Author's Note: I've always pronounced it Nes-ee-ah. That may not be right, I've never met anyone with that name, that's just how I always figured it was said.
Haunted
By Be Boring
Chapter 16: Control
Necia had lost all track of time and place. As she struggled to catch her breath, it hardly registered that she was sprawled on the floor of the copy of her kitchen, and with no real windows leading outside, it was impossible to tell the time. All she knew was that she was in more pain than she had ever experienced in her life. Blood trickled from the back of her head where it had collided with the edge of the counter, her skin had been rubbed raw from sliding across the floor, and cold sweat covered her body until it dripped from her fingertips when she actually managed to get to her feet.
"Crucio!" Draco growled, and suddenly pain was coursing through her body and exploding from every nerve as it had been doing ever since Draco had walked through the door.
Necia hadn't known that today was Lucius's trial, but Draco had wasted no time in telling her that he had been sentenced to life in Azkaban, and he blamed her. That wasn't even what had pissed him off the most. Apparently Narcissa had been arrested for helping Lucius, and her trial was coming up shortly. As far as Draco was concerned, Necia had been the downfall of his parents, which was why he wasn't hesitating to use the Cruciatus Curse. He may very well have no home to return to when school ended. What was there to lose?
If she had known at all about the trial today, she would have been much more on the alert, but she'd been rather preoccupied, so Draco had been able to take her completely off guard. It didn't help that she had just remembered her mother's death and had hardly been prepared for an attack when he entered the room.
"Would you like a break?" he asked menacingly, lifting the curse and staring down at her feverishly sweating form on the floor. Her breath came in short, choking gasps as the pain receded until it was little more than an aching memory in her skin. She didn't want to look at him. She couldn't stand seeing a look so similar to the one that Lucius wore when he killed her mother. Draco's gray eyes burned with the same fury and the knuckles of the hand clutching his wand were a glaring white.
Rolling onto her side, she pulled herself until she was leaning against one of the cupboards, wincing in pain as the wound on her head gave a particularly nasty throb. "How is this helping anything?" she asked weakly, trying to make her voice sound reasoning through the pain. "Your parents were in trouble long before I came along, and I wasn't the one who called the Aurors. I didn't testify at your father's trial; in fact, I haven't given any evidence against him. I had nothing to do with any of this!"
Draco stepped forward and grabbed a handful of her hair, twisting her neck back so that she couldn't avoid meeting his eyes. "But if Father hadn't been so determined to get to you, he never would have been caught. What made you so damn important, anyway? Your mother betrayed the entire family when she threw herself like a common whore in front of Sirius Black. She didn't even have the decency to marry him so that you wouldn't be illegitimate. Yet you were all Mother could talk about over the holidays, and Father spent over four months working on that ridiculous potion. Of course, he was counting on the fact that you'd fuck it up, which you did, from what Kreacher says."
"Kreacher?" Necia asked blearily as one of his fingers came into contact with her head wound.
"Yes, I ran into him in the hall. I'm family as well, so there's no shame in sharing things with me, and he told me about this great little hiding spot. I should have realized it sooner, I've been here before after all, but it doesn't matter, I found you anyway. Lucky too, because you've provided a very nice little spot here where no one will find us unless they're looking for us. Convenient, isn't it?" He gave a rather vicious tug and threw her forward onto the floor. She groaned as her forehead struck the floor, immediately giving her the sensation that someone had her brain in a vice grip.
Before she could even attempt to get up, he sent her skidding across the floor with a wave of his wand, crashing her headfirst into one of the legs of the table, bringing the entire thing down on top of her. She lay beneath it, not moving a muscle, hoping that she might be able to recover slightly if she didn't struggle.
After a minute, Draco pulled the table off her, and kneeled down, rolling her onto her back so that he could see her. "Have you had enough yet?" he asked, his eyes wide in a rather manic way, and for the first time Necia realized just how crazy he was at the moment. It was beyond normal fury, he wasn't at all in his right mind. He must have actually loved his parents on some level.
Without warning, he dragged her into a half-sitting position by her hair and forced his lips very roughly against hers. Her shock was so extreme that she didn't even fight back when he squeezed her face fiercely with his free hand and his tongue gained entrance to her mouth. When he finally pulled back to breathe, even he seemed surprised by the kiss, and judging by the insane gleam still shining in his eyes, she didn't think he had intended to do it, it had happened more out of instinct and the thrill of having such total power over her.
While he was busy examining his prey, Necia's fingers brushed against something that didn't feel like part of the table. She could have cried out in relief as she realized it was her wand. It had been sitting on the table while she ate, and once he had started in on her, she couldn't even get to it. As soon as her fingers clasped around it, without thinking she whipped it out and pointed it at him. Her lips didn't even move, but something white shot out the end and blasted him backward. In a sudden rush of adrenaline, she shoved herself to her feet and lunged for the door. She couldn't outrun him right now, but if she could get somewhere where people would hear her, she could call for help.
She had just barely reached the front door when she heard Draco climbing unsteadily to his feet. He must have hit his head when she attacked, or else whatever spell had shot out of her wand had disoriented him. She had never cast a spell without saying an incantation first, but as she scrambled down the passageway, it occurred to her that the ability to perform the spell may have come from her mother.
Very much to her surprise, she realized that the corridors were extremely dark. It was already nighttime. How could she have been in that room with him that long? She turned down a hidden staircase just as Draco came out of the Room of Requirement. She heard him charge past the tapestry that concealed the opening to the staircase and continue down the corridor. Her heart pounding with panic and relief, she began drunkenly zigzagging through the passages, making her way downstairs as fast as she could. If he thought she was trying to escape to Gryffindor Tower, which he apparently did because of the direction he had taken off, then he would still be upstairs somewhere. Honestly, Gryffindor Tower sounded like a good place to be right now.
It took Necia some time to realize that her feet had led her straight to the dungeons. 'This isn't good,' she thought anxiously. 'If Draco decides to go back to his common room, he could run right into me!' The door to the Potions classroom was locked and her heart sank. This was the only room she knew was safe, where would she hide now?
The answer came very meekly at first, barely making itself known in the back of her mind. 'There's always Snape's office. He might let you in.' No, she didn't want to go there. But that wasn't quite true. Something in her, which she knew must belong to her mother, leapt at the thought of going to Snape's office. However, she was saved the trouble by the spell that caught her in the small of her back, sending her crashing to the ground and her wand clattering away across the floor. As Draco approached for what felt like the millionth time, Necia did the only thing she had time to do: she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Severus's wand clattered to the floor. He had been turning up the heat on the antidote to the Channeling Solution that he had worked out when Necia's scream cut through the silence. He had picked up his wand and was out the door in an instant, sweeping down the corridor, reaching the source of the scream in a matter of seconds.
Necia was on the floor, writhing in pain while Draco stood over her with his wand pointed maliciously at her chest. Severus knew the Cruciatus Curse when he saw it, although he didn't know how Lucius had managed to teach it to Draco without the Ministry catching him. "Stupefy!" he cried, pointing his wand directly at Draco. The boy fell back and collapsed, lying spread-eagle on the floor. Necia's entire body was shaking violently, and he realized from the pasty white color of her face that Draco had been torturing her for quite some time, but right now it seemed that her body had given out. Although she was trembling, she was out cold.
Forming magical stretchers for Necia and Draco, he whipped his wand in the direction of the kitchens, two bright flashes of gold erupting from the end, and suddenly two house-elves appeared before him with a pop. "Take these two up to the hospital wing. Tell Madam Pomfrey to keep them out of sight of each other, and if at all possible, to keep this one unconscious." He gestured toward Draco. "He performed an Unforgivable Curse tonight, it's the Ministry who will have to deal with him now."
As the house-elves scuttled away, levitating the teenagers, Snape strode back to his office, oddly chilled by what he had just witnessed. Could the scene have looked much different on the day that Cassandra died? Had Lucius stood above her with the same twisted look of rage that Draco had worn when standing over Necia? The image still hovered at the back of his mind as he threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace and called out, "Headmaster, we need to talk. May I come up?"
No answer. He nearly repeated his question, but suddenly a different voice said wearily, "He's not here, he's at the Ministry of Magic attempting to prevent Lucius Malfoy from having an appeal." He recognized the voice as Armando Dippet's, who apparently had just been sleeping in his frame. With a scowl he returned to the potion, glaring down at it with anger at himself for what part of him so desperately wanted to do right now. He wanted to go up to the hospital wing and wait for Necia to wake up. He wanted to see if there were any traces of Cassandra in her eyes, if she would awaken and look up at him with the recognition of the woman he had seen the other night rather than the girl who should really be in control. Would his presence draw her out?
He pushed the thoughts away and stared determinedly down at the softly bubbling potion. Cassandra would be gone soon anyway, what was the point of drawing the torture out for himself any longer by looking at her again? Still, that thought didn't stop him from wanting to see her one more time.
When Necia's eyes finally opened again, she noticed immediately that she was lying in a strange bed, and at the memory of the last time that had happened, she sat bolt upright and looked around wildly. An almost blinding pain nearly tore her head in two and she squinted to see through the tears that had automatically sprung to her eyes. The first thing she realized was that this was definitely not Snape's bedroom, although it took her a few minutes to recognize where she was. She could see the light from Madam Pomfrey's office as she slipped out of bed, but Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen.
Although the searing pain that gripped her skull made it very clear that she ought to stay here, she wanted to go back to Gryffindor Tower. That was the only place were Draco couldn't find her again, and instinct made her want to run there as fast as she could. She slowly teetered past a bed on the end that had its curtains drawn around it and out the door, leaning heavily against the wall as she slowly headed down the stairs. Only a few steps down, she had to close her eyes and give herself time to breathe. Her fingers gently probed the area were the wound had been on the back of her head, but it was gone. 'Then why does my head still hurt so much?'
When she opened her eyes, she knew right away that something was wrong. She was no longer on the stairs leading down from the infirmary, but on the stairs leading to the dungeons. She turned her head slowly to see the entrance hall behind her, rays of moonlight illuminating the stairs on the other side that led to Gryffindor Tower. How had she gotten here? Her head throbbed suddenly and she dropped onto the stairs, cradling it in her hands as a low groan escaped her lips.
'This is how I felt that night,' she realized suddenly. Directly after taking the potion, this was exactly how her head had felt, although not for this long. The pain had only lasted until her memories became gray and unclear, until she had become her mother. Her eyes darted back to the corridor ahead of her. Her mother was struggling to take over again, that's why she was here right now, that's why her head hurt so badly. Dragging herself back to her feet, she began scrambling up the stairs as quickly as she could go. Only one thing was on her mind now: getting out of here before her mother could take control from her.
Just before she reached the top of the stairs, however, a voice rang out that made the throbbing in her head increase until her vision blurred. She couldn't even understand what it said, she only felt the sharp stab that pierced directly through the back of her head until it stopped just behind her eyes. Swaying unsteadily on her feet, she turned to face Severus Snape.
Severus wasn't sure how long he had been working on the potion when he heard it, but as he stirred and contemplated the list of instructions he had set out for himself, something echoed through the corridor outside his office. He paused in his work, straining his ears to hear what it was. Footsteps, that's what it was. Someone was coming down the stairs in rather a hurry. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped and the hallway was returned to its deep silence. He moved to the door and stepped outside, listening again. It was the middle of the night, if a student was out of bed it would be grounds for a detention, not to mention some House points if they were from another House. Just as he started walking toward the stairs, the footsteps started again, this time moving away from him. He turned the final corner to the staircase and snapped, "Stay where you are!"
When the form above him stopped and turned to look at him, he was truly surprised to see Necia framed in the moonlight. She looked dazed, as though she had been struck in the head, although if she'd actually received a head injury during her confrontation with Draco, Madam Pomfrey would have healed that immediately. "Ms. Malfoy, I believe you are supposed to be in the hospital wing right now," he stated coldly, watching as her body tipped threateningly to the right before she managed to steady herself. There was definitely something wrong here.
"Gryffindor…Draco…" she mumbled almost inaudibly, turning away from him and slowly heading toward the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.
He climbed the stairs before she could even cross the entrance hall and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him a little too quickly because she groaned and threw a hand to her head. "Didn't you hear me? You're going back to the hospital wing even if I have to drag you."
Her eyes blearily settled on him and he saw a sudden surge of panic in them. "No, not you," she gasped, more to herself than to him. "Not right now." He had the feeling that she wasn't talking about the hospital wing. As their eyes met, he thought something flickered in them, something that wasn't quite normal for this situation. For a moment, he thought he had seen something approaching affection in her eyes.
"Then I'll call a house-elf to escort you," he said firmly, avoiding her eyes as he pulled out his wand. It seemed that what he had wondered about earlier was true. His presence really would draw Cassandra out.
"Sev, I feel funny," she whispered before he could summon an elf. Severus returned his eyes to her almost against his will, and although she was still dazed and seemingly in some pain, it was definitely Cassandra talking to him. "My head hurts," she added, massaging her temples lightly.
Knowing that he needed to get her away from him, he said quietly, "We should get you to Madam Pomfrey, she'll give you something for the pain."
She started to shake her head and almost immediately winced in pain. "No, I'd rather have Madam Jehri do it, I think she's better. She just managed to get me sleeping normally again."
His plan of getting her to the hospital wing flew from his mind. Why had she said something like that? "Cassandra, what's the last thing you remember before coming to see me the other night?"
She frowned as she thought it over. "My roommate was telling me that she had been seeing someone hanging around outside our window; we were on the ground floor. I thought she was being stupid, but it wouldn't have surprised me if someone from the family was there to see me. I had pulled my money out of my trust fund and hadn't put it in the bank under my own name yet. My parents were furious, they wanted to get the money back. I don't know, maybe they thought I'd be stupid enough to keep it in my room." As she spoke, she began to make her way toward the dungeons again and, not wanting to interrupt her, he followed silently until she finished speaking just outside his office door.
"How long after our argument did this happen?" Argument was so much of an understatement that he could have laughed, but she knew what he meant.
"About a month." She didn't seem to understand why he was asking her all of this, but he understood now. Lucius must have been sent to get the money back, and shortly after her last memory he would have raided her room to look for it. If he stole any of her belongings while he was there, he might have been able to use that in making the Channeling Solution, so he hadn't technically copied the mind of a dead person. This meant that she had no idea about Necia. He knew he should have suspected something sooner; wouldn't Cassandra's first priority have been to check on her daughter rather than come running to him?
"What year is it?"
She looked at him as though she wanted to laugh but wasn't sure how he would take it. "It's 1979, and I'm probably insane right now, because I wouldn't have expected to dream about you as someone so much older, but it doesn't matter, you're still the same."
She thought it was a dream? He supposed he would have a rather difficult time handling a situation like this as well. As far as she was concerned, she was twenty years old, he had just deserted her, and she was dreaming about him as an older man to deal with her feelings.
Stepping into his office, she reached her hands up again to clutch her head. It took him quite by surprise when she spoke again, this time as Necia. "Why am I down here?" She had stopped dead in her tracks, staring around in confusion and once again a strong glow of panic. When her eyes landed on Severus, who was so taken aback by the sudden change that he hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway, she gasped and staggered backward, bumping against his desk and leaning against it heavily. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, as though she was expecting everything to go away when she opened them again, but for the longest time, she didn't bother opening them. After nearly a minute, he began to wonder if she had somehow fallen asleep, but just as he raised his wand to summon a house-elf like he had originally planned, she stood up and opened her eyes, all signs of dizziness and disorientation gone.
"You know, this is a really boring dream. Last time was more fun." A smile played on her lips and she stepped forward, peering into the cauldron absently as she drew near it. "And you also weren't working on something then."
Above all, he couldn't let her do anything with that potion. The door closed automatically behind him as he rushed forward and pulled her away from the cauldron, which only needed one more ingredient before he had to let it simmer for the rest of the night. Thankfully it was much easier to make than the original potion.
"Cassandra, you have to go see Madam Pomfrey."
She rolled her eyes and held her arms wide open as though to show she was all in one piece. "Relax, Sev, I'm feeling fine. It was just a little headache before, but it's gone now." Suddenly Cassandra took his arm, pulled him toward her, and stood on her tiptoes, drawing his face down to hers and kissing him passionately before he could react. When his eyes landed on her dark hair, he jerked back and grasped her shoulders, holding her a full arm's length away.
"What's wrong?" she asked huskily, looking up at him with such unhidden desire that he instinctively dragged her back against him and kissed her again, a voice urgently repeating in the back of his mind that this was not Cassandra, it was a student who would be extremely upset when she woke up in the morning and could very well cause him to lose his job. But what did it matter? He didn't give a damn how Necia felt, and he was planning to leave Hogwarts once the rest of the Death Eaters were captured anyway, which wouldn't be too long now that Lucius was going to Azkaban. He forced her away from him again, making up his mind very quickly.
"Just wait, I have to do something first." He turned back to the potion, threw in the very last ingredient, and set it to the heat that he had calculated would be just right for it to be ready first thing in the morning. It was his last chance to be with Cassandra, and Necia or no Necia, he was going to enjoy it.
He took more time to pleasure her tonight, wanting to remember her moaning his name repeatedly, the way she guided his lips to where she needed him most, begging him not to stop when he tauntingly pulled away to see her reaction. He took his time settling into her, doing his ample best not to look at her hair. That was the only thing that made him feel anything other than sheer lust, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what that other feeling was. It couldn't be guilt, Severus Snape did not feel guilty.
It was only when he brought her to her first climax that anything changed, although not for him.
When Necia came to her senses again, they were going wild with pleasure. A low moan escaped her as she climaxed before she could even comprehend what was happening to her. Her fingers dug unconsciously into Snape's back as she drove her hips against his, seeking to hold onto the overwhelming explosion of incredible heated bliss that was spreading through her, powerfully radiating from between her thighs. A gasp of "Sev!" escaped from her before she could think about it, but it brought her slightly back down to earth.
"Oh God," she moaned in half desire, half alarm as she realized just what was going on. He brought his lips down to hers, completely unaware that he was no longer with Cassandra, although she wasn't completely gone. Necia felt like a spectator in her own body; her mother was directing her movements and filling her with emotions that she knew weren't her own. Pleasure, pain, happiness, panic, and confusion tumbled over one another in her mind as she moved with him, part of her wanting desperately to stop the proceedings, but another part, the stronger part, was viciously insisting, 'But this is where you want to be. It doesn't matter whose emotions you're feeling, you're still feeling them. You want to be here, you want to be with him, and you just don't have the willpower to fight it.'
She didn't want to admit how true those words were, but as the shadows crawled slowly across the ceiling, giving her the only indication of how much time was passing, she knew she wasn't going to stop anything. Her mother was dominating her actions, her emotions, even her fears. She knew she should have been terrified to realize just what the current situation was, should have pushed him away as soon as she came to her senses, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Cassandra was in control, and Cassandra loved him.
When he finally relaxed and pulled away from her, Necia felt one more tiny surge of strength in which she could think clearly, without interference from her mother. In that instant, two terrified tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she knew she was about to lose control again and she didn't know how to stop it. But before Snape could even see the tears, pain turned her vision to a blur and Cassandra reached up to wipe the tears away in confusion, smiling at Snape and curling up next to him contentedly.
