A/N: I signed myself up for the new Severus Snape - Last Drabble Writer Standing (snape_ldws) challenge over on LiveJournal as Snape is my favorite character and the theme for Round 1 is the Seven Deadly Sins. How delicious does that sound! I am going to post each drabble here as a collection after voting has closed each Saturday, and I will continue to write for the prompts even if I get eliminated along the way. This first one is a practice run that was suggested by one of the members. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (although I wish I could command Snape!) and make no money off of this. This is for fun and writing practice, and I hope I can inspire you to critical insights concerning our favorite dark wizard.
Prompt: Sin
Title: The Road to Hell
Word Count: 415
Warnings: torture and rape
Severus Snape had walked down the muddy road to hell early on in his life. Even before his majority, he had started down that wretched path and had assumed to pass the point of no return upon taking the Dark Mark. He had stumbled back from the precipice with Lily Evans' death, but although Albus Dumbledore had assured him that redemption was possible, the former Death Eater did not believe it, especially as new events began unfolding.
The Dark Lord had returned to a living body a mere two months ago. Since then he had been calling his former legions back into active duty, rebuilding his strength and learning the current state of things in Wizarding Britain. Once a base of operations had been established and the Inner Circle was firmly reinstated, Voldemort allowed his people a revelry to celebrate his return.
Sent to observe the meetings and report back intended plans, Snape stood among his 'peers' holding a glass of scotch and participating in conversations about what targets to attack first when Yaxley and some others pulled in a resistant witch and an older couple who looked very much like her.
"Here ye go, m'Lord! Found 'em in a seedy muggle neighborhood where no one'll go lookin' for 'em!" Yaxley proudly advertised.
Jeers and shouts of triumph went up around the room as Voldemort consented for his men to continue. The young girl looked scared but defiant whereas the couple wore absolute terror on their faces. They started by torturing the married pair, exuberant in the cries and struggles of the daughter, later turning on her directly, her screams mounting the walls in piercing crescendos. The vermin laughed at their victims' plight.
There was nothing Snape could do. His orders were to not interfere, no matter the cost, and to participate enough that suspicions would not be drawn to him. It was for the Greater Good, Albus had told him. The Order needed an inside man to reveal vital information. It would be worth every sacrifice to bring down the Dark Lord, so he forced himself to endure their pleas and cries and to take his turn plundering her abused body just to assure his position as spy.
It was a sin for them to rape and murder this muggleborn witch and her parents.
It was a sin for him to stand by and watch and participate and do nothing to help.
The Road to Hell was surely paved in the Greater Good's intentions.