rakina (rakina) wrote in snape_potter, @ 2009-03-22 20:26:00 |
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Current mood: | creative |
Entry tags: | fic, rakina, rating: pg |
FIC: Tapestry, by Rakina, PG, chapter 9/?
Title: Tapestry, A Journey in Eight Stages
Author: Rakina
Rating: This chapter PG, possibly rising to R or NC17 later.
Pairing: Severus Snape/Harry Potter
Summary: Harry only has one thing from his parents: a blanket. But his mum and dad were magical, and so it turns out to be no ordinary blanket, after all.
Beta: Thank you so much to quill_lumos for doing a lightning-fast beta on this chapter. You're awesome, Lucie!
Disclaimer: I am not making any money from the characters which belong to JK Rowling. No disrespect intended. I do, however, lay claim to the plot and original characters.
Note: I'm sorry this has been so long coming... I hope you enjoy it now it's here! Oh, and feedback is for lovers.
Previous chapters here
Chapter 9: Of Creatures Magical or Dark
The news of Harry's Valentine went around Gryffindor Tower like wildfire, along with all the other Valentine's Day feedback. Harry kept well away from Ginny after that. Ginny had a lot of older brothers and Harry was rather scared of the identical Weasley boys; Fred and George were tall and strong and in their final year here at Hogwarts. They were rather unpredictable too; Harry really didn't want them suspecting him of doing something with their little sister. Try as he might, he couldn't see them approving if he was their little sister's boyfriend. Not that he wanted to be! But judging by the Valentine's card, Ginny obviously wanted him to be, so Harry kept well away from her so he couldn't be suspected by her brothers. It wasn't difficult; Ginny was only in her second year. It was just a matter of avoiding her at mealtimes and in the common room.
Liam thought Harry was being a bit stupid about it and told him so one evening. "She's really pretty, Harry, and obviously keen on you. You could be her boyfriend."
"I don't want a girlfriend," Harry protested lamely.
Sid looked at him sympathetically. "Neither do I, Harry. Girls are scary, if you ask me."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Hermione interposed, putting her homework essay aside and glaring at the boys. "I'm a girl, in case you hadn't noticed."
Liam blushed. "Yeah, I'd noticed," he said quietly.
Sid and Harry exchanged looks; Liam was getting very soft on Hermione lately. Liam still hadn't learned who sent her the Valentine's card though, and it obviously irked him; he wanted to know who the competition was. Harry and Sid wondered when Liam would get round to asking her out.
All of a sudden Harry knew how to stop Liam pestering him about Ginny. "You reckon it's easy to go out with a girl then, Liam?"
Liam blushed a deeper red. "Er… well, that is…"
Harry smirked at him. "Exactly."
No more was said; from then on Liam kept well away from the subject of going out with girls. Harry reckoned he was safe, at least until Liam got his act together and finally told Hermione how much he liked her and asked her out. Of course Hermione already knew the three Hedwig's boys liked her – they were all good friends – but Harry reckoned she wasn't aware of Liam's special regard. She never gave any sign that she was.
One pleasant early spring afternoon the third years finished early because Professor Lupin wasn't well enough to teach double Potions and there was no one to cover the class. The friends decided to go for a walk in the grounds. Hogwarts' grounds were extensive and above all, safe.
"Shall we head around the lake?" Harry suggested.
"Yeah, sounds good," Liam agreed.
Sid and Hermione nodded and they all set off. The lake was large; the walk would take about an hour and a half. It looked like the few other students outside were staying in other areas nearer to the castle, so the four friends had the countryside to themselves.
"The werewolves seemed louder than usual the other night," Hermione said as they headed away from the castle along the track that skirted the Black Lake.
"Yeah, they did," Liam agreed. "Maybe there were more than usual."
"Maybe it's just because it's spring," Sid suggested and they all sniggered. The third years had attended a couple of sexual education classes before Christmas where reproduction had been taught by reference to mammals and some magical creatures. A couple of sessions later they'd discussed moral issues and the importance of respecting one's partners in a small magical population that existed alongside a much larger Muggle one. At one lesson the influence of the seasons on other creatures, and to some extent on people too, had also been discussed. There had been passing mention of fertility festivals, which some sections of the magical population still celebrated every spring.
"Hm. Perhaps," Harry said thoughtfully. "You know, the more I hear them, the more I hear their howling as the expression of some deep emotion."
Liam and Sid exchanged looks. Harry's insight into werewolves was something they never questioned. It was interesting, but it was also creepy so the boys rarely brought up the subject. Hermione, of course, couldn't leave anything alone.
"My heart aches for them," Harry continued. "How dreadful it must be to be a lycanthrope; to know you are going to lose your humanity every lunar month and turn into a rampaging, murderous beast. Thirteen times a year…"
"I suppose so," Liam said. "But above all I fear them, Harry. However emotional you say those sounds are, I fear the beast they're coming from. At the full moon they're animals – wild, savage creatures who would kill any one of us without thinking. They can't think, can they? Just because they won't kill you, Harry, doesn't help us, does it? If me, Sid or Hermione went outside Hogwarts at the full moon, we'd be torn apart."
Harry nodded sadly. "I know, Liam. But there must be some way to manage the condition… something we could do. If we could meet the werewolves, get them to agree to being confined perhaps, then no one need fear and we could all stop living like this."
"I don't think that's very likely," Hermione joined in. "They would hate being confined. Wild creatures hate cages. Personally, I am against zoos in principle. Of course there are cases to be made for them being useful for the propagation of endangered species, but it's very much a last resort – or should be. I really hate to see animals in cages with people goggling at them," she said feelingly. "They look so miserable."
They rounded a thicket of brambles then and stopped short. There, sitting on a flat rock looking out over the water, was Professor Lupin. He looked up at them and gave a weak smile.
Professor Lupin looked awful: his face was pale and waxy, his eyes deeply shadowed. He had lines in his forehead and beside his mouth that were normally hardly visible; now his face was pinched with suffering.
"Professor Lupin, what are you doing out here?" Harry asked, surprised to see him. "Um… that is to say, how did you get here? It's quite a way from the castle."
The professor laughed ruefully. "You're right; I think I've overestimated my stamina. I so wanted to get out into the countryside; I was beginning to feel cooped up inside the castle. I've been in bed for a couple of days and needed some fresh air."
"We'll help you back," Hermione offered. "We could even levitate you."
Lupin shook his shaggy head. His hair was sandy, streaked with grey, and grew thickly. It gave him a boyish look, despite his maturity. "I will be fine after I've rested a little, Hermione, but thank you. Besides, I have my stick." He pointed to a walking stick lying on the ground beside the rock.
Harry felt reluctant to walk on. He felt responsible for the man now they'd found him. "Do you mind if we take a rest here too? It would be nice to sit awhile. Only if we're not disturbing you though, sir."
"I would be glad of the company," Lupin said, inviting them to sit nearby with a sweep of his arm.
The friends sat down on the narrow strip of sand that skirted the lake on this side; Harry thought it felt a bit like being at the seaside, reminding him of his summer home. The waves of the lake lapped against the shore, a gentle echo of the strength of the ocean tides. Remus sat above them on his rock. It was rather like their positions in the Potions classroom or at meals in the Great Hall.
"Are you feeling better now you're up and about, Professor?" Hermione asked politely.
"Yes, thank you, Hermione," Lupin answered. "I have a… chronic condition that plays me up sometimes. It is rarely bad enough for me to miss much class time, but it has been bad this past week, I'm afraid." Lupin obviously did not want to dwell on the subject, for he changed it by asking what the students had been talking about. "I heard you deep in conversation as you approached," he explained.
"We were talking about the werewolves," Harry said. "They seemed louder than usual this month."
"Hm. You think so? Their cries are always loud."
"Yes, but this time it was more noticeable," Harry insisted. "I heard them calling; it was as if they were crying out with more yearning or need than ever."
"Or maybe there were just more of them," Hermione said, ever the logical one. She didn't like romantic theories; hard scientific facts were more to her taste. Her favourite subjects were Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. She had rather gone off Potions since Lupin had arrived and instigated their experimental lessons.
"It is interesting to hear your different opinions," Lupin said. "They capture the differing viewpoints about magical creatures that exist within our world. Most would agree with you Hermione, rather than with Harry. Your idea of communication," he said, turning to Harry, "is dismissed out of hand by most wizards."
"I know," Harry agreed. "But it doesn't mean I have to agree with them. I sometimes think I can almost understand the cries, Professor. I know I'm right."
"That is rather dogmatic of you," Lupin said with a faint smile. "You are not allowing the validity of the opposing viewpoint."
"Maybe," Harry agreed, "But I just know I'm listening to some form of communication."
"And you, Sid, what do you think?" Lupin looked closely at Sid, watching him as he replied.
Sid blushed at the attention; he always hated being singled out in class and wasn't any more comfortable with it here. "I agree with Harry about this. Of course I can't make out what they're 'saying', or even if it's speech of some kind, but I trust what Harry says. He seems to know things about them. I suppose it's because of what happened when he was a baby."
Again Lupin nodded. "And you, Liam?"
Liam looked from Harry to Hermione; Harry knew his dilemma. Liam had agreed with him many times when they'd spoken in their dorm, but he didn't want to disagree with Hermione in front of them; it would hardly advance his suit with her.
"I'm not sure," was all he said. "I don't think we can really know what they're doing; and they don't tell us, do they? I mean, when they're human."
"Maybe it would be difficult for them," Lupin answered. "Who would believe them if they said they meant no harm? It is impossible for the wizarding world to believe that, isn't it?"
Harry frowned and looked into Lupin's amber-coloured eyes. They didn't give much away. Their colour always seemed warm and welcoming to Harry, something like warm honey. It was hard to imagine Lupin ever being aggressive; he was such a patient man. He did control his class without much effort, for he was an adult wizard and accorded the respect due to a teacher. Plus he was well versed in magic, judging by his performance in duelling club against Professor Lockhart. He'd held his own and finally won, knocking Lockhart to the floor. It was obvious that Lockhart hated to be beaten at duelling anytime, but especially by his fellow teachers. And by a Potions teacher, no less. Everyone knew Potions was a discipline that needed little wand-work, and yet two of its proponents, Lupin and Snape, had bested Lockhart recently.
"It is an interesting subject," Lupin concluded with a slight nod in Harry's direction. "One worthy of your consideration, Harry. I think you will find it is a good example for applying the method I am teaching you."
Harry nodded again. "Yes, it's really interesting. I'm always seeking answers about it." The subject of the Dark creatures and just why they threatened the magical world was something Harry thought about often. There had to be a better answer than this current all-out strife and fear. Harry didn't know if he and his friends – mere thirteen-year-old children – could make a difference. If only the adults would listen to them…
Sid and Liam started skimming stones; eventually Harry and Hermione joined in. The sounds of the stones splishing over the water, the plop as they finally lost their momentum and submerged, were the only sounds to be heard for a while.
"We'd better carry on walking now," Liam suggested after a bit. "I'm getting hungry and we need to get back in good time for dinner."
Lupin chuckled. "So do I, Liam. I think I had better start back now. Goodbye, it's been pleasant talking to you." Lupin stood, picked up his stick and started back the way they'd come. The four friends continued in the opposite direction to make their circuit of the lake.
Once they'd walked on a little, Liam said, "I wonder what's wrong with him?"
"I reckon it's arthritis," Sid suggested. "He reminds me of old Mr Timblett."
Hermione didn't know who Mr Timblett was. "Who?"
"He was the caretaker at Hedwig's," Liam explained. "He was pretty old and used to complain about his joints a lot, especially when it was rainy."
"It's not been rainy lately," Hermione pointed out logically. "In fact it's been quite mild. That's why we're out walking. Anyway, if he had bad joints you think he'd stay in the castle."
"He said he's fed up of being cooped up," Harry said. "So would I be. I'd hate having to stay indoors all the time."
"Me too," Sid agreed. "That's another reason I love Herbology; you spend so much time outside."
"And flying," Liam added enthusiastically.
Hermione looked exasperated. "Well I am perfectly happy in the castle."
"Especially the library," Harry teased, ducking as she swiped at him.
Lupin often looked at Harry quite closely. Harry would feel the man's amber eyes on him during mealtimes and during Potions class. It wasn't creepy like Quirrell had been when he'd started following Harry around; Lupin didn't follow him about, he just looked closely at him. Harry thought it was probably because of his fame, the whole mystery of his survival as a baby. So many adult wizards and witches were fascinated by that. It stemmed from fear of the Darkness that oppressed them. Yet Lupin never seemed to talk about the Darkness; he never showed the same fear whenever anyone else did either. He was an enigma, but not a threatening one, at least Harry didn't think so.
A couple of weeks after their lakeside encounter, Professor Lupin asked Harry to stay behind after class. However pleasant Lupin was, it still gave Harry an uncomfortable case of déjà vu to be singled out of his class. The evening Quirrell had led him down to the dungeon was a memory that often replayed in Harry's mind, causing some distorted nightmare variants of the encounter. In those nightmares Harry's hands did nothing to stop the vampire and he felt the pain as Quirrell's fangs pierced his neck cleanly, felt the ache as Quirrell sucked blood from his veins. It took a dreadful tugging to draw the liquid into Quirrell's mouth and out of Harry's body.
Lupin saw Harry's involuntary shudder. "It's all right, Harry," he reassured the boy. "You're not in trouble. I just want to ask you a few questions."
"Oh, okay." Harry wondered if it was about his last essay; he'd thought it was good, but you never knew. Teachers could be funny things.
Harry stood in front of his professor's desk. The others had just left; the last to leave was Draco Malfoy. Malfoy closed the classroom door only after Professor Lupin called out to him, glancing back to see whether he could work out if Harry was in trouble. Lupin did not say anything to Harry until Malfoy had gone.
"Harry, I wanted to talk to you about what we were discussing the other day."
"The other day?" Harry knew he was being deliberately obtuse; he was pretty sure Lupin was talking about the day they'd met on the lake shore.
Lupin gave him a faint smile as if he knew what Harry was doing. "Yes, Harry, the other day. By the lake."
"Oh, um, yeah. Er, that is, yes, sir. "What about it?"
"I have to say your opinions on werewolves are fascinating, Harry, and very surprising. All I hear from anyone else in this school is the usual antipathy. To be fair, I'd expect that, given the current tensions in our world. So I have to ask, why do you think differently?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't really know. I just… I just like to look at both sides, you know? I don't think it's as simple as everyone says. There's always two sides to arguments, even if one of them is wrong. But we only hear one side, don't we?"
Lupin crossed his arms over his chest, leant back against the desk, and smiled broadly. "Exactly, Harry. Exactly. Never lose that, please. As long as you, in particular, keep that open attitude there is hope for wizarding kind."
Harry thought that was a bit sweeping; he was only a thirteen-year-old kid. Right, he was also the only person to have survived a direct werewolf attack, but as far as the world he lived in was concerned he was still a kid. "I'll try, sir. I don't know where I'll find another opinion to agree with me though. I mean, I feel like the wolves are talking, you know?" Harry had never told anyone about his idea that the werewolf's howling meant something, but under Lupin's approval he couldn't keep it to himself any longer. Professor Lupin was different from the other teachers, always had been, and in a good way, not in the way Quirrell had been.
"There are few who would agree with you, Harry, I'll be honest about that. My own opinions have to be kept guarded, if not secret, for few understand the viewpoint that questions the current situation. I was going to say 'the current paranoia', but that wouldn't be fair. There is reason for concern – good reason, but I do not believe the majority of so-called Dark creatures to be a threat. I believe that we, as wizards, could open communication with them. All it takes is the political will to do so."
"Yeah, I agree," Harry said, excited to find someone who understood. "But there's not much I can do about it."
"Not yet, perhaps. But the time will come, in the not too distant future, when you might well have a say in things. Then, I believe I will have cause to hope. And that is more than I have had in years."
Harry looked curiously at Lupin. He wasn't sure why the man cared so much. "Why are you so interested in this, sir?"
Lupin chuckled and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Ah, Harry," he said, his face creased in a sad smile, "it has been a particular interest of mine since my own childhood. Call it a… hobby."
Harry nodded. He supposed his own interest in Dark creatures was the same thing: a sort of hobby.
"You may go now, Harry," Lupin said. "I just wanted a few words to clarify your position, that was all. I didn't think you'd want to speak about it to me in front of your friends."
"You're right, it could have been awkward," Harry agreed. He often spoke to his friends about werewolves and vampires, but it was different with an adult somehow. "Goodbye, sir,"
"Goodbye, Harry."
Harry felt the man's amber eyes on him as he walked down the classroom aisle; as he turned to close the door behind him, Lupin was still staring at him, watchfully.
This year Hagrid had begun showing them some weird and wonderful magical creatures in their lessons. One of these was a strange beast that resembled a monkey; it was called the clabbert. Hagrid had quite a large colony of clabberts caged in a large walk-in enclosure on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and he led the third years there for one of their lessons. Clabberts lived in trees and climbed with ease thanks to their webbed feet which were equipped with long, grasping toes. The webbed part came from the part of the creature's make-up that was more amphibian – something like a big tree frog, perhaps. What was really strange was that the clabbert did not usually enter water, although Hagrid told the class that it may well do so in its own territory away from prying eyes – he maintained the clabbert was 'jus' shy'.
It could certainly be a secretive creature, and though it was friendly enough to magical folk, the clabbert deplored Muggles. It showed its displeasure by flashing a red light on its forehead and throwing something at the startled, trespassing Muggle before scampering away to hide. Hagrid explained the weird feature of the light on the clabbert's head. He pointing to one particular clabbert where a raised area that was currently a dull, fleshy colour and looked rather like human skin was clearly visible. Despite that patch of mammal-like skin, the clabbert was unlike a true monkey because it was hairless. This again was reminiscent of an amphibian life-form, for its skin was green and mottled, very similar to a frog's.
Having pointed out these points to the class, Hagrid entered the clabbert enclosure, telling the students to stand back behind the cage and just watch. "These beasts aren't dangerous if yeh know what yeh're doing," he insisted as he walked among the family of monkey-like creatures. Many of the clabberts were hanging from branches that formed part of their enclosure; they were watching Hagrid with equal interest. One little one reached out a long, green arm to the half-giant teacher, while giving a nervous grin exposed a wide mouth full of teeth. Harry was rather relieved to notice that the teeth were quite monkey-like and not too threatening; some of Hagrid's beasts had much deadlier fangs than this. Hagrid took the extended hand of the young clabbert and encouraged it to him, finally picking it up and walking toward the edge of the enclosure to show the class. The magical 'wire' that surrounded the clabbert cage was almost invisible and it gave the students an excellent view of the animals.
"Though they've got horns," Hagrid continued, rubbing a giant finger over one of the baby clabbert's two small horns on top of its head, "they're just fer decoration, see. 'E couldn't really hurt me with it; doubt he could hurt yeh much either."
"'Much', I like that!" Liam said out of the side of his mouth, and Harry sniggered.
Hagrid's propensity for introducing his classes to dangerous creatures was well known. Everyone came to Care of Magical Creatures in a very wary state, prepared for just about anything. Draco Malfoy had been particularly vociferous against Hagrid's lessons, stating that the half-giant wasn't fit to be a teacher. That had particularly annoyed the Gryffindor friends because Hermione had said (and they all agreed with her) that Malfoy had only said it because of Hagrid's giant blood. Giants were feared by wizards, and Harry thought that was for a very good reason, but Hagrid was a kind, gentle man and a patient teacher. Malfoy had chosen his target badly, in Harry's opinion, and he'd told him so too. This had led to an argument in the corridors between classes and Harry was left feeling he'd lost the ground he'd gained during their meetings at duelling club, where Malfoy had conceded a kind of grudging admiration for Harry's skills, and Harry had an equal admiration for Malfoy's spell knowledge.
The little clabbert Hagrid was holding clung on tight to him, its long green arms winding around Hagrid's upper arm as if it was a branch, which it definitely resembled. Wide, brown eyes looked around at the audience.
"Ah... it's sweet," Pansy Parkinson cooed. "It looks like a baby."
Draco gave Pansy an incredulous look, which made Sid chuckle and nudge Harry. "Yes, it is," Hermione agreed thoughtfully. "Like the apes that so resemble humans, these creatures seem very similar to us. Is there any evidence of genetic compatibility, Hagrid?" she called.
"What's that, Hermione? Genetic?"
"Oh!" Hermione hadn't considered that magical folk didn't study genetics or seem particularly familiar with the idea. "It's the basis of life, the building blocks, if you like, that all creatures are made from. The closer the relationship between species, the more genes they have in common."
"Ah, I think I understan'," Hagrid rumbled, his hand stroking the clabbert's back in a soothing manner as he spoke. "It isn' like that with magical creatures, yeh know. They're unique. Sometimes their magic is compatible and they can breed, but usually they're totally separate from other animals. And wizards, o'course." He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that caused the little clabbert to look up at him, wide-eyed.
After being introduced to the clabberts, the students had the chance to go into their enclosure in pairs under Hagrid's supervision. Harry went in with Sid, Hermione with Liam. Harry got to touch the baby Hagrid was still holding; its skin was soft and warm. He couldn't help smiling at the little thing with its large round eyes fixed on him so trustingly. "Hello, little one," he said.
Sid touched the clabbert next. "It's so soft," he murmured.
"Like I said," Hagrid said, pleased, "they're not dangerous. Only time magical beasts is dangerous is when fools don't take care around 'em, don' understand them. Once you know what they're about you can treat 'em right, then you should be safe."
Harry nodded. That was all well and good with the gentler magical creatures, but it was a bit more difficult with things like dragons and werewolves. "Werewolves are classed as magical creatures, aren't they," Hermione asked during her session in the cage. "But they're not safe, Hagrid."
"Ah, well, yer right there o'course, Hermione. But they come under the Department for Control of Dangerous Beasts, which only deals wi' the really dangerous ones. Most magical creatures are safe, like I told yeh; just like it is wi' people. Yes, yeh get dangerous ones just like yeh get dangerous folk who'll hex yeh as soon as look at yeh, but that shouldn' put yeh off the majority of 'em."
Hermione nodded. "It's all about knowledge then, isn't it? Like everything, I suppose."
The lesson ended with a homework assignment. Everyone had to write an essay detailing the care of the clabbert: what its needs were in the wild and in captivity, and whether those needs could be properly met. "I don't think they should be kept as pets," Hermione declared angrily. "They should be living in the wild where they belong."
Harry shrugged. He didn't know how many clabberts were kept as pets, but he didn't think most familiars were treated badly. He didn't know anyone with a clabbert familiar, but then again he didn't know many wizarding households.
The following week they had handed in their clabbert essays and were currently discussing a particularly tricky Potions assignment Professor Lupin had just set, when Hagrid came bustling into the Great Hall one lunchtime, red faced and obviously agitated. He was carrying something in his arms. As he passed up the central aisle Harry heard gasps from the students at either side.
"Perfessor Dumbledore, sir, it's a tragedy! It's an outrage!" Hagrid cried as he approached the High Table.
Dumbledore was on his feet, hurrying over to Hagrid, followed by McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. The women started clucking over the wrapped bundle in Hagrid's arms. It was only then that Harry caught sight of the red stains on the wrapping.