There Must Be More

Chapter 3

Immediately after Apparating to Voldemort's side, Severus knelt down on one knee, keeping his eyes on the floor directly in front of him. He knew the Dark Lord liked keeping his followers off balance, and one of the ways he achieved this was by not letting them see where they had apparated to when he called upon them.

"My Lord, I have answered your call. What is your bidding?" His voice was not as strong as he would have liked it to be as he was still suffering from the pain of the Dark Mark.

"I would have you look at me, Severus" was the reply. He looked up and at the same time tried to absorb as much as he could through his peripheral vision. Though it had still been daytime when he had left, no sunlight filtered into this room. The only light came from two braziers on either side of Voldemort. No windows, no furniture, nothing gave away the possible location of the room. For all he knew, there might not even be a door behind him. It did seem, however, that they were alone, and it was this observation that made Severus most wary. He had never been alone in the Dark Lord's presence and wondered if it meant that he had finally entered the most inner circle of his servants or something more nefarious.

In the split second that it had taken him to take in his surroundings, Voldemort had begun to practice Legilimency on him. Severus parried his mental probe with practiced ease and revealed just enough so that he wouldn't be suspicious.

"I received word yesterday that Narcissa and the boy have vanished. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, my loyal servant?" He had anticipated this query and gave the answer he had prepared just for this occasion.

"I was afraid this would happen, my Lord. I know that Narcissa feared you would punish her son severely for not being able to follow through with your orders. It seems as if she has decided that running away is worth the risk."

"Hmmm, yes, that woman was always weak in my eyes." It seemed as if Voldemort was buying the excuse. "I shall send Bellatrix after her sister and nephew. She would know best where they might try to hide from me." Severus and Narcissa had already discussed this very likelihood and made their plans around it.

"You are most cunning, my Lord," he groveled.

"Yes, well, one must always know how to manage their resources most effectively. It wouldn't do to have someone constantly sabotaging our efforts, now would it?"

"No, Master." Anxiety entered Severus' head after he heard the double-edged words. If Voldemort was already having doubts again about him after he had just killed Albus...

"Speaking of resources, I'm afraid I must tell you that we have lost another two from our number."

"And which two would that be, sir?"

"Have you not noticed the loss of Wormtail's presence in your very own house?" He was prepared for this as well.

"Of course, Master. I had assumed you had called him to you..."

"Now, Severus, I believe you know as well as I do that I would not call for him." Before Snape could think of a response, Voldemort continued. "Although, you could say he did come to me." Shite! How much did he know?

Hermione had conceived of the plan to Imperio Wormtail into changing into his rat form and feeding himself to Nagini. Once inside the monster, and just before he died from asphyxiation, he was to change back into his human form, and thereby destroy what they hoped was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. This was all to have happened without Voldemort's knowledge, but as it seemed as if he knew something, Snape tried to bluff his way through with ignorance.

"Sir?" The less said, the better.

"For whatever reason, he approached me in his rat form. Unfortunately, Nagini must have been particularly hungry because she swallowed him before he could change back into his human shape. Although, it almost seemed as if Wormtail was running into Nagini's mouth. Strange, wouldn't you think?"

Severus shrugged. "You can hardly expect me to understand what goes on in that rodent's mind," he said in his most indifferent of tones.

"True, although I had hoped that under your hospitality he might have come under your influence as well." This conversation was quickly moving onto very dangerous grounds.

"Then I am sorry I was not able to impart more of my wisdom onto him," was Severus' smooth response. "Might I inquire, Master, what became of Wormtail?"

"Alas, while I valued my pet over that sorry excuse of a Gryffindor and was prepared for the minor loss, he apparently decided he would rather die as a man than as a mouse. Of course, this meant the loss of dear Nagini." Severus was determined not to show the flash of triumph that he felt at that moment.

"I am sorry for your loss, Master."

"I wonder, Severus, are you truly?" Again, he felt Voldemort's mind invade his. It reached farther than usual this time, but he was sure his charade was still intact. Weary from the assault, he let his head drop.

"I admit, my lord, that I was never truly...comfortable with your familiar."

"Yes," Riddle hissed. "Ironic, isn't it, for the head of Slytherin to feel uncomfortable in the presence of a serpent." A slight change in his tone was all that prepared Snape for his next words. "I also failed to mention to you that just before Wormtail died, I was able to extract all of his memories." Severus' head jerked up in surprise and saw in the Dark Lord's expression that he was trapped.

"My lord, I can explain --" he began while he reached for his wand at the same time. The attempt at stealth cost him time however, and Voldemort was able to strike first.

"Incarcerous!" Thick ropes appeared and bound his hands and legs so that he could not grasp his wand.

Sectumsempra! Snape cried in his mind, but all that happened was a golden shield that had previously been invisible shimmered around the Dark Lord before fading into transparency again.

"You'll find that your hexes will not work on me, my wayward servant. You thought I would be unprepared?" He was advancing on him now, but Severus could only struggle against his bonds. "I clothed you, Severus. I fed you when you were hungry. I gave you water when you were thirsty, and this is how you repay me?"

"Crucio!" Pain tore through his muscles as he thrashed. He would not scream though. He would bite off his own tongue before letting Voldemort have that pleasure. His former master was now standing directly in front of him. He could feel the breath from those reptilian nostrils blowing on his face.

"Don't worry," whispered Voldemort, as he traced a drop of sweat that fell from his forehead with his long fingers. "We'll find your voice before I'm done with you." Pain from another Cruciatus Curse coursed through his body.

For the third time in five days, Snape prepared for his death. This time, however, he found that he would regret it. Hermione's face rose unbidden to the surface of his mind.

"What is this, Severus? Harboring feelings for a former student of yours?"

No! Severus clamped down his mind, but it was too late. Voldemort had found his weakness and was fully exploiting it. Those long pale fingers gripped his chin and made him look him in the eyes. Against his will, memories were torn from his psyche, all of them featuring Hermione. His feelings for her had been too recently established; he had not had the chance to bury them as he did with all the other thoughts he needed to keep from the Dark Lord. Lastly, the one he had hidden most deeply emerged, and he saw Hermione approaching him, intent on kissing him.

"You are a true ascetic, Severus, to have denied yourself even that pleasure when it was being so sweetly offered to you."

"She means nothing to me," he spat out.

"Do not try to lie to me, Severus. Crucio!" He did not pause as Severus flailed in agony against the ropes. "I already know what you did for her. Although it was a bit much, don't you think? Killing both Wormtail and Nagini? Surely they didn't deserve death just for leering at the girl and unnerving you. Did you do it just to show off in front of her? Or did you do it because she asked you to?" Voldemort sifted through his memories and found the answer. "I see. Perhaps I should see about recruiting her inventive little brain. She must have truly enraptured you, to have you so fully wrapped around her little finger." Through the haze of pain, Severus realized that Voldemort still knew nothing of Dumbledore's return.

"What happened, Severus? You were once so loyal to me. Your heart," -- he ripped open Severus' robes to reveal his straining torso -- "was mine." Riddle placed one pale hand against the sweat-covered chest. "Now I see you have whored yourself away, all for the smile of a simple girl. I would have given you so much more. You, whom I loved as my own son. I saw the misery in your soul; I felt the same pain you felt as a half-blood whose Muggle father didn't want him. I saw the potential within you and raised you from a life destined for futility. I made you who you are today! And you would throw that all away for this slip of a girl? You leave me no choice but to do this, Severus. No man can serve two masters. Crucio!" Severus barely jerked; his body was too drained to react to the pain anymore, and yet, he continued to suffer in silence.

The immediate effects of the curse eventually subsided. "Don't worry, I am no Bellatrix," said Voldemort in mock comfort. "I would not have you lose your mind. In fact, just the opposite -- I would prefer for you to keep your wits fully about you. I want you to know exactly how you are going to die as you do so." He caressed Severus' cheek with almost the same gentleness of a lover. "You'd be pleased with me, Severus. I devised this new curse all by myself, and you will have the distinct honor of being the first person to ever have it be cast upon."

"Consenescus!" As Voldemort cast the spell towards his heart, Severus used the last of his strength to look directly into Voldemort's eyes. Surprisingly, he felt no difference after the spell had been cast.

"It's a slow-acting curse in the beginning, picking up speed as it invades each cell of your body, much like how a potion of yours might react. You'll soon begin aging at an accelerated rate; within an hour, your body will be half a century older. By the end of the next hour, you'll have died from old age. A fitting death for a pedophile, don't you think?

"And just to show you that I am a man of mercy, I won't let you die alone. Because you killed Dumbledore for me, I'll send you back to the girl so she can watch you wither away, knowing there's nothing she can do to save you." He grinned cruelly, those red eyes gleaming in satisfaction. "I'll even send you back with a little gift."

While Snape remained hanging there, Voldemort conjured a metal insignia in the shape of the Dark Mark and levitated it over one of the braziers until it began to glow red-hot.

"Portus!" he cast at the sigil, and it glowed with another kind of light before returning to its original color.

"Although I abhor what she made me do to you, I must respect her ability to turn you so fully. Anyone who can use you as she has surely deserves a place within my ranks. You can tell her that if she ever wants an audience with me, she need only to use this, and I will oblige. Of course, if it is revenge she is seeking, she will also perish." His voice changed again then, from confident to almost wistful.

"You were always one of my favorites, Severus. Pity you couldn't stay loyal to me, although now that you've killed Dumbledore and revealed yourself to the Order, you've also lost most of your usefulness. I supposed this is goodbye then."

With a jerk of the wand, the metal brand came flying towards him, burning itself onto his chest. Finally, he cried from pain, but in that same instance, he was transported back to the gates of Hogwarts. He lay there for sometime, unable to move, even though the hot metal was still searing his skin. He smelled his own flesh burning but could do nothing about it. Each breath he breathed was agonizing. Finally, with excruciating pain, he was able to reach for his wand. With it barely in his grasp, he summoned the weakest Patronus he had ever summoned and sent it to find Albus. He didn't even have enough strength left to encode a proper message and hoped that its presence alone would tell the Headmaster what he needed to know. As he lay waiting, every second drawing him closer to death, he could only hope that Hermione would not be the one to find him.