Anansi
The rhythmic pattering of rain outside was the only sound in the hospital wing. Raindrops trickled down the latticed windows, each tracing slowly down in irregular lines. Every now and then, a droplet would fuse with another and speed it downwards. Once they started their course, however, they would inexorably hit the bottom of the window, whether or not another drop lent it extra momentum.
Severus sat on the bed beside Morag. Delicately, he wiped the tears from her puffy eyes and the snot from her nose. Sorrow spread inside his mind like mould, nearly suffocating him, but he fought it back. She needed him, and he had to be strong for both of them. He ran his fingers across her face. She remained motionless; her breath came in ragged, muffled sobs. The glittering light that usually danced in her eyes was now veiled, and Severus felt as if she'd erected concrete walls around herself.
"Morag… Please talk to me," he said, stroking her hair. "You don't have to go through this alone. I understand the loss feels unbearable, but…"
She met his gaze briefly, then turned on her side, facing away.
"Ye dinnae understand anything, Severus Snape. Ye cannae feel what I feel," she said flatly.
He hesitated. "Look, Morag, it was my child too…"
At this, her body clenched upon itself – she looked as if she was trying to contract into the smallest shape she could. He placed his hand on her shoulder, but she recoiled from him. Bewilderment and frustration clogged up his mind – how was he supposed to help if she would not let him?
Ye're trying tae keep yer feelings under lock and key… but they'll smother ye.
Those words she'd spoken to him months ago floated back to the surface of his mind. Now she was the one drowning in sorrow, and he could not let that happen. One way or another, they had to talk things through.
"When you said you're being punished, were you referring to whatever happened in Culligran, Morag?" he asked softly. Immediately, her body tensed up and distorted, and within a few seconds, the russet spider had risen again. Severus had no time to berate himself for digging too deep, too soon. She jumped off the bed and ran to a corner of the room, crouching on her spindly legs. He walked to her tentatively and sat by her side on the cold flagstones. She did not move away. He made himself look at her – it was difficult not to feel edgy, yet looking into the big black eyes, he knew the woman he loved was in there.
Minerva had implied that the overuse of the Homorphus spell could have detrimental effects. He could not risk hurting her. Crushed by his inadequacy, he rested his head against the hard stone wall.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I want to help you. Please." He raised a hesitant hand and laid it on the spider's back, feeling the surprisingly silky hairs. She did not recoil. The rain continued its whispered chatter against the windowpane.
"I insist she should be taken to St Mungo's," Thistlewood said sternly as they walked out the door. "We could send for Transfiguration experts from other countries as well, and procure a counter-curse."
"By all means, consult anyone who can offer insights into this, Doctor Thistlewood," Minerva replied. "However, you heard Miss Duncan. She wishes to stay here and rest."
"Very well, Headmistress," he said cooly. "I'll floo back to St Mungo's and contact my colleagues overseas. I'll send an owl whenever I hear back from them."
As Thistlewood took his leave, Minerva turned to her students. "I suppose you two had better go back to your common room. There isn't much else you can do at this point."
"Actually, I think I'll go to the library", Hermione replied. "There must be recorded cases somewhere, and Hogwarts's Library is one of the largest in the wizarding world. Professor, would you give me a note so I can do more research in the Restricted Section?"
Minerva frowned.
"Sorry, Professor, I don't want to sound arrogant. Morag is a friend, and I care about her. If we all work on this together, we can find a way to help."
The Headmistress sighed. "Agreed, Miss Granger." She conjured a quill and a piece of parchment on which she hastily scribbled a few words. "Here is a note for Mrs Pince."
"May I come with you, Miss Gr- Hermione?" Karam asked.
She regarded him dubitatively.
"I have been researching this curse for a long time, because of my grandmother," he explained. "And I want to help Miss Duncan too. She's a good person."
"All right, I suppose you may as well. Let's go."
They rushed to the library, and a reluctant Mrs. Pince let them in the Restricted Section. After retrieving several volumes, they sat at a table in the main area and opened the first one—Derk Beste Most Ivel, which had a whole chapter on giant spiders.
"Ohhh, spiders. They're brilliant," a voice piped up behind them. A girl with tight, frizzy black curls and acorn-brown skin was looking admiratively at the illustration of a Thornback on the left page of their book.
"Oh, hello, Alyah," Karam said. Turning to Hermione, he added, "She's in my year. Hufflepuff."
"You wouldn't say spiders are brilliant if you'd seen the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest," Hermione shrugged.
"Yeah, well. They're a wizard-bred monster species; that's not quite the same. What are you studying them for, anyway?"
"We're trying to work out a way to get rid of a curse that turns people into spiders, if you have to know, "Karam replied. "It's called the curse of Neith or the curse of Anansi. You may know about it, since you're from Africa."
"Wow, first off, I'm British Jamaican and my family's lived in London for three generations, so you can keep your assumptions to yourself, Saddik," the girl said defensively. "And second – calling it a curse shows how much you White folk know. We'd never call it a curse, whether we're from West Africa or the Caribbean. Anansi is ace, I'll have you know."
"What do you know about it, then?"
"We all grew up on Anansi stories. He's a trickster, you know? Always gets himself out of difficult situations, always has a joke up his sleeve. It's said that some of his descendants can turn into spiders."
"Well, Morag didn't willingly turn into a spider," Hermione said. "She turned because she was bitten."
"Who's Morag?" Alyah asked.
"A friend. She's the healer who lives in Hogsmeade."
"You mean the Dungeon Bat's girlfriend?"
Hermione glared at the younger witch. "Would you please call Professor Snape by his proper name?"
"What?" Alyah giggled. "All students call him the Bat. And she is his girlfriend, right? We all saw them at the ball."
Hermione rolled her eyes in a young-people-these-days manner.
"Yes, we are talking about his… girlfriend," she replied begrudgingly. "Now if you would let us work – "
"You should talk to my Nan. She knows all about Anansi. She doesn't live very far from here, either. Her name's Philomena Jackson."
"Right, I suppose that's worth a try. I'll talk to Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, closing her book.
About an hour later, Minerva walked back into the hospital wing. Seeing the spider crouched in the corner and Severus sitting miserably on the floor, she sighed sorrowfully.
"I didn't want to use the Homorphus spell until we know more," he said, looking up. "I thought about working on a potion, but – "
"– you don't want to leave her all alone in this state," the Headmistress said quietly.
He nodded. The spider dragged a long leg closer to his own.
"Thistlewood will discuss it with foreign specialists and get back to us. In the meantime, one of our students suggested her grandmother might help."
Severus frowned. "Is the whole school aware of what transpired last night, Minerva?"
"Of course not. Miss Granger has been doing some research in the library, and Aliyah Jackson became interested too. She seems fascinated with spiders."
"A first year. I'm not convinced she will keep it to herself."
"Give me some credit, Severus. When the girls came to find me about it, I impressed upon them the importance of keeping this to themselves. They don't strike me as the gossipy sort. Anyway, it turns out Miss Jackson's grandmother is Philomena Jackson. The wizarding world is a small world indeed."
The spider had raised herself up at the name, as if expectantly. Severus turned to her and ran a hand across her back, more confidently this time.
"Would you mind sending for Mrs Jackson, Minerva?" he asked.
"I already did. She should be on her way here with Hagrid."
Just then, Poppy entered the room, glancing nervously at Morag. "Hagrid is back, Minerva. Shall I show Mrs Jackson in your office?"
Severus remembered the Granger girl's comment earlier.
"Let her come here and meet Morag. After all, she has a right to be present while we discuss her situation."
Moments later, the handsome, elderly witch entered the room and sat on a chair. She observed the spider with a mixture of awe, curiosity, and kindness.
"Fascinating," she muttered.
"An Acromantula bite caused this," Severus started to explain. But Philomena shook her head.
"The bite did not turn her into a spider. She turned into a spider to protect herself against the venom. That's an entirely different thing," she stated. "She may have not done it consciously, of course, but it was her own doing."
"But how? She told me it had never happened before. Do you think she is an Animagus?"
"No, she's not. I suspect it's in her genes. After all, Maisie Duncan was such a beautiful woman…" her voice trailed off. "He always was the seductive type."
"Who are you talking about?"
"I am certain that Morag is of the bloodline of Anansi, the spider god."
Severus, Minerva and Poppy stared at her.
"There is no such thing as a spider god," Severus frowned.
"Oh, there isn't?" Philomena chuckled. "Tell me, Severus, is there such a thing as, say, a dragon? A mermaid? A Thestral? A half-man, half-horse healer god?"
"All right, point taken. There is no need to list all magical creatures in existence. I understand."
"I'm not sure you do. You see, magical creatures exist because we dreamed them into being. They arose from the stories we told. And Anansi, he went and dreamt himself into a spider and a weaver of stories. He narrated himself into existence."
"Where does Morag fit into all this?"
"Maisie was always elusive about Morag's father, but from what little she said, I gather it may have been Anansi himself. Morag shares his blood. You can't magic the spider away, because she is the spider."
"I know for a fact that she is a woman," Severus said cooly.
"Of course she is. You still don't get it, do you? She is woman and spider. She needs to accept both those realities within herself."
"Do you mean she'll stay like this forever?"
"Not necessarily. Not if she learns to hold her whole self in balance, woman and spider. In order to do so, she must find harmony within herself."
Glossary
Derk Beste Most Ivel (Middle English) – Most Evil Dark Beasts