Yay! Chapter three! Chapters make me so happy! Thanks again to all the wonderful people who reviewed! I'm not sure if the chapters will keep coming as quickly as they have been, because I start work today, and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to myself… Whee! I teach lil' kids art at a daycamp! Fun for me!
To My Reviewers…
Amy Rose – Yay! You liked my kiss scene! I'm actually very glad because that's the first kiss I've ever written that wasn't simply 'BLANK kissed BLANK and they were happy…' LOL I'm glad that you read the rest, and yes, Sevvie-poo has set up shop in my basement lair, so I now have a sort of Apothecary down here… Heh…my mom yelled down to me to come up from the 'dungeon' the other day, so that kept me amused for a while…
Emily Snape – Yeah, I also can't wait for the third movie… and eventually the 6th book… ^_^ I feel really honored to have brought you back, and yes, I read the 5th book in only one day… I would have been done sooner, but, alas, I had an exam on Monday, so I took like, an hour-long study break… grrrr…
Chapter Three: Shall I Give In?I can stop the pain
If I will it all away
Fallen angels at my feet
Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes
Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me
Shall I give in?
— Whisper by Evanescence
The events of the preceding days had taken their tool on many, but none as much as the resident Potions Master and the Boy Who Lived. Though each dealt with their problems in their own way, they both suffered from an extreme informational overload. While Harry dwelt on what Mavet had said, Severus preferred to concentrate on what she had done.
It was late in the evening later that week, when Harry finally felt that he couldn't take it anymore. He felt trapped. He needed answers and although his friends were excellent support, not even Hermione could decipher anything intelligible from the Angel's mismatched clues. He had decided he needed inside information, and no one was more interconnected with the goings on of Hogwarts than one Albus Dumbledore.
"I'd like to see Professor Dumbledore, please." Harry said to the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The gargoyle stared for a moment and then stepped aside, allowing Harry access to the escalating spiral staircase beyond. As Harry reached the oak doors with the griffin knocker, he rapped hesitantly on it twice, thinking that maybe he should have made sure that Dumbledore was here, before seeking him out.
Nevertheless, the door squeaked open, and Harry emerged into the familiar oval room, to find the Headmaster exactly where he'd predicted; behind his large desk, littered with trinkets.
"What can I do for you, Harry?" asked professor Dumbledore.
"Hello, sir, um, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Of course. Have a seat, then," said Dumbledore with a wave of his hand.
Harry took a seat in one of the handsome chairs across from the Headmaster, and sighed, feeling a little foolish. "I was just wondering… do you know why Professor Seraph is here?"
The Headmaster smiled. "Found out about that, have you? Well, it's nothing to worry about. I assure you, you may speak with her about anything you desire; I trust her implicitly."
"Then why won't she tell us what she's here for?" Harry said, maybe a little to quickly.
"Ah, Professor Snape told me about your little encounter in the dungeons. I'm not completely sure I understand her reasons, but it seems we have no choice in the matter, doesn't it? Said the Headmaster with an air of uncertainty.
"Then why do I get this… bad feeling… whenever I get to close to her?" asked Harry.
"I'm not entirely sure about that, my boy, but it may be that her physical presence is too much for humans to handle, emotionally. She assumed her ethereal form in my office several days ago, and those professors who witnessed it, along with myself, felt a great deal of stress at being in the immediate vicinity of such a thing," said Dumbledore. His normally happy, optimistic air had vanished, leaving a shudder in its wake.
"But aren't angels supposed to be good things?" Harry pressed. "Aren't they supposed to make people happy?"
Dumbledore's smile was a great deal sadder, now. "What can I say, Harry? She's Death. Why would Death make anyone happy?"
Harry simply nodded, and looked sadly down at the floor, his eyes tracing the designs of Dumbledore's ornately woven carpet. "The trouble is, sir, that I can't help but like her. Even if… even if she sometimes gives me the creeps. Am I bad, because of that? For liking Death?" Harry's face now bore a sullen appearance.
"No, of course not, Harry," Dumbledore reassured him. "I like Professor Seraph too, Harry, Am I a bad person?"
Harry smiled. "No."
"And Professor Snape… well… never mind."
"Are you kidding? He hates her!" Harry exclaimed. "He was still yelling at her when I left the dungeons the other day."
"Indeed… well," Dumbledore trailed off, an amused sort of expression on his face, now. "Are you alright now, Harry?" he asked. His tone bore the underlying desire to bring the conversation to an end.
"Yeah, I think so." Harry said, as he rose from the chair and made for the door. "Thank you, sir."
"Anytime Harry."
Meanwhile, Severus Snape was at a bit of a disadvantage. Hs problems were of a deeper, more personal matter, yet he felt that he could, in no way, go to the Headmaster for advice. This was not the sort of thing he could trust with any living person. Not even the man who had taken him in, allowed him to redeem himself, when the rest of the world would have been only too happy to watch him burn.
This was his love life here, the possible damnation of his eternal soul (not that it wasn't already damned). Even to Severus, it sounded like an infernal parody. He almost laughed, if it weren't for the total seriousness of the situation.
The Angel loved him. The Angel of Death loved him. Well, come to think of it, she had never actually said that. She had never even phrased it in a way that would infer love. 'Because it's right.' She had said. No, love had never been inferred. Maybe a partnership of some sort?
Severus decided to take the matter up with the only person he considered worthy to listen to his pathetic plight. This person resided upon the wall above the fireplace in the living room of Severus's quarters. This person, Severus decided, wasn't really a person, so much as a portrait; a portrait of the founder of his house, Salazar Slytherin.
"Ah, Severus, what a pleasant surprise!" grinned the green and silver robed figure on canvas, as he ran a hand down the smooth, scaly back of the emerald serpent that was draped around his shoulders.
"Hello, Salazar." Severus said as he collapsed gracefully into the high-backed chair that faced the wall. "I need to talk to you about something."
"By all means, my friend, tell me your troubles."
Severus winced at Salazar's almost childish manner, thinking, once again, that he must have been in a very happy mood when this portrait was painted. He heaved a sigh. "Have you heard of the Angel of Death?" Wow, Severus, what a great way to begin a conversation, he thought to himself. Of course he's heard of the Angel of Death. Who hasn't?
At that, Salazar's expression darkened. "Yes," he said slowly.
"Well, she's here. At Hogwarts. At the moment she's teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
"Is she?" Salazar mused darkly.
"Yes. We… that is, the Headmaster, myself, and the staff members who are aware of her presence, are not sure why she is here, but it seems she has come to kill someone, or many people, and that she is searching for two… souls, I think she said."
"Did she describe these two who she's looking for?" asked Salazar.
"Yes. She said one was of her own likeness and that the other was not."
"I see," said Salazar with narrowed eyes. "Has she done something to upset you, my friend? Because I can tell you that you have nothing to fear from her, despite the… upsetting feeling… you may get from being near her."
"You know her then? Or… knew her, I suppose?" asked a surprised Severus.
Salazar smiled. "We've met," he said tersely. Then on a more somber note, he said, "Does she still have those beautiful green eyes? Or has she opted for something else, lately?"
"Well, one of her eyes is green. The other is red with a sort of catlike pupil, and a scar running through it."
Salazar seemed surprised. "I wonder how that happened…" he said softly.
"You don't know?"
"No. But tell me, why have you come to ask me about her?" Salazar said as he flipped a stray lock of ebony off of his face. It trailed down the back of his robes to just past his shoulder blade.
"She…" Severus hesitated, and looked up at Salazar with a guarded expression. "She kissed me… several days ago."
"Ah… I see…"
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure what I'm worried about, but it was… rather startling, you know? And it felt like… like… I'm not even sure how to describe it."
"Like there was nothing left in the world to fear." Salazar finished for him.
"Yes…" said Severus, wondering exactly what Salazar meant by 'We've met.'
"I know what you're thinking, my friend, but let me assure you, that was a long time ago. A very long time ago."
"How many… partners… has she had?" Severus wondered.
"I have no idea. Many, I suppose, for she is beyond ancient, and even love does not last forever. Though, consider yourself lucky; the Angel of death is known to be quite monogamous with her partners. Not like Aphrodiel. That whore…" Salazar spat.
Severus had no idea what Salazar was talking about, but his suspicions had been disproved. Mavet seemed sincere in a way, but Severus still didn't know if this was the path he wanted to explore. He had never really loved anyone, he realized. Who was he to question this, then?
"You're becoming far too anxious about something that ought not to be." Salazar said, bringing Severus back out of his reverie. "Don't worry so much. My advice would be to get to know her. She'll surprise you, I guarantee it."
Heh… yes, good reviewers… lots of surprises in store! But only if you review! Feel the power of the little button… it's calling to you! Next chapter up soon… See ya!