Absolution
Chapter 1
September 1980
The death eaters laughed as their master lazily cast another cutting hex at the prisoner. The man knelt before the dark lord with his hands bound behind him. His clothing was shredded and soaked with blood. He had been captured 3 nights ago. It was unusual for the dark lord to keep a prisoner alive for so long, Voldomort being notorious for his short temper and penchant for pain and violence. However this prisoner was particularly difficult to kill. Thalius was a 137 year old vampire, and Voldormort was currently enjoying his rather resilient play thing.
Severus looked on with distaste, unlike his peers he did not enjoy such displays. He observed the dark lord carefully, Voldomort did not normally deal with such creatures, believing in pureblood superiority. Vampires were thought to originate in ancient wizarding blood lines, but were shunned in the magical world as an unnatural deviation. The rare few that were magical had a predilection towards the dark arts. Their predatory nature and darkness left ordinary wizards fearful. Vampire clans kept to secrecy, living in the shadows amongst both wizards and muggles alike.
Severus waited for the dark lord to reveal the reason behind his prolonged torturing and was rewarded a few moments later for his patience. The dark lord lowered his wand, affording Thalius some respite. Severus was impressed, the starvation and physical abuse had not broken the creature, in fact the vampire was staring indifferently at his tormenter. Voldormort's lips curled and he hissed out his demands,
"Tell me what I want to know and I'll make this quick". The potions master idly wondered why the dark lord had not simply used legitimency to get the information he desired directly from the creatures mind. The vampire remained silent. A few death eaters exchanged weary glances, once angered the dark lords punishment would extend to his followers. "So be it." The dark lord nodded in Severus' direction, prompting him to step forward. "Administer the potion to our pet vampire." The potions master produced a small vial from his robes. It contained a luminous blue liquid. The concoction was deadly to a vampire, causing painful contortions in the body and a burning sensation in the veins culminating in a slow laborious death. Snape forced the liquid down the vampire's throat. Thalius' body went rigid and his eyes widened. His skin began to ripple and rupture as his body temperature rose, finally the vampire screamed. The potions master remained stoic, he could not let the end result of his potions weigh on his conscious, especially since he himself had some vampiric blood from his mothers side. The other death eaters were dismissed. Voldormort stood before the potions master, "Snape, make sure the potion take its course and dispose of any remains." Without waiting for an acknowledgement the dark lord apparated. Severus returned his gaze to the dying vampire and mused out loud, "I hope your secret was worth dying for". The vampire's eyes snapped open and focused on the potions master. Despite his shields he felt the vampire's presence in his mind. Snape began to occlude his mind but the assault abruptly ended. Thalius was dead. The potions master cast an incendio, burning the remains away. He was shocked to find images in his mind of a remote building, a manor of sorts. Could this be Thalius' lair? Perhaps what the dark lord sought was there? Why would Thalius show him this, it could be a trap or had Thalius somehow sensed Severus' ancestry? Something felt amiss but he decided it was worth the risk. He concentrated on the image in his mind and apparated to the unknown destination, hoping he was right to trust his instincts on this.
Severus arrived outside a moderately sized manor. The location was remote with mountains in the distance. He could feel the wards surrounding the manor collapse, no doubt due to Thalius' death. He was intrigued, this meant the old vampire had indeed been magical. He drew his wand out and stealthily entered. The entrance was dark but he could see soft light coming from upstairs. Wand poised, he crept up the stairs, senses alert for movement. The light was coming from a room at the end of the hall.
There were no wards to hinder his progress into the room. He entered gingerly, apprehensive about what could be awaiting him. A soft voice whispered "Master?". Severus' wand was immediately trained on the voice, however any curses he was about to utter died on his lips, for the soft candlelight revealed a teenager. "Lumos." He slowly walked towards the youth but his eyes were focused on the girl's reflection in an ornate mirror behind her. It was translucent, his own reflection could be seen through it. The potions master surmised she was a fledgling, a mortal being in the process of being turned into a vampire. No doubt Thalius had been her sire. The youth gasped and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Thalius had been captured a few days ago, thus the fledgling had not fed for some time. Starved of her sire's blood she should have been dead by now. Severus crouched down in front of her letting his mind reach out. He was startled to find a magical aura. She was a witch and her magic had been sustaining her. "Master?" the young women questioned again. "Your master is gone." The youth hung her head and whispered dejectedly "Then I am to die."
"No little one, I will take care of you." Severus was surprised at the protectiveness he felt for the fledgling and the conviction of his words. Without further delay he picked up the youth and apparated to Hogwarts.
The potions master hurried past Hogwarts anti-apparition wards and went straight to the dungeons. Madame Pomprey would not be able to help them. He hissed out the password for his quarters and hurried into his chambers where he gently laid the unconscious fledgling onto the bed. Removing his robes and boots he moved back to the bed, cradling the young women's head. He could end her pain and save her life, but in doing so he would bind her to himself. He caressed her face gently, marvelling at the soft flawless skin. The girl was beautiful. Her eyes fluttered open and dazed green eyes met obsidian ones. He would not let her die. He turned her head and began licking the side of her throat allowing his innate vampiric instincts to surface. Unfamiliar canines lenghthen and sharpened I his mouth before piercing the youths skin. Severus felt heady with the sensation of another's blood and magic mingling with his own. Her heartbeat slowed and Severus retracted himself from her throat, licking the wound closed. He then bit into his own wrist and held it to the fledgling's mouth, encouraging her to drink. Magic thrummed through his body as he felt the binding progress. Hopefully there was enough vampiric blood in his lineage to sustain her. If the binding was successful then she would remain mortal like himself, the vampiric blood becoming dormant. The girl stopped drinking and began licking the wound closed in the same way as he had done for her. Severus looked on, aroused. Their eyes locked and Severus could resist no more, capturing her lips in a possessive kiss. Magic sizzled in the air surrounding the two bodies as they joined, Severus fervently claiming the body beneath him.