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A Better Fate COMPLETE	By : FemmeBono Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 3299 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
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A/N: This story has been waiting a long time too, and I apologize most
profusely for being the infrequent updater. Now that my summer is in full-swing
though the muse is beating me over the head to finish this, Deep Roots, and Iron
Dragons, so stay tuned kids.
A Whole Other Realm
As he walked straight out the front door of the Shrieking Shack with the two
women, Severus had a moment of clarity. This should not be happening. It
was impossible. Dumbledore had made that ruddy door impenetrable, he
thought. Surely this is a dream. As he stepped off the front stoop and
into the Forbidden Forest, however, he was acutely aware of the rustling leaves,
the heavy tread of his footfalls, the scent of heather and evergreen and loamy
soil, and he knew he was wide awake. Wide awake, and leaving his old reality
behind. The trio walked in silence down a path of which he was acutely aware had
never been there before. As his focus shifted from the awkward quiet between
them to the sights, sounds, and scents of the forest, he felt the peculiar
sensation of being watched. Yet he could hear nothing out of the ordinary. The
fluttering of wings, twittering of birdsong, and the far-off gurgle of a brook
did nothing to alleviate his disquiet. Though he could not see anything through
the dense branches, from the instincts sharply honed after years of service as a spy he knew that as they walked someone or something watched, and the
feeling only grew stronger as they made their way.
After several minutes and many cautious glances over his shoulder, Severus'
fingers still flexing around his wand, they reached the brook and crossed over a
footbridge so old it was overgrown with dirt and grasses. No sooner had they
done so, than he noticed shimmering lights here and there through the forest.
Over the breeze he could swear he heard the sound of flutes or pan pipes and
though he still had a strong sensation of someone observing their movements,
Severus found himself relaxing. Surely if anyone had meant them harm they would
have attacked by now, he mused. He spared a glance at the two ladies who both
seemed wholly undisturbed. The elder blonde walked ahead, her slippered feet
stepping so lightly and agilely enough over roots and leaves that there was barely
a sound.

The brunette, who had apparently deemed herself his personal escort, stepped
just as quietly beside him as Coventina ahead. He could see Lasair's face easily
enough, out of his peripheral vision, and wondered at the small smile playing
over her lips. Full and firm, they turned up at the corners as if she were used
to smiling often. Her long, heavy lashed dipped slowly, fluidly like that of a
doe. She looked, in a word, perfectly content and even a little expectant. They
had barely rounded a curve in the path when a small copse of young oaks came
into view and Lasair seized his arm. Tensing up again, Severus was about to draw
his wand when he hazarded a glance at her face. Rather than alarm she was
jubilant. Coventina, likewise, quickened her pace even as she said over her
shoulder, "on we get, you two, we're nearly there!"

'There' appeared not too long after, as the group found themselves in front
of a cave at the base of a great hill. Once inside, they weaved downwards
through a curving passage hewn from solid rock, which was dotted with torches
that lit themselves as the trio advanced. Several minutes later they rounded a
last curve as the passage spilled out into a large open room that rivaled the
Great Hall at Hogwarts. In the center of the room stood a long table lined with
chattering guests, twice as long as their school staff table and beyond it, at
the opposite end of the room sat a large throne of carved cherry, on which sat a
stately robed lady with long red hair shot through with streaks of gold, lending
her the air of a glowing aura.

"You are well come, Severus the Spy," said the lady rising as both
Coventina and Lasair curtseyed deeply. "I am Cailleach, also called Scotia,
and mother of all I survey."

She proffered her hand, which he touched lightly to his lips in deference,
bowing slightly. Cailleach smiled and inclined her head, touching a hand to his
cheek.

"You are wondering, no doubt, why you are summoned thus. Take a seat,
dear Severus, and I will tell you all."

With a gesture toward the table, she moved to take the place of honor, even
as Coventina and Lasair seated themselves nearby. Severus likewise, sat
down to her right in the only vacant chair. As soon as he had, a great
feast appeared before them. Great roasts of ham and beef, tureens of peas and
carrots, boiled potatoes, bowls of fruits and berries all left Severus' mouth
watering even as Lasair took his plate and began filling it herself with all and
sundry before starting her own. Disconcerted at this, he started to protest only
to be shushed by Cailleach.

"You are our guest, dear boy, do allow us to spoil you a bit. You have
been through much quite recently, but I ask you to relax and enjoy yourself for
as long as you're here."

With so many questions running through his head as he chewed and swallowed
the first savory bite the only one he could think to ask without sounding rude
was, "how do you know of me?"

Cailleach laughed, a robust full-bodied sound even as her eyes gleamed with
humor. "We know many things of your world, and you are quite famous in it.
Even now, Severus, they finish the fight that you helped start thinking all the while that you are gone from them forever. Yet that is why you are here, in essence, you fought well and
bravely. Though you were tempted by darkness and power and could have given
yourself over to it fully, you did not. Instead you pulled yourself back from
that precipice and changed yourself. You, who are gifted and intelligent, with
no small amount of power all your own, did not give in to the seduction. That
shows a tenacity, a strength of resolve that is nearly unmatched in your world.
All of these things make you quite a formidable foe and one very intriguing man.
So admirable in fact, that we all agree you deserve a great boon. For all that
did we bring you back from certain death, for that we brought you here, and for
what you are and what you've done I have a proposition for you which you may
consider this night."

"What do you offer? And what must I do?" he asked, startled.

With a light laugh now, she gently laid a hand on his arm. "So many
years of tyranny have taught you much trepidation my dear. Worry not, for I ask
nothing without giving you a choice. I will however, ask a boon for us as well.
Your offer is simply this: that we allow you to stay in our world to learn our
ways, such magic that is older and stronger than ever you have dreamed possible.
You may learn all that you can, especially in the art of warfare, for that is
your heart's desire, is it not? At the end of a year and a day you may return to
the school you call home with such knowledge that you can successfully teach it
to any students therein."

"Where and what would you teach me?"

"I?" she laughed, "not I, but Scathach, the warrior queen--and
mother to Lasair. She instructs many a man of the sidhe in the ways of war and
she would welcome you to her school. Should you decide to go, you would leave in
the morning and journey north with Lasair. Likewise, Lasair and her sisters have
offered to teach you a great many things as well. Nature magics, calls to the
elements. All of this, of course, without the use of a wand," she finished,
leveling her gaze at him as she sipped her wine.

"Wandless magic..."

"Indeed, as it was done centuries before your kind decided to channel it
thus."

"And what must I do in return?"

"In return, we offer you the chance to marry one of our kind, dowry
included, in order to continue our race through yours."

Severus sat back as he digested this. An arranged marriage? That certainly
seemed a steep price to pay for such knowledge. As he looked around the table at
the women seated, he conceded that every one was exceedingly beautiful and any
one would make a fetching bride. He could not love her however, not as he had...
Pushing those thoughts away he pondered the ramifications of such a match. The
knowledge she spoke of imparting was unheard of in their world. These were
stronger magics that even Voldemort or Dumbledore had dreamt of, for surely he
felt the power emanating from all and sundry at this table to the point that it
was almost palpable. What's more, he alone would be able to teach it in turn to
any number of Hogwarts students for generations to come. This lady practically
gift-wrapped the Defense Against the Dark Arts position for him. Even as he
lusted for such power and the prominence it would bring, a niggling thought in
the back of his mind asked why his payment for such a privilege should be
marriage. What woman did they have in mind? Why marriage, and how did it help
continue their race?

Tentatively he voiced these questions to Cailleach, who answered smiling.
"There now, we would hardly offer you an ogre." This set those nearby
tittering with laughter. "If you'll forgive my old-fashioned terms, she
will be a girl of good breeding, excellent family, gifted with strong magic and
knowledge, fair of face and form... all a man could ask for in a wife."

"As to your concern about our race, we, as with any other people cannot
survive by intermarrying time and again. This is the bane of many societies who
become so full of their own virtue that they feel it must be kept within to
avoid dilution. Surely you know this."

Severus nodded grudgingly before Cailleach continued.

"Point of fact, my dear, your race of wizards and witches are nothing
more than the offspring between the sidhe and ordinary humans."

"Do you mean to tell me that we are in actuality nothing more than
varying degrees of magical Muggles, for lack of a better term?"

"To a degree," she replied holding up a hand, "and in all
honesty magic does wan after a hundred or so generations. Yet that is quite a
lot of time for a human and furthermore, these Muggleborns you speak of are
merely what in years past would have been called changelings. They are nothing
more than the magical offspring of a fairy and human mating. Naturally, this is
not usually by the human's awareness. Many women find themselves pregnant after
a mere dalliance with a strangely desirable man or after a night of carousing
with an unusually amorous husband, either of whom is a sidhe man. Likewise, many a mortal man has been
visited by or brought to the bower of a sidhe woman believing he dreamed--never
knowing that when they parted she was with child. By and large, my dear, we have
our ways of not dying out. The favor you grant us by marrying is to do your part
in creating yet another line of fairy family."

"In addition, you will be asked to choose one of your prize pupils every
year to return here for more in-depth training. We prefer, of course, that you
choose a singularly gifted and formidable witch or wizard to continue what we
hope will be the start of an honored tradition which may build better relations
between our worlds, even while protecting us from overexposure. That said, I
would ask if there is a student you can think of even now who possesses such
qualities?"

Severus cast his mind about trying to think of students who had excelled
themselves in the past year, especially seventh years. Longbottom, despite his
newfound valiance on the battlefield was still abhorrent at potions and merely
passable at transfiguration. Even as he dismissed Neville from his mind, he
thought of another and groaned inwardly. Some semblance of the thought must have
shown on his face, for Cailleach smiled again. "Yes, we thought she would
do. Truly there can be no one better."

"God no," started Severus before he caught himself. "Miss
Granger?"

"Is anyone else likely to absorb so much in so short a time?"

"No," he said resignedly.

Lasair laughed outright at his discomfiture. "Do not fear, dear Severus.
One of our first lessons for her shall be humility."

"It is set then. Even if you refuse, she shall be invited on the morrow.
For yourself, you have tonight to consider and I shall expect your answer at
first light. Your choice is for you and you alone. For now, Severus, enjoy what is left of the festivities, for
tonight is of course May Eve and in our world, as yours, there is much to
celebrate."
----------------------------------------------------

Pronunciation guide:

Cailleach- CAL-yeck

Lasair- LAY-sair

Coventina- Co-ven-TEE-na

sidhe- she
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A Better Fate *COMPLETE*

A Better Fate COMPLETE