The title for chapter seven is from…Godspell. Congrats to Easterly Winds, maureen is me, and Wickedgreenchild.
Also, kudos to renny for being the 100th reviewer. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.
Chapter 8: There's a Fine, Fine Line
"How could they possibly believe Snape was a real death eater? What was their bloody problem?" Elphaba stormed into her room, glaring around madly for anything to take her anger out on. Snape was a good friend, and she was furious that the English equivalents of the Gale Force were now after him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her broom leaning against a corner. With a huff, she grabbed it.
She barged out of her room as suddenly as she barged into it. Her portrait seem rather disturbed by this, but wisely remained silent. Elphaba ran through corridors, barely avoiding running into students or other professors, who looked at her as if she'd gone crazy. However, Elphaba kept moving without any apology or comment.
Finally, after a million stairs (figuratively, that it), she made it to the top of the Astronomy Tower. She marched over to the window after a brief pause to regain her breath. She pulled it open to see—
Rain. It was raining outside. The rain that had calmed her only half an hour ago now made her even more angry.
Elphaba released a barbaric yell as she kicked the wall beneath the window. Then she let out a stream of curse words for having been so foolish and hurting her foot. What right did the weather have to do this to her? She needed to get out into the fresh air and fly, free of gravity and of stupid people who were going after her friends!
"Elphie?"
In her despair and anger, the green witch barely noticed that someone had said her name. "Cursed rain! Think it's funny, huh? HUH?"
"Elphie, are you talking to…the weather?" the voice asked.
Elphaba whirled around. "Who are-oh. Sorry, Glinda."
Glinda stood there, looking timid and concerned for her friend. "I'm sorry, am I allowed up here? I just…well, you looked really upset, so I followed you to see if I could find out what's wrong and…" Glinda trailed off. Great, could she sound any more infatuated with Elphaba than she sounded right then? Good going, Glinda!
However, Elphaba was ignorant of Glinda's thoughts. "No, it's nothing. It's just…nothing."
A little smile crossed the blonde's face. "You ran all the way up here from your room for nothing?"
"Well…I guess it is something. Just people being STUPID. Like this STUPID WEATHER!" Elphaba yelled at the rain.
Glinda's tinkle of laughter made her turn around again. "Elphie, yelling at the rain is not going to make it stop! If there is some Unnamed God, then that would probably only make it worse! And what's so bad about rain anyway? I thought you weren't allergic to it!"
"Just because I'm not allergic to it doesn't mean I don't passionately hate it at the present moment!" Elphaba retorted before remembering this was Glinda she was speaking to- calm, sweet, caring Glinda. Glinda, who she was secretly in love with. "I'm sorry. I just…found out some really annoying news today."
Glinda took a few dainty steps towards her friend. "Well, would you like to talk about it?" she asked.
Heaving a sigh, Elphaba sat down on a table. "You met Snape, right?"
Suddenly Glinda had a feeling she knew where this was going. She was going to admit something about having an affair. Awkward would not even begin to describe this.
"Um, yeah," Glinda said, feeling as small as she sounded.
"Well, he's kind of…spying on the Death Eaters for the Order, but now the officials here think that he isn't pretending to be a Death Eater at all- that he really is a bloody Death Eater!" Elphaba tried to explain without yelling.
Oh, Glinda thought, relieved. Well, that sounded like platonic concern. Thank goodness Elphaba wasn't romantically invol—
"And, well, I just really care about Snape," Elphaba finished.
Darn. Glinda felt like crying at this revelation.
"He's just been such a good friend to me here. He understands what it's like to be seen as different- to be set apart from everyone else. He really guided me around Hogwarts my first year here. And he's always been…such a mentor in some ways, and such a friend in others."
Glinda nodded miserably.
"He's been my only real friend here."
Oh, now she wasn't even a friend of Elphaba's anymore! She was here, Glinda though indignantly. "I'm here, Elphaba!" she said her last though aloud.
"I know," Elphaba replied, looking at Glinda, "but Snape's always been here. He'll always be here." She paused. "Unless they haul him to off Azkaban," she muttered sarcastically.
Glinda couldn't believe this. So, Elphaba really was in love with Snape. Here Glinda was, trying to help Elphaba feel better, when doing so would be at Glinda's own expense.
Good-hearted Glinda, however, cared more about her friend than what her friend might have done behind her ex-boyfriend's back. "Oh, Elphie, I'm sorry. But I'm sure your 'Ministry' will realize that Snape's not bad and that this is all a mistake!" Glinda tried to sooth her friend.
"What if they don't?" Elphaba asked. "What if something happens to Snape because of this, when he's really innocent? Who even made up this lie? That's something that angers me a lot, too—what little creep would say such things about such a wonderful person?" She laughed bitterly. "No good deed goes unpunished," she said cynically, looking out at the grey skies.
"I don't know, Elphie, I don't know," Glinda said reassuringly. In truth, though, Glinda thought she knew. Snape was a kind of…creepy guy, she thought. He seemed the type of guy who could make someone angry- angry enough to hold a grudge against him which might manifest into…well, this whole situation.
"He's been such a good friend, Glinda! I don't know what I would have done without him!" Elphaba said, her anger transitioning into despair.
"Shh, don't worry about it! Everything will be all right!" Glinda tried to calm Elphaba. Inside, however, she knew nothing would ever be all right again. She'd convinced herself that there was a chance—a small one, but still a chance—that Elphaba might wake up one day and realize that she had loved Glinda all along. However, now Glinda realized that would never happen. Elphaba, judging from her current behavior and comments, was in love with Snape, not Glinda.
Snape. What'd she even see in him, anyway? Glinda thought, slightly annoyed.
"I see, well, so much goodness in him- although he'd murder me if he knew I'd said that- and I just wish other people would see it too!" Elphaba sighed.
Well, that answers that question…but I have so much goodness in me! What about me, Elphie? What about me? I'm Glinda the Good for a reason, aren't I?
Still, Glinda didn't say anything more. Instead she just made soothing sounds while she rubbed Elphaba's back, wishing that Elphaba would realize how much Glinda loved her while knowing that would never happen. Never.
The Halloween Feast at Hogwarts was always a sight to behold. Carved pumpkins flickered overhead, and the mirage of the sky above the Great Hall was a deep navy blue- almost black- with beautiful stars glimmering throughout it. Generally speaking, it was Elphaba's favorite holiday here in England.
There was much chatter among the students and teachers, enjoying the fruits of the House Elves' labors. Elphaba watched Snape, who was sitting two or three seats down from her worriedly. His face seemed pale and drawn; he had not taken the news of his pending arrest well. Although both Dumbledore and Elphaba had advised him to go to Grimmauld's Place to hide until this chaos was over, Snape refused to budge. Elphaba believed that his exact words were, "I will not let a bunch of idiotic officials tell me what to do with my life."
So, the only thing to do right now, although it hurt terribly, was to watch and wait it out. Dumbledore, despite many hours of searching, had not been able to find out anything on the supposed 'sources' that the ministry had gotten their information from.
"Elphie," Glinda said from Elphaba's right. "What exactly is Hello-ween? There wasn't anything like this in Oz."
"Halloween," Elphaba stressed. "Basically, it's where Muggles, or non-magic folk, in this world, dress up as…" she trailed off.
"As what, Elphie?" Glinda asked. However, Elphaba wasn't listening. She clenched her Order necklace that hung around her neck at all times, feeling the heat coming from it, which indicated an emergency meeting. Her eyes darted to Snape, who was looking at her in alarm, and McGonagall, who had already stood up.
Elphaba glanced at Glinda and then stood up as well. However, she was stopped by a hand tugging at her arm. "Elphie, what is it? What happened? Are you all right?" Glinda asked in concern.
"Nothing's happened," Elphaba said. Or at least, I hope nothing happened. Maybe it'll be another false alarm, she added in her head. "I have to go."
"Should I come with-" Glinda began.
"No, no, I'll be fine," Elphaba replied distantly, her mind miles away. "Hopefully," she muttered pessimistically.
Glinda frowned in concern, but before she could say anything else, Elphaba pulled her arm away and followed Snape and McGonagall, who were waiting for her by the door behind the teachers' table. Quickly, the three Order members left the festivities of the Great Hall, muttering a hurried excuse to those teachers not in the Order.
"What is it?" Snape asked as soon as they were away from the chatter of the Hall. "Why did Albus call a meeting, and an emergency meeting at that?"
"I think there might have been an attack," McGonagall said tersely. "Albus had expressed to me his fears that Grimmauld's Place might be attacked. He suspects a traitor in the Order, you know."
"A traitor?" Elphaba asked, surprised. "How does Albus know about this?"
"Not for sure," McGonagall answered. "But little things add up: the fact that Fiyero couldn't find any information at all, you, "she looked at Snape, "not being called to You-Know-Who," here, Elphaba glared at McGonagall, "for meetings, things like that. Besides, how would the ministry have known that Snape was a Death Eater? As far as I know, the Order members are the only ones that know."
"You must be out of your mind," Snape snapped.
At the same time, Elphaba asked sarcastically, "Are you suggesting that Voldemort reported Snape to the Ministry? Because I'm sure that he can open the door, waltz up to the front desk, and say, 'Hi. I'm Voldemort. You may remember me. I'd like to report that Severus Snape is a Death Eater."
"What would he gain by doing so?" Snape continued.
"Not him," McGonagall replied impatiently. "But perhaps he ordered one of the Death Eaters to do it. As for what he would gain, well, you're a bloody traitor, Snape. Wouldn't it be ironic for you to be condemned by the very people you are trying to help?"
Snape glared, but before he could argue further, they had reached the secret room that the Order members grouped in while at Hogwarts. "Shut up," Elphaba growled, her nerves strained to breaking point. "You can discuss this later."
The three teachers made their way into said room in tense silence. Other members milled around, waiting for Dumbledore to show up. Elphaba made her way over to Remus Lupin, who was standing by the window. "Remus," Elphaba said urgently. "What's happened? Why did Dumbledore-"
"There's been an attack, Fae," Remus replied without looking at her. "I'm not sure where, though. I just know there's an attack, and a big one at that."
Before Elphaba could ask anymore, Dumbledore hurried into the room. There was a sudden stillness in the room as the leader of the Order arrived. "There has been an attack at Grimmauld's Place," Dumbledore said as soon as he arrived.
At this announcement, a muted muttering filled the room. Since only a member would know where Grimmauld's Place was, there had to be a traitor in the Order.
"Silence, you fools," Snape's voice rose over the other members' speculations. "Do you want to find out what's going on or not?"
Several people glowered at Snape, and Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "Thank you, Severus. The attack started five minutes ago. Voldemort," here, three-fourths of the Order members flinched, "has brought every single Death Eater at his disposal-"
"In other words, we're pretty much screwed," Ron Weasley interjected tactlessly.
"Thank you, Weasley," Snape snarled.
Dumbledore raised his voice. "Aurors have arrived, but find themselves seriously outnumbered. We have sixty members here and about thirty Aurors at Grimmauld's Place. Today, I only want defense. None of you are to pursue the Death Eaters or perform unnecessary heroic acts. We don't have enough people to spare for that."
Dumbledore made a little motion with his hand, enabling the Order members to have the ability to Disapparate from the Hogwarts Grounds. "Now move out."
With that, members began to disappear as they Apparated to Grimmauld's Place.
Elphaba took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for yet another battle before doing the same. She hated everything about a battle: The sight of a friend falling besides her, the sounds of pained screams, the smell of death, the feel of a dead body, cold and devoid of life, and the taste of tangy blood lingering in the air. Still, this was her duty, and she would not avoid it, however much she wished to.
When she felt her feet hit solid ground again, she opened her eyes and scanned the battlefield. Grimmauld's Place had been set on fire, no doubt trying to weed out any Order members remaining in the Blacks' old family home. Muggles were screaming, trying to get away from the jets of lights and the people in black cloaks. Before she could see anymore, she felt a spell being cast behind her. Another battle for her life had begun.
After some time of trading spells back and forth with various Death Eaters, Elphaba paused, gasping for breath. There was something extremely suspicious going on- the Death Eaters were never this strong before. This worried her; she would have to mention this to Dumbledore at the debriefing, although, she figured that even Dumbledore would notice this little fact. She pushed a strand of black hair away from her sweaty face and scanned the battlefield.
The Death Eaters were definitely gaining ground. Slowly, but surely, they broke through the Order and Aurors. Elphaba looked around for Dumbledore to alert him of this urgent matter, but noticed that the Headmaster was busy dueling with Voldemort himself.
She couldn't pause for more than a moment, however. Even as she watched, hordes of Dementors began to swoop down on the unsuspecting Order members. "Fae, your patronus," Remus screamed breathlessly.
Elphaba needed no further urging. She made her way over to Remus, fighting the cold that was seeping into her mind. Standing back-to-back with the werewolf, she raised her wand and cast the Patronus. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Remus's wolf Patronus run towards the dementors, with her silver panther following close behind.
Voldemort and Dumbledore were dueling nearby, and Elphaba could hear every word that Voldemort was saying. It was obvious that Voldemort had the upper hand, and it looked as though Voldemort knew it.
"Give it up, old man," Voldemort cackled, much like Elphaba had done when she had been the Wicked Witch of the West. "You'll never win, Dumbledore!"
"You're wrong, Tom," Dumbledore replied wearily. "Even if you defeat me today, my mantle will doubtlessly be taken up by many others."
Voldemort laughed, as if Dumbledore had told a joke. "Then, I will kill the others. There will be no more resistance against me. I have a new weapon not even your pathetic Order will be able to defeat," he sneered, his red eyes boring into Dumbledore's blue ones.
"You always say this, Tom," Dumbledore said as he summoned a large chunk of stone to block yet another spell from Voldemort. "But yet, you never deliver. You can not worry or distract me."
"Your arrogance will be your defeat," Voldemort predicted.
"How ironic," Harry snapped, suddenly appearing besides his mentor. "I was about to say the same to you."
"I am not arrogant," Dumbledore stated blandly. "I am merely telling the truth." He turned to look at his ex-student. "Leave, Harry. This is not your fight."
"No," Harry countered, "I'm going to help you no matter what."
A new weapon? She wondered. Could this have to do with how strong the Death Eater's have become?
"Fae!" someone screamed. "On your left!"
Elphaba whirled around, but the warning had come too late. A jet of red light hit her chest where her ribs were. She brought her fingers to her chest and they came away with blood that had already begun to stain her robes. Another jet of light hit her from the side, throwing her into the door of the old headquarters.
Elphaba's vision slowly faded into darkness.
Coming up: Snape's trial. Dun dun dun…
-Wolfie