Open Letter

Chapter Sixteen

When I woke up, he was next to me. He was lying on his side and facing me. One arm was outstretched and his hand was resting as near to mine as was possible, without quite touching it. His hair was tangled and it looked as though he had experienced a rough night. Moving slowly so as not to disturb him, I sat up and surveyed his long form. He hadn't even bothered to remove his robes or boots before collapsing on the bed. I calmly completed the frightening routine of checking him for wounds, making sure that he was not bleeding.

He loathed letting anyone see him after a summoning. While most of the time this wasn't a problem, on more occasions than I would like to recall he had crawled into bed with grievous wounds, instead of letting Poppy see him in such a state. I had spoken alone with Poppy after a particularly bad night, when I had to forced him to go to the infirmary for treatment. She taught me some simple healing charms, and gave me some rudimentary training. This was so that I could tend to him myself in most cases, and save us all a struggle with Severus's vanity.

He appeared to be un-injured. Most likely he had just suffered the Cruciatus curse, and in that case only needed rest to recover. I decided that I might as well make him as comfortable as I could. I took his boots off and began to work on his robes, when he stirred. He opened his eyes and looked up at me, but before he could say anything I bent down and kissed him softly. It was really the only way to shut him up. I pulled back and stroked his forehead while I said, "I know that you've been through a lot. Don't even try to deny it. Just let me know if you'd like anything for the pain or to help you sleep."

He must have been through a lot because he was too tired to try and down-play his current state. He cleared his throat and spoke very softly. "I would really just like a glass of water. And perhaps a dreamless sleep potion."

"No problem. I think you still have a bottle or two around. I'll be right back." I smiled down at him and then went to the little kitchen area he had. I'm sure that he was secretly delighted that although the faculty imagined him living in a cell, he really did have the nicest set of chambers after Dumbledore and Minerva. Most would just conjure water if they needed it, but it was nice to have a kitchen area at hand. I walked over to the sink and got Severus his glass of water.

Since Severus didn't really have to cook any meals down here unless he wanted to, his cupboards were stocked with potions and supplies rather than food. It was not difficult to find the potion he wanted due to his meticulous labeling. He even put the date he'd brewed the potion on the bottle. That habit always reminded me of when my grandmother would can soup or preserves to keep over the winter.

I gave Severus his potion and helped him shrug off his robes. He shifted to a more comfortable position on the bed and drifted off to sleep, thanks to the potion. This time his face relaxed and he looked much more peaceful than when I first found him. I pulled the blankets up over him and tucked him in. I gave him a kiss on the forehead before I left and perhaps it's just my imagination, but I believe I saw him smile.

I knew the routine that had to be followed. I cast Incendio on the fireplace and Flooed Dumbledore's office. I answered his questions about Severus's condition and once he was satisfied that Severus did not need to see Poppy, he requested that I come to his office. I stepped into the flames and joined the Headmaster. I waited while Dumbledore gathered all of our number that were at Hogwarts, and opened the line between his fireplace and the one at Grimmauld Place.

We were all anxious to hear what Draco would say. He looked paler than usual, and that's really saying something, but he appeared to be in better condition than Severus. Draco cleared his throat and began.

When he and Severus had arrived at the meeting, they had found things different than they were used to. Voldemort was sitting on a throne and Bella was at his feet. Lucius stood beside him and was talking in a whisper. The other Death Eaters were assembled in a circle. Draco and Severus walked through the center as usual and prostrated themselves before Voldemort. Lucius cast Crucio on Severus as soon as he had arisen from the ground. He smiled to see Severus hit the ground again. Draco was told to take a place in the circle that was close to the throne.

Voldemort spoke to the crowd but Lucius remained beside him the entire time. Draco was commended for his assistance in the capture of Harry Potter. Severus was forced to stand before Voldemort and was subjected to short bursts of Crucio, a spell for every month that he had failed to deliver Harry Potter to him.

After Severus had been punished and was allowed to limp to the edges of the circle, Voldemort stood and told the assembly his plans for Potter. He would be sacrificed at midnight November 1st, the ancient festival of Samhain. In return for his offering of blood, Voldemort would be vested with the dark powers of the earth. With that power he planned to attack Dumbledore.

Voldemort dismissed everyone but Draco. As soon as they were alone, Lucius sent Voldemort and Bella away. Voldemort most likely thought that he had decided to leave, but Lucius was nothing if he was not an excellent manipulator. Voldemort had grown lax if he assumed that all of his followers were too afraid of him to do anything. Lucius was afraid of Voldemort, but his ambition far out-weighed the fear.

Lucius spoke with Draco and explained how he had been manipulating Voldemort, and told him the real plan. Voldemort would sacrifice Harry, or at least try. Lucius was going to make sure that when Harry was placed on the alter he would still have his wand. Whether or not Harry died was of no concern to Lucius. If he did, then that would be one less mess to deal with later. If not, well, Lucius could certainly handle Harry.

The real point of the plan was that Harry would be allowed to use his wand against Voldemort. The bond between the two wands would be made even more potent because of the power of Samhain. The hope was that this would cause the power to enter Voldemort, but to be so strong that he would not be able to wield it and would instead be destroyed. Lucius would be perfectly poised to take control of the situation and to keep control.

We all sat and digested what we had been told. After a long silence, Dumbledore spoke. He told us all of the nature of the prophecy made about Harry and Voldemort. It was his belief that this confrontation would be the final one that would fulfill the prophecy. It might be our only chance to truly destroy Voldemort. Reluctantly, we had to agree. I know that every one of us wanted to rescue Harry, but we knew that if he faced Voldemort, this whole ordeal might soon be over. We had to let things take their course.