Choosing Darkness

*Scratch of needle against vinyl*

Okay, before I continue, I must say that I\'ve re-read this, and I PROMISE to make the spelling corrections and fix loop holes as soon as the muse calms down. I must apologize for the English nuts who have to wade through all that...I usually mis-spell much better.


*Replaces needle*



Snape paced up and down the length of the bed, wondering if he had all the ingrediants and if they were all there, if they were in the correct quantities that Arista had given him not more than a week before. He remembered a high fever when he was ill and his dark eyes watched her, waiting for the time hers would crest.

A few hours later, Arista moaned in her sleep. Snape had been trying to collect some rest in a very uncomfortable visitor\'s chair when he was awakened by the soft thrashing. A fine sheen of sweat graced her skin and soaked the cotton gown and sheets around her. Severus was at her side in an instant, placing the flat of his hand against her forehead and then dragging it alongside her cheek.

\"Burning up,\" he whispered, his eyes wide. \"She\'s burning-Pomfrey? Pomfrey!\"

The mediwitch appeared on the other side of the bed at the sound of the Professor\'s panicked call. \"It\'s a good thing my other patients received a sleeping draught, Professor Snape--\"

\"Not now! Why is her fever so high?\" Snape demanded.

The woman\'s irritation faded quickly as she turned her attention to the patient. She quickly lifted the sheet so that she could examine the woman\'s belly. Arista moaned, trying to move away from the touch. \"I don\'t know what\'s happening, Professor Snape. The fever is not from some infection, but the pain may be due to the Unforgivable. How many hits did she take?\"

\"Four.\"

Pomfrey passed her wand over Arista\'s body, grunting a little at the shifting colors on the end. \"Her physical and physiological bodies are himan, but her magical facet...\" she shook her head in confusion. \"I don\'t know. Maybe she\'d be better off at St Mungo\'s.\"

\"That would not look good, Poppy. It hasn\'t been a full week and the new DADA professor at St Mungo\'s?\" Severus inadvertantly draped a hand over Arista\'s. She visibly relaxed and slipped into a deeper rest.

Pomfrey arched an eyebrow and looked at Snape\'s face. He was drawn to Arista\'s face as a knot of concern furrowed his brow. \"I\'m certain Albus would have information on her. I\'ll go and speak with him.\" She procured a dish and pressed a cloth into his hand. \"Keep her cool, Severus.\" The next moment she was gone with a snape of the curtain.

He hurridly dipped the cloth in the cool water, wrung the cloth out and placed it on Arista\'s forehead. A drop of water trickled down his fingers and splashed upon the unconscious woman\'s cheek. Arista turned her face towards the moisture as her tongue darted out to capture the wayward drop. Snape watched, fascinated as she rooted for more. He dipped his fingers into the bowl and moistened her lips with the chilled liquid.

Severus gasped audibly when Arista unexpectedly sucked his first two fingers into her mouth. Moist flesh that felt as if on fire drew his fingers in farther with suction as her tongue slithered around his digits. Immediately his thoughts turned to where he wanted her mouth to be. He could only imagine what delicious sensations her tongue could on other parts of his body.

No. This couldn\'t happen. They were collegues, worse, she was injured. Arista was delerious, not aware of her surroundings or whom she was with. She had no idea of the tight restraint his pants had become. He began to pull away to find a glass for her to drink from when his hand was captured by Arista\'s fevered one.

\"Don\'t go,\" her voice rasped fervently. Grey eyes were glazed over and unfocused as she pleaded with him. \"Please, don\'t go. It hurts--\"

\"What hurts?\" he asked, dragging tendrils of hair out of her face. He watched as her lips brushed against his wrist. The wrist that belonged to the arm that held the Mark. Funny, Pomfrey\'s touch pained her, while she nuzzled further into his hand.

\"Everywhere,\" she hissed slightly, her mouth gently sucking at the center of his palm. Snape suppressed a shudder as her tongue pressed against his fingers again and he noticed something hard. He tilted her head back and saw the deep purple stone set upon her tongue like a pearl nestled in the maw of an oyster. What the hell was that?

\"Worse than a thousand knives, a thousand pins. The circle of being so broken...you may never ...feel....whole. The air burns.\" Arista tried to sit up and offered a small smile of relief when he assisted her. \"You forgot the...blood.\"

Severus didn\'t ask the question, it seemed as if Arista was going to answer them once she drew the strength to speak.

\"Need the blood of a whole mage. One uninjured so that the circle can build back up. Essence,\" her eyes pleaded as they held his obsidian ones to her own. \"Not a vampire. Please understand.\"

He didn\'t know how to respond to that, or even if he could as her eyes lowered and her mouth began to toy with his fingers once again. This was insane. They were in the middle of the hospital wing with children in the other beds! Given sleeping draughts, they wouldn\'t awaken till morning. And who knew when Pomfrey would be back from Dumbledore\'s office. He heard a groan as Arista moved to nip at his wrist, realizing that the voice was his own. The curtains were closed, a quick silencing charm around them would be sufficient to keep intruders out. Pulling his hand away from her, he cupped her head with both hands and pulled her up for a kiss.

Severus groaned as her mouth claimed his hungrily, the pearl on her tongue clicking against his teeth. He did not forget her fever, but it seemed that the fire that threatened to consume her was spreading through his own body. He ran his fingers through her hair, revelling in it\'s softness as he leaned her back onto the bed. Gods, she was wearing nothing under that thin shift! His senses ran wild as his hands roamed uninhibited over her body. There was something about her that he needed to possess, but at the same time, he wanted her to give freely. It was a paradox for him, a wonder that all this time he felt her beneath him, he sensed that he was the one drowning.

He didn\'t know when he had sat up, when he shifted so that he was stradling her knees, but Arista had sat up and was nuzzling against his groin. His hands were still threaded in her hair, urging her on. His mouth dropped open but no sound came out as he was encased in her hot mouth, the pearl brushing and sliding against the most sensitive of nerves. Ah, that was what that thing was for. He emitted a low groan as the ball on her tongue flicked over his swollen head before pressing against the slit. Electric shocks travelled up and down his body as he felt her hands grab his arse and urged him to move. Slow, unsure thrusts became more urgent and confident as she coaxed and begged him for more.

\"Help me,\" she whispered against his muscled thigh as her hand wrapped around his member. \"I need you. I need you to cum for me.\" Severus looked down in open mouthed astonishment as Arista licked and nipped at the sensitive nerve in his groin. His body unexpectedly jolted as he watched her hand move across his member, making him more hard than he ever had been. There was something about her that his fuzzed mind knew, something that made this all right and very necessary. As his logic screamed at him about the lunacy of it all, his passion shoved it into that little used closet and locked the door; all he desired was to listen to Arista\'s fevered tones and to feel her mouth on him again.

\"Only you can save me from this hell,\" she moaned, her cheek pressing against his fevered flesh. Severus could only respond with a groan of his own as she swirled her tongue around his engorged head to take the precum into her mouth. The sound she made as the engulfed him was his undoing, and in one final outcry, he thrust into her mouth, nearly passing out from the feel of her throat swallowing his release down.

As his senses returned to normal, he felt the sting of the fluffy pillow in his hands, his forehead against Arista\'s. For a few delicious moments, they breathed each other\'s air as he tried to recover from the draining orgasm. Severus couldn\'t remember a time when he was so depleted from climax, but he didn\'t mind, either. Hopefully, he wouldn\'t be called to perform any magic any time soon.

\"Thank you,\" she whispered against his cheek as she pressed a kiss on him. Severus could feel her hand grip the hair behind his head and pull up to share one final kiss on his mouth before passing out. The Potions Master then slowly moved off her, spelling his clothes into their pristine folds before drawing the blanket back onto her form. He brushed her hair out of her face and stilled for a moment. Severus\' lips formed a smile as he pressed a soft kiss onto her forehead.

The fever had broken.


****

She woke up with a raging headache. Sunlight flooded into her room, overloading her still fragile senses. She muttered something under her breath and her world was plunged into blessed curtained darkness.

\"Impressive.\"

Arista suddenly became more alert as she reached for a sword that wasn\'t there. Snape had most assuredly been napping in the visitor\'s chair for his voice was more like a velvet purr than its usual catty growl. \"How long-\" her voice cracked and faded as her vocal chords screamed for moisture. Her eyes slowly looked for a glass.

Severus moved quickly, holding a tepid cup to her lips. He suppressed a noise and his eyes from rolling in the back of his head as she held his hand and the cup with her own before taking a drink. She took two large swallows before her stomach lurched. Arista tipped her head upwards and he held the cup back. \"How long did it take you to convince the witch for you to stay here?\"

His eyes widened at the question, then narrowed in cautious, wary amusement. Either she didn\'t remember, or didn\'t want to. \"Only half as long as it took for you to wake up. Two days.\" Snape\'s usual stoic and accusatory demeanor snapped back into place. He knew it was a bad idea from the start. Now, with the added information... \"Albus has sent for your family since he did not know the outcome of your condition.\"

The hope and longing that fluttered to her eyes was quickly replaced by confusion as Snape gave her a cold look as he sat before turning away. \"What?\"

\"When would you have told me you had a husband?\"

\"What?\"

\"Do not claim that you are innocent! I get enough of that from that Potter boy!\" He flew up from his seat, his dark robes rustling about him like frightened birds. \"Is Adultress another one of your titles?\"

Footsteps sounded from the hallway. Arista\'s expression was mixed as she tried to get a word edgewise. Pomfrey stormed through in the middle of Snape\'s tirade. \"I won\'t have you behavin\' like this, Professor Snape--\"

\"It\'s all right, Poppy-\"

\"Bloody HELL, it\'s all right!\" Snape stopped abruptly. It seemed as if the curse had slapped him back to his senses and he sat down.

With dignified determination, Arista spoke \"It ~is~ all right. If you would excuse us?\"

\"Honestly, Arista, you are in no condition--\"

\"I am well enough.\" Arista\'s eyes flashed in the mediwitch\'s direction, and Pomfrey retreated.

There was a long silence before anyone said anything. \"There are many things you don\'t know about me, Severus.\"

\"Indeed!\" he snorted, glaring daggers at her.

\"And you have every right to be angry.\"

\"~MORE~ than every right.\"

\"But I will not apologize for your weakness.\"

Shock was not a familiar expression on Severus\' face. \"Excuse me?\"

Arista offered a faint smile. \"It\'s the Glamour.\"

His eye\'s narrowed. \"Why do you--\"

\"It\'s not a conscious thing.\"

\"Explain.\"

\"It\'s a unicorn glamour.\"

\"And you claim there is a difference.\"

\"I don\'t claim. It\'s the truth.\" Arista lowered her head, hiding behind tendrils of hair that drifted across her face. \"Believe me or no, but I was a unicorn many past lives ago. The desire humans have to keep a magical creature for their own falls on me. And my dragon knows that. We are promised. Our souls are as one, but I love whom I love. And he loves whom he loves. We will forever be bound together.\"

Snape was strangely quiet through her explanation, and continued so afterwards. Ari looked up with clear grey eyes. \"I never meant to deceive you. Love is a precious commodity on this world, and it should be accepted and cherished in whatever form it takes.\"

He opened his mouth to make a reply when a great shout startled the both of them.

\"Where\'s the Stinky Mule?!\"

He could have sworn that the battle cry was meant for him, though he\'d never been called that insult before. The Potions Master darted between the curtain opening and Arista, drawing his wand against the sallow colored man with the blood-red gash across one cheek and a wild black mane stalk purposefully towards them.

\"Drake!\" Arista cried out joyfully as she held her hands open to him like an eager child.

Once the wild thing spotted the bed ridden woman, he charged straight for her, ignoring the man who moved to the side as he scooped her up in one massive embrace. He swung her around the room as if she were some toy. Their lips met in a joyful and heartfelt greeting before parting. Snape\'s jaw went slack as he recognized the face as being a fuller and less prominent-nosed version of his own. The man could have been a brother if Severus hadn\'t known better.

\"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? Then the Black disappears, and then there\'s this owl that would NOT leave, even when Tal tried to chase it away--\"

\"Slow down, Drake. Where\'s everyone else?\"

\"Just me and BigDragon\'s here. Everyone else is back at home, safer that way, since we didn\'t know what was going on. Are you all right? Your circle feels different.\" The newcomer turned his head to spot Snape. \"Hey, who\'s this?\"

\"Severus Snape. He sav--\" Arista stopped in mid-sentence as her eyes drifted past Severus\' glare. A wave of Dragon Fear swept lightly through the room as a twin of the first man stood at the doorway drinking in the sight of his Promised. Her grey eyes locked on the clone at the doorway. A nearly perfect duplicate of the man who held her, his midnight black tresses were bound in a simliar style to a French Braid, complete with the leaf medallions of her homeworld. His turtleneck of deep blue-grey complimented the glittering hazel eyes. Worn and fading jeans ended in the soft-soled assassin boots.

\"Dragon.\"

Snape turned away as if in pain as they came together. There was no reason for him to remain there any longer. He never said a word to anyone as he went back to his dungeons. He squashed his thoughts of the wonderous scent of jasmine and lavender invading his senses in the morning and headed for the cabinet in his rooms, pulling out the scotch and never bothering to use a glass as he downed the first swallows in angry, frustrated motions. He never heard Arista\'s last words as he stalked out of the hospital wing.

~Severus is a potions master. He saved my life.~