Chapter 47. Training Begins
Finally forcing the necklace into Nellie's hands, Severus looked at Tobbi. The elf nervously fidgeted with the edge of his rag, staring at Severus with a mix of pity and worship.
"I've got nothing for you. Sorry."
"M-master shouldn't worry about Tobbi. Tobbi is happy that the gracious master noticed him!"
"Right. I will have to cure you of that groveling," Severus said with a tired sigh, tossing them ten galleons each. "Go buy any fabric you like and sew yourselves some clothes."
"B-but."
"No buts. I do not want half-naked house-elves around me. If you were pretty girls, I might have considered it, but as it is, march to the shop!"
At the first hint of displeasure, the two vanished instantly, and Severus could finally breathe easy.
"So if they were pretty girls, you would consider it?" Nagini hissed, narrowing her eyes.
"I do not see anything wrong with that."
"Hmph!"
"Do not sulk. I would not mind someday seeing a half-naked lamia," he said, winking at her.
"Lamia? What is that?"
"Oh, beautiful creatures. Half-human, half-snake, real temptresses. Their upper bodies are human, their lower bodies are serpentine, but they can transform fully into a human form whenever they want."
The flood of emotions through their bond made him smirk.
"You disgusting pervert!"
"Only just figured it out?" he asked, then saw her slide off the bed, narrowing her eyes dangerously and baring her fangs. He began backing away.
"I will bite you just once, that is all. We have tried already, my venom does not work on you. Hold still," Nagini purred in a sickly sweet voice, suddenly lunging.
But strangely, Severus's face stayed playful. If anything, his grin turned even more provocative.
"I was joking. No need to take it so personally; you know my terrible sense of humor. Though I would still look at you in lamia form. Leaf bikinis look especially good on them."
He casually dodged her first strike, slipped behind her, and sat on the bed.
"You've got a long way to go before you can catch me."
"Someday you'll stop. You can't go without sleep forever."
"I have a barrier for that, but honestly, I'm too lazy to set it up," Severus said, then held his hand out toward her muzzle. "Bite. I can't be bothered to run from you. Or do you want to play?"
Nagini fixed him with a narrowed gaze, glanced at the offered palm, then looked up at his smiling face.
"You knew I wouldn't do it. So why were you running?"
"Just playing along."
"You asshole."
"And you liked what I said."
"Hmph!" Nagini turned away, climbed onto the bed, and curled on the pillow facing the window.
"Do not be mad. You looked a bit sad, so I tried to cheer you up," Severus said, stroking her crown. He lay down beside her and closed his eyes. "Still thinking about that young man Dumbledore failed to save?"
Nagini flinched, but did not deny it.
"Fine. I will help you learn about him."
The moment those words left his mouth, she snapped her head around and stared at him in shock.
"Really?"
"Yes. I will try to find information. So stop sulking. Oh, there they are, back already."
With a pop, Nellie and Tobbi appeared in the center of the room, holding several bolts of fabric.
"Well? I told you to sew clothes."
"M-master, we cannot sew," Nellie said, close to tears, shaking and clutching the fabric. "W-we're afraid to touch clothes with our hands, so we never learned. When we wash, we lift them with magic."
"Hmm. I see. Does anyone of your kind know how?"
They both shook their heads timidly.
"All right. I will talk to my classmates and find you a teacher. For now, put it on the floor."
"Yes, master!"
After he stowed the fabric in his pouch, Severus turned his attention back to the anxious elves.
"First, I will tell you why I chose you and what you will be doing."
A first-year Potions textbook appeared in his hand; he tossed it to the startled Nellie.
"Study. I need an assistant. You'll also serve Nagini. You will have plenty of free time. I'll give you an hour of my attention every evening."
"M-master, I cannot. I am very stupid."
"Excuses. Tonight will be your first lesson. For now, read the first chapter."
"I... I..."
"Do you not want to follow my order?" Severus asked coldly, with an edge of threat in his voice.
Nellie went pale.
"I would not dare! Please forgive me!" She dropped to her knees, eyes wide with terror, and was about to bash her forehead against the stone floor when he spoke again, making her freeze.
"Did I order you to bow and beg forgiveness?"
Nellie trembled.
"N-no."
"Then why are you bowing when I ordered you to do something else?"
"I..."
"This is your final warning. If you bow and beg again while ignoring my orders, I will free you."
"M-master, I..." She swallowed the rest of the words, snatched up the textbook, hurried aside, and opened it.
Severus nodded with a satisfied smile at her, then turned to Tobbi.
"And you will be learning combat magic. I will give you an hour of my personal time."
"Yes, Master! Thank you, Master! Tobbi will not let you down!" Tobbi blurted, quivering with excitement. He almost started to bow as well, but then remembered what had just happened to Nellie and stopped himself. Seeing approval in Severus's eyes, he practically lit up.
Severus had chosen Tobbi because of his magical core: it was far more developed than the others', with a visible orange tint indicating an affinity for fire magic, and because of his youth. He had determined this after careful inspection and comparison. He planned to train the elf so that he would not have to personally deal with petty annoyances later, such as idiots getting greedy regarding his shop, and could instead focus on more important matters.
"But training does not free you from your daily duties: cooking, laundry, and cleaning. Those still fall to you."
"Yes, Master!" both elves cried at once, sounding almost relieved.
Strange creatures.
"Tell me about it."
After Slughorn's evening detention, Severus, as promised, trained Nellie. She had no talent for potion-making, but she made up for it with effort: in six hours she memorized the entire first chapter, five pages of dense text without pictures, surprising even him. When he praised her, she practically glowed.
The lesson itself was calm: Nellie took notes on everything, listened to every word, tracked every gesture, and, like a newly hatched chick, showed enormous interest, though mostly to please him.
At the end, Severus handed her an encyclopedia of plants and monsters with a single instruction: study. He had already seen how she would study.
With Tobbi it was easier. From the start, Severus knew about his fire affinity. Before Severus took him on, Tobbi mostly maintained and controlled the oven flame, which was why his magical core was stronger than the others', and he constantly had to use magic.
Severus began by testing Tobbi's abilities in a separate room protected by Undetectable Extension Charms, then moved on to training. Tobbi's control was already decent after years at the oven, but he had zero combat experience.
At first Tobbi refused to attack Severus at all, but after the threat of being freed and a direct order, he complied. Once Tobbi realized he could not harm his master in any way, the worship in his eyes only deepened.
Severus did not forget his main objective either: obtaining Gryffindor's Sword. Only one thing could know where it was: the living Hat, enchanted by Godric Gryffindor. But the Hat itself was kept in Dumbledore's office.
Of course, he could simply tell Dumbledore everything and ask for the Hat, but he doubted he would be allowed to talk to it freely. And even if the Hat knew where the sword was and was willing to give up the information, he doubted Dumbledore would agree. It was a symbol, Gryffindor's legacy, not some trinket.
He had an idea for how to get in without revealing himself, but before taking such radical measures, he wanted to think a little longer.
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