One Only Understands The Things That One Tames
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Harry Potter › General
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Adult +
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Category:
Harry Potter › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
1,864
Reviews:
2
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter One
~ Disclaimer: I own nothing but what springs from my imagination. Severus Snape, Hogwarts, and the rest of the Potterverse are the property and the children of JK Rowling. ~
One Only Understands the Things That One Tames
Chapter 1
Severus Snape returned to his private quarters following a rough day in the classrooms. Hufflepuffs were going to be the death of him. He had thought that after Neville Longbottom graduated, he would be free of the bulk of the cauldron melting. He was wrong. Tansy Bartholomew, a 2nd year Hufflepuff was in the running for the Most Destructive Student Ever award.
He sat down at his desk and picked up his quill, a raven feather that he cherished more than anything else he owned. It was more than a writing instrumit wit was a memory. A memory of a fiery goddess who defied all the rules to save his life, a life he wasn’t sure merited saving. She saved him in so many ways that night, his Ariah. She saved his life from the Killing Curse, his heart from turning to stone altogether, and his soul from his own internal damnation. And then she had to leave. Defying her family meant she had to go back and make things right. She left almost two years ago. He promised he’d wait and he had waited. Not that anyone else would have come along anyway. Not anyone who mattered. Ariah was the only woman who could tame the beast that Severus could be.
A great deal had passed in those almost two years. The Golden Trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley had graduated from Hogwarts and moved on, Harry to professional Quidditch, Ron to the Ministry of Magic, and Hermione, the brightest of the bunch, to University. Voldemort was no more. After being swallowed by an angry earth at the request of an even angrier goddess, he was never quite the same and was a fairly easy mark for the Order of the Phoenix. Oh, he might find another way to come back, but somehow, Severus thought his days were over. It was time for a new evil to rise. Evil never stayed put. It was one of its worst traits. The majority of the Death Eaters were gone; the few that remained still occasionally caused a bit of mayhem, but for the most part were silent. Lucius Malfoy, however, remained in hiding. Some say he was more than a little insane. His own son, Draco, wanted nothing to do with him and was heard to say on more than one occasion that if his father were on the receiving end of an incendiary spell, he wouldn’t “piss on him to put the bugger out”. There were casualties, Mad Eye Moody, Arabella Figg, Dean Thomas, Penelope Clearwater… But all in all, the numbers weren’t too bad.
A pounding of wings against window shattered Severus’ little trip down memory lane. The high windows in his study were shut tight against the chill of the September air. The pounding continued and he could see the outline of a large black bird. He pointed his wand at the window.
“Adaperio!” he said, and the window opened fully, allowing the large black raven access to his quarters. Severus stared in disbelief as the raven landed on his desk, dropping a rolled up parchment from his beak. The raven looked around, his glittering black eyes taking in his surroundings. He settled down, looked at Severus, and began preening. Severus unrolled the parchment and came face to face with a familiar handwriting.
My dearest Severus,
I know that it has been some time, and I trust that you are well. I was in just a wee bit of trouble for that whole bit with the Avada Kedavra and Voldemort. After being lambasted, bounced around a bit, and treated like a pariah, I think things are lightening up somewhat. You think I have a temper? You should meet my family. We have family members who haven’t spoken in a millennium because someone said someone’s baby had a really big head (it did, by the way, and I don’t miss talking to my cousin Brigantia anyway). It has always been our way to provide a little magic on the battlefield, but not to interfere. And obviously, I interfered in a major way that night. I don\'t regret it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, because it kept you in the world. You didn\'t deserve to die, and I don\'t think that was meant to be the plan. Of course, that would only be my opinion, the rest of the Morrigan think I should have let fate take its course, but screw that. It may have been selfish on my part, but I needed you to live.
I love you, my grouchy insufferable bastard. I don\'t know if you\'ve moved on with your life, I mean, it’s been nearly 2 years since I had to go, but whatever you\'re doing, I hope that you\'re happy. If you wish to contact me, you are free to call on any raven to deliver messages to me, including the bearer of this message. I’m finally allowed to communicate with the outside world again…OK, free to communicate with you again. Just remember, if you tame me, then we shall need each other. And you may very well have tamed me.
Ariah
P.S. Funny, isn\'t it, how Ariah is so close in spelling to Pariah? Guess I am aptly named.
P.P.S. I am still glad I didn\'t neuter you that night.
Severus felt his heart skip a beat. Ariah still loved him. And he loved her. Gods, how he loved her. His one regret was that he was never able to speak those words to his beautiful goddess. He had been afraid that to say them would break some spell that she was under and that she would realize how unworthy he was. Perhaps he wasn’t so unworthy after all.
“Well?” said a voice. Severus looked around and at the raven. It was odd, but what the hell. The raven was the only other living creature in the room.
“Well what?” he replied, fixing a Snapish glare on the raven.
“Are you gonna write back? I really don’t have all day. And stop glaring at me. Ariah was right, you ARE crotchety.”
“She called me crotchety?”
“And insufferable, cranky, grouchy, nasty, sarcastic, sardonic…shall I go on?”
“Please don’t.” Severus could not believe he was having a conversation with a bird. And the bird was insulting him, no less.
“So, you gonna write back or should I just leave?”
“Give me a second. Are all you ravens so impatient?” he scowled.
“Pretty much, especially the ones who used to be human. Jeez, a scowl now?”
“You were human?”
“Yup.”
“And now you’re a bird?”
“Yup. Got a problem with that?” the raven cocked his head.
Severus sat down at his desk and looked at the raven, “So, what happened?”
“Nothing all angsty and dramatic like in ‘Sandman’ comics and shit. I was a man, I insulted one of the Morrigan and BAM! Got my ass turned into a raven. Whatever you do, stay away from Fea. She has no sense of humor. Now Ariah…she’s a nice one. Pretty, smart, quick, loyal. Any man’d be a fool not to grab hold of her and not let go.”
Severus leveled a Snape Killer Glare Number 19 at the raven, “It wasn’t my choice to let her go.”
“Whoa, never said it was. Just that you really ought to at least respond to the lady. She’s been missing the hell out of your scowling ass.”
With a dark look, Severus picked up his quill and rested it on a piece of parchment. He thought for a moment, and then wrote something short. He rolled it up, put a charm on it so only Ariah could open it and gave it to the raven.
“Do you have a name?” he asked the raven.
“Yeah. Poe. Shaddup.” Poe picked up the parchment and took off out the window. Severus watched him leave.
“Strange bird,” he said out loud, and began correcting papers.
* * * * *
Ariah sat under a willow tree awaiting the return of Poe, her favorite of the ravens that her sister Fea created out of men. It had been so long in mortal time, nearly 2 years. She wondered if Severus had waited for her, if he still cared. She wondered if he was still as she remembered: brilliant, handsome, a wonderful lover… She missed him. More than she ever thought she could miss anyone. She needed him still. The days had been empty without him. Losing him was her punishment for not merely breaking the rules, but shattering them. But finally, her sisters had relented. She could be with Severus again. But there was a price. Ariah sighed. There was always a price. This one was a little steep, even for her. But she was willing to pay it. And her payment was dependent on a roll of parchment carried by a raven…if there WAS a parchment.
Poe swooped down, dropping a roll in her lap. He alighted and accepted a scrap of bread from Ariah.
“Interesting guy, that Snape.”
“How did he look?”
“Like a big old cadaver. Was that look you were hoping for?” commented Poe.
Ariah shook her head at the raven, “seriously, Poe, did he look…like he was happy?”
“No way could that guy EVER look happy.”
“Did it look like there was another woman in his life?”
Poe laughed hysterically, “SNAPE? Come on now. The guy clearly hasn’t known a woman’s touch in years.”
“Poe,” said Ariah, evenly, “go away.”
“OK, OK. You want me to bring a message back to the crabby git?”
“If I do, I’ll call for you, OK? Thanks Poe.”
Poe cawed a vague “you’re welcome” and flew off. Ariah took a deep breath and opened the roll. She read the short missive and burst into peals of laughter, heard throughout the domain of the Morrigan. On the parchment, in perfect Snape script, in perfect Snape attitude, was one short note:
My dear Ariah,
Words cannot express my joy at not having been neutered that night as well.
Severus
One Only Understands the Things That One Tames
Chapter 1
Severus Snape returned to his private quarters following a rough day in the classrooms. Hufflepuffs were going to be the death of him. He had thought that after Neville Longbottom graduated, he would be free of the bulk of the cauldron melting. He was wrong. Tansy Bartholomew, a 2nd year Hufflepuff was in the running for the Most Destructive Student Ever award.
He sat down at his desk and picked up his quill, a raven feather that he cherished more than anything else he owned. It was more than a writing instrumit wit was a memory. A memory of a fiery goddess who defied all the rules to save his life, a life he wasn’t sure merited saving. She saved him in so many ways that night, his Ariah. She saved his life from the Killing Curse, his heart from turning to stone altogether, and his soul from his own internal damnation. And then she had to leave. Defying her family meant she had to go back and make things right. She left almost two years ago. He promised he’d wait and he had waited. Not that anyone else would have come along anyway. Not anyone who mattered. Ariah was the only woman who could tame the beast that Severus could be.
A great deal had passed in those almost two years. The Golden Trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley had graduated from Hogwarts and moved on, Harry to professional Quidditch, Ron to the Ministry of Magic, and Hermione, the brightest of the bunch, to University. Voldemort was no more. After being swallowed by an angry earth at the request of an even angrier goddess, he was never quite the same and was a fairly easy mark for the Order of the Phoenix. Oh, he might find another way to come back, but somehow, Severus thought his days were over. It was time for a new evil to rise. Evil never stayed put. It was one of its worst traits. The majority of the Death Eaters were gone; the few that remained still occasionally caused a bit of mayhem, but for the most part were silent. Lucius Malfoy, however, remained in hiding. Some say he was more than a little insane. His own son, Draco, wanted nothing to do with him and was heard to say on more than one occasion that if his father were on the receiving end of an incendiary spell, he wouldn’t “piss on him to put the bugger out”. There were casualties, Mad Eye Moody, Arabella Figg, Dean Thomas, Penelope Clearwater… But all in all, the numbers weren’t too bad.
A pounding of wings against window shattered Severus’ little trip down memory lane. The high windows in his study were shut tight against the chill of the September air. The pounding continued and he could see the outline of a large black bird. He pointed his wand at the window.
“Adaperio!” he said, and the window opened fully, allowing the large black raven access to his quarters. Severus stared in disbelief as the raven landed on his desk, dropping a rolled up parchment from his beak. The raven looked around, his glittering black eyes taking in his surroundings. He settled down, looked at Severus, and began preening. Severus unrolled the parchment and came face to face with a familiar handwriting.
My dearest Severus,
I know that it has been some time, and I trust that you are well. I was in just a wee bit of trouble for that whole bit with the Avada Kedavra and Voldemort. After being lambasted, bounced around a bit, and treated like a pariah, I think things are lightening up somewhat. You think I have a temper? You should meet my family. We have family members who haven’t spoken in a millennium because someone said someone’s baby had a really big head (it did, by the way, and I don’t miss talking to my cousin Brigantia anyway). It has always been our way to provide a little magic on the battlefield, but not to interfere. And obviously, I interfered in a major way that night. I don\'t regret it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, because it kept you in the world. You didn\'t deserve to die, and I don\'t think that was meant to be the plan. Of course, that would only be my opinion, the rest of the Morrigan think I should have let fate take its course, but screw that. It may have been selfish on my part, but I needed you to live.
I love you, my grouchy insufferable bastard. I don\'t know if you\'ve moved on with your life, I mean, it’s been nearly 2 years since I had to go, but whatever you\'re doing, I hope that you\'re happy. If you wish to contact me, you are free to call on any raven to deliver messages to me, including the bearer of this message. I’m finally allowed to communicate with the outside world again…OK, free to communicate with you again. Just remember, if you tame me, then we shall need each other. And you may very well have tamed me.
Ariah
P.S. Funny, isn\'t it, how Ariah is so close in spelling to Pariah? Guess I am aptly named.
P.P.S. I am still glad I didn\'t neuter you that night.
Severus felt his heart skip a beat. Ariah still loved him. And he loved her. Gods, how he loved her. His one regret was that he was never able to speak those words to his beautiful goddess. He had been afraid that to say them would break some spell that she was under and that she would realize how unworthy he was. Perhaps he wasn’t so unworthy after all.
“Well?” said a voice. Severus looked around and at the raven. It was odd, but what the hell. The raven was the only other living creature in the room.
“Well what?” he replied, fixing a Snapish glare on the raven.
“Are you gonna write back? I really don’t have all day. And stop glaring at me. Ariah was right, you ARE crotchety.”
“She called me crotchety?”
“And insufferable, cranky, grouchy, nasty, sarcastic, sardonic…shall I go on?”
“Please don’t.” Severus could not believe he was having a conversation with a bird. And the bird was insulting him, no less.
“So, you gonna write back or should I just leave?”
“Give me a second. Are all you ravens so impatient?” he scowled.
“Pretty much, especially the ones who used to be human. Jeez, a scowl now?”
“You were human?”
“Yup.”
“And now you’re a bird?”
“Yup. Got a problem with that?” the raven cocked his head.
Severus sat down at his desk and looked at the raven, “So, what happened?”
“Nothing all angsty and dramatic like in ‘Sandman’ comics and shit. I was a man, I insulted one of the Morrigan and BAM! Got my ass turned into a raven. Whatever you do, stay away from Fea. She has no sense of humor. Now Ariah…she’s a nice one. Pretty, smart, quick, loyal. Any man’d be a fool not to grab hold of her and not let go.”
Severus leveled a Snape Killer Glare Number 19 at the raven, “It wasn’t my choice to let her go.”
“Whoa, never said it was. Just that you really ought to at least respond to the lady. She’s been missing the hell out of your scowling ass.”
With a dark look, Severus picked up his quill and rested it on a piece of parchment. He thought for a moment, and then wrote something short. He rolled it up, put a charm on it so only Ariah could open it and gave it to the raven.
“Do you have a name?” he asked the raven.
“Yeah. Poe. Shaddup.” Poe picked up the parchment and took off out the window. Severus watched him leave.
“Strange bird,” he said out loud, and began correcting papers.
* * * * *
Ariah sat under a willow tree awaiting the return of Poe, her favorite of the ravens that her sister Fea created out of men. It had been so long in mortal time, nearly 2 years. She wondered if Severus had waited for her, if he still cared. She wondered if he was still as she remembered: brilliant, handsome, a wonderful lover… She missed him. More than she ever thought she could miss anyone. She needed him still. The days had been empty without him. Losing him was her punishment for not merely breaking the rules, but shattering them. But finally, her sisters had relented. She could be with Severus again. But there was a price. Ariah sighed. There was always a price. This one was a little steep, even for her. But she was willing to pay it. And her payment was dependent on a roll of parchment carried by a raven…if there WAS a parchment.
Poe swooped down, dropping a roll in her lap. He alighted and accepted a scrap of bread from Ariah.
“Interesting guy, that Snape.”
“How did he look?”
“Like a big old cadaver. Was that look you were hoping for?” commented Poe.
Ariah shook her head at the raven, “seriously, Poe, did he look…like he was happy?”
“No way could that guy EVER look happy.”
“Did it look like there was another woman in his life?”
Poe laughed hysterically, “SNAPE? Come on now. The guy clearly hasn’t known a woman’s touch in years.”
“Poe,” said Ariah, evenly, “go away.”
“OK, OK. You want me to bring a message back to the crabby git?”
“If I do, I’ll call for you, OK? Thanks Poe.”
Poe cawed a vague “you’re welcome” and flew off. Ariah took a deep breath and opened the roll. She read the short missive and burst into peals of laughter, heard throughout the domain of the Morrigan. On the parchment, in perfect Snape script, in perfect Snape attitude, was one short note:
My dear Ariah,
Words cannot express my joy at not having been neutered that night as well.
Severus