One More Question

The low noise of the long hall drummed in my ears and with each second, I could feel death creeping closer. I had thought death would have been kinder, gentler almost, like the first time I had crossed over. With the pounding pain and absolute agony I was in, I knew that this time it would be a much different experience.

I wondered if I would see Death at the station again…would it take the visage of my mother again? Maybe give me another choice in trains?

"Stop being melodramatic," Severus rumbled as I folded my arms on the wooden table and dropped my head onto them.

"I'm dying," I whined, rubbing at my pounding temples as the soft chatter around us nearly overwhelmed me. "I've been poisoned, Sev. I'm dying and you couldn't care less. Why don't you care?" The high pitch my voice took at the end had even me wincing.

"You're hungover," Severus snorted, his tone wobbling between disappointment and amusement. "Deservingly hungover, might I add. You're too young to be drinking and I saw more than one of those cups empty in your hands."

I rolled my neck to peak an eye over my forearm, wincing at the brightness of the room. "I didn't know it was alcohol," I hissed.

"Yes, you did," he countered, flicking his finned tail in my face.

"Yes, I did," I confessed, dropping my head back into the dark fold of my arms. "Why did I drink that much…why did you let me drink that much!?"

"I'm hardly your parent," I could feel his claws digging into my hair as he tugged at the strands in reprimand. "Some things need to be experienced to be learned."

"Ugh," I whined again, swatting half heartedly at his torso to get him to stop. "Next time you see me doing anything like that again, bite me." Severus snorted, but he released his grip on my hair and started to nose at the plate of food I was still too nauseous to eat.

I hadn't been able to figure out exactly what it was the Thenns had been celebrating last night – something to do with the moon I think, or maybe the stars – but there had been a lot of food, music, dancing, and drinks. Loboda had frowned at Arnar when the man had put a horn of whitish liquid in my hand but didn't argue. The taste had been milky, thick, and burned going down.

I finished it before I was pulled towards the massive bonfire by Ólafur's two daughters. The eldest, Alfhild, was perhaps a few years older than me at most. Aslaug was not much younger than her sister, but she was taller and probably of age with me. The younger had taken it upon herself to teach me how to use a spear and bow while Alfhild would take me out on horseback every other morning.

Riding horses was nothing like riding a broom, and after my thighs stopped aching, I discovered I absolutely loved it. Severus not so much.

The music had not been like anything I had ever heard. The drum beats were so deep and hard I could feel it in my chest, instruments made of bones, hide, and other various animal parts creating a beautiful and haunting tune. And the singers…the range in their vocals and the passion in which they sang was enchanting.

Alfhild had shoved me into the center of moving bodies as Aslaug laughed loudly. I tried to sneak out of the dancing group, but gave up after being thoroughly hemmed in. Severus had watched me from his perch on one of the many overlooking god statues and had absolutely oozed amusement as I finally gave in and joined the dancers. They didn't seem to be moving in any particular formation, but more in a sense of someone throwing themselves into the beat of the music.

It was unorganized, primitive, and absolutely the most fun I had ever had at any party…though that may have been the alcohol.

My memory seemed to fail sometime after my third cup and seventh dance. "Please tell me I didn't do anything massively stupid," I begged, finally lifting my head. I shoved my loose hair from my face and winced at the bright lights.

"Everything you do is overly idiotic," Severus hummed in amusement, pulling a large piece of meat from my plate and ripping it into small bite size chunks with his incredibly sharp teeth. "But if you mean last night in particular…then the answer is yes. You did several things that would fall under the Stupid-Idiotic-and-Incredibly-Gryffindor category."

"Oh, Merlin," I mumbled, folding my hands and pressing my forehead to my thumbs as if in prayer. "What did I do?"

"You mean aside from getting drunk and dancing like a fool?" He cast me a side glare and I reached for the goblet of water and started to chug the chilled liquid. "Well, you made out with Aslaug after you were finished dancing."

"No," I whispered, horrified. "Please tell me I didn't!"

His purple and green eyes glared into mine as he gave me a completely bland expression. "You did, and quite enthusiastically if the cheering was anything to go by. You also tried to climb onto the roof of the nearest hut with a spear, yelling something about quidditch, but Loboda stopped you."

"Oh, thank Merlin," I pulled the plate back towards me and started to pick at the vegetables. Taking small bites to make certain my stomach wouldn't revolt.

"You then asked him if he was born with the muscles of a bull, or did his gods gift him with them," Severus added with bared teeth and a little head tilt. Despite the lack of muscles to properly display human like emotions, he was successfully imitating his classic smirk. "And then implied he was hung like one, too."

I groaned in mortification and tried to ignore the spiked feeling of smug amusement that he was exuding. "Please tell me that's it," I whined pitifully, stuffing some sort of baked root vegetable into my mouth.

"Aside from you asking me about dragon anatomy, yes…that was all. Oh, and the fact you ended up sleeping here, underneath one of tables."

The sleeping beneath the table I was already aware of, as I had woken up to a dog licking my face not even an hour ago. The dragon anatomy question though…

"What do you mean, dragon anatomy?" I asked, spearing another of the root vegetable and chewing it slowly. It was soft, but slightly spicy and I loved the taste.

He gave me a look through his narrowed eyes that made me wish I hadn't asked. "I believe the way you phrased it was something along the lines of 'do you still have a penis, maybe tucked away like a dog, or do you reproduce more like a bird?'" My mouth dropped open and I could feel the heat on my cheeks. "You then asked if it was like a dog," he continued, and I groaned in horror. "Do I have a knot at the end?"

"Oh, Merlin! Severus I am so sorry!" I stumbled over my words of apology as my embarrassment rose. I couldn't believe I had asked such a thing. "Please, forget everything I said while I was drunk. I didn't mean it."

My apologizing halted at the odd little warbling squeak that rumbled out of Severus' small form. I blinked at him, worried he had started choking, before I realized he was laughing. I had never heard him laugh before, really laugh. I had heard him snort, chuckle, and the occasionally soft laughter, but this was a deep belly laugh that shook his entire body.

Before I could make a comment or question, Loboda had dropped himself on the other side of the table with a large plate and a full mug of water. He gave us a curious look as he started to eat before he frowned at me. "You going to wear your hair like child now?" He asked in the Old Tongue, pointing at me with his two-pronged fork.

I ran my hands through my loose hair and glared at him. "I will braid it later," I replied in the same language. The language was coming easier to me now that Severus had started to teach me to organize my mind with Occlumency. It only took days of near yelling arguments for him to break down the process piece by annoying piece – now that I understood what one meant by clearing the mind – organizing it to enhance memory and make learning easier came like a second nature to me.

Severus said that once I had those two parts fully understood and successfully incorporated, he would start teaching me to shield my mind. I didn't know what I needed to be shielding it against, but I was still excited to learn it.

"Loboda," I started hesitantly after a long moment of silence between us. "I apologize for last night." He furrowed his brows and gave me a curious look. "For what I said, I mean," I elaborated and then continued when he kept staring at me in confusion. "For the bull and gods comment. It was rude and," I struggled to find the word in his language and ended instead just waving my utensil dismissively when one didn't come to me.

"What are you speaking of?" He asked, and I turned my gaze to Severus instead.

The little white dragon was making that same warbling squeak and I flicked his muzzle to get him to stop. "Severus," I hissed, switching back to English. "You said I asked him about his physic, comparing it to a bull!"

"You did," he replied with a snort. "I didn't say what language you asked it in."

"Ugh," I groaned, throwing my hand out to shove him off the table and fixing my eyes on my plate to hide my embarrassment.

"You really understand them?" Loboda asked, frowning at me.

"Yes," I replied with another groan, trying to force the heat from my cheeks as I met his gaze. "I have already told you all of this."

He grunted dismissively as Severus climbed back up onto the table, hissing at me when I moved to shove him off again. The little dragon bared his sharp little teeth at me, and I thought better of it.

"The other ones still hunting?" Loboda asked as Severus went back to snatching bits off my plate. I flicked his nose when he started to sniff at one of the vegetables and in retaliation, he sneezed on me.

"Ew, gross," I grumbled, pushing my plate away so he could no longer reach it. "Yes, they are still hunting, they might stop by in a few days or so."

The whelps spent most of their time hunting and playing in the valley. Once or twice a fortnight they would fly into the village to terrorize the citizens and take over the baths. Guinevere and Gemini were the worst culprits and most of the Thenns would become very watchful when either of the red dragons came near the village. They didn't cause any physical harm or property damage, but they were menaces.

They liked to stalk the chickens and goats, steal eggs that were unattended, and drink up the goat's milk that was left outside. The first full sentences I learned in the Old Tongue were those of apology.

Ophelia was the most often seen near the village, but the least likely to enter it. The guards who walked the perimeter walls saw her most often, but none dared approach. Some tried throwing her some meat out of curiosity, but she would only sniff at it suspiciously and move on.

Roan wasn't shy from taking food when offered. He had also learned that if he chirruped, tilted his head in a cute way, and opened his mouth, sometimes the children would throw him bits of cooked meat. Severus was disgusted by the act of begging, but I was too amused and encouraged by the positive interaction between people and dragon to tell him to stop.

Roan was getting quite fat though, and soon I feared he would be grounded like Ophelia, simply because he was too heavy to fly.

Loki, on the other hand, was actively offended whenever someone tried to offer him food. The villagers – especially the children – soon learned to avoid him when he was near or inside the walls. He was foul tempered and not afraid to show it.

Severus and I were always very watchful when Loki was near the children. Adults were aware enough to avoid the bronze dragon, but the children not as much, especially since Hera and Romulus were always so gentle with them. Explaining to the dragon that the children weren't challenging him was harder than introducing the concept of property. In the end, it was easier to caution the children away from him, than tell him ignore his instincts when he thought he was being threatened.

"Are you going to the baths?" I asked as Loboda finished off his plate and a servant came to clean up our table.

"No," Loboda very nearly rolled his eyes. "Only you bathe every day."

"I like being clean," I replied with very little heat. This was another argument that we have had before since my language skills advanced enough to hold a conversation. "And so should you," I added.

Loboda grunted dismissively and waved down another servant to refill his cup. "Nobody needs to be that clean," he replied after taking another drink. "Your skin will fall off from that much water."

My eyes trailed to the side passages as Loboda went on about the benefits of not bathing so often…which I didn't bother listening to because it was all bullshit in my book. The open passageway behind the raised platform caught my attention once more, like it had nearly every time when I was in the great hall.

The Magnar was absent from his bone decorated throne and I was grateful. The man had a penchant for staring at me in a decidedly uncomfortable way whenever we were in proximity from each other. He didn't like me, I knew that much at least, but I didn't know why. I had been careful not to cast magic around any of the Thenns that would be overly obvious, even around Loboda in the safety of his cabin. I tried to make certain I wasn't underfoot, and even had started to learn about their culture, but nothing I did seemed enough for him.

The Magnar wanted me gone, or preferably dead, and nothing I did or didn't do seemed to change his mind. Whatever that crazy old woman had seen after she drank my blood had set his mind.

"What did she say?" I asked after a moment, and Loboda followed my gaze to the shadowed tunnel that led to the woman that they called the Seer.

"You know we cannot discuss this," he replied, setting his mug back onto the table and reaching out to wrap his hand around my wrist. That was another thing that had surprised me about their culture, the Thenns were very physical with each other, and now with me. I had to get used to them constantly touching me, especially after living on my own with the dragons for so long. "Only the Magnar and the Elders are allowed to speak with the Seer, and what she sees in the flames, stays with her and those she speaks too."

"But if I could just talk to her –" I argued, cutting myself off when he squeezed my wrist tightly enough to hurt.

"Only the Magnar and the Elders. You cannot speak to her, you must not," he insisted, releasing me when Severus began a low rumbling growl. "He could have you killed for even thinking of it." The he Loboda was speaking of was of course the Magnar. "Tell me you will not. Say it!" He barked the words.

"I will not," I replied quickly as he glared at me from across the table. "I will not!" I insisted as he continued to glare.

After a moment, he nodded and then chugged the rest of his drink and stood. "Braid your hair before you leave the long hall."

"I will," I sighed in annoyance, scratching my nails along my scalp. "After I bathe, I promise."

He gave me one more look that I interpreted as 'don't do anything stupid' before he left. It looked surprisingly similar to Severus' 'I know you're about to do something stupid but can't stop you' that he was giving me right at this moment as well.

"Hari," Severus said my name like a warning or a reprimand.

"What?" I asked innocently, switching back to English so as not to be overheard. "I'm not doing anything."

"You think me a fool, you insufferable child. You're face is like an open book; you are thinking about doing something."

"I'm thinking about taking a bath," I replied heatedly, miffed about being called out so soon, before I had even really thought about what it was I was going to do. I had only gotten so far as to hoping that the hall had cleared out after I had bathed and then maybe sneaking down the tunnel to speak to the Seer.

I was really missing my invisibility cloak.

Snape eyed me dubiously but didn't argue further as I stood and made my way towards the baths. He fluttered behind me and settled himself near one of the open pools as I went behind the curtain to undress.

Four of the pools were empty and I climbed up to the highest one where Severus had submerged himself. Six women were occupying the pool adjacent to mine, but they looked to be almost finished.

I bathed quickly, scrubbing my skin clean and then shampooing my hair. I was done in minutes but let myself relax into the heat as it eased my headache and I finally started to feel normal once more. Occupying the small shelf, I leaned back and let my legs and arms free float into the water, closing my eyes to listen to the cascading water and soft chatter.

I could hear Severus surfacing every few minutes, the water sloshing as the women left, and soft chatter of others entering. The heat had lulled me into a soft doze when the sound of someone approaching my pool woke me abruptly. Three men were lowering themselves into the water, one of which I recognized.

"Styr," I greeted hesitantly as he raked his gaze up and down my form. Most of me was submerged, and even so I felt suddenly ill at ease and had to fight the urge to cover myself. I knew that showing that sort of weakness to him would be a mistake.

"Witch," he replied with a sneer that turned into a smirk when he saw how uncomfortable he had made me.

I had decided I disliked Styr from the first moment I saw him, back when I was still learning their language and Loboda had taken me to the bathing pools for the first time. The way he looked at me was like a wolf eyeing up a defenseless sheep and it made me feel dirty.

I had seen him many times since then, lurking around corners and watching me go about my day in a distinctly predatorial way. Once, he had even gotten me alone near the smoke building, where they dried their food for preservation, and pressed me up against the hut wall. The way he had twisted one of my loose braids between his thick fingers as he leaned in close – smelling of dirt, smoke, and rotten meat – was impossible to misinterpret. He was interested in me, that much I knew, and he didn't care that I had no interest in him.

The only thing that had stopped him from forcing himself on me that day was Severus dive bombing him from his perch on the roof. Before Styr could make a second attempt, my wand had appeared in my hand, pointed straight at him, and Severus' angry shrieking drawing the attention of our host, Loboda. Styr had left reluctantly, a twisted smirk on his lips and a promise to see me again soon.

It looked like my time was up.

Styr waded through the water to settle next to me on the small shelf and I forced myself to remain still even as he raised his arms along the back of the pool to settle on the dry stones, one arm behind me in a position that made me feel suddenly caged. The other two men that came with him were watching us curiously, but they didn't approach.

"Your dog left you alone?" Styr asked, shifting closer so his bare leg touched mine and I finally gave into the urge to shift uncomfortably. I twisted my legs away and tried to slide off the shelf, but Styr's hand was suddenly closing over my opposite shoulder and pulling me fully against his side.

I grimaced as I shifted my arm to keep it trapped between us, using it as a barrier so my chest wasn't pressed against his. It left my hand uncomfortably close to his thigh, but I balled it into a fist and held it rigid so it wouldn't touch him. Heat rose to my cheeks as anger rose in my chest and I fought the urge to pull out my wand and hex him into an early grave.

The Magnar let me be as long as I remained docile and harmless. If I started attacking on of his most trusted and beloved men, I was as good as dead…even if Styr was the one who started it.

"Leaving so soon, little witch?" He asked slyly, stroking his hand down my arm, his thumb ghosting against the side of my breast.

I jerked away so quickly he lost his grip on my slick skin and started to pull myself out of the pool in a hurry. The water was sloshing loudly behind me and I knew that Styr was going to make another attempt when Severus breached from beneath the water and shrieked loudly, his cry echoing in the small space. It was enough for me to make a quick escape and I darted to the dressing area and didn't bother with the towel. Instead, I flicked my wand to dry my skin and started to pull my clothes and trying to ignore the loud laughter from the men.

Pulling the hide aside, I nearly tripped over Severus who was standing guard, puffed up and hissing at the men who were watching me from the pool. Styr was still laughing, and I shuddered internally as my eyes met his leering blue ones, before I scooped up the little dragon and nearly ran out of the baths.

"I'll be seeing you soon, little witch!" Styr called after me, just as he had the last time he had gotten me alone, and I shuddered at the threat that felt too much like a promise.

Once I was a good portion down the tunnel, I finally slowed and released my death grip on Severus. Sighing in relief when I realized I wasn't being followed, I ran my fingers through my wet strands and started to wring the remaining water out of it.

Severus climbed up to my shoulder as I guided my wand towards my hair and felt my scalp tingle as braids began to form. Pulling the extra ties from my pockets, I used magic to tie them off and shook my hair as it all settled. It was much more simple than the braids Loboda did, but at least he couldn't complain as it was braided.

"I don't want you to ever be alone with him again," Severus grumbled, his low growl still pulsating from his chest.

"I hadn't planned on it," I replied with more than a little bite in my tone. I raised my fingers and stroked them down his neck and wing in an apology. It wasn't his fault I was cross.

"I also want you to start keeping that sword of yours attached to you," he demanded with a hiss.

"Loboda told me to leave it in the cabin," I replied, walking swiftly as if I was still being pursued but trying to hide it.

"And I am telling you to have it on your person at all times," Severus commanded in a stern tone and I found myself nodding in ascent. The sword of Gryffindor would certainly make me feel a little safer, and if I killed Styr in combat as opposed to with magic, the Magnar may yet let me live.

The long hall was nearly empty when we returned, only a few servants cleaning and doing their chores, along with the occasional villager who was still nursing their hangover. The dais was still unoccupied, and nobody was paying attention to me. It looked like my hoping really had worked after all.

When I saw Hermione next, I would have to rub this in her face. See, who needed a plan when one had luck on their side?

I cast a quick notice-me-not,turned and made my way over to the dark tunnel, ignoring Severus' hissed protestations. Looking behind myself one more time to make certain nobody was watching, I darted down the tunnel.

It was dark, nearly too dark to see by as all the torches along the walls were out, but I dare not light them, or cast any fairy lights for fear of being caught. Loboda's words of caution played on repeat in the back of my head as I made my way slowly further down.

"This is a terrible idea," Severus rumbled lowly, taking care to be quiet so his grumbling wouldn't echo down the tunnel and give us away. "Hari, return to the long hall this instant."

"Don't you want to know what the woman said?" I asked, continuing down the tunnel and ignoring his further arguing. "Look, I'm going to talk to her. You can wait outside if you have a problem with it."

"Gryffindor's," Severus hissed the word like it was something foul. "It's this sort of thinking that kept getting you in detention."

"Take points away, if it makes you feel any better," I stopped in front of the heavy fur hide that covered the room of the Seer. "Are you coming or not?"

Severus grumbled below his breath but didn't argue further. Taking that as a win, I pulled aside the hide and flinched back at the musky smoke that rushed into my face. Coughing, I stepped inside and cast a discreet bubble head charm to clear the air near my nose and mouth. Already I could feel that odd feeling settling over me like the last time. My head felt incredibly light like it was about to pop off and fly away, while my body seemed to have become a hundred pounds heavier and felt like if I stopped moving, it would just sink into the floor.

"Hello," I called out in the Old Tongue, hesitantly and with more than a little trepidation. After a long moment of silence, I shuffled further into the room, my boots sliding cautiously against the stone ground. "Hello?"

"I was wondering when you would finally come and see me, girl," a withered voice replied from behind me, and I turned so fast I stumbled over my own feet and fell next to the charred remains in the fire pit. The woman laughed at me, her blackened mouth opened as she howled in amusement, her bare breasts jiggling obscenely with each cackle.

Luckily, I had only squeaked in surprise and grunted from the impact, any more noise and I was afraid I was going to give us away. I had no idea how she had gotten behind me, as the curtain was closed and unmoving, but there she was. And it seemed I was expected.

"You were waiting for me?" I asked cautiously, beginning to stand but halting when she waved one hand with long cracked nails – fingers blackened to the second joint – at me. Instead I pulled myself into a seated position and twisted to watch her as she moved around to the other side of the fire pit. My attention was pulled briefly to her bare feet and I fought not to grimace in disgust when I realized her toenails were just as long and broken, toes black, and feet filthy.

"I am always waiting girl, always. Waiting and watching…and then waiting some more. You are not the first I have waited for, nor will you be the last," she huffed the words as if already bored by the conversation, twisting her knobby legs as she eased herself down onto the furs. Her bone necklace rattled discomfortingly in the near quiet. "But you are perhaps the most interesting."

"But Loboda told me only the Elders and the Magnar are to speak to you," I spoke cautiously, afraid that she would tell someone and the Magnar would finally have the excuse he was looking for to execute me.

"And you hardly ever do as your told," she chuckled, the words almost sounding fond if they didn't feel so threatening. She spoke as if she knew me. It made my skin crawl and I felt a chill down my spine.

The loose and wrinkled skin on her bare stomach bunched up into rolls as she folded herself forward, reaching with her long arm to grab something from a stone bowl, casting what looked like ashes into the fire. The fire caught and started to blaze as if there was still wood in the near empty fire pit, reaching nearly as high as I was seated, and the heat that hit me felt like I was standing beneath the desert sun.

Severus' tiny claws dug into the hide of my shoulder, pinching the skin painfully as his tail twitched in unease. I didn't tell him to stop, my own fingernails digging crescents into the palm of my hands as the Seer reached behind her with her spidery like limbs and pulled the same ritualistic blade from its sheath. She sliced the blade across her palm, flicking her hand to cast the blood into the flames as she chanted.

Smoke was pulled into her lungs with each breath and I fought the urge to flinch back as she presented me with the knife once more. "Go on," she spoke, her voice crackling as if it was parchment that had caught fire, grinding and broken like melting ice and shifting sands. "Take it…you want answers?"

I reached forward hesitantly, my fingers ghosting over the bone handle before finally curling around it. She watched me with her milky white eyes as I held it, doing nothing more than letting it rest in the palm of my hand. Her smile was black and twisted as she bared her teeth at me, waiting.

"Severus?" I asked softly, tilting my head to catch his eyes. My voice was cautious, uneasy.

"You were the one who wanted to come here?" He replied, his own tone tight as I felt his tail twitching against my back. "Get your answers or give her the blade and leave. Where has all your Gryffindor courage gone?" His question wasn't layered with as much cynicism as I was expecting from him.

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled in English as I took the blade sliced a long line across the palm of my hand. "It isn't your blood."

The Seer reached over the fire and seized my wrist before I could set the blade back down and dug her blackened tongue into the wound. I fought the urge to pull away, trying very hard not to think about how unsanitary this was. The appendage wiggled inside my wound, wet, and incredibly gross.

I would have to take another bath just to feel clean again.

She swallowed most of my blood, spitting the rest into the fire and releasing my wrist as the flames turned purple. "Ask your questions, girl…and live with the answers!" The Seer cackled. "You won't like them," she giggled lowly, her sagging breasts swaying as she rocked side to side. "Nobody ever does."

I cradled my bleeding hand to my chest and swallowed past the tight sensation in my throat, suddenly feeling like this was a really terrible idea. It was only at Severus' soft hissing did I finally blink out of my stupor. "The first day," I started hesitantly, shifting to sit on my knees as unease settled deep in my stomach. "When the Elders and the Magnar brought me here, what did you tell them?"

"The truth," the Seer laughed at me, milky white eyes boring into mine. "I only ever speak the truth."

"But what did you say?" I hissed in frustration, but she only kept laughing. I would clearly have to phrase my questions differently if I wanted actual answers. "Why does the Magnar dislike me?"

The Seer chuckled lowly, spit and blood dribbling down her chin and neck. "He sees you for as you really are," she answered as she waved her spindly arms to pull more smoke into her face. "He sees the trouble and chaos that you bring, he sees the change that you force, he sees the death that follows in your wake, the shadows you cast that drown those beneath you. He sees his end when he looks at you girl."

I rocked backwards at her words, suddenly realizing that I was playing with truly dangerous magics. McGonagall didn't really believe in prophecy, and I was of mind with her, but this…this felt different. This felt true, and more importantly, this felt binding.

My legs twitching as if to throw myself from the room and her words, wanting to leave. I didn't want to ask any more questions – wished I hadn't asked the one I already had – but before I could begin to stand, the Seer lurched forward, her arm thrust through the flames to grip unrelenting around my wrist and forced me still. "The flames are still purple," she hissed, baring her blackened teeth in a way that was for the first time not smothered in amusement. "I told you girl; you won't like the answers. But the flames are purple, and you will continue. You must continue."

I trembled in her grip but forced myself to remain seated as she released me. The skin on her arm were blackened where the flames had touched it, but it appeared unharmed otherwise. Severus rumbled in discontent from upon my shoulder, his thumb claws digging into the looped braids of my hair, but he too urged me to stay.

"This has the same feel to it as a ritual," he whispered in my air, his tongue flicking out in unease. "To leave could cause the magic to backlash."

"Listen to your dragon, girl," the hag smirked at me, the lips taking a sinister tilt.

"You can understand him?" I asked despite the urge to flee and ask no more. She didn't answer, only continued to smirk at me in that threatening way of hers. "What trouble do I bring?" I asked after a long moment of silence, struggling to accept that I must continue and wishing desperately that I had never entered this place.

"The Others want you, girl," she was smiling again, and I didn't know which was worse…her amusement or her anger. "They want what you hold, the power that rests within you. They take you, make you one of Them, and this world is lost. They come here looking for you, girl."

"They followed me into the valley," I whispered, horrified. I was the reason Loboda's son was dead. It was my fault that the scouting party was attacked.

"Yes," the Seer replied, though I had not asked. "But They would come into the valley even if you weren't here. They want everything!"

The words did little to ease my guilt or my conscious. "More will come, will they not?"

"Yes," she cackled, laughing so loudly it echoed off the stone and I was suddenly terrified that the noise would draw unwanted attention. "They will come and come and come until all are as They."

"Then we need to leave!" I struggled to keep from shouting, leaning forward onto my hands and digging them into the cold stone to ground myself. "We cannot stay in the valley. Have you told the Magnar? Why are the Thenns still here?"

"He knows, girl," the words were spoken both bitterly and full of amusement. "This Magnar knows, and this Magnar will never leave the valley."

I frowned at her phrasing, tilting my head curiously as my mind tried to understand why she had emphasized certain words in her sentence. The occlumency lessons and lectures on critical thinking that Severus had been giving me helped a great deal in parsing out the meaning behind someone's words. It was a long way from just throwing myself into a situation and taking everything at face value…Hermione would be so proud.

My teeth worried at my lower lip as I forced myself to remain silent until I felt as if I understood what the Seer was telling me. The valley was in danger from the Others and the dead army that followed them. The Thenns followed the will of the Magnar. And the Magnar would never abandon the valley. But if there was perhaps a different Magnar…

"What is the process of electing a Magnar?" I asked the Seer.

She laughed at me, the small bones in her hair clicking as she threw her head back. "The Gods," she spoke the words as if they were being pulled from her. "The Gods will choose the next Magnar once the current Magnar has passed."

I frowned again, my plan of a coup leaving as quickly as it had formed. If the position was one for life, than that clearly presented a problem. "How much longer will this Magnar remain?"

The Seer's milky eyes latched onto mine, but it was as if she was looking through me. "That is entirely up to you," she cackled lowly, licking her spit and blood speckled lips as she all but leered at me. "A day will come, girl, and soon. And on this day, a choice must be made. You can turn, turn away and watch as all those you have come to know fall to a winter without end. Turn and witness the death of all those you now hold dear. Turn and walk away, leave the snow to cover our bones until They come to raise us once more.

"Or…" she whispered now, leaning so close I feared her hair would catch aflame. "Or..." she said again trailing off.

"Or what?" I finally asked and her milky eyes were staring at me now, though how she could see I didn't know.

"Or, kill the Magnar of the Thenns and save us all," the Seer cackled as she finished speaking. Her voice sounded like a thousand birds crying, dying frogs croaking their last, ice breaking into the sea.

I flinched back as if struck and stood so quickly I nearly lost my balance as a dizzying wave hit me. Stumbling towards the exit, I felt sick and fought the sudden and violent urge to vomit. My vision was blurred, and it wasn't until I wiped my eyes did I realize I was crying, gasping in deep wet breaths as I sobbed in horror.

"Girl!" The Seer shouted and I stumbled to a stop, hands fisted on the thick hide that hung over the exit. I didn't want to turn, didn't want too, and yet I found myself unable to resist. "The flames have yet to return, you still have one more question."

"I have no more to ask!" I shouted in anger and fear, suddenly uncaring if I was caught. Anything had to be better than this.

"You do!" She laughed, deep and hacking like a cough. "One more question, girl. You know which one. You don't want to ask, but you must. So, ask!"

I shook my head in denial, but she was right. I did have one more question, one that had been on my mind for so long that it hovered in the background constantly. But now I was afraid. Afraid to breathe the words into the world and give them life. Afraid that the Seer would say the answer that I had feared for so long.

The hide slipped through my fingers and I returned to the fire. My body felt numb and separate, as if I was watching myself move from far away, watched my body lower itself to sit across from the old hag, watching myself open my mouth to ask the question I didn't want to ask.

"Will we ever return home?" The words were pulled from me, scraping my throat like sandpaper and making my tongue bleed as it was bitten between unforgiving teeth.

The hag was looking right at me, her face so still it reminded me of Death's, a mask to be worn over bone. The skin was slack and wrinkled, stained with ash, dirt, spit, and blood. "Oh, you poor child," she whispered, unsmiling and unemotional. And then her face broke – a crack in the face of the Earth – her lips peeled back, and she laughed. "You may return…one day. But not until you have lost everything you hold dear. Not until you kill the one you love most. Let it go, forget that life. This is your home now, girl."

Her laughter washed over me, heavy and smothering as I lowered my head and cried.