A/N: This is a story I wrote for my English class. We were supposed to write a story with a theme from a book we recently read. So, I wrote this story, and decided to post it.
I feel that it is only fair that I warn you now: This story contains violence, allusions to rape, and murder. If you are at all squeamish, turn away! Good luck.
Severus felt an icy fear as Lucius grabbed his arm tight, and felt the pressing suffocation of apparition. He gasped in relief as his feet slammed none too gently onto the cold, hard ground.
"Ah, Lucius. I see you have brought a new recruit." The voice was high, cruel… evil.
"Yes, my Lord." Lucius knelt, forcing Severus down next to him.
"Good. Has he proven himself?" Severus forced himself to not flinch as pale fingers traced his cheekbone.
"Not yet, my Lord. What would you have him do?" Lucius' voice was breathless with anticipation.
"There is a family of a man who has denied me. I want them dead." There was no empathy for the man's family. Severus shivered as he realized what was being asked of him.
"How many?" his voice was raspy, almost trembling as he anticipated his glorious rise to power. He could almost taste the sweetness of standing over his enemies' bodies. It lingered in his mouth.
"Three. They are muggles. You should have no problem killing them. There is a woman, too. You may do with her as you please, but I want her dead."
"Where?"
"Warwickshire." His master's voice washed over him. "You may go as soon as you have been outfitted."
Severus knew a dismissal when he heard one. He backed out of the large room. "Thank you, my Lord."
This time, the squeezing of apparition was welcome, taking him one step closer to his triumph. His black boots clicked loudly on the pavement, his black robes billowed out behind him as he strode towards the house. His mask felt light on his face, a blessing of acceptance.
The door opened with a simple flick of his wand, rotating soundlessly on its hinges. The muggles were still awake, glued to the television aerial that had held his father captive for so many hours, so many bottles. The door clicked closed behind him, and the muggles whirled around to face him. He only saw two… the other one must be in the kitchen. The woman screamed, and her husband threw himself in front of her. A slow laugh filled the air, cold and humorless, issuing from Severus' mouth. This was going to be amusing for him. The man's body hit the ground before the woman had a chance to even process the green beam of light that shot across the room from his wand.
"Mummy?" Severus bound the intruder with a flick of his wand in thick, heavy chains. He turned around, his wand still trained on the woman. There was a child in pajamas, clutching a teddy bear in her arms. Severus blinked. Could he kill this child, so innocent, so pure, not yet touched by the war? But, no, he was here. She was touched by the war. His eyes flicked over to the woman, who sounded like her heart was breaking in half. A flash of heat raced through his Mark. His Master had noted his hesitancy, and was sending him a warning to follow through. Severus slipped his mask back on. The one who denied the greatest Lord every deserved to feel the pain, the anger that he did three years ago. He left the girl to attend to the woman. For a moment, he stared at her, took in the expression on her face, the make-up running in rivulets down her face. He sneered at her expression, but still. A small portion of his brain told him that this wasn't how it should be, it should be with Lily, in his dorm room, or hers… but he quickly pushed that thought away and he forced the woman onto her knees and waved his wand once more, forcing his will onto her. He heard the little girl crying as he desecrated her mother in front of her. Had she been allowed to live, she would have needed intensive therapy. As it was, however…
He drew the silver knife he had in his belt. It was normally for preparing Potions ingredients. Severus vaguely hoped that human blood would not sink into the pure silver as he placed the knife to the woman's throat. But, wait. The child was still crying behind him. Would it not be better to let the woman suffer more? He turned around slowly, letting the woman see every move he made, and strode over to the child. He let the chains drop away as he hauled her to her feet.
The teddy bear dropped to the floor as he dragged her and placed her in front of her mother.
But, no; he changed his mind again. The child… if he killed it, it would only suffer for a few moments. If he killed the woman, it would suffer for a lifetime. He put the knife back to the woman's throat, digging it in.
"No, Mummy!" The child sobbed, reaching out for her mother.
"Elisabeth!" The woman screamed. "Please, be strong, be-" Severus yanked his knife sideways and upward, only stopping when he hit bone. No need to scrape up his knife. The child's screams were terrible, loud, and extremely annoying.
"Silencio." He flicked his wand at it once more. Though her mouth was still gaping, no sound came out of her mouth. Blood that had sprayed onto her face from her mother's arteries dripped sickeningly into her mouth.
"I will let you live," Severus hissed into her ear. "If only so you can kill yourself later."
As Severus walked away from the house, he flicked his wand upward, conjuring the Dark Mark, then back down, cleansing himself of their dirty blood. The child's cries echoed behind him, tears for her mother, her father, and for herself.
**I also made an alternate ending, and then, as often happens, I couldn't decide which one I like better. So, for the purely selfish reason of I didn't really want to have to decide, I give you my…
Possible Alternate Ending:
The teddy bear dropped to the floor as he dragged her and placed her in front of her mother.
"Mummy!" the girl cried. "Please, help me Mummy!" The woman reached out to hold her child, but he slapped her hands away.
"We can't have that, can we?" He asked her, pointing his wand directly in between her eyes. "Petrificus totalus." Much better. She would be able see her daughter getting killed and feel the blood splatter her face, but could do nothing to help her. He placed his silver knife to the child's throat, and the woman's eyes widened in horror. Her eyes flicked back and forth, pleading with him silently. He smiled at her, pressing the knife deeper into the child's throat. All it would take was one quick slice now, and maybe ten minutes for the chit to be dead. The blood of her child flew across the woman's face, shirt, arms. It soaked into her clothing. She looked horrified.
"Mummy." The child's eyes met the woman's one… last… time. Severus coolly looked on as the woman tried to reach out for the child, his spell holding her back. When, at last, he saw the light leave the little girls eyes, he released her.
"You… you monster!" the woman yelled, whirling around from her daughters body to face him. "You…" she apparently could not form the words to tell him what he was.
"Worthless muggle." He sneered. "Barely articulate. And you wonder why you deserve to die?"
"What did we do to you?" she asked pathetically, trying to wipe her eyes. All she did was smear more of her child's blood over her face, rubbing it in.
"Your sister was requested for our work, but she was already working for the Order." There was no need to lie, not now, when she was about to die. Who would she share the 'secret' with, anyway? "And we really don't like the Order. She needs to suffer before her own death."
"Mar… Marlene?" the woman asked, tears leaking from her eyes, cutting broad paths in her blood-streaked face. Severus nodded apathetically.
"The rest of your family is being killed, as well." He said. "Save her. She is being saved for our Lord." The woman's tears were starting to get annoying. "Shut up." She wouldn't stop crying. "Bloody hell, woman!" He slapped her cheek, knocking her to the floor. She stayed down, cupping her cheek.
He stared down at her, wondering if was worth it to keep her alive any longer. No, not really. She looked at him as he crouched above her. He wanted to see the light in her eyes leave them, to see the fight and passion leave them, as they had his so long ago.
"Avada Kedavra."