PTWITBOAA
~-~
Chapter Nine: Sexay Severus Snape
^_________^
No, I haven't decided what my pairings are, IF there is going to be a pairing. But I couldn't resist this one....
Yesh. I am in love with Severus Snape.
BITE ME.
XD
The next morning greeted a very subdued Usagi, with dark bruises under her eyes and a sort of awkward stiffness to her step, like she was measuring with painful awareness her every movement. Her eyes were locked onto the stone floor before her and her entire stature was limp and empty.
To those who did not know her, she looked like a broken rag doll. To those who did, she was lost in her own world.
She walked into the Great Hall, unaware of how the entire Slytherin table hushed and looked at her when she came in and took her customary seat beside Fred And George. While the rest of the Gryffindors scooted less than discreetly away, George took his usual direct approach.
"Are you a goddess? For real?"
The question pulled Usagi out of her self-made reverie and she stared at him, her mouth slightly open in absolute shock. "Am I what?" She inquired calmly, hoping she had merely misheard.
George looked away, his face rather pink, and it was up to Fred to repeat his question.
"Are you a goddess?"
The Hall had gone frighteningly silent. Even the professors were trying to look at though they were not paying the meticulous attention they were to the question, and more so to the pending answer.
Usagi stared at Fred in horror, and her eyes slowly traveled around the vast room. A thousand eyes staring back at her, waiting. How did they all know?
It came to her in a moment. Someone must have heard her talk with the Gray Lady. She sighed.
"In what way?" She replied. "If you mean by power, then no. I am not a goddess, because in my power the gods fail to challenge me. If you mean by immortality, then no. Because even the gods die, and I do not. If you mean by my imperfections, then, once again, no. Because I am more human-- imperfect-- than the gods have ever been in that. But if you mean by perception, then, yes. I am a goddess. If you mean by sheer seductive quality, then yes, I am a goddess." Her voice rose and her hysteria became more difficult to control. "If you mean by the unsettling note that all of you will one day think I am perfect and all-powerful, that I do everything for a reason, that I work for the greater good, and that I am forced to sympathize with the Good Side when there is no such thing simply because I would suffer pain that not even your sad little spells can ever hope to duplicate otherwise, then YES! I am your goddess!"
With a bang and a crash, she threw herself away from the table and left the hall at a pace that dizzied even Dumbledore. For a complete five seconds the hall was disgracefully silent, until with a cry of disgust Severus pushed back his own chair and followed the silver girl.
And rightfully so. Minerva McGonagall sent a silent prayer towards the enchanted ceiling to gods she knew did not favor her as Severus dashed after their ward.
Or were they her ward?
Usagi was very aware a certain furious Potions Master was stampeding after her. She was also aware that his anger was only partially directed at her, but it did not make her check her speed. She turned down corridors like mad, only vaguely noting she was heading into the lower, darker parts of Hogwarts.
They smelled distinctly of wood ash and cold.
"Miss Tsukino, I assure you that if you do not slow down this INSTANT we shall see just how many curses your Lunarian blood is capable of absorbing!"
She stopped and whirled, so suddenly that Severus's face barely had time to contort into surprise before he crashed into her.
Usagi was so sure she'd put her reflexes through just about every single scenario possible and imprinted reactions to them into her very instinct.
But it had never occurred to her that someday, someone might run into HER. After all, in her experience, it had always been the other way around.
So of course there was a flailing of limbs that ended up with his body on top of hers, in a position that was not unfamiliar to her mind, with her thousands of memories of a thousand lives swirling in her mind.
There was a few seconds of sheer stunned silence. Finally: "As fond as I am sure you are of me, Severus, the cloaking spells I have on my wings don't keep them from breaking, and I think my left one is doubled on itself. If it snaps, I'll be forced to cut off your lovely hair in retribution."
She had suddenly adopted a strange, formal, and accented speech that he had heard her use only in anger. He nodded his apology and stood, and then helped her up.
"You forgot yourself." He commented, before he really knew what he was saying. He glowered at himself but managed to keep his outward expression neutral and speculating.
To his infinite astonishment, she nodded. Her voice returned to the almost American tone that most of them were accustomed to. "You're right. I did. I was pissed because some arrogant little prat had been eavesdropping. On a conversation I never thought I would have. I'm sorry." Without warning, Severus found himself being hugged very tightly by the petite queen. He froze, and then very slowly, he put his arms around her.
The sensation was odd to him, as he had not willing touched another human for... Merlin, how long had it been? Years, definitely. And she was warm and comforting, her slim body pressing up against him. She smelled like home, like peace, some strange mix of roses, lavender, and some delicious fruit he could taste but not name. Her scent was delicious and invaded his senses until he thought he was going to drown in it, but the idea only intrigued him. Severus Snape had long since abandoned being frightened.
In return, his embrace was something solid, something Usagi had not had for a while. She had readily let Kunzite cling to her into even his final moments, because human contact was one of the last things she understood, one of the last comforts she had in a world whose every deceit and lie was painfully obvious to her. She could have happily stayed in the arms of the second most feared man of Hogwarts forever, just because it kept her sane.
And they clashed so wonderfully. Such pale splendor against such pure tones of darkness.
What fascinated the former Death Eater the most was the sincerity of her embrace. There was nothing sexual about it, not a single thing that even hinted at an ulterior motive. He wondered what Voldemort would make of her, this little demoness from the bleakest pit of Hell with the heart of the purest angel.
Severus smiled sardonically. Voldemort would probably panic. The fool had a peculiar fear of religious symbols.
"Really?" Her sweet voice was muffled against his robe. "That's interesting. In my queen regalia he would probably choke on his own breath, if that were the case." She made no move to pull away from his enveloping scent of sandalwood and fire, with several other substances, probably potion ingredients, mixed in.
It would have been quite hysterical to anyone who happened on them.
"You really can use telepathy, can't you?" Severus asked, closing his eyes and falling further into her grasp.
"Why would I lie to you about such a trivial thing?" She replied, her voice slipping back into that unfamiliar accent. "You know, this is very inappropriate. Technically, Severus, I'm a student."
He grinned, an action that lifted years from his face. "Ask me if I care, Usagi." He retorted impishly. "I am as capable at history as Binns is. I know that you know that all of Lunarian blood have an aura that act as a relaxant to human senses. This is your fault, and I'll make sure Dumbledore is duly informed of it."
She shook her head, making pleasant sensations run down his spine. "Oh, don't. I can only imagine what Minerva would be like if she didn't let me sit in the front row."
IN spite of himself, Severus chuckled.
"You're not as bad as everyone would make you out to be, Severus. You make a nice plushy. I might keep you."
Severus opened his mouth to reply when a disgruntled meow made Usagi jump. The pair looked down to see Ms. Norris glaring at them with her disturbing red eyes. Reluctantly, Usagi let go of Severus and stepped away.
"Good morning, Madam Norris. I trust you're well?"
The cat glared and spoke in it's soft language that Severus heard only as a normal meow. "Snogging the Potions Master. My master wouldn't approve. I'll call him, I will."
Usagi giggled. "Why? Are you jealous?"
The cat hissed. "Oh, go on. But if the students see you, I'll laugh."
Usagi glowered. "Wretched animal." She commented to Severus, as the cat vanished. "She threatened to get Filch, and then she said she'd laugh if someone else saw us. I forget that familiars usually take on the persona of their masters... or is it the other way around?"
Severus didn't know what to say. He was again startled; no one had thought to inform him that the Lunarian Queen spoke the Cat language. It was a gift of birth, like Parseltongue and the harsh language she had used with the monster in the Forbidden Forest.
"Your Majesty, exactly how many languages can you speak?" He asked suddenly.
She blinked and hesitated, thinking. "I don't believe there is one that I can't speak. Several run in my blood, but whatever doesn't exist there I can use the ginzuishou to help me. Why? Do you need me to speak to someone?"
Severus shook his head. "What about Mermish and Troll? French? Latin?"
Usagi grinned. "The important human languages have been pounded into my head manually, as about a hundred humanoid creatures. The rest I can learn in five seconds. The natural magic of Lunarians isn't restricted like humans." She leant against the wall, suddenly very tired. "That is why is it so dangerous for us to have more than one heir. And we must create the heir ourselves, and raise it ourselves, allowing no other to influence it unless we truly trust them. It is a perilous thing, to grant this kind of magic to a person."
She blinked again, wondering why she had just told one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Lunarian lineage to a man she knew might one day give it away under the implement of severe pain.
She closed her eyes. "Oh, well. It's not like I'll need an heir anyway, to raise. So that's a useless secret. When the existence of the universe depends on your undying, irremovable soul, it doesn't look like you're going to kick the bucket anytime soon. Even if your counterpart can."
A scene of blood-covered chaos took her vision for a second, but it was enough for her back to tense and her eyes to close, her breath caught.
Severus stared at her. "What's wrong?"
"Absolutely nothing." She snapped, and disappeared, even though Severus knew as well as anyone it was impossible to Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts.
****
The angel that appeared on the top of the Astrology tower seconds later only slightly resembled Usagi Tsukino, and that was only in the long, silver hair that caught the wind. The fact that a sheer violet aura had decided to take up residence around her and her birthmark shone gold might have had a little credit in altering her appearance, but perhaps most of the blame went to the huge wings, no longer cloaked, that spread out behind her to their fullest extent, of the purest white feathers.
Her robes had been changed into the flowing navy-purple gown of Eternia, and her feet were bare. She scanned the distances in the morning sun and her silver eyes narrowed and her face twisted into an expression that would have brought any man who thought he had sinned but once in his life to his knees to plead for mercy.
She made a quick note of the details and then stormed down from the tower. The halls were clear, for Breakfast had not yet ended, and just as well, because any student who would have gotten in her way would have been rudely shoved aside.
She came into the hall with a flurry of feathers. She didn't care, this time, that people were staring at her. She was in battle costume and mindset, and nothing would deter her. She stopped short of the Head Table, her expression cold as she noted that only Severus was absent: probably still have in the corridor, just realizing she wasn't coming back.
"Voldemort is advancing on Hogwarts from Hogsmeade with many people in strange masks behind him." She said, low enough so that only a few students heard. "I can feel his Dementors and he has a vast assortment of beasts with him. I can deal with the dogs and the dragons he has, but I can't help anymore than that. Perhaps you should ready yourself for battle."
Dumbledore leapt to his feet.
****
~-~
Chapter Nine: Sexay Severus Snape
^_________^
No, I haven't decided what my pairings are, IF there is going to be a pairing. But I couldn't resist this one....
Yesh. I am in love with Severus Snape.
BITE ME.
XD
The next morning greeted a very subdued Usagi, with dark bruises under her eyes and a sort of awkward stiffness to her step, like she was measuring with painful awareness her every movement. Her eyes were locked onto the stone floor before her and her entire stature was limp and empty.
To those who did not know her, she looked like a broken rag doll. To those who did, she was lost in her own world.
She walked into the Great Hall, unaware of how the entire Slytherin table hushed and looked at her when she came in and took her customary seat beside Fred And George. While the rest of the Gryffindors scooted less than discreetly away, George took his usual direct approach.
"Are you a goddess? For real?"
The question pulled Usagi out of her self-made reverie and she stared at him, her mouth slightly open in absolute shock. "Am I what?" She inquired calmly, hoping she had merely misheard.
George looked away, his face rather pink, and it was up to Fred to repeat his question.
"Are you a goddess?"
The Hall had gone frighteningly silent. Even the professors were trying to look at though they were not paying the meticulous attention they were to the question, and more so to the pending answer.
Usagi stared at Fred in horror, and her eyes slowly traveled around the vast room. A thousand eyes staring back at her, waiting. How did they all know?
It came to her in a moment. Someone must have heard her talk with the Gray Lady. She sighed.
"In what way?" She replied. "If you mean by power, then no. I am not a goddess, because in my power the gods fail to challenge me. If you mean by immortality, then no. Because even the gods die, and I do not. If you mean by my imperfections, then, once again, no. Because I am more human-- imperfect-- than the gods have ever been in that. But if you mean by perception, then, yes. I am a goddess. If you mean by sheer seductive quality, then yes, I am a goddess." Her voice rose and her hysteria became more difficult to control. "If you mean by the unsettling note that all of you will one day think I am perfect and all-powerful, that I do everything for a reason, that I work for the greater good, and that I am forced to sympathize with the Good Side when there is no such thing simply because I would suffer pain that not even your sad little spells can ever hope to duplicate otherwise, then YES! I am your goddess!"
With a bang and a crash, she threw herself away from the table and left the hall at a pace that dizzied even Dumbledore. For a complete five seconds the hall was disgracefully silent, until with a cry of disgust Severus pushed back his own chair and followed the silver girl.
And rightfully so. Minerva McGonagall sent a silent prayer towards the enchanted ceiling to gods she knew did not favor her as Severus dashed after their ward.
Or were they her ward?
Usagi was very aware a certain furious Potions Master was stampeding after her. She was also aware that his anger was only partially directed at her, but it did not make her check her speed. She turned down corridors like mad, only vaguely noting she was heading into the lower, darker parts of Hogwarts.
They smelled distinctly of wood ash and cold.
"Miss Tsukino, I assure you that if you do not slow down this INSTANT we shall see just how many curses your Lunarian blood is capable of absorbing!"
She stopped and whirled, so suddenly that Severus's face barely had time to contort into surprise before he crashed into her.
Usagi was so sure she'd put her reflexes through just about every single scenario possible and imprinted reactions to them into her very instinct.
But it had never occurred to her that someday, someone might run into HER. After all, in her experience, it had always been the other way around.
So of course there was a flailing of limbs that ended up with his body on top of hers, in a position that was not unfamiliar to her mind, with her thousands of memories of a thousand lives swirling in her mind.
There was a few seconds of sheer stunned silence. Finally: "As fond as I am sure you are of me, Severus, the cloaking spells I have on my wings don't keep them from breaking, and I think my left one is doubled on itself. If it snaps, I'll be forced to cut off your lovely hair in retribution."
She had suddenly adopted a strange, formal, and accented speech that he had heard her use only in anger. He nodded his apology and stood, and then helped her up.
"You forgot yourself." He commented, before he really knew what he was saying. He glowered at himself but managed to keep his outward expression neutral and speculating.
To his infinite astonishment, she nodded. Her voice returned to the almost American tone that most of them were accustomed to. "You're right. I did. I was pissed because some arrogant little prat had been eavesdropping. On a conversation I never thought I would have. I'm sorry." Without warning, Severus found himself being hugged very tightly by the petite queen. He froze, and then very slowly, he put his arms around her.
The sensation was odd to him, as he had not willing touched another human for... Merlin, how long had it been? Years, definitely. And she was warm and comforting, her slim body pressing up against him. She smelled like home, like peace, some strange mix of roses, lavender, and some delicious fruit he could taste but not name. Her scent was delicious and invaded his senses until he thought he was going to drown in it, but the idea only intrigued him. Severus Snape had long since abandoned being frightened.
In return, his embrace was something solid, something Usagi had not had for a while. She had readily let Kunzite cling to her into even his final moments, because human contact was one of the last things she understood, one of the last comforts she had in a world whose every deceit and lie was painfully obvious to her. She could have happily stayed in the arms of the second most feared man of Hogwarts forever, just because it kept her sane.
And they clashed so wonderfully. Such pale splendor against such pure tones of darkness.
What fascinated the former Death Eater the most was the sincerity of her embrace. There was nothing sexual about it, not a single thing that even hinted at an ulterior motive. He wondered what Voldemort would make of her, this little demoness from the bleakest pit of Hell with the heart of the purest angel.
Severus smiled sardonically. Voldemort would probably panic. The fool had a peculiar fear of religious symbols.
"Really?" Her sweet voice was muffled against his robe. "That's interesting. In my queen regalia he would probably choke on his own breath, if that were the case." She made no move to pull away from his enveloping scent of sandalwood and fire, with several other substances, probably potion ingredients, mixed in.
It would have been quite hysterical to anyone who happened on them.
"You really can use telepathy, can't you?" Severus asked, closing his eyes and falling further into her grasp.
"Why would I lie to you about such a trivial thing?" She replied, her voice slipping back into that unfamiliar accent. "You know, this is very inappropriate. Technically, Severus, I'm a student."
He grinned, an action that lifted years from his face. "Ask me if I care, Usagi." He retorted impishly. "I am as capable at history as Binns is. I know that you know that all of Lunarian blood have an aura that act as a relaxant to human senses. This is your fault, and I'll make sure Dumbledore is duly informed of it."
She shook her head, making pleasant sensations run down his spine. "Oh, don't. I can only imagine what Minerva would be like if she didn't let me sit in the front row."
IN spite of himself, Severus chuckled.
"You're not as bad as everyone would make you out to be, Severus. You make a nice plushy. I might keep you."
Severus opened his mouth to reply when a disgruntled meow made Usagi jump. The pair looked down to see Ms. Norris glaring at them with her disturbing red eyes. Reluctantly, Usagi let go of Severus and stepped away.
"Good morning, Madam Norris. I trust you're well?"
The cat glared and spoke in it's soft language that Severus heard only as a normal meow. "Snogging the Potions Master. My master wouldn't approve. I'll call him, I will."
Usagi giggled. "Why? Are you jealous?"
The cat hissed. "Oh, go on. But if the students see you, I'll laugh."
Usagi glowered. "Wretched animal." She commented to Severus, as the cat vanished. "She threatened to get Filch, and then she said she'd laugh if someone else saw us. I forget that familiars usually take on the persona of their masters... or is it the other way around?"
Severus didn't know what to say. He was again startled; no one had thought to inform him that the Lunarian Queen spoke the Cat language. It was a gift of birth, like Parseltongue and the harsh language she had used with the monster in the Forbidden Forest.
"Your Majesty, exactly how many languages can you speak?" He asked suddenly.
She blinked and hesitated, thinking. "I don't believe there is one that I can't speak. Several run in my blood, but whatever doesn't exist there I can use the ginzuishou to help me. Why? Do you need me to speak to someone?"
Severus shook his head. "What about Mermish and Troll? French? Latin?"
Usagi grinned. "The important human languages have been pounded into my head manually, as about a hundred humanoid creatures. The rest I can learn in five seconds. The natural magic of Lunarians isn't restricted like humans." She leant against the wall, suddenly very tired. "That is why is it so dangerous for us to have more than one heir. And we must create the heir ourselves, and raise it ourselves, allowing no other to influence it unless we truly trust them. It is a perilous thing, to grant this kind of magic to a person."
She blinked again, wondering why she had just told one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Lunarian lineage to a man she knew might one day give it away under the implement of severe pain.
She closed her eyes. "Oh, well. It's not like I'll need an heir anyway, to raise. So that's a useless secret. When the existence of the universe depends on your undying, irremovable soul, it doesn't look like you're going to kick the bucket anytime soon. Even if your counterpart can."
A scene of blood-covered chaos took her vision for a second, but it was enough for her back to tense and her eyes to close, her breath caught.
Severus stared at her. "What's wrong?"
"Absolutely nothing." She snapped, and disappeared, even though Severus knew as well as anyone it was impossible to Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts.
****
The angel that appeared on the top of the Astrology tower seconds later only slightly resembled Usagi Tsukino, and that was only in the long, silver hair that caught the wind. The fact that a sheer violet aura had decided to take up residence around her and her birthmark shone gold might have had a little credit in altering her appearance, but perhaps most of the blame went to the huge wings, no longer cloaked, that spread out behind her to their fullest extent, of the purest white feathers.
Her robes had been changed into the flowing navy-purple gown of Eternia, and her feet were bare. She scanned the distances in the morning sun and her silver eyes narrowed and her face twisted into an expression that would have brought any man who thought he had sinned but once in his life to his knees to plead for mercy.
She made a quick note of the details and then stormed down from the tower. The halls were clear, for Breakfast had not yet ended, and just as well, because any student who would have gotten in her way would have been rudely shoved aside.
She came into the hall with a flurry of feathers. She didn't care, this time, that people were staring at her. She was in battle costume and mindset, and nothing would deter her. She stopped short of the Head Table, her expression cold as she noted that only Severus was absent: probably still have in the corridor, just realizing she wasn't coming back.
"Voldemort is advancing on Hogwarts from Hogsmeade with many people in strange masks behind him." She said, low enough so that only a few students heard. "I can feel his Dementors and he has a vast assortment of beasts with him. I can deal with the dogs and the dragons he has, but I can't help anymore than that. Perhaps you should ready yourself for battle."
Dumbledore leapt to his feet.
****