V

Dark Poetry

Severus knocked softly on the door, then waited. Finally he flicked out his wand, unlocked it, and walked in. Jennifer turned from her packing and glared at him.

"I'm not speaking to you at the moment. You might as well just go away," Jennifer said.

"I'm hardly going home without you, and as I recall, you invited me to stay," Severus reminded her, closing the door behind him. Jennifer muttered something as she opened another drawer. "Shall I get out a hearing potion or go straight to Telepathy? I brought both," he said casually.

"I said, that was before you started behaving irrationally," Jennifer said, tossing a large pile of clothing into the suitcase which somehow managed to accommodate it.

"Really," Severus said evenly. "Curiously enough, I remember this morning's events differently. Jennifer, you have always had a tendency to latch on to people who lack a clear direction and get emotionally involved in helping them find it," he said bluntly. "I have often thought it was because you had so much trouble in your youth trying to find your own…"

"Don't start psychoanalyzing me, Severus Snape," Jennifer said hotly.

"And it has in some ways made you a better teacher," Severus continued in a louder voice, refusing to let her fly at him. "But you could be a better teacher, as well as a better person, if you didn't get so emotionally attached to everyone you find in that position!"

"Such as yourself?" Jennifer challenged him with a fiery flash in her eyes.

"Such as any stray child you happen to meet with any inclination at all to magic," Severus said. "We raised five children, Jennifer. We have four grandchildren, soon to be five, and on top of all of that, generations of Hogwarts students to our credit. Isn't that even remotely sufficient?"

"No, not if it means we have to turn a single child away, Severus. Especially not Lucky!" Jennifer said stubbornly.

"We cannot save them all, Jennifer! It's unrealistic to even try!" Severus said firmly. "Magic or no, we are only two people and there are a hundred million magical children in this world, millions of which won't see the inside of any school, just like many Muggle children won't, and there is nothing I can do about it!" Jennifer paused for a moment.

"It sounds to me as if it bothers you," Jennifer said quietly.

"Of course it bothers me. It should bother everyone. Perhaps if it did, we wouldn't have this problem," Severus said irritably. "But that doesn't change the facts, and I think it's time you learned to face them."

"We may not be able to help them all, Severus," Jennifer said quietly. "But that doesn't change the very fact that we are in an arm's reach of Lucky. It would be wrong to just sit by and let her go off to at best what will turn out to be a dismal future, talent with Number-turning or no…"

"I swear, Jennifer, if anything is ever going to be the death of me, it'll be you and your stubbornness," Severus declared. "If it makes you feel any better, I spent the afternoon informing Vallid of Fortuna's situation, and have arranged for her to try and intervene. Happy now?"

"Well, it isn't exactly what I wanted…"Jennifer said slowly.

"I know what you wanted, Jennifer," Severus said. "Does that mean we're speaking again? But God help me if you decide to speak to me any more than when you're 'not speaking to me.'" Jennifer chuckled softly and got up, leaning into him. "You can care without caring too much, you know."

"If I could, would we even be together, let alone having this discussion?" Jennifer challenged him.

"Probably not," Severus admitted. "So, um…what about that business of picking up where we left off?"

The shutters were closed tightly over the windows to minimize the flickering lights of cars passing on the streets below, and a simple spell subdued the noise of the city, making the room fairly comfortable. But Severus found himself having a lot of trouble staying asleep. Finally he opened his eyes, trying to sense the room around him.

Many years ago in more troubled times he had trained himself to awaken when danger threatened, despite the fact that he was normally a deep sleeper. Rain still disturbed him, remnants of the horrors that Ciardoth had brought, but there was no sound of it now. Peering out the window proved to show nothing but a typical muggy evening, nor was there any sounds at all coming from the hall. He glanced over at the bed to see Jennifer sleeping quite peacefully, and reluctantly laid back down again.

He never remembered going to sleep, but he vividly remembered the moment when he opened his eyes to find himself deep within the maze once known as the Forbidden Tomb, bleary from poison and loss of blood. A giant serpent was at his feet, and hazily he knew that something was wrong with that. Part of it, he realized a moment later, was that the Serpent was not dead.

"Severus Snape," the serpent hissed in Parselmouth, "why do you survive?"

"Because I'm brilliant, I suppose," Severus said.

"Think you so?" the serpent hissed. "Think you can so easily cheat death, through the aid of others who have done the same? Death calls your name, Severus, can you not hear it? It is time that you answer."

"Sorry, no," Severus rasped. "Perhaps there were times in my life I would have let go…perhaps even this moment in time you are showing me. But I've too much to do now, so I must decline."

"Then face the consequences," the serpent hissed, raising its head and spewing out a thick fog. Words began to form within it, and Severus squinted, trying to control his double vision to read it.

Once you sought the power of Death

Behind a blackened hood

And unless you pay the debt of life

Your evil will overtake your good.

"Is that your idea of a threat?" Severus asked unconcernedly, but as the fog dissipated, so had the Serpent; leaving in its place the black robed visage of Death that Severus was becoming all too familiar with.

"Severus?" echoed a voice out of the darkness. It sounded distant, and yet Severus knew somehow it was near. "What is that? Severus, wake up and look at this!"

As if swimming up through deep water, Severus forced himself to waken at Jennifer's bidding, blinking and sitting up forcibly despite his clouded head. Before he could focus, fiery words hanging over the bed had already turned into smoke. Coughing, Jennifer reached for her wand on the nightstand and forced the window open to give them some air.

"Did you see that?" Jennifer repeated anxiously, pulling her blankets up around her. "Monstre hostis!" she intoned, the spell meant to reveal any enemies lurking in the room, but no one appeared.

"I don't think anyone's here," Severus said, but reached for his robe anyway. "I just had a strange dream…what did those words say, Jennifer?"

"I'm not sure I remember exactly now…" Jennifer said thoughtfully.

"Well, remember exactly! Spit it out, it may be important! Did you have a dream as well?"

"Hang on a moment," Jennifer said. "No, not a dream, exactly, just a sense of something over me. I woke up and thought for a moment that I saw a dark figure…but then it burst into flames and created words," she said, attempting to close out Severus' anxious expression so she could think. "Okay, I think I remember it started with Time and time again…" Jennifer said, going over it in her head to make sure she got it right before repeating it.

"'Time and time again, you have stolen life,

But be warned, it cannot continue,

Others will fall, leaving you no escape,

Attempt to live, and your fears will consume you.'

"That was all, Severus, although I have no idea what it's all about," Jennifer said, gazing at her husband who looked off distantly. "Severus, does this have anything to do with that trouble at home you were talking about?"

"Yes, it does," Severus said, gazing at her thoughtfully. "Although now I wonder if we were the only ones who experienced what just happened."