The Worm That Turned

Chapter 15 - Unravelling

Severus ran through the corridors, panting his way up the stairs. Only one thought ran through his mind; get to Dumbledore. At the gargoyle he gasped out, 'Fizzing Whizzbees!'

'Calm down, Professor, no need for such a hurry,' it grumbled, as it slid aside. He threw himself on the staircase, and despite the speed with which it carried him upwards, he tried to ascend the stairs all the same.

At the top he hammered on the door, and to his surprise it was opened almost at once by Rubeus Hagrid. What the gamekeeper was doing in Dumbledore's private quarters at that time of night was beyond him, but he didn't have time to wonder. 'Where's Dumbledore?' he shrieked, grabbing the front of Hagrid's robes. He couldn't reach higher than the abdomen.

'I'm right here, Severus,' came Dumbledore's soft voice. 'Rubeus, go now, and quickly. The Muggle repelling charms won't last all night.'

'Right you are, Professor,' rumbled Hagrid, making his way over to the fireplace.

As Dumbledore turned to him, the words spilled out. 'Something's happened, something's wrong. With Him. It's gone, it burned - terrible pain - I passed out, and then I woke, and it was gone.' A flash of green light and a warm rush of air from the corner of the room indicated that Hagrid had left by floo.

'I feared as much,' said Dumbledore grimly, looking at the smooth unbroken skin of Severus' forearm, where not long previously the Dark Mark had been branded.

'What's happened? What could have... the prophecy!' His mind was running so fast, towards a conclusion he didn't want to reach, couldn't bear to reach.

'I don't know, Severus. You are sure the Mark is quite gone?'

'I can't feel it. I used to feel... connected somehow. The Dark Mark isn't a mere tattoo, it's a communication device, it links you to your brother Death Eaters... and to Him. We could pass messages that way. But now there's nothing. What does it mean? Is he dead? Is it over, is it all over at last?' With Voldemort gone, he could live properly again. Lily would be safe, and maybe there would be the chance for her to learn of his heroism. Maybe she would reconsider her old friend. He felt a rush of hope that perhaps he could have a fresh start.

'I don't know yet, Severus. Listen to me. Even if Voldemort is gone, his followers remain a threat, at least initially. Go to your Death Eater colleagues and see if any of them have information. Take as long as you need, but be careful not to raise suspicion. When you are able, return here and report to me. If it is urgent, use your patronus.' He indicated the fireplace. 'I suggest you go by floo to the London hub, then apparate from there. It will be faster than crossing the grounds.'

'But Dumbledore, you must know - you must have some idea...'

'I'll have a much better idea when I have the intelligence you can bring me, Severus. I am leaving right behind you, to ascertain what I can. If Voldemort has fallen, there is much work to be done, and time is of the essence.'

Trembling violently, Severus could hardly give the name of floo hub. He almost fell out at the wrong grate, only just holding himself back. He stumbled out into the sterile brightness of the hub. He had to take several deep breaths to gather his wits before he trusted himself to disapparate.

The lane outside Malfoy Manor was quiet, and the night calm and dark. But when he approached the house he saw lights on, both downstairs and up. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with longing to see his friend.

Narcissa opened the door. She was carrying the baby, who stared witlessly at Severus, a podgy white fist in his mouth. Drool dripped down his plump flannel arm. Narcissa herself was noticeably less well groomed than usual, her face pale and eyes wide. 'I wondered when you'd get here, come in, quick!' she said, pulling the door shut behind him. 'Lucius, Severus is here!'

Lucius appeared in the hallway behind her, dressed in his nightshirt and one of his trademark silk dressing gowns. 'Severus, you too?' he asked, without preamble.

'Yes! A terrible pain, then when I woke, it was gone.' He pulled up his sleeve and displayed his bare arm to Lucius, who did the same. They stared at each other, wide eyed and eloquent with silent despair.

'Does Dumbledore know anything?' asked Lucius, leading the way into the drawing room. Narcissa hovered in the background, fussing unnecessarily with the baby.

'Not that he's telling. I went straight to him - it would have looked suspicious otherwise. He knew something was afoot already, but I don't know what or how. He sent me off to see what intelligence I could gather. Have you heard from anyone else?' He accepted a large measure of whiskey from his friend, and took a sip. The hot liquor burned his throat and he closed his eyes for a moment.

'Walden floo'd almost immediately, and I had to virtually silence him to stop the idiot blurting it all out over the network. I expect he'll turn up any minute. Damn, Severus, what are we going to do? Do you think He's...'

Neither of them dared to say it. 'It might just be the Mark, maybe something's gone wrong with the spell,' said Severus, not sounding convinced.

'Perhaps. Should we go to Headquarters and see?' Lucius had downed all of his drink and was pacing the floor, full of anxious energy totally unlike his usual self.

'No, it's too much of a risk. The place might be booby trapped or anything. We should wait, wait for a sign from Him.'

'But what if it's a test?' gasped Lucius, looking quite demented. 'What if He's testing our loyalty? If we run or hide, He may punish us.'

'If we run around like idiots getting ourselves captured, He'll punish us too,' snapped Severus, rubbing at his arm even though there was nothing there to hurt him.

'Oh Merlin, what are we going to do?' asked Lucius, slumping into an armchair and covering his face with his hands. 'If we get this wrong...'

Narcissa spoke for the first time, to utter words Severus had never thought he'd hear. 'Severus is right, you shouldn't do anything in haste. And stop knocking back the whiskey,' she added sharply, as Lucius made towards the bottle again. 'Getting drunk is certainly not going to help the situation.'

'What was He doing tonight? Where was He going to be? Do we know?' Severus took another sip of the whiskey, letting it give him strength.

Before Lucius could answer, there was a hammering on the door. All three of them jumped and exchanged terrified glances. The baby began to cry. They stared at each other, unsure of what to do, then the sound of the door opening made them jump again. 'Dobby,' cursed Narcissa.

The elf wailed and a moment later Bellatrix Lestrange strode into the room, followed by Roddy and his brother Rabastan. Her hair was wild, her eyes staring, and she brandished her wand. Apparently poor Dobby had experienced her wrath already. 'What's going on? Where is He? Where's the Dark Lord?' screamed Bellatrix, her breathing heavy and tremulous. She looked positively demented.

'Bella, calm down and stop screeching, you're scaring Draco,' said Narcissa, standing up to face her sister.

'What do I care for your snivelling brat?' snapped Bellatrix, pushing her aside. 'Lucius, where is He? Why have our Marks disappeared?'

'I don't know, Bellatrix, and don't speak to my wife and son like that,' said Lucius, with more courage than Severus would have credited him with. 'Sit down, and take several deep breaths. Would the Dark Lord want to see you behaving like this, screaming and shouting?'

The words had some effect, and she sat down on the edge of a chair, toying with her wand. Her eyes alighted on Severus. 'Oh, you're here already are you, Snape? How very convenient! Did you have something to do with this?'

'Of course I didn't. My Mark burned then vanished, and so I came to find out if the same had happened to Lucius' too. Something's clearly afoot, but no one at Hogwarts seemed to know what.'

'Oh, so you discussed it with your darling Dumbledore before you left then!' screeched Bellatrix in triumph.

'Since I am at Hogwarts in order to spy for the Dark Lord, it would have been a dereliction of my duty not to. Other than that, I am no wiser than you.'

'Where is He?' wailed Bellatrix, tearing at her hair. 'He could be anywhere, hurt, alone! He needs us, He needs me! I must go to Him.'

Bellatrix's hysteria seemed to have had pulled Lucius together. On his feet again, he spoke to Rodolphus and Rabastan, who stood uncomfortably in the background. 'Your Marks have gone? Do you know what plans the Dark Lord had for tonight? Do you know who else might have known?'

'Rookwood, maybe?' said Rabastan, eventually. 'He trusts Rookwood.'

'We need someone to visit all the rest of the inner circle, see if any of them knows anything,' said Lucius. No one jumped up to volunteer. Lucius frowned in thought, then clicked his fingers and shouted, 'Dobby!'

The elf appeared at his side a moment later. Half of its face was swollen and bleeding, the big ear torn. It dripped blood onto the carpet. Lucius gave Bellatrix a disgusted look. 'Did you have to blast my elf's head half off? These things cost a fortune.' He turned to address the elf, which cowered beneath him, trying to cover its wounds. Making an exasperated noise, he looked at Severus. 'Can't you do anything? Are you able to heal these things?'

Glad of the chance to do something, Severus shrugged. 'I can try. Come here, elf.' He reached out with his wand and whispered the enchantment, concentrating hard to knit the sides of the wound together. To his surprise, it worked rather well. The elf prostrated itself at his feet.

'Master is kind, master is great, master is beneficent!' it began, in its quavering voice.

Lucius interrupted. 'That's enough, Dobby. I have a job for you. I need you to go the following houses and ask if anyone has information about the Dark Lord or what has happened to him. I forbid you to speak of this to anyone other than those I list or their elves, and if anyone is present in the house that is not known to you, you must not speak. Is that clear?' Lucius waited for the creature to nod before reeling off a list of the senior Death Eaters. Dobby bowed, and disapparated.

Bellatrix gave a low, nasty laugh. 'If that elf gets caught they'll trace it straight back to you, Lucius.'

'It's a risk we'll have to take,' he said shortly. 'Severus, come with me. I need your assistance.'

'Where are you going?' demanded Bellatrix.

'I was under the impression this was my house. I wasn't aware I had to answer to you for my movements. Narcissa, would you entertain your sister and the Lestranges please?' Lucius swept out of the room, clicking his fingers at Severus just as he had at Dobby.

In the hallway Lucius led the way up the stairs. He spoke in a low voice to Severus as they reached the landing. 'I have certain items around the house that I wouldn't want the Ministry to find. There's a secure hiding place under the drawing room floor. I'm going to move everything there.' Lucius led the way into his study and lit the lamps with a flick of his wand. He began collecting things up, shoving a black book, a wooden box and a container full of tiny jars at Severus.

It was mid-morning when Dobby returned. They had transferred anything that might incriminate Lucius into the room beneath the drawing room - which was almost as large as the whole living room in Severus' childhood home. Bellatrix muttered feverishly with her husband and brother-in-law in the corner, whilst Narcissa dozed, the baby still in her arms fast asleep.

The arrival of the elf galvanised everyone into action. Bellatrix grabbed it within moments of its appearance. 'Well?! What have you discovered? Speak now, quickly!'

Terrified, Dobby gabbled out his account at such speed and pitch they had to get him to repeat parts. 'No one knows anything! Dobby speaks to the people on Master's list, or to their elves, but no one knows! No one tells Dobby! Everywhere Dobby goes, people is panicking, frightened! They is burning their masks and their robes! Some has their elves packing trunks. Some was angry to see Dobby, others wanted Dobby to tell them all the things Master is asking Dobby to find out from them! No one knows where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has gone.'

'If I find you're lying, elf...' began Bellatrix, but Lucius pulled the elf from her clutches.

'Why would it lie?' he asked wearily. 'Dobby, you may go. Make us some breakfast.'

'Breakfast?! Is that all you can think of, at such a time? Breakfast? Never mind bloody breakfast, what are we going to do?'

'Bellatrix, starvation is unlikely to produce an answer, and the baby needs to eat if no one else.'

'Oh yes, the baby, your blasted baby, that's the only thing you ever think of these days. Who gives a fig about your stupid witless baby when the Dark Lord is in danger?' Her fanatical eyes were suddenly bright with tears. 'He could be anywhere, hurt and alone! He needs us to find Him, to help Him!'

'He is almost certainly dead,' said Lucius firmly.

Bellatrix moved her wand so fast that even Severus didn't react in time. Lucius gasped and his hand flew to his face, where an angry red weal had appeared down his cheek. 'Take that back!' screeched Bella, sounding positively unhinged. 'Take that back, you filth!'

'Don't speak to Lucius like that!' snapped Narcissa, stepping forwards.

'Keep out of it, Cissy,' spat Bellatrix. 'You never had the balls to join up, so you don't get to have a say in what happens now.'

'Never had the balls?' retorted Cissy, her eyes flashing. To Severus' huge alarm, she shoved the baby into his arms, and stepped forwards to confront her sister. Draco looked at Severus with equal horror, his lip trembling but too startled to even start crying.

Narcissa had drawn herself up to her full impressive height and her wand was in her hand. 'You fool. I'm the only one amongst us with any sense. Didn't I tell you this would happen? Dark Lords rise, and inevitably they fall, and when they do they take their followers down with them. Now at least one of us has a chance of staying out of Azkaban!'

'I don't care about Azkaban, I care only about Him!' declared Bellatrix. 'I would rather spend a lifetime in Azkaban, and know I did all I could to serve Him when I could, than have stood by like you have and sold out my principles for an easy life.'

'I haven't sold out my principles, I just think there are better ways of achieving them than getting caught up in the crazy schemes of some self-styled Dark Lord. No!' The last was in response to Bellatrix's hex, which Narcissa blocked with a surprisingly effective silent shield charm. She was forced to block again as her sister threw another curse, and within seconds they were duelling. Draco, seeing his mother fighting, began to bawl loudly.

'Doesn't that brat ever shut up?' yelled Bella, shooting a spell directly at the screaming baby. Severus spun, shielding Draco with his body. He was pitched forwards by the force of the spell, which knocked all the breath out of him.

Narcissa's scream of rage drowned out all other sounds. 'How dare you? How dare you try to hurt my baby! Get out! Get out of my house!' She emphasised her words with a string of hexes, which Bellatrix was forced to back away in order to avoid.

The Malfoys between them drove the Lestranges into the hallway. Severus, still clutching the boy, remained on the floor gasping for breath. 'Don't worry, we are going,' he heard Bellatrix shout. 'I haven't got time to waste here, whilst you squirm and try to cover your backs. I'm going out there, where you all should be, to find the Dark Lord and save Him.'

The door slammed, and moments later Narcissa was back in the room, tearing the sobbing Draco from Severus' arms. Lucius was right behind her. 'Is he hurt?' he asked anxiously.

'I'm fine,' said Severus, getting up.

'He meant the baby,' snapped Narcissa, fussing over Draco, smoothing his fine blond hair down over the dome of his little head.

'Well, that's the Lestranges gone,' said Lucius, rather unnecessarily. Having satisfied himself that Draco was all right, he sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands. Severus sat opposite him and felt like doing the same.

Narcissa crouched next to Lucius and said her husband's name, softly at first, and then sharply. 'Lucius! Pull yourself together. We have to think what to do.'

'I don't know what to do!' exclaimed Lucius, his face eloquent with despair. 'This is all so unfair, such rotten luck! I could go to jail - I can't go to jail, Cissy, I can't! It would kill me.'

'Then we'd better think of a way to avoid it, hadn't we?' said Narcissa, setting her mouth in a tight straight line and raising her chin. 'If you think I'm going to sit back and watch my husband - my son's father - go to prison, you've got another think coming.' She shot a look at Severus. 'Come on, Snape. You're supposed to be a genius. What do you suggest we do?'

Severus shook his head, unsure of what to say. His mind was whirling with thoughts, some of them so terrible that he couldn't bear to allow them through and had to try to shut them away. He forced himself to focus on the Malfoys and their predicament. Whatever else had happened, he couldn't just abandon Lucius. Their paths in life were too tightly entwined to walk away, even though he knew objectively that Malfoy had brought this on himself.

He began to speak without knowing exactly how he was going to end the sentence. 'If He is gone - and it seems He is, then it won't be long before the Ministry acts. They're going to start rounding up Death Eaters as fast as they can, they'll want to capitalise on the shock and the disorientation... It's unlikely your name will stay out of it Lucius, no matter how careful you've been. With Him gone, it only needs one person to talk... and we've never been exactly discrete about our views.'

'They won't be able to prove anything,' said Lucius, not sounding sure.

'That rather depends on how much 'proof' the Ministry cares about. You can't take the risk. You need a cover story.'

'I could say I was under Imperius,' suggested Lucius, his eyes wide and childlike. 'They might believe that.'

Severus considered this, and then nodded. 'That's probably best. I can back it up. Remember, they think I'm on the side of good - I've played my part well enough for Dumbledore to believe that. I can confirm that you were under the control of the Dark Lord - we could say he was after your money. I could also imply that you were part of my intelligence network, to Dumbledore at least.'

'Are you able to lie to him that well?' asked Lucius doubtfully.

'I've managed to deceive him so far,' pointed out Severus. 'Besides, it's the best we can do. Now listen, it's a risk, but I think you should go and give yourself up.'

'What?' gasped Narcissa, half rising. 'No, no, he can't do that!'

'He must. Think about it. If Lucius was under Imperius, the curse would have broken as soon as the Dark Lord fell. He would now be feeling terrible, racked with guilt, knowing all the things he had done. He would go straight to the Ministry to explain and offer what help he could. Also, if you go now, you have the advantage of them being shocked and busy. They won't question you as thoroughly.'

'It's too dangerous,' said Narcissa at once. 'We don't know for sure that anyone's going to point the finger at Lucius. He has been careful, and the name of Malfoy does count for something you know, even amongst Ministry folk. It's much too big a risk. Surely we can...'

'No. It's a risk not to. It won't be nearly as believable if you only come up with it after they've caught you. If you give yourself up you put them on the back foot, you regain some control. It is risky, but so is everything right now. It's a bloody risky situation.' They stared at each other in desperation.

'What if they give him Veritaserum?' asked Narcissa.

Severus reached into his robes and removed a capsule. 'Anti-serum. They gave it to me in case I got questioned when I 'converted'. Fortunately I never needed it. Lucius has greater need of it now.'

'Thanks,' said Lucius, taking the capsule and staring at it as though it might present him with the answers he needed. 'Do you know, I think Severus might be right. I have contacts in the Ministry, people on the other side. People sympathetic to me, politicians whose parties need a little donation to fund their next election campaign. I can go to one of them. Jasper Hendricks, maybe. He and father go way back.' He turned to Severus. 'Do you think you can say enough to corroborate me, without making it obvious that you're covering? People know we are close friends, after all.'

'They believe I'm on their side, that I'm their noble spy. I don't have to say that you definitely aren't a Death Eater - I can't do that under the terms of the Dark Lord's enchantment anyway. But I can make sure I misdirect them enough, saying they were Imperiusing wealthy people, that I have no knowledge of you ever taking part of your own accord, that you wanted to help me in the fight for the side of good. I know you don't believe it, but I'm good at lying.'

Lucius opened his mouth to answer, but Narcissa cut across him. 'Noble spy?' she asked. 'What do you mean, spy? I thought you told them you'd left the Death Eaters.'

Severus squirmed a little. 'I told them, but they suspected I was still a member. So I said I was but I wanted to spy for them, and so I passed them false information. It was easy enough to make things up. They only thought I was low ranked, so it didn't matter I couldn't give them anything very useful. It doesn't really make any difference now.'

Narcissa was looking very hard at him. Eventually she said, 'Both sides seem to think you are their loyal spy, Severus. We can't both be right.'

'Dumbledore said something like to me once,' he said, with a wry smile. 'But doesn't this just prove what I'm saying? I'm far better at persuasion than you give me credit for. As for whose side I'm on, Lucius knows me better than anyone else in this world.' He turned to his best friend and looked him dead in the eye. 'Which side do you think I'm on?'

Malfoy hesitated for only a moment. 'Ours, of course. Honestly Cissy, how can you doubt Severus, after all he's done for us? Protected Draco from your mad sister, saved my life I don't know how many times... And he's here now, isn't he? Where are the rest of them? All booking one way tickets to Brazil and burning their dark artefacts.'

For a second Narcissa looked from one to the other, and then sagged slightly and nodded. 'All right. You're right, Lucius. I'm just worried about this giving-yourself-up idea.'

'If you can think of a better one, then feel free to suggest it,' said Severus, trying to keep the triumph from his voice. 'As Lucius says, all the rest are busy running or hiding. No one else will have the bottle to brazen it out. Aurors like the chase, and they're going to have a lot of fun chasing our friends out there. Someone who gives themselves up is inherently boring, and Lucius will slip under the radar.'

'All right, all right.' She held up her hands in mock surrender. 'You've convinced me. It's not like we have much other option.'

'Very well.' Lucius nodded. 'I will go to Ministry this afternoon.' A heavy, miserable silence followed these words, broken only by the baby making meaningless sounds. No one liked to think of Lucius walking into the Ministry to give himself up, not knowing if he'd ever walk out again. Eventually Malfoy said, 'What will you do, Severus?'

Broken from his reverie, Severus tried to ignore the sense of impending doom, of history being made and eras being ended. 'Return to Hogwarts, to maintain my story. It is vital that Dumbledore thinks I am loyal to him. And then it's just a case of sitting it out, I suppose.' He rose to his feet. 'Narcissa,' he said gravely. 'Look after yourself.'

She nodded, her eyes suddenly bright. As he moved to leave, she put out a hand to touch his arm. 'You're a loyal friend, Severus,' she said, then quickly moved away, burying her face in the baby's downy blond head.

Surprised, Severus followed Lucius to the front door. When they reached it, Lucius said, 'We probably shouldn't see each other for a while now, whilst it all dies down. We don't want people associating us too closely.'

Severus nodded. He had bigger, more painful possibilities on his mind now than even the thought of losing Lucius' friendship. 'You're right, Lucius,' he said softly.

'And Severus? Listen. If this gamble doesn't work - if I end up in Azkaban,' his voice shook slightly at the word, 'will you promise me that you will take care of Narcissa and Draco, as best you can?'

Still numb of feeling, he nodded again. 'We have a deal,' he said flatly, and the words made him almost want to laugh, or cry.

'Well, so long then,' said Malfoy, clasping his hand. They shook for a moment, then Lucius quickly pulled him into an embrace. 'Be careful.'

Severus couldn't bring himself to speak, so he left the house silently. Outside it was cold and the sun was setting. The familiar crunch of the gravel under his feet echoed around his head. He glanced back at the house, with its diamond paned windows and turrets. Lucius had already closed the door. At the end of the drive he disapparated, not knowing if he would see the Manor or the Malfoys again.