Disclaimer: Not Mine
The Uninvited
Chapter 9
He found Albus already with a cup of hot tea in front of him, a second sitting across the desk.
"How do you know I will be here before I know myself old man?" Severus asked with some annoyance in the voice.
"I assumed that your absence from your chambers last night meant one of two things, both of which would land you at my doorstep. Either you bedded the witch and were here to offer an apology to the wrong person, begging my acceptance of your affair, or you are here to tell me you have discovered something."
"I. Did. Not. Bed. The. Witch." Severus said angrily.
'I did not say you had my boy, of course you may as yet correct that. However, tell me what you have found out," Albus smiled.
"Albus please, this is not a good time for joking."
Albus sat back in his chair, prepared for a long session. If he could not bait the Potions Professor into a fight, he knew this was serious. Two and a half hours later, Severus was done with the story. He had no idea of where the girl grew up, and although they knew the grandfather had been there, they did not know which one was the grandparent.
"Albus, when the mark calls me, I apparate to the Dark Lord. I do not always know the destination. I see only the room we are in after I arrive," he explained. "I can tell you the place was old, large, a Manor. It was damp, near water, dark not only in old magic but in … it was just dark. The very walls had the smell of the dark arts upon them Albus. This place was used for dark purposes for eons I could almost smell it. Like the tomb that we now know it is."
"Albus, Voldemort was there. Only he was still Tom then, the Dark Lord to be sure, but still a man in every sense of the word. He took her first, the only time I have seen him do that, he took the girl's virginity. He declared her his. She was the Dark Lord's intended. Not to be used again until she was ready to bare his heir. What do we tell her? I'm not sure she understands. Her mind is… different from what you would expect. She sees the darkness of the Death Eaters as something only to run from, a part of life. I am not even sure that she understands there is more to this war, or that there is indeed a war at all."
"Tell her nothing," Albus sighed. "Let her feel safe for a time, before this slaps her in the face again. I suspect she has had very little joy in her life. See if you cannot help her find some."
"He allowed her to be used by Fenrir as a weaning witch. The Dark Lord must mean to call the wolves to his side. He must want this more desperately than we thought. He must feel a weakness to give his intended to be used this way," Severus thought aloud.
"I will speak to Remus, perhaps he can ask some indirect questions," Albus pondered.
"If he is handing out favours to the wolves, we need Remus to keep them on our side."
"Now it seems it is breakfast time and I know a certain witch that will be very upset if she does not have the full hour to eat," Albus smiled warmly
"Yes Headmaster, perhaps she will have time to eat twice if I hurry. Three times if I am late."
He heard her muffled "Come in" when he knocked on the witch's door to inform her that breakfast was to be served shortly in the Great Hall. He placed his hand on the stone and waited as the massive door opened, before stopping to watch the witch as he leaned one shoulder against the door jam. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor by the coffee table. In front of her, he could see both coffee and tea, as well as a jug of pumpkin juice.
She had a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and toast. Next to her was a platter filed with biscuits and muffins, a bowl of cereal sat to her left, and she was chewing with such a look of pure bliss on her face that he felt himself becoming aroused.
Standing up a bit straighter, he adjusted his robes in hopes of better hiding his condition, and loudly cleared his throat.
"Hello," she grinned, "this elf idea is great."
"I was coming to get you for breakfast…." he started.
"Oh my Gods, I didn't know it was that late. Let me just grab my robes." She sprang up from the floor and slid her arms into the sleeves of her robes as she hurried to the door. She smiled up at him, on her way into the hall, leaving him to stare at the remainder of her breakfast.
Number one, he thought as he closed the door to accompany her to her next meal.
Severus was no longer hungry as he watched her devour more eggs and sausage. He seemed unable not to watch her eat. He suddenly realized he was watching her mouth as she licked her lips and fingers tips, almost moaning as the sausage slid into her mouth.
He looked away quickly, suddenly conscious that the rest of the staff may be watching him. Casting around furtive glances, he was relieved to see he had gone unnoticed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, wondering what was happening to him.
He found this backwards. In the past, he wanted sex first, and then found a witch he could use, usually turning to the whores in the Alley. Now he looked at the witch thinking it was her fault he had these desires.
"Miss Bentley?" Severus spoke evenly, "I have told the Headmaster, about our prior acquaintance. He feels that with this new information we may be able to pinpoint the location of your Grandfather's manor."
She lay down her fork and turned to him, listening intently to what he was saying. Finding he had nothing further, she looked down at her lap briefly. She stood, excusing herself and then slowly left the table.
Albus looked at him in question, but Severus shook his head. He no longer feared she would flee the castle, her knowledge that no-one else would take her in, however stinging would keep her here.
Later that day he was walking to the Owlery to post an order for some potion ingredients when he came upon her on a patch of grass, to the north of the tower. He stopped to watch her. She was so still he at first could not discern what she was doing.
She was sat in the middle of a ring of stones that she had cast, her feet were bare, her face lifted to the sun, and her eyes closed. Her arms were open in front of her with her palms up. She sat perfectly still, hardly a sign of breath.
This was the old magic he stood watching. She was attempting to contact someone that had already crossed over. He assumed it was her mother. Every few seconds he heard the crackle of static energy emit from her hands and noticed small globes of weak flickering light to float over her, only to disappear again.
He walked away quietly, leaving her to her solitude and hopes of accomplishment wondering if this magic would explain the runes he had seen on her charm and on the necklace he still held in his pocket. He rode up the spiral staircase to question Albus.
"This is not true magic. This is more of a field our Sybil would understand. It is more of a mixture of magic and religion." Albus looked over his glasses at Severus.
"I can tell you that only a few families, even in my youth still practiced the old ways. We now use spells, potions, charms and such to reach the same levels of clairvoyance that our Miss Bentley is attempting to achieve. It is a difficult magic to master, great concentration is needed." Albus rose to feed some treats to Fawkes. "Of course with her history I assume she has had ample time for practice…. perhaps she can do it."
"It did not appear she was having much success."
"If she is indeed attempting to call on someone, she will be disappointed. I seem to remember that to be contacted a ceremony must be performed at the time of interment. I would assume since her mother is still not properly buried, such contact cannot be made." He returned to his seat. "You will need to ask her about her mother's beliefs Severus, although I do not hold with this form of magic, I have lived long enough to know that in our world nothing is impossible. If she believes like her mother did, we will have to act."
"I need to look up the ancient runes, they are far different from the ones I know."
"I am sorry I could not offer more assistance my lad, you may try the library. We do have several tomes devoted to the old ways."
Severus spent the next couple of hours doing just that. He sought anything that may be of help, but without knowing the name of her ceremony, or exactly what she was attempting, he found there were just too many settings that sounded like what he had just seen, sighing he decided he would have to talk to the witch.
Taking the most promising volumes with him, he headed to his chambers. Once there he set the books on his sofa and sat down to read before dinnertime. He had just begun reading when he heard a knock at his door. He answered and found the witch standing there looking at him.
"Yes Miss Bentley, may I help you, I am sure you did not knock on my door only to find if I was in." He sneered, put off by having his reading disturbed.
"I am sorry, but, well I was wondering if I could sit with you. I find I like being with people."
He opened the door wider, stepping aside to allow her entry. Rolling his eyes, wondering why he was acting like this, he returned to the sofa, picked up a book and continued reading.
She walked around his room, hands clasped behind her back, looking over the books, and other personal artefacts laid out around his apartment's sitting room. She sat down on the end of the sofa with him, crossed one knee over the other and started to bounce her top foot up and down in the air.
He had actually stopped reading to watch her walk around his room, only turning his eyes downward when she approached. Now, he found her fidgeting a distraction. He would have been equally annoyed with drumming fingers, or humming, but what bothered him was his desire to look at her legs, the turn of her ankle, or how the way she placed her knee drew up the hem of her robe.
"Miss Bentley, I find kicking the air most distracting," he said sarcastically, handing her one of the books. "Read."
She took the book and leaned back as if mocking his position. When he turned a page, she turned a page. When he set the book down to pick up another, she did the same.
As much as he felt aroused when around her, she also had the ability to anger him to no end. He felt his face growing hotter as she continued doing whatever he did.
"Miss Bentley, are you mocking me?"
"No sir." She set the book down, not understanding what he was talking about, nor that she had again done as he had done.
"Miss Bentley, please leave my quarters, I am in no mood for your games."
"Games? I am not playing games," she said as she rose, walking backwards to the door.
"I am tired Miss Bentley, perhaps you find it amusing to disrupt me. Perhaps you do not find reading an important part of your life. I however, do. I would think in your limited scope of the world you would benefit greatly from reading," he sneered.
He watched as the look on her face changed from confusion, to disbelief, to shame in a matter of seconds. Knowing from the way her robes fanned behind her as she ran out of the room that he must once again find her, he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Bloody hell." He started out to the hallway, only to find her mere yards away, sitting in the tiny alcove to her quarters.
'Miss Bentley why are you sitting on the floor?" he asked, feeling the small headache start kicking him and laughing.
"I don't want to sit by myself," she cried into her hands.
"You are by yourself. You are just on the floor," he snarled.
"Would you be happy if I was standing instead?" she spat back.
"Miss Bentley, please. Come back inside, chose a book you think you would enjoy and sit quietly reading for just one hour."
She looked down at her lap. "I can't."
"Then I will choose the book."
"I said I can't you stupid git."
"Language please, you cannot what?" His headache was home and saying hello.
"I can't. I mean I cannot read." She looked at him, her eyes full of unshed tears.
Severus did not know how to respond. He could not remember ever meeting a witch of her age who did not know how to read. He found the thought incomprehensible. He knelt down next to her and tipped her chin up to stare into her face. He then took her hands and pulled her up.
"We start tonight." He took her by the hand and led her back to his rooms.
"Severus, when you and Albus find out where I was before, well, why is it so important? Do you plan on sending me back?" she said, her voice cracking. "You never really answered me."
He turned and looked at her sharply.
"Why would you think that? Have we not told you that you are safe here? That you are welcomed to stay here?"
He was surprised to see the tears falling unchecked and felt the fear that rolled off her in waves. He could not fathom what had caused this reaction.
"They told me if I ever got out, that if I ever thought I could be free, that no-one would want me. They said that if anyone found out who I was, they wouldn't send me to the Ministry and they would put me in the tower." she cried pulling away from him, "That if my name were known that I would be kissed. That I was too stupid to be wanted, too ugly…"
He pulled her to his chest. Releasing her arms he reached down cupping her face in both hands, leaning down and pulling up her chin he brushed his lips across hers. When she gave pause, and left her lips on his, he moved his hands down , wrapped one arm around her back , one lower than her waist, and crushed her to him.
She felt his arousal and gasped into his mouth, leaned in and melted into his embrace.
Pushing her from him, holding her where he could see her fully, he looked over her body, and then locked his eyes to hers.
"No witch, I have no intention of sending you back." He left her standing in front of her door as he walked away.
"So, are you going to learn to read or stand there staying ignorant?" His voice carried into the hallway from his rooms, and echoed against the cold stone walls back to the witch. She moved her hand from her lips, and grinning walked over to him, ready to start her lessons.