Fire & Ice: War Games

‘I have been studying how I may compare
This prison where I live unto the world;
And, for because the world is populous,
And is is not a creature but myself,
I cannot do it. Yet I’ll hammer it out.’

William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard the Second (at V, v)

He groaned slightly, vaguely aware of something cold being pressed against his forehead before being swallowed by the void once more. A swirl of vibrant colors spiraled against the black abyss of his unconscious mind. A parade of strangers’ faces cascaded in the hazed cloud, close on the wake of the starburst of colors. Their last earthly moments replayed themselves for his fevered imagination as they were conjured, forcing him to confront and face the path his feet walked.

Through the fog blanketing his mind, Severus strained to hear the muffled feminine voice floating around him. He struggled against the enthral apparitions, trying to find his way back and away from the swarm of poltergeists converging upon him like vultures circling a fresh kill. Their weight slowlyan tan to suffocate him beneath their thunderous accusations.

His face felt as though it were on fire as drops of molten wax streamed down, dripping off his hooked nose. A hoarse wail slipped from his parched lips as skeletal hands clawed at him, pulling him further into the oblivion’s infernal. Severus shrieked as a bleached hand dug into his chand and ripped his still beating heart out. His onyx eyes widened as the ghastly hand slowly unclasped, revealing the thumping organ to his paralyzed sight.

Severus whimpered as the shadowy form solidified, taking on an all to familiar face. Long, flowing chestnut hair with light blonde highlights framed the cherubic face as radiant hazel eyes sparkled at him from under lush eyelashes.<,> \"The journey of a thousand miles can only begin when you are ready to take the first step.\" Butterfly wings danced against Severus’ cheeks as the figure’s finger brushed lightly against his skin.

The twinkling in the hazel eyes faded abruptly, “the weight you carry is burying your heart and soul my brave Atlas. Millions die everyday, everywhere and you cannot save them all. If you continue on this path paved by your guilt and held together by the unchangeable events of your past, what little of you remains will be no more.\" Together they watched as the Slytherin’s heart shriveled and crumble into dust. Despair flooded him as his eyes fell closed at the sight.



Soft wind played with his raven hair as he watched the rolling waves of the Irish Sea. Severus closed his eyes as he absorbed the tranquil chorus of the salty realm of the sea. The crashing of the foamy waves against the jagged, twisted rocks below mingled with the song of the summer wind and the seals gls gliding above him. Severus’ eyes fluttered lazily open as a contented smile spread absently across his face. For a moment, he experienced freedom without the darkness of reality lurking in the back of his mind.

\"I remember the last time we were here, it seemed like we were the only ones in the world and growing up, Hogwarts and everything else was some elaborate fantasy.\" Severus said wistfully, his eyes stared at the distant horizon with each word turned inwardly and focused on memories from another life. Tears streamed down his face, unnoticed as a sob choked in his throat. Severus sank to the ground as his body shook violently, \"I want that time back, that life!\"

A comforting arm wrapped around his shoulders and Severus buried his face in a familiar sher. er. \"Life is full of false assumptions, Severus. Clotho weaves our threads carefully in the tapestry of Life, there are no coincidences or accidents. The traveler is not made for the path, rather the path is made for the traveler.\" The figure sighed and curled up on the ground next to the Slytherin. \"Lachesis carefully measures our threads and Atropus cuts it, that is the way of things.\"

Severus shook his head violently, \"I wish you were still alive. Things were easier and Father was different, everything was different then.\"

\"Oh, Severus.\" As the figure spoke, fingers stroked his raven hair. \"The day you were born, was the day you laid the first stones to build the road your feet now travel down.\" Turning the boy’s face to look him in the eye, \"my fate was sealed and settled when I laid the first stones for my journey. The length of the road does not matter, it is what we do during the journey that does. Don’t blame yourself or others, Severus. It was my time, and no potion or spell can thieve you from Death when your number has been called.\"

Severus jerked his head from the figure’s hand, \"you don’t understand!\" Stumbling slightly, \"things have changed since you died. The world is no longer as black and white like before you were killed.\"



Fog stretched across the full moon as a bitter wind swept through the maze of trees and wrestled with the brittle bronze and gold leaves blanketing the forest floor. Severus shivered, wrapping the material of his winter robe tighter around his pale frame as the autumn weather froze the core of his soul. He squeezed his eyes shut as the events played, the flurry of the scene rolled out for him below the boulders beneath his feet and on the ravine floor below.

A sharp scream ripped through the ghostly scene, echoing in Severus’ heart. He shuddered as his eyes fluttered open against his will. Severus sank to his knees and his heart froze in mid-beat as he absorbed the sight. \"Please not this. Please,\" he sobbed, fresh tears flooding down his colorless face.

\"You brought us here, Severus, not I.\" The figure said calmly, watching the slaughter.

\"I don’t want to see it again, I can’t.\"

\"You never lend und until you forgive, and understand what you are seeing, you will remain.\"

\"I don’t understand.\"

\"Live and learn, Severus.\"

\"I don’t under....No!\" Severus cried, reaching for the figure. \"Please, I don’t want to be...\" The figure smiled sadly before fading into oblivion once more. Below, Severus could hear his words echoing into the growing night. Severus collapsed onto his knees, the little color left in his face drained away.

A child, small for the age of three, cradled a head of chestnut hair in his hands and wailed. Tears flowed down his red face as he rocked back and forth. Crimson liquid trickled down the youthful figure’s face and smeared on the s has hands, soaking into the material of his clothes. The figure’s torso was ripped open, splinters of bone littered the cooling body and the ground surrounding it. Dark crimson painted the leaves around and below the lifeless corpse.

Severus slipped down the steep embankment, as he stepped rocks rolled and bounced their way down to the floor of the ravine. Wheezing, Severus sank to his knees as blood trickled down the trunk of a nearby giant oak. Hyperventilating, he curled up in a ball and wept, his tears mingling with the dirt and blood smeared onto his face as he had brushed along the trunk.

As the darkened world of the memory cloaked him, a wolf broke the silence.

A/N

Please Read & Review, author thanks you

This chapter beta-ed by Kate

Atlas
In accordance with ancient Greek mythology; the titan punished by Zeus (King of the Greek gods, wisdom and justice) to hold the sky of the world on his shoulders for eternity.

The Fates: Atropus, Lachesis & Clotho
Also known as the Daughters of Necessity; the three sisters were solely responsible for the Tapestry of Life in Greek Mythology. In accordance with ancient Greek belief, the Fates or Destinies were loom workers and often depicted as spiders. Together they chose the destinies of Mankind and wove the individual threads (representing one life) into the Tapestry.

Atropus
Cut the thread of Life

Lachesis
Measured the thread of Life

Clotho
Wove the thread of Life