Severus and the Frozen North

Healing in the Moonlight

October 2001

The trail led down to a valley of flowers, full moon snow orchids. They were only able to be harvested once a year, during the full moon of the tenth month, when the lunar energy was in transition. This year, the full moon fell on a Saturday.

He and Kora trekked down to the valley early that morning, one of the few spots in the world where one could get moon orchids, and waited. The time of night when the orchid would open and release its vapors was different every year and they needed to be prepared.

She laid out a blanket on the ground, building a small fire with a few swishes of magic. He set out the jars to collect the vapors and pollen, plus a small cauldron to soak the orchids immediately after they released the pollen to make snow oil for any rare diseases or side effects. It was a multi purpose flower and very hard to find.

"You still haven't told me how you found these" she reminded him, pulling her knees up to her chest, leggings hugging her muscled thighs, brown hiking books up to her ankle.

He hadn't intended on finding them. He was meandering one early morning when the memories were particularly bad. He found this small section of flowers completely by accident.

"I found them by accident" he answered simply, not wanting to expand

"You just walked down into the valley for fun?" she probed, beyond the point in their friendship where she just let his answers lie

"I woke up early from nightmares. Sometimes it helps to walk outside" he divulged, picking at a plate of fruit that he had brought

"I'm sorry you have nightmares" she empathized with him, her hand on his knee for a few seconds

They were lessening, the more time he spent away. The longer he left behind that life. He wanted to learn more about her. More about her life before becoming a mistress. What brought her to Kiruna.

"Do you have any family?" he asked suddenly, toying with an apple

Surprisingly she answered him right away

"No. I was a rather late in life child. Kind of a miracle. My parents were in their late fifties when they had me. They never planned on children. They were very lax with the rules and I grew up nearly feral in the Hungarian countryside in our magical enclave. They passed when I was twenty-two" she still managed to joke, laughing deeply at her memories

That he could envision. A wild child running rampant in the woods. She took the apple out of his hand and bit into it before asking

"What about you?"

His life wasn't that idyllic. But she had shared with him, it was only fair to share back

"My father was a muggle, my mother a witch. He wasn't a good man and she couldn't leave. We were very poor and everyone knew it. I didn't have many friends..."

She nodded, handing him back his apple with several chunks missing. He still bit into it, the sourness stinging his mouth.

"Is that why you cared so much...about...her" she asked ever so cautiously, voice a near whisper

It was. The only person to show him even an ounce of humanity.

"Yes. But I didn't know how to be a friend. I ran her off" he spoke sharply, still frustrated years later

"But how would you have known? You had no examples. All you knew was pain. Anyone would try and hold as tight as they could to something good" she argued, turning to face him

That was true but it still reeked of excuses.

"She tried to help me...But she made other friends. I think they felt threatened by me. They were privileged and didn't use that power wisely" he replied, trying to sound civil when all he really wanted was to spew his anger at his mistreatment