More apologies from me, for not reviewing sooner… I live in Toronto, and for anyone who hasn't heard, there was a MASSIVE blackout over southern Ontario and New York, so I haven't been on my computer for a few days. Although, I will admit that looking at the stars that night was pretty amazing. You usually can't see them with all the other light pollution from the city, but we saw lots of constellations and that made my day!
I'll be quiet now…
To my Reviewers:
Amy Rose: Scipio appreciates your sympathy! And yes, there IS something up with Harry, but being the sadistic lil' one that I am… I'm not telling! ('Til later…)
Mikee: Yes, I'm also hoping for more Harry/ Sev interaction… More angst will follow… LOL
Alicorn1: YES! I want more pets! Animals rule! Especially birds. They rock, and they're really smart, almost dolphin-smart! Go get me pets people! I want more! (Studies show that people who keep companion animals lead longer lives. LOL)
Chapter Nine: Black Market BloodWasted face that swallowed time
With Armageddon crawling
She's insane, this friend of mine
And she's always bawling
Hear her calling
Hear her calling you
Hear her calling
Hear her calling you
There's a place within her mind
With rains already falling
She's insane, this friend of mine
And she's always bawling
Hear her calling
Hear her calling you
Hear her calling
Hear her calling you
She's preparing for the flood
The deluge and the sliding mud
She's preparing for the flood
Running on black market blood
Black market blood
Black market blood
Black market blood
Black market
— Black Market Blood by Placebo
The next morning was Sunday, meaning that Severus was in no hurry to rise, a good thing, for he was never a morning person anyways. He woke early enough, for he was an extremely light sleeper, and the sound of a falcon's cry had disturbed him. There was no real point in going back to bed, he figured; there were things to be done, lessons to be planned. It was only after he had wiped the sleep from his eyes, that he remembered the events of the previous evening. Mavet had been… wonderful… extraordinary… But even these words seemed plain when contrasted with last night's pleasures. A ray of sunlight that had miraculously penetrated the dungeon walls, momentarily blinded Severus and he turned over to find the other half of his bed empty. Where had Mavet gone?
"Seraph?" Severus called. Oh, Hell, he figured if he'd slept with the woman – no, Angel, he realized – he could have the decency to call her by her given name. "Mavet?"
No answer.
She must have slipped off somewhere, he reasoned. He contemplated where she could have run off too, when he noticed the open window – a window he never kept open, and was just large enough for a grown person to slip through. Hastily, the Potions Master threw on his garments and long black robes. Then he realized that he still had the silver bat ring that Mavet had given him. Throwing caution to the wind, Severus transformed into the large black bat, and fluttered out the window.
He found her on the top of the Astronomy tower, the tallest of Hogwarts' turrets, perched with her talons clutching the highest steeple, feathers fluttering in the breeze, tail lashing nonchalantly behind her. He fluttered over to her, pumping his leathery bat wings, landed on the thin rail, hopped down to the flat walkway, and became human again. As soon as Mavet spotted him, she leapt down, finding solace in his arms.
"Good morning, Severus. When did you wake?" she asked as she gave him a kiss, and pressed her forehead to his chest, inhaling his scent: a mix of peppermint and the dust of old books.
"Not too long ago. Why did you leave?" Most people would not have noticed the hurt in his voice, but Mavet was not most people.
"I'm sorry," replied the Angel. "I couldn't sleep… forgive me."
"Don't apologize for something you can't help." Severus advised, and Mavet grinned, turning away from him to examine the view. The sun had just come up over the mountains, a bleary yellow haze across the sky. Mavet stared interestedly at its reflection in the lake.
"So… what's been on your mind?" she asked, whirling around to face him.
"How could you tell there was something on my mind?" Severus asked faintly, leaning over the rail to stare at the horizon.
"Call it a gift." Mavet simply gazed at him.
"I have been thinking about something," he admitted. "I've come to a decision."
"Yes?" Mavet perked up, hungrily waiting for Severus to continue.
"I've decided to accept your offer." He turned and stared down at her, as a pleased expression formed on her pale face.
"I see…" she said as a delighted smile curled the corners of her mouth. "I'm glad that you have."
"So…" Severus began, taking a tentative glance in her direction. "What happens now?"
"Now, I have to complete the ritual."
"I see…" Severus replied slowly. "What exactly does that entail?" he said with suspiciously narrowed eyes.
An odd, secretive expression appeared on Mavet's face. "Well… It might be better if I don't tell you beforehand."
"I'm not going to weasel out just because you tell me something horrible," Severus sneered, crossing his arms defiantly. "Just tell me so we can get it over with."
Mavet sighed. "First I must drain you of most of your blood so that you come close to death. Then I allow my blood to mingle with yours, and the process is complete."
"That's it?" Severus arched a contemptuous eyebrow. "That doesn't sound so bad. I was expecting much worse…" He let loose a sneering laugh. "Wait…" He brought a finger pensively to his mouth and thought for a moment. "I didn't think Angels could bleed."
"We can't." Mavet agreed. "At least, not in the sense that you mean. Our blood is toxic – anything it touches will die. And the blood we shed is merely a byproduct of taking a physical form. Normally, we are made of light, and light does not bleed."
"But won't that kill me, then?"
"No, my magic will keep you alive long enough for my power to properly meld with yours."
"I'm not quite sure that I understand all of this…" Severus said with a pained expression. He hated not knowing or understanding things. Knowledge was power, after all.
"You don't need to understand it, so long as you trust that I do."
Severus thought for a moment. There was an instant during which Mavet thought he would refuse. After a short while, however, Severus's glare lost it suspicious nature and he nodded to her.
"Very well, then," he said. "I will trust you."
"Good. Come with me, then." And Mavet leapt, catlike, onto the rail, her talons clasping firmly around the metal bar. She spread her wings and fell, twisting, through the air, flaring her feathers, at last, to swoop elegantly back into Severus's bedchambers. Severus followed in his bat form.
"It would probably be better if we did this in your lab. It will be easier to clean up after," she explained. Severus nodded and led Mavet into the neighboring room. "You still have the ring I gave you, I gather?"
"Yes."
"Good." Mavet withdrew a black-handled double-edged knife from a small scabbard at her waist. Severus was amazed that he hadn't noticed it. "Close your eyes," she said, and Severus complied. She approached him and he winced slightly as she made a small incision at the base of his neck with the knife. She resheathed the knife and tore her leather necklace from her throat, pressing the silver pendant to the wound. The reaction was instantaneous; Severus's body seized up and he felt that he couldn't support himself anymore. Mavet caught him, bringing him gently to the floor, his head in her lap, her arm curled around his torso, keeping the bloodletting pendant on the wound.
Severus's vision faded and his mind became cloudy as the silver sucked the blood from his veins. He could feel his own heart slowing, the seconds between beats growing longer and longer, until, finally, they came to a stop. Strangely enough, he was still vaguely aware of something green and red in his field of vision, however cloudy it had become. He felt something tug at his hand and felt a distant stab of pain moments after. His eyes closed gently, and he slept.
Harry left his dormitory early in the evening, on the pretense of going to Snape for remedial potions. Ron and Hermione, however, knew that Occlumency was to be the real topic of discussion down in the dungeons. Harry wound his way down the dark passageways and stopped at the all-too-familiar door to Snape's lab. He knocked twice and waited, but there seemed to be no answer. He knocked again, and realized that the door was unlocked. It creaked open a sliver, the second time Harry's fist made contact with it.
"Professor?" Harry called cautiously, taking a step inside. No one was there, least of all Professor Snape, or, rather, he didn't think anyone was there, until a figure emerged from the shadows. Harry jumped, startled. "Professor Seraph! What are you doing down here? Where's Professor Snape?"
Professor Seraph smiled. "He's fine, Harry, he just needed a bit of a rest. I will work on your Occlumency with you this evening."
"Is he okay?" Harry asked, as he sat down.
"He's perfectly fine, I assure you." The Angel smiled, and clasped her necklace back around her neck. The once serpentine pendant had now taken the form of a bat's silhouette, and the emeralds were gone from the serpent ring. As she lowered her hands, Harry caught a flash of red on the inside of her palm. His eyes widened in horror, remembering what Hermione had suspected.
"Have you hurt him?" Harry nearly yelled, rising to his feet and indicating the blood on his professor's hand. "Hermione warned me about you!" Harry made a mad dash for the door, but Professor Seraph motioned quickly with her hand and the door slammed shut. No matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't manage to yank it open. "Let me out!" he cried, "Stay away from me!"
"Harry," Professor Seraph began, as she crossed to the sink and washed the remaining blood away. "I promise you, I did not harm Professor Snape. There is nothing more I can say to prove this to you, but I hope that you can trust me." She sat down across from where Harry had previously sat, and beckoned him to resume his seat. "Now," she continued, once Harry was seated. "What, pray tell, did Hermione say about me?"
"She said that you'd probably try to hurt Professor Snape because you were the Angel of Death and he used to be a Death Eater," Harry said nervously.
Professor Seraph sighed sadly. "Harry, please try to understand, it is rare that I would deliberately seek a person out simply to punish them. Especially in the manner you are speaking of. You don't hear about imprisoned murderers and rapists suddenly disappearing or being violently mutilated. It just isn't done anymore. And even then, I would need to be specifically ordered to punish someone in such a manner. People who have committed crimes such as the ones I have just mentioned, simply go to Hell when they die."
"So… but… Professor Snape, he can't…" Harry's voice had caught and he looked at the floor. Professor Seraph kindly put a hand on his shoulder.
"I know," she said. "I'm working on it." She shook her head and tried to brighten her expression, if merely for Harry's sake. She really didn't know what would happen to Severus, but she hoped that she could think of something. "Now, if we could return to Occlumency, something a touch less morbid. Have you dreamt lately?"
"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "But… I was going to ask professor Snape about something…"
"You can ask me."
"Well, it was kind of about you…" Harry said a little uncomfortably.
"That's alright," Professor Seraph told him.
"Alright. Well, during our last Defense lesson, the one when I fought you, well, I… I think I was kind of seeing what you were going to do next. I'm not really sure if that was what was happening, but I sort of felt like I knew what was coming. I… I think that's why I did so well," he added, seeing the amused look on his professor's face.
"I know, Harry, I noticed it too." She grinned at the relieved look on his face.
"You… you did? So what was it then?" he asked, quite interestedly.
"It has to do with who I am, and who you are, but I cannot explain it all to you now. Just know that it is nothing you should worry about."
"Okay… I was worried that it was some form of Occlumency or something."
"It's fine, Harry, don't worry about it." She sighed happily and said, "Okay, well, I don't think it's appropriate for me, being who I am, to be sifting around in your head, but you should be fine if you haven't been having any dreams. Just continue doing what Professor Snape told you. You can go now." But Harry made no attempt for the now-unlocked door.
"I… I was wondering if I could ask you something."
"As always, it depends, but go on."
It was a moment before Harry spoke again, but he finally found his voice. "You meet everyone when they die, right?"
"Almost everyone," Professor Seraph answered. "There are occasional instances when I am not available at the time, such as now; I can't be teaching and dealing with deceased souls at the same time. During a time like this, however, I would usually get familiar spirits to step in for me; ravens, wolves, snakes and such."
"But, then, you must've seen my parents?" he asked hesitantly.
"Actually, I run into them quite often in Heaven. They keep asking about you. Especially when they learned that I was carrying out a mission here." The Angel smiled and laughed nostalgically.
"So they're in Heaven then? Are they happy?"
"Aside from missing you, yes, I suppose they're quite happy."
"And my godfather? Sirius?"
Professor Seraph smiled knowingly. "Of course. I imagine he was quite happy to see your parents after such a long time."
"Um… thank you," Harry sniffed, as his eyes threatened to tear up.
"It's alright, Harry," she said, as she hugged him close. After a moment, she released him, sensing a sort of uncomfortable presence.
"I… I guess I'll go now," Harry said, as he wiped his eyes, recovering quickly. Professor Seraph simply nodded and watched him disappear out the door.
Severus shifted restlessly in his magic-induced sleep, cold sweat running down his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but it was strangely absent. He could hear Mavet's voice, but it was hard to make out what she was saying. Strangely enough, he could hear Harry Potter's voice as well. Severus turned his head from side to side, but he couldn't seem to open his eyes, and what he heard seemed warped and distorted somehow. He felt something sweep suddenly by his cheek, and his eyes snapped open, startled. He was met with the upside-down grin of Mavet Seraph, and he relaxed as she slowly blinked her red and green eyes. Apparently, she had moved him to his bed after he had passed out on the floor of his lab
"How long was I out?" he asked as she wiped the sweat from his face with a cool cloth,
"Not long; a few hours," she replied.
He struggled to sit up, and noticed a faint pain in his hand. Examining it further, Severus found that there was a large gash across his palm that had been wrapped in a bandage.
"Magic will only hinder this kind of wound," Mavet explained. "But I needed to transfer some of my blood to you."
Severus nodded absently, noticing an identical gash, half-healed, on Mavet's left hand. Remembering the incision at his neck, Severus's good hand flew to the base of his throat, only to find that the wound had closed without so much as a trace of scar tissue.
"Dream of anything interesting?" Mavet asked suddenly.
"Yes… I heard you talking to Potter, but I couldn't make out what you were saying." He groaned and his hand flew to his head. "Am I supposed to have a raging headache?" he asked angrily.
"Usually," laughed Mavet, but she handed him a vial of an electric blue potion. Severus took it, tilted his head back and drank it in one. He massaged his temples again and his headache began to subside.
"I thought you might have heard Harry and I," Mavet continued wistfully.
"What?"
"There was a short moment there, when the lines between our separate mental conjectures were blurred. You merely saw or heard me talking to Harry. He was inquiring about something related to Occlumency, so I stepped in for a moment."
Severus was about to say something, but there was something unsettling that was nagging at the back of his mind. He pressed two fingers to his neck and blinked, astonished, at Mavet. "Why do I not have a pulse? Am I dead?"
"No," Mavet laughed. "You are neither dead, nor alive. Your soul has been separated from the flow of time."
Severus chuckled softly to himself. "So for once, those stupid Gryffindors will be right about something. I've become the undead." This was followed by another stream of laughter, which could be compared closely to giggling.
"I see…" Mavet said slowly, clearly not understanding the joke. "I should leave you now, you need rest." She forced him back down to the bed and gave him a kiss before she departed, leaving her love to sleep.
Harry's next Defense lesson was a double period with the Slytherins. As Professor Seraph had instructed, the students had assembled outside the weapons room, waiting diligently for their teacher. All were devoid of weapons except for Harry, who carried Gryffindor's sword, as usual. Draco Malfoy headed the gang of sixth year Slytherins and sneered at the Gryffindors, Harry in particular, as he approached.
"I didn't think we were supposed to have weapons, yet, Potter," he began as his gaze fell upon the ruby-hilted sword at Harry's side. Then he laughed. "But for one so small, I'm not complaining." Harry was about to reply with some scathing remark, when they were interrupted by a sharp, harsh voice.
"Mr. Malfoy," it began. "I sincerely hope you wouldn't be inclined to do something as foolish as antagonizing the one student who happens to have a sword." Professor Seraph had appeared behind the group of Slytherins and she made her way carefully to the door of the weapons room. Aside from carrying the jade and emerald sword that was buckled to her belt, she had the same steel sword she had brought to every lesson thus far.
"No, Professor," he said sulkily, shooting her a biting look.
Professor Seraph surveyed him for a moment, and then unlocked the door to the weaponry. "Please find a suitable weapon and assemble yourselves in the hall. We will be practicing outside today."
"What?" Hermione whispered to her two friends. "But it's the middle of December. Why are we going outside?" Ron and Harry simply shrugged in response.
As Professor Seraph led them outside to the extensive courtyard, Hermione and the other students were relieved to discover that for some reason, there was a warm breeze, contrary to the thin sheet of snow that blanketed the ground. After casting protective spells on the student's blades to prevent accidental injury, Professor Seraph instructed them to pair off and practice for a while, while she took single students aside, one at a time, to work on their specific weak points.
"Hey Potter!" the scathing voice of Draco Malfoy rang out as he approached the threesome of Gryffindors. "I hope you're not too afraid to fight me now that I'm armed, as well."
"Definitely not," Harry replied, as he and Malfoy squared off, leaving Ron and Hermione to practice together.
Professor Seraph carefully observed her students as they battled together, taking note of certain skills, when her head abruptly snapped to the side, her attention caught by a faint rustling sound, accompanied by a sort of hiss.
It was impossible to tell who was winning, between Draco and Harry, though Ron and Hermione had soon grown tired, and settled for watching the pair. Suddenly Professor Seraph's voice sounded above the clanging of metal, drawing every student's attention.
"HOLD!" she cried, and Draco took the opportunity to land a blow on Harry's shoulder, while his attention was elsewhere.
"Ow!" he yelped, as Ron rushed to his defense.
But professor Seraph did not see them; her gaze was focused at the sky, head twisting from side to side in hope of finding something that, to the students, did not appear to be there. "I know you're there!" she shouted to the silence. "Show yourself!" Suddenly, a large, dark shape fell from the sky, out of the sun's glare, and hurled itself at Professor Seraph. She was ready for this, however, and the jade and emerald sword was instantly in her hand. As the dark creature approached, Harry caught a clear view of it as it pumped its massive, bat like wings. It was roughly taller than a man, covered in black skin, with a powerfully built torso, its wings anchored where its arms should have been. The head was a cross between that of a dragon and a bat, and its hindquarters were strangely reminiscent of a wolf, ending in a long, thin, tail with and arrow like notch at the end.
The strange creature swerved suddenly, narrowly missing the tip of the professor's blade, but a thin streak of red could be seen on its underside. Professor Seraph suddenly leapt into the air, raven wings sprouting from her shoulder blades, and tail lashing angrily as she swerved through the air in pursuit of the monstrous creature.
The students below stared, amazed, as they watched their professor streak through the air after the bat creature. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had known about Professor Seraph's ethereal identity, but even they were unprepared for her sudden transformation. There was a collective, awed silence, as the creature flipped over in mid-air, apparently trying to skewer the Angel on it's claws. However, its plans were thwarted as Professor Seraph caught its talons in her own, and plunged her silver sword deep into the monster's chest. The creature gave a desperate howl of pain, and plunged through the air, still clutching at the Angel's sword. The thick, black, form beneath her, and a sudden, almost desperate, flap of her wings cushioned Mavet's fall. "Who sent you?" she yelled angrily at the dying, twitching creature. "Was it him? Did the Dark Prince send you?" There was no answer; whatever it was that had attacked her, it was dead before the Angel had finished her question. Tugging at her sword, she suddenly realized that the point of her blade was embedded in the ground. Planting a clawed foot on the creature's chest, she heaved the sword from its corpse, and wiped the blood off in the snow, before sheathing it in its scabbard. Hesitantly, she turned to face her students, who were collectively quiet with awe, and, quite possibly, fear. The Angel turned to the one student who she knew she could count on to have kept his composure. Said student was at the font of the crowd, rubbing an apparently sore shoulder. "Mr. Potter," she began seriously, in hurried tones. "Go find Professor Snape and tell him to come here at once. Tell him that it is an emergency and I need his assistance."
Harry nodded his understanding.
"Then go to Professor Dumbledore's office and tell him that there has been a breach of security." She continued. "Tell him that a Demon has broken through the defenses."
Love to all my reviewers… and a chocolate-dipped naked Sev to all of you who continue to review!