Of Death and Fire

darkness


Chapter 6: Enter the Darkness
 
She walked slowly in the staoom,oom, throwing back the hood and removing her heavy travelling cloak. She stood before them in silence, with just a hint of a smile on her perfect face. She was nothing than any woman they had ever seen. She was beautiful, yes, as are all of elfish blood. But she was different, exotic, with the delicate web of tattoos decorating her temples, the sides of her neck and her palms. Crowned by locks of crimson hair, she moved as if she was floating an inch above the ground, gracefully, cautiously. And yet, there was something disturbing about her. If you didn't look at her directly, but only from the corner of your eyes, the fairy way, you could catch a glimpse of shadows dancing around her.
Albus Dumbledore was the first to break the silence, with Professor McGonagall following right beside him.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts, Morgaine", she said, smiling warmly.
Professor Flitwick was gleaming by pride, seeing the small pin with the Ravenclaw House insignia on her collar, as she bent over to hug him.
One by one, they all greeted her, even if they couldn't quite place her in their memories. Snape had stayed at the back, keeping a distance from the pleasantries, not yet sure of how to handle this. He kept his face blank, concealing the fact that he was drawn to this woman. Not only by her undoubtedly enchanting looks, but from the mystery around her as well. Related to Dumbledore, yet of clearly Elfish decent. The more he thought of it, the more it puzzled him, knowing that elves and necromancers don't mix, but rather hate each other's guts.
McGonagall's voice pulled him out from his thoughts.
"Severus, aren't you going to greet our new staff member?" she asked, daring him in this way to take a place in the whole situation.
"Of course, Professor McGonagall", he replied, accepting the challenge. He approached the young woman, took her right hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Madame Greenleaf", he said. There, he though. This should shut them up for good. He looked at her face, and he frowned, as his memory failed him. "When did you graduate from Hogwarts? I don't seem to remember you very clearly", he added, releasing her hand.
Before she had a chance to reply, Madame Sprout jumped in.
"Well, you of all should remember her, Severus. She trashed your study twice during her senior year. My, what a mess that was!"
Silence fell over the room, as Snape's smile froze on his face, and Sprout wished she could vanish.
Dumbledore hold his breath, seeing Morgaine holding her place. She smiled calmly and addressed Madame Sprout.
"I was kind of hoping that this incident wouldn't come up"....
Snape took two steps backwards, trying hard to control his anger.
"That was you?" he hissed. He looked at her from head to toes, still not remembering. "That was you?" he demanded again.
Still serene, she held her ground. But her calmness only agitated him further. He moved close to her, with fire in his dark eyes.
"Have you any idea how many years of study that 'incident', as you call it, has cost me? The rare ingredients lost? The books burned? The-" He stopped suddenly, as he felt Dumbledore's stern grip on his shoulder.
"Let it go, Severus", he said, in a calm but firm voice. "It's ten years by now. It's dead. Let it stay dead and buried".
Snape took a deep breath, and moved away from the young woman who hadn't even blinked all this time.
"As you wish, Headmaster", he said. "I'll drop it, but I will certainly not forget it. She better keep her distance from me and my studies." He moved even further, taking a seat by the wall, seeking companionship in his unfinished brandy.
~*~
The evening went on with no more confrontations. Mr Filch with Mrs.Norris joined for a while, with the cat very happy to see her old friend, the one who used to summon mice ghosts for her to play with.
"This explains why Mrs.Norris used to run into walls", realized Filch." She was after those mice ghosts of yours! And I thought that she had finally lost it!".
Wearing the face of serenity, Morgaine stood her ground all evening. But inside her, there was a teenage girl screaming and kicking to get out. Yes, she thought, you don't remember me, do you? And why would you? I was just a failure, after all. Shs nos not angry with any of the others, not much at least. How could they have known? But he was a different story.
He had called her a failure, and yet, here she was, dark and beautiful, Master Conjurer and Senior Exorcist. Hardly a failure. And even so he refused to acknowledge her, stubborn, headstrong, vicious but, by the Gods of the Afterworld, still so desirable... In the cover of the light atmosphere of laughter and alcohol, she dared to summon the Sight. Just for a glimpse, before anyone would notice.
Her eyes flickered for a moment, and the world lost a heartbeat. Colors and patterns filled the room, bright shapes surrounding everyone. She saw the golden aura around the Headmaster's head, and the blue sparkles shining in Flitwick's eyes. And as she turned to Snape, she saw the crimson tongues of anger rising from his heart, like malformed tentacles of an ancient monster. She saw a core of darkness in his heart. And just a moment before the Sight was gone, she saw violent waves of raw, undeniable lust.
If she could have seen herself through the Sight, the Darkness inside her would have made her weep.
And yet, it may have not.
~*~
As the evening came to an end, Dumbledore escorted her to her new home, located in the Hogwarts dungeon.
"I thought you'd like it here more", he told her. "It's more private and closer to the Crypt, should you need it for a ritual". He kissed her on the forehead and left her to rest.
In the privacy of her own room, Morgaine finally let go of her control. She fell on the bed, hiding her place in the pillows. She did not cry. She could not cry; her tears had dried long ago. But her silent grieving was more profound.
She grieved for her twin, whom she hadn't seen in years. She grieved for her distance from Aurion Whitebone, her mentor and trusted friend. She grieved for a childhood lost in blood and ashes, and for her miserable teenage years. She grieved over the death of the girl she once was, the plain, forsaken creature, secretly in love with a man who thought of her as nothing more than human trash.
But as she fell deeper into her lament, the shadows around her took form. They had faces that smiled, eyes that wept and hands that caressed her silky hair. Eerie voices filled the room.
"Pleassee, don't cry, loveed onee"...
"You'lll neveerr be alonee"...
"Wee loveee you, bright onee"...
In the fleshless arms of the dead, Morgaine found shelter, in a deep, dreamless sleep.