snape and skull

17

Uncommon Conversations
I

rma's quarters
C

hristmas morning:
"Do come in, Severus and Harry!" Irma greeted, she was wearing a quilted blue robe with stylized ravens and eagles imprinted on it, and matching shoes. She looked quite relaxed, her nez pince glasses hanging on a gold cord about her neck. Her graying brown hair, normally in a severe bun, was pulled back in a casual tail and decorated with a pretty blue ribbon. "And Skullduggery too!" she added as the raven glided down to alight on his wizard's shoulder. "Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas, Irma. Thank you for inviting us," Severus said, giving her a slight bow.
"Happy Christmas, Madam Pince," Harry said politely, following his guardian's suit.
"Come, Lena is just finishing setting the table." Madam Pince beckoned them into her sitting room.
"Merry Christmas to all here!" Skull called.
Harry looked about curiously, for he had never been inside Madam Pince's quarters. To his surprise, the librarian's sitting room was cozy and warm—done with deep gold earth tones and navy blue covered furniture accented with golden oak. The fire was blazing, lending both warmth and a sweet apple and cinnamon scent to the air. The mantle was decorated by swags of fir and holly, wrapped with light blue and silver ribbon and ornaments. Along the right hand corner was a large bookshelf filled with many leatherbound volumes, a wingback chair sat next to them, along with a small reading table and a tall wrought iron lamp.
The sofa had been moved to accommodate a large round table filled with all sorts of breakfast foods, and carafes of tea, coffee, juice, and cappuccino and espresso. Lena was there, arranging the china, which was gold with a blue leaf pattern, and silverware. Four chairs were set about the table, as well as a perch for Skullduggery.
Lena looked up at their entrance, a smile stealing over her features. She was dressed in a frosted blue gown, simple yet elegant with tapering sleeves and seed pearls and crystals lining the top of the bodice. Hanging about her neck upon a velvet ribbon was a silver and gold raven charm. Her hair was loose and flowing and she had a headband decorated with silvery snowflakes about it. The dress set off her honey-gold hair and made her eyes even bluer. She wore long silver bells in her ears that chimed gently when she moved. "Happy Christmas, Severus, Harry, and Skullduggery! Or, as my father would say, Buon Natale!"
"Grazie, signorina Rosario." Severus said, giving his colleague an appreciative smile. "Lei e bellissima."
Lena blushed. "You are too kind, sir. That robe becomes you exceedingly well. Green is definitely your color. I wasn't aware you spoke Italian, Severus."
"Only a little." Severus replied. "I have just about exhausted my knowledge of it."
"Please, sit down. I'm so glad you could come. My mother sent all of this to me and Aunt Irma, much of it is homemade; she thinks we starve here at school." Lena chuckled and indicated all the silver trays and bowls.
"Doesn't she know about the house elves?" Harry blurted.
"Of course, but she claims that magic cannot replace authentic Italian cooking. Thus, the Christmas breakfast baskets."
Once they were all seated, Lena asked what everyone wished to drink.
Severus had espresso, Irma some cinnamon spice tea, and Lena and Harry had cappuccino.
To his surprise, Harry found the cappuccino delightful, not horrendously bitter, but mellow and creamy and with the right amount of sugar, satisfyingly sweet. "Lena, it's . . .wonderful!"
"Isn't it? I miss making a freshly brewed pot every morning," she said, sipping her own. "This was made by my dad and shipped through Express Post. I know the elves would try and make it if I asked, but as Mum always says, there are somethings magic cannot duplicate and this is one of them."
"I quite agree," Severus said, drinking down his espresso. "This is superb, I haven't had espresso since I attended an International Potions Conference two years ago." He poured himself another shot.
Harry eyed the tiny cup and said, puzzled, "Uncle Sev, why is the cup so small? It looks like hardly a mouthful."
"It's small because it's very strong," Severus answered. "You probably wouldn't like it."
"May I try?" Harry asked.
Lena floated a cup over to him. He sipped it and grimaced. "Ugh! How can you drink that?"
Severus smirked. "You know how I like my coffee, Harry."
"Yeah, but . . . that stuff could strip paint." His ward said, then took a long drink of his cappuccino.
"Help yourselves," Irma said.
There were platters of crispy bacon and fat grilled Italian sausage with sage, there were apricot and almond biscotti, as well as chocolate ones. There was a large cast iron skillet with something called frittata, an Italian omelet with eggs, zucchini, onion, peppers, and a layer of crunchy potatoes on the bottom, seasoned with garlic and other spices and sprinkled with cheddar cheese. There were warm rolls, with several spreads, like Welsh rarebit, and Seville orange marmalade, butter, and clotted cream. There was a lovely basket of fresh fruit, it contained figs, apples, winter plums, nectarines, grapes, and bananas. There was cinnamon French toast with golden syrup or honey to spread on it.
Severus fixed a small plate for Skull, with pieces of sausage, bacon, the omelet, and pieces of nectarine, grapes , and French toast. He levitated it over to the raven's perch and Skull began to eat hungrily, making happy noises of satisfaction.
Harry couldn't believe how delicious everything was. He tried a little of everything and then went back for seconds. He noticed that Severus did also, and some of his choices were also Harry's favorites as well, like the frittata and sausage. Harry loved the winter plums, which were sweet and juicy with deep red inside. "These are amazing!"
Lena chuckled. "Yes, the plums are always my favorite too."
"I prefer nectarines and the figs," Severus said, eating another of each. Then he pushed his plate away. "If I eat any more, I won't be able to move. This was a fabulous meal, ladies. I have never had better."
"Me either," said Harry.
"It was delicious!" Skull squawked in agreement, nibbling upon a biscotti.
"Thank you for the lovely book, Severus," Lena said. "I have never seen an illuminated manuscript of Thomas More's Utopia. It's gorgeous."
"And thank you for the coffee package," Severus said. "I shall make good use of it."
Just then, there came a loud hoot outside the door, and Irma opened it to see a large gray owl hovering with a small package. It flew in and delivered it to Harry, dropping it in his lap before flying off again.
Harry examined the package, then looked at Severus and said, "It's from Wizarding Occulars. I think it's my new glasses."
"About time!" Skull remarked.
Harry opened the package, and sure enough, there were his brand new glasses with slender gold wire frames. They were neat looking and best of all, he could see much better with them on. He removed his old ones and put his new ones on. "Wow! Everything's so much clearer!"
"And you look much handsomer with them," Irma teased. "Funny, how a new pair of glasses can make you feel like a different person."
Harry looked down at his old ones. "What do I do with these?"
"Throw them out," Severus said. He waved his wand and Harry's old glasses vanished.
Skullduggery peered at Harry and said, "Now you can see with the eyes of a falcon, bran-boy." Abruptly he turned about and tugged on a smallish tail feather. He presented it to Harry. "Here. A present from me. You can make it into a quill, Sev can show you how. Spells and potion recipes written with a raven quill can only be read by the holder, it's the ultimate way to disguise your thoughts and personal inventions. Also, when necessary, you can use a quill for defense, place a Sharpness Charm on it and you'll have a fine weapon, better than any knife. for the pen really is mightier than the sword."
Harry's eyes widened. "Thanks, Skull! That's wicked!" He reached into a pocket and withdrew a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. "Here, this is for you," he gave it to the raven.
'Thank you, Harry!" the bird trilled, then unwrapped it, tearing the paper off with his beak. "A honeycomb and sunflower seed treat with bacon!" The raven cried. "How did you know I like these?"
"Uh, Uncle Sev told me," Harry admitted.
"They're one of my favorite treats," Skull said. "Along with the stuffed shrews Sev gave me."
"I won't ask what is in those," Irma shuddered.
"Suet, nuts, raisins, and ground cinnamon," Skull informed her. "I shall save this for later, for we have the feast still to come."
Skull made a curious trilling and gurgling sound, it sounded like kmmm-grrr.
Lena eyed the raven thoughtfully. "Skullduggery, is it true that ravens have their own tongue, one that is different from the way other birds communicate?"
The raven bobbed his head affirmatively. "It is, Mistress. We call it Ravenspeak, and we were using vocal language long before humans. In fact, there is a legend about Raven teaching humans to speak properly."
"That's fascinating!" Lena exclaimed. "That sound you made just before, was that something in Ravenspeak?"
"It was. It was a vocalization of affection, for I do love Harry and Sev best." Skull answered.
"This Ravenspeak . . . can anyone learn it?" asked Irma.
"If they are patient and listen well, yes. Sev knows Ravenspeak, I taught him myself when first I chose him. It is difficult for humans to reproduce the sounds, but you can learn to comprehend it."
"Could you teach us?" Lena asked eagerly, sounding like an excited child.
"I can. I shall begin by telling you that Ravenspeak is comprised of both calls and posture, fluffing of feathers and so forth. Here. This means, hello and I love you." He walked over to Harry and bumped his head against Harry's forehead and made the odd trilling purr again.
Then Skull stepped back and posed, fluffing his feathers up and making his ear feathers stand erect, looking as if he were sporting horns on his head. "Knock knock knock." He made a curious sound like the rapping of a fist on a door.
"That means "look at me" and is a raven's power call." Severus explained. "They use that along with the posture to show rank and dominance among a flock of ravens."
"A flock of ravens is sometimes called a conspiracy," Lena said. "I know that much from my reading."
"Yes, that's right." Skull agreed. "Or, if you are speaking of the ravens that live about the Tower in London, where my family still dwells, they call us a constable. Because we watch and guard against the dark."
"Skull what are those feathers on your head? They look kind of like horns," observed Harry.
"These?" the raven playfully waggled them. "Long ago, some silly superstitious humans thought it meant we were devil birds." He made a sarcastic hoot. "Stupid! We are the ones who guard against the dark. We are not in league with them." He ruffled his feathers and his ear feathers flattened.
"What else can you say in Ravenspeak?" Irma asked. "And do you mind if I take notes? I would love to write a paper on it."
The bird clicked his tongue and said, "So long as your paper is for members of the Society only."
"Of course. You honor us." Irma said, inclining her head in respect.
"Here's a call you all should be familiar with." Skullduggery said, and puffed out his chest and gave a very loud cackle. "KEK KEK KEK!"
"That's a raven's alarm call. It means "danger" or "get away from here"." Severus translated.
"We give that call when we don't care for someone visiting the Tower," Skull added. "Or sometimes we use this call-ca ca ca ca. That means—I am angry, and wish to bite you, or leave me alone, idiot!"
Harry laughed at that. "I've heard you give that cry before, when Malfoy attacked me that night."
"Indeed," Skull snorted. "And then I nipped him, the rotten brat!"
He then proceeded to make some crooning and small growling noises which he said were how a parent raven spoke to a nestling and sounded remarkably like a lullaby. The nestling's reply sounded very like a baby wailing. He showed her the typical strutting posture most people were familiar with, and the puffed up hissing posture that was meant to frighten away enemies, especially other birds intent upon harming their young. He also showed them the flattened feathers and lowered head of a submissive young raven.
Irma wrote down everything Severus and Skullduggery told her, later she would transcribe the information into a concise paper about Ravenspeak. "I believe many of our scholars in the Society would love to learn about this."
"Thank you, Skull, for teaching us," Lena said.
The raven ducked his head, almost as if he were embarrassed. Then he cawed, "It was my pleasure."
All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas breakfast, the first Harry could remember where he didn't have to cook or clean or get scolded by his aunt or uncle.