Love Bites (REPOST)

Chapter 2 ~ The Dream

Severus returned to his rooms. After the examination by Poppy, he found himself feeling very sleepy. Well, it had been a long night, actually a month of long nights, plus there was the excitement of harvesting the Agstani Flower, then the animal attack. He needed to catch up on his rest.

The Potions Master arrived in his bedroom and divestoed his clothing, too tired to bother undressing, and climbed into bed. He fell asleep immediately.

Severus began to dream.

He was walking along a rather barren plain of hard earth littered with what appeared to be broken stones of varying sizes. Some were quite large. The full moon was high in the sky so the wizard could see his surroundings clearly. There were no trees to break the monotony of the landscape, no mountains to show the end of it. It seemed endless. A wolf howled in the distance. At least he hoped it was a wolf. A strong wind rose from the south, billowing his robes and making his hair whip around his head. It was a cold wind and the wizard gathered his robes around him. As he gripped them, he felt something hard underneath. He pulled out his short sword. Not his normal sword, but the one he had used in the Final Battle. It was wickedly sharp, the blade made of silver and edged with ironwood or "quebracho" which means "axe-breaker".

It was one of the swords designed by Hermione Granger for the Order after much research while she was still in her first year of university, and could kill human, werewolf and vampire. The Final Battle took place at night. Voldemort had enlisted the aid of the nightwalkers with the promise they could have every Order member, mudblood, witch and wizard that survived, as well as live unmolested when the New Order was established. The creatures agreed and fought savagely. Hermione had come up with a light spell that could be used to take them out one at a time, turning them instantly to ash, but the creatures attacked in groups and had the ability to turn invisible for short periods of time, which made the spell less than handy. The ability to disappear gradually diminished as the vampires invoked it repeatedly. Apparently, the they needed time and rest to recharge. Their preferred odds when attacking an individual were three to one.

In the early skirmishes before the actual battle, it was discovered that Severus Snape could sense them. Why, no one was sure. It was whispered that he was actually a 'dhampir', a human who had vampire blood in his veins. Severus had no idea whether or not this was true. He was a product of rape, and his mother died shortly after his birth. He'd grown up under the strict care of his uncle, who forbid her name to ever be mentioned in his house. But he never had the urge to suck anyone's blood or felt any onus when on occasion he entered a church or passed a cross. He could handle silver and eat garlic, though he didn't like it much. Wood splinters never did anything more than hurt. Whatever the case was, one thing was certain. Severus could feel the creatures coming and this ability made Albus give him the position of Vampire Slayer during battle. It was his job to kill all the blood-sucking fiends he could.

Voldemort had discovered the Potions Master's duplicity as a spy for the Order, and he barely managed to escape the Dark Lord's wrath. He was targeted for death, and spent much time protecting himself as the Final Battle drew near. Many attempts on his life were made by his own Slytherin students who attempted to slip him poisons and potions, the lives of their deatheater parents in the balance. Because of their failure to kill the wizard, these unfortunate and torn young wizards and witches were sent to Azkaban, and their parents murdered by the Dark Lord.

Draco lost his mother and father to this madness, and was incarcerated for five years before he and the other Slytherins were released, since their attempt to murder Severus was done under duress. Severus' most horrible memory was being stabbed between the ribs in Slytherin House by a first-year who had lured him over under the guise of needing assistance with his potions homework. The wizard stumbled through the floo to the infirmary, not one student attempting to help him as he bled profusely. The eleven-year-old witch who stabbed him was the youngest prisoner Azkaban ever received.

Severus held the short sword by his side as he walked the plane, his black eyes now focusing on the broken stones all around him. They were getting larger, and eventually he saw they were not stones at all, but broken busts, heads carved from stone or marble that looked like they had fallen from a great distance and were smashed. They were large enough for someone to hide or crouch behind. The wizard knew he didn't have his sword for nothing.

Suddenly, he felt the motion and without thinking reversed his sword, and thrust back quickly, then spun, slashing overhead as he did so, then fell to his knees driving the sword straight forward. He heard the hisses as the three vampires appeared, falling to the ground, seizuring for several moments before bursting into flame, converting to ash quickly. The cold wind rose again, blowing the remains away. The wizard rose and continued walking.

A fog rose, creeping along the ground at a rapid rate. Severus' nostrils flared as he prepared himself to enter the thick mist. It was hot and dry.

"A Slayer and a King," a throaty female voice said through the mist.

Severus stopped.

"Who's there?" he called.

"Your Queen, Severus Snape," the woman's voice replied huskily, "Your eternal Love."

"I serve and love no one," the wizard called back, holding his sword at the ready.

The voice chuckled low.

"You are not meant to serve, Severus Snape, you are meant to reign," the voice replied. "And as for love…it will come. It always comes."

Suddenly Severus felt fingertips brush his cheek, cold and soft. He swung his sword but connected with nothing. Whatever this was, he couldn't feel it coming. His eyes shifted warily, then he struck out with a frantic series of blows and slices through the mist, hoping to kill or drive whatever touched him back.

The laughter increased.

"Don't be frightened Severus…you have nothing to fear from me. You have my favor, and the favor of Vashti is wonderful indeed. You are destined for great pleasure and great power," the vampiress said, still hidden by the mist. "You will never be broken like the kings whose heads litter this plain. You will never know Death."

"I want nothing from you!" Severus cried, scowling, still brandishing his sword.

"What you want is of no concern, mortal," the voice snapped, angry now. "Only what Vashti wants matters, and what she wants is you. Go back to your world of light, wizard…while you can."

Suddenly Severus sat straight up in his bed, his heart racing and head pounding again. His pale body was covered in sweat, his bedding soaked through.

"What the fuck was that?" he said to himself, rolling out of the bed and walking to the bathroom.

He raised the torches, used the loo then looked in the mirror at himself. He craned his neck. The purple bruise around the bite was still there, and a slight trickle of blood ran from the bite. He took some toilet paper, wrapped it around his hand and dabbed at it, clearing away the bit of blood.

"I think Poppy needs to give me that test," he said to himself, staring at the wounds in his neck.

The wizard threw the tissue away and returned to his bedroom. He looked at the soaked sheets, picked up his wand off the nightstand and scourgified himself and the bed. Then he climbed back in, thinking about his dream. It had been quite lucid. He could feel in it. The wind, coldness, heat, his sword connecting. The dream had felt quite real.

Then, like most people who have nightmares, Severus began to doubt its validity.

"Hell, Poppy talking about vampires is what brought that on. There are no vampires. If I'd been bitten, I'd have turned by now," he reasoned with himself.

Then the wizard chuckled.

"A female vampire wanting me. A Queen no less. Maybe I should have tried to stay in the dream…it may have gotten interesting. Cold pussy would be quite an experience I imagine, though I wouldn't want her mouth anywhere near my cock," he thought, turning over.

Severus felt tired again, and in a few minutes was in a sound and dreamless sleep.

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A/N: Hm. Quite a dream there. And a little AU history/mystery about Severus' parentage and upbringing. So he can sense vampires. I think that's going come in handy too. Lol. Please review.