I am so sorry that I haven't updated since last year. College has been a bitch and I honestly had to re-think where I wanted this story to go. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm sure this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Oh and I just thought I should warn you, this chapter does get darker towards the end so read with caution.
Snape hurriedly carried the boy to the dungeon. The less time he spent with him the better.
Fortunately when Severus stepped into the common room with Thereon in his arms there wasn't anyone there to witness it, everyone was in the Great Hall for dinner, which had been where Severus was headed before he was practically attacked by the clumsy vampire.
"Sir do you think you could take me to my dorm room, please, I'd be ever so grateful". Thereon batted his eyelashes at the Potions Master.
Snape practically sneered at the boy as he took him to his dorm room and deposited him carelessly on a bed, which was Draco's
"Oh Professor can you please get me a wet towel to wipe down my forehead, I'm awfully hot". Thereon said, batting his eyelashes and biting his bottom lip lightly.
Snape glared. "Don't push your luck kid". He muttered and left, trying to put as much space between him and Thereon as he could, that kid wasn't good for his mental state.
Thereon sighed as he turned over on Draco's bed, the time he is supposed to meet Lord Death was getting nearer and he really didn't want to miss it because of Dumbledore said 'no'.
He heard footsteps coming towards the dorm room and he sat up quickly, no one was supposed to be here right now, dinner hadn't ended yet.
Draco and Blaise opened the door to their room.
"See I told you he would be here". Draco said to the Italian boy, who just rolled his eyes.
"Why are you on my bed"? Draco questioned, flopping onto Thereon.
"Get off! You fat butt is squashing my face". Thereon huffed and shoved Draco into Blaise's arms.
Draco gasped, looking offended. "How dare you, my butt is so not fat, right Blaise"? He asked.
Blaise thought about what to say, either way he knew Draco would take offence. "I think your butt is perfect". He gave it a little squeeze.
Draco grinned, a blush brightening up his face.
Thereon just rolled his eyes. "Oi, love-birds, stop the groping and help me figure out what to do".
Draco thought for a minute. "You could ask my Godfather, he's also our Head of House, if he says he'll go with you Dumbledore can't do anything about it". He said.
Thereon grinned at thought of being next to Snape all day. He hurriedly made his way down to the Severus' potions classroom. It was common knowledge that the Professor spends most of his time there.
As he approached the classroom he quickly checked to make sure he looked presentable, he didn't want to meet his crush looking like he just woke up or something.
Thereon opened the door without knocking, coming face to face with an impassive looking Snape.
"What do you want Mr Le Torneau, what are you doing in my classroom"? Snape asked.
"I wanted to see you Sir, about something important". Thereon said, putting on a sad face, he needed all the help he could get when it comes to convincing his potions Professor to do anything for him.
"What do you want to talk about"? Severus asked, feeling strangely suspicious. He didn't like being around this boy. Snape could tell that he was dangerous, in more ways than one.
"Sir I have a very important appointment in Hogsmeade but the old man Dumbles isn't letting me go, even though my parents already gave me permission". Thereon pouted cutely.
Snape raised an eyebrow. "You're only a first year, you're not allowed outside the school grounds and what appointment is so important that I have to take time out of my very busy schedule to accompany you"? He asked. Truth be told he had nothing better to do and the thought of hanging out with the kid wasn't too bad. But he couldn't let him know that, it will make the kid even more cocky that he already was. Plus it was inappropriate, way inappropriate to be fantasizing about an under-age student, or any student. Period.
Thereon bit his lip and sniffed tearfully. "I can't tell you what it's about but if I miss it I will be very sad Sir, I might even cry". He let out a fake sob.
Snape felt like rolling his eyes, who did this kid think he was fooling?
"Very well. Whenever you are ready we shall leave". He said.
Thereon brightened up and gave Snape a beaming smile. "Thank you Sir, I'm ready to leave right away". He said.
For some reason, the boy's smile was making Snape's inside unsettled. He would do anything to see that smile again, that thought frightened him. He needed to do some major research, something was going on and it wasn't normal, Snape knew he wasn't sexually attracted to little boys, he wasn't a paedophile but something about Thereon just exuded confidence and sexuality.
Maybe it was the way he bit his lip, or the way he batted his long eyelashes, or his coy smiles, perhaps even the way he walked. He was a lot more attractive and inviting than other boys his age, but the thing that drew Snape to the boy was his scent, damn he smelt good.
Thereon was chatting away next to Snape about nothing important, the Potions Professor wasn't even paying attention to him, just letting him prattle on about his usual nonsense.
When they arrived at Hogsmeade, Thereon wanted Snape to wait for him at the 'Three Broomsticks' while he went to his mysterious appointment. But the man was having none of it, Thereon was his responsibility and he wasn't going to let him run off without an adult to protect him.
"But Sir, this is really Private, you can't come with me. I'll get in heaps trouble if anyone else finds out". Thereon whined. Snape fixed him with a hard glare.
"Don't make me take you back to school, because I will. I don't have time for your idiocy". He snapped.
Thereon sighed, he should have known this wasn't going to be easy. But he was pretty sure he could trust Snape, the man wasn't the type to go running to Dumbledore about every little thing.
"I have a meeting with a Lord and it involves issues that must be kept secret. I'll let you come with me but you must promise me that you will not tell anyone about this, not McGonagall or Dumbledore, nobody, please". Thereon pleaded seriously.
Snape frowned, this is the first time he had seen Thereon remotely serious, whoever it was that he was meeting must be truly important.
"Of course Mr Le Torneau, because I have nothing better to do than to go around gossiping with members of staff that just love spending time in my vicinity"(!) Snape said sarcastically.
Thereon frowned. "Sir, this means a lot to me, if you can't promise me your secrecy then please take me back to school. I would rather postpone the appointment than have you ruin my chances of training under Lord Death". Thereon nearly snapped.
Snape almost couldn't contain his surprise, he wasn't stupid. He had his suspicions as to who Lord Death was.
"I assure you Mr Le Torneau, that you have my utmost secrecy and I will not utter a word of this to anyone". Snape said.
Thereon smiled at Snape, his crush on the man just keeps growing every minute he spends next to him and to top it all off the man was also willing to keep his dirty secret.
Thereon had to apparate side-along with Snape to get to Malfoy Manor where the meeting was being held since that was where the Dark Lord was currently residing. The wards that ensconced Malfoy Manor dropped long enough to let them through before snapping back up again.
"I don't know what the point of that was, you could have just told me that we were going to Malfoy Manor and I would have apparated us there instead of wasting my precious time". Snape grumbled.
"Well I was sort of hoping I could ditch you at Diagon Alley and then use my port-key to get to Malfoy Manor". Thereon admitted with a sheepish grin.
Snape sighed and walked briskly up to the front door, he grabbed the knocker and knocked three times, the heavy oak doors swung open. They had been expected, which was why they were able to Apparate directly into the Manor, instead of to the edge of the forest that bordered the Manor.
Snape and Thereon made their way inside the dimly lit Manor, the décor elegant yet melancholic.
Lucius Malfoy was standing there in all his aristocratic glory, looking like regal and sophisticated and more than a little bit intimidating.
Lucius waited for them to approach with a slight smirk on his handsome face, he could see the way Severus distanced himself away from the boy only for the boy to attach himself to Severus' side regardless of the man's need for personal space.
"Lucius". Severus said in way of greeting.
"Severus, Thereon". Lucius returned with a slight tilt of his head.
Thereon grinned at the stoic man. "It's good to see you again Lucy, I haven't seen you since the last private meeting with Lord Death". He said.
Lucius took a subtle deep breath to calm himself as he felt his eye twitch at the ridiculous abbreviation of his name that the boy insisted on calling him.
"It's good to see you too". Lucius said, giving Thereon a slight smile. "Come along, you mustn't keep the Dark Lord waiting, you know how much he hates that". Lucius said as he turned around and led the duo towards the Dark Lord's destination.
The Dark Lord was sat on a throne in the meeting room in Malfoy Manor and he watched them approach with an impassive expression on his face. Thereon didn't want to admit it but he felt intimidated. Which was to be expected, after all the man was a Master of Death and a Dark Lord, he was the most feared man in the Wizard World.
Snape tried not to gape, to say he was surprised would have been an understatement. He couldn't believe that the important meeting that Thereon had was with the same man that has been trying to take over the Wizard World, the same man that was apparently a Death Lord, no wonder he calls his minions Death Eaters, a group that Snape was more than familiar with, after all he was part of the inner circle and it was quite a surprise that he didn't know this crucial detail about the man he follows. He was after all one of his followers but he didn't know that this vampire Fledgling was training under his Master.
Lucius came up behind Severus. "They need some privacy in order to train, plus you and I have some catching up to do, after all it's been quite a while since I've seen my dearest friend". He said quietly.
Severus knew that this was probably just a way of making sure he doesn't disturb Thereon and the Dark Lord but he didn't mind, he really had missed catching up with his only friend. His hectic work schedule prevented him from having any time to himself much less time to visit anyone, not that there was anyone for him to visit, with the exception of the Malfoy family.
Snape and Lucius spent hours talking about the things that happened in each other's lives since the last time they saw each other.
"Severus, what is with you and Thereon, judging by the way you look at him I think something is definitely going on". Lucius said, they were sat in his private study enjoying some fire whiskey.
Severus tensed, were his feelings that obvious? He had always prided himself on his indiscernible facial expressions and body language but apparently when it comes to Thereon he can be read like an open book.
"I don't even know what's going on Lucius, it's baffles me also. How can I be sexually attracted to an eleven year old, it's immoral. Yet my mind can't stop thinking about him, yearning for him. It disgusts me that I fantasize about caressing his body and making love to him". Severus sighed.
To say that Lucius was shocked would be an understatement, he couldn't believe his best friend just admitted to being in love with a pre-teen.
Lucius cleared his throat awkwardly and lowered his drink. "Perhaps it has something to do with his bloodline, he might have some other creature blood in him besides the Vampire blood. If he is a submissive creature you might be his mate or one of his mates, it would explain your unhealthy attraction to him". He said.
Severus was too far in thought to glare at Lucius for the 'unhealthy attraction' comment. "You might be right, but he is still too young, no matter how...tempted I get I need to remember he is only an eleven year old boy, even though he flirts like a bloody teenager". He sighed.
Lucius sighed, his voice filled with amusement. "This boy has got you whipped old friend".
Severus groaned. "That just reminded me of something else, the age difference between Thereon and I. He is a little eleven year old boy and I'm old enough to be his father. Thank you so much Lucius Malfoy for reminding me of yet again another reason why I should feel ashamed about my 'unhealthy attraction' for the boy". He said dramatically.
Lucius felt like laughing but he didn't want Severus to feel like he was mocking him.
"This is the first time I have ever seen you like this, it is quite amusing". Lucius said. "I don't understand how a little boy can get you this flustered".
Severus glared at Lucius, he didn't know what it was like to be going through what he was going through, otherwise he wouldn't be making fun of him.
"That's it Lucius, I'm going to the gardens to pick some of your flowers and herbs and no, you are not allowed to follow me, I have had quite enough of your company for one day, or rather for a year". Severus grumbled.
"Oh come on, Sevvy don't be so harsh, I was simply just teasing you". Lucius called after his friend with a laugh.
Severus flipped him the bird and stalked off towards the Malfoy gardens, ignoring Lucius' laughter that was ringing through the halls.
Severus walked past the meeting room and was startled by the cry of anguish that came from behind closed doors. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in there and he worried about Thereon, why was the boy screaming? And why hadn't the Dark Lord erected a silencing charm around the room?
Thereon was sweating and panting and he tried to shield his mind from the visions that threatened to tear him apart, he screamed and clawed at his head, pulling his hair out as his body thrashed around, a blood curling scream gurgled out of his mouth and he continuously slammed his head backwards against the floor. Thank goodness the Dark Lord had thought to have the training in a carpeted room.
"Don't let the visions consume you, accept it, embrace it and control it, use it to your advantage"! The Death Lord was shouting at Thereon, trying to get him to open his mind up to allow the flood of the muggle's memories into his mind.
Thereon was having seizures on the floor as he saw the life of the man flash before his eyes, he needed to calm down and examine the memories before passing his judgement on the man, it was an extremely painful process, having the memories of someone else's entire life forced in along side yours, having to re-live their life in a brief matter of seconds, then to record every evil thought, evil act, generous acts, every achievements, milestones, how useful the person was to the society, if the human race would suffer with the loss of this particular person.
All these things are taken into consideration to determine if the person deserved to die, though if the person had a fatal disease eating away at their life-force it was an entirely different matter and it was up to the Reaper to allow the person more time or end their suffering immediately. Of course there were stupid humans who thought that they had it so bad and that the only option was to take their own lives.
Higher skilled Reapers were able to see into the future, they would make lists of the people that have been scheduled to die and the Reapers that specialize in soul collecting would then go to collect the souls of those on the list.
Beginner Reapers like Thereon are then assigned a mentor to guide them through their training.
Naturally highly skilled Reapers do not only just watch the life of those they judge but they also briefly re-live it and that was incredibly painful.
That was what Thereon was going through right now, the Dark Lord had created a list of people that were scheduled to die and he was in the process of training Thereon for the first one and so far it wasn't going too well, Thereon was letting his feelings influence his decisions, he was allowing himself to feel what the person felt. It was possible to lose one's self in the memory of another if you let it consume you.
The Dark Lord was very worried, he had high hopes for the boy but it looks like he was too empathetic to be a Reaper. He should have been able to cast aside his emotions and feelings and just get the job done.
"Please make it stop"! Thereon screamed and begged, he couldn't take it any longer, he didn't want to see this, he didn't want to see the disgusting things this muggle had done, he didn't want to feel the pleasure the muggle felt as he molested countless children or the satisfaction he felt from murdering them when he done with them or the fulfilment he got when he left the mauled and butchered body of the child in a box in front of the parents house.
Thereon struggled as hard as he could, he fought with everything in him before he was able to withdraw from the man's memories. As soon as he his mind was free he burst into tears, his body heaved as he sobbed his heart out, how could anyone be so cruel, it was fucking unfair, what did those innocent children ever do to that man that would drive him to do those things to them, he didn't deserve to live for even a second longer, Thereon shakily dragged himself over to the Death List and angrily crossed out the man's name as hard as he could, guaranteeing the man would suffer the most painful death, he would die slowly and surely and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Thereon tried to pull himself together but he couldn't his heart broke with every single one of the man's memories he viewed. He wasn't naïve he knew that there were a lot more Jack Mullins out there and that he would have the misfortune of having to judge them at a later date.
Maybe this wasn't the life for him, as much as he wanted to make sure those sick and twisted mother-fuckers rot in the deepest pit of hell he still couldn't deal with looking through all those memories, even if it was a nice person that was about to die from old age, it was inevitable he still had to view their memories and he knew he was going to cry, he was going to miss that person even though he had never seen them before in his life.
This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.
Thank you so much for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it, I hope I didn't upset anyone during the ending of the chapter.
I would reply to all your comments individually right now but it's late and I have school tomorrow so I had to quickly put this up and sorry for the mistakes I tried to fix them as much as I could.
Don't forget to tell me what you think, your comments motivate me and I appreciate every single one of them.