A/N-Okay, thanks for all the reviews! I hope everyone is going to like what comes next. Well, here it goes!
Chapter 6- Mourning
Le-Annette didn't know nor care where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away. Zion, dead. It just couldn't be! Not the very same Zion that had saved her so many years ago. Something must be wrong.
Suddenly, footsteps were behind her.
"Le-Annette, please! Le-Annette, wait!"
Severus caught up with her. Instead of turning to face him, she turned and descended a staircase. He pursued her still.
"Le-Annette, look at me please! Talk to me!" he said as she turned down yet another staircase.
The temperature around the two dropped considerably, as did the lighting. Finally, Le-Annette stopped. She turned towards him.
"Stop it, Severus! Just…just stop," she said angrily.
"Stop what, Le-Annette? Trying to explain…to apologize…to express my condolences? I know that you two were…close. Closer than I think anyone in this castle could probably understand," Severus said, stepping closer to the vampire. She took a step back.
"You're right. Nobody in this castle could fully understand what Zion meant to me. He was my sire…my savior…my--"
"Lover," Severus finished for her.
"Once. One-time lover. That was over after the prophecy of Voldemort. But that doesn't make him any less important to me," she said.
"I didn't say that it did."
"I can't…"
"You can't what? Le-Annette, I don't understand. I'm sorry that he died. He died to save me, and that also means I'm grateful for his sacrifice. I'm sorry for your loss as well, Le-Annette. That's all I have to say. Except that I don't understand your anger towards me."
There was a silence that followed. Somewhere in this silence, Le-Annette came to her senses. It was incredibly foolish of her to be angry at Severus for something that Zion did of his own accord. But why was she angry? Suddenly, she knew.
"Why did he do it?" she whispered.
"What?" Severus asked.
"I'm grateful, too, that he saved you, Severus, but why did he do it? I mean to say, Zion always had reasoning behind his actions…it was the way he was. Did he say anything to you, before he died?"
"Other than telling me to run? Not really. I'm sorry."
Le-Annette turned away from him. She rested her forehead, gently, upon the cool stone of a nearby wall. An anger such as what she had just had flowing through her could warm up even her cold features.
"I'm tired," she said. "I need to rest."
"Here," Severus said, walking past her. He approached a section of wall and whispered something to it. It slid open to reveal a heavy oaken door. He opened it. "Come inside. Rest in my quarters for a while."
Le-Annette nodded and entered. Unsurprisingly, it was furnished mostly in black and dark, heavy greens. She chose a leather bound chair near the roaring fireplace and found it to be quite comfortable. She took down her braid and shook her hair loose. The tight band on her head, with all that was going on, had been giving her a headache. Severus entered but did not sit.
"Can I get you anything? I don't know much about vampires, to tell you the truth. I mean, can you drink anything…else?" he asked uncertainly. She laughed. It felt good to do so.
"Only water. Anything else is too complex for our bodies to handle. We could drink something else, theoretically, but it would take quite some time to digest it," she said.
Severus nodded and left the room. When he returned, he offered her a small goblet of water. She took it appreciatively and drank it all in one gulp. She sat the copper goblet on the small table nearby.
"Are you going to be all right, Le-Annette?" Severus asked, taking a seat on the edge of the nearby identical chair.
Instead of answering, she stood. "Give me a tour," she commanded. She couldn't think of Zion again. She needed to get him out of her mind.
The Potions Master complied. He showed her his small, private kitchen. She had already seen the living room, so he didn't spend much time there. Finally, he took her to the bedchamber. Inside was a large, four-poster canopy bed--all draped in black. This room had no trace of green in it whatsoever. Le-Annette entered and took a seat on the bed. She leaned, sweetly, forward onto one of the bedposts and asked, "Can you tell me something, Severus?"
"I can try, Le-Annette," he replied, not moving from the doorway.
"Why is everything in your quarters done in black in some form or another? I mean, I understand the green…you are the head of Slytherin House. But why black?"
"Well, before I answer, let me ask you something…Why do you always wear black?"
"You do as well."
"Yes, but I know why I do. Why do you do it?"
Severus walked forward, closing the door as he did. He took a seat beside her on the bed. She turned to face him.
"I asked you first," she said.
"I did a lot of horrible things when I was a Death Eater…this is my way of mourning over them. Well, this among other things. Now what about you?"
"Something around those same lines actually."
"What do you mean? I thought you were--"
"What? A good vampire?"
Le-Annette gave a small chuckle.
"I don't understand," Severus said.
"When you are young, as a vampire judges, there is no such thing as a good vampire. The thirst for human blood is too strong. I'm sorry, I know that I made it sound in my story over the summer months that it took only a few days to repair my bonds with my children, but, you see, things were never the same. They loved me, yes. But they also knew what I was…and what I did. During the first five years of my vampirism, when I felt the thirst come on at night, I would have my friends bar my children from me. They remembered that up until the time I left Hogwarts…no doubt they remembered it until the day they died. It's actually one of the reasons I left Hogwarts without watching my younger two grow. I know now that I am the master of my thirst, not the other way around. Back then, I just never knew."
Severus suddenly felt ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up…especially tonight," he said.
"But you didn't bring it up. I did. It's alright."
Le-Annette laid back on the bed. Severus smiled down at her. She returned the smile. He looked nice, when he smiled. Very nice…
The vampire sat up quickly…so quickly, that she nearly collided with him.
"What?" he asked.
"Um…Maybe I should go," she said.
Severus seemed put off by this. "Why? I mean, there's no hurry. You still look tired," he said.
Le-Annette stood. "Yes, I am. That's why I should go. I bid you good evening, Severus."
Turning quickly, she rushed from the Potions Master's quarters, and she was sure that, had she still had the blood from her earlier feeding in her, her face would have been very flushed.
Ending Notes: Okay, so I just hinted at some things. I changed my mind about the ending of this chapter exactly 45 words before these notes. However, I expect the next few chapters to pick up, action wise. Anyhow, please R & R! Thanks!!
