The good thing about being him in a situation like this is that he can Apperate in and out of the city; any other Magical from Snape's side of the Divide has to request permission to enter.
He's at Elsbet's dojo before anyone knows he's there, and his heart pounds as he passes through the ornate doors. It's quiet inside, which is unusual for this time of day and this does not improve his mood. As he walks through the empty training area he is met by the tiny elder woman everyone calls 'Oma', and slows his pace for her. "Is she...injured?" Snape asks and Oma tells him it is not a physical injury. She leads him into the back of the dojo, and to the small, comfortable room where Elsbet lies sleeping.
Her Sensei rises to greet him and they bow respectfully to each other. He's calm until he sees Therion and he has to bite his tongue. "I know I'm one of the last people you want to talk to, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't important," Therion says and Master Han tells Snape that it was Therion who brought her here. "He felt it would be...less worrysome for you if you were to come here, rather than his shop," Han says and indicates the plush chair beside the little bed. Snape sits and turns to Elsbet immediately, and rests his hand on her head. She feels uninjured; aside from Therion's sleep enchantment, there is no indication that anything is wrong.
Master Han asks him as gently as possible, "how deeply have you delved into her mind?" Snape feels a stab of panic, then quells it. This can not be because of him, it just can't...as if Therion knows, he says, "this isn't anything that you've done, Snape, but rather what you haven't," he holds his hand up and continues. "Her parents weren't Muggles, Snape. She's not a Muggle." Snape's eyes close slowly; he had suspected there was Magical blood in her ancestry, but he never once thought that--"her parents were Squibs?" His question hangs in the air for a moment before he can breathe again.
"We are not certain that they were," Master Han says, "there may be other explanations, as they certainly had Magical gifts." Therion tells Snape that she had come to his shop to talk, and they had a very interesting conversation indeed. "However deeply you've gone," he taps his head, "you need to go deeper. I won't tell you why she came to me, that's between the two of you, but I can not impress upon you enough how important it is that you--" Snape leans forward and looks at the two men, measuring his tone carefully. "I will not pressure her to tell me her past, and I will not force myself into her mind."
Master Han touches Snape's arm, calming him and drawing his attention away from Therion. "Severus, do you recall the first day you watched her training?" Snape nods; he's quite fond of the memory. "Do you recall seeing her stop her opponent without touching him?" Again, Snape nods. "That was skill, not magic," Master Han says, "but you have watched her do other things here that were more magic than skill, and likely never realized that it was. Even she did not know what it was she was doing." Snape thinks about the things he's seen her do and chides himself for not talking to her about her history. "She needs training, Snape," Therion says, "but there's a wound that needs to be healed before she can grow."
He looks at Therion in stunned silence for a moment. "I thought you hated her," he says, and Master Han tells him, "it was he who alerted me, Severus." Therion looks away and sighs, then looks back at Snape. "I was terribly stupid, and I want to make things right. This is the best way I can." Master Han rises and grips Snape's shoulder. "Take her home, Severus. She will best be served where she feels most comfortable. In the place you made for her." He releases him, then steps out of the room and Snape rises. Gingerly he bends and gathers Elsbet into his arms, and leaves the room with Therion behind him.
Snape and Master Han bow to each other, and Therion walks to the back door that leads to a secret garden path. "This will be safer," Therion says, "you'll be able to Disapparate unnoticed." Snape faces him and asks him directly, "why the change of heart? You couldn't have cared less about her." Therion bites his lip. "I told you, I was stupid. There's time to talk about this later. After the two of you have had time..." he nods and steps back, and Snape clutches Elsbet to him. He wants to say something else, ask something else, but this is far more important.
Silently, and without a backward glance, Snape focuses himself and Disapparates in a second.
He's at Elsbet's dojo before anyone knows he's there, and his heart pounds as he passes through the ornate doors. It's quiet inside, which is unusual for this time of day and this does not improve his mood. As he walks through the empty training area he is met by the tiny elder woman everyone calls 'Oma', and slows his pace for her. "Is she...injured?" Snape asks and Oma tells him it is not a physical injury. She leads him into the back of the dojo, and to the small, comfortable room where Elsbet lies sleeping.
Her Sensei rises to greet him and they bow respectfully to each other. He's calm until he sees Therion and he has to bite his tongue. "I know I'm one of the last people you want to talk to, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't important," Therion says and Master Han tells Snape that it was Therion who brought her here. "He felt it would be...less worrysome for you if you were to come here, rather than his shop," Han says and indicates the plush chair beside the little bed. Snape sits and turns to Elsbet immediately, and rests his hand on her head. She feels uninjured; aside from Therion's sleep enchantment, there is no indication that anything is wrong.
Master Han asks him as gently as possible, "how deeply have you delved into her mind?" Snape feels a stab of panic, then quells it. This can not be because of him, it just can't...as if Therion knows, he says, "this isn't anything that you've done, Snape, but rather what you haven't," he holds his hand up and continues. "Her parents weren't Muggles, Snape. She's not a Muggle." Snape's eyes close slowly; he had suspected there was Magical blood in her ancestry, but he never once thought that--"her parents were Squibs?" His question hangs in the air for a moment before he can breathe again.
"We are not certain that they were," Master Han says, "there may be other explanations, as they certainly had Magical gifts." Therion tells Snape that she had come to his shop to talk, and they had a very interesting conversation indeed. "However deeply you've gone," he taps his head, "you need to go deeper. I won't tell you why she came to me, that's between the two of you, but I can not impress upon you enough how important it is that you--" Snape leans forward and looks at the two men, measuring his tone carefully. "I will not pressure her to tell me her past, and I will not force myself into her mind."
Master Han touches Snape's arm, calming him and drawing his attention away from Therion. "Severus, do you recall the first day you watched her training?" Snape nods; he's quite fond of the memory. "Do you recall seeing her stop her opponent without touching him?" Again, Snape nods. "That was skill, not magic," Master Han says, "but you have watched her do other things here that were more magic than skill, and likely never realized that it was. Even she did not know what it was she was doing." Snape thinks about the things he's seen her do and chides himself for not talking to her about her history. "She needs training, Snape," Therion says, "but there's a wound that needs to be healed before she can grow."
He looks at Therion in stunned silence for a moment. "I thought you hated her," he says, and Master Han tells him, "it was he who alerted me, Severus." Therion looks away and sighs, then looks back at Snape. "I was terribly stupid, and I want to make things right. This is the best way I can." Master Han rises and grips Snape's shoulder. "Take her home, Severus. She will best be served where she feels most comfortable. In the place you made for her." He releases him, then steps out of the room and Snape rises. Gingerly he bends and gathers Elsbet into his arms, and leaves the room with Therion behind him.
Snape and Master Han bow to each other, and Therion walks to the back door that leads to a secret garden path. "This will be safer," Therion says, "you'll be able to Disapparate unnoticed." Snape faces him and asks him directly, "why the change of heart? You couldn't have cared less about her." Therion bites his lip. "I told you, I was stupid. There's time to talk about this later. After the two of you have had time..." he nods and steps back, and Snape clutches Elsbet to him. He wants to say something else, ask something else, but this is far more important.
Silently, and without a backward glance, Snape focuses himself and Disapparates in a second.
