The Herbology Assistant

Chapter Forty Three

"I.  am. not. telling. you." Severus replied at the fourth time Clarice had asked him what her grandma wanted to talk to him about. 

"Oh my gosh, Severus. You can't keep secrets from me. Especially ones involving my own grandmother! Ugh." She rolled her eyes. He knew she was joking, but he really couldn't tell her. It would ruin his whole plan. 

"Patience, my love." Was all he said as they entered his chambers. He turned around to meet her gaze. "You'll understand soon enough."

He hugged her tightly as she let out another sigh. He felt something hard in her pocket and fished it out. The gift Albus had given, forgotten in her pocket. 

"I forgot I had that." She said while taking it back. 

"What is it?"

"A gift." She smirked as she remembered Albus telling her to open it in private. She locked herself in his bathroom, ignoring his questioning look. 

Untying the golden knot that held the black box together, she slowly opened it.  Clarice frowned as she pulled out a simple silver ring with stars etched into it. She tried to put it on her finger, but it was too large for her to wear. She wasn't sure what she was expecting from Albus, but it certainly wasn't this. 

She took off her necklace and placed the ring upon it so it danced with her sun and moon. Just as she was about to toss the box away, she noticed a note inside. 

Clarice,

I'm sure you have questions. I have answers. 

The clock tower at midnight. 

Don't be late. Don't be early. 

Albus Dumbledore

She tossed the box and the note into back into her pocket and quickly threw it into the fireplace when she was sure Severus wasn't looking. 

"So what is it?" He asked her. 

"What's what?" She asked innocently. 

"The secret gift."

"I am not telling you." She repeated his words back to him and as he was about to open his mouth, she finished her sentence. "Unless you tell me what grandma said."

"Then I suppose we'll both be disappointed." He said and her smile dropped. 

Dinner had passed and Clarice had told Severus she had to go back to her chambers to take of her creatures. It took a little convincing to get him to stay put; she didn't need him following her to the clock tower. 

Midnight on the dot, she strolled up the stairs right on time and Albus was waiting for her. 

"Ah, another beautiful night." He sighed when he sensed her presence. 

"It is indeed." As she stood watching the snow fall onto the grounds so peacefully. She waited for him to speak, she learned it was best to be patient and listen to what the man had to say before questioning him. 

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." He spoke. She listened. 

"They say by looking at these stars, you are looking at the past." He spoke again. 

"Who says that?" 

"Muggles."

"Very wise." She fingered the ring that sat upon her chest. 

"I know you are frightened about the future." He said. 

"Terrified."

"How are you handling your powers with the stress?" He asked, concerned about her well being. 

"As best as I can. The visions come and go." She said lowly. 

"Do you speak to anyone about them?" He asked. 

"Severus occasionally. Mostly my creatures hear about them." She chuckled. 

"Are you hiding something?" He asked all of a sudden. Did he know about Sirius? She swallowed. 

"Albus I-" She began but he put her hand up to stop her. 

"I don't want to know. Clearly, there's a reason why I'm unaware." He spoke and she nodded. 

"Anyways. I was only asking because I am anticipating something." He said. 

"Such as?"

"The uprising of Voldemort." He said and she didn't answer. 

"The ring... It can help you in more ways than myself." He said. "Are you familiar with the constellations?"

"Yes. My mother used to teach me about all of them and their meanings." She said remembering how infatuated her mother, Estelle, had been with the stars. 

"Have you ever used them in your predictions?" He asked. 

"No sir," She replied and he waited before continuing. 

"Stop waiting for the stars to align. Reach up and rearrange them the way you want. Create your own constellation." He spoke. She hated how he spoke in riddles, but usually once she figured them out, they made the most sense and were actually quite inspiring. 

She pondered his words and didn't realize he had vanished, until she turned to speak to him again. Her brows furrowed as she frowned and looked at the ring. What did he mean by creating your own constellations?

Deciding to sleep on it, she padded back to Severus' chambers and smiled at the man who had fallen asleep on his couch with a book on his chest. Not wanting him to wake up with a bad back, she decided to wake him up gently and they moved to his bedroom. She had fallen asleep on his chest, like always, and dreamt of the most wonderful things. 

It was always hard for her to decipher what were dreams and what were visions, but after waking up at 3am, she had found herself in the astronomy tower in her robe and slippers. 

Clarice clutched onto the ring that Albus had gifted her with and closed a single eye while holding the ring to her other as she gazed at the stars, the past, the present, and the future. For each star was a different meaning and as she recognized each constellation, her mind unraveled different outcomes of the near future. 

She thought about his words. Rearrange them the way you want. 

She closed her mind and drew a new constellation among the stars. A unicorn. 

It showed her a distant memory of her parents, one she had never known existed, of them meeting for the first time. 

She did it again, this time she drew a phoenix. What she saw caused her to stumbled back a bit when she saw the fate of Albus Dumbledore. She made a mental note to tell him to not wear whatever ring he had on in that vision. 

She called it a night, not wanting to terrify herself and she swiftly made her way back to her loving boyfriend and crawled beside him. 

"Where were you?" His voice made her jump a bit. She didn't realize he had been awake. Not wanting to explain herself at this hour, she rested her head on his chest. 

"I'm not telling you."