Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, and ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. All Elf-related topics, the Elvish language, references to staff magic, and any other Lord of the Rings nouns belong to J. R. R. Tolkien and the Elvish dictionary at Nevrast. The titles of the chapters were inspired by "Once Upon a December" from the cartoon movie Anastasia. Professor Heryn O'Sheen is mine.
Chapter 8: Cauldron of Confusion.
After roughly an hour he watched her walk out of her bedroom in a sensible tartan night gown. Minerva gave that to her for Christmas one year, he recalled as he stood and quietly followed her through the main door. He nodded slowly as he kept an eye on her, impressed that she knew exactly where she was going in the castle with her eyes closed. Being ever observant as he walked close to her, he noticed that the skin near her ankles had goose bumps and decided to set up a warming charm to prevent her feet from being cold.
She walked with a purposeful stride as he kept a watchful eye out in front of her in case anything should be in her way. At last she stopped in the kitchens and stood in the center of the pantry. He used his wand to magically remove a wrapped object under the floor where she stood by causing the floor to become a penetrable jelly-like substance for a few seconds. He was only given a moment to uncover it and reveal it as part of the staff when she walked off again in another direction.
They found themselves in the Potions classroom and she began pushing against one of the bookshelves. He helped her move it and she ran her fingers over a section of the wall. They had found the third piece of the wand. After removing it, he was again following her. For sleepwalking, her quick pace surprised him.
He magically extracted the next piece from the left wall in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The final piece came from the wall in the forbidden books section of the library. Once he had removed the item, he walked her back to her rooms. She returned to her bed while he elected to get what little sleep the wee hours of the morning could offer on the couch.
She woke to a sunny Saturday morning and dressed quickly, not thinking about the previous evening. It all came back to her when she found him on the couch, snoring like an old tree saw. In her dream she had found everything she had been looking for, and it had not felt like a dream. As she crouched down near him, she realized that he looked almost peaceful in his sleep. Pondering what he might be dreaming about, she reached over and gently touched his face, calling "Severus."
Before she could realize or react to what she was doing, she found herself sitting on the couch, leaning over him and caressing his brow. She found herself leaning closer toward him until her lips brushed his forehead. Slowly she pulled back as his eyes opened, but he had yet to remove her hand. He looked at her curiously and sat up, still locking his gaze with hers. In an almost fluid motion, he reached out and cupped her face with his hand.
Please be Heryn, just for this moment. I cannot believe that you would wake me in such a way and then disappear again, he mentally requested. His heart sank when he looked in her eyes and saw them abruptly look around the room in furious surprise. "Severus, how did I end up here? What's going on?"
He let her go instantly and the two stood. She heard him cursing angrily under his breath for what seemed like a solid two minutes before he could compose himself to face her again. "You really do not remember how you came to be sitting on the couch?" he interrogated sharply.
She sighed heavily and shook her head. "I know I awoke, but as soon as I entered the living room, I wasn't myself. And then there I was, sitting on the…" she suddenly trailed off as her eyes shut tightly and her hands rushed to her temples.
Attempting to put his contempt aside, he moved toward her and touched her shoulder. "Is it another headache?"
"Yes, and they have been getting worse. Every time I'm not myself, I get one of these headaches. I don't know how much more of this I can take," she expressed.
"You really should see Poppy about those," he suggested, sounding less irritated than he had been moments earlier.
She nodded and then remembered the staff pieces on the coffee table. "Why don't we freshen up and then meet back here to examine the staff?"
"That sounds reasonable," he remarked.
He returned to his own rooms while she showered and dressed. An hour later he returned, levitating a tray of toast, crumpets, lemon curd, and assorted fruit. She raised an eyebrow when he set the tray on her kitchen table. "It's Saturday, but you and I missed breakfast in the Great Hall. I figured that will all the strange things that could befall us today, a good meal in the morning might be a practical idea."
She agreed and decided to make a pot of tea. After they ate in companionable silence, he unwrapped all the pieces of the wand and arranged them on the coffee table by how they appeared to fit together, including the head piece. "Well here we are, but what do we do with it? Did you by any chance happen to read how to assemble this ancient walking stick?"
As he was asking the question, he made a gesture moving his hand, palm up, along the length of the staff. A glow emitted from the pieces and they began putting themselves together. He held the staff in his wand hand when the assembly was complete. "I think learning how to use this will not be as complicated for you as we had first thought," she told him. "The question is now that we have it, what do we do with it?"
Thinking for a moment, he studied the staff. "I should probably learn to use it, but I think it would be best if we looked for alternative ways to stop the thief."
"Then do you want to look at the potion I found yesterday?" she inquired.
He nodded and they rushed off to the library. Finding the book, they took it back to the Potions classroom and began assembling ingredients. After a few minutes, he found that he did not have some of the herbs that were needed. Having converted the old ingredients to modern herbs, he began to look for substitution herbs that had the same affect on a potion as the ones requested. Then they began making the potions, deciding that if both were making concoctions that could repel the killing curse, than everyone would be much better off.
She had brought a handbag with her and glanced over his shoulder as he added the herbs to the cauldron. He raised an eyebrow as the potion turned from sky-blue to sapphire-blue. "You would think that for a Potions Master, substitutions would be simple," he grumbled.
"You need to add lungwort. It's supposed to be green and that should fix it," she told him.
He turned to her and dealt her a half-smile. "Only you would notice that. How is it that you've retained so much knowledge about potions, but so little regarding your own life?"
She shrugged and he moved aside, allowing her to add the lungwort to the cauldron. "I wish I had an answer to that one. I feel as though half of me is hiding, as if behind a wall," she stated cryptically. As the potion turned a leaf-green, she looked at the herbs in front of her. "Severus, could you please hand me a bottle of lavender?"
Walking over to his shelf, he quickly found the bottle. "Are you sure? I would have thought to add something else."
She sighed and placed a hand on the table, a familiar gesture. "I know what I'm doing. You trusted me with the lungwort, so please hand me the lavender."
The tone, the gesture, everything about the situation was too familiar for him. He handed the bottle to her with his right hand and then paused. He slowly wrapped his right arm around her waist. Placing his other hand on left her shoulder, he paused and nuzzled her neck. Then he began trailing kisses along her neck. Her own responsiveness surprised her and she was reluctant to flee. Everything about the action seemed very familiar. But then he whispered, "Heryn."
Then she hastily broke away. When she faced him, he recognized the glare as one indicating that her temper was about to make its presence known. She had a temper that could match his when she wanted to. He knew he was about to experience the full brunt of her temper, but he also remembered that her angriest moments usually sprang from hurt. He was not surprised when she slapped him, leaving a stinging red mark across his cheek.
"Enough of this! I refuse to be used like this anymore! I understand how badly you want me to be Heryn, but the memory splits I've been experiencing don't work that way. I know now that I am her, but no matter how hard you and everyone else in this blasted castle tries to jog my memories, it doesn't seem to be working fast enough or efficiently enough!" she shrieked.
I believe it is, but I won't argue with you right now. "I'm sorry, I should not have done that," he said quietly, knowing that she could slap him again.
When her fist hit the table, a gesture he usually associated with himself, he actually jumped slightly. "I'm sorry I came to this place! I'm sorry that I'm not who you need me to be. I'm sorry that as I am right now, I do not feel for you what you feel toward me, I've only known you for a few days, but something in me does. Something in my mind has an incredibly strong attachment to you, something that I cannot readily access. You have no idea how much I wish I could remember everything and not feel as if I've gotten lost in my own house!"
Despite her angry words, he saw the need in her eyes for an understanding. Reaching out, he took her hands in his. This time she neither slapped him, nor pulled back. "I know you're upset, and you have every right to be. I think we should take a break for a while and then we will go to my study and retrieve a few more herbs for substitutions," he recommended.
She nodded and he let her hands go. Heading toward the door, she only turned briefly and she seemed to have calmed down. "One of these days we should finish this conversation, on my side as well as yours."
"I know you dislike hearing this, but your temper has not changed much in all the years you've been away. We will talk, but I'd like you to meet be here in half an hour to finish the potions," he stated, moving toward the door himself.
The Elvish woman quickened her pace, wanting to head back to her rooms to settle down for a while. She rounded a corner and stopped suddenly as she watched Minerva and Albus kissing softly. "Don't forget tonight's chess game," she told him.
He grinned and kissed her forehead. "Now how on earth could I forget that when you've promised to make dinner beforehand?"
She swatted his arm playfully. "Go on, shoo. You said that you were going to contact the Ministry of Magic."
"Alright, I shall go, my dear," he said after kissing her warmly.
Minerva noticed the Elvish woman after Albus had left. Then she saw the distress and weariness in the woman's eyes. Walking over to her, Minerva stared at her with concern. "Moira, what on earth is troubling you?"
"Could we talk about this sitting down?" she requested.
The Transfiguration professor nodded and the two walked toward her rooms. "Would you like some tea?" Minerva offered.
The other woman nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping the tea. "Professor McGonagall I-"
"Minerva," the older woman corrected.
"Minerva, lately my mind has been doing some strange things and I become Heryn O'Sheen for a short moment. Apparently I am much more friendly to Severus when this occurs, but it last so shortly that he is quite hurt when I end up as I am again," she admitted.
Setting her teacup down, Minerva eyed her with compassion. "And what occurred today that has you so out of sorts?"
She sighed and answered with a hint of reluctance. "We were working on a potion I had found and then he was kissing my neck. If it's possible, could you please tell me something about the nature of my relationship with Severus?"
Minerva's brow furrowed. "It really isn't my place to talk about that sort of thing. He should really be the one to tell you."
"Please," the Elvish woman began, setting her teacup on the coffee table. "At least tell me a little of what went on. It's driving us both mad."
"Very well," she agreed. Minerva looked away and smiled before speaking again. "I caught you two snogging in the hallway once. It was a few years before the battle and I was heading to my office that evening to find a few essay prompts for the next day's lessons. I passed you two standing in a closed doorway. All I had to do was clear my throat and the two of you split apart faster than a magnet facing its polar opposite. Your face was quite red and all Severus could do was look at his feet."
"Did either of us say anything?" the Elvis woman inquired.
Minerva laughed. "You said, 'I'm sorry, Minerva. Next time I shall be much more discreet.' But Severus said, 'McGonagall should really mind her own business. It's a good thing we've both got locks on our quarters.' And then I kept walking."
"It does sound like something he would say. How would you say we related to each other?" she inquired.
The older woman seemed to hesitate. It really isn't my place to tell her this. "You two were quite close. It nearly killed him when he thought you had died. He blamed himself and it took him years to get over the nightmares. We had a memorial service for you, though we could not find your body. I think he said two sentences because he was so overwhelmed with grief and he had to fight hard not to show it."
"Thank you, Minerva," the Elvish woman said, glancing at the clock. "I should be going. He told me to meet him in half an hour."
Minerva walked the woman to the door. "I wish you well in this, and please just try to understand him before you become too upset with how he sees you."
She nodded and said, "I will," before leaving.
Deciding to seek him out in his study, she surmised that it could only be the other closed door inside his rooms and she spoke the password at the main door. After she had passed through the doorway, she found the door she was looking for unlocked. When she had entered, she noted that his study was immaculately clean, with dark wood décor, dim lighting, a cabinet for herbs and potions, several thick volumes ranging from potion-related topics to Gothic novels, and very few pictures. Wandering over to his bookcase as he perused the cabinet, she held a framed picture that had been lying face-down. She almost gasped when she saw herself, but then she noticed the smile.
"I didn't leave the door open for you to come in and investigate my shelves," he said dryly, startling her because she had not seen him upon entering.
She turned and found him in a mahogany chair. "I haven't smiled like that in a long time. Who took this picture?" she inquired, showing it to him.
He walked over to her, looked at it, and set it back on the shelf. "I did, and I would appreciate it if you could please stop snooping," he curtly replied, grabbing various herbs from the cabinet and inviting her to do the same.
"After we finish the potions, I would like that explanation," she requested.
"The sooner we get this over with, the better," he grumbled.
Completing their tasks did not take as long as either had anticipated. Upon their return to his study, her gaze fell on another face-down picture. When she turned it over, she almost dropped it. The picture was of him with his arm wrapped around her waist. She was grinning at him and he appeared to be laughing. It looked as though he had surprised her, but she had been glad to see him. She handed the picture to him with a questioning expression.
"I think it's time you told me the truth. What were we, Severus?" she asked.
He took the picture and looked down at the floor, pausing before answering. "We were in love," he admitted in a tone barely above a whisper.
There was a long quiet pause. "I would like to know how that came about," she coaxed quietly.
He disappeared into his bedroom and emerged holding a pensieve. After setting it on the coffee table and allowing her to place her handbag onto the floor, he took her hands in his, he led her over to the couch, and they both sat. He met her eyes with a painful expression in his own. "This could take a while."
(my thanks to Always Hopeful, S.S.S.570, and Leta McGotor for reviewing :D)