Sarah
Gryffindor Head of House
Posts: 2,865
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Post by Sarah on Aug 3, 2004 20:52:38 GMT -5
i feel extremely sad to say that today was the first time ever that i have even attempted to read this story...and now i see how crazy i am. Kath, you are an amazing writer, and i have always dreamed to have the ability you have. Your writing is equal to JKR's in the fact that it desperately sucks you in without you knowing it. While reading this story, i have skipped dinner, yelled at my sis when she tried to talk to me, and completely ignored my parents, leading to trouble. So now i ask....no.... beg you to go ahead and put up the next installment because we all know we'll live miserably until then. Ice
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 4, 2004 2:22:49 GMT -5
Sorry I got you into trouble, but glad to hear you liked it! I don't know how to take compliments really well... so I'll just say thank you very much and move on...
Now, I have some good (bad?) news. After the year I was away, this storyline has changed. It's been revamped, tweaked, and added to. Although much is the same, I'd say about a good quarter changed, and I cut some unnecessary stuff... anyway, to all of you... go back and take a look, you'll be (I hope) pleasantly surprised.
So yeah. Sorry to those of you who are frustrated with re-reading, and to all: I actually know how it ends now, at least... heh heh...
-Kath
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 4, 2004 23:08:04 GMT -5
Part Thirteen A forest somewhere in Romania
The last thing Katharina could see before the clouds moved in was the sun, barely skirting the horizon line. She had barreled down the stairs of Poenari at breakneck speed in her hurry to escape, nearly managing to seriously injure herself a number of times. She knew the nearest village wasn’t close, and because she’d been in the back of a wagon, she had no idea in which direction to run. She felt a lump of frustration and fatigue in her throat, and she desperately swallowed before it dissolved into tears.
She had chosen to run for the forest, finding comfort in the fact that perhaps the smell of various animals would throw Everett off the scent of her fear. As soon as she reached the edge of the trees, however, the snow had started to fall.
Now the forest around her had darkened considerably. Although she couldn’t see it, Katharina knew the sun would be down any moment. And the snowstorm, having intensified greatly, was making it harder and harder to see.
She picked up her pace from a jog to a dead run, fear moving her faster than she’d ever thought possible. It occurred to her that running away from the castle might very well have been a terrible idea. If Everett caught her... she shuddered to think of how much his anger would have escalated. Even more frightening... the thought that perhaps her father no longer had a hand in her fate... the idea that now the only thing separating her from Everett’s wrath was, at most, a mile of unoccupied land.
The lump in her throat returned and dissolved into panicky tears. The wind had picked up, buffeting snow into her face. She pulled her hands, which were stinging in the cold, farther into her sleeves, stopping for a moment to wipe her nose and glance around her. She could no longer feel her ears, and her feet were so cold in her boots that pain shot up her legs every time she took a step.
There was a howl from somewhere nearby, and Katharina was reminded how very alone she really was. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. “Goddess help me,” she managed out loud, and her voice sounded out of place in the stillness of the night.
There was a creaking sound behind her. She turned to see what had made the noise, and screamed in vain as the world came crashing down on her.
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Sarah
Gryffindor Head of House
Posts: 2,865
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Post by Sarah on Aug 4, 2004 23:24:12 GMT -5
You cannot do that! i forbid it! now get back here this instant and tell me what in the world her fate is! NOW! Grr!
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 5, 2004 0:31:53 GMT -5
The large gray wolf turned soulful eyes to his companions. Before him, in a mound of snow and broken tree limbs, and almost entirely obscured by the rapidly falling snowflakes, was a woman’s hand. It was pale and seeping blood, but it was very definitely a human woman’s hand.
From the back of the pack, an albino female whimpered. She neared the pile of branches and pulled the heaviest limb away from the girl. The female glanced back at the pack and a large ebony male moved to help her.
<Branch must’ve broken under the weight of the snow,> mused the female, <poor thing, she’s half frozen.>
An auburn wolf, another male, moved forward and gently hooked his teeth in the girl’s sweater. He pulled her out from under the remaining tree branches, then sniffed at her bloodied hands. His eyes narrowed into slits and he growled, low in his throat.
The ebony eyed the girl, then looked around at his pack. <This her, then?>
The large gray looked as if he were choking for a minute, and the auburn sighed. <Bloody well could be, mate, unless you think there’s another girl traipsing about the woods at this hour. Shall we have a look?>
Before the ebony could answer, the female stepped in and turned to the gray male. <She doesn’t look well, Remus. Did your professor acquaintance want her alive?>
Remus Lupin eyed the fallen girl. <It would be, to say the least, preferable. Kieran, can you lift her?>
The auburn neared the young woman and the ebony gingerly reached out, taking the girl by her long hair and pulling. There were growls and barks of alarm and derision from his pack, and he stopped short. <What? I’ve seen them carry their young this way before.>
Lupin snapped his teeth in warning and the ebony wolf sighed. He released her hair, clamped onto her sweater, and hoisted her unceremoniously onto Kieran’s back. The girl’s teeth chattered even in unconsciousness, and she curled one hand into the warm fur at the scruff of Kieran’s neck.
Lupin and the albino female made certain the girl was secure, and the pack moved into the darkness as silently as they’d come.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 5, 2004 19:13:08 GMT -5
Einsam Gasthaus (Lonesome Inn) Tirgoviste, Romania
The innkeeper, a burly man in his sixties, glowered at the group in front of him. Something didn’t add up, although he couldn’t put his finger on what. There were two men, one tall with brown hair neatly tied back, the other obviously Irish with a muscular build and bright green eyes. The Irishman carried a young girl wrapped tightly in blankets, the latter shivering in fitful sleep. Behind this pair and their burden was a tall, angular woman with long white hair. She was very pale and wore a pair of reflective sunglasses, even though it was the middle of the night. One of her hands held a large, lumpy satchel. The other rested on the back of what had to be a wolf.
The woman herself was at least six feet tall, and the animal easily came up to her waist. It was black, so black that the innkeeper hadn’t seen it when he first opened his door to the night and the travelers, and its eyes were a deep gold.
He folded his arms and spoke to the tall man with dark hair. “I don’t want no dogs in my rooms.”
The pale woman spoke up. “Blind,” she said, tapping her sunglasses. She spoke with a thick accent, and searched for the words before indicating the animal and saying, “Seeing eyes... dog.”
The dark wolf gave the woman a baleful look, but neither she nor the innkeeper noticed. The Irishman tightened his grip on the young woman in his arms and threw a look at the dark haired man. The man nodded understanding and turned to the innkeeper, “Sir, the woman is ill. It is imperative that we see to her health immediately. In the unlikely event that any damages occur to your-” he hesitated- “fine establishment, we will of course give you recompense.”
The innkeeper had no idea what recompense was, but he certainly wasn’t going to admit it to the strange people in front of him. “Agreed then,” he said after a moment, then chucked a thumb in the direction of a poorly lit hallway. “Last room on the right. And keep that animal away from my horses when you leave.”
The wolf’s eyes narrowed, and had it not been for the firm hand on the scruff of his neck he would have growled menacingly. The innkeeper bade the group goodnight and disappeared up the stairs.
“This lass is fading,” the Irishman said to the dark haired man. “She needs a warm bed and a lot of tending to.”
“That’s why I asked your help, Kieran,” replied Remus Lupin, patting his friend on the back. “If there’s one thing you know well, it’s ‘tending to’ a patient.”
“Aye,” Kieran gave a lopsided grin as they hurried down the hallway and closed the room’s door behind them. “Especially a patient as pretty as this one.”
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 7, 2004 2:33:09 GMT -5
Drei Besenstangen Tirgoviste, Romania
The fire had almost died in the fireplace. Severus Snape had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs, his head resting heavily in his right hand.
It was obvious to Remus Lupin that Snape had not slept in a very long time, and wasn’t sleeping well even now. He was thinner than the last time Remus had seen him as well. So when Severus had come to Remus with his plight, Remus had, of course, agreed to help. Never mind that he and Snape had not always seen eye to eye... a serious request for assistance was to be taken to heart.
Besides, if everything turned out happily ever after, it would be amusing to lord his role in saving Katharina over Snape’s head.
Kieran hadn’t been sure of much when Remus had left Einsam... certainly that Lupin’s “Professor Acquaintance” should be notified that the girl was alive, but the healer had been worried about her condition.
“Look,” he’d said, as Lupin had neared him, and he indicated her hands. “Ah dinnae like the look of these at all. They should have had stitches and should have been cleaned. They’re infected, for certain. Ah dinnae want that infection to spread. And she’s a bit feverish as well.”
“That’s all she needs,” Lupin had replied, and even as he did he saw Katharina’s teeth chatter although she was wrapped in woolen blankets. Now, as he stood before Severus, he had the feeling that the adventure of the night was not quite over yet.
He leaned forward and shook the Professor awake.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 7, 2004 2:34:34 GMT -5
Einsam Gasthaus Tirgoviste, Romania
As soon as Remus had left, Kieran looked to the tall, white haired-woman, who was in an animated discussion with the large black wolf at her side. She took off her sunglasses and held the bridge of her nose between two fingers, eyes closed in exasperation as she replied to his telepathic statement.
“Finn... what did you want me to say?” She opened her eyes, and it was immediately obvious to the onlooker why she’d kept them behind her sunglasses. They were brilliantly red and likely would’ve frightened the innkeeper out of his mind. Her accent was still pronounced.
“Ah hate to interrupt,” said Kieran in a voice that clearly indicated he didn’t mind at all, “but if ye could hand me my bag, please, Yelena?”
She passed the satchel to him from where it had been sitting at her feet, then turned back to the wolf. “I am sorry.”
Finn shot her an affronted look and lumbered to his feet. <I’m hungry. Anyone else hungry? I could eat a horse.>
Yelena and Kieran chorused, “No!”
Finn shook himself and nudged open the window. <Well, not one of these horses!> He jumped cleanly out the window and was out of sight in seconds.
Yelena turned to Kieran. “I go... after him?”
“No.” Kieran was painstakingly cleaning the lacerations in Katharina’s hands. Her forehead glistened with sweat and she thrashed in her sleep. “Stay here, ah may need your help.”
He pulled a spool of what looked like thread from his satchel, then found a small box of needles. Beckoning to Yelena, he threaded his needle and knotted the end of the thread. “Ah want ye to find a brown pouch in that bag there and hand me the chunk of wood inside it. Can ye do that?”
Yelena nodded and dug purposefully through the satchel as Kieran returned to his patient. With extreme care, he began stitching the deep cut in Katharina’s right hand.
There were a few moments of silence before Yelena said, “Here.” She extended a piece of birchwood to Kieran, who stopped stitching for long enough to take a lighter out of his back pocket.
Yelena dusted off her hands on her black denim pants and yawned. “Now what?”
“Now ye take this lighter and roast that wood until it glows. It’s very dry, it should go quickly.”
Yelena gave him an incredulous look but did as she was told. It was a few silent minutes before the flame had consumed a small amount of the wood. “Kieran.”
Kieran took the bit of birchwood from the woman and blew the flame out. “Thank ye, Yelena. Now if ye could find the lavender oil... ah know it’s in there somewhere.”
Looking grateful to be through with handling the fire, Yelena went back to rummaging through the satchel.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 13, 2004 3:21:19 GMT -5
It was after midnight by the time Remus Lupin led the exhausted search party to the Einsam Gasthaus. Sondra, Fox, and Abby were still in nightdresses, each refusing to take the time to get dressed. Although he’d said nothing, Snape had looked grateful that he wouldn’t have to wait any longer.
Minerva McGonagall was nervous. Although she didn’t know Everett personally, she knew from years of experience that it wasn’t like a vampire to let prey escape so easily. And McGonagall was sure, no matter what anyone else said, that Everett thought of Katharina as prey. She hadn’t liked the idea of the vampire marrying the girl from the first. She’d always thought of Katharina as one of her own, even though the young woman had not been placed in Gryffindor house. Katharina had excelled in Transfiguration, and McGonagall always took to those who did well in her class.
It wasn’t only that. Ever since the first night the soft-eyed little girl walked into the Gryffindor Common Room, still quaking from seeing a portrait speak, McGonagall had taken to her polite demeanor and sweet nature. The two had become friends in the past seven years, and Minerva hated to think of her laughing student becoming merely an accessory on Everett’s arm.
Albus Dumbledore was the first to reach the front door of the inn. He turned expectantly to Lupin. “Through this way, Remus?”
“No, there’s a back way in,” came the reply. “I don’t think it wise to wake the innkeeper again.”
It was Sondra who knocked on the door of the room, and Yelena who opened it just enough to see out. She sniffed the air outside and said, in her thick accent, “You bring death with you.”
Lestat eyed the albino. “You’re a werewolf too, I take it. How perfectly marvelous.” He put his hand on Snape’s shoulder. “It would be best if I waited out here... the wolves won’t want the scent of death around their patient.”
Yelena nodded primly. “She sleeps now. She is... over-exerted herself, yes?”
Dumbledore and McGonagall exchanged worried looks, and Yelena allowed the companions into the room.
Severus Snape met with no resistance as he walked to the front of the group like a man in a dream. He held his breath as he stepped across the threshold.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Aug 13, 2004 3:22:52 GMT -5
The first time Katharina had been ill was during her second year at Hogwarts, and she had been unable to get out of bed for the majority of three days. Severus Snape had spent the entirety of her illness at her bedside, taking his meals in her room and leaving only to teach his classes. Therefore when her fever broke, and she finally opened bloodshot eyes, her caretaker had been the first thing she had seen. Her smile had been exhausted but radiant and her bright eyes had regarded him with a peaceful gaze.
“Thank you, Severus,” she’d said, in her still so very young voice. “I needed you to be here when I woke.”
Now she was pale as a ghost, laying wrapped in woolen blankets with her hands on her stomach, covered with a cloth. Her hair streamed over the pillow in every direction and she looked painfully small. Severus neared the bed as if he feared she’d dry up and blow away like a dead leaf.
Kieran looked up at the dark haired man who neared his patient. “Ah warn ye, if ye mean her harm we’ll kill ye.”
Remus Lupin hurriedly stepped into the room. “It’s all right, Kieran. This is the man who asked for our help in finding her. Severus Snape, Kieran MagRodain.”
Kieran stood and shook the other man’s hand. “Ah, the professor friend then. About time ye showed up.” It was a moment before Severus Snape could speak. He knelt by the girl and finally murmured, “What happened to her? She looks...” He didn’t know how to finish his sentence, and so let it hang unfinished. Luckily, Kieran jumped in.
“Like she’s at death’s door? Aye, she does. We found her half frozen in the forest. A branch had fallen on her and she was unconscious. Hadda carry her here on my back.”
Snape desperately needed to touch her. He moved the cloth that covered her hands and reached for one of her tiny wrists.
“Be careful, mate...” Kieran said, but Severus had already turned over Katharina’s hand and was staring, heartbroken, at the partially repaired damage. The wounds on her fingertips had been cauterized with the birchwood coal to ward off any possibility of a blood infection. The slices from her palms had been stitched together as much as possible, but the cuts had been too jagged to fit back together perfectly.
“Found her like this,” Kieran said. “Ah dinnae know what happened or who did it, but whoever it was understood pain and made sure they‘d hurt for a long time. Ah did the best ah could, but they’ll scar for certain, and there’s severe nerve damage. Ye may hafta re-teach her how to hold things, but not for a long while. I finally got her to calm enough to sleep comfortably just before ye all came in.”
Albus Dumbledore appeared behind Severus Snape. “How soon can we move her? It’s best to get her home as quickly as possible.”
Kieran eyed the newcomer. “Ye aren’t takin’ her anywhere for at least another day. Ah want her to at least open her eyes before ye slap her on a broomstick to go tramping around Europe.”
Before anyone could answer, there was a scratching at the window. Finn poked his head over the sill and into the room. <It smells like one of them cadavers out here.>
Yelena went to the open window and sighed. She beckoned for Kieran to join her and he almost laughed at what he saw. Finn was sitting proudly next to the carcass of an elk. At Kieran’s look, he shook himself. <Well, I thought you all might be hungry. I’M hungry.>
Yelena sighed. “The smell... he is with them.” She indicated Severus and Albus, then eyed the dead animal. “You eat. Maybe we... join you in a while.” She gave a weak smile, but Finn needed very little encouragement. As he dragged his meal away, Yelena and Kieran turned to their guests. Albus looked amused, but Severus was obviously too stricken to be amused. Kieran beckoned them into the hallway, where the others waited.
“How is she?” Sondra asked as they closed the door to the room behind them.
“She’s alive, and resting,” Dumbledore replied. “Tomorrow evening we’ll take her home, but we want to be certain she’s up to it.”
Lestat nodded. “An excellent plan. That will give all of us a chance to rest.”
Abby and Fox shared a look, and it was Fox who spoke up. “Professors... I’m sorry to interrupt, but how do we know that she’s safe now? Where’s Everett? Doesn’t it worry anyone else that we haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since we got here?”
Sondra quietly said, “Maybe he just let her go?” It was a half-hearted optimism, though, and she lapsed back into silence.
Lestat arched an eyebrow. “Everett wouldn’t have let her go, he likes to win too much. Someone needs to keep an eye on her at all times. Who’s in the room with her now?”
With sinking hearts, everyone realized the answer to Lestat’s question.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Dec 4, 2004 2:15:28 GMT -5
“Severus Snape. Good to see you again.” Everett Sarandon was sitting on the bed with Katharina’s head in his lap. He was very slowly running the fingers of his left hand through her hair. His right hand was around her neck, the long fingernails digging into her flesh. Katharina’s eyes were wide open, and there was a soft, frightened noise coming from deep in her throat. “Haven’t you done enough?” Sondra yelled from the open doorway. Everett turned his attention to her long enough to send her stumbling to the floor. Katharina, from her pitiful state in his arms, yelped. Snape said, “Everett, what good is Katharina to you dead?” Everett cocked his head as if he was hearing an unusual noise. “I’ve had enough of nobility and pretenses. I simply want what is mine.” He stood so quickly it was invisible to the human eye... he was simply seated one moment and standing the next. Katharina choked as he dropped her to the ground, and as she balanced precariously on her elbows she said, “Everett, stop...” Everett turned on her. He raised his hand, palm up, and Katharina rose as if she was being pulled by her hair. Before anyone could move, Katharina’s feet dangled inches above the ground. Her face turned pale, then red, and her lips were a terrifying shade of violet. Kieran growled, the hair on the back of his neck on end. “That’s enough.” Everett ignored him. He made his raised palm into a fist, and Katharina’s eyes rolled back into her head. She clawed at her neck, desperately trying to loosen the grip of the hands that weren’t there. Angry red welts begin to form as Everett arched his left eyebrow at Severus Snape. “And it seems you are the only one of consequence in my way.” Yelena bared her teeth and Remus Lupin said, “With all due respect, Everett, I would not say such things if I were you.” In the moment it took Everett Sarandon to look at the werewolves, Severus Snape pointed his wand and uttered a short phrase in Latin. Katharina dropped to the floor, gasping for air and wiping frightened tears from her eyes with shaking hands. Everett’s eyes flashed gold and red. With a curl of his lip, he moved his hand again. It was worse than any blast of wind Minerva McGonagall had ever seen. Before anyone could stop anything, Everett threw Katharina through the window. Almost musical, the tinkling of glass like bells as it hit the floor. Almost beautiful, the shattered shards catching the candlelight and the splinters of wood flying. Severus Snape would forever replay that moment in his mind in slow motion. He would have nightmares about the blood splattering on the floor for years. Her precious blood. Everything began happening at once. Albus Dumbledore pointed his wand at Everett and was knocked backwards onto the floor. Minerva McGonagall ran toward the window and was shoved into the night table. Remus Lupin jumped at Everett and was slammed to the ground. Abby and Fox slid into the corner and shielded the unconscious Sondra from the flying sparks, spells, and glass. Yelena ran to Remus’s side, and Keiran hissed, “Friend, ye’re makin’ extra work for me, and ah hate to work.” Lestat’s eyes were flame. His voice sounded as if it were coming from a thousand places at once. “I have killed vampires a thousand years older than you for much less. You forget yourself. Stand down.” Everett grinned. “Ah, but Lestat... I think your era has finally ended.” What happened next was too fast for Fox and Abby to see. The room was a blur for a moment or two, and then the two vampires were gone. Keiran hissed, “Look...”
It was Severus who got to the window first, although he immediately focused not on the two vampires, but on Katharina, who lay broken in the snow. Finn stood over her, eyeing Everett and Lestat warily and growling low in his throat. The vampires were still now, eyes warily on each other.
“They can’t kill each other,” Dumbledore said weakly from the floor, where Keiran was crouched next to him, binding his right wrist. “Lestat made Everett... and Lestat can no longer die, which means Everett may not be able to either.” Lupin stood and pushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes. “Yes, but we won‘t find out by sitting here doing nothing.” It was his eyes that changed first, the pupils dilating and becoming gold. Yelena’s were even more frightening, disappearing into the red that was her only coloring. Then their hands, nails becoming claws, hair growing and finally covering the skin. Minerva McGonagall watched transfiguration at its best as two wolves shook themselves, looked at each other, and leapt out the window. Severus wasn’t far behind them, pushing himself over the sill with his hands and landing on his knees in the snow. Everett was facing away from him, and he took the opportunity to crawl to Katharina’s side. Finn took stock of the professor, looked satisfied, and joined the other two wolves behind Lestat.
There is very little more frightening than three wolves and a vampire ready to attack. Everett, however, chose this moment to smile sweetly, incline his head, and twist his hand once to the left.
Katharina howled as her left wrist twisted, met resistance, and finally broke in a sickening crunch of bones. The three werewolves leapt. And Severus Snape pointed his wand and screamed, “Crucio!”
Everett’s body spasmed in pain, and he hadn’t even hit the ground before three werewolves hit him full force. Yelena’s teeth sank into his left shoulder, Finn’s into his right leg. Remus Lupin held him down, and Lestat, barely out of breath, slowly walked until he was looking directly down on his protege.
“Abby,” Lestat said, and her face appeared in the broken window. “My dear, go into the stables and bring me every chain and rope you find. If you need help, take Fox with you.”
Abby nodded and disappeared from view. Lestat stared down at Everett’s prostrate form. “You deserve much worse than what you’ll get, you know.”
Everett sneered. “And you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
Lestat spat in Everett’s face. And where it hit, the flesh burned.
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Dec 4, 2004 18:00:26 GMT -5
Birds were beginning to sing in the trees as Keiran MagRodain finished what he was doing and dusted off his hands with a satisfied smile. Far in the east, the sky was beginning to turn a medium shade of purple.
Everett Sarandon was bound hand and foot, secured to a tall tree and facing the oncoming dawn. He was struggling and he was furious.
Unfortunately for Everett, there was not one human, vampire, or werewolf in the vicinity that cared.
The medium shade of purple became a dark lavender and Lestat said, “As much as I wish I could witness this, I’d best go inside. I expect someone to let me know how it went.”
Everett hissed at him. “Hope to all you hold dear that I don’t get out of this, Lestat. If I do, somehow I will find the means to repay you. If I have to sell my soul to Satan himself--”
“He prefers Memnoch,” Lestat said wryly, and turned his back on his fledgling for the last time.
The lavender lightened. Minerva McGonagall took Sondra by the hand. “Come away, Ladies. This is nothing a young woman needs to see. Nothing an old woman needs to see either,” she added, and the four women trudged through the snow back to the inn.
Remus Lupin turned to Yelena and Finn, both of whom were still in the form of wolves. “Please... stay until it’s over, would you? If he were to somehow get away...”
Finn huffed, his breath a cloud of white in the cold air. To show compliance, he sat facing Everett’s body. His yellow eyes found Yelena. <I didn’t think we’d get such entertainment!>
She sniffed, and if she’d been in human form she would have been smiling. <Always good to have one less cadaver around, if you ask me.>
The lavender lightened.
“Five broken ribs, a broken wrist, severe incisions in both hands, abrasions on the neck and forehead, and a twisted ankle,” Keiran MagRodain said to anyone who was listening. Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall sat in two straight-backed chairs near the almost-repaired window. He sipped on a cup of chamomile tea, she stirred cream into her coffee thoughtfully. Outside, Sondra and Fox were rinsing the blood out of the pile of glass they had scavenged from the snow. Abby was painstakingly drawing the glass back into place with her wand, piece by tiny piece. She had finished repairing the frame just over an hour ago.
Severus Snape sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, where Katharina slept soundly. Keiran had fed her a strong anesthetic to make her sleep as he’d set her wrist. Snape said, “Can we take her home?”
“Are ye out of yer bleedin’ mind?” Keiran roared. “I’ll not have her on the back of a broomstick for at least a few days.”
“And what if we could do it another way?” Minerva wanted to know. “I hate to be a pest, but we can’t stay here much longer without getting trouble from the Ministry of Magic for deserting our students. What about floo powder?”
Keiran thought for a long moment. “Someone will have to carry her,” he said. “Ah don’t like it.”
Severus Snape looked up at the healer. In his eyes Keiran saw despair, fear, exhaustion... and a glimmer of hope. And finally, Keiran nodded.
“She should wake in her own bed, in her own world,” he said. “Take her home.”
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Katharina Lioncourt
Slytherin Alumni
"Why? Because I love her more than life." -Severus Snape, in reply to Everett Sarandon's challenge.
Posts: 523
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Post by Katharina Lioncourt on Dec 5, 2004 22:23:51 GMT -5
Part Fourteen Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Severus Snape placed his elbows on his deck, his head in his hands, and sighed. “No, Ms. Garner, for goodness’ sake, put the wormwood in first, nightshade leaves second, and please keep your sleeves out of your cauldron...”
There was a knock on the dungeon room’s door, and Fox’s head poked in. “Professor... sir... she’s awake, and she’s--”
Fox never finished her sentence. She jumped out of the way as he strode by her. From down the hallway he called, “Tell them they’re dismissed!”
Fox opened her mouth to do just that, but the fifth-year Hufflepuffs had already heard. They were packing up their books, scrolls, and quills to go to their next classes. Fox sighed, and privately decided she would no longer be delivering messages for anyone. At least, not for a long while.
Her eyelids were half-shut. The covers were turned down enough that Severus could see the white bandage wrapped around her chest like a sleeveless top. He peeked around the partially open door and knocked on it.
“Who’s there?” Katharina’s voice was just above a whisper.
“It’s me, Dearest.” He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “How are you feeling?”
“Mmm,” she closed her eyes and smiled weakly. “Severus. My hero.”
Severus neared her bed, where Katharina had been propped up on her pillows so that she could sit up. “I’m glad to see he didn’t break your spirit. You still have a sense of humor.”
Katharina gave a short little laugh, and then winced. “He broke just about everything else, though.” She opened her eyes all the way. “I wasn’t joking anyway, Severus. You followed me around Europe and the Middle East, you enlisted the werewolves, you distracted Everett long enough to--”
“How do you know all this?” He knew he was going to start blushing, and he hated himself for it. For some reason he was completely and totally unable to look away from her.
“Minerva told me.”
“Did she also tell you I whined the whole time?”
“Yes, she did. Said she about killed you a half dozen times.” She reached out and tucked a lock of black hair behind his ear, then ran her hand down his face. It was one o’clock in the afternoon and he already had a five o’clock shadow. “I thought it was... very sweet of you.”
Blueberries in summertime, laced with the sky on a stormy day. Gods, those eyes... “I thought I’d never see you again.”
She looked away then, out at the lake. “I thought that too. But I thought it was what you wanted... me marrying him. I thought you’d be glad to be rid of the responsibility of me.”
“And I thought you wanted to marry him, and would be glad to leave your childhood behind.”
She winced again and shifted her weight, one hand lightly on the left side of her rib cage. “No,” she managed. She breathed in and out, painfully and slowly. Then she said, “He was pretentious, and he wanted me to be immortal like him. He gave me beautiful things to disguise that his heart was so ugly.”
Severus nodded, and turned his gaze out the window as well. “I’m glad you’re home,” he said.
“I am too. I missed you.” She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. They lapsed into silence.
It was a long moment before she spoke again. “Severus?”
“Hmm?”
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, letting his mouth linger a fraction of a second longer than he’d meant to. “Of course I will,” he replied.
Outside, the water of the lake lapped at the shoreline and the wind ruffled the trees. The school year would be over in a few mere months. He had to tell her how he felt soon. But as he watched her get the first peaceful sleep she’d had in months, Severus Snape was content to watch her dream.
Finis
Author's Note:
Okay, I know. Why didn't I put them together, why didn't they kiss, blah blah blah.
I'm writing another story, okay? It's nothing but a love story, about the rest of the school year, and because it will likely be a bit racier, I'm gonna put it on my personal board.
If you'd like to read it, send me a PM and I will give you the link!
This story has been so much fun... thank you for coming along for the ride, and you're all certainly welcome to check out the other story too.
Yours, Katharina
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Calavera Diablos
Ravenclaw Alumni
Draws grown men wearing underpants outside their trousers
Posts: 1,547
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Post by Calavera Diablos on Dec 6, 2004 11:21:46 GMT -5
AGH!! That's it?! You kept me waiting for that?! AGH! I do like the way Fox, Abby and Keiran were portrayed. It's good to finally hear from you, dahling. I guess I'll see you on Darkfall. For more stories.
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