Title - To Consort With the Devil 6 of ?
Rating - R (just to be safe)
Disclaimer - I own none of this, it all belongs to Rowling. I just have the honor of using her creations in my humble story. No sex, slash or profanity.
Summary - Crimson Cravings
A/N - This was the very first part I had planned out when I was creating this fic so I can't wait to hear what your reactions are to it. Nothing like a little morbidity and death to jump start the muse into writing and hopefully generate those reviews. All questions, corrections, suggestions and reviews are welcome. Read and enjoy.
To Consort With The Devil
Chapter 6
The craving built slowly.
At first it was just a barely noticeable hunger, similar to when he would skip an occasional meal to work on a potion or grade papers.
Then the hunger grew into a mild, but constant itch, right below the skin.
His senses actually grew sharper as his basic instincts compelled him to keep a fang and nose ready for any nourishment he could obtain.
By the fifth day the itch had evolved into an actual physical pain, a hunger he could feel deep in his veins. Always a proud man, Snape held his tongue and refused to beg for a drop of the precious lifeforce that would revitalize him. Not that anyone had offered any to him. No one had entered his cell in days.
Strix had informed him the night before his return to Transylvania that a vampire needed to feed at least every seven days. After the seventh day madness would overcome rational thought and intelligence and drive the vampire to hunt and kill whatever he could to survive. The vampires that had killed his sister had been driven insane by the need for blood and had resorted to their more violent natures in response.
It was something that would happen soon to Snape if he did not consume fresh, warm blood within the next three days.
A violent shudder shook Snape as he contemplated this fate. Voldemort had chained him to the wall of his cell shortly after Strix had left and had only smiled evilly before locking the door behind him. The memory of those unforgiving crimson eyes made Snape shudder again and he swallowed hard, wincing when his tongue brushed against his sensitive fangs.
The idea of being reduced to a mindless monster, driven in a quest for blood was utterly repulsive to Snape. A man always in control of his faculties, physical and mental, he loathed the prospect of being bound to a substance, a mere liquid, for his own continued existence. To his surprise Snape actually found himself actually sympathizing with the vicious beast Remus Lupin became once a month and began reciting the ingredients and steps of the Wolfsbane Potion to take his mind off his own impending doom.
On the sixth day Snape has resorted to biting into his own wrist to quench his thirst, which only caused more pain and jarred his slowly healing hands. Strix had shown him how to use his inherent magic to help his new healing powers develop and begin work on his badly burnt hands. Sunlight was apparently only life threatening to a vampire when it had a chance to penetrate the bone and cause rapid disintegration of the surrounding flesh. Snape was lucky to escape Lucius and Bellatrix's clutches with limbs and body intact.
He did not know what else to do to distract himself from the thirst and when a low keening began in the back of his throat Snape bit down on the flesh of his wrist to muffle the pathetic sound of his own weakness. The drops of blood that had welled up had only made his craving worse, but he was rapidly running out of strength and ideas.
As the sun set on the seventh day Snape was curled in a tight ball of misery and felt his resolve begin to crumble. He swore that nothing would prevent him from begging for just a swallow of warm blood.
His sharpened hearing alerted him to the faint sound of tiny claws scrabbling across the dungeon floor. Snape opened his eyes and lifted his head enough to spot the large rat sniffling and creeping along the edge of the cell. A shiver of hope and hunger went through him as he waited for his potential meal to come just a little bit closer. The rat stopped suddenly and titled its head up at Snape as the vampire lunged, fangs ready.
Unfortunately, Snape saw the silver paw of the rat too late. The rat scuttled back out of reach with a squeak and transformed into the form of Peter Pettigrew.
The pair of traitors glared at each other until Pettigrew pulled out his wand and smirked.
"Well, well, who's laughing now Snivellus?"
Snape snarled and lunged again, restrained from killing the slimy rat by the chains binding him to the wall. Pettigrew took a step back and glanced around him nervously. He was also trembling slightly and Snape vaguely wondered if this visit was on Voldemort's orders or not. The vampire, however, was more preoccupied with the fat, tempting meal standing just out of his reach. Nostrils flaring, Snape could smell Pettigrew's fear and found the smell to be oh so delicious. If the rat would only come a few steps closer. Disappointed at not getting a reply, Pettigrew waved his wand threateningly.
"Careful Snivelly, I would watch those pretty fangs of yours if I were you. Master's not happy with you, no not at all. Don't you try anything, you'll get what's coming to you soon."
Snape settled for glaring murder at the Gryffindor traitor and remained silent, pleased to see Pettigrew fidget slightly.
"In the meantime I snuck down to have a little fun with my old schoolmate. Always wondered about vampires. I mean, I never saw one while in the Forbidden Forest, Remus managed to scare them all away." Pettigrew sneered a little, his beady eyes glimmering in excitement. "But now we have you, don't we Snape?"
Pettigrew mumbled something and the small cell became filled with the sharp, pungent scent of garlic.
Oversensitive nose wrinkling at the noxious odor, Snape glared even harder at Pettigrew. Yes it smelled quite bad, but had no affect upon the vampire, much to Pettigrew's disappointment. He waved his wand and the smell disappeared. The animagus scratched his balding head and said,
"Not affected by garlic eh Snivellus? What else can I test?"
If Snape had not been overwhelmed by his own misery, he would have laughed at the rat's basic knowledge of vampires. Pettigrew had obviously been raised on the stereotypical muggle myths about vampires and remembered nothing from his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes many years ago at Hogwarts. He splashed Snape with holy water, teased him with a cross and was contemplating if a wooden stake through the heart would hurt him when the door to the cell opened and a cold voice said,
"What did I say about entering places you do not belong Wormtail?"
It was somewhat amusing to watch Pettigrew's expression change from smug superiority to sheer terror in the span of a second. He cowered and began to tremble as he turned to face an angry Dark Lord.
"I'm waiting."
Pettigrew swallowed hard and licked his suddenly dry lips, stammering,
"Y-you said th-there are places rats like me don't be-belong."
"That's right. And what do we do to rats who don't know their place?"
"We punish them Master." Pettigrew answered with a whimper.
"We punish them indeed." Voldemort fully entered the cell with Lucius and Bellatrix following behind him. The Dark Lord waved his wand and Pettigrew was frozen by a body bind, only his eyes and voice left free to move and beg. Then he looked down at Snape, who was watching this scene with faint interest, black eyes fixated on Pettigrew's throat. "I see you had some fun with poor Severus, even though I told everyone to stay away from him."
"I'm sorry, My Lord, I couldn't wait to make the traitor pay for what he had done!" Pettigrew tried to plead, but Voldemort ignored him. He stepped closer to Snape, wisely remaining out of reach as the vampire snarled and strained against the chains, trying to catch one of them. Voldemort seemed pleased by this reaction and said softly,
"Don't you see Wormtail? Don't you see how thirsty Severus is? All he can think about right now is how nice it would be to sink his fangs into someone's throat and drink until he can drink no more. Beautiful justice, is it not?"
Lucius and Bellatrix murmured words of agreement, both eager to see how their Lord would punish both the slimy rat and the traitor.
Voldemort looked at Pettigrew and raised his wand.
"But I think Severus has earned a small reward for his patience and since you are so conveniently here Wormtail, you should help him quench his thirst."
With a small flick of the wrist, Voldemort floated Pettigrew's frozen body closer to Snape, who had realized what kind of reward he was being given. His weakened human mind tried again to deny the craving inside of him, but was soundly crushed by the prospect of blood, even the tainted blood of a traitorous Gryffindor.
"Master no, I beg of you! Don't let him feed from me! Please!" Pettigrew begged.
"If you had not been down here Wormtail, you would not have to be punished."
"I understand now Master! I won't disobey you again! Please Master!"
Voldemort did not respond and released Pettigrew's human forearm enough from the bind so that it fell within the reach of the ravenous vampire.
Snape, upon sensing that blood had finally come within his grasp, dove for the dangling arm and seized it tightly in his hands. Pettigrew's pulse beat wildly as he lowered his mouth to the soft wrist and brushed his fangs against the raised vein. It was then that his conscience made one last effort to resist this new desire for blood and he hesitated, long enough for Voldemort to notice.
"Don't be afraid Severus. This is what you are now, a bloodthirsty animal, driven by your basic instincts and cravings. Go ahead, drink."
Needing no further encouragement, Snape bit into Pettigrew's wrist, fangs striking the thick veins. His mouth latched onto the trembling wrist and began to suck, drawing out the blood and swallowing, his body absorbing it eagerly. With each mouthful of the warm blood the craving began to fade and Snape could feel the hunger that had so affected his mind and body drift away. He paid no attention to Pettigrew's screams until enough of his rational thought processes returned that he realized that he was attacking, no killing, another human being.
Snape ripped his mouth away from Pettigrew's now bloody arm with a cry and moved as far away from the still tempting liquid as possible, thoroughly disgusted with himself. He tried to force his fingers down his throat to regurgitate the just consumed blood but was frozen with the same body bind that Pettigrew had been hit with. Snape could only look up at Voldemort as the full weight of the Dark Lord's angry glare settled on him.
"I give you this gift and this is how you respond! You ungrateful creature! Crucio!" Snape screamed as the pain ripped through him. Voldemort eventually stopped the curse and the body bind and Snape slumped wearily down on the dirty mattress. "Let's see how reluctant you are to accept your true nature after another week in here. You cannot win Severus, it's only a matter of time."
Voldemort motioned for Lucius and Bellatrix to take Pettigrew away and shut the cell door, locking Snape away with only his unnatural hunger for company.
Wary black eyes opened and watched as the Dark Lord entered the dungeon cell exactly a week later. Snape was again hanging on to the last bits of his humanity and dangerously close to succumbing to the need for blood. He sneered and strained against the chains, dreading and also eager for whatever Voldemort had planned now.
The Dark Lord merely stared at the hungry vampire with unreadable red eyes then slowly smiled, revealing his own pointy teeth.
"Did you have a restful week Severus? I brought some gifts to show you I am not completely heartless to your torment. I know how terribly hungry you must be."
Snape watched as Voldemort gestured and Lucius and Bellatrix entered the cell, each dragging a small child in and dropping them in front of the vampire.
Voldemort's "gifts" were a young boy and girl, both with black hair and terrified eyes. Both children were quite young; the boy looked to be the oldest at about seven years old. The girl, crying and whimpering for her mummy, was no older than four. The boy had tears in his eyes as well, but appeared to be holding back, for the girl's sake. They were obviously trapped by body binds, unable to move except to cry and beg.
"Aren't they precious? Muggle children of course, brother and sister, but I knew you would enjoy them nonetheless." Voldemort said, one clawed hand reaching down to tenderly stroke the girl's hair, which only made her cry harder.
"I want my mummy!" She wailed.
"Poor dear." Voldemort crooned, "Your mummy and daddy are far away and can't save you. But perhaps this man can help. His name is Severus and I know he is so excited to meet you."
Snape was staring at the children in shock, his sluggish mind still working out what Voldemort was planning to do with them. The answer hit him like a hundred stunning spells and he jerked violently in his chains, eyes helplessly looking at his former master to deny it. Voldemort smirked and nodded before speaking to the girl again.
"Yes, Severus is quite eager to play with you. Why don't I leave you here with him and you can have a splendid time together." He then turned to leave.
"Please My Lord, don't do this to me! Please!" Snape found the strength to plead, knowing once Voldemort left him alone with the children he would not be able to stop his vampiric nature from taking over.
Voldemort stopped at the door and turned back, his wand raised. He said nothing but the spell to release Snape from the chains and left the children still bound and helpless. The door shut and locked behind him with an ominous clang.
The boy's name was Simon. The girl's was Victoria. They lived in London and had a puppy named Sonny. Their Mummy and Daddy loved them very much and no doubt missed them terribly. Would he help them escape and return home?
Snape knew all this from the naïve babbling of the children after Voldemort had left. He had been desperately rocking and reciting the ingredients of every potion he could think of to take his mind off what would inevitably happen once he looked up and acknowledged the presence of the boy and girl. The boy, Simon, had begun talking to try and get Snape to help them escape the bad man with the scary red eyes.
"Please Mister? We're really scared and want to go home. Vickie doesn't like dark places. Are you going to help us Mister?" Simon asked. His voice was trembling but he had stopped crying, trying to act brave for his sister.
Snape clenched his teeth and clamped his hands over his ears to shut out the useless pleas of the doomed children. Hysterical laughter threatened to escape as the irony and hopelessness of the situation became quite clear to him.
"I wanna go home Simon!" Victoria sniffled, her blue dress stained with tears.
"Shut up! Shut up you stupid children!" Snape finally yelled, which frightened them even more and caused both to burst into fresh tears. "I can't help you! You won't ever see your parents ever again! Don't you understand!"
The children obviously did not understand and stared at Snape in absolute terror. He in turn watched as they wept until their breaths came in great hiccups and their eyes were red.
Memories he had tried to forget and promises he tried to honor warred with the primal craving inside of him. Snape knew he was rapidly losing the war against his vampiric urges and faintly wondered if his sanity and spirit would come out of this intact.
Simon looked up at the strange, silent man, holding on to the hope that he would help them. He tried to stop his crying and bit his lip hard to stifle his gasps.
It was the tiny drop of blood that trickled down the boy's white chin that finally overwhelmed Snape. He was mesmerized by that line of blood and crawled over to where to the children lay. Snape reached out and touched Simon's chin, staring at the crimson stickiness that coated his shaking fingertips. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and inhaled deeply before licking the blood off them with a moan of pleasure.
With a howl of triumph his vampire nature swiftly destroyed all rational, human thought and he surrendered to the desire for more of the sweet blood that had kindly been delivered to him.
As his fangs ripped into tender, innocent human flesh, the tired remnants of Snape's spirit shattered and wept.
When Voldemort entered the quiet dungeon cell less than a day later he was greeted with the drained and lifeless bodies of the two muggle children. He smiled triumphantly as his gaze then rested upon the broken potions master.
Severus Snape sat motionless in the corner, covered in blood.
His empty eyes did not move from the bodies of his first victims.
Their screams would echo in his mind forever.
To Be Continued
Next Chapter - Voldemort reveals the rest of his plans for Snape and the Order gets confirmation of what has happened to their missing spy.
So, now that you have braved this chapter, what do you think? Don't worry I have even more hurt planned for our Severus before the comfort! ;)