Author's Notes: Sorry for such a delay, I just lost the inspiration to
write for a while. The first 20 or so chapters were pretty much done
before the story was posted, and the first part of the story was finished
and went up quickly. But these chapters will come more slowly.
I decided that the story wasn't over by a long shot, and instead of writing a sequel, I'm going to just continue on. This half will deal with the aftermath of the wizarding war, how it affected the lives of some of the characters, and the new threats looming on the horizon. Details of the final battles and their aftermath will be explored through flashbacks and memories.
This chapter has a flashback, and sets the stage for the second half of the story. Oh and some heavy sexual innuendo thrown in for good measure. No "bodice ripper" scenes in this chapter, maybe later.
Disclaimer: Characters and themes recognized from the books and/or movies do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
Chapter 31: A Dark Cloud Looms on the Horizon
The rumbling of distant thunder grew steadily louder as the summer storm rolled in from the Gulf of Mexico, and worked its way towards the city of New Orleans. In a top floor apartment, above an art gallery on the edge of the French Quarter, a dark haired man tossed and turned fitfully in his sleep.
His dream mirroring the booming and flashing of the storm clouds, Severus Snape, potions master and instructor at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, re-lived the final battle against Voldemort and the Death Eaters in his mind. He had been underground, in the potions laboratory, when word came that the school's defensive perimeter had been breached. He ordered all but the seventh year students to remain in the castle, and rounded up every witch and wizard of age who were skilled enough to stand a chance in battle, and led them up out of the dungeons towards the school grounds turned battlefield.
He noticed that some foolish seventh-year Gryffindors had tried to launch air attacks from astride their Quidditch brooms. In the confusion, he was only able to slow one's fall when they were batted out of the sky like flies by a spell cast from a single Death Eater. The other two, a boy and girl, fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The girl was unconscious and bleeding from her ears and nose, but the boy unfortunately had not been knocked out by the impact and was rapidly going into shock from his injuries. Snape flagged down Molly Weasley and another witch from the countryside who had been pressed into service as field nurses. The women levitated the students and hurried them into the great hall, which was serving as an infirmary. Snape worked his way through the crowd, looking for Dumbledore. Unable to find him, he spied the deputy headmistress, McGonagall, conversing with a group of ministry wizards. He voiced his misgivings over allowing students to fight, as they were grossly outclassed, and would be slaughtered. McGonagall agreed but said that because they were of age, they had the right to give their lives in battle if they so desired. She didn't like it, but they needed all the help they could get, and even if all they did was serve as cannon fodder, the final year students would not be denied a chance to fight. Disgusted at the wasteful loss of young lives, Snape stormed off into the chaos of battle.
He spied a couple of his final year Slytherin students, two of the handful that had returned to classes once the war broke out, who had stayed on through the summer holiday to help prepare healing potions. They were standing back to back, in a defensive posture, as the battle raged closer and closer into the school grounds. Snape approached the pair and told them to come with him; together they would back up any alliance witches or wizards who needed help. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of silvery blonde hair pulled free from underneath the hood of a Death Eater cloak. Lucius Malfoy had two ministry wizards, Arthur Weasley and his colleague Perkins, pinned down under heavy fire, the two ministry wizards barely able to deflect and dodge the curses being cast at them. Snape motioned for his students to follow him and they took off across the field, towards the fight. They were within a hundred feet when Perkins went down, and Malfoy turned his full attention to Weasley. The professor and his students ran to assist, wands drawn.
Malfoy turned to face the trio. "For shame Severus. Has Dumbledore sunk so low as to be sending children into battle like lambs to the slaughter?"
The seventh year girl flushed with anger. "I'll have you know, I am not a child, and I come willingly to fight."
Malfoy laughed and fired a curse at the girl, she dodged but it glanced off of her left shoulder, searing through her robe like a jet of steam, burning the flesh underneath. Snape and Weasley fired off spells that sent Malfoy tumbling backwards onto the ground. He rolled onto his knees and fired a string of devastating curses at his adversaries, and all four performed a deflecting spell simultaneously, sending the full effect of the curses combined back at Malfoy. The energy blast hit him square in the chest, knocking his wand from his hand, and throwing him flat onto his back. Snape approached the man and knelt down beside him.
"The battle between you and I Lucius ends here and now."
Malfoy laughed softly and said between labored breaths: "You traitorous bastard, it ends only when I say it ends."
Snape picked up Malfoy's wand, snapped it in half over his knee, and threw it on the ground next to him. Silently, he rose and went to check on his students, to make sure the boy could get his friend safely to the field infirmary. He looked back over his shoulder at Malfoy, who was only barely conscious and having difficulty breathing. That combination of curses was lethal, he'd soon die on the battlefield. Snape looked around and saw several wounded and dead witches and wizards, some of them students, some recent graduates. Very few were Death Eaters. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he took a deep breath and followed Weasley towards the heart of the battle.
Outside the apartment in New Orleans, a large bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed momentarily by a booming clap of thunder. Snape snapped to consciousness, grabbing for his wand on the bedside table. He realized where he was, and the let the wave of panic pass. He sat up on the edge of the bed, ran shaking fingers through his sweaty hair, and looked around the small room. Lying beside him, curled up on her side, was his lover, the owner of the building, Mirabelle DelMare. She stirred in her sleep, but was not awakened by the thunder.
The war over, he had accompanied Dumbledore to the Calais region of France, and returned Mira's memories to her. It had been an emotional and traumatic reunion. Many of the memories she experienced again were not pleasant at all. It was decided by Headmaster Dumbledore that both of them needed some time away from the wizarding world, and the professor accompanied Mira back to her home in New Orleans, where she would return her magical amulet safely to its hiding place.
The city was even more foreign to him in late summer, with heat and violent thunderstorms unlike anything he had ever experienced in England. The doors leading onto the balcony overlooking the private courtyard were open, allowing a breeze to circulate through the apartment. As the storm grew closer, the winds picked up, and the curtains started to billow inward like ghosts dancing in the wind. Bells strung from the branches of the large potted trees in the courtyard started to chime.
Snape pulled on the black silk robe given to him by Mira, and tied the sash. He went out on the balcony, and reclined in one of the two large patio chaises to watch the lightning show and enjoy the cooling breeze. He inhaled deeply. The earthy green fragrance of the garden mingled with the sharp ozonic smell of the electrically charged atmosphere. He should have felt extreme relief and peace now that Voldemort was defeated and peace had come to the wizarding world. But something nagged at the back of his consciousness, something not quite right, something looming on the horizon like the storm clouds looming in the distance. He tried to put it out of mind and focused on the flashes of lightning and rumble of thunder growing louder and closer.
He didn't notice Mira get up and approach the doorway. "Beautiful, isn't it? In its own way."
Momentarily startled, Snape looked over his shoulder at her. She was leaning against the doorframe, watching the storm approach. She had on a similar robe, in dark rose colored silk. Unbelted, it fluttered in the breeze. He looked at her with a sharp expression, bordering on disapproval.
"What? Oh for Christ's sake, it's a private balcony over a private courtyard. Do you see any windows on the backs of the buildings across the alleyway? Maggie and Jules are away on holiday, and nobody can see over the courtyard walls from the alley. Besides, if anybody were to catch a glimpse, I'd like to think that they enjoyed the view."
"Well, I'm certainly enjoying the view."
"I bet you are."
Mira closed the glass paned doors, stepped over to the railing, and leaned against it, watching the storm move in. She stretched and inhaled deeply. "God I love the smell of storms." She turned back towards the professor, arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the railing. "How about you?
"It rains a lot in England, but it doesn't storm like this."
"That's 'cause it never gets this hot over there."
"No, it doesn't. That's why I came out here, to watch the lightning and enjoy the breeze, I couldn't sleep."
"You should have said something, muggle homes have air conditioning. I could have made it cooler for you."
"It's okay, it wasn't just the heat."
Mira looked at him pensively. Something had been bothering him ever since their reunion at her grandmother's house. He seemed distant and troubled. She figured that he was suffering the effects of battle, and left him to his broodings. She looked back over her shoulder, the storm was getting quite close, the flashes of lightning illuminating the balcony and courtyard, the thunder rattling the glass paned doors behind them.
"Maybe we should go inside?"
"Maybe we should stay right here." Mira stepped towards the chaise, stood over the bottom half of it and leaned in, bracing herself on the armrests. "Unless you're afraid of a little storm?"
Snape grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down on top of him. "Does it feel like I'm afraid?"
Mira laughed and pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the wind blowing her hair and the flashes of lightning reflecting in her eyes. She sat back on his thighs, and looked up at the sky. The first scattered drops of rain fell, and she giggled with delight. The rain started to come down harder and she raised her arms as if she were welcoming it into her embrace. He pulled her tightly against him and traced a line of kisses from her neck to her lips. The wind picked up force, whipping their hair and clothes around, and the pouring rain caused the thin silk robes to cling like second skins and their wet hair to stick to each other's faces and throats. Lightning flashed very close to the courtyard, followed almost instantaneously by the loud crashing of thunder. Mira screamed and the two of them nearly upset the chaise scrambling to their feet as they fled back into the apartment.
Still laughing, Mira took Snape by the tails of the robe sash and led him into the bathroom. She ran a tub of warm water, and added a generous dose of her lavender bubble bath. They peeled the clinging silk robes off of their bodies like snakes shedding their skins, and tossed them in a heap on the floor. Fragrant steam filled the room, and fogged the mirror. She motioned for him to climb into the bath. Once settled, she lowered herself down in front of him. He drew his knees up slightly and she reclined back against his chest.
Snape reached over and picked up the bar of soap from the holder on the wall. He inhaled the fragrance deeply. It was a pleasant fresh smell that mixed well with the lavender. He soaped his hands up and started lathering her shoulders. Mira sighed and arched her shoulders back towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. He nudged her hair out of the way with his chin and kissed her just below her ear. She bowed her head, giving him easier access to her neck. With a smirk, he shifted position, and started working his hands down towards the small of her back. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her closer against him, and lathered his hands again. He reached around her waist and worked his slick soapy hands over her throat and down her chest. He caressed and gently squeezed her breasts as he kissed the back and side of her neck. One hand lingered on her chest as the other worked its way down past the curve of her ribcage and the gentle swell of her stomach and parted her thighs. He nudged her chin down and purred in her ear with a deep throaty voice.
"Have you ever made love with, how should I say it. wizarding enhancements?"
Mira shifted her hips, guiding his hand farther down into the warm soapy water. "No, I can't say I've ever heard of anything like that."
"Well now, we shall have to remedy that."
Mira sighed and arched her chest and hips forward to meet his caresses. "What exactly are these wizarding enhancements?"
"Charms and enchantments to temporarily alter the size and shape of certain parts of the anatomy, potions to enhance the libido and heighten pleasure, spells to create magical bonds and achieve levitation enabled positions, and magical objects that do all sorts of naughty things."
"Mmmmm, details please. Tell me more."
Snape chuckled wickedly and whispered in her ear all the delicious things he could do to her with no more than his wand and some simple potions. He scooped up handfuls of bathwater and rinsed the soap off of her, rose from the water and toweled off. While she dried herself off, he retrieved his wand and two small vials of potion from a pocket in his wizarding robe. Joining her in the bedroom, he gave her a demonstration of each and every one of the things he had whispered in her ear.
I decided that the story wasn't over by a long shot, and instead of writing a sequel, I'm going to just continue on. This half will deal with the aftermath of the wizarding war, how it affected the lives of some of the characters, and the new threats looming on the horizon. Details of the final battles and their aftermath will be explored through flashbacks and memories.
This chapter has a flashback, and sets the stage for the second half of the story. Oh and some heavy sexual innuendo thrown in for good measure. No "bodice ripper" scenes in this chapter, maybe later.
Disclaimer: Characters and themes recognized from the books and/or movies do not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
Chapter 31: A Dark Cloud Looms on the Horizon
The rumbling of distant thunder grew steadily louder as the summer storm rolled in from the Gulf of Mexico, and worked its way towards the city of New Orleans. In a top floor apartment, above an art gallery on the edge of the French Quarter, a dark haired man tossed and turned fitfully in his sleep.
His dream mirroring the booming and flashing of the storm clouds, Severus Snape, potions master and instructor at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, re-lived the final battle against Voldemort and the Death Eaters in his mind. He had been underground, in the potions laboratory, when word came that the school's defensive perimeter had been breached. He ordered all but the seventh year students to remain in the castle, and rounded up every witch and wizard of age who were skilled enough to stand a chance in battle, and led them up out of the dungeons towards the school grounds turned battlefield.
He noticed that some foolish seventh-year Gryffindors had tried to launch air attacks from astride their Quidditch brooms. In the confusion, he was only able to slow one's fall when they were batted out of the sky like flies by a spell cast from a single Death Eater. The other two, a boy and girl, fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The girl was unconscious and bleeding from her ears and nose, but the boy unfortunately had not been knocked out by the impact and was rapidly going into shock from his injuries. Snape flagged down Molly Weasley and another witch from the countryside who had been pressed into service as field nurses. The women levitated the students and hurried them into the great hall, which was serving as an infirmary. Snape worked his way through the crowd, looking for Dumbledore. Unable to find him, he spied the deputy headmistress, McGonagall, conversing with a group of ministry wizards. He voiced his misgivings over allowing students to fight, as they were grossly outclassed, and would be slaughtered. McGonagall agreed but said that because they were of age, they had the right to give their lives in battle if they so desired. She didn't like it, but they needed all the help they could get, and even if all they did was serve as cannon fodder, the final year students would not be denied a chance to fight. Disgusted at the wasteful loss of young lives, Snape stormed off into the chaos of battle.
He spied a couple of his final year Slytherin students, two of the handful that had returned to classes once the war broke out, who had stayed on through the summer holiday to help prepare healing potions. They were standing back to back, in a defensive posture, as the battle raged closer and closer into the school grounds. Snape approached the pair and told them to come with him; together they would back up any alliance witches or wizards who needed help. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of silvery blonde hair pulled free from underneath the hood of a Death Eater cloak. Lucius Malfoy had two ministry wizards, Arthur Weasley and his colleague Perkins, pinned down under heavy fire, the two ministry wizards barely able to deflect and dodge the curses being cast at them. Snape motioned for his students to follow him and they took off across the field, towards the fight. They were within a hundred feet when Perkins went down, and Malfoy turned his full attention to Weasley. The professor and his students ran to assist, wands drawn.
Malfoy turned to face the trio. "For shame Severus. Has Dumbledore sunk so low as to be sending children into battle like lambs to the slaughter?"
The seventh year girl flushed with anger. "I'll have you know, I am not a child, and I come willingly to fight."
Malfoy laughed and fired a curse at the girl, she dodged but it glanced off of her left shoulder, searing through her robe like a jet of steam, burning the flesh underneath. Snape and Weasley fired off spells that sent Malfoy tumbling backwards onto the ground. He rolled onto his knees and fired a string of devastating curses at his adversaries, and all four performed a deflecting spell simultaneously, sending the full effect of the curses combined back at Malfoy. The energy blast hit him square in the chest, knocking his wand from his hand, and throwing him flat onto his back. Snape approached the man and knelt down beside him.
"The battle between you and I Lucius ends here and now."
Malfoy laughed softly and said between labored breaths: "You traitorous bastard, it ends only when I say it ends."
Snape picked up Malfoy's wand, snapped it in half over his knee, and threw it on the ground next to him. Silently, he rose and went to check on his students, to make sure the boy could get his friend safely to the field infirmary. He looked back over his shoulder at Malfoy, who was only barely conscious and having difficulty breathing. That combination of curses was lethal, he'd soon die on the battlefield. Snape looked around and saw several wounded and dead witches and wizards, some of them students, some recent graduates. Very few were Death Eaters. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he took a deep breath and followed Weasley towards the heart of the battle.
Outside the apartment in New Orleans, a large bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed momentarily by a booming clap of thunder. Snape snapped to consciousness, grabbing for his wand on the bedside table. He realized where he was, and the let the wave of panic pass. He sat up on the edge of the bed, ran shaking fingers through his sweaty hair, and looked around the small room. Lying beside him, curled up on her side, was his lover, the owner of the building, Mirabelle DelMare. She stirred in her sleep, but was not awakened by the thunder.
The war over, he had accompanied Dumbledore to the Calais region of France, and returned Mira's memories to her. It had been an emotional and traumatic reunion. Many of the memories she experienced again were not pleasant at all. It was decided by Headmaster Dumbledore that both of them needed some time away from the wizarding world, and the professor accompanied Mira back to her home in New Orleans, where she would return her magical amulet safely to its hiding place.
The city was even more foreign to him in late summer, with heat and violent thunderstorms unlike anything he had ever experienced in England. The doors leading onto the balcony overlooking the private courtyard were open, allowing a breeze to circulate through the apartment. As the storm grew closer, the winds picked up, and the curtains started to billow inward like ghosts dancing in the wind. Bells strung from the branches of the large potted trees in the courtyard started to chime.
Snape pulled on the black silk robe given to him by Mira, and tied the sash. He went out on the balcony, and reclined in one of the two large patio chaises to watch the lightning show and enjoy the cooling breeze. He inhaled deeply. The earthy green fragrance of the garden mingled with the sharp ozonic smell of the electrically charged atmosphere. He should have felt extreme relief and peace now that Voldemort was defeated and peace had come to the wizarding world. But something nagged at the back of his consciousness, something not quite right, something looming on the horizon like the storm clouds looming in the distance. He tried to put it out of mind and focused on the flashes of lightning and rumble of thunder growing louder and closer.
He didn't notice Mira get up and approach the doorway. "Beautiful, isn't it? In its own way."
Momentarily startled, Snape looked over his shoulder at her. She was leaning against the doorframe, watching the storm approach. She had on a similar robe, in dark rose colored silk. Unbelted, it fluttered in the breeze. He looked at her with a sharp expression, bordering on disapproval.
"What? Oh for Christ's sake, it's a private balcony over a private courtyard. Do you see any windows on the backs of the buildings across the alleyway? Maggie and Jules are away on holiday, and nobody can see over the courtyard walls from the alley. Besides, if anybody were to catch a glimpse, I'd like to think that they enjoyed the view."
"Well, I'm certainly enjoying the view."
"I bet you are."
Mira closed the glass paned doors, stepped over to the railing, and leaned against it, watching the storm move in. She stretched and inhaled deeply. "God I love the smell of storms." She turned back towards the professor, arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the railing. "How about you?
"It rains a lot in England, but it doesn't storm like this."
"That's 'cause it never gets this hot over there."
"No, it doesn't. That's why I came out here, to watch the lightning and enjoy the breeze, I couldn't sleep."
"You should have said something, muggle homes have air conditioning. I could have made it cooler for you."
"It's okay, it wasn't just the heat."
Mira looked at him pensively. Something had been bothering him ever since their reunion at her grandmother's house. He seemed distant and troubled. She figured that he was suffering the effects of battle, and left him to his broodings. She looked back over her shoulder, the storm was getting quite close, the flashes of lightning illuminating the balcony and courtyard, the thunder rattling the glass paned doors behind them.
"Maybe we should go inside?"
"Maybe we should stay right here." Mira stepped towards the chaise, stood over the bottom half of it and leaned in, bracing herself on the armrests. "Unless you're afraid of a little storm?"
Snape grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down on top of him. "Does it feel like I'm afraid?"
Mira laughed and pushed herself up on her hands and knees, the wind blowing her hair and the flashes of lightning reflecting in her eyes. She sat back on his thighs, and looked up at the sky. The first scattered drops of rain fell, and she giggled with delight. The rain started to come down harder and she raised her arms as if she were welcoming it into her embrace. He pulled her tightly against him and traced a line of kisses from her neck to her lips. The wind picked up force, whipping their hair and clothes around, and the pouring rain caused the thin silk robes to cling like second skins and their wet hair to stick to each other's faces and throats. Lightning flashed very close to the courtyard, followed almost instantaneously by the loud crashing of thunder. Mira screamed and the two of them nearly upset the chaise scrambling to their feet as they fled back into the apartment.
Still laughing, Mira took Snape by the tails of the robe sash and led him into the bathroom. She ran a tub of warm water, and added a generous dose of her lavender bubble bath. They peeled the clinging silk robes off of their bodies like snakes shedding their skins, and tossed them in a heap on the floor. Fragrant steam filled the room, and fogged the mirror. She motioned for him to climb into the bath. Once settled, she lowered herself down in front of him. He drew his knees up slightly and she reclined back against his chest.
Snape reached over and picked up the bar of soap from the holder on the wall. He inhaled the fragrance deeply. It was a pleasant fresh smell that mixed well with the lavender. He soaped his hands up and started lathering her shoulders. Mira sighed and arched her shoulders back towards him, resting her head on his shoulder. He nudged her hair out of the way with his chin and kissed her just below her ear. She bowed her head, giving him easier access to her neck. With a smirk, he shifted position, and started working his hands down towards the small of her back. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her closer against him, and lathered his hands again. He reached around her waist and worked his slick soapy hands over her throat and down her chest. He caressed and gently squeezed her breasts as he kissed the back and side of her neck. One hand lingered on her chest as the other worked its way down past the curve of her ribcage and the gentle swell of her stomach and parted her thighs. He nudged her chin down and purred in her ear with a deep throaty voice.
"Have you ever made love with, how should I say it. wizarding enhancements?"
Mira shifted her hips, guiding his hand farther down into the warm soapy water. "No, I can't say I've ever heard of anything like that."
"Well now, we shall have to remedy that."
Mira sighed and arched her chest and hips forward to meet his caresses. "What exactly are these wizarding enhancements?"
"Charms and enchantments to temporarily alter the size and shape of certain parts of the anatomy, potions to enhance the libido and heighten pleasure, spells to create magical bonds and achieve levitation enabled positions, and magical objects that do all sorts of naughty things."
"Mmmmm, details please. Tell me more."
Snape chuckled wickedly and whispered in her ear all the delicious things he could do to her with no more than his wand and some simple potions. He scooped up handfuls of bathwater and rinsed the soap off of her, rose from the water and toweled off. While she dried herself off, he retrieved his wand and two small vials of potion from a pocket in his wizarding robe. Joining her in the bedroom, he gave her a demonstration of each and every one of the things he had whispered in her ear.