Title - To Consort With The Devil 2/?
Rating – PG-13
Disclaimer – I own none of this, it all belongs to Rowling. I just have the honor of using her creations in my story. No sex, slash or profanity.
Summary – Creatures Of The Night
A/N – Wow! Reactions to this were better than I thought they were going to be! Many thanks for everyone who reviewed. I actually wrote this part first and it's rated PG-13 for a reason, so watch out. This is Snape's memory that everyone is watching and we'll return to the present time in the next chapter. All reviews, corrections, suggestions and questions are welcome! Read and enjoy!
To Consort With The Devil
Chapter 2
"Come on Val! Mum told us not to linger in the forest after sunset!"
"But Sev, I found a new patch of moonsbreath! Come look, it's so pretty!"
Severus sighed and rolled his eyes up at the night sky as if asking for help from the heavens. Merlin forbid his sister actually listened to him just once! The ten-year-old scowled and stomped over to the clearing where his sister Valeria was merrily picking the pale blue flowers that bloomed only under a half-moon. She was carefully making her way through the patch of magical flowers, selecting only the prettiest ones for her bouquet. Severus set down his own basket, which held the potion ingredients he had spent a good hour hunting for in the wood behind their manor, and called out,
"Valeria Artemis Cassandra Snape! You come with me right now. You don't want Father to catch us out after dark do you?"
Valeria stopped and solemnly looked over at her brother. They both knew their father would give them a stern lecture or even worse for their rule-breaking, despite the protests of their mother. Fidgeting, the six-year-old girl shook her head and cast her eyes down to her flowers. Severus suppressed another sigh and walked over to the suddenly sad little girl. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said,
"Look, I'll ask Mum if we can come back tomorrow night. But right now we've got to head back. Mum's waiting for us remember?"
Valeria immediately perked up and smiled, a gap-toothed grin that made Severus smile back.
"Oh please ask Mum! Please Sev!"
Severus reassured her that he would and guided his sister to the edge of the clearing. He picked up his basket and they headed back to the path that led back home.
Snape Manor was located at the southern edge of a small forest and this was the first time they had been allowed in it without a parent accompanying them. Usually their mother would take Severus to show him the best locations for finding potion ingredients and Valeria would end up tagging along in youthful exuberance. But tonight Severus was in charge of their forest expedition and, more importantly, he was responsible for watching his sister, to make sure she did not go running off after stray unicorns or whatever beautiful creature had captured her fickle attention at that moment. Their mother had told them there were no dangerous magical creatures in this particular forest and he was old enough, and experienced enough, to chase away any curious animal that ventured too close to them. He did not want to let his mother down, as she had shown her faith and trust in him by letting them go alone.
Valeria skipped next to him, her long black braid swinging wildly behind her, while Severus kept an eye on her and the wood around them. They were not too far from the grounds of the manor, but a forest at night was still a forest at night and there were many creatures that prowled the dark, searching for prey. So absorbed in scanning their surroundings was Severus that he did not hear his sister until she tugged on his robe sleeve and whined,
"Sev-er-us!! Are you listening? I asked you if you think Mummy will like the flowers I picked her!"
"What? Yes, I'm sure she'll love them Val." Severus answered absently. Another tug on his sleeve caused him to stop and look down at the smiling girl. The bouquet of flowers was thrust into his face, causing him to sneeze and back away. "Val! Why d'you do that?!" He asked, quite annoyed now. When his sister did not answer, Severus brushed his hair back from his eyes and saw she had stopped skipping, transfixed on something ahead of them. Slowly, he turned to see what she was looking at and felt his breath catch in his throat.
A man was standing in the middle of the path, staring back at them with wide, glowing eyes. He was tall and very thin and at first glance Severus thought he was one of their father's business associates who sometimes came in the middle of the night for strange meetings. However, upon a better look Severus knew this was no ordinary man. His clothes were torn and dirty and he was absolutely filthy. He looked like he had been living in the forest for some time and appeared to be quite deranged. Severus saw the weak moonlight glinting off a pair of long white fangs and he knew the situation had just gotten a whole lot worse.
Vampire.
They stared at each other for a moment and Severus was keenly aware of the suddenly silent forest around them. His mind was desperately trying to figure out a way to get out of this encounter alive. What in Merlin's name was a vampire doing in their forest? How did it get here without them noticing? It was obvious that something was wrong with this vampire; it looked extremely hungry and appeared to be under some sort of mad trance.
Severus's slightly trembling hand dropped his basket and slowly unsheathed the illegal wand his father had given him for practice. Valeria was also shaking and latched onto him, her rapid breaths echoing loudly in the silence and he stepped in front of her protectively. Severus tried to recall the many hexes and spells his father had made him learn and wondered if any of them would stop a vampire. In any other circumstance he would have been eager to study and approach a dark creature, but he had Valeria to worry about and this vampire did not look safe or sane. All he could think about were those white fangs and the ravenous eyes of the man before them.
The vampire cocked his head and narrowed his eyes, licking its lips as he continued to stare at them. Only once did he look away from them to take a quick glance around at the dark forest as if he was searching for something else other than prey. Severus also glanced around them and realized that they would have to somehow get around the vampire to run straight home. Otherwise they would have to take the long way around to the front of the manor and Severus did not know if he could possibly hold the dark creature off long enough.
Finally Severus made up his mind and nudged his sister to take a step their left. Maybe if he could surprise the vampire with a spell they could get past it and run back home, where their mother was watching for their return. Keeping his eyes on the vampire, who had thankfully not yet moved, he twisted down and whispered in Valeria's ear,
"Get ready to run. Don't stop and don't look back."
Valeria nodded shakily and they continued to take small, hesitant steps off the path and around the vampire. They were almost perpendicular with the creature when Severus suddenly waved his wand and yelled,
"Lumos Solarum!!"
A light as bright as the sun shot out of his wand and toward the vampire. It was not actual sunlight, but the spell was apparently close enough as the vampire shrieked and ducked to avoid the harmful light. Now it seemed spurred into motion as it snarled and glared at the two terrified children.
"Run Val!!" Severus screamed and pushed his sister in the direction of home. She began to run with all her might while Severus chanced a glance to his right and saw that the vampire was moving toward them with a hunter's determination. Almost numb with fear, Severus cast the first spell that made sense.
"Impedimenta!"
The vampire fell hard to the ground and struggled to regain its feet. Severus knew he had only bought them precious seconds and moved to sprint after his sister. A piercing shriek stopped him in his tracks.
"SEVERUS!!!"
Severus's blood turned to ice as his wide eyes took in the scene ahead of him.
Valeria was struggling madly in the hands of another vampire – a female that had silently appeared out of the shadows. The female vampire looked just as dirty and crazy as the male and clutched her prize to her chest with unholy strength. Severus watched in horror as she looked over at him with a small smile before sinking her long fangs into the tender pale flesh of Valeria's throat. He screamed.
"NOOOOOO!!!"
There was a sick gurgling noise as Valeria tried to scream again around the blood flowing from her throat into the vampire's eagerly sucking mouth. Her small hands frantically grabbed and pushed against the vampire, still trying to free herself to no avail.
Severus was overwhelmed with shock and by the time he forced himself to move his sister was already fading quickly, her precious lifeforce being violently drained from her. He raised his wand and began to rush to Valeria's aid when a surprisingly strong hand clamped down on his ankle.
The male vampire had managed to crawl over to him and gave a sharp tug to Severus's leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. The vampire was quick to pounce on his fallen meal, but Severus fought back, fear and determination to save his sister fueling his counterattack. When the stronger vampire lowered his head to his neck, Severus kicked up with his feet into its stomach, causing the creature to fall back with a soft 'oomph.' Realizing he still had his wand grasped tightly in his fist Severus brought it up between the vampire's eyes and shouted,
"Lumos Solarum!!"
He had remembered to close his own eyes before casting the spell and when the bright light faded, Severus opened his eyes to the sight of one extremely charred and unmoving vampire corpse. Climbing unsteadily to his feet, Severus looked over to his sister and felt his heart break into a thousand terrible pieces.
Valeria was deathly pale and hanging limp in the vampire's arms. Blood trailed down from the open puncture wounds in her throat and dripped fresh from the vampire's fangs as it lifted its head to stare hungrily at Severus. She dropped his sister's body to the ground and straightened to her full, imposing height, looking briefly at the burnt body of her mate before focusing on her next meal.
Anger and fear warred within Severus and tears suddenly clouded his vision. He stared at his sister and begged with her to get up, to show him she was all right. She wasn't dead. Valeria couldn't be dead. No, the vampire was interrupted - it didn't have time to kill her. Valeria, dear, sweet, innocent Val wasn't dead. Oh Merlin please let her be alive. Severus shook his head in denial, unable to look away from the girl who had been happily skipping next to him just minutes earlier. He stumbled forward and clumsily fell beside his sister's too still form.
A sorrowful moan escaped his trembling lips as a dark wave of misery threatened to crush his already broken heart completely. Severus reached out and smoothed a loose lock of Valeria's black hair off her pale forehead, shivering when he touched her cold skin. She was cold, so cold. There was no sign of life from the little girl and her once sparkling brown eyes were dead and empty. Before his grief could overwhelm him a slender hand settled on his shoulder and Severus jerked away, gasping in surprise.
He had forgotten about the female vampire.
She smiled down at him, her eyes glowing in bloodlust as her pink tongue darted out to lick a stray drop of blood on her lips. Val's blood.
Severus's eyes widened in terror and he trembled when the vampire laughed softly, revealing the fangs that would haunt his dreams for years to come. He was paralyzed by her stare, fear making his limbs useless and his wand drop to the forest floor. The vampire brushed her icy cold fingers over his neck and Severus flinched, repulsed by her very touch. She bared her fangs again and he was stricken with the notion that he was going to die. Guilt, regret, and grief; these were a few of the emotions that Severus felt rushing through him as the vampire prepared to strike. He also felt an odd sort of happiness that he would soon be joining Valeria when a firm voice shouted,
"Expellicorpus!"
The vampire was shoved away from him by an invisible force and landed in an ungraceful heap several meters away. Severus turned his head and almost collapsed in relief.
His mother was standing behind them, her eyes wide as she recognized the dark creature, but her hand was steady as she kept her wand pointed at the vampire. The vampire jumped to its feet, ready to attack again, and she cried,
"Capulatio!"
The vampire's head was neatly severed from its body and it fell heavily to the ground, no longer a threat.
There was a heavy silence in the wood until his mother approached him and said,
"I saw the light and apparated as close as I could. Where's Val -"
Severus watched numbly as his mother finally noticed Valeria and gave a shrill cry before falling to her knees. She began to sob and rock back and forth, holding Valeria in a desperate grip, her tears mingling with the blood smeared on her daughter's white face and neck.
Looking from the head of the vampire back to his sister, Severus did not notice the tears rolling down his own cheeks until the drops landed on his shaking hands. He fisted them in his robe and bit his lip to keep from bawling. A splash of blue caught his attention and Severus looked down. His sister's bouquet of moonsbreath was lying crumpled on the cold ground. Specks of red marred the blue petals and stained his life forever.
Tenderly picking up the bouquet, Severus cradled it to his chest and wept.
*TBC*
Well, after nine fics, over 600 reviews total and countless personal emails from fans I have finally received a flame – yes a flame. It's already been deleted from the review page for this fic however, and I am not wasting any more of my time dealing with people like that. I will only say this to any flamers out there - if you don't like the fic you're reading, here's an idea - stop reading it and get the hell off the site! Unless you have some constructive criticism for a writer, or have valid reasons for not liking a fic and offer actual helpful suggestions, don't bother to leave a review filled with your utterly negative attitude. If you do review, leave your email so we can hopefully discuss things. That's all – thank you for suffering through my righteous rant. Now back to your regularly scheduled friendly Ilmare.
Please note that in Ch.1 I said Snape was 9 years old when this memory occurred, but I have changed both chapters to show him as 10 years old. I originally planned him to be 10, not 9. Silly thing to point out I know, but I can't stand contradictions like that.
Chapter 3 will return to Voldemort and Severus and we'll find out just what old Voldie has planned for our fave potions master.
Thanks for all your awesome reviews and be sure to leave another!