Chapter 34
"Do you want me to take care of the first class today while you make the potion for tonight?" she asked him as she walked into the living room the next morning. He looked up from his paper and tea, giving her a soft smile.
"I've finished it already," he said, handing her the cup of coffee that was sitting on the table in front of them. "Mr. Potter will be joining us at eight o'clock this evening to begin his lessons."
"Okay then, since you seem to have this all under control, I'm going back to bed."
"I think not, Professor Andraste. You have a class to teach, there are other issues that require my attention today."
"Liar," she spouted playfully at him, "you just making up excuses so you can go back to sleep."
"Regardless of our relationship, darling, you are still my assistant. So please, go assist me by teaching our first class." Andraste scoffed in displeasure at the fact that Severus had the audacity to pull rank on her, and headed towards the waiting seventh year class. Just before she reached the door she turned back to him, curiosity lighting up her eyes.
"And what is it you plan on doing today?"
"Sleeping," he said with a smirk, causing her to make a pillow appear out of mid-air and smack him firmly in the face as she walked out of the room. Severus laughed and reached for the pillow, only to have it evaporate in his hand. Glad that she, at bare minimum, had gotten the last word in; Andraste greeted the students and set them to work on their latest assignment while she graded the redone essays that were due that morning. The assignment for the day was to begin the preparation of Bascale Serum. The ingredient that they were preparing for the potion would have to sit for four days; which, the students disappointedly learned, meant that they would have to get up extra early on Monday in order to add the next ingredient at the appropriate time and have the potion ready to complete for the following class. Their grumbling and complaints were met with Andraste suggesting that they find a class to take that required less work if they had a problem with putting forth effort. "Your essays, however," she said as the class was beginning to pack their belongings to leave, "are much better. I only wanted to bang my head against the desk a few times, and for that I'm appreciative. Next Thursday I would like four feet on what should be a rather easy topic – why you are taking this class, what you hope to learn, and what you plan on doing with that knowledge. If anyone is wondering, 'my parents wanted me to,' is not an acceptable response, or a reason to be here. Aside from that, have a great weekend and I'll see you all Monday morning." The students filed out of the classroom, most of them thinking that class was actually easier when Professor Snape was teaching it alone. He only yelled at them if they screwed up, she made them keep doing it until it was right.
Andraste watched the clock as the first year Slytherin/Gryffindor class found their way to their seats and began pulling ingredients for the potion she had written on the board. If Severus really was asleep, she was going to give him the rudest awakening of his life after class was over. "What is this?" she asked the students, holding up a plant that was close to three feet long, covered in various sized leaves, and scattered with small berries that shined black. A small hand raised in the back of the class. "Yes, Jule?" Andraste said, prodding the young girl to answer.
"It's a Belladonna plant."
"Very good, 5 points to Slytherin. Now, how did you know that?"
"Um, it's the only ingredient on the board that I don't recognize?"
"Fair enough," Andraste said laughing, "deduction is definitely a great skill. Now," she continued, addressing the entire class, "there's a few things you need to know about this plant. Belladonna, also called Deadly Nightshade, is just that – deadly. This is a very poisonous plant, and ingesting this could, and most likely, would kill you. I am going to slice each of you a small section of the root, and you're going to crush it for the potion that you are making today. As soon as it is added, I expect you to wash your hands. If any of the juice finds its way to your mouth, you will be finding your way to the infirmary very quickly. Am I understood?" The students nodded to her, their hesitation clear on their faces, and she informed them that she would bring each group their piece of the plant before turning her focus on the knife and root in front of her. Soon the entire room was filled with the unpleasant odor that comes with crushing fresh Belladonna, and Andraste had to resist the urge to replace it with the scent of fresh cut roses so that the students would become familiar with the smell.
When the class ended at two, Andraste went back to Severus' room to check and see if he was actually asleep. When he was no where to be found, she headed back to the potions room and prepared the lesson she had planned for her final class. Three hours later, the fifth year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw group was leaving, and Andraste was mildly irritated at the fact that Severus had never joined her for the day's classes. She sighed in exasperation at the lack of communication from him and headed upstairs. If he wasn't around, it was the perfect time to go looking for a wedding present for the aggravating man. Just outside the borders of Hogwarts, she morphed her appearance to that of someone that wouldn't attract attention in Hogsmeade. "Now," she thought to herself, "what to get him?" She browsed through store after store, deciding that he had all the potions stuff that he needed, and that if he wanted an animal, chances are he would have bought one by now. "What do you get for the man that buys everything he wants and needs?" The only answer she could come up with was something that he didn't know he wanted. What that might be, however, eluded her. She spent the next two hours wandering from store to store; beginning to think that there was nothing that she could give Severus that he would actually like. It had to be special, it had to be something that no one else could give him; and that was a tall order in a town filled with silly knick knack stores, geared to separate the students of Hogwarts with their money. Just as she had decided to give up and head back to the school, she stumbled upon a small store that she had never noticed before. The only thing that would lead someone to even think that the dark windows may have concealed a place to shop was the small sign in the corner that read 'Ancient Treasures'. With just a small glimmer of hope, she opened the rickety door and walked inside.
The poorly lit store was filled with the smell of incense, and a thin cloud of smoke hung over the room, burning her eyes as she made her way to the counter. She was greeted by an older witch that Andraste was sure had to be very powerful. When she reached out mentally, trying to sense the other woman's thoughts she was able to read nothing but the fact that she was trustworthy, and seemed to know more about her customer than her customer could ever hope to know about her. Andraste, however, was not sure that she hadn't been mistaken about it being a store, because the shelves and glass cases were all completely empty and covered in dust. "I'm sorry," she said, "the sign in the window...is your store open?"
"Yes it is," the witch responded, giving Andraste a reassuring smile. "And I have what you are looking for right here." She pushed forward a black tray that Andraste hadn't noticed she had sitting on the counter in front of her.
"Wedding rings..." Andraste said quietly, carefully picking up and examining the one that would belong to Severus. It was an intricate weaving of platinum and a shiny black metal that Andraste couldn't identify. The two wound around each other so smoothly that the ring almost seemed alive, and melded together in the front of the ring to form a small 'v' that held a perfect sapphire. The smaller one seemed identical in everything but size, and the woman spoke again as Andraste picked it up to examine it closer.
"They aren't wedding rings," the witch said softly, "although they would suit the purpose wonderfully. They are mind link rings. When he puts his on he will have the ability to read your thoughts, or to stop you from reading his. You will, of course, be able to shut him out if you see fit."
"They're perfect," Andraste said.
"Of course they are. They have been waiting here for you for years."
"But how do you..."
"It is my purpose," she interrupted. "Now, before you go, I have two other things for you." She pulled two small boxes out of the pocket of her cloak, opening the first one and handing its contents to Andraste. "This is for your maid of honor. Give it to her as soon as you see her Saturday morning. She will know what it is for when the time comes. And this," she said, removing the lid of the second box to reveal a small square stone with a cone shaped piece missing from one side, "is the rest of your dragon tear diamond. I can only tell you that you must keep it in a safe place, and that you should tell Professor Snape of it." Andraste looked up in shock when the woman used her fiancé's name. "Yes, I know who you are, but I can not offer you explanation. I will, however, leave you with this: Every moment is significant, and you have already made a great difference – if that was not the case we would have never met." She gave Andraste a quiet smile and Andraste found herself standing outside of the shop again. Only this time, there was no sign in the window. In fact, there was no window. She was staring at the brick that made up the back of a small restaurant. Less confused than even she would expect, she wrapped her hands tightly around the items the strange woman had given her, and walked back to Hogwarts.
"Where have you been?" Severus demanded as she walked through the door. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"
"My apologies, father. I didn't realize I had to have permission to leave." Snape softened slightly at the look on her face, remembering that anger and intimidation would never be a successful way to handle a woman whose temper was as hot as her hair color and more stubborn than even his own.
"I'm sorry, Andi. I was just worried."
"Well, I'm back, and everything is fine," she said, shifting the topic. "But I am hungry, and it is dinner time, so shall we?" Andraste turned around and headed out the door without waiting for a response from Severus. The tension that had risen between them managed to dissipate quickly as Andi told him about the day's classes. Soon dinner had began and ended, and Andraste had just a few minutes left before she was supposed to meet with Harry. "Go ahead Severus," she told him. "I'll be there soon."
"Why aren't you coming with me?"
"I need to talk to Albus."
"Then I'll come with you."
"That's not necessary, someone needs to be there when Harry arrives," she said, and walked off before he had the chance to object any further. "Professor Dumbledore," she called out, catching up with him just before he disappeared behind the statue that guards his office.
"What can I do for you, Andraste?" he asked, motioning for her to follow him.
"I went to Hogsmeade today, looking for a wedding present for Severus..." The light in his eyes grew as he realized what she had come to speak to him about.
"Her name is Alexandra," he said. "I am very pleased to hear that you have met her."
"So, you know her?"
"I have met her before, yes. Do I know her? I strongly doubt that any wizard does."
"What do you mean?"
"She is an Elvin Guardian." He continued his explanation when the confusion in Andraste's eyes grew instead of diminishing. "Elves, as you may know, have a policy of keeping themselves separate from human affairs." Andraste nodded her head at him, showing that she was aware of that. "There is a small group of them, however, charged with keeping the balance in the world, those are the Guardians. They only work indirectly, and often times we may not immediately understand why they have done what they have done." The look on Albus' face told Andraste that there was more, so she sat quiet while he gathered his thoughts. "It was a guardian that suggested Harry's parents change their secret keeper."
"But Pettigrew betrayed them!"
"...And Voldemort killed Harry's parents, and lost his power for years because of it. We are standing here, with a real chance of winning this war once and for all, because of that betrayal. As I said, we may not always understand their choices, but they make their decisions carefully."
"Speaking of Harry," Andraste said, wanting time to process what she had learned, "I need to get to his first lesson, thank you for your help."
"My door is always open to you, Andraste."
"Thank you, Albus," she said, and quietly headed back to the dungeons. When she got there, Harry and Severus were waiting for her and two potions were sitting out on the table. She quickly put away the items that Alexandra had given her, and headed back to the living room. "Cheers, Darling," she said to Harry, raising the vial Severus had handed her and downing it at the same time Harry drank his. The vacuum sensation that she had felt with Severus returned again, and soon she was looking at herself through Harry's eyes. There was a disconcerting feeling about being in a 16 year old boy's body that she couldn't shake, so instead she pushed it to the back of her mind and began the lesson. "Let's see what you can do," she said, a tennis ball appearing in her hand, that she immediately tossed to Harry. "Make it go away."
"How?"
"By wanting it to," Severus answered. Andraste watched as a look of concentration crossed her own face, and the tennis ball disappeared.
"Very good," she said. "Now let's try something else." They went through the same exercise with a variety of objects, until Andraste was satisfied that Harry had mastered the skill.
"That was easy," Harry said confidently. "I thought you said this was going to take weeks for me to learn."
"Don't be so sure of yourself yet, Harry," she told him gently. "Now it's your turn to make something appear."
"What do you want?"
"It's your decision." Severus and Andraste watched for a few minutes as Harry struggled with his new powers. Every time he managed to create something, it disappeared again almost immediately. Eventually Andraste broke in, offering him more explanation as to what her powers entailed. "The things I create aren't permanent, as you're discovering. It will only exist as long as I am willing it to. If you stop thinking about it, it will disappear. You're going to have to train your mind to keep the image consistent regardless of what you're doing." Harry nodded to her and recreated the tennis ball that they had originally practiced. He managed to hold it longer this time, but as soon as Andraste spoke it disappeared. They went through the same practice several times before Harry was capable of keeping the ball in his hand through a simple conversation.
"It's time to switch back," Severus said, handing them each a vial of Snapdragon Fire. Once they had returned to their own bodies, Andraste spoke privately with Severus for a moment, and then addressed Harry.
"Have you finished your assignment for tomorrow?"
"Yes," he said with a bright smile, "my potion turns people blue."
"How very useful," Severus commented sarcastically, but his tone had little effect on Harry.
"Okay," Andraste continued. "Bring the formula for it with you tomorrow, but we're going to work on this during your class since we won't have time Saturday."
Harry agreed willingly, not at all upset about missing potions to work with Andraste, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.
"So what did you talk to Dumbledore about?" Severus asked once Harry had gone. She went back to the bedroom, and came back carrying the stone that the woman had given her. "This," she said, tossing it to Severus. "A woman in Hogsmeade gave it to me."
"Let me guess," Severus broke in, his tone containing an edge that Andraste couldn't interpret. "Alexandra, the Elvin Guardian?"
"Do you know her?"
"I have never made her acquaintance. Dumbledore told me that she shared with him a prophecy once; that is all I know."
"What was the prophecy?"
"He has yet to feel the need to share that information with me. He has said that he would when the time was right. What is this supposed to be?"
"She said it was the rest of my Dragon's Tear Diamond. She didn't say what it was for though." Andraste told him. "All she would say was for me to make sure it was somewhere safe, and to tell you about it." They briefly discussed the details of her meeting with Alexandra, Andraste intentionally avoiding the question of why she was in Hogsmeade to begin with. After he asked her the third time, she suggested that they go practice for a while. Together they made their way to the music room, and spent the next two hours rehearsing for their Halloween theatrics.