[3/31/03] Authoritrix Notes: I spell checked it folks, sorry about that!
[Original]Authoritrix Notes: Thanks for the reviews, I love you all. XD Yay, it has a title! A damn good one too. I'll explain that one later. way later. Disclaimer: Harry Potter, a man with a mission. A mission I, the Authoritrix, did not create. J.k.Rowling did. I own Alsto Aveon (yes that's his first name), Agnes (whom you will meet briefly), and the Vargas (husband and wife), just to let you know. Rating: BOOSTED! I had to do it. Sorry! -.-
____________________________________________________________
MYTHUS OF DARK AIRT, THE [UNTITLED]
By: TrSolarCat/RocketSolarCat
Chapter 4-"The Facade/Accusations/Shadowless"
____________________________________________________________
+{Part 1: "Aveon's Facade"}+
Insomnia had taken its toll on him Snape felt his body 'wake' once more, seeing the dark of the room. Knowing then, it was not daytime--or yet after looking at the clock seeing it wasn't anywhere near it. Staring at the room in silence for several minutes, he rose from the bed quietly, eyeing the perch to where his owl was supposed to be, she had not returned. Stretching he yawned, but as his hand fell back on the pillow, he felt something wet. His eyes went down to see the pillow was soaked in blood,"Dammit."
He pinched his nose again.
Getting up he stumbled blindly across the hall to the bathroom, rolling out several strips of tissue from one of the stalls he held his head forward feeling the blood slowly drain into the wadded up ball of tissue. Hearing something from the other room almost a musical melodious sound, he begged his curiosity to let it be, and not want to find out exactly what this noise was. Snape had come to realize his curious nature would get him into trouble faster than much anything else, sometimes he wished he was born without the need or desire to know what was going on about him.
Even years from now, Snape would wish his curiosity to oblivion. Much trouble would come from being 'curious'.
Tonight however as he stalked out into the hallway again and began to follow the sound of the melody, it was a deep tune--almost a sad one. He found himself at the door of the Head of Slytherin, he looked down to see his professor's light was still on, seeping through the cracks of the door at its base.
"Lost your way again, Mr. Snape?"
Severus felt his face go white, turning rapidly about on his heels he seen--his teacher behind him. As quickly as the adrenaline in him had shot up, it fell back--though completely not gone,'Thank the gods it wasn't Riddle.'
The feline-eyed Aveon cocked his head to one side, looking quite annoyed suddenly,"Are you rude, Mr. Snape, or did you just not hear me?"
"No, I heard you..Sir."Severus replied quickly,"I was just awake, and I heard this music and.."
Snape watched the expression on the older man's face, which was always hard to judge because the man hardly made any attempts to display his emotion. Aveon had a questionably disgusted look,"Agnes?"
Pushing past Severus the gray-haired Professor rushed into the room, angerly he half-yelled,"Agnes!"
From the doorway, Severus could hear another voice reply an almost mechanical broken voice,"Agnes bored, Alsto gone, bored bored! Alsto love Agnes."
"Well, either way you woke up a student already, what should you have to say about that? Should 'Alsto' love you for that? And--"Aveon abruptly turned back to the door giving Snape another unreadable glance,"Still there I see, why don't you come in seeing as though you don't want to leave."
Snape held his tongue, almost wanting to say something rash back to the ill-mannered professor's comment. Yet the boy obediently began to step into the room. Noticing first the room was just as the others in the Slytherin house, but contained more than simply the design of the green serpents, there in fact was more pictures of winged creatures than snakes in the entire room. The mantel above the fireplace was bare holding no pictures or other things that might be held on it to represent the professor.
"Alsto!"The voice called again harsher, as Snape noticed the professor backing away from the corner of the room he stood in. Severus finally seen the cause of the ruckus, a sleek black bird with a hook-like beak and a pair of piercing green eyes.
Aveon paid the bird no heed as he made his way across the room, coming to a rest in a silky green chair facing the hearth. Then didn't say anything for several seconds, opening his mouth but still silent as if he were struggling for the words,"Severus, what happened to your nose?"
'Severus?'The boy wondered his eyes looked troubled, he didn't care to answer this question. As he was thinking of a good lie to fool the professor with, when Snape heard him shift in his seat. Making several comments too low for Severus' ears.
"If you have no intentions to talk, Severus, do inform me. I can't have myself being an annoying old prat, can I?"The bitterness in the professor's voice as he spoke made Snape well aware that Aveon was offended.
"Sir, I'm sorry."Severus apologized, yet inside he didn't feel much regret seeing as though the professor was being rude as well, or perhaps it was just in his nature to be this way, Snape couldn't tell.
"So?"
"I fell, and I hit it."He lied, although it was in part the actually truth. He saw the professor shift in his seat again, this time towards him. Aveon was looking straight into his eyes now, glaring into Snape, through him. With the teacher's red eyes staring over Snape; he felt his head turn away.
"And...? Or can I assume, you accidentally strangled yourself?"A weary smile on Aveon's face as he chuckled then shook his head looking away,"No, that wouldn't do. What's the matter with you all? Is it I? That won't do."
That confused Snape, it seemed Aveon wasn't talking to him at all.
He stayed silent as the gray-haired man continued turning to Severus again,"Did you know Gloria did that on purpose?"
"No, Sir, I didn't."
"Neither did I."Aveon gave a cynical laugh, Snape noticed the professor's eyes had a watery glaze over them, as if he was fighting tears. This was not the Professor Aveon Severus was used to seeing, this Professor Aveon wasn't tough, or angry--he wasn't mean or cruel looking. Aveon blinked the tears out of his eyes,"I didn't know.....Forgive me, Mr. Snape, but I believe you've out stayed your 'welcome'....It's best you get to bed, we've a long day tomorrow."
"Aye...Sir."Thats all he found in himself to say, getting up and heading for the open door he turned back to the professor who remained unchanged in the chair,"Goodnight."
"I doubt it will be."Another cynical laugh, before Snape disappeared in the doorway leaving the professor and his bird for the darkness of the hall.
_________________________
+{Part 2: "The Accusation of Gryffindor"}+
Within weeks, it seemed, everyone had forgotten Gloria Enigma's death, all but the Slytherin children who would remind themselves of it through out the day. 'There's were Gloria sat', 'That's Gloria's room'; Severus felt compelled to simply walk away when he found a conversation starting to go towards 'Gloria'. Most of the talks of the brown-haired girl were as he was on his way to Transfiguration Class, in part because to get there you had to walk past the Gryffindor trophy case. As if it wasn't that Gloria was dead, it was that she'd caused the Slytherin's a forfeit and that she caused Gryffindor's to 'win' it. Could that be the only reason they talked about Gloria?
"Selfish people."He heard himself say, looking into the glass of the trophy case, staring at the golden piece of metal that was the sole purpose of the remembrance of Gloria. Good or Bad, they remembered her because of it. Through the reflection he saw one of the Gryffindor's behind him--Potter. His brown hair was fixed around his face; his glasses pushed up around his eyes, looking at Snape, without any expressions on his face.
"Hey, James, come on!"Called another Gryffindor then he seen Potter disappear, again he was alone in the hall.
Finally pulling his eyes from the statue, he continued on towards the classroom, Double Transfiguration. Snape hated Transfiguration with a passion, the teacher McGonagall was about as delightful as Professor Aveon was, normally. Not like he was that night to Snape, maybe it was like that with all the Hogwarts teachers, they seemed nicer when they weren't in public.
Taking a seat near the center of the class behind a mahogany desk beside Lucius (who was more occupied talking to Narcissa Verdell, another Slytherin girl, beside him), Snape had the feeling that eyes were on him. His eyes scanned the room quickly, spotting several Gryffindor nudging each other, and pointing. The same group he'd seen in the library, Lily's friends.
Then Professor McGonagall drew the attention to the front of the class, as the students turned forward the feeling of the boys watching him didn't sway. He felt that way through the entire hour-long session, it rattled his concentration--he couldn't remember anything the teacher had said. Hearing them snicker behind him, he finally leaned over to Lucius and asked him,"Who are those Gryffindor behind us....besides Potter?"
Lucius pulled his hair out of his face, telling Narcissa to wait as he returned Snape's question with an angry,"What?"
The blond made a disgusted face, turning on his elbow towards Snape. Severus gritted his teeth,"Do I have to repeat everything? Who are they?"
Lucius dark eyes rolled back, looking at the boys from the corner of his vision,"Snape those are The Marauders, or so they call themselves....it's Peter Petigrew, Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Sirius Black."
"No Lily?"Snape questioned, mainly to himself as he seen Lucius shrug him off and turn back to the snobbish looking Slytherin girl.
From that day forward during passing, and generally anytime a student from Gryffindor could be around, Snape felt the Marauders eyes on him. He knew they had been watching him, but the prospect of them having nothing better to do than chase after him seemed irrational. As much as the young Slytherin tried, he couldn't shake off the tendency to glance over his shoulder--expecting someone to be there. If not James and his Gryffindor friends, Tom Riddle might have been there. In any case, Severus was beginning to think Tom Riddle made up that name, Voldemort, just to confuse him--and it was definitely working.
Finally one day the Gryffindors approached him, it was exactly a week from when Snape first knew they were watching him for some reason or other. During one passing was when they approached, the Marauders--and Snape (fairly uneven odds, if they were to fight).
The brown-haired Lupin was first to speak, in a polite voice,"Excuse us, Snape. Can we have a word with you?"
"Finally."He heard himself growl, giving the others behind Lupin a intimidating glare, flicking his hair from his face carelessly.
Remus seemed to brush off the rude reply, continuing,"You know what happened to Lily, right?"
"No, why would I? She's in your house."Severus didn't know why he was being this way when Lupin was only asking a simple question, he just felt the anger swelling inside him from all the things that had happened to him this year.
One of the others, Sirius Black, pushed his way past Lupin advancing on Snape, pointing a broad finger at him,"Listen! I don't know what your problem is, you grease-head--"
"Sirius!"It was Potter this time, pulling the angry Gryffindor back by the arm,"Snape, just answer the question!"
"Why? You already suspect it's me!"Snape yelled back reaching for his wand, which was shoved in his black robes from the previous class,"Go on let him go, I'll curse his sorry arse!"
Black struggled against James harder breaking free his chest heaved, and his face was screwed up in a nasty scowl,"You can tell just by the way he's acting he cursed Lily!"
'Lily is cursed?'Severus wondered promptly before making a hasty decision to tell them the truth, as he glanced at the clock which until now seemed unimportant,"I don't know what happened to Lily. I didn't even know she was cursed, until that git--"He smirked odiously at Sirius,"--said so. Now unless you have anything else to say to me, such as an apology, I'll be leaving."
Seeing a mix of strange emotions strike the Marauders after he'd said that he turned away before they could reply to him, a smile began to widen on his face. Severus determined the Marauders weren't anything he needed to be worried about. Seeing the shocked look on Potter's face, that look of innocent confusion on Remus, and the hate on Black's features--it only made Severus' victory more blissfully gratifying.
No wonder Professor Aveon walked around with such an unagreeable attitude, it was self-satisfying. To be able to shock everyone into a wordless state of astonishment, a loathing astonishment they couldn't reply to without making themselves a fool. Severus had seen this before, mainly from the Slytherins and finally understood exactly what drove a person to act in such a way.
Feeling better about himself Snape pranced into the Potions Class just as final bell sounded, flopping down into a chair beside Avery. Lucius, whom sat behind the both of them, seen Snape's lighthearted attitude then lurched forward placing his himself between Avery and Snape. His blond hair fell onto Snape as he rested his chin on the boy's shoulder,"You're in a cheery mood, Snape, is something wrong--or should I say 'right'?"
Avery took noticed of the lingering smile on the younger boy's face as well.
Snape covered his face, as Professor Dumbledore walked by them towards the front of the room where he stood, before acknowledging the two's inquiries,"The Marauders..."
Lucius let out a small chuckle, as did Avery, seeming without words they'd understood what Snape had done.
"I'll tell you later."Snape whispered as he seen Dumbledore's eyes fall on them Lucius fell back into his seat.
"Mr. Snape, if you're done gossiping with your fellow Slytherins I'd like to teach class."With an eyebrow cocked Dumbledore continued to peer at Snape with his kind blue eyes. Meaning to intimidate him, but Snape didn't feel intimidation instead guilt; Dumbledore turned back to the class.
Beginning to explain, in a monotone voice, the potion they were to be making today Dumbledore told them details of every aspect of the potion.
Severus didn't pay attention. He never did, especially in Potions, weither it was because he had an inflated ego over the subject of potions or he just didn't feel in the mood for it. It was a rarity for Severus to not know about a potion, at least all the ones legal for a wizard to make and few of the other sort, it was the family 'business' to know potions. During the Great Wizarding Wars in the past most the Snapes had been most learnt in potions and most trusted with just that during the entire length of the Wars. What could a professor, even if it was Dumbledore, teach a Snape about potions?
After several minutes Dumbledore told them to get out their supplies and begin.
"What's this one again?"Snape lazily asked Avery who was pulling out his cauldron from his bag below the table. Avery gave a ridiculing remark, hitting his head on the low table before pulling out the cauldron.
"Damn, you should at least listen to that, Snape, he said it was a Rememberall Potion. You know the kind you put in a Rememberall Sphere."A knot began to form on Avery's head, as he rubbed it carefully.
"I see. Do you have the moonstone fragments?"Snape questioned nonchalantly as Avery pulled out a small glass tube of the glittering substance,"The yggdraasil roots?"
"The what?"Avery howled, digging deeper in the brown lapbag.
"Only kidding."Snape didn't raise his voice,"I think you've got it all in there. You crush the wolfsbane, I'll heat the cauldron with the aconitium in it."
Placing the cauldron between the two of them Snape quickly put water into the black kettle, opening the flask of monk's hood (aconitium), as he put it in the pot started to bubble loudly mist pouring from it. Satisfied with it, Snape turned towards Avery where he expected to find the wolfsbane chopped, yet it was still in whole on the table.
"Avery..."Getting no response, Severus grabbed the entire weed chopping it up briskly on the paper in which it lay while Avery was turned away, saying sarcasticly,"Thank you, Avery! You're so much help."
Flicking his hair once more, he stood up leaning over the cauldron slowly curling the paper up into a chute, tipping the paper, slowly letting the weeds fall into the blacken substance. Smoke rose up in pot flowing freely into Snape face, clouding most of his vision as he leaned back the smoke seemed to follow him. All that was left to do was to put the potion into the large glass flask that was somewhere on the table. Snape couldn't see a thing, as strange as it seemed, every time he leaned away from the cauldron the smoke followed him.
'Just get it in the bottle, put a stopper in it.'Snape reached out blindly for the flask, feeling his hand fall on it,"You know Aver--"He coughed sickly, as he grabbed the flask in his hand tightening his grip on it, his eyes could see nothing but this fog that seemed to surround him. Suddenly feeling dizzy, he called out to Avery again almost dropping the glass bottle.
Something was wrong with the potion, it wasn't supposed to be doing this.
It was happening to him again, just like in the Quidditch Pitch and Great Hall, this feeling of his head getting heavier, his eyes falling.
//Poison.\\
This had to be stopped, Snape's grip tightened on the transparent bottle he knew that, but he knew nothing else just the glass was there--for all he could feel everything else around him wasn't.
"Solevere!" Dispel.
"Liberatio!" Release.
"Mit--"
//Poison them all, Severus. You know you must, they don't deserve an easy death, give it to them slowly. Painfully. Something that will make them wish they were dead even as it ravages the inside of them.\\As the voice ran through him, Snape felt his grip tighten on the bottle, he wasn't letting it go--if he did then he'd be lost. Yelling every disarming spell he knew as the voice went on--why didn't Avery hear him?
The distant noise of glass breaking.
It was so far away, was it even real?
A burning pain struck Severus, running through his body like it had pierced his very vains--hot liquid--he knew he was bleeding now, but still couldn't free himself from the cloud that hung over him. A strangled scream, the pain was still there--pulsating, his arms reached out for something. Anything. Finding nothing, as his chest heaved with the rigid breaths he drew in, he felt another unmanageable darkness fall on him.
'No more. I can't take it, you can have me.'He told the voice, nothing was left in him to struggle with, then he let the black consume him--nothing he could do could stop it.
___________________________________________________
+{Part 3: "Absque Umbra [Without a Shadow]"}+
Word travels fast through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so it was no surprise the Head of Slytherin was not the first person to reach the medical ward right after the incident occurred. Fighting his way through the many students Alsto first found the sulking form of Lucius Malfoy, the flaxen haired youth was sitting on a beige colored nurse's bench. Looking up Malfoy had a tainted red cloth up to his face.
"What happened?"Alsto yelled in a dry voice, but seeing the boy flinch as tears formed in his eyes, Alsto sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder changing his tone,"Are you alright?"
"I just got hit with some of the glass, Sir."Lucius still looked like he was about to burst into tears, Alsto had never seen the boy in such a state,"It was Avery and Snape who..."
"Aveon!"
The aged professor turned away from Lucius and met the person approaching him, her hair was frazzled and falling out of a ponytail she wore, she stopped panting,"He's in the back room, Dumbledore sent me after you...."
Turning back to Lucius the professor glanced at the bloody rag he was pressing gingerly into the side of his face, then back to the nurse.
"Lead me...."Aveon reluctantly told the nurse, as she went into the crowd glancing over her shoulder at him. Pushing up his glasses, he stepped into the crowd as well, seeing this was getting him no where he stopped,"Everyone, if you aren't essential, get out!"
This seemed to have an effect on them, as half the crowd looked at the red-eyed professor. Smoothing his hair back behind his ears and giving them all a cold glance,"Or it will be the expense of your own house, and I don't care which house that may be."
Almost instantly the room cleared, they all were well aware Alsto would indeed take points off any house, including his own.
"I can't believe the whole goddamn school was invited down here!" Muttered the teacher, catching up to the skinny young nurse who had stopped before him,"Where--?"
Alsto didn't need the nurse's answer.
He heard his student first. A strangled cracking scream above any other voice, of the remaining people in nurse's station. He couldn't make out the words being screamed though he was sure the boy was yelling something.
As Alsto stepped closer, his student was laying on a makeshift cot. When he had mustered up enough strength in himself, he looked onto the youth's face.
Severus Snape.
Sweat trickled down from his raven hair; tears fell from his closed eyes, tightly shut his whole body was tensed. His right hand was bandaged tightly, still blood was seeping through, and it twitched sporadically while Alsto was watching.
"What...happened?"The professor asked, turning to Dumbledore who was sitting in a chair, his hands over his face.
"From what I can tell it was the potion we were working on, a Rememberall."Dumbledore shifted in his seat,"And, then, from what I can tell, he had such a tight grip on the bottle....it shattered. But...I still don't understand why he hasn't awakened...."
"Tried a Resolvere?"He asked, taking a seat beside pale older man, looking at him,"Something has to be on him then, that made this happen....a curse."
"Cicuta......"Snape gasped his head thrusted to one side as if it'd been knocked that way by some force inside his body. His wounded hand twisted in the white sheets of the cot smearing the blood, continuing in an almost malicious voice,"....medicamentum......virusi.......I'll teach you.......You'll think twice...you godDAMN WHORE!"
This brought both of the men to their feet hastily. Dumbledore looked at Alsto who returned the questioning look Dumbledore had with a staggering utterance,"No...Dumbledore...he didn't."
"He poisoned her."A meek voice, they both turned to see the nurse, standing behind them both, she'd been there all the time,"Lily....we found those in her..."
"You can't think it was him..."Alsto scowled defensively, Dumbledore lower his eyes, as the professor got up approaching Snape. Reaching his hand out, over the boy's body,"There is something."
"Alsto."Dumbledore attempted to put a hand on the professor's shoulder, the platinum haired man pushed away, getting closer to Snape.
"There's something causing this!"The hand over Snape, scanning once more.
Suddenly, Snape's weak hand shot up, grasping at the professor blindly--catching his wrist, his eyes snapped open at first not seeming to see Alsto there. Then the boy's eyes drew in light,"Professor...."
"Severus...."Alsto let the boy's hand stay,"...Did you know what you were saying...just now?"
"No...what?"A forceless answer, weakened the boy let his hand drop cradling it to his chest,"Where are we?"
Giving a quick look about to see if Dumbledore had heard it too, as well as the nurse.
"The nurse's station, Snape."
"I don't want to stay here."He began to struggle, back arching--pulling himself up.
"Stay still."Alsto whispered to him, his voice sounded so different. Severus was caught in the professor's ruby eyes again it was something different than what he usually had there. A gentleness that wasn't ever there before,"I'll take you to your room, if that's what you honestly want, you can't go yourself. Let me go and speak to the nurses, Snape, and I'll get you out of here."
Aveon glanced to Dumbledore, looking into each others eyes they both sluggishly walked out of Snape's line of vision, once they were far enough away from Snape's ears Alsto whispered,"Dumbledore, you can't suspect it's him. Let me deal with this, I assure you I'll find some resolution. Just let me...."
"Alsto, I know. I don't want to believe it's Snape either, but I'll let you. It worries me he knows this potion anyways, him being a Snape he would know most potions....but this one has been outlawed....and it's exactly how Lily was poisoned. These aren't good odds for you, Alsto."
"I've had harder. Where is Dippet?"
"Away on a meeting with the Ministry."Dumbledore smiled,"You're in luck."
"Luck isn't what this about, Albus. Well, I'll keep him in my room, so I can watch him."Alsto concluded, beginning to walk back towards the area Snape was in. His whole body seemed weak with some inner conflict he was undergoing, his eyes glued ahead.
"Alsto you're always trying to save face, aren't you? Don't worry, I doubt getting close to one student isn't going to corrupt you into being a nicer person."A wide smile on Dumbledore's face, the professor gave him a weak smile in return.
"I hope not."
*********************
The professor had carried the drowsy Snape from the nurse's station all the way to the Slytherin Common's room. He considered it a great feet, for certain, being able to master the changing stairwells with a ten year-old in his arms. Severus was drifting in and out of a conscious state all the time, never saying anything to Alsto.
Opening the door with a shaking hand, Alsto pushed it open with back. The fire was still going though it was the only light, casting shadows all over the room. The room was silent save Agnes who began to cry out as soon as his emerald eyes spotted Alsto in the doorway.
"For heaven's sake! Agnes, be quiet!"
Snape began to stir his head rolled onto Aveon's chest, as the professor got nearer to couch, shifting the boy's weight as he slowly put him down to a rest. His eyes opened lazily,"Professor?"
"Yes?"Alsto absently asked, straightening once more, he took several steps away leaning against the silky green chair, brushing the sweat from his face.
Snape seemed to be staring at the fire, a calculating look on his face, staring at the ground, it seemed. Alsto noted it was at his feet to which Snape was glaring,"Professor....you have no shadow."
Caught off guard, the professor put on a perplexed face as well.
"Saemund.....Of Dark Airt......"Snape weakly smiled, his eyes closed once more as if what he had said was a secondary thought and nothing more.
Shaken by this the professor simply stood there in the shadows. The shadows in which he had no contribution to, from his body sprung no shadow just as the boy had said. But the name, which Snape had called him, was one he'd not heard in a long time.
Saemund of Dark Airt.
___________________________________
Authoritrix notes: I know I know, where's the Tom? I swear I didn't mean to leave him out of this one. I didn't mean to make this one so long either! I'm sorry! Thank you for dealing with me!
next up:
INTERLUDE: "The Tale of Dark Airt" (I'm just retelling it, in my version).
CHAPTER 5--"(unknown)" --sorry I haven't decided! -.-;;