Snape In Love

Chapter 41

Changing The Future To Now

After he had gone I turned to survey the room again, hugging myself inwardly. I wandered up and down the room, investigating every corner, every shelf. I ran my hands along the recessed shelves, thick with well over half a century of dust, and imagined them filled with books. Over the huge stone fireplace was an enormous tapestry, so dark and soot-blackened that I could not make out its original colours, let alone discern any design thereon. I made a mental note to ask the house elves to clean it thoroughly, and cast around for a more suitable hanging place for it, in case I decided I liked the design. The windows had large deep sills like those in our bedroom, and I peered out to take a more lingering look at the view. More than satisfied, I wandered back into the nursery and once again the strangest feeling overcame me. Such joy would be in this room, I was certain of it. It was almost as it the whitewashed walls were whispering such to me, inaudibly, directly into my heart. I smiled, running my hands along the walls in silent thanks, before returning to the main room and returning my attention to the wall of recessed shelving.

There would be more than enough space for all Severus´ books, I knew, including those piled up in dusty columns in his classroom. I would send for my own too, I decided. They were currently in a storage warehouse in a Muggle city several hundred miles away. All my worldly possessions from birth to twenty, including every book my parents had ever bought me, and it was about time I reclaimed them. My hand brushed against the side of one of the shelves as my mind wandered absently, and I stopped as I felt it move slightly, and then slide back into place. Abruptly returned to the present, I repeated the action, curious, and it happened again. And again, and again. I withdrew my wand, certain that a secret compartment, maybe even a hidden room or one of Hogwarts' many uncharted passageways lay somewhere nearby.

"Alohomora!" I said decisively. A shower of coloured sparks from the tip of my wand illuminated the shelf briefly and blew the dust into my face, making me cough and turn away hurriedly. Wiping the dust from my eyes, which were now watering painfully, I muttered the spell again. More dust and sparks, and I heard an almost imperceptible grinding noise, which I presumed my coughing fit had drowned out with my first attempt. However, the spell had had no effect.

I pushed again at the shelf and still nothing happened. I repeated the spell several times along with all the other unlocking spells I could dredge up from my memory, before becoming extremely cross and swearing vociferously. The air was full of dust now and I stomped across to the windows and opened one of the casements, breathing deeply of the fresh, clean air outside while considering my next move. I could use an axe, I thought, but the shelves were so nice, I didn't want to ruin them, particularly as I had already put them to such good use in my mind. And if the secret behind the shelf was magically concealed, even the biggest axe I could wield would be to no avail, however annoyed I might be.

I walked back to the offending shelf and glared at it. Unsurprisingly, my wrath was wasted on it and it remained impassive. I had backache now, so I put both my hands on to the shelf and bent my head, to think. I pressed on the right shelf wall with one hand, as before, and looked to my left. Frowning with a sudden idea, I pressed with my left hand too, and stood back open-mouthed and more than a little smug as at long last the shelves in front of me opened out, to reveal a small secret room.

There was sufficient space for just one person to walk in, since all three walls were lined with more shelves, to ceiling height, and all the shelves were lined with books. Intrigued, I stepped up to the wall and peered across the threshold, not daring to step inside completely lest I be accidentally entombed.

I looked at the spines of the books, reading their titles. I was surprised and a little disappointed to find that I recognised most of them. Copies were readily available in the Hogwarts library, although I did notice that some of the titles belonged in the restricted section.

One small book, little more than a pamphlet, did catch my eye, although in retrospect I cannot explain why. It had been sandwiched between a well-used copy of 'Most Potente Potions' and a large black-bound volume of 'Mythopoeikon'. I took it out and examined it. It was a very slim volume, bound in calfskin, with pages of stiff, yellowing parchment that was crumbling at the corners. It was several hundred years old, I estimated, and detailed handwritten notes and translations in purple ink filled the margins. The volume was called "Ayres and Grace's Pocket Almanack of Counter-Curses'. The title amused me, and I wandered over to the window whilst I examined it further.

There was no index, just page after page of incantations for various conditions - the removal of boils, the restoration of libido, - and then, just as I had decided that the book's title was its only interesting part, I came across a charm to remove marks imprinted on flesh by means of dark magic. I recognised the basic charm, it was for the treatment of burns and would be common knowledge to anyone versed in the healing arts. I was certain that Madam Pomfrey and Severus would be familiar with it. But here, it had been modified with some arcane twist with which I was not familiar and for which my Latin language skills, while good, were not sufficiently precise to allow me adequately to translate.

Intrigued, I tried to puzzle out the words, inked over and heavily annotated though they were. They appeared to be setting out a particular set of circumstances that would need to be in place before the modified healing incantation would work. I resolved to try to translate the modification properly at another time, wondering whether Severus might be able to use it to remove the Dark Mark.

I put it away in my robes for safekeeping, undecided as to whether he would find it of any use, since I knew he had tried and failed to rid himself of the Mark in the past.

I decided to make use of one of the four deep window seats and I sat down, first brushing off the dust with my hands. From there, I could see the whole room, and into what would become the nursery next door. I sat there musing for a while, imagining the room full of furniture, light and warmth. At length, I shook myself from my reverie and clapped my hands to summon a house elf. In an instant Winky appeared. I spent a few moments explaining to her what needed to be done, and then she disappeared with a pop. When the house elves began to pop into sight all around me, and set to work with mops and brushes, I decided it was time to leave. Out in the corridor I tried the bedroom door, but it was locked, and I realised to my chagrin that I still didn't know the spell to open it. I didn't want to disturb Severus' class by going in and asking him to let me in by way of his office, so I decided to go for a walk instead, and I simply blew a glowering Severus a kiss through the open classroom door as I passed.

I decided to go to the library. That morning's Daily Prophet article was still niggling at the back of my mind, and I knew that Madam Pince had back issues stored away there.

"There are thousands of copies here," she said doubtfully when I told her what I wanted to do. "What do you want to read about?"

"Well, anything by that Rita Skeeter woman, really," I replied, shrugging. "I want to see for myself just how bad today's article is, comparatively speaking."

She clucked sympathetically and suggested I simply take out a few copies at random. Once we had chosen an armful of back issues each, we set them down at one of the long tables and she left me alone to read.

Two hours later, I was still there. The woman was breathtakingly wicked, I decided. I had read both about people I knew and people I didn't know, and nothing of what she wrote appeared to me to be true. Well, I corrected myself, there was usually a kernel of truth hidden away, but in every case it had been twisted and embroidered upon until it bore scant resemblance to the truth. I sat back, wondering how the woman had kept her job for so long when all she produced was scurrilous lies. As I was pondering this question, Hermione came into the library. When she saw what I was doing she came over to me and said,

"Rita Skeeter?"

"Yes! I can't believe people believe this stuff!"

"Well, they do, more's the pity! Have you read what she wrote about Harry and me, when he was in the Tri-Wizard tournament?"

"No?"

"Oh, you're in for a rare treat, then!" she said ironically, getting up and searching along one of the shelves. "Here, read this! I'll be back in a minute."

I was shaking my head in disbelief by the time Hermione came back, weighed down by two enormous books.

"Read it yet?" She asked.

"Yes...you poor things!"

"I know, and even Ron's mum believed it! So I understand exactly how you must feel. But it'll all blow over pretty quickly, as long as she hasn't got anything else hidden up her sleeve."

"Mmm. Anyway," I said, changing the subject, "I found a secret room! In our new chambers!"

"Really? How exciting!"

"Yes, and it was full of books! But they just appear to be extra copies of books that are in here already. But I did find this - " I went on, rummaging in my robes' pockets to find the small almanac. "Look at this," I said as I passed it over to her open at the relevant page. "I want to try and translate it before I show Severus...what do you think?"

Her brow furrowed as she tried to make out the words.

"Oh, I see...can I hold on to this and have a go myself? I have a Latin dictionary in my room, it could come in handy!"

"Yes, okay, that'd be great! Thanks!"

Nodding towards Hermione´s books, I asked, "What are those for?"

"Oh, just a bit of background reading, ready for September" she said airily.

"Don't you feel like a break, after the NEWTS?"

"I am having a break!"

I laughed and turned back to the Daily Prophet. Flipping through it, I noticed a photograph of Lucius Malfoy on the Society pages. I froze, watching him chat and smile with some one. I recognised her from somewhere. She had blonde hair piled untidily on top of her head, large horn-rimmed glasses, and she was wearing leopard-print dress robes. I turned to the foot of the picture and read the words,

"The Daily Prophet's Rita Skeeter chats to Lucius Malfoy, guest at this year's Witch Weekly Most Charming Smile awards."

"So that's her!" I breathed, realising that this was the same scribe who had been in attendance at Malfoy's trial. She had stayed behind in the courtroom, her green quill still scribbling away, and had still been there when we had filed out. Interested now, I scanned a few more back issues of the newspaper, looking for the Society columns. Those of hers that discussed the Malfoy family were slightly obsequious in tone, and I came to the conclusion that she must like to move in similar circles.

Tired now of reading, and having had my fill of Rita Skeeter, I put the newspapers away and returned to my place to chat to Hermione for a while. We each discussed our new rooms, and resolved to go shopping together for furnishings in the holidays.

"Sirius got all his stuff from a brilliant place down on Dartmoor," Hermione enthused. "We should go there. They have everything, and they deliver too! Then we could get smaller things from Muggle London, if you'd like! Shop till we drop!"

"Which will happen pretty quickly for me, I'm afraid!" I said wryly, looking at my huge stomach.

A smooth, slightly irritated baritone sent a delicious shiver down my spine as it interrupted then with

"Ella! Here you are!" It was Severus. "Classes finished ages ago, have you seen the time?"

He sat down beside me and put his arm across the back of my chair, frowning.

"Have you been looking for me?"

"Yes, of course! We may as well go straight to the Great Hall now," he said, looking at Hermione reproachfully.

"It wasn't Hermione's fault, Severus! I was reading some old Daily Prophets. I don't feel so bad about that Skeeter woman now."

"Pleased to hear it," he said dryly, standing up and holding out his hand to me. "Come on! You too, Miss Granger. We don't want you to be late, now do we?"

"No, sir!" smiled Hermione.

Hermione said she´d catch us up, so Severus and I left the library and his hand slipped into mine as soon as we were in the deserted corridor. We walked in silence, and I curled round the middle finger of my hand so that I could gently scratch his palm as we walked. He looked down at me quizzically and after a few moments, when we had turned in to a smaller, darker corridor, less used, he stopped abruptly, took both my hands in his and walked me towards the wall, pinning me against it and holding my hands above my head. He brought his face to within inches of mine and in a deliciously low, hypnotic voice murmured,

"How is it that simply the touch of your fingernail against my palm can be so unbearably erotic?" before kissing me so deeply that he took my breath away. He released my hands then so that I could wind my arms around his neck; one of his arms wound around my waist while his free hand caressed my breast. I moaned softly as his thumb brushed insistently across my nipple, and he smiled at the reaction he had elicited, before suddenly pulling away from me.

"That´s better! Now we´re even, wouldn´t you say?" he smirked as I leant against the wall, flushed and panting. I grabbed the lapels of his robes and muttered,

"Come here, I haven´t finished with you yet!" pulling him to me sharply and claiming his eager lips once more.

Hermione must have crept up on us very quietly for we did not hear her pass, and would have been completely unaware of her presence had she not called back mockingly over her shoulder as she went,

"Come on! We don´t want you to be late, now do we?"

Severus had jumped when he heard her voice and looked after her aghast, shouting after her as she disappeared round a corner,

"Ten points from - oh, never mind!" he trailed off resignedly as I tapped him in disapproval. "I suppose I should be thankful it was only her."

Smiling at Severus´ obvious irritation, I hugged him and we continued on our way to the Great Hall. I told him about the secret room I had found, and he surmised that it must date from no later than the room´s last occupant.

"I believe it was a Professor Gruber, around seventy years ago, in Dippet´s time. We´ll tell Albus at dinner, I´m sure he´ll be very interested."

Sure enough, the Headmaster was greatly interested and he made us promise not to dispose of anything therein until the following weekend, when he would be free to investigate further with us. We agreed readily, having had no other intention than to retire to the blissful comfort of our bedroom as soon as was decently possible after dinner was over, and knowing that Severus would be too busy preparing for the end of term to allow himself to be distracted for the remainder of that week.

Even if Severus had carried out his half-hearted threat to remove house points from the school´s Head Girl for her cheek, it wouldn´t have prevented Gryffindor from winning the House Cup by a very comfortable margin when the announcement was made at the final dinner of the year that Friday. Severus applauded dutifully as usual, but I was genuinely pleased for Hermione. It seemed fitting that she should see out her tenure as Head Girl by adding this prize to her achievements over the previous seven years.

As a Gryffindor, Remus was expected to applaud loudly for his house´s achievements, but I was one of the few people present who was aware of the real reason for his fierce pride, and my heart swelled with affection for my friends.

The Headmaster arrived at ten o´clock sharp the following morning, having overseen the departure of the students for the summer break. Severus and I were already there, having most reluctantly left the warmth of our bed for the large empty room next door with its stone floors which, although free from dust and grime now, were yet unpolished, dull and cold.

"It is many years since I was last in these rooms," Dumbledore said as he entered, looking around appreciatively. "Ah, yes, I think they will do very well for you both, yes, very well indeed!"

I shot Severus a warm smile but he was preoccupied with running his hands along all of the recesses.

"Where is it, then?" he muttered. "Which shelf?"

I crossed over to him and showed him the secret mechanism.

"Look, you press here...and here!"

The shelves parted, folding in on themselves, and the tiny library room was revealed.

"Ingenious!" the Headmaster mused, withdrawing his wand as he turned to look at me over the top of his spectacles. "Have you disturbed anything?"

I looked at Severus quickly. I did not want to reveal anything about the pamphlet I had found, not until I knew whether or not it had any importance. Not for the first time I dissembled, saying

"Er...no, not really," with all the innocence of expression I could muster.

Not for the first time, either, the headmaster´s penetrating gaze led me to believe that he could not be fooled. He gave me a half smile and nodded at me before turning back to the room and saying imperiously,

"Revelatio!"

Silver sparks flew from his wand and crackled along the shelves, criss-crossing all the books, as if the wand was a lightbrush for painting with light. I shielded my eyes from the glare too late, and the afterimages glowed on my retinas in fluorescent oranges and greens. I heard Severus say,

"Right, let´s see what Gruber found so precious!" and I opened my eyes to see him disappearing into the small room. I stood next to the Headmaster and we both looked on as Severus trailed his long fingers along the spines of the books, stretching high to reach the uppermost shelves first and deftly working his way down, his eyes darting along the serried rows of books and gradually darkening in irritation.

"I can´t see anything here of any interest!" he muttered impatiently. "It seems that Professor Gruber was simply too lazy to go to the library every time he wanted to look something up!"

"Perhaps," said Dumbledore musingly as Severus removed two large volumes from a lower shelf and exited the room, frowning

"Come over here, Ella, help me with these."

We went to sit together in the window seat and opened the books, which contained lists of various potions and where to find their constituent ingredients. Meanwhile the Headmaster began to peruse the contents of the library for himself, emerging a good ten minutes later with a small battered volume bound in what appeared to be iridescent phoenix feathers and an excited

"Ah, Severus, Ella, I have stumbled upon something rather interesting! A study into the language and history of the phoenix! Might I borrow this?"

Severus looked up from the opened tome on his knee.

"Oh, yes, Headmaster, of course - keep it. Was there much else of use in there? Anything I missed?"

Dumbledore gave me another penetrating yet indulgent look.

"No, I believe that between us we have removed anything of interest!"

He turned to go, and I stared at his retreating form, perplexed. I realised that Hermione still had the book I had loaned her, and turned to Severus, whose head was bent over his book once more, locks of hair obscuring his face, long fingers turning the pages rapidly.

"Love, I need to go and say goodbye to Hermione. She´ll be leaving later today."

"Hmm? What? Oh, Hermione. Well, don´t be long; I thought we could do this together."

"I won´t be long," I confirmed, stroking back a lock of stray hair and kissing him lightly on his cheek.

I reached the door and turned to look at him as I pulled it shut behind me. He was already a million miles away once more, I thought as I smiled fondly.

Professor Dumbledore was waiting for me at the other end of the corridor. As I approached he closed the book about phoenixes and fell into step beside me, regarding me gravely. I felt my innermost thoughts laid bare, and I swallowed uncomfortably.

"There is a certain book I half expected to find in Gruber´s library," he began. "Ah, would you happen to know its whereabouts?"

It was fruitless to dissemble.

"I - the title amused me," I shrugged, and then continued, " - and when I read it - well, something about it...intrigued me. I lent it to Hermione, to help me translate - part of it."

He nodded sagely.

"I believe you will truly live up to your name, Ella Redemte."

"I´m sorry, Headmaster, I don´t know what you mean!"

"But you will, Ella. One day, you will. And you will endeavour to heal Severus. You show him great love."

With that, he stopped abruptly and tapped a large stone gargoyle on the left paw, causing it to swing back, revealing a secret passageway. With an enigmatic smile and a cheerful

"Good day, Ella!" he swept inside and was gone, leaving me alone in the middle of the corridor, staring at the gargoyle uncomprehendingly as it swung back into place.