TITLE: The Heir of Snape
AUTHOR NAME: Marlena R. Snape
EMAIL: Bloodflame013@aol.com
CATEGORY: Romance
SUB CATEGORY: Angst
RATING: PG- 13 - for language, backstabbing, manipulation, stalking, implied sex down the road, how romantic.
A/N: Again, I own nothing aside from Lena, and other created characters I credit to their original creators. Nero credited to myself, Angel Raye to my close friend Angel, Nicole Azoff to my friend Nicole, and Stephanie Leoncour to my sister Stephanie.
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To the reviewers: WOW! I'm really shocked by the reviews!
Christina: Hey hun, thank you for the comments. I'm glad you like the story *Smiles* Speak to you soon.
Master-Destiny: I'm beyond flattered by your words. I've never classified any of my work the greatest anywhere, and neither has anyone else! Lol Thank you so very much, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you continue to as well.
Spiritlandez: Cliffys suck, I know! Lol I'm sorry about it, but I had to see if people were still interested ^_^ I'm glad to know people are still tuning into my ring of corrupted chaos. Hope you like the next installment.
EnchantedSpirit: None of your reviews are bad! I cherish them all ^_^ Thank you!
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Chapter Seven: Intolerable Tyranny
Morning rolled around, and the girl's dormitory was quiet up until Lena nearly rolled out of her bed. The only thing that prevented it, was her grabbing onto the nightstand. She was tired, for some reason, more than usual. And when she stood, she felt dizzy, and had to grab onto something. But her hand nearly hit something, and with a sleep clouded, confused look, she looked to the stand itself. Her eyes, slowly cleared from their cloudy slumber, her attention turned straight, her posture regained, as she stared down. There was another note…and something else.
Ms. Snape;
You've done what was asked of you once, bravo, good show. You would have never been pegged as the listening type. But you see, it's just beginning for you, as Hallow's Eve is approaching. It seems that you have a special night planned, it's just too bad that it's being tattered and torn. You won't be happy on Halloween night, you won't be at the Ball with your 'friend', Draco. In fact, you're going alone. If you go with Draco…the inevitable will happen, and come November 1rst, he'll be eating his luncheon with a straw…
If you tell anyone of these plans, it won't be Draco suffering, but yourself. Choose wisely, would you really want the entire school to witness your annihilation? Princess Snape's breakdown, I'm sure it would make the Daily Prophet…
-Your Caretaker
It wasn't so much the letter that scared her this time, but what was on the nightstand next to it. There was a photo of Draco, with a gem studded ritual dagger through his torso. She slowly removed the dagger, but as she did, the picture exploded into flames, and withered. She stifled a scream but putting her hands over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. Who was doing this to her? Why?! She ran out of the dormitory, the piece of parchment clutched into her grasp.
Arriving in the empty common room, Lena dropped to her knees in front of the hearth where a warm fire blazed. Without thinking twice, Lena began shredding the letter, first in half, then again, and again, before throwing the confetti like pieces into the welcoming flames. When she stood up, still facing the fire, she felt hands on her shoulders. Spinning around quickly with a gasp, she slowly exhaled seeing a familiar face.
"Angel…"
Angel looked worried as she looked at Lena, her eyes locking with the panicked young woman before her.
"What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost…"
"No, not quite…" Lena said, but shook her head softly. "I'm fine, I just…" She paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words that wouldn't cause her 'caretaker', of sort, to be angry enough. "I'm not feeling very well this morning. My nerves are at their ultimate end it seems…"
"I get like that when I'm coming down with something, too…" Angel said reassuringly, as she lead Lena over to one of the sofas. "Do you need anything? I can get your father up here without a problem…or I could help…"
"No, I'm fine." Lena said, forcing a smile onto her face. "I think I just need a moment to regain my wit, you know?"
"I do. It's okay." Angel said, smiling a bit. "Here, I'll let you have a few moments alone. If you need me, give me a yell, okay?"
"I will, thank you Angel…"
Angel was a little bit leery of leaving Lena there by herself. Something just didn't set well with her. Something else was wrong, it wasn't that she didn't feel well. It had to be something deeper. But then again, she didn't have the ability to feel another's inner feelings, like Lena did… if she could only have that gift for one minute….
Lena sat in the common room, her knees up to her chest, and her chin rested upon her knees, staring into the flames that cackled mischievously at her. It was almost as if they were provoking her. She closed her eyes for a moment, but what she didn't expect was to drift off…
"Lena!? Lena come on wake up!" A voice said, in a cry of urgency. Lena's eyes shot open, as she looked around. There standing beside her was Stephanie and Angel, with Marcus, Joshua, and Draco sitting around a table. Draco's eyes had shifted from his friends, and their conversation, as the girls were trying to bring Lena back to the real world of sort.
"Shit…" Lena muttered softly, as she was assisted to her feet by Stephanie. "I must have…how…I wasn't tired…ugh, what time is it…?"
"It's nearly breakfast time…you have 10 minutes or so…" Stephanie said, and it didn't even take time to register in Lena's mind. She took off up to the dormitory, the two girls quick in tow behind her.
In the dormitory, Lena was peeling off her pajamas, while Stephanie and Angel were assisting in her hasty preparation. It took her about 4 minutes to get dressed, stockings, shoes, and all. Throwing her hair into a quick, classy, but equally messy bun, she was out the door again.
"Are we going to be late?" Lena asked, as Stephanie and Angel followed in step behind her.
"No, we're doing good on time." Angel said, as the girls made it through the semi-crowded common room.
The girl's paid little mind to their peers watching them, as they made it out of the common and started toward the Great Hall. Lena wanted so desperately to tell her friends what had happened, why she was so jumpy, why she was so nervous. But she couldn't. She knew this. She didn't want anything to happen to Draco…and she certainly didn't want anything to happen to herself.
In the Great Hall, Lena sat with Angel, Stephanie, Anna, and Nicole, talking about Potions class. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus made their way into the Hall not too long after, and took their respective seats at the Slytherin table. All the while, they were being watched by 2 choice Gryffindors, and 1 of their own Slytherin. Harry, Ron, and Nero all seemed to watch offly, trying not to lead attention to their stares. Today, they were successful.
************
Draco glanced toward Lena, who still didn't look like she was full of her natural glow - full of life. She still looked pale, despite the slight bit of makeup on her face. Draco wondered, why he felt a cloud of worry come over him. He never really cared about anyone at the school save for his own family, and even Nero was excluded from that. He glanced away from where he was looking at her, as he turned toward his plate of breakfast, but didn't touch it. Running the gold fork over the piece of french toast before him, he let out a small sigh.
"Draco?" Marcus said his name quietly, but loud enough for him to hear it. Draco turned his attention toward Marcus, as Marcus had a concerned look on his face. "What's the matter mate? Something's eating at you…"
"Nothing is the matter." Draco said surely, but even that wasn't enough to convince Marcus. "I'm serious. Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little, tired. That's all."
"I see." Marcus said, nodding a bit. "Alright."
He was never one to push, especially with someone like Draco. His temper was second to none at Hogwarts, and being so close to one of the best days of his life, Marcus didn't want to test it. He just wanted to live to see the day he got to date Anna without a fuss! So he was thinking of himself, he knew it was wrong…
Lena was fiddling with a piece of sausage that rested on her plate, slowly taking a bite. She wasn't really hungry. She hadn't been since the first letter had been bestowed upon her, and now - even more so. She had already lost 7 pounds from her lack of eating, along with stress, and her father was even asking questions. Her robes had to be shrunk to fit properly already. But she decided to keep eating her breakfast - that way no questions would be asked - and it would look like natural weight loss with just Quidditch Practice. Cover up, that's what she had to do.
After breakfast, Lena stood up, and started walking toward the doors of the Great Hall. She was stopped though, by Joshua Breagen, who had a small look of worry on his face. What did he have to be worried about? Lena looked at him, a tired smile on her face.
"Hey, Josh. What can I do for you?"
"Um, I just wanted to tell you that Draco wants to talk to you. He was going to ask you himself, but decided that he wanted to meet you somewhere, private. I'm not sure…"
"Where?" She asked curiously, and Josh took a breath.
"History of Magic classroom. Nobody's there."
She nodded softly, and patted his shoulder with a smile. Thanking him for the message, Lena walked out of the Great Hall, clutching her robes close. She felt cold, almost, scared. Why? Maybe it was because she had yet to tell Draco that she couldn't go to the ball with him, and then had to lack explanation. He would be mad, she just knew it.
As she made her way to the History of Magic classroom, Lena peeked in through the cracked door. She saw the back of a familiar person facing her, and he had his foot propped up on the desk chair. The platinum of his hair made it further obvious that the figure was Draco, as he was sitting on the edge of the desk. Hearing the door creek open a bit with her movement, Draco slowly glanced behind him. Seeing Lena standing there, he stepped off from the desk, approaching her. She looked a little uneasy, as she pushed a smile to her face.
"Hi Draco, you wanted to se-"
He put his hand over her lips as he made his way to her. She looked confused, as Draco seemed like he was a little nervous about something. What could HE have to be worried about? He paused a moment as his hand lingered over her mouth, and he leaned closer to her. She went to lean in, but he turned away, his back to her.
"May I ask what's the matter?"
"What do you mean?" Lena asked demurely, as Draco slowly eyed her.
"Don't play that way, Lena…" He said sternly, finally managing to look her straight in the face again. "You've not been yourself to say the least…"
"I'm fine, Draco."
"Tell someone who hasn't paid attention to you that…" He said, as Lena glanced down a moment. "Come on, luv, you can tell me."
"Really Draco, I'm fine. Just a little stressed out is all."
"A little?" He scoffed, "I've seen stressed, and you're beyond it…"
"Can't you just take my word for it?!" She didn't mean to snap at him, but it happened. She sighed, turning away from him. Draco didn't have an instant reaction, other than anger out of concern.
"No. I can't." He said sharply, as he grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. "And I won't."
"Let go…" She said through gritted teeth, as she ripped her arm from his grasp. "I don't know WHEN you became my father Draco, but I'm not pleased with it…" She was now pushing borderline annoyed, while Draco still had an aura of worry, and growing anger surrounding him. "You need to just relax."
"As do you." Draco said, his tone surprisingly serene. She just shook her head, slowly walking away.
"I needed to tell you something…and I think now would be the supreme time to say it." She turned toward him once more, taking a deep breath. "I can't go to the ball with you. I'm not going at all. I'm sorry."
She didn't even give Draco time to say anything as she walked out of the classroom. She didn't want to hear it. Feel it. See it. His reaction would have been treacherous. Opposed to just walking, Lena ran, down the hallway heading toward the doors of the welcoming hall. As she was running, she ran into another familiar platinum haired boy - Nero. Nero looked shocked, but after seeing who it was, he paused, looking at her with a glance of concern.
"Lena?" He asked, as she sighed softly.
"I'm sorry, Nero…I didn't mean to run into you. Are you okay?"
"I could ask the same about you…" He said softly. She shook her head lightly, raising her hands in defense.
"No, I'm okay. Just had a little, tiff, with Draco. It's fine though."
"Oh…okay then…" Nero said, looking a little thoughtful. "Can I ask what the tiff was about? If that wouldn't be too bold…"
"He just thinks he knows me…" she said, before shrugging. "I told him I'm not going to the ball with him. I'm not going at all…"
"What? Why not? Come on, you should go…it'll be fun…"
"I'm going to spend sometime with myself…I'll probably go for a fly…"
"Do you want some company?"
"You can't turn Steph down…you go to the ball, have a good time…"
"You're really important to me Lena…" Nero said quietly, running his hand gently over her shoulder. "I don't want you to be alone like this… Steph would understand…"
Lena sighed softly. She didn't know what she wanted. She didn't mind Nero's company, besides, it wouldn't be good for her to be alone. But then again, she didn't want Stephanie mad at her. Stephanie was really looking forward to going to the ball with Nero. Or at least she acted it.
"Do you think Draco would take Steph?" Lena asked attentively, and Nero shrugged.
"I doubt he'd object. I just don't want to see you alone…" He said, and Lena nodded softly. "I guess you could call me a softy…you just have that effect on people girl…" Lena actually laughed a little.
"Well it's nice to know I have an effect on you, Nero…"
Lena wasn't shy around Nero - that was a shock to him. He was used to girl's being giggly and flirty around him. Lena wasn't like that. She was on the Quidditch team with him, she was infatuated with his cousin - not him, and that bothered him more than anything. He was slowly working the charm she loved - it was a little bit of Malfoy, sooner than later she'd cave.
"I'll walk you to your class. You have Transfiguration?"
"Yes, I hate that damned class…" She muttered softly, sighing just a bit. "But that's real nice of you. Thank you."
Nero smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders gently. He wasn't too forward, after all, he knew that wouldn't be something she liked. Not yet, anyway. After Halloween though, she'd look at him in a different light. He just knew it. There was going to be nobody there to interfere with his progress. It was going to be perfect.
************
Classes went by slow that day, for Lena, and her friends. They all were dying to ask her why Nero walked her to Transfiguration! But clearly, she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Or him. She had heard that Draco was looking for her earlier in the day, but she was doing her best to avoid him. She had to…at least until after Halloween…which was only 2 days away…
After lunch, Lena sat in her father's potion classroom, a small cauldron in front of her. She had an idea - that HAD to work. A mild draft, that would knock her out - for at least 24 hours. That would make it easier. She glanced at the door, placing in a cauldron a bit of wormwood, she took a deep breath, stirring it. It took a few moments to brew the potion, and as she dipped a vial into the liquid, she exhaled deeply.
Going to take the drink - the door of the classroom leaked open, and she was startled. She nearly dropped the vile, but seeing the face, her hands became sweaty. Her face turned pale. Draco stood in the doorway, and she tried to keep a hold of the vile, it fell to the floor, shattering. She cursed quietly, as she turned back toward the boiling cauldron, sighing.
"Curious I should find you here, fiddling with some cockamamie concoction…" he said, which caused her to grab a second vile from the countertop.
"Funny you should be searching for me…" she spoke absent mindedly, as she dipped the vile into the liquid once more. This time, she smirked as she brought it up to eye level. It was a deep blue/black in colour, and she turned toward Draco. "But your search is over with."
"What is that?" He asked her directly, glancing toward the vile in her hand, then back to her.
"Nothing. Vital." Her words were taunting, as she brought the vile to her lips, downing the scolding liquid in one fell dropping. Draco sprung forward, as she slowly dropped the vile from her hand, standing still for a moment. It didn't take terribly long for it to kick in - but when it hit her - it hit full force, and she fell to the floor. At least, she thought she did.
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32 Hours Later:
Slowly, Lena's eyes crept open. It had been an entire day, plus 8 hours since she had woken up. So maybe the draft was a bit stronger than Lena had planned. When she woke up, she had a migraine headache, but expected such. Looking at her wristwatch, she noticed the time - 9:16 pm. But as she sat up, she wasn't alone…and sighed.
Sitting at her bedside, his head laid on the bottom of it, was Draco. Why was he there? He should have been in the common room…wait, how long had he been there? Madam Pomfrey made her way into the wing, an annoyed expression on her face as she heard movement. Seeing that it was Lena moving, awake, and alert, she tapped her foot against the floor, her arms crossed.
"Well well well, good morning…" She said, her voice ringing with the sound of sarcasm, which caused Draco to look up groggily. "Do you know what happened?"
"I…" Lena started, and Draco slowly stood up.
"I'll tell you what happened, Madam Pomfrey." He said, not looking toward Lena as he spoke drearily. Lena bit her lip gently. "We were in her father's classroom, and she was working on her homework. She just fainted, I don't know what happened."
Madam Pomfrey huffed, nodding a bit. She didn't really care. Lena looked at Draco, shocked, more so - confused, as he just looked at her back. He didn't say anything, but his eyes told a story, he wanted to know why she did what she did. He wanted to know what would have driven her so far. And he was going to find out. Any means possible.
"You don't have to worry about a thing Ms. Snape. You can go."
Madam Pomfrey just wanted Lena out of there. 32 hours 20 minutes and… 7 seconds give or take, of watching the girl sleep, people coming in and out, disturbing her quiet, Slytherin after Slytherin coming into her hospital wing, then there was putting up with Severus for longer than 10 minutes at a time! She felt like she was losing her head!
Draco assisted Lena to her feet from the bed, with Lena feeling a little dizzy. She didn't think the potion would take to her as it did. But then again, why did Draco deliberately lie to Madam Pomfrey? Did her father know? How did the trail get covered of her doing the potion?
Lena looked at Draco offly, not knowing whether or not to say anything. Draco took her hand into his, grabbing her arm for support. She took a breath, letting it out slowly as they walked. Before they left the hospital wing, Draco took a blanket, wrapping it around her shoulders. Still, there was an awkward silence between them.
"I destroyed it."
Draco spoke quietly, which caused Lena to look at him strangely. Destroyed what? He never elaborated it as he had an arm around her waist, Lena was shivering. She was cold, and the blanket wasn't doing much help to keep her warm. But Draco's arms around her helped.
"D-destroyed what?" She asked, and Draco took a soft breath, looking toward her.
"The potion. I destroyed it."
"Why?"
"I didn't want you to get in trouble for being stupid…"
She went to protest, but sighed. He was right. What she did was stupid. She should have told him…but she couldn't. She didn't want him hurt.
"Tell me what's on your mind…" Draco said quietly, as he turned her toward him. He was nearly a head taller than she was, and he did his best to look her square in the eye. "I want to know…why are you so uptight? What's the matter? Something is wrong with you…"
"I want to tell you…I really do…" She said quietly, but shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "I can't…I just can't…"
He put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them to keep her warm. He closed his eyes for a moment, whether trying to calm down, or get his head straight, it was unclear. He opened them once more, his eyes a deep, soothing grey shade, as he looked at her.
"I understand." He spoke simply, but she rested her head against his shoulder as she leaned against him. He put his arms around her tightly. "I just, I wish you would tell me what's on your mind…it clearly torments you."
"More than you know…" She said but slowly pulled away from him, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes. "I can't talk about it Draco…I don't want anything happening to you because of my mouth…"
"Happen to me?" Draco scoffed, disbelieve playing off across his face. "What could happen to me?"
"Unmentionable things, unthinkable things…" She seemed to trail off. "I don't even want to think about it, but I won't dare risk it…just…just know that the reason I can't go with you on Halloween isn't because of our fight. It's because of matters I can't control…"
"What are you doing all night, then?"
"Going to the lake." She paused momentarily, ready to break into tears again. "With Nero…"
Draco's jaw locked, but he never stepped away from her. He knew something had to be wrong - now. Especially if she was willing to sacrifice a night with him, to be with Nero. He knew just how she felt about Nero, from the very beginning, and it wasn't exactly to the terms of liking enough to spend the evening with him. It wasn't right. He was going to do something to change this. But now, he had only hours…to change her mind, to open up her heart to him, her mind, like a delicate butterfly would open their wings for the first time. She was clearly delicate at this time, more so vulnerable than anything.
"I do hope you enjoy your evening." Draco said, and with his calm stature, Lena's attention snapped toward him.
"Enjoy it? How can you think I would? I'm doing it so nothing happens to you…"
Lena didn't take time to hear an explanation from him. She didn't want to talk anymore. She wrapped the blanket around her tightly, as she began walking away from him, vanishing into the darkness of the hallways as she moved farther and farther out of his view. Draco actually sighed, running his hand through his short platinum locks. He had to think - and think swiftly. Time wasn't exactly a friend of his right now. Now least of all than ever. How it was such a fickle thing, such a contradicting thing. He made his way down the corridor, heading back toward the Slytherin common room. He would be able to think in the quiet of his own environment.
***************
The next day rolled around: It was Halloween morning. Lena didn't want to get out of bed, she wanted to stay there until she direly had to crawl out, and face a day she dreaded with a heated passion. It was Nicole who actually convinced her otherwise.
"Come on, Le. I know you're miserable…but we need to go get breakfast…"
"I'm not hungry…" Lena grumpled quietly into her pillow, and Nicole sighed, rubbing Lena's back gently, reassuringly.
"Please? I don't want to go alone. Everyone else is already off on their own. There's no classes…and well…I need a friend."
Lena slowly raised her head from the pillows, a skeptical look on her face. Nicole gestured for Lena to have a look for herself, and in fact, the girl's dormitory, when normally there was Stephanie, Angel, amongst others, still hanging around. It was only Nicole and her left.
Against her will, Lena crawled out of bed, her eyes glazed with exhaustion. She hadn't fallen asleep until 4 am, after being startled numerous times that night by something she thought she had saw. Felt. Heard. Something was stirring inside of her, or maybe it was the dormitory, but she couldn't place her finger on it.
After getting dressed, and walking out of the dormitory with Nicole, Lena and Nicole made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As they walked in, Lena looked absolutely fatigue, her eyes squinted from the bright sunlight that pounded the tables, the walls, the hall over all. There were jack-o-lanterns floating from the ceiling, the hall decorated immaculately for the holiday. As they sat down at the Slytherin table, Nero was the first to make conversation with Lena.
"Hey girl, Happy Halloween. I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks, Nero." She said simply, as a small smile came onto her face.
They were getting eyes, from many directions. Oliver was one of them. He didn't trust VanBuren as far as he could throw him, and in all actuality, that wasn't very far. Draco too, was making them the center of his attention, as he wasn't pleased. He figured, that Lena would be talking to him. After all, he had saved her from being discovered, and tried to be sincere. He wasn't trying to be obvious, and thankful for Goyle, who gave Draco a small nudge, he managed to pull his attention away.
"So are we still on for this evening? I have everything all planned." Nero said, and Lena gave a quick nod.
"Yes, it's still a go."
Despite her feeling of obligation, she was ignoring her gut. She knew something wasn't right, she could sense something, that caused her chest to tighten. She decided to ignore it, putting on a small smile as she looked at Nero.
"So are you going to tell me what to expect?"
"I can't do that…" he said with a small smirk, "That would ruin the magic of the holiday. And of the night."
As wrong as it was, it captivated her, and she smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? After all, he had his moments where he was a good guy. What could go wrong? Nero wouldn't hurt her.
"I guess I can understand that, although I really dislike surprises."
"Believe me, Lena, you're not going to like these surprises." He paused, grinning lightly. "You're going to love, them."
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[ Author's Note: So it's another cliffy…lol I'm sorry. I'll be doing chapter 8, the ball as well as Nero/Lena date, soon. ]