Chapter Twenty-Five

Negotiations with a Banshee

It was dark over the hills and a cold wind was blowing. The sea was far away, but sometimes the salty air still reached the area. Tonight the wind was coming from the sea and brought the smell of salt and seaweed.

Severus struggled until he climbed the highest hill, then waited for his breathing to return to normal and began to listen. The night was cool and moonless, and the sky was overcast with clouds. He mentally cursed the Irish climate – it made him feel like he was in Purgatory. Somewhere in the distance, a dog was barking, and then an owl called. It became quiet. Suddenly a distant howl split the air. This was the signal Severus had been waiting for.

'Aislinn!' he called out in a magically amplified voice. 'Aislinn, show up, I came to ask for help!'

Only the echo answered him.

'Aislinn!' he shouted again.

The wind died down and from somewhere came the clatter of sheep claps.

'Stop yelling, I heard you the first time,' said a high-pitched female voice behind him.

He turned round startled to see a young woman wearing a hooded cloak. Her hair was dark and her skin white, as far as he could tell in the scattered light from the nearby village. He had read in the library that this was the banshee most often spotted by humans, and he hoped she would be at least a little friendlier than her sisters.

'Say, mortal, why have you decided to disturb my peace?' The woman raised her eyebrows defiantly.

Snape bowed and replied, 'My wife is very ill,' was the first thing he blurted. 'I came to ask for help.'

'I see,' she replied. 'And you think I can help.'

'Yes.'

'But why do you think I'll want to help you?'

'Because you are my last hope. Her lineage originates from a woman called…'

'Amanda Undead!' she finished. She obviously wielded Legilimency no worse than him. 'She was one of my closest friends. Too bad she ended that way.'

He wanted to ask how exactly she ended up, but the images came straight into his head – a huge bubbling crater of a volcano and a woman throwing herself into it. Given that his mind was locked, he marvelled at her Legilimentic abilities.

'I didn't know Amanda's line lasted this long,' she marvelled aloud.

'Actually,' he allowed himself to interject, 'it's about to end up with my wife, who is the last of it. Besides her older cousin,' he added quickly, remembering the Legilimencyin time.

'And how exactly can I help you, Mr Undead?' She seemed to be enjoying her words.

Snape opened his mouth to correct her but immediately closed it. Now was not the time to be prickly.

'I need some of your blood, but I don't know how much. I was hoping you would tell me.'

'Even if I give you some of it, that's no guarantee it will cure her. It might even harm her. As you may know…'

'Your blood is poisonous. Yes, I know. But I have no other choice. Please help me.'

'To help you, I need to know what your wife is suffering from.'

'She...'

'Stop there!' the banshee shrieked. 'Someone attacked her with an Unforgivable Curse and she's still alive?'

'It wasn't just anyone, it was the Dark Lord. I guess your species doesn't like being the target of curses.'

Aislinn remained silent. Snape tried to peer into her mind but failed. He dug deeper and still saw nothing. This woman definitely scared him.

'And now that the Dark Lord is gone, who will protect us creatures of the night?'

It was Snape's turn to be silent. It would be wrong for him to say anything now that he knew she relied on his former master for protection. He just stared into her dark eyes with a pleading countenance.

'I look into your future, Mr Undead,' she said finally. 'And I see some pretty interesting things.'

'Is my future predetermined?' he asked. He had never believed in divination.

'It will be if I agree to give you some of my blood. Think about it!'She began to relay pictures in his mind – his wedding to Jane, their teaching in school together, the birth of several children, her return to music, that she would always be more famous than him, and that they would all be haunted by curses.

'Stop!' he shouted this time. 'Why are you making it look so dark?'

'Because it can be. You are taking no ordinary woman, but one of us, though mortal. Will you be able to handle everything she will throw at you?' Aislinn looked inquiringly at him. She could clearly see he was struggling with himself.

'I will!' he retorted at last. 'She's my wife!'

'Congratulations Mr Undead.' The banshee grinned sinisterly. 'You have won a few ounces of my blood.'

She cut her wrist, where thick blood began to drip, and then he conjured a vial and handed it to her.

'Three sips for you. The rest is for your wife.'

He hesitantly raised the vial, and she nodded. He took a sip – the blood was scalding, burning his mouth and insides. The second sip increased the effect of the first, and he felt like he was about to catch fire. The third sip knocked him to the ground.

'You'll be strong enough for her now,' she told him. 'Goodbye Mr Undead, see you again.'

And the banshee left him on the meadow, struggling for air. Before he blacked out, he managed, with his last effort, to apparate in front of St Mungo's and stretch his hand with the vial through the window.

In less than half a minute, the emergency team came to his aid, lifting him off the ground and taking him to the manipulation room where they had admitted Jane earlier. He explained with signs that he needed water. When he regained his speech he told them in a broken voice, 'Give this blood to Jane Undead, but don't transfuse it. Let her drink it pure, without potions. Lay me in her room, but don't give me anything.'

The confused healers tried to argue, but he insisted. In the end, they had to call the head healer and Severus explained to her that the blood was Jane's last hope and if she didn't believe him, to contact Professor Dumbledore.

They took him upstairs to Jane's room and he watched as they gave her the blood. Then he thought about himself. What would happen if this blood affected him badly? People had passed away from less. The banshee could have purposely wanted to poison him, and why not poison Jane too? No, he shook his head. She told him in plain text that her blood was poisonous. It would be his fault if it affected them badly.

He forced himself to stay awake for as long as necessary, but he wasn't entirely successful in this endeavour. He would wake up every half an hour or hour, call the orderlies and ask them how Jane was.

About an hour before sunrise, they told him her vital signs had stabilized. Only then did he allow himself to relax and fall into a deep sleep.

He awoke a little over twenty-four hours later –the sun was already rising. He looked around to see Jane smiling at him. She started to get up, but he stopped her with his hand – she looked so frail. Instead, he rose from his bed and staggered over to sit at the end of hers.

'How are you feeling?' he asked her and took her left hand.

'A little weak, but I can feel myself recovering. Professor Dumbledore and Alison came to see me, but they didn't tell me how they had cured me. The healers are as silent as kappi. Professor Dumbledore hinted that it was all because of you. Will you tell me?'

For a moment Severus wondered if she was strong enough to endure the story. Then he mentally cursed himself– the woman had survived an Unforgivable Curse, hardly anything else could bring her down.

'It turned out you have some Irish blood.' He chuckled. 'So I had to go to Ireland to get you more.'

'Severus, don't joke,' she scolded him, laughing. 'What exactly did you give me?'

'I told you, Irish banshee blood.'

Jane prickled.

'And how didn't I get poisoned?'

'You have one thirty-second banshee blood. Your cousin Alison, too. Your ancestor, Amanda Undead, whom your aunt told me about, was a banshee who married a mortal, ignoring the laws of her species. You see, instead of having children with a great wizard, she married a mere Muggle. That is why she has incurred the curses that you and your relatives suffer from. That's why the curses don't work properly on you, your cousin messes up spells, and your aunt jinxes people against her will.'

'And how do you know all this?'

'The banshee I took the blood from poured it into my head like wine into a goblet while I struggled for air. They are very good at Legilimency, as you can probably guess. Some I learned from your mother's diary, which you had hinted at. And I reached the rest through the path of logic.'

'What did the banshee do to you?'

'She made me drink her blood.'

'And you did it? I don't understand.'

'It's a long story.'

'I think we have time.'

'Alright, then.'

Severus told her about the search for the diary, the story of the grandmother giving her granddaughter drink her blood, the rummaging through the library and the conversation with the banshee, and that without the blood he wouldn't have the strength to live with a descendant of a banshee.

'So I'm a descendant of a banshee?' she summed up when he finished speaking.

'Yes.'

'And how come you haven't run away yet?'

'As you can see, I'm here.'

As Severus and Jane sparred, the curse specialist entered the room to examine her. Jane rolled up the sleeves of her hospital gown so the healer could look at her arms and legs.

'How are we feeling today?' the specialist asked after she finished the examination.

'Fine. I'm just a little off.'

'I'd be worried if you weren't. You are recovering from a powerful curse, and banshee blood isn't harmless.' She shot Snape a look, who scowled at her. 'You'll feel better in a week.'

'Do you need to be examined?' the woman asked him coldly.

'I'm completely fine,' he replied defiantly.

The healer just shrugged, wished Jane a speedy recovery, and left. A few minutes later the food was brought in, broth for Jane and porridge for Severus.

In the afternoon, Lily and all five boys, including Anthony, came to visit. They carried huge bouquets, several boxes of candy and her mother's diary.

'Associate Professor Undead, we're so happy you're well!' Lily shouted. 'Professor Dumbledore told us you regained consciousness yesterday, but we couldn't arrive earlier. We played until late, we can't get rid of gigs. I hope you're not angry. We wanted to give up, but we figured you'd probably scold us if we did.'

'Of course, I'm not angry,' Jane smiled. 'Where did you play?'

'At Icarus Diggle's party, with the many fireworks. He blasted them for several hours.'

'I'm glad to hear you've been invited.'

'We want to invite you too, to play together as soon as you recover,' said Euphem.

'We have to finish the school year first. Aren't you returning to class soon?'

'Professor Dumbledore said next week,' Lily waved her hand. 'Let Icarus Diggle finish his fireworks first and everyone celebrate. Do you think they will let you out soon? We want to take you to a party.'

'I'm afraid they won't do it for at least another week,' Jane said almost indifferently. Apparently, she didn't feel like going to a party that much. 'If I feel better, I'll go back to school.'

'I doubt anyone will let you.' Snape put a hand on her shoulder. 'The most important thing now is to recover. I'll take your lessons, so don't worry.'

The students stood for about half an hour before the healer's assistant told them it was time to go. They promised to return the next day and left.

When they were gone, Jane reached over to the bedside table and took the diary.

'I suppose you've read it?' she asked.

'Only until the middle. Then I had to go.'

She flipped through the old journal and read a few lines. Severus looked at her and an idea popped into his head. He tried to put it back to where it came from, but he couldn't do it fast enough.

'What's the matter?' Jane asked him.

'Nothing,' he answered and touched a bouquet ribbon.

'It's not nothing. You gaze strangely at me.'

'I don't gaze strangely at you.'

She looked at him inquiringly.

'Alright, fine,' he surrendered. 'So… I wanted to ask you if you wanted to marry me?'

Jane gaped.

'Are you sure you're alright? That you didn't get a fever from that blood?'

'I'm fine, Jane. I told the banshee you are my wife. I don't think she believed me. But I really want us to get married.'

'I'm not sure you believe yourself. You know I have a few ancestral curses.'

'I'll survive them.'

'My children will certainly inherit them as well.'

'They'll survive them, too.'

'Fine. However, Severus, I have something to tell you. If you want to be with me and live, you must take my surname.'

Professor Snape felt the distinct sense of non-coincidence. That was why Aislinn had called him "Mr Undead".

'You're asking for too much,' he said at last.

'I can't guarantee your safety otherwise. And I definitely wouldn't let you die. You are too precious for me not to take this precaution.'

'I'll go outside.'

He left the room without looking at her and headed for the ground floor of the hospital. The orderly tried to stop him, but unfortunately, he turned out to be a former student of his. After some staring at each other he let Severus walk outside and go to a nearby park.

The weather was warm and sunny, uncharacteristic of the British climate in early May. He sat down on a bench and looked at the nearby fountain.

Jane wanted him to take her surname. It would make the chickens laugh. On the other hand, who would dare laugh at him? Some openly hated him, others said his hair was greasy, but no one laughed. They probably wouldn't dare in the future either. He loved Jane and could give her that little edge.

Severus got up from the bench and walked back to the hospital. The student froze when he saw him return, but said nothing. Snape walked up to her floor and entered her room. Jane lifted her gaze from the diary and looked at him expectantly.

'I'll agree,' he said. 'But I want the rings to be silver.'

'Let's not haggle over trifles. Come and let me kiss you.'

Severus moved closer and kissed her gently…

'Don't worry about the surname,' she said. 'We don't have to tell everyone, we'll just put it in the documents.'

He interrupted her impatiently, 'Well, do you agree?'

'I do.'

Snape sat down on her bed.

'Can I ask what kind of engagement ring you would like?'

She blushed.

'Silver with a blue stone,' she said at last. 'I know it's not prestigious enough, but I don't wish for diamonds, and I don't want to put you through unnecessary expenses.'

At that time Professor Dumbledore entered the room. Snape was about to tell him, but the headmaster learnt everything from Jane, who was still weak.

'It was about time.' He chuckled. 'We'll marry you by some lake, as the lady wants, and the school will give you an apartment in the castle.'

'Orderly!' he called out into the hallway. 'Go buy some champagne, we have a reason to celebrate!' And he handed the stunned wizard a golden galleon.

When the attendant returned with the champagne, Dumbledore conjured three silver goblets.

'For the health of the future newlyweds!' He raised a toast.

'For our health and yours, Professor!' they answered.