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Golden Hearts	By : BetaBloodLust Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Slash - Male/Male Views: 3689 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: See Full Disclaimer Below--Any chapters containing explicit material will begin with warnings for the wary

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own the characters within the Harry Potter series. J. K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter series and all original characters introduced within the series. I make no money from this story. All noncanonical characters are fictional fabrications. They belong to me. Any resemblances to real persons or groups of people are coincidence and should be summarily disregarded, and the doppelganger perpetrators should be shot for impersonating my creations. Have a nice day.

Golden Hearts: Chapter 15: Something Called Compassion

Arumus left Charms thinking about Theory of Magic. He ate whatever was before him distractedly at dinner, lost in thought. He apologized for being untalkative before he excused himself, telling Jordan and Percival he'd see them after his lesson. He left the Great Hall and made his way into the dungeons to Severus Snape's office once again.

He was a little early, so he waited at the end of the corridor. He heard muffled voices from behind the door, but he couldn't understand the words, so he didn't bother to move away. He wasn't eavesdropping if he couldn't understand, after all. He leaned against the nearest wall and pulled Severus' copy of Theory of Magic out of his bag, reading over the last chapter he had finished for something to do more than an actual need for review.

"Very well, Severus, I trust your judgment concerning this issue. Have a pleasant evening." Arumus straightened as he recognized the tall figure emerging from Severus' office. It was Professor Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore had that flighty thing Flitwick had mentioned, presence, in great quantities. He didn't really even need to hold a wand. He walked up to Arumus and paused, looking down through his half-moon spectacles. His eyes were cool blue, and he, too, made an effort to make and maintain eye contact.

"Good evening, Arumus."

"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore." Arumus inclined his head to allow his gaze to be easier for the tall man to meet. He recognized the slightly guarded look in Dumbledore's eyes. He was less on guard, though, and more likely ready to try to interrogate someone. Arumus thought fleetingly that it was like meeting the gaze of a lightning bolt on a collision course with his head.

Dumbledore was a very strong Legilimens, something Arumus had known the first moment he had met the headmaster's gaze. Arumus let himself feel the tension, the searching in those eyes, and his immediate instinct was to strengthen every barrier he possessed in defense, but he resisted the desire. He did it because he had decided to trust Severus, and that meant trusting Dumbledore. It was an electrifying feeling, like stepping off the edge of a cliff only to find that a thin shelf of glass was holding his weight, but he stepped off the edge and instantly brought every barrier down, nearly panting from the sheer effort involved.

He stood, staring up into the lightening, and he realized that the bolt was gone. Albus Dumbledore smiled down at him with kindness, his blue eyes twinkling. "Nice to see you are working hard," he commented.

"Yes, sir," Arumus replied, slightly stunned.

"Keep it up, Arumus. You will be great one day if you do," Dumbledore said before taking his leave.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate the sentiment."

Dumbledore stopped and turned back, musingly, studying Arumus keenly again. "So polite... So very polite." And the headmaster spun on his heel, walking briskly down the corridor, his heeled boots clicking staccato beats that echoed off the walls.

Arumus turned to regard Severus, who had watched the exchange from the threshold of his office door. "That, Severus," he said wryly, "Was a little too planned to be sheer coincidence."

"That, Arumus," replied Severus, matching Arumus' wry tone, "Is Dumbledore for you." And he smiled a small smile. "Sometimes, you are too clever for your own good... Now, please come in."

Arumus followed Severus into his office.

"Please, have a seat," He offered.

"Thank you, Severus." Arumus sat, once again facing his professor, meeting his dark eyes, and he was unaware that his blue eyes had taken on something similar to Dumbledore's lightening, save that his seemed ready to freeze fire. "Please, Severus, will you tell me why the headmaster wanted to give me a test, only after my first lesson?"

Severus' eyes smiled as he nodded slightly. "He claimed it was necessary for his peace of mind, and though I assured him you were too clever to be tricked by such a ploy, he told me, quite calmly, that he didn't expect you to be misled."

Arumus sat quietly for a moment. "I see," He replied finally. The explanation did not truly answer his question, but he thought it was the best answer he was going to get for the moment. The eminent freeze in his eyes evaporated after a few more seconds. "Thank you for giving me an honest answer, Severus."

"Of course. Now," And his tone became more brisk, "How far have you read so far in Theory of Magic?"

"I have finished chapter seven."

Severus seemed slightly surprised. "I am curious, Arumus. How long did that take you?"

"I read the first three chapters in about forty-five minutes after I left your office, and the next four were the work of an hour. Why do you ask, Severus?" Arumus was genuinely curious.

"The book contains complex subject matter, and I wished to know how swiftly you were able to assimilate the information. Tell me, Arumus, what do you think about the first half of the book?"

"I find Stockham a brilliant and cunning author." Arumus paused. "He writes in such a way that his meaning would be completely obscured to a casual reader, and he manages to discuss the mysterious power of the moving force behind the cosmos, love, without ever mentioning the word. Because he takes such an analytical track, his arguments leave the less desirable impediments of unchecked emotion behind. It is refreshing." Arumus finished his brief assessment quietly.

"Excellent observations," Severus commented, and his eyes affirmed the praise. "However, though the importance of understanding emotions through intellect cannot be emphasized enough, of equal, and some would argue greater, importance is the ability to understand and experience the intellect through emotion. Many disregard the latter half of the book for this very reason."

Arumus frowned slightly and asked, "Severus, how can emotions be used to understand the intellect?"

"You perhaps think that the logical portion of the mind naturally works to unravel the mysteries behind our emotional, irrational mind?" Severus seemed slightly amused.

"It seems natural..." Arumus replied.

"This process seems natural to you because you are exceptionally gifted in the area of logic," Severus said, his eyes deepening. Arumus saw, for the first time, something besides truth there, and the depth of that thing he did not fully understand was so vast that it astounded him. "I do not think I am mistaken in adding that you have spent an unusual amount of time coolly analyzing your emotional state. You would not be such an accomplished Occulmens if you had not done so."

Arumus nodded, and a kind of warmth seemed to be spreading through his body, a familiar ache in his chest as he realized that he wanted to know that depth within Severus' eyes and understand it. Arumus spoke, "Thank you, Severus. You have a gift for seeing truth."

Severus continued to gaze into Arumus eyes with that depth and continued quietly. "Because you have studied Occlumency, you keep your emotions behind barriers, but you still experience them, perhaps more strongly due to the isolation you are forced to maintain... And yet you can dissipate those barriers to let the golden core shine through with such apparent ease. Why?"

Arumus arched a brow. "You think this comes easily, Severus? I assure you, it is the most difficult thing I have ever done." He paused for a moment, and then continued somewhat recklessly. "I don't think I have ever trusted anyone so..." Arumus felt his cheeks flush at the admission.

The potions master nodded, and he was quiet for several moments before speaking. "You will not regret it, I promise." Severus' voice shook slightly, and the depth in his eyes seemed to reach out.

Arumus found himself engulfed momentarily in that vastness, and he recognized the emotion only because he finally realized it must be obvious in his own eyes. The warmth, the ache, and the unfettered wish to understand, coupled with that wild, uncontrollable joy was perhaps the most wonderful, yet terrifying, sensation he had ever experienced. One word could sum it up, but the word seemed a paltry thing next to the emotional Everest it represented.

"Thank you, Severus." He paused. "I believe I understand, now, about what you said. Understanding intellect through emotional means is the only way to truly understand another human being."

Severus smiled briefly and nodded. "Yes. I prefer to call it compassion."

Arumus understood intuitively. "Compassion is an... appropriate word," He agreed.

They sat in silence for a few moments, both seemingly lost in thought. Arumus pondered the difference between his emotions toward Draco and this newfound thing that was so utterly warm, inherently free, and indescribably beautiful. He suppressed the tingle that seemed to invade his flesh and thought furiously of something, anything else. The last book about Transfiguration he had read flashed through his mind, and he considered it thoughtfully.

Finally, Arumus broke the stillness. "Severus, I have a question about the properties of the Five Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration in regards to magical theory. If certain base elements, like food and money, cannot be created with magic, how does this mesh with our ability to create or summon almost anything else from nonbeing?"

Severus regarded him in silence, but he finally replied. "The exceptions are thought to be derived from specifics concerning the nature of living things, and the only known ways to subvert this law have been discovered through the study of alchemy.

"The ability to alter dark curses affecting any physical part of a living creature, to bring back the dead, to create food, money, or sentient life, is so basic to our world and our knowledge that the reasons can only be discussed through speculation." He paused thoughtfully. "One rather interesting book, The Philosophy of Exceptions, goes into detail on this matter, citing several experts. It is, of course, in the restricted section of the library, but if you would like to read it...?"

"I would be grateful, Severus." Arumus replied.

"I would be happy to grant permission, then." He opened a drawer in his desk, removing a piece of parchment, quill, and inkbottle. "Why did you bring up the Exceptions, Arumus?"

Arumus considered. "Something about the notion of compassion, understanding sentient beings and life itself, along with my recent readings of the Theory of Magic together just seemed to hint at the whisper of a connection. It was an educated guess. Why do you ask, Severus?"

His professor nodded, taking a moment to glance down as he scrawled his permission for Arumus to check out the philosophy book. Severus' eyes met Arumus' once more as he spoke, "You have a natural feel for these subjects, Arumus. Tell me, when did you guess that my lessons would eventually lead back to the subject upon which you requested we focus, Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"I realized the track you might take after I read the first chapter of Theory of Magic." Arumus admitted the suspicion he had been considering off and on throughout the day and previous evening. "Innuendo and obfuscation aside, I believe that Stockham wrote his book as a kind of introduction to advanced study of the Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"What prompted this notion?" Severus asked curiously.

"His words are foundational to all magical endeavors, of course, but Stockham seems geared toward Defense. I think that's because a true defense can only be reached through deep compassion, and it can be reached only if one truly understands the Jungian notion of The Other through that compassion..."

Severus looked surprised. "You've read Carl Jung? I didn't expect you to have a working knowledge of muggle psychology because I didn't think Lucius would permit it..." He said thoughtfully.

"He didn't, exactly, but I don't take kindly to unreasonable restrictions. I have had a muggle library card since I was five. The librarian was reluctant to give it to me without my parents, but when I told her that they hadn't raised me, I think she assumed they were dead and took pity on me."

Severus' mouth twitched, his eyes glinting. "No doubt you gave her that smile you have, along with a cleverly cloaked demand to hurry her decision..."

Arumus couldn't keep from smiling. "Ah. That could have tipped the scales somewhat... Really, Severus, I think you may be one of the most perceptive people I have ever met."

Severus arched a brow, eyes amused but pleased. "As I said, a compliment on your tongue carries danger. Especially, it seems, for unwary librarians." He glanced at the clock. "We have exceeded your curfew tonight, so I will escort you to the common room. Come." He stood.

"I truly appreciate the extra time, Severus. Thank you," Arumus stood after he spoke.

"I am happy to spend extra time," Severus paused, almost as if he had just reassessed his words, "With such a thoughtful, inquisitive student. The pleasure is mine."

As Severus led him out of the office, Arumus glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was past eleven o'clock.
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Golden Hearts