Title: Shadow
Author: --Starbuck--
Rating: PG13
Summary: Someone from Snape's past is the new DaDa teacher...PLEASE READ! It's not that horrible...
Genre: Drama/Romance
Snape couldn't sleep that night. He had been even more irritable and angry during his classes than normal. He hoped that Laszla was having as bad a night as he was.
What she said had shaken him. ...you didn't care what happened to me, didn't ask where I was going... She had been right, he didn't know where she had been. He didn't know that while he was serving Voldemort that her family wasn't one that he had slaughtered. He didn't know that he hadn't caused her all that pain. He might have, it might have been all his fault that this was happning now...
But what about the *other* thing that was happening now...Voldemort was coming back to power, what was going to happen to all the Death Eaters that had deserted him...
==XxXxX==
The next morning Snape climbed out of bed earlier than usual and dressed silently in his black robes, feeling sick. He stumbled into the bathroom and vomited, wiping his mouth on a black towel that was hanging in midair.
He threw the towel to the side and stood up, feeling weak as if the bones had been removed from his legs. Looking in the mirror, he saw that he was more pale than usual.
He tried to regain what composure he had left, and then exited his quarters, and then his office, making his way up to the Great Hall.
There was only one figure up at this hour, sitting on the far side of the table beside the wall. She was just staring at her plate. Snape took a seat at the opposite end of the table and smirked at her.
"What, is it your plate that amazing?"
She didn't turn to look at him, just stared downwards.
Snape ate in silence, not looking at Laszla Sistare on the other side of the table.
~*
Severus sat down beside her at the Slytherin table, telling her in an almost-excited tone about how many O.W.L.s he had gotten. She smiled at him, gave him a quick hug, and told him that she had gotten the same number. Excited, the both of them walked off, hand in hand to the dungeons for Potions...
*~
Snape glanced over at Laszla as he was leaving. He saw tears running down her face. He almost broke down for a moment, almost walked over there--
"Good morning, Severus," Dumbledore smiled as he walked by.
"Headmaster," he replied, and continued on his way down to the dungeons. As Dumbledore sat down, Laszla stood and began her way down to the dungeons.
Snape put on a sneer and turned to face her.
"What's the matter? Think I killed your family?"
Laszla looked up, her face no longer tearstained but cold, hard, and her stare penetrating.
"I don't know what to think about that, Snape. I've just finally come to realize--like you said--what happened. That was a long time ago, right? We should put it behind us. You were right. Always right. It doesn't matter what you did, everything happened a long time ago. We're just teaching at the same school. Just co-workers. That's all." Snape was surprised at her tone. It was lifeless, with no emotion. It sounded as if her words were pre-recorded, she was just repeating them dully.
Snape's face seemed to soften for a moment. "What--?"
Laszla ignored him, straightened her posture, and walked into her own classroom and slammed the door. Snape looked through the small window and saw her sit at her desk and bury her face in her arms.
==XxXxX==
It was midnight, all the students had gone to sleep early after their first week back at school, as had all the teachers. Except two, which were making their way out of their beds and into the corridor through the dungeons.
Snape felt awful. He had been sick again when he got to his room, and while looking in the mirror just realized how thin he was getting. He hadn't been eating much in the last week and he had been vomiting a lot...His robes were hanging more loosely on him now...he didn't think it could do *that* much to him.
Snape felt like walking, maybe he would catch some students out of bed and take points off of their house.
There weren't many candles lighted, so when he passed an open door a dark figure bumped into him.
"Watch it," he sneered, and then he remembered whose office that was...
"Sorry, Severus," she said. Snape took a step backwards.
"Sorry, Laszla. Didn't know it was you--"
"Like that would have mattered. Only would have made you curse me or something, wouldn't it?"
"Laszla, you know I'd never do that."
"Oh sure, I know you'd never curse me, but you'd go off and be a Death Eater, wouldn't you? Don't use your house as an excuse either. I was there too, and even though you had to go along with almost every other one of the Slytherins and become a follower of Voldemort, I didn't. Know, even though I was in Slytherin, the house that turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other, I was the one hiding, Severus. You were the one killing for fun."
Snape took a step forward this time. Even though they were the same height, it was hard to tell, because Laszla had her head bowed.
"I'm not that anymore, Laszla. Do you think I'd be here if I was? I'd be in Azkaban or I'd go to where Voldemort is right now. You see this?" He lifted the sleeve of his robe, showing her the blackened Dark Mark. "It's been burning on and off since June. If I was still like that then I would have gone."
"Why is it so important to tell me this? You left, what we were is over. You left me to go to Voldemort. It's really starting not to hurt anymore, Severus."
Snape felt very hollow. "It's important because...because I never wanted things to change. Me leaving, I was under a false impression. It wasn't completely by choice that I did that. I've changed, Laszla, I want you to know that. It's important to *me* that you know."
Laszla Sistare looked up and straight into Snape's eyes. Hers were no longer filled with tears, they looked cold and menacing, but there was sadness in there too.
"Do you know what you did?" She whispered. "After you left, it was the end of the world for me. I felt like dying. Then after the attack on my family--imagine that, the family of a Slytherin killed by Death Eaters--and I wanted to find you, even though I knew you were one of them...I wanted to try to bring you back...but I guess you did that on your own...then I heard you were teaching here, and I've been trying to get a job, but this was the first year I answered the ads fast enough." She looked back at the floor and gave a short laugh. "I don't know why I came, don't know what I was thinking...probably knew it was just going to be more hell."
There was a long silence. Snape put his arms around Laszla--a gesture he hadn't performed since his seventh year--and hugged her. He sensed that she was shocked--he sensed right--but not so much as he was...
==XxXxX==
Trying not to get *too* much out of character! Really, I'm trying!
Author: --Starbuck--
Rating: PG13
Summary: Someone from Snape's past is the new DaDa teacher...PLEASE READ! It's not that horrible...
Genre: Drama/Romance
Snape couldn't sleep that night. He had been even more irritable and angry during his classes than normal. He hoped that Laszla was having as bad a night as he was.
What she said had shaken him. ...you didn't care what happened to me, didn't ask where I was going... She had been right, he didn't know where she had been. He didn't know that while he was serving Voldemort that her family wasn't one that he had slaughtered. He didn't know that he hadn't caused her all that pain. He might have, it might have been all his fault that this was happning now...
But what about the *other* thing that was happening now...Voldemort was coming back to power, what was going to happen to all the Death Eaters that had deserted him...
==XxXxX==
The next morning Snape climbed out of bed earlier than usual and dressed silently in his black robes, feeling sick. He stumbled into the bathroom and vomited, wiping his mouth on a black towel that was hanging in midair.
He threw the towel to the side and stood up, feeling weak as if the bones had been removed from his legs. Looking in the mirror, he saw that he was more pale than usual.
He tried to regain what composure he had left, and then exited his quarters, and then his office, making his way up to the Great Hall.
There was only one figure up at this hour, sitting on the far side of the table beside the wall. She was just staring at her plate. Snape took a seat at the opposite end of the table and smirked at her.
"What, is it your plate that amazing?"
She didn't turn to look at him, just stared downwards.
Snape ate in silence, not looking at Laszla Sistare on the other side of the table.
~*
Severus sat down beside her at the Slytherin table, telling her in an almost-excited tone about how many O.W.L.s he had gotten. She smiled at him, gave him a quick hug, and told him that she had gotten the same number. Excited, the both of them walked off, hand in hand to the dungeons for Potions...
*~
Snape glanced over at Laszla as he was leaving. He saw tears running down her face. He almost broke down for a moment, almost walked over there--
"Good morning, Severus," Dumbledore smiled as he walked by.
"Headmaster," he replied, and continued on his way down to the dungeons. As Dumbledore sat down, Laszla stood and began her way down to the dungeons.
Snape put on a sneer and turned to face her.
"What's the matter? Think I killed your family?"
Laszla looked up, her face no longer tearstained but cold, hard, and her stare penetrating.
"I don't know what to think about that, Snape. I've just finally come to realize--like you said--what happened. That was a long time ago, right? We should put it behind us. You were right. Always right. It doesn't matter what you did, everything happened a long time ago. We're just teaching at the same school. Just co-workers. That's all." Snape was surprised at her tone. It was lifeless, with no emotion. It sounded as if her words were pre-recorded, she was just repeating them dully.
Snape's face seemed to soften for a moment. "What--?"
Laszla ignored him, straightened her posture, and walked into her own classroom and slammed the door. Snape looked through the small window and saw her sit at her desk and bury her face in her arms.
==XxXxX==
It was midnight, all the students had gone to sleep early after their first week back at school, as had all the teachers. Except two, which were making their way out of their beds and into the corridor through the dungeons.
Snape felt awful. He had been sick again when he got to his room, and while looking in the mirror just realized how thin he was getting. He hadn't been eating much in the last week and he had been vomiting a lot...His robes were hanging more loosely on him now...he didn't think it could do *that* much to him.
Snape felt like walking, maybe he would catch some students out of bed and take points off of their house.
There weren't many candles lighted, so when he passed an open door a dark figure bumped into him.
"Watch it," he sneered, and then he remembered whose office that was...
"Sorry, Severus," she said. Snape took a step backwards.
"Sorry, Laszla. Didn't know it was you--"
"Like that would have mattered. Only would have made you curse me or something, wouldn't it?"
"Laszla, you know I'd never do that."
"Oh sure, I know you'd never curse me, but you'd go off and be a Death Eater, wouldn't you? Don't use your house as an excuse either. I was there too, and even though you had to go along with almost every other one of the Slytherins and become a follower of Voldemort, I didn't. Know, even though I was in Slytherin, the house that turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other, I was the one hiding, Severus. You were the one killing for fun."
Snape took a step forward this time. Even though they were the same height, it was hard to tell, because Laszla had her head bowed.
"I'm not that anymore, Laszla. Do you think I'd be here if I was? I'd be in Azkaban or I'd go to where Voldemort is right now. You see this?" He lifted the sleeve of his robe, showing her the blackened Dark Mark. "It's been burning on and off since June. If I was still like that then I would have gone."
"Why is it so important to tell me this? You left, what we were is over. You left me to go to Voldemort. It's really starting not to hurt anymore, Severus."
Snape felt very hollow. "It's important because...because I never wanted things to change. Me leaving, I was under a false impression. It wasn't completely by choice that I did that. I've changed, Laszla, I want you to know that. It's important to *me* that you know."
Laszla Sistare looked up and straight into Snape's eyes. Hers were no longer filled with tears, they looked cold and menacing, but there was sadness in there too.
"Do you know what you did?" She whispered. "After you left, it was the end of the world for me. I felt like dying. Then after the attack on my family--imagine that, the family of a Slytherin killed by Death Eaters--and I wanted to find you, even though I knew you were one of them...I wanted to try to bring you back...but I guess you did that on your own...then I heard you were teaching here, and I've been trying to get a job, but this was the first year I answered the ads fast enough." She looked back at the floor and gave a short laugh. "I don't know why I came, don't know what I was thinking...probably knew it was just going to be more hell."
There was a long silence. Snape put his arms around Laszla--a gesture he hadn't performed since his seventh year--and hugged her. He sensed that she was shocked--he sensed right--but not so much as he was...
==XxXxX==
Trying not to get *too* much out of character! Really, I'm trying!
