Chapter 29 - Childhood's End
Katia didn't recognize herself in the mirror.
Her natural blonde hair cascaded down her back in long, dark brown curls full of extensions. Her face was covered with colourful make-up and sparkled like gold. The swelling solution, that had already dried, made her breasts at least two size bigger and a flattering black and pink dress covered her too wide shoulders.
She resembled a perfect porcelain doll with her dress laced so tightly that she could barely breathe.
"Use your upper chest more or you'll suffocate dear," said Irina as she added another layer of shining spray to Katia's hair.
"I'm scared, and excited, and nervous as hell," said Katia almost in one breath.
"I'm not surprised; it's your initiation, after all." Irina pinned a strand of a fake, dark pink hair to the mass of locks on Katia's head.
"It's not me," sighed Katia while she fought the urge to bite the cuticles around her fingernails.
"Of course it's not you. It's a man's fantasy, and the less you look like yourself, the better the chance that they would never recognize you."
Katia looked at her eyes in the mirror, her irises shone silver. Her own upgrade of eye colour- changing eye drops– had amazing effect though she missed her usual hazel eyes.
Irina had decided that Katia's colours would be black, dark pink, and silver; both Katia and the ballroom were decked out in these colours. With her hair temporarily dyed brown, and her silvery eyes, it all fit together perfectly. Katia seemed too nervous to agree or disagree on the issue.
Irina had picked up the best pomegranates, dragon fruits, silver tablecloths, and black plates.
They still had an hour before the official ceremony and Katia looked completely miserable under tons of make-up. Irina sighed heavily and started doing the best she could to calm down her best friend.
When Katia was about to leave, Albus Dumbledore and Wulfrick Ivanov waltzed into the changing room.
"My little girl is going to see the brave new world," said Wulfrick and kissed her forehead gently.
"Good luck, Miss Ivanov, . I am your unofficial guest, and I will be watching from the shadows," whispered Dumbledore and squeezed her hand.
Katia smiled at them and took a deep, calming breath. However, it didn't do much to calm her down.
The ballroom was full of guests, Adepts, and Adepts in training, all wearing colourful masks. Candles were lit on the walls and in big chandeliers over their heads. There were black ribbons pinned to white tapestries and chairs decorated in dark pink. Light faded a bit and a dozen candles lit around the area that had a crouching figure in the middle. Severus Snape inhaled the deep aroma of strawberries and looked at Lucius who had his eyes locked with a curvy, blonde woman.
Everyone started clapping their hands, so Severus did the same. All sound died as an Indian orchestra started to play and the girl in the spotlight rose to dance.
It was hypnotic to watch her fluid movements, flattered by her layered dress. In one moment, she lifted herself up, threw her hands up in the air and jumped; she landed on her left knee with a loud sound. He grimaced. It must have been painful, and the murmurs around him convinced Severus that it definitely not a part of her programme.
"She's pathetic," hissed Lucius on his right.
The girl recovered in a flash and her dance turned seductive and hypnotic. She moved like she had never hit her knee, but Severus noticed a bit of sweat on her forehead. She ended her dance with a split and a bow of her head with her arms extended. The light over her faded completely until he couldn't see her anymore. Then the auction started.
Irina took her by the arm, squeezing a bit more tightly than she should have.
"How could you?" she spat.
"It was her, it was Aine Delorge looking at me with her nasty smirk," choked Katia through tears as she limped behind Irina.
Albus Dumbledore, unseen by other the guests, waited for her in the changing room. He quickly muttered some incantations. "It won't mend properly without skele-gro, but we have no time for it. You won't be in as much pain and it won't be visible, but it will last less than two hours.
Katia nodded her head and let herself be pushed back to the ballroom. She composed herself, but felt utterly miserable for performing that badly. Fucking Delorge must be delighted, she thought.
It was the worst moment, the part she had trained so very hard on, and she humiliated herself on the most important day in her life as an Adept. Bloody excellent.
The auction was going on and she was surprised, but the sums weren't as low as she had assumed that they would be. But they weren't all that high, either.
At one point Lucius Malfoy went on the scene, followed by cheerful clapping of hands. Candle light floated around him to put him into the spotlight.
"I would like to dedicate this special evening to my friend here," he said, and gestured towards Severus Snape, who reluctantly joined him.
Fuck, I was so below him, that he wants to offer me as a gift to not have me himself.
Professor Snape looked exceptionally uncomfortable with the situation, but he nodded and endured the whole three second of clapping and whistles.
Katia was immediately by his side and she smiled broadly as she took his cold hand into hers.
She barely registered the congratulations and that someone ushered them to the special room that was prepared for her first night.
She sobered fully when she realised that she was now alone with her professor.
No matter how much she didn't want Lucius right now, he would be the one to take initiative, unlike Snape, who watched her with those cold, calculating black eyes.
He was her professor, hated by all, and twice her age. She wanted him to be Marcus so badly it hurt. And then...
Then she remembered Irina's harsh words. 'Who would you want him? Ugly, nasty, and poor...'
No. She was lucky that her first time won't be with any of those murderers, that it was the brilliant Severus Snape, and in this moment, she decided that she'd make this evening perfect for him. And get as much for herself as she could as well.
She smiled and advanced towards him slowly.
"I believe that decent men don't have to pay for night with a girl."
She didn't let her smile to drop. He felt insecure and tried to defend himself by attacking her first.
"I thought that you knew, Severus, that Adepts are not your ordinary street whores, but people who spend a great part of their life learning how to be skilled in the art of love. That being with an Adept is a luxury reserved only for the elite. And not many have the privilege of the first night."
She looked at his lips and then deep into his eyes. "I want to make you see the difference."
Katia advanced towards him and slowly reached to touch his face. It was obvious he wasn't used to physical contact, but he did not flinch. His skin was smooth to the touch, and from this proximity, she could smell the shampoo on his fresh, silky hair and the gentle fragrance of cologne. Unlike normally, he was dressed in a black frock coat and a white shirt. He seemed much thinner without his billowing, black cloak.
Katia advanced towards him a little bit more, so her generous bosom was pressed against his chest, and her other hand rested on his shoulder.
Slowly and a bit hesitantly, Severus lowered his head towards her. She had to let him think he was in control, otherwise...She didn't think he would like to be controlled and he had to want to do this.
She felt her heartbeat loud in her ears when he was close, so close that she tilted her head and then parted her lips.
When their lips finally met, fire ignited in her as the curse sprung back to life, clouded her vision, took off all of her nervousness, and made her legs weak.
Severus couldn't deny that if she tried, he could imagine that she came to him on her own, not paid by Lucius. Or that she was someone else. If her hair wasn't so dark and those breasts so big.
When he kissed her, she backed away a bit. Of course, she must have found him repulsive and wasn't really prepared to be so close with him. Probably she had expected Lucius himself and wasn't able to properly hide her disappointment.
He looked in her eyes, expecting to see poorly masked disgust but he never expected lust. Some primal dark instinct that changed her eyes and face.
She encircled his waist with one hand while her other snaked into his hair; she gently pulled him towards her. She traced his jaw line with slow kisses and pressed herself against him.
When her lips were close to his ear, she said in a low, husky voice, "I want you Severus. I want you to make me yours. I want to remember this night."
He felt like there was something dark in her, something undefined, something that was just beyond reach and it had awakened his own darkness, a wicked desire that he thought that he had buried deep in himself so many years ago.
He kissed her mouth, her neck ; his hands worked furiously to take the dress off her and he felt the girl's hands unbuttoning his coat, and then his shirt.
She was naked underneath and Severus turned her sharply; he kissed her neck and his fingers stroked her marvellous tattoo, which covered her entire back from neck to butt. She arched into him and only then he realized that somehow, she had removed his trousers and underpants.
When he started to play with her nipples, he noticed that jolts of pleasure were going through him. She breathed hard and Severus wanted nothing more than to fuck her, to rip her into pieces. He pushed the girl towards the bed, but she turned, knelt before him, and took his swollen member deep into her mouth. Little did he know, that she was close to her own orgasm.
She couldn't comprehend, didn't want dwell on how it was physically possible for her to feel his pleasure like she did.
Severus grabbed her hair and forced her to stand up. Then he pushed her on the bed and lay on top of her. She had mere seconds to think that he was too big to fit in her, that it would hurt like hell.
He spread her legs with a knee, since she was clenching them due to the fact that she was on the brink of her own orgasm. She guided him, and with one motion, he buried himself into her deeply.
She screamed, dug her nails to his arms, and it was that moment when she felt herself falling into the precipice. It felt like eternity and like mere seconds at the same time, and she'd never felt anything so intense. Like she was a core that Severus filled with pleasure with every move.
Severus collapsed onto her, breathing heavily. Nothing he felt before could compare to the intensity of what he had just experienced. The darkness faded, his breathing calmed, and he slowly retreated to lie next to the girl.
Only now did he notice how much his sweat stung on the tiny wounds on his arms, and then, that he had blood on his member, which was also on her inner thighs.
He felt awful for hurting her so much; he wanted to apologise, but then she'd turned her head and looked at him with a look of complete bliss over her features.
He noticed tears slowly rolling on her cheeks. "It was so...so exquisite," she whispered.
Severus kissed her swollen lips, gently this time. He thought he would have had to think about Lily, - like always, but only now he noticed that he didn't need her this one time. He regretted calling her a prostitute, because if that was skill, to provide mind-blowing pleasure, he could understand why men would pay so much money. It's not that you could met a girl like her in a tavern. She was unique, like the Wildflower she was named for, like the wildflowers she had tattooed on her back.
Katia felt sore, but she couldn't remember when she had ever felt so good before. Without the overwhelming presence of the curse (which, for the first time in her entire life, was useful) she felt relaxed and content. She also felt vibrant with magic. Probably it was only like a few sparks on the tip of her wand compared to Severus Snape, but she could feel it.
Severus stood up and started to get dressed, and only then did she notice the Dark Mark on his forearm.
She knew that he was working for Dumbledore and that the Headmaster was absolutely sure of his loyalty, but knowing and seeing the hideous tattoo were two different things. She dressed herself as well and did nothing to fix her appearance.
"It's the worst part for me," she confessed quietly. "To face all of them now."
"You will survive," assured Severus, and she noted that he lacked his usual venom.
She reached for his hand, uncertain if she should, but he took her hand. His thin, bony fingers were warm this time. She remembered that his icy, cold hands on her breasts. It aroused her to no end.
"And what do you think of her Severus?" asked Lucius. Irina was glued to Malfoy's arm, and was looking at him possessively.
"That I'm thinking of selling a few patents, because she's expensive," replied Severus.
"So I assume that you're better at fucking than dancing, dear?" Lucius smirked unpleasantly and took her chin gently so that he could look into her eyes.
"There is only one way to find out, Mister Malfoy," replied Katia with what she hoped was a mischievous grin.
Severus Snape had mixed feelings. On one hand, this was the best sexual experience in his miserable life. But on the other...
Lucius wanted to gloat and shown him a place he could afford for his wicked pleasures, knowing that Severus won't be able to afford it. He gave the girl to Severus just because she had failed in her performance.
And he hid face in his hands. He behaved like an animal, first by insulting the girl, and then by using her with absolutely no control over himself.
She looked like she hadn't minded, but he was angry at himself, as he remembered the bruises that he'd left on her body, the blood, and how he'd had a genuine pleasure in hurting her.
Aside of his dislike towards most people, and cold demeanour, he tried to do good things most of his life.
And tonight he was truly evil to the girl, this Wildflower, who tried her best to make him feel good. He felt miserable, and at the same time, the mere thought of her brought a tingling feeling to his member.
And he felt like he betrayed his beloved Lily by being completely lost to Wildflower. During their harsh intercourse, Wildflower was the whole world for him.
He poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey, downed it in four big gulps, and enjoyed the burning taste in his throat. Hell, he didn't even remember what her face looked like, exactly.
"Good luck," she said and kissed his forehead.
Victor gave her his brightest smile. He was a handsome, amazing young man; a girl's dream. And her beloved cousin who treated her like younger sister.
"Thank you, Katia."
She went back to take her place at the VIP seats.
Katia adjusted her dark green dress and looked at the crowd. She spotted Marcus Flint and he saw her as well. The was no sign of Morrigan around him.
"Focus," commanded Wulfrick quietly and she followed his gaze. True, there was Lucius Malfoy with his family, but quite few Death Eaters who avoided Azkaban were absent
"Something will happen, father," she breathed softly.
"Exactly. But not yet." He looked to his right. "They will wait to the end of the game or start after. You know what to do."
Katia swallowed and nodded her head. "Find out as much as I can and Apparate from the woods just behind the tent line." It will be hell. Albus Dumbledore predicted that if the Death Eaters were planning something, the Quidditch World Cup was their best chance to reign chaos.
Still, Katia needed more Legillimency lessons along with memory charms and Imperius curse just in case. Mind-related magic was the strongest that she could perform, and now when her curse was satisfied, she was making quick progress with Dumbledore.
Her father and the Headmaster spent a lot of time together lately and there was something... desperate in their behaviour. She couldn't exactly pin-point it, but she could feel it in the air, see it in their looks, they way they held their hands or how often that they'd see each other.
With all that, he hadn't stopped paying attention to Katia, and he was a perfect loving father as always.
She rested her head against Wulfrick shoulder. He stroked her hair.
"Is there anything wrong, Katiusha?" he asked with concern.
"I'm just happy...that I have you, papa." She felt something warm spreading through her. No matter what the future held, she was happy inside. Having a loving father who supported her choices, who always treated her seriously and had always been there for her. She didn't want to imagine how it would be if her parents hadn't died. She pushed those sad memories deep inside of herself.
"You always have me, right here," he tapped her chest.
As nightfall came, the mayhem started. Marcus was visiting his friends in their tent and all of a sudden, the fabric started to burn. They fled, panicked, and he found himself in an unlikely situation as he was not far from the masked figures. He ducked between some tents, but finally he discovered that he had nowhere to go. He didn't know where was safe or not, as the amplified sounds seemed to surround him.
He closed his eyes. It was time when he was about to pay the price for him and family not joining in with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named activities. He could just wait for his chance.
Marcus was no coward. He decided that he would send some jinxes and run, with hope that he would make to the next row of tents, and then he would have a chance to reach the woods.
He didn't know what had happened to his friends, as they had been separated as they barely managed to get out alive from the burning tent.
He felt a light touch on his arm and turned quickly, his wand aimed, but it was quickly kicked away from him and fell not far away from him.
Katia Ivanov towered over his crouching form, with a hand on his shoulder as her eyes scanned the area around them.
Wordlessly she lowered to his level and caught his hand.
Her fingers felt cold, but Marcus's heart leapt in his chest. He didn't know if she had come to help him or just happened to be here by pure coincidence, but she was here, and held his hand and had a clear intention of getting them out of this trap.
Slowly she rose and he followed her. She let go of his hand and hit a figure who stood behind the corner. The hit, aimed at the man's neck, made him unconscious and Marcus caught him so that he could lay the man on the ground soundlessly.
Katia's light ponytail dangled just before his eyes as she moved slowly, with a barely noticeable limp. He noticed the ripped hem of her dark dress as she stepped over the fading remnants of what used to be his friends' tent.
She acted like she knew where she was heading, as they ducked between tents. Soon, they reached the forest and it started raining.
Marcus turned to see a huge, Dark Mark floating in the air. He shuddered inwardly. Then, he turned to Katia who looked straight at him with her lips pressed in determination.
"Thank you for helping me," he said as he still held her hand in his.
She smiled, furrowed her eyebrows and looked somewhere around his knees.
"It's okay. I-I couldn't, I wouldn't leave you there, Marcus."
He fought the urge to touch her face. Here she was, after everything they'd gone through, she held his hand in this dark, rainy night, full of terror. Her eyes looked bright in the faint glow of greenish light from the Dark Mark in the sky.
She looked him in the eyes and let go of his hand. It was his one and only chance to do something, anything to keep her from going away. Talk, talk about anything, just to be with her a while longer.
"Katia," he said, without any idea what else he could say.
She took one step towards him and her lips were on his, her hands in his wet hair.
He was shocked for a while, and then, then he kissed her with all emotions that he had held back for months; he pulled her close to him as he tried to pour his affection into her.
Merlin! How he missed her soft lips, her smell, her passion.
They lowered onto the ground, still kissing, and her wet ponytail stuck to his cheek, to his neck. He didn't mind the pinecones that dug into his butt and the soft, wet grass.
She was kissing him and the pouring rain didn't ruin the joy and the passion that she awakened in him. He felt his aching towards her reflected in her kisses, in the way she touched him, her warm body pressed to his. He felt a warmth in his chest as she stroke his neck, his back, and inhaled his scent while she gently kissed his neck.
Marcus broke the kiss and traced her jaw with his mouth, then her neck and collar bone, and Katia tilted her head back and gasped in pleasure. His mouth came closer to her ear as he whispered to her,
"I thought you didn't want me, that you-"
"Shut up and don't stop, please" she whispered, back.
"I wasn't going to" he breathed softly and pressed his mouth against the pulsing vein on her neck. His hands snuck under her dress and Katia unbuttoned his shirt, her growing desire urged her movements. He put hands on her back as Katia lowered her head to kiss his torso, his neck, and captured his lips in a demanding kiss as her hand caressed the hardness in the lower part of his body. With a few frantic movements, his trousers flew open.
Katia pushed him so that he was lying on his back and bit her lip, overwhelmed by emotions as he looked at her in complete awe. She moved her knickers to the side and straddled him. Marcus put his hands on her hips and pulled her down a little, his moves impatient. She needed a while to adjust herself, and he gasped in pleasure, he opened his eyes wide as she lowered herself onto him.
"You're so hard," she said, as she closed her eyes and started moving. It was intense but gentle as she grinded her hips against him.
He always wanted perfection. He thought that everything was perfect between them up to that one point. But now, he felt as it was a perfect love making. He was overwhelmed by fact that she wanted this as much as he did.
Marcus held her firmly as he moved with her. He wasn't able to acknowledge anything, but Katia, as she did all these things to him, her brows frowned as if concentration, her mouth slightly open.
"You're everything," he managed to say.
Katia's emotions threatened to explode as well as waves of pleasure, which crashed inside of her, each one stronger than the previous one. In this stance of bliss, there was nothing that existed except for her and the man beneath her. She felt him coming as well, and after an indefinite amount of time, she collapsed on top of him.
He took her face in both hands and kissed her; both of them were breathing hard.
"At least I know…" he started, but didn't finish, as he saw that she started to rise on shaky legs.
That you wanted me, he finished in his thoughts.
"Where are you going, Katia?" he asked, and a part of him knew that she was going to leave him. That they wouldn't be back together.
"Marcus, I-" she trailed off, as if unable to finish. He saw that she held a wand in her hand. She looked at him, straight in his eyes, and he felt something tightening in his chest as there was so many things unspoken in her expression. Thunder cracked somewhere, and the 'pop' that should have accompanied Katia's Dissapparation was drowned out in the noise.
She told herself that she wanted to see if the curse was making her feel men's pleasure as a part of hers. But it was lie.
She looked everywhere for Marcus since the mayhem started. She knew that he might be in danger, so she planned her escape route. When she finally found him, it was a relief.
He wasn't helpless, though. He was hard to spot and had excellent reflexes, because the moment she touched him, she has his wand between her eyes.
She didn't have to hold his hand to make him follow her, but she wanted to. She felt cold inside and her icy cold hand fit so perfectly in his warm one. He thanked her for her help. But how could she not? She desperately searched for an excuse to be close to him.
Katia knew he wanted her to stay, and his helpless plea in calling her name stirred something deep inside of her.
She kissed him with all of the longing she'd felt for months. With an unspoken apology for all of the time she had treated him badly. It wasn't enough, it would never be, as Marcus couldn't be a part of her life as long as she was an Adept, and actively worked to spy on Death Eaters.
She couldn't tell him anything for his own safety, and hers as well.
It was so different than with Snape. Every touch was filled with a need of being close, of affection and longing. The desire was there as well, but it wasn't a primal instinct, as it was when the curse (and something else she couldn't name) had taken control.
She confused him completely; he wanted her, and she let him know how much she wanted him as well, but after his previous experiences with her, Marcus' head was probably full of questions.
She wanted to pleasure him and she wanted to get off on him as well, but she wasn't so lost. The curse didn't fuel her actions. And when he said You're everything, she felt hot tears on her cheeks, which mixed with the cold rain.
He kissed her after, held her tight. It was that moment when a persistent thought that told her to run appeared in her mind and demanded to be listened to.
When he asked where she was going, she was too close to stay and confess everything, so she decided to Apparate away before she could actually do it.
She felt like she had used him. Made him cheat on his girlfriend, because he didn't have enough time to get over Katia, to attach emotionally to Morrigan.
Katia wanted it and not. She was torn in between.
Thanks to Artemis J. Halk for beta reading this chapter