Author Name: Saerry Snape
Rating: PG-13, may be R in later chapters
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Inspired by Lady Erised's wonderful Snapefics (specifically The Prince Returns, When the Past Comes Back, and Betrayal), Constantine1453's Harry Potter and the Trials and of His Life, and my Snapefic Nothing But the Rain. The Dark Prince officially belongs to Lady Erised; I use him with her permission. Lady of the Night is the sequel to my fic The Dark Prince.
Summary: Sixteen years after Hermione Granger gave birth to a dark-haired, green-eyed little girl, the past has returned to haunt the victims of a time in September of 2002. The year is 2019 and The Dark Prince has been released…
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
Here's the chance of life
Get ready, set – fly – high
Above the fear of your mind
Go for it, its hit or miss
Too late for you to quit
You gotta show them how bad you really want this
Unknown – Live Your Dreams
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
Chapter 9…chance of life…
"25th of December."
"Yep. Can't believe this bloke's getting out."
"Damn right. But we can't keep 'em. C'mon. Let's go let the bugger out."
"Fine. But I've got a bad feeling about this."
"You've always got a bad feeling about this."
"Let's just get this over with."
"Right."
Two men, both dressed in an Auror's navy robes, mounted the steps leading up to the first cells. Their robes billowed behind them as they turned right at the top of the stairs and began to walk down the corridor, the heels of their boots loud in the quiet. They walked past cell after cell, some whose occupants were quiet, others were the occupants were not so quiet. The three Malfoy's, in particular, were not so quiet.
"I'll cut out your heart…"
One of the Aurors looked at the cell, where a leering Lucius Malfoy looked out with a crazed look in his gray eyes. The other nudged him in the ribs and said, "Ignore him."
"Ignore him," mocked Draco Malfoy as they passed his cell, his voice coming from where he sat on the floor behind the door.
"WHORE'S!" shrieked Narcissa Malfoy as the two Aurors went past her cell, reaching one claw-like hand out at them. A dementor came swooping up behind the Aurors, causing all three Malfoy's to scramble to the back of their cells.
"Nuts," muttered the Auror who had looked at Lucius Malfoy.
The other frowned and said, "They're supposed to be that way. Its him I worry about."
There was silence again as the two continued down into the depths of the prison. On and on they went, further and further in, the dementors keeping away from the area where they were traversing. Still, one Auror shivered.
"We're here," said the second Auror.
They had arrived at the cell they were seeking. The inside of the cell was dark but there was one window, high up in the wall, through which the first rays of dawn streamed. It lit the figure sitting still as Death on the cot in the corner, showing long dark hair matted from sixteen years imprisonment and a tall but horribly thin frame. The face was hidden.
"Y'sure we have to do this?" said the first Auror quietly.
"Quiet!" snapped the second, glaring at his counterpart. He then stepped up to the cell door and said, "Mr. Potter."
When there was no answer or sign of a response, he said in a louder voice, "Mr. Potter."
"Good evening, gentlemen," came the response, spoken in a voice that crackled from almost no use in sixteen years. But it almost immediately became stronger and clearer as it spoke. "What brings two Aurors to my humble abode?"
The first Auror shifted nervously while the second replied, "It's the twenty-fifth of December, Mr. Potter."
"And the year, my good man?"
"Two thousand and nineteen."
"Ah…" was all that come from the cell. After a moment the figure on the cot shifted then stood, slowly, straightening out a six-foot frame.
The second Auror repressed a shudder and reached into his cloak for a key. One key unlocked all of the cells in Azkaban prison. Neither Muggle nor magical means could duplicate it and the cell doors could not be opened in any other fashion. He slid the key into the lock and turned it. The bolts in the door clicked open.
Suddenly there was movement inside the cell. The Auror in front of the cell door saw it but had no time to move as the prisoner shot forward, throwing the door open and shoving the Auror into the wall. It was enough of an impact to crush the Auror's ribs and bury an inch of the steel door in the rock of the wall.
"Stup…"
The other Auror never got a chance to let his spell off. The prisoner sprang away from the door and grabbed his wand arm, spinning around and jerking the arm forward at the same time. Screams filled the prison as the Auror's arm was torn from its socket. The prisoner's elbow came up swiftly, catching the Auror in the chin – hard. As the Auror sunk, unconscious, to the stone floor, the prisoner pulled the wand from limp fingers and twirled it in his own.
"Stop," croaked the Auror behind the door as he watched this go on. He could barely breathe…
"Don't breathe," hissed the prisoner, twirling the wand in his long fingers. "As it is, you're going to die. Don't hasten the process." He paused then turned towards the Auror, who had been seeing his back before then, and smiled, flashing only vaguely yellow teeth. His eyes were still not visible. "Already," the prisoner continued, "your ribs have punctured your lungs. By now they are half filled with blood. And soon (he sounded delighted at the thought) you will be breathing blood. Then you will die."
"Bastard," hissed the Auror, coughing.
"Tut, tut. Don't speak either. Ah, yes… Avada Kedavra!"
The other Auror, who had begun to stir, was engulfed in the green light. Behind the cell door, the Auror glared at the prisoner then breathed his last, blood bubbles forming on his lips. The prisoner stood there for a long moment then chuckled.
"And I thought Aurors were supposed to be good fighters…"
He turned and began to walk down the corridor of prison cells. When he reached the Malfoy's, he found the dementor still there, guarding the three. Scowling at the creature, he snapped, "Obeying Ministry orders again? That just will not do…"
The wand flicked and the dementor screamed. All through the prison, the screams echoed until they finally stopped. The dementor was gone except for its black robes, which were vaguely smoking. The prisoner smirked then threw away the wand, which had turned blackened and was also smoking from the smell.
"Worthless piece of…ah, hello, Malfoy."
"Potter, Potter," sang Draco Malfoy, staring blindly out of his cell. The prisoner shook his head and said, "What a waste…oh, nevermind, you were a waste in the first place. Good bye."
"Cut out your heart…" hissed the crazed Lucius Malfoy as the prisoner passed.
"A pity they couldn't have done that earlier," muttered the prisoner as he continued through the corridors. Several inmates cried out to him from their cells but he ignored them. He had places to go, people to see. And absolutely no time to waste with the retches of wizard kind.
Finally he reached the top of the stairs leading down to the main entrance of Azkaban. Windows, high in the walls, let sunlight through. It bathed the steps in its light and he stood there for a long moment, feeling the warmth return to his body.
He laughed and finally looked up into the sunlight. Emerald eyes half-closed in pleasure, Harry Potter shook his matted black hair from his face and enjoyed the sunlight.
Then, smirking, he started down the steps.
The Dark Prince had returned.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
Everybody likes a celebration
Happy music and conversation
I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a clue
In the corner there's a couple dancing
From the kitchen I can hear them laughing
Oh, and I
I wish I was celebrating too
Sawyer Brown – This Night Won't Last Forever
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Chapter 10…happy music…
"He's out," said McGonagall, leaning into Severus Snape's office.
"How wonderful of you to remind me," snarled the dark man without looking up at her.
"He murdered the two Aurors who went to released him."
"Well, what did you expect?"
"You to be a little more worried about it!" snapped McGonagall, throwing a copy of the Daily Prophet on the Potion Master's desk, right on top of the paper's he was grading. "He could very well come after Helena!"
"Not yet," said Severus, putting the paper aside and returning to his grading.
McGonagall stood there for a long moment, fuming, then snapped, "You are an infernal man," before she turned and stormed off.
When she was gone, Severus looked up. He smiled grimly in his success at pissing her off once more then turned his black gaze upon the front page of the Prophet and the picture of Harry Potter.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
Here she was. Again. Once more standing in the land of fire and ash.
But this time it was – different.
The dancing figures in the smoke were no longer there.
Only the green-eyed apparition remained. And he was smiling at her.
As he always did, he reached out his hand – only this time he reached out both as though to hug her.
"Come home, daughter."
She pulled back away from him, shaking her head. But her feet moved forward.
"No!"
"Come," he said.
"No! I won't!" she screamed, trying to get away. But she continued to walk forward.
"Come."
"No! No, Merlin, please, no! Uncle Severus! UNCLE SEV-ER-US!!"
She still moved forward. Only inches away now… His hands were by her shoulders.
"NO!"
Her arms opened. His began to close about her…
"NOOOOOOOO!"
Helena threw herself violently from the dream, her body in the waking world jerking and throwing itself upon the floor. Her shoulder hit freezing stone, jolting her fully into wakefulness. But the dream was still there, lingering in the back of her mind.
Abruptly her door was thrown open and her godfather entered, dressed in his nightshirt and dark pants.
"Lena?"
He knelt beside her, his worn face etched with worry. Nimble hands grasped her shoulders and pulled her up into a sitting position, her back against his chest.
"Lena? Helena, answer me."
Helena shivered and Severus frowned.
She's never had this bad a reaction to that dream, he thought. Gently he shook her.
"Helena? Helena Lilliane Granger!"
There was still no response and the sixteen-year-old shivered against him. Severus grasped her arm and found it like ice. He gently untangled her sheets from about her, noticing that the entire room felt like ice. Frowning, he slipped his arms under her and picked her up, carrying her out into the main room of his quarters (which were not, to popular belief, green or cold). Her door slammed shut behind him and he turned to scowl at it, before he marched across the room into his own bedroom. He lay the sixteen-year-old down on his bed and tucked the sheets about her, placing a Warming Charm on them before he went back into the main room.
Stalking over to the fireplace, he snarled, "Incendio." The fire abruptly leapt to life, as did half the torches about the room. Then he scowled at the room and bellowed, "Dobby!"
The house-elf appeared with a pop, looking sleepy and worn. But his large, green eyes were wide and awake.
"Professor Snape called?"
"Yes," hissed Severus. "Go and tell Professor Dumbledore to come down here. Immediately."
"Yes, Professor Snape!"
The house-elf disappeared with a loud crack and Severus snorted. He scowled again then turned and went back into his bedroom, where Helena was shivering on the bed. A worried frown appeared on his face as he slowly sat down on the bed and reached out to touch her shoulder. She jerked violently away from him, her eyes flying open as she cried out wordlessly.
Severus pulled back slightly when Helena jerked away from him. One, she had never done that. Two, her emerald eyes had gone completely opaque.
"Stay away!" she cried, scrambling away from him. "I won't! I won't do it!"
"Helena!" snapped Severus, dark eyes narrowing. "Helena, its only a dream!"
"No," murmured Helena, backing away. The image of her dream was trapped before her eyes. Every surrounding was made of fire. Every person was made of shadow and ash. And that made them one of them. In some part of her mind, she knew that wasn't the real world. It wasn't the world she'd grown up in. But it was what she currently saw and she was panicking.
"Severus?" said a voice from outside suddenly.
Helena and Severus looked up in the same instant. Severus saw Dumbledore. Helena saw a shadow with blazing blue eyes. She whimpered and hid behind a pillow.
Dumbledore blinked when he saw the generally brave girl hiding and looked at Severus.
"What happened?"
"Its that dream again, Albus. But…"
"But?"
"Something's wrong. She's never reacted this way before." Severus pointed at her opaque eyes, which were peering around the pillow and growled, "And that has never happened before!"
Dumbledore frowned and took a step forward, causing Helena to hunker down behind the pillow. He pulled back, blue eyes grave behind his half-moon glasses. After standing there for a moment, he looked at the man sitting on the bed and asked, "Where is that snake the Weasley twins gave her? Perhaps it can get through where we cannot."
"Hekate?" Severus frowned and tried to remember where he'd last seen that infernal creature. Finally he rose and left the room. He unlocked the door of his private lab and entered, searching under cauldrons until he found the sleeping asp. Grabbing it by the back of its head, he snarled, "There you are."
"Infernal human!" snarled Hekate, coiling his body about Severus' arm. "Put me down!"
Severus scowled at the snake and returned to the bedroom. He grabbed the asp's tail and forcefully uncoiled it from his arm, throwing in upon the bed before it could strike him. Hekate snapped in annoyance then he spotted Helena cowering behind the pillow.
"Mageling?"
Helena jerked when she heard the snake's voice.
"Hek?"
"Mageling, what are you doing that your guardian must awaken me? And why are you hiding?"
"Guardian?" exclaimed Helena. "That's not my godfather!"
Hekate pulled himself up and looked back at Severus. Then he looked at Helena and blinked his black eyes.
"Ah…I think you are a bit misled. That IS your – ahem, godfather."
"What?" exclaimed Helena, poking her head around the pillow. She blinked several times but the two shadow forms were still there. Looking at the asp, which was – oddly enough – in his own colors, she said, "What are you talking about?"
Hekate sighed then blinked again. He had finally spotted Helena's eyes.
"Your eyes are blinded, mageling."
"Blinded…" breathed Helena. She closed her eyes for a moment and looked up. For a half-second her sight and her eyes returned to normal before they were flooded with the vision of her dream again. "Blinded! Blinded by that stupid…"
Abruptly her vision cleared and she could see reality. The memory of the dream loomed bright and she shoved it to the back of her mind, letting out a cry and clutching her head.
"Helena…"
Helena looked up into her godfather's worried face then turned away, her dark hair covering her eyes. She said softly, "I should have told you about my dream long ago, Uncle."
"You don't…"
"I do," snapped Helena. "Its important that you know. You too, professor."
Severus nodded in defeat and looked at Dumbledore, who stood silently, his hands tucked in his sleeves. Helena picked up Hekate, who curled around her wrist with his head resting on the back of her hand. The dark-haired girl stroked the snake's back for a long moment before she lifted her head and began to speak.