A/N: Thank you again for all the compliments and… the threatening… =)
Some personal thanks ('cause I know it would make you guys happy):
Lexi – Thank you very much, I've never heard my stories are "fantastically written" before! Glad you see Severus in an "entirely different light", that's what this story is supposed to do! Nope, I'm Swedish, got one of the best English grades in my class (not a big surprise).
Lady Doncaster – Yep, that's exactly what I had in mind (keep teasing you that is)! ;) I know, I sure would like to let Avalon kick Lucius butt some day, and maybe I just might let it happen! Or maybe Severus and Avalon could kick his ass together…
Kaypee – don't really know yet what made Severus become a Death Eater in the end, maybe I won't continue this story that long. But if I don't than I can promise you I'll make an sequel that tells the story!
Azure Tail – you're welcome! Yeah, as you can see, I love writing about people fighting (aren't I frighteningly pathetic??)
Serb – Hey, I made it as fast as I could. Hope you're not dead when I post this! *smile*
HqS – Try to calm down, take a deep breath, this chapter is not the last, but the next one might just be! But in the end of this Chapter I have a BIG treat wating!
READ THIS FIRST: The first part of this chapter is written like a flash back of when Avalon and Severus were ten years old. After the ~*¤*~, time goes back to normal as Severus wakes up from a dream. This dream might have been the flashback, you decide for yourself!
6: BY MYSELF
It was a late summer night.
Right outside Godric's hollow, a small white house stood in the middle of a flower-filled garden. A little sign was nailed up on the fence that said: Welcome to the Lamberts! From a little window on the second floor, a small candle lit up the dark. The girl who slept in that room, didn't like to admit she was afraid of the dark, she just claimed that she and the dark never got along very well.
She was now sleeping peacefully in the dim light, curled up on her bed against the wall, until the distant noise of an engine made her eyes flutter open.
She knew that noise; oh she knew it all too well. It was the sound of the Night Bus. Just as she knew it would, the bus stopped outside the Lambert house, and the doors creaked open. Avalon got up and took the candle with her.
"That'll be four in silver, pal." Said the chauffeur as a lean but quite tall, dark-haired boy made his was for the exit. He turned around and held out the money in his hand, he had paid this exact prize many times before. The chauffeur took them and glanced a little confused on the boys face. Probably just some boy with an attitude-problem who has gotten into a big fistfight… he thought and closed the door behind the boy who stepped out on the sidewalk.
The Night bus rode into the sky as the skinny boy made his way to the door, swaying a little on his feet. As soon as he knocked, Avalon came rushing down the stairs and opened up.
With a little squeak of devastation she through her arms around him.
"Oh, Severus! Not again…" He didn't say a thing, as usual. She noticed how his legs were about to give away, and quickly got a grip of the situation.
With the candle in one hand, and her other arm supporting Severus under his shoulders, they made their way up the stairs and into her room. Avalon laid Severus down on her bed and put the candle aside. She knew what to do, and she knew exactly how important it was that she acted fast. Severus was lying like a dead body, staring up on her ceiling without moving a muscle as Avalon started pealing off his coat and the shirt beneath it. When he was finally stripped on his upper body, Avalon took a step back to get a look of what they were dealing with tonight. This was a view that made her heart scream with agony, and yet she had seen it so many times before, so you might think she had gotten used to it.
Severus looked sickeningly pale in the weak light of the candle, and so his light skin made a sharp contrast to his raven-black hair and dark eyes. And another color painted his appearance: red. Dried blood, fresh blood. Old cuts, bruises, and new ones. All over his naked chest and shoulders, arms and back.
There were more cuts this time, which explained why he was weaker and couldn't stand straight. It seemed like during the last half year, Mr Snape and gone from beating and kicking his son into torturing him with leather- belts and knifes. Avalon bit her jaw together so hard her teeth could've cracked.
"I'll fix it." She said hoarsely and left for the bathroom next door. When she came back with hot water, towels and bandages, Severus had turned his head so that he could watch her as she sat down on the floor and started cleaning his wounds.
It was amazing to she how calm she was by now, considering the way she always burst into tears when he stepped through her door with blood on his face. He just watched her, silently, and winced now and then as the hot water ran through the cuts. Avalon didn't return his gaze; she was concentrated on what she was doing. His skin was almost totally numb from the beating, but he could always feel her small fingers sliding over his chest, caressing his wounds carefully. Avalon usually wanted to wake her parents up, so that they could heal his cuts with their wands, but Severus had told her he didn't want anyone else to know. That was why he always went to her, she was the *only* one who knew.
Avalon was finished with his chest and arms, and now continued to his face. This is were she finally met his eyes, and he could see the candle's reflection in her eyes before he closed his own as she cleaned the cut on his cheekbone.
When her work was done, the water in the bowl on the floor had turned blood red, and the towels were soaked. The bandages were now wrapped around his arms, hands, stomach and neckline. Avalon was just about to put his shirt back on when Severus reached out and stopped her hand. Avalon let him lead her onto the bed, where she sat down against the wall, and she put Severus head in her lap. Severus curled up and found her hand, took it in his and kissed it lightly. It was his way to say thank you when he couldn't make the words leave his mouth. Avalon took her other hand and stroked it gently across his hair, and finally, he could relax. He held her hand against his heart; let her feel its pulse beneath her palm, against his skin.
"Sing for me?" He whispered. Avalon took a deep breath and smiled.
"For you."
~*¤*~
Severus sat up with a start. He didn't wait for his pulse to slow down again, but quickly made his way out of bed and to the window. I've done a terrible mistake… He declared to himself. The memory of Avalon's touch upon his skin and hearing her breath next to him lingered in his mind. Outside, the rain came crashing down on the grounds around Hogwarts, and for the first time in his life, Severus thanked the gods for it. Only when it was raining he knew where to find Avalon; right in the middle of it.
Severus grabbed his pants and a T-shirt, no bother to bring the cloak, he would get soaked anyway. His heart was racing as he quickly made his way through the dark common room and on through the halls, begging that none of the teachers would bump into him.
It had been two weeks since his father's trial; he hadn't talked to Avalon, or even seen her for that matter. He hadn't seen Avalon for fourteen days… he could barely imagine how it would feel to not see her for the rest of his life. He started running as he reached the Great Hall, and soon he stepped out in the rain once again, looking around desperately. The Quidditch Pitch was his first try. But no Avalon was to be found there. He kept running, he looked everywhere, but couldn't find her.
"God, Avalon, where are you, where are you?" He muttered to himself, feeling the rain draining his clothes completely.
He was on his way of giving up, walking back to the main entrance, and that's when it happened.
"Severus?" A bewildered voice reached him through the rain from behind.
Severus stopped dead and raised his head. In a second he had turned around, and was staring right into those pale green eyes. Avalon had been standing on a cliff that rose over the big Lake, she was standing on the edge on the cliff, about thirty feet from the entrance. Maybe she had been planning on jumping from it, landing on the rocks in the water far beneath her. Just to see her, to see that face again, it made his heart wanting to burst.
In an instant, he was there in front of her, pressing his lips upon her forehead, running his hands through her long hair.
"Oh my god," he whispered between kisses, "I've done such a big mistake…" He trailed kisses down her face, and suddenly Avalon grabbed his wrists and kissed him on fully on his mouth. Severus let out a soft moan and instantly responded to her lips. He carefully caressed her soft wet lips, and tasted rain on his tongue. Avalon felt herself shiver and she let go of his wrists and let his hands find their way through her hair again. Severus lost whatever thoughts he had been thinking as his mind when totally blank when Avalon pressed her body against his, feeling only their wet T-shirts between them.
"Oh I was wrong…" he whispered and their lips parted only by an inch. "I was wrong; I didn't know what fuck I was saying. I can't live my life without you, I couldn't live two weeks without you." And with this he kissed her again with such longing that tears started to fall down his face.
And oh how Avalon wanted to tell him about her last two weeks. She wanted to tell him she had suffered just as much as him, that being apart from him made her crazy, made her loose her mind. But she couldn't, she couldn't speak those words now that he was back in her arms, and her feelings for him suddenly had exploded into to longing… and love.
"I'm so sorry," Severus continued. "I'm so, so sorry." Avalon kissed him again and stroked his hair. Oh, what a familiar touch.
"Don't be." She had to tell him. "I've missed you too. If you only knew…"
A/N: … what's to say…
(except that this is NOT over yet!)
Some personal thanks ('cause I know it would make you guys happy):
Lexi – Thank you very much, I've never heard my stories are "fantastically written" before! Glad you see Severus in an "entirely different light", that's what this story is supposed to do! Nope, I'm Swedish, got one of the best English grades in my class (not a big surprise).
Lady Doncaster – Yep, that's exactly what I had in mind (keep teasing you that is)! ;) I know, I sure would like to let Avalon kick Lucius butt some day, and maybe I just might let it happen! Or maybe Severus and Avalon could kick his ass together…
Kaypee – don't really know yet what made Severus become a Death Eater in the end, maybe I won't continue this story that long. But if I don't than I can promise you I'll make an sequel that tells the story!
Azure Tail – you're welcome! Yeah, as you can see, I love writing about people fighting (aren't I frighteningly pathetic??)
Serb – Hey, I made it as fast as I could. Hope you're not dead when I post this! *smile*
HqS – Try to calm down, take a deep breath, this chapter is not the last, but the next one might just be! But in the end of this Chapter I have a BIG treat wating!
READ THIS FIRST: The first part of this chapter is written like a flash back of when Avalon and Severus were ten years old. After the ~*¤*~, time goes back to normal as Severus wakes up from a dream. This dream might have been the flashback, you decide for yourself!
6: BY MYSELF
It was a late summer night.
Right outside Godric's hollow, a small white house stood in the middle of a flower-filled garden. A little sign was nailed up on the fence that said: Welcome to the Lamberts! From a little window on the second floor, a small candle lit up the dark. The girl who slept in that room, didn't like to admit she was afraid of the dark, she just claimed that she and the dark never got along very well.
She was now sleeping peacefully in the dim light, curled up on her bed against the wall, until the distant noise of an engine made her eyes flutter open.
She knew that noise; oh she knew it all too well. It was the sound of the Night Bus. Just as she knew it would, the bus stopped outside the Lambert house, and the doors creaked open. Avalon got up and took the candle with her.
"That'll be four in silver, pal." Said the chauffeur as a lean but quite tall, dark-haired boy made his was for the exit. He turned around and held out the money in his hand, he had paid this exact prize many times before. The chauffeur took them and glanced a little confused on the boys face. Probably just some boy with an attitude-problem who has gotten into a big fistfight… he thought and closed the door behind the boy who stepped out on the sidewalk.
The Night bus rode into the sky as the skinny boy made his way to the door, swaying a little on his feet. As soon as he knocked, Avalon came rushing down the stairs and opened up.
With a little squeak of devastation she through her arms around him.
"Oh, Severus! Not again…" He didn't say a thing, as usual. She noticed how his legs were about to give away, and quickly got a grip of the situation.
With the candle in one hand, and her other arm supporting Severus under his shoulders, they made their way up the stairs and into her room. Avalon laid Severus down on her bed and put the candle aside. She knew what to do, and she knew exactly how important it was that she acted fast. Severus was lying like a dead body, staring up on her ceiling without moving a muscle as Avalon started pealing off his coat and the shirt beneath it. When he was finally stripped on his upper body, Avalon took a step back to get a look of what they were dealing with tonight. This was a view that made her heart scream with agony, and yet she had seen it so many times before, so you might think she had gotten used to it.
Severus looked sickeningly pale in the weak light of the candle, and so his light skin made a sharp contrast to his raven-black hair and dark eyes. And another color painted his appearance: red. Dried blood, fresh blood. Old cuts, bruises, and new ones. All over his naked chest and shoulders, arms and back.
There were more cuts this time, which explained why he was weaker and couldn't stand straight. It seemed like during the last half year, Mr Snape and gone from beating and kicking his son into torturing him with leather- belts and knifes. Avalon bit her jaw together so hard her teeth could've cracked.
"I'll fix it." She said hoarsely and left for the bathroom next door. When she came back with hot water, towels and bandages, Severus had turned his head so that he could watch her as she sat down on the floor and started cleaning his wounds.
It was amazing to she how calm she was by now, considering the way she always burst into tears when he stepped through her door with blood on his face. He just watched her, silently, and winced now and then as the hot water ran through the cuts. Avalon didn't return his gaze; she was concentrated on what she was doing. His skin was almost totally numb from the beating, but he could always feel her small fingers sliding over his chest, caressing his wounds carefully. Avalon usually wanted to wake her parents up, so that they could heal his cuts with their wands, but Severus had told her he didn't want anyone else to know. That was why he always went to her, she was the *only* one who knew.
Avalon was finished with his chest and arms, and now continued to his face. This is were she finally met his eyes, and he could see the candle's reflection in her eyes before he closed his own as she cleaned the cut on his cheekbone.
When her work was done, the water in the bowl on the floor had turned blood red, and the towels were soaked. The bandages were now wrapped around his arms, hands, stomach and neckline. Avalon was just about to put his shirt back on when Severus reached out and stopped her hand. Avalon let him lead her onto the bed, where she sat down against the wall, and she put Severus head in her lap. Severus curled up and found her hand, took it in his and kissed it lightly. It was his way to say thank you when he couldn't make the words leave his mouth. Avalon took her other hand and stroked it gently across his hair, and finally, he could relax. He held her hand against his heart; let her feel its pulse beneath her palm, against his skin.
"Sing for me?" He whispered. Avalon took a deep breath and smiled.
"For you."
~*¤*~
Severus sat up with a start. He didn't wait for his pulse to slow down again, but quickly made his way out of bed and to the window. I've done a terrible mistake… He declared to himself. The memory of Avalon's touch upon his skin and hearing her breath next to him lingered in his mind. Outside, the rain came crashing down on the grounds around Hogwarts, and for the first time in his life, Severus thanked the gods for it. Only when it was raining he knew where to find Avalon; right in the middle of it.
Severus grabbed his pants and a T-shirt, no bother to bring the cloak, he would get soaked anyway. His heart was racing as he quickly made his way through the dark common room and on through the halls, begging that none of the teachers would bump into him.
It had been two weeks since his father's trial; he hadn't talked to Avalon, or even seen her for that matter. He hadn't seen Avalon for fourteen days… he could barely imagine how it would feel to not see her for the rest of his life. He started running as he reached the Great Hall, and soon he stepped out in the rain once again, looking around desperately. The Quidditch Pitch was his first try. But no Avalon was to be found there. He kept running, he looked everywhere, but couldn't find her.
"God, Avalon, where are you, where are you?" He muttered to himself, feeling the rain draining his clothes completely.
He was on his way of giving up, walking back to the main entrance, and that's when it happened.
"Severus?" A bewildered voice reached him through the rain from behind.
Severus stopped dead and raised his head. In a second he had turned around, and was staring right into those pale green eyes. Avalon had been standing on a cliff that rose over the big Lake, she was standing on the edge on the cliff, about thirty feet from the entrance. Maybe she had been planning on jumping from it, landing on the rocks in the water far beneath her. Just to see her, to see that face again, it made his heart wanting to burst.
In an instant, he was there in front of her, pressing his lips upon her forehead, running his hands through her long hair.
"Oh my god," he whispered between kisses, "I've done such a big mistake…" He trailed kisses down her face, and suddenly Avalon grabbed his wrists and kissed him on fully on his mouth. Severus let out a soft moan and instantly responded to her lips. He carefully caressed her soft wet lips, and tasted rain on his tongue. Avalon felt herself shiver and she let go of his wrists and let his hands find their way through her hair again. Severus lost whatever thoughts he had been thinking as his mind when totally blank when Avalon pressed her body against his, feeling only their wet T-shirts between them.
"Oh I was wrong…" he whispered and their lips parted only by an inch. "I was wrong; I didn't know what fuck I was saying. I can't live my life without you, I couldn't live two weeks without you." And with this he kissed her again with such longing that tears started to fall down his face.
And oh how Avalon wanted to tell him about her last two weeks. She wanted to tell him she had suffered just as much as him, that being apart from him made her crazy, made her loose her mind. But she couldn't, she couldn't speak those words now that he was back in her arms, and her feelings for him suddenly had exploded into to longing… and love.
"I'm so sorry," Severus continued. "I'm so, so sorry." Avalon kissed him again and stroked his hair. Oh, what a familiar touch.
"Don't be." She had to tell him. "I've missed you too. If you only knew…"
A/N: … what's to say…
(except that this is NOT over yet!)