TITLE: Candidates for Power.
RATING: PG
KEYWORDS: HP/SM - SM/HP
PAIRINGS: Read and find out.
SUMMARY: What if Albus calls in an old favour? One wizard can gain power necessary to fight and weaken Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Who will it be?
AUTHOR: Sarhea
EMAIL: [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: Major characters in this story are owned by their respective creators/companies. I do not make money off writing!!
NOTE: Post OotP. Things aren't going so well.
NOTE: Usagi and Mamoru break up after Galaxia when she comes into her full powers.
============================================================
A New Senshi
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wecome to my world Champion and Protector." She told him in sad tones.
Severus tensed and reached out. His magical senses were augmented, his control greater than it had ever been, even with a wand from Ollivanders, the potential within him.... He stared at her amazed.
"You trust me with this?"
"Fate trusted a clumsy, insecure, childish brat with the Ginzoushou." She told him as she helped him to his feet.
"But--."
"Enough!" She ordered. "That is the past and gone. Only the future matters." She frowned turning her gaze inward as she saw something only she could see. A slow smile curved her lips. "Yes, that is most suitable for you."
Severus frowned. He did not like losing so much control. "What?"
"Death." She told him savouring the word. Several wizards gasped and drew out their wands ready to attack this strange witch. "Death is a part of Life." She ignored them and continued instructing him in stern tones. "Saturn is not time for us, Pluto is. Setsuna is Pluto. I am the Moon and my Earth. You are Saturn and this Earth.
"Saturn has always been the most destructive of the Planatary Senshi. Saturn is Death, Destruction and Rebirth. The summation of the natural order, of Life. Your big bad has driven a wedge in the cycle and Saturn will correct it."
"Serenity-sama!" Setsuna stepped forward from behind the curtain where she had stood and watched.
"No Setsuna." Serenity-Usagi silenced the older woman with a gesture. "Hotaru is too weak to bear the full extent of Saturn's mantle. My mother was very discriminatory in her choice. I would rather choose people who can handle the pressure and are suited to the role. Severus will be a good planetary avatar."
"You cannot go around handing out power like that!" Setsuna objected.
The Princess raised a brow. "Oh, really? Would you prefer I give a loaded gun to a teenager and send him out to fight a war? No Setsuna, this way is better."
"But Professor Snape carries the Dark Mark." Hermione Granger objected. "If you give him power the Dark Lord may get access to it."
The Princess receded back and the woman laughed. "Don't be so silly." She glanced sideways at Snape. "Severus, would you care to strip for their edification?"
"Ha ha. Very funny Usagi." Severus grouched as he pushed back his robe sleeve and unbuttoned his cuff and turned up the sleeve. He held out a bare pale forearm free of any traces of the Dark Mark.
"How?" Hermione Granger was the only one who managed to get the question out.
"It was merely a tattoo tainted with negative energy; it was easy to remove it and the traces of negative energy in the system. I cleansed the Ayakashi sisters souls of negative energy, this was just a surface taint." Usagi explained briefly as she moved the older man back and studied his features. She frowned. "What is this glamourie?" She asked him curious running a slim hand through his limp greasy hair and tracing the contours of his face, touching his lips, with her other hand.
Everyone frowned at that question. Glamourie? What was she talking about? Professor Snape was ugly.
Severus frowned. "You can see it?"
"Not before." She confessed. "When I bonded us together I gained more perception of your personal magic."
Severus sighed and relaxed cracking the tendons in his neck. His features blurred and redefined. "Appearance detracting charm." He confessed. "I had a knack for wandless magic even before today."
His skin was still pale but his features weren't so jagged but flowed together in a smooth even fashion, his nose was not so oversized but thin and aquiline with a crook in the middle where it had been broken. His teeth were white and even, his lips weren't so thin but more relaxed and curved. The most drastic change was his hair; it was no longer greasy and hanging in lank clumps. He sighed and raked it back tucking most of it behind one ear. He looked younger and more vulnerable.
"Severus! Why?" Dumbledore was patently baffled by the actions of the wizard he loved as a son.
"Albus I was twenty four when I started teaching." Severus explained pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was going to teach students who were only a few years younger than me. I modified a few charms to graft my teenage appearance onto my skin and connect the muscles and nerves mystically. I never took it off and to be honest I have forgotten it was there. It was easier to cultivate an unsavory appearance and a scary character to dissuade attempts at blackmail."
"Well your students can forget about trying to get into your pants." Usagi spoke frankly. Several individuals blushed. Everyone gawped. Severus stared down at the blonde female. "I am going to be around for the next year or so and we are going to be closer than most married couples." She explained ignoring several teachers choking at the idea of female students trying to seduce the most hated teacher in Hogwarts. "Now stand still. I still have to instill Saturns' powers in you."
Usagi ignored their protests and studied him carefully running her hand over his head, torso and arms following lines in his personal magical aura only she could see. Severus could feel the changes as her touch literally streamlined his aura removing weak tendrils, patching holes, reinforcing weaknesses.
"Strip." She ordered him.
Severus Snape stared down at the blonde beauty. "What?" Surely she hadn't meant what she just said?
"Strip." She repeated. "I need to touch the skin on your arms, chest and legs. I hope you are wearing boxers or briefs." She added tongue in cheek. "You can request the other females to leave if you feel uncomfortable."
"That will not be necessary." He replied drily as he obeyed the order.
The female staff and Hermione Granger goggled as the Potions Professor removed his robe and folded it over a chair. He repeated the process with his shirt before toeing off his boots and socks and stripping off his black linen pants. All in all Severus Snape was a fine specimen of manhood. He wasn't overly built or bulky but had the streamlined build and muscles of a runner or swimmer. He glared at her before standing arms crossed dressed in a pair of black silk boxers.
"Hold still." Two hands reached out and traced an intricate pattern on his body moving to reach different parts of his body - arms, shoulders, pectorals, abs, back, thighs, hamstrings, calves. "If this were the Silver Millenium this would be done with great deal of pomp and speech making." She commented wryly as she 'cut' paths of power with her touch. "There are always witnesses, an audience to bear testament to the bestowing of power." White hands moved as she bent and knelt to reach each spot occasionally nudging him into a different position like an artist with a model. "It is very rare because power tends to be handed down a certain line throughout the generations. A gift of power is similar to creation of an earldom or dukedom. The whole court must know this is a gift granted and accepted in good faith and of freewill. It is not meant to enslave the grantee or seized from the granter; it is a sacred trust." She straightened and moved behind him to trace a pattern on the the defined shoulder blades and the nape of his neck before moving to the front to 'draw' on his cheeks, throat, chin, temples before finally making the mark of Saturn on his forehead. "Done." The lines she traced sprang to live emitting a soft violet glow as they lit up channelling manna, creating an abstract pattern on his skin. He tensed and hissed as he felt the raw power burning in the newly drawn mystical channels.
Usagi nodded in satisfaction. "You are taking the power well. No build up or blockages. Most likely due to your suitability as a candidate and your acceptance of your choice. The network is rather basic though" She commented clinically. "As your personal strength increases the design will become even more intricate." She explained.
Severus frowned. "Can I see yours?" He asked.
"After. First we have to finish this." Usagi countered flapping her wings causing several loose feathers to flutter to the ground where it transformed into glitter dust. "Reach within you for something different yet alive. When you sense it speak the words. Saturn Knight Power. It helps increase your focus if you say it out loud."
"Like a charm." Severus murmured as he turned inward. "Saturn. Knight. Power."
A whirlwind of pure power swept through the room. A column of energy, glitter, power and darkness surrounded the Potion Master before settling to the stones with a distinct hiss.
"Nimue fuck me." Bill Weasley was the only one who managed to speak at the sight before them.
Severus Snape was no longer clad in his typical black pants and billowing robes. The tall slim man before them wore tight black suede pants that disappeared into knee high boots with no sign of lacings, buttons or seams. It seamed to be painted on outlining the long defined muscles in his thighs and calves. The only decoration on the boots were a pair of silver spurs that jingled softly as he shifted drawing the eyes up past the waist. No black or even gray top. The new Saturn Knight wore a long-sleeved purple Chinese style shirt with silver piping and accents and a medley of green and silver serpents and dragons crawling across the purple silk. His black hair was drawn back with a silver clasp bringing the sharp defined planes of his face into the forefront. Shorter tendrils fell about his face, some tucked behind an ear, others falling into his eyes.
Saturn Knight Severus Snape tensed when he felt the dark power within building to a peak. It subsided when he forced his mind and body to relax. He would have to practise to learn how to control this. It wouldn't do to hex anyone who startled him. A frown creased the marble smooth brow as he examined the changes in his internal reserves and gagued his new strength and abilities. The Darkness within him was Right. It was not Evil, just Dark; the polar opposite of Light. When he felt more certain of his grasp on it he opened his eyes. And frowned.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Usagi couldn't restrain the wry smile.
"They are looking at you Sev."
"Don't call me Sev." The protest was spoken out of reflex.
She raised a brow. "Perhaps a mirror?" She glanced at a pillar close by. It transmuted into mirrored pillar.
"What the--!" He turned to the Moon Princess. "What happened to my robes?" Severus asked feeling outraged.
"It was transfigured into your outfit." She explained blandly. "You should be pleased with what you are wearing. Trust me, it wasn't fun wearing a pervert's idea of a sailor uniform with a very short skirt when you are a teen. As soon as I learned enough I changed the female Senshi uniform into something more practical. I didn't plan for a male Senshi but I can't say I dislike what the magic has chosen for you."
"This?" Severus was feeling slightly outraged. "What about my robes?"
Usagi glanced at him with a raised brow and pointed a slim finger at him. A flash of gold and silver sparks burst from the fingertip and covered the outraged male. When it receded he was wearing a long Muggle-style black leather trench coat with split sides and back. The only decoration on the coat was the silver etched design of the Saturnian sigil and the Slytherin snake on each breast pocket. His knees buckled slightly before he compensaved for the extra weight.
"There. This is more practical than your robes. It is easier to weave armoring spells on leather since it was once alive. The coat itself has panels of woven mithril and reinforced Muggle kevlar. It has been enchanted with several basic shielding and armoring spells. The weight is to remind you to be constantly vigilant. You will have to learn how to fight in close combat using the coat as part of your tactics. As you gain more control of your power you can add more personalized protection spells. The coat will remain part of your uniform until you get full control of your power. When you reach that point you can discard it or transform it to your normal robes."
Severus nodded accepting her words without question. Usagi smiled briefly.
"What do you sense? Speak what you feel. Do not worry about what they will think." She glanced at the bemused shocked audience and speculating looks.
"Darkness." Severus spoke feeling slightly distracted. "It is not Evil, just Dark." He glanced at her. "It is the opposite of what I sense in you."
Usagi smiled slowly. "With Light there is Dark, with Good there is Evil, for Order there is Chaos. Light can be Evil just as Dark can be good. Power is Power. The intent, the motive, the result... That determines Good and Evil."
Several wizards shifted uneasily. This female was turning all their beliefs upside down! Hermione Granger listened fascinated.
"The source within you... Touch it. Do you feel something in it? Something that is very much like your wand? Something that is part of you, body and soul?" Severus nodded distractedly in reaction to her hypnotic words. "Draw it out."
He frowned absently as he twisted his right wrist as though drawing something out of thin air.
A huge scythe made of black ebony with a black metal blade coalesced out of the Void. Severus spun the staff with ingrained reflexes until the weapon rested in both hands with the iron shod heel of the device rested on the stones.
The audience moved back warily. Would Snape attack them with it if she ordered him to?
Usagi ignored them. "Death is said to carry a scythe and wear black robes. The Silence Scythe is a Talisman, an artifact of enormous power and potential. It can only be drawn and handled by the Senshi of Saturn. Anyone else would be destroyed by the energy it channels. There are several variations of energy attacks using Saturns' energy. You can channel it through your body using gestures for focus or through the Scythe. I would advise against using your wand; it would be destroyed trying to handle these levels of power."
Severus nodded studying the dense light absorbing material of the blade and staff.
"It is alive. But still." Severus mused absently studying the black matte sheen.
Usagi was impressed. She hadn't expected him to progress so fast. "Can you sense it?" Usagi asked with soft urgency. "Can you feel the pool of stillness within it and you?"
Black eyes went blank as the new Senshi focused inwards. "Yessss. Silence."
"The Senshi of Saturn is often called the Silence Bringer. When there is no hope Saturn must destroy the world so that the cycle may begin anew." Usagi instructed him sternly. "Our of the ashes of destruction life will be reborn."
Obsidian eyes settled on the blonde intently. He bowed his head. "Yes."
"What!" Henri Royeux pushed to the front of the crowd. "You can't be serious!"
Cerulean blue eyes hardened as Serenity pinned the French Auror.
"Shut up." The words were brutal. The Auror was shocked into silence. "You people asked for my help and I have condescended to give it. Do not anger me by giving orders! I have had enough of orders from people who believe they are older, wiser and better suited to make judgment! Well believe me when I say you don't have a single clue about what me and mine are about! So stay out of it!" She roared the last few words cowing the Auror. Noting his expression with satisfaction she turned back to Severus Snape. An exultant light shone from blue-purple eyes.
"Now you are mine!" She told him unable to hide the gloating glee in her voice. "My Chosen! My Champion!"
Severus Snape fell to one knee and brushed a kiss against an outstretched hand.
"I am yours." He agreed in even tones but when he looked up to meet her eyes the witches and wizards nearby gasped at the fiercely protective light shining in his black eyes. "Just as you are mine." He added a qualifier as he rose to his feet.
To everyone's shock blue eyes shimmered with restrained tears, the softly pink mouth quivered.
"None of the other Senshi made such a claim." Usagi whispered.
Severus smiled gently. "Making such a claim means accept a two-way responsibility." A wrist twist and the Scythe vanished into the Void of subspace.
"Responsibility." Usagi mused over the word sadly. "Chains on the young."
"But I am not young." He corrected her. "I have borne responsibility in the past. I have no wish to shirk from more burdens. A most welcome burden in fact."
With a choked sob she fell into his arms and cried long and hard. Severus stood firm and wrapped leather clad arms around her carefully stroking the feathered wings.
"None of them really wished for it." She told him between sobs. "We were just ordinary teenagers. We didn't know anything about magic or fighting. Each of them secretly hated the burden as they pretended to be pleased by it. I could see bits of them dying under the pressure so I broke all the rules and let them go. I gave them their hopes and dreams. Only Setsuna remained because she has been a Senshi for so long she knows nothing else."
"But you can't forget. You remain behind... To remember."
"I have to. If I forget it has all been for nothing. I have to remember." A small clenched fist pounded the black leather covered bicep to emphasize her words.
"And you won't have to remember alone." He murmured softly as he hugged her tightly.
The couple remained silent as they hugged each other fiercely rocking slightly adjusting to each other without the words.
No one else wanted to speak. The picture of dark colors and leather against light airy silks, a tall male form and shorter female, blonde and black heads pressed next to each other. Her wings were wrapped tightly around them forming a feathered cocoon.
"What happens now?" Dumbledore broke the enchanted silence. He hated to do this but Severus and Usagi could have their private time after Usagi spoke her verbal oath to help the Order against the Dark Lord.
Reluctantly the couple moved apart. The feathered wings fluttered as she folded them against her back.
Usagi turned to the Headmaster and smiled. It was not a gentle forgiving smile. It was a fierce, feral smile holding the promise of pain and vengeance.
"Now? Now we are going to turn this world upside down and dust Old Voldie!"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The End.
============================================================
I have no plans at the moment to expand on this line. It depends on the Muses and my tight schedule.
Please read and review. ([email protected])
Raves and constructive criticism please.
Flames will be ignored.
Cheers!
Sarhea
RATING: PG
KEYWORDS: HP/SM - SM/HP
PAIRINGS: Read and find out.
SUMMARY: What if Albus calls in an old favour? One wizard can gain power necessary to fight and weaken Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Who will it be?
AUTHOR: Sarhea
EMAIL: [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: Major characters in this story are owned by their respective creators/companies. I do not make money off writing!!
NOTE: Post OotP. Things aren't going so well.
NOTE: Usagi and Mamoru break up after Galaxia when she comes into her full powers.
============================================================
A New Senshi
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wecome to my world Champion and Protector." She told him in sad tones.
Severus tensed and reached out. His magical senses were augmented, his control greater than it had ever been, even with a wand from Ollivanders, the potential within him.... He stared at her amazed.
"You trust me with this?"
"Fate trusted a clumsy, insecure, childish brat with the Ginzoushou." She told him as she helped him to his feet.
"But--."
"Enough!" She ordered. "That is the past and gone. Only the future matters." She frowned turning her gaze inward as she saw something only she could see. A slow smile curved her lips. "Yes, that is most suitable for you."
Severus frowned. He did not like losing so much control. "What?"
"Death." She told him savouring the word. Several wizards gasped and drew out their wands ready to attack this strange witch. "Death is a part of Life." She ignored them and continued instructing him in stern tones. "Saturn is not time for us, Pluto is. Setsuna is Pluto. I am the Moon and my Earth. You are Saturn and this Earth.
"Saturn has always been the most destructive of the Planatary Senshi. Saturn is Death, Destruction and Rebirth. The summation of the natural order, of Life. Your big bad has driven a wedge in the cycle and Saturn will correct it."
"Serenity-sama!" Setsuna stepped forward from behind the curtain where she had stood and watched.
"No Setsuna." Serenity-Usagi silenced the older woman with a gesture. "Hotaru is too weak to bear the full extent of Saturn's mantle. My mother was very discriminatory in her choice. I would rather choose people who can handle the pressure and are suited to the role. Severus will be a good planetary avatar."
"You cannot go around handing out power like that!" Setsuna objected.
The Princess raised a brow. "Oh, really? Would you prefer I give a loaded gun to a teenager and send him out to fight a war? No Setsuna, this way is better."
"But Professor Snape carries the Dark Mark." Hermione Granger objected. "If you give him power the Dark Lord may get access to it."
The Princess receded back and the woman laughed. "Don't be so silly." She glanced sideways at Snape. "Severus, would you care to strip for their edification?"
"Ha ha. Very funny Usagi." Severus grouched as he pushed back his robe sleeve and unbuttoned his cuff and turned up the sleeve. He held out a bare pale forearm free of any traces of the Dark Mark.
"How?" Hermione Granger was the only one who managed to get the question out.
"It was merely a tattoo tainted with negative energy; it was easy to remove it and the traces of negative energy in the system. I cleansed the Ayakashi sisters souls of negative energy, this was just a surface taint." Usagi explained briefly as she moved the older man back and studied his features. She frowned. "What is this glamourie?" She asked him curious running a slim hand through his limp greasy hair and tracing the contours of his face, touching his lips, with her other hand.
Everyone frowned at that question. Glamourie? What was she talking about? Professor Snape was ugly.
Severus frowned. "You can see it?"
"Not before." She confessed. "When I bonded us together I gained more perception of your personal magic."
Severus sighed and relaxed cracking the tendons in his neck. His features blurred and redefined. "Appearance detracting charm." He confessed. "I had a knack for wandless magic even before today."
His skin was still pale but his features weren't so jagged but flowed together in a smooth even fashion, his nose was not so oversized but thin and aquiline with a crook in the middle where it had been broken. His teeth were white and even, his lips weren't so thin but more relaxed and curved. The most drastic change was his hair; it was no longer greasy and hanging in lank clumps. He sighed and raked it back tucking most of it behind one ear. He looked younger and more vulnerable.
"Severus! Why?" Dumbledore was patently baffled by the actions of the wizard he loved as a son.
"Albus I was twenty four when I started teaching." Severus explained pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was going to teach students who were only a few years younger than me. I modified a few charms to graft my teenage appearance onto my skin and connect the muscles and nerves mystically. I never took it off and to be honest I have forgotten it was there. It was easier to cultivate an unsavory appearance and a scary character to dissuade attempts at blackmail."
"Well your students can forget about trying to get into your pants." Usagi spoke frankly. Several individuals blushed. Everyone gawped. Severus stared down at the blonde female. "I am going to be around for the next year or so and we are going to be closer than most married couples." She explained ignoring several teachers choking at the idea of female students trying to seduce the most hated teacher in Hogwarts. "Now stand still. I still have to instill Saturns' powers in you."
Usagi ignored their protests and studied him carefully running her hand over his head, torso and arms following lines in his personal magical aura only she could see. Severus could feel the changes as her touch literally streamlined his aura removing weak tendrils, patching holes, reinforcing weaknesses.
"Strip." She ordered him.
Severus Snape stared down at the blonde beauty. "What?" Surely she hadn't meant what she just said?
"Strip." She repeated. "I need to touch the skin on your arms, chest and legs. I hope you are wearing boxers or briefs." She added tongue in cheek. "You can request the other females to leave if you feel uncomfortable."
"That will not be necessary." He replied drily as he obeyed the order.
The female staff and Hermione Granger goggled as the Potions Professor removed his robe and folded it over a chair. He repeated the process with his shirt before toeing off his boots and socks and stripping off his black linen pants. All in all Severus Snape was a fine specimen of manhood. He wasn't overly built or bulky but had the streamlined build and muscles of a runner or swimmer. He glared at her before standing arms crossed dressed in a pair of black silk boxers.
"Hold still." Two hands reached out and traced an intricate pattern on his body moving to reach different parts of his body - arms, shoulders, pectorals, abs, back, thighs, hamstrings, calves. "If this were the Silver Millenium this would be done with great deal of pomp and speech making." She commented wryly as she 'cut' paths of power with her touch. "There are always witnesses, an audience to bear testament to the bestowing of power." White hands moved as she bent and knelt to reach each spot occasionally nudging him into a different position like an artist with a model. "It is very rare because power tends to be handed down a certain line throughout the generations. A gift of power is similar to creation of an earldom or dukedom. The whole court must know this is a gift granted and accepted in good faith and of freewill. It is not meant to enslave the grantee or seized from the granter; it is a sacred trust." She straightened and moved behind him to trace a pattern on the the defined shoulder blades and the nape of his neck before moving to the front to 'draw' on his cheeks, throat, chin, temples before finally making the mark of Saturn on his forehead. "Done." The lines she traced sprang to live emitting a soft violet glow as they lit up channelling manna, creating an abstract pattern on his skin. He tensed and hissed as he felt the raw power burning in the newly drawn mystical channels.
Usagi nodded in satisfaction. "You are taking the power well. No build up or blockages. Most likely due to your suitability as a candidate and your acceptance of your choice. The network is rather basic though" She commented clinically. "As your personal strength increases the design will become even more intricate." She explained.
Severus frowned. "Can I see yours?" He asked.
"After. First we have to finish this." Usagi countered flapping her wings causing several loose feathers to flutter to the ground where it transformed into glitter dust. "Reach within you for something different yet alive. When you sense it speak the words. Saturn Knight Power. It helps increase your focus if you say it out loud."
"Like a charm." Severus murmured as he turned inward. "Saturn. Knight. Power."
A whirlwind of pure power swept through the room. A column of energy, glitter, power and darkness surrounded the Potion Master before settling to the stones with a distinct hiss.
"Nimue fuck me." Bill Weasley was the only one who managed to speak at the sight before them.
Severus Snape was no longer clad in his typical black pants and billowing robes. The tall slim man before them wore tight black suede pants that disappeared into knee high boots with no sign of lacings, buttons or seams. It seamed to be painted on outlining the long defined muscles in his thighs and calves. The only decoration on the boots were a pair of silver spurs that jingled softly as he shifted drawing the eyes up past the waist. No black or even gray top. The new Saturn Knight wore a long-sleeved purple Chinese style shirt with silver piping and accents and a medley of green and silver serpents and dragons crawling across the purple silk. His black hair was drawn back with a silver clasp bringing the sharp defined planes of his face into the forefront. Shorter tendrils fell about his face, some tucked behind an ear, others falling into his eyes.
Saturn Knight Severus Snape tensed when he felt the dark power within building to a peak. It subsided when he forced his mind and body to relax. He would have to practise to learn how to control this. It wouldn't do to hex anyone who startled him. A frown creased the marble smooth brow as he examined the changes in his internal reserves and gagued his new strength and abilities. The Darkness within him was Right. It was not Evil, just Dark; the polar opposite of Light. When he felt more certain of his grasp on it he opened his eyes. And frowned.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Usagi couldn't restrain the wry smile.
"They are looking at you Sev."
"Don't call me Sev." The protest was spoken out of reflex.
She raised a brow. "Perhaps a mirror?" She glanced at a pillar close by. It transmuted into mirrored pillar.
"What the--!" He turned to the Moon Princess. "What happened to my robes?" Severus asked feeling outraged.
"It was transfigured into your outfit." She explained blandly. "You should be pleased with what you are wearing. Trust me, it wasn't fun wearing a pervert's idea of a sailor uniform with a very short skirt when you are a teen. As soon as I learned enough I changed the female Senshi uniform into something more practical. I didn't plan for a male Senshi but I can't say I dislike what the magic has chosen for you."
"This?" Severus was feeling slightly outraged. "What about my robes?"
Usagi glanced at him with a raised brow and pointed a slim finger at him. A flash of gold and silver sparks burst from the fingertip and covered the outraged male. When it receded he was wearing a long Muggle-style black leather trench coat with split sides and back. The only decoration on the coat was the silver etched design of the Saturnian sigil and the Slytherin snake on each breast pocket. His knees buckled slightly before he compensaved for the extra weight.
"There. This is more practical than your robes. It is easier to weave armoring spells on leather since it was once alive. The coat itself has panels of woven mithril and reinforced Muggle kevlar. It has been enchanted with several basic shielding and armoring spells. The weight is to remind you to be constantly vigilant. You will have to learn how to fight in close combat using the coat as part of your tactics. As you gain more control of your power you can add more personalized protection spells. The coat will remain part of your uniform until you get full control of your power. When you reach that point you can discard it or transform it to your normal robes."
Severus nodded accepting her words without question. Usagi smiled briefly.
"What do you sense? Speak what you feel. Do not worry about what they will think." She glanced at the bemused shocked audience and speculating looks.
"Darkness." Severus spoke feeling slightly distracted. "It is not Evil, just Dark." He glanced at her. "It is the opposite of what I sense in you."
Usagi smiled slowly. "With Light there is Dark, with Good there is Evil, for Order there is Chaos. Light can be Evil just as Dark can be good. Power is Power. The intent, the motive, the result... That determines Good and Evil."
Several wizards shifted uneasily. This female was turning all their beliefs upside down! Hermione Granger listened fascinated.
"The source within you... Touch it. Do you feel something in it? Something that is very much like your wand? Something that is part of you, body and soul?" Severus nodded distractedly in reaction to her hypnotic words. "Draw it out."
He frowned absently as he twisted his right wrist as though drawing something out of thin air.
A huge scythe made of black ebony with a black metal blade coalesced out of the Void. Severus spun the staff with ingrained reflexes until the weapon rested in both hands with the iron shod heel of the device rested on the stones.
The audience moved back warily. Would Snape attack them with it if she ordered him to?
Usagi ignored them. "Death is said to carry a scythe and wear black robes. The Silence Scythe is a Talisman, an artifact of enormous power and potential. It can only be drawn and handled by the Senshi of Saturn. Anyone else would be destroyed by the energy it channels. There are several variations of energy attacks using Saturns' energy. You can channel it through your body using gestures for focus or through the Scythe. I would advise against using your wand; it would be destroyed trying to handle these levels of power."
Severus nodded studying the dense light absorbing material of the blade and staff.
"It is alive. But still." Severus mused absently studying the black matte sheen.
Usagi was impressed. She hadn't expected him to progress so fast. "Can you sense it?" Usagi asked with soft urgency. "Can you feel the pool of stillness within it and you?"
Black eyes went blank as the new Senshi focused inwards. "Yessss. Silence."
"The Senshi of Saturn is often called the Silence Bringer. When there is no hope Saturn must destroy the world so that the cycle may begin anew." Usagi instructed him sternly. "Our of the ashes of destruction life will be reborn."
Obsidian eyes settled on the blonde intently. He bowed his head. "Yes."
"What!" Henri Royeux pushed to the front of the crowd. "You can't be serious!"
Cerulean blue eyes hardened as Serenity pinned the French Auror.
"Shut up." The words were brutal. The Auror was shocked into silence. "You people asked for my help and I have condescended to give it. Do not anger me by giving orders! I have had enough of orders from people who believe they are older, wiser and better suited to make judgment! Well believe me when I say you don't have a single clue about what me and mine are about! So stay out of it!" She roared the last few words cowing the Auror. Noting his expression with satisfaction she turned back to Severus Snape. An exultant light shone from blue-purple eyes.
"Now you are mine!" She told him unable to hide the gloating glee in her voice. "My Chosen! My Champion!"
Severus Snape fell to one knee and brushed a kiss against an outstretched hand.
"I am yours." He agreed in even tones but when he looked up to meet her eyes the witches and wizards nearby gasped at the fiercely protective light shining in his black eyes. "Just as you are mine." He added a qualifier as he rose to his feet.
To everyone's shock blue eyes shimmered with restrained tears, the softly pink mouth quivered.
"None of the other Senshi made such a claim." Usagi whispered.
Severus smiled gently. "Making such a claim means accept a two-way responsibility." A wrist twist and the Scythe vanished into the Void of subspace.
"Responsibility." Usagi mused over the word sadly. "Chains on the young."
"But I am not young." He corrected her. "I have borne responsibility in the past. I have no wish to shirk from more burdens. A most welcome burden in fact."
With a choked sob she fell into his arms and cried long and hard. Severus stood firm and wrapped leather clad arms around her carefully stroking the feathered wings.
"None of them really wished for it." She told him between sobs. "We were just ordinary teenagers. We didn't know anything about magic or fighting. Each of them secretly hated the burden as they pretended to be pleased by it. I could see bits of them dying under the pressure so I broke all the rules and let them go. I gave them their hopes and dreams. Only Setsuna remained because she has been a Senshi for so long she knows nothing else."
"But you can't forget. You remain behind... To remember."
"I have to. If I forget it has all been for nothing. I have to remember." A small clenched fist pounded the black leather covered bicep to emphasize her words.
"And you won't have to remember alone." He murmured softly as he hugged her tightly.
The couple remained silent as they hugged each other fiercely rocking slightly adjusting to each other without the words.
No one else wanted to speak. The picture of dark colors and leather against light airy silks, a tall male form and shorter female, blonde and black heads pressed next to each other. Her wings were wrapped tightly around them forming a feathered cocoon.
"What happens now?" Dumbledore broke the enchanted silence. He hated to do this but Severus and Usagi could have their private time after Usagi spoke her verbal oath to help the Order against the Dark Lord.
Reluctantly the couple moved apart. The feathered wings fluttered as she folded them against her back.
Usagi turned to the Headmaster and smiled. It was not a gentle forgiving smile. It was a fierce, feral smile holding the promise of pain and vengeance.
"Now? Now we are going to turn this world upside down and dust Old Voldie!"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The End.
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I have no plans at the moment to expand on this line. It depends on the Muses and my tight schedule.
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Raves and constructive criticism please.
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Cheers!
Sarhea