Chapter 13 - Hermione Breaks a Rule
Nyx trudged up the cold, stone steps from the dungeons towards the Great Hall, where a nice, warm breakfast was waiting for her. She'd been back at school for four days already and things were not going well. Her mind was torn between something Jack told her on the train back to Hogwarts and the issues that had arisen concerning "business."
Sakura mentioned that Capricorn Ascending signs, which Jack happened to be, often had a difficult birth or a restricted childhood. Her underling told her that he was surprised to hear her mention a 'difficult birth' because it actually applied to him. When he and Annabella were born, he told her, their poor mother had to go through 21 hours of labor before either of them came out. The girl was technically born first, and Jack should've followed immediately after, but didn't. They ran into complications after Annabella was safely out, and her brother and mother were put in serious danger. If Jack wasn't born soon, he would suffocate before he even took his first breath, and his mother was losing strength fast. An hour later, the doctor was forced to try a very risky Muggle procedure – a C-section, he thought it was called – in order to try to save at least one of them.
The operation worked and Jack was perfectly fine, though he came dangerously close to death. His mother wasn't so lucky.
Nyx wasn't sure why this bothered her so much, but she couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that all that Zodiac stuff really wasn't a bunch of nonsense like she initially thought. If it was all as accurate as the 'difficult birth' thing, that meant Jack was seriously prone to depression and other problems because he kept his emotions in so much. She already knew he did that all the time, but it never really occurred to her that it could cause such problems. Nyx had gone through a period of depression before, and that was undoubtedly the worst time of her life. The only reason it didn't destroy her was… No, don't think about it. You'll relapse. You don't need that right now, or ever.
Nyx wanted to take her mind elsewhere, but it refused to yield. She was worried about Jack and what might happen to him. She had a hard time wishing that kind of suffering even on her enemies, let alone imagining it for one of the people she cared the most about.
…what am I doing? She suddenly asked herself harshly. Why am I worrying about him? I don't care what happens to anyone but me…I barely ever have…
Nyx groaned to herself and ran her pale fingers through her hair. This shouldn't be troubling me so much. Sure, I've changed lately, but I shouldn't feel like this…it's like my heart's being torn in two…
…yeah, Nyx. What heart?
The girl rounded a corner and seemingly snapped out of it. That's it. I won't think about him or his issues any more. I have more important things to be thinking about. I'm supposed to be an unsympathetic Capricorn anyway.
…oh, dear lord, she's converted me!
That was just what she needed on top of all the other discouraging events of the past week or so. Before she returned to school, Nyx contacted the Efethute division to check up on their progress with the newly named "Operation Baby Seal." (Sakura decided to do this because she felt that a code name would be helpful if anyone outside of her master's underlings caught wind of the project. What exactly they could do about it or learn from it, Nyx did not know, so she just humored her and left it as Operation Baby Seal.) Apparently, the weather was being a "bitch," forcing them to stop working for about a week. That was understandable…until she found out how little progress they had made before that. There was still 1.75 miles of solid ice to break through before they reached what she sought. Nyx didn't think they'd be anywhere near done yet, but she was sure they'd be farther along than this.
The man in charge of the operation even had the nerve to ask her what exactly they should be looking for while they did their combination melt-and-crush maneuver on the selected area of solid ice. Nyx simply said, "When you find it, you'll find out." And then she hung up because if she spoke with that idiot any longer she would probably fire him after he made her even more cross.
And that was just the icing on the Problem Cake. The night before, Draco Malfoy had proven to be completely useless for gathering information on Voldemort or anything to do with Voldemort. The boy was too wrapped up in his 'mission' to know anything she already didn't about the master he was terrified to death of, and had only met in person once.
Interestingly, though, he mentioned that the golden snake rings she gave him a few months before had come in handy. When Voldemort started getting impatient with Draco, he called Narcissa, his mother, to have a little talk. She took her son's passed-on advice and wore the ring there despite thinking it was worthless, and it quite possibly saved a life. The moment the Dark Lord laid eyes on it, he snatched it off her hand without a word to look at it more closely. He studied it for a little while before demanding to know where the matching ring was – without anyone telling him such a thing existed. Draco mailed it to her as soon as he received her letter explaining that You-Know-Who wanted it ASAP. Voldemort said little once he had both rings in his possession, other than Narcissa could go home and he would give Draco more time. Nyx was glad to hear of the blonde's newfound respect for her, and that the Dark Lord now had the rings – just as she planned – but it still didn't change the fact that she would've had better luck talking to a ham sandwich.
Her brilliant plan of getting close to a Death Eater, or at least the son of one, seemed to have hit a dead end. Draco had clearly been eliminated, and Alex Lazarra was simply out of the question. None of the other prospective Junior D.E.'s seemed terribly intelligent, so it was highly unlikely that they'd be any more helpful than Draco. It seemed as if her purpose in returning to Hogwarts had vanished and she seriously considered leaving as soon as possible. The homework and her idiotically annoying classmates were not worth visiting with Snape and Slughorn; she could do that any time she wanted without being a student.
Snape already explained his double-agent business with both Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix, so she agreed not to force him into becoming a triple-agent and therefore give him a colossal headache. But, he gave her the idea to take her spying idea in the other direction and find out if any students had parents in the Order of the Phoenix. It was nearly as good as getting information on Voldemort, and she might end up getting just that if they had any connections that she didn't. Nyx made a mental note to herself to write to…well, not Schlange, but somebody so they could research Order members, because her double-agent friend wouldn't say a word about that either. With luck, she would make some kind of progress by mid-January.
As Nyx came to the room of moving staircases, she started rubbing her temples to help clear her mind of all that was weighing it down, both the dread and the hope. Once she could focus on the world around her she gazed around the room, planning out which staircases she needed to take to get to the Great Hall. A few times she cursed and had to re-plan because one or more of them moved on her. After an especially colorful assortment of words, a voice startled her.
"What kind of language is that for a lady to use?"
Nyx spun on her heel in horror to come face-to-face once again with the Portrait, hanging on the wall behind her innocently. The man inside looked the same as she always remembered him: pale, cold skin; wavy black hair with it's tips lying on his black-cloaked shoulders; scrubby moustache and short beard set on the tip of his chin; ugly, gold, black-stoned ring set on his finger; and the emotionless, pitch-black eyes that seemed to want to devour her soul. Those eyes made her feel a whirlwind of emotion; pure terror, burning hatred, deepest sorrow, irrepressible anger, but above all else, agony wracking every part of her being. The sight of him made her recoil in disgust, which she'd been to shocked to do the last time she saw him. A normal person wouldn't think he was hideously unattractive, but Nyx felt downright repulsed.
"Surprised to see me?" the man hissed, smirking as if to taunt her.
"Yes," she replied. "I thought they would've had to destroy you by now, what with your attack on a student and all."
"They tried, but they couldn't," he said in a bored voice. "Apparently I'm indestructible."
"Apparently not as much as you think," Nyx shot back, grinning maliciously. "That's a lovely scar. Is it new?" She stared at the long, deep cut on the man's cheek that hadn't been there at the beginning of the year.
He frowned at her. "You were just lucky I didn't deflect that. I was too busy mortally wounding you, as you surely recall."
"How could I not?" the girl growled.
"I'm just glad you survived. It would have been a shame for you to die at the hands of a painting. Very disgraceful, that…"
"Come off it. You knew that wouldn't kill me. It didn't kill me when you were still alive, so why should it work now?"
"I never intended for you to die. I simply wanted you to remember what real pain feels like. I can't allow that immortality to go to your head, now can I?"
Nyx laughed humorlessly. "You expect me to believe that you care?"
"Yes. I do." The man replied quite seriously.
"Why should you care now? You never gave a damn when it would've made a difference, and you got what you deserved for it, didn't you?"
The man in the painting took a long, slow breath to control his temper. "What you did was and still is inexcusable. My actions were perfectly justified. I explained that to you before I carried out the plan, so I was under the impression you understood it all perfectly well."
"I don't think leaving me for dead is remotely justifiable." Nyx snarled. "It wasn't back then and it wouldn't be nowadays. You know very damn well what happened because you all were too scared of me to try to help me, so you just brushed me under the rug and pretended I was gone so you could try to go on with your miserable lives. And don't try to tell me it didn't come back to haunt you later; I'm sure at some point or another you heard my screams in your nightmares all over again, and I certainly hope you suffered for it."
"That's enough." The man interrupted, voice rising angrily.
"It most certainly is not!" the girl nearly shouted. "My life was ruined because of you! I was lucky to have met the people I did, people who could accept me for what I was and didn't keep their distance because they were afraid that I would attack them the moment they took their eyes off me or let down their guard. No, if it weren't for them I'd be much worse than I've already become – and don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about! I tried to tell you everything last time, but you wouldn't listen, just like old times! You never listened to a word I had to say! It was always about you! Whatever made you happy, whatever made you look good, I had to do it! And you dare say what I did was inexcusable?"
"That's enough, Onyxsus."
Nyx froze. She stared at the man in the portrait with bitter loathing as her eyes flashed red, before she hissed very quietly, "No. It's not enough."
She pulled out her wand in an instant and whispered, "Trucido animus."
In another instant, the painting was enveloped in a brilliant white light before falling off the wall and shattering on the stone floor like a delicate glass goblet. Nyx chuckled darkly and stepped over to the pile of ripped canvas and splinters. She shifted the mess around with her foot until she could clearly see that the once-young-looking fellow in the painting was now shown as the withered, mutilated corpse of an old man.
Nyx removed a bottle of ink from her pocket and poured the contents onto the heap of shattered wood and canvas carelessly. She crouched down and pointed the wand at the mess and said, "Coerceo animus."
The blackened remains of the painting glowed white once again, increasing in brightness until it threatened to blind the girl. She waited patiently for a moment longer, and the light materialized itself into a small glowing-white, firefly-like 'object' – for lack of a better word – now floating above the wreckage of the painting. The light hovered a little in each direction like a perplexed tourist looking for a bathroom before Nyx flicked her wand from it to the empty bottle. The firefly-like thing zoomed into it obediently, fading into nothingness and leaving no trace of its existence after Nyx popped the stopper back into the mouth of the little glass bottle. She looked back at the pile on the floor; the chips of wood and once-vivid paint had lost its color and now looked almost dead as the midnight ink seeped into it like spilt blood.
Nyx beamed placidly as she gingerly pocketed the not-quite empty bottle before she turned to walk up a staircase towards the Great Hall.
"What would I ever do without you, Black Spell?"
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"Hermione, I think you're taking this a little too far…"
"Oh, be quiet. I know what I'm doing."
"Yeah, but…don't you think this is just a bit extreme?"
"No. Now hush up and keep watching for her."
"But…But it's only been four days! You can keep trying to talk to her about it for a few more days at least; it won't kill you!"
"Harry, I don't care. She's the one avoiding us and changing the subject every time I try to ask about it. Now pass me that knife."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Hermione made an exasperated noise and snatched the knife out of Ron's unsure hand impatiently. "Really, you'd think I'm planning a murder…" she said to herself curtly.
"For all you know, you are!" Ron yelped.
"I already told you, I did the research." The girl spat back. "It won't kill her even if she does have Sang Maudit Syndrome. It might make her sick for a little while, but she certainly won't die."
"But…" Harry spluttered. "But you're poisoning her!"
"Stop yelling and keep watching." Hermione hissed as she pushed the black-haired boy into his seat at the Gryffindor table. "The moment you see Ariana, tell me."
"…we're getting in so much trouble for this…" Ron moaned. "Hermione's doing it, but we'll be punished as accomplices…probably get expelled…Mum's gonna kill me…"
"Oh, for heaven's sakes, it's only a bezoar!" the bushy-haired girl said, displaying the small stone in her hand before returning to the omelet she was busy dissecting. "If I was using silver she could get seriously hurt, but the effects of a bezoar are temporary. Besides, this was the smallest one I could find. All she has to do is eat the omelet with the bezoar in it, and if she has SMS she'll have a reaction." Hermione stuffed the little stone into the food as inconspicuously as possible. "It's simple enough for a first-year to understand."
"Slughorn isn't going to be happy when he finds out you stole that." Harry pointed out with a nod to the omelet. "Snape would be much worse, but either way…"
"Nonsense." Hermione said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Remember, I stole all those polyjuice potion ingredients back in 2nd year, and I didn't get caught."
"Yeah, but when she starts puking her guts out and everything else they're going to know she ate a bezoar, and she's going to know you gave her the omelet, and you're pretty much doomed from there on out." Ron said slowly.
The girl stopped poking at the food and stared at the redhead. "…then we're just going to have to hope she doesn't have SMS and nothing at all happens." She didn't look nearly as settled as she sounded, partly because she was embarrassed that she hadn't thought of that before, and partly because she knew there really was no way out of it for her if she was caught.
"She's here, Hermione," Harry said quietly, not looking at all comfortable with the situation. "But would you just try asking her once more? It would make mefeel a whole lot better for helping you with this."
His classmate sighed irritably and snapped, "Fine, one last time, but I still don't think it'll work." Hermione jumped up from the table and waved at Nyx, who'd just walked in looking unusually pleased about something. The Slytherin took the hint and made her way to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the typical looks her housemates were shooting at her.
"Good morning," she said rather cheerily.
"Good morning," Hermione replied, smiling. "What did you think of that DADA essay last night?"
"Murder," Nyx grumbled. "The man must think we aren't taking any other classes…four feet of parchment my Aunt Harold…and I really have got an Aunt Harold, you wouldn't want to meet her…him…whatever."
The trio chuckled as Nyx began peering at today's breakfast selection, holding in a laugh of her own; she never did the essay. Just as Hermione was about to try to mention SMS for the last time, the black-haired girl cheered, "Yes! Omelets! I've had an omelet craving all week, it's been driving me crazy…"
"Oh, here," the Gryffindor girl piped up. "This one's already on a plate and everything." She handed her 'friend' the bezoar omelet with a smile.
"Are you sure? You looked like you were ready to eat it yourself," Nyx asked apprehensively. Why was this already set up when I got here?
"Oh, no, it's fine, you take it," she reassured her, ignoring the pleading look she received from Harry. "There are plenty more for me."
Nyx shrugged and grabbed some silverware so she could dig in. She noticed Hermione watching her carefully as she took the first bite. "Need something, Herm?"
"Oh, uh, no," she said quickly. "Sorry, was I staring?"
"Yeah," the Slytherin managed through her second bite. The other three started when she had to force down the third piece and said, "That was odd. Felt like I swallowed a marble…Well, I'll find out in a day or two."
Ron started laughing and Hermione looked a bit ill. Harry glared at her for not saying anything before it was too late, but there was nothing he could do now so he just sulked and picked at his bacon. Nyx ate another bit of omelet before saying, "Well, if you don't need me for anything I think I'll go take a seat with my people." She jerked her head in the direction of the Slytherin table. "Hopefully no one will try to poison my pumpkin juice because I was over here again."
Hermione's heart skipped a beat before she bid her 'friend' good-bye for the time being. As soon as Nyx was well out of earshot the girl scooted closer to Harry and Ron, horrified.
"Do you think she knows what I did?" she asked in a panicked whisper.
"No way," the tall redhead said casually. "She says stuff like that all the time."
"Oh, why did I have to do it?" Hermione moaned, wringing her hands together. "I should've just asked…Why didn't you two stop me?"
"You were pretty dead-set on going through with this two minutes ago," Harry said. "Why'd you change your mind?"
"Because if she has SMS, I'm going to get expelled and she's going to kill me!"
On the other side of the hall, Nyx had taken her seat next to Draco, who looked very irritable this morning. He may have been useless and a bit of a brat, but at least she had him as a connection in her own house. He made the transition into the school a lot easier in the beginning of the year, until he started getting so involved in his mission and was never around. But when he was around, she sometimes made an uncharacteristic effort to be at least a little friendly to keep their relationship positive.
"Good omelets, huh?" she asked conversationally when she saw they had the same thing. He had barely eaten any of his, and simply murmured a half-hearted reply. Nyx fell quiet when she saw he wasn't in the mood to talk. Keeping her mouth closed was probably a good idea anyway because she suddenly started to feel a bit nauseous. A warm feeling began spreading through her head as a bothersome throbbing started near her ears. It didn't take long for her to decide that she should go lay down in the dormitory, or possibly in the hospital wing.
"Do me a favor and tell Slughorn I'll be a bit late today. I don't feel well," Nyx told Draco in a strained voice as she slowly got up from her seat. The moment her legs were fully supporting her, she started hacking violently, almost so much she had to sit down again. When she pulled her hand away from her mouth, she caught the powerful, coppery scent and taste of blood. Something clicked in her mind that made the vampire in her beg for more, but the blood ruby promptly put a stop to that.
"In fact, Draco, tell him I'll be in the hospital wing," she said weakly, swaying a little. He finally turned to look at what she was making the fuss about, and jumped up when he saw the blood leaking from her mouth and dripping from her hand. Everyone in the vicinity was staring, but none of the teachers at the staff table seemed to have noticed her yet.
"Er…do you want me to go with you?" he asked with unusual concern. "You look awful."
"No, no…" she replied not at all convincingly. "I'll be fine, I just need to lie down for a while."
At that, Nyx turned and took a step in the direction of the door and immediately regretted it. The room flipped upside down in front of her eyes and the throbbing in her ears intensified. A fresh wave of nausea swept over her, and coupled with the dizziness sent her falling to the floor and throwing up along the way. Draco mercifully grabbed her before she could fall into the pool of sick and sat her up against the bench. Nyx's head lolled to the side as one hand clutched her weakened stomach while the other held her head, threatening to implode under the pain. The throbbing had escalated to a horribly acute headache and she could feel her temperature rising dangerously fast. Another bout of coughing produced twice as much blood and sent Draco into a panic. He whirled around to face the staff table and yelled for Snape, who sprinted over the moment he realized what must have happened.
As Nyx struggled to keep the rest of her food down, the blonde Slytherin started spluttering what happened before she collapsed. "She said she didn't feel well and I should tell Sl- Professor Slughorn that she'd be late to class, and then she started coughing and when I looked she was all covered in blood and then she said she was going to the hospital wing, and then she bloody near fainted and did that" – he gave the puddle of sick a nod – "and then I got you over here, and now she looks like she's gonna die, and you look like you'd rather like to hit me."
"…just. Calm. Down." came Snape's curt reply. He found it difficult to talk when he had to exercise so much self-control. "She'll be fine. I need to get her to the hospital wing, so you stay here…and get a grip." The man knelt down so he was level with Nyx's head and asked quietly, "Do you think you can walk?"
She raised her pale, green-gray eyes to meet his black ones and said venomously, "Does it bloody look like it?" The words spurred more bloodied coughing, and her expression quickly went from cross to miserable.
"That's what I thought." The DADA professor muttered. He moved next to her and put her right arm around his shoulder before hoisting her up into a standing position. Snape was supporting most of her weight since her legs didn't feel like coming back any time soon, but she was fairly light and he didn't mind helping her. He knew she must have eaten a bezoar on accident to get so sick so quickly, but he would have to find out how said bezoar got in her food later. Despite his friend's suffering, he simply couldn't wait to start subtracting points from the guilty party – supposing that it was someone not of his own house, of course.
Snape started half-dragging Nyx out of the Great Hall, meeting every nosy stare with a single warning look of his own, particularly frightening a few first-years. Only once did they have to halt so the girl could empty her stomach in front of the massive, wooden doors. Once in the hall, the only noise they could hear were the sounds of Snape's boots on the stone and Nyx's coughing, gagging, and the occasional moan of agony or sharp breath because the headache intensified even more. She was desperately off-balance even though he was nearly carrying her, and she soon found that keeping her eyes shut was the best strategy for dealing with the nausea. The fever and the headache had teamed up to batter her brain to an unrecognizable pulp; if Snape had said anything to her as they moved through the castle, she couldn't have comprehended it, let alone respond to it. She might have stopped once or twice to throw up again, but she wasn't sure.
By the time it registered in her sore brain, Nyx was being gently helped into a bed in the hospital wing. Someone put something wonderfully cold on her forehead that only partially vanquished the pain, but at least it was enough for her to come back to reality. Snape stood over her quietly as she lay in the unusually comfortable bed. He looked mildly concerned as he watched her for another coughing or puking episode, but certainly not like a worried mother. Madame Pomfrey was washing off the girl's blood-soaked hands and soon tended to her rather filthy mouth. Afterwards, she siphoned the bloody, sick mess off of the front of Nyx's black robes and tucked her under the cottony, white blankets.
Nyx locked eyes with her black-robed friend to confirm that she was awake and aware of her surroundings without saying anything. She didn't think that opening her mouth would be the wisest idea at the moment. Snape acknowledged her with a significant look as the nurse bustled over, looking appalled.
"What on earth happened to the poor girl, Severus?" she asked with genuine concern.
"I will explain it in full some other time; just take my word for it that something she ate…disagreed with her." He replied carefully. Nyx smiled and laughed on the inside as she closed her eyes to rest and the nurse went into her office once she saw that she wasn't really needed at the moment.
Scarcely a moment later, she was rudely awoken by the sound of the door to the room creaking open noisily. Someone needs to oil that damned thing…and send whoever just walked in away because I don't want to hear "what happened?" and "are you okay?" fifty bloody times.
"Good day, Miss Granger," she heard Snape say. "Came to see what the ruckus was about, hm?"
"Er, well…uh…um…y-you see…I, uh…" she replied weakly from the doorframe. Hermione glanced behind her at Harry and Ron who were hiding in the hall. They mouthed the words 'go on' and shooed her into the room so she could go try to make amends before Nyx could identify her as guilty. "…um…I-I wanted to, uh…t-to see…um…oh, dear…"
Nyx pulled her arm out from under the covers and reached it out towards Snape, standing beside the bed with his back to her and preventing her from seeing Hermione. "You make a better door than a window," she said with a cough as she pushed the man out of her line of vision. The Gryffindor girl seemed to want to shrink into oblivion as the other girl's eyes bored into her. "'Have an omelet, Ariana.'" Nyx said in a high, mocking voice. "What ever made you think poisoning me was a good idea?"
The ex-Death Eater peered down at her curiously. "What was that?"
"Hermione slipped me a bezoar." She replied impatiently. "Really, what possessed you to do that?"
As Snape took on the expression of a hungry cat that just found a fat little mouse with four broken legs, Hermione looked terrified. "I-I tried to ask you about it, but you kept avoiding me!" she whimpered. "Every time I tried to bring it up, you changed the subject! I thought it was the best idea at the time to find out whether you had Sang Maudit Syndrome or not, but now I really wish I hadn't! I'm really sorry!"
Nyx gave her a long, calculating stare straight into her eyes, searching her thoughts. She shifted uncomfortably as she realized that the Slytherin must be a Legilimens, and suddenly wished she knew Occlumency to fight her off. Nyx's pale, greenish eyes did not leave Hermione's brown orbs for what seemed like an hour, electrifying the air with a nearly tangible tension as they awaited the verdict.
"Let's see…50 points from Gryffindor sounds good for endangering the life of a student, and I think another 30 for theft," Snape shattered the silence rather rudely. "I'm sure Miss Granger didn't need to go any further than professor Slughorn's ingredients store to acquire a bezoar…and, perhaps another 20 since you're a Prefect and really ought to know better." Hermione's jaw hit the floor as she gaped at him in abject horror, turning very pale. The other two Gryffindors on the other side of the wall quickly developed a mind to march right in there and beat the daylights out of the ex-Potions master for bring the cruel bastard he was.
However, Nyx beat them to it.
Her arm flew out from under the sheet faster than Snape's reaction time and her fist hit him in the stomach rather forcefully, knocking the wind out of him. He glared at her indignantly as he clutched his bruised abdomen, but before he could shout 'what the bloody hell was that for,' Nyx cut him off.
"…you stupid git! You ruined my moment!" she snarled at him, catching the cloth full of ice on her forehead before it fell off as her temper flared. "I was just about to say something dramatic and impressive, and now even if I remembered what it was it would sound completely idiotic! Do it again and I won't aim so high!" As the black-haired man's eyes widened in fear and he scooted out of her reach, Nyx turned to Hermione and said, "As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted…I forgive you."
The Gryffindor girl heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you for understanding. I'm really, really sorry though. I had no idea you'd have to go through all that…I mean, I knew what would happen, but I didn't realize it would be so extreme…"
"Don't worry about it." The other girl replied with a calm smile. "I've been through this before; once, I accidentally drank a very dangerous poison because I thought it was my lemonade, and I needed a bezoar to cure it. The people that I was with were able to get one pretty fast, but they all nearly had a synchronized heart attack when I started getting worse. 'Course, the poison wouldn't have done anything to me anyway, but they didn't know about my 'little problem' at the time. But," Nyx's tone changed to stern. "Just because I survive doesn't mean you can do it again. If you ever feel the need to pull a prank on me or get revenge for something, don't slip me another bezoar. Or anything silver, for that matter. If you do, I shall have to rip your arms off. And believe me, doing it's no trouble at all."
"O…okay…" Hermione said, looking a bit frightened. "I'll remember that. I don't think you'll ever need to, though. I'd rather like to keep my arms, as a matter of fact…"
"Most people would." Nyx replied with an inappropriately cheery grin. "Well, while we're both here, do you have any questions or concerns?"
"Er…about what?"
"My condition," The SM said. "You know, 'is there any possibility that you could suddenly and inexplicably decide my neck looks like a nice, juicy steak,' or 'would you really live if you were beheaded' – oh! And my favorite: 'what's it feel like?' You have no idea how vague of a question that is. Nobody ever specifies what 'it' is…I usually end up going on for three hours about anything and everything I can think of, and then that say something stupid like 'oh, well I only meant when you were bitten' or 'oh, well I only meant when you bite somebody.'" Nyx shook her head in disgust. "One of the things that makes me hate people more than usual."
The girl paused for a moment as if she'd just been struck with a brick. "That reminds me…" She sat halfway up and rounded on Snape. "You are going to give back every last one of those 100 points you just took from Hermione." It wasn't a suggestion or a request; it was a command. Snape tried to ignore this.
"And how many stupidity potions would I need to drink to think that's such a brilliant idea?"
"Only enough to remember that I can sneak into your locked room tonight to wake you up at some ungodly hour, only for the first thing you see to be me hovering over you, pretending to be an inferius wielding a knife…a biiiiiiig knife." The girl halted for a short moment. "Everyone would hear your scream of terror."
The teacher spun to face his other student and said very quickly, "Forget what I said." He turned back around to face Nyx and spat, "Happy?"
"Quite." She chirped. "Now, where was I…oh, right. So, any questions?"
"Um…" Hermione said as she held in a fit of giggles from her imagining Snape screaming in sheer terror. "Well, I suppose I do. But I think Harry and Ron would like to hear them as well, so…"
Taking their cue, the two boys walked into the doorway casually.
"Hey, Hermione, fancy seeing you here," Ron said with painfully faked surprise.
"Yeah, we had no idea you were here," Harry joined in. "We were just on our way down this hall and happened to see you standing here, so we thought we'd say hi."
"Oh, and there's Ariana!" the redhead continued acting. "And Professor Snape, too! What a coincidence!"
"Gee, it's like a regular party in here!" the 'Chosen One' laughed a bit dimly.
The DADA professor walked around another bed towards the trio and stopped in front of Harry with his hand held out, palm-up, and said, "Hand it over, Potter."
"…er, what?" the teenager asked, genuinely confused.
"Whatever you're on right now. Hand it over." Snape replied humorlessly. "Whatever it is, it's more than likely banned at Hogwarts, not to mention illegal."
Nyx struggled to hold in a laugh. "He's not 'on' anything. They're just covering for sitting out in the hall, eavesdropping on us."
The ex-Death Eater did not move.
…until the girl lost her temper with him again and heaved the ice at his back. It hit him squarely between the shoulder blades, making him jerk forward and squirm a bit before whipping around and bellowing, "If you throw one more thing in my vicinity, it's detention every bloody day for the rest of the bloody year!"
Nyx folded her hands in her lap serenely and raised an eyebrow, asking in a sly tone, "Oh really?"
It dawned on the man just who he was talking to and how he would be cursing himself if he gave her even one detention. "…on second thought, I'll just have you expelled."
The girl chuckled heartily. "Oh, sure. I'd love to see you try to kick me out."
Snape's eye twitched. He took a deep, calming breath before saying positively venomously, "…if we're quite done here, I have a class to teach."
"Yes, go teach your black little heart out," Nyx practically sang, waving him off carelessly.
The black-robed man began to step out of the room, but said perfectly loudly to Hermione on the way, "Next time you want to poison her, use the silver so she doesn't recover so quickly."
"I hate you, too!" the SM called after him, smiling.
The moment the door snapped shut, Ron exploded into howls of laughter, falling into a nearby chair for support. Snape immediately tore the door open and pointed a pale finger at him, roaring in triumph, "20 points for disrespecting a teacher, Weasley!"
The door slammed shut, leaving Ron with the expression of someone who just watched their birthday presents go up in flames. Nyx was sure she wasn't imagining the gleefully maniacal laughter fading away in the hall, but she ignored it and invited her friends to have a seat closer to her.
"I can't believe you said all that to him," Harry said with an impressed smile. "Snape, of all people…You must be loony to even think of doing that!"
The Slytherin chuckled. "Well he can't very well do anything back to me, considering my condition."
"Still, if I were you I wouldn't have the nerve to talk back to him like that," Hermione rebutted with a slight shiver.
"Snape and I are a special case," Nyx explained. "I've known him for many years, so it's hard for me to treat him like a teacher. He's more like an uncle to me…well, no, not even that. I guess he's more like a much older cousin…perhaps…"
The three Gryffindors were giving her the strangest looks.
"…what?"
"…a cousin?"
"Yeah. What of it?"
"…Snape?"
"…yesss."
"…but…but…"
"…but what?"
"…but, it's Snape!"
Nyx sighed heavily. "Oh, get over it. My father's good friends with him. Not exactly the warmest person I've met, but he's an absolute joy to torture."
Ron laughed again. "That was brilliant…'go teach your little black heart out'…and throwing that ice at him…I was surprised you didn't miss from that far away."
"Well, seeing as I have unnatural strength and other such abilities, it was quite easy." The girl replied with a strange gleam in her eyes.
"Speaking of which," the bushy-haired Prefect began. "…did it hurt when you were bitten?"
Nyx sighed and rested her head in one hand. "Yes and no. At first it was agonizing, but I remember feeling sort of numb in a minute or two. That wasn't long before I lost consciousness, though." She paused to think very carefully. "…it happened just over a year ago.
"I was at home over Christmas break, and my grandmother and I decided to go take a walk down to this cute little village at the foot of the mountain we lived on. She, my father and I lived together, you see. Anyway, we noticed this odd man from the village following us at a distance on the way home, so we just concentrated getting home as fast as we could because he was making us nervous. About halfway up, the moon came out from behind the clouds, and scarcely a moment later a werewolf jumped out at us from the trees. I was closer, so I was bitten first. I still remember what that felt like, having my arm nearly torn out of it's socket in it's teeth…My grandmother tried to fight it off before it finished me, but age takes it's toll on one's strength, so…
"The werewolf killed her. Right as it came for me, the man that had been following us appeared and stabbed it in the chest with some kind of sword or knife or something; I didn't see because he was in the way. The werewolf ran off and the man came over to me to see if I was dead yet. I don't know whether he realized I was alive or not, but I remember seeing him very clearly, so my eyes must have been open. I don't remember having enough strength to do anything, though. Well, this man either decided to finish me off or simply take advantage of the situation, and bit me; he was a vampire.
"I suppose he'd been following us to try to catch us off-guard or at least where no one would hear us screaming for help. All he did was drain me, rape me, and leave me for dead – but I couldn't die because both he and the werewolf bit me, and I was now immortal. My father went looking for us in the middle of the night, and he found me just as the vampire left me, and my grandmother as the werewolf left her. Once I had enough strength to tell him what happened, we started researching vampirism and werewolfism, and soon found out about Sang Maudit Syndrome.
"I didn't return to school for a while, but when I did we had to tell the headmaster why I'd been gone for a month. He wasn't very sympathetic. He told my father, 'the first complaint I get about your daughter, out she goes,' …or something to that effect anyway. I did okay until we had our 'end-of-year celebration,' and because it was like a 24-hour party, I completely forgot that it was full moon and didn't take even the Wolfsbane potion. You can imagine what happened when I went outside that night.
"I think the parents of the 5 students I either ate or ripped apart complained to the headmaster, so I was expelled and reported to the Ministry. My father and I fled here as soon as we could under false names so they couldn't take me away and do who knows what to me, and once we explained everything to Dumbledore he said I was allowed to attend. Right now my father's still living under that assumed name, and we can't write to each other because the Ministry's supposedly been searching the mail.
"So, I'm sorry to have lied to you, but when I first came here that was the last thing I wanted to tell anyone," Nyx said earnestly. "Everything was still too fresh in my mind, and I didn't want to be shunned like in my old school once everyone found out what was wrong with me."
The girl didn't care that she was blatantly lying to them. She did it to everyone else; what made them so special? Besides, it would be interesting to see how they reacted to the dramatic ordeal she claimed to have gone through – especially since she added the "I was raped" part in since people usually reacted nicely to that sort of thing. Nyx knew none of it would turn into an obstacle later when she would have to uphold the story to tell it to some other softhearted sod dumb enough to believe it. She had a good memory, and a knack for acting ever since she could remember. In fact, her earliest memory was from when she was 7 years old, lying to her father about breaking some very expensive potions equipment, and succeeding in avoiding punishment. To that day, her lies had been as solid as the earth she stood on; no one could see through them.
"There's nothing wrong with you," Hermione interrupted gently. "You just have horrible luck. Like you just said, you certainly didn't choose to get SMS; from the way you were talking, it sounded to me like you wish the werewolf killed you before the vampire got to you, and I don't blame you at all. There's no reason for anyone to hate you because of something you had no control over."
"Exactly!" Harry added, looking determined. "It's like someone hating me because I'm famous. I'm only famous because Voldemort tried to kill me and failed, and I'm the only person to ever have that happen to them. I didn't even do anything; I was only a year old, so it wasn't like I planned on surviving so I could become a bloody celebrity because I absolutely craved attention. Actually, I hatethe attention most of all, but that's beside the point."
"Yeah, and we've got a friend that's a werewolf himself, and even after being one for most of his life – and he's the same age as Snape – he's still a bit paranoid about people hating him for it," Ron said supportively. "Harry's dad and godfather were best mates with him when they went to school here even though they knew he was a werewolf. They didn't care; they were never afraid of him or anything, and they did all they could to help him feel normal, especially around full moon. They even became animagi by their 5th year so they could still be around him when he was transformed!"
"And we don't care either," Hermione added. "Not that you're part vampire, not that you're part werewolf, and not that you're a Slytherin either. You're our friend, and if there's anything we can do to help you, we'll do our best." She smiled at her warmly and patted her hand.
Nyx stared at the three teenagers. Only one person had ever spoken to her like that before, giving her such support and care despite her being convinced that she was an abhorred monster. Back then it was all that had kept her from absolutely losing it, and now…she wasn't sure. But she could plainly see that they were good people by nature, and for once felt sorry for lying through her teeth to them.
I shouldn't have gotten close to them… she thought. I'm going to ruin them…I know it…Being like that, and at such a young age is a rare thing…I should leave them as soon as I can. I can't let myself corrupt them, or worse…
…but…but I can't leave them…he was the only one to ever treat me like this…if I lose that again…if I don't have someone who gives a damn, and doesn't care about my bad side…I…I won't be able to…t-to…
A tear rolled off of Nyx's eyelashes and streaked down her pale cheek.
…I could do it…if only she hadn't been so damn understanding…if only they hadn't been able to identify with me…if only they didn't know someone with almost the same problems…if only they didn't care…I could –
"…Ariana?"
The girl's eyes met Hermione's as tears blurred her face.
"Are you okay?"
Nyx cracked.
It was the first time she'd cried in anyone's arms in many, many years – many more than Hermione believed she had even been alive. But, in her ignorance for the danger her damaged friend would represent for her in the not-so-distant future, the girl let her sob into her shoulder, comforting her in the kind of embrace only a friend could give. Something made her trust and like Nyx, something that she couldn't find the words to explain. She certainly hadn't met anyone like her ever before, and perhaps she never would again. All she knew was that there was something about her that made her drastically unique, but she learned her lesson and decided that she could investigate that later, and not behind Nyx's back. Now was not the time for more questions.
The bell rang out in the hall within a few minutes, muffled by the closed door. Nyx leaned back in the bed and started to breathe slowly and deeply to calm herself down. The Gryffindor girl remained seated on the bed next to her, watching her carefully in case she needed her support again.
"I'm…I'm all right now," she said a bit weakly, drying her face on the sheet. "Thank you…really…"
"Are you sure?" the other girl asked with evident concern.
"Yes. You should get going, though; Slughorn won't be happy if I make you all late," Nyx chuckled. "I'll be there in a little while. I feel sort of tired, so I'll see if Madame Pomfrey has anything she can give me to perk me up a bit…"
"Oh, never mind Slughorn," Hermione said with an impatient wave of her hand. "If you need us to stay we will, and if he has a problem with it he can answer to you."
The Slytherin laughed. "No, really, I'm fine now, thanks to you. But before you go…what's your werewolf friend's name, and his friends?"
"Remus Lupin is the werewolf, and James Potter – Harry's dad – and Sirius Black were two of the others," the bushy-haired student explained. "Peter Pettigrew was the last one of the group, but seeing as he's practically You-Know-Who's right-hand-man now…Well, we prefer to not talk about him. Why do you ask, if you don't mind…?"
"I was just curious," Nyx said calmly.
That was the truth until she heard those names: I thought it was those guys the moment they described them. Clearly Prongs is dead, and it sounds like Padfoot is, too, from the way they talk about him…that's a shame. He was a nice boy. Bit of a troublemaker when Prongs was with him, but still nice. No surprise Wormtail's Voldemort's lackey nowadays…never liked him anyway. Sniveling little rat…Good thing Moony's still around, though. He was always my favorite. I wonder if I might run into him sometime…Wait. What am I thinking? They seem to know him pretty well, so I can just go wherever they're going that he's going to be at the same time…don't know how I'll work that one out, but I can cross that bridge when I come to it.
I guess it really is a small world after all…
"Well…if you're really sure you're all right now…" Hermione said slowly as she eased herself off the bed to start following Harry and Ron to the door. "See you soon, and I hope you feel better!"
"Thanks, see you." Nyx replied with considerably less enthusiasm then her friend. Once the trio was well out of the room, she flopped down onto the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. The nurse reappeared from her office and stepped over to her quietly.
"How are you feeling, Miss Harthcrow?" she asked with a kind smile. Nyx hoped she hadn't overheard the past conversation, and if she did it would be even worse if she decided to try to talk to her about it.
"Better," the girl replied tiredly. "I think I'll just rest here a bit before I go to class, though…I feel sort of tired…"
"That's quite all right," Madame Pomfrey reassured her. "If you need anything, just call for me." She turned on her heel and made her way back into the little office briskly.
Nyx turned onto her side to face the massive, tall windows on the other side of the room, showing her the pale blue-gray morning sky muddled with snow clouds that blanked out the sun. A tiny, glistening bead of water dripped onto the white pillow as her head swam with miserable thoughts.
Why did this all have to happen? Why couldn't I have just died that night? Why was I condemned to ruin so many people's lives?…and…and kill so many…
…why…why did you have to die, Kalixius?
…why couldn't you have died like you were supposed to, not the way you did, at least by someone else? I could have lived with that…I could have avenged you, and I'd be at peace, even if not entirely…just a bit would keep me sane…
…you didn't deserve to die, especially not like that…it was too soon for you…you were the only person who still saw me as who I was, not a bloody fucking monster…you never judged me, never listened to what anyone else said about me…you knew better…all our lives, you were my best friend and I was yours…we trusted each other with our deepest secrets; I haven't been able to trust anyone like that since you died…and you always cared about me…always listened to me…always comforted me and cheered me up…always…
…why…
…why did I have to kill you?
--- to be continued in Chapter 14 : The Outcasts ---
Disclaimer: Own not, profit not, sue not. (With exception of the usuals, plus Kalixius...but not S.O.B. Portrait Man.)
A/N: First off, please know that I am EXTREMELY sorry about Chapter 12, and I sincerely hope this one was better. Hopefully I made up for the near-total lack of plot development, but didn't do too much. (Don't know how I could do too much, but eh...) I don't think this one was nearly as boring, either, and hope that there weren't any parts one would have preferred to skim over. (...if you did skim something, go read it again because you probably shouldn't have.)
General Notes: "Trucido animus" and "Coerco animus" - I would like to tell you what these mean now, but since I'll be bringing them back later and explaining them at the same time, I won't do it now. I'll say this much, though: "Trucido" and "Coerco" are two out of three parts of the Black Spell, and the third will be revealed when the other two are explained.
...and yes, I'm sure someone out there is thinking "White Spell...Black Spell...waitaminute! That's the most uncreative thing I've ever heard! Why couldn't you give it a cool name from that language you made up or whatever?" Trust me; there's a reason it's Black and White, and it has an ENORMOUS part in the finale of the fic. Without them, this fic would NEVER EVER END. Seriously.
Nyx is a fabulous liar, isn't she? We'll see how long she can keep it up... -maniacal laughter- (Nyx: -looks fearful-) (Note: that was foreshadowing right there. -laughs at all the people who don't read this section-) ...and yeah, she knew the Marauders way back when. How? ...wait until I do the (likely) completely-flashback chapter on it and another thing which I shan't mention any more than this. It involves Snape...who is getting an increasingly large part in this fic. Hmmmm.
Kalixius is a cool name. If I ever have a son, I think I'll name him Kalixius...and my husband willthink "what the hell was I thinking, marrying this lunatic?" He'll be back later, as will S.O.B. Portrait Man. Look forward to crying, yelling, and ressurection. Goody-goody-gumdrops, indeed.
Final Words: Next chapter willinclude the real way Nyx and Snapey met, not through Nyx's dad, who is currently a pile of bones. Plus a birthday party! Hooray!
Also, I drew (part of) an SMS Beast! Hooray again! The link is on my profile page, so go have a look; I'm very proud of it! -beams- Hopefully it'll help anyone who was having a difficult time picturing it in thier head. -cough-Shannon-cough-
Thanks for reading and have a nice day!
--- kavi-sama ---