Chapter 97 – Making Amends
Neville was quite the star at dinner on Saturday night.
His story of the Black Wyrms arriving to attack a pack of Grendlings, thus saving Professor Snape and a young Winter Lands boy, caught everyone's attention, not just that of a certain Egyptian Pharaoh. Even Hermione, who seldom got caught up in these dramatic tales of derring-do the way the others did, was interested. This gave her another witness to a sighting of Black Wyrms. Neville's description was exactly the same as the one she'd gotten from Harry and Sirius Black. She was hoping that Neville might have some details that the other two might have missed, given that they had been engaged in a battle at the time of the first sighting of these creatures. She'd be asking Neville to study the picture that she'd found of these supposedly mythical creatures in that old book as soon as the group got back to the Common Room.
Harry was called upon to provide as many details as he could recall from his conversation with the Black Wyrms, as well. The group hung on his every word. He described spotting Grendlings congregating at the edge of the forest that suddenly found themselves in the midst of a nest of Black Wyrms appearing from beneath their feet, swallowing some Grendlings whole and scattering the others. He had to describe the Grendlings, and the Wyrms. Then he told of his sprint across the field to prevent an attack on the Wyrms, and finally, the details of his conversation with the Wyrm leader. "And all of that was over a pretty little plant!" he concluded. "Severus and this little boy from the compound were out there at the edge of the field, crouched down admiring this little forsythia!"
Hermione thought back to all the other times that something this dramatic had happened. It was rare that Harry did not end up in the Infirmary in the aftermath of something like this, so usually the group had to discuss the event without the benefit of Harry's own take on it. It was also rare that he was so willing to discuss his role in something like this, even after the passage of time. She attributed his enthusiastic participation this time to the fact that this escapade had a happy ending, with no one killed or even injured. Things seldom went so well for poor Harry.
Neville added the final chapter to the day's adventure, one that even Harry had not heard yet. "It turned out that the pretty little plant we brought back to Hogwarts was extremely dangerous. Hagrid had to take it to a remote location where it won't be a problem, but we nearly caused a disaster at Hogwarts."
Harry looked up sharply. Everyone wanted to hear about this averted disaster. Dramatic intervention to avoid disaster always spoke to the heart of every Gryffindor, but if it also served to cast Professor Snape in a bad light, well, that was truly a bonus! Harry had a more personal reason. Severus had been upset about this, he was sure of it. This was probably the only way he was going to get all the details about it.
Neville described the plant and its light-containing flowers, and how strongly Professor Sprout reacted when she saw it in its crate by the greenhouse door. There were hoots of approval as Neville told of Hagrid's arrival to transport the plant to a place where its inevitable demise and resulting dead zone would not be a problem in the decades to come.
Suddently, his conversation with Severus just before he left for dinner took on a different dimension for Harry. While he remained steadfast in his belief that Severus absolutely should have been more careful up in the Winter Lands, he regretted rounding on the man so. He thought he was getting to know Severus pretty well by now. He'd worked out his bondmate's tremendous sense of honor a long time ago. Watching him work and brew had shown Harry his intellect, which was not just a burning desire to understand things completely and see risks and opportunities the eluded others, but included a large measure of pride in his work product. Finally, he'd always protected Harry and Hogwarts, even to the point of putting himself in great personal danger to do so. This incident had to have smarted; he'd messed up pretty much across the board today, and if Professor Sprout said anything remotely harsh to him after she dismissed Neville (as Neville suspected she did), he was probably quite upset when he'd gotten back to their rooms before. And then Harry had to berate him for inspecting the plant to begin with!
His friends stayed at the dinner table quite a while after the meal, with all this news to share. Harry had been checking as the meal progressed for Severus' arrival in his seat at the Head Table, but the seat remained empty. When the group finally stood to go back to their Common Room, Harry bid them good night rather than join them.
Harry was concerned about Severus, and felt guilty about his role in making the man feel as badly as he suspected he did. He hurried down to the dungeons, wanting to get there quickly while simultaneously dreading what he'd have to say once he got there.
All was quiet when Harry entered their quarters, after a brief "hello" to Salazar and his snake in the portrait. The sitting room was unoccupied, so Harry checked the lab, but it was empty, as was the library and the small kitchen. Carefully, Harry opened the door to the bedroom, to find Severus already in bed, snoring softly, an empty vial of Dreamless Sleep on the nightstand next to him.
Harry climbed onto the bed next to Severus, only kicking his shoes off before kneeling next to the sleeping man. Harry understood why Severus would choose the Dreamless Sleep. He'd had many days go as bad as this one had for Severus. Of course, most of those bad days had happened to Harry because of the actions of his cousin, Dudley, but the outcome was still the same. Despite best intentions to do well, or at least with every intention of not doing anything wrong, it all went awry. He'd felt the bitter frustration of a day like this. Add in the guilt and embarrassment that he suspected Severus was probably feeling because of his own culpability, and he knew Severus was hurting.
He also knew from personal experience that Severus was not going to awaken now with a full bottle of Dreamless Sleep potion in his presumably-empty stomach, but he did want to offer some comfort to his bondmate. As he gently brushed a stray strand of hair off of Severus' face, it occurred to him that he might be able to offer some comfort to Severus' magic, even if the man himself was sound asleep.
He pushed on Severus' shoulder until the man rolled onto his stomach, at which time he lowered the blanket to his waist and moved to straddle his hips, so he'd have access to Severus shoulders and back, and he began to give Severus a massage. There was a great deal of tension in his shoulders, and Harry patiently worked on the knots until the muscles relaxed, and then he slowly worked his way down Severus' broad back.
Once he felt that he'd eased the tension in Severus' back, Harry pressed his palms flat against his back right beneath his shoulder blades. He closed his eyes, and sat very still for a few minutes. First, he concentrated on experiencing just the sense of touch, and then the sense of Severus' magic. He finally allowed his own magic to reach out to Severus' magic. At first, there was just a gentle contact. Harry soon realized that the agitation he'd found in Severus' body was a reflection of an equal level of agitation in his magic. He began a slow process of touching, stroking, surrounding and caressing Severus' magic with his own. To his surprise, Harry discovered that his process was as relaxing to him as it apparently was to Severus, whose breathing had even become deeper and slower.
The last thing Harry wanted to do was to break this contact. He wriggled out of his clothes, and climbed under the covers with Severus, turning the man over now to sleep on his side. He spooned in behind Severus with his arms around his middle and his palms pressed flat against Severus' chest. After a second to get them both settled into this new position, Harry once again pushed his magic into Severus, and in just moments, he joined his bondmate in sleep. Their magics continued to intertwine and caress while they slept.
X X X X X X X X X X
Things were not so peaceful in the house at Grimmauld Place that evening. As soon as they arrived home from Minister Bones' dinner party, Sirius had angry words for Remus.
"What on earth did you think you were doing, spending all that time with the Malfoys, Remus? Do I need to remind you who was behind the efforts to have you subjected to a Euthanasia Order not all that long ago? Did you forget that little detail already?" he asked, pacing around in the parlor, his long curls swirling around him as he turned with more energy than the process really needed.
Showing only gentle amusement in his amber eyes, Remus said "Calm down, Sirius. Lucius is a member of the Wizengamot, as am I, and I'm sure you recall that Harry charged Lucius with becoming an agent of change for the rights of vampires and werewolves. I know we all doubted what was going on when Harry said that. But I think Lucius has taken that charge very seriously. He has had a team of his own researchers . . . "
"Honestly, do you think for one minute that you can trust him? Or his private researchers? For Merlin's sake, man, Harry is a boy and a bit of an idealist. His instincts are not as refined as they no doubt will be one day. You cannot possibly trust Lucius Malfoy or anyone on his payroll."
Still calm, Remus continued. "And yet I do. They've done excellent work. Lucius is now beginning to develop legislative proposals to present to the Wizengamot. He wants to be sure that he speaks to each of us in advance of presenting the proposals, so we can identify any concerns or issues they may have missed, and to be sure we're comfortable with the way he covered things. He's going to completely restore the rights of vampires and werewolves. It was truly an ambitious undertaking."
"And you really think he's not putting some legal Trojan horse in there, some loophole to completely nullify the whole thing, maybe even make things worse? That's what a Malfoy would do, and you know it!"
The wolf had now gone to intercept his pacing bondmate and hold him still for a minute. Remus had a soft smile on his lips as he put his arms around Sirius' shoulders to hold him in place.
"That's exactly what the old Lucius Malfoy would have done. You'll get no argument from me there. But as Lord Aventine mentioned to me after we spoke to Lucius, Lucius has definitely been set on a new path. He's doing exactly what Harry asked him to do. This is not the old Lucius Malfoy. I suspect that even Narcissa is a bit taken aback by this new Lucius. She seemed surprised by the passion with which he was speaking on some of the issues; he would have taken the exact opposite position, equally passionately, not that long ago."
Remus' refusal to get agitated over all this finally had the desired influence over Sirius, who gradually calmed himself, leaning his head against Remus' shoulder while the other man gently played with his hair. "I'm not sure I can get used to all these changes, Remus."
"Don't be ridiculous. One of the best changes is that you're now a free man, no more threat of Azkaban." That observation was accompanied by a warm hug. "Harry's healthy and he avoided any entanglement with Fudge; I suspect he's even becoming quite happy with Severus." That observation got a grunt out of Sirius. "We still have enemies, of course, but our true enemies are not hidden any longer. They've played their cards and identified themselves. And some of our former enemies are our allies now. Really – do you think Voldemort would take Lucius back at this point? Or that Lucius would even want to go?"
Sirius remained silent for a few moments, so Remus continued, trying a slightly different approach. "And you are not only a free man now, you're becoming a respectable one, too! A member of the International Confederation of Sorcerers, who'd've ever imagined that? And maybe you'll parlay that into a seat on the Wizengamot!"
Finally, Remus placed his hands on Sirius' shoulders and held him at arms length. "And if all that isn't enough, remember, new Chocolate Frog cards – and you're in the Hero category this time!"
At last, a small smile flickered across Sirius' face. Remus put his arm around Sirius' waist and gently guided him from the parlor toward the stairs. "I'm getting a bit overheated in all these clothes; how about you?"
As they climbed the stairs to their bedroom, Sirius now had a large grin on his face. He was already undoing the buttons on his jacket and thinking how very lucky he was to have Remus.
X X X X X X X X X X
The crowd had finally thinned out in the Gryffindor Common Room. Upper years had disappeared by pairs off to the greenhouses or the shores of the lake, or any of the other quiet and relatively private spots scattered in and around the castle. Some of the younger students had already gone to bed, and a few were gathered around tables playing Exploding Snaps.
Hermione had gotten the old book from her room, and had placed it open to the picture of a Black Wyrm on the low table in front of one of the sofas, where a small group was still going over the events of the day. She was sitting on the floor, as were a few others, everyone craning their necks for a glimpse of the illustration in the book.
"That's exactly what Black Wyrms look like, Mione." Neville gestured to one of the Wyrms pictured in the book that appeared to be coiled around itself at the base with its huge head held high. "When they were done with the Grendlings, they sort of assembled in a semi-circle and stood, or sat, just like that one. And they are enormous. This picture really does not capture just how big they are."
Dean was close enough to the book to see the print. "Hey, this book says this is a mythical creature, Neville."
"No, I definitely saw it. They're real. Big enough to swallow a seven- or eight-foot tall Grendling in one go, too."
Nitrocris shuddered as she studied the picture. It was an old illustration, and it did not move, but even so, it captured a very nasty looking creature.
Eventually, Ron managed to sidle over to sit next to Hermione, a sheepish smile on his face. When the conversation had moved along to things other than her book, he quietly asked her if she'd go for a walk with him down by the lake. To relief that was evident on his face, she nodded her acceptance of his invitation, and moments later they joined the exodus from the Common Room. No one seemed to pay their departure any mind, although Nitrocris had overheard their whispered words.
The couple walked in companionable silence along the corridors to the exit towards the lake, and then down the path to the shore. Ron decided to press his luck once they were out of the castle. The lanky redhead tentatively put an arm around Hermione, almost expecting to feel her elbow in his ribs as he did so. For her part, Hermione was a bit puzzled by Ron's sudden interest in her again, but also curious enough to play along to find out what was going on. She did have feelings for the boy, strong ones. If he was going to share some insight into why their relationship was not progressing as she had hoped, she was quite willing to hear him out. She wasn't quite willing to return the favor though, so her arm did not move to go around his waist as she might have done before.
Once they reached the path that wove around the rocks and trees that lined the shore of the lake, he began looking for a quiet, sheltered area in which the two of them could have a private chat, and found the spot he wanted after a ten minute stroll. He guided Hermione over to a fallen log that served as a bench in a small clearing, and gestured for her to have a seat. She brushed a few stray hairs out of her face as she tentatively perched on the edge of the log. Ron's messy hair was not his concern, but he did wipe his suddenly-sweaty palms several times on his pants leg before joining her on the log.
"Hermione, thanks for coming down here. I was really upset by your comments to me earlier, about your thinking I was seeing someone else. I can't believe that you would think that."
"Well, Ronald, you've been very distant for a couple of weeks now. We had a date that I had hoped would bring us greater intimacy, and instead, it seems you don't want to be anywhere near me anymore. I don't understand what happened. As I thought through different reasons that you might have changed your mind about our relationship so abruptly, a likely possibility seemed to be that you'd taken a fancy to someone else."
Ron blanched at the reference to "relationship" but fortunately, in the moonlight, all that meant was that his freckles stood out a bit more clearly against his skin. Why did girls always have to make things this complicated? He was not a person given to spending time thinking about his "relationships" and for the life of him, couldn't see why it mattered so much to her, but it apparently did. He steeled himself for what he knew he had to say, wishing it wasn't necessary but accepting that he had to do this to make things right.
"Yeah, Hermione, about that date."
She visibly tensed at that, but said nothing. For his part, he took a deep breath to steady his voice before continuing.
"I appreciate the trouble that you went to, to set that up. It was brilliant, really. But that isn't what I want with you, groping about on the ground, trying to keep quiet because other people are out there by the greenhouses, too. I want to be able to enjoy you, without worrying about getting grass stains on our underwear, or worrying that someone will see or hear us. We need a special, private place to respect what we have."
He could not believe he'd gotten that out. He remembered how disappointed she'd looked that night when they left, and had felt guilty about causing her distress. But he'd felt dirty out there in the grass, and felt certain that the experience would only cheapen whatever it was between him and Hermione. He didn't want to do that ever again.
For her part, Hermione realized that she'd forgotten to breathe, and needed a few breaths to digest what Ron had just told her, and she kept her brown eyes closed. In his own way, he'd confirmed more than she'd even allowed herself to dream – there was something, something special between them. Groping around in the shelter of the greenhouse walls certainly seemed like a fun way to spend an evening, but Ron's reasons for not wanting to do that with her completely trumped her notion of taking her relationship with him to the next level. It might be frustrating for now (actually, it was very frustrating), but the promise of something so much more meaningful in the future – wow!
Just her luck – her attempt at seduction seemed to have scared the boy into celibacy, but she was pretty sure it was temporary. Now she knew she needed to do to get her relationship with Ron to that level, and she'd absolutely be on the lookout for an opportunity for private time with him in a suitable location. If anything, finding the ideal place and time would be a challenge she'd enjoy tackling.
She lifted her eyes to look at Ron, now sitting next to her, his elbows on his knees, as it was his turn to contemplate the grass before them. She got his attention by putting her arm around his shoulders, and pulling him toward her. When he turned his head to look at her, he saw shining brown eyes alit with pleasure, before he was caught up in a kiss.
X X X X X X X X X X
Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, Nitrocris endured the flirtatious attention of the boys for a short while after Ron and Hermione had left, deflecting their comments and gently discouraging them, until she and Neville were the last two sitting on the sofa. He was actually trying to figure out what to say to excuse himself, as it certainly seemed that the Pharaoh was not in the mood for company this evening, when she got his attention by taking his forearm in her hand and squeezing it. "Neville, would you mind going for a walk with me? I'd love to see the lake at night, and I don't want to go alone."
Ever polite, Neville agreed, and they were the next two to slip out of the room. Nitrocris noticed that her departure with Neville did not prompt any of the ribald comments she'd heard directed at others as they left; she smiled to herself at the blindness of some of these English students.
Once they were out of the castle, walking along side-by-side, they picked their way down the same path that Hermione and Ron had taken a short while before. They meandered along the shore of the lake, fortunately in the opposite direction taken by the other two, as Nitrocris looked for a secluded place to sit and talk to Neville. When she found a suitable spot, Nitrocris took Neville by the hand and led him over to a rock large enough for both of them to sit on.
"You have a wonderful relationship with your Grandmother, Neville. Do you live with her when you are not at school?"
Neville was not used to talking about this. In all his years at Hogwarts, he could still count on one hand the number of friends in whom he'd confided any details behind his living with his Gram, especially any information about his parents' situation that made that living arrangement necessary. He was shocked at how easily the answer to Nitrocris' question flowed from his lips.
"I live with her, have since I was three. My parents are still alive, actually. They worked for the Ministry of Magic as Aurors, and were trapped by one of You-Know-Who's Death Eaters, who tortured them with the Crutiatus Curse. They're in hospital still. I visit them when we're on break, but I don't think they know who I am."
Nitrocris' heart was breaking as he told her that. Her mother had died when she was an infant, but she had a wonderful father who took great care of her. Unfortunately, he had died when she was ten, at which point her uncles formed a barrier around her and kept others away. Fortunately, while her uncles were focused on increasing their own power and influence in Egypt, they paid no notice to the fact that the nurse who had been chosen by her parents to care for their daughter while they lived had continued in that role after their deaths. For all their efforts to mold Nitrocris into an acquiescent pawn in their power grab, the unassuming nurse saw to it that her charge grew up with the values that her parents intended for her to have. The girl met with her tutors as her uncles directed, and diligently applied herself to her studies, but all the time she spent in her private quarters, with the nurse who'd tended to her since infancy, was spent learning about her parents, their values, their plans for her, and her birthright.
She shared the basics of her story with Neville, also surprised at how easy the telling was. "My uncles have controlled the palace since my father died when I was ten, arguably in my name, until I came of age. Then they insisted I was not capable of ruling. The only person in my life who looks after me like your Grandmother looks after you is my nurse."
This was more than most people shared with Neville, and he as curious. "What are you going to do now?"
"Things are changing already. My uncles are resisting, of course, but I'm more committed than ever now to taking back my rightful role as ruler, in my own name."
Neville nodded. He knew, very well, what it felt like to be underestimated. "Are there others beside your nurse who you trust?"
"She's kept in touch with a number of my father's former advisors, and I've already summoned a few of them back. My uncles are furious. The eldest arrived this morning to try to bully me into returning to Egypt right away. He wants me to marry my cousin, his son."
Neville looked horrified at that. This whole "arranged marriage" thing was awful – first Harry, and now Nitrocris. He was willing to ask, though, "Do you want to marry him?"
"Not a bit. Can't stand him. He's arrogant, petty and mean, ever since we were children. I was lucky that his parents sent him away to school while they had me tutored at the Palace. I only saw him at holidays. It's obvious now that my uncles want me to marry him just so he can rule in my name."
Neville was at a loss for what to say to that. In his experience, Hermione was always very good at figuring out how to deal with problems, and he was just about to volunteer as much, when Nitrocris chuckled. "Oh, I think I have a way out of this whole thing. They'll be stunned."
Apparently, Hermione wasn't the only young woman who saw solutions where others saw roadblocks. Neville, however, had no idea what was going on. He sat with Nitrocris for a while longer, exchanging little stories from their upbringings and his experiences at Hogwarts before finally making their way back to the castle, just minutes before curfew.
X X X X X X X X X X
Albus Dumbledore had returned from his first Wizengamot social event in decades, and decided that while he was glad to have stayed away during those decades, he was very glad he'd gone to Amelia Bones' dinner party tonight. As he diligently practiced the new spells and curses he'd learned during the week, he smiled to himself as he revisited some of the conversations he'd had and sights he'd seen that evening.
He'd had a lovely conversation with Narcissa Malfoy, charming and stiff as ever, just as he recalled from her years as a student at Hogwarts. He'd enjoyed a lengthy chat with Remus Lupin who brought him up to speed on some matters coming before the Wizengamot. It was always a pleasure to speak to Sirius Black, especially now that the former Marauder was part of respectable society again. He looked like a fish out of water at the dinner, but Albus was confident that the young man would come around, if not on his own, with his bondmate's guidance.
The highlight of the evening, though, had to be watching Lucius Malfoy in deep conversation with the former werewolf Remus and the current vampire Lord Aventine. Albus got the gist of the story later from Remus, but the three spoke for a very long time, and it appeared to be a very serious discussion. Albus was more convinced than ever that Harry had known exactly what he was doing when he did not block Lucius from taking the seats on the Wizengamot and then in charging him with taking on the causes of the rights of werewolves and vampires. From all appearances, Lucius was totally committed to that now.
Albus sat on his bed when he finished his practice, checking his wards and various spells before retiring. He reached out, as he did most nights, to assess the bond he'd forged between Harry and Severus. It had been maturing rapidly lately, causing him to worry that his boys were accelerating their relationship faster than he'd expected, and possibly faster than was good for their future together. Severus had told him that he had no intention of engaging in a sexual relationship with Harry until the boy was of wizarding majority, still several months away, but the bond was maturing at a rate that generally suggested the joining of name and house was being accompanied by a joining of power and maybe even body. He hadn't heard of any seer speculating about Harry's virginity or lack thereof recently, but the strength of that bond, much stronger today than it had been yesterday, suggested that something was afoot. He'd been quick to check on his boys the first few times he detected the bond strengthen, and they both seemed surprised and a bit annoyed (at least, Severus seemed annoyed) at his inquiries. He decided to trust that if either needed his support or assistance, they'd reach out to him directly themselves. They seemed to be doing well, and he decided to trust them to get through this.
As he was just settling in under his bedcovers, his wards woke him. Someone had just entered his office, flown through the window in the tower.