Hero Worship, Part 24 of 25
Nov. 21st, 2006 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ravenna_c_tanTitle: Hero Worship, Part 24/25
Author: Ravenna C. Tan
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Word Count: 36,901 total, 914 this part
Disclaimer: This is non-commercial fanfiction. Trademarked characters are used for non-commercial purposes.
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
miraba, jordangrant
Author's Note: A gift forregan_v, as a request she made about submissive!snape brought this on.
Warnings: A touch of BDSM/power exchange sex. Harry is 16.
Archive: Part of the From Dusk till Dawn Severus Snape/Harry Potter Fuh-Q-Fest at http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS/storyindex.htm (The Fest was due to begin Nov. 10th--now pushed back 1 month, but authors may post in their own journals).
Challenge/Summary: "What if...?" What if Snape did not escape at the end of Half-Blood Prince? What if Kingsley Shacklebolt caught him before he could Apparate away? Not trusted by the Order, but still determined to bring down Voldemort, Snape agrees to undergo an unusual spell.
Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter Seventeen, Chapter Eighteen, Chapter Nineteen, Chapter Twenty, Chapter Twenty one, Chapter Twenty two, Chapter Twenty-three
Hero Worship, Chapter Twenty Four
by Ravenna C. Tan
I sit at the teacher's desk in the Room of Requirement. He has said the terms still hold. If that is true, I expect him here within the hour.
He enters just as I am finishing the page I am writing on. I set down the quill and fold my hands.
He takes a seat at the small desk in front of mine, a minuscule frown creasing his eyebrows. He senses my formality and isn't sure he likes it. But he plays along for now. He waits.
I stand, my wand in hand. "They are supposed to be Unforgivable," I say. "Imperio, Crucio, Avada Kedavra."
His face impassive, he watches me.
"They are the definition of evil, as defined by the society we live in." I resist the urge to pace. "The Dark Lord split his soul by using one of them, in conjunction with other Dark magic, but even without the intent to create a Horcrux, the taking of a life through the Killing Curse leaves a blot on one's soul forever."
He crosses his ankles under his desk and leans back. I sharpen my gaze and go on. "The seriousness of taking a human life..."
"Severus," he says, to cut me off. "I get it. And this is what I'm going to have to do, so I better get used to it."
"On the contrary, this is why I've decided we must have a clear strategy of attack. There are thousands of ways to kill with magic. I think it best if you steered clear of the Unforgivables entirely."
He frowns. He no longer has Argus to tell him when I'm hiding something, but damned if he doesn't seem to know anyway.
I press on with my prepared topic. "The Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself have become dependent on them. They lack creativity and they lack flexibility. Both of which you have and can use to your advantage. Now, we never finished enumerating all the spells on our earlier list."
"Severus," he says again, with his authoritative voice.
"The terms hold, you said." I am angry now, so angry my voice hisses. "That means I am in charge here."
He nods, slumping back down in the chair.
"Good. Let us proceed."
I spend the next few hours schooling him on ways to exsanguinate a person, turn their spleen to acid, make their heart explode, and so on. I teach him which rare hexes are good for multiple attackers, ways to fake being hit, and more.
After lunch he finally snaps. "All right, all right. Enough, Professor." He gets up from his desk and walks in a circle on the unicorn and phoenix rug. "Mind telling me what's made you so angry?"
I press my lips together.
"You're angry at yourself," he says suddenly. "That's it, isn't it? You're not mad at me at all." He stalks toward me. "This is because you killed Vance, isn't it."
I nod.
"Severus, in case you didn't notice, he was trying to kill you, and nearly killed me, as well."
"I don't expect you to understand," I say, refusing to meet his eyes. "In fact, I don't want you to ever understand." He should never have that blot on his soul. Not if I can prevent it.
"Fine. I'll kill Voldemort with something else. Isn't that what we've been talking about? You're still not telling me what's wrong." He comes the rest of the way toward me, but softly now, trying to put his hands on mine.
I pull away, as if my touch might corrupt him.
It already has.
He huffs and draws his wand. "I've had about enough Slytherin Death Eater drama for today, thanks," he says. "How about you just tell me what's bothering you?" He waves the wand humorlessly. "Or you could just let me see for myself."
I throw up a Shield Charm at the first push of his Legilimency and within seconds we are dueling. I had not prepared the Room for a duel today and there is a good deal of furniture to deal with. He ducks behind his desk as I try to hex him, then comes out the other side with a bright red Stunner. The hexes fly furiously, smashing the bookcases, as we exchange fire.
He is wrong. I am not angry with myself. Has he not seen the outcome we are headed for? Dumbledore's plan to place me at the Dark Lord's side can still be implemented. Vance told him I was being held here against my will, by a slave charm. Faking my escape will not be difficult--especially if Vance's death is explained as part of the battle. Harry is nearly ready to face the Dark Lord, and already we know that one of the Horcruxes is here, at Hogwarts. With what I will be able to discover when I rejoin the Death Eaters, the rest will be found quickly, of that I am sure. I will be there when Harry comes to fulfill the prophecy...
At least, that is what I am thinking when the Tripping Jinx I aim at him bounces off his Shield Charm and rebounds onto me, and I fall hard and knock my head against the equipment cabinet.
And he is on me then, his wand under my chin. "You're doing it again," he says, and he is the one who is angry, whose power pours off him in waves as he jabs me with the tip.
"Doing what?"
"Thinking." He gets up and brushes imaginary lint from his robes. "You're not going anywhere or doing anything until I say you are, remember?"
But he has read my thoughts. He knows his words do not reach me. I close my eyes, but I hear the slam of the door perfectly well as he exits.
--
[Go on to chapter twenty-five.]
Author: Ravenna C. Tan
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Word Count: 36,901 total, 914 this part
Disclaimer: This is non-commercial fanfiction. Trademarked characters are used for non-commercial purposes.
Beta:
miraba, jordangrantAuthor's Note: A gift for
regan_v, as a request she made about submissive!snape brought this on.Warnings: A touch of BDSM/power exchange sex. Harry is 16.
Archive: Part of the From Dusk till Dawn Severus Snape/Harry Potter Fuh-Q-Fest at http://www.kardasi.com/HPSS/storyindex.htm (The Fest was due to begin Nov. 10th--now pushed back 1 month, but authors may post in their own journals).
Challenge/Summary: "What if...?" What if Snape did not escape at the end of Half-Blood Prince? What if Kingsley Shacklebolt caught him before he could Apparate away? Not trusted by the Order, but still determined to bring down Voldemort, Snape agrees to undergo an unusual spell.
Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven, Chapter Eight, Chapter Nine, Chapter Ten, Chapter Eleven, Chapter Twelve, Chapter Thirteen, Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen, Chapter Sixteen, Chapter Seventeen, Chapter Eighteen, Chapter Nineteen, Chapter Twenty, Chapter Twenty one, Chapter Twenty two, Chapter Twenty-three
Hero Worship, Chapter Twenty Four
by Ravenna C. Tan
I sit at the teacher's desk in the Room of Requirement. He has said the terms still hold. If that is true, I expect him here within the hour.
He enters just as I am finishing the page I am writing on. I set down the quill and fold my hands.
He takes a seat at the small desk in front of mine, a minuscule frown creasing his eyebrows. He senses my formality and isn't sure he likes it. But he plays along for now. He waits.
I stand, my wand in hand. "They are supposed to be Unforgivable," I say. "Imperio, Crucio, Avada Kedavra."
His face impassive, he watches me.
"They are the definition of evil, as defined by the society we live in." I resist the urge to pace. "The Dark Lord split his soul by using one of them, in conjunction with other Dark magic, but even without the intent to create a Horcrux, the taking of a life through the Killing Curse leaves a blot on one's soul forever."
He crosses his ankles under his desk and leans back. I sharpen my gaze and go on. "The seriousness of taking a human life..."
"Severus," he says, to cut me off. "I get it. And this is what I'm going to have to do, so I better get used to it."
"On the contrary, this is why I've decided we must have a clear strategy of attack. There are thousands of ways to kill with magic. I think it best if you steered clear of the Unforgivables entirely."
He frowns. He no longer has Argus to tell him when I'm hiding something, but damned if he doesn't seem to know anyway.
I press on with my prepared topic. "The Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself have become dependent on them. They lack creativity and they lack flexibility. Both of which you have and can use to your advantage. Now, we never finished enumerating all the spells on our earlier list."
"Severus," he says again, with his authoritative voice.
"The terms hold, you said." I am angry now, so angry my voice hisses. "That means I am in charge here."
He nods, slumping back down in the chair.
"Good. Let us proceed."
I spend the next few hours schooling him on ways to exsanguinate a person, turn their spleen to acid, make their heart explode, and so on. I teach him which rare hexes are good for multiple attackers, ways to fake being hit, and more.
After lunch he finally snaps. "All right, all right. Enough, Professor." He gets up from his desk and walks in a circle on the unicorn and phoenix rug. "Mind telling me what's made you so angry?"
I press my lips together.
"You're angry at yourself," he says suddenly. "That's it, isn't it? You're not mad at me at all." He stalks toward me. "This is because you killed Vance, isn't it."
I nod.
"Severus, in case you didn't notice, he was trying to kill you, and nearly killed me, as well."
"I don't expect you to understand," I say, refusing to meet his eyes. "In fact, I don't want you to ever understand." He should never have that blot on his soul. Not if I can prevent it.
"Fine. I'll kill Voldemort with something else. Isn't that what we've been talking about? You're still not telling me what's wrong." He comes the rest of the way toward me, but softly now, trying to put his hands on mine.
I pull away, as if my touch might corrupt him.
It already has.
He huffs and draws his wand. "I've had about enough Slytherin Death Eater drama for today, thanks," he says. "How about you just tell me what's bothering you?" He waves the wand humorlessly. "Or you could just let me see for myself."
I throw up a Shield Charm at the first push of his Legilimency and within seconds we are dueling. I had not prepared the Room for a duel today and there is a good deal of furniture to deal with. He ducks behind his desk as I try to hex him, then comes out the other side with a bright red Stunner. The hexes fly furiously, smashing the bookcases, as we exchange fire.
He is wrong. I am not angry with myself. Has he not seen the outcome we are headed for? Dumbledore's plan to place me at the Dark Lord's side can still be implemented. Vance told him I was being held here against my will, by a slave charm. Faking my escape will not be difficult--especially if Vance's death is explained as part of the battle. Harry is nearly ready to face the Dark Lord, and already we know that one of the Horcruxes is here, at Hogwarts. With what I will be able to discover when I rejoin the Death Eaters, the rest will be found quickly, of that I am sure. I will be there when Harry comes to fulfill the prophecy...
At least, that is what I am thinking when the Tripping Jinx I aim at him bounces off his Shield Charm and rebounds onto me, and I fall hard and knock my head against the equipment cabinet.
And he is on me then, his wand under my chin. "You're doing it again," he says, and he is the one who is angry, whose power pours off him in waves as he jabs me with the tip.
"Doing what?"
"Thinking." He gets up and brushes imaginary lint from his robes. "You're not going anywhere or doing anything until I say you are, remember?"
But he has read my thoughts. He knows his words do not reach me. I close my eyes, but I hear the slam of the door perfectly well as he exits.
--
[Go on to chapter twenty-five.]
