Dark Snake Bites

author: Lucinda

contains Severus Snape/Drusilla pairing, mention of past-tense Spike/Dru

fifth in the 'Brave Snake' series

rating: pg13-16

disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to Severus Snape (property of JK Rowling) or Dru (property of Joss Whedon).

distribution: Twisting, OADNT, Paula, Jen & Cat if they want, anyone else please ask first.

note: AU post season 5 BtVS, AU post book 3 for Harry Potter.

Divination classes should have been quite enjoyable, Drusilla reflected. But since she was stuck working with Trelawney... Bah. The woman was delusional, thinking that she could read the signs and omens. She talked to the nervous little lambs, filling their minds with fear of shadows and dread of their letters from their mums and dads. Trelawney babbled nonsense about training the Inner Eye to glimpse the future, and it was all that she could do not to growl and snap the silly woman's neck.

"Why didn't I drop this class?" Muttered a red haired boy, too quiet for mortal ears to catch.

She leaned over, turning his teacup to glance inside. "Because you would have to pick another one to take instead, ducks. Oh, look, there's a rabbit in the tealeaves, and the snapping tiger chasing after the little bunny. Someone will have to be quick to get out of that trouble."

"Am I the rabbit?" He looked like he wasn't certain if he wanted to believe her warning, but he at least had the sense not to be rude.

Smiling, she patted his hand. "Don't worry too much. This won't happen until later. The rabbit is either you or someone very close to you."

Her words to the boy were interrupted as Trelawney came over, glancing into the cup of the dark haired boy sitting at the same table. Immediately, the daft woman started shrieking. "The Grim! Oh, my poor boy, death awaits! It stalks at your footsteps. Oh, the pity that it should fall to one so young..."

Drusilla watched as Trelawney executed one of the most perfectly faked attacks of exhaustion, the woman rattling as she sank into the deep cushions of a pale green chair. She momentarily debated if the chair would look better drenched in blood. Perhaps it would be best to clear the room of children first, just in case? "I think that's enough for now, lambs. Be sure to come back tomorrow."

"What a load of nonsense." The annoyed mutter came from a girl with wild brown hair, her eyes gleaming with intelligence.

"Do you mean her, or the idea of Seeing?" Dru asked, curious what the girl would say.

"I..." The girl paused, her eyes caught by Drusilla's gaze. "If there are really death omens everywhere, why try to look for them? And how are we supposed to believe her stories about the future?"

Dru smiled. This girl might not have the Sight, but she apparently had sense. It might be something to watch for, or possibly a reason to cultivate her. "Why, there's only one way to know if someone can see the future. Wait and learn if what they speak of happens or not. But as for death omens... Death is everywhere. It comes for all living creatures, from little mice scratching in the walls, to lost lambs like yourselves, to nasty snakes. It's lurking here, right in the heart of everything."

"Right. Hermione, come on, we have to go to Charms." The red haired boy tugged on the girl's arm, and she stumbled, probably disoriented from Drusilla's eyes.

Watching them run away, Drusilla felt her tummy rumble. When the sun fell into the lake, she'd have to go out hunting. There should be something in the forest. Maybe even one of the little lambs gone astray.

Oh yes, tonight she intended to have some fun.

Her dragon childe had been delighted with the idea of a hunt. The gold had hinted at the edges of his eyes, like the peeking flares of an eclipse. He'd kissed her, purring a soft "That sounds delightful, my princess."

Of course, he'd made certain to keep her distracted until it would be safe for them to slip outside. He'd had such delightful ideas as well, and the dungeons were far enough from everyone else that she could let him know just how much she appreciated his ideas.

He'd then tried to tell her that the forest wasn't safe, and that she should be careful. As if a bunch of trees would pose a danger to her! She was a princess, daughter of the night and the stars whispered in her ears.

Drusilla slipped away from him, wandering through the large trees, hearing the whispers on the moonlight. Silvery shadows and mysteries danced, and she could hear hoof-beats in the distance. What a glorious place!

Drusilla might have been mad, but she wasn't completely without sense. When she saw the spider web holding the little fawn, each strand as thick as her little finger, she promptly turned around and decided to hunt closer to the forest's edge.

She could hear him, slipping on the tree roots and saying the most horrible rude things. What was one of the students doing out here? And was he all alone in the dark forest, the place forbidden to the little children? Perhaps he needed a reminder why children should listen to their elders.

Following the rude words, she caught sight of him. A small boy, of a size to be no older than the fourth year, perhaps younger, stood in the moonlight. It shone on his pale hair, and seeped into his dark robes. The boy reminded her a bit of her Spike, glaring angrily at the trees.

He had to be punished.

The boy didn't hear a sound as she moved closer, striking the arm that held his fragile wand. She watched it fly away, hiding under one of the many tree roots even as his arm made an unhappy snapping noise where she'd struck.

She let her nails rake over his back, letting the rich scent of his blood fill the air. Mmmm, blood and fear and magic, she could hardly wait for a taste. One hand fluttered over her hip, feeling like dancing under the fading crescent of the moon. Blood and fear and moonlight, what a lovely tune.

He spun around, his eyes almost useless in the dark. "Who's there? What's out here?"

"Naughty spikeling. Princess has to punish you." Her hand slapped out, connecting with his jaw and sending him spinning to the ground.

His screams as she raked her nails down his chest were almost musical. Laughing, she licked the blood from her nails. The poor boy was trying to run from her, how amusing.

Easily, she moved among the tree branches, growling as her nails lashed at him again. They barely caught him, but it was right over his arm, where he'd been trying to cradle it. She must have hurt it when she'd knocked the wand away.

The spikeling slipped, collapsing to the ground beneath a tree, only a short distance from a pool of water. Drusilla moved, grabbing him up and sinking her teeth into his shoulder. It wasn't terribly deep, but she just wanted to sip at him, to taste the fear in his blood.

"My sweet, what are you doing with the boy?" Her dragon prince's voice was almost a growl as he moved closer, his golden eyes gleaming in the dark.

"He tastes delicious. Why don't you try him for yourself?" She cooed, gazing at her childe. His cloak flared almost like dragon wings, and he stalked wonderfully.

He grabbed her, pulling her away from the boy, his lips crashing against hers. Teeth caught at lips, and tongues soothed at the nicks and scratches. "My sweet princess. He does taste good, full of fear."

Hopefully, she whispered, "We could finish him off. Just drink him down and play wild games in the forest. Only the moon will see us, and she would never tell."

Leaning forward, he licked a droplet of blood from her cheek. "The idea is tempting. But if we did that, the body would have to disappear."

"Simple." One hand waved in the air, the motion turning into an inviting curl as her hips swayed. "I could make sure that nobody found so much as a finger bone of him."

Catching her hand, he kissed her palm. "But if he vanished, there would be a search. His father would not let it go so easily, not having worked so hard to mold the boy into his younger image."

"Ohhhh." She pouted, knowing where he was going with this.

"It would draw too much attention." Stalking closer, he lifted the frightened boy upwards, snarling just a little. "So much fear, little Malfoy."

Proving that he was a keen student in many regards, he caught the boy's gaze, and the boy's heart slowed from it's fear rushed frenzy to a more normal fluttering. The boy fell limp, his unconsciousness a pale imitation of a delightful death.

A long, graceful finger caught up a drop of blood from the bite, and he licked it away, the movement filled with danger and appeal. "He shouldn't remember anything."

Wrapping her arms around her dragon childe, Drusilla sighed. "Since we aren't going to eat him, what do we do about the spikeling? We could give him to the spiders."

"Ah, but we are the loyal teachers of Hogwarts, determined to teach the young students how to be proper and effective witches and wizards." He chuckled, amused by the irony. "As we are but concerned teachers, we heard the sound of someone screaming and went to investigate."

Her hand slid inside his robe, tracing over his still heart. "His screams were quite musical."

"Perhaps I should take him to the infirmary alone." He shook his head. "We don't want anyone to learn that you were the cause of his screaming. The questions would be awkward."

Lightly, she nipped at her dragon's shoulder. "Oh fine. Take the boy to the hospital. I'll be waiting in our room."

"Well, you are quite the troublemaker, Malfoy." He put the boy over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, and began walking back towards the castle. "Such a pity that you'd be more trouble dead than you are alive."

Drusilla giggled as she skipped back towards the dungeons. Her lovely child would play with her later. Oh, she'd have to punish him for denying her the fun of killing the boy, but he was probably right about it causing trouble. She'd just have to make certain that he enjoyed his 'punishment' almost as much as she would.

Besides, the boy wouldn't always be a student at this school. When that day came, she could track him down and play for hours. Oh yes, it was good to have time to make plans.

end Dark Snake Bites.