OLD MAGIC

Chapter 22: And the Education Begins

It had been a bruising ride as Professor Snape could attest as he slipped off the back of Belize and nearly went straight to the ground because his legs wouldn't support him. He held onto the centaur grimly as he waited for circulation to return.

"I am truly sorry for your discomfort, sir. We are, after all, not meant to be ridden," Belize said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Snape rolled his eyes but didn't let the beast see him do it. "And I will be glad never to have to endure such a thing again," he said, tightly. He tested his legs and found he could stand, albeit rather painfully. "Thank you for aiding us in this harebrained scheme," he added, allowing a little humor to leak into his own voice.

"Yes, it was rather daring and a lot of fun as well. Here comes your host. I bid you good evening Professor Snape."

"And a safe one to you too, Belize," Snape said politely. It didn't do to be rude to a centaur. He watched the male go galloping off into the trees while he rubbed his abused tailbone and sighed. He'd thought it crazy to ride a centaur when Hagrid suggested it and introduced him to Belize. But the plan had worked at the cost of his sore rear.

"Good evening Professor Snape and welcome to my home," a pleasant tenor voice with a heavy Scottish accent said somewhere above his head.

He turned and stared into a huge, well endowed chest, blushed then quickly pulled his gaze upward to the smiling face waiting patiently for him to speak.

He offered her a warm smile in return and a small nod of his head. "Good evening, Mrs. Hagrid and thank you for allowing me to join your family for Christmas," he managed to say. The giantess was well over twelve feet tall, matronly but not fat, and rather short for her species, for which he was glad. He felt dwarfed enough as it was beside her. She had a lovely fall of blond hair with strands of gray running through it that didn't detract from her handsome face. Obviously, she was of mixed race as giants weren't known to look pleasing to the eye.

"We were happy to do so, soir and please, do call me Agatha. We be not formal here. Now please follow me and join my other guests, though I know of one that will be shocked and surprised to see yeu."

"And how is Draco?" Snape asked as he followed the huge woman back to the warm and inviting cottage that was more the size of a standard mansion than a cottage. It was better than those cold edifices as far as he was concerned. Taking a quick glance around, he saw the lake, now covered in ice, and the fields and barns in the distance. It was a serene place that he would very much like to see in the summer ... he suspected it would be breathtakingly beautiful, though it certainly was serene to the eye even hidden by winter white. What a wonderful place Hagrid had grown up in.

He had been surprised to learn the Hagrid's had such a domicile in the forest rather than in the high mountains where most giants preferred to dwell, when the half giant told him where he intended Draco to be stashed. To live in that hovel at the school when he had this must be hard to take at times.

"Aw, the wee bairn is settling in fine, soir," Agatha told him. "He was a bit put out at first and so very afraid. But we soon set his mind at ease when we'd told him of our plans that would get him home again without blame being placed on his wee shoulders. Only then did he finally relax and has been enjoying himself since ... as well as getting an education on muggles."

"Ahh, he's showed his ignorance and bigotry about them has he?"

"Yes indeed. Appalling what wizarding kind has done to their children. Left them completely defenseless," she huffed, indignant.

"I couldn't agree more, Agatha." Snape was grateful to Harry coming up with this plan. Not only would Draco have a safe holiday but he'd finally have his eyes opened, just as he himself had during the past summer, about the true state of affairs on muggles. What he'd learned had been terrifying. By the time he'd finished his own research into muggle kind and been taken among them by Hagrid's friend, Darius, he'd been furious at the ministry and wizarding kind for their arrogance thinking themselves so above normal humanity.

To ignore the very real threat muggles posed to wizarding kind was the height of stupidity and could be the genocide for them all. He found himself in full agreement with the forest dwellers. Magical kind needed to be educated on the dangers of muggles and their science and especially their propensity to destroy things they didn't understand. That had scared him to the bones.

And, another more important thing needed to be done with wizarding kind ... bringing them out of the dark ages ... quickly. He'd been seriously taken aback by some of the amazing scientific and technological advances muggles had made while wizards remained static.

His musings were interrupted by their arrival at the front door. Agatha opened it and they were greeted by a rush of warm air and the sounds of voices somewhere out of sight.

Sighing in relief, he dropped his warming charm and removed his outer cloak once he stepped over the threshold and she had closed the door. Agatha deftly took his cloak and hung it on a row of pegs near the door before turning back to him.

"Go on into the parlor," she gestured toward a door to the left. "I'll get you some hot cocoa to warm you up and help you relax. Do you need something for your nether regions? I know riding bareback is quite painful."

Snape blushed but shook his head. "No thank you. I have what I need to solve that problem and the cocoa will be greatly appreciated."

"As you wish. There be a very fine tub near your room that you can avail yourself and I highly recommend you do so if you wish to sleep tonight and be able to walk on the morrow," she said with a wink then walked toward an open doorway which must lead to the kitchen.

Sighing, Snape straightened as much as he could, his back and rear protesting fiercely, and headed for the indicated door. He could hear the rumble of voices that burst upon him more loudly when he went into the parlor.

Heads turned toward him as he stood surveying the room from the doorway before entering then closing the door behind him. He knew everyone there and they gave him cheery greetings but one was shocked as he expected them to be.

"Severus!" Draco exclaimed, jumping from his seat next to Harry Potter and racing into his Godfather's waiting arms.

"It is good to see you healthy and well, Draco," Snape said warmly, giving the boy a firm hug. He didn't miss the look of surprise and pleasure on Harry's face. The boy apparently wasn't aware of Draco and his relationship.

After the greeting, Draco released the Professor and stared at him in confusion. "Why are you here and how did you get here?"

"Same way you did though in my case a bigger diversion than a storm was needed to help me be 'spirited away' as it were."

"But why?"

Snape gave a rare smile. "Don't you think I deserve a safe Christmas too?"

Draco blushed then smiled shyly back. "Of course I do. You more than anyone else I know besides myself." He turned to stare at Harry. "You planned this didn't you?"

Harry smiled and shrugged. "We, meaning Hagrid and I, thought he deserved a break from his deadly duties and it would keep the death eaters and your father from hounding him to find you."

A grateful look filled Draco's eyes. "Thank you. I don't know how to pay you back for such a kindness."

"That's easy. Keep your mind open to what you'll be shown and told over the next two weeks and tell no one of this place nor who my guardians are and that will be thanks enough," Harry said more seriously.

"The second part of that will be a dangerous secret to keep and I'm not trained well enough to protect my mind," Draco objected, worriedly./p

"I can remedy that, Draco. I'll give you more extensive lessons like the ones I used to teach Harry this past summer," Snape interjected.

Draco gaped at him. "You knew about Harry before school started and didn't tell me?" He demanded, feeling betrayed.

Snape shook his head. "You and I never had a moment together that was safe and for Harry's safety, that was something I had to keep to myself and like you said, you're not able to guard your mind that well yet and the school was filled with people who could pierce your shields with ease."

The blond boy blushed in embarrassment. "I apologize. You're right. Then I'll be your most attentive pupil, Godfather because I don't want to be responsible for the enemy finding this wonderful place or people," Draco said solemnly.

Snape nodded. Everyone listening were pleased with his response indicated by their nods and solemn expressions.

Draco turned back to Harry. "I promise to listen and learn what you have to teach me as well, Harry." Harry smiled and nodded. A bright smile spread across Draco's face then as he returned his attention to Snape and tugged the man's arm. "Come join us!" he said, leading Snape to a seat next to him and Harry on the couch.

"I'd be happy too," Snape said cordially. However, sitting down, at first, produced a wince of pain until he sank into the wonderfully soft, thick cushions. He sighed with relief. Draco leaned close.

"Riding a centaur is no way to travel, especially for ones behind," he said in commiseration and amusement.

"I quite agree," Snape snorted.

At that moment, Agatha returned with a steaming mug that was large enough for both his hands. She handed it over carefully. Nodding his thanks, he held it firmly between his palms then took a sip. It was heavenly...not too sweet and not too hot. He hummed with pleasure.

"This is delicious," he told her.

"You're welcome, laddie," she said warmly then sat down in an old, very large, rocker.

The warmth of the room, the cocoa, and the feeling of welcome and safety enveloped him with a sense of peace. This was what he needed. He hadn't realized till this very moment how very tense and hyper-alert he'd been. His time here would allow his poor battered spirit a chance to rest and recuperate.

Since it was only just going on lunch time, his flight through the forest having taken over three hours, food was being prepared. He was nearly drooling from heavenly odors drifting to his nose. While they waited, the group around him talked about many different subjects but the primary one cropping up was muggles.

Since learning how important it was to know what the muggles were up to, Snape listened and asked questions along with Draco. To prove their facts, many books and magazines were produced for the pair to read at their leisure. Some they discussed right then.

A break for lunch didn't end the discussions. It carried right over into the dining room where a delicious feast had been prepared then went back to the parlor once more. Time passed, as the Slytherin pair learned much about the world they'd been kept ignorant about. A lot of the discussion was very sobering and frightening.

"I still find it difficult to believe that their bombs could be more dangerous than our magic," Draco said, frowning.

Darius eyed the young man thoughtfully a moment. "Harry, would you get one of each type of grenade you have, please."

Realizing what he intended to do, Harry nodded and left the room returning five minutes later with a small but apparently heavy wooden box.

"Let's go outside, shall we?" Darius rose and left the room followed by Harry, a few of the guests that wanted to watch, a rather gingerly moving Snape (he was even more sore from sitting), and Draco.

The group pulled on their coats/cloaks and trooped outside. They walked down to the edge of the lake and halted.

"This should do," he said looking around the quiet lakeside and forest. "Please throw a smoke grenade, Harry," Darius ordered.

Again Harry nodded and set the box he was carrying down on the ground. While Snape and Draco watched closely, clearly fascinated, Harry pulled out one metal looking egg thing with a ring attached near the top. Harry stood up, moved off aways, pulled the pin, then threw the egg thing as hard as he could out over the lake then used wandless magic to take it further and higher.

Only seconds later, the egg exploded, making Snape and Draco duck but no one else, they'd seen this before. A thick, cloud of white filled a large space above the lake.

"That is a smoke grenade. Next one Harry!"

Harry nodded, picked another metal egg, pulled the pin, and tossed. This one made only a loud noise that hurt the ears when it exploded. Without waiting to be told so, Harry lobed another out. Noise and an incandescent light, bright enough to sear the eyes went off. And, lastly, one that showered shrapnel everywhere which could be seen as glittering particles against the snow.

"Those are called grenades and each one has a purpose. The first ones he fired would cause an enemy to be blinded or deafened. The last two can cause harm by serious burning or blowing up a building or a group of people. Most muggles know exactly what these things are and immediately take cover but imagine, if you will, one of the shrapnel ones being rolled into a room full of wizards and they didn't see it or if they did, knew nothing about it? Boom, they'd be dead."

Draco and Snape shuddered, picturing the aftermath easily.

"And this is only one of the smaller destructive weapons. Muggles have many much bigger, more deadlier ones. I know you have some passing knowledge of muggle guns but hunting rifles and hand guns are nothing like the automatic weapons that can rip through metal or larger bombs that can take down whole buildings. And for taking out important targets, nothing is as good as a well trained military or assassin sniper. They are much better trained and know how to hide than any wizard with a wand. For you to get a true feel for what war with the muggles would be like, I'll be showing you videos of what passes for entertainment in my world. It will be a real eye opener. But enough of that for now, let's get back inside before we freeze out here...or at least this muggle anyway," Darius said, smiling wanly at them before turning and leading the way back to the house.

Harry collected the box and followed with Draco walking beside him, asking lots of questions. Snape walked a little apart, thinking hard about what he'd seen.

He may be getting a well needed vacation but the education he was going to get might cancel out all its benefits. Sighing, he shook his head. He might be having some difficulties sleeping tonight after seeing and hearing what he had today.

A/N: I'm certain there are lots of dangerous things out there but I'm not conversant on it and don't want to delay this story longer than necessary to do more research so cut me some slack on my lack of knowledge here please. By the number of readers and reviewers my story has touched a lot of people. Thank you so much. It's what keeps me going. Ulyferal