“Joshua, my childe, I expect there is an excellent reason for your complete lack of respect?” he asked, as his eyes glowed dangerously, more with annoyance than actual anger.
“Forgive me my prince” Josh pleaded as he dropped to his knee and kissed the ring on Julian’s hand “but I have important news, and an urgent request from Cash of Clan Gangrel”
“Gangrel” snorted Antonio, Primogen of the Clan Brujah “can’t the mongrel handle anything himself? Or must he send whelps to beg a prince’s aid.”
Josh felt himself fill with anger, but said nothing, preferring to trust in his prince. “It regards the Angel, my prince.” he said simply. Joshua cringed as he felt the presence of Daedelus immediately fill the room. Everyone knew of the Nosferatu Primogen’s fondness for the Angel, they could be seen walking together night after night in the prince’s garden. Discussing philosophy, art, politics even rock bands, all of the kindred had been amazed at the willingness of the lovely Angel to accept the cursed Nosferatu. And the Nosferatu loved her dearly for her kindness, killing her enemies without mercy or thought.
“Julian?” Daedelus asked, his voice soft and deep “If this concerns Angel, it concerns us all. Let the childer speak. The Camarilla would know of her need” he insisted as the Primogens of Clans Gangrel, Toreador, Ventrue agreed with the Nosferatu Primogen.
Julian nodded to Joshua, who nervously rose to his feet, artfully avoiding the Nosferatu’s penetrating gaze “The Angel is in peril, the Tremere are on their way to her as we speak” Josh cringed as he felt the anger pouring from Daedelus, he stood silently as his prince walked between himself and the ancient Primogen. Waiting until the presence of the searing anger faded, Josh continued “Cash is certain they will attack at Angel’s heart first, as they have always done. But in this case, Cash fears it may well kill her, or worse. . .he is frightened. She may go mad if they harm the boy, she has the ability to kill a great many if that happens, both human and kindred alike, only her own Clan is safe from her wrath”
Daedelus frowned, he detested the idea of anyone harming his Angel, but he needed to understand if he was going to be able to protect her “if they harm the boy? What boy?” he waited for Joshua to respond “Are you ignoring me childe? I asked you a question, what boy?” he repeated, ignoring the look of terror on the Ventrue childes face.
“Daedelus, may I speak with you” Prince Julian asked softly, motioning for the Nosferatu to join him in a corner of the room. Julian hated to break such important news in such a brusk fashion, but it was better Daedelus know before the rest of the conclave “I am sorry my friend, I had hope to find a kinder way to tell you this. But the boy the childe refers to is Angel’s son, that is the true reason she left us. Her son needed her, and she went to him, as any good mother would.” Julian placed his hand on Daedelus’s arm, attempting to comfort his fellow Kindred “Daedelus, you knew from the beginning she was never meant for your clan. You told me so yourself, you swore to me you would never again try to embrace her as a Nosferatu. You swore upon your eternal soul that you wished only to protect her and share in her kindness.”
Daedelus nodded numbly “And I still swear this to you. It was a moment of weakness on my part, one that nearly killed her. I am just surprised to hear she has a child, I thought she would have told me of him. We talked a great deal, we shared our secrets, I saw her child in her womb, . . . I saw the child die due to Angel‘s wounds. The knife had severed. . .” Daedelus shook his head as the memory of Angel’s pain and heartache filled his soul. “Are you sure he is her son? When did you tell you of this?”
“I only found out when she felt his pain.” Julian admitted “I was with her when his fear and pain overwhelmed her. He was being attacked by a wizard, he was being cut for sacrifice. The horror of it almost drove her mad.” Julian shook his head and shivered slightly as the memory seared his mind yet again. It had taken several Ventrue and Gangrel to hold her down, to stop her from destroying everything in her path, it was then that Cash had explained what Angel truly was, what she was capable of. They had both left the next evening, they had gone to their home, to find Angel’s son, to protect and comfort him.
Harry smiled shyly as he and Cho walked to the dance floor. He had been waiting for this for weeks, all of the lessons with his mum were finally going to pay off. He was thankful Hagrid had shown up when he did, although he noticed Snape and Cat watching every move, waiting to intercede should it become necessary. He had also noticed Cash watching from an outside window, he could only imagine what Cash would do to Draco after tonight. Now if only they could avoid bringing up Cat in conversation the evening should go smoothly. He just couldn’t understand why Cho was so cold towards Cat, she was usually so friendly. “So? You ready?” Harry asked as Cho faced him and smiled sweetly, Harry felt his hands suddenly go cold and clammy as he gulped loudly.
Cho giggled as she saw how nervous Harry was, he really was cute, all though she had a hard time thinking of him the way she had Cedric. Cedric was handsome, passionate, strong; he just seemed more grown up than Harry did. Not that Harry didn’t have his good points; sweet, kind, cute and of course he was brave, no one could argue that. “Are you ready for the match against my house after the holidays?” she asked, trying to get Harry to relax a little “Because my team is looking phenomenal this year” she winked as he rolled his eyes.
“Phenomenal huh?” Harry teased “I’ll keep that in mind when I catch the Snitch” he winked as they both laughed. Harry felt himself relax immediately as his feet fell into the familiar pattern Cat had taught him, he was actually beginning to enjoy himself. He quickly looked over to Cat’s table and saw her smiling warmly at him. He smiled and winked back as he returned his attention to Cho. “Are you staying here over the holidays? Or are you going home?”
“Home, same as usual.” she replied casually “I guess you’ll be staying here again, its too bad your Aunt and Uncle don’t understand magic like Hermione’s parents do.” she added sadly.
Harry grinned widely “It doesn’t matter anymore, I’m spending the holidays with my clan. I’m finally going to meet my uncles and cousins and aunts and, and. . .everyone I guess.”
Cho gave him a strange look, but remained quiet, she really didn’t want to be the one to tell Harry what Miss Cat MacLeod was really like. The rumors were all over the school, she wasn’t human at all, she was using some sort of spells to make herself look as if she were human, all so she could find a human man. Apparently she had chosen Snape, the whole school was waiting for him to disappear, she was going to drain his life force from him and then feed him to her demons. Unfortunately for Professor Snape, no one really seemed too upset over the idea, of course, if it had been Professor Lupin,. . . Cho thought.
Severus sighed as he rose from his seat, “Time to chaperon I am afraid” he said as he looked pointedly to a darkened corner. “However, I do expect at least one dance with you tonight my dear.” he added as he smiled tenderly at Catri. As Severus strode toward the corner, his mind wandered back to the comment Miss Granger had made, he was still somewhat surprised and mildly pleased that a Gryffindor student had actually risen to his defense. It was certainly a new experience for him, the only people he had ever known to defend him had been Catri and Lily, and that had been so many years ago.
Pulling out his wand, Severus aimed it at the dark corner were he could clearly hear Seamus Harper and his on again, off again girlfriend, Jamie Krafty panted breathes. Whispering “Lumos” Severus lit the corner in the soft light of his wand. He stood there watching as Seamus passionately kissed Jamie, his hand wandering over her waist and coming to rest on her backside, as he gave her pert fanny a hard squeeze, causing Jamie to press even closer against him. Severus glared at the young couple, as they continued their romance, completely unaware of the professor’s presence. Seamus bent Jamie back, pressing himself against her body as his hand moved to lift her skirt. He began to rub his passion against her hips, while he kissed her down her neck, finally resting his lips on the crest of her breasts that rose from her corseted top. Jamie sighed loudly as Seamus’s hand traveled up her thigh, she quivered as he gently nipped the flesh of her breast, all the while pressing himself harder and harder against her sex. Severus could feel his own passion begin to rise as he imagined himself and Catri in a similar situation. Shaking the thoughts out of his head, he took careful aim and sent a mild jolt of electricity into the back of Mr. Harper’s thigh, causing the young man to yelp. Severus smirked as Harper turned around, as if he were ready to fight, until he realized exactly who had shocked him.
“Mr. Harper” Severus hissed “and Miss Krafty, 10 points each and detention. Learn to conduct yourselves with some grace and restraint. Now back to your tables” he waited for them to move, apparently they were both still quite shocked “immediately!” he added as Miss Krafty quickly grabbed Harper by his wrist and bolted to the relative safety of their friends.
“Wasn’t that a bit harsh Professor?” Catri hinted as she walked up behind Severus “They’re young and in love, a simple warning would have sufficed. Don‘t you remember what it was like when you were their age? Surely you strayed from the path every once in a while.” she reminded him as she took his arm and walked with him to the courtyard. “I seem to remember hearing a story about a rather wild party in Slytherin, sometime around February.” she waited until she saw the spark of memory within his eyes “complete with entertainment as the story goes. . .”
“Catri. . . I, . . I , . .that is to say” he stammered as he recalled the incident well “I am not exactly proud of that night. I doubt many of us are.”
“You mean it was *true* ?” she asked as her eyes grew wide “I always thought it was some ridiculous rumor” Catri watched as Sev blushed deeply under her gaze “Severus Sebastian Snape” she said as she shook her head “who ever would have thought. . .you, a party animal.” she teased as he hung his head and muttered under his breath.
Severus could feel his face turning crimson as Catri stared at him; he had no idea what to say. He was completely embarrassed; he had done things that night he would never dare confess to anyone, not even her. He remembered all to clearly the ‘victory party’ that night, Slytherin had beaten out Ravenclaw in the last Quidditch match of the season, and Lucius had felt a celebration was in order. Severus himself had made the sleeping draught that was slipped into Morano’s dinner, Lucius had wanted to make sure nothing would interfere with his plans. Everything seemed fine until Esmeralda Filch and her whore friends had shown up, apparently at Lucius’s request. They had been passed around all night long, from one male student to another, every time Severus had declined, coming up with one excuse or another. Until one of the girls had begun teasing him, asking him if he preferred a man to a woman. Normally he would have ignored her, but he had been so drunk at that point, and his thoughts kept returning to Catri. He had watched her all day at the match, she had never left Black’s side, hell, she had barely ever left his arms. He couldn’t understand how she could love him so much, Black went through woman like most people went through parchment, he didn’t care about any of them. Black didn’t deserve to have Catri, she should be with him, not some filthy, muggle loving Gryffindor . Severus grit his teeth as the little slut continued to taunt him, all to the amusement of his fellow students. The mixture of frustration over Catri’s lack of romantic interest in him, the anger of being belittled, and alcohol soon won out over his intellect. Grabbing the slut by her arms, he had quickly pressed her against the wall and savagely began kissing her as he lifted her top. He heard the other boys cheer him on as the girl struggled under him, trying desperately to get away.
He sneered at her as he wrapped his hands in her hair and drug her into another room; slamming the door loudly behind him, he threw her onto one of the beds, knowing full well no one would come to her aid. “So, you wanted me to prove I prefer women, is that it?” he asked her as he approached the bed, removing his robes as he did so. He sneered as she tried to crawl over the bed in a vain attempt to escape him. “No you don’t you little bitch. You asked for this, over and over you asked, now you’ll have it.” Pulling out his wand, he quickly sent streamers of cords to bind her arms behind her, he turned her onto her back and lifted her skirt, pushing her legs apart as he knelt between them. He ignored the fear in her eyes as he opened her shirt, cupping her breasts in his hands, he squeezed them firmly as she pleaded with him to let her go. Part of him wanted to do just that, let her go, pretend none of this was happening, after all she wasn’t the one he wanted, she wasn’t the one his heart was yearning for, but her taunting and his own frustration had sealed her fate the moment she accused him of being homosexual.
Severus closed his eyes and imagined the girl was Catri; in his mind, her fearful struggling became throws of passion as he clamped his mouth over her nipples and gently suckled, making hardened peaks of her tender flesh. His hands caressed her body, exploring her hollows as his own desire built within him. It wasn’t until he removed the girl’s panties and felt the spent passion of his classmates dripping out of her that his fantasy was shattered. His Catri would never do such a thing, she was a lady, this creature was nothing more than a pathetic whore. Quickly undoing his trousers, Severus plunged into the girl, mindless of her whimpering pleas, she was the one who had wanted this after all, he had been content to stay in the shadows, to watch in solitude. He clenched his jaw as he rammed his desire into her over and over, waiting for release but finding none; she had been so thoroughly used by his classmates that her womb was useless to him.
Feeling his anger and frustration grow, Severus straddled the girl’s chest and forced himself into her mouth. He held her head still as she tried to evade his member, “Do it” he hissed as he pushed himself deeper, causing her to choked slightly. With tears in her eyes, the girl did as he demanded, sucking forcefully as he stroked her face. He truly didn’t want to harm her, he simply wanted her to be someone else, someone he feared he would never have, and that knowledge was driving him mad. Severus closed his eyes and once again imagined the fair-skinned, fiery-haired Catri was the one with him, that she loved him enough to take him into her mouth and allow him release. He felt his thighs tense as his passion grew rigid, spilling his seed as he cried out softly. It wasn’t until he heard her coughing that he opened his eyes and cringed, what had he done? What was he thinking? He was behaving like an animal, like Lucius and his goons, Severus winced as he thought of his own father’s cruelty, perhaps he was his father’s son after all. . . .
Sever was brought back to the present by the soft laughter of Catri, who was holding his arm. He felt his words catch in his throat, “Something funny?” he asked, his voice full of pain and guilt.
“I’m sorry Sev” Catri said as she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek “I didn’t mean to upset you, but its just so cute when you blush like that.” she winked. Noticing he still seemed a bit tense, she added softly “But I have to admit, it gives me wicked ideas when you do.” She smiled evilly as he quickly turned to stare at her, obviously not sure how serious she was. She leaned against him as they walked, the moment her body pressed against him, she felt the tension melt away.
“Any other *rumors* I should know about?” he asked playfully, relieved that she had just been teasing him, that she actually had no idea what had happened, what he had done. He still wasn’t used to being with someone who was so playful, he didn’t always know how to react to her teasing. Although he had noticed she had become far more gentle with her teasing, as if she understood his uncertainty. He removed his arm from hers and reached for her waist, pulling her close against himself as they stepped outside, into the cool air of the courtyard. He felt her shudder at the sudden chill “Perhaps we should go back Catri. You are hardly dressed for such cool weather.”
“Not at all” Catri said as she snuggled against him “I’ll be fine in a moment or two. Just let me get used to it, that’s all.” She felt Sev move behind her, wrapping himself around her as he timidly kissed her neck. Reaching for his cheek Catri moaned softly as his hot lips touched her chilled flesh once more, sending shivers down her spine.
Severus felt his heart aching as he held her, he had held onto his pain and anger for so long that her love and kindness were almost too much for him to bear. “I take it you wanted to speak with me Catri. Unless you had some other reason for coming out into the cold?” he asked softly as he pulled her closer, sharing his warmth with her.