Chapter 15

Das Kollier

Patience woke up with a feeling of hazy confusion. Nothing seemed right—it even smelt wrong. She could hear Biter moaning, but even that did not sound normal either. However, by the time that she had hastily sat up in the bed, Patience remembered everything. She could feel that he was awake next to her and she was grateful, not for the first time that night, for the darkness of the room.

"Your Crup has been looking for you for the past half hour."

Patience could hear that his voice was unsteady and wondered if perhaps he felt uncomfortable, too. It would surely be better for them both if she could go back to her room. He would not really want her round him now that he had got what he wanted. "Oh, poor Biter. He's only a baby."

"However, he has already bonded to you. Crups are notoriously devoted to their chosen mistress or master, Patience. He will continue that infernal noise until he finds you."

Patience pushed back the bedcovers and reached out a hand for the curtain when she stopped.

"Is it all right if I get him?"

"I won't have him in here."

"Oh." Patience hesitated before speaking again, "But he's scared, S-Severus. I can't leave him out there alone."

She could hear the bitterness in his voice as he growled, "Then you had best rescue him, so I can get some sleep."

Patience felt oddly uncertain about what she should do. She had no desire to remain in the same bed as him, yet she felt as if it were a mistake to leave. However, he had as good as told her to go and she could not leave Biter alone and so scared.

She slid open the curtains to the bed and jumped down onto the floor. She could not see anything, but she thought that she might have left her shawl over to the left. She remembered that there was a chair there. Patience straightened her nightdress about her hips and then stuck her hand out in front of her to feel any large object into which she might crash in the dark, as she shivered uncontrollably from the cold.

Behind her, Patience thought she could hear the curtains of the bed close, although at the same time the fire sprung up in the fireplace, lighting the room. She quickly grabbed her shawl from the floor and her wand from the mantelpiece. Her slippers were finally located under the chair. Patience took one last glance round the room and then hurried to the door. When she turned to look over at the bed, she saw that he had not closed the curtains at all, but had opened them on his own side. Patience spun round nervously and found him standing at the end of the bed with his wand in hand.

Snape's long hair clung slightly to his face and he was wearing a dark coloured dressing gown, which merely served to remind Patience of why she was there. "You cannot open the door. It has a Banishing Charm for anyone's hand but mine or Rem's." When Snape moved so that he was standing very close to her, she could see that he was still very drunk. "Place your hand over the knob."

Patience did as he asked and was surprised that he transferred his wand to his left hand and placed his right over her own. She tried not to concentrate on the feeling of his cold hand gently pressing into hers as she heard him utter several words probably in Greek or Latin before he released her hand. "It should work for you now. Go on."

Patience turned the knob, slipped out the door without looking at him, and closed it behind her with great relief. As she stood in the corridor, her unshed tears finally spilled over her cheeks as she knelt on the floor to clutch her frantically barking Crup to her chest. She kissed the little animal's head and said softly, "I'm with you now, Biter. Don't worry, Mummy is here."

Patience leant into the side wing of the chair in which she was curled up by the roaring fire. She had been sitting staring into the flames for almost an hour as she considered both her husband and what was likely to happen between them in the future.

He had not been rough or cold, but he had not been romantic or loving. Patience also knew without being told that Severus Snape was anything but a novice. He had required nothing disgusting of her, which had been an enormous relief. She had heard about wizards who had very strange ideas about what actions belonged in a bedroom and this had been one of her biggest fears.

However, if all that had occurred had been the quick, basic act and nothing else, then Patience thought that she would not be spending so much time analysing it, especially since she had no desire for any repeat occurrences. What had Patience pondering her husband and his intentions was that she now knew that he was not indifferent to her.

She was perfectly well aware that she was a nice looking girl. She had been used to being told she was beautiful since she was quite small. Therefore, she would have expected her husband to think so, as well, although before last night she had come to believe that he must have some aversion to her. Yet, when he had told her that she was beautiful, it had been more than just a casual compliment. His tone of voice had been almost reverent and he had looked confused, which is not how a man looks when he is attempting to ingratiate himself with flattery.

Patience scratched behind her Crup's ears and sighed. Severus Snape would never allow her to view more of himself than he wanted her to see. Last night had been an aberration. His confusion could have been due to drinking the larger part of a bottle of Black Aquavit and nothing else more interesting than that. She should not want to believe that he had any slight interest in her, since that might mean he would want to spend more time with her, especially in his cold, gloomy bedroom.

Patience gave Biter a light shove so that he would jump down from her lap and she stood up. Rem had been in an eerily good mood that morning, but Patience had barely spoken to the old housekeeper other than to tell her what Patience wanted done with her hair. Patience wondered if there was any chance that he would allow her to see Eva. She needed some comfort. Eva would sympathise with everything and know what Patience should do.

Almost a half hour later, Patience woke up to Wicket's soft, high-pitched voice calling her. She lifted her face from the bed, where her cheek had been pressing against the page of her book, and saw that Wicket seemed very agitated.

"Mistress, please wake. Master is waiting. Lunch is waiting for kind Mistress. Mistress' favourite soup and very nice tart. Please hurry, Mistress, Master will be angry."

Patience sat up, patted down her hair, and tried to rouse herself. It did not sound as if her husband were in a very good mood.

"Yes, Wicket. I am coming."

Patience got up hastily and followed Wicket down the stairs. She absently bent down to collect Biter from the base of the stairs and held him tightly under her arm as she walked into the dining room.

The moment that Patience saw the expression on Snape's face, she knew that he was not happy to see her. "What is that creature doing in here? Take him outside."

Patience clutched Biter closer and said nervously, "If I put him out of the room he'll whine." Patience could see that he had pressed his lips together angrily, so before he could say anything further she turned to open the door to put Biter out of the room.

"If he stays in here, he must learn to keep away from me, is that understood? I do not find having my toes chewed conducive to eating. Can you control him?"

Patience shook her head, "No."

"When I applied for the restricted magical animal licence, I had to attest that you would learn to control your animal. Do not make a fool of me, Patience." Patience stood uneasily, unsure if she was still supposed to put Biter outside or not. "Hurry and sit down, girl. I have been waiting for a quarter of an hour."

Patience quickly sat down in her chair and said apologetically, "I am sorry. I was asleep."

Most of the meal passed in uncomfortable silence. Patience focussed her attention on the carvings on a wall that she had not yet memorised and tried to keep her mind off anything that would remind her of the night before. When the pudding tray arrived on the table, Patience was surprised to see that he took one for himself.

"I've never seen you eat anything sweet before. Do you like apple tarts?

"Would I eat them otherwise? Well spotted, Patience."

Patience bit her lip and looked down at her own tart. She had only been thinking that he could tell her what he liked, so she would tell Wicket to serve those things when he came to the house. Why did he always have to be so acerbic?

A few moments later, Snape set down his fork and looked her in the eye. "When we are through here, I want you to come upstairs with me. I have something for you."

Patience felt herself blushing and was embarrassed to show any emotion at his comment. It was unlikely to be a gift or anything nice. She nodded her head and stared back down at her untouched tart. Eventually she heard him clear his throat and looked up again.

There was a brief pause before Snape spoke, "If you are finished then we will go upstairs." Snape waited for her to stand, then got up, and walked to the door.

As she followed him up the stairs, Patience felt a strong desire to burst into tears. She had not found the courage to ask him if she could have Eva to tea. She just wanted to run away and cry on her friend's shoulder. Run from him, especially.

When they reached the door to the study, Patience picked up Biter so that he would not be able to hurt himself or damage anything in the room. Once again, she sat in the white chair by the fireplace and watched as he took down the slender, shiny lacquer box.

"This is a family tradition, Patience. This necklace is usually given to the bride after the wedding night. However, that was not feasible in our case."

Patience stared at him, as he opened the lid of the box and pulled out a large hard necklace case. He took two steps forward and handed the box to Patience, who did not open it.

"It is rightfully yours now. You may wear it if you wish."

Patience thought of the ring, which she had accepted before she knew of the Binding Charm. "Does it have another Binding Charm?" She could see that this question had upset him, so she looked away.

"Not a Fidelity Charm, but a Protection Charm. If you wear the necklace, the charm will afford you some protection."

"How can it do that?"

Patience stared fixedly down at the box, which she still had not opened, and listened first to his aggravated grunt and then his reply.

"It draws the energy for your protection from me. It will work for as long as I am alive. However, you are the only person who may wear the necklace. It would be very unhealthy for another witch to attempt it."

"What does it protect me against?"

"Minor curses, nothing more serious. It may do more."

Patience opened the box and looked inside at a very heavy, bright gold necklace. It was shaped like a flat collar in the form of, unsurprisingly, a twisting wyvern. Once again, the wyvern was holding a very large ruby in its mouth, but the setting round the stone looked like a flower, instead of an egg like on her ring.

"It is beautiful."

"I am glad that you approve. It was made for my great-great-grandmother's grandmother, Apollonia Lucia."

Patience had seen Apollonia Prince's portrait in the drawing room. She had been extraordinarily beautiful and had looked very evil. The portrait had yet to speak, but Patience had not felt this to be a loss. Patience looked again at the necklace and picked it up to undo the clasp. She set it round her neck and stood to look at the mirror above the fireplace.

"The flower is the gemilte. That was her symbol. My great-grandfather attempted to have the stone reset in a more…appropriate flower, but the Hriedmarian guild goblins were unwilling to undo the enchantment."

Patience did not respond to his statement because she was too appalled at what she saw in his mirror. Her hair was rough and unkempt with a brassy tinged colour. Her nose seemed shorter than normal and her complexion was splotchy. Worst of all she was ugly. Horribly ugly. Patience moved to rip off the necklace in a panic.

"That is not a true mirror, Patience."

Patience flung the necklace onto the table and looked at him with scared, angry eyes. "What did it do to me?"

She could see his expression soften as he spoke in an even tone, "There is nothing wrong with you. That mirror does not show what you look like. It shows your hidden fears."

Patience was crying as she asked, "I don't want the necklace. Please, may I go?"

Snape picked up the necklace from the table and placed it in the case. "You do not have to wear it, Patience. It is unfortunate that you were frightened by the mirror, but I promise you that the necklace did not harm you."

Patience heard his unusually gentle voice, but still only wanted to flee the room. However, she knew that she could not risk angering him, so she stepped forward and took the proffered case. She opened the case and fingered the necklace before turning it over. Patience noticed that there was writing on the back, so she looked closer. She saw written in an large, old-fashioned script "Eurydice Patience~Severus Dominus." There was a lot of other writing too small to read, which she assumed was part of the charm.

"May I go?"

There were several moments of silence before Snape nodded his head and Patience hurried from the room.