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 8


Ariah stared at Severus and took in what he said. It had never occurred to her that Lucius Malfoy might be after her. She had to admit that it made perfect sense. She was at least partially responsible for his insanity. When she threw the Avada Kedavra back at the Death Eaters and sent the world into a temporary tailspin, it had to have had some kind of an effect on Lucius. If he witnessed an aspect of the Morrigan in all her terrible glory, it would leave some measure of insanity. The Morrigan could induce battle madness on warriors, and thas aas a war, after all.

“So, Lucius could be after me?” she asked.

“He very well could be,” responded Severus, “in fact, I would say it’s terribly likely.”

“Well…shit,” she stated.

“That’s one way of putting it. You truly do have an interesting command of the language.”

“Profanity is one of the greatest things invented. Used correctly, it is capable of summarizing several years’ worth of emotion in a single word.”

Severus held Ariah tightly, “I won’t let anything happen to you. You have saved me over and again and I think that it is high time I returned the favor.”

“Right then,” said Ariah, breaking the embrace and standing up, eyes flashing, “first of all, we take Poe up on his offer.”

“How so? What could he possibly do for us?”

“What did I do for you when I was a goddess? What could I do in my raven form?”

“Ah, yes, an avian spy. That could work, IF he can keep his damnable mouth shut long enough,” said Severus, glowering.

“He can. Poe was a brash man, but a good man. He would have been so Gryffindor had he been a wizard and at Hogwarts instead of a Muggle soldier who made the mistake of insulting Fea,” explained Ariah, “he’s dreadfully loyal.”

“So we allow Poe to spy for us.”

“Yes. We need to know where Lucius is and what he’s up to.”

“Agreed.”

“And Albus will contact Draco for any information he may wish to give us.”

“I just hope that Draco truly has broken from his father. I believe he has, but with the Malfoy family, anything is possible.”

“And for the rest of tonight?”

Severus pulled her to him, smiling, “I can think of ways to get through tonight.”

“Why Severus Snape,” Ariah said, returning his beautiful smile, “you never fail to amaze me.”

“I have not yet begun to amaze you,” he replied, pulling her in for a deep kiss.

Ariah shook her head in disbelief at the playfulness of her normally stolid Potions Master. What has gotten into him? she asked herself. She liked this side of Severus, however fleeting it proved to be, and she knew it would be fleeting. But no matter, since she loved all the facets of his personality. She loved the cranky side, the glowering side, the sneering side, she adored his fiercely sexual side, and the sensual side of Severus Snape left her begging for more. She knew that she could never feel this way about anyone else. He was her soulmate, and she needed him. She had once said that no price was too great to be with him. She knew at that very moment, looking into his deep black eyes, wrapped in his arms, that she did not make a mistake in giving up her immortality for him. She would do it again. In fact, for him, she would give up her life.

Severus looked into Ariah’s open blue eyes, reading the emotion he found there. He had never been comfortable with emotion; he’d been betrayed and hurt too many times. But with Ariah, it was different. She made him not afraid to feel. She opened him up to the possibilities that life had to offer, even for an ex Death Eater. She made him believe that there was a future, that he wouldn’t always be on the outside looking in. She gave him hope. And she gave him love that he finally accepted was unconditional. He didn’t need to change a thing about himself for her to love him. And in knowing that, it gave him the strength to subtly change. When Severus with ith Ariah, he was no longer afraid to smile or to laugh. Sure, it was still a little uncomfortable to show a softer side of himself, he wasn’t even aware that a softer side still existed until he realized what she was willing to give up for him. She saved his life, and kept on saving him, even now. Looking into her eyes, stroking her beautiful hair, kissing her, he realized that he would give up his life for her and never think twice about it.

Ariah was surprised to see tears in Severus’ eyes. Without a word, she brushed them away and kissed him tenderly.

“I love you,” she said, taking his hand and leading him to her rooms.

I love you, too, he thought, still afraid of one thing, uttering those three words.

* * * *

The morning came quickly following a night of intense lovemaking, and much to Ariah’s delight, she awoke next to Severus for the second time in as many days. She snuggled next to his warm body. I could get used to this, she thought with a smile, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her closer, still asleep but craving her nearness. She opened her eyes to the soft sound of a bird hitting the window with his beak. She carefully extricated herself from Severus’ grasp and went to the window. Poe alit on the window ledge and glanced at Ariah.

“OK,” he said in a hushed voice, “what do you and Snape need me to do?”

“What do WE need you to do?” asked Ariah, her eyes slingling, “You’re willing to help both of us?”

“I’ve come to accept that you and the grouchy one are in reality one person, one confoundingly annoying person. He’s really not so bad,” admitted Poe, “he can give as good as he gets and I gotta respect that. Besides, you love him and he clearly is in love with you, even though I doubt he can muster up the courage to tell you that.”

“He doesn’t need to say the words,” said Ariah quietly, “he shows me in other ways.”

“So, what can I do to help? I know that both of you are in danger from that Malfoy asshole.”

“You can find him. Watch him. Let us know where he is and what he’s doing.”

“Cool, you want me to be a spy, then?”

“If you can manage to keep your damnable mouth shut long enough…” she said with a smile.

“Ooh, Ariah channeling the vicious spirit of the scary Snape man,” replied Poe with what passed for a grin, “you almost sounded like him.”

“Yeah,” admitted Ariah, “he said that last night.”

“I knew he loved me,” cracked Poe, “well, I’m off to see the psycho. Catch you later.”

Severus got up and padded to the window. He looked at Poe and narrowed his eyes.

“Do be careful,” he said, “Malfoy is dangerous.”

“Damn, must you constantly be naked in my presence? I promise I’ll be careful if you promise that I never have to see your pecker again.”

“Well, just stop looking at it then. It’s hardly eye level,” Severus scowled.

“When I get back, the two of you had better be wearing clothing. And not be snogging. I swear…” he took off from the ledge, circling over Hogwarts and disappearing to the North.

“Don’t get dressed on my account,” said Ariah, looking him up and down.

“I wasn’t planning to. It is Saturday after all,” he pulled her close and began exploring her with his lips.

“Poe would be shocked,” said Ariah, with a grin.

“Poeld bld be watching,” replied Severus, “that bird has no class.”

“But you’re worried about him.”

“Yes, I am.”

Ariah led Severus back to bed where they spend the breakfast hour otherwise occupied.


* * * *


Severus and Ariah were ushered into Albus Dumbledore’s office later that day by a grim looking Minerva McGonagall. They noted that Draco Malfoy was sitting in a chair, manipulating a large coin in his hands. He appeared nervous. Albus smiled at the newest arrivals to his office and motioned them to sit down.

“I believe you two both know Draco Malfoy?”

“Yes, we do,” stated Severus, looking at Draco with a hint of mistrust in his black eyes.

“Professor Snape, Professor Morrigan,” nodded Draco in greeting.

Arien looked into Draco’s cold blue eyes. Something wasn’t right, although she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. There was something about Draco Malfoy that she simply didn’t trust. And looking at Severus, she could tell that he felt the same.

“Mr. Malfoy’s here to give us a little information about his father and any possible Dark activity he might have heard wind of,” explained Albus, giving both Severus and Ariah a quizzical look.

“Well,” began Draco, “as I’m sure you know, my father has been a bit under the weather over the past two years.”

“More like barking mad, from what I’ve heard,” snorted Severus quietly.

Draco ignored him and continued, “He’s been convinced recently that Lord Voldemort can be resurrected, which is ridiculous, of course. Voldemort is dead. But my father believes that it is his duty to carry on his legacy. He’s harmless, it’s just an illusion.”

“Does he still have a wand?” asked Ariah.

“Can he still speak?” added Severus.

“Of course, he’s still a wizard, after all,” said Draco in a haughty tone.

“Then he’s far from harmless,” stated Severus.

“I think you are all overreacting. Voldemort is dead. My father is a lost and broken man. Case closed. There is no threat. There is no Dark Lord to resurface and attempt to purify our world again. Progress has been made. I suggest you all leave it alone and let the progress continue, such that it is. Now, if you’re done with my time, I have things to do. The rebuilding of Malfoy Manor has been a long and painstaking job and I must get back to the supervision.” Draco moved to stand up.

“One more thing,” said Albus. Draco gave him an exasperated look, “Where is your father living?”

“I have no idea, nor do I care,” replied Draco, nodding a curt goodbye swe sweeping out of the office.

“Well, isn’t he the spitting image of his father,” Severus spat, “I don’t trust him.”

“Me either,” agreed Ariah, “there’s something odd going on.”

“I agree to a point,” said Albus, “I think there are things he’s not telling us. In the meantime, I do believe that Lucius is a danger to all of us and I respectfully request that you two stay on Hogwarts grounds for the time being. I would just feel more secure knowing that you’re here.”

“Agreed,” stated Severus, after looking to Ariah for confirmation.

“Yes, we can do some research and the like,” said Ariah with a smile, “we’ll be good. I promise.”

Albus smiled in return and looked at the pair in front of him with fondness. He thought of Severus as a son, and he had been fond of Ariah from the moment the goddess finagled a teaching job at Hogwarts over two years ago. He wanted nothing more than for them to be happy together. With another smile, Albus sent them on their way, hoping that they could manage to stay out of trouble.

Severus and Ariah left Albus’ office and headed to her quarters in the North Tower. They spoke little on the walk there, but Severus was pleased to catch two Ravenclaws in an embrace behind one of the suits of armor in the hallway.

“10 points from Ravenclaw – each, and please, learn to find a better concealed place to tryst,” he said, glowering at the students.

Ariah bit her lip to keep from grinning. She had to admit to herself that he was dead sexy when he was being the difficult Slytherin Head of House. He turned to her and caught her expression with a scowl.

“Do you mind not laughing while I’m meting out suitable penalties for negative behaviors?”

“I’m sorry. There’s just something so commanding about you when you’re in full Snape mode.”

Severus snorted and glanced over at a small group of Gryffindors congregated in a hallway, “Now there’s a promising sight,” he said, giving them a dark look.

As they neared the group, they could both hear snippets of conversation.

“So, what do you think?” said one boy.

“I can’t imagine her with him. I mean, she’s really pretty and young and he’s just a nasty old man,” replied of tof the girls.

“He’s not THAT old,” argued another girl.

“Well, he’s certainly not deserving of someone like Professor Morrigan. Snape is a complete bastard. I swear he gets off on torturing us in potions class. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s plotting to poison us in the near future.”

“Maybe she’s one of those women who enjoys being verbally abused as foreplay,” said the first boy.

“Let’s see,” mused Ariah, standing behind the group, “there are 5 of you, and all but one has speculated on my personal life in a public hallway…so, allow me do the math here. I would say a total of 20 points from Gryffindor for gossiping about the private lives of Hogwarts professors AND I expect all 5 of you in my classroom after classes on Monday. I’m sure I can find something for you to do. Now, as for the unatabltable comments about Professor Snape…” she acquiesced to Severus for his input.

“Another 10 points from Gryffindor. And I believe that I will be present at the detention as well, just in case Professor Morrigan runs out of things for you lot to do. Now, take this back to your common room where you may gossip about what ‘gets us off’ to your hearts’ content without us having to be privy to it. Good day to you.”

The group of Gryffindors departed their place of shame in the hallway and virtually ran to their common room. Ariah looked at Severus and again, bit her lip to avoid grinning. Severus looked at her and gave her a quick half grin.

“Very Slytherin,” he commented.

“Got a reputation to live up to now,” said Ariah.

“So, do you?” he asked as they continued on to Ariah’s quarters.

“Do I what?”

“Get off on verbal abuse?”

“You know damned well what gets me off,” she said in a dangerous whisper as they reached the portrait. Ariah gave the password and they entered her sitting room.

“’Bout time you two got back here,” said Poe from the windowsill, “Thought you might like to know where Loopy Lucius is hanging out these days.”

“Where?” asked Severus and Ariah in unison.

“Workmen referred to it as Malfoy Manor. You know the place?” answered Poe.