Severus Snape sat in an armchair, staring into the glowing embers in his
fireplace. He was trying to figure out what had just happened. He hadn't
experienced anything like that in the past.how many years was it? It felt
like forever. It had made him feel an odd stirring in his chest, something
he hadn't felt for years. Twenty years, to be precise. It had all started
then.
He joined the Death Eaters when he was a seventh year student at Hogwarts. He was young, and wanted to fit in with a group, any group, and it seemed that they were the only ones that would accept him.
Although the identities of most Death Eaters were kept secret, even from each other, each new recruit was given a mentor - someone to show them what was expected of them and how to keep the Dark Lord pleased. Snape's mentor was a beautiful young woman, only a few years older than him.
She taught him the ways of the Death Eaters, and a few other things. She very easily seduced the impressionable teenager, and was soon using him to get anything she wanted. From illegal potions to expensive jewelry to simple candy, he was willing to give her anything that he could get his hands on. Severus decided that he would give his very life for her, should she desire it.
And so, when she came to him one night asking for a favor, he was more than willing to oblige. She said she was hungry, and needed food. He offered to sneak into the kitchens to get her anything, but she said she needed a different type of food. She needed his blood.
At first Severus thought it was a joke; vampires didn't go around making friends with you and then asking for your blood, they just attacked you and took it. But she was very serious, and so he allowed her to bite him and fell unconscious.
When he had awoken, he felt oddly cold and still. He was alone, and it was the next morning. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his skin was unusually pale and unhealthy-looking, and his formerly thick, smooth black hair had become somewhat stringy and thin. He wondered why he felt so empty, and after a few seconds of searching for a pulse, he realized that he had none. It was as if his heart was simply gone.
And now, twenty years later, he thought he had felt a flicker of a heartbeat as he sat on Hermione's arm, listening to that simple melody. He had been out to stretch his wings and get a bite to eat (he only ate small animals and insects now), when he saw the motion on the balcony. Although he would never bite another human being, he had felt a strange longing to go to her.
As he approached her, he saw that she was sleepwalking. He studied the expressions that flickered across her face as she stumbled through the fresh snow. First confusion, then fear and curiosity, and finally a peaceful smile as she began to sing. He sat on the railing, totally entranced by her song.
Then, she woke with a start, and he could see the confusion on her face as she tried to figure out where she was. When she saw him, she started to back away, and fell into the snow. He wanted to make sure she was alright, and he wanted to hear that song again, so he moved to sit on her arm.
She began to sing hesitantly, and then gained as much confidence as she had had in her sleep. Severus found himself transported by the music. As he listened to it, all his troubles and worries seemed to fade away. He wanted nothing more than to sit there forever and feel the peace and inner warmth he found in the music. But at the same time, the song made him think clearly, and he realized there was only a little while longer until dawn, at which point he would be forced into human form again.
He had flown away and headed for his rooms just as the sun began to rise. Now, he was trying to figure out what it was he had just heard, and how it could pull a heartbeat from a man who presumably no longer had a heart.
He joined the Death Eaters when he was a seventh year student at Hogwarts. He was young, and wanted to fit in with a group, any group, and it seemed that they were the only ones that would accept him.
Although the identities of most Death Eaters were kept secret, even from each other, each new recruit was given a mentor - someone to show them what was expected of them and how to keep the Dark Lord pleased. Snape's mentor was a beautiful young woman, only a few years older than him.
She taught him the ways of the Death Eaters, and a few other things. She very easily seduced the impressionable teenager, and was soon using him to get anything she wanted. From illegal potions to expensive jewelry to simple candy, he was willing to give her anything that he could get his hands on. Severus decided that he would give his very life for her, should she desire it.
And so, when she came to him one night asking for a favor, he was more than willing to oblige. She said she was hungry, and needed food. He offered to sneak into the kitchens to get her anything, but she said she needed a different type of food. She needed his blood.
At first Severus thought it was a joke; vampires didn't go around making friends with you and then asking for your blood, they just attacked you and took it. But she was very serious, and so he allowed her to bite him and fell unconscious.
When he had awoken, he felt oddly cold and still. He was alone, and it was the next morning. Looking in the mirror, he saw that his skin was unusually pale and unhealthy-looking, and his formerly thick, smooth black hair had become somewhat stringy and thin. He wondered why he felt so empty, and after a few seconds of searching for a pulse, he realized that he had none. It was as if his heart was simply gone.
And now, twenty years later, he thought he had felt a flicker of a heartbeat as he sat on Hermione's arm, listening to that simple melody. He had been out to stretch his wings and get a bite to eat (he only ate small animals and insects now), when he saw the motion on the balcony. Although he would never bite another human being, he had felt a strange longing to go to her.
As he approached her, he saw that she was sleepwalking. He studied the expressions that flickered across her face as she stumbled through the fresh snow. First confusion, then fear and curiosity, and finally a peaceful smile as she began to sing. He sat on the railing, totally entranced by her song.
Then, she woke with a start, and he could see the confusion on her face as she tried to figure out where she was. When she saw him, she started to back away, and fell into the snow. He wanted to make sure she was alright, and he wanted to hear that song again, so he moved to sit on her arm.
She began to sing hesitantly, and then gained as much confidence as she had had in her sleep. Severus found himself transported by the music. As he listened to it, all his troubles and worries seemed to fade away. He wanted nothing more than to sit there forever and feel the peace and inner warmth he found in the music. But at the same time, the song made him think clearly, and he realized there was only a little while longer until dawn, at which point he would be forced into human form again.
He had flown away and headed for his rooms just as the sun began to rise. Now, he was trying to figure out what it was he had just heard, and how it could pull a heartbeat from a man who presumably no longer had a heart.