A Game Snakes and Lions: chapter 2.
Severus awoke with the sound of crashing waves against the beach,for a moment everything was peaceful as he stared up at the canvas canopy of a tent. His peace was shattered as he began to remember last night: of the last battle, the bite of Nagini, the giving of his precious memories to potter, the feeling of dying on the floor of the shrieking Shack and finally of the Hermione coming back for him.
He remembered apparating away with her, his body still crippled with pain! Of how she had dragged him through the Ministry deserted by the battle of hogwarts, of when arriving at the arch she had taken a dagger from her bag slicing it across her palm, raising her hand to smear blood across his face before placing it still bleeding upon the keystone of the arch. The curtain flickered light suddenly streaming from behind it, Hermione pulling on his arm, his head dizzy with blood loss he stepped through into a new world. He was on top of a cliff, looking out over a glistening sea the sun rising ,then everything went black.
Looking about Severus could see it was a Wizarding tent, that he was lying on a simple camp bed in a small canvas side room, he began to move running his hands along his body checking for injuries discovering he was nude beneath the sheets any remaining wounds clean and bandaged. He felt better! His body still sore but no pain! His mind was clear for the first time in what felt like weeks! Sitting up he began to think.
Miss Granger was an impostor from another world, a world in which he now found himself! She had saved him not just from death but from imprisonment! He he had agreed to go to this world with her without knowing anything about it or about her either. He was stupid! Oh so very stupid! FUCK! It was time to go out and find that little which to see exactly what was going on.
Rising from the bed he wrapped the sheet around his waist striding from the room out the front door into the hot sun, they were still on the cliff the tent pitched not far way to the arch that led to his own world. The climate was tropical the sea blue the salt air cool on his skin he deftly wasn't in England any more! Seeing movement out of the corners of his eye, he turned to see Miss Granger looking out over the cliffs, NO Hermione Lannister whatever that meant! Sensing his presence she turned towards him, something was different? She had changed clean of the sweat, dirt and blood of battle there was a steady look of determination on her face, her hair was longer than before golden in the sunlight, she wore a pale dress robe that tuck in at the waist, than flared over her hips falling to the ground in a obscene amount of fabric. She looked ready to attend a ball rather than being on the run, what the hell was going on!"
"Miss Lannister we need to talk NOW" Severus snarled at her.
"I can see you're feeling better, more like your old self... Let me go fetch your clothes and then we can eat and talk."
Severus was suddenly aware of the breeze on his body, of how she must does stripped him washed him and put him to bed in his weakened state, it just made him angrier.
"Very well, go fetch my clothes I'm sure your curiosity has been satisfied!"
"I stopped finding the male body curious a long time ago, you were injured I treated you I'm sorry if I offended your sensibilities" Hermione retorted.
blinking Severus moved to the tent with her, he received is now clean clothes went to change returneing to find the table in the main room set with a modest meal off canned goods.
"I applaud your culinary skill"
"This will be a difficult conversation to have if you keep snapping at me professor Snape.. Sit down and eat while I explain."
"Very well Miss Lannister."
"Please don't call me that, just call me Hermione! It's been a long time... I. its going to take some getting used to using that name again... for it all makes sense I'll have to start with Dumbledore mother, Kendra! Kendra was born in this land to a very important house , the House of Targaryen..the Targaryens have ruled
over the seven lands of Westeros for the last 300 years... That's where we are now on the island of Dragonstone just north-west off the mainland, the second homeland of the Targaryens .. the Targaryens believe that they have the blood of dragons within them and interbred like pure bloods wizards to preserve their powers from diluting, this inbreeding causes madness in the family, a madness that frightened Kandra she fled her family in the capital of Kingslanding to the ruins on the island of Dragonstone in search of the arch.
The arch was a myth supposedly built by the first of the Targaryens in the time of heroes, a doorway that led to a different world, a world you could only get to with the blood of the Targaryens, with blood magic! Kandra found it,escaped to your world and married Dumbledore father giving birth to 3 children Albus, Aberforth and Ariana. Kandra thought that she had expected the madness only to find her daughter Ariana inflicted with it, on her deathbed she her told the story to Dumbledore as a warning he took it as an opportunity, some years later he sent Fawkes through the archway in search of the Targaryens hoping they could help him defeat you-know-who during the first war.
At this time The Mad king Aerys Targaryens the 2ed sat on the throne, he ignored Dumbledore
letters openly mocking them in court, this gave my mother Volentin Targaryens a third cousin to the king
an idea.
Volentin had recently married the hand of the King Tywin Lannister after the death of his first wife and
was pregnant with me, she persuaded my father Tywin Lannister to write to Dumbledore. I the end it
was decided that in exchange for teaching my mother magic Dumbledore would receive a large amount
of gold, my father thought that having a sorceress at his disposal would be highly beneficial as well as
having the advantage of sending my mother away a woman he had no love for.
Three years have passed by the time that this was decided, communicating between the two worlds was
difficult with Fawkes the only messenger and the ministry getting suspicious. In this time the mad King
had grown uncontrollable! He was a monster! My father left Kingslanding and his position as hand of
the King for his home in Casterly Rock, leaving my half brother Jaime there as a Knight in the King
guard. Not long after a rebellion started! For the short version my brother Jaime killed the King as my
father stormed the city, Robert Baratheon leader of the rebellion was proclaimed king of the seven
kingdoms and married my half sister Cersei to form an alliance with the House of Lannister.
As Roberts first act of king ship he ordered my father to purge the land of any surviving Targaryens,
hundreds of men, women and children were slaughtered!... Including my mother,... I was only 3 at
the time, I only survived because he was my father!
Anyway my father still wanted a sorceress of his own, so I went to learn magic in my mother place when I
turned 11 and the rest you know. Dumbledore got his gold and I got an education, I was made to taken
an unbreakable vow forcing me to return home at the end of seven years. with Dumbledore Dead all my
contact with my family was cut off, as well as my way to get back to the arch. I didn't want to die form a
broken vow! Not after I managed to live through so much , so I pland used the end of the war as a
distraction to get into the ministry once I knew my friend was safe, so they think that I'd died in the last
moments of resistance I can't have them coming after me! I love them too much to bring them here
especially when I don't know what awaits me. But I scared of going alone... So I brought you."
Severus stared at the woman opposite him, who just laid bare her secrets , it was a long stare before
he answered.
" your scared ... So you brought me ?"
" Because I don't love you, but I do trust you!"
"... Merlin that's fucked up!"
Thank you for reading... Please review!... let me know if it all making sense !.
xx vertigo