Dialogue-heavy scene coming up! It was a really tough one to wrestle, trying to figure out all the details and thoughts of each character. x-x Would be glad to hear feedback on how I can approve, like always! :D
Also dear Pau- thank you so much for the comments, I am more than happy to know what you think! :) Sending my regards from the US~
I'm dead.
It was terror that dragged Severus from the dark holds of unconsciousness, the lingering image of Nagini lunging out at him shattering through his dreamless sleep. His vision returned in an overwhelming flood of light and color. Everything was too bright, too loud and unfamiliar, disorienting...and there was someone right above him.
The first thing he saw were his eyes.
No-not his own eyes, but a lighter shade of brown flecked with gold. They were someone else's, almost like his but not quite, attached to a face that quickly withdrew before he could form another thought. But neither broke their gaze on the other, confusion and shock apparent in the air between them. There was another beat before Severus even considered his surroundings, the words coming frustratingly slow to his mind.
He was in what appeared to be a Muggle hospital, though it was unlike any one he'd ever seen. He wasn't wearing his robes anymore, but instead some kind of skintight, black material that stretched down his arms.
And he was not dead.
His most recent memory came back in a rapid sequence: The Dark Lord's wand slashing at him, Nagini's fangs in his neck, him giving Harry what he needed to know, the feeling of disapparating...then darkness.
Severus resumed observing the man who still stood frozen beside him, noting how he appeared to be in his early 30's, the unusual garments he wore, the long wound down his face, and the dark eyes, mirroring his own. So much like his own, yet so much younger and still full of life. And fear. Severus realized that he also seemed to have been scared by something earlier, judging by how his hands slightly trembled at his side and how his pupils were dilated, as if he had just woken from a nightmare. Something had terrified this man, but there was nothing else but the two of them in the room. Surely just his waking up would not have caused such a reaction.
Slowly, Severus rose to a sitting position, noticing how his wounds appeared to have healed been completely, as if he hadn't been almost killed; then wondered how long he'd been asleep for.
Of course, he had a thousand more questions; but he expected to find out once this strange man across from him stopped staring back at him and started speaking.
The first few words that left his mouth, however, caught Severus off guard.
"What is your name?" Nothing more. The man didn't make a move to introduce himself either, though he appeared to have overcome his initial shock, taking a more neutral expression.
"Severus Snape." He sat up straighter, gaze flickering across the other's form. "And who would you be?"
The man appeared to be slightly taken aback at the question, for some reason, as if he expected himself to be well-known. His eyebrows creased into a frown as he replied,
"I am Kylo Ren, master of the Knights of Ren and apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke."
Snape looked at him blankly. He had heard neither of those titles, in the Muggle world nor outside of it. He supposed it was some kind of cult, perhaps, but decided not to comment on it. Kylo let out a huff of disbelief,
"Do you know where you are?"
"No." Snape replied simply, then adding, "I was assuming you would tell me." Kylo regarded him silently for a moment, expression slowly transitioning into something darker as he spoke.
"You are in the Crait System on board the Supremacy, in pursuit of the last of the rebel forces." He took a deliberate stride closer to the bed, head tilting down slightly, imposingly, "Sound familiar now? Tell me, how did the Resistance manage to slip you past our grid?"
The foreign terms passed through his ears and only increased the confusion within Severus' still-cloudy mind. Wherever he was, whatever situation he had gotten into, he knew he didn't want to be a part of it. He felt a slight pressure begin behind his temples, like the start of a headache, but kept his voice even in responding,
"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. If y-"
"Did the Supreme Leader send you?" Kylo cut in abruptly, almost urgently, leaning forward so close that Snape could see the details of the unusual bandaging material that covered the injury on his face. Severus narrowed his eyes as he met the man's gaze once more.
"No."
Was this an interrogation? Who did this Kylo Ren think he was? Who was the Supreme Leader? The feeling in his head grew sharp and intruding, almost familiar, and Severus realized with a shock what was happening.
This man was trying to break into his mind.
I've barely just woken up, and this complete stranger is already prying me open.
Snape takes only a moment to collect himself, his anger growing along with the pain as he shoves back with equal intensity at the presence creeping through his mind, casting a mental barrier about himself. Then, through gritted teeth he utters, his voice falling dangerously at each syllable,
"Now get. Out. Of. My. Head." At the final word Kylo flinches suddenly, as if physically hurt, surprise flashing through his eyes. He jerks backward with a small gasp. Whatever Severus felt in his head immediately ceased its hold and slithered out, taking the pressure with it and leaving behind only a dull ache. He doesn't give Kylo a pause, voice barely shaking with rage as he continues,
"What was the meaning of that?" The other man doesn't respond for a moment, looking at Snape with even more astonishment than before, mixed in with what looked like a hint of fear. Finally, he swallows and speaks, voice significantly quieter.
"Assurance."
Assurance? Did he know nothing about the laws against use of magic? Likely, he didn't care. There was no doubt that this man was a wizard, and a powerful one, to have been able to use unspoken Legilimency like that. He wondered where the man's wand was, and then suddenly felt vulnerable as it occurred to him that he lacked his own wand.
But before Severus could speak further on the matter, Kylo had abruptly turned and gone to a table off to the side, which held a single black case. Snape stiffened as he heard it click open, tensing for the drawing of a weapon or another sudden assault.
Instead, the lid slides back to reveal his own wand. Seeing the recognition in his face, Kylo points to it, demanding,
"What is this? Some sort of stun baton?"
His eyes flicker to the man with incredulity. A Legilimens who did not know what a wand looked like? Snape notes that Kylo does not touch it either, hand hovering over it as if he was avoiding contact with it for some reason.
"Well?" Kylo cut in impatiently, the urgency returning to his voice at Snape's hesitation.
"...It is my wand."
The other man lifts an eyebrow, "And what does this...wand, do?" Severus pushes down the urge to scoff at the question.
"Magic."
The was a pause. Then, Kylo bursts out laughing, the sound echoing coldly against the walls. Snape watches him, unamused.
When the chuckles finally subside and Kylo realizes that the man was actually serious about his answer, he shoots a hand out in the direction of another table across the room. It is easily sent flying to the side, various instruments crashing and scattering across the floor in a discordant symphony. Severus winced at the noise, but was otherwise composed. He'd observed far too many students do the same to be startled.
And it was then that he realized that this Kylo was nothing more than an overgrown child who was prone to violent outbursts. Snape's indifferent reaction to the scene seemed to make Kylo even more enraged, as he all but snarled out the next words,
"And that, was that 'magic'? Do not deny the Force, Mr. Snape. Now, you will tell me who you are and how you got into my quarters last night."
Last night- Had he only been asleep and healed in a single day?
He watched as Ren swept his cape to one side and began to pace the room around him in a predatory fashion. Or like a young child who would not stop until they had it their way.
Severus followed his movements coolly. He knew he had to reassess the nature of the entire situation: that either this man was a wizard and did not know it, perhaps because he was taught in it differently; or that he was something else entirely. The latter possibility defied all logic. If he was not a wizard then he must be a human, but a human cannot do what this man did.
"If you want answers, there are better ways to ask than breaching my mind. I will tell you what I know," Severus began, searching for the right wording for the situation as he kept an eye on the other man,"I've been a professor at a school for...gifted students, for the past 17 years. However, an old adversary from many years ago rose to power and sought to destroy us. I fought this enemy to keep an oath I swore, but was defeated. I thought I had died, yet somehow managed to disapparate…here. I give my apologies if I caused any inconvenience, but unfortunately I do not know where on earth I am now, or-"
"'Earth?'" Kylo cut in and stopped pacing, turning on his heel to face him, "The planet, Earth?"
Snape blinked. "...Obviously."
"Well, you are not on Earth anymore, Severus Snape." There was mild amusement in the younger man's voice.
Snape paused and narrowed his eyes, a mix of fear and disbelief filling them. Was this another one of his parlour tricks? "What do you mean?"
Kylo gestured over to a screen on the wall, which rolled away to unveil utter blackness behind it: the dark, deep reaches of space, punctuated by a multitude of distant, shimmering lights. A wing of the ship was visible, almost the size of a small city, made of gleaming metal slicing countless leagues into the darkness.
Slowly, Snape rose from the bed. His mouth had fallen agape in total, utter astonishment, with all reservations shattered at once at the sight before him. A thousand emotions and questions sprung out in his mind, all without an outlet or explanation. He had never been one prone to dreaming or stargazing; not even as a child, having preferred looking down at manuscripts and potions in the dark space of a laboratory over gazing up mindlessly at an empty sky. Space travel was but another foolish, pointless Muggle thing.
And yet, here he was. He, Severus Snape, was among the stars, in a spaceship.
As Kylo watched, Snape stepped closer to the window, a hand reaching out towards it as if he could touch the great emptiness that lay before him. He saw his eyes glitter with wonder and starlight.
Kylo knew that look. It was the look he himself had given when he had left home on that small transport vessel all those years ago, and gazed out over the vast beyond for the first time. That same childlike awe.
And in that moment, Kylo knew that this man, whoever he was, was far from home.