Author's Note: At last, while little Persephone is being born in one corner of fanfic.net (see Rickfan37's story, "Snape In Love"), chapter 18 springs to life here! If anyone is still out there following this story, thank you for your patience and for your kind words of support and encouragement. (The nagging helped too!).
Sorry this has taken so long. It's just that I left town to do some werewolf research in Eastern Europe for this chapter. I was only supposed to be gone a week, and all was going according to schedule, until one night when I ran into Charlie Weasley in a pub in Romania and I became…er…detained. You've got to watch out for those redheads, you know. J Anyway, I'm back, and I do hope to get the next chapter out to you much quicker.
Since it's been so long, here is a synopsis of where things left off at the last chapter:
Addy mistakenly thinks that Snape still hates her, based on his reaction to her when she returned from her visit to Voldemort. Snape, however, deeply regrets his actions that night, but is struggling with a way to tell that to Addy. After a soul-searching conversation with Dumbledore, he has come up with a plan.
In the meantime, however, Addy is doing her best to avoid him. She has cancelled their evening's strategy session, and has plans to dine in the kitchen with Sirius and Remus, rather than at the staff table. Following tonight's dinner, Sirius and Remus are leaving Hogwarts to spend the full moon in the Shrieking Shack, where Remus can't hurt anyone and Sirius can keep an eye on him. A storm is still raging outside.
Happy Reading!
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Chapter 18: Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Werewolves
Addy was still wondering how she could possibly continue her work at Hogwarts--with her very own pig-headed mentor believing her to be an active Death Eater—as she bypassed the lively din of the Dining Hall and made her way to the kitchens below. There, a battalion of house elves zipped and darted through the vast underground room, preparing and serving the night's dinner with the coordinated efficiency of a single, multi-armed organism.
Through this sea of activity, Addy spied Remus and Sirius, who had just seated themselves at the small, old wooden table in the corner of the kitchen where they dined each night. She carefully made her way over to them, weaving delicately through the culinary choreography that waltzed around her.
Her wizard friends were indeed pleased, yet surprised, to see her. "Aren't you supposed to be upstairs?" asked a stunned Remus, raising his eyes to the Dining Hall directly above them, as house elves fussed about, adding a place setting for Addy.
"I wanted to dine with you and Sirius tonight, since you're leaving soon," she said. As soon as she saw a protest form on Remus' lips, she quickly put up a hand and assured him, "Dumbledore said it was all right."
Sirius laughed as he stood and pulled Addy's chair out for her. "We'll only be gone for a couple of days, Addy. But thanks. It's nice to have someone to talk to besides old Moony here."
Addy had begun the evening in a somber mood, not realizing how much the good company of her friends would lift her spirits. They enjoyed a delicious meal together, filled with stimulating conversation that turned outright boisterous at times, particularly when a debate arose over the use of Voldemort's proper name. Two bottles of fine red wine contributed to the merriment. Addy was happy to match her companions glass for glass, in her effort to escape her Snape troubles, if only for a few hours.
As the house elves served a dessert of banana crepes in juniper sauce, Addy decided to bring up a topic that had been on her mind all day. "So, when do I get to visit the Sheek…the Shrack..the Shreiking Shack?" she asked with some difficulty, muddled yet emboldened by the wine. By nature, she had always been intrigued by anything that was off limits, and the mere mention of Remus' hideaway spot had piqued her curiosity from the moment she'd first heard of it.
"Hmmm, well not tonight. Oh I know…how about never? Does never work for you?" Remus responded.
"Why not?" Addy protested, giving him a playful shove that nearly knocked him off his chair.
"It's a horrible place, Addy. Why on earth would you want to go there?" said Remus, chuckling as he gripped the table.
"I don't know. I just do. I'm coming with you to the Hollering Hut tonight," she announced doggedly, tossing her napkin down like a gauntlet and employing the girlish pout that had always worked for her as well as any charm or spell.
"Oh you think so, do you?" said Remus, a defiant smirk on his lips as he cleaned his plate. "Are you going to finish those crepes?"
"I know so. I'm just dying to see it, and there's no reason for me not to go," said Addy, adding, "No, take them."
"Well, how about the fact that Dumbledore would have our hides if he knew we'd taken you there. It's off limits to anyone but me and Sirius. Is that a good enough reason for you?" Remus' demeanor suddenly grew grim, and he shook his head sadly. "It's a dangerous place, Addy, not to mention an unhappy one. I don't want you anywhere near the Shrieking Shack, especially while I'm there. Do you understand? If anything ever happened to you…"
At that moment, Sirius stood up and interjected. "Either way, we'd better get going now, Remus. We have to be inside the Whomping Willow before the students finish dinner.
"The Whomping Willow?" Addy repeated with incredulous delight, as Remus rose to his feet. "You mean there's a Treacherous Tree on the way to the Clamorous Cabin??? Oh, pleeeease take me with you," she begged, listing a bit to the left as she tried to stand up.
"Addy, what did I tell you last night?" Remus scolded, steadying her with a gentle yet firm grip on her elbow as they exited the kitchen. He was growing increasingly aware of the waxing moon and, although dinner had been lovely, was eager now to put a safe distance between Addy and himself.
Remus and Sirius moved purposefully through the hallways and up the stairs, a small satchel of supplies for their 3-day encampment slung over each man's shoulder. Addy fought to clear her head of the wine and to keep up with them as the three made their way to the Great Entrance Hall.
"Oh, Remus, you're perfectly harmless until tomorrow," she cried, practically jogging to keep pace with their long strides. "Nothing will happen…tell him Sirius!"
Sirius looked back at her over his shoulder, taking in the flush in her cheeks, and the jaunty way her curls bounced as she hurried after them. Then he looked over at Remus, who was stalking forward with graceful, fluid strides at such an astonishing pace that even Sirius had trouble keeping up with him. They had been through more moons together than he cared to count, and Sirius could read Remus as well as Dumbledore could. Although he was confident that his overly-cautious friend was quite harmless for another 24 hours, he didn't want to say or do anything that would increase Remus' agitation.
"No, Addy. Remus is right. You should stay here. Besides…don't you have a session with Snape tonight? Not that I blame you for preferring to spend your time in the Shrieking Shack."
Addy opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment, as they emerged into the round entrance foyer, they heard Dumbledore call the Great Dining Hall to order for some after-dinner announcements.
"No time for explanations now," said Sirius. "We can't be seen…we've got to go."
Addy pouted as the two wizards fastened their cloaks and put up their hoods. From the Entrance Hall they could hear the storm outside battering the castle. Instead of subsiding, it had gained force steadily throughout the day, the rains soaking the castle grounds and the gales snapping branches and whipping window shutters into a frenzy. Sirius and Remus grimaced as they glanced at the outer wall of the castle, knowing that it would be a leaky, wet night for them.
Sirius pointed a finger right between Addy's eyes and said, "You're staying here. If I learn that you were anywhere off the Hogwarts grounds, I will personally put you over my knee, and don't think I'm kidding."
Addy gave him a sour look, then turned to Remus for one last, desperate attempt at charming her way into their adventure. When he looked back at her, however, she forgot what she had planned to say. Her lips parted and she stared at him, mesmerized. "Remus…your eyes. I never noticed how golden they are. They're beautiful…"
Sirius and Remus exchanged a sharp glance. Sirius nodded and said, "That's it…we're out the door." He gave Addy a fond kiss on the forehead and said, "We'll see you in a couple of days, kid. And don't forget…" he added, pointing his long finger at her again, "…over my knee!" With a great deal of effort, he threw open the enormous doors of the castle, and was immediately pelted with a driving rain. Head down, he leaned into the wind and disappeared across the threshold.
Addy was still hypnotized by the sight of Remus' flaxen eyes, whose pupils were gracefully contracting, even as she watched. The sobering realization of what was happening dawned on her--Remus was in the earliest stages of his transformation! Although Sirius was right in his calculation that his dear, afflicted friend would pose no threat until the following night, Addy saw fear and sadness swimming in those beautiful, golden eyes…and something else, too. She felt ashamed that she had let the wine go to her head, clouding her judgment and vexing her friend even further. She threw her arms around him and said, "Take care of yourself!"
"You too, Addy," he replied, not even daring to hug her back, willing his arms to remain at his side.
With Addy this close, and the unseen moon so ripe, Remus was beginning to feel the tiniest seeds of a familiar craving…an ancestral, instinctual tug. The sensation of physical power surged through him like a tide, and he was flooded with the thrilling potential of every muscle in his body. Breathing deeply to try to clear his brain, he was instead assaulted with a host of heady aromas—including the tantalizing scents of Addy's gender, which, unbeknownst to her, swirled around her like red silk scarves dancing in a whirlwind, so tangible to him that he was tempted to reach out and grab them. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, feeling a tinge of primal pleasure as his tongue grazed the porcelain sleekness of his teeth. He suddenly realized that, locked in her embrace, that rhythmic thumping he heard was her thick, rich blood pulsing through her delicate, paper-thin veins.
Concentrating to maintain control, he stepped backwards, breaking her embrace. He knew that in another day, control would not be an option, and pinned Addy with a grave look. "I'll be back before you know it. You keep those students on their toes. And work with Snape. Tell me all about it…in three days."
Addy reached out and squeezed his hand, surprised by the strength with which he squeezed back. She followed him to the door as he dashed out after Sirius, crouching almost to the ground, into the blustery night.
Addy stepped out across the threshold into the downpour, shielding her face with her arm as her gaze followed her two friends. Squinting through the lashing rain, she struggled to see where they were going.
With difficulty, she watched the black-cloaked wizards head down the path for a few paces, before they veered off in the direction of the lake. They seemed to be heading for an enormous, old willow tree, whose limbs began twisting and hurling violently upon their approach. What had they called it? The Whomping Willow! They stopped just out of reach of the whipping branches.
Between the darkness and the rain, Addy could barely make out their silhouettes, and at first she thought it was still the wine clouding her vision, when Sirius seemed to suddenly disappear. In the next instant, however, she saw a large, shaggy dog, as dark as a shadow, weave expertly beneath the angry limbs of the tree, heading straight for its trunk. She couldn't make out clearly what was happening, but soon, the tree became still, and she watched as her two friends disappeared into a dark hole at its base.
'So…that's how you get there,' thought Addy to herself. 'Good to know.'
Then she waved a silent prayer in the direction of her absent friends, and stepped back inside the castle, struggling to secure the doors against the pull of the wind.
As she stood there in an emerging puddle, her hair and robes dripping wet, Glammy the house elf shyly approached her. With a snap, the floor was dried and polished, as was Addy.
Noticing the forlorn look on Addy's face, Glammy kindly patted her hand and said, "Miss Mayhem should not worry about those two rascally wizards. They are lucky to have each other to look after." Addy rewarded her with a genuine, albeit sad, smile, and the house elf continued, "Glammy will draw Miss Mayhem a nice warm bath."
Just then, they heard the sound of scraping benches and a blast of adolescent chatter, and Addy knew the students would come pounding through the door any second. "That's alright, Glammy," she said, bolting for the staircase on her right. "I have work to do tonight…but thank you. You are an excellent house elf!" she called, before turning and dashing up the stairs, two at a time, in an effort to stay ahead of the stampede.
Rendered speechless by Addy's praise, all Glammy could do was tug at the ends of her apron, which seemed to be made of quilted dryer lint. Overwhelmed, she squeaked something that sounded like "very kind" and popped off in a snap, only moments before the student body swarmed into the foyer and branched off towards their various House Common Rooms.
At first, Addy could hear the Gryffindor pack hot on her heels, but after turning off into the quiet side corridor that led to her room, she was able to slow her pace. She shuffled along in a melancholy mood, the uplifting effects of her friends (and the wine) having been washed away with the rain.
With Remus and Sirius gone, and Snape having turned on her, she had no friends left at the castle, which meant she had no friends left in the world (unless one counted the giant snake imprisoned in Voldemort's compound). Pangs of loneliness swept over her, and the headache that had been left behind by the wine wasn't helping. By the time she reached her door, she was feeling supremely sorry for herself.
Upon stepping into her chambers, however, she was distracted by the disquieting sensation that something was not quite right…something had changed since she'd last been there. She steadily withdrew her wand from her robe pocket, eying every detail as she scanned the room to determine what was gnawing at her.
She could identify nothing that was different in the lounge area, where she stood, so she approached the bedroom door cautiously, her heartbeat thudding harder with every step. The door was slightly ajar and she could hear what she presumed to be the storm rattling her window.
Wand drawn, muscles tense, nerves bristling, Addy kicked open the door to her bedroom hard, so that it banged back against the wall, or anyone who might be standing behind it. When she heard it indeed hit the wall with a loud SMACK, she put her left foot in the room to keep the door from slamming shut in front of her. And then she saw what she was looking for—the thing that was different.
It was a smallish, square-shaped, green velvet box, about half the size of a bludger, sitting on the edge of her bed. Wrapped around the four sides were green and silver ribbons, which were tied in a large, elaborate bow on top of the box. Eying the package with suspicion, she approached, her wand held lightly and balanced expertly in her outstretched hand.
She paused in her advance when, as though they could sense her presence, the ribbons started to undulate, curling and unfurling their fringed ends. They were beckoning her, almost as if she could hear them whispering her name, enticing her to come closer…give them a little tug…unbind the package and see what was inside. She stepped to the edge of the bed and stared directly down at the box. Stamped in silver, on top, were the letters S.S.
Shifting her wand to her equally dexterous left hand, Addy crouched, ready to spring backwards. She speculated out loud, "What is he playing at?" as she reached out, took hold of one of the ribbons between her thumb and forefinger, and tugged.
To be continued…