Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: All the characters mentioned from the Harry Potter books belong to JKR. All other characters mentioned in these pages belong to Velvet Song or myself. No monies changed hands during the writing of this story.

Author's Notes: This is the sequel to Velvet Song's "Damsels and Dragons" which she allowed me to complete and post to this archive. If you have not read the first story, I strongly encourage you to do so to avoid any confusion while reading this story. The first chapters by Velvet Song can be found here: http://www.thepetulantpoetess.com/viewstory.php?sid=18337, and my concluding chapters can be found here: http://www.thepetulantpoetess.com/viewstory.php?sid=19501.

Thanks to noybate for the prompt beta.

Chapter 10

The staff room echoed from the sound of its door slamming shut behind the irate wizard. Remus shuddered, then jokingly said, "I'd hate to meet Athair in the forest after that."

"Don't say that, Remus," Hermione scolded. She scooped up the two books and returned them to her bag. "It's not a laughing matter."

"No, it isn't," Poppy said. "Hermione, I'd like to read those books if you don't mind. I still say it's not possible, but you've put the idea into my head."

"Of course, Poppy." She dug the books back out of her bag and slid them across the table to the mediwitch. "It's about the only theory I can come up with that sounds even halfway plausible." Glancing apprehensively at the door, she continued, "Severus isn't insane. We all know that. But he could be driven to insanity if he and his Athair-mind don't work together."

Lucius snorted. "Athair-mind. I like it."

Narcissa looked at her husband. "I have to agree with Hermione," she said. "This is a serious matter, Lucius. Our friend needs our help."

"I, too, must agree," said Minerva from her seat at the head of the table. "The problem, as I see it, is getting Severus to agree." She eyed Hermione, who shifted nervously in her chair. "Since we know Severus isn't an Animagus, nor is he a were-dragon..." She shifted her look to Remus. "...as he did not apparently need the full moon to manifest Athair's personality traits. Er... I forgot to ask. Did he transform?" She looked back at Hermione, whose face was extremely red.

"Um, no," Hermione answered. "Marigold had stopped him in the corridor. I think he was headed for the tower, though." She stopped and shook her head. "Athair's intelligent enough to know he can't fit into a human-sized corridor or room. I think that's why he kept going to the Astronomy Tower."

"Yeah, but why wait three weeks to come back?" Harry asked. "If he were actually still a dragon, wouldn't Athair have come back that first night Severus went to sleep?"

"I think I can answer that," Poppy said, looking up from the two books where she was comparing passages. "The amount of force necessary to return Severus to human was almost unbearable to him. Imagine what it would have felt like to Athair. The Athair personality would have needed time to recuperate and regroup." She closed the books. "I'll take these upstairs with me if I might?" Hermione nodded.

"Good. I am beginning to come round to your viewpoint, Hermione. Athair was created by splintering Severus' mind and body by sheer power. He remained a dragon for eight years without any chance of returning to human until you returned to Hogwarts. By the way, when he's in his dragon persona, can you feel him at all?"

Hermione started at the non sequitur, then nodded her head. "Yes," she told Poppy, smiling. "I can feel him in the back of my mind when the Athair personality is in charge." Then she frowned. "But I can't feel the Severus personality at all. I wonder why?"

"I believe I know," Susan said. "When he was Athair, the only way he could communicate was mind-to-mind." She looked at Poppy, who nodded in agreement. "You said the only ones who could actually hear him were the house-elf...Marigold, is it?...and yourself. Severus doesn't need to communicate mind-to-mind." She smiled at her reasoning as Poppy nodded in approval.

"Yes," Lucius mused, stroking the head of his cane. "Severus mentioned not being able to feel you anymore when he first came to. He seemed rather...how do I put this?...sad, yes sad, to put it bluntly."

"Maybe yeh could, yeh know, tell Perfessor Snape yeh kin hear Athair still," Hagrid said simply. As he'd remained quiet for most of the meeting, the other teachers had almost forgotten he was there. "After all," the half-giant continued, "if'n the Perfessor is sad 'bout not hearin' ar 'Mione, then maybe he'll want teh git Athair back just so's he kin." He sighed hugely, ruffling stray papers laying on the table. "I'd like teh see Athair back meself."

Harry laid his hand on Hagrid's arm. "You do know Athair's not a pet, don't you, Hagrid?" He glanced nervously at Hermione, who sat lost in thought. "Even if Snape learned to control the changes, he wouldn't appreciate being considered as such."

"I know that, Harry," Hagrid replied. "He jist looks so purty flyin' cross the sky."

"You know, that just may work," Hermione said suddenly. She rose swiftly from her chair and ran to the door. "I need to find Severus and talk to him. Thanks, Hagrid." She turned and blew the half-giant a kiss before she raced from the room.

Hagrid looked down at Harry. "What'd I say?"

§§§§§§§

Hermione practically flew up the stairs to her potions lab in search of Severus. When she did not find him checking the potions in the process of brewing or starting the medicinal potions Poppy would need for the coming school year, she checked her quarters. She and Severus had begun the pleasant habit of spending evenings together talking or even just reading in companionable silence.

When a quick check of her sitting room showed no morose wizard, Hermione took a chance and climbed the winding staircase to the Astronomy Tower. There, she found Severus leaning on the parapet of the observation deck, staring out over the grounds of the school towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Severus?" she called softly. "Can we talk?"

He turned to her and sneered. "If it's about your ridiculous theory, then no," he snarled. "Go away." He turned back to the edge.

"Severus, I can feel Athair," Hermione said, determined to have this conversation. "When he manifests, I can feel him. Can't you feel me? I miss that closeness."

Severus sighed and turned around, sliding down the wall until he sat on the floor of the tower's observation deck, his knees drawn up to his chest. Putting his hands to his face, he shuddered then shook his head. "Yes," he admitted, half to himself. "I miss the closeness as well. But I can't feel you. Not like this. And I refuse to go back to being a dragon." He looked up at Hermione.

"Then work with us," Hermione urged, sitting on the floor in front of him. "You and Athair need to come to some sort of compromise. Severus, if you don't, I truly fear for your mind." She put a hand on his knee in commiseration.

Severus looked down at Hermione's smaller hand and placed his much larger hand on top. "I'm not sure I know how to compromise," he said. "If ever I did, it was lost to me years ago. Athair was forced on me. I endured it for eight long years. Now I find that I can't even sleep without that blasted dragon coming back to life.

"Hermione, my mind is the only thing I have that's even mine anymore." He looked at her desperately. "To give up even a part of that to a dragon..."

"An extremely intelligent dragon," Hermione countered. "Don't you even read your own books?" She smiled at him teasingly.

Severus snorted. "I didn't write that blasted book," he said. "I just told Marigold to find any books in the library that had to do with dragons so you'd know what you were working with."

"Well," Hermione said, settling more comfortably onto the floor, her hands in her lap. "When I read Dragons In-depth, I discovered that Athair was, or is, a rare subspecies of the Hebridean Black dragon."

Severus snorted. "Makes sense, I suppose."

Hermione smiled. "There are three types of Hebridean Blacks: Mist, Cloud, and Shadow. Shadow dragons are the rarest of the three. I also read that they're crafty and conniving, but not prone to taking risks. Does that sound familiar to you?"

"Sounds like Athair would have been sorted into Slytherin, if Hogwarts accepted dragons as students." Severus mouth quirked upward in a semblance of a smile, then frowned again. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"No," Hermione answered. "I'm just trying to acquaint you with your alter ego. Shall I continue?"

"Go on." He leaned his head back against the low wall. "You might as well tell me everything about my other half."

Hermione laughed. She couldn't help herself. "Well, then," she said. "According to the book, Shadow dragons have their own language of communication as well as speaking a language common to all dragon species. About fifteen percent of all hatchlings can communicate with any intelligent creature."

"That leaves out about ninety-nine percent of witches and wizards then," Severus said sarcastically. "No wonder I had to wait for you."

"Why, Severus," Hermione said with a blush. "Was that a compliment?"

"Just get on with it, witch," he growled.

"Okay, Athair's only defensive weapon is his breath. A Shadow dragon can blow a six by five metre toxic cloud and, depending on the toxicity, a person can be temporarily blinded or paralysed. If the cloud is extremely toxic, then the blindness or paralysis can be permanent, and perhaps even cause permanent brain damage or death."

"Wouldn't have hurt Hagrid then, would it?"

Hermione swatted at his hands, still resting on his knees. "That's not very nice," she scolded. "Behave yourself.

"Athair's offensive weapons are the manipulation and creation of shadows. He can appear and disappear at will...a skill you've demonstrated many times...and use his invisibility to confuse his opponents. But, according to the book, Athair's greatest weapon is the ability to fade into the Shadow World. In other words, he's not just invisible, he's almost non-existent and undetectable by any spell."

Severus thought for a moment. "It would seem that Riddle chose his curse well, then."

"Actually..." Hermione bit her lip as she pondered her next words. "According to his test subject, the curse just turned someone into a dragon. Where the person was determined the type of dragon."

"Indeed."

"Well, Mr. Coombs was imprisoned in Cornwall, and he said he became a Cornish dragon when the curse was tested on him."

"So it was just my luck to be here, in Scotland, when Riddle cast his curse. My, how did I get so lucky?" Severus sneered at her.

Angry now, Hermione got to her feet. "At least you were able to take advantage of Athair's abilities, Severus Snape, rather than being locked up on a Preserve somewhere," she scolded the wizard, her hands on her hips. "You can at least be grateful for that."

She turned to go, but threw one last comment over her shoulder. "If you finally decide to compromise with Athair, don't ask me to referee unless you really mean it. I happen to like your dragon half better than the human half at the moment."

Severus threw out a hand and caught the hem of her robes as she move towards the stairs. "Hermione," he croaked. "Please?"

"Please what, Severus?" she retorted, turning back to him. "Please just let me be? Gladly."

"No." Severus looked up at her, pain evident in his eyes. "Please don't leave me here by myself. I didn't ask for this, but if I must, I will deal with it, but not by myself. I can't do this alone."

"Oh, Severus." Hermione knelt on the stone floor in front of Severus. "I want to help you, but you have to help yourself first. You and Athair have to learn to cooperate with one another, or you'll end up killing each other. Nobody wants that, least of all me."

"I know," he croaked. "I'll try, Hermione. Truly I will. But the dragon has to try as well. I'm almost afraid to sleep, not knowing where I'll end up in the morning or what shape I'll be in. Hermione, I'm so tired. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up."

"Then open your mind," Hermione said. "Try to talk to Athair while you're awake. If it feels like he's sleeping, then try to wake him up." She smiled at her phrasing. "Gently, of course."

Severus snorted. "Of course, I'll wake a sleeping dragon with a blast from my wand," he said with undue sarcasm. "I think I'll return to my quarters for now and perhaps meditate. Will you let me know if you feel Athair in your mind?"

"Of course I will," Hermione said as she scrambled to her feet. Holding out her hand, she offered to help him up as well.

Severus waved off her helping hand. "I am quite capable of rising on my own, Miss Granger," he said. As he got to his feet, Hermione laughed. "What is it now?" He looked behind him. "Am I growing a dragon tail?"

"I just realised something," she said. "You tend to address me as 'Miss Granger' when you're put out or annoyed with me and 'Hermione' when you're not. It's a fair barometer of your feelings as far as I can tell."

"Humph," Severus snorted as he cautiously moved past her to the stairs. "Perhaps it's more to the point that I am not sure just what to call you. Perhaps I should stick with 'Granger'. But then again, it might not be my choice if what you suspect is true."

Hermione gaped at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked, following him down the stairs.

"If I truly am sharing my mind with a blasted dragon, he might have other plans," Severus said. "After all, it was his idea to share your bed last night, not mine."

Unfortunately, Harry and Neville were passing the bottom of the stairs at that particular time. Neville grinned while Harry goggled at the couple. "Who was in your bed last night, Hermione?" Harry asked grumpily. "Do I have to call someone out for a duel to protect your honour?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry," Hermione snapped. "Athair slept in my bed last night, that's all. You certainly wouldn't want to duel a dragon, would you?"

"Duel a dragon?" Harry snorted with laughter. "I wouldn't want to duel Snape either."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Potter," Severus said drily. "I appreciate your candour."

"Ahem." Harry cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, sir. I forgot myself."

"Yes," Snape mused. "I seem to recall a lot of that during your schooldays." He stared at Harry and Neville as he asked pointedly, "Were you going somewhere definite or just loitering in the corridors again?"

Neville flushed and grabbed Harry's arm, dragging him down the corridor. "W-we w-were on our w-way to our quarters, s-sir," he stammered as the two younger wizards disappeared around the next corner.

"Indeed."