The Dark Gryffindor

The following chapter is named after my favorite love song. Oh, the chapter below is also my favorite in the story, so far. It does get better..and real intimacy is slowly blossoming between them as I promised it would.


Sheherazade: Thanks for the review. It will be interesting too see how the last chapter will be done, I have had it planned for awhile! But it's at least thirty updates away. Anyway, I am also planning an interesting tale about 14 year old Riddle, which I will be writing eventually. The story will be titled, "Heir of Slytherin Rising."


Chapter Twelve: Unchained Melody


A couple of hours later, Valerie and Severus remained in the back of a pitch-black theater at the film’s end, credits playing. Valerie was now in Snape’s lap sideways, legs sprawled across his, as he held her in his arms, hands on her back and he kissed her for the third time during the film now. The few muggles who had come to watch the show, were leaving, all of them in a ridiculous hurry.

The sweet melody of a violin solo played during the credits. It was the theme of the film, they had seen, ‘Schindler’s List’. Valerie could feel Snape’s sorrow as she looked into his eyes and his gaze locked into hers, noticing again, how much he loved her dark blue eyes, noticing once again a sparkle in them. Valerie cupped Snape’s sallow face in her hands, leaning up to kiss him.

She released her full lips tenderly, and then smoothed his black hair. Snape’s hair became what it was usually. It was no longer slicked back, strands of it poked at the edge of his forehead, almost bangs. She thought even if his hair was no longer neat and trim, Valerie was still attracted to Snape, greasy hair and all! Snape sighed with contentment feeling a love and adoration for Valerie, for in the moment she was being like an affectionate mother, something he had never had and always wanted!

The sweet melodies composed by the muggle, John Williams continued to sound. The two rose finally to leave.

Moments later, they were out of the cinema and Snape briefly checked his pocketwatch, to note that it was just past eleven o’clock. Snape and Valerie lingered another second, as Valerie looked towards the distance, hearing the rumble of distant traffic, clearly the busy sections of muggle manchester. It was a crumbling foggy sound, continuous as white noise.

She shivered in the biting cold. Her blue coat only went to her knees, and the deathly night air was creeping up her ankles to under her dress.

This did not get past Snape. “Do you want to wear my cloak?”

“No, sir,” she said quickly and added with carefree contentment, “I’ll get warmer as we walk.” Valerie knew Snape would be too cold without his cloak, and Snape did not say anything and he didn’t need to. He felt he was starting to really know her personality, so well that some things could remain unsaid.

As they traversed the deserted streets, feet clunking over the cobblestones, they came to another criss-crossing pair of roads along the way. The line of houses ended briefly on their right, replaced by a railing.

“I want to stop by here. There is a river and a place I remember very well. A place I wish to see,” said Snape, and he stepped under the railing. It was the same rail Narcissa and Bellatrix had climbed up from when they came to Spinner’s End to see Snape several months ago.

Valerie followed, agile, and limber in her movements, capable of hunching under the rail and standing at the base of a snow-filled summit of a steep hill in high-heeled shoes. Snape took her arm, gentle and protective, aiding her down the rolling hill between the road and a stretch of cleared land below.

Once they got down the hill, they went left, until they came to a playground. A brushy bank, was past the cleared land in the distance. Snape stopped abruptly in his path, ending the tread through the freshly fallen snow, and he stared at the rusty swing set, monkey-bars, and slide.

Valerie looked at Snape questioningly, wanting to ask why they were here, but decided to wait and see.

“This playground was once more accommodating to children." Snape sighed, filling up with nostalgia, remembering little Lily Evans and her bratty sister, Petunia and how he had first watched them through the brush.

“Come, let us walk. To the river,” said Snape, without looking at Valerie.

And they went onward, going carefully down the overgrown brush of the bank, strewn with rubbish in the weeds and tall grasses, all of it covered in snow. It caught against their clothing as they went down the bank to a wide expanse of a river.

They stopped to stare out at the sight. Valerie could hear a light cracking sound, the icy surface was breaking in the warmer wintry temperature, as comes with a snow shower and was causing the ice to melt. Across the river, were even higher hills, the city lights twinkling in them. Closer though, was an imposing square building just across the river, with the dark shapes of chimneys poking out. The run-down mill had been unused for years. In the river, Valerie and Snape could see a narrow bridge linking the homes straight to the steel mill.

Finally, Snape turned to look at Valerie his expression morose but he spoke animatedly, “Valerie, I feel it is appropriate, and perhaps fair to you, to tell of…of the greatest loss of my life. My first love: Lily Evans….”

Snape looked away, his expression pained. “I- will tell you how it happened. No detail, just the hard facts. The terrible truth…You see, I loved Lily Evans, but she went and married James Potter instead. Despite growing up and knowing me, much better than that arrogant bastard!,” Snape couldn’t help but add in spiteful anger.

“Wait a moment,” said Valerie softly, comprehension dawning on her quickly. “You were – This Lily is Potter’s mother?”

“Yes,” said Snape calmly. “And their child – Harry – the one whose fate is catalogued by a prophecy. For indeed he is – Harry Potter – the chosen one….,” Snape drew a deep breath and sighed again, “Well because of this, Lily and James went into hiding from the Dark Lord, whose power was threatened by the child of the prophecy. And I –I”

And Valerie could see tears behind Snape’s black eyes, and she noticed how his eyes glowing with deep compassion in the darkness, something very unusual to see in his eyes, something she had never seen.

Valerie asked immediately with a delicacy, “What is it? What happened in the end, sir?”

“I gave the Dark Lord information concerning the prophecy. The very information he needed to seek out the Chosen One! It is the reason – the reason Lily Evans is gone. I did ask the Dark Lord to spare me my woman, but he did not…,” said Snape, his voice hollow and empty with grief.

Valerie stared at Snape, eyes glowing with curiosity, “Does anyone know this, sir? Am I the only one?”

Snape just shook his head. “I told Dumbledore everything. It is because of my love for Lily that he trusted me so,” and Snape’s voice trailed away, as his thoughts focused intently on the past, the darkest days of his life, when he had first heard of Lily’s death.

Snape looked out at the chilly mist on the river. It was from dementors breeding, and it hung over the dirty river, rising up like ghosts. And he could hear the ripples in the water, like the whispers of ghosts of the past to Snape. Listening to it, was like voices beyond the veil. It felt timeless as he stood there rooted to the spot. Time was passing by so slow, together, more like time had never been. He had Lily then and he had Valerie now, but the time between did not matter.

Snape spoke his thoughts aloud, “For days I lived as a hermit - alone in the Forbidden forest. I came to the point where I wished I were dead. I contemplated suicide…”

There was a pause and a silence between Snape and Valerie for a moment. She asked, teeth chattering less from cold and more from nerves at probing, “What kept you from k-killing yourself?”

Snape groaned and spoke again, “I- don’t really know. Hope, I suppose. But then Dumbledore was there. His very presence seemed to instill vitality in me again. He appeared to me one night and my own fear was incredible. I thought he was going to kill me – even if that was what I wanted I did not want him to do it. Dumbledore is a powerful wizard…Well, he was.”

Valerie nodded slowly in agreement that Dumbledore had been a powerful sorcerer. Snape finally seemed to come out of his deep, dark reverie. He saw one last glimpse in his mind of his past self, cloak whipping in the wind as he dropped, kneeling before Dumbledore terrifed.

And cloak whipping similarly in the present, Snape spoke with finality and strong resolve, “I could never forget Dumbledore. His friendship has been priceless. I was there at Dumbledore’s funeral, Valerie, disguised as an old woman wearing a veil from head to toe.”

“Oh,” said Valerie, looking at Snape becoming a little frightened by all these sensitive words. “I was there, too.”

And Snape looked at Valerie finally, fully in the face. She could see in the meager light, his expression was stone cold, and deadly serious. Something about its ferocity, made Valerie nervous. But then she saw in the meager light, his face suddenly smiling widely, like she had never seen him smile before.

“It’s time I told you about how I got that photograph of Lily, Valerie. It was a rainy afternoon last July…,” and Snape’s voice trailed away into another reverie of the past, “And it’s raining, and I’m running. Running alone and frightened in my grief for Dumbledore. I get to the place – Grimmauld Place and I find an old drawer, in just some old bedroom. Inside was that photograph of Lily, Valerie. And now – it’s my only fix. For whenever I look at her, I feel a moment of peace, something I have not felt for years. But I go on, one day at a time. One day at a time.”

Snape took a few steps, a surprising spring in them and Valerie followed, footsteps crunching in the snow, as they moved back up the steep bank.

Snape looked up at the foliage of the trees at the summit of the hill. He remembered how he had been here with Lily, once at a time when there had been light between the trees above. Now it was all dark shadows of the night. He lay down, tucking the folds of his cloak around him carefully, and Valerie lay in the soft snow as well.

He turned his head to see Valerie, spread-eagled in the snow. And suddenly he rolled on top of her and Valerie held her breath. She wondered if he was going to make love to her right here in the weedy, freshly fallen snow on the bank of a dirty river!

She felt Snape’s eyes bore into her, and he said sweetly, “You are my darling, my love, Valerie…My new angel.”

Valerie smiled but turned her head away at these words, somewhat resisting them. She felt Severus Snape brush his hands through her long hair with a loving caress.

He smiled again, and Valerie could feel something almost childish, a mischievous amusement as he said, “Open and close your legs at the same time.”

“Why?,” Valerie questioned.

“Just do it,” he muttered.

And Valerie did so. “And now it’s time to go,” said Snape, peace inflected in his voice. “But you see, this snow angel there. You. You are mine, Valerie.”

He helped Valerie up, taking her hand in his, and they climbed back up the steep embankment. Snape turned around briefly to look back, to see Valerie’s imprint, that resembled the winged figure of an angel in the white snow.

Still holding hands, they crossed the area where the playground was, going back up to the streets, their destination his home on Spinner’s End.

Valerie could still feel a deep gentle sadness radiating from him. “You don’t have to blame yourself anymore for Lily Potter's death, sir. I can lift everything up for you and you can be free of your guilt at her loss, sir…. You can blame it on me if you like.”

Snape almost laughed a bit at that thought. But he felt a hard lump in his throat and he stopped walking, to look at Valerie. She was shocked to see tears beginning to fall from his face. She held his hand, and squeezed it, and then she was holding him against her. Valerie traced the tears off his face, and put them to her fingertips. She wanted to taste his pain and remove it. She kissed her fingers lightly and then she looked at him again. In a rush Snape kissed her, passionately, the moonlight shining down upon them, and Snape's painful recollection transcended into a blissful moment for the both of them.


Please review. More interesting things are going to happen!