Chapter Forty-Six: Story-telling

Severus narrates the painful history behind the Dark Veela curse. Claudia makes a confession.

(i) The characters and world of Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this.

(ii) Thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me through the writing of this tale. Your patience has been amazing and your continuing reviews are so appreciated.

Severus sighed as he sat down on the arm-chair placed in front of the fireplace. "I suppose you all want to know the gory details."

Lucius wore a smirk to end all smirks. "Of course, my dearest son-in-law."

Severus' face was a picture of annoyance, but Hermione's giggle drew his attention. His beautiful wife was seated between Narcissa and Astoria on the pale blue silk sofa. The look on her face eased his irritation at his old friend's teasing. "I thought as much," he admitted ruefully. Indeed, he and Hermione had Flooed to Malfoy Manor that afternoon with the express intention of seeing what Claudia had been saying about her presence in England and her connection to Severus and his family.

Severus settled more comfortably in the chair and stretched out his long legs. "Well then, I suppose if I must, I must." He grinned suddenly. The change was startling, especially because he so rarely wore such an expression on his face. Leaning back to stare at the ceiling, as if for inspiration, he let the moment build. Then, sitting up, he took on the pose of a story-teller. "Long, long ago, there was a beautiful young Veela named Juliana, the Golden."

As Severus began to speak, Claudia leaned forward in delight. She hadn't realised when she had made her unannounced visit to her long-lost cousins that the Malfoys had no idea about Severus' family history. Hearing his rich, seductive voice narrate the tale of Juliana's love and the family's subsequent curse sent shivers down her spine. Now she knew why the Dark Veela were considered even more dangerous than the Light. Their power was more subtle, but all the more powerful because of it. Golden Juliana's beauty had only been skin-deep. The beauty of Severus' voice was something that buried itself deep into the listener's psyche. Even she as a full-blooded Veela could feel its power and potency slither its way into her senses.

But his mastery in story-telling could not hold her captive, not as it seemed to do the others. She was a full-blooded Veela after all. Pulling herself away from his tale, she looked around Narcissa's sitting-room room curiously. The Malfoys were entranced with Severus' narration as was Astoria. Hermione, however, was free of the spell the rich baritone had cast, and although she was obviously enjoying the masterful way in which her husband had adjusted to the unpleasant task of narrating intimate details about his family and their painful past, her enjoyment was completely natural. True love made her immune to all aspects of the Veela allure.

Claudia wondered if Severus was even aware of the spell his voice wove on his listeners. But as she observed him, she realised he had no knowledge of the power of his considerable Veela allure. She knew she'd have to tell him. But she supposed that unknown, innate magic went a long way in explaining how he had managed to convince the Dark Lord of his loyalties.

Lucius and Narcissa looked appalled when the details of the curse were narrated, but they seemed knowing too, as though what was being revealed wasn't completely unexpected. Draco looked somehow the most entranced with the narrative. Claudia supposed it was his youth and obvious adoration for his Godfather that made him ever so susceptible to the dark man's allure. Somehow, Astoria's devotion to Draco made her able to withstand the pull of Severus' voice. She, like Hermione, had true love to keep her from falling madly in lust with the Dark Veela's powerful voice.

Finally, once everyone that Claudia considered family had been examined, she turned her attention to the final person in the room, the Saviour of the Wizarding World. She could not put off her desire to observe him, however flustered his presence made her feel. She'd been aware of him entering the room silently, just before Severus began his narrative. He'd taken up position, silent sentinel by the door, listening with his eyes trained on Severus. Now as she casually turned to face the door that was to the back of her, she felt his eyes connect with her own. She felt herself blush.

It was one thing to know that the cousin whose doings she's secretly followed all the years of her youth was famous and high up in the Wizarding World. It was another to see and realise that the Boy-Who-Lived thought so highly of Severus. She'd not missed how Harry Potter had walked with Draco, following behind Narcissa and Astoria as she was introduced to society in England. He was part of the Malfoys' family in all but name. He had been part of the group that had introduced her to society. She couldn't believe it. She who had been told that she would never amount to much in the Veelas because she was not powerful and beautiful, she who had never managed to attract or sustain the allure of the Veela for so long was, because she'd run away to someone she hoped would understand her and forgive her imperfections, been welcomed by the rich and the powerful.

Claudia had no knowledge that her Veela magnetism had worked its way into Harry's psyche. She'd been always considered the least talented of her generation. Her Veela beauty was, she'd been told, only obvious in the colour of her hair and eyes. She was ordinary in the midst of pureblood Veela society. Young Veela men had spurned her for more beautiful and powerful kin and the young women had looked down on one they knew could not match them in charm and magnetism. Knowing that she was unwanted, unvalued, she'd read and re-read the tales of how Juliana had given up all for love. She had followed Juliana's bloodline with interest, and had seen in Severus a kindred. He'd been discarded by the Veela clan, but he'd risen to prominence all on his own. When she'd learnt that he had fought the curse and found true love, she had made him her hero, her port in the storm. She wanted to find true love. She wanted to be valued for herself alone, even though she knew she was nothing but ordinary and mediocre. Thus, Claudia had come to him, to them, longing for acceptance, to be seen as valued for herself, not unwanted because she was considered weak and unable to lure suitors with her beauty.

Now being in the presence of the Great Harry Potter, she felt all of her insecurities come to the fore. She was fooling herself if she imagined that she was worthy of being in this society. Everyone around her was more powerful than she was. She knew of the Malfoy connections. Their position in society was legendary. Astoria as Draco's bride-to-be was equally powerful. Having their acceptance, their friendship given so warmly made her feel like a fraud. She should not be here, not among such glittering persons. Claudia lowered her eyes and looked away. Harry Potter was amazing. His eyes, like emeralds, called to her, but she resisted his allure. Who would have thought that the Boy-Who-Lived would be so attractive?

Harry met Claudia's sapphire eyes and felt his heart stop. It was the first time she'd looked directly at him. But when she blushed and looked away, he felt bereft. He missed the last of what Severus was narrating. Nothing mattered but Claudia. Ignoring the continuing tale, he walked, ensnared, to her side and sat beside her on the loveseat she occupied. He didn't know how he dared do such a thing, she was perfection itself, but he couldn't resist her shy glance.

Severus stopped for a moment to watch Harry finally take the seat he's been eyeing since his entrance into the room. Realising that nothing further was being done, Severus finished his tale. "And so, Hermione broke the curse of the Dark Veela. She freed me from being a repellent, and I suppose that would explain why since she saved me that I have begun to be able to be a truer and warmer friend. By her actions in the Shrieking Shack she loosened the yoke of the curse. She came for me when I needed her, and more, she brought my truest friends. And with her love and our soul-binding, the curse was defeated for ever more. I've been accepted back into the Veela fold. That would explain Claudia's presense here."

Claudia blushed at this mention. She knew she could not lie any more. Severus had been so honest, she would have to bare her soul too. "I've followed Severus my whole life," she said softly. Her voice was not as potent at Severus', but it held its own magic. Harry felt it tighten its grip on his heart.

"I'm not really worthy of being called a Veela," she said in confession. "I've never been powerful enough, beautiful enough."

She felt more than saw Harry shake his head in denial.

She turned to him, suddenly wanting him, more than anyone else to understand. "You have no idea what a true pureblood Veela witch or wizard is capable of. We are trained from birth to attract and to seduce. True Veela are never allowed out, not without escort and protection."

Harry could not speak. He could not think. But he had to convince the most beautiful girl in the world that she was everything that was perfection. "You are everything," he said quietly. He didn't realise it in his earnestness to be heard, but all in the room watched avidly as Harry Potter spoke from his heart.

Claudia shook her head, denial writ plain on her face. "You've not seen true pureblood Veela. All you've ever been exposed to is diluted bloodlines or at worst, Veela from the forest with no real magic. They are like the beasts, human in form in one manifestation, but lacking the ability to wield a wand, to do true magic. Pureblood Veela are a result of the mating of such Veela with wizards and witches of great power. They yoked the Veela animal instinct and bred with great care pureblood Veela who had the beauty and magnetism of the base Veela but the control of wizarding kind. We are rare, and the older families, families like mine ensure that we marry within our kin, or if the elders desire, witches and wizards from other powerful bloodlines. There is no love in our arrangements, there is ambition, politics and power."

Claudia sighed and looked down at her clasped hands. "From almost my earliest years I was told that I had no power to attract, to allure. The nursemaids who tended the newly-born Veela never fell in love with me. They had more precious burdens to tend. I almost grew up alone, never strong enough to win my place in the games the others played, in the lessons they learned so easily."

She bit her cherry-red lips and shook her head. "Severus to me is a hero. He was unwanted by the Veela, cursed by them and yet he fought for what is right and true. And when he broke the curse, found true love, I knew, just knew that he would accept me as I was. No one in the family have value for me. My father is ashamed of me, and is thankful that I am but the second daughter, not the first. My older sister is so powerful that she is billed to be the Veela matriarch of our generation. My younger brother is so strong that everyone is convinced that he will found his own blood-line, if only he can find a royal princess to marry."

Speaking these thoughts for the first time were so freeing that Claudia forgot to be ashamed or afraid. She looked up and met the blazing emeralds that were Harry Potter's eyes. "Do you think if my sister, who is seen as even more beautiful than the Golden Juliana had come to England, that no one else would follow, seeking to bring her home again?" She laughed, bitter sorrow making everyone listening want to rent their clothes in shared grief. "But I can come here and not one person in the clan has even missed me as yet. They'll assume I'm in the library or the forest, and unless someone has some task to give me like mending, no one will even ask where I have gone to."

She looked around the room and meeting Severus' arrested eyes, moved to kneel by his chair. "I came to you in the hope that you would accept me. I am useful and can help raise your children. That would bring me so much joy. I helped in the nursery for a time, but as the children grow, they needed someone with more power to watch over them. But your children will not be pureblood Veela. They'll be mixed and therefore I can help with them, teach them the stories, the legends and be of use. Please don't send me back to them. Please."

This was the last thing Severus had expected. His eyes met those of Hermione, and he could see that his tender-hearted wife's eyes were swimming with tears. "Of course you can stay," he said fiercely. "You are kin, and you claim me as such. With your claiming I claim you. And you are not worthless. You may help with the children, when they come, but to us, you are valued for yourself. Your willingness to speak the truth, to be honest with us makes you worthy."

Hermione had left her seat as Severus had made his pronouncement. Now she wrapped her arms around the kneeling girl. "Welcome into our family."

"Indeed," said Narcissa from her place on the sofa.

Claudia began to cry. She had not expected them to accept her, to forgive her weaknesses so easily.

Harry felt his heart break at the sound of her sobs. He didn't care if he made a spectacle of himself, he didn't know it, but in that instant the allure of Claudia's Veela magnetism was removed. What he now felt was genuine emotion. And still he wanted her, needed her. Rising from his seat, he joined Hermione on the floor by Severus' feet and put his arms around Claudia too.

He felt her shoulders shake and met Hermione's eyes. She smiled and released the young Veela into his care. At that, Harry turned the still sobbing girl into his arms. He'd wanted to hold her from the moment he'd seen her. Now he held her and let her feel the comfort of his strong arms. He knew Draco was smirking and that Lucius would already be calculating how this could be used for the benefit of the Malfoys. But he didn't care. The most beautiful girl in the world needed comforting, and he had her in his arms.

A.N: Love it or hate it, what do you think? Do let me know your thoughts.