::Rides in atop of a baby dragon::
Hi all!! Sorry this is so late!! The last bit was really giving me fits!! I also decided to try changing my format a little. We'll see if I like centering better or not.
Any way, I'm hurt! No one tried to guess what Himitsu meant. Only one HALF-HEARTED guess! ::sobs from her seat on the dragon, almost falling into the clutches of the evil Lycoris:: Well, I'll give you another chance. If you can tell me what either Himitsu or the newest name, Shinpi, means I will write you a story starring you and your fave Harry Potter character(s). Here's a hint: they're both Japanese. Another hint: any hard core fan of the "Slayers" or at least "Slayers Next" will be able to tell what Himitsu means.
Now please enjoy! I know this is a VERY dark chapter (it is NOT a real wedding. There will be NO slash in this fic though I may prance close to it, especially with Shinpi.) So I tried to lighten it with a little bit of humor, not much in the second half, but hopefully the first half will be funny. Hopefully...
Anyways, ENJOY!!
::continues hiding on top of Milly while watching for Lycoris and her evil, evil flags::
Harry woke slowly the next morning. He snuggled deep into the soft, warm mattress, pulling the downy quilt up to tuck under his chin. He smiled, thinking how wonderful his Hogwarts bed was.
But, wait, this wasn't his bed. This bed was too large to be his bed!
Harry's eyes snapped open and his face emptied of all slumbering contentedness. His blurry eyes were met with fluffy silver embroidered green pillows and silk bed sheets. He gasped and sat up quickly, falling off the side of the bed in his haste. Stars danced in front of Harry's eyes as he lay tangled in the bed sheets on the floor.
"That was smooth..." Harry commented drily to himself after a moment of laying uncomfortably on the ground.
"Indeed," chuckled a voice Harry recognized as Himitsu's from the vicinity of his feet. "Very graceful, young one."
Harry squinted toward Himitsu's voice and just barely made out a dark blurry form standing at the foot of the large bed. The figure seemed to shiver slightly, suggesting to Harry that it was struggling to contain laughter rather than just the giggles it was emitting. Harry sighed and decided it wasn't worth the trouble to protest against. After, he was as much a prisoner free of these villainous sheets as he was within the grasping tangle. Now, if only he could free himself from one prison, he might be able to break free of another, much more dangerous, prison.
Of course, Harry reflected after a few moments' struggle, Voldemort might have charmed the sheets to slowly do him in instead.
"Need some help," Himitsu asked in a sing-song voice as he attempted to extricate Harry from the rabid beast that had become his sheets.
"No," Harry replied. "I enjoy spending my summers fighting off carnivorous silk sheets."
"And he says it with a straight face," Himitsu exclaimed with a laugh. He gave a tug and Harry was finally free from his bonds.
Harry immediately shot up and away from the mess of silk as though afraid it might attack him at any moment. Himitsu laughed loudly as he watched.
"You are very amusing, little one," he told Harry. "You act as though they were alive and could truly strangle you."
"From my experience," replied Harry warily, "they just might."
Himitsu laughed as he straightened and walked over to stand by Harry, dropping one hand down to dangle Harry's glasses just in front of his nose, "Your glasses, my young wiseman."
Harry scowled a scowl worthy of Snape as he moodily snatched the glasses from Himitsu.
"Temper, temper," tutted Himitsu as he began walking back to the door. "Your breakfast awaits you on the vanity."
Harry watched him alarmed, suddenly remembering that Himitsu'd never told him just what was going to become of him, a subject Harry found to be of the utmost importance.
"Wait," Harry called. "What's going to happen to me? What's Voldemort want to do to me now?"
If Himitsu heard the boy, he certainly didn't show it. He simply continued out the door, his chuckle echoing behind him as he left Harry alone with his breakfast. Not to mention the evil sheets that Harry imagined were watching him hungrily from their place on the floor even now...
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It had taken him a week, but Snape was finally ready to present his one-time master with the potion. He walked briskly through the warm evening air, a large chocolate lab trotting along beside him.
Sirius was none too happy with his role in the whole affair and was even less happy with the plan to free his godson. As far as he was concerned, Snape should simply tell them where Yo-Know-Who had stashed Harry and let Dumbledore assemble every witch and wizard loyal to him to march in and rescue the boy. He knew it was a reckless and fool-hardy plan, but he couldn't help but wish for more action and less planning.
Snape stopped just outside the gates and turned to glare down at his furry companion. His black eyes seemed to glint maliciously as the met the dog's equally dark orbs and a battle of wills erupted. The dog sat back on its messy brown haunches as it continued to stare down the man that loomed above it.
"If you do anything," Snape hissed to the dog, "ANYTHING, to give us away, I will personally see to it that the Death Eaters are not bereft of their dinner of soul for even one day longer."
The dog growled and rolled its eyes, looking down toward the town as though to say, "Well? Come on! We haven't all day."
Snape growled in return before roughly grabbing the dog by the scruff of its neck and apparating away. He reappeared in a large, overgrown yard behind a tall, ominous-looking mansion that appeared to have had seen better days. The dog at his side whined and Snape smoothed back its fur in a gesture as soothing to him as it was to the dog.
With a sigh and a shake, Snape set off for the mansion's back door with a purposeful stride, the dog at his side. As he reached the back door, he stretched out a pale hand to throw open the door, but his long, nimble fingers never touched the metal. The door creaked open to reveal a tall, Asian-looking man.
"Shinpi," Snape growled, his scowl deepening at the grinning younger man.
"Severus," the dark-haired man said brightly, tying his shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail. "Old boy! How have you been? Finish the potion already?"
Snape's scowl deepened, "I am not old, Shinpi. Nor am I a boy. Where is the Dark Lord?"
Snape brushed past the man who seemed undisturbed by his cohort's lack of warmth. The dog trotted along at Snape's heels, pausing briefly to sniff at Shinpi's robe hems. Shinpi grinned at Snape's back as he headed through the kitchen and into the hallway beyond, the dog never far from his side.
"He's expecting you in the main room," Shinpi called after Snape. He paused briefly before adding with a smirk, "Nice dog!"
Snape growled and hissed at the dog in a low whisper, "Stay with me for now."
The dog took a moment to glare at the tall, forbidding man, but only a moment before it went back to trotting, seemingly content, at his side. Only a careful observer would be able to note the careful sniffing the dog was doing as it walked, as though searching for a hidden smell. It paused for a moment at some stairs, as though it had found something, but continued on as Snape knocked and entered a pair of ornately decorated doors.
Inside, their eyes met with darkness. Unadulterated shadow and midnight coloring combined with an air of danger to create an air of choking fear that Snape knew wasn't simply from his knowledge of the evil that lurked within the dark depths of the room. Snape stepped far enough into the room to allow the door to close silently behind him and the do at his heels before stopping to allow his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Dogs might have good night vision, but not so Potions Masters, whatever the popular belief might be.
"Have you completed the potion, Snape," asked a low, cold voice that sent shivers down both man and dog's spines.
"Yes, Master," Snape replied meekly, his eyes darting around in a vain attempt to see in the darkness.
A sudden light flared brightly at the other end of the room, causing both man and beast to flinch and an involuntary yelp to be heard from the dog. When their eyes had cleared, the companions looked up to see Lord Voldemort slowly approaching, Wormtail cowering at his heels. The dog growled menacingly at Wormtail, earning a sound smack on its nose from its human.
Voldemort laughed, causing everyone in the room to flinch. His cold red eyes looked down on the dog at Snape's side with amusement, his thin mouth curved up in a wicked smile.
"New dog, Snape," he asked, though his tone made it well known he didn't much care what Snape's answer was.
"Yes, Master," Snape replied dutifully, his eyes downcast in a display of respect. "I'm sorry, he is not very well behaved as of yet."
The Dark Lord waved off his underling, "He has impeccable tastes." Wormtail flinched at his master's words, but remained where he was, daring only to glare at the chastised dog.
"What is its name," Voldemort asked, eyeing the dog carefully. The dog shrunk back as much as it could, only its pride seemingly keeping it from bolting behind Snape's characteristically billowing robes.
Snape looked surprised, but answered quickly, "Lucifer, my Lord."
The dog looked quickly at Snape while Lord Voldemort laughed his high, mirthless laugh.
"What a perfect name for a Death Eater's dog," he said before sobering. "Where is the potion?"
Snape reached into his robes and pulled out two medium-sized bottles for Voldemort's inspection. Voldemort reached out and wrapped his long pale fingers about them. He pulled his arms back to him and bounced the bottles in his hands as though weighing them for accuracy.
"Good," he said finally. "Now we can perform the ceremony. Wormtail, fetch the boy!"
Snape's eyes widened as the dog at his side stilled, mirroring the movements of Wormtail, still cowering at his Master's hem.
"N-now, m-m-my Master," he squeaked in surprise.
Voldemort turned lazily before snapping a hand out with his wand and cursing the balding man. Wormtail crumpled, squealing in agony. The dog seemed to grin, enjoying the pain of one so wretched while Snape's feelings on the matter were carefully hidden behind a mask of indifference.
"Be quick about it, you fool," Voldemort demanded, lifting his curse finally. "I will not grant any time for something to go wrong."
Wormtail nodded and changed quickly into his rat form before scurrying madly away.
"Snape," Voldemort commanded, turning his red glare upon the silent Death Eater.
Snape nodded and silently stepped forward, lifting his sleeve to present his burning Dark Mark for inspection. Voldemort grinned as he took the proffered arm and pressed one long finger to it. The Mark seemed to glow for a moment as Snape hissed in pain, then the Dark Lord released him and stepped back. Snape did as well, tightly clutching his arm to his stomach.
The Dark Lord turned and walked back to the opposite end of the room, sitting himself regally in a tall, red-cushioned chair. Snape stood silently as his Lord's seemingly amused red stare was turned on him, which Snape found by far more disturbing then anything else the unholy creature could have done. Things which amused the Dark Lord very often meant pain and suffering for some poor soul and Severus doubted he would escape this meeting without having been cursed at least once, if he was lucky.
Lucifer whined at his side and Snape instinctively reached down to plunge his hand into the dog's thick, dark brown fur. The dog crept closer to him, as though somehow knowing that the Dark Lord wanted to harm the man at his side.
The doors to the large room burst open, illuminating it enough so that its occupants could see every inch of the large dining hall they waited in. Death Eaters began pouring in, their faces masked and their bodies cloaked in dark robes that spoke clearly of their affiliation. Snape quickly pulled up his own hood and waited for the others to gather around him in stony silence. Lucifer sat beside him, growling at any Death Eater that ventured too close and refusing to be moved.
"Your dog seems quite content to remain at your side," commented a highly amused voice from behind Snape.
Snape stiffened, but did not turn, choosing instead to say coldly, "Would you prefer this flea bag were beside you, Shinpi?"
Shinpi giggled, which was the only warning Snape had before the man had jumped forward and wrapped his arms around him, tucking his head up next to Snape's, cheek to cheek. Snape's eyes opened wide in stunned surprise and Lucifer stopped panting as he watched the two men's display beside him.
"Now, now," Shinpi scolded Snape, laughter clearly evident in his voice. "I know how very much you adore dogs! I could never take my favorite person's precious!"
Snape growled menacingly, his teeth bared and gleaming in the dim light from the lamp that sat beside the Dark Lord. He reached up and put his agile long fingers to good work untangling the octopus that was Shinpi from his body.
"Do remind me, Shinpi," he said coldly as he struggled. "You are how old? Surely you are old enough to act with the decorum due a Death Eater."
Shinpi chuckled as he released Snape, "You know you love me, Sev-er-us..."
Snape shuddered and pushed the still chuckling Shinpi aside. He heard a panting beside him and glanced down at Lucifer to see the dog laughing at his expense, eyes filled with mirth and a grin resting comfortingly on his doggy face.
"Shut up," Snape snapped before turning back to glower silently, though deliberately not in Voldemort's direction, as he waited for Wormtail's return.
The dog snuffled in reply and sat regally beside Snape as it too awaited the coming events.
They did not have to wait long before Wormtail returned, dragging Harry along beside him. Snape stiffened imperceptibly at the sight of the boy as the dog let out a low growl. Neither liked what they saw.
Wormtail entered the room through a bright doorway of light, the squeak of the hinges the only indication that he was using a door and not magic, with Harry struggling very slightly at his side. The boy's movements seemed slow and sluggish, as though he were moving through mud, making it very clear to Severus and Lucifer that he was drugged. Harry was dressed in a long snow white robe traditional for the ceremony that was about to take place, though normally both participants wore identical robes. His hair was combed and slicked back into a style that was both becoming and enhancing of his wide, fear-filled green eyes. His glasses rested slightly askew on his face, obviously knocked that way during his recent struggles for freedom.
Snape bowed his head, a feeling of failure flushing him with shame, as Harry past, but he needn't have hidden. Harry was too preoccupied with his predicament to notice anyone but Wormtail and his final destination: Lord Voldemort.
"And how is my bride-to-be," Voldemort laughed maliciously.
Snape and Lucifer both winced as Harry whimpered and redoubled his struggling.
"Now, now," Voldemort told him, reaching out and roughly tugging Harry to his side by Harry's arm. "You'll make me believe you don't want to be bound to me... To share your power with me - forever. Or for a month, at least."
A sparkle lit for a moment on Harry's cheek, alerting Snape to the fact that the boy was crying. Anger tightened his chest and he clenched his fists to stop himself from doing anything to give away his status as a spy. He glanced down at Lucifer and was glad to see the dog's angry gaze turned on the Dark Lord. Snape did not want to have to fight a large, enraged dog from murdering the his former master, especially since he would feel fully sympathetic. An ironic, one-time event, Snape told himself as he turned back to the ritual that had just begun.
Wormtail stood before Harry and Voldemort, shaking as he watched the evil creature man-handle the young, drugged boy into place. He waited until the snake-like being had finished and was glaring at him expectantly before lifting a heavy, thickly bound book seemingly out of no where and reading. The text was in Ancient English, obviously an ancient Druid spell that hadn't been translated since the time of Merlin himself, and it's incantation sent chills down Snape's spine.
Voldemort stood holding a finally still Harry to his side and repeated a few of the phrases in a chillingly cold voice that none of the witnessing Death Eaters could suppress. Even Lucifer bowed his head and whimpered at it and Snape had thought the dog long since lost to the red haze of hate and anger. The evil creature turned to Harry and smiled maliciously at boy during his last few phrases, dredging up yet again the protective urges Snape had felt for the foolish brat since he had first laid eyes on him four years before.
Soon Wormtail paused in his reading and watched Harry expectantly. Snape closed his yes and hoped that he might go conveniently deaf. He grabbed Lucifer's collar in the event that God actually granted his wish.
"Say yes, Harry," Voldemort cajoled, supreme arrogance flooding his voice.
God was not going to be merciful today.
'Then again,' Snape thought to himself as he felt Lucifer strain against his grip on the dog's collar, 'why should He be? I deserve to be punished...' A warm shiver ran up Snape's back which he ignored and opened his eyes to continue watching the proceedings.
Harry shook his head in denial, though it actually swung rather drunkenly, as though he were a three year old refusing to go to bed.
Voldemort chuckled and pointed his wand at Harry with a free hand, "Imperio! Say...yes, Harry. Yes and it will all end."
To Snape's everlasting horror, Harry said, "Yes." It was very weak and reluctant, but it satisfied the Dark Lord and he turned back to regard an increasingly nervous Wormtail. Snape felt the fight drain out of Lucifer at the simple word and he sighed in relief, flexing his hand slightly to restart the blood.
A few more words in Ancient English and then Wormtail reached for one of the bottles sitting on a table beside him. He quietly handed it to Voldemort with a hand that shook slightly and released the bottle as soon as the Dark Lord's long pale fingers had wrapped around it. Voldemort popped the cork in a swift movement and took a quick swig before putting the bottle to Harry's lips.
"Drink, my young sacrifice," he told the boy happily. "Drink and grant me your power and the lives of all who oppose the GREAT LORD VOLDEMORT."
Harry flinched back and gasped, which Voldemort quickly took advantage of by pouring the rest of the bottle's contents down his throat. Harry gasped and sputtered, swallowing the foul liquid in his need to breathe. Voldemort ignored him and turned back to Wormtail.
A few more words and both Harry and Voldemort began to glow, Voldemort a dark brownish grey and Harry a deep firey emerald. The glows grew brighter and brighter until they intersected and merged before fading into the individuals they now connected.
"It is done," Lord Voldemort declared to his people, who obligingly cheered. Harry slumped to the ground unnoticed by anyone besides Wormtail, who hurried to catch him before he could injure himself, Snape and Lucifer. Snape hoped his efforts to control the once again straining dog would go unnoticed by anyone, but God was not yet in a merciful mood.
"Your dog does not appreciate my success, Snape," Voldemort said to him as he turned his brilliant red gaze on the pair. Lucifer stilled finally and all the Death Eaters near-by backed away to watch at a safe distance.
"Lucifer," Snape began, fear creeping into his stomach to curl in wait, "He wanted to be with his Lord for his latest triumph."
The Dark Lord's serpentine face stretched into a horrible, secretive grin and Snape knew without a doubt that he was dead.
"Is that so, Snape," the Dark Lord asked, his red eyes glinted maliciously. "Are you sure he's not attempting to rush to his godson's rescue?"
Stunned, Snape stared wide-eyed at the approaching figure as though it was in actuality death that stood before - which it might well have been, he conceded. Lucifer whimpered and crept closer to Snape, as though he might find shelter in the man's billowy black robes.
In a flash, Voldemort had raised his wand and cast a spell which left Sirius Black crouching in place of Lucifer. Snape met Sirius's stunned eyes and silently cursed as Wormtail squeaked from where he held Harry.
"Come to rescue your godson, Sirius Black," Voldemort asked with mock sweetness. He laughed jovially, "You are too late! Harry Potter and all his power belongs to me!"
"You..." Sirius croaked with his infamous Gryffindor courage, "You will never win! Dumbledore-"
"Can not stop me," Voldemort snapped. "Even if he could stop the transfer of power, He'd only kill us both."
Sirius's mouth snapped shut as he realized the full implications of Harry's predicament. The fear in Snape's stomach had now uncurled and was now attacking his heart with a vengeance that did not only have to do with the young boy he had been sent to rescue.
Lord Voldemort grinned, "He didn't tell that there was no way to halt the transfer of power after begun, did he? He neglected to inform you that even the death of one of the participants would set off a magical explosion of enormous proportions in the other?"
Sirius hid his stunned faced in violently shaking hands as the Dark Lord's grin turned mockingly sympathetic, "Poor man. Taken advantage of by one of the only men he thought he could trust..."
Voldemort clucked as he watched Sirius's shoulders shake, then he turned his attention back to Snape.
"You disappoint me, Snape," he told the Potions Master gravely. Didn't you know you could never win back my trust? You had mader it too obvious where your loyalties lay."
Snape stared defiantly at Voldemort, bracing himself for the coming curses.
Voldemort chuckled, "You expect to be cursed. And you will be. But it will be a curse like no other."
A chill ran up Snape's spine and Sirius looked up to stare tearfully at the Dark Lord in horror.
"I am going to let you live a long, healthy life," Voldemort told them. "Surprised? Don't be. I never said it would be happy. You will live each day with the knowledge of your failure. You'll see my reign, my triumph and the boy's death and never be able to stop it. You'll live with the guilt that with one failure, you damned the entire world, and you will have to continue living in that world. In that world, but never a part of it. You'll be worse than ghosts, for even ghosts can interact with the world of the living. You will be in our world, but unable to interact. You will be forced to face your failures for the rest of your lives."
Snape glared stoically at Voldemort as Sirius's eyes popped open and his jaw dropped in disbelief.
Voldemort pointed his wand at the odd pair and grinned his most malicious, evil grin yet, "Enjoy your punishment, my dear fools. And remember, there is no escape."
With that Voldemort bellowed out a spell that pulled power from both his and Harry's resources. A bright purple light burst from his wand and enveloped both man, blinding all who saw it hit. When the Death Eaters' eyes had cleared, there was no sign of Severus Snape or sirius Black. The only evidence that they had ever been there, in fact, was the high-pitched laughter that rang from the Dark Lord's throat, eliciting a small moan from the yet unconscious Harry.
Next Chapter: Revisions- Fun, Fun, Fun!