"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment sacrifice that which we are for what we could become."
–Charles DuBois
--
Ron truly didn't approve of Voldemort's habits during the meetings with his followers, but he supposed he couldn't complain. Things had gotten slightly better since Voldemort's breakdown and Harry's subsequent intervention. Harry had asked him to watch the meetings, just in case something happened again and Harry wasn't there to stop it. Merlin knew the Death Eaters were too useless and/or afraid to throw a stunner if their lord started going wonky. Voldemort had reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, on the condition that Ron watch the Death Eaters themselves to pick out which were the most subtle, the best at avoiding any sort of confrontation. They were the followers that Voldemort could use as infiltrators in spy situations, or could already be spies in his ranks themselves.
Normally Ron wasn't very perceptive about matters like that, but when Harry had so cleverly compared the task to chess tactics in a highly convoluted and obscure way that even he hadn't understood, Ron had amazingly latched right on to it.
It was during one of these meetings that he had the chance to see a severely injured Harry Potter stumble into the room from Ron's perch in his usual alcove. Getting out without being noticed wasn't a problem, though getting to Voldemort's private quarters did take some time, as Ron went the wrong way twice.
"What the bloody hell happened to Harry?!"
--
Harry looked up at his teacher as the man sighed and leaned back in his comfortable leather chair. At his questioning gaze, Noir just shook his head and chuckled, a deep resonant sound that never failed to catch Harry's attention.
"I am just contemplating the inevitability of this meeting. Obviously in the future I did not teach you all that you needed to know about our race because I knew I taught it to you before. But I made sure you knew the song, so that you might teach it to me in turn, so I may once again teach it to you…ah, the wiles of Time…"
When Harry blinked at him bemusedly, Noir laughed again.
"Ah, my childe, there is so much yet for you to learn and so much I do not know. I might teach you all about the limitations of our race, our powers, our horrible weakness that comes with the fragility of the human mind as it tries to adjust to living for so many years…" Gold eyes, ever sharp, pierced Harry through. "I might teach you how to react on the day a lower vampire, werewolf, or veela recognizes you for what you truly are: an Ancient being… But I still cannot tell you everything about our race; the beginning of the line traits, or even how we stemmed from a single Ancient mother when the only way to sire a childe is with our life. These are answers I am not meant to know. But perhaps you may seek them out someday from the others of our race. If and when you begin to gain power, they will make themselves known to you," Noir paused, leaning toward Harry at an angle that set his red hair burning in the dim light. "Are you well, Aspen?" he questioned. In that moment Harry became aware of a horrible pain in his stomach that cramped his muscles and prevented speech for the moment. Noir drew closer but stood up, gently carding Harry's hair with a comforting hand.
"I believe it is time for you to wake up."
--
As his gaze slid over red hair and a freckled, panicking face, Severus Snape felt his train of thought come to a screeching halt.
He couldn't believe his eyes. Weasley…was supposed to be dead! Severus had seen the body with his own eyes. He'd been there when Poppy identified it. The boy was not supposed to be moving about, and most definitely not supposed to be here, in the Dark Lord's headquarters!
Spy that he was, Severus never allowed shock to rule him for long. As it cleared away, the words of the brat as he stormed in finally registered. Snape's eyes snapped to the face of the vampire he'd just given blood to, everything from the past year coming together with a crash as what he'd been missing all along snapped into focus.
A small part of Severus' mind idly mused that shock-induced cardiac arrest was going to get him long before the Dark Lord did.
--
Harry awoke to the taste of salt and rust on his lips. He licked them tentatively, banishing the sharp taint of sweat and blood. Pain shot through his stomach, reminding Harry where he was and why. The first sight that met his opened eyes was that of Tom's scowling face, directed at his best friend who stood by the door.
"Weasley, what have I told you about barging in here?!"
Ron's ears turned red enough to match his hair. "H-Hey, I was just worried about Harry. I mean, you called Snape and not me- look, he's awake!" he pointed, slightly desperate to direct Tom's ire away from himself. A shift in the corner drew Harry's attention away from the two who turned to look at him. A dark figure loomed against the wall, and Harry was startled to see the sallow face of Hogwarts' potions master.
'What's he doing here?'
Gasping in surprise, Harry started to sit up but the moment he tried, Tom was there and shoving him back down roughly, pinning him to the bed. His red eyes turned so dark it seemed almost as if they were bleeding. Harry knew he was in trouble.
"Do you have any idea," Tom hissed, "what you did to me just now?" Harry gulped. Quite suddenly Tom looked as fearsome as his snakelike exterior normally lent itself to. The man was totally ignoring the other two in the room, forcing Harry to focus totally on him.
Harry hissed as the man's body pressed close to his, "S-sorry, Tom. I-" but the other didn't seem interested in apologies. Tom leaned forward, capturing his lips in a heavy kiss. Harry moaned, arching his back into him, arms wrapping of their own accord around Tom's neck. It was nearly painful and so intense that Harry saw stars behind his eyelids, and he managed to completely forget about their present company until they were interrupted.
"Oh Merlin, YUCK! Do I have to throw cold water on you two?"
Tom jerked away as if he, too, had just remembered the other presences. Recovering as fast as possible, Harry finally got a view of his red-haired friend and Snape, who swallowed, pale and shaking slightly as Harry's gaze landed on him. Tom's hand gripped his shoulder tightly, conveying more of the message he had been trying to pass on through the kiss - one of many emotions.
Harry's attention snapped back to reality when Snape spoke.
"Harry Potter."
The words from the man were so cold and utterly unemotional that Harry was taken aback for a moment. Gone was the glint of ever-present malice in the eyes that flickered from him to Tom and back. As Harry watched, Snape's stone face seemed to crumble as if all the steel and stern mettle had been stolen from him. His voice came to Harry's ears cracked and dry as he said, "With you here, there really is no hope for the Light side, is there?"
At the potion master's words Harry became aware of Tom rising from the bedside and facing Snape head-on. Ron inched out of Tom's line of vision and over to Harry, but the vampire chose to ignore him for the moment in favor of watching the exchange.
The lord's voice came out as a vibrating hiss. "And now comes the choice, Severussss. No longer can you keep a foot in both worlds, straddling the Light and Dark. You must choose." Tom proved without a doubt that a Dark Lord needed no wand in his hand to intimidate. Harry was sure that if the force of Tom's glare were directed at himself in such a way, he would have winced at the menacing look too. Then Tom drew his wand and Harry sucked in a breath as Snape's heartbeat and perspiration leapt and came to his immediate awareness; Harry still very much under the influence of Snape's blood.
"I've known you were a spy all along, Severus; playing a little puppet for the old headmaster while I dwelt in madness," Tom's voice was cold and forbidding. "But you have always been loyal to the Dark in your nature, if not to me…so I am offering this one chance to join me again. Pledge your allegiance or die a martyr for the Light. This is your only choice." His speech was crisp and concise, but there was no mistaking Tom's exact intentions. Harry had a nagging feeling that if he wasn't present Snape would already be under the Cruciatus at this point, if not something worse.
The sallow-faced man glanced once more at him, and Harry almost caught something new stirring in his eyes, like something coming back to life after a long sleep. Then Snape knelt and bowed his head, allowing oily hair to hide his face.
"I swear myself to you, my Lord."
--
Nymphadora Tonks shivered, even under her heavy winter cloak and the enveloping warmth and comfort that permeated Dumbledore's office. Somehow, even that lingering feeling failed to console her as she wrapped her arms to embrace herself.
Her unseeing eyes stared at the letter in front of her as the rest of the Order crowded about, but Tonks barely heard their exclamations as they read its contents.
All she knew was that Remus had left the Light, and her, for the Dark side and Fenrir Greyback.
She couldn't bring herself to feel angry. Grief surged through every pore of her body, leaving dull skin and a numb feeling in its wake. Even amidst the chaos and Dumbledore's calls for order, Tonks did not look up, her eyes still reading the letter that wasn't in front of her anymore. She sat enduring the fact that the man she loved most in the entire world had left her for a savage murderer, no matter how kindly he might have worded the message just for her.
Neither did Nymphadora feel the tears that streamed down her cheeks and silently, miserably, struck the table.
--
Chill air played across his chest, but Remus paid it no mind despite his lack of shirt. Remus continued to gain only advantages from finally accepting and incorporating the wolf as part of himself, one of which was the werewolf's extreme resistance to cold. This fact was evidenced by the fact that he felt quite comfortable sitting out on a rock cleared of snow, dressed in only trousers and a pair of boots he'd lain to the side.
A bare breast that radiated heat snuggled into his side, but Remus only smiled gently and continued to read aloud from 'The Two Towers,' running a finger under each word he read.
Pamela was one among many uneducated werewolves in Måneshire, as many had been bitten as children then ostracized before they had the chance at an education. Such was Pamela's case. But unique to her case, when Remus Lupin, a full magically educated werewolf, came to their community she took the opportunity to ask him to teach her to read. At twenty-two years of age, Pamela possessed a quick wit that could outsmart many of her pack members, including her own mate, Lucil. Lupin had been quite happy to take her on as a student.
Remus finally came to the end of the chapter and marked his place with a proper bookmark, as he detested dog-earing precious books.
"That was great! I actually know some of the words before you read them, Remus! Wait 'till I tell Lucil!" she grinned, amber eyes glinting in the last rays of sunlight. Keeping his gaze resolutely on the nearly-naked woman's face, Remus smiled again, relaxed in an area that had rapidly become his home in his mind throughout the last few months.
"Yes, you're doing very well. And how is Lucil? I haven't seen him for a few days."
Pamela shrugged. "He's fine! More excited about the hunt tonight than me learnin' to read, though…" she paused, her eyes narrowing slyly. "Are you goin?"
Remus raised his eyebrows, not sure what she was getting at. "I suppose I will. Why do you ask?"
Her grin returned full force as she leaned in a bit closer, tweaking the edge of his moustache on a face he otherwise couldn't stand to let hair grow on, despite his residence in the wilds. "Aww, you're funny. Don't be coy with me, Remus. Everyone knows you've been avoiding the alpha all month 'cept for the Dark Lord's meetin's. How'd Fenrir convince you to go if you're still pullin' a magic act every time he shows his face?"
The man felt a hot blush seep through to his face and chest, and his hands clenched on the book. "Perhaps it's time I stopped running away…" Remus choked through his embarrassment, "I…am still aggravated by his presence, when he made my life into a living hell for so many years. But…Fenrir has also given me a home." His eyes squeezed shut, trying to block out what he'd just said. Normally Remus was very close-mouthed about his feelings, but something about Pamela made him want to confide in her.
The female werewolf snuggled closer to her pack member, trying to comfort him with a tight embrace. "The alpha's done some horrible things, but he's tryin'…he wants to make our lives better, give us a place in human society. He wasn't like this before…not so calm. He loves you, Remus. I've seen it; the whole pack can see it when he speaks to you. You are his chosen mate. Do you love him back?"
Intelligent, feral eyes that carried too many years gazed into his own, framed by brown hair and a face that calmly sought an answer from her mentor.
"I…I really don't know, Pamela."
"I think you do."
--
A few dark words to Snape were all it took for Voldemort to send the man on his way. The lord was far from trusting him - no, he knew better than that - but for now he would allow the potions master the benefit of the doubt and let him go without any lasting damage, at least until he wasn't so busy.
The serpentine man turned back to his young love. Another flicker of anger came and went as Voldemort's mind fixed once again on the danger Aspen had been in, and he didn't even know why.
"Now, tell me exactly what caused you to show up mortally wounded on my doorstep, Aspen," his voice came out harsher than he meant it to; he could see a glimmer of anxiety in the vampire's face.
"Tom…er, I not sure-" Aspen glanced at Weasley, a clear signal he wasn't sure whatever he had in mind was safe to say in front of his friend. Voldemort wasn't sure what Aspen would be keeping from the redhead at this point, and he needed to find out before his irritation overwhelmed him.
"Weasley, out."
"What?!" the boy squawked indignantly. The dark lord glared at him, wishing he could just Cruciate the brat and get on with it.
"Fine, I get it. I'm just the tactics person, you know, the one with all the battle plans? But don't let me on any real secrets, nooooo!" Weasley threw his hands up in exasperation and a scowl crawled across his freckled mug.
"Sorry, Ron. I promise I'll tell you later if…if Tom says it's okay," the last was directed more at him than the other teen. Voldemort kept his face stony.
The redhead sighed, "It's fine, really. I'm just glad you're all right, Harry." He gave the vampire a quick hug and departed.
When Aspen finally turned his gaze to Voldemort, the Dark Lord had only one thing to say. "You'd better have a damn good explanation, or I am never letting you out of that bed again!"
He felt more than a little incensed when Aspen just smiled calmly at his threat. "I promise I have a good reason, but can you get this thing off so I can show you?" he plucked at the tight bandage that covered his torso, including what was left of the clothing he'd been wearing when…whatever had happened to him happened.
Forcing himself to cool down, Voldemort couldn't help but ask, "Are you healed enough to take the bandage off?" He wasn't sure if he could handle the sight of Aspen's entrails again. Aspen just smiled back in reassurance. With a sigh, Voldemort slowly sat and unwound the cloth without magical aid. Helping the younger sit up and unraveling the bandage was nerve-racking, but the man couldn't say that he hadn't hoped for the pale, unmarred skin that was eventually revealed beneath. Before Voldemort could say a word, Aspen's smaller frame leaned into his as he pulled something from a pocket and gently placed it in one of the lord's spindly hands.
Voldemort's breath hitched as ruby eyes caught sight of an opal-stoppered vial and the black, icy liquid inside. "This…can't be…"
"Happy early birthday, Tom."
A/N: Yes, I'm sort of back. It's creepy how Empy nad I are in tune, so we should beeeing some Para soon. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a 20 page journal to write reflecting on the past year that I can barely recall (what have I really done besides fanfics anyway?). Has anyone checked out my new oneshot? Review and tell me what you think!