Sub Rosa

Thanks to evreyone for your get well soon wishes! I am feeling much better today, aided no doubt by my horde of attack kittens and the combined wills of my readers. : )

Kate - Grand-mere is a formidable woman, true, but in the end, I must obey the muses above all.

Lady Aidil - Sorry to make you wait so long, your reviews always make me smile. however, I think Severus gets tortured enough without my adding to it, well, too much.

Deblovesdragon - Thank you, I am following your advice. Thank you also for being so loyal to my scribblings.

Gypsy - Minuet and Harry? Well, guess you will just have to wait. heh heh. As for Severus and Kathryn having a child, I guess that will depend on whether they both survive past the destruction of Voldemort. (Mwa ha ha)

Chapter 38 – Christmas Elves

Severus looked up from his cauldron in surprise as one of the servitor elves peeked a head around his door. Druaden, the others had called her. She was pure white of skin and hair, a maiden made from ice, yet her eyes were a deep azure blue that seemed far too rich for the rest of her coloring. She wore a simple gown of green with a darker green band at the square collar and around the hem. She was incredibly shy and self-effacing, far more than the other Elders and even more so than the other servants.

“May lp ylp you, Elder?” He asked softly, her timidity was such that he was concerned that he would frighten her. In fact, she did start at his voice and blush at his glance.

“Not Elder, Master of Potions, just Druaden.” Her voice was light and fluttery like a small bird’s.

“Then, may I help you, Druaden?” He allowed himself a small smile and she edged closer, reassured by his manner.

“Please, the potion to relieve pain, what herbs do you use in it?” she edged closer still, her eyes going to his stores of ingredients with a fascinated gaze. “Madame Pomfrey said you were the brewer.”

He smiled more broadly and began to enumerate the ingredients, explaining the brewing process and the uses of each herb. As he spoke, she came still closer, those odd eyes growing wider as she listened. She interjected a comment here and there, always shyly and with a differential attitude, but Severus listened with interest.

Their conversation held him fascinated. Once his delicate questioning overcame her diffidence and she had revealed her natural enthusiasm for the subject, they found themselves deep in a discussion of the differences between the plants and herbs used by the Elders.

A throat was cleared from the doorway and Severus looked up to find an hour had pd and and Kathryn was leaning against the doorpost with a wry grimace on her face. Behind her was Harry Potter. Severus lowered his brows at Harry and sneered, hoping to intimidate him sufficiently that he would just leave.

Harry however, was staring at Druaden, with an unreadable expression. Severus raised an eyebrow at the boy then looked at the Elf maiden who was practically hiding behind him and watching Harry and Kathryn with large frightened eyes.

“Druaden, this is Kathryn Leblanc and Harry Potter.” He gave Potter another sneer as he introduced him, but it was Kathryn’s frown that made the white face go still.

“I cannot call you that.” Kathryn said with finality to the fey.

“Why not?” Harry asked.

“Because Druaden is old tongue for filth or trash.” Harry looked outraged and Severus felt completely in accord with him at that moment.

“I am Druaden.” The girl said hesitantly. “My sire was Unseelie, he took my mother while she was out gathering herbs. I am Druaden.” She repeated and looked at them in confusion.

“I don’t care if your father was the darkest of the dark, I will not call any child of Danaan, Druaden.” Kathryn said firmly and both Harry and Severus nodded.

“There must be something we can call you, that isn’t insulting, like that.” Harry said with a fierceness that sent the fey ducking behind Severus again.

“My mother called me T’allinah.” She whispered. Severus repeated it and Kathryn tilted her head in thought.
“Child of sky and ice. That’s pretty. How about we shorten it to Tali?” Kathryn suggested. Tali smiled and came out from behind Severus.

“Tali.” Her smile seemed to brighten the room.

Dinner in the Great Hall was an interesting affair. Twenty students, twenty elves and the staff all sat down to table together in a room draped in lights and fabric. Instead of the four long tables, there was one that they could all gather around to eat at.

Albus and Flitwick had decorated the Hall to look like a pavilion open to the sky. The enchanted ceiling mimicked the softly falling snow outside and the walls of white silk and the decorations of silver were surprisingly tasteful. Three great trees stood sentinel along one wall, fairies darting among them as flashes of light. The fey, unused to being impressed by humans seemed charmed by the ceiling enchantment and the other little magics of the castle.

Severus had caught one stern-looking warrior woman peering into a canvas, deep in conversation with a medieval painting. Her eyes had been wide and soft with wonder and interest. She had quickly adopted a pose of arrogance the moment she realized she was being observed, but he had tucked the sight away in his mind with amusement.

He had of course reported the faerie host’s presence to Voldemort. There were too many witnesses for it to be hidden. He wondered how the Dark Lord would respond.

The minstrel’s questioning of Albus interrupted his musing.

“A school? What an interesting idea.” The green eyes swept the assembled children, who were watching the elves in awed fascination.

“Cannot their parents train them?” The grim warrior woman had a voice like stone, hard and unyielding.

“They will receive more specialized training this way. If their parent does not excel at a certain type of magic or knowledge, they can receive the training regardless.” Albus’s reply seemed to satisfy the woman.

She was an Icelandic blonde with pale blue eyes, dressed in soft black leathers and a gray tunic. She was not as tall as the others, who were at least a head above the humans, but she was all whipcord and lean muscle, deadly as the blade she carried.

“Do you teach weapons as well?” She asked, looking fiercely at Albus.

“We leave that one to the parents.” Albus answered. “If they are orphans there are some on the staff who can teach it if need be.”

Severus shot the old man a sharp look. He knew that Vector was an expert with bow and arrow, Hagrid was quite proficient with his crossbow and he himself skilled at knife fighting, but none of them could teach sword that he knew of. A memory twitched in the back of his mind. What had her file said? Oxford Arcane fencing team? Fencing was hardly sword though, in the way that the elves fought.

“Indeed?” The woman looked unconvinced.

“Indeed Kathryn can instruct two different styles of sword forms and Professor Vector is a champion archer.” Albus had that mischievous little boy look on his face that always boded ill.

“I hardly think I am up to the standards of our guests.” Vector blushed. Kathryn, he noted, was watching Albus with some amusement.

“Neither katana or foil are quite what the Elder has in mind, Albus. Besides which, aside from Miss Ravagienne’s hand-to-hand training, I have not been doing much practicing since my injury.” Kathryn was using a repressive tone designed to dampen Albus’s sense of whimsy, but she didn’t have Severus’ years of experience to warn her that it was far too late.

“How were you injured, little sister?” This came from one of the archers, a redhead with orange eyes and yellow toned skin, he looked like a sunset and his clothing was all in the same shades, enhancing the effect.

“Kathryn was injured while slaying a Naga.” Albus really loved to tell that to people and Kathryn’s flaming face seemed only to encourage it.

The raised eyebrows and appreciative looks from the elves was enough to make hew sink a little in her chair.
“Is this true?” The minstrel asked her.

“Yes, but really it’s not a big deal.” She waved it away.

“Your modesty does you credit child, but this tale you must tell.” The Elders leaned forward in anticipation of a story and the students did as well.

“I am sure I would only bore you.” She tried one last time to get out of it, but Minuet’s wide eyes met hers and Severus watched her as resignation set in. “Very well.” Her capitulation was greeted with eager smiles.
“It was late summer and a report had come in to Auror command. Two muggles had been found dead near a series of caves in Arizona.” Severus watched as Albus whispered a translation to the minstrel who nodded.

My partner, David, and I were sent to investigate. It was hot and dry and the air just blistered the skin, so we waited for evening. During the day we sat under the shade of an overhanging rock, reading maps of the area, looking for a likely nesting area for the Naga.” The elves nodded at this and Severus watched the chen, en, who appeared mesmerized by the tale.

“Once it began to cool off, we set of to an area of recent rock falls that backed onto a series of caves.” She looked at the kids. “When a Naga nests somewhere they will often cause rockslides to block access to the nest.” She really seems to love to teach, he mused, as the children nodded in understanding. It was almost a shame to put her back in harness.

“We got to the area and found the body of a muggle camper wedged between two rocks.” She looked at the children again. “Like crocodiles, Naga will store future meals for later consumption. So, we knew we were close.” The kids made faces of disgust at this, but Kathryn was thinking ahead already and her expression was melancholy. Her face so open a moment ago, closed then and he watched as her mask slid seamlessly into place.

“David was supposed to be casting location spells every five feet or so to be sure we weren’t snuck up on. Naga are clever and cunning and you can’t be too careful when dealing with them.” The elves all nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Either his spells were wrong, or he wasn’t as alert as he should have been.” Or he betrayed you, Severus thought with bitterness. “But the next thing I knew the earth was shifting and the Naga was tunneling up through the rock ahead of me. She came up right in front of me and I dodged her first strike, which gave me just enough time to pull my shotgun.” The kids gasped and the elves looked confused.

“I rolled to the side and shot out the Naga’s lefe ase as she was coming in for the next strike, but I missed her brain. She reared back in pain and I was able to get off a flame spell that scorched her side as she was turning. I was too slow to dodge the second strike, she caught me against a rock, her jaws clamped around my leg, and I shot her through the eye into her brain. I knew I was dying, so I sent up my wand flare and passed out.” She shrugged as silence fell on the table.

“I woke up three months later in the hospital.” She looked around at them and gave a wry smile. “Told you it was a dull story.” Their faces told her that it had been anything but dull and Severus was amused to feel her squirming beside him.

“What happened to your companion?” The warrior woman shifted in her chair, watching Kathryn with the beginnings of respect.

“He vanished.” Her words were bitten off sharply.

“Treachery.” Hissed the Elder woman with a frown.

“Or plain cowardice, hard to say.” Kathryn had regained the casual cool tones that hid her inner thoughts. Severus took her hand beneath the table, careful to let nothing show on his face.

“You were very brave, child.” The minstrel nodded to her and Kathryn blushed beside him again.

“You do the job that’s in front of you.” She shifted uneasily under their gazes. Severus hid his smile at her answer. She had been forcing him to read Terry Pratchett books over the last month in a bid to cheer him up. It was working.

“Yes, but not everyone does.” Albus took pity on her then, and changed the subject, asking a question on how the elders schooled their young.


Later that evening, Kathryn was burrowed under the covers beside him, as they huddled against the chill of the castle. He was curled around her, tolerating the frigid icicles she laughingly called her toes. Her cradled her close thinking how sad it would have been if she had died that summer.

He tried to imagine how he would have dealt with the past few months if he hadn’t had her beside him. What would have been left of him? The refuge of her arms and her heart was becoming indispensable to him.

“Potter better hurry up and kill the Dark Lord.” He grumbled and was rewarded with her throaty chuckle.