I've finally got the courage to start. I don't own the characters or anything from HP universe. All belong to J. K. Rowling
I won't give you many details about the story. It focuses on Severusț feelings after he had to kill Dumbledore and join Voldemort. I've made some changes here and there. I don't intend to respect the book/movie completely. And I couldn't help creating my own character. I'm curious about what you are going to think about that person If you have any questions, just ask. I'm more than happy to answer (as long as I can).
By the way, I have a beta now. Many thanks, dear beta.
He felt numb. He wanted to feel something, anything, but at the same time, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to deal with his own emotions. He increased the speed of his pace. He felt that if there was no way to avoid the meeting, it was better to face them as soon as possible. He glanced at the Death Eaters. He knew he must be quite famous by now.
After all, he'd killed Dumbledore, Voldemort's nemesis.
Severus tried to keep his guilt under control, seeing how this was the worst place for such thoughts. If he were to fail, everything would be in vain: Lily's sacrifice, Dumbledore's death and every other sacrifice that would come. He was glad that the Dark Lord was used to his habit of saying little and enjoying to be left alone.
His gaze stopped on a new face. She smiled when she noticed his confusion. There was something about her that made him wonder what she was doing there. She was like a tiny poppy in a field of wheat.
The comparison was unrealistic. None of the Death Eaters carried the golden beauty of a summer harvest, nor the nobility of its very nature. However, she was just like a poppy. Delicate, desirable and beautiful. Her scarlet lips were tempting and intimidating at the same time. Red on her milky skin. They reminded him of blood on an ocean of snow.
He tried to read her feelings, but her face was as cold as ice. Even her cat-like eyes let him see nothing but coldness. What he'd thought was a warm smiled proved to be a smirk. There was nothing warm inside the marble goddess.
She stood up in order to welcome him. He saw that she was wearing a very daring red dress. Her white skin contrasted with the redness of the dress. They completed the picture of a beautiful demon. From the line of her dress up to her neck, her marble skin was covered by a red, translucent veil. Here and there, scarlet snakes danced over the blood sea of her veil.
Another big, silver snake hold still her rebel, brown curls which otherwise would have concealed half of her back as well as her mesmerizing shoulders. As it was, her hair lay still on her left shoulder.
He stopped. She was beautiful indeed, but he found her hollow. Severus was undoubtedly aware that behind that perfect mask, was lying a monster. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he had hardly ever judged someone wrongly.
"You must be Severus." The mysterious woman addressed him in a voice that revealed neither interest nor curiosity. It was clear to him that she was only trying to be polite. Her voice was as emotionless as each of her gestures was. If it weren't for her red dress and her scarlet lips he might have thought that she was the daunting Snow Queen from the story his mother used to tell while he was only a child.
Severus allowed feelings to break his concentration. It was only for a short time. He knew where he was, and so he returned to his cold posture once again.
"Excuse her, Severus." Voldemort spoke in the sweetest tone he could master. Severus knew it was only faking it. The Dark Lord was only happy that he'd gotten rid of Dumbledore.
The memory of Dumbledore made him sink into an ocean of grief. He couldn't allow himself that privilege. He had to stay firm and play this game.
He didn't bother to say more than necessary. He tuned out the Dark Lord as he spoke about Severus possibly losing his way and how he reserved a spot for his 'honored guest' at the table. Severus would have rather he hadn't. He didn't want to be there. He wondered how he had ever been able to find pleasure in being around these people. Thinking back, he had never enjoyed that life. But it was better than being alone. Even as a Death Eater, his only pleasure was to create spells or to brew some potions. He had felt that only success would make him feel appreciated, so he did his best to be good.
He sat down. To his surprise, the girl in red tried her best to get a chair next to his. Voldemort scolded her for being too annoying. Severus was glad when she finally sat down on her chair, far from him, defeated.
"She's Viper. Our beautiful guest as you can see for yourself." The Dark Lord started his speech. His voice carried the pride a hunter must felt when shooting one of those very rare breeds. "However, she's so much more than her looks…." As he spoke the words, Viper stood up and climbed on the huge table. All eyes were on her and she seemed to enjoy it.
She was hardly tall, but her high-heel shoes and the goddess-like posture made up for it. As she stood there, above all Death Eaters, she looked tall and imposing. She smirked at Bellatrix. The latter clearly unimpressed by her show.
Viper took a deep breath. Suddenly her body started to change its form. It was a mixture of colours and patterns dancing into a whirlpool which later took the shape of a long, dark ribbon. Severus realized that it wasn't a ribbon, but a huge snake. It was watching him with mesmerizing eyes.
"What do you think?" Voldemort asked with a hint of pride in his voice. "She is special, indeed." The Dark Lord was very pleased of his acquisition. So were most of the Death Eaters.
The Dark Lord clapped his hands to show his admiration and soon the others followed his example. Dolohov was thrilled. "Bravo", his strong voice echoed in the huge dining room. He stood up to help her get out of the table. He was bested by Yaxley, who'd already reached out and grabbed her hand.
But not everybody was enjoying the show. Lucius was definitely horrified, though he did not dare to disagree with his master, so he applauded as well. Bellatrix, however, did not mind showing her jealousy or whatever had caused her to be so against Viper. Narcissa followed the example of her husband and urged Draco to do the same.
"We should send her to the Ministry, shouldn't we, Pius?" added Yaxley. The Death Eaters burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Viper reached out both her hands and put her right hand on Yaxley's shoulder and on Dolohov's with her left. Having her hands on the men's shoulders, she jumped down the table. Everybody laughed while the two were taken by surprise.
"You can't resist my charm, can you?" Viper addressed the two. It was such confidence in her voice that for a moment the two felt like two little puppies. She laughed. Dolohov took her hand and studied it for a while.
"No woman can compare with a pureblood." He declared. "Look at her. She's a true goddess. Not like those filthy mudbloods." Viper made a tiny bow in front of them.
"I don't understand why those mudbloods are still alive." Fenrir Greyback muttered in his savage way.
"I guess I haven't answered to Yaxley's remark." Viper remarked. " If My Lord desires so, I will go to the Ministry." She accompanied her words with a bow. Yet, it did it in such a way that it didn't make her look less noble. "Though, I don't think Mrs Umbridge will enjoy my company." The Death Eaters laughed again.
"You should start to weak pink and replace your snake necklace with a cat." Yaxley joked. Even Voldemort seemed to enjoy the joke.
"Nice remark, Yaxley. However, Viper is a true snake, not a flamingo." The Dark Lord laughed. "I prefer you here, Viper."
"Thank you, My Lord." She bowed again. "If My Lord has someone in his mind, I'll be honored to get rid of the filthy mudbloods."
"I will do that, My Lord." Bellatrix volunteered.
"I can take care of myself, Bella." Viper threw at her.
"I will go with her." Dolohov volunteered.
"Don't you trust me?" She addressed the Death Eaters. "So, who are those mudbloods?"
"Fine. Consider it my test for you, Viper." Voldemort decided to intervene. "Who should it be, Lucius?"
Lucius was caught unprepared. He'd hoped that the Dark Lord would forget about him and would finally let him be. Viper smiled at him, enjoying the terror she read on his face. She didn't bother to hide the satisfaction.
"The mudbloods from Hogwarts." Lucius barely muttered. Draco was shocked. He tried to hide his feelings, but Viper's glance met his eyes and he knew he was doomed.
"I don't think it's worth the effort. It's not quite wise to get into a war with the professors. Not yet." She emphasized the last words. "Pretty soon we are going to gain control over Hogwarts and then, My Lord, you will be able to kill those mudbloods yourself. Yet, I can send them a message. Their parents are as vulnerable as a baby is."
The Death Eaters agreed with her answer. Draco was terrified. Yet he couldn't help throwing a furious glance towards his father despite Narcissa's attempts to calm him.
Severus felt sick. If Nagini wasn't enough, he had to endure the presence of this monster. He was certain that Viper was nothing but a bloody monster.
For the rest of the night, he tried not to look at her.
The death of Charity Burbage had moved him more than he wanted it to. She had begged him to save her and he hadn't done anything. He couldn't have. It would have been too risky His mission was too important to jeopardize it. Yet it hadn't been easy.
"Please, Severus. We were friends"
Those words echoed in his mind over and over again. It was only for Viper's surprising appearance at his back that he managed to deal with the guilt he felt. She was gleefully eating a muffin. Without saying a word, she offered him a cake. He felt disgusted. Someone was being tortured in front of everyone and that stupid snake was thinking about eating. He hated that Viper was so calm and indifferent. She was really meant to be here. However, she had distracted him and so prevented him for risking displaying his feelings in front of the Death Eaters. He wouldn't thank her for that.
Eventually, she gave the cake to Draco.
Severus felt a lump in his throat as he considered the information he was to give Voldemort. He was only left with the hope that the Order of Phoenix would do their job and save the boy. Harry Potter had always managed to save his own skin somehow. He hoped that it wouldn't be an exception this time. He had no intention to look at Viper as he was delivering his speech, but he couldn't help it. He felt her eyes on her. Even though she didn't say a word, it was clear that she was pretty curious about that topic. Suddenly, Severus felt afraid of what she could do. He had expected that she would volunteer to help the Dark Lord as she'd done before, but she didn't. It seemed that she was happy with her mission. Severus tried not to think about it. Harry Potter was the main focus at the moment.
Viper was right in front of him, next to Narcissa. The poor woman was terrified. Severus couldn't blame her. However, he found it quite ironic that she was seated so close to Bellatrix. He wondered why Voldemort had separated the two sisters. He didn't believe it was pure coincidence. As he thought harder on it, he was sure that Viper had something to do with it. It intrigued him that she would enjoy such an arrangement. Bellatrix hated her and she didn't bother to hide it. He couldn't understand why Viper would want to be so close to her. He was sure that Voldemort was wrong about Viper. She couldn't be stupid. Severus was sure she was brilliant.
He was glad when he could finally leave that horrible place. Severus knew that the castle wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be the same. He would have to pretend that he was proud of killing Dumbledore, pretend that he'd done it for power. It had to be done.
Viper had left a few minutes before he did. She had tried to get his attention several times during the dinner, but Severus was glad when she finally gave up.
As he left, he noticed her turning into that monstrous snake and climbing gracefully to the top of a tree. She crawled along one of the branches where a small bird had built her nest. The poor bird was desperate when it noticed the snake. Severus hoped that Viper would slip and fall, but she was very skilled and she made her way to the nest. He wanted to use his Sectumsempra on her, but he knew it would be stupid. He would have to explain his actions later. He couldn't tell the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters that he'd cursed Viper because she was trying to eat a bird. So he left. It was just another soul he wouldn't be able to save that day…
So? I don't know when I'm going to update. I'm really busy and I hardly have time for writing. However, I can't help it. I love writing.
There's a reason why the story is named "Thorns". You will have to wait until the end to find out, but you are free to have a guess as long as you can explain it. I think I should go back to my essay. Not so funny.