The title for chapter twenty-five is from…See What I Wanna See. Congrats to Yank2324, mcducko1, and Firstlady1408.
Yay! I'm back from Ashland! My friend (not Mara) actually told me to stop writing this story, or at least take a break from it. What do you think of that?
Chapter 26: I Don't Need Anything But You
Elphaba looked up in surprise to not only find Glinda and Dumbledore sweeping into the Hospital Wing, whimsical robes behind him, but also Harry and Snape. "What are you two doing here?" she asked bluntly, although maybe a little more harshly than intended. "I only asked after Albus."
"You really know how to make a man self-conscious." Harry grinned with vibrancy stemmed from relief. "Glad to see you're as straightforward as ever, Fae; it means you're getting better. It's just that Snape and I were in a meeting with Dumbledore and decided to tag along. Maybe we could help."
As expected, Madame Pomphrey walked up to them, putting on a sour expression. "Fifteen minutes, Thropp," she said, as though predicting the time of Elphaba's death, before turning to leave. Elphaba rolled her eyes and didn't try to conceal it. She appreciated the work Madame Pomphrey committed to her progress, but such strict rules and regulations was something Elphaba would never familiarize with.
"If you insist, Poppy, of course, of course," Dumbledore assured, his eyes twinkling, but he winked at the green witch as he spoke. The nurse stalked back into her office to allow the Order member privacy.
"Now, what did you see?" Snape was impatient, antsy as always, a strategy of attack forming and reflecting off his eyes.
Elphaba frowned, remembering how to phrase her observations. She mumbled to herself while waiting for the Headmaster, but it was hard to separate the nonsensical from the suspicious. "It's strange, really. It doesn't truly… make sense. I could be imagining things and relaying it to you for fun."
"No disclaimers, Fae," Harry interrupted, leaning on the bedside table. "You're an intuitive person; whatever you saw will help us eventually."
"Alright," Elphaba began slowly. "Well, you know when I was being – when I was in the Riddle House?" She received nods of encouragement. "There was a day when Malfoy was… trying to extract information from me."
Elphaba bit her lip and cursed inwardly. There was a lump forming in her throat that threatened tears, frustrating her that she couldn't detail without growing upset. She felt Glinda subtly slip a pale hand into her grassy one for comfort, though she doubted anyone noticed.
"Go on, Elphie," urged the blonde. She had lost the maternal tone she possessed when they were alone, probably so she wouldn't mock Elphaba in front of the Order. It unnerved Glinda to listen to stories of the Riddle House, but she wouldn't leave Elphaba alone for her own sake.
"I wasn't talking, no matter what Malfoy or the Death Eaters around him said or did. Their frustration made me feel so triumphant… Anyway, that day, Voldemort was in an especially fowl mood. Something about a foiled attack on a Muggle town. Is it true?"
"Ah yes. That was us," Dumbledore reminisced, almost fondly. "Fiyero told us a rumor buzzing about Knockturn – my apologies, Fae. Please continue."
"Voldemort came in and asked Malfoy if he had been able to…to break me yet." Elphaba wanted to laugh at the thought of Voldemort's undeveloped, repulsive face. "Obviously, Malfoy had to report that he and the other Death Eaters were fruitless in their efforts. And this is where the strange part occurs. I'm uncertain as to if I even saw it correctly- I was pretty out of it. But I think if I-"
"Fae!" Snape pursed his lips, whacking the bed in exasperation. "Just tell us what you saw. It can't be so strange, considering the Dark Lord's past methods and battle strategies. We're talking about an evil, overgrown fetus. Just tell us."
Elphaba herself grew exasperated with Snape's impatience. She wanted to kick him, or at least whack him, but her current state proved unfitting for such. "Fine," she huffed. "Previously, I hadn't seen Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse on his followers, although, as you know, he normally dishes it out like candy. But that day, Voldemort, like I said, was already angry at the failed attack, so he cast the Cruciatus on Malfoy, and when he was hit…you're going to think I'm crazy."
"We won't," Harry reassured Elphaba. "Is it really that weird?"
"Has there ever been a form of the Cruciatus curse that affects not only the victim, but the people around the victim?" Elphaba shot back.
There was an awkward silence, one where everyone but Elphaba squirmed in discomfort. "What?" Dumbledore's forehead crinkled. "What exactly happened?"
"When Malfoy was struck by the curse, the Death Eaters in the room also reacted to the curse, clutching and twitching with pain. Serious pain. It looked as though they were also hit with the curse, but a weaker version. It was just…odd to see. That's all," Elphaba finished. There was another silence. "I know I could have been hallucinating. For the most part, I felt like I was in a stupor-"
"You saw correctly, Fae," Dumbledore held a hand out to quiet her, "because I have heard of such a thing before."
"Before?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow. "You mean that every time Voldemort casts the Cruciatus, all the Death Eaters feel the pain?"
"No, not Voldemort. But there have been some extreme people before him that conducted what it seems Voldemort has done to his followers." The Headmaster was speaking cryptically, slowly, as if wanting them to understand without saying it flat out.
"Albus, what the bloody hell are you talking about?" snapped Snape, grasping the end of the bed as though it were his sanity. "We've no time for games! Just tell us what you're on about now!"
"Vitam Mortem: a literal translation of life and death. It's an old spell." Dumbledore began hesitantly.
"And what does it do?" Elphaba asked, a familiar sense of dread settling in her stomach.
"Basically, it binds every single Death Eater's life force to Tom himself," Dumbledore sighed, "and their souls belong to him. That would explain the burst of increased Death Eater strength. If only I'd figured it out before."
"I don't understand." Harry stood on the balls of his feet, confused from just how fast the conversation was moving. "So, are you saying the Death Eaters are receiving power from Voldemort?"
"And from each other," the Headmaster clarified, "directly. Because they are all bound to the same life force, every Death Eater can also indulge in his colleagues' power as well. Voldemort also becomes much stronger by using his followers' power. It is a spell with a dark nature, and hideous results, risky as it is. If a Death Eater is incapacitated, the group as a whole is inconvenienced with weakening. But their strength in numbers is more than likely to make up for that one lad, so it doesn't help us much."
"How can we neutralize the spell?" Elphaba wanted to stand, but she sat up with more strength.
"You can't." Dumbledore stroked his beard with a type of dejection. "Tom was right this time. He found a weapon we can't defeat. There's never been a spell to counteract Vitam Mortem, unless…"
"Unless what? You know there's something," Elphaba prodded.
"Voldemort is using his own life force as an anchor for his followers. If his is destroyed, then I predict-"
"Every other Death Eater will be destroyed as well!" Harry's eyes lit up with a fire, realizing the loophole. This war had been waging before he was born, intensified after, and flung him into the center of it. He wanted it over with.
However, Snape shook his head. "It's a fool's errand. Are you daft, Potter? How would you be able to kill Voldemort with all that power at his disposal? It's a vicious circle- we need to kill the Dark Lord to destroy the Death Eaters, which is feeding his power and making it damn near impossible to kill him."
"And that's where the Grimmerie can come in," Elphaba interjected, feeling Glinda squeeze her hand, probably with excitement. "There are some long-range spells in there that can be used without coming directly in contact with Voldemort."
"Have you found any?" Dumbledore asked, intrigue in his tone.
Elphaba hesitated and glanced at Glinda nimbly; she was going to be pulverized by the blonde for mentioning it. "Well, there is one," she said slowly. "It's a two-person spell: one person to cast it and the other to stabilize the caster. Supposedly, it will suck all the dark energy out of the object of the spell-"
"That should work, then," Snape said. "Why are you so hesitant about it? You and Potter could do it."
Harry spoke up. "The reason that Fae and I are nervous about this spell is because of the consequences…the dark energy that is sucked out needs to go somewhere, right?" When Dumbledore and Snape nodded, Harry said, "In the case of this spell, the energy rebounds on the casters. Depending on how much energy hits them and how concentrated that energy is, one or both casters could potentially be killed."
"No," Glinda snapped, as if on cue, with no tone in her voice. "No way, Elphie. I refuse to let you sacrifice yourself like that, or you, Harry. There has to be some other way. The Grimmerie is a fraudulent thing, like it's alive. You know that."
"There isn't anything else, Glinda," Elphaba replied solemnly. "Harry and I studied the book. That was our last option, and we have to take it. Besides, the chances of death are…only potential. This is the perfect plan. We're not holding back because you don't feel comfortable."
"Elphie, you don't understand-" Glinda protested, taking her hand away from Elphaba's the moment the Grimmerie was mentioned.
"No, I do," Elphaba reassured, reclaiming the blonde's hand. "This war is tiring out generations. We have to dispose of Voldemort by any means necessary. There will always be risks, and if this is the only way… well, so be it."
Looking at the unfaltering determination of Elphaba's face told Glinda that there would be no reconsidering. Stories unraveled in her mind, reminding that Elphaba was stubborn as a horse, and her experience at the Riddle House would only strengthen her resolve to abolish Voldemort's plight. Glinda stayed quiet and decided one, sure thing: they were just going to have to make the most of what precious, little time remaining.
Time was standing still, as far as Elphaba was concerned. It wasn't as though Glinda's love towards her hadn't crashed down doors before, welcoming her into an acceptance she didn't recognize as an eschewed, inconsolable child. Fiyero, too, provided that freedom of existence, but Elphaba felt she existed a different way with the blonde.
The picturesque afternoon lit the blonde's face brighter than necessary and her eyes gleamed crystalline, making it difficult to gaze at directly when the sun glinted from her pupils. Glinda bounced around the grounds, pulling Elphaba by the wrist onto the grass. The green witch didn't want to contrast against the expanse of the land, but fortunately, the grass tinted a slightly dying shade- in the stages from deceased to thriving, when blades weren't sharp but they weren't exactly crisp either.
The opportunity of the weather was too tempting for them to ignore, so Glinda whined until Elphaba put down the Grimmerie and followed her out of the building. Elphaba had found the strength to walk on her own long ago, but she discovered Glinda liked to play with the thought that Elphaba still needed her. She leaned against the blonde occasionally, proud of the hand snaking up her back.
There was a novelty to Glinda's assertiveness, a mature spin-off to her stubbornness. When Elphaba felt like her insides were crumbling, lying in a Hospital Wing darkened by gloom, Glinda transformed her vivacious demeanor into one of an undivided buttress. She cast aside all else, taking full maternal control and urging the green witch to speak.
Perhaps it was the change of state they both took on- their roles reversed. Perhaps there were books out in the world that could explain the knots in Elphaba's chest and how Glinda's miniature frame could be habitat to a valor that her former lover would never measure up to.
The blonde was moving too fast for the green witch, feet dragging out of time from the careless musical number made by the hands playfully tugging her lifeless wrist.
"Where do you want to go?" Glinda enquired, but Elphaba barely heard through her contemplation. She refrained from saying anything romantic, but kept the thoughts tucked away for later.
"Anywhere, really."
Taking advantage of Elphaba's ambiguity, the blonde dragged her off to the shore of the lake, which was tranquil in the lack of afternoon breeze. "Oh, Glinda, you know I don't like-"
"You'll be fine," Glinda assured. "Sometimes I want to see what it would be like to go swimming in there."
"You realize that it's infested with really creepy marine life?" Elphaba smirked when Glinda face fell.
"Like what?" she asked.
"For one thing, there's a giant squid. I haven't seen it myself, but I'm sure it's lurking somewhere," Glinda paled, "and when Harry went to school here, Hogwarts held a competition underwater; he told me about a fair few mermaids and water nymphs."
"Oh! Mermaids!" Glinda lit up at the news, peering over into the water. If Elphaba didn't catch her wrist, she would have fallen face-first into the shallow water. "I've always wanted to see mermaids. My mother used to tell me such stories! She used to say we were descended from them, what with the Upland love of water and the," she struck a pose, "striking good looks."
"Uplands like water?" Elphaba looked upon the blonde skeptically. "You never mentioned that."
"Well, um, surprise! I like to swim."
"Lovely," Elphaba wasn't about to leave the subject alone, "but I don't think mermaids are as nice as in the fairytales. Harry says that they kidnapped Hermione and Ronald and were indecorous about the entire ordeal."
Glinda waved it off, breaking apart their contact and recreating it by holding Elphaba's hand. "Enough about Harry and Hermione and all these people," she purred. "Enough about mermaids and manners. Elphaba, you smell nice."
"The last time you commented on my scent, we were both at Shiz, and it might have been related to cabbage. How time flies..." The green witch bore her teeth into a pleasant smile. "I don't remember you being so frank."
"What can I say? It's been a while." Glinda pulled the taller woman in for a kiss, which was brief and lacking passion.
"Not by the lake." Elphaba ordered firmly.
"Why not by the lake?"
"Because I like privacy, and you do, too. There's plenty of time for that later," she emphasized. Glinda pouted, but didn't argue. Instead, she sat down on the grass by the shore with her skirts sprawled out to cover her legs. The childlike animation made her no less of a woman, and Elphaba sat down beside her, bringing her legs to her chest.
"That's just it, Elphie," Glinda said quietly. "I'm afraid there won't be plenty of time for us."
"You're not still worried about that spell, are you?"
"You say 'Grimmerie', and I think about everything that happened in Oz. It was terrifying for me, and I wasn't even in the middle of what you were."
Elphaba sighed, placing her hand lightly on a leg buried beneath the melodically colored skirts. "Of course I was terrified. That's why I faked my dea- ran away. But this spell, Glinda, it's different. The entire war is riding on the strategies the Order draws. It's a set decision, and I'm not just sacrificing myself. It's the entire Order, and all of England that depends on it."
Glinda knew that the green witch was being logical, but she couldn't suppress the urge to disagree. It was only a few weeks ago that Elphaba was stolen away from her, and only about a year that they'd reunited. The impending indicated a very gruesome end to their relationship, and she wanted to be selfish about their affairs. She frowned, watching the lake waters as they made meager waves, courtesy of whatever dwelled beneath. The skies were alive with shades of blue, but the weather grew hotter by the minute.
"I just wish that there was something easier or at least didn't involve the Grimmerie." The blonde swayed slightly, Elphaba nodding in agreement.
"That would be nice, but there isn't a way to approach this lightly. It puts an ironic spin on the whole magic theory: life isn't any easier with it than it was without it."
Glinda smiled, leaning onto the green witch. "But you've had magic in you all your life, so it's not so surprising that you're stuck in the middle of this."
"And therefore it is surprising that you are," Elphaba smiled meanly, but then frowned at Glinda's smug face. "Wait, are you calling me obstinate?"
"Are you calling me easy?" Glinda fumbled a bit, rearranging her legs beneath herself to reach Elphaba's mouth. "Okay, so I'm really, really easy."
"I've a hunch it might be the food in England." Elphaba leveled her gaze and spoke soberly.
"I blame the women," Glinda giggled, and they kissed again. Without warning, the blonde reached out into the lake and swiped the surface, flinging water at the green woman. It was a feeble attempt, as the water failed to catch Elphaba, but did a number on her shoes and soaked through the laces. The green witch put on a sour expression and jumped from where she sat.
"You may like water, Miss Upland, but I don't!" she announced, forming a plan in a mind as sharp as her nose. Glinda stood slowly, attempting an innocent smile, though it was edged with smugness.
"Mermaids, Elphie." The blonde advanced toward Elphaba menacingly. She was about as intimidating as a baby rabbit, but splashed water again in the direction of her girlfriend. "They're coming to get you!"
"If you're descended from them, how about a reunion?" asked the green woman, nonchalantly kicking out Glinda legs from underneath and pushing the blonde into shallow water. Elphaba held her by the hand, though, so as not to let Glinda fall completely in. "Well, would you look at that? It looks as though your dress is turning into a fin, and if you weren't so damn gorgeous, I'd experiment with what would happen to your hair in lake water. I hear mermaids aren't so pretty."
Glinda laughed and poked at her soaking skirts. They clung to her shape like flesh in some areas, and hung in others, resembling a Greek statue in wet-drapery. She shook her head, mourning the loss of the expensive, stylish attire, but at the same time forgetting the past few weeks as though nothing could break them.
"Since I've blended so well, I think it's time you met the family!" she yelled, dragging the green witch into the water with her, who was caught off guard and fell to her knees. Glinda pulled the weight of a surprised Elphaba upwards, deliberately placing her hand on virtually amorphous hips. "I've got you now, Miss Thropp."
Elphaba sloshed her feet around the water, dismayed at the way her skirts fell limp and soggy. She gave Glinda an earnest look and placed her green fingers over where Glinda's rested.
"Now that we're both unfit to wander into public, we'll simply have to change." Elphaba leaned in. "You know, before I charm my way into your relatives' love."
"Would that require going back up to your room?" Glinda asked, moving in closer and planting a kiss on Elphaba's cheek, letting her face linger near the former's.
"Yes, it would, but we might as well get rid of these clothes before going back in the building," she received a doubtful look, "so as not to ruin the carpet."
"Elphie, Hogwarts doesn't have any carpets." Glinda smiled sweetly.
Elphaba cupped her lover's face in her hands, admiring the color contrast and the steady, gentle gaze. "I forgot," she replied simply, and kissed the blonde deeply before pushing her down in the water.
Glinda gasped, and pulled at Elphaba's legs, who locked them firmly to remain standing. They continued to run about the shallow water, splashing and wading back onto land. Elphaba taunted about the giant squid, and Glinda swore to avenge her ruined clothing. Being that the weather was so pleasant, it wasn't unusual for passers bys to stare blankly at the scene, students gaping and running away or giggling at the sight, bashfully canceling their picnic plans of eating near the lake.
It was paradoxical how Elphaba was fooling around covered in the substance that would supposedly bring about the death of her. She didn't like to think back to that moment, where she had to break away from Glinda's grasp and emit screams that troubled even her own dreams. Instead, the green witch liked to dwell on moments such as this, where the impending was abandoned and the little time she and Glinda had left together expanded into an eternity of good thoughts.
They began to tire out, their constantly shifting game of cat and mouse slowing to feeble staggering and lingering kisses. It was going to take a while to clean up the sopping state of their clothes, but Elphaba was feeling as though she owned all of England. The memories of the Wizard's treachery and of the Riddle House were thrown wholly from her memory. There weren't any barking demands and questionings or cruel heckling and mocking laughter, no remembrance of the stinging curses and the sensations of ribs cracking under the pressure of boots. None of it existed.
Elphaba knew a freedom greater than any heights that a broomstick could take her, and it came in the form of sodden, blonde curls and devoted glances cast by cerulean eyes.
Coming up: The ever impending war commeth ever closer.
I'll try to update before I go to Yellowstone on Tuesday...although...there is a cliffhanger at the end of chapter 27. Because I won't be updating in Yellowstone for a little over a week (at least), do you want the chapter with the cliffy before I leave?
-Wolfie