A Matter of Light and Dark: One Shot
by RowanR
A Matter of Light and Dark
Own nothing but a smidgen of plot.
Severus Snape stormed about the small dingy room, banging furniture and other assorted items, mumbling to himself.
“I give up half my life to the ‘Light’,” he sneered out loud, “and what do I get for my trouble? Where’s my reward? When is it MY turn to be lauded?” he fumed.
Leah Aurelia sat up in bed, the covers slipping from her chest and down her arms, uncovering the fading Dark Mark she carried on her left forearm. She glared at the scowling dark man before her.
“I gave up part of MY life to the Light, as well,” she said, a trace of bitterness in her voice, “and what is MY reward? You?”
“I didn’t hear you complain last night,” Severus retorted, “nor any of the previous nights.”
“Sex is sex,” replied Leah, “but the thought of spending my entire life with the likes of you is quite daunting.”
“You aren’t exactly a prize, either, you know.”
“I know,” said Leah, her voice softening, “neither of us would appear to be.”
Severus sat on the edge of the bed and ran a finger down Leah’s arm, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
“No,” he agreed, “we’re not. Last night should have been a night to remember; yet here we are, hiding out from the Aurors whilst Albus Dumbledore and Kingsley Shacklebolt attempt to clear our names from the registry of known Death Eaters. Here we are in this dirty room with nothing but sex to keep us occupied.”
“Well,” said Leah, “there’s always the telly.”
“I’ve no use for Muggle contraptions like that one,” he sneered, his eyes shifting over the television in the corner of the room. “We’re Slytherin, why in the name of Merlin are we allowing ourselves to be holed up here waiting for someone else to make us safe?”
“Because, Snape, we are more than our house and more than the marks we bear. We belong in the world of the Light, even though the world would like nothing more than to shun us. And we need those of the Light to stand up for us.”
“They’re more likely to accept you,” he said, still running a finger over her smooth olive skin, “you are more marketable.”
Leah snorted, “Snape…Severus…I was a prostitute, a Death Eater whore. I’m hardly a paragon of virtue. I spied because it was easy and because it paid. I’m not a hero, I’m a mercenary. I sold my services to the highest bidder. I happened to luck out in that the highest bidder won the war. I probably would have changed sides in a second if the tide of war had turned the other way. I would have betrayed you in a heartbeat for the right price.”
“I know.”
“And you?”
Severus Snape turned to look at the woman on the bed. In that instant he knew exactly who he was and what he was. He was no different from Leah, he too was a mercenary. He too sold his services to the highest bidder. Only in his case, the highest bid was his tarnished soul, and the only side to offer him some hope of absolution was the Light. He sold his services to Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix not because it was the right thing to do, but because it was the only thing to do.
“Had you turned,” he said quietly, “I would have betrayed you.”
“You ARE a better person than I am, Severus Snape.”
“In the end, we served the same master,” he replied.
“But for very different reasons.”
“And should the Dark rise again and offer you the world?” he asked.
“I would take it,” she replied, a question in her eyes.
Severus thought for a long while before answering her unasked question.
“As would I.”
This story archived at: Occlumency
http://occlumency.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=2420