Authors note:
all of the House elves mentioned in this story are my idea...so don't try to steal Arkie from me without my approval. I may be forced to string you up by your cuticles over a vat of boiling marmalade.
once again, I only own a couple things of this story, such as Krista, the kingdom of ice, and the whole freaky thing about the spiders...although if you want the spider thing, I'll happily give it to you...that's one of the very few things I've given Krista that I also have...I HATE spiders. but thankfully I've never been...well, read this chapter and you'll understand.
please don't sue me, all I have is a Guitar, and a Cat named T.G.
as always, please R&R, note that flames are used for the sole purpose of heating that little space i have to sit in at work, which is really bloody cold; right near the doors...hope you enjoy the continuing story!
Slowly and cautiously, Krista Explained her miniature adventure with her father. she told about the muck, the tunnel, *although she left out the part about the spiders*, the fall into the ice cave, and then the Kingdom of ice people. several times her fathers eyes lit up as though wanting to make a question or comment, but he held his tongue and listened.
then, when Krista had finished, he began with the most important question he could think of.
"you must have been freaked out over something." he deduced. "after all, you're Krista Snape, you know better then to run through a pitch black cave. or shall we accredit it to a momentary loss of sanity?"
Krista stared blankly at her father. "what?"
"your falling. the first one makes sense. but the second one doesn't match up. you were being Careless, what was going on?"
Krista blushed a deep Crimson red. "actually, it was the thought of Spiders."
"spiders?"
"yes...I've always had a fear of Spiders...well...ever since those caves in Texas." she blushed even deeper red.
"why? what happened?" Snape asked intently.
"I was exploring this cave in Texas... when I felt a strange tickle on the back of my neck. at first I thought it was just my pony tail...until I felt a tugging. there was a spider crawling on my pony tail. but not just any spider, a tarantula. there was another one on my right boot, the small of my back, my left shoulder, and my chest. I hadn't felt any of them, because I was wearing my jacket."
"you were wearing a Jacket in Texas?"
"the desert is cold at night. especially underground." Krista defended. "anyway ever since then I've been deathly afraid of those crawling little...things." she gave an involuntary shudder.
what followed was an uneasy silence, although the reason for which eluded both of them.
"Ahem" Snape began by clearing his throat. "I have some...Er...Associates coming over today, and I think it best if you made yourself scarce between two and six."
"The Death Eaters?" Krista pressed suddenly, trying hard not to make it sound like an interrogation.
"Yes. the Death Eaters." Snape once again decided it best not to look in Krista's eyes. "They're going to want to know if I've told you about...who you are."
"and if you say you haven't?"
"they'll probably come looking for you and find their own way to tell you. it wouldn't be the best of scenarios; as they would be angry Voldemort saved your life only for you not to serve him. even though they know you have no choice in the matter." he replied.
"Excuse me?" Krista was dumbfounded. "No choice?"
"None." Snape replied, running his hand over his slicked black hair, reminding himself he needed to shampoo it soon. "there were tests, before Voldemorts' fall...and it was discovered, if he orders you to do something, you've no choice but to respond."
"Oh that's nice." Krista looked at her watch. it was nearly 8 am. "well, before they get here, I'm going to go....do...something."
Ignoring the confused look on his face, Krista walked into the Library, pulled one of the Huge dark leather bound books from the shelf, and disappeared down a corridor.
Snape wasn't....too worried. he may not know his daughter like most fathers know their daughters, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't try anything...stupid.
Sighing, he looked around the main hall, and for the first time in his life, it struck him how dark and morbid it looked. the first Snape Manor hadn't been Morbid. it had been light and friendly. of course, not friendly as in flowers on the table and smiley faced bouncing balls strewn across the yard...but friendly none the less.
but that was before. god it seemed an eternity since then. since that night... the night the death eaters tore his life into pieces. along with any childhood innocence he had previously possessed. this was before Krista was born. but not too long. Snape had made the mistake of spending time with his wife in Germany *as secret as the marriage was* instead of answering the sudden burn on his left arm. when he'd returned to the Manor, the Death Eaters were just leaving. all of the Manor going up in flames. His sister...Father and Mother had all been inside. and it was his fault. if only he'd gone to that damned meeting.
Sickened with himself, he walked over to a window that was closed with heavy black drapes and tore the drapes down, ripping the pole down as well.
he ignored the mess of drapery and the pole on the floor, and walked over to another window, repeating the process.
"how many damned windows do we have in this Manor?" he asked no one in particular as he repeatedly tore down the drapes until the main hall was bathed in sunlight. then he moved into the dining hall, ignoring the hordes of house-elves that had suddenly appeared to clean up the mess. although out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of them, holding an exceptional amount of drapery...his ability to do such was accredited to his extra pair of arms.
he tore off all of the drapery in the dining hall as well, then he went to the library.
"a whole ruddy wall of windows?" he asked to the same non-existent person he'd asked to earlier. "I never noticed."
Finally, tired of pulling down drapery, and ignoring the houseelves, Snape dropped down onto a huge couch in the Library and looked out the window. outside the trees were dead, and the ground was as well.
he opened the window, took his wand out from his robes, and aimed it at the ground.
"FERTILIS!" he boomed, and instantly the ground went from a parched looking black, to a fertile-looking dark brown.
"PRODUCTUM FRUX!" he bellowed, aiming his wand now at the trees. instantly they went from dead, to an late spring-like. there were blossoms on the trees that would produce fruit, and those that didn't, exploded with life, leaves popping out of dead trees. it was like watching a time lapse movie, seeing the trees burst into life.
part of him wanted to smile. the other part was somewhat disgusted.
"Vatti?" Krista was suddenly at the door. "are you feeling okay?"
"Huh? ah...yes...I'm fine." Snape replied, looking out at his view, trying hard not to blow up the tiny bird that suddenly landed in a nearby tree.
"are you sure?" Krista asked, seeing the four armed elf lugging drapery from the room.
"Just decided it was time for a bit of remodeling." he returned, suddenly tucking his wand into his robes to halt himself from blowing up the bird.
"I figured if you would do remodeling, it would be something along the lines of decorating the main hall with dragon skulls" she smirked. "or enchanting the main entrance so if someone tries to come in, they'd see a giant snake coming straight at them."
"no, just decided to lighten the atmosphere a little."
"will your...friends...like that?"
"I shall lead them to the dungeons. that way you have most of the house to yourself."
"Dungeons?" Kristas' eyes suddenly sparked with the familiar adventuress Spirit.
"Krista, not this time. they'll be here in just a few hours. it takes much longer then that to explore the dungeons. wait until they've gone." he knew he was wasting his breath. hopefully she wouldn't find the entrance.
Krista nodded silently, then left the room again.
Beside himself, he looked over to where the giant book shed taken belonged. it was in the area of 'herbs and ingredients'
he shook his head, not knowing what she was up to, but deciding to give her space, he went upstairs, already regretting all the sunlight.
he closed the door to his room and fell backwards onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. he wished he could get rid of Krista during the meeting. he knew as long as she was here, there'd be a death eater wanting to mess with her. Sighing, he continued to stare at the ceiling until someone suddenly rapped on the door.
"Master? is master in his room?"
"Yes Dulci." he returned "what is it?"
"Dulci is wanting to tell Master that lunch is ready for the eating"
"Thank you Dulci. is my daughter down there?"
"Dulci and other elves are look for Mistress. but mistress is not in her room."
"All right, I shall be down in a moment." Snape replied, then a familiar sneer crossed his face. "damn. that means only two hours left before the fun begins." silently his mind begged whatever supernatural force that was keeping everyone alive that Krista wouldn't meet the death eaters.
he stood to his feet, and crossed the room. when he opened the door, he was surprised at the amount of sunlight flooding the Manor. it was almost as though he'd forgotten about tearing down the Drapery.
Snape made his way down to the Dining hall, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts and questions.
What would he do if the death eaters demanded to see Krista? What could Krista be doing with that book? and why the hell did he take the drapery down? the sunlight was giving him a headache. as if he didn't have enough on his mind as it was, his bloody mind had to get a HEADACHE.
he was silently cursing as he entered the hall and took his seat. apparently the elves either hadn't found her yet, or they'd found her but hadn't made it to the hall yet. Soon Krista followed by about ten elves; entered the dining hall. while Krista took her seat, the elves vanished, off to do more cleaning or what not.
"might I ask where you have been?" he suddenly asked, with a bit of a backbone.
"I was in the woods." came her quick reply.
"any particular reason?"
"Not really." she stated, in a way that told him he shouldn't ask any more. there was no way anyone was going to intimidate him, least of which his daughter.
"Were you looking for something?" he pressed. he was going to find out what she was looking for.
"Nothing In particular."
"As humorous and Tedious as it is to play this game of words with you, where you only change the words your using, but never you answer, I would actually prefer an actual response out of you." he stated, the familiar hiss of Severus Snape returning to his voice.
"you are receiving an actual response." she replied, looking down at her food. " I was not looking for anything."
"Don't try to go invisible at the meeting this evening." Snape warned. "I know that there is a herb in these woods that causes invisibility when the potion is properly made. however I would recommend you don't bother, because you would be discovered."
Krista didn't move, didn't acknowledge that her father had spoken.
he sighed. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes. Sir." she replied, looking him straight in the eyes, blue eyes flashing maliciously.
Then she stood up. "I have lost my appetite. I shall see you after the death eaters have gone, Herr Vater."
she left Snape in the room, wondering whether or not he should have said anything.
Krista walked up to her room silently. as she entered the room, she noticed that the elves had cleaned her backpack, gloves, and everything else that'd been sopping in mud.
she silently tossed herself onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling.
~he thinks I need invisibility to monitor the proceedings?~ she thought, reverting back to German for comfort. ~ I don't need invisibility. I'm Krista! I've spied on proceedings for years. as if a silly group of death eaters will be any difficulty.~
with that, she hugged her pillow and drifted off to sleep.
all of the House elves mentioned in this story are my idea...so don't try to steal Arkie from me without my approval. I may be forced to string you up by your cuticles over a vat of boiling marmalade.
once again, I only own a couple things of this story, such as Krista, the kingdom of ice, and the whole freaky thing about the spiders...although if you want the spider thing, I'll happily give it to you...that's one of the very few things I've given Krista that I also have...I HATE spiders. but thankfully I've never been...well, read this chapter and you'll understand.
please don't sue me, all I have is a Guitar, and a Cat named T.G.
as always, please R&R, note that flames are used for the sole purpose of heating that little space i have to sit in at work, which is really bloody cold; right near the doors...hope you enjoy the continuing story!
Slowly and cautiously, Krista Explained her miniature adventure with her father. she told about the muck, the tunnel, *although she left out the part about the spiders*, the fall into the ice cave, and then the Kingdom of ice people. several times her fathers eyes lit up as though wanting to make a question or comment, but he held his tongue and listened.
then, when Krista had finished, he began with the most important question he could think of.
"you must have been freaked out over something." he deduced. "after all, you're Krista Snape, you know better then to run through a pitch black cave. or shall we accredit it to a momentary loss of sanity?"
Krista stared blankly at her father. "what?"
"your falling. the first one makes sense. but the second one doesn't match up. you were being Careless, what was going on?"
Krista blushed a deep Crimson red. "actually, it was the thought of Spiders."
"spiders?"
"yes...I've always had a fear of Spiders...well...ever since those caves in Texas." she blushed even deeper red.
"why? what happened?" Snape asked intently.
"I was exploring this cave in Texas... when I felt a strange tickle on the back of my neck. at first I thought it was just my pony tail...until I felt a tugging. there was a spider crawling on my pony tail. but not just any spider, a tarantula. there was another one on my right boot, the small of my back, my left shoulder, and my chest. I hadn't felt any of them, because I was wearing my jacket."
"you were wearing a Jacket in Texas?"
"the desert is cold at night. especially underground." Krista defended. "anyway ever since then I've been deathly afraid of those crawling little...things." she gave an involuntary shudder.
what followed was an uneasy silence, although the reason for which eluded both of them.
"Ahem" Snape began by clearing his throat. "I have some...Er...Associates coming over today, and I think it best if you made yourself scarce between two and six."
"The Death Eaters?" Krista pressed suddenly, trying hard not to make it sound like an interrogation.
"Yes. the Death Eaters." Snape once again decided it best not to look in Krista's eyes. "They're going to want to know if I've told you about...who you are."
"and if you say you haven't?"
"they'll probably come looking for you and find their own way to tell you. it wouldn't be the best of scenarios; as they would be angry Voldemort saved your life only for you not to serve him. even though they know you have no choice in the matter." he replied.
"Excuse me?" Krista was dumbfounded. "No choice?"
"None." Snape replied, running his hand over his slicked black hair, reminding himself he needed to shampoo it soon. "there were tests, before Voldemorts' fall...and it was discovered, if he orders you to do something, you've no choice but to respond."
"Oh that's nice." Krista looked at her watch. it was nearly 8 am. "well, before they get here, I'm going to go....do...something."
Ignoring the confused look on his face, Krista walked into the Library, pulled one of the Huge dark leather bound books from the shelf, and disappeared down a corridor.
Snape wasn't....too worried. he may not know his daughter like most fathers know their daughters, but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't try anything...stupid.
Sighing, he looked around the main hall, and for the first time in his life, it struck him how dark and morbid it looked. the first Snape Manor hadn't been Morbid. it had been light and friendly. of course, not friendly as in flowers on the table and smiley faced bouncing balls strewn across the yard...but friendly none the less.
but that was before. god it seemed an eternity since then. since that night... the night the death eaters tore his life into pieces. along with any childhood innocence he had previously possessed. this was before Krista was born. but not too long. Snape had made the mistake of spending time with his wife in Germany *as secret as the marriage was* instead of answering the sudden burn on his left arm. when he'd returned to the Manor, the Death Eaters were just leaving. all of the Manor going up in flames. His sister...Father and Mother had all been inside. and it was his fault. if only he'd gone to that damned meeting.
Sickened with himself, he walked over to a window that was closed with heavy black drapes and tore the drapes down, ripping the pole down as well.
he ignored the mess of drapery and the pole on the floor, and walked over to another window, repeating the process.
"how many damned windows do we have in this Manor?" he asked no one in particular as he repeatedly tore down the drapes until the main hall was bathed in sunlight. then he moved into the dining hall, ignoring the hordes of house-elves that had suddenly appeared to clean up the mess. although out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of them, holding an exceptional amount of drapery...his ability to do such was accredited to his extra pair of arms.
he tore off all of the drapery in the dining hall as well, then he went to the library.
"a whole ruddy wall of windows?" he asked to the same non-existent person he'd asked to earlier. "I never noticed."
Finally, tired of pulling down drapery, and ignoring the houseelves, Snape dropped down onto a huge couch in the Library and looked out the window. outside the trees were dead, and the ground was as well.
he opened the window, took his wand out from his robes, and aimed it at the ground.
"FERTILIS!" he boomed, and instantly the ground went from a parched looking black, to a fertile-looking dark brown.
"PRODUCTUM FRUX!" he bellowed, aiming his wand now at the trees. instantly they went from dead, to an late spring-like. there were blossoms on the trees that would produce fruit, and those that didn't, exploded with life, leaves popping out of dead trees. it was like watching a time lapse movie, seeing the trees burst into life.
part of him wanted to smile. the other part was somewhat disgusted.
"Vatti?" Krista was suddenly at the door. "are you feeling okay?"
"Huh? ah...yes...I'm fine." Snape replied, looking out at his view, trying hard not to blow up the tiny bird that suddenly landed in a nearby tree.
"are you sure?" Krista asked, seeing the four armed elf lugging drapery from the room.
"Just decided it was time for a bit of remodeling." he returned, suddenly tucking his wand into his robes to halt himself from blowing up the bird.
"I figured if you would do remodeling, it would be something along the lines of decorating the main hall with dragon skulls" she smirked. "or enchanting the main entrance so if someone tries to come in, they'd see a giant snake coming straight at them."
"no, just decided to lighten the atmosphere a little."
"will your...friends...like that?"
"I shall lead them to the dungeons. that way you have most of the house to yourself."
"Dungeons?" Kristas' eyes suddenly sparked with the familiar adventuress Spirit.
"Krista, not this time. they'll be here in just a few hours. it takes much longer then that to explore the dungeons. wait until they've gone." he knew he was wasting his breath. hopefully she wouldn't find the entrance.
Krista nodded silently, then left the room again.
Beside himself, he looked over to where the giant book shed taken belonged. it was in the area of 'herbs and ingredients'
he shook his head, not knowing what she was up to, but deciding to give her space, he went upstairs, already regretting all the sunlight.
he closed the door to his room and fell backwards onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. he wished he could get rid of Krista during the meeting. he knew as long as she was here, there'd be a death eater wanting to mess with her. Sighing, he continued to stare at the ceiling until someone suddenly rapped on the door.
"Master? is master in his room?"
"Yes Dulci." he returned "what is it?"
"Dulci is wanting to tell Master that lunch is ready for the eating"
"Thank you Dulci. is my daughter down there?"
"Dulci and other elves are look for Mistress. but mistress is not in her room."
"All right, I shall be down in a moment." Snape replied, then a familiar sneer crossed his face. "damn. that means only two hours left before the fun begins." silently his mind begged whatever supernatural force that was keeping everyone alive that Krista wouldn't meet the death eaters.
he stood to his feet, and crossed the room. when he opened the door, he was surprised at the amount of sunlight flooding the Manor. it was almost as though he'd forgotten about tearing down the Drapery.
Snape made his way down to the Dining hall, his mind racing with all sorts of thoughts and questions.
What would he do if the death eaters demanded to see Krista? What could Krista be doing with that book? and why the hell did he take the drapery down? the sunlight was giving him a headache. as if he didn't have enough on his mind as it was, his bloody mind had to get a HEADACHE.
he was silently cursing as he entered the hall and took his seat. apparently the elves either hadn't found her yet, or they'd found her but hadn't made it to the hall yet. Soon Krista followed by about ten elves; entered the dining hall. while Krista took her seat, the elves vanished, off to do more cleaning or what not.
"might I ask where you have been?" he suddenly asked, with a bit of a backbone.
"I was in the woods." came her quick reply.
"any particular reason?"
"Not really." she stated, in a way that told him he shouldn't ask any more. there was no way anyone was going to intimidate him, least of which his daughter.
"Were you looking for something?" he pressed. he was going to find out what she was looking for.
"Nothing In particular."
"As humorous and Tedious as it is to play this game of words with you, where you only change the words your using, but never you answer, I would actually prefer an actual response out of you." he stated, the familiar hiss of Severus Snape returning to his voice.
"you are receiving an actual response." she replied, looking down at her food. " I was not looking for anything."
"Don't try to go invisible at the meeting this evening." Snape warned. "I know that there is a herb in these woods that causes invisibility when the potion is properly made. however I would recommend you don't bother, because you would be discovered."
Krista didn't move, didn't acknowledge that her father had spoken.
he sighed. "Do you understand me?"
"Yes. Sir." she replied, looking him straight in the eyes, blue eyes flashing maliciously.
Then she stood up. "I have lost my appetite. I shall see you after the death eaters have gone, Herr Vater."
she left Snape in the room, wondering whether or not he should have said anything.
Krista walked up to her room silently. as she entered the room, she noticed that the elves had cleaned her backpack, gloves, and everything else that'd been sopping in mud.
she silently tossed herself onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling.
~he thinks I need invisibility to monitor the proceedings?~ she thought, reverting back to German for comfort. ~ I don't need invisibility. I'm Krista! I've spied on proceedings for years. as if a silly group of death eaters will be any difficulty.~
with that, she hugged her pillow and drifted off to sleep.