Yes, I knew they were horrors the moment I laid eyes on them. Yes, I hadmy an inkling they were darkest splotches on the concept of humanity.  Maybe not as dark as me or Aunt Bella.  But yes,  dark enough that their souls would burn in hell and they wouldn't find salvation even after that. 
I looked down at my sneakers trying to block the blood curdling scream emanating from the third year.  My body covered up in goosebumps and hair rose on end.  It felt uncomfortable to grit my teeth too as the scream echoed through my very bones putting terror through my heart.  I felt the icy cold hand of fear grip my heart.  My insides twisted over making bile rise to my throat. And keeping my mouth firmly shut and swallowing it back was all I could do to stop myself from throwing up. I looked up to the sound of maniacal laughter coming from Alecto. The kid hung upside down barely even alive. Blood dropped down his face into his hair mixing with sweat and down onto the floor forming a small puddle.  His glasses lay broken on the floor and his eyes stayed closed.  The only reason for this being he looked like Potter.
I could barely see the resemblance. It was more for sadistic fun than because the poor boy had done anything to offend them. I gulped and tried to summon my courage. I cleared my throat before speaking just to make sure my voice wasn't shaky. I forced a smirk on my face when she looked at me.
"I think that's enough." I said my voice still a little shaky with fear I felt gripping my heart. Amycus turned to me with raised eyebrows. I winced and cleared my throat once again.
"The dark lord wouldn't like it if you killed him. He's magical blood." I reasoned.
"Half blood." he sneered back. "Just like Potter."
"Just like the dark lord" I countered back. He stared at me. The loathing and contempt in his eyes burned through me.  He knew he had to listen to me. He had to follow my orders. 
"Spoilsport." he muttered pointing his wand yet again at the kid.
"I said stop. And that's an order Amycus." I repeated firmly. Sparks shot from the end if his wand but they did nothing to the kid.  He turned to me with a look of pure loathing on his face.
"The dark lord will hear about this." he threatened. I folded my arms and smirked. "Oh! I am certain he will." I threatened back. His lip curled and he swished his wand once.  The kid crashed down to the ground.  I flinched thinking he may have cracked his neck. But there was little I could do to help. I pulled out my wand and pointed it straight at his chest.
"I am taking him to the hospital wing.  And dare you touch him again. I will do everything you do to him ten times over." I said making him and his stupid sister back off and away from the door.

                                   ***
Vladimir towered over me. His teal eyes glowing with hatred. Pure loathing and contempt burned through me but there was no other emotion in his eyes. The sound of the door slamming behind me confirmed I was trapped.
As he advanced pushing me back and ultimately cornering me into the wall,  the feral look in his eyes reminded me of a wolf ready for hunting. I had really missed him.
"I hate you. You lied to me. You betrayed me. You didnt care for my feelings." he snarled angrily through grit teeth. In that one moment I was more afraid of him than anything. I cowered back into the door further away from him.
His expression froze. His eyes became glossy and his expression turned to pure terror. Blood oozed from his neck where two fangs had embedded themselves into his shoulder. He dropped down to his knees. Adrian stood over us.
"This is all your fault. It would never happen had you not restored his memories." he said.
"No..no...no! " I muttered continuously, helplessly. But my continuous chanting of denial wasn't helping him. I tried to seal his wound, tried to stop the bleeding with my hands. But nothing. "Mir! Please. Don't leave me. I love you. Stay with me. Wake up! Please. Mir!"
"Mir?" I shook his lifeless body lying in front of me. I could hear the cold ruthless laughter of Voldemort. I could hear the slithering sound of Nagini. I could feel fear grip my heart. Cold and ruthless. I couldn't lose him. No. I just couldn't. Not now.
"MIR!!" I shouted in one last attempt to wake him and my eyes fluttered open to my own voice. I rubbed my eyes and looked around in the dark.
I had fallen asleep by the side of the third year Hufflepuff. The poor guy had woken up too and was staring at me like I was crazy.
"Oh! You are awake. How do you feel?" I asked him. He still looked bewildered. I shook my head. "I er- I will go call Madam Pomfrey. Wait here."
"It's not like I am in much of a state to move around." he muttered in a low voice.
"I know." I replied, making him wince. "I am sorry. I should have stopped them earlier."
He looked surprised at the small gesture of apology. But nodded in acceptance.
"You don't seem like the rest of them." he observed. I nodded and stood there awkwardly as we shared another awkward silence.
"Who's Mir?" he finally asked.
"Hey! It's my personal life. Don't pry." I replied. He went beet red at first in the splotches that weren't black and purple. Then he cocked his head to one side and stared at me as if trying to figure me out.  Then after another short awkward silence, he nodded in understanding.
"Madam Powdery!!" I hollered and the nurse rushed in seconds later.

                                       ***
Severus Snape woke up in the morning to unpleasant news. And he definitely looked the part. The moment he entered the hospital wing it was obvious the Carrows had gone and complained to him about her threatening them last night. I had openly challenged them and they had gone behind my back and complained to my father.  How very mature!
"Were you just born stupid or did you sell your brains in the black market for money?" he barked the moment he strode in, his black cloak billowing behind him. His tall figure clad in all black was definitely intimidating but I had grown used to him, grown to love him, even.
"Shhh!! Look at him and tell me I crossed lines last night." I said pointing at David. Over the last few hours I had learned his name and now he was peacefully sleeping again. Sleep, a luxury I couldn't afford anymore! I missed my hours upon hours of sleep in my comfy, little, warm bed at Spinners end.
Dad looked at the kid, his face covered in black and purple splotches,  his swollen eye, the crooked nose,  the cast supporting his neck and right arm,  the rope burn marks around his ankles and the cigarette burn marks on his wrists. One look at the various potions on the bedside table and a deep line etched itself between his eyebrows. He was torn between his duty to the school as a human being and his duty to Dumbledore as a spy, as an undercover agent, a cold hearted death eater. As the second person he couldn't allow himself to bother but he couldn't pretend that it didn't affect him in the least.
"This is ridiculous." he muttered under his breath. "How could you let this happen?"
"It was all I could do to save his life and his family's skin. He's a half-hour and with those silly glasses they claim he looks like Potter." I replied with a sigh.
Dad looked at me. He knew I was tired of this. He knew I wanted out. But we both knew it meant death.
"But I can't have you risking your life over this." he whispered carefully. "You know it, Shine. I can't lose you."
I nodded. "I know, Dad. I know. But sometimes you have to let things happen for the greater good."
"Shut up." he whisper shouted and then looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I can't carry on alone without you. I need your help but I need you to stop risking yourself in these stupid, childish matters and start engaging them in something productive. Keep them away from the children without making them think of you as the enemy. You understand?"
I stared back into the black pits he had for eyes and nodded in understanding.
"Aye aye captain." I replied laughing making him crack a smile.  "Don't worry, Dad. We will both make it out alive."

                                   ***
The warm butterbeer trickled down my throat, just as sweet as ever. I gulped it down hungrily, reminiscing dreamily of the times when it was pure joy and fun to be visiting Hogsmeade. Now visiting Hogsmeade was a duty. It was a job assigned to me to make sure Potter didn't turn up here of all places. I wonder if even he is stupid enough to risk something like that without a solid plan.
"Are you going to speak or are you going to just sit there with that blank look on your face?" his voice jolted me back to the present and I remembered the dream from the hospital wing. It was a recurring nightmare.
That day after he found out the truth at Volkov manor I gave back Mir his memories but it was a ticking time bomb when that dream would come true.
He stared at me and I stared back at him. I could feel the furrow between my eyebrows deepen whilst I was in the present.
"What do you want me to say?  You already know what the truth is. I gave you back your memories." I paused for a moment thinking of something he might want to hear. "I don't have anything else. How many times are you going to call me here to discuss the same thing over and over again? The discussion is over, Mir. We were in love. We are not anymore. What more is there to talk about?"
He seemed to hesitate. He opened his mouth to talk once again but closed it again. I raised my eyebrow in question.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean it's been a week now and I have started to regain my feelings.  It's like I understand now. I know what is so special about you. At first it was the shock of everything why I reacted so negatively. But now... it's different Shine."
My heart sank for a minute or two hearing him confess that. I had no idea whether to be happy or not. Here was the guy of my dreams telling me everything I needed to hear in the last few months and I couldn't agree with him. I had to keep him away if I didn't want that nightmare coming true.
"Don't you have anything left?" he finally popped the question he came to ask. I stared back at him, emotion fluttering momentarily in my eyes.
"No." I replied, blinking. I could feel the lump rise up my throat. I didn't want to lie but it was neccesary. I cleared my throat before speaking so my voice wouldn't give me away and looked down at my drink which suddenly appeared blurry.  "I don't have even the f of feelings left anymore."
His grip over his butterbeer tightened and saltwater fell into my butterbeer. He noticed.
"Then why are you crying?" he asked. I could hear the hurt in his voice. I shook my head.
"I am not." I replied surprised by the shakiness of my own voice. He laughed making me look up. Snot ran down one nostril and tears flooded my eyes making them red. "Why are you laughing?"
"Because I remembered how hood of a liar you have always been." he continued to laugh. "But today your performance is worse than amateur."
I slapped his arm playfully wiping at my eyes hastily. He continued to laugh at me.
"I am not crying. It was just whisky fumes that hit me." I said making him laugh harder. He wiped my cheeks and used a tissue to clear my nose.
"I love you. And I know something is worrying you. But I don't want to lose you either." he said. "One of us may die at the end of this. But why are we letting that uncertainty take away the short time we may have left together. Merlin forbid the time be short, I want to spend the rest of my life laughing away with you and at you Shine Snape. Not another moment without you. I can't lose you. Not again. But if I lose you this time, it's only death that can part us."
I smiled. He smiled back and held my hand.
"I love you too." I replied. "But..."
"Shhh..." he shushed me putting a finger on my lips and then he leaned forward. I anticipated he wanted to kiss me and I leaned ahead but he smirked and sat back down. He put down a black box between us. My eyes became as wide as humanly possible. I was visibly shaking with anticipation and excitement. The box opened and there sat a ring.
A solid black diamond in the centre sat between tiny intricately woven emeralds and sapphires in platinum. The engraving forever and always shone in the yellow lights of the Three Broomsticks. Tears flowed from my eyes freely as I looked up at him. He looked happier than ever before.
"I want you to be mine,  forever and always. Shine Snape,  I love you and I promise not to let anything but death part us. And even death would have a tough time snatching you from me. Will you marry me?" he popped the question. My hands flew to my mouth and I merely nodded. Words wouldn't form in my head. I couldn't give a speech as articulate as his but my expression said it all.
"Yes. I will. I love you more than my life Vladimir Volkov. I will marry you. And I promise I won't let anyone or anything else come in between us anymore. I promise to support you through everything. And I promise Death will certainly not take you from me." I whispered and leaned forward to land a kiss on his lips.
The bar looked at the both of us mesmerized by the happy moment in the tragic times. Claps sounded like thunder the moment our lips met,  so huge and happy was the applause. We broke off and I looked at him grinning madly at me while I blushed at all the attention.
"I love you." we both whispered at the same time.