Chapter 17- Preparations

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"Is it snowing outside? I thought this part of England didn't get much of that nasty, cold, wet stuff," Narcissa said petulantly, descending the staircase.

Severus and the two girls had just returned from their jaunt to the 'faery ring.' While Dani assured the older girl that this snow was lovely, fluffy and dry, Eris said to him in an undertone, "My grandfather's study is on the floor above yours, at the far end. Would you mind paying him a visit this morning? He's keen to discuss the similarities between Vald and Occlumency."

Narcissa's voice rose. "Eris, are you paying any attention whatsoever? I need another present for Lucius, but there's nothing in that village that's good enough. We must Floo to Diagon Alley."

"I want to go too!" Dani chimed in.

Eris smiled and shook her head. "It will be a madhouse of last-minute shoppers." When the other two started to protest, she grinned. "Mad is good. I'll change and be ready in a quarter of an hour!"

Severus informed them that he would see them at lunch, as he preferred to remain far from the madding crowd.

Dani crowed, "Men aren't tough enough to shop, are they?"

"Thankfully, no."

"Who asked you, anyway?" Narcissa grumbled. Severus ignored her and continued upstairs. The thought of Eris following him with her eyes put a spring in his step.

Lucius was lounging against the wall outside his protégé's bedroom. "Thank Merlin my fiancée is off to London." Straightening, his pale gaze flickered over the younger man. "Who is your tailor?"

Severus smiled enigmatically. "Someone who limits their custom." He'd have to tell Eris that Malfoy was impressed with her work. It would make her laugh. She had a throaty, sexy laugh.

Looking a bit put out, Lucius shrugged. "No matter, I keep far too many busy as it is." Getting to the real reason he was loitering in the corridor, the wizard said, "I've got to run into that village, Little Codswallop, or whatever they call it. Narcissa is off to buy me a final present, so of course I have to buy her another one so she doesn't get upset that she gave me more."

"You jest."

Lucius smiled humourlessly, smoothing back the platinum hair restrained in a queue. "Would that I was--no, according to the house elves, my dearest girl has been quite busy buying me presents with the galleons I gave her." His brow furrowed. "Not that it was money poorly spent, but I've already bought her a fur, several bits of jewellery, and a bloody expensive set of dress robes. I'm out of ideas."

"And you chose to bestow the...honour...of accompanying you into the rural marketplace upon me because…?"

A smile of satisfaction crossed his sponsor's face. "I trust you to keep silent about it." Glancing at his timepiece, Lucius said, "I'm going down to breakfast, and then I've got to take care of some business in the library. I'll meet you in the entry in an hour."

After the other man descended, Severus decided to visit Eris' grandfather on the floor above. He was rather curious about the Old Norse practice of Vald. At the end of the corridor, he stopped inside the open doorway and asked, "May I enter?"

Pouring carved ivory pieces out of a bag onto a white fabric draped across his desk, Tyr Greyback invited, "Come, pick a rune."

Humouring the wizard, the boy picked one up and held it out. "Are you divining my future using the Norn method, Sir?"

A pleased smile greeted his words. "Yes, the three sisters who determine the fates of gods and men. Do you practice Divination?"

"No, I believe man makes his own fate."

"Fair enough. Let us read the rune." Holding up the ivory carved with what appeared to be an 'R', Tyr informed, "Raioo…meaning in the past, you have taken a journey that intersected your life with another's, affecting and changing you both. Correct?"

"For me and anyone else who's ever travelled."

Chuckling, the old man said, "Select again."

Picking up a rune on the opposite side of the fabric, Severus noted that the carving appeared to be of a lopsided 'N'. Tyr frowned. "Uruz…representing that in the present, you will discover an awareness of death."

This exercise was deadly dull, but that was the only 'death' Severus was aware of. He picked up a third rune carved with what seemed to be a 'P' and presented it to the wizard who exclaimed, "Puriaz! The obstacle rune."

Amused by the pitying look he was given, Severus inquired, "In my future, I will encounter obstacles?"

"Of your own making."

Well, that was cheering. Moving on to another topic of conversation, Severus said, "Eris told me that you wished to discuss Vald and Occlumency."

Blue eyes twinkled, gazing into his. Immediately, images came into focus.

Eris, pressing closer in the shallow end of the pool, as he kissed his way down her throat…

Dark eyes narrowed as the boy closed his own mind, concentrated and 'saw'…

A little girl with bandaged hands sat crying in a chair. Her grandfather patted her shoulder and lifted a tome from the desk. Taking it, Eris rubbed her eyes and nodded her agreement to what the old wizard said.

The image faded to nothingness. Severus blinked when Tyr directed him to a seat.

Tyr said, "Well, I know at least one of the emotions my granddaughter evokes in you." When Severus didn't reply, the wizard said sharply, "You'd better be on guard before your interview with the Dark Lord. Bury all thoughts of Eris or anyone else you care for where they can't be unearthed and used against you. Cut off all feelings that are of no value to the Knights." The old man smiled mirthlessly. "Pride, ambition, anger, thirst for knowledge and desire to gain and wield power are the qualities that will gain you a place in their company. Allow memories that accompany these to rise when Lord Voldemort draws them forth, and he will be pleased."

"Are you a Knight, Sir?"

"I am."

The way Tyr spoke of the Knights was ambivalent, as though he did not approve of their methods or goals. His agreement was given heavily. He hadn't hesitated to answer, though, so perhaps the wizard had hoped for the group to accomplish more. Questions about the other man's motivation vanished when Tyr said, "In Vald, it is possible to capture the latest dream of your subject and hide it away within your mind to peruse later. Do you have such a thing in Occlumency?"

"No." Severus asked, "Would you be willing to instruct me?"

"For my granddaughter's sake, yes."

Leaning forward in eagerness, the boy said, "Tell me what to do."

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Throwing a red cloak over her arm, Eris shut the door to her room and met Dani at the stairs. The girl said excitedly, "My mum wanted to do boring party work with yours, so she's happy to get me out of the house!" When they descended to the entry, the cousins stopped upon seeing the small group assembled there. A dismayed look flashed between the girls.

"Look who decided to join us. Won't shopping be even more fun now?" Narcissa's tone denied her words. Beside her, Bellatrix looked ready to brave the steppes of Russia in her mink hat and coat. Clive, John, and Erik all looked more eager to go to London than to go shopping.

Erik stated, "Kendrick and I are heading for the Quidditch Supply Shop and will meet you at Fortesque's at eleven."

Seeing Eris' glance toward Sutton, Bellatrix drawled, "Clive is the only gentleman willing to carry a lady's bags." Tapping a wine-red fingernail against his cheek, she promised, "I'll have to find a proper way to show my appreciation."

The woman and boy stared at Eris, as though daring her to comment. She didn't say a word. They both looked disappointed at the lack of reaction. Dani whispered, "Can we ditch them and go off on our own?"

Winking, she returned softly, "Not at first, but perhaps after a shop or two…."

"What are you talking about over there? I hate it when people whisper and I can't hear what they're saying." Bellatrix frowned. "Private conversations in public shouldn't be allowed."

Eris laughed.

Bella said coldly, "I wasn't trying to be funny."

"No? Well you sounded ridiculous." Narcissa stepped away from her sister, rolling her eyes and complaining, "I want to go shopping now, if you would stop the chit chat and get moving." Walking over, she warned Dani in a low voice, "I've known her longer, so don't even think of talking my mate into giving us the slip." Dani's eyes grew huge. Cissy smirked, and then narrowed her gaze at Eris. "Friends don't leave friends stuck with a boring sister and a boy too stupid to stay clear of her."

"Friends shouldn't inflict their evil stepsisters on friends either."

Narcissa's smile told Eris her friend remembered the Muggle fairytale.

Dani said in a tone of enlightenment that showed she was clueless, "Stepsister? So that's why you look like an angel and she looks like a…Aaahhh!"

"You were saying?" Bellatrix had slithered over, unnoticed. Although the three boys were suppressing smiles, the witch was not amused.

Narcissa declared, "I say we go shopping!"

Once the group Flooed to Diagon Alley, Erik and John took off while Bella hooked her arm through Clive's and led him toward a jewellery shop window.

Narcissa hung back with the other two girls and remarked, "He's going to pay a high price for my sister's attention." Shrugging, she said, "I need something that will impress Lucius. Help me look."

Eris and Dani scanned the selection of men's jewellery, but they both agreed that nothing took their fancy. Cissy wandered over, arching eyebrows in silent question. They shook their heads. She agreed, "Too common."

"Thank you, Clive darling. The black pearls match my necklace perfectly."

Bellatrix showed them her new earrings. Eris duly admired them while thinking cynically how convenient it was that Bella had worn a necklace to which she had no matching earrings. When the group left to continue shopping, they found that snowflakes were beginning to fall. The other shoppers crowding the pavement smiled or commented quietly, but the frenetic atmosphere of Christmases past was conspicuously absent.

Children didn't race ahead of their parents to exclaim loudly over merchandise in shop windows. There were no shouted greetings or farewells. The shops were decorated in a uniform, simple manner with enchanted candles and evergreens. It was as though there was some unspoken agreement for everyone to be as unlike Muggles as possible.

Not that good manners or lack of commercialisation was bad. Eris just didn't like the sense of fear that seemed to be the underlying motivation. In the past, she'd secretly enjoyed laughing over the outlandish decorations of a few shops that seemed to be trying to out-do Muggles in holiday cheer.

"Flourish and Blott's doesn't have an enchanted painting of Father Christmas reading the elves a story in the window this year!"

Standing behind her disappointed cousin, Eris patted her shoulder and said, "Let's go find a book anyway. I'll read to you tonight."

"Clive and I will be in the dress shop," Bellatrix announced, dragging the reluctant-looking boy away.

Narcissa made a face. "I'll bet he has a headache when my sister tries to 'thank him' for her present."

Noticing avid interest, Eris stopped snickering and reminded, "Little pitchers have big ears."

"I don't have big ears…or a big mouth." Dani marched into the shop, leaving the friends to follow. While Narcissa commandeered an assistant to find a book entitled How to Make Minions and Influence People, the cousins headed for the children's book section.

"May I look round for a few minutes before I choose?" asked Dani.

Eris nodded. "Sure. I'll go look for a book and be back, so don't wander off, for any reason. Deal?"

"Not even if a stranger offers me candy or asks me to help him find his lost puppy."

Smiling, Eris asked, "What if someone says they're an Auror, or a friend of the family, or that I'm hurt, and you have to go with them?"

"I hex and then run screaming to find you."

Impulsively bending to kiss the girl's cheek, Eris praised, "Good girl."

"Does that mean I can have two books?"

Eris was still chuckling over the Slytherin cunning when she walked up the narrow stairs to the first floor and headed toward the back. Finding the section of rare books, she scanned the shelves for one that would appeal to Severus. She'd transfigured a zip up jumper and purchased a quill, ink, and parchment set, but they weren't personal enough.

A woman's voice rang out. "Did you find the book, Remus?"

The girl dropped and crawled on hands and knees to peek around the bookcase. Close to the stairs, a witch with short light brown hair and a pleasant face waited.

"Yes, Mater." Lupin walked from behind a stack, looking deathly pale. "I'll never live it down if my mates find out I gave you Ars Amatoria for Christmas."

"Ovid's Art of Love is more satire than love manual, my son, and it's for my students' edification as much as my enjoyment."

"Of course," he agreed dryly. They smiled affectionately at each other. The boy asked, "Will the goose be cooked by the time we get home? I'm ready for Christmas dinner."

"Yes, and I'm ready for the plum pudding," his mother replied.

Eris watched them leave; thinking how awful it must be to have Christmas on a full moon. Her uncle gloried in his savagery, but someone decent like Lupin would hate it. Tears pricked her eyelids as the weight of her guilt pressed heavily.

Blinking rapidly, her blurry gaze fell on a tome that was edged in gold. Pulling it free, she read the title. Memoriter…from memory… Leafing through the pages, her first impression was justified. It was a book about Legilimency. Old and rare, the price was steep. If she bought it, getting her father and brother another present each was out of the question.

"Eris, where are you?"

Taking the book with her, the girl headed for the stairs. "Dani, what are you doing up here?"

Holding up two novels, her cousin smiled angelically. "Narcissa told me I had to go with her, so I used a trip-jinx and ran to find you, just like I promised."

Eris looked away to keep a straight face. She said sternly, "You know I didn't mean it that way, and you're going to apologise the instant we get downstairs." Unable to help it, her lips twitched. "Did she fall on the floor, or..."

"Narcissa fell on a potted plant and got her white trousers dirty." The girl tried to seem penitent and failed. "A little redheaded boy named Billy heard naughty words and repeated them. His mum was yelling about it when I left." Slyly, Dani added, "If we hurry, that Mrs. Weasley might still be howling."

They shared a conspiratorial smile and rushed down the stairs.

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Even dressed in impeccably tailored dress robes, Severus felt awkward and out of place amongst the purebloods mingling in the long drawing room. Without conscious thought, he fell into old habits. Allowing his hair to swing forward and obscure his features, the teen stood near a group and listened to their conversation.

"If I discover who Bella's been carrying on with, I'll make them regret touching my wife," Rodolphus Lestrange promised darkly.

"You'd be better off making Bella regret it," Lucius Malfoy drawled.

"I have. That's why she's acting this way. She likes it."

Rabastan Lestrange shrugged. He told his brother, "I'd keep my wife on a shorter leash."

"When will you ever get a wife?" Rodolphus shot back.

"I'm broaching the matter with Greyback tomorrow."

Unable to believe his ears, Severus stood like a statue while Lucius scoffed, "You don't have enough money or connections to suit Ulrik."

"I have enough, and when our lord rules supreme, I'll have more."

The listening boy was cheered by the snide reply. "You have more chance of finding a galleon in your Christmas pudding, but by all means, cling to hope. It is Christmas, after all." Dismissively, Lucius glanced around the room. His gaze rested briefly on his protégé. Smiling wickedly, he said, "My fiancée has made her entrance. I must join her."

Just inside the doorway, Narcissa and Eris stood talking with Mrs. Greyback and her cousin Mrs. Brannagh. Severus watched Lucius charm his way into their group, slipping an arm around the waist of his fiancée. Within moments, the wizard had inveigled the girls away from the older women. Leading them over, he called, "Severus, aren't I the most fortunate of men to have two such beautiful women on my arm?"

"Indeed."

The friends each wore sheer dress robes over long, strapless dresses. Narcissa, in her white ensemble, resembled a snow queen. Eris, in a shade of blue that matched her eyes, evoked a much warmer response. Her admiring smile as she looked him over increased the heat. "Thank you. You look splendid."

"Oh gods, she's flirting with Snape. I need a drink."

Lucius smirked as he asked his fiancée, "Will champagne suffice?"

Narcissa gave him an adoring smile. "Yes, darling."

Standing with Eris after the other two strolled toward the elf tending bar in the far corner, Severus moved closer. His brows drew together fiercely as he looked down, and then away.

"What's wrong?"

Smoothing out his expression, the boy unknowingly copied Malfoy's drawl. "What could possibly be wrong? If you put yourself on display like a Christmas decoration, that's entirely your choice."

Eris looked startled and offended. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He stepped nearer and looked down, whispering harshly, "You look like an over-filled stocking. Every man will hope to get his jollies by seeing goodies spill out."

Her eyes widened as she glanced down, and then up into his stony face. Turning abruptly, Eris rushed out of the room. Feeling like Scrooge, Severus followed.

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A/N: I can't promise their Christmas will be merry and bright, (Voldemort's not very jolly, heh) but it will be white, lol. Thanks to all the fab people who brightened my week! ♥ 40/16♥ Camillia Vincent ♥ cupcakeswirl ♥ die Loreley ♥ ElspethBates ♥ Embellished ♥ FNP ♥ gothic-wildhorse ♥ GraceRichie ♥ MamaLisa ♥ Maria Isabella ♥ Slipknot-3113 ♥ silver-pensieve ♥ silver-phoenix ♥Slytherin Love Goddess♥ and ♥ sunny9847 ♥