Ashes
(updated 10/17/2013)
WARNING: AU. SLASH. VIOLENCE. LANGUAGE. MPREG. Slight OOC. Non-linear flash backs.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the general plot and the identity of Christian Spane.
A/N: Before you begin reading, I appeal to you, dear Snarry fans. Being that the genre this is categorized under is Mystery/Suspense, aside from giving the main pairing out please be patient with me. I will be very vague in the first few chapters (There are ten, including the epilogue, so yes, this story is complete). Trust that all pertinent questions will be answered as we go along. Please keep an open mind and heart. Severus, and subsequently, Harry, will be much, much different from my treatment of them in my other stories. With that said, I hope you enjoy the opening chapter (and yes, chapters are meant to be THAT short. I find that suspense works better in shorter length). Reviews will fuel my desire to update. –C.
OUTLINE:
Chapter 1: Christian Spane
Chapter 2: Changes and Choices
Chapter 3: Ghosts
Chapter 4: It Begins
Chapter 5: A Cursed Life
Chapter 6: Flesh and Blood
Chapter 7: Cries
Chapter 8: Stop
Chapter 9: Decisions
Chapter 10: The End
Epilogue: Everett
LEGEND:
"Dialogue/ speech" 'Thoughts'Notes/ flashback
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Ashes
By: C.M. Oliver
©2013
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For my wingman, Darwin. Conquering the world is so much more fun with you. –C.
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Chapter 1: Christian Spane
"It seems that all of your credentials are in order, Mr. Spane. All I can say further is, welcome to the Hogwarts staff."
"Thank you, Headmistress McGonagall." The man called Mr. Spane politely intoned with a slight bow. "I will not let you down."
The old witch smiled.
"Minerva please, Mr. Spane –"
"Ah, then I must insist that you address me as Christian then, Minerva,"
Minerva McGonagall eyed the man in front of her. Christian Augurey Spane looked pleasant, youthful and learned, most especially. At first she did have her misgivings about hiring this relative stranger for the recently vacated post of DADA Professor (which until then was thought by a rotation of Aurors). 'Merlin, I thought young Harry already broke that curse,' she mused sadly. But here they were again, in need of someone to fill in the Defense post after that tragedy that befell Harry in his own home no less.
The formidable witch let out a deep sigh before letting her thoughts drift back to the young man she had just hired. 'I do hope he lasts longer than the most.' She nodded at him.
"Very well, Christian. And good luck to you."
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Transfiguration Mistress Hermione Granger had just finished getting her classroom ready for the coming term. She was about to leave her office when she had bumped into somebody. Books and pieces of parchment flew out of her hands.
"What –"
"Oh, sorry –" A deep voice cut in. Professor Granger watched as a tall, blonde ma bent over to pick up the scattered objects. She immediately joined him, but by the time she did, the man was already done gathering her things. He turned to her with an embarrassed grin.
"Forgive me, madam. I'm never usually this clumsy." The blonde stood up and balanced the books on one hand before looking again at the still flustered-looking woman.
"I hope you excuse my manners, I would offer a hand, but –" he gestured at his heavily-laden arms with a grin. "My name is Christian Spane, nice to meet you –"
The bushy-haired woman's eyes lit up, recognizing the name..
"Oh – you're –you're the new Defense Professor!" She exclaimed. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Hermione Granger, Transfiguration Mistress –but you can call me Hermione. Nice to meet you."
"Well, call me Christian then, Hermione." The man flashed another winning smile. "And yes, I'm filling in the vacancy –I just hope I last longer than a year –" At the pronouncement, Hermione's face visibly fell. Christian noticed this. He frowned.
"I'm sorry, Prof –Hermione. Have I said something to offend you?"
Hermione forced herself to look at Christian. The man's quick-silver eyes were awashed with concern. She shook her head. "Forgive me, Christian." She sighed. "It's just – it's just – it has been tough. My friend you know –Harry Potter, he was –"
"Say no more," Christian nodded somberly. "I apologize for my apparently rude comment. I did not know he was close to you. The Headmistress as given me a rough background on the circumstances surrounding the vacancy I am filling in." He handed over the books back to Hermione. "I must be off and get settled in then –international apparition lag and all."
The witch nodded. "I understand. It must be a long way –from the United States?"
"Ohio State," Christian affirmed with a soft smile as he turned to leave. "See you around, Hermione."
"You as well, Christian. Best of luck for the coming year."
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It seemed that Christian was meant to bump into people that day. He was heading past the Grand Staircase to get to the Defense Corridor, when a black blur hit him like a bludger,
"Oof –excuse –"
"WHAT ON EARTH? Are you blind?" A harsh, caustic tone greeted the new Defense Professor. Christian lifted his face and me the unrelenting gaze of –
"Professor Snape," The blonde man breathed almost too quietly as he stepped back. The ebony-haired man raised a perfect eyebrow in mid-rant. His face immediately transformed into a graduated scowl as he gave the younger man in front of him a once-over.
"It's actually Snape-Malfoy now." He frowned. "I apologize, but am I supposed to know you?"
Christian smiled –one that did not reach his eyes.
"I think I know you fairly well, sir." He moved to close their gap, holding his hand out to the Potions Master. The latter eyed the proffered limb rather warily.
"I do not mean to be rude, but again I ask –how do you know me?" The man's obsidian eyes latched on to the other's silver ones intently. A few seconds of the impromptu staring match later, Severus Snape averted his eyes pointedly. Christian smirked. "I do not appreciate the intrusion in my mind, Professor. I do hope it will not be repeated anytime soon." The blonde man said lightly, his extended hand, now long dropped to his side. "But to answer your question, I simply studied you in my Masters class."
Severus' eyes showed momentary surprise, but he quickly schooled them back to impassiveness. "Indeed? I most certainly have no knowledge of myself being included in any curriculum whatsoever in Britain." Christian let out an easy laugh.
"Not here, Professor, but in the US. I'm sure Minerva has mentioned that I was schooled there." He then winked at Severus. "The name's Christian Spane, by the way, in case you did not catch it –replacement for the Great Harry Potter. I do hope we get time to get to know each other better, Severus. I'll see you around." Without further ado, the blonde turned to leave, a transfixed Severus Snape in his wake, gaping at the young man's forwardness and cheek
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"STUPEFY!"
"REDUCTO! You should have just died then, Potter! You should have just died battling the Dark Lord! Why did you have to live? You're worse than Devil's Snare! But you know what? Your luck ends today –today, you will DIE! You will die just like you should have –and everything you took away from me would be mine once again! SECTUMSEMPRA!"
"SHUT UP! I don't know what you're playing at! You have everything I could ever want! You have him! He –he chose you –after everything, he still chose you! He left me for you! What more can you gain by doing this! INCARCEROUS!"
"PROTEGO! Do you think I'm that stupid? Do you think I would not find out what you did –what you carry inside of you? RELASHIO!"
"What –NO! Leave me alone! Just please leave me –us alone! This is mine! Mine you here me? I will not bother you, just let me –"
"You must think me a fool! Do you think I do not know how he would react if he knew what you carried inside of you? He will leave me again! Again! I will not let that happen! Your delusion ends tonight –you and that bastard of a freak –PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
Still, silent horror.
"You see, Potter, this is how it ends. You die alone, in this very Manor you built, and no one would be the wiser. They will lay a marker with your name on it –and nobody would evn know of your tiny little secret –FLAMARIA FLAGRANTE!
Consuming, raging hell-fire began to scatter like dust around the small, otherwise darkened room.
"Goodbye, Harry Potter. Say hello to the devil for me."
A man lay in petrified silence as his fiery death came creeping, inch by traitorous, horrendous inch.
Exactly eleven minutes later, everything in that small room and the Manor that it was a part of, was promptly turned into ashes.
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The first Staff Meeting of the year was in full swing by the time Severus had arrived. It was the night before the students were due to return. As always, it was Minerva alone who acknowledged his arrival with a smile. True, he had been recognized as a Spy for the Light in the last war and had been accepted as such by the public, his peers and colleagues, but recent events thrust him back to notoriety and scorn. He quietly took his seat next to the Headmistress, his face not belying his deep-rooted annoyance. 'What do they know? Nothing. They lost a savior, a mascot, a figurehead. They cannot possibly understand.' He discreetly scanned the faces that ignored him pointedly. Upon reaching the one directly across him however, he stopped. Christian Spane had a curious look on his youthful face. He was watching the Potions Master rather intently. Severus tried to brush him off with a glare, but it only made the silver-eyed man smile. Severus shook his head inwardly.
'What is wrong with this idiot?' After their first encounter, Christian Spane had most definitely made good on his word of trying to get to know the Slytherin head better. He was almost like an annoying shadow that showed up at the most inopportune moments –offering assistance, asking inane questions about his well-being –even going as far as showing up at the Potions Master's quarters one fine evening, toting a bottle of champagne and armed with this winsome smile. When Severus' gruff tone and furious scowl had failed to faze the persistent young man, he had resorted to rudely slamming the door of his quarters at the new DADA Professor's face. However, no matter how brashly he treated Christian, it seemed to not deter the blonde in his efforts to make Severus' acquaintance, if not, it appeared to fuel the young man's resolve even more.
'Bull-headed brat, do I look like I'm in want of friends?' Severus remembered thinking the day he had finally gave in and sat down for tea with the determined Christian Spane. He steeled himself to be bombarded by foolish inquiries about his body of work and even his personal life, but to his surprise, they had spent a quiet fifteen minutes together, enjoying tea. Christian turned out to be quite a pleasant company; he never asked, never pried, never over-stepped any of Severus' personal boundaries –at least so far. It was quite refreshing for someone like Severus that another should genuinely desire his company. His husband always whined and complained about the smallest of things whenever they weren't sticking their tongues down each other's throats; His colleagues would only approach him when they needed something –even Minerva. When was the last time someone had just spent idle time with him?
"What is it with you and you constant urge to have tea with me?" Severus had finally asked. It was the third time he had sat down to tea with the enigmatic young man. "Despite your earlier pronouncement of needing my help and what-not, you never ask nor say anything during these meetings. Am I missing something here, Spane?"
The DADA Professor merely smiled as he was wont to do during theses meetings. He took a small sip of his tea before gently replacing his cup on the side table gracing the corner of the almost-constantly deserted Faculty Lounge. His silver eyes shone seeing the Potions master's perplexed countenance.
"There are more things you can learn about someone just by quiet observation. I am a firm believer in that."
"Is that so?" Severus challenged, mildly curious. "pray tell then, what have you learned about me in the last forty or so minutes that you have spent in my company."
"The most obvious is that you enjoy the quiet, but it seems that that is a dead give away." Christian grinned. "You take you tea with exactly three squeezes of lemon juice –don't deny it. I can see you counting the drops with your lips –a mark of a traditional and exacting man. You detest anything sweet and you would only touch pumpkin scones after they have been dipped in you tea to wash of the extra dusting of powdered sugar. Aside from those, you always sit with your back against the wall –a sign of obvious distrust with your surroundings. Your eyes stray at the entrance to every room every so often. Your wand hand is almost always idle, as if you are about to get ready to throw a hex at the first sign of trouble."
"Impressive," Severus found himself admitting reluctantly. "But that is almost general knowledge. Anyone who I have dealt with in the past can very well tell you those things." Christian chuckled lightly.
"But of course. However, I think you can tell me that not many people know that you enjoy listening to music –not the recorded ones –the kind that naturally occurs like chirping birds or the howling of the wind, or the ripples in the lake." The young man leaned forward, as if about to tell a big secret. He whispered dramatically."And not many people know that you like small animals –furry ones. You can deny it, but I know of the puppy you keep just behind Hagrid's Hut. After all, the scraps from the table would be of no use to the pumpkins there."
Severus raised an eyebrow.
"You are observant. I give you that. But given the fact that not many people take time to study my person, I can make no comparison."
"You hate crowds, but you do not like being alone." The silver-eyed man continued. "You are confident of your capabilities, but unsure of your emotions. You know who you are, but not what you want. You are unhappy, Severus –"
It was a week ago. Severus remembered walking out of the conversation, confused like he had never been before. He avoided the blonde since then and today was the first time he had encountered Christian. Honestly, he did not know what to think of him. His glare had returned when he realized that Minerva was speaking to him.
"Severus? Christian was offering to coach the Slytherin Quidditch Team for you. That should free up more of your time so you could attend to your Deputy duties." The Slytherin Head turned to her before scowling at the man across him.
"He's not a Slytherin. He cannot take on duties as such –"
"Oh, but I am," said Christian affably, his lips curled into what was becoming his signature smile (Severus seriously thought that he could give Lockhart a run for his money with it.) "I have been sorted by your curious Hat just this morning –lovely thing. We don't have such an implement at Salem. I'm officially a Snake, for all intents and purposes –cunning, ambitious, shrewd…" He winked at the Potions Master.
"That settles it then," the Headmistress was saying. "Now, onto brooms for –" She went on and on but Severus failed to hear the rest. He was busy giving Christian a calculated gaze. Cheeky, observant, curious… the young man was fast becoming quite a puzzle to him. Severus could hardly wrap his head around this one… blonde hair, silver gaze, that mysterious smile –that seemingly hid a most wondrous secret –that never reached his rather expressive eyes. There was a feeling of familiarity and distance at the same time, an inexplicable pull, an unwanted urge to trust the strange man…
"You are unhappy, Severus –"
Severus frowned. Who really was this Christian Spane?
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-END OF CHAPTER 1-
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A/N: This chapter had been updated 10/17/2013. Please note that the confrontation between Christian and Severus had been altered, together with the flashback. Another section had been added proceeding said flashback as well. Chapter 2 will be updated next week. In the mean time, feel free to send a review/ comment my way. I love them. Like seriously LOVE them. See you in the following social media platforms as well:
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