Destiny of Souls

Chapter 22: Speaking of Gifts

"What is going on?" Snape interjected on her behalf as she found herself speechless.

"Harry fainted. I saw him on the floor of the common room as I was coming down for breakfast early. I... he was holding his head in pain and he couldn't move. I noticed there was a chain around his neck that he was trying to get to. And I saw this," she said as she held up the ring.

Kara looked into her eyes and knew she was telling the truth. She heard suggestions that Hermione had told her all about Rings of Epa. She no doubt assumed that was what this was.

Regardless of Ginny's intent, this was dangerous. She had no idea how much power the Ring yielded, and certainly didn't know the traditions surrounding it. Instead of following her instincts to kill the girl and rip the prized possession from her fingers, Kara floated Harry out of her arms, much to Ginny's surprise.

"Up Ms. Weasley. Now," she commanded.

Kara led Harry up to Dumbledore's office and propped him up in a chair with her mind. When Harry came around he glanced up at the Headmaster, to Snape and then to herself apparently unsurprised to find them surrounding him. He was surprised as to how he got there and hadn't noticed Ginny was in the room.

"How did I get here?" he asked as he rubbed his head and reached for the chain around his neck, which was missing now. "I never put the Ring on."

"I did. I found you collapsed in the common room," Ginny said in a timid voice.

"You WHAT?" Harry shouted at her, nearly bringing her to tears again. "Ginny, give me the Ring." He snatched it out of her trembling hands and settled the chain back around his neck. He made sure it was safely concealed under his shirt.

"Perhaps Headmaster, it would be best if Ms. Weasley returned to Gryffindor Tower," Snape said as he gave the Headmaster a knowing look.

"No. Don't make me leave him," Ginny protested. "Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"I had a dream. There were two Death Eaters, I think. They were with several Ministry wizards when Voldemort Apparated in. They killed all the Ministry wizards and then left. That was a few hours ago though. I woke up and my scar hurt but it went away so I went back asleep. I woke up again after seeing the same two wizards being tortured by Voldemort, that's when I stumbled down the stairs to the common room. I must have passed out there."

"He was torturing them?" Snape asked reflexively.

"Yes he said something about..." but Harry didn't finish. He turned to the small girl that sat beside him. "Gin can you wait for me back in the common room?"

Everyone in the room, including Snape, was in awe of this gesture. Ginny gave him a very sorry look and nodded silently as she skulked from Dumbledore's office. Harry waited a few moments after she left before continuing.

"Voldemort said something about Professor Snape having Inner Focus and Voldemort was punishing them. He thought they had always known," he finished.

So that was it. Voldemort knew. Kara looked at Snape who had turned towards the window in Dumbledore's office, apparently unwilling to show anyone in the room what he was thinking. Several minutes passed. Harry no doubt expected some sort of reaction from Snape. But Dumbledore and Kara knew this was exactly what Snape had feared most, and now he was contemplating how to survive. Shouting, screaming, panicking was the farthest thing from his mind.

"So then Voldemort didn't know?" Harry asked, his question interrupting Snape's mental planning session. Snape merely turned around and glared at him.

"I already knew," Harry said in response to Snape's angry stare.

"Do not presume to know anything about me Potter," Snape snapped back at Harry.

"What do you mean you already knew?" Dumbledore asked in an attempt to head off a Potter-Snape battle of words.

"There is an odd presence when Professor Snape is in the room. I always thought it was because he hated me so much, but I feel the same presence when Professor Lynch is near me too."

Snape glanced at her and then stared back out the window.

Dumbledore's face became very grave. It was clear he had not intended on this happening and now the survival of his greatest asset outweighed the risk he took to protect Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. Snape was exposed.

"Thank you Harry. If that is all, you may go."

Harry nodded and turned towards Kara before he left.

"I don't know how she found out about the Ring Professor. I'm really sorry. I didn't tell her, I swear."

"I know Harry. Hermione put the idea in her head and when she saw it around your neck she used it."

"Oh no. I better go find her before she wakes Hermione or Ron then. See you at breakfast," he said as he slammed the door behind him and rushed down the stairs to catch Ginny.

She turned to look at Snape who was now hunched over in a chair as if the life had been drained from him. Just twenty minutes ago they were enjoying the safety of one another's company and now he was a lonely outcast like she was. The world would forever hate him for what he was, as if they didn't already. On top of that, now Voldemort understood what was at stake by allowing Snape to live. He would realize that Snape was going to be at Hogwarts with Kara and the two of them would no doubt protect Harry at all costs. Snape had been a silent protector all these years. He was one of Dumbledore's secret weapons, and now he had to live with the fact that everyone would know it.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. It was a question that was obviously for Snape and not Dumbledore.

"It's nothing you need to know about," he snapped as he stood up and looked at her.

This was her cue to leave. She didn't want anything to do with his Death Eater activities in the past and nothing about that would change. She nodded and turned to head out of Dumbledore's office.

She stopped just before she turned the doorknob.

"You have to give him some credit for discretion Severus."

He pretended to ignore her. She left.

* * *

Kara set Harry to tasks in the morning and then retired to her office to read various journals and prepare for the upcoming term. Snape visited her when she was in the midst of reading Alchemy Monthly. He glided silently to one of her empty leather chairs and watched her as she finished the article.

"I know I told you I didn't want to know what you were involved in Severus, but I want to know now," She said as she closed the journal and placed it on the desk.

"I will not be going back," he said in a solemn voice. He seemed sad about it.

"Dumbledore doesn't think this will just make you a more suitable ally for Voldemort?" she asked.

The door to her office closed silently as if a ghost had walked by and closed it. She heard the click of the lock.

"I suggested that as well. However, as the Headmaster has pointed out to me many times, my alliance with you puts me at jeopardy. As long as you are not allied with Voldemort, he will never believe I am faithful to him."

She nodded. This would have been easier if she had never forced Voldemort to release him from the Dark Mark. This would have been easier if she had gone along with the original plan to be marked. If they weren't in love he would never have found himself in this position. She was beginning to doubt if their relationship was a good idea.

"I have no doubts Kara," he said, surprising her. His ability to read her emotions from the subtly of her character was amazing.

"Sometimes Severus I wonder which of us really has the ability to read minds," she said steering the conversation away from its intended target. She didn't want to admit she'd made the mistake.

"I have been aware of the consequences of asking you to marry me for a long time. I would not take any of it back, even knowing what I know now."

She nodded.

He stood and walked around to behind her desk and leaned against it, looking down into her face.

"I would never have let you go through with letting him Mark you. When you were kneeling before him and you began to hold out your arm, I nearly did what you did just moments later."

"That would have been suicide."

"It would only have brought us closer to this moment. I am in the same position now as I would have been then."

She was quiet for a few moments as she searched his face.

"The only logical move would have been to let him Mark me."

"Probably," he said as he moved a hand up to her face and brushed the rebel strands of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear. "But as I said, I wouldn't let that happen."

His touched forced shivers down her spine as she realized this was the first time they'd touched since the incident this morning.

She grasped his hand and moved it her lips. She kissed his palm. He closed his eyes as he felt the tenderness of her affection. She then held the hand to her cheek as she rested her elbows on the desk.

"The Headmaster wanted me to remind you Potter's birthday is in a few days," Snape said with a restrained level of venom in his voice.

"Why?"

"Something about him turning sixteen."

Sixteen? Why would she care that he was six... She didn't finish the thought.

"I will be going to Paris tomorrow," she said with a great sigh.

He gave her a perplexed look.

"Nabokov bought mine when I was sixteen. It's tradition."

He nodded, still somewhat confused but he didn't press her for more information. They sat in silence for nearly five minutes and then a gentle rapping was heard on her door. It must be Dumbledore, she thought. Everyone else should be in the Library or locked up in a classroom. She unlocked and opened the door with her mind, not moving an inch of her body. Her eyes lazily went to the door as the visitor entered. The figure that entered was not even close in stature to that of the Headmaster. She released Snape's hand instantly and stood up.

"What is it Ms. Weasley?" she said in a grave voice.

"I... I'm sorry... Professor I didn't mean to interrupt. I..." the girl stammered as her eyes stared at the floor, clearly aware that she had been privy to the kind of loving gesture that not even Dumbledore had seen.

"Out with it already Ms. Weasley."

"Harry said I should... I mean I wanted to apologize for... using your Ring this morning. I didn't realize it was so serious."

Snape had a very stern look on his face as he stared at the youngster.

"Sit down Ms. Weasley," she said as she waved the girl into a chair.

"Professor I would like a few private moments with this student. I will see you at dinner." He nodded in compliance and left Kara to her business.

"Ms. Weasley in some societies, the use of an Oracle's ring without their permission is punishable by death," she stated in a slow, melodramatic tone.

Ginny's eyes went big and she gasped slightly at the prospect of meeting an early end to life for a seemingly innocent mistake.

"However, since the Headmaster will not permit me to apply a suitable punishment, I will have to settle with encouraging you to put the Ring on Harry's finger next time."

Ginny looked at her in disbelief. Kara could tell she hadn't considered that possibility before. She stared the young girl down to drive the point home. Thoughts began running through her mind. Ginny Weasley was a young pretty girl and she was dating Harry. The innocence and fear on her face told Kara more than enough about what the girl was feeling, even without reading her thoughts. She was afraid of being left behind by the love of her life. Her brother, and closest sibling was dating Hermione and in two years both would leave her behind to begin a new life somewhere without her. Ginny was afraid she would lose it all. And just as Kara realized the enormous amount of personal stress the girl was feeling, she started crying as if on cue. Rivers of tears ran down Ginny's cheeks as they had this morning.

A warm rush of energy ran through Kara's body and she trembled as the truth of the situation hit her. Something deep in her mind told her exactly who this girl was. As if she had divined the answer, Kara realized Ginny Weasley was going to marry Harry Potter. She began to feel dizzy as she realized she hadn't been breathing this entire time. She closed her eyes gently and took a deep breath, disguising her actions by pulling a handkerchief from her robes and handing it to the weeping girl.

"Ms. Weasley, why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry Professor. It's just that... I didn't mean to upset you or Harry. I just couldn't bear watching him lie there in pain."

She really loved him. She was going to marry him. And because of Kara's obligation to Harry, she was now obligated to this girl and her family. Kara closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts for a moment. The intensity of the situation was bearing down on her like Polishnikov with a heavy cauldron in one hand and a freshly killed Dragon hatchling in another. As if it wasn't enough that she was bound by duty to train Harry Potter she also had to deal with his hormonal girlfriend. She had to cheer this girl up, and fast, before it affected Harry. But Ginny wasn't done talking through her muddled tears.

"And his birthday is next week, and I've no money to get him anything and it's not like I could if I wanted to since I cant leave the castle."

She was sniffling and laughing at herself at the same time in realization that she was crying like a child. Before Kara had a chance to convince herself that it was a bad idea she made an offer she knew she would regret later when she had to tell Snape.

"Ms. Weasley have you ever visited Paris?"

The red-eyed girl gave her a questioning look.

"No. Why?"

"We will be leaving just after breakfast tomorrow then. Do not mention this to anyone, do you understand?"

Ginny nodded and soon after they headed towards the Great Hall.

* * *

That evening while sitting together in front of a warm fire she sat staring at his graceful features as he read from the same Alchemy journal she had been studying earlier in the day. His eyebrows were perched high on his forehead as a mischievous grin threatened to break out onto his face.

"Reading on the recent work with Muggle scientists?" she pondered.

"Yes. This is quite a humorous article," he stated as he looked up from it to find her eyes searching him. He put the journal down and stared back at her.

"I am taking Ginny Weasley to Paris with me tomorrow," she stated plainly and braced herself for the repercussions.

He didn't yell and he didn't become enraged. He took a deep breath.

"Well are you going to explain why? I'm certainly not going to pry it out of you."

She snorted slightly at the hypocrisy of his statement.

"Because she is now my responsibility."

"Explain," he said as he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"She's going to marry him."

"What?" He gasped.

"She's going to marry Harry."

"I am not deaf Kara. I heard you perfectly clear. What I was hoping for was an explanation, not a restatement of the obvious."

"In a sick twist of fate this morning, my third, and previously unseen gift paid me a visit," she replied as she rolled her eyes in disgust. She didn't like the idea of Divination anymore than Snape did and was sure to show it to him.

"How can you be sure?"

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life Severus. It was a physical sensation that crept up on me as the girl sat in my office in tears."

"Tears?" he said, joy now rising in his voice.

"Yes. Tears. Sorry you had to miss it. It was quite lovely," she replied in a sarcastic tone.

"So she is now your responsibility because she is going to be his Family," he said in resolution, finally coming to the obvious logical solution to her perplexing problem.

"Yes."

"Then why take her to Paris?"

"If she's going to marry him, she might as well pick out his Ring. She'd have a better idea of what he'd like anyway."

"The Ring," he said. Kara looked into his eyes and realized he hadn't understood what she'd meant earlier. Nabokov had given her her Ring of Epa when she'd turned sixteen.

"Yes."

"Have you told her?"

"I've not told her why we're going to Paris, nor why I am taking her."

"You shouldn't."

"I don't plan on it, but then again I don't plan on a lot of things."

She stood and walked over to him holding out her hands as if to lift him out of the chair so she could hold him. He pulled her down onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist and his head settling onto her shoulder. He pressed his lips to her neck. This was going to become intimate fast, and one thing had been bothering her since that morning when Harry received confirmation that Snape had Inner Focus.

"Have you ever considered telling Harry why you dislike him so much?"

"No. He has no need to know," he barked as he momentarily paused the exploration of her neck.

"Really? I surely have a need to know however."

"In time Kara," his voice had turned into a low growl.

"You really should considering telling him. He is more capable of hearing it than perhaps even I," she said pulling her neck away from his greedy lips. "I mean it. It would help him trust you."

He gave her a grave look and sighed.

"Now come to bed," she said as she stood up, took his hands into hers and tried to pull him out of the chair.

"You expect to sleep in my bed after suggesting that I make up with Harry Potter?" he said in a very serious tone.

"No," and after a long pause she added. "I didn't have sleep in mind."