The Soul of a Hufflepuff

by Christina Teresa

Chapter Five: Under Your Spell

...your powers shone
Brighter than any of I've known.
I'm under your spell
Nothing I can do
You just took my soul with you
You worked your charms so well
Finally, I knew
Everything I dreamed was true

You make me complete!

~*~

Severus stole quietly down the dungeon corridor, gently pulled by the cord of light emanating from his chest. Veronica's love still coursed through him, giving him hope and a sense of resolute calm that he would be able to save her from Balin's evil, though he felt his panic rise again when he saw the cord pass under the door of Dungeon Six. Before Severus could draw his wand, a tendril from the shimmering cord slithered into the lock and opened the door silently.

The flickering torches in the wall sconces lit Veronica's unnatural profile. Her black robes and overdone makeup made her look eerily like a vampire or one of the half-dead harpies that haunted the shadows of Knockturn Alley. She was standing right next to the dementor without a Patronus, but what was stranger still was that she was laughing. It was a harsh, cold sound that made Severus' blood freeze.

Veronica spun around and quickly masked her look of alarm behind a false smile. "Severus, what are you doing here?"

The mendhi cord connected with her at her chest, but passed right though her and into the dementor's mouth. Severus almost gasped out loud. Veronica - the real Veronica - was inside the dementor! And the familiar brown eyes that were staring back at him had Balin behind them. Luckily, he seemed to be blithely unaware of the strange cord of light that was giving his diabolical plan away. Severus discreetly reached for his wand in his robe pocket. "Veronica, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Balin replied coolly as if he suddenly remembered that Veronica had called off their engagement. "I was just checking on our friend here."

"Isn't it rather dangerous for you to be standing so close to it without a Patronus?"

Balin's eyes narrowed as he dropped any pretense of a friendly exchange. "Perhaps it's finally used to me."

"Perhaps you don't need one...Professor Balin." Severus pointed his wand at the Dark wizard and with a BANG, thin snakelike ropes shot out from the end of it. But before the ropes could bind Balin, he set them on fire with a casual wave of his hand. Then with an evil smile, he swung his arm out, sending Severus smashing against the dungeon wall.

Balin drew Veronica's wand and trained it on Severus. "As much as I would like to torture you, my dear boy, I have no time for such indulgences. Perhaps you would care to join your beloved in her new home." He glanced at the dementor. "This insatiable creature is still hungry even after its delicious meal."

The Dark wizard whispered a spell under his breath and Severus suddenly felt an invisible hand around his neck, jerking him off the ground. He clawed at his throat futilely as he was dragged towards the dementor who pulled off its tattered hood to reveal its sickening gray, scabbed skull in anticipation.

Then the mendhi on Balin's hands began to sparkle. Its elaborate scallops and curls whipped out and twisted first around the hand holding Veronica's wand, causing him to drop it. As soon as the spell was broken, Severus was released and fell with a thud to the dungeon's stone floor. The designs on Balin's other hand also whipped out and bound his wrist. The glittering cords flew upward, spreading Balin's arm wide above his head and secured them to the ceiling like shackles. Balin bellowed vile curses, so incongruous coming out of Veronica's mouth, and struggled wildly against his bonds, but to no avail. The mendhi patterns on his feet oozed through the stitches in his shoes, binding his ankles and fettering his feet to the floor.

Severus shook his head to clear it then struggled to his feet. He ran to the manacled Dark wizard and began to throttle him. "Get the hell out of her, you son of a bitch!"

Balin managed a strangled yell as he struggled for breath. "Get him!"

The dementor glided forward on Balin's command. Severus let go of him and staggered backward as he felt himself being quickly overcome by despair. Before he could invoke the Patronus Charm, he heard the words "Expecto Patronum!" boom from behind him. A silver griffin instantly stopped the dementor and beat it back to its place at the far end of the dungeon. Thankfully, the mendhi light that connected Severus with Veronica was still intact, but its light was beginning to dim. Severus turned to see Dumbledore, still with his wand out, followed by the diminutive old witch, Madam Devi.

"The cord!" Devi cried. "You must pull her out now, Severus!" He took hold of the cord of light which felt like a silken rope in his hands and pulled with all his might.

"She's gone, Severus," Balin said, chuckling. "I may not have gotten away with taking her body, but the little fool gave it to me willingly. A weak, useless creature - you're better off without her."

Severus wavered. As distasteful as it was, he knew Balin was telling the truth. Veronica had allowed all this to happen by inviting his life force into her body in the first place. His own anger at her betrayal that he had tried to suppress throughout this ordeal welled up inside of him. How can I ever forgive her for what she's done?

He felt Devi's hand on his shoulder. "Ignore him, Severus. He speaks only half-truths. You must pull her out immediately. I will deal with this parasite."

Severus took up the cord again and pulled as Devi waddled over to Balin. The soulless wizard made a guttural sound in the back of his throat, apparently preparing to spit in Devi's face, but at the overwhelming look of power in her eyes, Balin held back and swallowed his spittle, but continued to maintain his air of swaggering self-confidence.

Devi shook her head. "You are the one who is weak and useless as you will soon see."

~*~

A few minutes or a year may have passed; Veronica had lost all sense of time churning in the dementor's putrid belly. She tried to reach out to her fellow prisoners in order to distract herself from her own suffering by giving solace to others, but they were all too consumed by their anguish to hear her words of comfort. Her sanity was slipping away, but this time she knew she wouldn't recover. And then she felt it...

The love of an angel filled her tormented soul and she could suddenly see a beautiful cord of light emanating from her heart. The cord had always been there, but she had been too mesmerized by Balin's tricks to see it. Severus! The despondent haze began to clear from her soul as the cord pulled her up and out of this perpetual hell into which she had allowed herself to be drawn. But then she turned and looked behind her at all the other tormented souls roiling in the dementor's stomach. She couldn't just leave them all here, so she did the only thing she could do - she reached out and grabbed the soul closest to her.

~*~

After only a moment of pulling, Severus saw the translucent, white-gray top of Veronica's curly head poke out of the dementor's mouth. The creature seemed only then to become aware that Severus was trying to free its latest meal and began a tug-of-war with the cord. The moment the dementor's skeletal hands touched it, the hanging putrid flesh sizzled and burned. The dementor shrieked in pain and frustration, but was unable to prevent Severus from freeing Veronica. With another firm yank, her whole head appeared, quickly followed by the rest of her soul-body; clinging to her feet was the soul of another victim; and yet another was clutching the coattails of the one who was hanging onto Veronica! Severus had stopped pulling once Veronica was free, but a seemingly endless stream of souls began spilling from the dementor's mouth.

Severus, Devi and Dumbledore watched, open-mouthed, as something even more extraordinary happened. As every soul it had eaten over a millennium escaped, the dementor began to shrink. When the very last soul was finally freed, the rotted creature's insides followed its regurgitated meal until it was literally turned inside out. The dementor was now just a dripping gray mass of tissue. Severus moved to one side when its bodily fluids spilled near his feet, eating away at the stone floor.

Severus had never seen a dementor destroyed before and didn't even know it was possible. He tore his eyes away from the sight and turned his attention back to Veronica's spirit, now floating above her body still inhabited by Balin, but bound by the mendhi. How do we get her back in?

~*~

"Severus!" Veronica tried to pull herself down to him using the cord that had saved her, but she was buffeted from all sides by the other souls rocketing through the dungeon, making a deafening cacophony of relief and joy; Severus, Dumbledore and Devi had covered their ears against the uproar.

"You are an angel of mercy!" said the soul of a woman dressed in medieval garb as she circled Veronica again and again.

"Our salvation!" cried another. All the freed souls began to overwhelm her with words of praise until it become a ghostly chant. Their joy didn't last long, though and they soon started firing frenzied questions at her...

"Where do we go now?" demanded one.

"What do we do?!" shrieked another.

"HELP US!!"

Veronica whipped her head about helplessly. "I-I don't know what to do!"

She saw Dumbledore mouth, "Oh dear" and take a step back when he saw the spirits' joy quickly turn to anger. He knew as well as she that Hogwarts would be inundated with a thousand new ghosts if something wasn't done soon. Only then did Veronica recognize that many of these souls were most probably criminals who had been given the Dementor's Kiss. That dementor - that late dementor - had served in Azkaban for centuries. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize - "

"Albus!" Devi called. "We must open a Door!"

"Give me your hand, Vidya!" Dumbledore reached out to Devi and took the old witch's hand in his. They made elaborate sigils in the air, leaving trails of blue light that only added to the unearthliness of the strange tableau. They clapped their free hands together, then quickly separated them as they chanted, "Fidelitas Veneratis Amor!"

It was as if a door had suddenly been swung wide open, allowing a stream of the most unimaginable radiance to penetrate the dank, murky dungeon. The Light was so dazzling and so comforting that Veronica couldn't help but be drawn to it. She tried to fly towards it, but she was still tethered to her body and Severus by the mendhi cord, its glow a mere candle in comparison to the portal's Light. She reached for the terminus of the cord at her heart and started to pull.

"Veronica!" Severus yelled frantically from below. "Don't look at the Light - look at me!"

The sound of her beloved's voice instantly brought her out her trance. Veronica dropped her gaze and focused on Severus. She saw in his eyes a reflection of the portal's Light. It had always been there, but only now was she seeing it clearly. How could I have been so foolish not to see it? How could I have hurt him so? "I'm so sorry for everything, Severus. I love you."

"I know you love me, Veronica. I love you too." Severus lowered his head, but Veronica thought she had seen a flash of guilt in his eyes. Severus then glared at Balin who had his eyes tightly closed, his head turned from the Light, but still the Dark wizard looked as if he'd be sick. "Sometimes I have to remind myself that you weren't the only one who was lured by this man."

"Come quickly, children!" Devi called to the wayward spirits. "Come to Mother and Father. It is time to go home!" Like a school of fish, the bewildered souls closed ranks and turned towards the Light as one. As soon as the last one had crossed over, the portal closed like a curtain being drawn. Devi and Dumbledore breathed a twin sigh of relief, leaning against each other while they recouped the tremendous power they had expended opening a portal to the Other Side.

Veronica raised her head and stared longingly at where the portal had been. He should have let me go. How can I ever make up for all the terrible things I've done to Severus...and Dobby...Oh, gods, what about poor Ron Weasley?

"Now that we have that crisis out of the way," Severus said, breaking the silence. "How do we get Veronica back into her body?"

"Yes, Madam Devi," Balin added mockingly, "do tells us how you're going to save this perpetual Damsel in Distress." Balin gave Severus an evil grin. "I wonder how long it will take you to tire of her, Severus - or perhaps you've already wearied of playing her Knight in Shining Armor."

Veronica cringed at his words, but surprisingly Severus seemed unaffected by them. "The only thing I've wearied of is you. And I believe - " At this Severus looked up at Veronica, unmistakable affection in his black eyes. " - she's finally wearied of you as well. You're evil has become rather tedious, Professor."

Veronica smiled broadly and nodded. "You can thump him in the mouth if you'd like, Severus. I don't mind."

One side of Severus' mouth curled up. "Tempting, but then I wouldn't be able to kiss you when you're finally back where you belong."

Balin snorted with disgust and turned his attention back to Devi. "Oh, please do whatever it is you're going to do to me so I don't have to listen to this nauseating tripe any longer."

"Gladly." Devi straightened herself up using her bamboo cane and approached the Dark wizard.

Balin regarded Devi haughtily. "So you're going to kill me, witch? Remember I've been expelled from my body before and I survived. I'll just find another host - any one of your little students will do, Albus, and next time I'll make certain you never find me."

"Rupert," Dumbledore replied calmly. "You obviously have no idea who you are dealing with." The old wizard smiled. "I'm really going to enjoy this."

A flicker of something that looked remarkably like unease crossed Balin's arrogant expression, then he broke out into a self-assured smile. "Do your worst, old woman."

"Your kind does not wonder often," Devi began. "You cannot afford the luxury of introspection because if you dig deeply inside yourself, you will discover that nothing is there. But you have wondered about one thing in particular."

"What have I been wondering?" Balin sneered. "Don't keep us all in suspense."

"You have been wondering why, for twenty years, you have been drawn to Veronica in a way you have never been drawn to anyone else. She possesses something precious that fascinates you, but no matter how hard you try, you can never understand it." Devi's quiet strength and serene wisdom permeated the entire dungeon like a warm embrace. Despite his overconfident mien, Balin would have retreated from her if it were not for the mendhi still binding his limbs.

"She also has power that rivals your own," Devi continued. Veronica shook her head and almost called out to deny the old witch's claim, but Devi's strength calmed her and silently told Veronica to trust her wisdom. But how can she say such a ridiculous thing? Balin has always been a thousand times more powerful than me.

"It is now time for you to finally experience Veronica's true power." Devi looked up at her and reached out her wrinkled brown hand. "Come Veronica, reclaim what is yours!"

Veronica hesitated. "How?"

Devi smiled encouragingly. "Just follow the mendhi."

For several moments Veronica studied the shimmering cord coming out her soul's heart and connecting with her body's back below her. Severus was still attached to her body on the other side, and she only now noticed that he was much paler and more drawn than usual; the connection was sapping his energy. Any hesitation she felt vanished - Severus had suffered enough for her stupidity.

She lowered her head and dove for her body, following the cord's light inside. When Veronica's soul made contact with her corporeal self, she felt as if she had crashed into a stone wall. Suddenly she was aware that she couldn't breathe; her soul forced itself into every cell in her body until she was finally able to gasp for air. As gravity reasserted itself, Veronica small body felt so unbearably heavy, and then the mendhi cords supporting her arms and feet began to dissolve and disappear. Her knees buckled and she started to fall, but Severus was right behind her with a gentle but strong arm around her waist.ÊÊÊ

Veronica looked down at herself and saw that the cord coming out of her heart had been truncated. It was now just a short beam of light the length of her hand, not connected to Severus any longer, but she could still feel the loving connection between them. Now there was something else in her chest; a strange pressure that she knew didn't belong there. Then she realized that it was Balin - he was trapped inside her heart.

And he was screaming.

"Shall I pull him out now?" Devi asked with a slight wry smile. "I believe he has had all of your love he can endure."

"My love is doing that?" Veronica could sense that Balin was in terrible pain, but she wasn't experiencing it first-hand except as the peculiar pressure in her chest. She was almost moved to compassion by his cries. Balin surely deserved to suffer eternal torment if anyone did, but she wasn't thrilled at the idea of her love being used as a torture device. "Yes, please pull him out. I think he's suffered enough."

"I doubt that, Veronica," said Severus sharply, a glint of hate crossing his gaunt features, "but I want him out of you now."

With Severus and Dumbledore looking on, Devi took hold of the short cord and pulled, dragging Balin's life force from Veronica's chest, but what came out of her heart caused a collective gasp. Balin was dragged to the floor and lay in a trembling, sobbing heap at Veronica's feet. The cord still connected them, but was attached at his solar plexus rather than his heart. He was a decidedly unimpressive whimpering mass of translucent gray. His life force lacked the sparkle that even the souls that had spent an eternity inside the dementor's belly had possessed.

Veronica gazed down at Balin, incredulous. It was as if she was seeing him for the very first time. He wasn't the tall, handsome, intimidating wizard who had been the center of her existence for twenty years--he was...nothing. "To think I let him hold so much power over me for so long."

Devi gave her a satisfied grin. "You are finally seeing him for what he really is--a weak and useless leech."

Veronica shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I actually thought I loved him!"

The old witch put a warm hand on her cheek. "You loved him once, as a young girl. It was your only weapon against his tortures; but now you save your love for one who truly deserves it." Veronica looked up at Severus and squeezed his hand. Severus gently stroked her curly hair, but glanced anxiously at the cord still connecting her with Balin.

"And now," Dumbledore said, gazing affectionately at the two lovers, "it's time for you to rid yourself of him once and for all."

"He is right, Veronica," said Devi. "You no longer need him. You possess everything he has to offer you: ambition, lust, vanity, power beyond imagining, but your Darkness is tempered by a good soul and gentle heart. All of these emotions you never thought yourself capable of feeling are there and always have been. If they were not, he would have never been able to lure you. Accept the Darkness inside of you and break the cord."

Veronica had spent her whole life thinking Hufflepuffs were incapable of such Darkness and that the feelings Balin had brought out in her were part of the sickness he had infected her with. Devi's wisdom filled her with a sense of her own power, not the horror she imagined she would feel at finding out that this Darkness was indeed hers. Veronica took a deep breath, then reached for the cord in her heart. "Goodbye Rupert." She pulled it out and dropped it on the stone floor next to the sniveling Dark wizard.

Balin looked up at Veronica, using all his strength for one last menacing look. "Bitch." And then Rupert Balin, second most powerful Dark wizard alive began to wither until he was a pathetic, flickering spark of dusky light that quickly faded into oblivion.

Now that the danger had passed, Veronica's knees finally gave out, but in true Knight in Shining Armor fashion, Severus deftly caught her and swept her up in his arms. "Are you all right?"

Veronica smiled weakly and slipped her arms around his neck. "I am now."

~*~*~*~

A/N: The title of this chapter and the accompanying quote were taken from the beautiful ballad, Under Your Spell, written by Joss Whedon for the brilliant Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode, "Once More With Feeling." The first time I heard it I just knew it had to be their song. Thanks again to Yo and Juliane for beta-reading.