There Must Be an Easier Way

Chapter 20

"There Must Be an Easier Way,

Elfin Magic Saves the Day"

Severus let Wormtail report back to Voldemort about the house fire. He felt that his time would be better spent at Hogwarts getting ready for the onslaught of students that would inundate him in a few day's time. He also was sure that Voldemort would take great pleasure in Wormtail's embellished description of his sorrow over the loss of Sienna. Let them have their little laugh, he thought to himself as he walked up the path to the school.

As he walked through his office to get to his quarters, he heard a voice. All of the portraits had appeared to be sleeping when he entered, so the voice took him by surprise. He turned abruptly on his heel, his cloak swirling around his legs.

"So, what was all that about?" asked Dumbledore's portrait.

"Can't I tell you in the morning?"

"The morning will bring constant interruptions. Now is better."

"Oh, if you insist." Severus sighed and sat down in the throne-like chair behind the desk. He began to push the papers around absent-mindedly. If he had been honest with himself, he was bursting at the seams to relive the night's events.

"The Dark Lord finally captured Sienna."

"Sienna?" Dumbledore stood up, almost jumping out of his frame. "Is she alright?"

"Calm yourself. She's fine, she's safe." Then he closed his eyes and said in a dreamy whisper, "She's incredible."

"What happened? I want to know every last detail!"

Severus proceeded to recount the night's events, but left out the part where they had kissed and his admission of love for her.

"The Dark Lord even compared her to you at one point. It took three Death Eaters to bring her in."

With this, Dumbledore was bursting with pride. "That's our girl."

"May I be excused now?" asked Severus with very tired eyes. "I have a busy day tomorrow."

"Don't you mean 'today?'"

"Don't remind me," Severus said with a groan and headed off to finally get some much needed rest.

But as he lay in the bed staring at the ceiling, he found that all he could think about was Sienna. He wanted to be with her more than anything. But how could he manage it? Somehow he felt that an occasional meeting at the Hog's Head would not be enough. But it was at least a start. He had already come to an understanding with Aberforth. He would go talk to him tomorrow evening and try to arrange something.

The next day, a very tired Headmaster Snape faced one problem after another between the Carrows and the rest of the staff. They just couldn't seem to understand the meaning of the words "Tradition," or "Orderly," and McGonagall was up in arms about the discipline changes that they insisted on making. Severus had to take her aside and calm her down. Without actually coming out and saying it, he tried to make her understand that each teacher could keep order in their own way in their own classroom as long as the Carrows didn't find out about it. He also tried to convey to her the importance of getting that message out to the students since he couldn't exactly announce it at the start of term feast.

After dinner in the Great Hall, he slipped quietly out of the front door and up the path to Hogsmeade. The Hog's Head Inn was as grimy and dingy as ever, and Aberforth stood in his usual spot behind the bar using an already filthy cloth to wipe out dirty glasses. Severus wondered if the rag had ever been washed, or the glasses either, for that matter.

"Evening, Headmaster Snape. What can I get for ya?"

"Oak mead," he replied as he tossed his coins on the counter. Then he leaned closer and added, "I'd also like a word in private."

Aberforth glanced around the room. Everyone seemed content with the contents of their glasses and bottles. He jerked his head towards the back room, and they both ducked in. He closed the door and Severus cast the Muffliato spell.

"I'll make this quick," Severus whispered. "Do you have any rooms left that I could rent for just one night?"

"Nope, sorry. All filled up, and they all look long term. What'd you need a room for? Aren't your fancy new quarters big enough?"

"It's not that. I need to meet someone, and I can't chance trying to sneak her into the castle."

"A woman, eh?" Aberforth's face warped into a crooked boyish grin.

Severus felt himself blush.

"Do I know her?"

"No, and it's probably better that you don't."

"Gotcha," Aberforth winked. "Well, I'm afraid that, with the exception of a broom cupboard upstairs, there's not much I can do for you."

"What about the room where we had our previous conversation, with the portrait of the girl over the mantle?"

"Off limits. You don't want to know why."

Severus shook his head. "If the two of us had any more secrets, we wouldn't be able to talk at all."

They both chuckled at the thought.

"Well then, when can I have the broom cupboard?"

"That's available twenty-four, seven. Just let me know you'll be in there so I don't interrupt anything. I walked in on my parents once when I was about seven years old. Couldn't look either one of them in the eye for a couple of months. Don't ever want to do that again!"

"I doubt you'll be walking in on much, not in a broom cupboard anyway." Severus motioned towards the door as he lifted the Muffliato spell.

They went back out to the bar where Severus finished his mead. Then he leaned over towards Aberforth and said, "Thanks. I'll let you know," and he headed out the door back to Hogwarts.

Once back in his office, he conjured his doe Patronus. "Find Sienna. Tell her I want to meet her at the Hog's Head tomorrow night at nine p.m. But the place is crawling with Death Eaters and she will have to be very careful."

As the silver doe bounded across his office and disappeared out the window, he sat down to wait for her reply. Sometimes he felt that a Muggle telephone wouldn't be such a bad idea, since it was much easier to carry on a conversation over distances with that device than with letters by owl, or messages by Patronus. School started in two days. This would probably be the only night he would have time to meet her for a long while. He hoped against hope that she could make it by then. He was not sure where she had gone into hiding, but he had a feeling it was the ashram in India, quite a long trek to take in just one day.

After a few minutes, a silver streak of light shot through his window and transformed into a lively mongoose on his desk top. It spoke in Sienna's voice.

"I'm in India, but if I leave right now I should probably be able to get there on time. I can hardly wait to see you. Be careful. Remember I love you."

The last sentence seemed almost comical coming from the mouth of a mongoose, even though it sounded like Sienna. He wondered what motivation would make her choose a mongoose for her Patronus. He made a mental note to ask her later.

Good. He would have her back in his arms in less than 24 hours.

*****

As all of the last minute preparations were being made for the arrival of the students the next day, Snape made his way around the school surveying everyone's progress. The teachers were checking their supplies. Madam Pomfrey had plenty of healing potions in stock (Severus had a feeling that she would really need them this year with the Carrows in charge of discipline), and Hagrid had lined up the creatures he would need for all of his classes. Filch kept himself busy polishing trophies in the trophy room and cleaning the giant hourglasses that kept track of house points in the entrance hall.

Severus made his way down into the kitchen to check on the house-elves. They were all busy with food preparation. Many things could be made a couple of days ahead and kept refrigerated. As he watched their busy little faces deep in concentration, he noticed that there was someone missing whom he had distinctly remembered seeing earlier in the summer: Kreacher. He was, after all, Potter's house-elf. Sirius had left him everything in his will, which included number twelve and the elf that went with it. But Kreacher's absence triggered a memory in Severus's mind: the fact that house-elves could Disapparate and Apparate anywhere in or out of the castle, even with Anti-Apparation Charms in place that prevented wizards from doing the same thing. Could a house-elf get Sienna into the castle unnoticed? It would be worth asking. But, he still had no place to hide her.

As he searched the room for the right elf to ask, he noticed two elves over by the fireplace. One was sobbing as she sat in her tiny chair. The other was on bended knee patting her hand. Winky and Dobby. As usual, Winky was lamenting the fact that she no longer had a family to serve. Severus remembered how she had howled with sorrow over Barty Crouch Jr. after the dementor had performed the kiss. Dobby was proud to be a free elf, but Winky felt only shame.

Severus strolled over to the fireplace and knelt down to be on the same level with the elves.

"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked with silky smoothness. He didn't want the tone to sound too sympathetic.

Winky jumped up from her chair and, she and Dobby immediately bowed low to Severus, addressing him as "Headmaster Snape."

"Winky still feels shameful that she is a free elf, Headmaster Snape," explained Dobby.

"Winky's life is wasted," sniffed Winky. Then she started to wail, "Winky's life is OVER!"

A flood of tears came streaming down her face. Severus reached into his inside cloak pocket and retrieved a white lace hanky, which he handed to Winky. As she shyly took it from his outstretched hand, an idea struck him. Could he ask Dobby and Winky for help? No, not Dobby. Potter had tricked Lucius into freeing him. Dobby's loyalty was certainly with Potter, even if he was under the employ of Hogwarts. No, his idea would have to involve Winky and Winky alone.

He thought perhaps a different approach would be necessary to help her regain her composure. Severus stood up and looked down his long nose at her.

"This is no way for a Hogwarts elf to behave," he said gruffly. "Winky, get hold of yourself, freshen up and report to my office right away!"

"Should Dobby come too, sir?" asked Dobby anxiously.

"No, you do an exemplary job for us, Dobby. I need to speak to Winky alone."

He turned and swept from the kitchen, leaving a now frightened Winky in his wake.

By the time he got back to his office, she was sitting there waiting for him. Her short little legs dangled off the wooden chair, not even reaching half-way to the floor. She looked so scared; she was trembling. Severus thought she might burst into tears again.

"Please, Headmaster Snape, sir." She jumped up and threw herself onto the floor in front of him as he entered. "Don't send Winky away. Winky will be better. Winky will work hard for Hogwarts. Please, please..." And she broke into hysterics.

Severus looked down at her and started shaking his head. She was clinging to his leg now, so he couldn't even move. He reached down and gently pulled her off of him and sat her back on the chair. Since he wasn't sure what had happened to his first hanky, he conjured another one and handed it to her.

"I didn't bring you here to scold you, Winky. I brought you here to make you an offer."

She looked up at him with tennis-ball-eyes. "An offer? Winky?"

"Yes, Winky," he said quietly. Thank goodness, she was calming down at last.

"I was in the room the night your last remaining master suffered the dementor's kiss."

"Poor Master Barty," she said, looking forlorn. "What a horrible thing."

"It was horrible, Winky. And although I feel he deserved to go to Azkaban for what he did, he didn't deserve that." He held his breath. He thought she might start crying again, but she didn't. With a sigh of relief, he continued. "I saw your reaction, and I knew right then that you were a loyal and good servant, who deserved a family that would treat you with dignity and respect."

Although Dumbledore had always shown her kindness, he had never talked to her this way. Winky looked at Severus with a touch of relief. Finally someone understood and appreciated her. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

"I was wondering if you would consider becoming my personal house-elf, an assistant, if you like."

"Oh YES! Headmaster Snape, Winky would--"

"You are technically a free elf now, Winky," he interrupted her, "so you can choose to accept or decline my offer. But before you decide, I must make certain things clear."

"Yes, sir." Her enthusiasm waned a bit.

"If you chose to accept my offer, you must swear with your life that you will keep my secrets, of which I have many." She didn't seem to mind that condition. He assumed that was a standard house-elf requirement.

"If you ever chose to leave my employ, you must still keep all my secrets, even if you must give your life to do so."

"If Winky is Headmaster Snape's house-elf, Winky would do that anyway, sir," she informed him, as if that was the first thing she learned in elfin kindergarten.

"Winky," his voice became much more serious, "this means keeping my secrets from Dobby also. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, can know what I tell you, what you do for me, what goes on or what is said inside my office, or my quarters. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Headmaster Snape, sir. Winky understands perfectly, sir."

"Good. Now as for payment--"

"Oh, Winky won't accept payment, sir. Dobby shames himself by accepting payment. Winky would never think of such a thing! Just having a family to serve again will be payment beyond Winky's wildest dreams, sir!"

Severus' lips curled just slightly at the corners. "I am honored to have you as my house-elf, Winky. You start immediately."

"This is the happiest day for Winky in many years, Headmaster Snape, sir. THANK YOU!" She rushed over and bowed at his feet. "What is Winky's first task, sir?"

"Someone has already been in my quarters to make the bed and tidy up this morning. But from now on, I would like you to be the only house-elf allowed into my office or quarters for any reason unless I say so. Once you are through with the morning chores in here, you can go to the kitchen to see where they might need you. If I need you for something else, I will call for you. If you hear me call your name, you can Apparate from anywhere in the castle, right?"

"Winky can come from anywhere immediately, Headmaster Snape, sir."

"Excellent." He nodded, then paused for a moment. "Even somewhere outside of the castle?"

"Yes, sir."

His eyes narrowed as he became lost in thought. Then slowly, carefully, as if he was afraid what her answer might be, he asked, "Could you take me with you in side-along Apparation?" He held his breath as he waited for her reply.

"Oh, yes, Headmaster Snape, sir."

The wheels of his mind began to turn at warp speed. "Could you take two people at once?"

She nodded. "All they have to do is hold Winky by the hand, sir."

This bit of news opened up an entire avenue of possibilities. And Winky's kind would go unnoticed by Voldemort. He considered house-elves "disposable." Another foolish mistake born of arrogance on the Dark Lord's part. Such a loyal house-elf as Winky could end up becoming one of Severus' greatest assets before this whole ordeal was over.

"Winky, you're a life saver!" Severus smiled broadly at her. The little round face and tennis-ball eyes beamed up at him. "Now, get back to the kitchen. If I need you, I'll call you."

"Yes, Headmaster Snape, sir. Thank you, sir." She bowed deeply and with a pop she disappeared.

*****

Later that night, Severus made his way to the Hog's Head. Anyone out on the street after dark was subject to harassment by the legion of Death Eaters that patrolled the streets, but since they all knew Severus he passed without question.

He slipped in through the front door and sidled up to the bar.

"What'll ya have, tonight, Headmaster?" asked Aberforth.

"Oak mead." Then he leaned in and added, "And the broom cupboard, if you don't mind."

Aberforth nodded. He served Severus a mug of mead. Then they both searched the room for signs of anyone that didn't look familiar. Even though Aberforth knew better than to ask questions, he was still curious who Severus was planning to meet.

One small figure caught both their eyes. What appeared to be a woman, dressed in long, flowing, black robes and a hood that partially covered a face that was wrapped in dingy gray bandages, sat at a nearby table. She slowly rose and made her way laboriously towards the bar as if walking was extremely painful.

"Can I help you?" asked Aberforth warily.

She remained silent, but reached into a pocket and pulled out something small that remained concealed in the palm of her hand. Then she slowly slid it along the surface of the bar until it was right next to Severus' hand. He looked down with great curiosity at this point. She pulled her hand away to reveal an individually-wrapped dark chocolate truffle with a liquid cognac center from Honeydukes. Severus quickly covered it with his own hand before anyone noticed. Then he leaned over to Aberforth and whispered, "Bring her up to the broom cupboard in a minute or two." With that, he took his mug of mead and headed up the stairs.

He found the broom cupboard and let himself in. "Lumos," he said quietly as he surveyed the scene. If he had thought the bar rags downstairs were dirty, he was really grossed out by the contents of this four-by-five closet. Brooms and mops full of cobwebs adorned the back wall, looking as if they had been hanging there untouched for decades. Several buckets were stacked in a corner, some with even dirtier rags hanging over their sides. A shelf full of cleaning solutions had been left undisturbed long enough to build up over an inch of dust.

Severus sneezed violently. He knew his allergies wouldn't be able to stand this room for long. He hoped Aberforth would bring Sienna up soon. He fished around in the pocket of his robes for a hanky but remembered he had given it to Winky. He put out the light so he could conjure himself another when the door opened, and in walked the mysterious person wrapped in gray bandages.

"Have fun, you two," teased Aberforth, "and let me know when you leave." Then he closed the door behind him with a snap.

The little room became pitch black.

"Lumos," said Severus again as he stifled another sneeze.

"Severus, it's so good to see you," said Sienna. They wrapped their arms around each other for a moment, and then she began to unwrap the bandages to reveal a grotesquely contorted face that appeared to be suffering from severe burns.

"My God! What happened to you?"

"Nothing!" She laughed as she cast the Muffliato spell at the door.

He sneezed again, but his wand was being used to light the room, so he couldn't conjure a hanky.

"Here," having read his mind as she could so easily do now, she silently conjured one for him. Then she reached under her chin with the fingers of both hands and pulled off the latex mask she was wearing.

Severus was quite relieved to see the beautiful, vibrant young face he had been expecting. "That's quite a disguise you've got there."

"The mask is from a Muggle Halloween costume shop. It fit me well and seemed pretty realistic when I put it on. I covered it with bandages to make it look more real. When I got here it was still daylight. I was stopped a couple of times by the Death Eaters. When they insisted I show my face, I would start to unveil myself, but as soon as they could begin to see the burns underneath, they would make some snide or ugly comment and send me on my way. I didn't even have to answer any questions. It worked perfectly."

Severus smiled down at her in the wand light. "I'm just so glad you arrived safely."

He bent down and began to kiss her like there was no tomorrow. They tangled themselves around each other like a Devil's Snare vine. Severus felt blood rushing to parts of himself that it hadn't rushed to in many years. He could tell that she was full of the raging hormones of youth as her hands began to explore his body and made their way down towards the erection that was so strong, he feared it would pop the buttons off his trousers.

Suddenly, he pulled away and sneezed violently again, jarring himself back to reality.

"Oh, you poor thing. Allergies?"

"Yes. All the dust in here."

"Can't you mix yourself up a potion for it?"

"Well, I could have if I had known, but I didn't check the place out when Aberforth offered it. I just assumed... I never dreamed it would be this bad in here."

"Is there somewhere else we could go? Your house at Spinner's End, perhaps?"

"Too risky. Wormtail feels free to come and go there as if he owns the place. I objected at first, but since I'm never there, it doesn't really matter."

They began to intertwine again and things really started to heat up. She pushed his cloak off of his shoulders, and it fell to the dirty floor in a rumpled heap. Then she reached to unbutton his shirt, but he grabbed her hands in his own and pulled away from her with a scowl.

"What's wrong?" She obviously looked puzzled and a bit hurt.

"It's a broom cupboard, Sienna. We're in a broom cupboard, for goodness sake!"

"So?"

"You don't want your first time to be in a dirty, dingy, very dusty broom cupboard, do you?"

"It's better than the back seat of an automobile, which is what usually happens with Muggles."

Severus pursed his lips. "Well, we're not Muggles, are we?"

She started for his buttons again. Again, he stopped her.

She didn't hesitate to show her disappointment.

"I'm not going to do this. Not here, not like this. Don't you want it to be special?"

"It will be special, as long as I'm with you. Every moment I spend with you is special. It doesn't matter where we are."

Severus sighed deeply. He thought for a moment. "What about the ashram?"

"Even if you had the time to spare to make the long journey, my guru, Babaji wouldn't let us sleep together unless we were married."

Severus didn't reply. He simply stared at their hands clustered together between them. Unless we were married... Would that be such a horrible thing? In the midst of this war he wasn't sure it would be wise. But the Dark Lord thought she was dead. If he only could find a place to hide her in the castle so they could spend time together as husband and wife, he would consider it. He wanted her – he loved her more than anything in the world.

"What about your private quarters?"

"Too risky. Several of the teachers already have the password to my office. If they can get into the office, they can get into my quarters. The system was really designed more to keep the students out than the teachers. When I change the password, the heads of each house are automatically notified."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't help anyway, since there's no way I can get in there undetected."

"Ah, now that little problem I have already taken care of." Severus announced proudly. Then he sneezed again.

"This is ridiculous!" She turned away from him to the room at large and began to whirl her wand through the air. "Scourgify!" The dust and grime began to lift off the objects, the floor, the walls and shelf, and disappear into the tip of her wand. Another wave brought forth a roomy padded chair, just large enough for both of them to squeeze into.

Severus took a deep breath. "Thank you." He cocked his head in her direction with a slight bow. He sat down and motioned for her to join him. As she nestled herself into the chair, he savored the sensation of being relaxed and happy with her by his side. When was the last time he had felt this way? Perhaps never. Her presence was food for his starving soul.

He proceeded to tell her about Winky and all the wonderful things she could do that wizards couldn't, and then they began to catch each other up on their separate goings on since the last time they had seen each other they hadn't exactly had a chance to talk much.

Finally, even with a cleaner environment, the dark, closed-in space began to wear on both of them.

"It's getting late. I'd better get back. I'm so sorry you came all this way for such a short visit."

She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned, it was worth the trouble just to feel your arms around me."

"When I find a better place to meet, I'll contact you. I wish there was someplace in the castle. I would suggest the room of requirement, but the entrance is too far from my quarters. Anyone could pass by in the hall, and if someone else is using the room you can't get into it."

Sienna gazed at the wall dreamily. For a moment, Severus wondered if her mind had wandered elsewhere.

"Earth to Sienna..."

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about something Albus said to me once."

"What's that?"

"He said that whenever he had a problem he couldn't solve on his own, he voiced his concerns in the peace and quiet of his bed chamber, and a solution would almost always present itself." She smiled up at Severus. "You might want to try it. You never know."

"Couldn't hurt, I suppose." He stood to put his cloak back on.

"Are you ready to meet my new house-elf?"

"Sure."

"Winky!"

She appeared with a loud POP! Sienna jumped back, startled, but also to give her some room.

"Winky at your service, Headmaster Snape, sir." She tried to bow deeply, but the room was so cramped her head hit the wall in front of her.

"Do be careful, Winky. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Severus said, trying not to smirk. "Sienna, meet Winky. Winky, meet Sienna."

Winky turned to Sienna and tried again to bow, just not so deeply this time. "Pleasure to meet Miss Sienna, ma'am."

"The pleasure's all mine." Sienna smiled and held out her hand to shake.

"Winky, if you would please, take Sienna wherever she needs to go, and then return to my quarters. I'll walk. People saw me walk in here. They need to see me walk back."

"Where would Miss Sienna like to go, ma'am?"

"Well, I need to get to India, but I guess if you just get me past the town limits I'll take it from there."

"India, ma'am?" those huge tennis-ball eyes stared up at her like she had always wanted to go there.

"Yes, but--"

"Where in India?"

"The ashram where I'm staying."

"If Miss Sienna closes her eyes and concentrates hard on the place, Winky can take her straight there!"

Severus' jaw dropped. "You mean you can take her all the way to India in the blink of an eye?"

"Yes, Headmaster Snape, sir."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"But Winky did tell Headmaster Snape, sir. Winky said, 'Winky can come from anywhere immediately,' Headmaster Snape, sir."

Severus looked at Sienna and nodded slowly. "She did say that. I remember now. I just didn't think she meant any where." They both looked down at Winky and started laughing.

"And once Winky knows where the ashram is, Winky can go there and bring back Miss Sienna."

"That's wonderful, Winky." Sienna was beaming at her.

"As I told you before, Winky, you're a life saver! Now you two better get going."

Severus kissed Sienna one last time with such passion that it made Winky blush. Then she took Sienna by the hand, and with a loud POP they were gone.