A/N at the end.
Chapter 50. Self-Worth
A nondescript owl landed on the breakfast table by Martin Lefevre's right hand, almost turning over the sugar bowl. The wizard looked around the tiny room, his eyes narrowed with suspicion, before he reached for the parchment on the bird's leg. He had concealed this small flat above the outskirts of Paris with the best charm work he'd ever known from Muggles and wizards alike. No one was supposed to find him here.
To me manques, chérie* - he read.
The letter was not signed.
By the time Martin had read the perplexing missive, the tracking charm attached to it had already seeped into his skin. When he lit the parchment on fire with annoyance and killed the owl, so it couldn't find its way back to him again, he also missed the silent pop of an apparition outside his hide-hole.
As soon as he Apparated, following his charm's pull, Severus Snape noticed the familiar ominous green light that flared up in a window. He Disillusioned himself and got ready for a long wait.
*/*/*
Martin strolled down the streets of Bordeaux, not slowing his steps by the Muggle flea market. Only when he passed the gates, did he throw a hasty look behind his shoulder. That strange presence he'd felt for days must have been his nerves because he still couldn't see a soul. He touched the remains of an old drinking fountain standing out from the wall. Giving no mind to the graffiti on the stones, he mumbled a short incantation and stepped through to the hidden wizarding part of the town.
Severus watched him disappearing from under his Disillusionment Charm. He could have a peek at the three shops on the other side before the wall closed. Any of those would have had a place in Knockturn Alley. Watching Lefevre proved more entertaining than he had first anticipated. The fellow was busy these last few days, giving Severus the stubborn impression that the wizard was up to no good.
Not that asking a seer to perform Palmistry was against the law, or buying a massive bottle of Gongoroth mucus was illegal if disgusting, no. But Lefevre seemed fidgety and anxious even when he sat to read the papers - the Muggle papers – in a coffee house the morning before. Also, he ridiculously insisted on walking around the streets, scanning his surroundings in all directions, before he retired into a half-demolished building last night, which he encircled with all kinds of protecting charms in visible haste and anxiety.
This morning Severus had already observed his prey collecting Gertrude's lips, a relatively rare magical herb, outside of town, and now he was here at these obviously shady shops. Severus finally realized what was most likely to come!
If Lefevre emerged from the wall that divided the Muggle flea market from Bordeaux's Knockturn Alley, nursing a package too gingerly, and chose to walk home instead of Apparating, Snape knew the recipe that required this strange shopping list. No one was likely to cavort with erumpent horn powder in their hands. Mixing it with the flower petals and the mucus would make an excellent bomb, even possibly delayed action if put into a double-bottomed container with the mucus outside, slowly eroding the separating layer…. Severus remembered only too well how partial Martin had always been to wrecking trains in the past. The man was a fanatic but not a nitwit.
The wizard's tender movements when he walked through the wall proved Severus's suspicions. He escorted Lefevre back to his hidey hole and didn't observe the making of the detonator. It would take a few hours to construct with enough care, which he was ready to employ much better returning to Sage.
Apparating to the orchards in Alsace, Severus cast his Patronus and marvelled at its new form for a short minute before sending it on its way. He still remembered his shock a few days ago when he first had to face this silver wolf. Of course, it only made sense, and he was even glad for the proof that his life had finally turned around, even in the opinion of Magic.
It was inevitable for him to recall how much Lily had always adored the does. Not far outside Cokeworth lay a park that continued smoothly into a nearby forest. While they'd loved meeting and talking there, the possibility of seeing a herd of does also used to be a great pull for her. They met there on his eleventh birthday, and she accused him of trying to harm Tuney with his unchecked magic. That wasn't such a pleasant memory to recall. However, there had also been a time when the does had come so close Lily could feed one with the flower she conjured on her palm. It had been magical for Severus on a whole different level because he might have been a young wizard himself; he wouldn't have thought about feeding and caressing those animals in a hundred years. Unlike her. These majestic beasts had clambered out of the woods on an autumn day just to peacefully graze from her palm! He used to want to be like her so much it'd hurt. He'd wanted to be so carefree and happy to have such frivolous desires! As it happened, he had none. He'd been hungry and cold and only lingered not to disappoint her. But then Lily's doe engraved herself in his retina and heart the same, symbolizing his deepest wish for happiness and serenity.
Now Severus looked at his silver wolf and remembered devotion and Siberia, where he had let his magic free as an adult and learned to fly. It seemed his soul was ready to move on. He knew he was now prepared to offer whatever the wolf did for his mate and litter –
Severus' heart skipped a beat with the last word, and he shook his head as if he could shake off the thought. Whatever the wolf offered to his mate should be much enough of a metaphor at this point. He preferred to leave it yet at just that. Mercifully, Sage Apparated next to him to spare him the next awkward thought.
"How did it go?" – She asked as a greeting but kissed him lightly.
"He's making a bomb."
"For whom?" – Sage asked without the slightest hint of shock.
"I'll find that out on my next trip," – Severus promised. "Are the witches coming around?"
Sage chuckled, which was a good sign. When she and Iris first showed up in Alsace together, and Severus had to fend off all the oddity of their former acquaintance, it was hard to imagine how fruitful the cousins' cooperation would turn out. However, the Dubois had a wide range of acquaintances and an even stronger sense of family interest. Without Lennier's constant influence, Iris slowly turned into a witch to reckon with, if not in magical prowess – albeit her talent as a potioneer was undeniable – but in social skills. She built up her circle on the ruins of her family's interests with unexpected grace and ease, this time focusing on the matrons of the clans instead of Lennier's dubious friends, carrying Sage through the ups and downs of the tender waves of social networking like an experienced spider weaving her kingdom.
"She missed her calling with that unlucky marriage," – Sage summed up her experiences, walking down the path toward the house. "Janine Roux already admitted that Leroy disrespected Polla's authority, which was a huge step. I guess she wouldn't have said so if her brother had survived, but as it happened, she'd lost half the force that held up her power. Now she cannot influence the Ministry as much as she used to, and Iris' new friends are planning to petition the Ministry of Magic to examine the Nott and Roux aggrandizement. Iris believes we should campaign first against the Notts."
Severus let her enter the house first before he carefully asked:
"And what is your opinion?"
"I hope she's right. Especially because I thought I could transfer some of the property in Nancy after we got it back… so she wouldn't depend on Lennie's family anymore."
Severus couldn't fathom why she would sound so uncertain about mentioning her plan. He knew he wouldn't oppose any detail about arranging her own property. Of course, the witch kept talking about their property – a notion that still didn't sit securely in his mind. Talk about Lennier was calling up bad memories anyway.
"He won't come back, you know," – he reminded Sage with a hint of guilt.
"I told her, but she didn't believe me. She will accept it when she is ready, don't hurry her."
The guilt doubled in his chest, and Severus sat by the thick kitchen table with a painful grimace. "If she loved him so much, I doubt I–"
"She used to love him in her youth," – Sage explained. "What else would have made her put up with all he'd done against her? None of us were raised to be sold or used! You did her a favour, and she knows that. Give her time to come to terms with her freedom, and don't wait for her expressed forgiveness." She took Severus' hand in hers and caressed his fingers tenderly. "Her real feelings are in her acts. And she talks about you like Merlin's gift to the world. Only she would never let you hear that."
This finally cracked a smirk on his face. "I wish!" – Severus sighed wistfully, but unconvinced.
While Chubby served dinner, they went through the tidbits of their plan and agreed to focus on the Notts on all fronts. It carved out his priorities with Lefevre as much as her steps for the morrow.
The tracking charm, which Severus placed on Martin, triggered the alarm on the wizard's movements shortly after dawn. He slipped a numb arm from under Sage's shoulder, dressed with a wand-wave, and Apparated away.
Following his charm's pull, Severus found himself under the arch of a stone bridge leaning above a grey river he recognized as the Seine. From under his usual Disillusionment Charm, he observed the wizard in his dark robe and mask, walking up the bridge, then through the older part of the town to an imposing building with side towers – hidden from the Muggle eyes with a handy charm that masked it as an old blockhouse of the row in a cluttered street of Paris.
It would have been a shame to let such architecture get wasted by an ill-advised attack, especially when the building was to change hands again soon, from the Roux to return to Sage's rightful care. The target should have been a Nott property, if anything, today. Severus set to fix Martin's error swiftly and permanently.
He cast a stasis charm on the explosive in Lefevre's hand, grabbed the clueless wizard by the shoulder, and Side-along Apparated him up to the rooftop. When his Concealment Charm slipped by this effort, Severus was unruffled. He twirled his new wand in an intricate circle and cast an anti-Apparition ward anchoring his enemy to the roof tiles.
"Hullo, "chérie"," – Severus sneered, - "did you miss me too?"
With an absent flick of his wand, the bomb flew from Martin's hand to his so abruptly the wizard could only grab after it in vain. He tilted on the edge of the roof, satisfyingly terrified.
"Expelliarmus!" – Severus added as an afterthought and caught Lefevre's wand with his free hand.
"Snape!" – Martin cried out, struggling to sound as friendly as anyone possibly could after his own kidnapping. "Why, you–"
"Spare me the niceties, will you?" – Severus lazily leaned to the wall of a side tower and put the bomb in easy access down on the tiles. "I can well imagine your joy in seeing me, especially at such an inconvenient moment."
He let Martin try to Disapparate and made no move to catch him when he leaned over the edge again.
"I wouldn't force a clash with gravity, Martin," – he drawled. "The Anti-Apparition ward may happen to move with you all the way down…. D'you care to take a look?"
Upon his wand move, Snape levitated a metre to the left, above the street, having a great view of the depth under them and the town around. Martin finally found his voice to squeak and grumble, with all the synonyms of a bloody bastard Severus ever had the misfortune to hear listed in one breath.
"Language, Martin," – he warned and let his prey return to the deceptive safety of the roof tiles.
Lefevre panted hard, but now his eyes narrowed, measuring up his enemy and the situation: Snape's hair fluttering in the wind in synchronicity with the wings of his black leather overcoat, his loose stance against the only wall around, jeans-clad legs ending in boots which stood securely on the slippery tiles, and features displaying arrogance and patience – it all mirrored in his eyes now widening in fear, and in his muscles tensing.
"What do you want?" – He croaked out.
"To chat," – Severus smirked and enjoyed the feeling of his self-assurance, cutting the other's breath short again. "You are the talk of many. Did you know that? How does it feel to have some fame?"
"You tell me, Snape, you killed the Dark Lord."
"Yesterday's news, Martin. Besides, I'm sure the timing was inconvenient for your ilk. Was the time not sufficient to steal enough for your whole lot?"
"You have to know better," – Martin replied. "I heard about your marriage."
Severus's face hardened. "Nice of you to mention. I won't be so tasteless as to complain about the dowry."
"You should stay alive to enjoy it in any case," – Lefevre hissed with malice. "It's not us you should worry about!"
"Oh, I find no reason for concern at all. You see, Martin, if I had any issues with my brethren, all of them would be taken care of already, I assure you. I doubt any one of them minds what befalls you from behind the veil or under the care of the Dementors in Azkaban. My spells can be very damaging, as you might recall–" – he played with his wand for a moment or two. "You have to see how amicable I prove myself. Crossing the Channel only to update you on foreign politics… You sponsored a war in my country, my friend. I find that… impolite. Disrespectful."
If Lefevre was frightened before, now he blanched beyond measure. "But– But you and Malfoy–"
"We have no quarrel, thank you for asking. Which reminds me, Martin, how much money do you have?"
Lefevre's eyes widened again, this time with surprise. "You want money?"
"More than you can count. I call it recompense," – Severus pulled a shoulder and drank in the rare display of helplessness on the other's face with pleasure. It was only too easy to judge by Lefevre's anxiety how much he lacked the funds. "Maybe we should rather rely on your argumentative streak," – he eventually offered.
It took time for Martin to catch his meaning. "Well, if you want to go against the Roux, I can help you with that–"
Severus shrugged, indicating that family was the last of his interests. "I came over against the Notts," – he admitted – "I only stopped to greet you as you deserve."
Lefevre's body leaned against the edge again. "Wait! Wait!" – He screamed. "I– I appreciate… you're most… attentive… I–" – Martin struggled to get a good grab on the tiles again. "You're perfectly right! The Notts betrayed you; they should suffer! They took much more than their due! If- if you need an ally here against them, I'm ready, of course! Just say the word, and I–"
"Are you trying to prove you're a real friend, then?"
"Yes! Yes, of course!" – Martin peeked down from the roof and gulped. "I've always been– There are things money can't buy you anyway, you know that! I've always been your faithful friend!"
"Maybe I'll believe you, Martin. Who would lie in the face of death after all?"
"Not me!" – The wizard hurried to assure him.
Severus slowly nodded. "Well, you deserve a chance then, don't you? For old times' sake…. I'll tell you what, Martin. This little toy you made will stay in my care as long as I need you to use it. Strictly on my terms. You don't try to disappear because you're a smart boy. If I found you once and left you intact, I'll find you again, but who knows if you can get me in such a lenient mood once more? If you play my game as the polite boy you are, I might reward your efforts and help you out later against Janine."
"You're being gracious!" – Clearly, Martin was only too eager to accept and seal the deal. He quickly agreed to whatever plan and promised the Moon and his blind loyalty. Severus recalled how much of a follower he'd always been.
Now it was time to leave. Severus nonchalantly pushed himself from the wall by a shoulder and only mentioned as a side note:
"The wards will wear off in a few minutes or so. I hope you can avoid making too much fuss in the meantime," – with that, he walked behind the side tower, and with a silent crack, he Apparated away.
Returning to the summer house was different this time. Sage needed more time to deliver satisfactory results with the prominent witches, and neither of them wished to test the Ministry's patience with any kind of premature rogue actions. That should serve to eliminate opponents in the background later. Martin and his tiny bomb had to wait.
So Severus went on with the endless tasks of renovation, putting the house to rights with Chubby's enthusiastic help. He spared a longing glance at the unassuming little door hiding Héloïse's library at every turn but couldn't yet find the time to indulge in the wonders behind it. At this point in his life, he didn't miss researching as much as the atmosphere.
That morning Severus silently argued against his wish for that comfort for the umpteenth time, promising himself the reward of entering his favourite room again as soon as he finished all the other chores, when Chubby announced the visitors. Three Muggle men and two children aged eight and twelve were waiting near the porch. Grateful for his new habit of wearing less-wizard-like clothes and reinforcing his Similoquato charm, Severus grudgingly walked out to greet them.
"We saw the smoke from the chimney! It's nice to have the family back," – the tallest Muggle began after the greetings. "Thomas Pain," – he offered a hand – "' been helping out for the ladies since I was a kid."
He obviously thought he provided all the needed explanation. He waited for Severus to carry on, visibly surprised to notice his reluctance.
"Snape," – Severus eventually accepted the offered handshake. "Severus Snape. I have to say we hadn't thought about announcing our presence in the neighbourhood. There are circumstances–" – he stopped short when the kids began to giggle.
"Excuse us!" Another man stepped forward. "They just noticed your accent… behave you two!" – He glared at the boys for a second. "Erm… Is Salbei around? I wanted her to meet them," – he awkwardly added in an attempt to explain.
Severus would have lied if he had said he liked the idea. "And you are?" – he eyed the Muggle crankily.
"Oh! It's Stéphan. We've been friends since- forever."
Severus' eyes narrowed. "She's never mentioned you," – he hurried to make the point.
"Hasn't she? Well, she'll hear about that! My wife and the boys are probably fed up with my tales about the old times by now!" – Stéphan laughed with a rich sound and natural ease while his two sons brazenly nodded. "This is my brother, Paul here," – he went on as if he didn't mind their cheek - "we came to ask if she needed help with the gardens. The spring's already blooming, and these plants can't go another year without attention."
"Such a nice weekend is for getting out and about anyway," – Paul added with a polite nod.
Severus felt cornered in entirely unknown territory. On the one hand, they were right, of course. As much as he hated their presence – especially this Stéphan fellow with his impudent brats and annoying friendliness – their idea was thoughtful. It was nothing short of what he would have done for Héloïse had he been in their place. However, on the other hand, and this weighed heavily too, their little war was yet to be won, and the Muggles' safety hung now upon his shoulders. What would Sage want him to do? Something rebelled inside him against asking her. She had enough to worry about wherever she went with Iris that day….
"First, the house needed our attention," – he decided to explain. "The irrigation got damaged with time, and the wells became muddy too, but nothing irreparable."
"I thought they might have," – Thomas showed some of the tools he carried. "Quite typical around these parts. I clean my wells every five years or so."
Severus couldn't hesitate long before Stéphan lost his patience:
"C'mon, where's Salbei?" – He repeated the question. "She would know it's just like in the old times!"
This was the point where Severus finally had enough of his uninvited familiarity. "My wife is not at home. And I assure you, I'm well prepared to clean the wells on my own way."
"Wait, are you also–" – Paul began, but his fellows were louder.
"Oh, my god, little Salbei found herself a guy!" – Stéphan chuckled while Thomas congratulated with an enormous grin.
"Nice to meet you, man!"
"Did you say your own way?" – Paul repeated, giving an unexpected reason for Severus to feel grateful at least for a chance to move on:
"I did."
The three Muggle men nodded to each other all-knowingly, and Thomas grumbled:
"Birds of a feather…."
"Perhaps we don't have to wait for her with the renovations," – Stéphan told his friends.
Severus caught after the word: "What renovations?"
"Well, last week's storm left with a piece of the clock tower," – Paul explained. "It wouldn't have been an issue in the old times."
His half-sentence explained to Severus more about the peculiar bond between the family and the surrounding Muggle villages than any tales he'd heard.
"Do you mean Héloïse used to help with the repairs in the village?
"The major ones. And Salbei, too," – Thomas nodded. "Spared a fortune for better causes," – he added thoughtfully.
"We thought Salbei wouldn't mind if she finally returned," – Paul scratched his neck hesitantly. Still, none of them could guess how their words relieved Severus.
Sure she wouldn't – he thought to himself. The reasonable exchange was also something he readily understood. Much more readily than uninvited friendliness.
"Thinking about it, I could use a hand or a few to tidy up here," – he admitted. "And then you'll have to show me that clock tower. I'm yet to see the villages around."
So it happened that Sage found her wizard with the locals in the village pub shortly before nightfall. The gardens seemed like the plants finally had a chance that year, and the clock tower stood outside as if it had never weathered the storm at all. Severus silently sat with a pint of ale and had been listening through stories about the family he now belonged to. When Sage finally walked into the pub, she greeted more people than Severus would have liked, and dispersed a generous number of kisses on various cheeks. However, before he could get truly grumpy, he found his lap full of a happy witch. She was drinking his ale, and regaled everyone with his numerous praises like Severus was the best gift to humankind since the first genius decided to put butter on toast. He hid his blush into her shoulder and made a contentious effort to learn to like this new aspect of life. He already felt a stirring appreciation. It was only hard to believe something like this could last.
Monday cut short the following marital bliss, when, with the supporting army of witches, Sage finally stepped up in front of the Judiciary branch of the French Ministry. Severus had to make sure no one found the time to protest. He left to collect Martin by dawn, and they set up the timed bomb under the Nott ancestral home close to Saint-Lô in Normandy. As Martin showed by the first rays of the sun, the manor and the stables were both hidden from the Muggles' eyes. The former accommodated the larger family, and the latter produced the infamous Abraxan horses, which breed the family invested most in the last century.
Knowing the importance of these unique beasts, Severus was unimpressed by the security measures the Notts employed around the stables. This played into their hands when he left Martin to wait for his signal and walked up to the house to surprise the family amid their breakfast. Some concerned words about the horses' well-being, a short but convincing show from Martin, and Severus had the Nott matriarch's written account about the family's complete list of interests and properties, which did not include the Rasical fortune in Nancy. Whatever Theo senior thought he'd been doing, Severus now also had the declaration of intent signed by the family's head, that the Notts had no quarrels with either the Rasicals or the Coquinnes. Moreover, according to the law, they supported the family's legal interests against outside meddling and all their properties' integrity.
Before Severus Disapparated from the Nott fields, a familiar silvery goose reached him and reported in Sage's voice that the witches all gathered at the Ministry, and Janine Roux showed up in the crowd.
It was worth a contented smirk before Severus turned to the dumbstruck Martin Lefevre: "So, you had an issue with the Roux, had you?"
Martin's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "That is correct," – he said. "Are you going to help me with my problem now?"
Severus nodded slowly. "As long as you do exactly what I tell you to do, and nothing more or less." When he saw Martin's rapt attention, he went on: "Do you know the place they call Chateau Belumiere?"
"That's unplottable. And charmed to–"
"Don't you begin to describe a Fidelius, Martin, it's bad form to think I was just born the day before! I asked whether you knew the place or not."
Martin looked tense. "I've been invited," – he admitted. "But you can't get through the wards, and there are guards and various protection charms. Even if I could tell you where to find it, which I can't…"
"Martin, you aren't listening," – Severus chided him almost indulgently. "You only need to do what is asked of you. Nothing more, nothing less. I've always known you to be a coward but the single act of boldness you have ever shown may save you now from being marched up to your Ministry Magique to turn yourself in–"
"Snape!"
"You proved to be a good boy, Martin. I offer you a free retreat. One more favour, and you may go."
Now Martin's suspicious nature took over, and he stepped back nervously. "Why would you– Why would you do that?"
Severus contemplated the benefits of honesty only for a second.
"Because once you did something good, Martin. Once, you stood up for the life of my wife when the Dark Lord wished to ensure her loyalty. Such a moment of uncharacteristic usefulness should be appreciated in the worthless life of a miscreant like you. Unfortunately, you've also plotted against my interests which put you in my debt. Pay up, and you'll be free."
Martin thought hard and long before he asked: "And, supposing I got inside the charm, what is that you would expect me to do?"
"You are not required to do anything. Just be there."
Martin swallowed hard. "How long?"
"One minute, Martin. You get inside the Fidelius and hold on for one minute, then you may go."
"Freely?" – Martin seemed to be in awe. "May I even snitch on you?"
Severus' lips pulled into a bitter mockery of a smile. "I would expect you to do just that."
After a short pause Martin's features betrayed his absolute conviction that Snape had lost his mind, but then he turned on his heel so quickly Severus almost lost the opportunity to Accio the bomb with one hand and grab onto his arm with another.
The Apparition was a horrible experience, almost squeezing the air out of his lungs, but within a moment Severus landed by the well-trimmed hedgerows of the Roux ancestral home, holding onto Martin and his bomb. They faced a round drive-up to a wide two-winged building that seemed great and old enough to host a ballet for the Sun king's pleasure and his court.
"What the hell did they need the Coquinne fortune for?" – Severus absently muttered, staring at the trimmed roses in the centre of the drive-up drawing out a septagram with various colours of blooming flowers. The wind carried the scent of Robinias from the wilderness on the left, and on the right a fountain's top peeked above a maze. Further away bees were working diligently between various flowerbeds and their hives. A faint sound of Abraxans neighing carried from behind the grove.
"Well, wizard-kind had never had nobility by the Muggles' standards," – Martin answered with a shrug. "Time kind-of stopped for most old-fashioned families when they all went into hiding to avoid Muggle politics in the seventeen hundreds and after."
A curious eyebrow rose above Severus' cheek without his permission or intent. He'd just gotten to know the villagers in Alsace, and he was quite sure they would have shat bricks knowing what was hidden from their view and use. It suddenly explained a lot about Sage's family's opposition to some others. They maintained stronger relations with the people around them, and so with reality.
Severus' initial plan to blackmail these people into obedience with a single bomb just flew away with this surprise. "Is this the oldest part of the family's property?" – he asked Martin.
"No, that would be the dowager's house behind the grove," – he showed a finger toward a lane leading up to the trees on the left. "There's a path no wider than a cart road. It runs out to the fields on the other side where the charm ends by the hedges behind the old house. After that, you're in open fields."
"How far?"
"About half-an-hour walk from the line of the trees." Martin seemed to consider his next words carefully: "Am I free to leave now?"
Severus felt uncomfortable. He looked around again, contemplating the possible alarms they must have activated by Apparating here without invitation. The charms would surely notify the family about intruders. At least Janine should know by now…. Lefevre could do a last favour before he'd let him go.
"As I said," – he finally replied. "You're free to leave now and may also snitch in two hours. That should be enough for you to get as far away from here as you can or to hide."
"Two hours," – Martin repeated hesitantly.
"You wouldn't want to cross me, would you?"
Martin swallowed and shook his head. "I will snitch, Snape. Whatever you're planning you can't possibly get away with it, and I will not go down with you." He cast a hasty Tempus. "I did all you asked. Two more hours and I'm not in your debt anymore. Are we clear?"
Severus nodded. "Completely."
Martin took a shaky breath and Disapparated while Severus focused on the first line of Robinia flowers and turned on his heel. He showed much more self-assurance than what he felt but arrogance was a nice way of concealing his worries.
As soon as he reached the grove, he leaped in the air and flew zigzagging among the trees. This way it took only minutes to get to the other side of the wilderness and every minute counted if he was to carry out his half-baked plan. Just like he'd expected, he encountered a finely woven wall of charms before the last line of trees. A centuries old ward, with intent layered on intent ran around a smaller house and its gardens. Severus had to take his time to cut an entryway and get through to the gardens. He Disillusioned himself and planted the bomb deep into a ground squirrel's hole he found just at the inner side of the ward.
He stole near a bench and various flowers, sneaked around bushes, and was already close to the house when an angel's sculptured head turned after him from the top of a fountain. Suddenly Severus only wanted nothing more than to throw away his cover and announce his presence. He pressed a fist into his mouth to stop himself from crying out loudly, and he struggled against the compulsion for a long minute before he could make himself cast a nonverbal Reducto. When the sculpture blasted into shreds, he finally breathed easier. However, the noise must have awoken something deep under the house. Silent but ominous growling escaped through the walls, and a window popped open on the first floor.
"Frédérick, c'est encore toi ?" – The female voice seemed more annoyed than alarmed.
"Imperio!" – Severus whispered under the window, and walked up to the door to wait.
An old witch opened the door wide enough for his invisible form to enter, and promptly led the way to the cellars under the house. The last arch that held the cellars' ceiling was uneven, and the witch mutely stood by a brick wall with odd hesitance that didn't match the Imperius' power. Severus renewed his curse just a moment before the building shook with a distant detonation. Whoever that Frédérick she'd mentioned might have been, Severus was sure that he and anyone else around now ran to investigate the ground-squirrel's hole.
The old witch stood like a sleepwalker until Severus prompted her to go on. She tapped a pattern on the wall then with her wand, an iron gate appeared, and then a series of stone steps continued downwards behind it. When Severus was sure he finally approached his destination, he Stupefied and tied the witch to the gate to stop it from closing and carefully ventured down.
He found himself in an oval room with ancient looking stone walls, which were illuminated by torch flames. In the middle of the room he saw an altar of granite, carved with the family's insignia and various alchemical symbols. Now he was certain that his doings must have been easy to sense for Janine as the family's present leader. She wouldn't need to wait for Martin to tell about his misdeeds when Severus would try to dissect all the charm work the centuries layered here to protect the family and its properties. The hour he thought he had now didn't even seem to be enough, while he knew Sage was demanding back her heritage in the Ministry with the meagre support Iris had managed to hoard together in less than two months. She only had a chance if no one opposed. The Notts wouldn't cause her a problem anymore, but this?
Janine Roux needed to be distracted and thoroughly put in her place, and so Severus Snape worked up all the nerve and courage to cause sufficient havoc.
He might even intimidate her into obedience if he showed enough skill at the worst possible place to meddle…. With a malevolent smirk, Severus cast a modified Vinculum a Priorem, just to see the structure of the layered charms and curses, all the intent of Janine's ancestors had built upon each other. Then he cast a Geminio to take the visual representation of the structure to study it at his leisure when he mumbled Locumtotum Vocatur.
Dissecting a multilayered curse had never been a problem for someone with uncounted time and skill developed under the ruthless instructions of Voldemort. Severus even enjoyed a nice tea while he studied the system safely laid before him in the safety of his tent. The Roux family history seemed to have begun with blood magic, tying the wards of the old house to the family's first ancestors, strengthened with the oaths of their vassals some centuries ago. There was a strong reintroduction about two hundred years back, with a second layer of the family's blood, and various curses designed to entrap any intruder within the enhanced wards. It also added the concealing charms. From that time on, Severus only found repetitions of pledges of loyalty, and charm-work to strengthen the camouflage. Janine's own additions were laughably feeble compared to her elders' efforts. She must have been in great hurry after her brother passed away.
Remembering the curse Riddle had woven into the Hogwarts wards, Severus experimented with various curses, darker than the original intents, to watch the smaller hexes and charms rearrange around them, hopping out from their intended places. He wished he could avoid using the killing curse, because he had no desire to perform human sacrifice. Thankfully, an odd combination of the Cruciatus and Sectumsempra sufficed.
He wasn't sure what to do about the original blood magic though, and that gave him a day's work in research in the small library he'd carefully built at his safe place. How could he confuse the ancient magic enough for it to refuse recognizing Janine as the family's heir?
Even getting some sleep didn't help with coming up with any useful ideas either, Severus only shot a Confundus Charm at the remaining structure out of sheer desperation… and it relented. He stared at it with wide-eyed astonishment for a second before letting his head roll back and roared up with laughter! The construct that defied all intelligent attacks relented for the magical equivalent of a peg!
Severus got up, and reversed his safe-place charm only to find himself back by the granite altar with the Vinculum a Priorem hovering in the air.
Without a moment of hesitation, he sliced through the layers of intricate intents, dissecting first the lesser charms and subordinate curses. Now he should find someone to torture, but somehow Severus was reluctant to risk the unknown old witch's life under the forbidden curse.
The commotion he heard from the other side of the iron gate helped his patience, and within a few minutes the torches' light flickered as someone tried to close the gate.
"Frédérick, ne sois pas idiot !" - It was Janine's voice, and whoever that Frédérick might have been, Severus found himself grateful for the guy. Of course no sane witch would leave him alone with the main responsibility for the family's safety!
Hasty steps sounded, and Janine Roux burst into the oval room just to collapse in wails under a quick Crucio. Severus lifted the witch with a quick wand-move, and shoved her onto the altar, slicing a wound on her forearm with his childhood spell just enough to take blood. The hovering Vinculum a Priorem only showed now the two layers of blood magic upon the granite. Finishing up his malevolent work, Severus sent a Confundus into them.
He wasn't ready for the earthshattering rumble the walls suddenly emitted.
The young man who turned up on the stone steps was first paralyzed by sudden fear, then Janine cried out with horror: "Snape, what have you done?!"
"Only the same that you and your brother intended," – Severus replied as calmly as he could while the ground and the walls shuddered, throwing off centuries of magic.
He had to hold on to a nearby wall not to lose his balance. The young man stumbled down the stair but was yet to lift his wand.
"You've just lost your heritage, Janine," – Severus informed the witch. She struggled to sit up on the altar. "You have no wards, no defenses, and no protection against the world. You have no power on your properties. You've just became nobody at your relatives' mercy. Let's see how you cope!"
The first stone falling down from the ceiling Severus could only stop by letting his magic free. The young man howled with fear and kicked himself up from the ground and fled. Severus grabbed Janine by an arm, yanked her from the altar and pushed towards the gate.
"You don't get to die, witch, you will suffer," – he grumbled in her ear as he tossed her out into the cellar, where he couldn't see a trace of the old witch or the young man anymore. They both broke into a run.
"I'm going to curse your name, you devil!" – Janine threatened between swearing, running under the collapsing arches, and up to the entrance. Severus ran close to her while the walls shook around them, beginning to bury everything under the rumbles of the old house. Finally they managed to jump and lay in the pedicured lawn panting, and watching the dusty remains.
"You can try that," – Severus assured Janine as soon as he could gather himself, and stood up. "Or you may also contemplate the power that destroyed all your precious strength."
Janine turned her gaze from the shaky ruins, and stared at him with horror turning into awe in her eyes.
"You killed the Dark Lord. You destroyed… it was undestroyable…."
Severus snarled at her with loathing and disgust. "Always the servant of the great, are you? I will not give your power back, you've got what you deserved. But those who belonged to you may learn how to restore their home. Send them to me when you give up revenge. I will restore your successor in exchange for their alliance."
With that, Severus Disapparated on the spot to wait for Sage and her triumphant cousin in the orchard in Alsace. It felt better to lean back on the bench under the trees and just breathe, than any time before.
"Aye, Salbei, what's the occasion?"
Severus had to admit that Stéphan's usually irritating voice sounded much more pleasant through the haze of some pints of ale and diluted with old music turned probably way too loud on the radio. He sat in the Muggle pub leaning back against the wooden wall, with his legs casually straightened in front of him, and watched his wife's mesmerizing backside shake with her tapping the rhythm by the counter.
"Here's for a good day's work well done," – Sage laughingly handed her friend a glass of wine, and asked for another.
"Must have been well done indeed," – Stéphan grinned and drank. "I haven't seen you like this for about a decade!"
Sage peeked at her husband before she smiled at Stéphan a vibrant smile.
"Must be because I'm happy," – she professed. Then she laughed, letting her loose hair shake behind her shoulders. There was no trace of reservations or any kind of uncertainty. Severus could only stare.
"Come here then, girl," – her friend laughed with her with as much enthusiasm as if he knew what and how had just been achieved. He didn't bother asking questions, putting his glass down, or even to secure Sage's in her hand, he just grabbed a wrist and spanned her around before the counter. "Hope you don't mind my friend," – he winked at Severus, before he made the laughing witch dance for the song.
Severus could only think about shaking his head with surprise. Strangely, he found he didn't mind at all, but the haze of the booze, the music and that good day's work well done mixed up with his witch's enticing moves and professed happiness… his old habit to just watch had never caused so much delight! Sage danced with her childhood friend with the freedom and security of old acquaintance and trust, looked at Severus with pride and love, and laughed even when the song ended. It occurred to him that he would have danced with Lily the same way right now; with innocent pleasure and gratitude, and wondered if she knew about all that had transpired.
No. She wouldn't ever have danced with him like that. They had probably too much history, and somehow Severus also doubted he would have ever been this casual with her husband had they been offered a chance. No. He shook his head. But it was nice that Sage could. She probably had no idea about restoring another piece of the world to the place it should have been all along, and had never been.
And so Severus found himself emerging from his seat, and buying some more wine for his wife's best friend. At least Stéphan had the good sense to take it as the encomium it was.
"Almost forgot," – Stéphan went on after clinking his glass to Severus' – "I ran into a young man outside, who asked after you."
Sage's gaze sought out Severus' promptly, only her lips forming the name Frédérick with surprise.
"A little soon, I would say," – he grimaced, feeling the mood shifting too sombre too quickly.
"A trap," – Sage whispered with alarm, and grabbed to her wand. "Was he alone?"
"Who are you afraid so?" – Stéphan laughed. He alternately looked at the witch and the wizard, showing how odd he found their reaction. "He's merely a boy, doesn't even speak French… all we could figure out was Severus' name, and that he calls himself Tom I believe…."
"Tom?! Like Riddle?" – Sage jumped to the pub's door with determination, but Severus was the quicker and held her back.
"We're in no state for a fight," – he reminded the witch, "I just want to peek out so we can prepare."
"I'll keep her here, don't worry," – Stéphan put a comforting hand on Sage's arm, making Severus snort his sudden amusement despite of all.
"As if you could," – he grumbled, shaking his head, and as he casually stepped out to the street he cast a Concealing Charm over himself.
It couldn't be Riddle - that much he knew even well into his cups. But then who the hell could– Severus stopped short and stared through the square. He let his charm dissolve and reveal him in the twilight.
"Jugson, you miserable little punk! What in Merlin's name has gotten into you to dawdle in these parts of the world?!"
The boy stared at his once Head-of House as if he'd seen a ghost, Severus had no idea how his sudden appearance seemed for an observer. He materialized against the setting dusk in his muggle jeans and band tee, looking younger and healthier than any time in the last decade and a half, his lazy voice a little sluggish with the evident tipsiness, and a well-known witch circled with some Muggles laughing up with relief in the open pub door behind him for background… Tom Jugson felt as if he had slipped into a surreal dream and could only gawp.
"Owls…" – he finally managed to utter – "NEWTs and… owls… returned and I… Malfoy's father thought Theo's family knew where to find you Professor, but they didn't, and all of them were quite angry, I didn't understand but… and there was a list Malfoy then gave me… one of the places… and here I couldn't find…"
"Stop blabbering, Mr. Jugson!" – This tone finally felt familiar. "Am I to understand, you've already passed your NEWTS?"
"Erm, yes sir! Last week, and I believe with reasonable marks."
"Reasonable, Mr. Jugson?"
The boy coughed self-consciously. "Yes, I believe. Sir, I tried to contact you ever since you'd left. I need- I would like to ask you to- I–"
"Spit it out, Jugson, I don't have all day!"
"I came to ask for tuition, sir. I want to learn from you."
Severus' eyebrows swiftly rose. "I thought you've said you'd just passed your NEWTS."
"I-I did, sir. I mean, I'm sure I have. I need more. An apprenticeship. Or a job. I would work for you or… or do chores… even cleaning cauldrons, whatever you might ask."
"Whatever I might–" – Severus suddenly felt the booze and the tiredness of the day. "Jugson, you're an idiot, go home as soon as you can!" – He turned away almost scandalized, only to hear the boy squeak behind him.
"I would do ANYTHING! Anything at all!"
It was either the dusk or the surprise of seeing a face from a life before, but Severus froze under the weight of a memory. He turned and almost charged at Jugson until he was at the boy's throat with lightening in his eyes.
"Never" – he roared – "never in your life make such a stupid promise! Do you understand?! Not ever!"
Jugson swallowed and tried to nod. "Yessir, I'm… I'm sorry… I just…."
"Promises can bind you, Jugson. Don't ever be in a rush to make a promise!" – Severus added more placidly.
"Yes sir," – the young man tried to find his voice again. "Sir, I– Do you happen to know a place where I could spend a night here?"
After a moment of hesitation Severus decided he didn't want to wake up to another's presence in the summer house. It was a sanctuary and sacred by Sage's presence, he wasn't ready to share, especially not with a nitwit even if he liked him.
"I'll ask around."
His grumbled words might have been too soft because he felt Jugson was following him toward the pub, and to make it worse, Sage smiled at the dunderhead and welcomed him by teaching his charm.
"Wand to your ears, Mr. Jugson, that's the way. Now Simi-loqu-ato – try it!"
"Similoquato" – the young man repeated before entering the pub. "Sorry, Professor, but the wand… I hope the Muggles didn't see me use it."
"I'm not a Professor, Mr. Jugson," – Severus could hear the smile in her tone. "And you will have to learn about the Muggles here. We have established a way of living that stands on cooperation and respect. You might find a lot to surprise you."
Jugson laughed. "Oh, I'm already sure I will, Madame Snape… is that the right way to address you?"
"Just call me Sage! You'll need a place to sleep, will you? I've overheard you'd come here to learn."
"Why yes, erm… Sage, thank you. I would like to but Professor Snape didn't seem as if he thought–"
"No I don't," – Severus thought it best to chime in. "And I'm not your professor anymore either. And no, you don't get to address me by my name, Jugson, let's make that clear from the first go!"
Jugson grinned unabashedly. "Yes, sir. Thank Merlin!"
They let the boy walk up to the counter and try his newly borrowed "language skills," and Severus pulled Sage aside.
"You're generous with others' spells, my dear, is there a reason why this moron should learn how to get by?"
"I love your spells, have I ever told you?" – Sage pulled a playful finger along his breastbone. "Similoquato is especially such a work of a genius it should–"
Severus caught her wrist and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "You won't get anywhere with flattery, witch."
"Really? Never noticed," – she smiled outrageously, and he already felt he would lose this match.
"What do you want?"
"Aside of going home and having you for myself?"
Perhaps her words shouldn't have had the power to make him so lightheaded, but Severus found he couldn't care. All his struggles and sufferings were leading up to this bliss and he wasn't ready to curtail it by a millisecond.
"Why should there be anything aside of that?" – With sudden impulse he decided to try the witch's tactic and leaned close to her neck to kiss under her ear. He grinned when Sage sighed.
"Don't do this, chérie, we need to talk…."
"I don't need you to talk tonight," – Severus deemed, kissing lower on her neck. The sound of her gasping for air was oh-so-very rewarding, it almost distracted from her words:
"He could sleep across the library as a travelling student. Chubby will take care of him."
The thought was way too sobering for comfort. "What?! You cannot mean to let him in there!"
Sage stepped back to quarrel with him properly, and this time Severus was ready to stand his ground.
"He may keep busy in the library. I wouldn't open up grand-mére's chambers, but that's not the only– "
The rush of relief made Severus forget about not wanting Jugson in the house at all. He pulled Sage closer, and kissed her softly.
"All right, if you believe he wouldn't get in the way. But nothing about Héloïse!"
"Nothing as long as you say that!"
"Sage!"
"Alright, nothing at all!"
Jugson found it hard to make instant friends among the locals, and seemed glad to abandon his drink for the sake of accommodation and hope for more. He stared at Snape, still bewildered by the ease he carried himself around here, and tried to thread carefully when he accepted Sage's invitation. There was nothing more to it, he just tried to keep pace with all the changes in his professor. He had no idea how to address him, so he decided to observe more and talk less, which proved to be an approach everyone welcomed.
The orchard and the vast gardens surprised him into awe and open-mouthed appreciation, something that also wasn't lost on Snape. Jugson had to believe he dropped into a new world with rules he was yet to understand completely, but one of those must have been to respect all that surrounded them. That was at least something he could manage without effort.
The Snapes disappeared as soon as he was shown into a room and a house elf popped up instead, introduced himself, and asked him to keep the house quiet while he served a generous dinner and offered clean robes. The scents of various herbs and the buzzing of the insects lulled him into slumber much sooner than he would have thought. There didn't seem to be any place for anxiety and fear for the future in this house.
The early morning lights awoke the young wizard with gentle touch, he first started, and it took a moment before he could recall his surroundings. He was somewhere in France, wherever he eventually found Snape…
Snape…
Hell, the wizard had hidden better than a bowtruckle among the branches! Mr. Malfoy had at least half a dozen addresses, and Theo's father some more. It had taken forever to break the tracking charms on those lists, and all their worth was finding a grumpy old she-elf under an old manor house, dirty with her work, who suggested he tried this village… if only he could recall her name….
Jugson stretched and stepped to the window to see those enormous gardens again. It made sense of course… a potion's garden…. His eyes caught on a narrow figure bending above the rows. There seemed to be an elf too, and the man's long nose drew a shadow on his face in the braking day's light. Snape? Jugson thought back of his Head of House's billowing robes and pale complexion and compared them to this man's healthy tan and muggle trousers. His shirt was rolled up to his elbows and he didn't spare himself from hard labour. Jugson couldn't help but whizzed with laughter: Snape working with a house elf! Merlin! No one would ever believe it!
Although he wasn't quite sure if this Snape was completely the same as the one he thought he knew. Watching the old bat making nice to a witch was about the last thing he'd expected to see. Even after their spectacular departure from Hogwarts. Blimey, was the headmaster grumpy after that! A pathetic barrel-bellied old man came to teach potions, who was remarkably short with most of them for a previous Head of Slytherin, and his potion recipes were lacking too! Snape's NEWT students resolved to use their former notes instead, which almost caused a breach with the old man. The other issue was about a blown-up desk drawer in the Head of House's study. No one seemed to know what exactly happened, but Slughorn walked around with acid cut wounds and all of the personal notes about Slytherin students were reported missing. Luckily the exams came quick enough and Jugson could escape.
Two hours later Severus decided to shower and get ready for a breakfast with Sage. She already busied herself in the old kitchen, annoying Chubby again by doing his duties while he helped around the garden. Severus smirked when he heard some plates rattling after a loud pop from that way. Jugson's head sticking out his door and looking around the corridor was a less welcomed sight.
"Have you eaten?" – he asked the boy.
Jugson shook his head.
"Get ready and meet me in the kitchen," – Severus advised him. "We are expecting a visitor. I'm sure you wouldn't want to seem shabby."
His tone might have sounded malicious, but Iris was still a sight to behold, and imagining the boy's probable bafflement was enough to restore his already slipping smirk. Also, he wasn't wrong to expect entertainment despite the nature of Iris' visit. Not long after breakfast Iris appeared in all her glorious half-nudity, this time strategically covered in silk instead of lace, and young Tom Jugson put Draco's adolescent adoration to shame. The witches had the good humour to leave him to his gawking and sat with Severus to discuss their aunt.
"I haven't found a map, but I drew up the premises," – Iris rolled out a sizeable parchment on the veranda table. "Can you remember something more?" – She asked Sage.
She shook her head. "My recollections of her dungeons are sparse at the best. I wouldn't accept anything she'd offer, although it would be a miracle if we got as close as to even have a chance to refuse."
"Well, I would only go as far as the outer wards," – Iris reminded. "Here" – she showed on the map above one of the villages, "and also on this side," – she showed above another. "Jamie wanted to break through here, and he didn't have a chance. They only annoyed her."
"Well, this time I will go by the way of her front door, and I have good news enough for her to listen."
Severus wished if he was as optimistic as Sage tried to look. He knew better after comforting her in her various nightmares. "What about the Demiguise?" - he interjected.
"The what?" – Iris started on the word.
"Well, Héloïse–" – Severus began, but Sage quickly cut him off:
"I told Severus about how grand-mére thought Polla once acquired a Demiguise. Haven't you heard about that?"
Iris shook her head.
"See?" – Sage turned to Severus. "It must have been no more than wicked a gossip. If she had a Demiguise we would have known."
Despite Severus' misgivings about the plan, they soon got ready, equipped with both of his wands, the papers Sage acquired from the French Ministry to prove the status of the estates, and Iris as a reluctant back-up. They Apparated to the edge of Polla's wards, leaving Jugson under Chubby's supervision to peruse the regular library or familiarize himself with the gardens.
The village under them seemed ominously quiet, Severus couldn't even see birds flying in the sky. The early summer air was hot and static and the wards vibrated with their presence as Sage started to climb a small hill towards her aunt's gates. It was maybe exactly because of the ominous feeling, the unmoving leaves on the trees at noon, but Severus felt a strange presence shooting behind them. It came from the higher windows of the castle-like old house and landed across the gate on a tree branch. He tried to spot the source of this sinister presence but came up empty-handed however hard he tried.
Surprisingly the gate opened on Sage's first knock, and a shorter grey-haired witch walked out with confidence Severus usually matched with the short-sighted pureblood parents he was forced to endure while teaching at Hogwarts.
"Bonjour tante !" – Sage greeted the witch.
Polla didn't have a strong built or regal posture reminding anyone of Héloïse, she rather seemed ascetic with her narrow shoulders, tall and dry neck, and a face that folded in on itself with trenches and wells created by the wrinkles drawn around and under her vivacious grey eyes. Her thin lips must have been once delicate and expressive, but were now colourless and unforgiving, as they parted. However she didn't look at her niece as she addressed her: "I see you've toted this husband of yours along," – she began in unpractised English, looking above Severus' shoulder. "If he would try to blackmail me too, you'd get to be a widow, just so you know."
"Polla, we need to talk to you, but I would never–"
"Wouldn't it be interesting to see how that would turn out?" – Severus cut in, seriously annoyed already. "How inconvenient for you it must be to know what I could drag up against you!"
"Severus," – Sage gasped, frightened probably by reflex, but her aunt's gaze finally flicked at him before she replied:
"You have no intention matching wand with me."
"That, Madam, is solely up to you."
Polla's gaze stubbornly fixed above his shoulder, and Severus began to wish he could look around without betraying his discomfort. Suddenly the witch's eyes flicked to his other side and she shown even more alertness.
"I'm just a lone old woman in her own doorstep, you shouldn't draw your wand."
"Polla, we only came to talk. Things changed, I can prove that. There's no need of wands, if you just look through the papers I've brought–" – Sage stopped when her aunt didn't even dignify her words with a look into her direction.
"I need no Ministry papers to know what you've been up to," – the old witch sneered. "You don't get through my walls young man, this place is protected better than the Roux's."
Severus saw Sage's wide-eyed astonishment, but Polla's words hit him with a different effect. How did she know he didn't mean his first threat? Then how did she figure he wished to cast a revealing charm? She also knew about the parchments Sage carried…. He resolved to cast that revealing charm anyway just a second before the old witch jumped into action.
"Expelliarmus!" – Polla cried, and Severus' half-drawn wand yanked into her direction, he could only catch it by grabbing after it in mid-air. It all looked like self-defense, and Severus began to feel uncomfortable.
"Severus, no! Why?" – Sage cried out again, - "Polla, he didn't mean it, we both want to talk, believe me!"
"How can you be so sure, Salbei," – her aunt replied still looking all over behind them, but not for the minute in her face – "you'd never had taste in men, darling, you cannot know…"
Severus heard her with repugnance, but he was more convinced by the second he should find something or someone with a Revelio. He lifted his wand again but stopped confused as soon Polla cast a shiny Shield Charm seemingly without any reason.
"Help, I've suffered enough attacks already!" – the old witch simpered, holding her wand up still.
"He wouldn't attack you, Polla, we came in peace!" – Sage struggled to explain, then she looked at Severus and saw his drawn wand. "Why would you?"
Severus opened his mouth, but Polla was quicker to speak: "Next he would claim I was not even alone!"
"She does have a Demiguise," – Severus reminded.
"A creature forbidden to keep or trade! Is that what you're preparing to lie about to the Ministry to prey on my fortune?"
Sage shook her head in confusion. "Aunt, Severus only helped me. We defended what even you–"
"Is that what he told you?" – Polla's voice sounded harsh. "A beggar on horseback, don't think I don't have my sources! An intruder like your father, struggling to become even an upstart using your heritage and blood!"
That cut deep enough for Severus to lose the blood from his cheeks and his wand-hand dropped to his side.
"I've never claimed any of those." He could hardly register Sage's shocked screaming.
"You needn't, it's yours! Polla, stop this this instant, he–"
"Don't bother, he's ready to go" – her aunt cut her, surprising Severus again, who was indeed at the verge of leaving.
With a last flash of defiance, he lifted his wand again, to uncover the Demiguise he was sure somewhere around, when the next Expeliarmus hit him, and his wand flew high and towards the witch, who suddenly shrieked even before he let his magic free to pull the birch-stick back to himself. Polla took cover behind her door, and Sage yelled his name again.
"The Demiguise!" – Severus stubbornly repeated. "She knows every word and move beforehand!"
"Revelio!" – Sage finally wielded her wand with the charm, just when Severus' wand returned into his hand.
He felt a spark of warmth for her trust, knowing she'd never believed in the creature. It got even warmer when the magical beast indeed appeared on a branch behind him.
"You were right all along!" – Sage stared at him, "Forgive me!"
"As if that mattered!" – Polla stood up by the gate. "The Demiguise might have known, that had nothing to do with me! You'll see, Salbei, this man will be your downfall. Mark my words, he–"
Sage finally found her voice and turned against her aunt: "I'm not even listening to your insults and lies! I know my husband like you've never known a man! He did help me, and he did help you too! Aunt, it's time for peace in the family not for another breach! You–" –
Severus' still roaming magic stopped a jinx tossed in her direction, and reflected it back on the caster who cowered behind her door again, but cried with triumph: "You see? That's the price for your faith, child! He can't bridle himself, he won't ever refrain of anything to separate the family!"
"Eyewash," – Severus grumbled, and decided to get rid of that trice cursed beast instead of listening a second longer.
"Polla, it is you," – Sage argued. "Let us in and sit down. I prove you have nothing to be afraid of!"
Every attempt attacking the Demiguise resulted in either Polla's unhinged accusations or jinxes aimed alternately at Severus or Sage while the creature kept ducking and swinging out of harm's way. Severus' disturbed thoughts even came up with the idea that if ever he would find a charm which needed that frustration like a Patronus needed a happy memory, this sole experience would fuel it till the end of times!
The stalemate abruptly changed with a silent pop from the edge of Polla's wards, and Iris' surprised yell was followed with a swish of blonde hair flying in on an old-timer broom.
"Malfoy, what the–"
Before Severus could get through his surprise, the old bastard lifted a wand on the Demiguise behind him. The creature ducked in time to escape his hex, but almost collided with Sage's. Severus wasted no time and aimed two Stunners right and left from the beast, while Lucius' wand lifted again, and then Severus' third hex finally collided with the Demiguise's silky fur. The creature shook in mute surprise, and fell off the tree, just like Polla fell with a whoop in her doorway after Lucius' Incarcerous bound her from shoulders to ankle with thick robes.
"Now you'll have no other means but finally to listen!" – Sage huffed with more relief than triumph, and Severus waited patiently for his friend to land between them.
"Nice broom," – he noticed with fake nonchalance.
Lucius dismounted the broom with a shrug. "The best your hidey-hole could offer, I believe. You're one wizard hard to find," – he added when Severus lifted an inquiring eye-brow – "that Jugson kid is annoyingly apt at removing common tracking charms. Thankfully, I still have some less common spells up my sleeve."
"And why would you break your neck to find me?"
Lucius grimaced with annoyance. "To thank you, you fool. I hear that's the polite way after a friend's letter clears you before the law."
"I must have forgotten," – Severus turned aside with a smirk. "So you've found me."
"There's my gratitude," – Lucius showed towards the old witch squirming in her doorway. "I expect my owls to get through to you in the future."
"After this day, I can lift the charm."
Malfoy contentedly nodded, and only his usually cold blue eyes betrayed his now uncommonly fuzzy feelings. Severus offered his right arm and Lucius grabbed it with all the manly affection he was capable of showing.
"Well,… I'll return the broom if that's what you call this. Your apprentice seemed quite alarmed when I borrowed it. Stupid pup has no taste for surprises. At least he mentioned I might fight a demiguise."
"He's not my apprentice," – Severus quickly corrected.
"Whatever you say, my friend," – Lucius smiled now with his usual malice. "Sage," – he took his leave as politely as the circumstances allowed. "I'll see you around," – he added looking at Severus, mounted the old broom, and flew back out of the wards to Disapparate.
The rest of the job was solely up to Sage, and Severus found he didn't mind that. Polla Poultron proved herself indeed to be the foulest witch he'd ever had the misfortune to encounter, although remembering that Pink Toad from this last year in Hogwarts, he wasn't even sure she even deserved that accolade.
He walked through Polla's house careful not to touch a single object, and memorized the strengths and weaknesses of the building and the outer walls. He also took the time to visit the dungeons and interrogate the house elf about Sage's last stay. He didn't learn anything new or surprising but his repulsion of Polla was set for a lifetime so deeply even the witches' pact couldn't ease it anymore.
However, Sage looked relieved, even happy that evening. She dismissed Polla's words as if she'd never voiced them, and showered Severus with all the attention a witch in love could offer. For him, it was harder to forget or feel relief.
The coming days – and weeks – found Severus either in the gardens or puttering around the house. He tried to avoid Jugson, but Sage seemed happy to have a guest. Iris visited frequently for a while, but then she found another cause to hurl herself into the Paris society, and Jugson built a daily routine studying Herbology in the Library Common, as Sage and Severus came to refer to the place. Sage spent her time re-familiarizing herself with the comings and goings of the villages around, unfailingly happy and seeming content.
It should have been bliss and peace and a sense of arrival. It wasn't. Severus felt superfluous, loved but unneeded, and rootless in a house he still thought about as Héloïse's.
One evening when all looked especially happy and unbearable, he wandered into Héloïse's Sanctum just to kill time, and fiddling among the old tomes he found a letter.
From Héloïse Coquinne
Coquinne House
Alsace
To Severus Snape
Wherever this missive might find him
Coquinne Maison d'été, le 17 septembre 1988.
Cher Severus,
The place where I am committing these words on paper is supposed to be my deathbed. Spare me the sentimentality, it's below both of us, and I know you better than to stomach it from you. Mortality is only one of the more stubborn facts I cannot escape, even if I have reason to believe that there are realms above and beyond our plane of existence. My more recent notes and studies capture my hopes about this, so if – or when – the time comes for another to discover the Astral and the Ethereal, they will have their use.
Sage is a sweet girl, but she's already read most of my correspondence a hundred times or more. As much as I'm sure she would preserve them, I doubt she will bother to lay an eye on them again. However, You, my friend, undoubtedly will. I know this all means something entirely different to you. Whenever you two lovebirds come back to nest here, I imagine you would barricade yourself within the sacred depths of my library, so we may talk for a last time. That's why I asked my faithful Guild to hide my findings, like this letter, among the tomes.
And now, the disappointing part: I wish to address you to convey two unrequested pieces of advice. I know it's horribly presumptuous, and I apologize for my eventual lack of manners. I can only hope you're not averse to hearing me out.
First, please let me call your attention to the fact that I have known Albus Dumbledore for twice as long as your life has yet extended, and if someone can – and wholeheartedly would – attest to him being human, you are reading these words from the right person's quill. As a human, he is clearly neither a demi-god with clairvoyance and omnipotence nor the devil incarnate. If I was forced to find him a place in the Creation, I would undoubtedly put him lower than the place he currently occupies. Still, for what it is worth, I can only warn you against taking him for whatever he is not. He won't ever change the world and will never stop searching for others who would try in his stead. You cannot have a reason to persevere among those men, Severus.
There is one other person who is a mere human despite whatever you believe. I must admit to being entertained by the fact that I have doubts if you'd ever realize who I am to mention now on your own. This person is your wife, Severus. Worship her to your heart's content; you still would never change what she is. She has the right to err, fail, doubt, and be wrong just as much as you do. This might make you wonder who you are then to follow. As much as you and my dear Sage are to follow each other is such a romantic notion it warms even my heart, I am sure there will come times when even you two will find such an approach impractical and will need something more pragmatic.
And so comes my advice: The man you should follow to your dying breath is wearing your trousers and dallies with your wife. The fellow is called Severus Snape, and I bet whatever you wish for, you still don't know him enough. That's why I would like you to close your eyes. Envision the best of circumstances, the best of luck, the best intentions, and whatever all those may guide you to become within a hundred years. Work out the details! What are that old wizard's flaws? What are his strengths? What is the wisdom he already knows, and you are yet to grab?
Whenever you feel the need again to throw yourself blindly and follow, I want you to follow him! Ask him, listen, and do his bidding! That old man you might one day become is your leader. Treasure his advice and return to the image you have about him whenever you need guidance. He might be slow to reply at first, but I know you can be patient when needed. Please believe me when I tell you, you won't need any other, come what may.
My other advice, or more humbly, my request, is entirely different in nature. Maybe some would say it's shockingly selfish. I am, of course, talking about my greatest treasure, my library, the tomes and letters currently surrounding you. (You've never been an imbecile to scatter my books all over our houses, they belong together, I hope you can sense that!)
Severus, I would dearly like you to use them to educate!
I know perfectly well how demanding my request may be. You will decide; I may only hope. But consider it, my friend! All those thoughts and ideas, all those errors and achievements, the quest! You and I both know that 'the thought' has power. Even if wrong. You are the one in my family whom I don't need to convince that an error can have more use than a fact. You can use these thoughts – right and wrong – around you and make the world learn something from them. Any small fragment will do. Then I hope you will find one like I found you, who will prove worthy of our legacy.
It is ours, Severus, yours as much as mine. You belong where you are. I believe in you, I believe in your worth, and I believe that you are the right choice to carry on the legacy I passed down to Sage. It makes me breathe easier to know you belong to us, and I wish you and my darling Sage all the bests in your life.
Deeply loving you both, I bid you fare well.
Yours from another plane,
Héloïse Coquinne
P.S.: I will endeavour to contact you – and a chosen few from different timelines – from my next realm of existence. I have a stubborn feeling that you might have needed someone to talk to at some point in your life before we met. Whether you can recall an unusual presence you've met or not would give you an inkling about the success of my last work on this Earth. Please handle my notes accordingly, my friend. They might need further research.
Severus stumbled out of the hidden library quiet in body and soul. He found Sage with Jugson out on the veranda, watching the setting sun above the gardens. Sage turned and welcomed him with a smile that seemed as if it hugged him. Severus slowly tore his eyes from her face to look the young wizard over.
"Jugson, get some good sleep," – he advised him, "tomorrow your lessons will begin."
.
~*~ The End ~*~
~*~ FIN ~*~
*To me manques, chérie – I miss you, darling
**Cher Severus – Dear Severus
***Gorgoroth is a bow to Tolkien, and also a joke referring to a Metal band, and Gertude's lips charm is coming from this pearl: eighteencenturypoetry dot org slash works slash pcm93-w0080 .
A/N
Dear All,
If you made it this far with me, I'm grateful and amazed. I can only hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did, please forgive my parting joke naming the Entity in the Prologue as Héloïse. I hope we will meet again to discover another story together.
The next project I am embarking upon is the POV of a Slytherin student, and all of you are kindly invited to join her adventures with Potions and mind magic. That shot would show a Snape less badass and more troubled, this time discovering his possible Muggle heritage instead of his wizarding prowess. Naturally, with all kinds of warnings and possible triggers attached. My POV character will begin as an underage witch, her circumstances show the indoctrination in Slytherin House, and a more-or-less classic fanfic trope of time-turner overuse (well, my version of it). Also, I'd like to introduce my version of Filch, a human being with hopes, dreams, goals, and arthritis. Search for "The Natural" by Helia Revelio soon (in a month, I hope) on this very site if you're interested, or check the cube to 'follow author' for notification.
I'd like to express my gratitude for the best and most generous beta in the world, excessivelyperky, for her relentless support and tremendous help. Without her this story wouldn't have been half this good and enjoyable. I've learned so much from her I can't even begin to list! Thank you!
And to express my gratitude for all the readers who came with me and this story all along the way, I will also upload an Epilogue. Please, share your thoughts! I write here because I treasure your feedback.