Life and Everything After *open*

Aurora's head was swimming. Her big brother was alive. Vampire but alive. Worse, he was at the school. As a professor! Aurora didn't know whether to be happy, angry or indifferent. She also didn't know if she could trust him. Back in the day she would have trusted him with her life, but that was so long ago now, barely a distant memory. Who was this vampire? Was he still her closest relative or had he been transformed into something else? Roslin was still Roslin vampire or not so maybe Alexander was still Alexander vampire or not. But could she afford to take that chance? No, she decided, no chances, he either proves himself to me or he goes the way so many others who stood in my way have gone.

Aurora shook herself, no point in getting stressed, she'd deal with things as they happened like she always did. Anyway, stressing was bad for her and her vanity wouldn't allow worry lines or limp hair. She stopped and took in her surroundings and noticed she was beside the tomb of a certain Severus Snape. What a disappointment he had been to her kind. He had betrayed the dark side but all the same had paid the price. "I hope it was worth it Severus" she whispered to his tomb. Imagine, she thought, and all in the name of love! She thought of Roslin and how she really did love him but there wasn't a love in the universe that could outshine Aurora's love of herself. Her ruthlessness knew no bounds and not even Roslin Holcombe could get in her way.

The few days that Thorne had been at Hogwarts had been rather boring, nothing of real import had happened except, perhaps, the discovery of the Slytherin girls. There were several that he would definitely waste some time on. He hadn't made his presence known just yet, just went through the motions - go to class, eat, sleep, go to class, eat, sleep, etc. The only thing he'd really done that was out of the ordinary was find a quiet place to be alone with his thoughts. It was rather fitting, in Thorne's eyes, that the place he felt most comfortable was the tomb of one Severus Snape...

Stories of Snape had been passed down through the ages, one of the most capable spies. Voldemort was said to have been quite adapt with seeing people's thoughts and routing out traitors, but Snape he only caught after many years. Or so the stories went, the tomb wasn't anything particularly overwhelming, but silence always veiled places of the dead.

He saw her red hair before he heard her footsteps and imagined he could smell the sweetness of her. The tomb hid him completely from sight but from his vantage point he could watch her approach and if she didn't move too far to the right he would be able to view her fully the whole time she was there.

The girl with the blood red hair was one of the more fortunate girls in Slytherin, he'd pictured her many times, alone with him in the recesses of the night and remembered the imagined feel of her touch again now. She had an air of authority that drew him - it was a part of her he would love to have the opportunity to break...

She spoke, her words nothing but a whisper, but the soft hissing sound reaching his ears nonetheless. He straightened and walked out from behind the tomb, his hands in the pockets of the long black pants he wore. "There's a certain charm to speaking with the dead, especially since they don't talk back."

Thorne's sudden appearance from behind the tomb rather took Aurora by surprise. Her immediate reaction was to kill but luckily for Thorne, Aurora was good at keeping her composure. In fact she was so composed that one would think she'd been expecting him.

Aurora took a couple of graceful steps towards Thorne so she could get a better look at him. She looked him up and down in her usual way, her black eyes flashing as they moved over him. There were three things she could tell immediately. One that he was a Slytherin, he had that look about him plus no other student would have the courage to approach Aurora Lawson like this. Two that he came from money something which pleased Aurora greatly and three that he fancied her. Aurora had rather come to expect boys to fancy her at this stage but then again she did work at keeping herself so immaculately beautiful.

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"There's a certain charm to speaking with the dead, especially since they don't talk back."

Aurora laughed. It was that sort of laugh where one couldn't decide if she was agreeing or mocking. In fact she was both. "That depends on a number of factors...." she told him matter-of-factly as she flicked her hair. "What your definition of 'dead' is and whether the 'dead' are inclined to talk back."

He liked the fact that she didn't do the usual little jump with shock at his appearance, there were way too many drama queens around that would undoubtedly either do the jump or even scream - not that all screams were bad. Thorne smirked crookedly when her eyes passed over him and leaned against the side of the tomb.

There was no doubt about it, with this one - if he ever really wanted her as his plaything - he would have to work extra hard. Vanity definitely was his favourite sin, so much more interesting to find the weaknesses of each kind. It wasn't hard to see Aurora's though. It was in the way she did her hair, the way she dressed, everything about her screamed 'notice me'.

He'd met her kind before, girls who wanted people to show their appreciation but who pushed those away who showed exactly how much they appreciated what they saw. The kind of girls who either ended up raped or completely alone. He pushed himself away from the tomb, enjoying the sound of her laughter - deceptively light laughter that carried with it the hint of tension.

"Indeed, lately it would seem there are several definitions of dead." He wasn't completely ignorant to the existence of certain... creatures that would be defined as dead - or rather undead. They all fell into the same category though. No heartbeat = dead. "Though I doubt Snape will be rising from his dusty grave any time soon - not even for one such as you." He reached out to touch her hair, held his hand in mid air for a moment and then lowered his hand again without touching her.

Aurora had to use every ounce of composure she had not to let a smirk appear on her face. She could tell that he wanted her but then again, a lot of people wanted her in one way or another. Poor little boy, she thought to herself evilly. If only he knew who he was dealing with. She weighed up her options for dealing with him. She could dismiss him in her scathing way and probably ensure he'd never bother her again. She could make him fall hopelessly in love with her and have him as her plaything but she wasn't sure if that was entirely possible with Roslin in the picture.

In the end she decided to do neither, he had slightly impressed her with his boldness and Slytherin-like qualities so maybe he would, with a bit of training, become a good minion. Aurora knew though, that with these young ones, it was a bit of a tactical game. They were too young to understand the complexities of her group and were probably full of bravado but when it came to it scared easily. Reel them in, dazzle them and eventually control them was Aurora's plan for now.

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"Indeed, lately it would seem there are several definitions of dead." "Though I doubt Snape will be rising from his dusty grave any time soon - not even for one such as you."

Aurora almost burst out laughing at the word "lately". It was a sort of knee-jerk reaction to one as old as she was. "So you have noticed then that not all your fellow students are the same? Good for you!" Aurora's even tone didn't give away whether she was being sarcastic or praising. Again, she was being both. "As for the dearly departed Severus, if he were to rise again, even for one such as me, he'd be swiftly presented with a one-way ticket back to oblivion" Aurora, apparently absentmindedly, twirled one of her curls around her finger.

Thorne's attempt to touch her hair hadn't gone unnoticed. He was very lucky to be still standing truth be told, but Aurora had already made up her mind to try him out as a minion, so she glossed over it for now. Of course she also wasn't about to play all her cards at once. There was no need for Thorne to know how powerful she was or indeed how immortal. Her comment about Snape should have told him enough for now.

[Apologies for making you wait.]

Thorne could imagine the red head playing her game - she was one he'd chase if she sent him away, if only to send her away after. He turned away from her and stared at the tomb, not as grand as that of Dumbledore's but even now with the two of them standing there it was silent.

There was a split second where he questioned all his actions, but as quickly as it started it was brushed aside, there was no place for weakness and doubt - it only pushed to make his resolve stronger.

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"So you have noticed then that not all your fellow students are the same? Good for you!"

He looked at her but didn't turn to face her completely and didn't answer either, it was a touchy subject in that he didn't really want to reveal exactly how much he knew. Her statement would beg him to ask though, what was it that he didn't know about her? Thorne laughed lightly, typical behaviour and opinion regarding Snape - no one really acknowledged what he'd managed to do.

"One day people will realize what was accomplished - not that he cares, he's been dead for so long I'm sure his redemption has run it's course." He looked back to the tomb and folded his arms behind his back. He didn't really care what her opinion was one way or the other, opinions didn't matter with people like her. She was the type you used and got rid of when you were done. "I doubt he'd really give a crap what anyone's judgment is of him."

[No probs ]

Aurora was beginning to get a strange vibe from Thorne. He didn't seem to have that mix of fear and respect others had for her. Of course most others tried to hide this but after all this time, Aurora was able to read people as well as she read her books. At first she had a flash of her terrible anger and contemplated showing Thorne exactly who she was but when she thought about it, why should he have any fear or respect for her? He didn't have a clue about her and obviously wasn't intelligent enough to have researched her. He was a typical arrogant, moody, know-it-all male teenager. The perfect minion once Aurora and the others had broken him. His seeming lack of respect though did bother her a little, mostly because it irritated her but Aurora knew that he would see the error of his ways soon enough.

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One day people will realize what was accomplished - not that he cares, he's been dead for so long I'm sure his redemption has run it's course.

"No one with any decent level of intelligence doubts 'what was accomplished'" Aurora's tone had become rather mocking now and her demeanor began to slightly change in warning. "Severus Snape was a genius, what he 'accomplished' was outstanding" Aurora dropped her voice until it was almost menacing. "If it weren't for the bad choices he made, he'd be revered." She let a flash of her terrible rage cross her face just for an instant before resuming her usual composed and refined pose.

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I doubt he'd really give a crap what anyone's judgment is of him.

A sly smile appeared on Aurora's countenance. "You are highly presumptuous about someone you never met. Be mindful of presumptions they may be your downfall" Aurora remembered bitterly the price they had all paid for underestimating Edolie and the rest of the do-gooders. She had certainly learned her lesson, but this young kid had no notion of such things. She flicked her hair, smiled one of her sweetest smiles and with a wave of her delicate hand bid Thorne a very good evening and began to walk away elegantly.

She wouldn't have seen the smile that stretched his lips almost grotesquely, he didn't turn toward her again, nor did he answer her - not until she walked away. Her back was towards him and he muttered the words more to the tomb than to her. "Presumptions make the world go round." A low laughter echoed toward the tomb, Aurora already too far to hear it and Thorne's mind already working on a plan of action. He turned ever so slightly and stared after her for a moment, her red hair still bright as if she were standing right next to him. "Might be fun." He scoffed to himself and headed back to his position behind the tomb.

[Thanks for rping, this one was fun, I can see it getting interesting between these two. You should bring Thorne into the Slytherin common room, he should meet the others, Ros and Aurora are already in there, I see Rach is finally here so Chloe will no doubt appear soon and there's Benjamin as well, he's new Hopefully Marishka will be around from time to time too ]