Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter of Severus Snape (or any of the HP
characters for that matter) they belong to Warner Bros. Don't sue me.. you
have been warned.
Warning: This chapter contains mild/moderate violence and sex.
The week following the interview passed by slowly, but went pretty well. Severus went out again to get some things for around the house and got some new chew toys for Orion, as all of the other ones' heads were missing. The following Thursday, he got a letter of apology from Gringott's saying that the bill had been sent to the wrong person and they were sorry for any inconvenience. Other than that, everything was fairly routine.
This morning, Severus stepped outside to get the Daily Prophet from Opecid. The owl apparently couldn't figure out that the door was closed, so he was repeatedly slamming himself against it. Orion wasn't awake yet, so Severus was especially pissed at Opecid for making so much noise. After retrieving the newspaper, Severus settled himself back in his chair. This time the headline read:
MYSTERIOUS ARTIFACT STOLEN
He passed right by it, dismissing it as a worthless prank that would probably be resolved in a matter of days. He thumbed through a few more pages, and, seeing nothing worth reading, threw the paper into the fireplace. He almost fell asleep again before something terribly painful rattled his whole body. He ripped off one of his sleeves and saw that his Mark was pitch black. He was being summoned. The pain was so intense that he began to sweat profusely.
He sat, braced against the wall, clutching his forearm. The pain still wouldn't stop. He crawled up the stairs and found his Death Eater's hood and threw it into the fire. "Go away," he murmured. "GO AWAY!" Yet his arm still throbbed. Without thinking, he ran to the kitchen to get a knife. He sank the blade right in the middle of the Mark. His blood flowed black, all the way down his arm. Still, nothing happened, so he plunged the knife even further into his flesh, this time the stream was stronger, like a current in a river.
Uncontrollable tears of agony streamed down his cheeks as he sank the knife deeper. Blood was everywhere now; it looked as though a body had been dragged throughout the lower level of his house. The pain subsided, little by little, but the bleeding continued. He squeezed his arm as he quietly crept back upstairs. He threw open Riona's drawer and took out the box holding the dagger. He removed the gauze pads and put them on his own arm in an effort to stop the blood flow. Seeming satisfied, he wrapped some bandage tape around his arm and carefully put the box back. Now he understood why Riona had the dagger, and why she kept it hidden. He muttered incoherent words to himself as he paced slowly around the room.
Feeling drowsy and slightly nauseous, he curled himself up on his bed and pulled the sheets over his head.
* * *
Riona cried as she saw what happened to Severus through her crystal ball. Suddenly, the reality sank in that she was all alone. She wouldn't have Severus to comfort her anymore, nor could she comfort him. She buried her face in her hands and cried everything away. It had been a week now since she came to the Malfoy mansion and she had totally healed from her attack. Well, physically, at least.
She wiped her eyes and stood up to go do some more research. She was half- tempted to go to bed now, since she had a late night yesterday. She lost her train of thought, though, as she gazed at the mountain of books piled on it. Riona had checked out every book imaginable on magical orbs and so far hadn't found much on the Orb of Soul. The only decent description she found said that the Orb allowed the possessor to live after death; sort of like a ghost. However, they would only be in ghost form at night, any other time, they would have a human form.
Riona actually didn't need to research the Orb; she already had it. She'd had it all along. Unbeknownst to the Dark Lord and every other Death Eater, Riona's very ancient grandfather was the one who had created it. On his deathbed, he placed a curse on the Orb, meaning that only one with his blood would be able to find it. After his passing, he had the Orb hidden away, not to be seen for another thousand years.
When Riona's father finally found the Orb, he feared its powers and had it buried deep in the Ministry; the only place he thought is was safe. If only he could see what was happening now. The Orb itself was no more than the size of a large marble and was a deep purple with cloud- like shapes moving below the surface. It made Riona think of something, but she wasn't quite sure what. Either way, she still wasn't quite sure what it was, but she intended to find out before making and rash decisions.
This was all fine, but Riona still had no idea how to use the Orb, and she suspected that no one else did either, except perhaps Dumbledore. Of course, there was no way in hell that she could go to him; he thought she was dead.
A quiet tap on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Eh, come in." Lucius Malfoy carefully stepped in and shifted his eyes like he was looking for something.
"Yes. . . . I was just wondering if you, er, needed anything."
"No. No, thank you, I'm fine," she replied with a smile on the corners of her mouth.
"Are you sure? I mean, that must have been quite an ordeal, back at the Ministry. . . . ."
"Oh, yeah, I'm feeling much better now. Really."
"Very well," he paused. He was only an inch from her face when he whispered, "There's just one more thing. . . . ." He wrapped his arm around her waist and softly kissed her. Riona made no sound. She wasn't quite sure how to feel, yet she surrendered herself. She surrendered just like she had every time. She forgot everything but the moment as he slowly undid her robes.
As he slid the robes off her body, she took off his. Soon, they were lying in the dark between the silk sheets with heaps of clothes all around them. He twisted his fingers though her hair as she slowly kissed her way down his body. When he did the same for her, she tensed from anxiety, but he clasped his fingers around hers and she gently relaxed again.
This wasn't their usual steamy sex. It was slow, and cool. He got a tingling sensation every time she touched him and she moaned quietly as he guided himself into her, deeper and deeper. He thrust over and over again until they came together. It was a dark bliss. The moon shining through the sheers on the window cast a blue glow on everything the light touched.
When they were finished he held her and whispered quiet words to her. "I love you," he breathed. A cold tear rolled down her cheek as she thought, "I could never love you back."
* * *
Warning: This chapter contains mild/moderate violence and sex.
The week following the interview passed by slowly, but went pretty well. Severus went out again to get some things for around the house and got some new chew toys for Orion, as all of the other ones' heads were missing. The following Thursday, he got a letter of apology from Gringott's saying that the bill had been sent to the wrong person and they were sorry for any inconvenience. Other than that, everything was fairly routine.
This morning, Severus stepped outside to get the Daily Prophet from Opecid. The owl apparently couldn't figure out that the door was closed, so he was repeatedly slamming himself against it. Orion wasn't awake yet, so Severus was especially pissed at Opecid for making so much noise. After retrieving the newspaper, Severus settled himself back in his chair. This time the headline read:
MYSTERIOUS ARTIFACT STOLEN
He passed right by it, dismissing it as a worthless prank that would probably be resolved in a matter of days. He thumbed through a few more pages, and, seeing nothing worth reading, threw the paper into the fireplace. He almost fell asleep again before something terribly painful rattled his whole body. He ripped off one of his sleeves and saw that his Mark was pitch black. He was being summoned. The pain was so intense that he began to sweat profusely.
He sat, braced against the wall, clutching his forearm. The pain still wouldn't stop. He crawled up the stairs and found his Death Eater's hood and threw it into the fire. "Go away," he murmured. "GO AWAY!" Yet his arm still throbbed. Without thinking, he ran to the kitchen to get a knife. He sank the blade right in the middle of the Mark. His blood flowed black, all the way down his arm. Still, nothing happened, so he plunged the knife even further into his flesh, this time the stream was stronger, like a current in a river.
Uncontrollable tears of agony streamed down his cheeks as he sank the knife deeper. Blood was everywhere now; it looked as though a body had been dragged throughout the lower level of his house. The pain subsided, little by little, but the bleeding continued. He squeezed his arm as he quietly crept back upstairs. He threw open Riona's drawer and took out the box holding the dagger. He removed the gauze pads and put them on his own arm in an effort to stop the blood flow. Seeming satisfied, he wrapped some bandage tape around his arm and carefully put the box back. Now he understood why Riona had the dagger, and why she kept it hidden. He muttered incoherent words to himself as he paced slowly around the room.
Feeling drowsy and slightly nauseous, he curled himself up on his bed and pulled the sheets over his head.
* * *
Riona cried as she saw what happened to Severus through her crystal ball. Suddenly, the reality sank in that she was all alone. She wouldn't have Severus to comfort her anymore, nor could she comfort him. She buried her face in her hands and cried everything away. It had been a week now since she came to the Malfoy mansion and she had totally healed from her attack. Well, physically, at least.
She wiped her eyes and stood up to go do some more research. She was half- tempted to go to bed now, since she had a late night yesterday. She lost her train of thought, though, as she gazed at the mountain of books piled on it. Riona had checked out every book imaginable on magical orbs and so far hadn't found much on the Orb of Soul. The only decent description she found said that the Orb allowed the possessor to live after death; sort of like a ghost. However, they would only be in ghost form at night, any other time, they would have a human form.
Riona actually didn't need to research the Orb; she already had it. She'd had it all along. Unbeknownst to the Dark Lord and every other Death Eater, Riona's very ancient grandfather was the one who had created it. On his deathbed, he placed a curse on the Orb, meaning that only one with his blood would be able to find it. After his passing, he had the Orb hidden away, not to be seen for another thousand years.
When Riona's father finally found the Orb, he feared its powers and had it buried deep in the Ministry; the only place he thought is was safe. If only he could see what was happening now. The Orb itself was no more than the size of a large marble and was a deep purple with cloud- like shapes moving below the surface. It made Riona think of something, but she wasn't quite sure what. Either way, she still wasn't quite sure what it was, but she intended to find out before making and rash decisions.
This was all fine, but Riona still had no idea how to use the Orb, and she suspected that no one else did either, except perhaps Dumbledore. Of course, there was no way in hell that she could go to him; he thought she was dead.
A quiet tap on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Eh, come in." Lucius Malfoy carefully stepped in and shifted his eyes like he was looking for something.
"Yes. . . . I was just wondering if you, er, needed anything."
"No. No, thank you, I'm fine," she replied with a smile on the corners of her mouth.
"Are you sure? I mean, that must have been quite an ordeal, back at the Ministry. . . . ."
"Oh, yeah, I'm feeling much better now. Really."
"Very well," he paused. He was only an inch from her face when he whispered, "There's just one more thing. . . . ." He wrapped his arm around her waist and softly kissed her. Riona made no sound. She wasn't quite sure how to feel, yet she surrendered herself. She surrendered just like she had every time. She forgot everything but the moment as he slowly undid her robes.
As he slid the robes off her body, she took off his. Soon, they were lying in the dark between the silk sheets with heaps of clothes all around them. He twisted his fingers though her hair as she slowly kissed her way down his body. When he did the same for her, she tensed from anxiety, but he clasped his fingers around hers and she gently relaxed again.
This wasn't their usual steamy sex. It was slow, and cool. He got a tingling sensation every time she touched him and she moaned quietly as he guided himself into her, deeper and deeper. He thrust over and over again until they came together. It was a dark bliss. The moon shining through the sheers on the window cast a blue glow on everything the light touched.
When they were finished he held her and whispered quiet words to her. "I love you," he breathed. A cold tear rolled down her cheek as she thought, "I could never love you back."
* * *