A/N: This is an unusual story, AU, and ah...more than a bit dark. Anyways, it'll be a bit controversial, because my mind's twisted like that, so beware! *grin* As usual, JKR owns the world of Harry Potter, so this is my first and last warning for this story. :-) And the poem is an excerpt from a song on Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series, the episode 'Hush'.
Can't even shout, can't even cry
The Gentlemen are coming by.
Can't call to mum, can't say a word,
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.
Deathly silent, he decided, was the perfect term. The street was void of anything living, and in the distance there were green smoke stacks rising in the air and unholy lights reflecting off of them. There were screams too. Odd shouts and horrific pleads for mercy.
He took none of those in, not really. Instead he walked easily, cautious not to step on any of the dead bodies. Each one had a look of permanent horror etched across their faces. He smirked looking over one body of a woman with a pretty face, grey eyes, and long red locks. She reminded him mildly of Lily Potter, only Potter had never looked cowardly. Terrified, yes, but not afraid for herself. He kicked the woman's face, bitterly, before standing up straight again, regaining his emotionless composure. He had one visit to make before he joined his Death Eaters. Just one.
The distant screams were dulled even more now, as he walked through the graveyard. There had been one set of lovers that were attempting to run from the death and destruction, unfortunately, he had seen them. They need not worry anymore, death was upon them. He did not want distractions. He stopped in front of the grave he had come to see. He didn't glance at the tombstone next to hers, but looked at hers and hers alone. He knelt down and put his hand against the granite, carefully tracing the words 'Lily Potter'.
"Foolish girl," he muttered under his breath. "A child wasn't worth death. Severus, perhaps, was wrong about you. He'll not be disappointed again though."
He stood back up and backed away until he was at the foot of the grave. He closed his large, snake-like red eyes, and took a deep breath as he pulled his wand out of his cloak. He lifted his arms wide, much as a conductor would for a band. But the band he was controlling would produce far from entertaining music. Well, he mused, he would certainly enjoy it.
There was an odd rustle around his robes. Something...foreboding. He didn't move, he didn't even seem to notice, but merely held his stance, his lips moving as though in silent prayer. What he would be praying to, however, was more horrifying than even his appearance was. What sort of god would
want him to pray to them?
He was a tall man, hairless, and his face mimicked that of a snake. He had slits for a nose, and huge red eyes. His teeth were sharp, bringing him to the resemblance of a fierce beast more than a human. His skin was a ghostly white, and it was almost as though he could have become transparent upon will. The aurora about him was powerful and sinister.
The odd rustle this time was more powerful. Shadows that didn't belong were now surrounding the man, and a silent hiss was surrounding the area around the grave of Lily Potter. An oddly twisted smile crossed his features as he continued silently speaking to the thus unknown god.
Breaths of screams emitted from his wordless lips as the strange shadows grew more solid around him, the air taking on a thick, deadly texture. His wicked grin grew all the more and he took one more breath before he opened his eyes to the beasts that surrounded him. Creatures of unimaginable ferocity lined themselves beside him. His eyes drifted over each of them in turn, settling last on the ghostly figure of a human that stood in the middle of the circle...right on top of Lily Potter's grave. The ground under her was cracking and at last there was a resounding roar of a casket being ripped open. The dirt under the figure's feet shifted aside and a skeleton rose, taking its place just within the transparent figure.
"It's been a long time, Lily, m'dear," he said, his voice low, almost a whisper. The figure merely hung limply, the skeleton beneath her slowly becoming less visible as she became more solidified. "And you thought your soul would rest easy now didn't you? How did the underworld treat you? What's death like?"
The figure didn't respond, but her fingers twitched, as the skeleton adopted the new skin it was being granted. He watched as the skeleton vanished, and the body finally dropped back to the ground. It didn't move, not at first. He knew she had to remember how to move. But move she did. Her breathing became rapid, and she slowly pushed herself up, her arms trembling as she did so. Her red hair hid her face, but her breathing was nothing short of fear. He smirked. It was a long time coming. He watched as she slowly got to her feet, shaking like mad. Her brilliant green eyes looked down at her tiny hands with unspoken disgrace. She didn't make a sound, but finally looked up at him, those same wide eyes, that same fear. No, he could see, it wasn't death she feared, but life.
"Amazing isn't it?" he asked, a horrible smile on his face. "To be reborn. I've done it myself once, quite amazing. And it's all thanks to you, really, Lily my dear. Your sacrifice did away with my first body, but your boy's blood...your blood...brought me back to life. I thought it only fair that I return the favor. I am a merciful man, aren't I?"
He watched as she absorbed his words. Her expression didn't change, and he was mildly curious if she even knew he was saying anything at all. The shadowed figures around her moved with unspoken excitement. He raised his hand to still them. Not just yet. He wanted her to understand what was in store for her
before they got their reward.
"Mercy," she said her voice dry. She sounded like a small, broken, and very frightened child. "Have mercy."
"That's what I've just done," he laughed cruelly. "Of course, this new life of yours doesn't come without a cost. You see, it's very difficult to create new life once it has died. That's forces outside of this world...it requires a deal with the next. Since it was not I who returned from the grave, but merely fulfilled your earlier request for me to have mercy, it shall be
you who must pay."
Lily's eyes did not widen anymore with fear, but she watched him oddly. Perhaps she was merely mirroring what her final words had been. Perhaps she didn't understand him. Perhaps, he smirked, he should elaborate.
"These, Mrs. Potter, are Demons," he said motioning to the creatures surrounding them. Lily's eyes followed his long, pale hands. He smirked as she did so. Those emeralds of hers taking each creature in with a look of sickening horror. "You see, they granted me the ability to bring you back. Your soul could not be found in the world they come from...but a soul as beautiful and unique as yours will be welcome and feasted upon for an eternity there," his smirk fell now, a look of nothing short of controlling power over her falling over his face now. Again, Lily's fear neither grew nor faded. She merely looked.
"Mercy," she repeated. "Have mercy."
He watched her, quietly, as she sat back down and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her frail arms around them. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks, and he knew she understood every word. It made him smile all the more. He snapped his long fingers and like a small hurricane of shadows, the Demons returned to their shadowed state, and were absorbed in the body of Lily Potter, earning nothing from her but a silent scream.
He cocked his head to his side as she fell back, her mouth slightly open; her eyes wide. She looked much as she did when she died, only this time she was very much alive.
"Snape," he said, flicking his wand. A masked figure appeared next to him.
"Yes my Lord?" his voice was slick and his black eyes behind his mask looked only at his Lord. The Lord merely motioned to where the bare Lily Potter lay, breathing shallowly. He heard his servant breathe in sharply.
"You can thank me later Severus," he said darkly. "Take her now. Make sure she's not found. And Severus..."
The masked figure finally looked up at his Lord again. His black eyes seemed beyond shock, beyond all belief. It was difficult to tell if he was grateful or horrified.
"Yes, my Lord?" he inquired his oily voice only mildly stiffer than it had been before. It was as though his Master had shown him a mere magic trick that he was unimpressed with. His Lord smirked, knowing that his most faithful servant could retain himself even in such unusual situations.
"Tell no one."
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