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Ambiguous Allies	By : AuctorRubra Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1275 -:- 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
- 1-Testing the Waters
- 2-Pomp and Circumstance
- 1
- 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything
else in J.K. Rowling�s magical world. If I did, I would be on some tropical
island right now sucking back margaritas and getting a back massage from my
personal cabana boy. Alas, this is not the case. Instead, I am sitting in my
basement writing fan fiction with knots in my shoulders. HOWEVER�I still have
the margaritas so it is all good! 8)

Chapter 2: Pomp and Circumstance

Severus leaned back against a desk
and pinched the bridge of his nose. Two weeks of trying to beat Occlumency
into Potter�s thick head was beginning to feel like a lifetime. The worst part
of it all was that he could not deny that the boy was trying. No matter how
many times he failed, no matter what embarrassing images Severus managed to
see, the boy held his temper. He had lashed out a few times, but if the
potions master were to be honest, he would admit it was because of something
scathing he said right before. It was damned frustrating watching the ebon
haired boy try with all his might and still fail.

�I�m sorry, Professor,� Potter
said from where he sat panting on the floor.

Severus waved off the boy�s
apology. �You managed for a bit longer this time, but something keeps causing
you to slip. You are holding something back, Potter. If you can�t commit
yourself to this entirely we should give up now.�

The boy glared at him, but
remained silent. Severus sneered. Just because he knew the boy was trying did
not mean he had to go easy on him. Loath as he was to admit it, he was
beginning to think he needed to try a different approach.

�Have you had any visions?�

Potter shook his head. �No, and
my scar hasn�t been hurting lately. I�ve been trying to do like you said and
empty my mind before bed, but it seems like I just think harder about things.�

�What things,� Severus asked in a
harsh tone.

The boy shrugged. �My friends,
the war, school stuff�everything, sir. The harder I try to make it all go away
the more I think about it.�

There was a loud knock door then
and Severus banished the wards from the door with a flick of his wand. He
motioned for Potter to stand. �We�ll talk more about this later, Potter. Just
keep practicing. We have dueling in the morning at nine o�clock sharp.�

The knocking came again. �Enter!�

Turning to gather up some papers
from the front desk, Severus did not immediately see who had arrived.
�Snivellus being hard on you, Harry?�

Every muscle in his body tensed,
just as it usually did whenever the mutt was near. One could never
underestimate what was going on in Black�s head. It probably would not consist
of intelligent streams of thought, but chances were it was dangerous
nonetheless.

�Sirius, don�t,� Potter said
quietly. Severus felt himself bristle. He did not need some spoiled little whelp
defending him.

Black chuckled. �Enjoying your
dungeon cage, Snape? I must say you�re lucky to have so much room. Of course,
all this room to roam hasn�t made you anymore useful.�

�Sirius, stop it!� Severus
glanced over his shoulder and saw that Potter was now trying to physically
remove his dogfather from the classroom.

He sighed and turned, tossing his
papers back down as he did so. �Is there something in particular that you
needed, Black, or did you just show up to give me a migraine with your weak
attempts at witty repartee?�

Black made a noise that sounded
suspiciously like a growl and Severus let his best sneer pull across his face.
�Dumbledore says that the elven representatives set the meeting date for a week
from now. He needs you to prepare some of our gifts to the tribes.�

�What does he want made,� Severus
snapped even though he was rather curious. He had not thought the elves would
put much stock in potions.

�A large batch of Felix Felicis,
an assortment of magical fertilizers, Draught of Peace, Murtlap Essence, and a
few vials of Polyjuice if you have any in the stores.�

Severus slowly drummed his fingers
on the wooden surface of the desk, going over the list in his mind. Felix
Felicis he could see as a fine offering and maybe the Draught of Peace as well,
but the others did not make sense. �Are you sure that�s the list he gave you,
Black? The elves wouldn�t have any use for half of those!�

Black gave him a blank look and he
pinched his nose again. A glance at Potter told him that the boy was confused
as well. �Why is that, sir?�

�Elves are perfectly capable of
helping the growth of plants through their own magic. They have no need for
fertilizers of any kind. There are also those in their number who practice
strong healing arts, so the Murtlap Essence seems a bit of a waste.�

�Well, why wouldn�t they find
Polyjuice useful,� the boy asked with a small frown.

Severus sighed. Didn�t the boy
pay attention in first year History of Magic? �Elves already have the ability
to change into several animal forms at will. They would not be interested in
taking on the form of any other being. It would be considered beneath them.�

Black rolled his eyes. �It
doesn�t matter what you think any way, Snape. If you have a problem with the
list talk to Dumbledore.�

The infernal mutt grabbed Potter
by the arm then and proceeded to drag him from the room. Severus spared a
moment to wonder why the boy allowed himself to be pushed around like that
before Black�s mangy head poked back through the door. �Oh, and Snivellus, I�m
supposed to let you know that the elves are sending a representative ahead to
make sure that everything is in order on our end. Should be here tomorrow
evening.�

______________________________________________________________________

Hermione let loose a frustrated
sigh as Ron moved behind her again. His hands were on her shoulders and he
began to place wet kisses on her neck. �Ron, for the last time I have to
finish this. They�re going to be here in less than a week!�

The redhead made his own noise of
frustration, but backed off. She glanced up at him as he came around the
library table and sat across from her. There was a sheepish smile on his face
so she assumed that he wasn�t too upset. If only he would take seriously how
important it was for the offerings to be flawless. Dumbledore chose a wide
variety of magical items to be gifted at the meeting and it would take a mind
far duller than Hermione�s to miss the fact that he was trying to show the
elves what witches and wizards were capable of. She had already finished a
long and detailed essay on the history, makeup, and uses of the potions
Professor Snape was preparing. By drawing upon her previous schoolwork, the
job had only taken a little under twenty-four hours. Of course, she had every
intent of reading and revising it as often as possible before their guests
actually arrived as long as she was able to complete the complicated arithmancy
chart by then.

With Professor Vector already gone
to Australia for the summer (and not a member of the Order anyway) it had
fallen to Hermione to come up with a suitable representation of arithmancy.
Being the witch that she was, she chose to break down and explain the workings
of the Avada Kedavra curse. So far, things were progressing slowly and the
constant interruptions were driving her mad. Ron was not the worst of it. He
only came looking for a short snog every couple of hours and was kind enough to
bring her something to eat in return. (Thank Merlin that Madam Pince was away!)
No, her boyfriend wasn�t the worst of it, Harry�s godfather was.

Sirius Black was in desperate need
of busy work and she would have told Dumbledore so if he had bothered to ask
her. The man appeared in the library about two hours into her research. He
offered to help, claiming that he had been a fair hand at arithmancy in his
school days. Hermione managed to suppress a snort when he said this and
quickly directed him to several books to research.

Stretching her back, Hermione�s
thoughts drifted back to the irritating confrontation they had after only forty-five
minutes of blissful silence.

Sirius dropped the copy of
Magic by Numbers onto the table with a frustrated sigh. Hermione quirked a
brow at his rough treatment of the book. �Giving up already?�

�Could you have picked
something a bit harder, Hermione,� the wizard growled.

Lowering her quill, she fixed
him with a hard glare. �Look, Professor��

�Please, call me Sirius. At
least until the start of term.�

Hermione took a deep breath.
�Sirius then. I really appreciate you coming in here and offering to help me,
but if It�s going to be too hard on you then I�m sure I�ll manage on my own.�

Sirius tensed and he had fixed
her with a penetrating look. �What exactly is that supposed to mean?�

�It means that I need to
impress the elves with this work. Easy isn�t good enough. I understand that
this sort of thing isn�t for everyone��

�I�m perfectly capable of
keeping up with you in this.�

Hermione gritted her teeth and
counted to ten, reminding herself that Sirius Black was her teacher now, and
telling him that he should stick to pranks and threatening house elves was not
be considered paying proper respect. �Of course, but you said yourself that
it�s been a while. Ron and Harry never really enjoy researching with me��

�Listen, I�m fine. I just
wasn�t happy with where that book was getting me. Are you certain this is the
spell you want to do? Smarter witches and wizards than you have spent their
lives working on the properties of the Killing Curse. Even Imperius would be
an easier choice.�

That was it. Professor or no
she was fed up. She had blockaded herself in the library for a day and a half
already, only napping in an alcove for a couple hours. She did not need this
from Sirius Black of all people! �They�ve spent their lives trying to find a
way to deflect it, something I am not trying to do. I need to impress them,
Professor Black. Reiterating the properties of some charm that a first year
could break down will not do this for me. I will not lower my standards so
that the people trying to help me will have an easier time of it!�

Sirius simply stared at her for
a moment, some unreadable emotion on his face, then he burst out laughing. �If
I was getting in your way you could have just asked me to leave.�

Hermione let out a frustrated
shriek and marched out of the library towards the lavatory. She needed to
splash some cold water on her face. With any luck, Professor Black would be
gone before she returned.

Glancing at her dwindling pile of books
Hermione felt herself regretting chasing Sirius off. �Why couldn�t it have
been Remus,� She muttered.

Ron gave her an odd look. �What�s
wrong?�

She shook her head. �Just wishing
that someone else had come to help me this morning.�

Ron chuckled and gave her a bright
smile. �Still mad at Sirius? He told me and Harry that he might have riled
you up a bit.�

�Really,� Hermione said coolly.
�Perhaps you would like to go joke with him some more and leave me to my work.�

�Don�t be like that, �Mione. He
didn�t mean any harm. I asked him to come help you. Harry mentioned to him
what you were doing and he told us he was pretty good at this stuff.� Ron
indicated her parchments covered with arithmancy equations with a wave of his
hand.�

�You�re the one that sent that
overbearing�arrogant�irresponsible�� Hermione continued to rant off a long
list of titles she felt one Sirius Black had earned over the years, especially
in the last when he seemed to try to lead Harry astray at every turn.

Ron simply sat staring at her wide-eyed.
She knew what he was thinking. Never, absolutely never, had Hermione Granger
spoken so of one of her professors. Well there was just one little problem
with that. Hermione knew Sirius Black before he was a professor. She knew his
history and he did not fit her ideal model of a responsible teacher.

Her boyfriend was beginning to
look a bit angry and she really was not surprised when he cut her off.
�Merlin, Hermione! You talk about the slimy git better than Sirius!�

�Someone disparaging my good name,
Mr. Weasley?�

Hermione froze and quickly began
to go over everything she had just said, checking for accuracy. None of it was
blatantly false as far as she was concerned, although a good deal of it was
speculation. The question was, how much had he actually heard. Turning around
slowly, she found herself facing a highly amused Harry and a seemingly
indifferent Sirius. Her first instinct was to launch into a profuse apology,
but a little nagging voice stopped her. It sounded suspiciously like the voice
that had told her to go ahead and confound Cormac McLaggen during the quidditch
tryouts.

Just wait and see what he
says. Maybe he didn�t hear, and if he did perhaps he knows it�s true!

�Hello, Harry,� Hermione said in
an even tone completely ignoring Sirius. �Something you needed?�

For one tense moment, Hermione
thought that the little voice had been terribly wrong. Then Sirius let out his
characteristic barking laughter and left the library. Harry�s eyes were full
of mirth telling Hermione just how much the pair had probably heard.

�The envoy will be here shortly.
Dumbledore says we should all clean up a bit and meet in the Great Hall.�
Harry was laughing quietly as he walked out of the library and Hermione could
not help but glare at his back. She was getting tired of people having a laugh
at her expense.

�Well, Ron, I suppose we should go
then.� Hermione looked at her boyfriend. His blue eyes were sparkling. She
shook her head and set off for Gryffindor tower to change.

____________________________________________________________________

As Harry made his way to the Great
Hall, he found himself still laughing over the mortified look on Hermione�s
face when she realized that he and Sirius had witnessed her little rant. Part
of him was sad that his friend was feeling hostile towards his godfather and
wished that she could simply accept that Sirius would always be very young at
heart. The other part of him was glad that Sirius was able to shrug off such
things because deep down he knew that, despite certain slipups over the years,
Hermione was straight laced and would probably never approve of Sirius� antics
and attitude.

Pushing into the expansive dining
hall, Harry breathed a sigh of relief to see that though he was the last of the
Order members to arrive the envoy was nowhere in site. They did not need to
start this off by insulting the very person that Professor Dumbledore had
convinced to help them prepare. He glanced around and noted that the house
tables were gone for the evening and everyone was milling about, waiting for
their guest.

He nodded to Ron and Hermione who
were speaking with Professor McGonagall. Well, Hermione was chatting excitedly
with their head of house, Ron was silent, and looking rather bored. Sirius,
Remus, Moody, Tonks, and Shaklebolt were standing in another group listening to
Professor Dumbledore who had Fawkes perched on his shoulder. All the remaining
Weasleys, minus Percy (the git), were being fussed over by Molly. Harry caught
Ginny�s eye and gave her a wink, realizing too late that this would drawn the
formidable Weasley matriarch�s attention to him.

�Harry dear!� Mrs. Weasley gave
him a warm smile and Harry couldn�t deny her the chance to fuss over him and
try to flatten his hair.

While he was subjected to the kind
witch�s fruitless attempts to tame his locks, Harry spotted Draco Malfoy
sitting at a small table looking bored and sneering at Hagrid who was making a
valiant (and misguided) attempt to cheer the blond boy up. It was then that
Harry noticed the absence of Professor Snape. Before he could even begin to
ponder the reasons why his surly Potions Professor was missing, Dumbledore
called for everyone�s attention.

�Gather around everyone,� the
headmaster called in a cheery tone. �Our guest is about to arrive!�

Harry moved to stand beside Ron
and Hermione and smiled when Ginny sidled up next to him. Everyone was focused
on the entrance doors, but the piercing cry alerting them to a new presence
came from above. All eyes turned upwards to see a lovely, tawny hawk swoop in
through the owl entrance, circle once, and then land a few feet in front of
them. Harry was startled when the bird�s icy, blue eyes landed on him.
Suddenly, the hawk seemed to be made of smoke. It swirled upwards only to
reshape itself into a woman, only after a moment�s inspection, Harry realized
that this was no woman, but their elven envoy. The female elf appeared to be a
little over five and a half feet tall, with golden skin and tawny hair that
spoke of long hours in the sun. It was done up in dozens of braids hanging
down to her waist and appeared to have several beads and feathers woven
throughout. Her bangs fell just short of those eerie, pale blue eyes, and
long, pointed ears that stuck out a ways from her braided mane. She was
dressed in dark shades of green and brown with a black cloak hanging over her
shoulders.

Dumbledore strode forward and
stood beside the elf. He paused for a moment before turning and Harry was
surprised to see the elf bow not to the headmaster, but to Fawkes. �Friends, I
would like to introduce Bellatoria (1) Sureblade of the Phoenix Tribe, Europe
clan, Nest Guardian, Dyed Blade of the warriors, trained by Shadowblade of the Anka
(2) Tribe, daughter of Elder Softrain of the Phoenix Tribe, and our teacher for
the next four days.�

There were a few muffled gasps at
different points in the speech. Harry was certain that the elf seemed a bit
exasperated by the long title Dumbledore had just spilled out. Her face
remained fixed in a cool mask, but he noticed a slight twitch in her cheek at
one point. He had no idea what half of the title meant and made a mental note
to check with Hermione after the meeting.

Of course, the elf�s own speech
eliminated the need. �I am honored to meet you all. Now, we can begin
immediately. How many of you actually knew what all of that meant?�

Harry stifled a laugh as
Dumbledore�s hand shot up. He noticed that only Draco, Hermione, Hagrid,
Charlie, and Sirius raised their hands as well and he didn�t feel too badly
about being in the dark. Sureblade�s eyes narrowed and she tossed a small
frown at Dumbledore. Harry assumed that she had hoped for a bit more.

�You don�t count, Albus.� Harry
did chuckle this time as the old wizard lower his hand with a mock pout.
Sureblade stepped a bit closer to the group. �Since you five think you�re so
smart, why don�t you tell your friends what a Nest Guardian is?�

Hermione�s hand shot up
immediately and Harry rolled his eyes. Of course, Hermione already knew
everything that could be found in the library about elves. Sureblade motioned
for her to speak and Harry listened intently. �A Nest Guardian is in charge of
the children of the clan. You�re responsible for keeping them safe, teaching
them to shift into their first animal forms, and passing on the basic
traditions of your people.�

�Very good, Miss�?�

�Granger, Hermione Granger,� the
bushy haired witch said quickly.

Sureblade nodded. �Yes,
excellent. There is one important thing that your books and teachers cannot
tell you though. The Nest Guardian also tends to the sacred flock. In my
case, this means that I see to the desires of a few dozen moody phoenixes.�

Fawkes gave a soft trill and
several of the Order members chuckled. Hermione, of course, had questions.
�What do you do for them?�

�A phoenix needs nothing that
mortals can give,� Sureblade said with a shrug. �I simply treat them with
affection a make sure they are aware that they are appreciated.�

�Yes, you commune with them on a
daily basis if I�m not mistaken,� Dumbledore said suddenly, earning him a dark
look from the elf. Harry wondered what this meant. How did she commune with
them? Did she sit and sing them lullabies at night?

Hermione looked like she was going
to ask another question, but Sureblade cut her off. �Now, why did Albus call
me a Dyed Blade?�

Harry was certain that Hermione
would be answering this one as well and was rather surprised when he saw Draco
tentatively raise his hand. Sureblade nodded to the blond wizard. �It means
you�ve killed before.�

The room was silent as Sureblade
moved to stand directly in front of Draco, her black cloak swirling behind
her. �Can you be a bit more specific, young one,� she said softly.

Draco looked a bit green, but
tried anyway. �You�ve killed enough in one battle that your sword was covered
in blood.�

Sureblade nodded and Harry�s eyes
went wide as she pulled one of her swords from its sheath in a quick, fluid
motion. It was gently curved with a rippled edge. Draco eyed it warily and
Harry almost felt badly for him. �This is Mourning Song, the blade my
stepfather gave to me the day my training was complete. True warriors are
scarce these days. I don�t suppose you know why, Draco?�

The blond looked startled at the
fact that Sureblade knew his name and shook his head no. �No? All right, Miss
Granger, perhaps you can tell us. No? That is fine, I will tell you. Elves
are not passive creatures by any stretch of the imagination, but the majority
chooses to live or die by their magic alone. Warriors rely a great deal on
their magic, but feel the pull of a bloodlust that simply cannot be satisfied
by magic alone. We�re viewed as something of a throwback, really, the last
instinctual ties to less civilized ancestors.�

Harry swallowed hard and
contemplated the elf�s words. Bloodlust? He frowned when a frightening
thought came to him. �Bloodlust�like vampires?�

He tensed when Sureblade gave him
a sharp look and stocked close to him. She looked him up and down before
responding in an even tone that did not reveal if she was angered. �No, young
one, not like vampires. Perhaps I chose the wrong words. We go into a battle
rage that can only be quelled through physical assault. Don�t worry; I have
never had the urge to suck on anyone�s neck.�

Harry released a nervous laugh.
�I�m sorry if I insulted you.�

Sureblade sheathed her sword with
a shrug. �I am not easily offended, but you must refrain from such suggestions
in the presence of the council. Though there is only one warrior amongst them,
comparing any elf to a dark creature will be perceived as a grave insult.�

Harry nodded quickly, feeling
uncomfortable under those piercing blue eyes. She took a step closer to him
and he resisted the urge to run backwards. He noticed Remus and Sirius tense
to the right of him and tried to appear calm for their sakes. Suddenly, the
elf�s arms shot out and Harry found his wrists trapped in her firm grip. She
turned his hands palm up and studied them intently.

Remus let loose a low growl, but
the elf didn�t even spare him a glance. �Relax, werewolf, I�m not going to
hurt the pup.�

�What are you looking for,� Harry
asked softly.

�Have you held a sword before,�
Sureblade asked without looking up.

�Once, when I was twelve.�

Sureblade nodded and ran the pad
of her thumb across his right palm. She frowned and looked up at him then.
�And did you kill with this sword, Harry?�

Harry swallowed at the thought of
the basilisk. �Yes.�

�Do you remember the way that felt
compared to the feeling of attacking with a spell?�

�Yes.�

�Good.�

Sureblade dropped his hands and
walked back to Dumbledore�s side. Harry stared after her in confusion. Did
she anticipate the need for him to kill things with his bare hands any time
soon?

Dumbledore piped up then. �Sureblade,
did you speak with your mother about Remus?�

This caught Harry�s attention.
What about Remus? The elf sighed and Harry got the impression that this was
something Dumbledore had been pushing for a while. �My mother�s approval only
goes so far, Albus. Braveblade does not object, but Flamingbow has concerns
and as the eldest on the council he can quite easily sway the decisions of the
others in this.�

�What is this about,� Sirius asked
angrily. Harry turned to see that his godfather was in a defensive posture.
Remus, on the other hand, simply looked resigned.

�Albus asked me to try and
convince the council to allow your werewolf friend entrance to the meeting.�
Sureblade took a deep breath and wrinkled her nose. �As things stand now, he
must not be present. They will not negotiate with a werewolf.�

�His name is Remus, dear,�
Dumbledore said gently.

Sureblade closed her eyes. �Are
you trying to make my life difficult, old wizard? Very well! Remus
must not be in this room during the negotiations. Several elders will feel
compelled to fulfill our oath to the Nameless One.�

�Oath? What are you on about,�
Sirius shouted. �Remus isn�t some dark creature you can exterminate! Your god
doesn�t require the death of the cursed.�

Before Harry could even blink,
Sureblade crossed the distance between herself and Sirius and had him backed
against the head table. �Would you kindly remember that I am on your side and
that I have your best interests in mind? I am trying to gain your friend
admittance, but I must tread carefully!�

Just as suddenly, the elf was back
at Dumbledore�s side looking calm and collected. For a moment, Harry wasn�t
even sure he had just seen her nearly attack Sirius. �You all need to keep in
mind that though I may say things that you find offensive, unkind, and
incorrect, I am merely expressing the views of those you seek to ally
yourselves with. I am trying to prepare you for the posing, posturing, and
politics that you will have to face.�

�There�s no need to resort to
violence,� Professor McGonagall said reproachfully.

Harry was startled when he heard
Draco chuckle. �There is for her, or weren�t you listening?�

Glancing back at Sureblade to see
what she thought of this assessment, Harry was not particularly relieved to see
her nodding in agreement. �I do not react well when I feel challenged, but
this isn�t what we�re going to focus on. The point of all this is that you
must keep in mind that you are dealing with complex beings who don�t value your
lives for any reason other than you are not of the darkness. Having a werewolf
like Remus in your midst, no matter the standing of his human form, further
dwindles the council�s belief that you are capable of living in the light.
Humans are only one step above dark creatures on the elven hierarchy mainly
because of you unpredictable fluctuations in loyalty and behavior.�

�Yes, well,� Dumbledore said,
clearing his throat. �Why don�t we finish the introductions and then take a
break.�

For the next fifteen minutes,
Harry watched as Sureblade was introduced to the members of the Order whom she
had not already addressed. This left him free to hang back and observe her.
He also noticed that this allowed Draco to move out of the group where he sat
watching the elf. Harry was curious about the blond wizard�s knowledge of the
elves, but didn�t feel comfortable approaching him. They hadn�t spoken more
than a dozen words to one another since the night they fought side-by-side with
Snape to save Dumbledore. Letting his eyes drift back to the elf, Harry
pondered the things she said about being a warrior.

__________________________________________________________

Hermione watched with anticipation
as Bellatoria Sureblade was introduced to the last of the Order members, the
Weasleys. She was hoping to draw the elf into a discussion during the break
regarding the venue for the negotiations. From what she had read in the
library before beginning her projects for Professor Dumbledore Hermione felt
that the elven council would not be particularly comfortable in the Great Hall.
Letting her eyes drift across the group, she saw Ron watching her and gave him
a wink. Shifting her gaze a bit further, she saw Sirius grinning at her and
quickly looked away fighting a blush. Why did he have to hear her saying those
things about him? Harry and Ron would never let her live it down!

Just then, she heard the elven
warrior speaking with Professor Dumbledore. �Where is the dark one I saw last
time?�

�Severus is busy working on some
potions,� Dumbledore said with a small shake of his head. �He insisted that
meeting you could wait. I�m sure he meant no offense.�

Hermione suppressed a snort and
moved a bit closer to the pair. �I would not ask him to abandon important
work. I will, of course, go to him and introduce myself.�

Hermione was surprised to see the
headmaster looking a bit panicked at the suggestion. �I don�t know if that is
a good idea, my dear. Severus is a bit�touchy when he is brewing.�

�All the more reason for me to get
this over with straight away.� The elf�s eyes narrowed a bit. �I will make a
quick assessment of his knowledge. If it appears that he will make it on his
own, then I will leave him to his whims until the council arrives.�

Professor Dumbledore hesitated for
a moment. �I�m sure that can be arranged, but at the moment I needed to speak
with Minerva and I would hate for you to get lost looking for Severus�
classroom.�

Hermione saw her chance and jumped
at it. �Professor, I would be happy to take Miss Sureblade to Professor
Snape�s lab.�

The elf chuckled and stepped close
to Hermione, placing a hand on her shoulder. �See, Albus? All taken care of.�

Professor Dumbledore sighed in
defeat and nodded for them to leave. Hermione tried not to grin at her small
victory and quickly guided the elf out of the Great Hall. �Miss Sureblade, do
you know why the headmaster was trying to keep you from meeting Professor
Snape?�

�Just �Ria please.�

�Excuse me,� Hermione said in
confusion.

�Just call me �Ria, as opposed to
Miss Sureblade or my awful, multisyllable birthing name.� Hermione looked up
at her companion who was smiling brightly back at her.

�But I thought it was an important
sign of respect to refer to elves by their proper names. Aren�t the birthing
names just meant to be endearments until the children are of age?� Hermione
bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brow in confusion. She did not want to
make a mistake now or when the council arrived.

�Ria looked thoughtful for a
moment. �You should definitely refer to every other elf you meet by their
god-given names. I am something of an exception. I am used to the name �Ria
in non-formal circumstances.�

Hermione was even more confused at
this point. From what she had read, the elves gave up their birthing names
when they turned twenty and were inducted into their tribes as full adults. It
made no sense that �Ria would be willing to give up the same right.

�I can see the wheels in your head
turning at a rapid pace, little sister,� �Ria said with a gentle smile. �Why
don�t you just ask me why I put up with such disrespect?�

�Why? It�s your right to be
called Sureblade, isn�t it? Do the elves call you Bellatoria?�

The elf chuckled. �Those are
complicated questions that require a good deal of time and trust to answer.�

They both stopped, staring at each
other. Something in the elf�s eyes made Hermione shiver. The young witch�s curiosity
was in full gear and she desperately wanted to know what sort of position �Ria
was in. It must be some drastic measure for something the elf had done. �It
was something terrible wasn�t it?�

�Ria gave her a curt nod and
glanced down the direction they had been walking. �I don�t think we need to
bother your professor right now. Why don�t you tell me why you really wanted
to get me alone?�

Hermione flushed at the thought
that she had been so obvious. �Well, I had a slight suggestion in regards to
the negotiations. I don�t think we should hold them in the Great Hall.�

�Ria frowned. �I assure that the
dining hall is adequate in both size and comfort. That magnificent ceiling
definitely aids your cause.�

�Yes, that�s where I got the
idea,� Hermione said excitedly. She began to walk back the way they had come
from, motioning for �Ria to follow her. �You said that the Great Hall is adequate,
but what if we can do better than that?�

�Ria gave her a curious look, but
nodded her assent. Hermione led her through the corridors until they came to
the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Standing in front of it, she turned to
face the elf with a triumphant grin. The elf in question simply looked more
confused and glanced about the empty corridor. �This is it?�

Hermione chuckled. �No exactly.
Do you see this tapestry? Picture in your mind the perfect setting that would
most impress the council members. Keeping that scene in your mind, pace back
and forth in front of the tapestry until you see a door appear.�

�This is some sort of wizard magic
then,� �Ria asked with a small frown.

Hermione nodded and stepped
aside. She waited with a wonderful sense of anticipation as the elf did as she
had instructed. What sort of place would elves deem truly worthy? She
expected some outdoor setting, but beyond that, she was not sure what she would
see. When a large wooden door finally appeared, �Ria gave her a questioning
glance. She nodded her encouragement and held her breath as the elf pulled
open the door.

Footnotes

1.) Bellatoria means �warlike in Latin. She has
people call her �Ria for short. Though Albus used this as part of her full
name, the elves themselves would not do so. Sureblade is the name she received
at the age of twenty and is considered her true name. Bellatoria is just a
nickname of sorts given to her at birth to reflect how her mother perceived
her. (The elves of Europe clan are fond of Latin.)

2.) Anka: The four elven tribes are named Phoenix,
Thunderbird, Ruhk (Roc), and Anka after magic birds of myth. The Anka was a
bird of Arabic legend said to have been created by Allah to clear Palestine of
wild animals for the Israelites, but it ended up destroying parts of the
country. The Ruhk is a giant bird of Arabic legend whose wing beats were said
to create windstorms and lightening. The Phoenix is a magical bird said to
have lived off air along, eating no meat or plant. The phoenix appears in many
cultural traditions including Chinese (feng huang), Japanese (Ho-ho), Roman,
Arabian, Phoenician, and Egyptian. Thunderbirds come from the myths of Native
American Indians in North America. They can never be surprised by evil and
thunder sounds from their wing beats when they attack. It is also said that
they cannot be called upon to aid against evil, but must come their own or not
at all.
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Ambiguous Allies