It was the one day of the year that Severus Snape looked forward to. Christmases, birthdays, all passed without acknowledgement, but the day the students left for the summer was a time for celebration - at least in theory. In reality, he was simply trying to finish grading papers so he could leave the castle for his much deserved vacation and solitude. As night fell, the candle sitting on his desk burned out, snapping him from a daze. He looked back to the Ordinary Wizarding Level exam he was reviewing. It was covered in red marks, like a bloody battlefield. In the fading light he could barely make out the name at the top of the page. As unlikely as it seemed, Severus was positive that Longbottom must have retained some knowledge in the past five years of class. More likely than not, though, this knowledge was probably limited to when best to duck and cover, or the most efficient way to blackmail the Granger girl. He sighed and rose from his chair, throwing the quill and the exam onto his desk. At least he would never have to see Longbottom's quivering, stuttering, and just plain annoying form in his classroom again. Severus wandered through the open doorway to the empty dungeon classroom. The light was dim in here as well, but bright enough to properly brew a potion. With that thought in mind, he made his way to the simmering cauldron on his desk. Peering in, he gave it a half-hearted stir and sat on the edge of the table before it.
Years of work could come to fruition or disappear down the drain with this batch. Under Dumbledore's watchful insistence, Severus had been working on and off on a cure for lycanthropy since Remus Lupin was offered the Defence Against the Dark Arts position three years before. He had the sinking feeling that if he succeeded in this breakthrough, it would mean yet another rejection of his application for that post. It might be worth it, though. Not even Lockhart had managed to rid the world of werewolves, no matter how many Aurors he obliviated. A ghost of a smile drifted past his lips, but before it could reach his eyes a burning pain ripped through his left forearm. His sleeves were rolled up and he could see the Dark Mark, as black as the day he was branded. Severus raced back through his office and into his rooms. He threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and shouted "Albus Dumbledore's office" as he searched for his standard issue Death Eater robe and mask. Dumbledore's head appeared in the fireplace, clearing it's throat, and Severus announced that he had been called without even turning around. Finally, robe and mask in hand, he raced out of his dungeons and to the edge of the anti-apparation barrier. Still in the fireplace, Dumbledore watched the man leave until he heard the resounding boom of the main doors. He shook his head slightly and a sad look crossed his features for a moment, before he disappeared from the hearth.
When Severus reappeared, he seemed to be the last to have arrived. Everyone was more anxious and uneasy than usual. Voldemort was sitting in a chair, facing the fire and ignoring everyone, in an almost trancelike state. The only sound came from a woman, crumpled on the floor. She was overtaken by violent spasms and the screams that accompanied them. The fits came in waves, and stopped just as suddenly as they started. She wasn't being tortured at the moment, but it was clear that she had been subjected to something repeatedly over the past few days. Before he had the chance to wonder who she was, Voldemort rose from his seat.
"Andrews, escort Mrs.. Lestrange out. Everyone is here." His raspy command sounded almost cheerful, and rightfully so. Voldemort loved any opportunity to demonstrate the price of failure, and Bellatrix Lestrange had failed him. A rather delicate looking man stepped forward to usher the now silent woman from the room.
"I would imagine everyone has heard the news," the meeting began without ceremony. "Six among our number have been imprisoned, and the entire wizarding world now knows of my return." He lowered himself back into his chair, Pettigrew sitting on the floor beside him, and continued. Severus committed each detail to memory, and just as he thought the meeting was over, Voldemort stood once again. "Andrews, if you would tell Nott to bring in our guest of honor, we can conclude the evening." Within seconds, Andrews had left and returned, a woman and a cloaked Death Eater, Nott, trailing behind him. The woman was tall and beautiful, and Severus's eyes traveled over her body until he realized that the others were doing the same. Her hands were bound behind her back, but she appeared unharmed. Nott, however, looked considerably worse for the wear. He walked with a noticeable limp, and several spots on his robes were dampened with blood - his own. The party made their way to the front of the room.
"Untie me," the woman said, looking at Voldemort. The crowd was torn between laughter and shock at the demand, but the Dark Lord simply looked to Nott and instructed him to do as she said. Nott obeyed, and the woman rubbed at her bare wrists as Voldemort began to speak.
"This," he began, with a gesture toward the woman, "is Lorena Weir, a recent... acquisition from New York."
"She's exquisite," proclaimed a man who had usurped Lucius Malfoy's position as Voldemort's lapdog in his absence, "but are American whores really worth the trip?" As soon as the question had passed his lips, Lorena was in front of the man. Nott cringed in sympathy as Lorena seized the man's neck and slammed his head against the wall, denting the ancient wood. She didn't speak, but glared at him as she walked back to the Dark Lord's side. As soon as she turned away, the man slid to the floor, where Voldemort hexed him for the interruption.
"I'm sorry to disappoint everyone," he said once that task was done, "but she is not the entertainment. Ms. Weir is, however, more valuable than the rest of you put together. I expect her to be treated accordingly, because she'll be attending every meeting from now." This made everyone distinctly nervous after the recent display. "This darling chit," he continued fondly with a pat on her cheek, "has been chosen to wed a Death Eater and usher in the next generation. The generation who can bow before me openly and pledge their allegiance from the time of their birth. Our moment is at hand, and the child this woman will bear will be extraordinarily special. This child will be the next Dark Lord." A dull roar of murmurs flooded the audience. "I believe that we are finished for the night," he continued with amazing calm after such an announcement, "You are dismissed." The crowd shifted to leave and began walking out the door when Voldemort spoke again, "Severus. Stay." Severus stopped in his tracks. The crowd parted around him as he walked back toward the Dark Lord. With additional prodding, the other Death Eaters left the room to dissapparate back to their lives.
Once the room was cleared of all but Voldemort, Pettigrew, Lorena, and Severus, Voldemort sat again. Pettigrew brought forth a small table. Resting on it was a shallow bowl and ceremonial knife. "You should be well aware," Voldemort told Severus, "that as one of the last decendents of Salazar Slytherin, you are the only one among our number worthy for this assignment." Severus nodded but remained silent. "It should be simple enough for even you. I'll preform the ceremony and you'll be married, to keep any illegitamates from wandering around. You *will* behave as a married couple, and she has a time frame of a year and a half in which to conceive. Do you have any questions?"
"No, my lord," Severus answered hastily.
"Good. We'll begin. Wormtail!" The chubby man scurried toward his master. At a nod he grabbed their wand arms, both left, and slit their wrists. First Severus and then Lorena bled into the shallow bowl. Voldemort drew circles in the air over the bowl with his wand, reciting an incantation. The open wounds on their wrists glowed golden for a moment, and just as they were about to heal and complete the bonding a white light surrounded them both. It faded just as quickly as it arrived, but where the slit wrists would have healed, a thin golden line marked their places.
"What happened?" Lorena looked genuinely startled. She wasn't the only one.
"It's a type of bond, but I'm not sure what's going on," The Dark Lord seemed to have forgotten himself entirely in the moment. "If there's information anywhere, it's bound to be in the Hogwarts library. Go now, and I'll call you in a week," This last part was directed at Severus. He dismissed them both with a distracted and thoughtful wave of his hand, and they left. It wasn't until they had reached the anti-apparation barriers that either realized how awkward a situation they were in.
"We should get to Hogwarts. I don't know of anywhere else with such an extensive library..." Severus trailed off. Lorena was wearing robes, but he didn't know if she was a witch. He had never seen anyone with magic physically attack some one as a first resort. She could be a squib, or she may have been dressed in those clothes by Voldemort himself. He had no idea how long she'd been there.
"Can you transfigure something into a knife for me? Please," Lorena added the plea as an afterthought.
"I beg your pardon," Severus looked at her in absolute confusion.
"To cut this off," Lorena had slipped her thumb beneath a thin silver cord magically knotted around her neck. Severus recognized it from the only bit of History of Magic class he remembered. It was a Neutralisez, a cord that drained the magic out of anyone it was tied around. It was a nasty little trick from the Goblin Rebellions, and made Severus even more nervous than he had been. Even more unusual than a muggle Voldemort would consider useful was a witch he would fear. Under any other circumstances, the Dark Lord would have been content to simply take her wand. Severus doubted that even Dumbledore would have been disabled with a Neutralisez had he been a prisoner. Severus pulled his wand out of his sleeve and promptly transfigured a nearby stick into a replica of the dagger that had been used to marry them. He handed her the knife, but she seemed unable to find a way to remove it without cutting herself.
"Here, let me," Severus stepped towards her, taking the knife from her hand. He moved to stand behind her. Severus felt Lorena tense and heard her breathing become shallow as he gathered her waist-length copper hair in his hands and placed it over her shoulder. He slipped the knife under the cord and cut it in half, backing away immediately. Normally it would take days, if not weeks, for a person released from a Neutralisez to regain their powers, but this night was anything but normal. She turned around and mumbled a thank you, taking the dagger from him. She tossed it to the ground, but when it reached the dirt below them it had become the stick it started out as. Her magic was back, and apparently wandless.
"Could we double apparate to Hogwarts? I don't think I'm quite up to the trip yet," Severus could only nod dumbly as she wrapped her arms around him and let him know that she was ready to leave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I am well aware that this is unbelievably out of character. My explanation for Voldy forgetting to be evil and Snape forgetting to be snarky is that the bonding white light thing is almost unheard of. Added to that, the whole situation is just bizarre. I planned a fight between Lorena and Severus for this chapter just to demonstrate that this wouldn't be all peaches and cream, but I got lazy and decided that I wanted to get this out tonight. Sorry it's so short. You'll find out all about the bond in the next chapter. That's assuming anyone cares. If no one cares enough to review, I'll just let it die where it is. By the way, "I Will Buy You a New Life" is the title of an Everclear song as well as the title of the story. I forgot to say that last chapter.
Years of work could come to fruition or disappear down the drain with this batch. Under Dumbledore's watchful insistence, Severus had been working on and off on a cure for lycanthropy since Remus Lupin was offered the Defence Against the Dark Arts position three years before. He had the sinking feeling that if he succeeded in this breakthrough, it would mean yet another rejection of his application for that post. It might be worth it, though. Not even Lockhart had managed to rid the world of werewolves, no matter how many Aurors he obliviated. A ghost of a smile drifted past his lips, but before it could reach his eyes a burning pain ripped through his left forearm. His sleeves were rolled up and he could see the Dark Mark, as black as the day he was branded. Severus raced back through his office and into his rooms. He threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and shouted "Albus Dumbledore's office" as he searched for his standard issue Death Eater robe and mask. Dumbledore's head appeared in the fireplace, clearing it's throat, and Severus announced that he had been called without even turning around. Finally, robe and mask in hand, he raced out of his dungeons and to the edge of the anti-apparation barrier. Still in the fireplace, Dumbledore watched the man leave until he heard the resounding boom of the main doors. He shook his head slightly and a sad look crossed his features for a moment, before he disappeared from the hearth.
When Severus reappeared, he seemed to be the last to have arrived. Everyone was more anxious and uneasy than usual. Voldemort was sitting in a chair, facing the fire and ignoring everyone, in an almost trancelike state. The only sound came from a woman, crumpled on the floor. She was overtaken by violent spasms and the screams that accompanied them. The fits came in waves, and stopped just as suddenly as they started. She wasn't being tortured at the moment, but it was clear that she had been subjected to something repeatedly over the past few days. Before he had the chance to wonder who she was, Voldemort rose from his seat.
"Andrews, escort Mrs.. Lestrange out. Everyone is here." His raspy command sounded almost cheerful, and rightfully so. Voldemort loved any opportunity to demonstrate the price of failure, and Bellatrix Lestrange had failed him. A rather delicate looking man stepped forward to usher the now silent woman from the room.
"I would imagine everyone has heard the news," the meeting began without ceremony. "Six among our number have been imprisoned, and the entire wizarding world now knows of my return." He lowered himself back into his chair, Pettigrew sitting on the floor beside him, and continued. Severus committed each detail to memory, and just as he thought the meeting was over, Voldemort stood once again. "Andrews, if you would tell Nott to bring in our guest of honor, we can conclude the evening." Within seconds, Andrews had left and returned, a woman and a cloaked Death Eater, Nott, trailing behind him. The woman was tall and beautiful, and Severus's eyes traveled over her body until he realized that the others were doing the same. Her hands were bound behind her back, but she appeared unharmed. Nott, however, looked considerably worse for the wear. He walked with a noticeable limp, and several spots on his robes were dampened with blood - his own. The party made their way to the front of the room.
"Untie me," the woman said, looking at Voldemort. The crowd was torn between laughter and shock at the demand, but the Dark Lord simply looked to Nott and instructed him to do as she said. Nott obeyed, and the woman rubbed at her bare wrists as Voldemort began to speak.
"This," he began, with a gesture toward the woman, "is Lorena Weir, a recent... acquisition from New York."
"She's exquisite," proclaimed a man who had usurped Lucius Malfoy's position as Voldemort's lapdog in his absence, "but are American whores really worth the trip?" As soon as the question had passed his lips, Lorena was in front of the man. Nott cringed in sympathy as Lorena seized the man's neck and slammed his head against the wall, denting the ancient wood. She didn't speak, but glared at him as she walked back to the Dark Lord's side. As soon as she turned away, the man slid to the floor, where Voldemort hexed him for the interruption.
"I'm sorry to disappoint everyone," he said once that task was done, "but she is not the entertainment. Ms. Weir is, however, more valuable than the rest of you put together. I expect her to be treated accordingly, because she'll be attending every meeting from now." This made everyone distinctly nervous after the recent display. "This darling chit," he continued fondly with a pat on her cheek, "has been chosen to wed a Death Eater and usher in the next generation. The generation who can bow before me openly and pledge their allegiance from the time of their birth. Our moment is at hand, and the child this woman will bear will be extraordinarily special. This child will be the next Dark Lord." A dull roar of murmurs flooded the audience. "I believe that we are finished for the night," he continued with amazing calm after such an announcement, "You are dismissed." The crowd shifted to leave and began walking out the door when Voldemort spoke again, "Severus. Stay." Severus stopped in his tracks. The crowd parted around him as he walked back toward the Dark Lord. With additional prodding, the other Death Eaters left the room to dissapparate back to their lives.
Once the room was cleared of all but Voldemort, Pettigrew, Lorena, and Severus, Voldemort sat again. Pettigrew brought forth a small table. Resting on it was a shallow bowl and ceremonial knife. "You should be well aware," Voldemort told Severus, "that as one of the last decendents of Salazar Slytherin, you are the only one among our number worthy for this assignment." Severus nodded but remained silent. "It should be simple enough for even you. I'll preform the ceremony and you'll be married, to keep any illegitamates from wandering around. You *will* behave as a married couple, and she has a time frame of a year and a half in which to conceive. Do you have any questions?"
"No, my lord," Severus answered hastily.
"Good. We'll begin. Wormtail!" The chubby man scurried toward his master. At a nod he grabbed their wand arms, both left, and slit their wrists. First Severus and then Lorena bled into the shallow bowl. Voldemort drew circles in the air over the bowl with his wand, reciting an incantation. The open wounds on their wrists glowed golden for a moment, and just as they were about to heal and complete the bonding a white light surrounded them both. It faded just as quickly as it arrived, but where the slit wrists would have healed, a thin golden line marked their places.
"What happened?" Lorena looked genuinely startled. She wasn't the only one.
"It's a type of bond, but I'm not sure what's going on," The Dark Lord seemed to have forgotten himself entirely in the moment. "If there's information anywhere, it's bound to be in the Hogwarts library. Go now, and I'll call you in a week," This last part was directed at Severus. He dismissed them both with a distracted and thoughtful wave of his hand, and they left. It wasn't until they had reached the anti-apparation barriers that either realized how awkward a situation they were in.
"We should get to Hogwarts. I don't know of anywhere else with such an extensive library..." Severus trailed off. Lorena was wearing robes, but he didn't know if she was a witch. He had never seen anyone with magic physically attack some one as a first resort. She could be a squib, or she may have been dressed in those clothes by Voldemort himself. He had no idea how long she'd been there.
"Can you transfigure something into a knife for me? Please," Lorena added the plea as an afterthought.
"I beg your pardon," Severus looked at her in absolute confusion.
"To cut this off," Lorena had slipped her thumb beneath a thin silver cord magically knotted around her neck. Severus recognized it from the only bit of History of Magic class he remembered. It was a Neutralisez, a cord that drained the magic out of anyone it was tied around. It was a nasty little trick from the Goblin Rebellions, and made Severus even more nervous than he had been. Even more unusual than a muggle Voldemort would consider useful was a witch he would fear. Under any other circumstances, the Dark Lord would have been content to simply take her wand. Severus doubted that even Dumbledore would have been disabled with a Neutralisez had he been a prisoner. Severus pulled his wand out of his sleeve and promptly transfigured a nearby stick into a replica of the dagger that had been used to marry them. He handed her the knife, but she seemed unable to find a way to remove it without cutting herself.
"Here, let me," Severus stepped towards her, taking the knife from her hand. He moved to stand behind her. Severus felt Lorena tense and heard her breathing become shallow as he gathered her waist-length copper hair in his hands and placed it over her shoulder. He slipped the knife under the cord and cut it in half, backing away immediately. Normally it would take days, if not weeks, for a person released from a Neutralisez to regain their powers, but this night was anything but normal. She turned around and mumbled a thank you, taking the dagger from him. She tossed it to the ground, but when it reached the dirt below them it had become the stick it started out as. Her magic was back, and apparently wandless.
"Could we double apparate to Hogwarts? I don't think I'm quite up to the trip yet," Severus could only nod dumbly as she wrapped her arms around him and let him know that she was ready to leave.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I am well aware that this is unbelievably out of character. My explanation for Voldy forgetting to be evil and Snape forgetting to be snarky is that the bonding white light thing is almost unheard of. Added to that, the whole situation is just bizarre. I planned a fight between Lorena and Severus for this chapter just to demonstrate that this wouldn't be all peaches and cream, but I got lazy and decided that I wanted to get this out tonight. Sorry it's so short. You'll find out all about the bond in the next chapter. That's assuming anyone cares. If no one cares enough to review, I'll just let it die where it is. By the way, "I Will Buy You a New Life" is the title of an Everclear song as well as the title of the story. I forgot to say that last chapter.