head, and say,
"Sorry, Ron, I can't explain anything...but I'm not using Ronan...and I promise not to embarrass you anymore. I'll back off and wait for her to come to me, alright?"
Wanting to get this bloody embarrassing guy talk over with, he nodded vigorously and suggested they go to the library and start their essays. The gleam in Harry's eyes was troubling, but he ignored his qualms. Ron couldn't take anymore 'sharing' and just wanted to find Hermione and hold her hand.
Whistling in cheerful disregard of library policy, Wesley Roberts strolled to the back of the chamber. He wasn't particularly fond of Mondays as a rule, but Luna was going to meet him there for a little 'studying' and that made all the difference in the world. In the last month, she'd had her eyes opened about Potter the Prat, and to her attraction to him, instead. His friend had become his girlfriend, although the she didn't seem to realize it yet. The pretty blonde never called him her boyfriend or talked about them having a relationship. Luna was a rather unique girl, however, so perhaps she just needed a nudge...
Lips that rivaled a pirate's in roguishness, grinned, causing dimples to deepen and his blue eyes to shine even brighter. Running a hand over his golden-blond hair, the Ravenclaw sixth year placed his lone book and parchment onto a table and sat down, tilting his chair back and closing his eyes as he considered what to study first. The way she shivered when he kissed the back of her neck? How soft her lips were? The possibilities were endless...and endlessly enjoyable to contemplate.
"All alone? Where's your friend? Off stalking Harry Potter?"
Not bothering to open his eyes, Wesley informed the speaker, "Go sell witchy somewhere else MacDougal, we're all full up here..."
"Funny, aren't you?"
Allowing the chair legs to drop as he opened his eyes and covered a yawn, the teen said lightly to the reddish-blonde haired girl standing in front of his table, "Beats ugly and bitter any day, or so my best mate Boot tells me." He kept his expression amiably amused; although he was laughing his arse off inside over her scowl- which was indeed ugly and bitter. He leaned back when she leaned forward. The boy knew there was no such thing as cooties, but then he'd thought that about Snorkacks too once. Wesley's lips quirked when Luna's roommate shrieked,
"Oh! You're the one that's bitter, because I turned you down hoping Terry would ask me out instead!"
Golden eyebrows rose in mock surprise, "I wasn't bitter, Mindy, I was thankful. Think how embarrassed I'd have been when I realized you were a witch in more ways than one and had to tell you to go away and leave me alone? The Quidditch Team would've never let me live it down." Face red, Mindy's voice lowered dangerously- to her, at least, the girl appeared on the verge of apoplexy.
"Just you wait, Roberts...Lovegood will dump you so fast you're head will spin the minute that new girl leaves and Harry-Bloody-Potter snaps his fingers at her."
"My head's spinning already- at your lack of intellect. It's dizzying. Really, are you sure you were supposed to be a Ravenclaw? Hmmm?"
Watching the girl stomp off in a rage, Wesley's lips curved upwards in satisfaction before turning down. That...witch...had hit his vulnerable spot- the fear that Potter would one day come to his senses and Luna would choose to be his girlfriend over a boy who was known for charm instead of heroics. Shaking insecurities away with a shake of his head, the blond's attention was drawn to the bookshelf to his right.
He could hear someone taking out books and dropping them, as if looking for something with desperate urgency. Curious and grateful for the distraction, he walked over. It was the infamous 'new girl'. What was her name? Oh yes, Ronan, no last name. An eyebrow rose as the boy thought puckishly that girls who looked like her didn't need one. The Gryffindor started to cry silently while scanning the shelves. The Ravenclaw stepped forward, "Might I be of assistance?" Black velvet eyes turned in his direction, making him see why Potter was so blind- beauty tended to do that to males of all ages.
"I can't find a book the Vulture Queen assured me was here...Mystical Creatures Volume II..."
He began picking up the books she'd thrown down and re-shelving them, "Volume I no help, I take it?" Wesley hadn't heard the 'vulture queen' reference to Pince before and mentally marked it down for future use. She told him no, volume one was land and two, sea, while he checked to make sure she hadn't thrown the text down in haste. Once the books were all properly shelved again he queried, "What's the book look like? Red cover, Blue...?"
"Blue...like the sea...after a storm..."
Interesting...he'd have thought like the sky after a storm, but perhaps that was Volume III. Scanning the shelves, his height helped the teen spy a sea-blue book on a high shelf and reached up to grasp it. Presenting the volume to the girl with a flourish worthy of a musketeer, or a pirate, he grinned when she laughed,
"Oh Wesley! I've always wanted to say that. Thank you so much."
Funny...lots of girls seemed to enjoy saying 'Oh Wesley' and he got the idea they were saying something entirely different from what he thought it should mean. He vowed not to leave the library without a copy of The Princess Bride.
"Wesley?"
Luna was standing behind him, frowning. An impish inner voice said, 'nudge, nudge'. He smiled, "There you are. I just found a book for our new student here. Anything else I can help you with, Ronan?" The pale blue eyes narrowing at the other girl made him grin inside. Giving him a wink so quickly he almost missed it, Ronan replied in a breathless tone she sure hadn't used before now,
"Oh Wesley, you've been so sweet...I don't know how to repay you."
His 'friend' answered,
"Your thanks are enough, I'm sure...don't you have a test on Friday to study for Wesley?"
He nodded his head, and tried not to chuckle, but twitching lips gave his amusement away to the girl who marched beside him to their table. Placing her books down with a thud, the blonde sat and looked toward the next table where Ronan had begun searching through the book he'd found. Meeting his gaze, she muttered,
"I saw you smirking. If you think I'm jealous, I'm not."
He leaned over and took Luna's hand, raised it to his lips. "Because you know that the only girl I want is you?" She blushed and rolled her eyes, but didn't pull her hand away while they studied. Ostensibly, the subject was History of Magic, but the reality was more like how many ways were there to play with each other's fingers and hands. There were quite a few, and they were all stimulating.
His gaze traveled to the next table when the girl threw down her book in frustration. He couldn't help admonishing humorously, "What has that defenseless book ever done to you?" Rising, the girl looked so miserable he felt sorry for her.
"It told me how humans summon mystical creatures but didn't tell me how mystical creatures avoid humans!"
"Why would they want to avoid them?"
Curling his lip as Potter walked up and interrupted the conversation- quite the bad habit, that- Wesley said deprecatingly, "If the human is you, Potter, why wouldn't they?"
The black-haired girl ran off. Unexpectedly, her...whatever...let her go without a word. Instead, he walked over to the table and picked up the book Ronan had been perusing, reading aloud to himself,
"Selkie women are not known for empathic abilities or a desire to help others realize emotional needs, but unsubstantiated legends portray them as susceptible to those they care for. When called with blood spilt at midnight, the selkie is bound by the blood magic to answer."
"Are you doing an essay for one of your classes, Harry?"
Luna's words were mildly curious, and reassuring to the boy holding her hand. Potter's green gaze flickered to them briefly. He smiled oddly. Before he left to presumably go check out the book, the Gryffindor said,
"No. I just love to learn knew things...knowledge is power isn't it?"
Distracting the blonde's troubled gaze from the boy who was walking away, Wesley said casually, "I love to learn new things too."
She smiled,
"Do you? Like what?"
He stood and pulled her by the hand toward the Restricted Section. He'd heard there was a velvet-covered window seat back there big enough for two and he meant to learn whether it was as comfortable as rumor had it. If they didn't touch a book, the silent wards wouldn't be triggered, and Wesley didn't plan on touching anything but Luna. As Potty had said, 'knowledge is power', and he planned on using every bit of romantic knowledge he had to strengthen the power of Luna's feelings for him until they were so strong, not even Harry-Bloody-Potter could break them apart.
Wednesday evening, while Snape pretended to scan the hall for student misconduct, he used his pretense of surveillance to keep a watch on the Gryffindor Table. The last few nights had been a disquieting change from the first ones following Lorelei drinking the Anti-Aging Potion. Instead of hovering over Ronan/Lorelei's shoulder, leaning, brushing, and pressing against her in all the pseudo innocent ways that made the Potions Master long to hex The-Boy-Who-Lived...unfortunately...the youth had since stayed out of the 'girl's' personal space and it was highly suspicious. Harry Potter was trying too hard to appear merely friendly, and it made the man covertly observing every movement wonder what the little pest was planning.
Monday at dinner, the girl had looked ready to run out of the Hall and hide in his rooms, she had been that upset. Severus had known Potter was pressing his unwanted attentions again. Under the table his hands had clenched into fists while the boy had talked earnestly to the girl who was leaning away from him. Later that night, she had shared that Harry told her he realized he'd been wrong, and just wanted to be friends. How she could believe the boy...well, he knew how...she'd gone swimming with seals that were selkies, hadn't she?
"That new girl is such a disturbance to this school...so unlike her brother!"
McGonagall's acidity was countered by the Headmaster's mild tone,
"Oh come now, Minerva. Presenting a few new ideas is hardly disturbing the entire school!"
Snape's lips twitched. The Transfiguration Professor countered indignantly,
"A few...have you lost your wits, Albus? Almost every professor has complained about her impertinence and insolent disregard for curriculum."
"You exaggerate, my dear. Why I heard nothing but glowing praise from Flitwick, Sprout, and Hagrid."
A sideways glance proved a mistake. Minerva caught his eye and pronounced, "Wait and see, Severus, tomorrow you'll be complaining too."
Inclining his head impassively, the man ignored the Headmaster's coughing spell and irreverently thought that since he'd never complained before he didn't know why he'd start now. The thought cheered him immensely. As did the knowledge that Friday afternoon would see the Anti-Aging Potion dissipate and Lorelei would be herself again.
Not that she was any different personality-wise...but he preferred her twenty-six year old body to the teenaged one- and having a lover who looked sixteen was starting to make him feel pervy. Not being the Nabakov type interested in Lolitas, Snape looked forward to showing his fervent admiration of spiraled hair and longer legs and... He resumed the covert observation of his lover while she chatted with her little friends at the Gryffindor Table.
After the students were expected to be in bed, the man stayed awake, sitting in his favorite chair. He only truly relaxed when he heard his lover exclaim,
"Whew! I thought I'd never get out of there!"
Severus glanced up from his book to greet the 'girl' taking off the Invisibility Cloak. She had taken to wearing track suits to 'visit'. It gave her a reason to be roaming the halls in the mornings and avoided another scene in the Gryffindor Common Room. Lorelei had never mentioned it, but the school grapevine was almost as good as the house elf one, and by last Saturday afternoon he'd heard Slytherin students discussing Perfect Potter's row and obsession with the new girl. It had not made his day. He'd even debated resorting to a little wandless legilimency, but in the end decided to keep doing what he'd done since becoming her lover. Trust ...that Lorelei would sort the boy out and after she transformed back, Potter's crush would vanish along with her illusion of teenaged youth.
"What are you thinking about?"
Lorelei was looking up at him from where she sat leaning against his thigh on the floor. Her gaze was so full of love that he allowed a small smile to break free. Reaching down a hand to smooth her soft hair, his fingers stilled. He noticed that the ebony waves were subtly different- they were beginning to spiral. Shrewd dark eyes scrutinized her face. Yes, the cheekbones were more defined now. How absurd to be uplifted by the sight of his love looking more adult when he knew full well she was one. A delicate eyebrow was being raised. Even more ridiculous was staring instead of hearing- yet another of her bad habits he'd fallen prey to. Amused but determined not to show it...she was already cheeky...he frowned, "Inconsequential things"
"Want to get out, go somewhere?"
"Where?"
"The Astronomy Tower?"
He shook his head, "Too cold."
"The Kitchen?"
"Gossiping elves."
"The Trophy Room?"
Snape scowled, "Too many Gryffindor trophies."
She grinned,
"How about I take an Unmemorable Potion and we can go to the Three Broomsticks. You can try a new whisky and we can play darts."
In answer, he rose and went over to the small bookcase beside his desk. Pressing on one book and then pulling out another half-way triggered the mechanism that made the shelves slide to the side, exposing a safe. He used his wand to release the wards and took out a small flagon from the array inside the stasis chamber. Practically bouncing in excitement, which drew his notice to another area that had also changed slightly, for the better, Lorelei reached for the potion. She waited for him to drink a Memory Enhancer down before chugging hers and shivering when it took effect. Borrowing a coat, hat, gloves, and boots she charmed to fit, the siren hugged his arm as they left the castle and walked the path into the village.
Opening the door to the pub, Snape automatically took note of who was inside and was relieved that only locals were gathered tonight. The mid-week crowd was half the weekend size and a table in the back corner easily had. Buying a warm frothing butterbeer for Lorelei and a whisky for himself, the slender man ignored Rosmerta's impertinent comment on him 'mellowing' and brought the drinks to his table.
Feminine hands unremembered by anyone but him reached out and clasped the tankard of butterbeer. Curling his lip at the favorite drink of students and sirens with no tolerance for alcohol, he took a sip of firewhiskey and privately saluted Tynan's taste. Lorelei's father had been right about whiskey with a hint of brine from the sea being excellent. A group of rowdy warlocks were monopolizing the dart board, so the couple people watched instead. The siren would make up outlandish tales about the patrons and Severus would succinctly, and amusedly, tell her the 'real story'. Only once, when Lorelei theorized that one couple, Richard and Hyacinth Bucket, pronounced 'Bouquet', would never have grandchildren because their son Sheldon was far more interested in being fabulous than fatherhood did her imagination match reality.
Sybil Trelawney came into the warm pub and removed a voluminous gray scarf from about her head and neck before taking off her cloak and sitting at a small table near Snape's. The dotty woman didn't notice him in the shadowy corner and said to Rosmerta after ordering an insipid sherry,
"I definitely needed a drink tonight. An incident in my classroom Monday upset me terribly and I haven't yet recovered."
The brassy proprietor evidently knew when a customer was dying to spill all and asked, "What incident?"
Looking around myopically through her thick glasses, Trelawney replied,
"You would understand, you know about Tynan...him being a...selkie." Rosmerta's nod was enough encouragement for Sybil, who continued rapidly, "Well, his daughter was in my tower Monday, and she had a reaction to Harry Potter's blood that has me very concerned..."
"What happened? Something to shock all their little classmates?"
"Yes…and no."
Severus listened to Trelawney explain what happened in the classroom and how disturbing it all was. The listener agreed completely...he was very disturbed. One sideways glance revealed that Lorelei looked ready to burst into tears. Standing, he made his way out into the cold that he hoped would help cool his temper. In silence, he stalked back to his quarters with his distraught lover walking beside him. Once inside the lounge, he took off his outerwear and turned to the woman who'd done the same. He asked, making an effort not to speak harshly, "Were you ever planning on sharing this information with me?" At her imploring stare, he said curtly, "Explain"
"I can't. I don't quite remember, it's hazy...and frightening...could you use Legilimency?"
His expression softened. Nodding, he lifted his wand, said, "Legilimens", focusing on anything to do with the incident. Images flashed before him.
Lorelei/Ronan was walking upstairs when she looked back and noticed that Potter had blood on his lip. In a daze she walked down six steps before snapping out of it. The black-haired girl was talking to a boy at the front of McGonagall's classroom when she abruptly turned, made her way to the back, and brought Potter's bleeding finger to her mouth. Potter was picking up a shard and deliberately pricking his finger. She looked afraid, then at peace, sitting on Potter's lap while he closed his eyes and held her tight. Lorelei was backing away, running, sick in the Girls' bathroom, staring in the mirror and shaking her head in terror and confusion...
Snape broke the connection and stepped away. Moving to the desk, he picked up a letter opener and said simply, "I have to know." before cutting his finger. She nodded and he watched intently as she looked away, and then back again. Allowing a drop of blood to roll down his finger, the man tried to ignore the sultry look on her face and remain an objective observer. Gliding over, the woman who looked less like a girl and more like a siren took his hand and lifted it to her lips. Sucking the digit in a way that made his heart race, she smiled seductively and whispered,
"Severus."
Intrigued by the trance like dreaminess of her face, the man ignored the way she moved against him and asked quietly,
"Why do you want to comfort me in this manner?"
In between pressing kisses to his throat and jaw, she murmured dazedly,
"I love you, and you're my lover...what better way to comfort you?"
He questioned, "Would you comfort anyone else this way?"
Low, beguiling laughter spilled over him and made his hands tighten his grip on her shoulders. Using every ounce of self-discipline, he refrained from pressing back. Softly, she answered, "Of course not." and brushed her lips against his.
Satisfied mentally, he said urgently, "Lorelei..." She blinked when he shook her gently and stammered, "You were bleeding...and I wanted to..." her face crumpled.
He held her close, and told her, "I do not know what is happening or why, but I promise to find out. I do know that whatever your reaction to Potter, it is in no way similar to what you feel for me."
"That's because I love only you, Severus."
The corner of his mouth twitched, "I know." His mouth met hers. He comforted his lover tenderly in the best way he knew how. Watching her sleep later, he decided to do a little research. Quickly dressing, the professor headed for the Library. Inside, he searched for the volume Lorelei had mentioned, but was unable to find it. Perusing the sign out book, Snape's jaw tightened upon reading that Mystical Creatures Volume II had been checked out by none other than Harry Potter. Striding to the Restricted Section, he found a text similar in content, but broader in scope and depth. The tome included many creatures that would give students nightmares.
The Potions Master knew his dreams would be disturbing too when he read the information about Selkie women and the blood magic summoning spell. Resolving to have a little chat with Harry-Bloody-Potter, the man replaced the book and returned to his bed. Severus draped a protective arm around his lover as she lay on her side with her back against his chest, to keep her safe beside him through the night.
A/N: Couldn't resistThe Streets song…Chris Martin of Coldplay sings the chorus Ron paraphrasesand the lead singer's Cockney accent saying the lyrics always make me laugh. Remember to Review!
