Of Death and Fire

atropos


Author's notes: The long anticipated chapter is here. I hope it lives up to your expectations. And yes, it gets darker.
Atropos: One of the three Fates according to Greek Mythology, the one who cuts the life thread of a human. Her name means unchangeable, inflexible.
I know the mirror of Erised had been removed from Hogwarts after the SS. Humor me and pretend it didn't. Doesn't change much in the plot anyway. It just seemed to me like a nice touch.
The Corn Moon: The full moon in early August or late July, according to wiccan traditions.
 
CHAPTER 38: Atropos.
 
"I will turn your face to alabaster
Then you'll find your servant is your master."
(Police)
~*~
Albus Dumbledore stood by the broken man who was sitting on the edge of his bed with his face hidden in his hands. He had heard his confession and after the recent developments the future seemed to be getting darker by the minute. For a moment, the old wizard felt age and responsibility weighting heavily upon his shoulders. Under the burden he felt tempted to sit beside the younger man and say, "Pass the bottle, Severus."
But he did not yield. He would not yield. Neither to the Dark Lord nor to despair. He straightened his back and reached out to touch the younger man's head.
"Get moving, Severus. It's time to get you cleaned up. We have a war to fight." And his voice, gentle and yet firm, never faltered, hoping to restore a flicker of hope in Snape's heart.
Somehow, they would survive. They had to.
~*~
It was Filch who found her, five days before the full moon. She was sitting before the Mirror of Erised in the lower part the the castle. She must have been there for days, depriving herself of food and water, staring with haunted eyes in the depths of the mirror. She did not resist when they took her away.
They never knew what she saw in the mirror. Some kind fate protected them from seeing the image she had been watching during the last few days. For the creature that stared back from the depths had nothing human about it.
Just shadow and death.
~*~
Severus sat beside her bed, as she slowly recovered. Most of the time she was in a trance, crying out strange words in dead languages, conversing with unseen entities in her head. During one of her few moments of lucidity, she grasped his arm as if the future depended on it and fixed her feverish eyes on his face.
"Kill me," she whispered. "Kill me while you still can. If you have ever loved me, don't let me fall deeper in the darkness." But as he reached out to comfort her, she drifted away once more, lost in a labyrinth of visions of Hell.
Two days before the full moon, she vanished again.
~*~
The Corn Moon.
It was a small island off the shores of Scotland, where the Druids used to gather in ancient times to worship and celebrate the change of the seasons. The sacred site had long been forgotten, but a few of the standing stones still remained to mark this ancient place of power. In that August night, it held a different gathering; a Death Eater meeting.
They stood in a semicircle, waiting for theird tod to arrive. On the opposite side of the assembly, tied on one of the remaining stones of power, a man's naked body shone in the moonlight. He was on his knees, with his arms raised above his head, tied eagle-spread across the pillar. His head was covered with a black cloth. On the exact opposite end stood a throne, made by the dutiful disciples for their master from the broken remains of the druids' circle.
Morgaine apparated a few minutes before midnight, returning from her self-imposed exile. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, stopped for a brief moment on the man on the stone and then searched for Snape in the crowd. When she saw him standing in the back, a shadow was lifted from her heart. She knew that beneath the mask he would be pale as a corpse, tired and probably suffering deeply. But his eyes were steady and he held his body high, his arms crossed on his chest, holding his ground. She felt warmth spreading in her soul, kno tha that at least he had been able to hold the line against the darkness.
It was then when she saw It. Lurking in the shadows behind the Death Eaters, It was there. The creature of shadow and death, the nameless entity she had once embraced had resurfaced. The creature that had been staring back at her from the depths of the mirror, reflecting the hidden darkness inside, being the deepest craving of a condemned soul. It stood in the back, waiting for the sacrifice as well, to feed from the soul of the dying man, to feast on the turmoil of her soul, of the hatred and malice that burned in the crowd. It was waiting for her final commitment. My dark half, we meet again.
And then the Dark Lord came and all her thoughts dissolved like smoke in the summer breeze. He moved slowly around the circle of men and stones. There were no praises or punishment from him this time. Just silence, until he reached Morgaine. He waved at them to stand up and took her hand in his. Placing the ceremonial dagger in her hand, he led her to the sacrifice. With a swift move, he unveiled the man. If she was shocked by his identity, she was quick to conceal it.
"Kill him," he said in a velvet voice. "Play with him first, if you so wish, but bring me his heart." And then he stepped back and took his place among his followers.
For a few moments, she stood motionless. Then, slowly, she untied the cloak from her shoulders. Behind the Dark Lord, Snape drew in a sharp breath. She was wearing a long, simple dress that shone in the darkness, making her look as if she was not of this world, ethereal and frail. In the three years he had known her, she had never worn hinghing other than black. And tonight she was wearing white. A dress for the wedding, he thought in horror, fearing she would soon be lost forever.
She turned and knelt beside the tied man, caressing his cheek with both her hand and the dagger.
"It's only death," she whispered at him, and kissed his lips. And after a moment, he raised his face and looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"I know," he said, as if accepting his fate.
In the back, Voldemort grinned. After tonight, she would be bound to him forever.
Or so he thought.
Because the wordless communication between the two people were beyond his reach, beyond the limits of his understanding. For it is woven by forces older and greater than any mortal is, strong as the roots of the earth.
The bond of two beings that had shared the same womb, brother and sister, born by b and and fire.
~*~
She had accepted at last that it is impossible to serve two masters. Having spent the last two days in fast and meditation, she had come in the circle tonight ready to pay the price. And although the spirits had whispered the secret, she had hoped she would not see her brother under the knife, Voldemort's sacrificial lamb. When her eyes saw him hurt and bound on the stone, her heart bled. Whatever spell had tied her with Voldemort fell in pieces, shattered by the power of the ties of blood; and of the love that lies beyond the limits of flesh and time. Kneeling beside him, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was pointless to turn ad and and look who stood there. She knew. Her Lord had come to claim His sacrifice.
"It's only death," she whispered to her brother. I'm not afraid.
I cannot let you do this, he replied in the same, wordless way.
It is my time. Let me die with dignity, with honour. Don't let me fall deeper in the darkness. She caressed his face with her fingers.
I'll die in your place. Don't ask of me to leave you behind, he pleaded, knowing deep in his heart it was in vain.
It's my time to go. As Aurion knew it, so do I. Fly away, beloved, go to Elric, go to Albus. Tell them. Tell them I did not fall in the abyss. Tell them to forgive me and remember me with love. Stay alive and make my death have a meaning. And then she reached out and kissed him. As the kiss deepened, she gave him her strength and her love, healing him, restoring his power for the flight.
I love you, she finally told him. Not with words, but with heul. ul.
"I know," he whispered back.
And then she raised the dagger, as if to give the killing strike. But it cut through ropes instead of flesh, and the man transformed to an eagle owl and flew away in the darkness.
~*~
Voldemort failed to realise what had just happened at first. But when she turned to face him, he saw she was beyond his reach. Enraged, he stood up and summoned his disciples.
"Get her!" he hissed. "Get her alive! She'll suffer long before I kill her myself!"
As the Death Eater who was closer to Morgaine pointed his wand at her, she threw out the ceremonial dagger reciting an ancient curse. The blade split in many in mid flight and the man never saw what hit him. As the blades pierced his body, hll ill in pieces on the ground. Then she raised her hand again; index and little finger pointing at the next target and invoked the Lord of Decay. The Death Eater screamed as he saw his flesh rot slowly on his bones. Soon he was nothing more than a pile of putrid matter on the ground.
But then several hits came from every direction and her offensive spells had to turn to defensive, blocking out curses and charms. Among the rest of the Death Eaters, Snape was firing at random directi try trying to maintain the face of the loyal follower according to Dumbledore's orders. And for a while, it seemed as if Morgaine could hold them back, as several of the spells were deflected or absorbed by her protective tattoos. Then Voldemort raised his own wand, aiming not at Morgaine but behind her. And a rain of rocks fell on her, a strike she had not expect and was unable to block in the midst of the multitude of attacks aimed at her. One of them hit her on her right shoulderslocslocating the bone and sending her on her knees from the pain. Another stone hit her head and she collapsed on the ground, with blood running down her face.
Voldemort raised one hand to halt the assault. For a moment she was lying motionless on the ground. Thinking she was dead, Snape felt his heart stop. But then she moved and slowly tried to stand up. She was badly hurt, after the rain of stones and the few curses that had finally hit her. And still she tried to move, refusing to stay on the ground, stubborn as always. Until she managed to sit on her knees. As she raised her eyes to thek Lok Lord, Snape saw the woman he had always known. He wanted to run to her, to stand with her and fight by her side. But Dumbledore's instructions were burning his mind. If one of the two falls, the other must take the fallen's place. And he knew where his place was. To be a spy, posing as a loyal servant. And so he remained silent despite his heart's desire.
The Dark Lord raised his wand, ready to cast the Unforgivable. But he paused his move, as if a new idea came to his mind. He turned his head to the Death Eaters, searching for someone with his scarlet eyes. And when he found him, his eyes shone brighter under the full moon.
"Severus," he purred, "my loyal servant. I think the pleasure should be yours. Kill her." And he stepped aside to watch the killing curse.
Snape stood frozen, unable to think, let alone move. Malfoy, who stood just behind him, elbowed him trying to get him to move.
"Do it, you idiot! Otherwise you're as good as dead," he hissed at his ear.
Slowly, Snape moved forward and took out his wand.
"Come on, Severus," he heard Voldemort's mocking voice. "We don't have all night."
For a moment, Morgaine and Severus stared at each other, their eyes locked together. And then Morgaine realised in terror he could not do it. She saw it in his eyes. He was searching for a way out, considering desperate plans of escape. But she knew it was too late. And the Dark Lord would kill him as well.
She would not allow that.
Reaching out with all her remaining power, she invoked her Lord.
I said anything, and I accept the price. Lord, don't desert me now.
Her willpower lashed out to the masked man before her, powered by the hand of Death. Forming a steel grasp around his heart, she added her courage to his own to do what was asked of him.
"Avada Kedavra!"
~*~
When the others had departed, Severus Snape, having secured his place by the Dark Lord, stood alone under the Corn Moon. He walked slowly to the limp body on the ground and knelt beside it. Carefully, he took her bloodied head in his arms, gently stroking the pale cheeks, as if trying to clean the blood and dirt away. His face was white and cold like an alabaster statue as he sat on the moist earth, holding her in his arms, bent over the broken body.
The white dress had never been a wedding gown. It had been a shroud.
~*~
Behind him, in the darkness among the standing stones, the creatur dea death and shadow stirred. The pain of this man shone in its eyes like a bright hearth fire.
At last, it would have its feast.
 
 
 
*********************************************************************
 Well? What did you think of it? Let me know!
And, in case you are wondering, it gets even darker in the next chapter.