McKay (scribbulus_ink) wrote in time_of_storms, @ 2006-02-19 10:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | chronological, snape |
Severus: September 26, 1997 (continued)
Original poster: black_cauldron
Music: On the Run, by Pink Floyd
"Explain yourself."
Arms crossed over his chest, Severus glared at his unexpected and unwelcome guest. Not that Draco was by any means the worst person who could have shown up on Severus' doorstep - at least not in one sense - but this certainly introduced complications into Severus' life. Precisely how much more complicated it would become Severus had no idea, but he had to admit it caused him no small amount of worry.
Draco looked paler than ever, scared and vulnerable and almost horrifyingly young. Really the boy was almost of age, nearly the same age, in fact, at which Severus had taken the Dark Mark and joined the ranks of Voldemort's Death Eaters. Severus couldn't remember ever, in his life, being as young as Draco seemed at the moment. Draco seemed almost childlike, and Severus knew that for all Draco's rank and privilege, the boy had been given even less choice about his own life than Severus had.
Not that Severus could do much about whatever it was that Draco had gotten himself into this time. Nor had Severus ever entirely forgiven Draco for being the reason - or at least the most directly blamable one - that Severus had been forced to kill Albus Dumbledore. But Severus needed to know what other horrors were awaiting him now, and so he looked down at Draco, making his expression a neutral mask while internally he weighed his possibilities.
Swallowing hard, Draco looked around the room, as though seeking a chair, but Severus didn't want this catechism to have anything that smacked of informality about it. Like it or not, Severus was still supposed to be Voldemort's most loyal follower, and harsh though it seemed, if Severus deemed it necessary he would hand Draco over to Voldemort personally. He wouldn't like doing it, and it would become one more chant in his litany of things he hated himself for, but the war was far too important to risk for one person, no matter how young he was. No matter what happened, Draco had brought it down upon himself by seeking Severus out in the first place.
"I... look, Prof..." Draco began, before Severus cut him off with an abrupt motion of his hand.
"Snape, if you please, or Severus if you must. I will not remind you again." Anger lurked below the surface of the words, and Severus tried to keep his temper under control.
"S...Severus," Draco repeated obediently, another swallow proclaiming his continued anxiety. "I... as I said, I know about... what she did. To you. She was so angry that you survived, and that you have to be... eliminated. She said that while the Dark Lord favors you, the Malfoys and the Blacks will never have the power they deserve."
Severus continued to stare at Draco, betraying nothing. "Did you really overhear that, or was it a clever guess on your part?" he asked, needing to know if Draco lied, or if this was a careful trap to do precisely what Bellatrix had tried to do before - kill him, using Draco as the bait?
"It's the truth!" Draco said, his voice almost panicky, his silvery eyes dark with pain. "She was talking to.. to... Lucius."
The use of his sire's first name, rather than the word "Father", caused Severus' eyes to narrow. "Continue."
Obviously miserable, Draco drew in a shuddering breath, but he didn't drop his eyes from Severus. "I am a disappointment to my family. Not Mother, but... them. They both blame me for failing to kill Dumbledore, for giving you the opportunity to do it and to rise in power in the Dark Lord's service. Lucius, he... he..." Draco paused, obviously on the verge of tears, but then pulled himself together. "Lucius suggested that they eliminate two problems in one fell swoop. They want to kill me, making it look as though you had done it, which would give them the right to kill you in turn."
Severus had no doubt that Draco had overheard all this - the boys was scared, but he was also a Slytherin - and the plan certainly made a certain macabre sense. Assuming that they kept their plans from Narcissa it would be a virtually flawless plot, eliminating two embarrassing complications in a single stroke. Logical, unemotional, and totally evil, Severus had no doubt that Bellatrix and Lucius could enact something this vile, sacrificing their own flesh and blood to further their blind ambition. S
till there was too much at stake to have any doubts whatsoever, and so Severus pulled his wand. "Hold still - if you even attempt to move or resist, your father will not have to kill you - I will. Legilimens!"
Staring into Draco's eyes, Severus pushed his way firmly into the boy's mind. Examining, discovering, searching for evidence that all Draco had said was true. After several minutes he ended the spell, then stood looking at Draco, face once again impassive.
Not only had all that Draco said been true, there were subtleties the boy had missed. Not surprising, given his youth and inexperience, and no doubt his fear at hearing his own murder being plotted. But Severus caught them, as well as something far more interesting that Draco was trying to keep hidden, and he filed the information away; it no doubt would be quite useful at some point, assuming that Severus lived to use it.
"You will stay here with me for the time being," Severus said, and but felt no satisfaction at the relief in Draco's eyes. "You may not contact anyone, nor leave this room without my permission, am I understood? There is too much at stake here, and I warn you, Draco... if you interfere with my plans, I will be just as unforgiving as Lucius and your aunt."
Draco nodded, apparently foolish enough to trust that Severus was less likely to kill him than Lucius and Bellatrix. Perhaps that was true on one level, but on another... well, it remained to be seen. Severus was not happy about the current development, but he saw little alternative at the moment. He needed to contact Lupin, and the quicker the better.
After all, even as anxious as Severus was to have Lupin return - and he refused to admit that he eager for that, for reasons that had nothing to do with the war or the Order or anything but his own selfish desires - it simply wouldn't do to have the man Apparate in and Draco see him. The werewolf's presence in his life was something Severus was not at all anxious to have discovered, not just for his own continued survival, but for Lupin's as well.