One Only Understands The Things That One Tames

~ 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. I have also used some of the words of Antoine de Sainte-Exupery in various places and in the title of this fiction ~

One Only Understands the Things That One Tames
Chapter 11

Lucius quickly leveled his arm at Ariah and shouted out “Consopio Iugis”.

Ariah saw the wand, carefully hidden with an invisibility charm, for a split second as the dark blue fireball spit out of its end. She had no time to dodge the curse as it hit her full in the chest, knocking her off her feet. She crumpled into a heap at Remus’ feet. Severus quickly ran to Ariah’s body and knelt down next to her. He felt for her pulse. It was there, though slow. Remus trained his wand on Lucius and stood guard over the couple. Severus looked up at Lucius, the hate and anger taking over his features. His eyes flashed a dark unholy black.

“What did you do, Lucius?” he asked, his voice eerily calm and quiet.

“I gave her a fate worse than death,” Lucius answered, “I gave her a living death. She will lie in a deep sleep, unable to be woken. She will die, but it will be slow and agonizing. She will starve, her organs will shut down, and you, Severus, will have to watch. There will be no release for her. Until she dies of ‘natural causes’, she cannot be killed. No curses or charms can touch her. Of course, since not even the killing curse will work on her, neither will any healing charms or spells. She’s doomed, and you are doomed to watch, as I was doomed to watch my Narcissa die at the hands of the Order. Only you’ll have to watch for what will seem like an eternity. There is no countercurse.”

Severus gazed at Lucius, the hate so clear upon his face. He stood up and pointed his wand at Lucius. The two faced off, wands drawn. Suddenly, Severus heard a strange sound emanating from above. He glanced up at the sky and saw a thick blackness blocking the sun and filling the sky.

“Severus,” whispered Remus, “The sky is moving…”

Lucius, Severus, and Remus stared at the sky as Severus became aware that the sound he heard was the beating of thousands of wings. The sky was filled with ravens. One raven broke off from the black cloud to alight on Severus’ shoulder.

“Thought you might need the backup,” said Poe, surveying the scene and seeing Ariah’s body on the ground, “Say the word, Sev, and my brethren will avenge whatever this bastard did to the goddess. It’s your call, my friend.”

Severus looked into the raven’s glittering black eyes and slowly nodded. Poe emitted a clarion call from his raven throat and the ravens swooped down, surrounding Lucius. Neither Severus nor Remus averted his eyes from the sight of thousands of ravens apparently feasting on Lucius Malfoy, nor did either one attempt to block out the tortured screams of the man who had cursed Ariah. Within minutes, the ravens coalesced into the dark cloud, and one by one they flew past Severus, Remus, Poe, and the body of Ariah, each one sending a silent message to them, a silent message of hope. When they had all departed, flying their separate ways, all that was left of Lucius Malfoy was a heap of bones, picked clean. Severus again looked at Poe, who hadn’t left his shoulder.

“Thank you, my friend,” he said.

“Anytime, fitting end for a bastard like him,” replied Poe, “Now, what did he do to Ariah?”

“Basically, he put her into a coma, an irreversible coma,” explained Remus, as Severus once again knelt next to Ariah, causing Poe to fly up to a nearby branch.

Severus looked into Ariah’s face, tears welling up in his eyes. He placed his hands over her body and uttered every healing charm he knew, every countercurse he was aware of. Remus and Poe watched helplessly while their friend desperately tried to think of a way to heal Ariah. His tears spilled from his eyes and landed on Ariah’s face. Severus looked up into the sky.

“Take her,” he shouted out, “Take her back. Heal her. Let her come home. It’s my fault that she gave up her immortality. She loved me enough to give that up. I love her enough to give HER up. Please, gods, goddesses, take her home. Let her live,” He held her close to him, whispering what he could never say to her before, “I love you Ariah.”

Severus felt a cool hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the golden eyes of the goddess Anu. Anu looked at his tearstained face and smiled.

“You must be Severus,” she said, her voice quiet and melodic, “I’m Anu, one of Ariah’s sisters.”

One by one, other goddesses appeared in the clearing: Macha, Fea, Nemon, and Badb. Macha glanced over at the remains of Lucius and looked at Poe.

“Nice work, bud,” she said, looking impressed.

“Thanks Max. It was the least I could do. Sev’s a decent guy, even though he’s a bit of a pompous git at times and even though if I have to see him naked again, I’m gonna peck my own eyes out.”

“So, Severus,” said Anu, “You want us to take Ariah back into the fold. Make her a goddess again?”

“Yes. I understand that if you do, I can never be with her, never see her again. To know she’s alive would make that worthwhile to me.”

“I think that should be her choice, don’t you Severus?” said Macha.

“She can’t make that choice,” explained Severus, “she’s been cursed.”

“A curse easily lifted by her sisters,” remarked Badb.

The dominant aspects of the Morrigan circled around Ariah and Severus. Remus watched in awe and they joined hands and circled the couple, faster and faster, creating a whirlwind. For a moment, Remus saw the beautiful and terrible combination of the goddess, for a moment, Remus saw the Morrigan as one. The whirlwind stopped and the goddesses were separate entities again. Ariah’s body jerked and she suddenly opened her eyes, looking into Severus’ concerned face. She reached up and touched his cheek, running her finger over the tearstains.

“Severus…” she began.

“Hello Ariah,” said Anu, interrupting, “Severus called us to take you back.”

“Why? What happened?” asked Ariah, sitting up, “ and why do I feel so shitty?”

“Lucius cursed you with perpetual sleep, I couldn’t bear the thought that you would die a horrible prolonged death,” he explained, “I thought that if you went back with your family, you would live.”

“But then I’d never be with you again.”

“It was a price I was willing to pay,” he said quietly, “I love you. And I love you enough to give you up to save you.”

“Um, what did you say?” Ariah asked.

“That I was willing to lose you to save you.”

“No, before that.”

“I love you,” Severus was surprised how easy the words came out.

Ariah pulled Severus head down and kissed him, “I love you, too.”

“There’s the little matter of the payment for this healing,” said Nemon, “the way I see it, you have a choice, Ariah.”

“Come back, or stay here,” said Fea.

“On what conditions?” said Ariah.

“None, I think. If you come back with us, you will be a full goddess again. If you stay here, you will have to make a life for yourself,” stated Anu.

“Why no price? Everything the gods do has a price.”

“You paid your price. You put yourself out there for love. You put yourself on the firing line for it. You loved with all your heart and soul, and that’s something I wish that I could do. I wish I could have the courage that you have,” said Macha, “and you received love in return, unselfish love. How can we exact a price for keeping you in the world with the man you love? Regardless of your choice to leave the fold, you are still our sister, and you will always be.”

“I choose Severus,” stated Ariah.

“Like we thought you’d choose anything else,” scoffed Nemon.

“So, Poe,” said Fea, reluctantly, “When I changed you into a raven all those years ago, it was my bright little idea to give you a task that could reverse the change. Do you remember?”

“Not really,” said Poe, “I think maybe I was a little too concerned at seeing myself turned into a bird to worry about a task.”

“The task was one pure, unselfish deed in the name of friendship. You’ve fulfilled that. You called together the ravens to avenge all that was done to Severus and Ariah.”

“There’s also the matter of spying on Malfoy, flying with an arrow in your chest to bring back news to them, flying blind into the unknown,” added Anu.

“Yes, yes,” said Fea with a dark look, “you’ve earned your humanness back. Say the word and I will return you to your previous state.”

Poe thought about it for a moment, “I could be a man again?”

Fea nodded.

“What would be the point? I’ve lived past all my friends. I’d be old. The only people I would still know are Sev, Remus, and Ariah. I’ve grown used to this body, this form. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay a raven.”

“As you wish, but in repayment for all you’ve done, we can offer you immortality, until you wish to cease to exist,” said Anu.

“How long do wizard’s live?” Poe asked.

“A long time, if they can steer clear of those pesky curses, cauldron accidents, and Severus’ biting wit,” said Remus.

“We’d make an interesting bunch. I mean, come on, a raven, an ex-goddess, a werewolf, and a jackass. So, can I hang around with you guys? ”

“If you stop making remarks about my genitalia,” said Severus, a slight smile creeping up on his face.

“Stop doing that, dammit. Stop smiling. You scare me when you do that.”

“Not to break up the lovefest here, but I think we should get back to Hogwarts,” said Ariah, standing up and brushing herself off, “you two look worse for the wear and I’m sure Poppy will want to look us all over. And of course, Albus will want to know what happened.”
ah sah said her fond goodbyes to her family, took Severus’ hand, and along with Remus, disapparated from the clearing. Poe stayed behind a moment to watch as the Morrigan spoke to one another for a moment.

“So, do you think she’ll notice?” asked Nemon.

“Eventually,” said Fea, “she’s not dumb.”

“We had to do it,” justified Badb, “she’s forever getting herself into situations.”

“Can’t have her dying on us,” agreed Macha.

“No. She’s family. And so is Severus,” said Anu, with a smile.

“I rather like him,” said Nemon, the personification of venom.

“You would, I think he’s one of yours,” joked Macha.

“Well,” said Anu, “he certainly loves her. They deserve some happiness and a life together. I doubt he’s had much happiness in his life.”

“I don’t want to be around when Ariah discovers she’s got some of her goddess powers back. She’s going to take the path of righteous indignation, you know,” commented Badb.

“Maybe, but she won’t be alone in her immortality.” said Anu as the Morrigan faded from the clearing.

With a raven grin, Poe flew up and away towards Hogwarts.