I swore when I started this story I would finish it before I graduate, which is this coming December. So though this is long overdue, I will finish this story if it kills me. Thanks for all the past great reviews, and to read a finished story of mine, read "A Face in the Shadows" (and make sure you have a box of Kleenex close by as well)
Kandimoon
Chapter Seventeen
He knew about magic journals/diaries, and was not surprised to open the journal and find the pages blank before his amber eyes. Ever so slightly, so as not to disturb his significant other, he gently grabbed a quill off the top of his nightstand and scratched in a question to ask the diary of his late mother.
"Who was your killer?" he scribbled the question on the upper left hand corner. After a few seconds of nothingness, the ink evaporated into the parchment and scribbled back a terse reply.
"The question you seek is not WHO was my killer, by why that particular person killed me." His mothers handwriting was small, nearly illegible, but somehow elegant, almost medieval like.
"Why were you killed?" He obliged the diary and asked the innate object.
"Because I am an Old One."
He quickly glanced over at the sleeping figure of Earth to make sure she was not awoken by the scribbling sounds of quill upon parchment, after reassurance in the length of breathing, he turned back to the blank diary page and sighed lightly, fearing no answer to the riddle of the booklet. Suddenly, as if the diary itself were reading his thoughts, another reply appeared before his squinted eyes.
"Would you like to see my story?" The book asked. Confused immensely, he was unsure how to answer the book's reply.
"Yes." He scribbled back, and suddenly as if being sucked into a penseive, he had the sudden sensation of falling forward into a vast nothingness. He awoke moments later in what felt like an old black and white movie from the '30's.
A small blonde haired figure was standing outside the large wooden doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry glancing nervously around her as if on the run from someone or something. Behind her, hidden amongst the trees two men, one blonde, one dark haired, dressed in dark robes, watched the younger girl with great interest, as if waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"You know what you must do then?" the blonde one asked his friend beside him. The dark haired man shook his head and walked in the direction of the girl.
"I knew you would come." She said in barely a whisper. "I have some news, Severus, I'm pregnant." Though she glanced up at the taller boy with tears in her eyes, she still held a glimmer of hope that all was not as bad as it seemed.
"He grows stronger now, most of my House has left to join his group as followers, he searches for the carriers of the Old Ones. Lucius already found his match in Narcissa, his child shall carry the full power of the Goddess, as will ours. We will be greatly rewarded for bringing the two to His side." Severus smiled sincerely to his love.
The air was light and crisp, but clouds threatened in the distant. Spring was nearly over as the seventh years prepared for graduation and stepping out into the newly evil world. James Potter and Lily Evans were already prepared for flight, and those that chose the other side, chose the dark side, were getting ready to be sworn in as full members of Death Eaters, the followers of the evil dark lord, Voldemort. The girl lowered her head as if in defeat and glanced one last time at the man who was and will forever be the love of her life.
"I love you, I will always love you, till you strangle me with your own two hands I will die my last breath, breathing your scent and thanking the goddesses above for giving you to me, even if it was short lived. But I, we, will not join you on your quest for power, for greed. Our son will not be used as a weapon for your leader. Goodbye Severus Snape." She whispered to her love as she wrapped her golden cloak around her frame and walked back into the castle forlornly.
The scene changed into a different setting, one that Gavin was more familiar with even though he should have been too young to realize it. They were on the run yet again, he was barely two years old, his mother now sporting mid-length brown hair and hazel eyes. People in the background talked with American accents about the latest baseball game and the young mother and her toddler ran through the darkened streets of Boston.
She knew time was running out, for they could not run forever, she was slowly losing strength and it wouldn't be long before it would give out on her. She was not immortal as her ancestors were, she would face her mortality by protecting her child, just as her friend Lily did for her child weeks before.
"Baby, some bad men are after us tonight, and there may be some arguing going on. I need you to be real quiet, like we practiced before. Pretend we are playing hide and seek, and you want to stay low and hide real good, do not speak a word." She told the child softly then raised her wand to place one last charm on the boy before leading him behind a bush to hide. She felt the presence of her followers drawing closer now, it would not be long before they arrived.
"Do not forget, I love you, forever…" she trailed off as she watched two shadows grow closer now. She heard the faint shout of an Imperius curse be given and a light indicating that the Unforgiveable curse was used, but not aimed at her, to which she was greatful for, she wanted a clear mind on the night of her destruction.
"Where is my son?" the darker haired man demanded. The blonde stayed back for the initial confrontation.
"He will never be handed to you or the rest of those filth you call friends." The fiery woman shouted back. More words were thrown between the three of them as the young Gavin stayed back in the distance, remaining quiet behind the bush he was cautiously protected by. It was not long after that Gavin, older now watching on from the shadows of time, watched the blonde hair man, wave his wand lightly then slowly walk off in the distance. Seconds afterwards the dark haired man finished choking his former love, after placing the Avada Kedavra curse, just to make sure, a light flashed before his eyes and the curse wore off. The dark haired man removed his ghastly mask and glanced and the woman he once vowed to protect and love forever, devastated he turned around and disappeared into the shadows, and Gavin was thrown back to the present moment.
He held no outermost reaction to the story unfolded before him for at least ten minutes after realizing he was back in his room, in the bed he was sharing with a love of his own. The scenes kept replaying over and over in his mind till he felt as if his head would explode from it all. Without thinking, without even noticing the girl beside him open her eyes, he stood up and left the room, turning towards the dungeons to confront the very source of his existence, and his pain.
His father. The man who helped give him life and take away part of it as well. The man who chose his girlfriend, fiancé, would have been wife for the soul reason to be the one to say he is the father of an Old One, a source to a power greater than those of mere wizards, even purebloods. A child that was to be of pure and noble blood as well as a lineage as old as time itself, a weapon that was to be handed over to the Dark Lord when time saw fit. He claimed he loved her, and then he murdered her for not handing over their child. Such things could not be forgiven.
Gavin stormed to the entrance of the Potions Master's quarters, but was surprised to find no answer, nor even a glimmer of life within the compounds. Furious, and not realizing his audience, Hermione, around the corner, he took his anger to a higher authority, rage building more upon itself with each step he took. He stormed elegantly as usual into the Headmaster's Office and met the greatly older gentlemen with fire in his amber eyes.
"Where is he!" Gavin demanded to the older man. Hermione, breathless, flung herself into the office before the door had a chance to close on her.
"I was hoping you would not find out until after the war, but alas, I can see time was not going to be kind to an old man such as I." Dumbledore replied almost dejectedly.
Hermione stayed silent for the moment, afraid to open her mouth, and unsure of what she could possibly say to a situation she was not sure she understood. 'What does Gavin want to know that Dumbledore feared telling him?' she pondered.
"He is away for now, settling what he can the arrangement of the young Malfoy to Voldemort as we speak, hoping to bide us some time to gather our resources together." Dumbledore further replied to the amber eyed young man before him.
"I want to know everything you know, was he solely after my power?" Though he could mask his emotions as easily as his father could, Hermione's empathic powers could pick up on the fear and sadness gripping her beloved, it tore her heart to see him in this much pain, she wanted to weep for the both of them at the moment, but she knew there was no time. She was out of time, she knew it, felt it, a day at best, she could at least get Draco to surrender his power to her, then she could gather Gavin's and face Voldemorte alone, she no longer needed Harry either, he was meant to channel the four powers, but now everything rested on her shoulders. She would leave in a few hours, she knew it was doubtful she would ever set foot behind these hollowed walls again.
"Yes, your father is Professor Snape, but the story of your parents goes back long before they discovered your mother's true heritage. She met your father while in the library, both scholars and lovers of books, as well as from acceptable houses, your father a Slytherin and your mother a Ravenclaw, they made a pact that one day after both finished school, they would marry. Your mother, however, was also friends with a Gryffindor named Lily Evans, whose boyfriend and friends tortured your father to the point he began falling into the wrong crowd. Voldemort needed followers, and who better to start with than with the easily corruptible minds of those in his alma matter house: Slytherin. The night before his initiation, your mother confronted with your father a deep secret, that she carries the power of the Goddess Air within her lineage. The next day, Lucius admitted to their new leader that his girlfriend was of the Goddess Water, and admitted Severus's girlfriend's secret as well. The Dark Lord, pleased with his new disciples, gave the two young men full privileges of his Inner Circle of followers. He told the two men to finish the semester, marry their intended, and bring the women on his side to help in their cause."
"Narcissa folded easily, knowing she was damning her soul, but hoping that by helping raise their child, she could at least minimize the effects the Dark Lord would impose upon her child and protect the child more than if Lucius were to kidnap and raise the child himself. Your mother, Gavin, on the other hand, decided to leave school before term finished and raise you far away from the influence of your father or the person he served. Voldemort was greatly angered with Severus and your mother, and sent agents far and wide to search for her, but in the end only the connection between your mother and Severus would be the link to which they would find you and hunt you down. The night you two were discovered Lucius was told to place a spell on Severus if he did not cooperate and bring you and your mother back to the Dark Lord, so he used the Imperius, and your mother still resisted. Severus, not in his right frame of mind, killed your mother, and once the spell wore off took his shame and reported to my office where he threw himself at my feet and begged for mercy and forgiveness for the sins he committed. I told him I could forgive him, but he would earn my forgiveness by becoming a spy within and outside the walls of Hogwarts. So he stayed with Voldemort til his demise, and while the Dark Lord was regaining strength he remained here as a teacher, waiting to once again fulfill his spy duties till word of Voldemort's full recovery surfaced. I also altered his memories, he has no recollections of being involved in your existence, he only knows that he is to help bring you over to the Dark Lord. When I saw your name on arrival sheet I was not sure how he would handle your presence within this school, especially since you had no knowledge of his involvement in your life. I did what I had to do to protect both of you, but know this Gavin, he is not an evil man any longer, he has repaid his debt to me many times and he loved your mother very much. I am certain that he never would have murdered her if he was not under a spell. He would have found a way to keep her alive if he had the chance."
His anger drained him of all emotions, he couldn't feel, he couldn't speak, he could barely move as Hermione guided him back to her room. She laid him softly onto the comforter and placed his head gently onto the many pillows spread along the headboard. He could barely glance at her, as if he was in a state of shock or pure trance. She whispered a chant so softly under her breath that he could hardly hear, then fell asleep as she began preparing a ritual circle.
He awoke the next morning to find he gone.