The Silver Cauldron

Chapter 18 - Avada Kedavra

"There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it"

(Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone).

There was a jeer of laughter high above me. There was the taste of blood in my mouth. Something hard slammed into my ribs.

"Get up. Address your new master". The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the tattoo on my arm. The Dark Mark. Once the betrayal of my ancestors to the muggle community, now a permanent reminder of my own betrayal. I should have felt pride, success at having at last been accepted into the wizarding world. Instead I felt a wave of cold horror. Voldemort kicked me again and I forced my attention back to him. He was nothing of the magnificent God I had dreamt him to be. A crusader, fighting out against muggles and the way in which they treated us. He was a demon, an arch - nightmare. I had wanted power for so, so long. Now I had tasted it I didn't want it any more.

"Stand." I shakily got to my feet, dizzy with fear.

"I am going to teach you, girl, the power that you desire."

Th...thank you my Lord"

"I can teach you how to control, to maim, and even to kill." Voldemort smiled cruelly. "Most fortunately we have something...or should I say, someone for you to practice on."

He turned to Snape. He was half kneeling on the ground, perfect robes dishevelled and face drained of blood. I didn't want to look at his face. I concentrated instead upon his hands, his thin, pale fingers and long nails. I thought of those nails digging into my skin. I wanted to scream.

Voldemort walked over to Snape and began circling him lazily, like a bird of prey.

"I will teach you how to take control. The human mind is very weak, Almanay, and very easily to manipulate. You were good at that once, Severus, weren't you? Look where it has led you. I dare say, Almanay, you are familiar with the Imperio curse?" I nodded, trying to block out the thought.

"Firstly you must understand that it is not the incantation itself but the authority with which you say it that enables you to hypnotise your enemy into complete submission. Try it".

Shaking a little, but gripped with a fierce energy I pointed my wand at Snape. 'His hands' I thought, 'Concentrate on his hands'. I took a deep breath and cried;

"IMPERIO!" Nothing happened. Well, what had I expected? Snape to bow down at my feet? That would have been darkly amusing...suddenly Snape crossed over to me and knelt on the floor. I gasped in shock; I had control. I could make him do anything just by thinking about it...this was strange, This was power in it's purest form. It made me giddy just thinking about it. And scared. I panicked and broke my concentration. Snape relaxed and glared up at me, puzzled and disgusted.

"Very good, mudblood" Voldemort sneered. "You have a brain. Now see if you can manage the Cruciatus curse." I again raised my wand, but I found I couldn't do it. Not to him. I had already done too much.

"Well?"

" I...can't do it" I muttered. A small gasp went around the circle. The others already knew how dangerous it was to disobey him. I was blissfully ignorant.

" I decide what you can and cannot do, not you. Try."

"I'm sorry my Lord but I cant". Voldemort's eyes flashed red. He whipped out his own wand and screamed;

"CRUCIO!" The spell didn't hit Snape but me. It was pure agony. White hot claws slashed at my skin, it was like a bath in burning acid, harsh, brilliant lights, I wanted to die...

At last the pain was relieved. My head felt very clear and light, I found it difficult to stand up.

"Nobody" Voldemort said softly, "disobeys me and goes unpunished."

" Forgive me, my Lord" I murmured. He ignored me.

"LUCIUS MALFOY!" A tall man stepped forward. He seemed frightened too.

"My Lord?" came Malfoy's voice, naked of the arrogant assurance it had contained when he had visited me.

"Show the mudblood where to stand. I have finished with her."

Lucius led me into the circle of Death Eaters. I stood next to him, painfully aware that everyone was watching me. I stared at the ground, trying not to look. Not to look at Snape. There was the smell of hatred on the air, the lust for revenge, for blood. It infused throughout the circle, faint wisps of acid mixed with the aroma of dying trees, colouring the air red. Something stirred in me; this was it. I was one of the crowd. You could have heard a pin drop as Voldemort turned his attention to Snape.

"Severus...Snape. The traitor. The ignorant fool. You really thought you could escape me, didn't you? Thought you'd renounce the old ways. Pity you didn't renounce all of them. Did you miss being in control? Thought you'd exercise your power - the power I gave you." Snape did not move. Voldemort looked a little disappointed, as though this wasn't the reaction he wanted to get. He pulled Snape's head back by the hair and made him look at me.

"You loved her didn't you? Well, look at her. There she is. One of us. She never loved you. She used you, as you tried to use her. You wanted to keep her all to yourself, didn't you? Well, now she belongs to me. Every Death Eater here belongs to me. If you hadn't betrayed me you could have owned her. Think about it, Severus. Think about it as you prepare to die." Snape's face remained impassive, but his eyes had become somewhat brighter than usual and only I, who had known him better than any of the others there could decipher this as grief.

I looked away as Voldemort pulled back Snape's cloak to expose his throat. Idly, the wand was pressed to his neck. I fought back my emotions; it was my own doing. This was the ultimate revenge. But I hadn't wanted this. I didn't want his blood on my hands. I had to do something, save him. If he died I would be die inside too. But there was nothing I could do. No-one, ever, could overcome the curse that awaited him.

Voldemort cleared his throat, the Death Eaters leaned forward in anticipation and Snape shot me one sharp, stabbing glance. I will never forget the look in his eyes at that moment. A kind of cold hunger mixed with passion and, incredibly, pity. It was enough to push me over the edge. I burst through the circle of people, at the precise second that Voldemort said the incantation I heard my voice, screaming the first stupid spell that came into my head;

"FINITE INCANTATEM!"

Chapter 19 - The Price of Immortality

I saw through a glass cage, the beam of green light form Voldemort's wand splinter away from Snape. It hit a tree, which burst into flames. The charred wood fell to the floor, twisted embers embedded in its heart. A huge cloud of ash and embers flew up over us. An eerie silence filled the wood. It was as though we had all been plunged underwater. Slowly, Voldemort turned his head to look at me. Neither of us spoke. He slowly brushed the ash off of his robes. All the Death Eaters were staring at me, uncertain, afraid.

I stumbled a little, feeling faint, and grabbed at Malfoy's shoulder to steady myself. He shrank away from me and I fell to the ground. Hardly seconds has passed before I felt Voldemort's hands upon my neck, pulling me up to face him. His hands were no longer burning but cold, so cold I could feel my skin freezing beneath his touch. I gazed at him, exhausted but defiant. This was the end for me. He was going to kill me now. It was better this way.

"Leave us" he ordered to the onlooking Death Eaters. There was a swish of cloaks, an annoyed muttering.

"LEAVE US!" he screeched. The others disapparated, leaving just me, the Dark Lord and Snape in the darkened clearing.

But he didn't kill me. He just stood there staring at me thoughtfully. It seemed as though a whole century had passed before he spoke again.

"Do you realise what you have done?"

I shook my head, trembling.

"You have stopped the most powerful spell known to wizardkind."

" I...I didn't mean to..."

"How did you do it?"

"I don't know my Lord"

"How?" His fingers tightened around my neck.

"It...it was only a classroom spell. That's all."

"Indeed". He released me and moved over to Snape, who was unconscious.

"Not one mark, Almanay. He is not harmed in any way. Why?" I shook my head. He continued as if talking to himself.

"He should be dead. But she saved him - with a spell she learnt at school. Why isn't he dead? How was it overcome the last time? Unless...Almanay, come here." I did knelt at his feet.

"Do you love him?" I panicked.

"No my Lord! How can I love him?" he seemed satisfied.

"No, of course you don't. He raped you." He turned away. "Well, mudblood, what do you think I should do with you now?"

"You are going to kill me my Lord." I said swiftly. I wanted to be over.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I defied you. Nobody defies you and goes unpunished." He smiled cruelly.

"No. I believe I can get a lot more out of you yet. You defied me out of loyalty to your old master. That is the kind of loyalty I need amongst my servants. Fear is not enough to keep treacherous minds under control - Severus has already illustrated this. If you can show to me the kind of loyalty you gave him - someone who raped you, Philoma - I will spare both of your lives." I gasped.

"You are merciful my Lord. Thank you...thank you."

"This has nothing to do with mercy. Merely necessity. I need your mind, girl. You have shown me what you are capable of. I want you...to find for me a way of making a potion that can cheat death for its drinker." I started.

"But that's impossible!" He kicked me.

"I told you, I will decide what is or is not possible."

"I am sorry my Lord. I wasn't thinking." But how could I make that kind of potion? It didn't exist, I was sure of it. You couldn't cheat death, only delay it. There was no way I could find something like that. But if our lives hung on this...

"I'll do it."

"Good girl" he smirked. "Two things before you and this traitor are returned to Hogwarts. Firstly, if you should fall into the hands of my enemies, remember how I treat traitors. If I suspect even the slightest wavering of your loyalty he will be killed instantly. Do you understand?" I nodded fearfully.

"And secondly...I will not allow love to exist amongst my Death Eaters except love for me. Is that quite clear?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Then you may go." I kissed the hem of his robes. He touched my hair lightly, and blood ran from his fingers down my face. I bit my lip, resisting the pain. Without a word he disapparated.

I sat in the dust, red rivers flowing silently across my cheeks. Beside me Snape stirred, and I saw it would not long before he regained consciousness. I took another phial out of my pocket and poured a few drops into his mouth before draining the contents for myself. I don't remember much more except dimly seeing above me the rafters of my bedroom.