Darkest Desire

6. Relentless and Unforgiving (EDITED)

Well, I really like this story, and i've already made two updates for some of my other stories, so here goes one for this story. Please comment and vote!

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Aurora became aware of her surroundings rather acutely. It was as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over her head, electrifying her senses and rousing her from the blackness that had claimed her. The tingling sensation of her hands and feet suggested to her that whatever hex was used to incapacitate her was slowly dissipating, and she breathed in deeply, the chilled night air entering her lungs as she felt her chest expand from the inhalations. Trying to move the slightest bit resulted in her arms and legs to send pangs of discomfort throughout her body, and she wondered what kind of spell Severus had used.

Her body was aching, and as she blinked up lazily into the night sky she thought of the nice view. The canopy of the trees partially obscured her view of the clouds and stars, and the rustling of the wind through the trees had a calming effect on her as she thought of her predicament. When she tilted her head skyward Aurora could clearly see the millions of bright stars dotted on the black canvas of the night sky, yet none of that light seemed to filter far enough down to make any difference as she turned her eyes away from the starry night above her, memories of the quidditch match and the subsequent appearance of the Death Eaters causing coming back to her full force.

It took her a moment to realize where she was, and a few seconds longer to realize what had happened. By then memories came flooding back to her, overwhelming in their intensity, and as Aurora tried to drag herself upright, dizziness overcame her.

"You should take it easy...." Snape drawled from somewhere behind her.

Aurora groaned, managing to drag herself to her feet as she brushed a hand through her hair, the matted tresses uncooperative and stiff, shaking twigs and leaves from her blonde curls as she managed to push herself up on her elbows and drag herself to her feet, swaying a bit as she tried to regain her balance and turn around to glare at Snape.

"You... you hexed me" she said, her voice dangerously low and masking any lingering incredulity  on her part as she looked at Snape, who had perched himself against the trunk of a pine tree and was observing her rather calmly, the look in his eyes fathomless and unreadable.

"Yes" was all she got for an answer, his low voice devoid of any emotion except perhaps the annoyance he was feeling at having to play babysitter to a girl he barely knew. Severus still couldn't quite comprehend how he came to be in this particular situation, and his current predicament at the hands of no other than Albus Dumbledore was a source for continuous indignation and displeasure.

Aurora scoffed in frustration and glowered at the infuriating man standing motionless, leaning against the tree trunk of a nearby pine tree.

"How long was I out for?" Aurora managed to ask once she suppressed the murderous intentions that came to mind. Now wasn't the time to give in to her annoyance. There were other matters of importance to attend to, and she shouldn't let her unbridled exasperation make her do something she would later come to regret.

"About an hour" Snape said, looking rather amused at the girl's attempts to control her temper. She was fiery, that one. With an irrepressible temperament, quite vivacious and unpretentious in her bearings, she exuded a sophistication he wasn't used to seeing in someone that young. And yet her manners occasionally seemed oddly forced, as if her thoughts were elsewhere and she were under some sort of unknown stress. 

An hour, Aurora cursed under her breath, shaking her head in frustration. The riot was probably already over, and Arthur Weasley would be searching the woods for his sons and Harry and Hermione.