Fire & Ice: War Games

Calm Before A Storm

‘A good friend can tell you what is the matter with you in a minute. He may not seem such a good friend after telling.’

Arthur Brisbane, “The Book of Today”


The first stars broke across the darkening sky as he woke in the comfort of his bed. He winced as his legs twitched involuntarily, the stabs of shooting pain wormed through his legs and settled in his abdomen. His lean frame twisted, cramping as he curled into a ball. Severus rolled halfway over the side of his bed as the stomach muscles tensed, twitching and knotting as the salvia pooled in his mouth. Nausea induced dizziness overtook him as small blobs of light swarmed their way across his vison from the slight moment.

Gagging as the muscles of his neck contracted and jerked, Severus’ face twisted as his stomach emptied over the floor. Bitter stomach acids fell to the floor and was added to the mess of half digested chunks of food. Groaning, Severus wiped the trailing salvia and food particles from his chin with the back of an hand. He slowly realized that he’d been undressed before being placed in his bed. Shivering, Severus wrapped his pale frame in the bed’s comforter as he reached for his wand to clean the mess.

Severus paled as his fingers closed around empty air. His heart began to pound against his bruised ribs as he searched the stand frantically for the wand. Cold, bone chilling, beads of sweat trickled over his body as he slipped out of the bed. Ignoring the cooling mess beneath and between his toes, Severus scrambled to his feet. Oblivious to the comforter sliding down his lean body and spilling to pile at his feet, Severus frantically searched his room.

“Master’ll cacoldcold.”

Turning quickly, Severus tripped on the comforter and fell to the hardwood floor. He winced as his knee smacked against the cold floor, “did you forget how to knock?” He growled, glaring at the scowling house elf.

“Tsk. Master best dress and eat.” The house elf rolled it’s eyes as the boy hastily pulled the comforter over his exposed body.

“Do you mind?”

The house elf snorted, “Rimball changed Master’s diapers and healed Master’s owies. Rimball knows Master’s body better then Master.” Shaking her head, the house elf left. Severus glared at the departing elf as he slowly wiped the slimy chunks of that morning’s breakfast off his sallow skin.





After a soothing bath he had dressed and made is way down the estate’s dining hall. Rimball had set out a three course meal saying, “house elves at Hogwarts deserve clothes. Rimball’s master not feed enough. Rimball’s knowing, Rimball puts meat back on Master’s bones.” The house elf shook her head angrily as she slipped back into the familiar routine that had become apart of the Slytherin’s holidays.

The house elf watched as the Slytherin ate and quickly replaced the empty plates with ones piled with food, ignoring her Master’s protests. Rimball stayed with the boy until she was throughly satisfied and convinced that the Slytherin wasn’t capable of consuming another bite. She nodded her head and cleared away the dirty dishes as Severus slowly made his way out of the hall.

Returning to the kitchens, Rimball set about cleaning the dinner dishes. Leaving the dishes to wash themselves in the sink, the house elf navigated the hallways until arriving at the study door. Tilting her head, Rimball smiled as she watched the Slytherin lose himself in the book he was reading. A feeling of motherly sadness washed into her heart as she thought of the boy’s parents.

While Zola Snape had never raised her wand or hand to the boy, her indifference and frequent absences from the family home had done as much damage. The witch had been coerced into providing her husband an heir to continue the Snape line, she had severed the connection between herself and her newborn baby the moment the mediwitch had cut the umbilical cord. Leaving the infant in the care of house elvesla hla had resumed her wild ways almost immediately. To the house elf’s best recollection, Severus had only received his mother’s attentions when the boy’s parents wanted to play ‘family’ and that was only when they threw a party or had guests over at the estate. That of course didn’t include his mother’s and his father’s ‘private’ guests or ‘special friends.’

In the house elf’s opinion, the boy’s father was far worse, Many times through the years, the wizard had returned home in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. Julius Snape was well known for keeping odd hours of both the day and the night, always coming and going in a quiet rush against the clock. Though the house elf had suspected, Rimball never saw the sources of the dried blood stains that were scrubbed almost daily from the wizard’s robes. Leaving a fresh cup of hot chocolate on the table next the boy, Rimball shook her head sadly as she closed the study door softly behind her.




He smiled softly as the house elf left the study, it felt nice to know that someone cared about his well-being and didn’t have to pretend to do so in order to get what they wanted out of him. Not that the Slytherin gave a damn what other people thought of. De. Despite the obvious difference in their species, Severus felt a bond with quirky house elf. The kind of bond that was usually shared with a mother and her child. Turning the book’s page, he absently reached for the steaming cup nearby.

The cup jerked slightly in his hands as a familiar head suddenly appeared in the study’s fireplace. Wiping the hot liquid off his neck, Severus growled at the laughing face of the Gryffindor. “You really need to lighten up. People are starting to think you’re antisocial.”

“Now I wonder where they might’ve got that impression? Oh, yeag, from me.” Severus snorted, “ do do you want?”

“Always the Slytherin, huh. What makes you think I want something?”

“You’re a Gruffindor, I believe the correct question is ‘when don’t you want something?’ And don’t insult my intelligence any further,” Severus sneered.

“Just checking in on you, is all.”

“I didn’t know you cared,” Severus drawled.

“Stuff it, Snape. Nala and the others are getting together over at Taucher Manor.”

Rolling his eyes, “this concerns me how?”

“Were you born a git? Unstick your nose from the books and come over. It’ll do you some good to get out and socialize.”

“I socialize!” Severus sneered as the face in the green flames frowned at him.

“Stubborn Slytherin.”

“Obnoxious Gryffindor.”

“I’ll see you there, Snape.”

“What time?”

“Thursday, thirteen thirty?”

“See you then, Paramus.” The green flames flickered, devouring the floating head of the muggleborn wizard. Turning his attention back to the book on his lap, Severus snorted. “Bloody Gryffindors! They’ll be the death of me yet.” The night passed in relative silence as the Slytherin poured over the estate’s collection of antique potions texts.

Although the house elf was delighted with the opportunity to serve her often absent young master, Rimball was concerned with his lack of sleeping habits and had one more then one occasion contemplated slipping a sleeping potion into his hot chocolate refills. In the end however, nature took it’s course and the house elf had come into the study to find the Slytherin fast asleep in the large armchair.

Gently covering the sleeping boy in an afghan, the house elf was careful not to disturb him as she piled the worn texts on the stand nearby. Stoking the fire, the house elf quietly closed the study door. The cosmic cycle of life continued outside the estate’s wrought iron fences as the night slowly aged before waning and giving way to evitable rise of the morning sun.




Severus stretched, smiling as the cramped bones and joints of his body popped. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes as their heavy lids threatened to fall again. Pulling back the afghan, Severus turned and reached for the books piled neatly nearby. He winced as a sharp pain bolted in his neck. Rubbing the side of his neck gingerly, he groaned as the sharpness of the shooting pain dulled to a throbbing soreness. Not wanting a repeat of the sudden stab of pain, he reached a cautious hand for the book piled on the top.

Sifting through the text’s pages, Severus groaned with frustration as he slammed the book closed. “Most Potente Potions of the Dark Ages my arse!” Sighing, he set the book down and began leafing through the next.

Discarding the last worn text with disgust, Severus rubbed his face briskly. “Rimball did not see Master downstairs. House elves did not bring Master breakfast. Master does not have wand. How did Rimball’s master eat?” Touseouse elf crossed her arms and glared at the boy.

“I wasn’t hungry,” he said coldly. Narrowing his eyes, “where is my wand?”

“Rimball is keeping Master’s wand safe. Master is needing to eat. Master is too skinny for Master’s age. Rimball is knowing this.” The house elf pursed her lips, nodding as she stood her ground.

“Who is the master and who is the House Elf?” Severus sneered, half rising from the armchair.

“Master Severus Snape.” The house elf smirked before slipping from the room, leaving a fuming Slytherin behind.

Finding his voice after the study door closed, “Slytherin’s bloody balls!” Turning to rummage amongst the pile of books again, Severus groaned. A silver serving tray was laid down next to the books, plates of various breakfast meats stared back at him. “There’s enough here to feed all of Slytherin House twice over!” Dropping into the armchair, the boy groaned.

Ignoring the sickening arom the the steaming food, Severus reached for the top book again. The book slipped from between his fingers and landed in the middle of an omelette, egg and melted cheese splattered everywhere. Wiping the sticky food off the book’s binding, Severus growled. “I’m going to shove clothes on tmeddmeddlesome house elf!” Forgetting the book for a moment, Severus reached between the crowding plates on the tray and retrieved his wand. Pocketing his wand, Severus finished cleaning off the book.

Leaving the study, Severus wound his way up the spiral staircase in the corner of the room. Reaching the landing, he pushed open the heavy oak door. Inside the estate’s private library, Severus slowly searched the rows of shelves. Like Hogwarts, the Snape family for generations had kept two separate collections within their ancestral home.

The first contained copies of the most recent wizarding books, some obscure muggle literature and almost a copy of every single wizarding book that had been published. After all, each generation added to the family collections. This one was open to the viewing pleasure of the family and their guests. Like Hogwarts’ restricted section, the second housed the most potent dark arts, the oldest and rarest books on almost every subject. This one was jealously guarded and hidden away from prying eyes and accessible by the estate’s master or those given permission by the former.

A millennia of knowledge silently called out to the boy as he slowly walked the aisles, his fingers brushing against the spines as he passed by. Onyx eyes flickered over the faded lettering on the book’s spines. Not finding any useful information on the shelves in the submarine sized room, Severus removed the Slytherin coat of arms from above the cold fireplace. For a moment, the Slytherin’s fingers traced serpserpent, frozen, slithering across the sapphire background. Setting the shield carefully against the wall, Severus reached into the hidden arch. His fingers closed around the gold harpy statue within and pulled it foward slightly.

Stepping backwards, Severus watched as the wall behind the fireplace glowed. The stone bricks pulled apart at their mortar as a doorway was slowly formed. After the dust had settled, Severus stepped into the fathomless abyss with a soft “lumos.” Following the light at the tip of his wand, the Slytherin slowly sifted through the layers of dust and cobwebs as he searched the mass piles of aged, crumbling scrolls.

His stomach growled as he glanced at the last scroll the small vault chamber held. Trying to ignore his stomach’s persistence, Severus forced himself to concentrate on the Greek writing on the Scroll. A smile graced his lips as onyx eyes finished reading the yellowed document. Hurrying from the chamber, Severus flicked his wand at the passage and mumbled a quick spell to reconfigure the giant jigsaw pieces into place as he hurried back down to the study below.

Dismay flickered over his face as he noted the house elves had taken the breakfast tray away in his absence. Collapsing ithe the armchair, Severus rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his onyx eyes swept over the fragile scroll in the brighter glow of the study’s numerous candles. Nodding his head, Severus quickly ran over the ingredient’s listed and those he could find in the estate’s potion laboratory. Pursing his lips thoughtfully, “well I needed to make a trip to Knockturn Alley anyways.” Summoning a piece of fresh parchment and some ink, Severus began to scribble down a list of ingredients to buy on his outing. Narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, the Slytherin racked his brain as he tried to remember the state of his stores since term’s start.

“Slytherin’s bloody balls!” Severus sighed in defeat as he made his way to the study door. The door opened as his fingers reached for the door knob, “yes?” He raised an inquiring eyebrow at the house elf.

“Master Lucius Malfoy wanting to see Master.” The house elf said with a bob of it’s head.




A/N

Please remember to Read and Review, author thanks you.

What did you think of Rimball? Most house elves are written as submissive creatures that are slaves to their wizard families, with the exception of Dobby a bit. No I’m not a member of SPEW, nor do I want to join. I just think that a few of them could use a bit of attitude in dealing with wizards.

Hint: Keep in mind the coloring on Slytherin’s coat of arms, it will be useful in future chapters.

Also for those of you who may care, Huffelpuff\'s item has been found, all I need to do is type of the proceeding chapters and post \'em.