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 11: Waking to reality.
Severus woke in the early hours of the morning and could not fall asleep again. He made an effort to distract himself by attempting to read the book containing wizards' incantations. A few hours later, his ears picked up light footsteps and he wheeled around to see her wandering out of her bedroom.
She looked around the room and seemed to absorb every intricate detail, lightly brushing the wood curio items with her fingers. When she glanced at the piano, a smile spread across her face. "This is the most realistic dream I have ever had," she said to herself, not realizing that Severus was in the room.
Clearing his throat, he watched her turn and stare at him, wide-eyed, as if she did not believe that she could be looking at him. Her footsteps were soft and cautious, as if she was approaching an apparition. "Oh Merlin," she whispered. "Surely I must be dreaming. You're how I have remembered you, always all in black and looking so serious."
He reached out and cupped her face in his hands for a moment, looking directly into her violet eyes as they blinked several times. Her entire composure, as well as her expression had changed from the woman he had known during the previous evening and over the past few days. She seemed softer and more certain of herself. To his surprise, she reached out a hand to tentatively touch his face. "My Severus, are you real? Am I really here, or is this just another dream I'll wake up from, knowing I'm missing something but not knowing what?"
Time seemed to freeze for them for a solitary instant. I think it really is her this time. "Heryn?" he asked in a whisper passionately. She smiled and nodded.
When she reached out a hand to move a strand of black hair out of his eyes, he watched her with curiosity. "In some ways, you still look the same as I have always known you to be, but as I look closer, you seem to have grown older. I shouldn't be finding so many frown lines on you," she commented. Her hand never left his face as they abruptly hugged each other tightly.
"The potion worked!" he exclaimed.
She smirked. "You doubted my expertise in teaching you how to make it?"
He shook his head and grinned, happy to hold her in his arms again. He led her to the couch and they sat. "Never, I just doubted myself and my luck in such matters."
"As you can see, you had little reason to lose confidence in yourself, my Severus," she commented. How he loved that old endearment of hers.
"Do you remember anything about the last eight years?" he inquired, unsure of how deeply the memory charm had affected her.
The fear and shock her eyes conveyed were heightened by the tighter grip she had on his arm. "You are telling me that eight years have passed? I never realized that it had been that long!"
"I have, and it felt like eight decades," he told her flatly.
She sighed and looked into his haunting brown eyes. "I felt so lost, like my memory was there, but out of reach." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. "I remember how you looked at me when I had first returned. I am alive, my Severus. And I plan to stay for quite a while. You cannot know how thoroughly I have missed you. I would dream of someone who loved me, but wake to find myself alone and confused," she breathed.
"You'll never have to feel that way again if I have anything to do with it," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her hungrily. She responded and gripped his robes and they parted at last for oxygen.
Her eyes met his again and she smiled warmly. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"
"I've wanted to do that for so bloody long," he whispered. They kissed again ardently until a knock interrupted them.
Grinning as they pulled away to answer the door, she simply said, "This castle is just as I have remembered it: never a moment's peace."
He opened the door to Minerva. "What do you want?" he asked, still a bit gruff from having slept on the couch again.
Heryn came up behind him. "Oh, there's no need to be such a grouch," she scolded.
Minerva looked at the two and raised an eyebrow. "I came to see how the patient was doing and whether or not she was back to her old self."
"As you can see, Minerva, I am very much restored," Heryn stated.
The older woman beamed. "That is indeed wonderful news. Will you two be joining us for breakfast?" she inquired.
Severus answered. "Yes, but first I think it would be best for her to see Poppy to ensure that the memory charm is indeed gone."
Minerva nodded and left. It was then that Heryn glanced down at her outfit, realizing that she still wore a nightgown, this one a scarlet colour. "I think I ought to change before I go anywhere," she stated.
"I think I ought to change my robes as well. I will return shortly," he responded.
They walked to the infirmary after they had changed robes. He wore his usual black garb while she wore an oceanic blue. Poppy greeted them with a small smile. "You look as though you are feeling better."
"We want to be certain that the memory charm is gone," Severus conveyed.
The medwitch nodded and instructed Heryn to sit down in a chair for a moment. After a few quick diagnostic spells, the medwitch looked up at her two guests. "She is fine, more than fine. The memory charm and all traces of it are gone."
"I cannot express how glad we are to hear that," Heryn exclaimed, answering for Severus, who had remained silent with a hand on her shoulder.
She and Severus left the infirmary and entered the Great Hall for breakfast. As they walked to their seats, Heryn noticed the twinkling blue eyes of the Headmaster. "How are you this morning, Professor?" he asked as she sat.
Smiling at him, she spoke. "I have regained full control of my faculties, if that is what you are asking. Yes, Albus, it's really me this time."
"That is truly wonderful news. You and Severus must join us after breakfast to continue assessing the current situation," he remarked as everyone began eating their blueberry waffles.
After the delicious meal, all four met in Albus' study again. Severus and Heryn sat on the sofa while Albus and Minerva took the chairs on both sides of it. Albus sat closest to Heryn. "Professor O'Sheen, would you like us to continue where we left off in current events, or would you like to be refreshed on a few aspects?"
"I appreciate your concern and yes, I would like to be reminded of a few things. My memories here are a bit dodgy, mostly due to the splits," Heryn replied.
Minerva scooted forward in her chair. "The Ministry of Magic sent us a Middle Earth expert because a man who stole a staff and a few other artifacts from that time period was headed for the school. You and Severus have been working together to find ways to defend Hogwarts and locate what could be Saruman's staff," she began.
The former Potions Mistress put her hands up. "I already know that part. Tell me about the man who is headed in this direction."
Albus replied. "His name is Byron Hornet, a former student of yours, with an odd purple discoloration on his face and a tattoo-"
Her eyes grew wide as she listened and then interrupted him. "He had a tattoo of a snake! The reason that the image imprinted itself in my mind clearer than anything else was because it was that last thing I saw before…" Heryn paused as comprehension dawned on her. The Potions Master noted how her irritation about the situation had increased. "Before he placed the memory charm on me! It was him! All these years and it was him!" her voice had grown louder.
"Heryn, do you have any idea why-" Severus started to speak, but she interrupted him.
He knew that her temper had once again flared up, and this time had the potential to be worse than the last. Her long wavy hair had been simply left down, but now the ends of it rose slightly, as if by static electricity, crackling. Her anger had begun to radiate from her. Finally her fist contacted with the wooden coffee table, leaving a few cracks originating at a center point and causing everyone else to stare in shock.
"That man stole eight years of my life!" she declared.
Though anger had begun to boil inside of him as well, Severus reached out and firmly grasped her shoulders. "It's a pity that one of us has to be rational," he said through gritted teeth. "Heryn, listen to me. I know you are enraged at what's happened, as am I. We need to figure out why he chose you."
She took two deep breaths and faced him. "Thank you, my Severus, for reminding me what is most important." She closed her eyes for a moment to recall what had happened during the battle. "I remember being separated from everyone else. He and I were firing curses back and forth. Then I blocked a curse from someone behind me. Hornet used the action to his advantage and that is when he placed the memory charm on me. I think I caught him escaping the battle. But there is more to this, if you'll give me another minute."
"Take your time, it will return to you," Albus commented.
She glanced away from the others and her eyes fell on the window. Raindrops were plummeting to the earth quickly and frequently. "I had discovered by accident that he was not an ordinary student. The reason for his potion accident involved what he was making. He was dabbling in the dark arts and I did not realize it soon enough. However, when he tried to make a different potion than the rest of his classmates, I began to suspect something. The purple marks did not go away because of the dark nature of his potion. A few days later I met with him to discuss his issues and he informed me that he was a direct descendent of Saruman. That is all."
"It would explain why he is after the staff here," Minerva added.
"Apparently you knew too much," Severus stated dryly.
Heryn ran her fingers through her hair. "I think what we need to find out is how my new information will affect the current situation."
Albus faced her. "How much of your Middle Earth studies do you recall?"
"All of them, and if I remember Mr. Hornet correctly, he will want to attack us in the old way with an army of something," she relayed.
Severus stood. "Then I recommend that we begin preparing for the worst. Heryn, I believe we have a wand to learn about and incantations to practice."
She nodded and followed him out, noting approval from Albus and Minerva. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see her back," the Transfiguration professor mentioned.
The Headmaster nodded in agreement. "Yes, and she is already doing wonders for Severus. When our current situation has been dealt with, I shall see to finding her a permanent position again."
Minerva cleared her throat. "Speaking of our current position, has Fudge sent you anything on the whereabouts of Mr. Hornet?"
Albus shook his head and sighed. "He still has no idea. I think I caught him up too late though. Something's a bit off regarding the letter."
He handed it to her and watched as her eyes moved back and forth over the scrawled writing. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "This is not Fudge's writing," she stated bluntly.
"Perhaps it is his secretary's?" Albus suggested.
Minerva glanced at the note a second time and then shook her head adamantly. "No. I have seen other notes and letters from the Ministry of Magic and no one there writes like this."
She had hoped he would see what she had spotted, but his eyesight was not what it once was. "I am sorry, my dear, but I do not understand."
"Whoever wrote this did not dot their 'i's' though the style of the other letters is similar to ones that were sent," she pointed out.
He squinted and peered closely at the note. He finally noticed it and sat back in his chair. "What does it mean?"
"It means that someone intercepted your message and sent one back," she deduced. A realization struck her and she quickly headed toward Albus' desk to locate the other messages he had received.
"How many of them are false?" he asked, following her train of thought.
She looked up at him. "Only the last two are false, which means that we have no idea where Mr. Hornet is or what he is planning. We ought to warn Severus and Heryn."
"You are quite right, my dear. Let us hope that they have made progress with the staff," Albus remarked as they left his study and dashed toward the dungeons.
After finding no one, they tried to think of where else the other two may have gone. The Potions Master and former Potions Mistress were not in the library or in the staff room. Finally the elder pair decided to head toward the Astronomy tower on a hunch that the others would want a high window from which to test the staff.
Severus and Heryn stood in the Astronomy tower, attempting to use the staff. He had accidentally moved all of the astronomy equipment from one side of the room to the other with the staff. "How on earth am I supposed to use this blasted thing against an enemy when I don't even know how it works?" he complained.
She opened her mouth to comment, but then closed it in thought, staring at the black staff. "As I recall, you have an understanding of wandless magic. Perhaps controlling the staff is simpler than we thought. What if you treated the staff as an extension of your arm and tried to do with it what you would do with wandless magic?"
Turning the staff in his hand, he glanced over at her and leaned near her to kiss her cheek. "That is absolutely brilliant! I should have thought of it myself."
"What are old mentors for, my Severus?" she remarked with a grin as she held the book of wizards' incantations in her left hand.
"You were always more than a mentor to me," he countered, gently grasping her right hand. He pulled her toward him and they shared a light kiss.
When they pulled apart, she found the book to be heavy and pulled out her wand in order to levitate it as she leafed through the pages while he did as she suggested and practiced moving a few pieces of astronomy equipment to various places in the room. She glanced at him for a moment and nodded at seeing the idea work. As the book began to hover, she looked at her left hand, which held the wand.
Severus noticed her odd expression. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm left-handed!" Heryn exclaimed, as if surprised.
He snorted. "Of course you are. Why wouldn't you be?"
"I do not remember using my left hand while my memory was elusive," she mentioned.
Watching as she began scanning the book, he spoke. "I should have noticed that. Thinking back on it, you are correct. I tried to read that and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Can we actually use it?"
"Yes. As you can probably guess, it's in a very old tongue that has not been used in a few thousand years. It does look difficult to pronounce," she added.
He sighed heavily and glared at the book. "How am I supposed to recite who knows what from that blasted book and work with the staff at the same time?"
"The wizards of old memorized these incantations," she paused, deep in thought. She was quiet for so long that he was about to tap her on the shoulder. Then she quickly looked over at him. "What does it matter if I am the one to say the words as long as you are holding the staff?"
He eyed her incredulously. "Are you certain that it will work?"
At that moment she smiled at him as she had when he had been a student and had asked her about the value of goldenrod pollen. "Severus, there is only one way to find out, yes? I suggest we test it."
He nodded in agreement and she found a short incantation dealing with wind. As she read, he moved the staff accordingly and the wind did as it was told. "Well, at least we have something in our favour by which to defend things," he stated dryly. However, she knew from the look in his eyes that he was more than relieved at their discovery.
They were about to try a few other incantations when quick steps and gasped drew their attention to the stairwell. Albus and Minerva entered the room a moment later. "Something is dreadfully wrong," Heryn whispered.
"The school could be in grave danger, I'm afraid. The last two messages that we thought were from the Ministry of Magic were false," Albus informed them
"And we have no idea how close or far away Mr. Hornet is," Minerva added.
"Thank you for telling us. Though I recall setting up preliminary defense around the castle, we need to prepare ourselves for what is to come. He may try…" Heryn trailed off as they heard a loud sound resembling thunder and pots banging together outside.
"What the deuce is that noise?" Severus asked, heading to the window. His eyes widened in shock as he caught sight of the Orc army outside marching toward Hogwarts.
(my thanks to TartanPhoenix, brokentoy19, excessivelyperky, Lady Jolly, Leta McGotor, and S.S.S.570 for reviewing :D)