The sun was beginning to set when Allyna woke, staining the room with brilliant golds, oranges, and pinks. She watched the play of colors through the bit of window she could see through the closed curtains around her bed. She knew exactly where she was, she'd spent enough time in the infirmary with little Holly Whitwood yesterday to recognize the beds, the walls and the light, cheerful sound of Madame Pomfrey humming.
She gasped softly when the curtain was pulled back swiftly, but felt her heartbeat calm almost immediately when she saw that it was Professor Snape and not Draco or his goons. She gave him one of her blindingly-bright smiles which made him pause for a moment. He gave her a quick glance-over, noting that Draco's handprints were gone from her cheeks and that her color was once again pale and perfect with only the pink-peach blush of health underneath. "Feeling better, Miss Wilson?" he asked, the normal snarkiness in his voice softened a little. After all, the girl didn't need more stress on her. And for some reason, even without touching her to feel her pulsating emotions beneath the surface, Severus didn't feel as angry around her.
The only other person who'd ever had that effect on him had been Lily. And then that had disappeared when Lily had taken up with James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and that rat-bastard Peter Pettigrew. And then she'd been gone, leaving him to be the only one with the know-how to protect her son. Or at least that was the drabble that Albus had given him. So even though he hated the very sight of the boy that looked too much like his father, he'd kept his promise to keep him safe, as difficult as the boy made it at times.
Allyna's voice brought him back to the present. "Yes, Professor. Much better. Can I leave now. I dislike hospital-like places." At his nod, her smile boosted up a few watts and she climbed eagerly out of the bed and he had to catch her when she nearly pitched forward from moving too fast. As soon as she could stand straight without tipping, he let her go, as if her touch burned him. Her smile faltered for a moment and she wondered if she'd annoyed him. "Sorry, Professor. My balance is a bit iffy on my best days. When I move quickly, it's definitely not my best attribute." Her lips quirked in a half-smile as she spoke.
He sighed and only barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Then perhaps it is something you should work on. There are many exercises to help you gain balance and agility. Do you think that a wizard who is dueling can have the luxury of improper balance? The body must be strong as well as the intellect to properly be able to control spells. Weakness in either body or mind is death, Miss Wilson," he said, leading the way to the Great Hall, it was time for dinner and he was famished.
"Yes, Professor Snape, I understand. Umm, could you possibly direct me towards some of these exercises?" she asked softly.
He groaned inwardly. He'd set himself up for that one. But then he remembered the Headmaster's request that he spend time with the girl. Albus didn't need to know that he was teaching the girl how to duel better instead of potions. And once her balance was improved, they could work on potions. "Very well, Miss Wilson. Meet me at the potions classroom after dinner. We will begin working on your balance. And wear clothing that will not be caught on anything. Preferably muggle jeans and a tank top, they are perhaps the least restricting clothing I can think of at the moment. Until later, Miss Wilson?"
Allyna nodded, an slightly uncertain smile on her face. She would have to transfigure something, she'd left most of her muggle-style clothing back in America in storage when her father had told her she'd be attending the prestigious Hogwart's and would not need them. "Yes, Professor Snape. I look forward to it," she said.
"You shouldn't. This is not something to take lightly. It it hard work, even for a master. You will sweat, you will hurt and you will ache," he said, lifting a brow. He half-hoped she'd back down and refuse to come. His hope was squashed when she nodded, lifting her face in what he assumed was a denial of fear. He nodded and headed towards the table the other teachers sat at.
As he sat, he watched as Allyna chose a lone corner at the end of the Slytherin table. He noticed how many of the other Slytherins chose to scoot themselves away from her and barely glanced at her. He thought he saw her face fall for a second before it became a blank mask. Again, he thought to himself that if she could keep her empathic emotions under wraps, she'd have made an incredible spy.
He decided he'd been right to offer the lessons for balance. The meal went quickly, for once. He left the Great Hall, his robes flapping behind him, as he went to prepare for the lessons with Allyna. He almost stopped for a second. When had he started thinking of her as Allyna and not Miss Wilson? That was a very dangerous path, thinking of a student in more familiar terms. He shook his head and continued back to his classroom.
Allyna, too, finished her meal quickly and left. She walked on quiet feet to her room near the potions classroom. She was surprised when a house elf was waiting there. "Here, Miss. Headmaster sent me with some things for you and there's a not for you, too. Goodbyes Miss!" the little elf blinked out of existence before she could say thank you.
She was amazed to find the sack was filled with beautiful sets of deepest black school robes (they reminded her of Professor Snape's robes), one lovely set of dove grey dress robes embroidered with lovely opalescent purple thread in a beautiful filigree pattern. At the bottom of the bag was a pair of muggle-style jeans and tshirts and a lovely white flannel nightgown embroidered in pale pink around the collar. She picked up the note included at the top of the bag. She read quickly:
Dear Miss Wilson,I was incredibly sorry to hear of your troubles with your former roommates. I hope you will accept these clothes as adequate replacements for those you have lost. I decided to include the muggle clothing as well, in the event that you wished to travel beyond the wizarding world to purchase more muggle-style clothing as your father told me was your preference to wear outside of school hours. I wish you a pleasant evening,
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster, Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Allyna smiled. How very sweet of the Headmaster, especially when Allyna still felt it was mostly her fault. She should have known to protect her things herself, but even she couldn't have imagined they would transfigure an axe from a hairbrush and simply demolish everything. She sighed and shrugged out of her school robes and pulled on the jeans and tshirt. She was surprised at how well everything fit. She bent down to pull on a pair of comfortable socks and tennis shoes.
She made her way quickly to the Potions classroom and knocked on the door. "Enter," came Professor Snape's voice. She opened the door and was surprised to see the Professor waiting for her at the door to his office. "This way," he said, his voice strangely soft. He led her into his office and then surprised her when he turned to her and said, "What I'm about to show you is a great secret, Miss Wilson. Can I trust you to keep it? If not, leave now and we won't speak of it again."
Allyna cleared her throat. "You can trust me, Professor. I swear on my mother's grave that I will never reveal your secret, even unto death, unless you release me from the vow." She touched her wrist with her wand, and a strange green mist rose from it and wrapped itself around her arm. Se hissed softly as a small band of green burned itself into her wrist like a bracelet in a pattern of fancy filigree. It looked much like a tattoo, and reminded Severus very much of his own Death Eater's mark.
"I did not mean for you to do that, Miss Wilson," he said, his eyes strangely soft in the light of the candles burning in the office. Then the softness was gone and his eyes were once again fierce, burning pools. He turned from Allyna to the wall beside his desk.
Allyna watched as he tapped the brick nearest the candle sconce in the wall five times, the one below it twice, and back to the first three times. Suddenly a doorway appeared in the office and Severus walked through. "Come along, Miss Wilson!" he called and Allyna hurried to follow him.
She was amazed when as she passed the doorway, it shut and she was suddenly in a room that was brightly lit by the moon from an enormous skylight above them. The room was practically bare, with only a long table against one wall. There were several long, thin objects wrapped in large pieces of fabric laying on it.
Severus began to speak, "There are many things that I will teach you with this technique, Miss Wilson. Balance is only one of them. Strength, agility, and swiftness are others. You will not hear this from perhaps any other witch or wizard, but few of them have fought, truly fought, in wizarding wars. I have. And I guarantee you that one thing is true. If you are weak in body, you are weak in casting spells. Whatever emotional force you have behind the spell, be it fear, anger, hatred, worry, they will appear in how the spell performs. The tighter hold you have on your emotions and your body, the less chance there is of your spell being weak and useless. So we begin."
And with that, Severus flicked back the fabric, exposing four swords with long, thin blades. "You'll need to pull your hair back, it will get in your way being loose like that," he said as he began to pull his hair back, tying it with a piece of leather cord.
Allyna nodded and whispered a charm quickly, "Capillus plectere!" She shivered as she felt invisible hands in her hair, twisting and braiding it back quickly, locking it in place with magic so that it would not be undone. Severus nodded in approval and Allyna did her best not to gape when the Potions master began to remove his robes, revealing the long, lean body of a runner.
Severus quickly removed his robes, and thought for a moment before slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He would have kept it on for the sake of propriety, but it could become a hazard if he did not. He glared down at the damn mark tattooed on his arm. If he could remove it, he would, and travel some place where no one would know anything about Severus Snape, Death Eater extraordinaire.
He leaned down to remove his shoes and socks, and motioned for Allyna to do the same. "Your feet need to feel the ground, know that the place underneath them is solid. Your outfit for tonight is ok, but you may want to invest in some muggle-style tank tops for easier movement with your arms. Tonight we will be working with simple movements using only one blade." And with that, he placed one of the long, slim swords in her hand and looked at her. "Let's begin."