by Van ©2020
		Chapter 6

Dressed in their scandalously decadent, black velvet peekaboo-witch-gowns, Sabrina and Hermione entered the cozy cottage's cozy kitchen to find Cassie at the open hearth and cooking what looked, smelled, and actually was a "proper English fry-up breakfast," as Hermione explained to Sabrina.  It consisted of:

• Bacon (and not American "streaky bacon" but ham-like English or Irish bacon);
• Bangers (pork sausages);
• Baked beans;  ("Yes, Sabrina.  That's what I said: baked beans.  Deal with it.");
• Fried tomatoes;
• Fried bread;
• Fried eggs.

Sabrina gazed at the sizzling iron skillet, confident that if Cassie or their hostess decided to add anything else to the menu, it would also be fried in bacon grease.

Nimue was also present, of course, comfortably seated at the rustic kitchen table and sipping from a mug of tea.  Both elder witches were wearing medieval-style, traditional witch gowns with full-length skirts and long, drooping sleeves.  The gowns' plunging necklines placed a great deal of lightly freckled and smoothly tanned bosom on display, but were neither scandalously decadent nor overly revealing (except, perhaps, to any died-in-the-wool prudes who happened to wander into the kitchen).

It was a very homey scene (in a witchy sort of way) with Cassie deftly keeping her sleeves under control (meaning out of the fire and the food) as she stirred the bean pot and transferred elements of the meal from the skillet to a large platter as they finished sizzling.  Cassie's culinary competence was consummate.

Nimue smiled at the scantily clad youngsters.  "Good morning, ladies," she purred.  "Tea?"

"Good morning!" Cassie added as she turned the last of the bacon with a wooden fork.

"Uh, good morning," Hermione answered (blushing furiously).  "Tea would be marvelous, thank you."  Her arms were folded under her nearly exposed breasts as she padded towards the table.  This had the virtue of letting her gown's long, drooping sleeves cover her semi-bare midriff.

"Mornin'," Sabrina answered, smiling and covering a yawn.  "Do you have coffee?"

"Of course," Nimue chuckled.  She finished pouring a mug of tea for Hermione from her Brown Betty teapot, returned the teapot to the tray, waved her hand, and the teapot shimmered and transformed into a coffee press.  She handed the tea mug to Hermione... then poured steaming coffee into another mug and handed it to Sabrina.

Hermione sipped her tea.  "Brilliant," she whispered under her breath.  She was very grateful for the piping hot beverage, and especially grateful for the way the spaghetti-straps and narrow satin laces of her minimal gown's bodice and ridiculously generous décolletage continued defying the laws of physics and covering her nipples.

Sabrina sampled her coffee... then heaved a contented sigh.

Meanwhile, Cassie was loading plates with the results of her labor.  "The Lady Nimue has something she'd like to say," the smiling American announced as she carried the now full plates to the table and settled into the remaining chair.

Nimue lifted an eyebrow.  "I do?" she inquired as she picked up her fork.

Cassie smiled (and rolled her eyes).  "The Lady Nimue wishes to apologize for her lack of courtesy, specifically, the manner in which she treated you yesterday upon our arrival."

"I do?" Nimue reiterated.

"In her defense," Cassie pressed forward, "The Lady and I had important and very urgent business requiring our immediate attention."

Nimue locked eyes with Cassie and her smile returned.  "Important and urgent business which had been neglected for far too long."

Hermione blinked and looked from Cassie to Nimue.  There was some sort of subtext at play here, but she wasn't at all sure what it might be.  Her reflexive politeness asserted itself and she forced a smile.  "That's quite all right, My Lady.  I'm sure you had no choice in the matter."

Sabrina smiled, sipped her excellent coffee, and kept her thoughts to herself.

"The Lady promises to be much more considerate for the remainder of our visit," Cassie stated.

"I do?" Nimue reiterated, yet again.

Sabrina nearly did a spit-take, but managed not to spray the table with secondhand coffee.

Hermione blushed (or rather continued blushing).

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Cassie chuckled, then made a broad gesture.  "Everybody eat before the food gets cold."

And they did, with gusto.

(Sabrina limited herself to only a single sampling bite of beans.  Beans for breakfast?  No way!  However, she had to admit they were excellent beans.)

There was the usual small talk during the meal, but neither Hermione nor Sabrina learned anything of note about the Green Wood or Nimue's plans for the rest of their visit.

"Good morning to all," a melodious soprano voice announced, and Gwen the wood elf entered the kitchen by way of the door from the garden.

"Good morning!" the four witches chorused in unison.

Nimue was still sitting at the table, sipping the last of her tea.

Cassie, Hermione, and Sabrina were carrying the dirty plates and utensils to the scullery, a generous, open alcove with a deep sink off to one side.

Gwen was busy being diminutive and devilishly cute.  "You summoned me, My Lady?" she inquired.

"I did?" Nimue muttered.

Hands on hips, Gwen rolled her eyes.  "You sent a jay to pester me in a most irritating manner, remember?"

"Oh, that's right, I did," Nimue chuckled.  She stood, set her now empty mug on the table, then strolled to Gwen, took her by the hand, and led her from the kitchen.  "I'll be back shortly," she announced as they crossed the threshold and disappeared into the cottage interior.

Gwen smiled and waved with her free hand... and was gone.

"I wonder what that's about," Sabrina frowned.

"It's best not to be too curious about such things when you're a guest of The Lady," Cassie purred.  She gestured with her right hand, and the remaining plates, cups, and flatware flew through the air and landed in the deep sink.  Water splashed from a spigot, a dash of white powder lifted from a stoneware jar and dropped into the sink, and suds began churning and rising.  Cassie made another gesture and a scrub brush began cleaning a plate.

"I wish I had my wand," Hermione sighed.  "I could help."

Cassie smiled, leaned close, and planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek.  "There's a method to Nimue's madness," she chuckled.  "It's best to gain a little experience in the Green Wood before trying to cast spells.  There can be unexpected side effects, and that's especially true inside The Lady's cottage.  Nimue is keeping you from harm... until you get your footing."

"I suppose that's why my magic fizzles whenever I try anything?" Sabrina muttered.

"Just so," Cassie purred.

The dishes and the frying pan and bean pot were busy cleaning, rinsing, and stacking themselves on the drying rack and required no supervision.  The witches strolled back to the table and sat.

"And speaking of madness," Cassie smiled.  "You should be aware that our hostess has a fondness for... shall we say... control."

"By which you mean bondage?" Sabrina chuckled.

Cassie gave the young American an inquisitive smile.  "Bondage?"

"The dream I had last night was clearly a sending," Sabrina said, "and if not from Nimue, when who?"  She shrugged.  "Anyway, rope-happy goblins kidnapped me and hauled me away.  I usually don't dream about stuff like that."  She smiled at Hermione.  "How 'bout you?"

"Certainly not," Hermione responded primly (and her blush deepened).  Actually, Hermione did have experience with bondage, and not just in dreams, but there was no need to air her dirty laundry in front of an inquisitive Yank.

[As mentioned earlier, see Hermione Granger & the Wrappity Wrope for the dirty laundry in question.]

Unseen by Sabrina, Cassie favored Hermione with a knowing smile and winked.

"Professor!" Hermione complained as her blush deepened even further.  "Really."

Sabrina frowned and was about to ask what was what... but allowed her curiosity to be stifled by a slight shake of Cassie's beautiful head.

"Anyway," Cassie continued, "I ask you to not be offended by Nimue's... shall we say... foibles.  I promise she's a good person, and has a great deal to teach you if you'll let her."

Hermione shrugged.  "Her file at the Ministry does mention that The Lady is somewhat... 'eccentric,' although it's frustratingly vague about the relevant details."

Cassie's smile broadened.  "What it boils down to is she's more than a thousand years old and does as she pleases."  She turned her smile to the doorway from the cottage interior.  "Speaking of which, the witch returns."

Nimue strode back into the kitchen.  Gwen was conspicuous by her absence.  Without saying a word, she approached the table, leaned close, and whispered in Cassie's ear.

Hermione and Sabrina exchanged curious smiles, then returned to watching their elders' whispered conversation.  Although all four of them were in close proximity, Hermione could hear nothing, and by her expression the same was true of Sabrina.  Apparently an effective muting spell had been invoked.

Finally, Nimue took a step back and smiled.

Cassie sighed and shook her head.  "And just when I finished telling the girls you were a good person."  She was also smiling, so her words weren't a serious rebuke.

"Don't be silly," Nimue scoffed with a dismissive gesture.  "You know she loves it when I do that sort of thing."

Hermione and Sabrina exchanged a confused look.

"Just be a good apprentice and do as you're told," Nimue continued, then shifted her smile to the younger witches.  "The girls and I are going for a dip in the spring," she stated, then turned and padded towards the door to the garden.

Hermione and Sabrina looked to Cassie for guidance.

"Go, ladies," Cassie said with a smile and a shooing motion, "and remember what I told you."

Hermione and Sabrina exchanged another look, then stood and padded after their hostess.  The garden door closed behind them.

Cassie shook her head, heaved a small sigh, then stood.  A quick glance at the deep sink and scullery alcove confirmed that the post-breakfast cleanup was nearly complete, so she spun on her bare feet in a swirl of black velvet and padded towards the door leading to the cottage interior.  Her smile had returned (and was now ever so slightly predatory).

The spring was about a mile from Nimue's cottage, and was more-or-less a naturally occurring hot tub the size of a small pond.  It was drained by a picturesque and proverbial babbling brook.  The water bubbled, steamed, and was deep and clear with a turquoise tint.  The banks were defined by moss-covered boulders, and by the quantity and lushness of the surrounding vegetation, the immediate micro-climate was heaven-on-earth for the surrounding ferns and willows.

"That looks hot," Sabrina noted as they stepped into a small clearing and onto a lush, thick carpet of moss situated near a break in the boulders.

"It's perfect," Nimue said, then raised her hands and made an arcane gesture.

"Eeeeeeee!" Hermione squealed as she was lifted off her bare feet and into the air, then quickly found herself hovering several feet above the bubbling water.  Also (and it was no small thing), her scandalously decadent black velvet peekaboo-witch-gown had transformed itself into a scandalously decadent, black-velvet-and satin, full-body bondage harness!  And there was nothing peekaboo about it!

A complex, elaborate web of black satin ribbons and equally narrow black velvet bands crisscrossed her body from her shoulders to her big toes, tight enough to ever-so-slightly dimple her fair-complected flesh!  And several important parts of her anatomy that previously had been and should have been covered were no longer covered in any way!  Hermione was thoroughly bound and completely naked!

Sabrina blinked in amazement at Hermione's twisting, squirming, sputtering, helpless, hovering body, then turned to Nimue.  "Uh, Cassie warned us you were into this stuff.  So..."  She turned to gaze up at Nimue's smiling face.  "She was right?  And you are?"

"She was and I am," Nimue confirmed with a predatory smile.

"Can we talk about this?"

Nimue chuckled, then repeated the gesture.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Sabrina objected.  In no time flat she found herself side-by-side with Hermione... face down, hovering above the spring, naked, and in identical, elaborate, and confining black satin and velvet bonds!

"Please, My Lady!" Hermione whined, squirming in her harness, then turned her head to gaze at Sabrina.  She noted a conspicuous absence of knots or bows securing the ribbons and bands in their bondage, and at the scores of visible points where the elements of the harnesses crisscrossed each other, they were interwoven into complex rosettes.  It was impressive magic... and was proving to be quite inescapable.

Sabrina's hands and arms were behind her back and encased in a tight single-sleeve binder of velvet (tightened and secured by laces of satin ribbon) that squeezed her elbows together and was incorporated into the rest of her harness.  Hermione realized her arms, hands, and fingers were similarly bound and pressed together.  Also, both prisoners' lower legs were encased in what amounted to velvet and satin ribbon-laced sheathes from their ankles to their knees.

"Are you learning anything yet?" Sabrina inquired in a whispered aside to her fellow prisoner.

Hermione's answer was to blow an errant strand of her brown hair from her face and glower at the grinning, impudent little blonde.  Bloody Yank! she fumed silently.

Meanwhile, several feet below, Nimue raised her arms over her head... and her gown lifted from her body, hovered briefly in midair, then folded itself into a large origami bird.  The black velvet and satin "bird" then flapped its wings, flew to a neighboring willow, landed on a branch, tucked its wings, and froze in place, apparently awaiting further instructions from its mistress.

Nimue was now as naked as her young guests—without the elaborate black satin and velvet bondage, of course—and she was a sight to behold!  Despite their predicaments, Hermione and Sabrina found it impossible not to appreciate Nimue's toned, athletic curves, full breasts, glorious ginger curls, equally glorious (albeit neatly trimmed) ginger pubic bush, peach-pink freckled complexion, exquisite smiling face, and flashing green eyes.

Hermione and Sabrina watched as Nimue stepped into the steaming water.  More and more of her perfect feminine physique disappeared beneath the churning, bubbling surface... and then disappeared completely. The ends of her ginger curls lingered on the surface for a long second... then were gone.  The hovering prisoners could just make out Nimue's shimmering form in the turquoise depths as she frog-kicked beneath the surface across the spring to a pair of wide boulders.

The boulders were the exact size and shape required to form a comfortable bench for Nimue to sit upon and lean back with her arms resting atop the backrest-boulder with the churning water half-covering her breasts... and she did so.  Hermione very much doubted the bench arrangement was a convenient happenstance, but whatever renovations had been made to enhance the spring's utility as a hot tub had happened a very long time ago.

Nimue smiled, sighed, and closed her eyes.

Seconds passed.

Hermione and Sabrina tested their bonds and continued hovering.

"Uh... you think we should say something?" Sabrina whispered to her fellow captive.

"I'm not sure," Hermione whispered back.  "I find myself at a loss as to how we should pro—Eeeeeeee!"

SPLASH!

Her eyes still closed, Nimue had made a tiny gesture with her right hand and Hermione and Sabrina had plummeted into the churning water!  And then, the still bound prisoners found themselves surging through the hot, turquoise depths, drawn by an unseen force.  They landed on the bench with Hermione on Nimue's left, Sabrina on her right, and Nimue's arms draped over their velvet and satin-bound shoulders.

"Oh, you poor things," Nimue purred as she combed first Hermione's and then Sabrina's sopping, bedraggled hair from their faces.  "Didn't I tell you the water was perfect?"

Hermione was coughing and sputtering.  Sabrina smiled but didn't answer.

"Anyway..."  Nimue continued straightening more of Hermione's wet locks, then made a gesture, a length of black satin ribbon separated itself from her harness and tightened around Hermione's hair and formed a ponytail.  Nimue kissed Hermione's lips.  "I've decided you should spend the next week as a guest of my wood elf neighbors, and they've agreed to have you.  You'll learn a lot, and I believe it's important that they get to know you."

Hermione blinked in surprise.  "But... the Ministry has assigned me to be Sabrina's escort.  Also..."

Hermione was distracted by a rustling sound and movement on the far side of the spring, where it emptied into the babbling brook.  Several sleek gray animals were approaching, splashing through the brook, clamoring over the boulders, emerging from the ferns lining the banks, and diving into the spring.

"Oh my!" Hermione gasped with delight.  "Otters!"

There were at least a dozen of them!  At least twenty!  More than twenty!  And more kept coming!  The otters were young and old, with the cubs or pups or otterlings or whatever you call baby otters sticking close to their mothers.  All of them frolicked and rolled together as they swam through the clear, turquoise water, making a watery beeline for Nimue and her guests.

Hermione giggled and grinned like a fool!  She couldn't help herself!  And this continued right up to the instant the first of the otters arrived, grabbed hold of her bonds with surprisingly dexterous little hands, hauled her off the bench, and started dragging her across the surface of the spring in the direction of the brook!

Now, Hermione was giggling and shrieking!  "Eeeeeeee!"  However, by the smile on her laughing face, she wasn't exactly what Sabrina would call a damsel in distress.

Several otter youngsters were snuggling against Nimue and Sabrina.  The redhead and bound blonde giggled and laughed in response.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the spring:  "Stop that!  Please!  It tickles!  Tee-he-he-he-he!  Stop!"

Hermione's giggling, wailing complaints faded into the distance as the the otters carried her over the boulders, through the ferns, and into the forest beyond.

The mother otter barked—"Yip!"—and her brood pushed away from Nimue and followed her across the spring, into the brook... and were gone as well.

"Eeeeeeee!"  Hermione's now distant cries continued to fade.  "Eeeeeeee!"

"Well," Sabrina said, "she seemed pretty happy for someone being kidnapped by a herd of otters."  She frowned.  "Do otters come in herds?"

"Eeeeeeee!" Hermione very faintly reiterated.

Nimue laughed and kissed Sabrina's forehead.  "I recruited my playful friends for a reason," she explained.  "Hermione's patronus manifests itself as an otter, her favorite animal."

Sabrina frowned.  "Pa-whatus?"

Nimue sighed.  "Patronus.  Call it her guardian spirit, although that's a very simplistic description.  Never mind.  Your so called 'Church of Night' is criminally negligent in the education of its young witches and wizards, and I suspect purposefully so.  Knowledge is power, and Lucifer is interested in stealing power, not nurturing it in his followers."

Sabrina gazed up at Nimue.  "You know Lucifer?"

"I know a renegade fey that calls himself Lucifer," she answered grimly, then kissed Sabrina's forehead.  "For the next week, while Hermione is busy playing with the elves, I'm going to tell you everything I know about 'Lucifer' and his schemes, and why he's no longer welcome in the Green Wood or any other respectable realm.  What you do with that knowledge will be up to you."

Sabrina continued gazing up at Nimue's incredibly beautiful, lightly freckled face.  "Okay... but do I have to be naked and tied up while you do it?"

Nimue smiled.  "Not all the time," she purred.  "Now, hush.  Let's enjoy the water.  We can talk when we get back to the cottage."

Sabrina shrugged (as best she could), then snuggled against her hostess' naked body.  Nimue's arm was still across her shoulder.  "You're right, by the way," the little blond captive sighed.  "The water is perfect."

Nimue's eyes were closed.  "Hush," she purred, still smiling.

Meanwhile, back at the cottage...

---

Cassie's smile widened as she entered Nimue's thaumaturgical/alchemical laboratory.

"Mrrrrpfh!"  The gagged complaint was from Gwen, and was quite obviously heartfelt.

One of the large worktables had been cleared and was now occupied by:

• An elaborate system of vertical and horizontal steel rods firmly clamped together and to the edges of the table;
• Kwin, Nimue's feline familiar, who was reclined on a comfortable cushion;
• And finally, a naked, bound, gagged, and very unhappy wood elf.

Gwen's bonds consisted of thin leather straps and cuff-like steel clamps padded with leather.  The restraints held the squirming little prisoner in a reclined position with her hands raised and clamped in place to either side of her gagged head.  Her butt rested on a minimal, lightly padded steel seat which incorporated clamps that spread her labia and straps that encircled and immobilized her upper thighs.  Her knees were slightly bent and her feet about two feet apart and clamped to the frame at the ankles.  There were also wire-thin clamps around all ten of her toes that immobilized her feet and held her stretched soles in the vertical position.  It was as if Gwen was sitting on a human physician's examining table with her feet in the stirrups, only there was nothing immediately supporting her body other than the clamps and straps.

"Mrrrrrf!"

Gwen's gag consisted of a leather muzzle and harness that caged her head, tightly covered her mouth, and cupped her chin.  By the volume of her complaints Cassie surmised some sort of stuffing was also involved.  All of the wood-elf's brown and green clothing were neatly folded and resting on the daybed where Cassie had spent the night, including Gwen's soft-soled boots and her cute little hardwood crown/circlet with its cute little carved antlers.  Her long, straight, ginger locks were pulled back and tied in a ponytail.

"You poor wee thing," Cassie sighed (still smiling) as she approached the table and began inspecting the apparatus in detail.

«Oh, please,» Kwin "said," gazing at Cassie with an expression of bored disgust.  «You know she loves it when Nimue does this sort of thing to her.  It's why she hangs around the cottage.  That and the free food.»

Being fluent in feline discourse, Cassie fully understood Kwin's scathing (and sarcastic) comments.  "True," Cassie purred (in English), "but a little sympathy for an innocent young elf who's about to be cruelly tortured is appropriate."

Kwin wrinkled his muzzle, ever-so-slightly.  It was the feline equivalent of an eye roll.

Cassie leaned close and examined the crotch-assembly/saddle of Gwen's bondage.  The glass and steel apparatus not only immobilized her butt and thighs with its tiny clamps and tight-straps, but incorporated a curved glass trough/funnel perfectly positioned to capture any fluids that might happen to drip from her exposed pussy and direct them to a small glass vial.

"Everything seems to be in order," Cassie purred, then moved down the table to gaze at Gwen's feet.  Dangling over each foot was a glass vessel filled with a murky fluid.  Five glass spigots at the base of each vessel waited to be turned so their contents could drip onto Gwen's toes and soles.

Kwin was comfortably sitting on his cushion in the sphinx position with his whiskers nearly touching Gwen's soles and his tail slowly swinging from side to side in casual anticipation.  Cassie knew the fluid in the vessels was fish oil, with an added dash of distilled essence-of-catnip.

Gwen tugged on her bonds and did her very best to free herself.  A few of the leather straps audibly creaked, but the apparatus as a whole didn't even shake.  Then, she mustered her best Pitiful Pout and focused on Cassie, blinking her sad, visibly moist green eyes above the cruel gag so effectively stifling her pathetic and sincere pleas for mercy.

"The heart breaks," Cassie chuckled, noting Gwen's semi-erect nipples.  She reached for the first spigot of the vessel above Gwen's right foot, the one poised directly above her right big toe... and gave it a slight turn.  She then turned the second, third, fourth, and fifth spigots.

Cassie, Gwen, and Kwin watched as oily drops formed at the end of each spigot... grew larger... dropped onto Gwen's toes... then slowly dribbled down her wrinkled sole.  More glacially slow drops followed.

"Well?" Cassie inquired.

«Wait for it,» Kwin "stated."  A additional rounds of drops fell... and then...  «Okay, now!»  Kwin extended his tongue and dragged it up the full length of Gwen's right sole.

Gwen's green eyes popped wide in alarm!  "Mrrreeeh!"  She squirmed and struggled, but her feet remained totally immobilized as Kwin's wet, sandpaper-like tongue rasped and slid across her wrinkled foot, capturing every glistening trace of fishy oil on her right sole.

Cassie leaned close and whispered in Gwen's right ear.  "The Lady requires at least a full dram of your musk to make a pony keg of her special boinkberry sherry, so I'd start getting into the spirit of things if I were you."

Gwen whimpered through her gag and shivered in her bonds.  Her nipples were now fully erect and waves of erotic titillation were quivering between her legs.  "Mrrrpfh!"  She could feel the moisture growing in her private parts... and soon her musk would start flowing... meaning it would drip into the vial at a markedly slower rate than the fish oil dripping onto her toes!

"Let's try for two drams of musk," Cassie suggested (ordered), "shall we?  That way, Nimue will have enough to make a second keg of sherry for me."

"Nrrrrr!"

"And don't worry," Cassie continued.  "We have plenty of fish oil, and Kwin hasn't even started on your left foot."

Kwin continued licking... and licking... and licking.  He was also purring.

Cassie strolled to a nearby worktable... and returned twirling a large feather between the forefinger and thumb of her right hand.  It appeared to be a flight primary donated by a Green Woodpecker.  "Let's see if I can help by entertaining these pokey little elf-nipples," she purred.

"Mrrrpfh!"

Gwen's clamped pussy was now glistening and decidedly moist.  A drop formed... then fell into the funnel and slowly made its way to the glass vial below.  Many many more drops would have to follow before Cassie and Kwin succeeded in harvesting the dram of wood elf musk required to make a pony keg of enhanced boinkberry sherry, much less the two drams required to make two kegs.

Epilogue

---

Hermione Granger:

Hermione did, indeed, spend a week—seven days and nights!—as a guest of the wood elf village closest to Nimue's cottage.

Soon after the otters delivered Hermione to the wood elf village, one of the elders magically dismissed her black velvet and satin bonds and another gifted her with a complete set of typical wood elf clothing: soft-soled boots of brown leather, green tights, a long-sleeved green shirt, a brown leather vest/waistcoat that laced up the front, something like a bodice, as well as a pair of brown leather wrist-bracers, a brown leather belt, and a matching leather hip-pouch.  The green cloth was soft and smooth against her skin, and all of the leather intricately tooled with vaguely Celtic patterns and stylized images of plants and animals.  The shirt's tails were somewhat long, making the garment something of a miniskirt-length shirt-dress.  Also, its long sleeves were generous and full, what some might call "poofy."  Finally, the shirt/shirt-dress had a plunging neckline that, together with the vest, conspired to support and reveal a generous glimpse of Hermione's bosom, more or less the way Nimue and Cassie's black velvet witch-gowns showcased their bosoms.

Hermione realized her new outfit was what Hollywood costume designers considered de rigueur for Robin Hood and/or his Merry Men (or Maid Marion when she was in outlaw drag); however, most of the wood elves were also dressed as denizens of Sherwood Forest, so she felt right at home (in an excessively tall and round-eared sort of way).  She noted that none of the he-elves favored plunging necklines and many of the she-elves wore shirts that could only be described as shirt-dresses.  The remaining females of the village wore either full-length medieval-style gowns or peasant skirts and blouses.  Green, brown, and a few other very neutral earth-tones were the rule of the day, with a single exception.

Hermione was introduced to Conwena the wood elf sorceress (although it might be more proper to say she was reintroduced as they'd previously met during Hermione's squirrel abduction dream).  As it turned out, Conwena's blonde hair and dusky-pink gown were hallmarks of her magical avocation.  It would seem a wood elf's red hair turning blond was a hallmark that he or she had accepted the calling to become a sorcerer or sorceress, and they almost always dressed in non-traditional colors to set themselves apart.  Conwena was a highly respected elder of the village, as was her twin sister Rowena.

Hermione enjoyed many long discussions with the elven elders, during which she learned a great deal about their history, culture, and relationships with the other fey of the Green Wood.  There was also a great deal of storytelling, singing, drinking, and dancing.  No one could say the wood elves didn't know how to show a visiting witch a good time.

And on several occasions, Hermione was allowed to play with the village creche of wood elf children (under the friendly but watchful eye of one of their teachers, of course).  Hermione discovered a new definition of the word "cute" as she chatted with the elven youngsters and participated in their games and sports.  The adorable little rascals only tied her up once, but she didn't mind.  She didn't even mind when they tickled her feet (much).  The teacher put a stop to their shenanigans before things got out of hand.
 
Anyway, Hermione spent a very enjoyable and instructive week in the village, then returned to Nimue's cottage and spent a very enjoyable and instructive second week in the Green Wood.

Her hostess refrained from tying her up and allowed her to continue wearing her wood elf costume.  Hermione strongly suspected Nimue's sudden lack of insistence on her wearing "a proper witch gown" was diplomacy.  Gwen and any watching wood elves would note The Lady's tolerance of Hermione's wood elf attire and appreciate the gesture.

As for the lack of bondage games, Hermione and Sabrina both suspected their hostess was getting her fill of rope-related nonsense from playing with Cassie (after the youngsters retired to their rooms at night, of course).

And then... the visit was over.  Heartfelt farewells were exchanged and Hermione, Sabrina, and Cassie returned to the Human Realm.

After a quick debriefing by the Ministry, Cassie departed London for a week at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, after their debriefings, Hermione spent an additional week showing Sabrina the sights of London while she worked on her formal report.  The eventual report was very well received at the Ministry and the entire Sabrina-in-the-Green-Wood affair was considered a rousing success (and a minor boost to Hermione's blossoming career).

Over the next few months, in her spare time, Hermione wrote a monograph detailing everything she'd learned during her week as a guest in the wood elf village, correlating her experiences and observations with the established literature.  She had no difficulty finding a publisher and the treatise became an instant academic success, required reading for all scholars of Fey Studies.  The monograph was also serialized over several issues of The Quibbler (with added commentary by Luna Lovegood) and became a popular success as well.

To this day, Hermione's wood elf costume has a treasured place in the back of her wardrobe... and now and then Ron talks her into slipping it on so they can play "Naughty Elf."

Sabrina Spellman:

During the week Hermione was off visiting with the elves, Nimue spent many long hours counseling Sabrina, and Cassie took part in many of their sessions.

The Lady urged Sabrina to seek magical education outside the Church of Night.  She was a little old to study at an accredited School of Magic (like Ilvermory), but Nimue and Cassie recommended several witches and wizards who might be willing to serve as tutors.  Sabrina was open to the idea and Nimue and Cassie both promised to write letters of introduction on her behalf.

And as promised, Nimue shared everything she knew about the fey who called himself "Lucifer" and had made a career of exploiting the witches and wizards of the Church of Night.  In turn, Sabrina gave a detailed account of her recent "adventures" back in her hometown of Greendale.  While Nimue didn't entirely approve of everything Sabrina had done in the last two years, she agreed the young witch had little choice but to protect her family and friends and continue her confrontation with the so-called Church; however, The Lady could offer little in the way of tactical advice.  Cassie was fully supportive as well, but unfortunately her advice was equally vague and generic.

(What Nimue and Cassie knew but Sabrina did not was that a Select Committee of gifted and experienced witches and wizards employed by or affiliated with the Magical Congress of the USA had been formed to deal with the "Church of Night Problem."  The randomly chosen code word for the project was "Netflix" (the name of a legendary trickster demon), and the committee's machinations would play a crucial role in Sabrina's immediate future.)

Anyway, Sabrina not only learned a great deal but had a ton of fun, both when Hermione returned from her visit to the wood elf village and especially during her week in London sightseeing and pub-crawling with Hermione.  She even got to meet Harry Potter, who was a minor celebrity (even in America).

As far as Sabrina was concerned, her visit to the Green Wood had been a complete success.

Cassandra Nightingale:

During the visit, Nimue did, indeed, at least temporarily slake her appetite for binding, gagging, and doing wicked things to naked, beautiful witches such as Cassandra Nightingale.

Also, before Cassie's departure, Gwen took revenge on the visiting witch for the foul act of harvesting two full drams of musk from the poor, pathetic, innocent wood elf's bound and gagged person.  Cassie objected that she had only been following The Lady's orders, but Gwen pouted and moped until Cassie finally agreed to disrobe and allow herself to be tied up, tickled silly, and diddled until dawn... two times... once for each dram.

All things considered, the visit was a horrible experience, and Cassie promised to let no more than a year pass before the next one.

After returning to the Human Realm, while Cassie gave guest lectures and participated in faculty symposiums at Hogwarts, she did spend a great deal of time in the faculty bath and sauna getting therapeutic massages from the staff house-elves, but Cassie returned to America none the worse for wear.

Nimue, Gwĕnhyvær, Kwin {& associated fey}:

Unless visiting witches and/or wizards are directly involved, what happens in the Green Wood stays in the Green Wood, and is not the business of any human.

An Entanglement of Witches	▲	Chapter 6
The		End

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