Sworn by Night

by Rachael DuBois

Before the truth was known, before true loyalties were revealed, trust had to be enough. Sometimes it was.

Sworn by Night

Water trickled down the walls of the cavern where Snape lurked in the shadows. Torches along the wall flickered into the central pathway, failing miserably to illuminate the faces of the hooded men and women who walked purposefully in small groups. Snape did not stand in a group. He was rarely in the company of other Death Eaters these days. They whispered about him when they thought he couldn't hear them as he stood beside the Dark Lord.

Snape frowned at one of the passing hooded figures. He reached out and snatched an arm, pulling it into the shadows with him. "Hey!" it protested. "Leave me alone!"

Angrily, Snape jerked the hood down and scowled at Draco Malfoy's petulant face. "What are you doing here?"

Draco scowled back. "None of your business."

"I disagree. Why are you here, Draco?"

Draco shrugged his arm out of Snape's grasp. "Why do you care?"

"Does your mother know where you are?"

The boy sneered. "Of course not. I'm old enough to decide where to go on my own."

"You're sixteen," Snape corrected sharply. "Not even old enough to Apparate here. Who brought you?"

"None of your business."

Snape fumed silently for a moment. "You're coming with me. I'm taking you home."

"No!" Draco backed away. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Yes, you are. I don't have time to waste arguing."

"No! I was called here tonight! If you don't like it, take it up with your Master." Snape froze and Draco laughed. "Didn't know that, did you? Better be careful, Snape, or you won't be his favorite much longer."

Snape asked slowly, "Are you taking the Mark tonight, Draco?"

"And what if I am?" Draco smirked.

"That's not what your father wants."

"How would you know what he'd want?" There was a fire in Draco's eyes now. "He'd be proud of me. He'd want me to carry on. The Malfoys are loyal!"

"Don't be an idiot," Snape snapped back. "You're still a child."

But Draco's jaw set and Snape knew he had pushed too far. "I am not a child, and I'm taking the Mark tonight. The Dark Lord thinks I'm good enough, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." Resolutely he pulled his hood back on and stepped back into the hallway.

Snape stared after him, disconcerted. It was hardly a surprise, although he had hoped it would not be so soon. Draco was right, of course, that there was nothing he could do. He felt the familiar burn on his arm where his own Mark lived. With a sigh he pulled his own hood up and set off for the Dark Lord's chamber. Tonight, he was wanted as well.

Dumbledore was searching Snape's face very carefully. Snape could barely breathe under the intensity, but knew he couldn't look away. "You can't give me any other reason to trust you."

Snape gripped his hands tight in his lap. "I only have my word to offer."

Dumbledore frowned and rose to begin pacing. "You're too good an Occlumens for me to trust your word."

"I've brought you information that will thwart the Dark Lord's plans."

"I know," Dumbledore replied. "But what sounds good isn't always so."

"What do you want from me, then?" Snape asked, failing to keep the desperation from his voice.

"I don't know. I can't risk so many lives on the word of someone I have no reason to trust."

"I'm not asking you to risk lives! Just protect Lily!"

"You're asking me to take the Potters from their current location and move them. Do you think they aren't currently protected, and that moving them might expose them to more dangers?" Dumbledore pressed a finger to his lips and continued pacing.

"I don't know what you want." Dumbledore didn't answer the strangled statement. Snape watched him. "Are you waiting for me to offer to make an Unbreakable Vow?"

Dumbledore stopped his pacing. "What a tempting suggestion."

Snape swallowed hard. "Is that what you want?" Dumbledore didn't say anything for a long time, and Snape could feel the pulse racing in his ears. Whether it was from fear or anger he couldn't tell anymore. Suddenly brave, he thrust his hand forward. "Is this what you want?" Snape demanded. "I'll give it willingly."

Dumbledore sat down at his desk and gazed between Snape's proffered hand and his blazing eyes. "It would be so easy, wouldn't it? To tie you, on threat of death, to swear your loyalty to me. If I worded it carefully enough, I could bind your every action, word, and even thought. And here you offer yourself so willingly."

Snape scowled. "I'm offering, old man. I don't know anything else to do."

Dumbledore suddenly grasped his hand in a crushing grip. "I don't even need a Bonder, did you know that? I can do it myself, right here." Snape flinched under his gaze. Dumbledore dropped his hand and shook his head.

"What are you doing?" Snape protested.

"That power, Severus? The power to bind a man and kill him if he fails? That is what I'm fighting against."

"I won't refuse it."

Dumbledore smiled. "Perhaps that is the true difference, Severus. I'm going to decline your offer, because although it would be the easy thing to do, it would be wrong."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Dumbledore thought a moment, then, his face set, he leaned forward. "I don't know that I can trust you, Severus, but I have no choice. I'm going to trust your word. I'm choosing to believe in you."

Snape blinked. "That's it?"

Dumbledore smiled a little. "Yes, Severus, that's it. I've made my decision, and I can only believe that you are going to prove me right."

"What if I betray you?"

"Then others will suffer. She will suffer. You will only have to live with yourself."

"I won't fail you. I won't betray her."

"I hope so too, Severus."

Snape watched Draco's small form approach the Dark Lord's throne from his position at his master's right. The Dark Lord leaned toward Snape and whispered," What do you think, Snape?"

Snape inclined his head toward the reptilian features. "He is very young, my Lord."

"Youth has its advantages." He hissed quietly through his thin lips. "I remember one young man who would not let youth stop him."

"Of course, my Lord."

"So tight lipped, Snape? Surely words have not escaped you now."

"I am not sure he is fully ready for what will be asked of him."

The Dark Lord gave a short, barking laugh. "And you, young Malfoy. What do you have to say? Snape here seems to think you aren't ready to join my ranks of loyal Death Eaters."

The small form lifted his head and glared defiantly at his professor. "I have been ready since the day I was born." Snape did not respond to this, of course.

"Draco Malfoy, if you are indeed prepared to join my people, step forward."

Draco pushed the hood of his robe back, and with his chin high he confidently approached the throne.

"Such arrogance," the Dark Lord muttered so only Snape could hear. "I can use that."

"He is more than willing to please, my Lord." Snape looked into the red eyes and did not blink.

"Draco, those who follow me are marked. Are you willing to accept my Mark?"

Snape watched as Draco quashed a smirk and answered, "I am willing to give my life to my Lord. I will wear your Mark with pride."

"You will not be accepted by others," the Dark Lord told him, a smile playing on his twisted, inhuman features. "Your father is imprisoned for me. Others have lost their lives in my service. Perhaps someone so young as you is not willing to trust me with so much."

Anger crossed Draco's face before he could hide it. "My father failed you. He is in Azkaban awaiting your mercy."

The Dark Lord laughed at that. "So true, young Malfoy. And you expect you can serve me better?"

"I will not fail you!" Well-rehearsed reflexes kept Snape from flinching at the heat in Draco's voice.

"If you think you are ready, then I am prepared to accept you. Stretch out your arm, Draco Malfoy, and accept my Mark."

Snape watched as Draco extended a pale arm and the Dark Lord grasped it with fingers the color of death. "My Mark will be with you for life, forever binding you to me. You will be my Death Eater, and you will be given opportunities for glory and power. I will reward you for faithfulness and punish failure. When I call, you will join me instantly, and when I give you an order you will fulfill it swiftly."

"I swear it."

Snape recalled the thrill of those words, uttered rashly by so many young people. Draco was too young to understand, really, but he was bound all the same. A shame, but nothing to be done about it now. He did not turn away as the Dark Lord touched Draco's skin with his wand and the Dark Mark formed. Draco flinched at the touch but did not cry out as other did, and when it was finished he held his arm up to admire the Mark.

"Beautiful, is it not?" the Dark Lord crooned.

Draco looked back at him with fierce pride and nodded. He glanced at Snape and gave him a look of loathing, when he had once looked with trust. Snape cursed to himself and returned the look until Draco turned away.

"Ah," the Dark Lord sighed. "Tension among my people?"

"I have no problem," Draco said forcefully, "as long as he doesn't stand in my way."

"Already seeking glory! I respect that hunger." The Dark Lord leaned in closer and his eyes glowed. "Feed it well, Draco, and one day you may stand at my side instead." Satisfaction flashed across Draco's face before he could school his features. "You are dismissed, young Malfoy. I will call on you soon for a task I want you to perform. But tonight you should celebrate your honor."

Draco bowed low and turned with confident steps toward the door. The Dark Lord turned in his chair to face him and Snape tore his eyes away from the door closing behind Draco. "I have some things to discuss with you, Snape."

"I am, as always, at your service, My Lord."

"I am going to assign Draco the task of murdering Albus Dumbledore."

Snape could not stop his voice. "My Lord—?"

The Dark Lord smiled his cold, reptilian smile. "Oh, yes, Snape. It is time for Albus Dumbledore to meet his end. Draco attends Hogwarts and will be in a prime position to act, don't you think?"

"He has never killed before. He does not have experience. Dumbledore will be very hard for him to reach."

"I expect that he will put all of his ingenuity to the task. He is eager, and I expect that will more than make up for his lack of experience."

"My Lord."

"Ah, Snape, you wish to disagree with me. Perhaps you have a fondness for this boy? "

"I do not question your wisdom, my Lord. I only worry that such youth and inexperience may compromise you."

The Dark Lord laughed. "He is only but a small part, Snape. He will not be able to hurt me."

"Of course, my Lord."

"The other thing I wanted to discuss with you. I want to deal with Harry Potter on my own."

Snape allowed the thought of hatred to cross his mind. It would have been hard to conceal, anyway. "My Lord, nothing would give me more pleasure than to remove Harry Potter from your life were the opportunity to present itself."

"That I know full well, my faithful servant. All too well! But I think that as fate has rendered me unable to eliminate Albus Dumbledore directly, it has always meant for me to face Potter myself. When the time comes I will kill him myself and I am looking forward to that day. Until it comes though, Snape, do nothing to harm him."

"I understand my Master's requests."

"Leave me now, Snape. I will be in touch with you."

Snape bowed low and turned to go. "My Lord," he asked, before he left, "do you believe my time at Hogwarts is coming to an end?"

"I have no plans to remove you immediately. Depending on the course of events regarding Mr. Malfoy, it is possible there will no longer be a need for you to remain there. I will have to think what use I can put you to if that time comes. Or have you developed an affection for it?"

Snape suppressed a shudder. Hadn't fourteen years been long enough to put up with the drudgery? "I am happy to serve wherever you see fit to place me, of course, my Lord, whether there or elsewhere."

"Hogwarts is the most important place in our wizarding world to mold our future and secure our way of life. You have served me well there. Perhaps you have earned a higher position there when it is within my power to grant it. I do not know yet. We shall have to see."

"I understand. Thank you, my Lord, for thinking so highly of me."

"There is time yet, Snape. Go now, and remember what I have instructed you."

Snape let the door fall closed behind him softly. Draco would never accept his help in this task, which meant he would fail. No amount of cockiness would overcome his inexperience. Keeping him alive would be a trial. Snape sighed. Nothing like yet another impossible task to accomplish.

Snape pounded on Dumbledore's office door until it opened. He stormed in and glowered over the Headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore looked up as though entirely unfazed by the entrance. "I wasn't expecting you back for another week, Severus. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You've hired HIM?" Snape could feel his face was flushed and knew spittle had flown but he didn't care.

"I've hired a lot of people," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Which one are you unhappy about?"

"You hired the werewolf!"

"Remus Lupin is well qualified for the position."

"Of course he is! He's a walking Dark Art!"

Dumbledore sighed. "Remus is not a danger to anyone at the school."

Snape saw double. "How can you say that?" he hissed. "How can you saw that after what he did to me?"

"If you're referring to the incident in your fifth year—"

"Incident!"

"—my understanding is that Remus was unaware of his friend's intentions. I never uncovered any evidence to suggest otherwise."

"But you think it wise to let him roam the halls, unfettered?"

Dumbledore eyed him stonily. "You are well aware of the nature of the curse, Severus. I cannot condone your attitude."

"Unchecked he would have killed me, regardless of intent. And you want him living among children?"

"Then brew his Wolfsbane potion yourself, Severus." Dumbledore was exasperated.

Snape pressed on as though expecting this tactic. "You remember who his good friend was in school? With Black on the loose, you still think it's a good idea to have Lupin so close to Potter?"

"That's enough, Severus," Dumbledore said, rising. "I cannot allow your school yard grudges to dictate the decisions I make for this school. Lupin is the most qualified for the job."

Snape stiffened, the obvious slight a sharp sting.

Dumbledore continued. "I appreciate that this will not be easy for you, but I must implore you to control yourself and conduct yourself in a manner appropriate for a teacher at this school."

Severus choked out through gritted teeth, "You can't trust him. He's dangerous."

Dumbledore calmly gazed back at him. "I trusted you, Severus, when you were dangerous. Many said I was wrong to do so. Was I?"

Snape worked his mouth for a moment before he could speak, still purple with rage. "You're wrong about him."

Dumbledore smiled a little sadly. "So noted. My decision stands. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

Snape nearly spat as he turned and swooped from the office, slamming the door behind him. Dumbledore shook his head and, a little disappointed, sat back at his desk.

The dark hallway had erupted into a raucous celebration. For a fleeting moment Snape thought it might actually be due to Draco, but a glance showed the boy standing off to the side, standing on tiptoe and trying to peek over the shoulders blocking his view. Craning his own neck, Snape could make out two Death Eaters making their way toward him, floating a dark form between them. The clamor of the crowd was such that he couldn't make out anything.

He waited at the doorway until the two finally stood in front of him. The bigger one, his face obscured by a mask, as everyone who had something to lose wore, was panting as he tried to push past Snape. "Out of the way!"

"What do you have here?" Snape asked stonily. It was not his place, exactly, to demand to see what they carried, but the clear favoritism he enjoyed gave him some privileges. In public, at least.

"Not for you to see, Snape," the smaller one hissed, a female whose mask had slipped but not enough that he could identify her. "This is our victory."

Quickly, before either could draw their own wands, Snape pulled the cloth down the figure's face. "You have captured Amelia Bones."

"Killed," the woman corrected.

"Put up quite a fight, too," the man bragged. "We nearly lost Avery."

"Very impressive, managing to bring down one small woman. I'm sure you'll be appropriately rewarded."

"Are you going to move or not, Snape?" the woman snapped. "You don't want to be the reason the Dark Lord was kept waiting."

"Of course not. Please, proceed." He stepped aside and watched them stumble through the door as they pushed the body ahead of them. She must have scored at least a few good hits because both of them were limping.

Snape caught Draco's gaze for just a moment, in time to see the boy swallowing hard as the door closed behind the victorious Death Eaters. His cheeks were pale. Then he was clapped on the shoulder by his aunt and he turned away, smiling, to show her his new ornament. Snape idly wondered what Draco's first step would be when he learned of his first task.

Not really wanting to watch the outcome of this next meeting, Snape slipped out among the crowds. It had been a long enough night already.

"You don't see me shedding any tears over Black, do you?"

"There is plenty of fault to go around, Severus. We all played a part in his death. My own share is not insignificant."

"I did my job tonight, Dumbledore."

"Tonight, yes."

"Drink this. You pushed yourself too hard."

"You don't have the luxury of sulking, Severus. I asked you to teach Mr. Potter Occlumency, and you did not."

"I certainly did everything possible. I am not responsible for his inability to learn."

"I entrusted you with a very important task, believing you would be able to overlook his immaturities. I counted on you to be the adult, Severus."

"You seriously expected me to continue under the circumstances?"

"I expected you to do whatever was necessary. Was I wrong to think you could do that?"

"He violated my trust, not the other way around."

"It was your duty—"

"Drink your potion, Headmaster. I have never done anything but my duty to you."

"I'm not looking to place blame, Severus."

"I'm so glad to know that. If you have no more use for me tonight?"

"Not tonight, Severus."

"Finish that, if you trust me that much at least."

"Severus . . ."

"Goodnight, Headmaster."

Snape set his teacup down on the Headmaster's desk.

Dumbledore took a sip of his own tea. "I think I have found someone to take the position of Potions Master next year, Severus." Snape glanced up sharply. "Of course, this means the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts in yours, if you want it."

Snape sat back in his chair. This was an interesting proposition. Of course he would prefer Defense Against the Dark Arts to the slaughtering of Potions he slogged through each year. He applied for the position yearly, although he had long ago given up on the idea of actually having the post. Even more attractive than the actual job was the handy curse that plagued the position. By the end of the year, he could be done with Hogwarts, one way or another.

Although tonight's events has somewhat changed the circumstances under which he had imagined it working out.

And yet there had always been good reasons for Dumbledore to decline him year after year. Reasons that had little to do with the rumors that Dumbledore didn't trust him in the job, although when he was honest with himself he recognized the validity of these concerns.

The truth was that until everything was over, he had a job to do at Hogwarts, like it or not. Both masters had pulled the strings so that he felt he would be tied to the school for the rest of his life. Defense Against the Dark Arts was a tantalizing reward for when the end had arrived and his duty was done.

"It isn't finished," he replied evenly.

"Finished?" Dumbledore asked, a little too innocently.

"You haven't won yet."

"Ah," Dumbledore said slowly, swirling his tea. "This is true."

"And?" Snape demanded. "Why now? It's not time yet. Are you in a rush to get rid of me?"

"I think the timetable has been moved up, Severus. Voldemort is in the open now. He is trying to attack me directly, albeit nearly half-heartedly. He is recruiting from among my students. I suspect he may not need you here within the near future."

"I didn't think we were going to adjust our plan for his goals."

"Sometimes even his plans have a way of working out for the best." Dumbledore sighed heavily. "It has always been hard to find a teacher for this position. Last year, of course, was a disaster. It is easier to find a Potions Master than the right person for the job."

Snape frowned. "And what about the Potter boy?"

"I think whether you are here or close to Voldemort you will be in a good position to protect him. Do you accept?"

Snape was surprised to find himself hesitating to answer the question. Whether it was uncertainty about the unknown, or a suspicion that those rumors he ignored might have some merit was not clear. But he found himself reluctant to say yes.

"I trust you."

He looked up, startled at Dumbledore's interruption of his thoughts. "Pardon?"

"I trust you completely. I don't suppose I tell you that often enough."

He blinked, taken aback. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. "I see." Dumbledore smiled mildly and sipped his tea. Perhaps that did make a difference. Was Dumbledore's trust, his complete trust, enough to risk everything at stake? "What if I leave the school and betray you?"

Dumbledore looked at him seriously. "I don't think you will."

"You don't know that."

"Beside the point. I don't know what will happen after this year, but I trust you. I chose to trust you from the start, and you have continued to prove worthy of that trust."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I swore to do anything you asked of me. Are you asking me to do this?"

"I am offering. Nothing more."

Snape looked at his folded hands for a long moment. Dumbledore was right that there was no way to tell what would happen in the next year. Perhaps all of this would be over within the year. It wasn't too late to hope for that. "Yes. I will be the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor."

Dumbledore smiled. "Good." His expression became more grim. "Now tell me again about Amelia Bones."

When Snape had finished telling him the details of the night, it was very late. He suppressed a yawn. Dumbledore rubbed his face with a hand. "I should be going," Snape said. "Wormtail will be wondering if I'm gone too long."

"He's still staying with you?"

"It seems I have the pleasure of his company for the summer, at least."

Dumbledore sighed. "Get some sleep, Severus. There is a lot of work still to do."

"Goodnight, Headmaster." As he let the heavy door shut behind him and began the trek down the spiral staircase he found a surprising lightness in his step. For all that had happened, he was unexpectedly happy. In the midst of the uncertainty and disappointment, there was one thing of which he could be certain. Dumbledore trusted him, completely, and that made up for more than he would have thought.

As he locked the gate and prepared to Apparate home, Snape glanced up and saw the light still glowing from Dumbledore's office. He would be leaving Hogwarts in the next year, perhaps never to return. It wouldn't be because he had failed the old man's trust.

In a moment he was gone. The light in Dumbledore's office never went out.