Forget about Love

Erica awoke that evening. She was alone at the time. Snape was talking with Poppy and Lupin was at the Shrieking Shack due to the full moon.

Erica was breathing deeply. She was afraid of what had happened. She was dressed in a hospital gown. She sat up slowly and brought her hand to her head. She could hear Snape and Poppy talking in the office.

“How are you going to tell her?” Poppy asked. Erica’s ears perked up at their mention of her.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt her anymore than she is already hurt,” Snape replied. Erica could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

“She has to be told. We simply cannot allow her to walk around under this pretense that all is well,” Poppy replied. Erica jumped out of bed, suddenly feeling a rush of energy surge through her system. She saw Snape’s cloak sitting on the chair next to her bed.

She picked it up and put in on.

She was surrounded by his scent of spices. It was intoxicating. She breathed deeply taking in his scent before she started to move away from the bed.

“It will come as a shock, and she may not be able to take it. Do you really think that it is wise to tell her at this time?”

Erica didn’t hear the rest. She moved barefooted out of the infirmary as quietly as she could and into the empty hallways.

Snape and Poppy were sitting at the office table discussing telling Molly Weasley about her son, Percy’s death. He had joined the Deatheaters four days ago just to fight in this battle. He was angry about something and was determined to change it, but Erica and her strange powers had destroyed him. Molly had already lost a son, Charlie, in a dragon accident and it didn’t seem right for her to lose another so soon.

“I just don’t know how to tell her about him. Who knows how she’ll react to the news that not only one of her sons, but two are dead now.”

Poppy shook her head before looking up at the clock on the wall of her office.

“It is time for me to check on Erica again. Would you wait here please?” Snape didn’t want to wait, but he did as Poppy asked.

She walked out of the room and was gone for about a minute before she reentered with a look of shock on her face.

“Poppy, what is it?” Snape said jumping out of his chair. Poppy turned to him with wide eyes and whispered, “She’s gone.”

Snape rushed out of Poppy’s office and to Erica’s now vacated bed. He looked at the chair and noticed that his cloak was missing.

“I’ll inform the Headmaster,” Snape said. “Wait here and see if she comes back.”

Snape ran out of the infirmary and headed toward the Headmaster’s office at breakneck speed. He turned the corner and ran straight into Harry under his dad’s invisibility cloak.

They fell to the ground and the invisibility cloak fell of Harry. “Potter!” Snape yelled from beside Harry. Harry’s eyes widened as he realized just who he had ran into while making a run to the library for Hermione.

“Professor…Snape…sir, I was just…”

“Save it Pot…” It was then Snape noticed a rather familiar piece of parchment in Harry’s hands.

“Give that to me Potter,” Snape said. Harry looked at it and handed it over. To Snape it appeared to be a standard piece of parchment.

“What is this Potter?” Snape asked curiously. “I feel like I’ve seen it before.”

“That is just some parchment Professor,” Harry answered nervously. Snape looked up and noticed that Harry had begun to shift from one foot to another.

“You’re lying,” Snape said in a low voice. “What is it really, and if you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll just read your mind for my answers…as well as anything else I find of interest.”

Harry paled instantly and stopped moving. “Um…it’s a map sir,” Harry said cautiously. Snape looked at it again before handing it back to Harry.

“Show me,” he said. Harry nodded before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the map.

“I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” Harry said. Instantly the map appeared. Snape took it from Harry’s hand before looking at everything.

There was a small dot with his name and then another with Harry’s. “Interesting,” Snape said.

He quickly started scanning the map for Erica. He found her in the Great Hall for some reason. Snape started in the direction of the Great Hall after telling Harry to head back to his dormitory.

Snape kept his eye on Erica’s dot on the map. He moved quickly along trying to get to her before she moved to another room.
He reached the doors to the Great Hall in record time. He checked the map and made sure that Erica was still there. He opened the door and entered.

The Great Hall was dark and still had the scent of blood. “Lumos,” he said lighting up the end of his wand. He walked into the room slowly.

“Erica?” he called out while stepping carefully around the small stains of blood the room still retained. There was no answer. Snape checked the map again and saw Erica was still in the room. He walked forward searching desperately for her.

He reached the spot where Erica had fallen after being hit with the killing curse twice. There was a strange glow about it. He knelt down and starred at the small glowing circle.

“It’s my blood,” someone said from directly behind Snape. He stood and whirled around quickly. It was Erica. She was still wearing Snape’s cloak and the hospital gown, but she had a white aura around her.

“The vampire is gone, but the blood of the human remains,” Erica said. Her eyes turned to Snape. “I am neither now. If I am not human or vampire, then what am I?”

Snape started to answer when Erica raised her hand and stopped him. “Do not answer. I need someone who cares for me to tell me, not someone who thinks I cannot handle the truth.”

Snape narrowed his eyes in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“You were talking to Poppy when I awoke, saying that I wouldn’t be able to handle it and that you needed to tell me so I no longer walked around under false pretenses.”

Snape shook his head and took a step forward. “No, I wasn’t talking about you, I was talking about a parent and telling her about her son’s death.”

Erica stared at Snape, studying him, before she started laughing. Snape looked at her and almost smiled. It was good to hear her laugh again.

“I am so silly. To become so conceited and confused…”

Snape shook his head. “No, you are fine just the way you are.”

Erica stopped laughing and looked at Snape with her emotionless face once again. “The way I am? What am I?”

Erica could feel the tears welling up inside her. She was lost for the first time in her life.

She fell to her knees inside the strange glowing circle and started to cry. A bright light began to glow around her inside the circle. Snape tried to reach out and grab her, but the light burned his hand. Erica gasped.

Her hands fell to the ground as the light began to shine brighter. Her hair was hanging down by her face like a veil. Snape could just make out her eyes. She was looking at the ground with wide eyes. It looked like she was breathing hard.

“Erica!” Snape yelled. He tried to touch her again and succeeded in touching her hand. Instantly he felt that familiar shock from earlier, before he was thrown across the room from the force of power surging through Erica’s body.

Snape opened his eyes. He was in a strange place. He looked around and spotted Erica dressed in her vampire outfit before him.

“Erica,” he yelled. She didn’t appear to hear him. He rushed over to her and tried to grab her, but fell straight through her body.

“I’m so sorry Severus,” she said.

A second Erica showed up, this one dressed in Gryffindor colors, followed by another dressed as she was when kneeling on the ground. The three of them formed a triangle around Snape. He looked at them all as they faced him.

“It is your choice,” vampire Erica said with a snap. She was scarier than the real Erica had been.

“You remember us all,” the school Erica said. “You remember us all, but you don’t know our true purpose. If you did, you would never understand.”

“What is your purpose?” Snape asked. The older Erica with silver streaks through her hair looked down at Snape.

“Our purpose is one that you could never imagine. One you would never understand.”

“How do you know I won’t understand?” Snape asked quietly.

School Erica walked forward and sat down next to Snape. “We know you Severus, better than you think. Each of us knows a different side of you. I know about your school days.”

“I know about you before the war,” vampire Erica said.

“And I know about you through love,” the older Erica said. Snape looked at all of them as they sat around him, still in the triangle.
“Is this a dream?”

“Do you wish it too be?” Older Erica said. Snape shook his head.

“I want to understand,” he said. Older Erica looked at the other two. They nodded their opinions at her. Older Erica turned back to Snape.

“Very well, but once you see our true purpose, you will be forced to choose. Either killing Erica, or allowing her to complete her purpose.”

Snape nodded. Older Erica told him to shut his eyes and clear his mind. He did so.

Visions began to cloud his mind as the true intent of Erica’s existence began to play in his head.

-----

Erica stands at the top of the Astronomy tower with Dumbledore. He is smiling and she is not. They aren’t speaking.

A flash of something flies through the air and impales itself onto Dumbledore. His smile fades as his hand touches his wound and becomes coated in his blood.

His eyes lift to Erica’s eyes. His are filled with confusion and fear while hers are filled with a coldness that Snape could never understand.

Dumbledore takes a step away from Erica and notices the object in her hand. It is a knife covered in his blood.

He takes another step back and falls over the edge of the tower onto the ground below, dead.

Erica drops the knife over the edge and allows it to fall onto Dumbledore’s chest. She turns and leaves the tower, blood coating her hands.

Snape’s eyes open instantly. He looks at the three versions of his oldest friend, and the only woman he has ever loved.

“The choice is yours now Severus,” School Erica said. “Can you kill the only woman you ever loved, your first real friend?”

“You didn’t kill me once before despite my appearances,” vampire Erica said, “but that was before we threatened your only real friend who trusted you when no one else would. Can you kill me now?”

“Or will you choose to let me carry out my purpose for still living? The choice is yours,” older Erica said. The three girls disappeared leaving Snape in the darkness with his thoughts.

-----

He awakened a few seconds later and sat up and looked at Erica. She was still trapped in the light ball, but she didn’t seem to be hurting anymore.

He was lost and confused. If he didn’t kill her, then Dumbledore would die, but he couldn’t kill her either.

Suddenly the light ball around her broke and she was able to stand again. She wasn’t glowing like before, but she was breathing terribly hard.

“You need to make your choice now Severus,” she said. She reached down and picked up a knife from the floor and placed it on a nearby table, close to Snape.

“Kill me now, or allow Albus to die, I will not stop you,” Erica said looking at the floor.

Snape picked up the knife and looked at it for a few seconds. There had to be a reason why she had to kill Dumbledore…there had to be.

“Why do you have to kill Dumbledore?” Snape asked looking at the girl. She didn’t move as she spoke.

“That is a reason that only I alone know the answer too. If Albus is to die, then I am the only one to do it. If you kill me and allow Albus to live, then that is your choice. The real question is who do you trust more? Albus or myself?”

Snape was at a crossroads. On one side was Erica, who he has loved for twenty years despite everything, and on the other was Albus, who trusted him when no one else did and took him in despite who he was. Now one had to die.

Snape took a deep breath as he walked closer to Erica with the knife. The blade flashed catching every bit of light there was in the dim room. Snape kept his eyes on Erica the whole time, waiting for some sort of reaction from her. There was none.

When he finally stood in front of her he lifted her chin with his free hand and looked into her eyes.

Her eyes told him no lies. It was more than just killing Albus, but she couldn’t tell him the reasoning behind it. She loved him more than anything, just like she had twenty years ago, if not more. She trusted him to make the right decision, but also knew that this was hard for him to decide. His friend, or the woman he loves.

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered. Erica nodded slightly.

“I know, but I know that whatever choice you make, it will be right.”

Snape lifted the dagger and looked at it before looking back at Erica.

“I’ve made my choice,” he said staring directly into her eyes.