yule_balls_mod (yule_balls_mod) wrote in hp_yule_balls, @ 2008-12-02 23:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2008, character: bill weasley, character: severus snape, fic, pairing: snape/bill |
Fic: Risks and Rewards (Severus Snape/Bill Weasley, NC-17) for karasu_hime
Author: potion_lady
Recipient: karasu_hime
Title: Risks and Rewards
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Severus Snape/Bill Weasley
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. All characters engaging in sexual activity are 16 years or older.
Summary: Bill has a surprising visitor for Christmas.
Warnings: AU; creature-fic; flangst
Word Count: ~ 3700
Author's Notes: Many thanks to my beta, J., for the hand-holding, encouragement, and help in whipping this into something readable. karasu_hime, I hope you enjoy this!
Bill stretched languidly and gave the Egyptian sun outside his window a half-hearted glare. Wincing as tired muscles loosened slowly, Bill looked over at the bed-side table, eyeing the vial of potion wearily, wondering not for the first time who was daring to help him despite the dangers of doing so. A different owl was used each time it arrived, and there was never a note attached, but he still worried for his mysterious benefactor.
The potion had been coming without fail since the Wizarding World had gone insane four years ago. After Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord Voldemort, instead of relaxing and becoming the comfortable world it once had been, the Ministry of Magic had begun creating rule after rule, decree after decree, and the punishments for breaking any of the laws, no matter how ridiculous, were severe. And though Harry, the Wizarding World's Chosen One, had done everything in his power to change things, to convince people that what was happening was wrong, his voice had been lost in the sea of people who agreed that their world must be tightly locked down and held under rigid control to prevent another Dark Lord from rising.
Because so many magical creatures had sided with Voldemort, all of the laws that dealt with creatures such as Vampires, Werewolves, and even Veela, were harsh. All magical creatures and creature hybrids were required to become registered at the Ministry, and once registered were obligated to hand over their wands, which were snapped immediately, regardless of their creature status. The creatures were then unceremoniously forced out of the Wizarding World, with no chance to ever enter into it again.
Just as harsh as the laws regarding creatures were the punishments for wizards and witches found helping creatures. Anyone found to be aiding and abetting a magical creature was exiled from the Wizarding World, much as the creatures had been. And while they were allowed to keep their wands, the wands were tracked at all times by the Ministry, and anything stronger than a third year spell would have Aurors descending on the exiled wizard or witch and their wand summarily snapped.
It was a cruel punishment, allowing wizards and witches to keep their magic but not let them have full access to it, and it made Bill wonder anew why someone would willingly help him, risking serious trouble if he or she were caught.
The war seemed never-ending, with heavy casualties on both sides. The Wizarding World was in chaos, with more and more people blockading themselves in their homes, pulling their children out of Hogwarts, and shop-owners closing their stores on a near daily basis.
Severus Snape had long since been discovered as a spy for Dumbledore, and had barely lived through the torture Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had put the man through. If it hadn't been for Harry's continuing visions into the Dark Lord's mind, Snape would have surely died, but thanks to the Gryffindor, Dumbledore and Poppy Pomfrey had been able to quickly find the beaten, bloodied man in time to take him back to Hogwarts and heal him of the majority of his injuries.
The loss of three of his fingers – two on his left hand and one on his right – had nearly devastated the Potions Master, but he had successfully managed to learn how to change the way he held knives and other tools necessary for his mastery, and had not allowed the Dark Lord to win in the end. He continued creating potions for both the infirmary and for the Order's use, wicked elixirs that gave the Order some much needed advantage over the Death Eaters.
Snape also demanded to be allowed to go on missions when he was able, and was paired with Bill Weasley when it was discovered how well the pair worked together. Both men were masters in their field, incredibly intelligent, and understood dark magic like no one else in the Order of the Phoenix. The pair quickly became a seamless team when it came to duels and physical battles. Bill's job as a curse-breaker kept him alert and quick-thinking, and after having been a spy for over twenty years, not much slipped past Severus Snape. What began as a working relationship quickly became a friendship as the two men relied on the other to have his back on Order missions.
Everything went to hell, though, when the pair went on a mission to the Forest of Dean, where it had been reported several Muggle and Wizarding families had disappeared in the past few weeks. It was determined that Death Eaters were responsible, and Bill and Severus had been sent to take whatever action was necessary to neutralize the Death Eater threat in the area.
Shaking himself out of unhappy memories, Bill stood and grabbed the vial, quaffing the potion quickly before his gag reflex could kick in. Wondering again who would willingly put themselves at risk for him, he wandered out of the room to start his day.