Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Except a few things which you don't recognize from original series or anywhere else.
Author: zimagesto
Title: Harry Potter and the Legacy of Slytherin
Summary: Seventh year at Hogwarts. Contains: the Lord of Darkness, the Dark Lord, a bunch of elves, a lost kingdom and a lot of interesting stuff. Twisted story with a twisted end. Not conventional. Worth reading. R&R
AN: Due to current situation, I will no longer name chapters. What current situation, you ask? The situation of not coming up with good titles, duh!
Note: fluff including Severus and Amala will be put between DDDDDDDDs instead of IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIs.
This is the chapter when we meet Amala's parents! Wahoo! I get to have quite a bit of fun, yay:wicked grin:
Chapter 12
And for the first time in many, many years, Voldemort felt truly and deeply afraid.
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Avery was still laughing softly, yet his laughter had something mad in it… But Voldemort couldn't deal with him right now, he had different problems to take care of.
The beings were eyeing him hungrily, their black bodies shivering in anticipation of the feast. Everything was deadly quiet for a few seconds, before the first creature jumped and all hell broke loose.
Voldemort gripped his wand tighter and started shooting spells in all directions, as well as casting protective spells all around him. He saw, with the corner of his eye, some large creatures jumping on Lucius, Narcissa and Avery and taking bites out of him, the man's laughter turning into screams of pain. And then, some small, about half a foot tall creatures jumped on him too and devoured everything that was left. Even the Dark Lord shivered as he shot curses in every direction at once.
He suddenly felt a bite on his ankle and he looked down, eyes widening in fear as he saw that the same small creatures that had reduced the three to nothing but bones were nearing him now, one of them having already munched on his ankle.
"REDUCTO!" he shrieked and a few of the creatures were blown backwards. Then, he turned back to his larger opponents, a werewolf-like creature nearing him very quickly. He hit it with the killing curse and realized with some stupor, that the creature was only thrown off course a bit. He let out a swear word and his wand shot green sparks everywhere, confusing his opponents for a few seconds.
And again he felt the little teeth sinking in his legs, in his back… They were all over him! In a burst of inspiration, he tapped himself with the wand and cried some words, a pair of bat-like black wings growing on his back. He shot up into the air and started doing crazy loops in hope of losing the things on his back.
He was officially panicked: the creatures wouldn't let go, they instead bit him even harder and he knew that he was full of blood. In madness, he shot towards some trees and hit his back against them many times, feeling the things let go and fall down in pain. The last one he shot down with a curse.
And then he could see where his plan had a flaw: there were flying things too, not only walking ones, so he shot through the trees as quickly as he could, seeing a thestral behind him… an untamed, very dark thestral that wouldn't have any problem with eating him alive.
Voldemort was trying to remember where he'd come from when he saw it: the portal was right in front of him. Closed, of course. He rushed down and pulled the switch just as a thestral took a bite out of his shoulder and another one out of his wing. He then jumped through the portal and, as the beasts made to follow him, he closed the portal and collapsed on the floor, covered in bites.
The last thing he did was summon his Death Eaters before he feinted… The creatures must have been poisonous.
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Harry jumped out of bed, gasping for air. It hadn't been a long vision, but a very short one… Voldemort, jumping through a portal, covered in blood and nearly dead. He stood there for a few minutes before realizing it had been a real vision.
"Wahoo!" he cried and jumped out of bed, the other boys jumping because of odd cry.
"What is it, Harry!" Ron moaned.
"I had a vision… with Voldemort"
"Then what the bloody hell are you happy for!" the redhead cried.
"He's covered in blood and he's just fainted, he looked bitten! He's… he won't do anything for awhile!" Harry grinned.
"Go to bed, mate, that's not a vision, that's wishful thinking" Neville said, his head falling on the pillow.
"But…"
"Neville's right, Harry. Go to bed" Ron said and collapsed back in bed.
"But…"
"GO TO SLEEP" three voices cried and Harry grumbled before falling back into his bed. What if… what if it was true? What if it had been only a dream?
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Severus woke up, a white-hot pain on his forearm. He clutched it tightly, shivering beneath his covers before the pain went away… It faded away quickly and he could only wonder what had gone on…
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The man lied down on the couch. What Avery had done had been… unexpected. He'd had expected him to try and stab Voldemort in the middle of a meeting or something of the sort, not elaborate such a complicated plan. Avery's madness he'd expected, though. It had been coming for quite awhile… The Death Eater had wanted some recognition of his acts, but he'd got none. Voldemort hadn't even acknowledged the importance of him killing the Hogwarts boy and his mother. No… The Dark Idiot had spent his time making Avery's life hell. And it had all come back against him.
Of course, Avery could have destroyed everything easily. His actions had contradicted one another and well… it had been odd to see him send a letter to Dumbledore about the Diagon Alley attack and then see him kill a boy in Harry's House and year to get Voldemort's approval. And then he'd killed the senior Malfoys, told Dumbledore and Hagrid about that and then went and pretended it was a secret they were dead. Had Dumbledore or Hagrid said anything about the incident… But luckily enough, Dumbledore had been wise enough not to say a word.
And now Voldemort was in great pain and very hurt. He wouldn't be planning things for a while.
The man on the couch sighed to himself. If only Harry was powerful enough to face him… But no, things wouldn't end up well if he attacked now.
The door to the room opened and the man regarded Naranesh enter.
"All will be well" she whispered.
"I know, love" he replied.
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"Hello, guys" Draco said, coming to the Gryffindor table, looking a bit overwhelmed.
"Hi!" they replied at different times, each munching on his breakfast.
"What brings you here? Not that I'd mind, of course" Ginny said with a grin.
"Dumbledore just told me my parents are dead" Draco said simply and suddenly all the clatter of dishes stopped. "Avery killed them. A few days ago"
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry" Hermione said and Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why, are you a Death Eater?" he asked. "Because only they might be sorry. I sure as hell am not. Contrary to the general beliefs I really didn't enjoy living with one active Death Eater who insisted on cursing me whenever I went wrong and a hidden Death Eater who wanted only to get new followers for her Lord. I'm quite happy they're dead, they'd have hunted me to death otherwise. And besides, I now get the family fortune"
"But those were your parents!" Neville cried.
"No, they weren't" Draco replied. "Those were the people who conceived me, but I assure you, they were no more my parents than the Grangers are. I'm a bit confused right now, that's all"
With that, he turned on his heels and walked to the Slytherin table.
"He still feels bad" Amala said and sighed a bit. "Poor chap. He'll get over it soon, though"
"Are you kidding me? He doesn't look as if he were feeling bad one bit!" Ron cried.
"No, he doesn't… But he is, trust me. I can feel him"
"Whatever"
They all leaned into their plates again, Amala taking nervous peeks at the doors from minute to minute. Ginny was also taking peeks, but at Draco who had an impassible mask on his face and was elegantly eating from his plate.
"Oh, shit. Very, very shit" Amala said and Harry and Ron looked at her, confused.
"What?" Ron asked.
"Those are my parents" she said, staring at the doors. Every Gryffindor looked in that direction. "Here comes my Apocalypse, it's been nice knowing you guys"
"It won't be that bad" Harry consoled her.
"They might have a huge problem with Severus" she replied, smiling nervously at the coming couple. I told them I had a boyfriend named Sev, yeah. But his age, last name as well as complete first name and profession remained unsaid" she replied as her mother approached the table.
Amala's mother was a medium-height, lean woman with black hair and a kind enough look on her face. The others wondered why Amala seemed so reluctant about her mother, she seemed to be kind… And she looked a bit like her daughter, too. Her father, though, was a tall man with harsh features.
"How's my Amala?" she asked sweetly.
"Fine, mum" the girl answered, trying to get under the table as fast as possible. "These are my friends, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville…"
The girl introduced her mother to the whole table –and of course the plump woman stared at Harry for a while- and tried to change the subject to her parents' work as well as the reason why they were there at the particular moment.
"Dumbledore said the castle could use dragon protection so we and Charlie decided to come lend a hand."
Amala didn't seem extraordinarily pleased, but she tried to act like it. Fortunately, her mother placed her daughter's squirm as embarrassment.
"Now, don't worry, I shan't stay here long, I won't bother, just came to visit. So, where is that boy called Sev you told me so much about?"
Amala saw Draco approach and wondered if she could get him to pretend to be 'Sev' for a while, but realized it wasn't a good idea. Malfoys don't wear nicknames and Draco was quite Malfoy-ish. Plus, she wasn't good at acting. And of course, Draco had already put a hand on Ginny's shoulder, watching the scene curiously.
"Actually, mum, there's something about him you should know…" she muttered.
"Oh, you said he was a Slytherin! Never mind that, dear, I'm sure he's just fine!" Amala's mum said with a grin. "After all, my sister would probably fit there"
"Yeah, but he's a tad… older than me"
"But…oh… he must've finished!" her mother said, a bit thoughtful. "So he's not here"
"Actually, he is" Amala replied, looking at the ground and then glancing at the Head Table where Severus had stopped eating –like everybody else in the Hall- and was looking at the scene curiously.
"Did he fail a year?" her mother asked and her face hardened, but she tried to smile anyway. "Well, who am I to judge…?"
"He didn't fail a year, mum" Amala said, biting her lower lip. "Heasticher!"
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Wright said.
"He is a teacher" her daughter replied. "His name… is… Severus Snape… Sev"
The whole table watched Mrs. Wright pale, but only for a second, before she got very red and she whispered.
"Severus Snape?"
"Um… yeah?"
"Severus Snape!"
"Yes…"
"Severus Snape! Why, of all the people, did you choose HIM! Ah! A DEATH EATER! How COULD you?" cried her father, his force washing over the ones close to him and making them shiver.
"Goodbye my friends, it's hard to die, when all the birds are singing in the sky" Draco sang softly but nobody listened to him.
"He isn't a Death Eater, dad!" Amala said loudly enough for everybody to hear. Now everybody was watching very, very closely. "He was a spy, but now he was discovered!"
"Too bad he wasn't killed!"
"HOW DARE YOU!" the young woman cried and her eyes glowed. "He's a very nice person!" she spat and nobody on the table begged to differ.
"A DEATH EATER, Amala!" her mother cried.
"Lucia, ce facem?" the man asked in another language and Mrs. Wright glared at her daughter.
"Vedem noi" she replied.
"What are you doing?" Amala asked unsure of herself.
"Nu mai ştii română?" Mrs. Wright spat. "Atât de tare te-a ameţit SNAPE!"
"MUM!" she cried. "Of course I know Romanian! If I don't use it it's because… because…"
"Because he's made you feel oh so…" she started.
"Stop it!" she cried. "STOP IT! You know NOTHING!"
"If I may…" Amala heard the Headmaster and looked at him like everybody else in the Hall except her parents.
"I KNOW WHAT I MUST KNOW!" her mother cried and the Headmaster stopped speaking. "You're making the MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE!"
"I am NOT!" Amala replied, tears in her eyes. "Why won't you let me explain, mum! If you love me so much!"
"There's nothing here that needs explaining" the woman replied. "You must stop this nonsense at once!"
"But I love him, mum and…"
"LOVE! What do you know about love!" she asked and the girl's tears started flowing freely. "He seduced you and now…"
"Mum, PLEASE! Just let me explain!"
"There's nothing that needs explaining! You're coming back home with us!"
"NO! You can't do this! You can't!"
Amala was crying now and nobody dared move a finger to help her.
"Yes, I can and I will"
"I'm not coming back, you can't force me" the girl replied, shaking.
"Luckily, even if you never listen to me" her mother said in a dark way. "You always listen to my fool of a sister, God knows why. Perhaps she'll snap you out of this"
"Auntie Mona? She's here, too?"
"Unfortunately" her father replied. "But you're coming with us when we leave and you're never coming back here"
"Please stop this"
Everybody turned towards the dark, cold voice that had just spoken to see Severus Snape standing there, impassible and cold like a rock.
"Oh, it's you!" Mr. Wright said darkly.
"Me indeed" Snape replied with a glare.
"Afraid you'll loose her? Don't worry, I'm sure Dumbledore will allow you to molest another student"
Only a shadow past Snape's face at that comment, but he didn't reply. The Hall was very silent for a few seconds before the quiet voice they all knew from Potions spoke again.
"Do you truly think that your daughter is stupid enough to stay with a man that molests her?"
"Apparently, she is" Mrs. Wright said and glared at the sobbing girl who started crying even worse. Snape also glanced at her and suddenly his features softened and he walked to her, taking her in his arms.
"Shh… She doesn't mean it, you know that" he said in such a soft voice that Ron jumped in surprise. Amala just held him even tighter, sobbing even harder on his shoulder. "Why are you doing this?" Snape asked her parents. "Why are you hurting her like this! You're supposed to love her…"
"Don't tell me you've never hurt her this way" Mr. Wright replied, looking at him quite murderously. "Let go of her and answer! Have you ever hurt her like this!"
The Potion Master bit his lips and kissed his lover's head before letting go of her… but she wouldn't let her go. He closed his eyes and then opened them again, the same cold glint in his eyes as he looked at the Wrights.
"I have" he replied quietly.
"SEE!" Mrs. Wright cried. "You're a MONSTER!"
"Don't you dare call him a MONSTER!" Amala cried, turning towards her mother, wiping her tears away and looking at her madly. "He didn't… he didn't know… he thought…"
"You're never going to come back" her father said coldly, eyeing Snape murderously.
"You can't stop me" she whispered. "You can't. I'll always come back here, while he has me. And you can lock me up in a tower, I don't care, I'll break out"
As she shivered again, Snape put his hands around her shoulders and she leaned into the support.
"He's old enough to be your father" Mrs. Wright said.
"Thank God he isn't then!" she replied.
"He's killed people"
"So has dad"
"How dare you say that! He quit that job as an Auror for this exact reason!"
"And do you think that quitting the Aurors took it back!" Amala cried. "Do you really! Because I've got news for you, mum! You can quit Aurors, and it'll be considered alright, but do you think you can just quit being a Death Eater! Because then you sign your own death warrant! And guess what! He became a spy and risked his life!"
"But he's still capable of murder!"
"SO IS FATHER!"
Snape tightened his arms around her and whispered something in her ear, something that made her chuckle a bit.
"What's so funny!" Mr. Wright asked hatefully.
"I told her that the fact that I was a Death Eater and then a spy isn't exactly common knowledge" Snape replied with a smirk. "They thought I was, but they didn't know for sure. Anyway, it's all over now. Perhaps we could continue this in a more… private place? Our personal affairs are hardly the students' concern"
It seemed that only then did the Wrights realize that they weren't exactly alone. Draco smirked at his Head of House and he smiled at the boy in reply before putting on his cold mask again.
"Where?" Mr. Wright asked.
"My office, Christopher" he replied, removing his arms from around Amala and taking her hand instead. "Let's go"
"She's not coming" the other man said, pointing towards Amala.
"Pardon?" Severus asked the question that went through everybody's head.
"She's a very emotional person and we couldn't possibly have an adult conversation with her around"
"She's not three and even if she were, we could have a very calm conversation between the four of us"
"Couldn't you hear her screaming just before?"
"Trying to be heard"
"There was nothing to hear"
"How could you say that!"
"As I said, I want a calm, adult conversation. Amala shouldn't come."
"It's her we'll be discussing about! She has the right to speak!"
"Fool" Mr. Wright said and glared at his daughter. "She only speaks what you want her to"
"It is not true…"
"Snape! Let's talk!" Mrs. Wright said, glaring both at him and at her daughter.
"But it's my future!" Amala said, snapping out of stupor.
"Which it's better for us to decide, as we are your parents, Amala"
"What! But I'm considered an adult now! I can decide for myself!"
"Not as long as we're the ones feeding and clothing you" her mother said.
Snape looked at them with a very calculating look before smirking towards his lover.
"Perhaps they are right" he said, his eyes sparkling.
"WHAT!"
"Sorry for the betrayal love. You needn't come now, it'll be boring for you and I'll announce of what has been discussed later and show you the options you may have"
"Finally you snapped into logic, Snape" Christopher Wright said with a smirk. "Haven't I told you, daughter, that he's a good for nothing betrayer?"
"We'll talk later" Snape assured Amala and the three left the Great Hall.
Amala picked up a goblet from the table and threw it against the closing door with fury. Suddenly there was laughter behind her and she grabbed an apple from the table, ready to throw it at Draco.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" he laughed.
"What the bloody hell are you laughing at!" she cried, pissed.
"You and Snape will talk later and he'll be telling you then about his plan that will make everything work out well for you. He wouldn't betray you like that, but he acted for your parents' sake. Gods, you Gryffindors are such idiots sometimes! Now, sit down and trust him, whatever happens in the office is apparently not relevant, because he had a plan to overcome anything that goes on in there"
"How the hell do you know that?" Ron asked, his eyes as big as plates.
"Slytherin logic and the fact that I observed Snape for a long time"
Amala sat down in her chair, put her face in her palms and moaned.
"Such a huge mess"
Before anybody could reply, Dumbledore got up, calling for silence.
"As I attended to say a few minutes before, we should welcome at Hogwarts the ex-Auror Christopher Wright and Lucia Wright, both dragon caretakers at this moment. They have brought with them five dragons to guard the school from any intruders. As you probably noticed during the exchange of words, they are Amala Wright's parents. Also, I would like to say that Charlie Weasley will also be joining us for a longer period of time, since he will be the one to check on the dragons' welfare. And last, but not least, we should welcome Monica Palcu, a very good cursebreaker specialized in ancient magic. She will remain for the whole year in order to help cast a few new wards upon Hogwarts and she will also be studying the ancient tomes in our library; therefore, she isn't hired by Hogwarts, as the three dragon caretakers are, but she will be our guest. Thank you"
Dumbledore sat down and started chatting with McGonagall on his right. Amala tried to smile.
"At least Auntie Mona's here" she whispered. "She's a very nice person, perhaps she might like Severus and she might be on our side"
"I'm sure she'll be on your side" Hermione said encouragingly. "You'll see!"
"I really hope so"
Amala hid her face in her palms again, thinking about something and the others left her alone for a while. She would probably snap out of it alone, she was the positive and energetic one, wasn't she? But what if her parents' behavior had pushed her behind that limit which she could stand? Hermione and Ginny watched their friend with a sympathetic look on their faces, but Amala kept her face in her palms, not saying anything… She was apparently still crying, albeit so softly that they weren't too sure about it.
The doors opened again to show Charlie Weasley and a tall, very beautiful woman with brown-blonde hair and sparkling brown eyes dressed in black robes that fitted her perfectly. Amala rose her head at the call.
"Amala!" the woman said and her sparkling happy eyes gazed all over the Hall before they landed on the one she'd called. Her face suddenly became less excited and happy and, out of a few long steps she reached her.
"What happened?" she asked concernedly.
"My mum and dad…" the Gryffindor replied slowly. "They… they didn't really approve of my boyfriend and…"
"Who's your boyfriend?" the woman asked and her eyes darted towards Draco who just shook his head and put his hand on Ginny's shoulder.
"Sev… Severus" the girl replied. "They just got ballistic, Mona, I don't…"
"Severus who?" the woman asked quickly.
"Severus Snape" she replied, looking into her aunt's eyes. "Go ahead, tell me what an idiot I am to fall in love with him! Come on, I dare you!"
"You and Severus Snape…" Mona whispered, shock on her face.
"Yeah… Mum and dad want to take me away from Hogwarts when they leave, so I can't see him again and…"
"Severus Snape, the one who's old enough to be your father" she said again, quickly.
"Yeah, I see you agree with them…" Amala went on as Mona rolled her eyes.
"Where are they? Severus and your parents?"
"In his office… Are you going to speak against him? Please, don't, he's…"
"Stop babbling!" her aunt raised her voice. "Stop babbling and come on, we want Sev alive, don't we?"
"Huh?" Amala asked, cocking her head to the side. That was unexpected.
"Come! ON!" her aunt said and dragged her niece up. "You think you're the only one who cares about him and understands him!"
Amala found herself being dragged at top speed out of the Hall, for everybody's stupor…except Dumbledore's, who, as usual, knew exactly what was going on and was chuckling in his beard. McGonagall got the point too and started laughing too and soon every teacher at the Head Table that had been teaching for a long time started laughing. The students simply thought it was yet another plan of Dumbledore's to confuse them to the seventh hell and back.
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"So, you're Amy" Mona said, walking to the dungeons quickly, while Amala could only wonder what was going on and why her aunt was starting to laugh. And why she knew the way to the office.
"Um… Severus calls me that"
"Well, I'm one of his ex-lovers, Amala… We were together for quite awhile a long time ago"
"You're Monica!" Amala said, her face lighting up in understanding. "I never realized it was you he was talking about when he said 'Monica', he always said it with an English accent and I never thought his 'Monica' was anything but English"
"Same goes with 'Amy'" she replied. "I assumed the 'Amy' he was talking about was Amelia, not Amala…"
"This is like one of those stupid soap operas" Amala groaned. "And it's not happening. My aunt and my lover…"
"Lover?" Monica smirked. "Got there, haven't you"
"Shut up" Amala said, blushing furiously while glaring at her aunt.
"I find it amusing, but not completely unexpected"
"What!"
"Well, we're a lot alike, you and I… It figures we'd like the same guy… Gah, I can't believe I didn't open my eyes! Of course, we didn't meet all that much and your letters are always very complicated…"
"My letters are complicated?"
"Hell, yes. But you could have told me who he was, you know I'd never judge you!"
"I was afraid you would"
"Never, I swear"
Amala smiled to herself. This was the aunt she knew! This was Mona, the powerful mysterious Mona that made Amala's mum say she had weird ideas in her head that she would better get out soon. You see, Amala's mum, Lucia, was the older sister and she was a very traditional witch, whereas Mona… she wanted to know everything and she loved the oriental traditions, dances, she loved studying ancient cultures and she definitely loved men, making Lucia go berserk about her instability.
But apparently, Mona's lifestyle was healthier and better since Lucia was starting to look old, while Mona, even if she was 42, seemed to be no older than 35. In fact, Amala never saw her looking any different, not for real… Even though she'd changed hairstyles and clothing styles, she was always the same.
They finally made it to Severus's office and Mona knocked and entered, after whispering to Amala: 'let me do the talking'.
The three were sitting in three armchairs in the middle of the room, Severus's opposing the other two. His face was implacable, but Amala's parents seemed to be very angry.
"Hi" Monica said simply before looking straight into Severus's now surprised eyes. "So, dating my niece, aren't you?"
"Monica!" he said. "Your niece!"
"Precisely" she replied and put her hand over Amala's shoulders and pouted. "My poor, little innocent niece that knows nothing of life… Why!"
Severus moaned and rolled his eyes.
"Not you too"
"Me too!" she jumped, glaring before starting to laugh. "Is my family really that attractive, Sev?"
"Hmm… Only two members" he replied also smiling at her, loosing all the exasperation on his face. "You really, really don't look alike"
"But we are alike. Like aunt, like niece, no?"
"Not enough so I could understand…"
"What's going on here?" Mrs. Wright asked, glaring. "How do you two know each other?"
"Well, sis, Severus was my lover for awhile… Remember that fine Englishman I told you about? Then again, you probably don't since you kept going on and on and on about your husband here"
"You were going out with him?" Bellowed Mr. Wright. "I heard you saying something about a dark person, but I didn't assume that you'd be stupid enough to date a Death Eater, you child!"
"Watch who you're calling a child, Christopher" Monica's eyes narrowed. "I'm barely ten years younger than you and seven years younger than Lucia."
"But you're acting like a spoiled brat!" he said. "Running around, getting into trouble at all times, researching dead cultures… you live in a dream!"
"And you live in a prison" she said slowly. "One that you've created yourselves, limiting your lives to what you consider normal, but you cry and moan after better lives. You're more childish than I am. At least I love the life I live"
"It's a fairytale one! It's not an adult and responsible one"
"I think you live under false beliefs, sister" Monica said, her eyes glowing a bit sadly. "I never could make you see."
"Ok, let's change the subject, what do you say? I really wouldn't like being here until midnight" Severus said with an amused smirk.
"It's early morning!" Mrs. Wright pointed out with a glare.
"Precisely. I don't fancy staying here for 16 hours because of sibling fights"
"You…"
"I have classes to teach and I intend to do so. So, back to the current situation which we must take care of so both I and your daughter may go to class"
Monica smirked and winked at him so everybody in the room could see it. Suddenly, Mrs. Wright's face became very shocked, as if she'd just realized something terrible had happened.
"You… Have you slept with my daughter?"
"You have a fixation with this question, sis" Monica said calmly as Amala had started to panic. "You asked my first four boyfriends if they slept with me, you asked Amala's first boyfriend if he slept with her and now Severus… thank God you stopped asking my boyfriends if they did it or not"
"How'd she stop?" Amala asked curiously.
"I lied to her, I wanted to break up with my fourth anyway and I told her we slept together. She kicked him out of my life for free and stopped asking"
"That was a lie!"
"Yes, sis. The first one I did sleep with was my… Gods, let me count… tenth? Eleventh? I didn't really jump into things as much as you thought I did. I knew what I should do and I shouldn't do and I knew I had to get rid of you, you know"
Both Severus and Amala were laughing now at the calm tone that Monica used in this situation –and at the situation itself-, but Amala's parents weren't too happy about it. They were actually quite grim, but luckily, they'd forgotten the question… or at least, the three other people in the room believed they did. They were wrong, though.
"So, Snape. Have you or haven't you corrupted my daughter?" Christopher asked
Amala suddenly stopped laughing and the twinkle in Monica's eyes dimmed as she bit her lower lip.
"I have, Mr. Wright" Severus replied in the same tone he used with his students. Lucia's face became very pale and Christopher wasn't too happy, either. In fact, he looked ready to blow.
"You're never coming back here, Amala!" he spat, still looking at Snape. "You're coming home with us. And as long as you're living under my roof, you're never contacting him again"
"Dad!" she cried. "Please, dad, you don't know…!"
"Stop it!" he said. "What I said is final. This… affair… is stopping right now"
"I have one last thing left to say, then" Severus said and looked into Monica's compassionate eyes before turning his gaze towards Amala. "Amy, you know where I live, you know how I live… You are legally an adult now, even the Ministry accepted it. Would you come live with me? I can offer you anything you need until you…"
"What!" Lucia cried, quickly followed by her husband's "How dare you!"
Amala just looked at him, stunned before closing her eyes and smiling sadly.
"Can I visit them?" she asked, pointing towards her parents.
"If you wish" he replied with a small smile. "I don't want to keep you prisoner, I want you to be free, you know that"
"I accept"
"You took much more than a year to invite me to your place" Monica said, pouting. "You took two years to invite me"
"We were in the middle of the war, weren't we, love? And He'd have killed you if he knew"
"Good point"
"You called her 'love'!" Mrs. Wright said, getting up furiously.
"I sometimes call McGonagall 'love' when she's being particularly oblivious about something and I assure you I don't exactly feel anywhere near attracted to her. So, Amy, we've got class, don't we?"
"Yeah"
"Let's leave these three to their conversations and go to our own business"
"I agree. Bye mum, dad!"
And the two just stared at the two leave, while Monica smiled mischievously.
"She'll be fine" she assured them wickedly.
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"He's not doing too well" Crabbe Sr. said, looking at the unconscious Dark Lord.
"If we have another traitor among us, Crabbe" Bellatrix said with an ugly scowl "I will make sure he dies a slow and painful death. But now I'll stay by the Dark Lord's side and make sure nobody can hurt him. Avery's a lucky bastard"
"Isn't Avery dead? Didn't the Dark Lord say he was eaten alive?"
"Of course, you idiot. But if I'd had a chance with him, he'd be walking with the soulless now"
"He definitely knew why he was killing himself" Macnair observed. "So, now we wait for our Lord to recover… I still cannot believe he is in this condition"
"Shut up, fool" Bellatrix snapped.
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"And so, the death and fear were gone from this world that we live in and they settled in another world that only a fool would open again. Only a fool, I say, for no sane man would seek the gates that cannot be found unless sought for. But they say that one day, a fool shall open them and a Greater Evil will free the horrors within, so killing itself"
"What type of a story is this, Saren?" one of the kids asked.
"One that is said to be true, I'm afraid" the elven priestess replied, taking one of the human children on her lap and smiling softly.
"But there's still death and fear in this world!" another one of the children protested.
"There are many types of fear and death" the priestess replied. "And the worst has been locked away in the world of the Darkelings"
"But why did our ansetors fight the dark, but didn't kill it?" the kid in Saren's lap asked and she sighed softly.
"Ancestors" she said softly. "Not 'ansetors'. Because sometimes dark is hard to fight, but even harder to kill. And the other worlds cannot be reached very easily… very few have connections as good as your world has with the elven one and the connection with Earth from this place is considered extraordinary. They thought it was safe to lock them there, but then Seer Astoria prophesized that somebody would seek the entrance to that world. Nobody wanted to go exterminate those creatures, though, so they just let it be. Now, I must leave and meet with your viceroy and Sybille"
"Very well, Saren" the five children chanted and she exited the garden she'd been in.
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"I can't believe you used to go out with my aunt!" Amala said, trying to keep up with Severus. "And I can't believe you asked me to stay with you… did you really want me to, or did you just say that for my parents, so they'd let us…"
"I was very serious" he cut her off softly. "I love you and I would be thrilled to have you live in my house"
"Thanks" she smiled sadly and took his hand, making him raise an eyebrow and finally slow down. "You have no clue how much it means to me"
"I'm only sorry that your parents…"
"Yeah" she said, making him stop in mid-sentence since he could almost hear tears in her voice. "Yeah I can't believe they were like that"
"Shh…"
"We'll be late for class"
"Screw class" Severus said and she looked into his eyes, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She wiped them away from her eyes, but he stopped her. "Leave them"
"I don't want to cry, I-"
"Cry, let it out"
She smiled at him softly and hugged him tightly, starting to cry, her body shivering against Severus's. And he simply held her, feeling she needed all her support.
"They never… they… they love me and they're so… I can't believe they… I feel so guilty"
"What!" he asked, taking her chin and making her look in his eyes. "Why?"
"Because I hate them, and they're my parents and oh, how I hate them, I shouldn't hate them… You know they say that even the worst murderer that cares for his mother is a good man and the most self-righteous person that doesn't love his is a rock-hearted bastard and I'm such a rock-hearted bastard, Sev, I hate my mother, I fear her, I…"
"Shh…"
"I shouldn't hate them!"
"Don't be a house-elf, Amy" Severus said with a small sigh. "They meant loving somebody who deserves being called a mother, not…"
"Don't you dare say something bad about her!" Amala cried, upset.
"I'm sorry" Severus muttered, but he wasn't sorry at all. Amala was on self-destruct mode because of her parents and he wasn't going to make their apologies. "Poor thing"
He hugged her even tighter and kissed her forehead. And in that moment he heard a click! and his head turned towards where he'd heard it. Seeing nothing, he simply cried:
"Thirty points from Gryffindor!"
"What!" Amala asked, raising her head.
"One of the Creevy brothers" he replied. "Those kids are so annoying."
Amala simply snorted before kissing his cheek once.
"I'll go to my class, see you"
"What do you have? Should I sign a note saying you were busy? We'll both be late"
"I doubt there's somebody who hasn't got a clue about our situation and besides, I've got History"
Severus just smiled slightly towards her before they parted ways.
"Such a sweet guy" Amala muttered to herself as tears started rolling down her cheeks again.
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Two women were in the deserted Malfoy Manor, having snuck in about an hour ago. One of them was very dark, maybe goth-like, beautiful and deadly. She had a noble trait to her and she seemed to be wise and witty. The other woman was a gipsy with a very colorful dress with black as the basic color… probably. At a closer look, you could see the very colorful things were drawings of flowers. She seemed to be about thirty and she had black, long wavy hair –quite a lot of it- and twinkling brown eyes.
"Aye, 'tis been opened not long ago, Syb" the gipsy woman said, her brown eyes looking at the gate toward the Darkeling world. "And ya see, da blood on the floor? 'tis Voldemor's, I'm tellin' ya."
"You sure?" the dark woman asked, putting her hand on the dark blood. "Gipsy, you sure?"
"Ooh, yeah, Syb. Trus' me, will ya? I'd be swearin' me boy's life on it"
"Hmm. So, what do you reckon we should do?"
"If I'd be in ya shoes… I'd worry"
"I am" Sybille chuckled towards her best friend. The woman had never told Sybille her name, saying she preferred being called 'Gipsy', since her given name was a pain in the… "But other than that?"
"Well, le's see. Darkelin's, like all others in there aren't really all tha' evil, ya know? Jus' starving. I reckon ye old friend, Voldemor', he's been in there and they've taken a bite outta him. Trust a Seers word, ya crazy woman, stop lookin' at me 's if I were out of me rocker"
"How do you know he's been bitten?"
"'cause I don' think he's slashed through his fresh on his own, Syb, do you? An' after all, if ye're starvin' and there's live food in fron o' yea, ya don' scratch, ya bite an eat all ya can"
Sybille sat down on the floor, her hands around her knees, letting her head rest on her knees. She hated the situation. As Saren had pointed out, the reopening of the Darkeling world was not something to be taken easily. After all, it had been in the prediction about the return of the 'death and fear', the return of 'darkness'.
"Can we use those creatures?" she asked.
"No. No man can. Ya'd have to be crazy ter try. That's why Voldemor' will try"
"So we have to beware the Darkelings"
"Oh yeah. But don't ya worry, Syb! They'll have jus' as much trouble with 'em as ya'd have if ya didn' know they'd be there. But ya know. So, they'll be havin' more of a trouble with 'em than ya will. 'Tis the firs' time I say it, but I pity the poor bastar'."
"I hope you won't get to pity us"
"Hope so, too" Gipsy murmured. "Well, come on, ya crazy fool. Ya don' wan' us to be found by Corpse Munchers, do ya?"
"Deathe Eaters"
"Same thin'" she shrugged and Sybille laughed as they started walking towards the exit. But as she was about to get out, she turned and smirked.
"I have an idea"
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Night had fallen some time ago and the bodiless soul floated around, wondering what it should do. Bellatrix was watching after his body, so it was safe. And apparently, he could travel with or without it… and he could posses creatures yet again.
Voldemort smiled to himself, moving around like a cloud towards Hogwarts. He was so much more powerful than the last time he'd done this. He would do it. He would take the boy and kill him and how easy it would be. So easy…
The castle started to grow in front of his eyes, more and more and more. He hovered over the grounds and towards Gryffindor Tower, ready to enter through a wall straight into the boys' bedrooms. He would've smiled evilly to himself, if he'd had a body. But he didn't, so he smiled to himself.
So much power… He could live both into his own body and in this way! He loved it. He loved every moment of it. He couldn't be killed, he knew it now and he could posses people, he could haunt them, infiltrate in places he couldn't have entered before, listen in on Dumbledore's meeting without the man realizing he was there. He was so much more powerful now and he could live both with and without a body! Oh, last time, he'd lived only without it, which had been bad since nobody likes obeying to a spirit.
He chuckled to himself as he charged towards the wall…
Only to be rejected in a very firm way, pain going through his body even as he floated backwards. Pain as bad as the Cruciatus. Stupid wards of the castle! Last time, they'd let him in, probably because he'd been weaker and attached to somebody who Dumbledore had let in. Foolish Quirrell…
But what would he do now?
He shot down towards the lake, ready to go back to his body, where Bellatrix awaited, only to see that there was somebody on the grounds, against a tree. It was a girl… one that he remembered. Hadn't she been with Potter some time ago?
And look, she was crying. How touching. Crying people were always the easiest to fool into anything, since all they noticed was their inner world, their own stupid pain.
Without a second thought, he shot towards the girl, trying to take over her body and her senses, to control her mind and make her spin around in circles, lost forever in her pain.
With a long howl, she lost the fight with him and soon her eyes looked down into the water.
Voldemort smirked to himself, the evil smirk being very out of place on the girl's angelic face.
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AN: Mwahahaah! Cliffs! Did I ever mention to you that I love writing? I'm just writing my original fic called 'The Dargon's Eye" and I think it'll come out well:Excited gasp: Oh, I have no clue where Gipsy came from and I feel kinda guilty for introducing so many new characters, but then again, I don't think she'll be back in the story, so she doesn't count, huh?
And as for Monica and Amala… Go on, flame me! I dare you to say it's a soap opera! And then :wink: then I'll show you why they had to be from the same family.
Oh, P.S. IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN BEING MY BETA, please, please, please tell me. I have a feeling that I make mistakes and don't realize it.
Replies to my wonderful, wonderful reviewers (and again, implicit thank yous, because if I don't write that here, I'll forget to thank people, and I wouldn't want to do that, no? ;-) ):
Alcapacien: his is not fair, I started liking Avery too! But alas, a plot is a plot and therefore it must be respected… (wait a sec, who ever said that? Oh, well…) And unfortunately, same goes with Voldemort. He must live. Damn. :sadistic grin: But then again, who's the evil author here, hmm? And why exactly should I keep Voldie happy? ;-)
Soramiko: Thanks for the enthusiastic review! Damn, Amala's parents aren't very nice, now are they? And I really hadn't planned that part about Severus asking her to live with him. I daresay we both got the idea in the exact same time. Oh, well, who am I to question the all-crazy muse of fanfiction? As I reread my response to you, I suddenly realize that it hasn't got much to do about what you've written in the review. Oh, well…
Inu-kokoro: Come on, Sev's a really sweet guy! See how he invited Amala to live with him when she had her fight with her parents? I wish somebody did that for me :pouts: Oh, thanks for the cookie:eats cookie and hands you some chocolate: Thanks for the review:-D
Tsuetsu: Thanks! You just made me feel that I have a chance with my original novel(and I definitely mean it)! That is, if I manage to get off my lazy but and write it ;-)
GamingGuy84: I like you and your style of reviews. You even made me announce the fluff scenes between Severus and Amala between DDDs instead of IIIIs! –not that I had any here, but for it will be done in future chapters- Oh, and Jack Strois and the Revelation (capital R not being a mistake), that's something I'm keeping for Halloween (their Halloween, not our Halloween ;-) ) But it's been planned since waaaay back, that's why I've mentioned it. Oh and since there was no Harry/Luna here, there'll probably be next chapter.
Okay everybody, I bid you all good night (or good day) and I'm going to bed, I'm sooo tired it hurts. Don't forget to review and I'll love you forever!