Red Cloud Speaks

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of JKR and whomever else she's willing to share with. Not me, in any case. However, the plot is mine. And I solemnly swear I'll return the characters in good condition and all the richer with experience when I'm done playing with them.

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Chapter IV

Red Cloud Speaks

Hermione gaped at Snape, again shocked.

"Come on, Severus, be nice!" Parvati admonished him mildly and added, "Hermione didn't expect magic here, nor had she expected to find you turned into a musician."

He quirked his eyebrow at her and quipped, his manner not unfriendly and the former trademark sneer entirely absent, "Me and nice do not go together as you should know."

Before Parvati had a chance to say anything, he turned to face Hermione and offered, in a somewhat more sardonic manner that reminded Hermione uncomfortably of just why she had been so reluctant to face him again, "My apologies, Miss Granger, if I fail to meet your expectations."

"Oh, no, everything so far would have by far exceeded any expectations, had I had any," she assured him quickly, not quite certain what to make of this Snape who had already turned back to Parvati.

"Have you checked on Draco? I take it he is sleeping again?" His face had taken on a concerned expression.

"Yes and yes," confirmed Parvati. "It's a shame you don't have any woodruff left! He was definitely improving with that one potion you gave him ... he almost returned to a normal sleeping pattern. And now, he's back to spending most days asleep," she finished sadly.

'Woodruff?' Hermione thought. 'I can help with that'. She was about to speak up when Snape turned to her again.

"Miss Granger, you didn't, by any chance, raid your parents' garden and bring some woodruff with you?" enquired Snape. And then more to himself, he murmured, barely audibly, "Maybe he didn't get a chance to let her know."

All Hermione could do was shake her head dumbly, and not having the courage to ask how he knew about her parents' herb garden, she offered, "I can phone my parents and ask them to send some."

Hermione's mother loved gardening, and her father loved to study ways to utilise the natural forces to work in his favour. It had been thus that her parents' herb garden was born. An ever ongoing project for the couple, which not only offered a welcome contrast to a busy working day but also inevitably led to appreciating both culinary delights and medicinal uses of the produce, the garden offered an abundance.

Old time, non-hybrid roses were grown along with lavender in order to keep away the pests that in many a year affected roses all over England while calendula kept the carrots company, making sure there were no carrot fly infestations. The lush green of parsley was comfortably sat beside the jasmine bushes, and not only was it a visual feast but the jasmine had survived many winters with temperatures below freezing, and the parsley leaves had decorated many holiday dinners, providing much welcomed nutrients to their bodies at the same time. The very beneficial side effect of companion gardening was that there was no need for artificial fertilisers, and keeping to a lunar watering schedule not only saved water, but weeds were appearing so rarely that each discovery was worthy of being marked in the calendar.

"If you wouldn't mind, Miss Granger. Parvati can show you the house while I tend to Draco." Snape turned away from her and nodded at Parvati as he exited the room.

Glancing at Hermione's travel bag, Parvati asked, "You're here to stay, right? Come on, let me show you where everything is, and let's get your bag out of the way. Severus doesn't like clutter."

Hermione let herself fall on the sofa. Some of her tension had diffused with Snape leaving the room, but she felt as if she had entered some bizarre movie scene. "Parvati," Hermione pleaded, "would you mind explaining all this?" She gestured at the house and let her hands fall helplessly down to her sides again.

Parvati gave her a look of understanding. "I know what you mean, Hermione. I was quite surprised to find Severus to be very different from what I remembered from Hogwarts. I'd always expected him to be the bastard Snape, know what I mean?" Hermione nodded. "He is... not quite the bastard, although he's definitely still sarcastic when he's in the mood for it. And when he's in one of his broody moods, I stay away from him," Parvati finished.

"So what is it with Draco?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Draco hasn't quite been himself since Professor Dumbledore's death. Severus told me that first he was completely shaken, and when he learned of the Unbreakable Vow that his mother had made with Severus, something in him kind of clicked. He's convinced that it's his fault that Severus killed Dumbledore, no matter how much explaining he has done to convince Draco otherwise. I don't know any details of that. Draco is suffering from severe depression. And the only potion Severus has come up with that really helped was one that had Sweet Woodruff and St. John's Wort as the main ingredients. St. John's Wort grows in Severus' garden. I've searched high and low for a Muggle source that offers Sweet Woodruff, but I haven't had any luck so far."

"So how did he know that my parents grow it in the garden?" Hermione asked, only to be disappointed.

"Ah," Parvati smirked, "that is for Severus to tell. Come on, I'll show you around. I'm sure we'll have time later to talk about everything," she added and got up.

Hermione threw her travel bag over her shoulder and followed Parvati out of the front room into a surprisingly spacious, semicircular, well-lit corridor. She suspected that this corridor was added much later to the original part of the house. Not only was its semicircular shape a stark contrast to what from outside she had perceived to be the typical design of a 1950s bland, fast, and square mass construction, but also because most of the light was provided by the glass roof, now offering the view of a slowly darkening sky that was a deep blue except for two bright contrails cutting across it. Doors obviously leading to other areas of the house were interspersed with tall and narrow windows that offered views to different areas of the garden. The little spaces of actual wall were white-washed. Hermione decided to give the garden a closer look the next day, as it was getting near the end of the day and sunlight was waning.

Parvati stopped about halfway down the corridor and turned back to Hermione. "Severus would love to put the piano here, but unfortunately it isn't practical, this being an outside wall," she explained, waving her hand over an area where the corridor expanded in width, pointing to two cosy chairs separated by a small table of solid oak. She continued, "So, instead, he's turned it into a kind of corner for quiet contemplation. If you take a closer look at the walls, they have lots of crystals adhered to them. It's quite a sight when the sun shines on them...the entire corridor looks like a rainbow."

Hermione's eyes widened. Snape and quiet contemplation in such a beautiful surrounding simply did not quite fit. "Parvati," she said weakly, "are you going to tell me next that he's a gourmet cook? Or maybe a saint?"

Parvati laughed. "Well, he is a very good cook, I must admit. But don't worry, he's definitely not a saint," she assured the fellow Gryffindor before motioning her to follow into the kitchen. Although, calling this particular space a kitchen, or even room, was quite an understatement.

Unbidden, visions of The Burrow at its cosiest entered Hermione's mind, and with it the stabbing pain of all the losses the last battle had incurred. She pulled herself together and forced to concentrate on the interior. It was a kitchen, no doubt, only it was much more than that.

To the left of the door was a range, clean, and presently not in use. Cast iron pots hung from a cast iron frame suspended halfway between the range and the ceiling, leaving enough headroom to stir any dishes cooking on the range, but low enough for a reasonably tall person to reach any pots without difficulty. Adjacent to it was a wooden table that represented a work top, and beside it an old-fashioned deep rectangular sink. Cupboards, more work tops, and a Welsh dresser displaying a colourful selection of plates and bowls were resting against the wall opposite the range. One side of the kitchen was taken up by a wall-to-wall window with a rather wide ledge covered with various herbs and flowers.

The centre of the kitchen area was taken up by a large oak table with chairs of obviously different styles gathered haphazardly around it, giving the room an air of lived-in, cosy comfort, to which the large candle chandelier above the table only added.

The kitchen ended there, but not the room. Instead, the open space continued, turning into a living area in one smooth transition, Hermione noted with surprise when Parvati switched on another light that bathed the next part of the room into a warm glow. An upright piano stood against the wall that was an extension of the one harbouring the Welsh dresser. Opposite, bookshelves leaned against the wall, lining the entire right side from floor to ceiling, only once interrupted by an unusually narrow set of double French doors leading to the garden. The end wall to the right was again dominated by a very large window. The only untidy space was a small, short bookshelf strewn with sheet music and handwritten notes. Nevertheless, Hermione felt this little bit of a mess offered a welcome contrast to the otherwise almost meticulous tidiness of the remaining space. She took a deep breath.

"This is so not what I expected," she said, feeling utterly confused and helpless.

Parvati nodded ruefully. "What exactly did you expect?" She was unable to hide her curiosity.

Hermione looked at her, surprised. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "I guess anything to do with... discomfort. Something not nice. Certainly not this homey," finished Hermione, not quite certain how to word her confused thoughts of their former Potions professor.

"I felt similar at first," Parvati admitted. "But, you know, the way I got to know Severus... Let's just say this particular room, his sanctuary, as he tends to call it, suits him to the core." Then she motioned Hermione to follow her past the piano, past the small shelf, to a door that revealed a staircase leading up to the first floor.

Upon reaching the top, Parvati switched on the lights and turned again to the other witch. "You might have noticed the stairs leading up from the front room. They go to a different area of the house, mainly Severus' lab, and there's no electricity there. This part of the house has electricity throughout. Come on, I'll show you my space. We'll have to share a bedroom until we can sort out some different arrangements."

Parvati opened the first door to the left of the rather narrow and straight corridor, and Hermione realised they were now right above Snape's sanctuary. She was once again lost for words. The room she entered was not large, by any means. It would have barely passed as a 'generously proportioned single room' in any classified advertising private housing.

What caught her breath, however, was the incredible efficiency with which every inch of space was being utilised. One corner housed an obviously custom-made desk that reached from the floor to the ceiling, giving sufficient space not only for the typical activities conducted at a desk, but also accommodated many books, parchments, a telephone, and a computer.

A good sized window separating the desk from the other corner promised a good supply of natural light during the daytime. A wide bookshelf fit snugly into the space below the window ledge, and Hermione lost any inhibitions now that she was in Parvati's room rather than in Snape's home. She gave the books a quick look-over and startled. These types of books would even have held fascination for Lavender Brown, her and Parvati's former dormmate. Every conceivable recipe for cosmetic potions could probably be found on this one shelf, Hermione had no doubt after skimming over the titles. Potions For Sensitive Baby Skin, Potions For The Mature Skin, Nutritious Rejuvenating Potions, Glamourising Potions, Cleansing Potions For Hair And Body, were just a few titles she glanced at. The young witch looked up into Parvati's smiling face.

"I guess you have an idea now why Severus thought I was adequate for the job," she remarked.

"Let me guess," Hermione replied dryly, "He makes a living selling cosmetics to Muggles." She did not quite expect Parvati's answer.

"Right in one!" Parvati beamed. "Severus is friends with this beekeeper who also sells natural cosmetics, mainly ones containing honey or beeswax. Apparently, most of the Muggle commercial products are laden with poisonous chemicals, and there is a growing number of Muggles who are looking for alternatives."

Hermione was unable to hold back a giggle. "Oh, goodness, Parvati, Snape manufacturing cosmetics? For Muggles, no less?" She found the thought simply inconceivable.

"Well, I do most of that side of potions. He's mainly busy with brewing medicinal potions for Draco. And then he has to play the piano regularly, in order to keep the magic up," volunteered Parvati and waved her hand to another prominent corner of the room. This one was dominated by a large sink and two small stoves with medium sized cauldrons, one iron, one glass, suspended above and surrounded by wooden shelving covered with jars of various sizes.

Parvati seemed to sense that Hermione had reached saturation point where Snape news was concerned and suggested gently, "Come, let me show you the bedroom and bathroom, so you can dump your luggage there and freshen up. I'll organise some drinks, and then we can sit down here and chill." She pointed to the centre of the room with its four squashy chairs and a small, round, wooden table.

Hermione gratefully followed Parvati into her bedroom and then took her time in the bathroom. She had much to digest and made the most of the short-lived recluse. So much change in one afternoon, she thought, I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

When the young visitor returned, Parvati reminded her to phone her parents to ask for the Sweet Woodruff. Speaking to her mother calmed her nerves somewhat, but she felt justified to drink the proffered Firewhisky nevertheless.

Parvati, far more perceptive than Hermione remembered, steered the conversation to more mundane subjects, until they inevitably landed at the days after the battle and her arrival at Spinners' End.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Upon Parvati's invitation to enter, Snape stuck his head through the slightly ajar door. Parvati groaned, "Oh, no, is it dinner time already? I completely lost track of time!"

Snape quirked his eyebrow and suggested, "If you are hungry and want hotfood, you better come down now." Not waiting for either witch, he turned and exited.

Parvati and Hermione hurried and entered Snape's sanctuary just as their former Potions professor sat down at the table with a full plate. Parvati grabbed two plates off a shelf, handed one to Hermione and motioned for her to help herself. The food was simple but nutritious and tasty, and for the first few minutes, everyone was busy eating.

Eventually, Snape spoke in his typical sardonic manner, "If you wish to eat meat, Miss Granger, there is a pub about ten minutes walk from here."

Hermione looked at him in surprise. She was sure she remembered seeing him indulge in meat dishes at Hogwarts in the past. She remained silent, though, considering that she was a guest at his home, not quite sure how to reply.

Parvati rolled her eyes at Snape. "I'm sure one of these days you willlearn to be civil, Severus!" Turning to Hermione, she explained, "The reason we keep a vegetarian diet is that meat seems to affect our magic negatively. And maybe, if we volunteer to clean the kitchen after dinner, Severus might be convinced to give a bit more information to you."

Snape sighed dramatically, very unlike Professor Snape, Hermione noticed, and grumbled at Parvati, "If you're willing to brave the wildlife in the cellar and get a 1986 bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape and open it now to let it breathe, I mightjust agree to give some explanations."

Parvati smirked and stood up to follow his request. When she returned with the bottle shortly afterwards, the young witch remarked, "No critters this time. Have you willed them away, Severus?"

"I have done no such thing. Might be because of the recent increase of owls," he replied blandly.

Hermione tried her best not to gape. It was one thing to hear about her former Potions professor being 'not so bad,' but it was an entirely different matter to witness him being civil, even displaying a sense of humour.

Hermione startled when she suddenly heard the classroom voice of Professor Snape. "Miss Patil, pray tell, what spell have you subjected Miss Granger to, she is in a near catatonic state!"

Parvati glared at him. "Anyone of your former students would be in that state if they met you now, Severus," she pronounced and started to clear the table. Hermione pulled herself together and stood up to help her former dormmate. In joint effort, they put the kitchen back to its former state, in readiness for the next meal.

In the meantime, Snape had moved to the small sofa near the piano and bookshelves. Three wine glasses were sat upon the small coffee table, and as soon as the two young witches sat down opposite the sofa, Snape prepared to pour the exquisite wine. Then he sat back down again, clearly relaxed.

Hermione looked at him expectantly until he met her gaze and quirked his eyebrow. "Any questions, Miss Granger?"

"Yes. No. I..." She felt an utter loss of words. What could she ask? You used to be the most horrible person imaginable. What happened? No, she figured, that would be the wrong approach.

However, before she could find the right words, Snape addressed her. "You came here because you had reason to believe that collaborating with me will get the magic back, not just in occasional pockets but globally. Furthermore, in your quest, you defied several people's opinions about me being a murderer, me being the most horrible person on this planet, so to speak; me... being me. You set out, despite your own misgivings, despite your own fears. I might have saved your neck once, but you had no way of knowing how I would react seeing Gryffindor's know-it-all in my own surroundings. For all you knew, I might have been hiding the last Death Eater. Correct, Miss Granger?" He looked at her questioningly, as if truly interested in her reply.

Hermione could not help but gape. Finally, she asked, somewhat bewildered, "How do you know all this? The few people I've been with lately have no idea of your whereabouts, so none of them could have told you!"

Snape smirked at her words and took his time replying. When he finally did, Hermione felt even more bewildered. "I believe a spirit guide recommended you read Wilhelm Reich, or what's left of his works?"

Hermione nodded. "I only managed to find one book in the short time I had, and I've not finished reading it," she explained.

"Yes, I'd have been surprised if you had found more. Many copies got burned by some Muggle government officials who felt threatened by the information contained therein." That said, he stood up, moved to the bookshelves and withdrew two books, which he handed her. "Studying these two in addition to the one you have already will bring you up to par, and we can then start working on bringing the magic back." He uttered the words as if he had absolutely no doubt that the task would be successful, Hermione noticed as he sat down again. Snape poured some more wine for all before relaxing deeper into the chair again.

Hermione noticed Parvati rolling her eyes at him and found herself unable to hide a grin.

"Parvati, your behaviour ensures that Miss Granger will lose even the last shred of respect she may have had for me." He sighed.

"Slytherin or not, Severus, Hermione, I believe, is here to help you with getting the magic back. You know you can't do it on your own, and what's more, you've known for days she'd be joining us, so the least you can do is be courteous and tell her everything," Parvati countered.

Snape looked at her pensively for a long moment. "You know, it's disconcerting how accurate your perceptions are of late," he said.

Then he turned towards Hermione and started to speak with a serious expression. "Old habits die hard, Miss Granger, and I tend to fall back into the persona I was forced to portray for nearly two decades...that of the sarcastic bastard, nasty bat of the dungeon, scary teacher...even though I don't mean to, most of the time. I apologise."

Hermione, hard put to hide her surprise, and nodding her acceptance silently, looked at him expectantly. He continued. "The spirit guide I mentioned...my spirit guide, to be precise...is temporarily offering advice to one of your contacts. A Slytherin, if I'm not mistaken." Snape looked at Hermione questioningly.

"Yes, Pansy Parkinson," Hermione confirmed quickly. "In fact, it's a spiritual medium who channels Red Cloud, and Pansy and Seamus have been visiting her and then communicated the information to me while I was staying at Grimmauld Place." Hermione hesitated for a moment before asking, "So, Red Cloud is your spirit guide?"

"That he is," Snape answered. "And I believe Red Cloud was the driving force in bringing you here," he added, in an odd manner. Hermione thought his voice might have sounded affectionate, had it not been Snape's.

The young witch was suddenly overcome with a feeling of warmth. It was not merely physical, more the way she would feel when overcome by instinctive knowledge that everything was going to work out perfect, that obstacles meant nothing and would be overcome smoothly, if not easily. She looked at Parvati, whose face carried an expression of sheer delight.

"Oh... Red Cloud is here, isn't he, Severus?" Parvati asked, excitement evident in her voice. She turned to Hermione and explained, "I've only witnessed Red Cloud being present a couple of times, but his energy is incredible. It makes me feel all warm and content and... happy."

Snape's face showed a state of relaxation that Hermione thought made him look almost like an entirely different person. When he spoke, it was with a soft voice that carried a mixture of happiness and deep respect, if not reverence.

"Greetings, Red Cloud. I am, as always, at your service."

The voice that answered came from nowhere. Afterwards, Hermione was not even sure if it hadn't been in her head entirely, but it came across as too loud and too clear to not be physical, even though she could see nobody new in the room.

"Greetings to you. I see your helper has arrived. Treat her fairly, Dark Man, for you need to collaborate closely for your project to succeed. I will give you as much help as you need, but know that it is you who will bring your magic back."

Both Parvati and Hermione watched in awe as Snape presented a deeply relaxed state and spoke in a low voice that emitted nothing but deepest respect for the entity from higher dimensions that was his spirit guide. "Thank you for your timely visit, Red Cloud," he acknowledged quietly.

Red Cloud took over again. "Your skill in researching is required here, Gryffindor. Concentrate on the findings of Orgone. You will both find that there is a better, or rather, more effective way to create Orgone, but it will take some experimenting before you achieve satisfying results. This is the key for regaining your magic."

Everyone took in the information Red Cloud had just divulged. Hermione found herself surprised that she did not doubt Red Cloud's words in the slightest. Her eyes wandered wistfully between Snape, who was still deeply relaxed, and Parvati, who looked as awestruck as Hermione felt.

The atmosphere cooled marginally as Red Cloud slowly withdrew. A few minutes later, Snape stretched languidly and then checked the time.

"I better go and entertain Draco for a while," he said, slowly standing up.

"We'll clear up here and then probably call it a night," Parvati remarked.

Snape briefly waved his hand at both witches and left the sanctuary to tend to Draco.

* * *

Hermione spent the following days immersed in books, occasionally helping Parvati concocting cosmetic potions. Evenings were spent with her former dormmate and former Potions professor, talking about the research Hermione was doing on Wilhelm Reich's findings on Orgone, discussing new possibilities to improve the cosmetic formulas, and pondering over Draco's reluctant improvement.

Hermione's parents had obliged and sent a package of dried woodruff to Snape's home, and the Potions master immediately set to work to brew potions that would improve Draco's state of mind. In the first few days after administering the new potion formula, nothing happened, but after nearly a week, Draco emerged from his room in the late afternoon and even joined the three for dinner. He barely said anything, but did acknowledge Hermione politely. She figured it was an improvement to his previous near-catatonic state most of the time.

The days might have been spent in a routine manner, but neither Hermione nor Parvati ever felt bored. Parvati took delight in experimenting with new cosmetic formulas, all fuelled by lively discussions during evenings, and Hermione enjoyed being able to immerse herself so fully in research, even though she felt somewhat lost in the beginning. What did researching a physical bio-energy basis for Sigmund Freud's theories of neurosis in humans have to do with finding a way to bring the magic back? Her question was not answered immediately, and she continued reading through the books, the content of which she found nevertheless fascinating, although frequent references to Sigmund Freud made her squirm with discomfort.

Neither witch had any idea what Snape was up to when he was not playing the piano or brewing potions for Draco, but Hermione did not care. She loved listening to his playing most afternoons and laughed at Parvati's delighted expressions that they would be able to use magic to clean the dishes after dinner.

Hermione came to treasure not only the sessions Snape spent playing the piano, but also the occasions when Red Cloud made his presence known and challenged her about her current research. It always started the same way as the first session she'd witnessed, with a feeling of warmth and secure comfort overcoming her, very often followed by Parvati's utters of delight and her former professor deeply relaxing into the chair in his sanctuary.

"Gryffindor, get over your discomfort of the connection with Sigmund Freud. There is far more to Wilhelm Reich's findings than the sexual connection instigated by Freud. Libido is nothing but life energy, desire, the source of human striving, not necessarily in sexual terms, although it all is interconnected. Reich developed the libido concept, concentrating on its physical expression and simultaneous psychological content, until he was able to show the relation of bodily attitude and emotion. He left the path of Freud's theories, those which left no room for anything but sexual matters, rather early on.

"In order to regain your magic, you need to know all his works. Read 'Character Analysis' next; it explains the relation of mind and body, and you need to understand that. And then you and your collaborator need to find a way to create Orgone without the danger that Wilhelm Reich encountered. You cannot afford to risk anyone's life."

Hermione remembered the words she had read recently: Warning - misuse of the Orgone Accumulator may lead to symptoms of Orgone overdose. Leave the vicinity of the accumulator and call the 'Doctor' immediately! She had also learned that what Freud had termed libido, Reich called Orgone, and it could as well be termed Life Force or, as Asian healers typically referred to it, Chi. She was still unable to make the connection to magic or how to regain it with the new found knowledge, but she was willing to overlook the connections to Freud, who to her was nothing but a sex-obsessed and even deranged psycho-analyst, for Reich's findings fascinated her on every level.

At the same time, she felt embarrassed. Red Cloud had evidently been keeping an eye on her, and she did not like her discomfort openly being discussed in front of others, least of all Snape. He was nowhere near as sarcastic as he'd used to be at Hogwarts, and she was startled to realise that she felt perfectly safe around him, but she was no more willing to share her most private thoughts or feelings with him than with any other former teacher except maybe Remus Lupin, whom she had long ago started to consider a friend rather than a figure of authority.

One day not long after she'd arrived at Spinner's End, Hermione discovered the back garden and almost instantly declared it her own sanctuary. It was possibly the only pocket of full magic left on the entire island, and magical it was. A few owls, the number of which was slowly increasing, spent their days sleeping in trees and bushes, a unicorn occasionally came to graze on the small meadow that seemed to have been created for just this very purpose, fairies zoomed around the magical plants that grew all over the garden, and the little patch of herb garden produced potion ingredients as well as those little, but significant, additions to tasty dinners in abundance.

Hermione was not particularly surprised when, one day, she was interrupted from her studying by a snow white owl. On closer inspection, she recognised Harry's Hedwig.

"Hedwig!" she exclaimed. "What brings you here? Where have you been?"

Hedwig looked at her in disdain and hooted mournfully. Then she stuck her leg out for Hermione to untie the piece of parchment she was carrying. Hermione obliged quickly, wondering who would be able to send her a letter the magical way, when most of the magic was gone. She unfolded the parchment and was surprised to recognise Ron's handwriting.

Dear Hermione,

Ron

Hermione could not hide a smile. It was good to hear from her boyfriend, and he was right. She was far too absorbed in studying Wilhelm Reich in order to bring the magic back. She resolved to talk to Snape about spending a weekend in London at her earliest opportunity.

* * *

A/N

Galium odoratum - Sweet Woodruff

Big thanks to NotSoSaintly who tirelessly weeds out all my punctuation or lack there of as well as all those typos that seem to sneak themselves in. You rock!