Hi! Thanks for taking the time to read my little AU-but be warned, it's dark. The setting is the first wizarding war, but things are going a little differently… The first chapter is a two-part songfic-albeit one that's a fic in its own right-, but if enough people ask, I may make it a short story of about 5 chapters. Either way, enjoy! Song is Assassin by Muse. Apologies for the huge AN, but this story needs it or it really wouldn't make sense.

A quick background setting: This is set during the first war, but the Ministry is even more inept and pathetic than in canon, and as a result Dumbledore is slowly weakening due to the massive pressure placed upon him by his station. Meanwhile, Voldemort is also growing even crazier and more unstable due to increased signs of rebellion amongst the troops-although he is currently. Trapped in the middle of the two, the Half-Blood Prince is reforged in hatred, and the Assassin is born.

War is overdue

The time has come for you
To shoot your leaders down
Join forces underground

They run, and they hide. They shiver in their robes, fearing their inevitable fates. And he detests them. As they whimper and hide behind Dumbledore, the Dark Lord grows ever stronger. Thanks to the cowardice of the Ministry, Voldemort will win the war before it has truly begun-the Death Eaters grow in number and strength with each passing second, while the Auror Corps are slaughtered with alarming rapidity and ease.

To make matters worse, Dumbledore-who is already weak from the pressure of almost singlehandedly running a nation-is growing feebler by the day. Soon there will come a time where he is unable to defeat the Dark Lord-and when that day comes, the world will fall to its knees. First the Ministry will fall, then the rest of Wizarding Britain. And where will this leave his trusted spy, assassin and lieutenant Severus Snape? He knows only too well.

At first, he will be honoured above all others for his acts in the name of the Dark Lord, envied by his peers, hated by the dying remnants of Dumbledore's Order, closest confidant to the Dark Lord bar none-except perhaps his lapdog, the odious Bellatrix Lestrange-and second most powerful wizard in Britain-perhaps the world. And then, when he is finally atop the pedestal he so rightfully deserves, the Dark Lord will begin to grow restless, paranoid...even more so than he is now. He will decide that he cannot afford to have a servant so powerful, so feared, so intelligent-he will fear rebellion, and cut down his trusted Potion's Master without a second thought. The most he can expect as a reward for his faithful service is a painless death-and knowing Voldemort, even that is a stretch.

The time for worries and fears are over, he decides. Even if the Order somehow wins, he has no doubt that their esteemed leader will perish before his inevitable trial-and knowing the Headmaster, it was very unlikely that Dumbledore had told anyone of Snape's status as a double agent. However, he had to admit that he couldn't be too bitter-after all; Snape had been spying on the Order just as much as he had been spying on the Death Eaters...If good win, he is doomed. If Voldemort wins, he is doomed. But if both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore were to fall…Then he would have a chance. He has allies in both camps, he knows, and if he is careful, tonight may just be the night that Severus Snape achieves his final victory.

Suddenly his musing is interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. He whirls around, wand in hand, only to see a cowering rat of a man. He forcibly calms himself, knowing that to show any sign of weakness to one of his few partners in crime is akin to a death sentence. The rat speaks, quietly and fearfully: All goes according to plan. He sneers at his former tormentor and waves a hand. He speaks not a word, but the rat understands his meaning and scurries away at once. The time has come for the first murder of the night…

This is probably the most evil Severus Snape I will ever write, with approximately zero redeeming features-even his love for Lily is a bitter and twisted thing (well, even more bitter and twisted depending on who you ask). It's definitely a new way of looking at him for me, and I hope you enjoy it. The story is written in a very fractured way on purpose-Severus is descending into a cold type of insanity, and while he retains his intellect, his mind works a little differently now…

Please tell me what you thought, I know it's a little odd. This part is very short, but the second part will come by Saturday at the latest.