Cyanide

"I told you so," Severus informed Crabbe and Goyle as they dragged the youngest Weasley brother into the light.

"What should we do now?" asked Goyle dumbly.

"You find Malfoy. You hold him still." Severus directed each in turn. They were obedient in a moronic sort of way, just as their sons were in Severus' fifth-year Potions class. So many people were so predictable; and not least in this predictable crew was Ron Weasley, who now stood before him, covered by Crabbe's wand. When the nosy little brat had happened upon the meeting of Death Eaters, he had not had the brains to head back to the momentarily safe castle. Instead, he had remained to observe and gather information that would likely kill him.

As soon as Severus had heard Weasley shuffle his feet in the dried leaves that covered the forest floor, he had seen the events of the night unfold before him as if in a crystal ball. The older Weasley might stand by and watch his owl die, but owls and little brothers fell into separate categories. Percy would use all of his considerable magical talent to save Ron, and in the process he would show his true colors. If Severus had told the Dark Lord of Percy's intentions before Percy even knew of them, so much the better. Thus, as soon as he had become aware of Ron's presence, Severus had stepped forward and taken his dose of the Cruciatus Curse, which, while painful, was preferable to death.

It was ironic. Severus had spent a fair amount of mental energy convincing himself that Percy was a true believer in the cause of the Dark Lord so that when Severus was exposed as a double agent, Percy would remain safe. Now, when Percy exposed himself, Severus would become safe again-- or as safe as a double agent could be. Then Percy and Ron, Weasleys that they were, would be held up as heroes (or martyrs if they did not manage to return to Hogwarts in time) and Severus would remain the barely-tolerated, unacknowledged brains behind the operation. He would have to take some points from Gryffindor for this slight. That would only be fair.

Severus raised the hood he still wore to get a better look at his new prisoner.

"You!" gasped the terrified, flush-faced teenager. "I knew you were working for them!"

If Ron had half the mental power that most of the professors at Hogwarts credited him with, he also knew that Severus had crossed the Dark Lord long ago and was actually working for Dumbledore. But Ron was upset and most likely more than happy to think the worst of his least favorite professor.

"Well, Weasley, I must say I didn't expect to meet you here tonight," said Severus in a voice somewhere between "Death Eater cold" and "immensely amused." "Thinking of joining the winning side?"

"Never! Not if my life depended on it! You can torture me!" Weasley was a typical Gryffindor. He thought that he was just so brave although he had never been truly tested.

"Don't worry," Severus sneered. "We will." He delighted in watching Weasley's face turn from pure white to pale green.

"Severus," came the crystalline tones of Lucius Malfoy's voice. "Goyle tells me you have something to show me."

"Yes, Lucius. It's a most interesting thing. I believe it speaks for itself. Literally."

Malfoy drew nearer. "Look at this," he drawled slowly. "Another one. Want to be like your big brother Percy?"

"Shut up," said Weasley most unwisely.

"You are not in a position to give me orders," observed Malfoy. "I've heard about you from my son. It's a shame you and Draco don't get along better. I might be merciful then."

"I WOULDN'T WANT MERCY IF IT CAME FROM 'GETTING ALONG' WITH YOUR SON!" Weasley shouted. The shout drew the attention of the other Death Eaters who had not yet left for their missions. Percy Weasley and David Avery were two of the first to appear.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Malfoy asked Percy.

"Yeah, Perce, what's going on?" added Ron, half-snidely, half-pleadingly, as Crabbe tightened his grip.

"I don't know what's going on," said Percy coolly. "It seems like my little brother is somewhere he shouldn't be."

Severus would have raised his eyebrows at Percy's acting ability had he not known that such a facial expression would be noticed by Malfoy.

"Why don't you ask your brother to explain himself?" Malfoy continued.

"Ron? What are you doing here?"

"I-- I saw you cross the edge of Hogwarts grounds and I went out to see where you were going."

"You should have minded your own business."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. I haven't learned the Cruciatus Curse yet, so there's no chance I'd be able to put it on you myself."

Much of the defiance seemed to drain from the younger brother at this revelation. Malfoy laughed delightedly.

"You don't have any objection to my dealing with this one, then?"

"No," said Percy simply.

"Wise answer. Your parents will thank you. One less mouth to feed, not that it makes much of a difference in a family like yours. Severus, I'd invite you to join me but I think you'd best complete that discussion you were having with Macnair."

"I will, Lucius. Good luck."

"You as well."

Avery and the elder Weasley brother vanished just before Malfoy did, so Severus replaced his hood and mask and sat down with his back against a tree to await Macnair and glare at Malfoy's retreating back.

Severus hated being on a first-name basis with Malfoy. When one was a Death Eater, at least officially, it was much safer to be favored by the Dark Lord's right hand than detested by him, but Severus still resented Malfoy each time he called him by his given name. He hated to be addressed in a friendly, familiar manner by the man who made his life even more difficult than it would have been otherwise.

Hogwarts, for years, had been a sanctuary for Severus. While his double agent role had been Dumbledore's reason for appointing him Potions Master, he had virtually been able to lose himself in the process of working and teaching until a watchdog had showed up in the form of blond-haired, pale-eyed Draco Malfoy.

Draco's presence at Hogwarts was convenient in that it allowed Severus to know just where he stood with Lucius Malfoy. Lately, his standing had been good. The Dark Lord suspected that Severus' innermost loyalty lay with Dumbledore, but his assistant seemed to trust him. If Draco's father had voiced suspicions about Severus to Draco, Draco would have stopped making comments about how he believed his Potions Master should be made Hogwarts Headmaster. He would have stopped coming into Severus' office rather more often than was strictly necessary, even for a prefect who had reports to give to his Head of House. Draco had done neither.

While Draco inadvertently reported on his father to Severus, though, he quite consciously reported on Severus to his father. If Severus said one nice word to a Muggle-born but talented student like Hermione Granger, Draco would tell his father that Severus was slipping. Severus had to be always on his guard when Draco was in the room.

Draco's presence was also painful because the parallels between his life and Severus' own were hard to ignore. Both came from notoriously Dark families that managed to keep themselves publicly clean. Both entered Hogwarts knowing more about Dark Magic than most Hogwarts graduates knew. Both were magically gifted. Both were made Slytherin prefects as fifth years. Both spent their first years at Hogwarts battling a black-haired Quidditch star named Potter. Neither would ever get the recognition he deserved because of the shadow cast by Potter, despite higher or comparable amounts of intelligence and bravery.

And Severus suspected that both he and Draco were all talk and no substance. When he had finally joined the Dark Lord's exclusive club, Severus had found that he was not ethically suited to the life of a Death Eater. Likewise, Draco talked almost incessantly about the impending triumph of his father's allies, but Severus was reasonably sure that the boy had never experimented on a hapless Muggle-born first-year and then wiped the victim's memory. Other sons and daughters of Death Eaters had done so and bragged about it. Draco wasn't even in the habit of pulling his wand first when he fought with Potter and Weasley.

Severus promptly ended his reverie when Macnair arrived. "Nothing like that sound," said Macnair delightedly. "Shame Malfoy isn't letting us help." Only then did Severus notice that Ron had entirely dropped his front of bravery and begun to scream. Malfoy was probably using a series of minor but painful hexes interspersed with the Cruciatus Curse on Ron. He would see to it that Ron was too weak to move or speak and then lock him up. When the attack on Hogwarts was completed, Ron would be tortured for information, killed, or set free; or so Malfoy thought. Malfoy did not know what Severus knew: that Percy would escape with Ron within the hour or that both brothers would die in the attempt.

Across the clearing from Severus, Percy's thoughts were neither as lucid nor as methodical as those of his former Potions Master. He managed to carry on a conversation with Avery even as Ron's cries filled his ears, but in truth he had no idea what he was saying. He needed to plan. He needed to focus just one more time so that this chapter of his life would be ended one way or another.

Option the first: Walk away from Avery, knock Lucius Malfoy's head off his shoulders, and march Ron back to Hogwarts, ignoring the fact that Hogwarts was about to be attacked by a ragtag collection of psychopaths. This option would have been attractive were it not for the fact that it would almost certainly end in his and Ron's deaths as well as a complete failure to complete the task Dumbledore had set for Percy. Additionally, Percy hardly had the right to sacrifice a chance to protect the lives of hundreds of little brothers and sisters at Hogwarts-- including three of his own-- so that he could attempt to save Ron's precious but single neck.

Option the second: Ignore Ron, who should not have been off Hogwarts grounds in the first place, and do his job. Whether "his job" entailed sabotaging the Death Eaters' plans or helping with them Percy was not certain. He needed to decide whether or not these charmed, sparkling crystals were actually a threat to Hogwarts' defenses. Ever since his experience with "Mr. Crouch," Percy had begun to doubt his ability to tell the threatening from the harmless, although he would never admit this doubt to anyone other than himself. It did seem unlikely that the Death Eaters would tell Percy the truth about their plans on his first night inside their Inner Circle. This option was almost as ridiculous as the first option, because Percy would be worthless as a spy and a person if he allowed Ron to die without doing a thing to help him. It would be unforgivable. Unforgivable, again.

Option the third: Stand where he was and wait for an opportunity to leave the forest with Ron and with the ridiculous crystal, just in case. Malfoy most likely did not intend to kill Ron tonight, or Percy would have been invited to watch. Malfoy detested Father, and if Father could not be made to watch his youngest son suffer and die, Percy would be a welcome substitute. Ron would live, the Death Eaters' plan would be interrupted, and, as an added bonus, Percy would be able to cut his losses and end his spying career. It was ambitious-- but wasn't Percy supposed to be the ambitious one in the family?

Hence, Percy waited. He kept Avery happy by giving him one opening after another to make a snide remark about Percy's family. He felt a guilty surge of gratitude when Ron's yells faded to whimpers and then to nothing. He stared at the shed (disguised to look like a large rock) that Malfoy had erected when he had seen Ron.

At long last, Malfoy emerged. "Weasley! Avery! Get moving!" he yelled almost jocularly before disappearing.

"He trusts me enough not to stay here and supervise me," said Avery proudly.

"Wow," said Percy with admiration he quite decidedly did not feel. "Hey," he continued slowly. "Are we the only ones left here?"

Avery glanced around. "Yes. That must be strange for you. I'll bet you've never been alone in your life, with all those brothers."

"That's pretty much true. We all live in one room. Sometimes we even share beds."

Avery grunted. "You learn loads of things from having a big family, I guess. How to wear ugly clothes . . . how to starve . . . all that. Seven kids in a poor family! I just can't get past that. I wonder how your brother took his punishment."

"We could go see," suggested Percy, hoping he did not sound too eager.

"That's against the rules."

"Malfoy isn't around. And I'll bet you know how to get in there."

"I do." He nodded firmly. "I pay attention." The young Death Eater was obviously waging an inner war with himself. As Percy suspected was often the case with the spawn of demons, personal amusement beat out following the rules. Avery and Percy crept toward the rock, and Avery quickly muttered a string of Latin words that Percy couldn't quite translate. The door of the rock swung open. "This rock's probably a nicer house than he's used to," said Avery conversationally.

Percy turned to Avery and gave him two black eyes and a broken nose before pulling his wand from his hand and tossing it halfway across the clearing.

"Wha-- what-- you'll PAY FOR THAT! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!" cried Avery angrily.

"You and which army?"

"The Dark Lord's army."

"I don't think so." Avery had begun to swing back at Percy now, but Percy still had the element of surprise on his side, along with greater height, weight, strength, and age. He was also finding a glorious release in pummeling the daylights out of the self-satisfied apprentice of evil. In a short period of time, Percy had pinned Avery to the rock and was leaning a forearm against the teenager's throat. "How--" gasped Avery.

"I grew up with five brothers and I can't hold my own in a fist fight?" Percy inquired sweetly as he debated the merits of using magic to knock Avery unconscious versus just slamming his skull into the rock a few times. His self-control was starting to return, so he pulled his wand from his belt.

"Won't work," rasped Avery. "No magic in this area without lifting a ward you can't lift." Avery smirked. Percy quite probably fractured Avery's skull before dragging him inside the rock and tossing him aside like a rag doll.

Percy had assumed that Ron was not conscious, but when he at last saw his brother, Ron's eyes were wide. "What took you so long?" he whispered with the closest approximation of a smile he could render at the moment. Percy fought the urge to cradle Ron in his arms and do what he could to make him feel better. They needed to leave right away.

"Can you stand?"

"I can try," whispered Ron hoarsely, using Percy as a lever and pulling himself up to lean against the wall of the shed while he got used to the feeling of being upright.

"Hang on," Percy whispered back. "I have to get that crystal." Ron nodded, not wanting to speak except when it was absolutely necessary. His throat throbbed so badly that felt that he had done more damage to himself by screaming than Lucius Malfoy had done by hexing him.

Ron watched as Percy fumbled through Avery's robes, looking for the crystal. Percy did not seem like the same person who had just beaten Avery almost into a coma. Instead, he seemed bumbling and nervous. Picky prickly prissy private perfect prefect Percy.

For all the times Ron had told Harry and Hermione that Percy would be willing to buy and sell him if he got in his way, he had never meant it. Percy's sentencing of Ron to Malfoy's torture chamber had felt more like a bad dream than had the torture itself. The concept of Percy actually hurting him had been as foreign as the concept of suddenly falling in love with Pansy Parkinson. Percy had not been the kind of big brother that Fred, for example, had been. Fred was directly responsible for Ron's almost crippling fear of spiders; Fred had used Ron's pet puffskein (if only it had been Scabbers) for Bludger practice; Fred had burned a hole through Ron's tongue with an acid pop. Perfect Percy would never have done so.

During the long-- moments? hours?-- Ron had spent with Malfoy, and he knew full well that it had been Malfoy though he had seen no faces but Percy's and Snape's, Ron had struggled to wrap his mind around the idea that he might have been right although he had never believed his own words. Now he knew that he had been right to believe that he was wrong, and, through his haze of pain, he knew that it was absolutely essential that Percy not know he had doubted him.

Percy, having found the crystal and run outside to collect Avery's wand, returned and wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulders. Ron winced as he reciprocated the gesture, and Percy winced, too. He wondered how much time had passed since he had been physically touched for reasons other than a Death Eater ceremony.

"We can't use magic at all in this part of the forest, so I can't Apparate us somewhere. We're going to have to try to run to Hogwarts and hope we can get inside. Do you want to try to run or do you want me to pick you up?"

"Run," said Ron firmly. He had very nearly caught up to Percy's height, and while he did not doubt that Percy could still throw him over his shoulder and carry him to Hogwarts, he did doubt that they would make it to the castle before they were discovered. Besides, being carried was for wimps.

The forest was pitch black, but Percy and Ron knew where they were going and headed straight for the place where the public forest, the Forbidden Forest, and the proper part of Hogwarts' grounds came together. Ron was leaning heavily on Percy but making good time for someone who had just been given his first taste of the Cruciatus Curse. Both Ron and Percy were thanking their lucky stars that Malfoy had not directed any hexes at Ron's lungs.

The forest's end appeared after a seemingly interminable shambling jog. Had it been broad daylight, they might have been able to see Hagrid's hut.

Had it been broad daylight, they might also have seen that they were not alone before hearing a cry of "crateris!" The earth beneath them shook and they fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. "Thought you would run away, did you? I warned He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but did he listen? He will listen now."

"Hey, Scabbers," said Ron, trying valiantly to raise his voice above a whisper. "Hasn't been long enough since I've seen you."

"Both of my young masters together and defenseless. It's almost cute, although you never were wretches like those twin brothers of yours. I almost regret turning you in."

"Then DON'T!" suggested Percy rather more desperately than he would have liked.

"Don't, Perce," interrupted Ron. "He killed Harry's parents, and they were his friends. We were only kids who wanted a pet and conveniently happened to be wizards."

"And you'll be convenient again-- umph!" The sometime rat struggled valiantly against the robes he suddenly found binding his body.

"If you can use magic, so can we," Percy explained unnecessarily. "Now we just have to get across--" he broke off as he surveyed the damage his former pet had done to the forest floor. A huge crater had formed at the edge of the forest. Percy pointed his wand at a tree, planning to knock it across the crater to serve as a bridge. His wand sputtered as if broken. The wards must be up again. He and Ron had already been spotted once; going around what looked to be a bottomless gap was out of the question. One look at Ron told Percy that his brother had reached the same conclusion he had.

Percy hauled Ron to his feet, and they took off running again, faster than they had run before. Three more steps. Two. One. The brothers' lanky forms served them well as they pushed off the edge of the crevice, stretched out their legs, and hoped that the force of their jumps would carry them onto Hogwarts grounds.

Percy landed firmly, but Ron precariously, and Percy only barely managed to shove his brother onto the grass. Ron looked up dizzily. The repeated beatings his body had been taking that night seemed to be catching up to him. It was about time.

"Just a little bit more," Percy whispered, feeling for the first time that they might actually survive the journey to the castle. Ron moaned in response. Whether he had intended to say something more coherent was a mystery to Percy.

"Percy. Let him stay down." Percy jumped back to his feet, wand drawn, before realizing that the voice belonged to Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor House. She conjured a stretcher and floated Ron's body onto it without removing her eyes from Percy.

"Ron? Can you hear us?" Percy did not need to look to see to whom the other two voices belonged. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would naturally have been the ones to notice that Ron was missing. "Percy? Are you all right?" Hermione was asking now. "Oh my--" she staggered backwards. Percy wondered what about his appearance had startled her into speechlessness.

"Leave him alone, Miss Granger," McGonagall commanded. "You and Potter see that everything is all right in the common room and find the twins and Ginny, please. Then you may meet us in the hospital wing." Harry and Hermione hesitated, eyes fixed on Ron's prone form. "NOW!" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, and the two took off running.

"And you," said McGonagall to Percy with disorienting calmness, "Professor Dumbledore is expecting you in his office." Percy trudged the rest of the way to the castle in silence, though the crystal was still heavy in his pocket.