Of Death and Fire

before the storm


CHAPTER 10: Tranquility before the storm
 
 
Morgaine woke up the next morning feeling her body numb. She commanded her legs to carry her to the bathroom, trying hard to overcome the fatigue. The cool water did not help. She went through her usual grooming ritual mechanically, never daring to look into her reflection's eyes. With ef sef she remembered she had no classes scheduled for this morning. She could hide herself in the library, lost in any arcane book, until the effects of the previous night would be dispelled.
Although not hungry, she forced herself to attend the breakfast in the Main Hall. Better to get through with it, than to have to explain the reasons of her absence to a very concerned Hagrid, not to mention Dumbledore. Trying to hide through the shadows, she entered the Hall and sat quietly at her seat.
During breakfast she barely ate a bite of solid food, but drunk several cups of coffee to get her through the day. Hagrid noticed the dark circles under her eyes, but he settled with the explanation of a night of restless sleep. Which was not far from the truth, anyway. Across the table, the Headmaster was studying her, and she shivered under his stare. If questioned, she wouldn't get away with it as she had with Hagrid. Much to her relief, he never asked. But she never seized to wonder if this was because he simply knew.
High on caffeine, after her third cup of a strong brew, she dared a glimpse across the table. Severus Snape seemed completely unaware of her, but she could have sworn he was studying her through the corner of his eye. Seeing him raising a cup to his lips, she felt her loins getting on fire once more, as if she had never awaken from last night's dream. Blushing, and cursing herself for it, she hid her face behind one more cup and a curtain of red hair.
~*~
The rest of the day was more or less uneventful, and so were the days to follow. The dream lost its grip on her, though during her rare encounters with Snape she still felt awkward. And then came the incident in the staff room.
Albus Dumbledore had called on a staff meeting to discuss the recent events concerning the Chamber of Secrets. He had been delayed for some reason, and in the meantime Lockhart grasped the opportunity to brag about his skills and achievements. He kept of saying of how skilled he was, not only in magic but in hand-to-hand combat as well. Several of the female teachers were looking at him with eyes full of admiration, while the rest were politely distancing themselves. Snape did his best not to speak a piece of his mind, while Morgaine was fed up by Lockhart's attempts to impress her.
"Care to put your money where your m is? is?" she challenged him.
Silence fell in the room, and even Snape looked up, waiting for Lockhart's reply.
"My dear Madame Greenleaf", Lockhart replied with a velvet smile, "what are you proposing?"
"A duel, of course. You and me, no wands or magic", she purred at him, but her eyes were hissing.
Lockhart walked up to her, took her hand into his, and smiled seductively - or so he thought he did.
"I'd hate to injure your lovely figure. Know that I've been trained by Caer Og, a disciple of the late Grandmaster Dagdain".
Morgaine smiled as lovely as possible, making her face look like an April morning.
"My dear Professor Lockhart, you could never harm me. I've been trained by Grandmaster Dagdain himself", she replied.
"How could you? He has been dead for over two hundred years", he asked, with the smile fainting from his face.
"He's dead. I'm a necromancer. Figure it out", she said, and enjoyed watching his face turning white. Chuckles were heard from around the room, and she could see with the corner of her eye that even Snape was smiling. Lockhart thought it was time for a gracious retreat. He moved back a couple of feet, bowed at her gracefully and said:
"Beautiful Lady, I stand defeated. If it wasn't for your skills, your smile could have thrown me off my feet in any duel".
Laughter followed his remark, and the rest of the evening passed as expected. But Morgaine felt very good about herself that night, and she finally had a peaceful sleep.
~*~
But there was a duel later on. Only this took place between Lockhart and Snape. Morgaine stood at the back of the room, a shadow among shadows, while the rest of the female population buzzed around Lockhart. And she couldn't take her eyes from the Potions Master.
She let her eyes travel on his body, his black attire, the features of his face, the aura that was circling him. She felt as if his aura had transformed in some kind of ancient specter, with dark, smoky tentacles, reaching for her, to draw her to an unknown deep. She watched as he threw Lockhart of his feet, and smiled in approval. She thought of summoning the Sight to see beyond his mask, when, for a brief moment, he turned and looked at her.
Her heart stopped, knowing she had been caught off guard, with a variety of emotions playing upon her face. It only took a heartbeat, but she knew that he had seen both admiration and lust in her eyes. She shook her head, assuming control of her emotions, readying herself for his response. But then the strangest thing happened.
Draco Malfoy had summoned a snake during his duel with Potter, and now everyone stood in terror, as Harry was addressing the snake in its own language. She slowly made her way through the frozen audience, moving like a cat among the bushes, her eyes fixed on the snake. Unnoticed by all, she crawled close the serpent, and with one swift move he caught it by the head, like a hunting tigress. At the same moment Snape unleashed his spell, banishing the creature back into oblivion.
Chaos followed the incident, and she had her chance to disappear back in the shadows, away from his invasive stare.
~*~
A couple of nights later, she was on her way to her dungeon when she heard a familiar voice from the staff room.
"Madame Greenleaf, one moment, if you please". It was Snape's voice.
She stopped and turned at him. He was in a middle of some discussion about potions with Professor Pomfrey and Madame Sprout, judging from the books and diagrams on the table. His voice was formal, but she knew better than that.
"I was wondering if you could stop by my office later, Ms. Greenleaf. There's something I'd like to talk to you about", he said, and fixed his eyes in hers.
For a moment, Morgaine thought of denying, but she could find no good excuse for her denial. Instead she heard herself replying:
"OK, I'll be there after dinner".
~*~
A few hours later, she found herself outside the door of his dungeon. She played with the idea of summoning her spirits to accompany her, just to be on the safe side. But she quickly rejected it, thinking it would be twice as hard to control both herself and the spirits. Breathing in, she knocked on the door, and entered the room after his reply.
She found him sitting on his desk, grading students' assignments. He looked up.
"Ah, good, you're here. I'll be through with this shortly. Please make yourself at home", he said, returning his attention to the scrolls before him. "And try not to break anything, if you please", he added, with a slight touch of venom in his voice.
You bastard! She thought. You'll never let me forget it, will you?
Choosing silence over a nasty reply, she turned her back on him, pretending to study the various ingredients and books stored on the selves around her. And just to be safe, she kept her hands behind her back. As she moved slowly around the room, breathing in the strange odors of the exotic materials, she could hear the quill travelling on the papers, making soft scratching noises. From the sound of it, there were many failed assignments. Not a surprise, really.
"Ok, I'm done", she heard him say, and turnturned to see him stuffing the papers in a drawer. He sat back and looked at her.
"Would you care for a glass of wine?" he asked, and, without waiting for her reply, he summoned a bottle of a ruby red liquid along with two glasses. He poured some in both and offered her one.
Still silent, she took the wine but drunk none, while she watched him bring his own to his lips. Suddenly, she felt really tired, tired of games and schemes and plots. She looked straight in his eyes, and broke her silence.
"Professor Snape", she asked directly, "what is it you want of me? Why have you summoned me here?"
He looked at her, returning her direct gaze.
"I'm offering a truce", he said. "There has been tension between us in the past, and I thought it was about time it came to an end. Especially in the light of the recent events, I think we have enough to worry about here in Hogwarts".
So, that was it. He had made his challenge, and it was up to her to accept it. Slowly, she drank a sip of the strong wine, considering her reply.
"Does this mean", she said, choosing her words carefully, "that you have come to accept that I am no longer a 'disaster waiting to happen'?"
"Let's just say that I've come across information revealing that the, uhm, incident in here was not completely your fault, but rather a manifestation of more complicated forces". Information provided by the Headmaster himself, he thought, but never said it aloud.
"Really?" she said, with a mischievous look in her eyes. The wine had reached her bloodstream and she felt a bit intoxicated. Is it the wine, she thought, or the electricity in the air between us?
With a bold move, surprising even herself, she raised her glass to him.
"Offer accepted, Professor Snape. Let there be peace among us, from now on", she declared, and drunk the rest of her wine in one sip.
Behind his desk, Severus Snape smiled. She couldn't help but thinking of a big snake grinning at her.
~*~
After their meeting was off, she realized that she could not recall all of the details. They had talked, yes. Of various insignificant subjects, and he had shown interest of her time at the Guild. But she kept feeling a shiver down her spine, as if she was stalked by a hungry predator.
And Leonin's warning kept flashing in her head: "Beware, for it weaves a dangerous web".
Little did she realize she was already caught in it.
 
 
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