Weft of Power, Warp of Blood: A Tapestry of Desire

Chapter Thirty – Eight
Innocent Blood

Ministry Cancels Wizards Ball
First Time Since 1945

In a press conference held today by Ministry, it was officially
announced that the annual Wizards’ Ball, a staple of British
Wizarding society since it was first instituted by Merlin
in the Royal Court of Camelot, would be cancelled
this year. There had been unofficial rumors to
the effect; however, this is the first official
comment by the Ministry. Minister
Cornelius Fudge declared that the
Cancellation was, “indeed
regrettable but would not be held this year
for fear for public safety” Amid further discussion
of The Dark Lord’s tactics and recent crimes,
Minister Fudge did promise that there
would be, “a big to-do”, later this
year at the fortress-like
Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft
and Wizardry
instead of at
the Minister’s
Manor in
Lower
Slaughter,
Gloucestershire.
The Minister
refused to
say what the
new event
would be.
This reporter
spoke with
several
Ministry
employees
who all…

Kiaya tossed the paper into a bin at the Apparation point and queued up with a silent sigh, dragging her trunk with her. She wasn’t sure if the sigh was of relief or disappointment of the ball being cancelled or not though she also wasn’t sure that it mattered or not. Last year’s ball had been an unqualified disaster. Granted, the food had been good, the gowns were all beautiful and, though she didn’t know how to dance, the music had been nice to listen to. However, it certainly had lacked the fairy-tale quality that her mother had gushed on about. Kiaya had neglected to tell her mum about the woman in the garden, the yelling match she’d had with Snape or the harpies in the bathroom.

She still wasn’t sure by the time she reached the gates to Hogwarts. Looking up at the castle, she wasn’t surprised to feel slightly chagrined. She’d left in…not a blaze of glory… but certainly in a fine temper at the end of the school year. As Kiaya walked, she glared at the grass trying to grow along the path and kicked a stone with her sandal-shod foot. Irritation turned into mortification when the stone hit a fairy sleeping on the hillside. “Sorry!” she called to the little creature that had its little fist raised. Kiaya thought there might have been two tiny fingers raised as well, but set aside the thought in favor of figuring out ways to avoid Snape this year.

An hour later, with the majority of her things settled into her old rooms and the password changed from the old “Manx Tails” to “Seal Point Siamese”, Kiaya still hadn’t figured out how to handle Snape. All she’d really decided was that she ought to start by treating him the same way she’d treated her students and Mr. Basilton’s other apprentices – firm but friendly. Deciding to take the proverbial bull by the horns – or was it snake by the tail - she headed out of her rooms to seek out the devil himself.

She approached the potions office via her first year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw classroom and was chagrined to see that she’d done a piss-poor job of cleaning the room before she’d left in a huff in June. Figuring that Snape had probably seen the room and was just waiting to mock her over it, she did a thorough clean up that included scrubbing the floor of flobberworm parts from underneath young Mr. Balb’s seat and patching the hole in the wall he’d made during his class final exam. Delaying the inevitable seemed like a good choice so she started on the other classrooms as well.

It was late evening when she finished the last room. The Weasley twins had left so many scars on the table during their tenure she’d had to actually sand the whole table down. Her wrist rather hurt from all of the swishing and flicking she’d done. In the end, though, she was happy that she was no longer an apprentice and was allowed to use magic to clean up. For the first four years with Mr. Basilton, she’d actually scrubbed tables, cauldrons and floors with her hands. She now had the first three weeks of her lesson plans mapped out in her head and was determined to write them down before she forgot all about them. She tucked her wand into her back pocket, under her robes and headed toward her office.

The door to the office was open – Snape was in the castle and probably in the office. Kiaya mentally sighed and reached to open the door. Better to get it over with than give herself a stomachache over dreading seeing the berk again. Before her hand reached the knob, she heard voices from inside and did what any normal human would do – she eavesdropped, promising that it would only be for a moment.

“I’ve just met Malfoy for instructions again. The Dark Lord has again requested an update on the Harlots Bloodlust potion. I am to show significant progress and another ingredients list by the next meeting,” said Snape, hidden inside the office. Kiaya froze, terrified by the name. The Dark Lord? That meant Snape was a Death Eater. She always knew he was an arsehole, but wasn’t being a Death Eater taking it too far? What would she do? Dumbledore – he would know.

Her fear, but not her shock, was halted when she heard Professor Dumbledore’s voice say, “I see. I suppose it would be too easy to slip in a poison to finish him off just when he thinks he’s going to be able to have some fun, wouldn’t it?” He chuckled. Kiaya almost gasped. Dumbledore said something that edged on crude? How shocking – but then, he was a man, why would it be at all surprising?

If Dumbledore was there and they were discussing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, did that mean that Snape wasn’t a Death Eater? Kiaya knew the man was an arse and a half, but…no. He couldn’t possibly be, given the conversation.

“I am to taste it before he drinks. He will wait at least an hour to make sure I haven’t decided to sacrifice myself for the cause before he takes the draught.” Snape hesitated. “He is still demanding that I use Jasmine’s blood and offered several suggestion on how I should get it.”

Kiaya was revolted. She wasn’t familiar with the potion he’d mentioned, but from the sound of it, she knew exactly what it did.

“Such as?”

“Taking it while she sleeps or simply moving in with her and….” Snape’s voice trailed off.

Dumbledore sighed and said, though it sounded like a question, “I suppose he will not be dissuaded.”

Snape sounded painfully patient when he said, “We have discussed this, Headmaster. Malfoy told me that Voldemort wants Jasmine as a consort, which we already knew – but he’s even more determined since the failed dementor attack.” The words were stark.

Kiaya was both puzzled and horrified. Dementor attack? Who was this Jasmine?

“Have you told her yet?”

Kiaya didn’t hear Snape’s answer.

“What are the other options?”

There was silence in the room for a long time before Snape spoke again. “I could make a Virility Potion, with another woman’s help, but Jasmine will still be in danger.”

There was a sound of a single finger tapping on wood. “If you make it with another woman’s blood, he won’t be able to have any woman but the one but the one it came from, correct? With Jasmine, he would be impotent?” Dumbledore asked.

Kiaya nodded automatically. There were several potions that affected a man’s virility. The most effective were made with a woman’s menstrual blood. It was normally used by couples that were desperate to have children and would only work if the man was having sex with the woman whose blood was in the potion. Theoretically, it could also effectively force children from an unwilling woman. It could also emasculate a man who had sex with another woman while taking it.

“Yes, Headmaster, but if he decides to test it before he gets Jasmine…” Snape trailed off, but the implication was clear. Snape’s deception would be revealed, he would be killed and the mysterious Jasmine would still be in danger. “He could try it on anyone.”

“No,” muttered Dumbledore, “no, I know Tom. He won’t want to risk having children with anyone but the one he wants, nor would he risk his newfound manhood.”

“It would work if he tested it by having sex with a male.”

Kiaya didn’t know if she should giggle or vomit. The idea of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named buggering some poor fellow was simply too bizarre.

“Yes, that habit of his is well known, but his sodomy isn’t for pleasure it’s for power and control.” Dumbledore’s voice was no longer that of a dotty old man. The Dumbledore who had spoken was hard and sure, like an old Auror who had seen far too much evil in the world.

“But Jasmine and Arielle…”

Dumbledore answered, “I will take care of them. She will have two options – to move into the castle or accept protection at the house.” There was the sound of rustling paper and then the scratching of a quill before footsteps crossed the room. “I would like a house elf in Professor Snape’s office please.”

Kiaya wasn’t surprised to hear a house elf’s squeaky greeting immediately afterward – they could apparate at will.

“Professor Albus Dumbledore, Sir, how may Dobby serve you?”

“Take this to the owlery please, Dobby, send it with a large owl and tell it to hurry,” requested Dumbledore.

“It is an honor for Dobby to serve one as great as Professor Albus Dumbledore,” the elf said in his odd little voice.

“Thank you. Oh, and Dobby,” added Dumbledore, obviously stopped the elf from leaving, “I like your socks.”

The elf tittered and left with a POP.

Kiaya had to stop herself from giving herself away with a giggle. She knew the elf that had been in the room; he was a paid house elf, which was unusual, and had the oddest collection of clothing she had ever seen – including an extensive collection of mismatched socks.

Her attention was brought back to the men in the room when Snape mused, “If I made the potion from a virgin’s blood…”

“You’re right. Not even Voldemort can overcome that ancient magic without a sacrifice if he found out. He couldn’t touch the woman without crippling him. He won’t think of it, though, if he only wants Jasmine.”

Kiaya gaped and rolled her eyes. They were talking about an old wives tale - a myth! The story about an ancient wizard’s virgin daughter having been raped and the accused man and his criminal descendants being cursed with eternal impotence was a myth – wasn’t it? Surely the curse wasn’t real – it just didn’t seem possible for every wizard to have unwilling intercourse with a virgin to be struck with impotence for befouling purity. Well, maybe it was. Rape was almost unheard of in the wizard world – that could be why.

Dumbledore instructed, “Make the potion with a virgin’s blood. It will take at least three months of monthly doses to come to full strength, correct?”

“Five, though I told him six months. He can’t physically do anything to her for that long…”

Dumbledore interrupted, “I know. We will find a way to stop this, no matter what it takes. In the meantime, make the potion. If you can, find an antidote for when you must drink it yourself. I would like you to make it with a lead bar in the caldron each time.”

“Headmaster, there is none – I would be poisoned, too. However, if it is needed…”

“No, it has not come to that yet. Have Kiaya research it for you, though. There may be something that can be done to protect you.”

“Yes, Headmaster,” he said. Then Snape sounded almost uncomfortable when he added, “I do not know any women that I could get the other ingredient from.” Again, there was a moment of silence.

“Nor do I, it isn’t something one walks around questioning women about, especially ones that are young enough to assume that the possibility is even there.” Dumbledore paused. “I hesitate to ask the daughters of friends for fear that the word might get out.”

“A student? The Head Girl, perhaps?” Snape sounded revolted.

“I am loath to do that; the students need to be kept away from all of this. They are all too young to make a choice like that.” Again, there was silence.

Kiaya bit her lip and considered for a moment, weighing the needs with the dangers. She took a deep breath and opened the door all of the way. The wizards stared at her and she bit her lip. Fiddling with a fold of her robe, Kiaya muttered, “I overhead. I wasn’t meaning to spy, I just…”

Dumbledore smiled at her, in his calming way, “It’s quite all right, Kiaya. How much did you hear?”

Twisting the skirt of her robes into a small knot, she answered, “Um, I don’t know. A lot, I suppose.”

Dumbledore spoke in a low, calming tone. “You know the need. If you can think of a solution to our small ingredient problem or even an antidote for the potion, I would like to hear it.”

She shook her head and concentrated on looking Dumbledore in the eye. “I don’t know of an antidote for a potion like that. Most potions like that are kind of… meant to do what they do, and people don’t take them unless they are desperate.” When Dumbledore nodded his understanding, she continued, “But… um… there is someone that I know….” She blushed furiously and peeked up at Snape. He watched her with a carefully blank expression but even that seemed to look like a sneer to her.

“Yes,” prompted Dumbledore.

She spoke quickly, trying to get her point out before she died of embarrassment. “Well, I’m twenty-seven. I went right from school where I studied really hard and didn’t have time for,” she broke off and took a deep breath, “um… boyfriends. Then I went right into my apprenticeship and, you know, there’s no free time then for anything else and Mr. Basilton was really protective and…” her breath caught and her voice stumbled into silence. She was blushing furiously.

“I see,” said Dumbledore gently, walking closer to take her hand. “And you are willing to help in this most dangerous project?”

“Yes, Sir,” she mumbled, looking at the floor.

Snape growled, “Miss Roundtree, you will be in danger should you volunteer, you do realize that, don’t you? This isn’t a game for a silly child looking to be a hero.”

“I’m not really the hero type, besides, I don’t write nearly was well as Gilderoy Lockhart,” she snapped, earning a measure of respect from Dumbledore. She continued in a breathy tone, “and I’ll be okay here at school, right? I mean, I’m already here to stay away from Mr. Malfoy, right?”

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Snape interrupted. “Unless the Dark Lord figures out what I’ve done and forces me to tell him where I got the ingredients. Then you will be a very short, blonde target. He will get you out of this school one way or another. He will put you so deeply under an Imperious Curse that you will quite happily forget that you are unwilling to do anything, thus nullifying any ancient curse on rapists!”

“Severus,” said Dumbledore, trying to stop Snape from scaring Kiaya any more.

“Headmaster, she’s a child! This girl is not old enough to make a choice about putting her life in danger!”

“I’m not a child,” argued Kiaya in a very small voice, sounding very much like one. “I told you, I’m twenty-seven years old and I am not in your class anymore. I can decide for myself. I want to do this because it needs to be done and I am the logical person to do it,” she sounded stronger when she finished.

“And so it will be done,” decreed Dumbledore. “Kiaya is here and willing and so she will, indeed, help. We will keep her safe. Keep me informed on your progress.” He swept out of the room.

Silence reigned for several minutes while Kiaya stared at the floor and damned what her mouth and gotten her into. Snape just glowered.

“When are you due?” he snapped.

Kiaya blushed, “About three days.”

“Stop blushing like a schoolgirl. You may be an innocent, but I am not. I am about to become intimately knowledgeable about your body’s functioning and since you have made this foolhardy choice, you should get used to discussing every detail about your monthly cycles with me,” Snape growled.

Narrowly avoiding sticking her tongue out at him, Kiaya mumbled, “As you wish.”

“Do you use a cup or one of those Muggle things,” Snape asked. Kiaya tried not to be shocked or embarrassed answering such intimate questions from an almost stranger.

“I use towels,” she tried to speak boldly through her embarrassment.

“I have no desire to be wringing those things out. You’ll need to get a cup. That way you can just empty it into a phial.”

Many witches used a rubber cup that collected everything during their periods. Kiaya had seen them, but never used one. “I don’t know how to use it.”

“Don’t you have a mother to teach you these things?” he roared.

She cringed, “My mother lives in York and her mother was Muggle born. She never learnt to use them either.”

Snape muttered something foul under his breath then snarled, “Do you at least masturbate?”

Kiaya felt faint. She sat quickly in his green leather desk chair. It was a moment before she could squeak out, “Do I WHAT?”

He ground out, “The impotence potion is most effective when the woman whose blood is in it, is under an almost constant state of sexual arousal and climax while menstruating. Since you won’t be having sex, you will need to masturbate to be in that state. Didn’t you learn anything as an apprentice?”

“I’ve never… no! I mean yes! I mean…” Kiaya eyes and teeth were clenched. She was again blushing.

“There is no way I’m going to teach you how to do that and how to use a cup! I’m taking you to Jasmine tomorrow! She’ll teach you!”

“I don’t need some stranger talking to me about sex! I can figure this out on my own! And who is Jasmine?”

Severus glared at her then took a step toward her. She took a step back but was stopped by the desk at her back. He didn’t stop moving towards her until their feet were touching and he could look straight down at her. She had to lean back and crane her neck to look up at him. His black eyes were glittering down at her. He growled again, “Tough. We don’t have time to waste while you figure out the difference between your vagina and your clitoris, much less while you learn how to use them.”

Kiaya was so enraged that she began to cry. She spat, “I know the difference…”

She was interrupted, “Do not get drippy again, Miss Roundtree. It didn’t work ten years ago, it didn’t work last month and it won’t work now. You will do as you’re told or Dumbledore will find a more competent woman to volunteer to help save the world.”

“Drippy? Ten years ago? You ruddy bastard! Ten years ago you made me cry because you scored me an T on an Exploding Potion because the partner that you assigned to me blew up our caldron and half of my robes with it! I deserved another chance to make that potion and you wouldn’t give it to me! It was your fault that I was crying then, too!” She shoved at his chest, trying to move him away from her – he didn’t move. “Last month you called me an incompetent, whining little bint who didn’t deserve to be anywhere near children, much less teach them just because Aloysius Balb exploded a cauldron and knocked a hole through your precious wall!”

“You were sniveling for a second chance to make a potion that you should have been controlling anyway. You stood right in this office and begged for another chance so that you wouldn’t ruin your perfect average and then you cried just as you are now when I wouldn’t give it to you!” He snarled at her and said, “And last month you were responsible for the hole in the wall. No one else. That child exploded a cauldron because you failed to teach him not to!”

She wiped away the tears that had running down her cheeks and said, “That child will learn to do better because I will teach him – I am a good teacher that way! You, however, didn’t want to give me a good grade because I was too good in your class and I was in Gryffindor. If I had been in Slytherin, you would have done it!”

“I was being fair. No one gets a second chance on a project when they fail the first time! Even when they are in my house!” He leaned forward, crowding her even more, forcing Kiaya to arch backwards to keep him away.

“You assigned me Lillith Parkinson so that I would do badly! She was in your house and she was awful at potions! You gave her to me so that I would improve her grade and make the potion for her and she wouldn’t have to do a thing! You were angry that I made her do it so you punished me!”

Snape stopped. Kiaya was correct. He had assigned the Slytherin girl to be her partner so the blonde could improve her grade. And he had been mean to her because she was a Gryffindor. No student had actually called him on it before and he was shocked that she did so now. He stepped back and changed tactics. “You’re not crying anymore.”

Kiaya was stunned speechless.

“I will take you down to Hogsmeade tomorrow. You will discuss what you need to learn with Jasmine at nine. Meet me here - do not be late.”

He stalked out of the room, heading out to pick up Arielle for dinner, leaving Kiaya still bent backwards over his desk, mouth agape, staring after him.