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Numen Pumilum	By : AuctorRubra Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 15661 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Disclaimer: *Sniffle* Harry Potter and his wonderful
world do not belong to (Blows nose) Some of this popped out of my crazy
little brain, but if you recognize it, chances are that it belongs to J.K.
Rowling. *sob* I�m not getting paid for this, so
please don�t sue me or anything like that.

zzzzzzzzz = beginning and
ending of dream sequences

�Parseltongue�

_______________________________________________________________________

Healing in Small Doses Part I

August 19^th, 1997 11:14p.m.

Severus now understood why, at the
age of seventeen, he had been warned by his Apparition instructor never to
attempt Apparition while inebriated.
After his first misstep into Knockturn Alley,
Severus ended up in the middle of a Muggle cinema, then in front of the Hogwarts
gates, then five different attempts landed him in front of five different
houses that looked like number twelve Grimmauld
Place, and finally in some field in the
middle of nowhere. After taking fifteen
minutes to just let the last of the hex wear off, Severus was finally able to
get to the front door of number twelve Grimmauld Place only to enter
and quickly be ushered into the sitting room where he was forced to witness
Black mauling Eris. If the girl hadn�t
been in the way he might have simply killed the bloody bastard on the spot.

�What the hell do you think you are doing,
Black,� he snarled. He advanced on the
entwined couple and wrenched Eris away, into his own arms. The girl whimpered and he looked down to see
her eyes full of confusion. She was
torn, of course, torn between not knowing why her mentor was upset with her and
the burst of desire he was certain she felt at his touch. He took advantage of her momentary confusion
to reach inside of his robes and pull out a Sober-Up potion and a calming
draught. He quickly uncorked each with
his teeth and held them to her lips.
�It�s alright, Eris. This will
make you feel better.�

Eris quickly obeyed his unspoken
command and collapsed fully in his arms for a moment. Her breathing steadied and he felt a definite
amount of heat seep out of her. He
looked over at Black, who was leaning heavily against the wall and looking very
out of sorts. He wondered if the others
would let him get away with hexing the mangy mutt. His attention was quickly drawn away when
Eris began to struggle.

�Let me go!
Let me go! Don�t touch me,� she
screamed. Severus quickly released her
and watched wide-eyed as she darted behind a chair.

That Miss Roslyn character stepped
forward. �She�s crashing.�

�Excuse me,� Severus asked with a sneer.

The wretched pain-in-the-arse rolled her eyes.
�She�s coming down off the adrenaline high that�s been keeping her
going. She�s traumatized from what was
done to her and then she was forced to behave like nothing was wrong for the
past day.�

Eris� screams spurred Draco into
action. The boy ran to Eris� hiding
place and began to speak to her softly.
�Eris, love, please come to me.
It will be all right. You know I
can�t hurt you. You know how much I love
you.�

Severus watched as Draco knelt
there on the floor, his arms open wide and his voice pleading. He suddenly felt very proud of his
godson. He never thought he�d see the
day where a Malfoy would be on his knees for the sake of another. When Eris finally threw herself into
Draco�s arms, Severus breathed a sigh of relief, which he heard echoed by the
people standing behind him.

Draco was gently stroking Eris�
back and Severus looked over to see how Black was taking it. As he suspected, the mutt looked excessively
jealous. He looked back over to his
godson and charge to see Draco brushing little kisses all over Eris� face. He was talking to her in soothing tones. �I was so frightened when they took you. I love you so much, I know I�ve never said
that the way I should, but I do. If we
hadn�t gotten you back I think I would have gone insane.�

Miss Roslyn stepped towards them
slowly. Perhaps she was spurred forward
by the murderous look Black was giving Draco.
�Draco, kiddo, why don�t you get Eris up to one of the
empty bedrooms. I�m going to get
my mother.�

Potter looked startled. �But your mother�s a Muggle! Why does she need to be here?�

�My mom�s a Muggle psychiatrist. She�s helped Eris before and she�ll know
better than any of the rest of us what Eris needs right now to get through
this.�

Severus watched silently as the
young teacher made her way to the fireplace.
He had heard of these�psychiatrists.
Much as he did not want to agree with Miss Roslyn Green on anything, it
did sound like the best option they had.
Merlin knew that Eris never told the whole truth to any of them,
whatever her reasons may be.

______________________________________________________________________

Harry sighed and looked back at Zabini and Goyle. If he wasn�t going to be able to be with his
sister he was going to finish interrogating the two Slytherins. He went and stood in front of them and they
gazed at him warily. �I would like to
have a word with you two in the kitchen.
Professor Snape, would you like to accompany us?�

Harry could help but smirk at his
mentor�s scowl. �Snape will do,
Potter. You know very well that you�ll
never see me teaching at Hogwarts again.�

�Fine,� Harry said with a nod. �Sirius, you can come too if you promise not
to hex anyone.�

His godfather frowned. �What is that supposed to mean?�

Harry rolled his eyes. �You don�t look particularly happy at the
moment and, though I do not like to take Snape�s side
over yours, he had to pull you two apart.
She wouldn�t have forgiven you, Sirius, no matter how equal the blame was.�

Harry noticed that Snape was
staring at them suspiciously. He turned
and led the four other wizards to the kitchen, where he quickly set about
making tea. Snape apparently wanted to
get right down to business. �Potter,
what exactly are you doing?�

�I�m making tea,� Harry said quietly. �Its been a stressful night and we�re all
going to sit, have a cup of tea, and discuss what happened calmly.�

He turned then and pinned his two
Slytherin year mates with a calculating glare.
�As long as we determine that you two haven�t hurt Eris in any way or
are here under false pretenses, you don�t have to worry about myself or Draco
slicing you to ribbons.�

Snape snorted. �And I suppose you would just expect me to
sit by and let you have all the fun?�

Zabini
and Goyle had looked a tad frightened at Harry�s
comment, but Snape�s left them looking positively
ill. Harry almost felt grateful to the snarky git. Sirius was just sitting quietly, looking as
though he was afraid that saying anything would get him kicked out of the
room. He actually still looked to be a
bit in shock. Harry figured it just must
have been one hell of a kiss.

Harry set the teakettle on the
table and passed around the cups. As he
handed a cup to Zabini he spoke quietly. �Please tell us how you ended up with
Eris. Do not lie. Either Snape or myself will catch it.�

His fingers brushed Zabini�s as he handed over the teacup and he felt a foreign
rush of something in his mind. Before he
really had time to contemplate this, Zabini began to
speak. �Greg, Vince, and I decided to
try and help Eris escape. Mrs. Malfoy
and I talked Greg and Vince into it to begin with. She was quite adamant about getting your
sister out of there.�

�Why?
You had to know she�s my sister,� Harry said with a frown. �Why turn against Voldemort for her?�

Everyone else in the room
shivered. Zabini,
for his part, looked a bit exasperated.
�Pureblood children grow up on tales of elves, stories of their purity
and goodness. What they wanted was
disgusting.�

Snape was nodding a bit in
agreement. �Remember, Potter, how Eris
tried to express to you how highly bonded mates are regarded. That is part of the legacy that Mr. Zabini is explaining.�

Zabini
looked fierce. �Trying to force something
like that is an abomination. The
long-time Death Eaters were too jaded to care, but I have no desire to be
associated with a maniac who would willing injure one of the most revered
magical creatures in our world!�

Harry frowned. �We�re only part Numen
Pumilum.�

Sirius sighed. �Harry, remember that the pureblooded Numina Pumilum are nearly
extinct. There are a few pureblooded
elders left, but a pureblooded birth hardly ever occurs any more. Nearly all Numina Pumilum have a drop or two of wizard blood in their veins
and even with that their numbers dwindle more with every passing year.�

Harry looked at Sirius oddly, as
did Snape. �Sirius�how��

His godfather rolled his
eyes. �I did read those books you
know. You�re my responsibility now and I
needed to know what is happening to you.�

Harry smiled. �Remus was reading up for Eris and told you
to do the same, didn�t he?�

Sirius scowled. �I asked to see the book!�

�Okay,� Harry said quietly and turned back to
his two schoolmates. �What are you two
hoping for now?�

�I can�t speak for Greg, but I�m willing to
stand beside you,� Zabini said firmly. �I couldn�t stay neutral now even if I wanted
to. If my father were alive he would
want this I think.�

Harry looked at Goyle and wondered if the boy would talk at all. �What about you?�

�They killed Vince,� Goyle
said gruffly. �Imperius
couldn�t drag me back now.�

Harry nodded and looked over to
Sirius. �It looks like we�ll need to
expand our dorms for two more.�

____________________________________________________________________

Remus stared at the door that had
just been slammed in his face. He
couldn�t believe that Tonks was reacting this way, as though he had
purposefully kissed the girl! He knew that
Tonks had been feeling a bit jealous of Eris lately, but he thought she was
just resentful of their lost time. Never
would he have considered that Tonks felt threatened by Eris as a competitor for
his affections. Not that it mattered
much anymore. Tonks had told him in no
uncertain terms that she wanted him out of her life.

Remus sighed. He�d known that things would end badly, but
hadn�t foreseen something like this as a reason. Tonks was a wonderful young woman and he
would never have gone off behind her back.

Sighing heavily, Remus turned and
headed to the stairs where he was met by Roslyn and a woman who looked like an
older copy off the young DADA teacher.
�Hello. Who do you have with you,
Miss Green?�

�Please, just keep calling me Roslyn,
Remus. This is my mother, Dr. Josephine
Green. Mom, this is Mr. Remus Lupin,
Eris� godfather.�

�I�m pleased to meet you, Dr. Green,� Remus
said, extending his hand to the woman.�

�Oh, just call me Josie, dear,� the woman said
with a sad smile. Remus thought being
called �dear� by her was a bit odd. She
couldn�t be more than ten years older than him.
�I�m here to help Eris.�

�Oh?�
Remus frowned a bit. Hadn�t one
of the girls mentioned that Dr. Green was a Muggle?

�Yes, I�m a psychiatrist, Remus.� Josie looked thoughtful for a moment. �Do you know what that is?�

Remus laughed. �Yes, Josie, I do. I don�t know much about how you do what you
do, but I understand the general occupation.�

Draco stepped out into the hall
then from a door a few feet away. �She�s
quiet now, but she won�t speak to me anymore.
She didn�t want me to touch her at all now either. I think it�s safe to say that only the ladies
have a chance of getting close to her at this point.

Josie sighed. �That�s very common, dear. Nothing to worry about. Eris�ll have to go
through the steps like anyone. She�s
just a bit more stubborn than most.�

Remus place a hand on Draco�s
shoulder to stop him from following as Josie and Roslyn made their way into
Eris� bedroom. The blond wizard looked
up at him with a frown. �She�s the Muggle
psychiatrist, right?�

Remus nodded. �Everything will be fine, Draco.�

�I know,� the boy said with a sigh. �Eris mentioned her.�

�Why don�t we go see how Harry is doing with
your classmates,� Remus said, giving the boy�s shoulder a pat.

________________________________________________________________________

It was cold and dark in the
bedroom. Eris let the quiet wash over
her and allowed herself to fall further under the influence of the Calming Draught. She needed this blank feeling, this emptiness
of the mind. When her frenzied brain had
first cleared, she�d been torn between wanting to attack Sirius and feeling
ashamed. Shame won out.

Even not the sense of shame was
battering against her mental walls.
Severus� touch had burned as though her dishonor could seep through her
skin and taint her mentor. Draco, she
was able to bare his gentle hands for a short time. His fear had seemed to seep into her as he
drew near, but also his vast relief that she was now safe. That sense of relief had stilled her long
enough to be put to bed, but as suddenly as it came, the sensation was gone and
Eris was once again lost in her shame and fear.

There was a knock at the door and
Eris took deep breaths to prepare herself for whoever
was entering. She was happy to see that
it was Dr. Green and Miss Roslyn and not Severus or Harry. She didn�t think she could handle her twin or
her mentor looking at her right then, looking at her and seeing her shame.

�Hello, Eris dear,� Dr. Green said
gently. �Roslyn asked me to come and
help you. Is that alright?�

Eris nodded, but said
nothing. Dr. Green was safe. Like Miss Roslyn, the Muggle psychiatrist
knew all of her past sins. It was
nothing to let her see the new ones as well, but she wasn�t ready to speak of
them.

Miss Roslyn came and sat on the
edge of the bed. �Eris, we have Hermione
calling Madam Pomfrey to come and look at you.
She needs to make sure that you�ve been healed properly and that�that��

�And to see if you�re pregnant, dear,� Dr.
Green finished for her daughter. �I
understand that you wizarding folk are able to find
out immediately.�

Eris looked at the two women for a
moment and then sighed. �I�m not
pregnant.�

Miss Roslyn frowned. �Eris, how can you know that? Do you know the spell?�

�No, I can�t get pregnant.�

Miss Roslyn�s eyes went wide. �Did they do something so that you
couldn�t? Eris�did they do something
permanent?�

Eris shook her head and had the
craziest urge to smile. �No, I�m sorry I
didn�t me that I can never get pregnant.
I won�t be fertile until I bond with my mate.�

�I see,� her teacher said softly. �Well, that�s one worry taken care of. Are you going to be alright with Madam
Pomfrey looking over you?�

�I�ll be fine.
When can we go back to Hogwarts?�

Dr. Green spoke up. �I think it will be okay for you to go back
tomorrow if you�re feeling up to it. I
would like to stay and have sessions with you every day until the start of your
school year. Is that acceptable?�

Eris sighed. It would do no good to say she didn�t want to
talk about it. �That will be fine.�

She watched as Dr. Green gave her
daughter �The Look� and Miss Roslyn left the room. She was going into Josie mode now as she took
Miss Roslyn�s place on the bed. �I�m
just going to ask one question, Eris, and if you answer it truthfully I�ll let
you get some sleep and leave the rest until morning.�

Eris looked into the woman�s
grey-blue eyes and took a deep breath.
Josie would never tell her secrets.
Josie was safe. �Okay.�

�How do you feel right now?�

Eris turned to look over at the bare
wall. �Ashamed."

____________________________________________________________________

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Harry glanced around where he was standing. It was as though he had fallen into a black
void. �Hello?�

His voice echoed through the space and then he noticed a movement of to
his right. Lord Voldemort stepped from
the shadows, a cruel smile on his face.
�Harry Potter�you�re snooping. How rude of you, and with Eris trusting you so deeply these days.�

Harry glared at the dark wizard.
�What is that supposed to mean?�

�It means, stupid boy, that you
have invaded Eris� mind. Would you like
to see the nightmare she�s having? Would
you like to know what we did to her?�
Voldemort turned away, walking towards a muffled noise.

Harry hurried after him. He
wasn�t sure if this was just a dream or if it was like the time during the
History of Magic OWL. Was he really in
Eris� head�her dreams? Soon the muffled
sounds grew louder and then walked into a dimly space. He immediately wished he hadn�t followed. Eris was tied down to a bed with Lucius
Malfoy straddling her hips. She was
convulsing violently as the bastard raped her.
Voldemort went and sat near Eris� head.
He brushed his fingers through her hair.
Harry wanted nothing more than to hex them both�but this wasn�t real�not
at the moment anyway. Is this really
what he didn�t to her? She was covered
with blood and he could see small cuts covering her skin.

�What do you want,� Harry spat.

Voldemort smiled coldly. �I want
you to see what your sister really is. I
want you to see how deeply and truly she belongs to me.�

�Looks like Malfoy�s the one doing the work from where I�m
standing.� Something cold filled Harry�s
stomach. He felt as though he could hear
what was going on in Voldemort�s mind, as though he
knew what was going to be said next.

�Do you really think I did not
come in and take his place eventually?
She didn�t seem to remember, but eventually it will surface. It won�t affect her too deeply I should
think. She already knows that I own
her.�

Harry clenched his fists. �Maybe
you did once, but not any more. She�s
with me now. She wants nothing to do
with you anymore.�

Voldemort laughed a scratchy and dull sound. �Rest assured, boy, that
no matter how things appear Eris will return to me before the end.�

�Liar,� Harry hissed. �She�ll never return to you.�

The dark wizard slipped off the bed and advanced towards him. Harry stood his ground even as Voldemort took
his chin in one hand and gazed deeply into his eyes. He stared defiantly into the red orbs. �She is tied more deeply to me than she ever
could be to you. Things will play out
according to her true nature. You�ll
see. Even if she stays with you until the
last possible moment, your sister will be by my side when the final battle
comes.�

Harry jerked himself away and watched in horror as Voldemort began to
disrobe and walk back towards the bed.
Malfoy relinquished his position, continuing to curse Eris even as
Voldemort took his place. Harry turned
away feeling sick as Eris� screams began to fill his ears. Then he heard another sound.

�Harry�Harry, come this way
son,� called a soft voice.

Knowing there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening behind
him, Harry followed the sound of the voice.
Perhaps it would wake him up and he could go to Eris� room and check on
her. �Who�s there?�

�Follow the sound of our voices,
Harry,� said another voice, deeper than the first.

Harry soon stepped into another dimly lit space and gasped when
confronted with the images of his mother and father. �Mum�dad?�

His mother smiled and nodded.
�Come here, baby,� she said, opening her arms. He ran into them and held her tightly. He felt his father slid up behind him to
embrace him as well. �You couldn�t do
anything, Harry. It was just a
nightmare. It was real once, but not
anymore. You can�t let him torture you
like this.�

Harry pulled back a bit. �So
Eris is dreaming of that right now?�

His father nodded. �Yes, son,
but don�t worry. Someone is helping her
right now. She won�t have to go through
that any more tonight.�

Harry took a deep breath. �Did
you�see?�

Tears filled his mother�s eyes and his father�s face hardened. �We were with her when it happened,
Harry. We were there giving her
strength, but there was nothing we could do to stop it.�

His mother pulled him close again.
�I�m so glad you finally have each other, baby. Don�t you worry. You�re sister is stronger than even she
thinks. Eris is a fighter and it will
take more than this to beat her.�

Harry shuddered. �Please, tell
me she isn�t going to go through more than that.�

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. �There�s no way to tell, but you need to
stand by her son, no matter what. Eris
is a secretive girl. She�s learned not
to trust people as well as she should.�

Harry laughed bitterly. �Tell me
about it. How are we supposed to help
her if she won�t let us in?�

�Give her time,� Lily said
gently. �Severus will help her and that
Dr. Green has helped her before.�

Harry looked over at his father to see what he thought of Snape helping
his children. His father smiled
grimly. �I know what you�re thinking,
son. Snape would never have been my
first choice as a mentor for you, but it isn�t something we can choose. Albus was my mentor and at the time I wasn�t
too certain I wanted him to be. Its
something you get used to.�

Harry snorted at the idea that he would ever get used to Snape. �The bastard killed Professor
Dumbledore. I will never be used to him,
ever.�

Both his parents shook their heads.
His father pulled him around to look right in his eyes. �Harry, you need to hear all of his side of
the story first. And you also need to
know that Albus knew what was going to happen.
There was no way around it in the end.
It doesn�t change the fact that Snape killed a man with an Unforgivable
Curse, but it does change the light shining down on that fact.�

�So, no matter what we�re going
to have to find a way to keep him out of Azkaban when this is all over?�

His parents shared what looked like a significant glance. Lily smiled.
�Worry about that when the time comes, dear. For now you need to focus on getting through
this war in one piece.�

Harry nodded, but deep down he knew there was something they weren�t
telling him.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Harry woke slowly and stretched
his limbs. He could hear Ron�s soft
snoring and glanced over to see that Draco was also still asleep on his cot
across the room. He slipped out of bed
and started to get dressed. He needed to
go check on his sister and then he needed to have a talk with Snape.

_____________________________________________________________________

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Eris was screaming herself hoarse trying to get away from Lucius�
grip. She kept telling herself it was
just a nightmare, but that didn�t make it go away. She fought with a ferocity that had been
lacking in her last attempts at escape during the actual ordeal. Soon she was on the floor, huddled in a
corner. She was fully clothed again and
when she looked up she saw herself still being accosted on the bed nearby. She looked away with a shudder of horror. That was when she felt the gentle hand on her
shoulder.

Her head jerked upwards, expecting to see another attacker. Instead she was greeted by sympathetic, grey
eyes that reminded her greatly of Draco and Sirius. The gentle hands helped her to her feet. The man before her was a ghostly image in
white robes, his black hair long and pulled back from his face. He looked to only be a few years older than
her. �Hello, Eris. Why don�t I take you away from here?�

Eris nodded and followed by the young man�s side, his arm around her
shoulders. She couldn�t place why his
touch wasn�t bothering her, the way everyone else�s currently did. Perhaps it was just because she was dreaming. �Who are you?�

The man smiled. �Who do you
think I am?�

Eris frowned. What kind of game
was this now? �I have no idea�but you do
seem very familiar.�

He chuckled. �I suppose I
would. Eris, I have some very important
things that I need to talk to you about.
You�re going to have a hard time remembering them when you wake up, but
you have to try. I�ll visit you every
night until you remember.�

Eris tensed. �This isn�t a
dream?�

�Yes and no. You were dreaming and I came to pull you away
from the nightmare.� The man�s grey eyes
hardened a bit. �I won�t let you suffer
through that. We will help keep the
nightmares away until you are able to do it yourself.�

�We?�

�You father,
mother, and I. They thought that
perhaps you would rather get used to the idea of seeing them before they
actually appeared. They know you�ve been
angry with them,� he said softly.

�That doesn�t quite say it,�
Eris spat then sighed heavily. �I guess
they were right. Now, didn�t you have
something important to tell me?�

He smiled down at her. �Yes, I
need to tell you about a special locket and where to find it. Go to��

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

August
20^th

Eris awoke to the sound of someone
knocking gently on her bedroom door.
�Come in.�

The door opened and Harry poked
his head in. She felt a blush
immediately heat her cheeks. Harry
smiled warmly at her, but it didn�t make her feel any better about his
presence. �Hey there. I just wanted to let you know that there�s
someone we need to talk to today.�

Eris frowned. She already knew about talking with
Josie. �Who?�

Harry stepped timidly into the
room and Eris pulled the blankets tightly about herself. �Remember the elves that were with Miss
Roslyn? One of them, his name�s Tahdei, said that he had some things to tell us. He wants to help Snape train us actually,
since Snape isn�t an elf. Maybe he�ll
know why Ginny�s aura changed.�

Eris nodded slowly. She instantly wondered if this elf would be
able to explain the many colors she�d been seeing lately. In the next second she wondered how she would
even face him. If he was pureblooded he
would probably be disgusted with her.
�Okay. I�ll be down in a little
bit.�

Harry�s smile faded, but he nodded
and slipped quietly from the room. Eris
threw back her covers and made her way to the small bag that held her
clothes. She put on a pair of jeans, a
t-shirt, and a zip-up sweater. When she
felt thoroughly armored, she slipped out of her room and towards the bathroom
to wash her face and brush her hair. Anything to stall facing the purity of a true Numen
Pumilum for a few minutes longer.

_____________________________________________________________________

Harry sat on the couch and watched
as Snape paced the room. Tahdei was standing near the fireplace, a benign smile on
his face. There was no time like the
present for clearing the air. �Snape, I
think there are some things that you and I need to say to each other.�

The dark-eyed wizard halted his
pacing and glared at him. �Are you sure
this is the proper time?�

Harry sighed. �The less tension between us, the better we
can help Eris.�

His ex-Potions professor nodded
curtly and seated himself in the armchair.
�I�m sure that your main question has to do with why I killed
Albus.� Snape stopped and took a deep breath.

Harry swallowed hard. �I know about the Unbreakable Vow.�

Severus sent another penetrating
glare his way for a moment and then sighed.
�The first thing you need to know about that is that I had no idea what
I was promising. Albus was constantly
insisting that I needed to protect my spy status at any cost and I knew that if
I did not make the vow to Narcissa things would have
gone badly. There was no threat from Narcissa herself, but Bellatrix
would have used it against me in spite of the face that she didn�t believe for
a moment that I would give in to Narcissa�s request. Not until that very moment when I arrived at
the tower top did I know what I was going to have to do.�

�Dumbledore did,� Harry said softly. Noticing Snape�s
sharp look Harry continued. �I had a
dream last night�well I thought it was a dream anyway. My parents came to talk to me and they told
me that Dumbledore had known what was coming.
They think I need to get along with you, even my dad.�

Snape snorted. �Yes, well I suppose he understands that
there really is no other choice.�

�Why did you kill him,� Harry blurted
out. �Was it just to save your own skin
or was there more to it? Was it just
because it was him or you?�

Snape sighed. �Harry, I will not lie to you, that was a large part of it.
There was also the fact that I could see no way to get Draco and Albus
out of that situation. Had I refused to
fulfill the vow, I would have died and left them both to suffer the
consequences. I do not mean this
cruelly, but you must understand that I think a bit differently than you. Attempting to save Albus gained us nothing,
but lost us a great deal. Albus would
have died anyway without my assistance in counteracting the affects of the
potion. I would have died, loosing the
Order its spy. Draco would have been
left to face his failure. The Dark Lord
expected the boy to die and would have killed him on the spot if he dared to
return with the other Death Eaters.�

Harry nodded. �You acted like a true Slytherin. You weighed the pros and cons in the matter
of seconds and took the action that actually left things better off, despite
appearances. I was angry with you for
not getting yourself slaughtered the way a Gryffindor would have, right?�

Snape shook his head sadly. �Do not belittle yourself for your house�s
strong desire to protect those you love.
I have been doing that for you for years.�

�So that�s why you were so angry when I called
you a coward,� Harry muttered. �You�d
actually done something very difficult.�

Snape shook his head. �Don�t dress it up, Potter. I was angry because I felt like I had acted the coward. When I saw you and how desperately you were
trying to apprehend us it hit me right in the gut. I�ve known and cared a good deal for Albus
for years! I let him die because the
calculations didn�t add up in his favor.
There you were, only his student for six years and taking on fully grown
Death Eaters who would have loved to kill you.
You made me ashamed,� Snape spat.

Harry found himself feeling a good
deal differently about Snape faced with this information. He knew the man was opening himself up to
ridicule and hatred, something he probably had guarded quite well against after
his years fighting off the Marauders.
Something important occurred to Harry then. �But you saved me, sir. I almost got myself killed and you saved me
from the Death Eaters. Then would have
killed me or cursed me insane without your protection.�

Snape looked at him in
confusion. Harry rolled his eyes. �Yes, you git, I�m
trying to say thank you. You saved more
lives than you took that night. We�re
going to have a hell of a time keeping you out of Azkaban when the war is over,
but I don�t think you belong there.�

�Thank you,� Snape said gruffly and then stared
pointedly at the carpet. Conversation over.

Harry ran a hand through his hair
and glanced over at Tahdei, who smiled brightly at
him. The elf seemed proud. Harry decided that now was as good a time as
any to start asking his new �teacher� questions. �Tahdei, Eris and I
recently noticed that the aura around Ginny Weasley has changed. After my birthday she was glowing gold, so
strongly that we were certain she was one of my predestined mates, but now
she�s a sickly green.�

The elf frowned a bit. �I don�t understand what you mean by a sickly
green, Harry.�

�Er�kind of a
yellow-green.�

�Why would you call it sickly,� Tahdei asked with a questioning smile.

Harry shrugged. �I don�t know�maybe because it reminded us of
the Killing Curse�s color. Don�t you
ever name colors because they remind you of something bad?�

Tahdei
laughed. �No, Harry, not that I�ve ever
heard. Elves love colors. Ever one has an importance and meaning. Take your mentor, for example. He is wearing black, a very sacred color
because it is actually all colors combined.�

Harry looked over at Snape and
grinned. The potions master was now
looking at his robes with mild disgust.
A stifled giggle pulled his attention towards the entry way where he found
Eris standing.

�Well, well, Severus. Contemplating a wardrobe change?�

Snape jumped from his seat and
advanced towards Eris, only to stop when she jumped back. Harry sighed, feeling badly for the man. He knew that the pair had grown close before
all this shit started. He only hoped
that Eris wouldn�t hold them all at arms length for too long.

_______________________________________________________________________

Eris gave Severus an apologetic
look and stepped closer to him. �I�m
sorry�you just�just startled me, that�s all.�

Severus took a step closer and Eris
managed to hold her ground. When her
mentor reached out for her she allowed the touch. Instantly she felt all of his concern,
sadness, and love pour into her. She
wondered vaguely if it was just him pushing the emotions through the bond, but
then she began to feel things that she didn�t think he would allow her to
see. She felt how jealous and angry he
was with Sirius. She felt how attracted
he actually was to her, but she also felt that a great deal of it was stemming
from his unrequited feelings for her mother.
Eris jerked away from his touch.
Something was not right.

�What did you feel,� asked a smooth, tenor
voice from off to her left. She turned
sharply and was nearly blinded by a bursting silver
light that brought her to her knees. �Close
your mind, Eris, and the light will be gone.

Eris focused hard on occluding her
mind and a few moments later was able to open her
eyes. �What was that? You were like a star!�

The elf�Tahdei
smiled. �You were recognizing me as one
of the elders of your clan. Young Harry
saw it as well, but he did not respond so strongly. I think, my dear, that you have inherited
your father�s gift.�

Eris frowned. What gift?
�I�m sorry?�

�Your father was what you might refer to as a
matchmaker, but it really is a good deal more than that.� Tahdei smiled and
motioned for everyone to sit down. �The
thing you will notice most often is that you will be able to identify the mates
of those who are closest to you. I think
this might explain the change you noticed in�what was her name�Ginny�s aura was. She is no longer a match for Harry and you
are sensing a new mate for her.�

Eris looked over at Harry who was
frowning. Her brother spoke quietly,
sounding a bit disappointed and confused.
�Then why can I see it as well?�

Tahdei
looked serious for a moment. �There is
something about Ginny that still strongly affects you both, something that
causes you to both need this information.
I must tell you, I myself am a matchmaker and I have never seen this
�sickly green� color you spoke of.
Perhaps you should consider the possibility that it is a combination of
colors.�

Severus cleared his throat. �Perhaps we should discuss this further at a
later date. For now I think it would be
best if you explained your presence to the twins.�

The elf smiled and nodded. �Yes, well to being with you must understand
that wizarding folk are not the only magical
creatures to hold prophecies. Just as
you have your Seers and centaurs look to the stars, Numina
Pumilum have their ways of foreseeing the
future. Our prophecies most often come
in the form of legends. We believe that
history repeats itself in significant ways and look to the long standing tales
of our people to decide what will come.

One of our oldest legends comes
down from the earliest days of our people.
Elves long ago learned to accept wizard blood mingling with our own and
this is because there was once an elven woman, when
we were still new to this earth, who could find no mate amongst her own. She searched among many clans, traveling far
and wide, but could find not one potential.
When she was near giving up hope, she stumbled upon a small wizarding village.
There she met a man who glowed as bright as the sun. They were quickly married and had many
children. One of their children, a boy,
also could find no mate amongst the Numina Pumilum and decided that, like his mother, he might need to
look for a witch. He met a witch at the
school he was attending whose aura told him that he need look no further.

They were the parents of twins,
the only children they had, and these twins were a rare and wonderful thing
amongst our people. Elves rarely have
twin children, though we are fertile enough to have children until we reach our
seventieth or eightieth year. What was
so special about this particular set of twins was that when they wielded their
magic together it was as though they were one, pureblooded elf. Between the two of them they wielded all the
forces of nature and became formidable protectors of our people. When war came because of our mingling with
the wizards, it was them who led our people to peace and gained our acceptance
in the wizarding world. It was foretold on their death beds, for they
died at the same moment, that they would be reborn when a time came again that
elves and wizards threatened to be at odds.�

Eris frowned at the elf as he
finished his story. �But�how can that be
us? Elves and wizards are not at
odds. Hell, it�s because of how highly Numina Pumilum are regarded that
I was saved!�

Severus sighed and Eris frowned
his way. �Think, Eris, think of what the
Dark Lord was willing to do to you. He
obviously has no regard for your elven people and
neither do those who most closely follow him.
If he is allowed to win this war then the Numina
Pumilum will face grave danger. They are already near extinction in their
pure forms and those with wizard blood will be disinclined to remain involved
with the colonies if they are to face prejudice or death.�

�I see,� Eris said softly. �Ridiculous!
I refuse to believe that I�m involved with any prophecies.�

Everyone in the room looked oddly
at her then. Harry was smirking slightly
and quickly hissed back at her. �Take
it from me, Eris. Prophecies can and do
happen to both of us. If the wizarding world is going to paste one at me then I don�t
see why the elven world can�t put one on you.�

Eris pursed her lips, trying to
fight off a smile. �I have no desire to be part of
some grand destiny!�

�Who does?
At least this one doesn�t involve some stupid kill or be killed
scenario.� Harry smiled mischievously
at her and she looked over at Severus who looked a bit unnerved.

�Do you think we�ve frightened him enough?� Eris smiled as her brother nodded. �Sorry, Severus.�

Her mentor frowned. �It isn�t very polite to hiss like that when
the rest of us cannot understand you.�

Eris smirked. �Yes, papa.�

Severus looked positively
disgusted and Eris was surprised when Harry came to his rescue. �He�s right, Eris.�

Tahdei
cleared his throat. �Yes, well, why
don�t you tell me about what you�ve noticed about your powers so far?�

Eris sighed. At least this conversation wouldn�t be as
invasive as the ones she would have to face later.

________________________________________________________________________

August 21^st

Harry looked around the breakfast
table at his solemn and quiet companions.
Eris was sitting between Dr. Green and Miss Roslyn looking quite
uncomfortable. She must have been able
to sense that everyone was sneaking glances at her. After their talk with Tahdei
the day before, Eris had retreated to her room for a session with Dr. Green,
which resulted in the rest of the house hearing her screaming bloody murder at
the woman. Needless to say, they had not
returned to Hogwarts yet. Miss Roslyn
had decided that they would take a trip to Diagon
Alley today so that Eris could get a new wand and they could all get their
school supplies from the lists Professor McGonagall dropped off. Harry sighed.
The only bright spot in the past two days had been Madam Pomfrey
declaring that Eris was as fit as could be physically. He couldn�t help but wonder how long it would
be before Dr. Green said the same thing about his sister�s mind.

Sirius walked into the room then
and Harry saw Eris tense. She hadn�t
even looked up from her eggs, but Harry figured she must have sensed his
godfather�s arrival. He was noticing
more and more that he could sense where Draco was in the house. He glanced over at the blond and sighed
again. What was he going to do about
that? How does one go from hating
someone to loving them in the extreme?
Draco had been trying very hard to get along well with everyone and so
Harry returned the courtesy, but could he go beyond that? He supposed that in ten days time they would be
back at Hogwarts with everyone else and he would find out if there were anymore
potentials, though he doubted more and more that a female would be amongst
them.

Surprisingly, it had been Ginny
and Ron together who had helped him realize this. The pair pointed out the girls that Harry had
been attracted to over the years, Ginny herself
included, and forced him to recognize that they�d all been athletic, forceful
young women with many boyish qualities.
Ron had also reminded him of how dismal his kissing experience with Cho had been. Ginny
had been pleased to realize that he had quite enjoyed kissing her, but pointed
out that he�d never tried to go beyond kissing.
He�d protested, saying that he was being a gentleman. Both Ginny and Ron had snorted. He�d thought it was a good argument. Still did actually.

Sirius came and sat beside
him. He saw his godfather�s eyes
constantly drifting to and lingering on Eris.
He also saw how uncomfortable it was making his sister and offered Sirius
a firm elbow to the ribs. Sirius glared
at him and then returned to his breakfast.
Harry sighed. He was now
picturing himself as being doomed to play mediator for the rest of his life
between those two. As much as he would
love to see both of them happy together, he almost wished that Eris would just
find another mate and bond with him so that Sirius could mope for a bit and get
over it.

Zabini
and Goyle were talking quietly with Draco. He noticed that every now and then Zabini would look at Ginny with an odd fondness only to
quickly look away. Interesting. He would have to ask Eris if she�d noticed an
aura around Zabini, though he wasn�t sure that he
liked the idea of the boy being with Ginny.
She may not be his girlfriend anymore, but they had agreed to continue
thinking of each other as family.
Apparently, she was taking the permanent break up well. He suspected that the discovery that he was
at least bisexual and quite possibly gay had cushioned the blow.

Remus came into the kitchen then
looking fairly cheerful. He�d been
handling his own breakup with Tonks very well, though the auror
had left Grimmauld Place
without word of when she might return.
Harry felt badly for Tonks, but was certain that if it was meant to be
the pair would mend things or, if not, they would move on and find their true matches.
�Everyone ready for shopping? Eris, I retrieved the potions you specified
for Severus and Sirius as well as the ones you said the rest of us would
need. There were only a few of that�er�anti-invisibility potion I�m afraid.�

Eris slipped out of her chair and
went over to Remus. She took a few of
the vials and examined them. Harry
watched with interest. Little as he
liked Potions, he knew that it was Eris� thing and figured he�d better at least
try and figure some of it out so he didn�t drive her insane with his
ignorance. �I see. Well, I�ll have to brew some more of it. You�ll be needing loads of it for the whole
Order I suspect.�

�Why�s that, Eris,� Remus asked with a frown.

�The Death Eaters have the invisibility potion
I created. Nothing can see through
accept for the counter agent I developed along with it.� Eris smiled grimly. �Luckily, I never offered the counter agent
and no one was ever smart enough to ask if I had bothered to make one.�

Snape snorted. �Good girl.�

Eris rolled her eyes and tossed
two vials to her mentor. �Remember, the
blue one is the restorative.�

Harry frowned when she tossed the
next two to him and not Sirius. Sirius
made no comment, but Harry felt him stiffen.
He handed the vials to his godfather and leaned close to his ear. �Just give her time. She�s been through a lot and I�m sure she�s
pretty embarrassed about kissing you.�

Sirius sighed. �I know.
I�ll try.�

Miss Roslyn stood up. �Well, we�d better get going while it�s
early. Hopefully it will be fairly
deserted this time of day.�

They all made their way to the
fireplace and flooed one-by-one to the Leady
Cauldron. Sirius flooed
with Harry and Snape went with Eris so that no one would detect an invisible
arrival. Only himself,
Remus, Eris, and Miss Roslyn could see through the invisibility potion and so
the others were constantly whispering to them, wondering where the invisible
pair was. The bigger part of the group
went off with Miss Roslyn, Dr. Green and Sirius to begin gathering their
things. Harry, Remus, Severus, and Eris
headed to Ollivander�s to see if there was, by
chance, anyone present to sell a wand.
They were disappointed. The store
was still dark and boarded up.

�Don�t worry,� Remus said gently. �We will just have to floo
to Gregorovitch�s before we head home.�

Eris nodded and they headed off to
rejoin the group. For the next four
hours Harry kept a sharp eye out as they were all measured and outfitted with
robes, led about to get their texts, and filled up their potions kits (with
Snape hissing in their ears to make sure they got the best ingredients). There were very few people out shopping, even
as the time neared and then passed noon. Voldemort had them all too scared to come out
at all anymore it seemed. Even the
shopkeepers were nervous, eyeing them all suspiciously and never turning their
backs. It was a great relief when Remus
announced their shopping complete and ushered them towards the Leaky
Cauldron. Miss Roslyn and her mother
took most of the group back to Grimmauld
Place, leaving Harry, Draco, Severus, Sirius, and
Remus to go to Gregorovitch�s with Eris.

They tumbled into the shop in groups of two
and were quickly greeted by a wizened, bald wizard with glittering black
eyes. �Vot can
I do for you today, gentlemen and lady,� he asked, inclining his head to Eris.

Remus stepped forward. �The young lady is in need of a new
wand. Ollivander�s
is currently out of business, I�m sure you�ve heard.�

�Yes, of course I haff
heard. I can only hope that he vill return.
Competition is good for business.�
Then man eyed them for a moment and then bowed deeply. �I am Ivan Gregorovitch,
at you serffice.
Come, let us find the girl a new vand. She vill be needing it soon I
suspect.�

They followed him out of the
little entrance space into an area where the walls were lined with shelves full
of wands. All around there were wands
displayed on cushions, in boxes, and floating in the air. Gregorovitch turned
then and Harry expected him to begin an elaborate measuring process. He was disappointed.

�Young lady, giff me
your hand,� the old wizard said, extending his wrinkled hand.

Harry watched as Eris extended a
shaky hand towards the man. Gregorovitch gripped it gently and closed his eyes for a
moment. When he opened them, again he
studied Eris intently. �Aha! Yes, I belieff
I haff just the thing.�

He tottered off to one of the back
shelves and hurried back with a long, thing box. He opened it and pulled out a rather long and
thin wand that looked like a strong wind would snap it. Eris looked doubtful. �It seems a bit�delicate.�

Gregorovitch
nodded. �Yes, I know, but trust me ven I say that it is very strong and sturdy. Flexible to a great degree
so that it will not snap. If your
ministry, for example, vanted to destroy this vand they would haff to use a
spell. No, it vill
not snap. Try it out, miss.�

Eris took the wand and gave it a
wave. Brilliant white sparks flew out of
its tip, whirled around Eris, and then dissipated harmlessly into the air. Eris looked surprised. �Whoa.
What did you use for this�I feel so connected to it.�

Gregorovitch
smiled causing his face to look even more wrinkled. �It is a combination of American villow vith a twining of three
hairs as the core. There is an Abraxan tail hair, Thestral hair,
and the hair of a pureblooded Numina Pumilum. It is
fourteen inches long and, as I said, very flexible.�

Harry frowned. He�d never heard of a wand having multiple
cores. �I didn�t know they made wands
like that.�

Gregorovitch
eyed him closely for a moment. �I like
to experiment. You are t-vins, no? This vand has a brother with cores from the same three donors
set in holly and also fourteen inches long.
Vould you be interested, Mr. Potter?�

Harry looked to Eris, and Severus
standing behind her. The potions master
was vigorously nodding his head in agreement and the feeling he got from Eris
was that she thought it was a good plan.
�I�ll at least try it out. It
might not work. I should get a second
wand at any rate.�

Gregorovitch
hurried off and returned with another slender box. The wand he pulled out looked almost
identical to Harry�s old holly and phoenix feather combination, just
longer. �I am certain this vill vork. The vands are t-vins, as are you.�

Harry took the wand and instantly
experienced the same effect that Eris had.
Remus smiled. �It seems we�ve
found you two a match.�

_______________________________________________________________________

Sirius drank the reversal potion
as soon as he was back inside of their little dorms in Hogwarts. He plopped down on his bed and contemplated
how to approach Eris when she seemed nearly hostile towards his presence. Every time he looked at her he felt a deep
seated longing and wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold
her until he had chased away every speck of shame the girl thought she bore. Being in love was not an easy thing and
Sirius wasn�t sure he liked it.

Sirius snorted. �In love? Are you crazy, old man? You can�t love her! She�s twenty years younger than you. She�s James baby girl! You need to stop this and stay away from her
unless she calls you in.�

�Don�t be ridiculous,� said a stern voice from
the doorway. Sirius sat up quickly to
see one of the elves, Naiya, glaring at him. �You need to be patient. You are too easily discouraged. She has been through a trauma. Let her come to you, but do not let her think
that your interest has wavered. That
will only serve to heighten her self-doubt.�

Sirius narrowed his eyes. �What do you know? You know something��

The graceful elf raised a hand to
stop him. �It�s not my place to say what
I know or don�t know. Just remember that
you have found a great treasure and it is worth waiting for�no matter how long
it takes.�

Naiya
swept from the room and Sirius lay back against his pillows. He would wait for now, but how long did the
elf think this could possibly take?

____________________________________________________________________

August 23^rd

�Eris, this is our fourth session and you
haven�t told me anything new,� Dr. Green said gently and Eris sighed. She couldn�t explain why she was holding
back. �The past is pertinent, but I also
need to know what he did to you this time.
You can�t work past it if you don�t open up to me�to someone�anyone.�

�I know,� Eris said dejectedly. �It�s just that it�damn it! Can�t I just put it in a pensieve
for you?�

Dr. Green smiled. �If it would help you I would use the pen�er�pensieve thing, but you�ll
still need to say it aloud eventually, dear.
I�ll go for now, but I�m sending Severus in here to speak with you for a
bit. You need to start being alone with
at least him and Harry. Mr. Tahdei said it would help you.�

Eris nodded and flopped back
against her pillows. The girls� section
of the dorm was empty for her session, all its other occupants out in the
common room or on the grounds. When
Severus glided through the door, she barely glanced at him. �Hi, Sev.

�Please do not use that abominable shortening
of my name.� Severus perched himself
confidently on the edge of her bed and grabbed her into a fierce hug. �You�re not running away form or ignoring me
this time, Eris.�

She put up a token struggle and
then went limp. She knew there was no
point in fighting him. He at least would
look past her shame. He had done it
before, just as Dr. Green and Miss Roslyn had.
�Very well.�

Severus was stroking her hair
gently and she felt the strange rush of emotions then. Eris frowned and tried to focus in on the
stream of emotions that seemed to sway in time with Severus� gentle
touches. An instant later, she realized
she�d made a mistake. She latched on to
a very powerful surge of hatred and rage aimed towards her former captors and
was soon lost in a vortex of pain as she struggled to find herself again. It ebbed a bit as Severus broke away for call
for help, but she could not pull herself out all the way. She vaguely heard footsteps pounding towards
them before she succumbed to the pain of her internal struggled and screamed with
all her might.
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Numen Pumilum