XXXI: Ensnared

Chapter XXXI: Ensnared

From the giddy heights of the Astronomy Tower, Severus watched Morgaine and Demeter walk towards the outer boundaries of the Hogwarts grounds, where they were about to pick up the Portkey that would transport them to Estonia. In only a few minutes, they would be gone.

For a few moments that morning, Severus had considered following Morgaine and Demeter to the boundary to see them off but had decided against it in the end. Him being close would only make taking farewell harder. And by Merlin, it was hard enough already. He did not want them to leave, especially not Morgaine.

Against his better judgement, he had spent the night with her, talking with her late into the night and then watching over her during the few hours of sleep that she had allowed herself. And when she had awoken in the early hours of morning, he had done his best to persuade her to start packing. She had used every excuse she had been able to come up with to delay opening her travel bag, but eventually, she had started to fill it. But now, judging by her hesitant pace, Morgaine seemed reluctant to leave. Her steps were measured, and every now and then, Severus could have sworn that she was hesitating and delaying her next step for a fraction of a second. Demeter, on the other hand, was literally bouncing with excitement, running back and forth in the snow, calling for her mother to hurry up.

Go, Morgaine. Severus sent out a silent plea towards her, a whisper between two souls that only they could hear. You need to leave. You need to live.

Morgaine didn't answer him, and Severus did not know if she had heard him at all. But maybe that was just as well. He did not want her to think that he was sending her away. Because he wasn't, truly not. If he hadn't believed it harmful, he would have asked her to stay. But he meant what he had told her. She needed to leave and live her life. She needed to meet people, interact with them, laugh with them instead of withering away in the dungeons. Only when she stood firmly on both her feet in the world of the living again would it be safe for her to come back to him. If she still wanted to.

'I will be waiting for you,' Severus whispered as he watched Morgaine and Demeter cross the boundary and approach a rusty signpost which he had never noticed before. Surely, this had to be their Portkey.

They reached it with only a few steps outside the Hogwarts grounds, took hold and then vanished into thin air, leaving Severus staring at their footsteps in the snow.

~ ~ ~

'And this lovely creature is my sister. Aleksandra, this is my esteemed colleague, Morgaine, Potions mistress and Head of Slytherin House. And this is her daughter, Demeter.'

Morgaine couldn't help but smirk. Aleksandr and Aleksandra? This must be a joke.

But Aleksandra just grinned as she extended her hand. 'You're not the first one to react,' she assured Morgaine. 'Unfortunately, these are indeed our names. Our parents didn't have a lot of imagination, I'm afraid.'

'No, really not,' Alek added. 'I am quite glad we weren't triplets. They would have been cruel enough to call the third one Aleksis.'

'You're twins?' Morgaine asked. Why, she should have noticed. Aleksandra was the spitting image of her brother. They were both tall and slim, both dark-haired. In fact, the only thing that distinguished them was the colour of their eyes: Alek's were hazel whereas Aleksandra's were blue, just as Melvin's.

'Mother always denied it,' Aleksandra started, 'but I think she was superstitious. She believed in the old wives' tale that giving birth to twins was a bad omen. By giving us almost identical names, I think she tried to fool the fates. You know, pretending that we were one and the same person.'

'And Father crossed her plans by shortening my name from day one,' Alek butted in. 'I swear, I always found it odd when Mother called me Aleksandr. I never knew who she was talking to.'

'Maybe Aleksandr is the triplet then?' Morgaine suggested, smiling.

'The evil triplet,' Alek pointed out. 'Because Father only used my full name when I had done something I shouldn't have.'

While talking, they had wandered from the tall hedges outside the manor, the place to which the Portkey had brought Morgaine and Demeter, to the entrance door. It looked ancient, and the frame was decorated with old symbols among which Morgaine didn't know half.

'For protection,' Alek pointed out as he noticed her curious gaze. 'This house once belonged to Muggles, and they tried to keep out all kinds of evil. This set, for example,' he pointed towards a group of symbols on the upper left corner of the door, 'was placed there to keep diseases away, especially the plague. And this set,' he grinned and pointed to a set of symbols right beside the handle, 'is meant to keep witches out.' He chuckled. 'Fortunately for us, it doesn't seem to be working too well.'

Indeed, they were all allowed to enter. The door did not try to keep them out, and there was no flash of lightning coming down from the sky to smite them all. Muggle protection symbols seldom worked, but still, Morgaine made a mental note to examine the door frame more closely at some point. If she wasn't mistaken, some of the symbols were magical after all. And some of them, she thought she had recognised. But she couldn't put them in context for the time being.

'Our grandmother was very fond of flowers,' Aleksandra explained as they walked through the entrance hall, which was filled with a variety of exotic blooms. 'It was she who enchanted the floor in here. All the flowers you can see are growing right out of the marble.' She stopped to caress a tall, orange flower that resembled a parrot's beak. 'One of the best enchantments in this house, in my opinion. I could sit in here for hours and take in the scents and colours.'

Morgaine could certainly understand Aleksandra's sentiments as they continued their tour through the house. The entrance hall had been spacious, light and colourful, but the rest of the house reminded Morgaine of number 12, Grimmauld Place: there were only dark colours, thick curtains that shut out the daylight, furniture made of dark wood and portraits of grumpy-looking old wizards. The only things missing were the shrunken elf heads on the banister and the shrieking portrait of Mrs Black.

'Gloomy,' Morgaine heard Demeter whisper, but she knew that the girl was not talking to her. Ever since they had entered the house, Demeter and Melvin had walked about six feet behind the adults, whispering and giggling furtively.

'The guest rooms are upstairs,' Aleksandra pointed out at the bottom of the stairs. 'I thought you'd like to share quarters with your daughter, Morgaine. I know I always like to have Melvin close to me when he comes home for the holidays. There are two bedrooms, joined by a door which can be locked from both sides.' She smiled and winked towards Demeter. 'If you're anything like Melvin, you'll want to shut your mother out now and then.' Then she turned to her brother. 'You'll show them up, won't you, Alek? I need to get lunch started.' She rolled her eyes. 'Such a big house and no elf. It's a disgrace.'

'It might be a disgrace, but it's not surprising that our family doesn't own an elf,' Alek explained in a low tone as they ascended the stairs. 'Our grandfather on our mother's side, Ivan Sadowski, was known for having quite a temper. He beat our last elf to death with an iron poker because the poor thing had fallen asleep and let the fire in his bedroom go out. After that, our family has had a really hard time getting a new elf. Can't blame them for blacklisting us, really.'

'Have you tried getting a new one?' Morgaine asked.

Alek shook his head. 'Me? No. Our mother couldn't get one, so Aleksandra and I never tried. And Aleksandra is quite proficient at household charms. She can manage.'

He stopped towards the door through which Demeter and Melvin had disappeared a second ago and bowed. 'My lady, your quarters.'

Morgaine smiled at the younger man's gallantry. 'You should try,' she suggested. 'I think once the elves get to know the newest generations of your family, they might just change their minds. From where I am standing, the Riverbed Sadowskis seem rather nice.'

She froze on the doorstep right beside Alek and had to fight hard not to collapse in a fit of giggles. The sight was just too funny: in the middle of the room stood an enormous four-poster bed on which Demeter was bouncing up and down like a rubber ball, squealing in delight.

'Demeter, behave yourself,' Morgaine brought forth in the most motherly tone she could master, but it was no use. Demeter had not even heard her and was now turning somersaults. As even Melvin joined in, Morgaine considered the battle lost.

'Tell me, Alek, which elf in the whole world would find anything evil in this picture?' she asked instead, nodding her head towards the two children on the bed.

Behind her, Alek shifted uncomfortably and retreated back into the corridor, concealing the shadow that had flitted over his face.

~ ~ ~

Dear Father,

The Riverbeds own the biggest house I have ever set foot in. It is huge! Mother and I have adjoining rooms, and together they are about half as big as the Great Hall. There is also a revolving staircase, the one leading to the basement, and the portraits move as well, just as at Hogwarts. But there are no nice portraits here, only of grumpy-looking old wizards with beards and goatees. Some of them are actually quite creepy. I also think they are whispering to me, but Melvin says I'm off my rocker. But I think he's just jealous that the portraits have never talked to him before.

Severus couldn't help but smile at his daughter's letter. It was bubbling with energy and joy, and he could tell from the first few lines that she was enjoying herself immensely. Even her handwriting seemed joyful. For some reason, Severus had expected it to be either cramped as his own had been, or flowing and artistic as Morgaine's. But Demeter had her own style, and all the i's were dotted with either minuscule stars or smiling faces, childish and sweet at the same time.

Melvin and I have been ice skating today. The rink is right in the backyard. It's big enough to play ice hockey on it. Do you know ice hockey? It's a Muggle sport. Of course, you know. Sorry. We didn't play ice hockey, though, just raced each other. Melvin might be better at Gobstones than I am, but he skates really poorly. I didn't tell him, though, and let him win our second race.

The little one was really having a good time then, and the mere thought filled Severus with an enormous joy. Although Demeter had never complained, he knew that the last couple of weeks had been hard on her. He knew himself how it felt to have to hide in deserted corridors to spend some stolen moments with one's best friend. It felt like a betrayal of the friendship. And at the same time, it was the only way to make the friendship survive.

There is a hothouse in the backyard. I haven't been in there yet, but Mother says it's filled with all kind of magical plants. She spent the whole afternoon in there with Alek. (That's Professor Riverbed. He says I can call him Alek while we're not at Hogwarts.)

Riverbed. Severus had to restrain himself from incinerating his daughter's letter before he had read it all. Yes, Morgaine and Demeter were supposed to have a good time and enjoy themselves. Yes, they were supposed to spend time with people they liked, but ...

Severus scowled and huffed impatiently, angry at himself. What had he expected? That Morgaine would keep far away from her host? That she would ignore him and lock herself into her room? Of course, she would spend time with Riverbed. They were friends, after all, and that was what friends did, spend time together. And so far, Morgaine had never as much as reacted to Riverbed's clumsy attempts of flirting. Why would she now?

Melvin's mother told us today that they are going to host a big New Year's ball. Apparently, that is almost a tradition here. I panicked a little because I don't have a dress and don't know how to dance. But tomorrow, we will all be Flooing to Tallinn to buy dresses, and Melvin promised he'd teach me how to dance. I am very excited about the ball! Good thing I packed all my jewellery.

Demeter

Had someone asked him afterwards, Severus would not have been able to tell what the last paragraphs of Demeter's letter had been about. He hadn't taken in a word. The snakes of jealousy had reared their ugly heads and were taking up all the space in his mind. And he could not for the life of him explain to himself why he had ever let Morgaine go.

~ ~ ~

'Are you sure you will have to leave tomorrow?' Alek asked with a look on his face that reminded Morgaine of a lost puppy. 'We love having you here, and Demeter, of course.'

Morgaine accepted the glass of wine Alek was holding out towards her and smiled. 'We've had a wonderful time, Alek. But I promised my grandmother we would come and see her before term commences. She misses Demeter.'

'I understand,' Alek assured her, but still, the sad look on his face lingered.

They toasted, and Morgaine turned towards the dance floor once more to watch Demeter and Melvin dance right in the centre. And she wasn't the only one watching: quite a few of the ball guests had abandoned the dance floor and were now watching the young couple instead. And who could blame them? They were a lovely sight to behold. Melvin was wearing his brand new Gladrags dress robes and Demeter a dark green gown sprinkled with fairy dust. They were both smiling, their eyes half-closed, embracing each other, and if Morgaine hadn't known better, she would have sworn that her daughter was actually floating a few inches above the floor. But that most probably had nothing to do with the fairy dust. If Demeter was truly levitating, it was with happiness.

Oh, it had been a joy watching her little girl being able to spend time with her best friend without having anyone whisper behind their backs. And only a few hours ago, while they had been getting ready for the ball, giggling and chatting like two schoolgirls, Demeter had confessed to her mother that she had an enormous crush on Melvin Riverbed. And there she was now, in the arms of her first big love, wearing the most beautiful gown and an even more beautiful smile. It would be a shame to separate the two in the morning, Morgaine had to admit that, but before returning to Hogwarts, Demeter would have to return to Iceland, even if it was only for a day or two.

'It's almost midnight,' Alek pointed out. 'Are you sure that you will not grant me at least one dance? I swear that if you do, I will not ask you again this year.'

Morgaine laughed. She had turned Alek down all night, telling him that she despised dancing. It was a lie, of course. She enjoyed dancing quite a lot, but for some reason, she did not want to dance with Alek. In fact, she had avoided any kind of physical contact with him over the last few days, ever since the morning he had sneaked up on her in the hothouse where she had been selecting seedlings to send to Pomona. She had been too absorbed in her work to hear him, and when he had covered her eyes with his hands, she had dropped the pot she had been holding. Of course, Alek had apologised about a million times for having scared her, but he had no idea what had really startled her. She had not dropped the pot out of fear but out of surprise at how violently her body had reacted to the proximity of the young man. His chest had barely touched her back, and the small of her back had not made contact with his hips for more than a second or two, but it had been enough to make her knees go weak and send an unwanted shiver down her spine.

'Please?' Alek repeated, once more adopting the look of a puppy. 'Just one dance? It's less than three minutes to midnight. You won't even have to endure me stepping on your toes for a whole song.'

Morgaine desperately tried to find yet another excuse. It was rude to turn down her host, and he was such a nice guy after all. But she really, really did not want to dance with him.

'Two minutes to midnight,' Alek pointed out, nodding towards the big clock on the wall. 'Please?'

Two minutes. She could do this, Morgaine told herself. After all, she had been taught Occlumency by one of the best Occlumens in Britain, if not the best. Two minutes were nothing.

But she was mistaken. As soon as Alek had pulled her close, she felt her cheeks flush and her breathing quicken. And had it not been a slow dance, and had she not had the opportunity to rest her forehead against his shoulder and close her eyes, she feared she would have fainted.

The next thing she knew, she felt the cold winter air slap against her face and heard Alek's voice.

'I know I am a horrid dancer, but I didn't know I was that bad. Are you alright?'

Morgaine blinked fiercely, willing the mist that seemed to cloud her sight to disappear. They were outside, on the terrace that overlooked the backyard. 'I'm sorry, Alek,' she managed to articulate, feeling both her lips and her voice shake. 'It's the wine.'

She felt dizzy, and had she not only had half a glass of wine, she would have sworn that she was indeed drunk. But this was something else. She tried to walk but lost her balance, and Alek caught her in his arms.

'Tipsy, are we?' he commented and smiled. 'That makes two of us.' He laughed. 'And here I was, thinking that I was too old to need Firewhisky to pluck up the courage to ask a girl for a dance.'

Morgaine barely heard him. Alek holding her tightly around the waist did nothing to steady her. Instead, she felt her knees grow weaker and weaker as her nose filled with his scent. It was musky, manly, and it made her head spin even more.

'Midnight,' Alek whispered as the bell started to toll. 'Happy New Year, Morgaine.'

She didn't resist when he kissed her. It was an innocent kiss, not much more than a peck, but it sent a shiver down Morgaine's spine and made her lips tremble. And as she looked up at Alek, she saw all her sensations reflect in his hazel eyes. His knees were weak too, his hands just as sweaty as hers, and inside of him burnt the flame of desire.

He claimed her mouth with a hunger Morgaine was not prepared for, and she couldn't have fought him off even if she had wanted to. But by the goddess, she did not want to fight him off. She needed this. She needed his touch, his kisses. She needed the warmth his arms provided and the heat he roused inside her.

She stumbled backwards and found herself being pressed up against a cold stone wall with Alek's lips still on hers and his hands on her backside, pulling her hips closer towards him. Almost automatically, she lifted her leg and snaked it around his waist, grinding herself up against him as his roaming hands started pulling up her dress.

'Do you want this?' he breathed as he broke their kiss to attack the sensitive flesh on the side of her neck with his lips instead. 'Do you want me, Morgaine?'

Don't ask, Morgaine pleaded silently, letting her head fall back to give him better access. Please, don't ask.

Yes, she wanted this. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin and his hot breath on her lips. She wanted him to kiss her, touch her, caress her. She wanted to feel his warm flesh against hers. She wanted to feel him inside her. It had been far too long since she had known a man's touch.

But she couldn't. It wasn't him she wanted.

'Alek, I ...'

The words died in her throat as his tongue caressed the skin right below her ear. Instead, a low moan escaped her lips. This felt so good. So incredibly good. And at the same time so terribly wrong.

'Tell me you don't want this, and I'll stop,' Alek murmured. His lips were still at her throat, and his hands were now slowly making their way under the silken fabric of her knickers. 'All you have to do is say no.'

Morgaine shivered as he touched her, and her mind filled with images from a night long gone: a dark room at the Leaky Cauldron, Severus' hands ripping her dress apart, his hot lips on hers. He had tasted of Firewhisky that night as well, just as Alek did now.

'Alek, please,' she whimpered, involuntarily bucking her hips against his hand. 'Alek, I can't.'

He continued fondling her, nibbling at her earlobe until her breath came in short gasps.

'Can't?' he asked, applying more pressure with his thumb. 'Or don't want to?'

Morgaine bit her lip, and her fingers dug into his shoulders as she clung onto him for support. One more stroke. One more stroke of his nimble fingers would be enough to make her come undone in his arms. Just one more stroke.

But she couldn't let herself go. She mustn't.

With the last ounce of willpower she could muster, she grabbed his wrist. 'I can't, Alek,' she repeated, her voice thick with tears. 'It wouldn't be right.'

Why did he have to ask? If he had just taken her, right there against the wall, if he had not given her a choice ...

For a moment, Alek didn't move. Then he placed a last, tender kiss onto the side of her neck and took a step backwards, releasing her and letting her dress glide back down. 'I would never make you do anything you don't want to, Morgaine,' he whispered. 'I am sorry.'

'Pathetic, Riverbed,' came a drawling voice out of the shadows that made Alek spin around. 'Truly pathetic.'

For the third time that night, Morgaine felt her knees go weak. She knew this voice. She knew it all but too well and knew that it meant trouble of the worst kind. And when Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the darkness, she felt the breath catch in her throat and the blood in her veins turn to ice.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend, The Mugglechief. He knows why.