Snakes & Ladders: When Minions Scheme by kayakaari Author:kayakaari Title: Snakes & Ladders: When Minions Scheme Rating: G Pairing(s): None! Word Count: ~2500 Warnings: Character death but not *that* one Summary/Snippet: Killing Albus catapulted Snape up the ladder to being Voldemort’s right hand man- ahead of other loyal followers. But the Dark Lord’s favourite is a tenuous position and for every ladder up, there’s snake to bring you down. This is what happens when minions scheme. A/N: Thank you to sighing_selkie for being my last minute beta and doing such a quick job! You’re a procrastinator’s dream! I chose to make some of her suggestions but not all so yeah, those remaining zingers are all mine. She also helped me come up with the name! Yay! This is a work of fiction. The characters and their worlds belong to their original writers and no copyright infringement or offense is intended. No money was made from this story.
Snakes & Ladders or When Minions Scheme
Severus Snape was keeping a keen eye on Rodolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix's pathetic spouse was making a predictably pathetic contribution to their Lord's war. Snape sneered as a weak Avada Kedavra sailed a foot over Flitwick's head and hit one of the many, wretched anonymous Snatchers who imagined themselves pseudo- Death Eaters.
But Lestrange hadn't secretly changed sides. He was distracted, looking for someone or something.
Snape rubbed the back of his head feeling phantom pains, not on the spot where Lestrange had 'accidentally' bumped into him a few hours before but a few inches above it.
A scalp so rarely stimulated by the bristles of a brush or teeth of a comb was unsurprisingly sensitive. Snape had known the moment the hairs were plucked from his head. He'd immediately grabbed at Lestrange's hand but before he could find or retrieve his property, Bellatrix had intervened and the opportunity was lost.
A wizard, even one as useless as Lestrange, could do a lot of damage with a few strands of hair. Severus had therefore spent the last few hours spying on the current possessor of a few strands of his hair.
“Rodolphus,” Lucius called out in obvious relief, “have you seen Draco? Have you seen my son?” “No, I have not,” Lestrange responded dismissively.
Lucius ignored the man’s scornful sneer. “Oh,” he replied with a sigh of disappointment. “Well then, have you seen Severus?”
“Severus?”
“Yes, you know, Severus Snape,” Lucius replied with a sneer of his own. It was not particularly successful, hindered as it was by his swollen eye and jaw. “The Dark Lord asked me to find him.”
Severus scoffed quietly. Even now Lucius was still pretending to be important.
Lestrange shrugged dismissively. “I haven’t seen Draco but some of the other students are over there,” he suggested, pointing vaguely towards the castle.
Severus was torn. He watched as Lucius stumbled desperately towards the castle and considered showing himself so that he could find out what the Dark Lord wanted. But the strangely smug and calculating look on Lestrange’s face worried him. His instincts proved as valuable as ever when Lestrange stepped behind a tree and took a drink from a flask. As Snape suspected, it was polyjuice with the Potion Master’s hair in it.
“Oi!” An Auror had observed the transformation and was now foolishly running towards Lestrange dressed as Snape. “Who are you? If you’re not Snape then I’m going to have to charge you with illegal consumption and possession of a restricted potion! And if you’re actually Snape then you’re wanted for questioning in the death of Albus Dumbledore!”
Snape couldn’t help but to roll his eyes. He only felt the smallest twinge of guilt when Lestrange’s Avada Kedavra hit the young Auror in the middle of his chest.
“Stupid boy,” Lestrange drawled in his best Snape-like voice. He burst into a wild cackle of laughter reminiscent of his wife’s. Severus shuddered at the sound coming from his body dressed in silver robes. He felt absurdly relieved when Lestrange transfigured his robes into familiar black on black.
Lestrange levitated the dead Auror’s body. “How do I look?” he asked the corpse. “Wish me luck! I’m off to ruin Snape's unfair favour at the Dark Lord’s side. He is not trustworthy or deserving; we are! Bellatrix, Rabastan and I! We are the only ones who looked for our Lord. We are the only ones who stayed true to him!” Lestrange dropped the body and stepped carelessly on and over it as he ran towards the Whomping Willow.
***
Severus entered the underground tunnel to the Shrieking Shack, his heart racing with trepidation. He did not have a good feeling about this. Wormtail had ratted him out to the Dark Lord- pun very much intended. After escaping Black and Lupin in Potter's third year, the traitorous Marauder had relished in his detailed description of Snape's defeat at the end of Harry Potter's wand, conveniently downplaying his own frequent brushes with death that day.
While it was true that Wormtail’s story had helped Snape's claims about hating Potter and not being able to best the boy easily due to the Potter luck, as a result of the taunts engendered, well, let's just say that Snape did not mourn the pest's death. The story of young Potter’s triumph over Snape would have become legendary had it not been in defence of his dogfather – Sirius Black, the shame of the Black and by extension Malfoy and Lestrange families.
Still, if the Dark Lord was summoning him here, to the scene of such humiliation, then nothing good could be coming of this. In spite of himself, Severus felt an uncontrollable shiver run up his spine. Wormtail was the only Marauder who had never known about Black's near fatal prank; he would certainly have informed the Dark Lord of Snape's Wizarding Debt otherwise. So at least the Dark Lord’s humour would not likely include death by werewolf. Or less likely at any rate.
As he approached the opening, he spied Nagini floating in a protective bubble and Lestrange kissing the hem of the Dark Lord’s robes. He quickly cast an Imperturbable charm just inside of the room so that Nagini would not taste or sense his presence in the room or feel his movements.
To his surprise, Lestrange was mimicking his voice and mannerisms with alarming accuracy. It was disturbing and Severus’s suspicion of the involvement of a greater mind behind the plot to overthrow Snape was merely increased.
Snape was hidden behind an old crate when he heard movement in the tunnel behind him. Keeping a wary eye on the Dark Lord, he quickly but as unobtrusively as possible shifted the old crate to block the entrance from the tunnel and went to hide in the shadows.
Lestrange spotted the movement and turned to Snape, his eyes widening in fright. Snape cast a disillusionment spell over himself while looking into his own black eyes. Lestrange could not break the stare and Snape was able to silently cast Imperius and Legilimens before Lestrange could act. He controlled Lestrange’s words, begging the Dark Lord to send him away to find Potter. He needed to get rid of Lestrange- this was a dangerous game to be playing.
The Dark Lord stood between Snape and Lestrange and Snape could feel his control over the other man weakening. Worse still, he did not understand what the Dark Lord was trying to say. He was not Ollivander; he could not know why the Elder Wand was not responding as the Dark Lord desired. All he could do was to force Lestrange to remain silent. He only hoped that the Dark Lord would interpret any sign of struggle on Lestrange’s or rather Snape’s face as a struggle to figure out what to say.
Snape’s control over Lestrange’s vocal chords strengthened as the man focused instead on Nagini. His fear of the snake weakened his ability to fight the Imperius. He was almost eagerly letting Snape control his words as though hoping the clever man would be able, as always, to say just the right words to appease their master.
Snape was grateful for Lestrange’s compliance. He was every bit as terrified as if it was his very life at risk at the moment. He needed to get rid of Lestrange. He needed to remain in the Dark Lord’s favour. Albus’ death... his murder... It could not have all been in vain.
“My Lord!” he protested through Lestrange.
Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand and Snape lost control over Lestrange. He froze in fear and wondered what the other man would say. But Lestrange himself seemed to have frozen for he was able to nothing more than issue a yell of terror before Nagini’s magical encasement swallowed his head and shoulders and the Dark Lord hissed.
Lestrange struggled to push away the enchanted cage but Nagini had already ripped into his neck.
Snape’s blood had run cold. He remained frozen in place, not even breathing. That was why he heard the exhalation not his own coming from behind the crate. He quickly and silently cast additional disillusionment spells over his person.
The crate was levitated away from the hole and further hid Snape. Potter appeared as his cloak slid from his body. The rest of the Trio appeared with all the quiet grace of young hippogriffs.
The Potions Master snapped into action. The dying man struggled to speak, his weakened hand struggling to point at Snape. He grabbed Potter and pulled him close.
He rose quietly from his crouch and looked at Lestrange who in turn looked between him and Potter with widening eyes. Snape once again cast Imperius and Legilimens on Lestrange who was too weak to fight him.
He could step forward now and deliver his message to Potter but Potter was clearly if surprisingly shaken by what he believed to be Snape’s death. But the boy had never learned Occlumency and his link to the Dark Lord was most likely still active. He couldn’t risk revealing himself to Potter right now; Voldemort would be certain to sense it.
Thinking of the Dark Lord and Potter’s connection gave Snape an idea. Ever since Potter’s blind acceptance of the sword in the lake, he had been practicing a version of Legilimency and projection favoured by the Dark Lord. He had added aspects of the Patronus spell and could now project memories as mists which appeared from inanimate objects which Lestrange very nearly was by this time.
Snape sent a collection of memories, making them appear to leak from Lestrange. He had not yet perfected the spell and through experience knew he could not yet control which memories would be sent with the primary memory. Potter was just watching the memories as they leaked from Lestrange.
Snape commanded Lestrange to speak. “Take them... Take them...” the man gurgled.
Concerned that Potter might still not understand, Snape decided to try the third person Legilimency which the Dark Lord had perfected. He made Lestrange command Harry to look at him and looked through the dying man’s eyes.
To his pleasant surprise, it worked. Snape was looking through Lestrange’s eyes and into... Lily's green eyes. The sight of her eyes was so amazing that he hesitated a moment too long. Everything went black as Lestrange finally died.
***
The trio left after Voldemort’s announcement. Snape swallowed his nausea – the dead body still looked like him - and rummaged through Lestrange's robes. Inside he found another flask of polyjuice labelled ‘Rodolphus’ and a note with instructions to 'take this when you're done'. It was further confirmation that someone else was involved in Lestrange’s plot. He would have to be careful. Taking the risk, Snape swallowed the potion and was relieved to turn into Lestrange. He quickly transfigured his clothes and returned just in time to join the rest of the Death Eaters in the Forbidden Forest.
McNair approached and asked if he had 'done the job'. Snape struggled not to sneer. He did his best to affect Lestrange’s voice.
“No,” he whispered, “but it doesn’t matter anymore. Snape is dead. Nagini killed him and our Lord is the undisputed master of the Elder Wand now.”
McNair huffed. “But we will not receive the Dark Lord’s favour for it!” he hissed and walked away.
***
Snape spent the remainder of the hour avoiding Bellatrix. He was thankful that she tended to avoid him regularly anyway and that Rabastan was missing, perhaps dead. He was relieved and, to his surprise, saddened, at Potter’s easy death. He reassured himself that it was not affection for the boy but rather disappointment that he would never look into Lily’s green eyes again. He sipped all that remained of the potion. It hadn’t been much to begin with as clearly Rodolphus only needed it long enough to look like himself once he had destroyed Snape. Rodolphus would have simply continued looking like himself once the potion wore off but Snape was not Lestrange.
When the Death Eaters returned joyously to the castle, Snape did not join them. Yet he could not leave, not when the end was so near. He needed to see the Dark Lord fall. He skimmed on the outskirts of the fighting but tried to stay out of it.
It was with admiration that he watched Molly kill Bellatrix. The Dark Lord roared and turned his attentions to Molly Weasley. The place fell into chaos but seeing his nemesis fall, Snape thought only to approach her body with a certain malicious glee. He wanted to make sure that she was truly dead. He sneered when he approached and even the soldiers of the Light let him approach safely to grieve for his 'wife'.
He hugged Bellatrix to his chest and slipped his hand inside her blouse, ripping a small key from her bosom. The key was a portkey to a safe house on the continent where the Dark Lord kept a fortune in loot- both galleons and Muggle fortunes. Only the Dark Lord himself, Snape, Bellatrix and Wormtail had known of its existence. Lucius had also once known but Bellatrix had Obliviated him on the Dark Lord’s orders after his downfall.
It had only taken a few seconds and soon Snape saw Kingsley approaching in the chaos and backed away from the body. Unlike the others, Kingsley would know better than to allow any Death Eater such mercy. He could feel the polyjuice potion begin to wear off and hurried out of the Great Hall and down to his personal stores.
There he replenished his potions supplies and grabbed a flagon of polyjuice potion. He did not wish to be Lestrange anymore. He looked among his supply of hairs and transformed into Costas. He did not know who the Greek was but he had gotten the hairs from Albus and often used them when running Albus’ errands.
Returning to the fray, he was swept up in the crowds rushing towards the Great Hall.
He arrived in time to hear Potter informing the Dark Lord of his duplicity. Potter was alive! He could not imagine how the damned boy had lived. Again!
Before he could figure out how to ask about the miracle, the room was with alight with red and green and the Dark Lord fell.
***
The room erupted into a chorus of cheers and joyous chaos. His task done, Snape escaped the room and headed to the Headmaster's bedroom suite through a secret entrance.
“Severus, my boy,” Albus’ portrait greeted warily, “why are you Costas?”
“Potter has won. He lives and the Dark Lord has fallen.” Snape gathered a few meagre possessions and stood in front of the portrait.
“My task is done, Albus.”
“Yes,” Albus replied, his eyes twinkling joyously. “Lily would be proud. I am proud.”
Severus bowed.
“You have paid your dues, Severus, why would you leave now?”
Snape sneered. He had no intentions of being arrested or worse, killed. He knew that people would kill first, ask questions after - no matter what Potter had just said. And anyway, he’d had enough of the rat race.
“Goodbye, my boy.”
Severus did not reply. He opened the window and looked back at the portrait once more before flying free into the rising sun.