Chapter Seven: Crimson Cries



"Miss Seraphic, calm down please." Urged Albus as he backed away from the girl, who looked dangerously calm. Her face held no expression as she walked forward towards them, her eyes a brilliant fluid red glinting maliciously, just as the flames licking at her heels and at the stone walls.
She paid no heed to the headmasters pleas as another line of flames streaked past the three professors, a blazing green light shone and once the haze lifted seconds later, Professor McGonagal was sprawled on the floor, Asryel took another graceful step closer and flames enveloped around her. Tipping her head back a cold hearted grin played on her face, making her once fair face contort into something ugly.
"Albus, go, get the students somewhere safe."
"Severus…"
"NOW!" hissed the Potions master as fire leapt at their robes. Dumbledor gave him a short well giving gaze then turned and left, faster than anyone would think someone like him could move. Snape stood there staring at Asryel as she brought her head around to normal stature. She opened her mouth and spoke in an un earthly tone ringing with malicious laughter.
"You can't stop me, try you will Severus. You knew I would become this. I'm Asryelynn Seraphic, well my name doesn't suit me well, Seraphic meaning Angelic." Her words curled around him in flames, the room was burning and dancing except for the ground he stood on.
"You're not the Asryel I knew." He drawled letting his wand fall from his fingers.
"You're right. I'm myself now."
"NO! You're a blood thirsty shadow of her." He yelled over the roar of flames.

For a fleeting second the twisted smile playing on her disappeared and it looked as if it was Asryel once again.
"Severus, please. help." She gave a defiant cry seconds later against some inner force and she screamed piercingly as an explosion combusted in the room, sending Severus out the door into the halls.
Crashing into the wall he gave a grunt of pain before he tried to gain his footing. Through the door leapt flames and then the figure of Asryel appeared silhouetted by the fire. She walked past the Potions master who stood a gape at her, she wasn't that evil creature that was inside the Infirmary but she wasn't Asryel either. He watched her silently then stepped forward.
"Stop." He hissed under his breath, she only stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, then lifted a hand and seemingly blew a kiss, but instead it was a sweltering heat that surrounded him and caged him away. Through the dancing flames he could she her continue, where her feet touched the stone would bubble and mesh, she seemed unstoppable.

The Fire's will burn unstoppable, the serpent comes through those flames as well as the three soulless that are missing.

In silence, Draco and Cleo dressed, they'd gone farther than they intended to go, but despite it had happened. Cleo looked over at Draco who was now pulling his shirt on, his back turned. Something caught her sharp eyes and she narrowed them then got up and halted Draco from placing his collar over what she had seen, a look of confusion crossed her face as she let her pale fingers trail over three freshly made scratches made in the back of his neck.
"Draco…" he winced and turned around his eyes searching, Cleo looked frightened now, she staggered back, but Draco caught her shoulder steadying her.
His lips were moving, forming words she could not hear, her world swayed around her, the light suddenly painful, then she felt herself careen to the floor, but blacking out before she reached it fully.

Rushing down the hallway with, Cleo clutched in his arms, Draco was spooked by how few people were in the halls. An eerie hissing sound reached his ears and he jerked around a corner still at full stride to come to the hospital wing. He was stopped abruptly as heat beat against him, shielding himself against it he turned his back to it and then looked over his shoulder at a hall of nothing but sweltering flames. Oh god he thought as he ran set Cleo down several feet down the hall. He'd seen someone in that inferior of hell.
Shaking from adrenaline coursing through him, he covered his mouth with his robes and cast an anti burn spell on his robes before charging into the dance embers of the hall. He'd seen her, some where…where? Who?
His robes began to ware of the spell against the furious heat and he felt it, his body was shaking with fear now. He couldn't see the way out anymore, much less who he'd seen must be gone now.
Hearing the soft sobs of someone, Draco jerked around desperate to find the source of the crying. If there was one thing Cleo had taught him, it was compassion. Huddled in a corner he found a small girl shrouded in a white night gown.
"Hey…" he said hoarsely and he went to reach out to the girl, but his hands went through her and she looked up suddenly, eyes with no colour. An airy voice passed around him and seemed to hold the flames at bay.
"I pass to you my breath, I pass you the long dead spirit of air. Now breathe." It was a childish voice and the girl was gone before his eyes, Draco jerked back as a wisp of silver attacked his solar plexus sending him to his knees.
Gasping for breath he shut his eyes and crumpled to the stone floor, his heartbeat slowly diminishing, he could feel the heat tugging at him.
"It is done, Draco Malfoy."

"You are no longer needed, Faith." A harsh voice echoed in her mind as the girl, who could be no more than five, sat in chains in front of a man who sneered and raised his hand.
The girl shut her eyes and searched, desperate to find a replacement. Finding the pallid eyes of lust a mere thousand years later she took a deep breath as she opened her eyes in time to see a ghost like figure of herself channeling into her own body. She gave gasp of air as she felt her life fail despite her soul being given back
"It is done, Draco Malfoy." She whispered before her face became slack.

"Stay away from me" A shrill frightened voice, yelled, as a girl stumbled over a rock adorn path that led into the wooded forbidden forest. A black wolf, horrid in appearance, strode over the rocks after the small girl who tripped in her haste desperately trying to find enough air to breathe.
The beast bore its teeth, long, sharp, blood stained, it's matted fur covered in mud and blood making it even more ugly to look upon. The girl lie on the ground for a moment not enough strength to stand, she heaved looking through the trees at the full moon blazing above her.
With a deep growl sounding in it's throat the wolf lunged towards her, but seeing this coming, she rolled to the side, the nasty creature catching hold of her Crimson robes, tearing it and shredding it. It hissed seemingly and made to bite at her legs, but she kicked at it several times. Finally she nailed it in the jaw and it whined backing away a moment, thus giving the girl time to get up upon her feet once again.
Tearing away from the wolf she ran deeper into the wood, rocks biting into her feet, but she didn't care, she had to run. This girl was fair; her face was pale from fright, her moonbeam coloured hair twisted with leaves and twigs. Her robes, silken cloth thin, but warming, hung tattered around her the emblem of a moon and star, shred in half.
Looking over her shoulder at the twisted creature she shuddered seeing it's fangs, gleaming. It had a look of hunger in it's yellow eyes as it pursed her.
Her foot caught on a root sending her flying and into the ground, everything around her slowed and her palms dug into the earth. She couldn't breathe anymore, she was tired, tired of everything, tired of life.
Turning on her back the wolf stood over her growling, it reared it head back to girl a triumphant howl when the girl struck her hand out shutting her eyes causing a blinding light to emit from her palm. A whine was heard from the wolf and it's weight on the girl was lifted as it ran off.
Sitting up she gasped for air, she turned a to face a castle that was just through the trees, it was alight with fire.

"So it has begun." Upon her face was a scar, three parallel to each other running down her cheek. She shut her orange eyes as she stood up walking through the trees towards the castle.

Severus sat in the circle of fire he was imprisoned in awaiting what ever life had for him, at this point it didn't matter if he died, in fact he'd welcome it. She wasn't herself anymore, not the person he knew. He'd lost someone else and he couldn't cope with that, at least hardly.

Shaking his head of that he watched the tendrils of flames lick at the walls and roof and then he caught sight of something he didn't expect-a child. She ran through the flames as if they were nothing and then she stopped and looked at him. She was alight with a bright aura and her eyes much like Asryel's except they were the cool yellow of the sun. Moments passed as the two stared at each other not sure what to make of the other; finally the child moved and came towards Severus, now he could see she held a vial in her hands, through the heat he could see the designs cut into the sides of it. Pictures of star's and constellations moved around the bottle as if alive and then the girl looked at him and smiled brightly uncorking the vial and blowing the wisp of silver that escaped it's mouth towards Severus.

He just watched as if not caring what would come of this and suddenly the mark on his arm burned and earned a hiss of pain as the mist it seemed encircled him and sunk into his skin, shutting his eyes he stood like that till the pain dissipated. Opening his eyes he didn't see the fair child anymore instead heard her childish laughter as she skipped through the halls.

Picking himself up off the ground Draco found he was in the Great Hall with a hoard of students, automatically his eyes looked for the face he knew and loved, Cleo.

Seeing that she was beside him still asleep he sighed in relief and looked up seeing that his house Leader was confronting the raging girl that had started this, he'd guessed she had started it.

Briefly he wondered about what had happened when he had tried to help that little girl, was that just a dream? He didn't know and really did not want to dwell on it. Once again his pallid gaze wandered to the teachers who were trying to put the fire's out though the blaze seemed not to die with their spells. Now his eyes settled on Snape he was talking to Asryel, but Draco couldn't tell what he was saying.

Dismissing it again he brought Cleo into his arms and held her smoothing her hair out. She looked peaceful asleep.

"Asryel!" Severus stood his ground in front of the girl clad in the brilliant white, the student body behind him in the Great Hall.

"Why do you cause this pain to us? To Family and Friends you love." The Potions master stressed the four letter word that brought sadness and happiness to many people throughout history… Love… Desperation for her understanding plagued his pallid face. The flames licked closer to them as she stared hard at the group, but mostly her dangerous gaze was fixed on Severus.

"I know not pity, pain, or the love you speak of." She gracefully said as if not a care in the world; throwing her hand out a ball of flames gathered in her palm and hurled towards the Potions Master.

His Ebony eyes got wide as his life passed before his seeming blind eyes, that were now open to the truth. All the angst, the hate, the lack of happiness, but love. Had he loved anyone? In fact had he known what love was? No, no… not till…

"…Now…" he trailed off as he looked up his eyes finding hers. Involuntarily he held up his hand and the flame that came towards him threatening his life gathered in his waiting fingers, as if the burning orb had simply been the ball of a child's game. For some reason he could hear a small music like voice whisper the words he found to speak next.

"A Star can't survive without the flames that fuel it's full potential." his gaze, though emotionless, held on her eyes as if a mind link was blazing between them. The fire Asryel had thrown at him was twining around his fingers like a snake, weaving between his thin fingers.

Gasping, she widened her eyes in understanding as the blaze encircled them cutting them from the view of the students. Tears glazed in her burning eyes cooling them as she found the painful truth with held in Severus' eyes, love.

Taking a step forward, he closed his hand around the glowing embers that had settled in his hand, the inferno cut in closer to them and once again Asryel looked like a mortal being, though she looked like she was broken, like she had no idea what was going on.

"I love you…" he whispered into her ear as he gathered her into his arms.

"I…I love you, too." she choked out into his neck before shutting her eyes losing her strength to stand.

Holding her in his arms gently one hand caught in her curls and his other resting on the small of her back as he cooed soothingly to her. She seemed fragile at that moment compared to the unstoppable person she was before.

A small pain shot up his arm, then grew, the flesh around the scar on his arm seared and he clenched his teeth in a hiss. Her fingernails dug into the nape of his neck as if she too felt pain.

"Lust locks a soul as Love lets it free…" the condemnatory voice rang in the hall reaching their ears.

"I give Amnesty for the Soulless." It finished in disgust as if it didn't want to lose it's power over this frail creature Severus held. The last tones of the voice diminished into the roar of the fire and the pain ceased as the two sank to their knees still clinging to each other.

"He's been in there for a while…" Harry spoke softly into Hermione's ear causing her to jump and tense then relax at seeing it was Harry.

"I know." she shuddered suddenly and pressed her palm against her temple. Harry c0cked his brow watching.

"You okay, 'Mione?" he put his hand on her shoulder to steady her as she swayed.

"I don't know, I feel strange." the sixth year prefect looked up at the flames trapping the students in the Great Hall and she listened as a voice carried on the thick air that burned her lungs as she struggled for breath, but she couldn't hear the words for she found herself on the way to the floor. The only thing she heard was the four words she would never forget.

"…Amnesty for the Soulless."

End Chapter