Her essence watched from a hidden place, like a wraith in the forest - her focus on the cloaked figures and the thing which seemed to be a serpent masked as a human. It had been a while since she'd last laid eyes upon Voldemort, and though he was not what he had once been, he was still formidable -and she could feel the evil flow from him like a pungent stench. With a bit of subtle hovering, she moved closer into the place where the man-serpent and his followers - true and false - stood gathered. They circled a woman. A small creature with a proud bearing and hair that could blend in with the night if it weren't for the red highlights standing out in the stark moonlight. The essence of Lark turned about in her solitary place, knowing that the body which stood surrounded mimicked her actions - fooling all those present. The only one in attendance who knew what was going on did not give away his secret, but she knew he was afraid for her. Just beside Severus, she could feel fierce hatred. That could only be Lucius watching her body like that. Aside from Severus' fears, Lucius' hatred, and amusement from Voldemort, all she felt from the group of death eaters was indifference as well as bored interest. This must have been something of a compulsory meeting. But then, hadn't Severus said that all their meetings were so? The wraith smirked, and the body did so in turn.
"You find this amusing, Miss Windsong?" The serpent man asked, his own lips mimicking her expression. The blank green eyes of her body flashed in his direction. Her body bowed, making his amusement dim - but only for a mere second. The annoyance was soon replaced with malice - which had to be a pleasure to a creature as odious as that which called itself Lord Voldemort. "Well, answer the question.""I find it to be a delve into déjà vu." The body replied. "Now, I was told that you had a question for me - as I was being dragged here so carefully." The green eyes shot over to where Severus stood hidden in his cloak like the others. Play it up, he'd told her. Well, here is the action then, darling. He didn't even flinch beneath his cloak - which was what she'd expected.
"Straight to business then, very nice. I'm sure you could well imagine what I want with you." Voldemort had moved in closer to her. Where he'd broken the circle, his followers moved in to lock the two figures in. The thing circled the empty body as the wraith watched from her place, and from the bramble - she spoke the words that the body gave sound to."My answer is the same then." A smile slipped over lips that were paling by the second. Let Voldemort think it fear, this paling. "Go sod yourself, Tommy Boy."
Snape audibly sighed a bit, making Voldemort look in his direction before turning burning eyes back on the girl he stood so near to. The acting was going well, of course. This had been the plan - but she knew Severus was probably ready to jump out of his skin anyway."I see you're still as articulate as ever. And as foolish." Then, he backed away from her. The circle's attention was glued to them, all of those gathered wondering what gave the woman such audacity.
They all knew that she was surely dead.Severus had breathed out sharply at that statement of her's. "Go sod yourself, Tommy Boy." American and British slang mixed - only Audrey used that. Authenticate it - good girl you are, he thought towards her. Voldemort had smiled cruelly at him then, before turning his gaze back onto Audrey. Severus could feel his heart beat going too fast for calculation, and beside him, Lucius was growing excited. What's this? He thought. This can't be good for our plan - she should be 'dead' by now and back in Hogwarts.
"For this stupidity, you will pay . . . but first - you will prove entertaining." Voldemort had smiled at her, then turned towards where he and Lucius stood side by side. "Malfoy, to my side." As the one called approached, the Dark Lord turned once more to Audrey. Severus didn't like the looks of this, not in the slightest. "He's asked for your life, you know?""Shocking." Audrey snorted, with her usual nerve. This was nothing out of the usual what so ever - everyone who knew of or heard of her knew it well.
"Isn't it?" Voldemort hissed. Another smile glimmered across his ugly face. "Well then - how does this suit you? He will only have it if he can take it. I grow tired of him, and I have a feeling you share the sentiment.""My Lord!" Lucius shocked even himself with this input. Voldemort threw him on the ground with a simple, short curse. Malfoy tried to stand again, only to find himself face on the dirt within seconds.
"Tiring, isn't he?" Voldemort smirked at Audrey. The body of the woman only watched him with bitter curiosity.Finally, she raised an eyebrow, and her voice sounded out:
"And if I kill him?""I'll kill you just the same. But, I am giving you some honor. Wouldn't want all that rage in you quelled without one last outlet, hmm?" He released his hold on Lucius, who was then sputtering out dirt and trying to catch his breath. Severus continued to watch, stunned. After a few moments, Voldemort added :
"You'll have choice of combat as well.""Knives, no magic at all." Audrey had stated.
"This should prove to be entertaining." Voldemort beamed coolly, then nodded. "Very well. Begin."The wraith had moved even closer in, her ghostly presence still going unfelt by the dark creature and minions. Her eyes took in two visions at once - the action from the outside and the action her body saw in front of it. Lucius was up now, out of his death eater's cloak and mask, and in normal clothes. Both of them were armed with knives - good weapons that she had tested before the fighting had commenced. He lashed out first, making her jump back and dodge him with the grace of a cat. Her body, which was natural with the ways of battle danced a bout a bit in her attack, lunging for her opponent with skill. The circle moved with them as they went, and the cloaked figures seemed to lean in at the first draw of blood. Malfoy's arm had a lengthy gash in it. She prowled about him, slashing here and there to bait him into striking back. It was good to feel fear from him, but Voldemort's amusement - which was almost tangible in the air - was making her nervous for some odd reason. Mix that with Snape's anxiety and that made her half way vulnerable from the collection of these outer emotions.
"What's the matter Heathen, you look confused!" Lucius was healing, and that was not a pleasant sight. Had he foreseen all this? Had he been acting? If so, Voldemort looked not the least bit surprised. This isn't good! "Thinking about what death will feel like, what it will be like to die at my hands?""You presume much, Lucius." Lark replied, ducking one of his advances to dive into escape. She was behind him then. He turned right before her knife made contact with his back. She flipped over herself after the miss, staying well out of his range as she recovered her footing.
"As did Narcissa. But then, she was always a fool. I, on the other hand -am no fool!" He struck out again, only to find himself tripped by her foot."Is that so?" She asked as the circle began to laugh, some even applauding the irony of it all. "You seem to have a flare for drama as well. Were you planning to pierce me with such words on your lips?"
"I once pierced you in another way with nicer things on my lips, did I not?" Lucius whispered. Without warning, Lark's mind flew back to when she had just been captured after her graduation from Hogwarts. Lucius and Lestrange had raped her. A knife slicing her arm forced her back to the present and her mind grew sharp again. Only her body felt the pain after the initial shock, and even that she knew, would not slow it down. The mind remembered the rape as well as the soul did, and this was not going to be pretty.>"I pity your stupidity."> The body whispered on it's own. The wraith watching covered her mouth with ghostly hands. She hadn't said that! With a growl, the body lunged on the man, the knife meeting flesh and then bone.
Lucius' scream ripped through the air, but then the body found herself flying through the air. How had that happened? The eyes of the woman, now no longer blank but blazing with rage, looked up from her laying position to see Voldemort looking down at her. He smiled knowingly. No magic for Lucius, but he could still use it to make things more interesting."So I see. Now." The body jumped up, and attacked Malfoy again, this time not with her knife, but her fists and pure rage. She knew he still had his, it made itself known as it lodged in her belly - embedding itself in her flesh to it's hilt. Again, she was down - in a howl of pain. Grasping her belly, the body of Lark began to grovel on the ground, not allowing anyone to see what she had found beneath where she'd fallen. Behind her, Lucius was laughing.
The wraith watched as her body was kicked over to lay on her back. Her flesh form lay still for a moment, hands clutched over something solid. Lucius, blind from his impending victory, did not see the sharp stone she held. When it connected with his head, however, he knew well what had happened. When it smashed through the front of his skull, he knew no more.Snape watched as the body of Audrey, eyes now practically glowing with a wildness he had witnessed only a few times before - but never at this level -, lifted the scalp of Lucius Malfoy over her head. The blood flowed down her arms, and bits of brain were plastered to her face and chest. She was laughing, letting some of the blood enter her mouth. After it did - she spit it out at Voldemort.
>"Fall fast, dark and little would -be- god. Fall fast."> Her cackle was almost hideous to hear as she spoke in her native language, and Severus was almost trembling. Voldemort, however, was raging. He was glaring at her in matched fury, and pointing his wand."Avada Kedavra." The Dark Lord hissed.
The wraith only saw a glimmer of green, and then a tug on her mind set her swiftly through the forest. Her body was dead, and her soul was being pulled toward her living blood - the blood that her uncle still chanted over, tirelessly.~*~ Of The Dawn ~*~
Lark's fingers went to the tender flesh of her eyelids immediately, and she felt them gently. Silken and closed, fringed with thick black lashes. Her hands moved to her cheeks, and she felt that they were wet with tears - the smooth, elegant height felt so real under the salty moisture. A small laugh escaped her lips, and she took in breath like it was the sweetest thing she'd ever tasted on her tongue. She was alive! Her sobs began to rack her body, and without opening her eyes, she curled over onto her side and began to cry hard. Lark remembered it all. The blood, the pain from the fight . . .the curse that had killed her last body. She also remembered that first meeting with Voldemort, so long ago . . . and what had taken place before it. It all flooded her mind like a dam had broken. At her bed side, she felt Rattle stand up from where he had been chanting not too long ago. His old hands reached down and ruffled her hair gently. Slowly, she opened her eyes to look up at his smiling face. He looked at her as well, and for a moment taken aback by something. Then, he just sighed and smiled again."What?" Lark's voice croaked through her tears. "What's wrong?"
"Your eyes, little one." Rattle stated. "They are . . . different now.""How so?" Without a real second thought, she launched herself from the bed to find that her legs, newly made legs and unused to walking, though her mind still knew the motor skills it took, had given way under her. She fell to the floor. When Rattle bent down to help her, she pushed him away and sat herself up so that her back rested against the bed. "Get me a mirror, uncle. My hand mirror." She herself had set her own things in this room before she and Severus and her old body had left for their confrontation with Voldemort. "It's on the table, there."
A moment later, Rattle was slowly turning the silver handled mirror towards her, so she could see what had spooked him so. For moment, she looked down at the floor, almost afraid of what she would find gazing back at her. Gradually, she lifted her chin so she could peer into her own eyes. The sight took her breath away, but only for a moment. Her eyes were odd, strikingly so, but still beautiful in an eerie way. The color had paled, and looked almost icy in their nature. Mint green, one might say . . but with more sparkle. Her pupils were black, of course, but they had shrunk down to be very tiny, but still worked as normal pupils did, though they seemed not to. A small smile slipped across her face."An affect from the spell, and from the death of your old body. It won't change." He told her, his voice not hinting at any emotions he may be feeling.
"It does not matter. I will, however, be able to walk again, correct?""Of course. Just in time . . . you woke up before I could strengthen your legs." He smiled, allowing a little of what he felt to show through. Rattle was worried for her, but assured in her strength. Overall, he was just glad that she was alive. "I'm proud of you, little one. Not many have had the strength to last the duration of this spell."
"I know." Lark stated. Then, she sighed. "Will you help me back into the bed? I don't think Severus would appreciate me crumpled in his floor when he returns."Obviously, the experience had no affect on her ways of thinking, her humor or her crudeness. It was a joy to her old uncle, and he laughed as he did as she requested.
~*~*~*~Rattle stood with a ghostly Narcissa outside of his chambers when Severus returned. They were there, no doubt, to intercept him before he saw her. Instinct brought his heart to beat in his throat. Masking it, he approached them calmly, letting his eyes show what he felt. His voice, however, was it's usual cold calmness.
"She is not well?" He asked."She has changed a bit, her eyes are different, and her legs are weak - but she is well." Rattle replied. "Just weak, as I said."
"Lark is asleep now as well. We will, however," Narcissa stated, "let you in to see her. After all, it's both your quarters now, and we can't keep you from your own place.""I'm glad we agree." Severus gave her a slight bow of his head, as he passed them. He did not catch the gaze the uncle and the ghost shared, nor the smile.
When he got into the bedroom area, he found her resting on the bed. Audrey's eyes were closed, and she was very much asleep. Severus discarded his death eater uniform and tucked it away in its hiding place, then went to join her on the bed. He lay down beside her, gently taking her in his arms. He let his face rest against her own as he curled himself about her sleeping form - her new form, identical to the old one he knew so well. His Audrey, alive. A smile went across his face, and he kissed her cheek gently so not to wake her. She needed her rest, after all. Severus let his thoughts run through the night, painful though it was. He let it go through and by the hours just past - the time that cleared Voldemort's suspicion of him. Snape could consider himself safe - at least for the moment. The vision of Audrey killing Lucius stayed with him though, and as he looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms, he did not wonder if anything of that creature that had broken free of her control in the end still remained. He knew it was still there, at least a part of it anyway. That had been instinct . . . pure aggression, though human and sentient, avenging her body of the rape it suffered from Malfoy and Lestrange. Severus felt hatred course through him for what had happened to her back then, but he'd gotten his own revenge for that already as well. He'd done so after he had found her in the cell where Malfoy had stashed her. He'd cleaned her up himself, pried the story from her . . . and then he had gone to speak to Voldemort of the treatment Malfoy had allowed the Master's prize. Lucius and Lestrange had been lucky to survive that evening after Voldemort heard Snape's tale. Still, he wished he could have done more then . . . but, she was avenged now. Well, at least partially. Perhaps he could arrange for an accident to happen to Lestrange ? . . . a cruel smile crossed his face again, as he fell asleep next to the woman he loved . . . his Audrey, who was alive - though she was dead to the rest of the world and would remain so until the time came when Voldemort was dead and gone and his loyal followers were locked away forever.~*~*~*~
A month had passed from the school losing their DAtDA Professor. Professor Lupin had taken her place, much to the grumbling protests of a few parents - but no one was with drawn. Windsong's murder was known to have been dealt out by the Death Eaters, and Snape - being one known to have consorted with the type back before The Dark Lord's fall, had been questioned. However, Dumbledore, McGonagall and even Harry himself had vouched for Professor Snape, and affectively cleared his name for the time being. Still, there were rumors, but then one could not help those -even if they did crawl under Severus' skin as well as another certain Slytherin's.Harry Potter walked with Ron and Hermione on either side of him, the three of them laughing over something Hagrid had told them earlier. They were going to Potions, knowing well that they would be silenced soon by their strict teacher.
Entering the classroom, they found Snape waiting for the class . . . but he was not alone. A raven was perched upon a stand obviously just set up, and it was watching the students with steady eyes. As the class entered in time, and Snape's time to speak came, the Professor stood up and walked down the rows of his classroom. The bird took flight, going to his shoulder in a moment after he left it's side."This is Nevermore. She is my familiar, and as such, she will be treated with respect. Any harm that comes to her will not be taken lightly, and I will assure you all that you will regret even plucking one of her feathers." Snape told them, letting one of his fingers brush over the bird's folded wings. The students merely watched, a bit shocked at this behavior of affection from their Potions Professor - and to a bird no less. Still, no one dared question it . . . even when they found the bird had the gift of speech. It's squawking tattletale nature had given it a worse reputation that Mrs. Norris the cat - and that was saying a lot.