Everything You Are

Chapter Seven:

"Of course it will work. She twelve now and Remus said she is physically capable to carry a child. All we have to do is get her to say the incantation and wait nine months. After that, we'll kill her and the child, as both are mortal the day she gives birth. It will work nicely. You're strong enough to hold her down and do the job... I daresay you might even enjoy it," the old man said, a glitter in his bright blue eyes.

Severus shook his head, a dark look in his eye. "Albus, I've been a faithful servant. I spy and I'll continue to do so, but THIS... this I won't do. She doesn't prey like normal vampires- there's almost never a victim. She's completely innocent of any crime against anyone. I ask you to leave the girl alone. Sirena is a good student with plenty of potential. I will have no part in destroying that."

"Very well, Severus... if you're so set on being her hero..."

He shook awake, his forehead beaded with sweat. He groped for his pocket watch and wand in the dark. "Lumos," he mumbled, looking at the small watch. Seeing how early it was, he groaned and fell back, his head hitting the pillow hard.

* * * * *

She woke up somewhere across the castle, nearly out of her bed. She rolled back into the center and muttered a few curses. Closing her eyes in an attempt to fall back to sleep, she became conscious as to whom the man in her dream was. "Didn't I try hard enough to block OUT this shit?" she grumbled, realizing she'd kept the connection with Severus through his blood, which was currently running through her body, attempting to repair the damage she'd done in depriving herself. She wiped her damp eyes, still slightly shocked from Severus' connection to her odd flashbacks. She turned over uncomfortably and buried her face in her pillow. "I don't wanna know. I don't wanna remember. Let me be..."

Morning came all too quickly for both Sirena and Severus. Sirena awoke, energized from the blood, but drained from the dream and Severus could barely move, drained from both, but strangely satisfied. Sirena sat up and looked in the mirror immediately. She could barely recognize herself. Her faint reflection was still rosy where it had been deathly pale, her eyes alive with icy blue twinkles where there had been faded, dusty sapphires. Her lips were fuller and a dark, rich shade of red. She touched her face to make sure it was really her and smiled, turning to get ready for her first class- double potions.

Severus sighed, his odd state of contentment starting to fade as he got out of his shower. He ran a hand through his wet hair and looked in the mirror at his dark eyes, his strong jaw line, and the small crinkles around his eyes that were beginning to appear as he aged when he smiled. He stopped smiling, not liking the lines. He shook his head. "You're not anyone's hero, you know. Least of all, hers..." he said to his reflection. "You're messing with her innocence and that's not fair. You..." he wrinkled his brow, a small laugh popping out. "You have GOT to stop talking to yourself."

He stood and went off to breakfast, taking his seat at the head table. "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore."

"Good morning, Severus. Do you have any new information for me?"

Severus looked down at the Slytherin table, seeing Sirena several chairs away from anyone else, but looking much happier than she'd been. He turned back to Dumbledore. "None, really... he mainly just wanted to get together to see who would show up." He lied artfully. It was partially true... they HAD wanted to see who was still faithful.

"Very well, then. Did everyone show?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Everyone that's been there since the return."

"And so there are no new plans?" he pressed.

"No. There are no new plans," Severus stated. He looked at his watch again. "I have to go prepare for my class," he said, shortly, picking up his bag. Walking down past the Slytherin table, Sirena saw him and stood to follow.

"Sev... Professor?"

He turned, startled. "Mhm?"

She directed him around a corner on the way down to the dungeon so they could have some privacy. "Did you have a...an exceptionally realistic dream last night? Possibly pertaining to Dumbledore and me at twelve years old?"

He raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "How did you know that?"

She sighed. "I had the same one. For whatever reason, I kept a connection with you," she said softly, studying his eyes. "You'll have to bear with me. I don't remember anything about that time. It all comes back in dreams at the weirdest times and..." she stopped herself. "I'm rambling. I'll stop; it's just... thank you."

"For what?"

"For trying to help me," she said, as they slowly started walking again. "That's at least two times I owe you for. I don't know how I'll ever keep up."

He stopped and turned to her. His hand found her cheek, cupping her face gently. Looking at her eyes for a split second, he slowly pulled his hand away. "You owe me nothing." She bit her lip, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that particular memory," he said, starting to walk for the third time. "I'm sure it couldn't have been very pleasant."

She shrugged. "It's much tamer than anything else I've dreamt of lately. Like I said, I don't really remember much, so it doesn't affect me that badly," she kept her eyes straight ahead. "The only thing about it that was slightly uncomfortable was the fact that you, little more than a perfect stranger at that point, would protect me more that my own father did."

Before Severus could question her further, she ducked into the classroom and took her seat. Severus took a deep breath and stepped in after her, finding the room empty except for Sirena. He laughed to himself, remembering that he'd only left early to get away from Dumbledore. He looked at Sirena, who was unpacking her books and seemed to have gone from all emotion to all business. She looked up, sensing his eyes on her, and smiled wryly. "What are we doing today, Professor?"

He leaned on his desk, shaking his head. "Quite an actress, you are. That's what you should have gone into."

"Ahhh... acting isn't fun for me," she said, taking her seat. "I do it far too often to be able to enjoy it like I do music."

"It's all self-expression, I suppose..."

"Or repression..." she mumbled.

"Hmm?"

She shrugged. "There's something exciting to it, but a lot of the time, I regret having something to hide," she said quietly. She stopped herself. "I shouldn't be telling you this... especially not here."

He cocked his head to the side slightly. "Trying to stay in character?"

"Something like that."

A few Gryffindors walked in and Severus nodded to her before flashing his signature scowl at Neville Longbottom. Sirena turned to her notebook and began writing down whatever popped into her mind in an attempt to keep her eyes off of Severus until the rest of the class filed in.

"Good morning, class. Today..."

* * * * *

Sirena rinsed her cauldron out into the sink and wiped her hands off on her robes, the sticky orangey potion not very soluble in water. "This is disgusting..." she muttered, though slightly amused by the gross-out factor of the nausea potion.

As the last students left, Severus relaxed again. "What a class..." he said, shaking his head as Sirena made her way to the door.

"Indeed... but my focus drifted slightly in the beginning, Professor," she said, smiling. "You seem to be quite the actor yourself."

"Oh, you have no idea..." he said quietly, sighing as she left. "No idea at all."