(This chapter was redone on Sept. 16, 2006. For everyone who read this chapter before then, the important things to reread are in the first half of the chapter, before Evil Minion comes back into the action. You don't need to read the whole thing if you don't want, but AceGray does because I changed Annabella's middle name. -grin- - kavi)

Chapter 10 – Curses

Severus Snape heard the door to his dank, dark dungeon office swing open on creaky hinges and a single set of footsteps enter the room. He glanced up from the paperwork strewn about his desk at the owner of the footsteps, and then at the clock on his desk.

"You're not late." He said with a hint of surprise.

"Of course I'm not late," Nyx replied a bit indignantly as she closed and locked the door behind her. She cast a soundproofing charm on the door for her own sake. "Class is one thing; this is another."

"You don't take my class seriously?" Snape asked, smirking.

"Not if it's being taught by you." the girl in the long, black coat and jeans that looked just a bit too big said as she recalled a particularly scarring incident with the other from many years ago, which involved the Prefect's bathroom, a towel that was not there, and someone who should not have turned around. She walked up to the desk as Snape gestured to a chair already set up for her. She sat down and removed a familiar book from an inside coat pocket; Dangerous Diseases, Sinister Syndromes, Putrid Plagues and Irksome Illnesses.

"Did you sleep well?" the ex-Potions master asked conversationally, beginning to put away his papers.

"Well enough." She said, brushing an unwanted strand of black hair out of her eyes. "Jack and I ended up sleeping together."

Snape's hands abruptly stopped shuffling through papers. His dark eyes stared at her from beneath raised eyebrows as he asked, "Have you ever heard the phrase 'too much information,' Nyx?"

"Not like that!" she yelped, turning pink.

"What other way could you possibly mean?" he asked again, sounding more than a bit alarmed, and clearly disgusted at the thought.

"The not perverted way, you git." Nyx snapped. "He seemed to want to sleep in a bed for a change and mine was the only one available, and I certainly didn't want to sleep on the floor, so…we slept in the same bed…and nothing happened…" She put extra emphasis on the last words because of the look the infernal man was giving her.

He shrugged uncomfortably and muttered, "Do whatever you like, as far as I'm concerned, just as long as no one catches you…that's the last thing I want to have to give you detention for…"

Nyx picked up the book from her lap and 'placed' it on the desk with a loud slam. "Where shall we begin with this, Severus?" she asked through a very forced smile.

He took the not-too-subtle hint and opened the book to Chapter 13. He directed her eyes to the large illustration on page 210 as he said, "I'm sure you recognize this."

Nyx didn't need to look. She'd already studied every part of the millennium-old painting, and knew it by heart. The scene was not a pretty one, despite the rather peaceful castle and forest in the background. A frightening beast stood on four legs at the center, looking like nature's reject. It had a head as long as a person, and a neck that was four times that length, and a tail that was just a bit longer. The long neck and tail gave it the slight impression of some kind of dinosaur, especially because of its sickle-like claw on each back foot.

The head was dragonish, but without horns and with two very long ears. These tapered off until they became points and were usually turned backwards so that the opening to the inner ear could not be seen, making them appear to be flexible horns to those who didn't know better. The ears and tail had something in common that made the beast look very peculiar; thick, sideways black and white stripes covering them. These stood out from the regular skin, which was dark gray, hairless and very smooth.

The only fur found on the creature was in the form of a wild black mane, beginning at the crown of the skull and trailing down the back of the neck to the shoulders. Just beyond where the fur ended, two skeletal wings sprang out of the creature's back, with a bony growth of spines where they connected with its skin. A thin, transparent membrane stretched between the long, finger-like bones, but they were unfit for flying nonetheless. The wings weren't nearly large enough to support the beast's great weight, so they were decidedly only for decoration, or perhaps a nice little breeze on a hot day.

From where the wings protruded out of the back to the creature's rump, the spine stuck up under the skin, making a ridge that discouraged anyone from trying to hop on for a ride. At the base of the tail, the bones began to burst out of the skin like spines, and did so most of the way down the tail. These could be decorative, like the wings, if only people hadn't been gored when the creature swung its tail at them.

Another feature on the beast that seemed fairly harmless was its pointed tongue, a sort of pale blue-gray with a tinge of violet. In the ancient painting, it simply appeared rather long and flexible, like a giraffe's. In reality, that was like saying Voldemort was a bit of a bully and didn't really care for Muggle-borns. This creature's tongue was possibly the most powerful muscle in its body, able to stretch out even longer than it's head, and flexible like an octopus's tentacle; many people had found themselves wrapped in the slimy thing, squeezed until their bones broke, yanked up into it's mouth and sucked down it's throat whole. When not being used to eat things, the tongue had a mind of its own, and was usually found flopping out of a side of the beast's mouth. The fact that the creature drooled excessively and the way its tongue was usually in plain sight made it look like an overgrown, dimwitted dog.

That, of course, wasn't counting the rest of its face. Aside from the tongue, its mouth was filled with pointed teeth of seemingly every shape and size, tossed into its jaws at random. The perfect order that existed in another predator's mouth was vague at best here. The one thing all the teeth had in common was their frightening prowess at biting through anything with admirable speed and success. Anyone who'd ever come face-to-face with one of these creatures knew what the teeth looked like because scarcely a moment passed when they weren't being shown off. It wasn't nicknamed the "Grinning Demon" for nothing. The cruelly pleased smile didn't lessen the disturbing effect of its wide, round eyes. They seemed to stare through the whole world without ever seeing anything, blank white and glowing eerily as they never stopped to blink.

As if it's freakish and scary appearance weren't enough, there were other horrid things about a Grinning Demon that could never be fully understood from reading a book. The creatures breathed in deep, slow breaths, and every exhale sounded like it's death rattle. Anyone who knew anything knew better than to go within a mile of it's mouth, not only because of the risk of being eaten alive, but because it's breath was rank with the stench of rotting corpses.

It made a cry unlike any other living thing, and far more terrible than any other at that. It was screechy and bird-like, but within that sound there was another that made any listener's blood turn to ice; a clearly human scream. It wasn't a scream of fear, or pain, or sorrow, or joy, or even to get anyone's attention. "Screaming because it sounds fun and I have nothing better to do" would be the most accurate description. That startled everyone who heard it because they always forgot that the terrifying and unorthodox beast making the sound was really a human being inside.

In this particular depiction, which had been lovingly inked and painted on a large sheet of parchment, the Grinning Demon had been up to no good. Brilliant red blood dripped from its mismatched fangs, a consequence of the pair of corpses lying on the grass at its feet. One young man had been gored and died trying to keep his stomach inside of him, and the other young man had been bitten in half. A large bloodstain nearby suggested that there was a third victim, but one could only suppose where the body was. Four living, breathing individuals surrounded the Demon with wands held aloft; two witches and two wizards, in dazzling gold, indigo, crimson, and emerald robes, respectively. Their faces couldn't be properly seen, but anyone could assume that they were not looking at the creature kindly.

"I don't recognize it, but I know what it is," Nyx said. "I hadn't seen it before you gave me the book."

"That's no surprise. It was discovered only a few years before this book was published, and since no one really wanted to blab about it in the papers, it remained mostly unknown," Snape said. "It's supposedly an illustration of the first recorded case of Sang Maudit Syndrome – 'SMS' for short – in the world. Obviously no one can say whether that's true or not because the painting and the story are both a thousand years old, and everyone knows there's no one who can say, 'oh sure, I was there, I saw the whole thing.'"

"Right," Nyx murmured with the ghost of a smile.

"Three people were supposed to have been killed or eaten by the SM in question, but no one knows who exactly the three people were, so no one can check when they died. All that's known about the whole thing is that it started when a young prankster switched this girl's" – he tapped his finger on the Grinning Demon in the book – "Wolfsbane potion with blood. The girl didn't have her blood ruby on at the time, so when she drank the blood she lost all control and tried to kill the first living thing she saw –"

"Which, ironically, was the kid who gave her the blood in the first place," Nyx said, smirking.

"Right. He gets chased outside and, as if things weren't bad enough, the full moon has just risen. The girl sees it, transforms into the beastie, and has herself an extra dessert. As this is happening, this poor sod" – Snape tapped the young man who'd been gored – "shows up and tries to save the first victim and gets disemboweled. No one's sure whether it was a tail bone or one of the back claws that did it." He glanced up at the girl before him.

"I would say claw," she said thoughtfully.

"I thought so, too. It would be easier to kick than twist the tail over so the bones were facing the target," Snape replied as carelessly as if he were commenting on a Quidditch maneuver. "Anyway, these four survivors and the third victim" – the tapped the two halves of a person –" showed up just in time to figure out what was going on. There's a rumor that the last one was trying to persuade the others not to attack the girl because she didn't know what she was doing, and he wanted to try to subdue her without using force, when he was bitten in half from behind."

Snape paused. "All hell broke loose after that. These four started firing curses off like there was no tomorrow, and suddenly it all stopped when the girl was hit with a killing curse. She didn't die, but she was knocked unconscious for a while and turned back into a human form almost as soon as the spell hit.

"Interestingly, three days later this girl vanished into thin air and was never seen or heard from again. Most would assume her to be dead, but there aren't any records to support or dispute it," Snape finished with a strange glint in his eye.

"Even more interesting that they omitted all significant details regarding who she might have been, her supposed age, and even a guess at where this took place," Nyx said coolly.

"I would like to think that if they knew, they would have put it in here somewhere," her friend replied.

"So would I," she said simply. "It's also interesting that they don't give a source for all this information." Nyx frowned as she flipped through the pages of Chapter 13. "'Causes, Weaknesses, Insanity Decline, Transformation, Safeguards, Common Signs of SMS'…No one person could figure all this out in their own lifetime."

"There used to be a secret organization devoted to the study of SMS, which was very strongly supported by the Ministry," Snape said. "It began around 500 years ago but was disbanded shortly after this book was published in 1981 because of inquiring minds like yours. Cornelius Fudge had no choice but to release information on the organization's actions, which sent the public into an uproar. They did all sorts of testing on humans, from forcing them to contract SMS to testing different methods of killing to see if any of them actually worked. By 'making' SMs they were able to experiment and learn everything about it that they know today."

"That's horrid, unethical and I wonder who's brilliant idea it was to start it," Nyx said, making a face. "What happened to the victims after they were disbanded?"

Snape leaned back in his chair and sighed. "They were supposed to have all died a natural death, but considering the nature of the disease that's very unlikely. There are only two known ways to kill an SM; leave them alone or use the White Spell –"

"Which no one knows how to perform or what it does," she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"Correct. Leaving them alone would allow them to progress towards their natural death, if you can even call it that. All SMs go insane eventually, for whatever reason, and when that happens they enter the Insanity Decline. Torture was found to speed up the onset of insanity, and the Cruciatus Curse seemed to work best out of anything. It's difficult to tell when an SM 'officially' goes insane because they don't behave like a normal human would if they lost their mind. They're rarely loud, violent, and they tend to make perfect sense almost up to the very end. More often than not, when it's decided that an SM has gone insane, it's far too late to do anything about it.

"Up until the Decline stage begins, they're totally impervious to any damaging spell or anything that would normally cause harm to someone, and therefore they're basically immortal. As they progress through the Decline, their sanity leaves them for good and their mortality returns little by little. By the last stages of it, they're able to sustain lasting damage, and right at the end it's possible to kill them. That's only if you can get a shot in before they kill themselves in some unpleasantly unusual way, of course.

"Some SMs, however, gain more than the usual boost of power that all SMs gain once they've lost it. There were rumors and heavily-censored reports of "advanced" SMs that went through ridiculously long Insanity Declines – which typically last no more than 25 to 30 years at the very maximum – and gained abilities and power that no one else could ever hope to. Some were supposed to able to perform large-scale bodily regeneration –"

"Whereas normal SMs can only heal mild wounds and grow back a limb or two," the girl said. "Reminds me of a starfish."

"Er…I suppose so. Anyway, others could possess and manipulate both living and non-living things expertly," Snape continued. "Average SMs are lucky if they can perform the Imperius Curse properly. The most famous is the ability to raise the dead, which no one but one of these "advanced" SMs has ever succeeded at."

"And what happened to the one who could raise the dead?" Nyx asked quietly.

"He escaped and hasn't been seen in over 50 years. For all anyone knows he's dead, but it's not very likely," Snape said. "The longer the Insanity Decline lasts, the more power the SM is supposed to gain during it. If he was able to resurrect the dead, he must have been quite old, and something tells me that another 50 years was a short time to keep himself alive."

The girl sighed heavily. "Of course."

This whole subject never went terribly well with Nyx. Since she and SMS had such a lousy history together, she was naturally able to become an expert on it overnight, even though the whole business depressed her to no end. From the safeguards to the causes and everything in between, she knew all there was to know about it. If only she could get on Jeopardy and have the astounding dumb luck it would take to have a category devoted to SMS, she'd be all set.

"Someone like him would be better off dead, no matter how amazing or helpful his abilities are," Nyx said. "If he's lived that long and been through that much, the next life can't possibly be any worse than this one."

Snape nodded. "Well put. Even contracting the disease is traumatizing. Two bites between two full moons, one from a vampire and one from a werewolf. It's amazing that there are so many natural SMs for how unlikely the odds are to get it."

"It still happens, though," Nyx said softly. "And I suppose, in the end, it's for the best that they were able to figure all this stuff out, even if their methods were completely fucked up. For one thing, I didn't know that consuming or inhaling silver in any form makes an SM's heart and lungs stop functioning for an amount of time directly proportionate to the amount of silver. I knew touching silver caused an intense burning or freezing feeling, even though silver isn't fatal like it would normally be for a vampire or a werewolf alone."

"Right, and touching or absorbing a moonstone makes an SM transform into the beastie whether it's full moon or not," the black-haired professor continued, leaning back in the chair. "To offset the weaknesses, SMs use safeguards to blend in with normal people and make themselves less dangerous. Blood rubies are worn to control their thirst for blood so they don't randomly take a bite out of someone, and taking the Wolfsbane potion with the Draught of Peace prevents any sort of werewolf transformation under the full moon. Using all three safeguards at the same time prevents any transformation whatsoever."

"Shame that Draught of Peace thing doesn't work on normal werewolves, innit?" Nyx asked, seeming to lighten up a bit.

Snape nodded a bit disinterestedly as he inspected his fingernails. "If an SM uses these safeguards properly and keeps their mouth shut, you can't tell them apart from a normal human. That's got the Ministry incredibly worried, of course. Because there's no cure for SMS and almost no way to kill anyone who has it, the Dark Lord would be elated if he could have even one on his side, and I needn't explain why the Ministry doesn't like to hear that."

Nyx chuckled. "I don't blame them. Now what's all this about bezoars and phoenixes?" She nodded to the page with the alarmingly short list of weaknesses printed on it.

Snape leaned forward and recited without looking at the book, "Consumption of a bezoar induces vomiting, coughing up blood, intense headache, high fever and vertigo. Obviously, though, it's rare that an SM would eat one even on accident because they're immune to every poison cured by a bezoar, and every other poison, too, for that matter. Moving on, the cry of a phoenix is another thing that moves an SM closer to the Insanity Decline because it would be defined as 'torture.'"

"Sounds like nails on a chalkboard, right?" the girl-who-only-vaguely-remembered-hearing-these-things-beforehand asked.

"Yes, and even a relatively short exposure to it can drive them insane." Snape paused for a moment before he added quietly, "Dumbledore has a phoenix."

"Really?" the girl asked with genuine surprise. "I didn't think phoenixes could be tamed."

"Well, Dumbledore's usually the special case. I don't know how or when he got it, but I'll bet he's had it for at least as long as I've been alive." The man replied. "That reminds me of another point I should bring up while we're here. You see under 'Other Effects' where it says 'brief amnesia after traumatic or shocking experiences'?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Isn't that all basically what happened to you after you were attacked by that painting?"

Nyx's face blanked for a moment. "Yeah. It is. Same thing that happened when…that happened, too. I forgot who the hell I was…"

Snape chuckled. "It almost would've been better if you'd never remembered anything after that."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "Except then I'd be twice as confused when I started acting funny because of this." She tapped the words 'Sang Maudit Syndrome' with her finger.

"How old did you say you were when it happened?" the professor asked curiously. "I always seem to forget."

"It was the summer between my 6th and 7th year, so I was 17." She replied simply. "I didn't tell anyone what happened when the werewolf bit me because I was so ashamed that I was too weak to protect myself, even though I knew how. I only regretted keeping it a secret when I transformed for the first time a month later and attacked some random guy who turned out to be a vampire, and then everyone found out what happened because my body was found the next morning, all mangled and bloody. My father was especially angry with me."

"If I were your father I'd be angry, too." Snape admitted with a smirk. "So, how many times have you transformed into this charming thing?" He flipped the pages back to the painting of the Grinning Demon.

"Hmm…" Nyx sat deep in thought for a few moments. "At least five times. Probably more, but I don't really keep track."

"That can't be a good idea."

"Oh, shut up. Not your problem. The point is that I'm aware enough to know who I killed, and if they were supposed to die or not."

"You're lucky then. Most SMs don't remember a thing once they transform into one of these."

"Oh really? I've never had that problem."

"Mm-hmm. They never know what happened while they were transformed unless they're told by a survivor. If there's a survivor, that is."

Nyx laughed bitterly. "I would've rather been lied to than told what I did the first time I transformed. I knew what happened because I saw it with my own two eyes, but hearing it form someone else made me realize that it wasn't just a really awful nightmare like I hoped it was. That was the worst thing I've ever had to hear in my life. My punishment for it was far worse, though…"

The man behind the desk was quiet for a few seconds before saying gently, "If I was your father I wouldn't have done that to you. Instead of leaving you to rot I would've preferred to kill you outright."

"That would've been better than what I had to go through." She said distantly. "Except that was before they knew anything about my condition besides the fact that I couldn't be killed by traditional means." She stopped again and laughed humorlessly. "You know, the White spell was known back then. There was one family that passed it down through the generations – aptly named 'White' – because it was supposed to do unspeakable things, though I forget if that was a positive or negative connotation. The last member of that family was supposed to have had his memory wiped in an unfortunate accident just a few years after I became an SM, and he hadn't taught it to his children yet."

"Wonderful." Snape muttered sarcastically. "At least death by a spell would be better than committing suicide."

"Not really. I've tried to kill myself before in whatever way would be quick and painless, except I woke up after it was done, and in indescribable pain. Lately, though, every time I attempt suicide I barely feel anything, and whatever I feel isn't anywhere near what I'd call 'pain.'" Nyx replied coldly. "I'd rather take my own life than be murdered."

The DADA professor stared at her carefully. There were only a few times he'd ever been reminded of her extremely dangerous potential, and this was one of them. Only once before that day had he considered the idea that Nyx was already insane and she was doing a very good job of hiding it, and that her time was almost up. But, then again, perhaps her behavior was simply a result of her past and the bitterness and jealousy she felt towards mortals for their "gift of death" that she had been denied for so long. She told him years ago that she was ready to die any day that someone was ready to kill her. The only problem was that no matter how badly someone wanted to take her life, they were doomed to fail.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyx stretched her arms up over her head as she yawned loudly. "That was a lovely lunch. You know you're full when you start feeling sleepy…"

"I would've preferred steak, but then again we're not at home," Jack said quietly. He was gliding along beside her in his Animagus form because Louis was hogging her shoulders as he napped.

The girl laughed quietly. "We'll have steak for dinner then." The raven chirped his pleased response as he dodged a few people. They were walking down the main road of Hogsmeade, towards the Shrieking Shack where they would be disapparating to the citadel. Thankfully, they encountered no Death Eaters on their way this time.

Jack morphed back into his human state and held the rickety old door open for his master as she said, "Thank you. But what was that for?"

"Well why not?" he asked as he followed her into the dimly lit, dusty room. "I thought you'd appreciate it for a change."

"…Right. Well, anyway, before we go just yet," Nyx said before the other prepared to disapparate. "I have to ask you about something."

"Go ahead." Jack said nonchalantly as he fixed his wrap.

"It's about Annabella."

The man froze with wide eyes locked onto the floor. "…a…Anna…?"

"Your twin sister."

He turned his head quickly to stare at her, almost fearful. "H-how did you – ?"

"Severus told me last night, while you were asleep. I asked him how you two knew each other, and he told me you were a student of his until 6 years ago." She said quietly. "He also told me why he thought you didn't tell me; Alex Fiennes."

Jack twitched noticeably, and when he spoke his voice had become a harsh snarl. "The bastard that killed her?"

"He said that was what you believed." Nyx said carefully.

"Of course I do." He snapped. "It's a fact! He's a murderer! And the bloody idiots at the Ministry lost him because they haven't got the sense to wonder if he changed his name and his appearance to hide himself!"

His master was a bit surprised at the restrained rage in his voice. He must have had to hold all the emotion in because there was no one to listen to him… She knew that was true because Jack told her not long after they met that his mother died after giving birth to him (and his sister), and in the winter of his 7th year his father's wine was poisoned and he didn't get the antidote in time.

"Alex Fiennes was a Death Eater, so I joined up with you because you're against You-Know-Who, so that would make getting revenge a lot easier!" the man spat, ignoring his black wrap as it fell off his face and across his shoulders.

"Really?"

Jack stopped short when he heard her icy tone, worrying that he'd angered her. But when he saw her blank eyes, he knew she was more indifferent than anything else. "…um, Lord Psycho?"

"I'm just surprised, is all…" she said distantly. "That just sounds very much like something I would do…" She seemed to snap out of it and added, "Anyway, how do you plan on avenging your sister if you don't know what Alex Fiennes looks like now? You said you assume he's changed his name and appearance…"

"Unless this is all just a completely unlikely coincidence," the black-robed man said in a far more controlled voice. "I believe he didn't change much. If I am right, and I strongly believe I am, Fiennes changed his last name to Lazarra, continued going by the first name 'Alex,' changed his hair to dirty blonde and his eyes to brown or whatever they are. I say this because for all the years I've been able to observe him, he behaves and sounds exactly as I remember Fiennes, and I remember him very well.

"I knew there was something off when you first met him in that bar that one time; it felt like I'd heard him before. After he started flirting around with you I knew it had to be the same person because he did it to Annabella years before. I'm just glad you didn't fall for it like she did…"

Jack fell silent for a moment to lean against the old, rotted wall an sigh exhaustedly. "I knew there was something funny with him back then, too. I told her she shouldn't get involved with someone like that, and especially because he was a couple years older than we were at the time. But she didn't listen to me. She said I was being too over-protective, and that if I couldn't let her live her own life she'd cut ties with me once we graduated. I couldn't stand the thought of that…Everyone always assumed we were close because we were fraternal twins, but we may as well have been conjoined twins for the bond we shared. To this day I still can't put it into words how or why we always knew what the other was thinking or going to say next, or how we loved and hated the same things, had the same abilities – she was a Ragshiel, too, you know."

"That might be part of why you two had such a close bond," Nyx interrupted softly. "Ragshiel are supposed to be able to make a higher connection with people and animals, and especially so with others that share the ability."

"Maybe…" he murmured, staring at the floor morosely. "But if that's so, then it's a gift and a curse at the same time…"

"Why?"

"…I see her everywhere I go…she talks to me, but I can never answer her…I should be able to, but…I always feel like I'm choking…it's…it's maddening…"

Nyx felt a jab of pity as she saw that he was dangerously close to tears of mixed sadness and frustration. All Ragshiel have the ability to see the spirits of those who died, but didn't stay behind as ghosts. They can hear them speaking, and they're supposed to be able to communicate back. She couldn't relate to that aspect of it so much, but she knew the other feeling all too well; that cold, empty feeling of helplessness that went hand-in-hand with such a sudden, painful loss…

Snape's words suddenly echoed in her mind: "…the most famous is the ability to raise the dead…"

Nyx slowly closed the distance between herself and Jack as she brought up a pale, slender hand to rest it on the side of his face. She gently tilted his head up to look him in the eyes, and he felt his face grow warm.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love as much as you loved Annabella." She said softly. "I've lost several in my time, and I know the pain very well. Whether this helps to ease yours a bit or not, if we ever get into a fight with any Death Eaters and he's there, I'll make sure you're the one to deliver the death blow – even if I have to throw him in front of your wand. And…this is a bit of a secret, but if I ever figure out how to resurrect the dead, I promise you'll be the first to know."

Jack felt a hot, stinging tear roll down his cheek and hit his master's hand. "…thank you…" he whispered, gazing into her softened green-gray eyes. He almost stared when he felt a nudge between his shoulder blades. His back was pressed against the wall…how could – ?

"…kiss her…"

Wh-What?

"Kiss her."

Who're y– ?

"Kiss her already, Jack!"

…A…Anna?

"Thaaat's me! Took you long enough to respond, though. Now kiss her!"

Wait! Why?

"Because it'll make all three of us happy. Now do it! Pretty please?"

How do you know?

"I have my ways…"

W-well, what if she snaps and tries to kill me or something?

"She won't. Trust me."

…but…but…

"But what? Don't you want to give her a big 'ole smooch?"

…well, not if you put it like that, no.

"Fine. Don't you love her?"

…w-well, yes, but…

"But what, my dear twin? You were just telling your girlfriend there how we were like one mind, and the Jack I remember was never so shy or – dare I say it? – un-romantic!"

…that was years ago, though…and she's not my girlfriend…

"Not yet, at least."

Right. But still, we don't have the kind of relationship that would continue smoothly if this went badly…I don't know if it's worth the risk…

"…Oh, my poor, poor brother…you really have changed since I died…"

Since you…Wait! Did you see who killed you? It was that piece-of-shit Fiennes, wasn't it?

"…"

Tell me! Please, Anna!

"…"

Dammit, Annabella Lee Corbeau!

"…Fine. I'll tell you under one condition."

Anything!

"KISS HER!"

Jack felt another forceful shove in the back from his sister's spirit, standing just to his right. She looked just as he remembered; shoulder-length, feathery black hair, enchanting blue eyes, milky skin, and beautifully dignified features identical to his own. The trademark mischievous little smile on her ghostly lips emphasized that she was indeed Annabella Corbeau.

"Quit shoving me!" he snapped at the image, beginning to blush furiously. Jack knew his master was deaf to his sister's words, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing for him. He didn't want to admit that he was in love with Nyx, or do anything about it for the time being. He had already accepted that he had next to no chance with her, even though his only competition – Alex Lazarra – was long out of the running.

Something gave Jack the feeling that his master had no particular desire to love someone like that, and certainly not him if anyone. He couldn't really blame his sister for being annoyed with him when he refused to eliminate one of the items on his "Things To Do Before I Die" list because the last time they had spoken, he wouldn't have needed her egging him on. But since she was murdered…it was almost as if he had become a different person, and he hated himself for it. But he couldn't force himself to change, not without his other half by his side.

"Er…" Nyx said, gaping at her underling. "Did I miss…some…thing?"

"Uhh…" Jack started pathetically, trying to hide his reddened cheeks. "…m-my, uh…my sister is…" He glanced between the two women helplessly; Nyx who looked more confused than ever and Anna who was giggling triumphantly. "…I-I was talking to her…"

"Oh, so that's why you blanked out for a minute there," she said. "…hang on, I thought you said you couldn't communicate with her?"

"Well…" he started quietly, glancing back at his twin. "…something changed." She smiled broadly at him before he looked back at Nyx. She stared back at him curiously as she realized that he was leaving something important out. But as she locked onto his eyes to use her Legilimency, he turned back to Annabella casually as if he wasn't trying to avoid her gaze. But, to his immense disappointment, she had vanished. He looked around the dank little room almost frantically; she didn't tell him if he was right about Fiennes, whether he kissed Nyx or not.

"What's wrong?" Nyx asked.

"…damn. She's gone." He muttered. "And she didn't tell me if it was him or not…"

"…'him'…?"

"Alex Fiennes."

"Oh, right. But…why didn't she tell you?" Nyx was controlling her tone very carefully.

"She was being stubborn…" Jack replied with a sigh. "She'd only tell me if I did something else, which I was not going to do."

"What was it?" she asked with genuine curiosity. If he refused to do it even to find out who killed his sister, it must have been interesting.

"…well, it involved you, and if I went ahead and did it without your consent you'd be very displeased with me…" he said slowly, trying not to look her in the face.

"Oh my. I'll take your word for it." Nyx muttered a bit nervously. They both fell silent for a little while.

"…remember what you asked me last night, about why I hate having my real name used?" Jack asked quietly. "I said it's because you never know who might hear it. By that I mean someone who knows the man that killed Annabella, and could blow my cover. That's also why I hide my face all the time. When he was with us all those times, he would've recognized me straight away if it weren't for my nickname and my outfit. I don't want him to know who I am until I'm about to kill him."

"That sounds pretty cruel, coming from you." his master said with a quiet smile.

"Anything less wouldn't make me feel any better." Jack said simply. "I know I can't fully repay him for killing my sister without ending his life, but it'll be worth it to see the look on his face when he realizes who I am."

Nyx laughed to herself. He really is taking after me…But should that make me proud or worried?

"As I said, I'll make sure no one kills him before you do…unless of course, his master gets fed up with him and does it himself. Then my hands are tied, but at least you'll know he got what he deserved." She said kindly.

Jack said his thanks and wondered what was making her act so…strange. I've seen her act like this only a few times…it's probably out of pity, in my case, but nevertheless…it's…nice to see her have normal emotions for a change…usually she's either angry or depressed or just crazy and who knows what she's really feeling…but I've never seen her be truly happy…I wonder why…

"Are we ready to go, then?" Nyx asked, still seeming unusually good-tempered.

"Yes," Jack said before adding softly. "Thank you for everything, Nyx. Really."

She froze and gaped at him.

"H-how did you…?"

"I overheard Snape and Slughorn calling you that when you were in the hospital wing after you were attacked. When they started calling you 'Ariana' when Draco Malfoy was there, I supposed Nyx was your real name. Kind of like 'Evil Minion' and 'Jack Corbeau' for me…also, not to mention Slughorn called you 'Nyx' a few times last night while I was still awake…"

"…uh…yeah…stupid Horace…so, you were listening when we were talking back then, after the portrait attacked me?"

"Yes. I was sitting underneath another one of the beds on the other side of the room so I could see you clearly. I didn't tell you before because I knew it wouldn't help you heal or get back to your old self again."

"…well, I certainly wasn't expecting to hear that."

"It sounds like you only want to be called by that name around certain people, and definitely not around the general public, but…do you suppose I could call you by it, when it's just the two of us?"

Nyx was quiet for a long time, thinking very carefully, before she said in a slightly strained voice, "…if it will make you happy. But, if you can call me 'Nyx' then you have to let me call you 'Jack' when it's just us. Other than that, I'll call you 'Evil Minion' and you'll call me 'Lord Psycho', or 'Ariana' depending on who we're around. It's only fair."

Jack smiled and agreed before replacing his head wrap and putting his hood up. A soft pop and a loud crack sounded simultaneously, and they vanished.

--- to be continued in Chapter 11 : Dragon Wings---

Disclaimer: Own not, profit not, sue not. (With exception of Nyx, Jack, Annabella, SMS, the White spell and Louis.)

A/N: Well that took a while to write. -bows- Sorry, folks. In case you didn't read it on my profile, I was revamping the entire story so far by editing parts of the earlier chapters and reposting them right before I posted this; namely, I finally split chapter 6 into 2 separate chapters, which is why this is chapter 10 instead of 9 like you were expecting. -cough- Yep. I did this because I screwed a bunch of stuff up that would mess up the story later on, and it's only because 1. my math skills suck, and 2. back in chapter 1 I had no idea anyone would like the story so I didn't really plan ahead very much, and many things were changed since then, so yeah. Obviously, since there are currently 1094 pageviews on this story, it's a wee bit more popular than I was expecting. -grin- Anyway, you can go back and look for the changes if you so desire, but if not here are the main,important changes:

1. Sakura is NOT the "Dragon Keeper." She is the Master of Communications. (Changed because there is no such thing as a Dragon Keeper anymore, and she'd be lousy at it anyway.) (from Chapter 1)

2. D'maxucoma is NOT the "Warlord." He is the Grand General of the human branch of Nyx's army. (Changed because Warlord doesn't sound as good as it did when I first wrote it. -cough-) (from Chapter 1)

3. From Chapter 9 (Christmas chapter) - The date on the photo of Nyx, Sluggy and -mystery person- (-heh-)is NOT December 24th, 1943. It's 1944. Also, the page that picture's on has been changed to 1944-45 instead of '43-44 because, as I said, my math skills suck.

Besides these changes, there aren't really any major ones. I just fussed around with sentences and crap to make it sound better and whatnot, so it's not really important that you reread everything just for that. BUT! I would recommend going back and reading the Author Notes at the end of each chapter because I changed them, and you might...I dunno, learn something? Just read 'em. It'll help in the long run.

General Notes: Don't you feel sorry for Nyx now? Sure she has eternal youth because of the immortality thing, but good god is it bad when they transform. This has everything to do with her 'history' and it's gonna get reeeaaal interesting when I start doing the flashback chapters. -cackles- Yes, indeed, there wil be several flashback chapters. (Note that it's chapters, not sequences. This means there will be at least 3 chapters that are all in the past. AND I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT I THINK I MIGHT PEE MY PANTS BECAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE LIKE THE BEST CHAPTERS UNTIL THE CLIMAX WHICH IS ALSO GONNA BE REALLY COOL AND SUPER LONG AND DRAWN OUT AND LIKE 20 CHAPTERS LONG BECAUSE I'M STUPID LIKE THAT AND OMFG SQUIRRELS!) (-Shannon Reference! Omg! Don't Ask!-)

Also, there's a new pic of the SMS beastie now that I've totally redone it, and I'm extremely happy with the results. The link's on my profile in the usual place.

Incidentally, back in chapter 3 when Snape commented that "not everyone is as gifted as you, Nyx" he was referring to her SMS. ...And the eternal youth thing because she said he looked old. (Snape: "I'm only 36, damn you.")

Don't you feel even sorrier for Jack now? And isn't Annabella fun? Pity I killed her before I even introduced her. -sigh- Interesting facts: Anna was originally based off of a friend of mine, but I kinda crapped out on that, so she's not based on anyone any more. Also, her original middle name was "Diana" but after something AceGray said, I changed it to "Lee." -grin- If you get it, awesome, if not, whatever. Just a little something for the literature nerds like us.

And aren't you pissed at me for not having any lovey-dovey scenes yet? Heh, give it time, your cravings shall be satisfied eventually. But between which two (or maybe three? -wiggles eyebrows-) characters, and when? This is why I love writing suspense-type stuff. It makes everyone wants to keep reading...but it also makes them hate you for not telling them what's gonna happen next, or later. -siiiiigh- I just can't win.

Final Words: Dunno if I said this already, but the next chapter is over half done already because this was originally supposed to be part of it, but it got too long so I chopped it up. So it shouldn't take too long to finish, I hope. There's a lot I need to rewrite though, so I won't make any promises to have it up by such-and-such a day. Still, keep an eye out for it over the weekend because I have more time to work on it then. And keep the reviews coming! I really enjoy reading them! -beams-

And now for a special treat...Kavi does a Mastercard ad! (Inspired by her Arachnophobia.)

Seeing a huge spider on your fridge as you're going to get a drink: terrifying

Seeing a chubby spider in a little cocoon-thing on the mirror in your bathroom as you're going to brush your teeth: horrifying

Seeing a little black spider building a web right next to where your head goes when you sleep: unnerving

Seeing a huge black spider on the wall at the top of your stairs as you're on your way to bed and you're really, really tired and you have to scramble past it and nearly fall all the way back down: aggravating

Seeing a fat-ass spider running up your bedroom wall as you're minding your own business getting changed into your PJ's: creepifying (...?)

Smacking the shit out of that little fucker with a shoe/book/folder/packet of looseleaf paper: PRICELESS

(Leaving the spider guts on the wall as a trophy: kinda pathetic)

...thank you, thank you. -bows deeply-

Thanks for reading and have a nice day!

--- kavi-sama ---