Invisible Trail

Chapter Eight: Beckoning

Severus Snape put on his heavy black cloak and left his office. He made sure no student or teacher was wandering around. He had to be careful; nobody could see him dressed like that and much less watch him leave the school grounds, or his whole cover would be blown.

His mind was racing. It was only the first week of term and this was already the second time the Dark Lord had called him. On Monday night he was summoned to brew a potion, Veritaserum, so the Dark Lord could force a Ministry employee to reveal vital information. It seemed that he had miraculously managed to keep his mind closed to the Dark Lord; Occlumency, when perfectly learnt, could prove to be a valuable weapon. Unfortunately, very few people could resist the power of Veritaserum.

This call, however, had been very different. His Dark Mark had burnt so badly that it still hurt, a sign that the Dark Lord was far worse than enraged. He hurried up; keeping the Dark Lord waiting was not wise, specially now. He reached the school boundaries and, after making sure he was not being observed, he pulled on his mask and Disapparated.

His feet touched ground and he found himself in a hall facing a door. He reached to open it but someone on the other side beat him to it.

"Severus. Just the man we were waiting for," said a cold voice.

Severus knelt before the man (if that thing could ever be called that).

"Master, I came as fast as I could," he apologized.

"You arrived faster than I had foreseen. You may stand and join the circle," the Dark Lord ordered.

Until that moment Severus had not noticed a group of Death Eaters standing in the middle of the room. They formed a circle, leaving a single space for Severus to fill. Even though he could not see their faces, he easily recognized each one of them. The Dark Lord's inner circle was reunited tonight. Severus waited for the Dark Lord to explain the beckoning, to give his orders, or even to curse one of them. Yet, silence reigned.

The Dark Lord slowly made his way inside the circle. He turned to face the first Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy. He looked him straight in the eye and after a few moments broke eye contact. Something had happened and he wanted to find who was responsible through Legilimency.

Severus took a deep breath as the Dark Lord continued his search. He had to clear his mind; there were lots of things that could not be seen, specially by him. When the Dark Lord reached him, he was ready. He made sure to keep his eyes firmly on those red slits; otherwise the Dark Lord would know he had something to hide. He could feel him trying to penetrate his mind, but Severus held him back. The Dark Lord did not surrender and the struggle continued for what seemed forever until the Dark Lord broke the contact suddenly.

He moved on to the nest victim, but not without glancing back at Severus. Once everybody had been tested, the Dark Lord was fuming.

"You may all leave," he paused. "Except Severus."

Severus could feel every eye turn his way, but paid no attention. While the others Disapparated he stayed right where he was. The Dark Lord approached him.

"Master," Severus started whilst kneeling down and taking off his mask.

"Take a walk with me, Severus," the Dark Lord interrupted him.

Severus stood up and walked beside him.

"You have bee a faithful servant for a long time, Severus, and you have never failed me. You know me well enough to know something most grave must have happened to put me in this state. Be honest, could you notice?"

Certainly, Master. If I may say so, I had never seen you quite like this," Severus answered truthfully.

"You're smart and that's why I know you will help me." The Dark Lord paused to see his reaction.

"In any way I can, Master," Severus offered quickly.

"If you encounter my little problem you will inform me, won't you? Or else I will be indeed disappointed"

"I will, Master," he assured. "Please tell me what's troubling you."

"You shall know once you see it, there's no doubt about that. Return to your post now, Severus, and remember my request."

"My Lord, I will not let you down." Severus knelt, kissed his Master's robes and Disapparated.

Half an hour later, he was about to reach his office when hand was placed on his shoulder. A woman's hand.

"Sam, this has not been a good day. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said.

"No way! You have said that every day since we arrived here."

Severus turned to face her. She was a tall, slim woman with long, curly red hair. She had delicate features and dark brown eyes. No person in his right mind would have guessed Samantha was Severus' sister.

"Fine," he agreed rather reluctantly. "But it had better be quick."

She led him into her office and made some hot chocolate appear.

"You look awful," she said whilst handing him a mug.

"That's nice! Yet, I suppose it's not far from the truth," he confessed.

"You went to see him, didn't you?" She was direct.

"What makes you think that? He asked trying to sound innocent.

"The robes," she simply answered.

"Yes, he wanted to see us. The inner circle."

"It must be dreadful," she said. "I mean, receiving orders from him."

"You were intelligent enough never to get involved in all this. Far wiser than me."

"I suppose staying neutral was the best choice."

"Last time it might have been. Now the Dark Lord will not respect that. Nobody can run; no one can hide."

"Stop being so gloomy. Hogwarts is very far away from the world and the war."

Fat chance, little sister, Severus thought.

"What did you want to talk to me about anyway? he queried.

"I wanted to ask you for some advice actually. I enjoy teaching, I really do. It's just that sometimes I feel like strangling a couple of students. How can I make them understand what I'm saying? Some of them seem like they aren't even listening to me all!"

"Most of them were born thick and there's nothing you can possibly do about them. The whole lot of Gryffindor is rotten, specially Longbottom."

"No. As a matter of fact he is very good," she answered. Severus looked at her intently, trying to figure out whether she had gone mad or she was just joking. "At least in my subject," she added after seeing the look she was getting.

"I'd like to see that"! Severus smiled nastily.

"I hate to admit it, but I find the worst are the Slytherins."

"Of course they are!" he exclaimed. "They are good at the Dark Arts, not at the defense against them."

"Well, I don't know how some of them are in N.E.W.T.s level!"

"Money can enlighten even the dumbest, Sam."

"I would never accept a single Sickle and neither would you," she responded offended.

"No, we wouldn't. I only take students with the maximum grade in the O.W.L.s and yet I am surprised some reach it."

"There are several who just impress me; they know advanced curses and countercurses. These are not likely to be taught here and much less by the teachers they've had (Lupin was the only decent one). And yet they know. I sometimes wonder how."

"Don't bang your head against a wall trying to solve this puzzle, as fascinating as it is. I need to go or else I won't be able to wake up tomorrow for my first class," he acknowledged.

"Yes, me neither. I'll talk to you later," she promised.

"I'm sure you will."

Hr left the office rather quickly before she understood the real meaning behind his last statement. Besides, he was pretty tired. He had lost precious time to sleep, but at least she had managed to keep his mind off his worries.

Once he reached his quarters, he closed the door and got ready for a well deserved and most needed sleep. He was about to turn off his light when someone knocked at his door.

"Sam, come on. . ." he started as he opened the door but stopped when he realized it was not his sister.

"S. . . Snape," the visitor managed to say before passing out. Severus could clearly see numerous scars and quite a few fresh injuries so he wasted no time. He lifted the shape on the floor with a simple spell and made sure no one was in the hallway before heading for Dumbledore.

"Marsh mallows." Dumbledore's passwords always struck him as odd. The staircase started moving so slowly that he feared he would never reach the top. After what seemed like ages, he reached the door and opened it.

"Severus, how may I help you so late at night or so early in the morning whichever way you prefer?"

"Headmaster," Severus said as he stepped aside so Dumbledore could see the reason for his visit.

"My goodness!" Dumbledore exclaimed after seeing the injured and unconscious body.

"Exactly," Severus replied.