Twice Bitten ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 20 ~ The Final Outcome

Hermione slowly unbuttoned the Mandarin collar of her dress, her heart pounding as Vashti drew nearer, her fangs clearly elongating. When Hermione got to the last button she pulled the collar back . . .

Vashti hissed and drew back from Hermione with a snarl.

”What is this?” she demanded, eyeing the small crucifixes draping the witch’s neck. “Do you think to thwart me with . . . with costume jewelry?”

But Vashti could feel the power radiating from the crosses. If she came in contact with them, they would do damage.

”It is added protection, my Queen,” Snape called to her.

”Remove it! Now!” Vashti ordered Hermione in a perfect rage, her face taking on a rather animalistic mien for a moment as she struggled to regain her composure.

Hermione stared at her, not making a move.

”Do you dare defy me, mortal? You cannot! Take it OFF!” Vashti screamed at the witch, drawing close to her face.

”Now, Hermione,” Snape said softly.

Suddenly Hermione spit out a mouthful of liquid, covering Vashti’s face with it. The vampire screamed and ran backwards, clawing at her face as the Holy Water the witch had been holding in her mouth ran down her face, the flesh bubbling and smoking. Hermione backed up, quickly pulled out her wand and removed the altered Muffliato spell Snape had cast on her in order to dampen everyone else's voices but his. Not every spell the Half-Blood Prince created was in that Advanced Potions book. Hermione slid the wand back up her sleeve, watching to see if she could help in any other way.

”Got you bitch!” Adam screamed as Snape flashed forward. Victor and Harry followed.

But Vashti turned to mist, floating upward, leaving Snape helpless in the fog, Victor and Harry standing impotently behind him looking at the mist.

”Oh no you don’t!” Adam cried pulling his wand and pointing it toward her, casting a spell that caused a great wind to rise, the fog blowing about, spreading thin. There was an unearthly cry as the mist came together several feet above in the air, Vashti reforming.

”BETRAYAL!” she screamed, her flesh dripping from her face. It took time to recover from injuries created by holy items. “YOU WILL ALL DIE!”

”Not tonight,” Snape hissed, running toward the back wall and leaping up, clinging to it for a millisecond before leaping on the back of the floating vampire and sinking his fangs into her jugular. Vashti let out a scream and spun into the air. Desperately, Victor leaped up and managed to grab her leg, attempting to drag her down. Harry did likewise, catching hold of her foot, and managing to pull himself up, sinking his fangs into her calf, finding the artery. Victor did likewise but Vashti was strong and floated higher.

Hermione kicked off her shoes and jumped up, grabbing Victor’s leg, adding her weight, tugging for all she was worth.

Vashti shrieked in agony, spinning in the air attempting to sling the clinging vampires from her. She started to fall back to earth as they drained her, Hermione touching ground first, then pulling at Victor, who was locked to Vashti's calf, drinking the sweetest blood he had ever tasted. Adam zipped over and latched on to her arm with relish.

Suddenly, Vashti let out an unearthly screech and transformed, her body becoming larger and scaled, her hair and sari falling from her body and great wings sprouting from her back, long black talons stretching from her hands and feet as she took on her true demonic form. Her face elongated terribly and she looked like a cross between a hound and a dragon, her fangs terrible.

Snape and the others clung on desperately as her talons raked at them, managing to pull her to the ground. But she was slashing them terribly, shaking them like rats as her wings batted them about. Not one vampire let go however.

Hermione ripped the crucifixes from her neck with a flourish and ran toward Vashti, leaping over Victor and Harry and pressing the blessed item directly against the vampire’s face. She had made it from the original crucifix. Vashti let out a cry as the necklace burned into her face, sinking into her flesh, Hermione holding on, keeping it against her. The vampire’s gyrations weakened and finally stopped, the four vampires continuing to drain her for several minutes before the beast that was Vashti began to shudder involuntarily.

Hermione looked at the creature, noting the color was changing from gray to black.

”I think we’d better get away,” she suggested, crawling off the demon vampires body. Snape, Harry, Victor and Adam released her, stepping back and wiping their mouths. Ugly as she was, her blood had been delicious.

Adam looked at Snape who was staring at Vashti’s true form.

”And to think you stuck your cock in that,” the vampire said. “I tell you, pussy is more trouble than it’s worth.”

Suddenly, Vashti’s body collapsed as if it was a deflated balloon. As everyone watched, points of light began to rise from the corpse, dancing about in a beautiful display, swirling around their heads almost playfully.

Then the sounds of children’s laughter could be heard, ringing through the throne room as they giggled delightedly, the points of lights flickering to and fro as if in pure joy.

”The children,” Hermione breathed, her eyes glistening, “Those are the souls of the children Vashti consumed. They were trapped inside her . . . the source of her Life. Now they are free to move on.”

The points of light danced about for a full twenty minutes before slowly fading away.

”Thank you,” a chorus of young voices whispered . . . and then . . . they were gone.

Vashti’s body flared up in a brilliant flash of white light, and disappeared also.

The vampires stood there, Snape looking at himself.

Nothing had happened.

Hermione looked at the wizard, her heart sinking. Then suddenly, Harry let out a scream and fell to the floor shuddering, followed by Victor, then Adam, then Snape himself, their bodies flailing as the parasites within them tried to compensate for the loss of Vashti’s power that helped fuel them. They were not completely dependent upon their hosts, but now . . . now they were.

Ron, who had been in the midst of telling the girls about Hermione breaking his heart, suddenly screamed and began flailing about, which caused Aden, Fadila, Habiba, and Jazlyn to also scream as they watched him arch and buck off the floor.

”What is wrong, Ronald Weasley?” they cried, afraid to exit the room to see about him.

All the vampires convulsed, consumed by a burning fire as the parasites within sought to adjust their holds on their hosts, longing to survive and latching on to them, bringing the desire for blood to the fore. Now that Vashti’s support was gone, they would need even more blood for strength.

Harry was the first to recover, rising from the floor in the same spooky manner as he did the first time, snarling at Hermione as the bloodlust took him over.

“Oh shit,” Hermione hissed, pulling out her wand and quickly casting the Aquis Orbis spell around herself as Adam, Victor and Snape recovered, snarling at her and circling the witch, hungry for blood.

But they couldn’t get at her.

”Kill me.”

All the vampires froze, then looked at the ruined man chained to the wall. Vashti’s victim.

”Oh no,” Hermione breathed as they all flashed forward en mass, covering the man’s body and latching on to him as he screamed in agony.

If Hermione had been religious, she would have made the sign of the cross as the vampires fed. It seemed they didn’t need much, because after only a minute or two, they pulled away from the man’s slumping body, sated.

Adam licked the blood from his lips and looked at Snape.

”Are you going to turn him?” Adam asked.

Snape shook his head.

”No,” the wizard replied. “I won’t be creating any more creatures of the night, Adam.”

Seeing that they had regained their senses, Hermione removed the spell and ran to Snape, clinging to his arm. He looked down at her.

”It didn’t work,” he said softly. “I am still a vampire, Hermione.”

Harry looked at Snape. It was the first time he had heard him call Hermione anything other than “Miss Granger.”

”What do you mean, it didn’t work?” Adam said, “The bitch is dead. Gone. I’m finally free of her dullness. ‘What do you mean a new style? I like the wind spell, Adam. Just wash my hair and reapply it.’ Oooh. To think she made me a vampire just to do that.”

The wizard stamped his foot in frustration at the memory.

Suddenly, Victor yawned.

Adam stared at him. Vampires never yawned. They were never tired. But that had definitely been a yawn.

“Victor, did you just . . . yawn?” Adam asked him.

Victor looked at him.

”Yes, I did,” he said.

Then Harry yawned.

”I feel sleepy,” he commented.

Hermione looked at Snape, who also yawned.

“You’re all sleepy,” she said, “Vashti is gone so she’s no longer powering you. I think now you’ll all sleep during the day.”

She looked at Snape, who was staring toward the door that led out of the chamber.

”I have to go,” he said hollowly. “I want to see the sun once more. One final time.”

”NO!” Hermione screamed, “You don’t have to end it, Professor. I’ll provide you all the blood you need, for the rest of my life if necessary. You can live like this. Victor and Adam live just fine. All you have to do is accept it!”

“What is he talking about?” Adam asked Hermione, who looked at him with tears running down her face.

”He doesn’t want to live as a vampire. He was hoping that if he killed Vashti, he’d become mortal again. There’s been some changes, but you all are still vampires. He’s talking about killing himself,” she said, despair in her voice.

Adam stared at the tall pale wizard, and saw the determination in his eyes.

”It’s not so bad, Professor. Not when you have friends and a means to acquire blood that’s relatively harmless. You’re welcome to stay with us,” he said softly. “I won’t harass you . . . much.”

Snape shook his head.

”I won’t live one more night this way, and I won’t bind you to a lifetime of giving me your essence, Hermione. I won’t watch you age, grow sick, infirm, then . . . then leave me, free of a life that keeps me imprisoned. You did your best for me, and I will be eternally grateful . . . but I am lost. Allow me the dignity of my choice,” he said to her
softly.

”NO!” Hermione screamed, clinging to his arm.

”Release me, Hermione,” he said softly.

But Hermione continued clinging to his arm. He had lost the power of compulsion. Adam looked at Victor.

”Victor,” he said tremulously as he realized more than likely he too had lost the power to compel his lover. Victor looked at him.

”I’m not going anywhere, my Queen,” he said to the wizard. “I am comfortable with you and cannot imagine an Eternity without you in my half-life.”

Adam let out a sob and ran to Victor, who wrapped his arms around the chubby wizard protectively as he cried into his chest.

Harry just stood there, looking between the couples, not knowing what to say. But he wasn’t willing to die yet. Adam and Victor managed. Maybe he could too.

Back at Adam’s lair, the girls were screaming as Ron menaced them, hungry for blood before running back to the main chamber and guzzling down the remaining blood from the pitcher, calming immediately.

”What the hell was that?” he asked himself, looking at the pitcher before setting it down and heading back to the girls to try and do some damage control. He yawned as he walked back up the corridor.

Harry, Victor and Adam were becoming quite sluggish as dawn approached. Snape looked down at Hermione.

”I must go, witch,” he said to her softly.

”No! No! Please don’t do this, Professor,” she begged him, “I’ve just . . . just found you. Don’t leave me.”

Snape lifted her hair from her neck, eyeing the two marks.

”You’ll remember me, Hermione. Some night, when you’re happily married and surrounded by annoying curly-haired children, you’ll think of our moment . . . of me, hopefully in a fond way. I will be remembered. My life wasn’t lived totally in vain,” Snape said to her softly, pulling her hand away from his arm gently.

“You made me happy,” he said to her, leaning down and kissing her.

Harry watched silently as they kissed, feeling the emotion there. So it wasn’t all lust on the Professor’s part. He did have feelings, hard as that was to fathom.

Snape broke the kiss.

”Goodbye, Hermione,” he said, turning from her and walking toward the door.

”No! No! At least let me go with you. Let me be with you, Professor!” Hermione cried, following him. “At least your last moments won’t be alone.”

Snape stopped, then turned and held out his hand.

”Come then witch. See me off,” he said softly.

Hermione walked forward, tears still streaming as she took his pale hand.

“Stay here, Mr. Potter,” Snape said to the wizard, “Perhaps you can live this way. Or give it a try before you rashly end your life. My years are full. I’m ready to depart. You will find ways to make this bearable, I know. Goodbye, Mr. Potter.”

Harry stared at him, his eyes glistening. He was no longer compelled to do the wizard's bidding. Now it was a matter of respecting his wishes. Hermione noticed a lot more green was visible now around Harry's eyes. A third of his iris was its original color.

“Goodbye, Professor,” Harry said.

He watched as the dark wizard who had risked everything to protect him walked through the door, accompanied by a sobbing Hermione, walked toward Death . . . and his idea of Freedom.

He sighed.

Severus Snape truly was a great wizard and a great man.

And he would sorely be missed.

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Hermione walked with Snape, not releasing his hand as they turned into the fork and ascended the corridor leading to the surface. He was silent as he advanced. Through the small exit above them, he could see the stars fading as twilight arose, heralding the coming of the sun.

They reach the exit, Snape pulling himself out of the small crevice in the sand, then helping Hermione up. The witch looked up at him.

”Won’t you think about this? Please?” she implored him, looking at the distant horizon.

”I’ve done nothing but think about this,” the wizard replied. “I refuse to be a prisoner to my situation. I’ve done that enough, Hermione. One day, I hope you will understand. Now, let us walk into the light, witch. I’ve fought on the side of Light for most of my life. At last, the Light will free me.”

Snape began walking in the direction of the sunrise, Hermione still holding his hand, crying but refusing to leave him. The first rays broke over the horizon, and Snape hissed as the pain hit him, every instinct crying out for him to run back to the crevice, to the safe haven that Eternal Darkness could provide him.

But no. He was a man and not ruled by instinct. He was born a man and would die as one.

Hermione felt his grip tighten on her hand as he continued to advance, the day becoming brighter, the wizard shuddering now, fighting the expression of his pain. Finally, he could walk no further as the sunlight erupted full blast, covering him, the wizard letting out a heartrending scream as he fell to the sand, his body seizuring, the parasite inside him doing its best to make him save himself and continue.

Hermione sobbed over him as he writhed, her heart breaking as his body was bathed in sunlight. Did it have to end like this? Oh gods, if there were such a thing as a miracle, this was the perfect time to make itself known.

Snape screamed and screamed, his body consumed by unbearable pain, every organ, every cell in his body in torment..

He was dying. Like he should have died days ago. This had all been a short reprieve, one sweetened by Hermione. He wondered what it could have been like if he had survived and decided to continue with the witch if she would have him.

Well, that was all water in the moat now.

It was time to meet the true Master of all men’s lives. The Unknown. The Great Mystery. The Grim Reaper.

He would do it with dignity and on his terms.

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A/N: Thanks for reading.