PROLOGUE

Snape (I)

The potion sizzled as it swallowed half a pint of dragon blood. Red and blue fumes danced upon the previously cool mixture, which was now starting to boil. He had to step back to avoid the sudden wave of heat that emerged from the cauldron. It was always the same with dragon's blood. Even with the substance at room temperature, it would melt a chunk of ice in seconds, and if poured into a scalding hot substance you would count yourself lucky if all you lost were your eyebrows. It was an extremely unstable substance, highly volatile, best not to be operated by the inexperienced.

Snape cursed as he scratched his forearm for the umpteenth time that night. The Dark Mark on his arm had started to itch for no reason a while back. Something has the Dark Lord upset, he thought. Perhaps the Potter brat has come out unscathed from the ambush, again. Loath as he was to admit it, Snape was glad. He had come to hate Charles Potter through the years, almost as much as he hated his father. The boy, for that was all he was, a boy of fifteen still, was a disaster at Potions, was arrogant and of course, he was a Gryffindor. Still, the boy had a surprising knack at escaping the Dark Lord at every turn.

His tattoo acted out again. More fiercely this time. He rubbed it with growing concern. What's going on with Him? Maybe I should get in touch with the Order. Make sure everything's okay. Not a few minutes later the door to the potion's lab burst open, violently slamming against the wall. Snape sighed with annoyed desperation. There was only one person who took joy in disrupting his work in such an irritating manner: Bellatrix. As happened with every other bully, ignoring her was the best way to go. It wasn't her voice that spoke to him though.

"Snape, Madam Lestrange is looking for you."

Snape turned to look at the newcomer. The person standing before him was more of a boy than a man. It had only been a few years but Snape still remembered his former student: a Slytherin. "Gillins, right?"

The young man nodded. "That's right."

Snape scrutinized him. She's here early. The young Slytherin got uncomfortable under Snape's piercing stare.

"Madam Lestrange is -"

"- looking for me." Snape finished. "Yes, I heard you the first time." The raid must be over already, he reflected.

"I was instructed to bring you to her."

Snape sighed again and turned his back to Gillins. "I'll be along in a few." he caved in. Six months into the brewing process, the potion was at its critical point now. Even as curious as he was as to the outcome of the raid Bellatrix had been planning for some weeks now, he couldn't leave the potion unattended, not even with a Stasis Charm. It was too dangerous.

"It has to be now!" the Death Eater insisted loudly.

Snape turned to look at him again, this time with a raised eyebrow, an idea forming in his mind. It does sound urgent. "Remind me, did you get your Potions' OWL?" Snape asked. He already knew the answer.

"I did." the young recruit said. No, you didn't. Your father however... You're lucky he has such deep pockets.

"Well, it shouldn't be a problem then if I asked you to watch over this potion for me." Snape patronized him. The young recruit hesitated. "It's quite a simple one really. Just keep stirring clockwise."

"For how long?"

"Until it turns red."

"Sir, I don't think I've ever done this potion before." he cried out after Snape. But he was already out of the room.

Don't worry, Snape thought. I don't expect you to get it right. Worst case scenario Voldemort is left without Veritaserum for another six months. Best case scenario, half of Riddle Manor goes up in flames. Hopefully I'll be outside the blast radius. In any case I will be exempt of any responsibility.

The dining room, usual Death Eater meeting venue, was empty except for a couple of young Death Eaters when Snape arrived, his cloak billowing after him. The Death Eaters were immersed in some variation of Exploding Snap, and paid him no mind.

"Where is Bellatrix?" Snape asked them, not very kindly. "I was summoned."

The young Death Eaters shrugged and went back to their game. Snape's blood boiled in anger at their impudence. He had half a mind to curse them into the next century.

"Snape!" a voice shrieked at him from a door. This time it was indeed Bellatrix. "Follow me."

Snape shot one last disgusted look at the recruits and turned to follow Bellatrix. She led him hastily through a series of dark hallways and up three flights of stairs. Looking through the windows, Snape noted that it was dark already. Merlin, I must've been hours down in the lab.

"What took you so long?" Bellatrix snapped at him. "Keep up!"

"I had some business to settle before coming."

"What business?"

"If you must know, I had to leave someone in charge of my potions."

"Next time you come at once if summoned." she instructed him. Snape chose to ignore her and started his own round of questioning.

"How is it you're here so early? I understood you had plans for Potter and Black this afternoon."

"The Dark Lord put them on hold." she replied shortly.

"I don't understand. You've been planning this for weeks." Bellatrix didn't say anything more and picked up her pace.

Snape had seen the plans for the ambush. He had thought Bella's plan was pure genius. At least it was until the Order was warned. Voldemort must have had a major reason to cancel it. Or... A bad feeling crept up his spine. Or was it a scheme, to root out spies? To root out me? Of course, Snape, as much as he hated Sirius and James, had told Dumbledore all about it. Where they would be hit? When? By how many? He wondered if he had been burned, and if he was walking to his own execution right now. Discreetly, he folded his arms behind his back. His wand was firmly grasped in his right hand.

Two hallways later, they arrived to a section of the manor Snape had never been to. It was a small empty room, a foyer of sorts. On the wall before them there was a set of big and heavy double doors. The wood was dark with a big green serpent engraved in it forming the letter 'S'. There were two masked guards standing at both sides.

Voldemort's chambers, Snape knew at once. It was a fair assumption to make, really. The knot in his stomach tied up even harder. Is this it? He wondered. As Bella walked past him, his arm reached out and grabbed hers. He took her to one side and the guards took a menacing step forward.

"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me." she said venomously.

"Why am I here?" Snape inquired, as calmly as he could, hoping to ascertain if they knew the truth about his loyalties. "Why are you taking me to his chambers?"

Bellatrix's eyes widened something crazy, and her wand was instantly at Snape's throat. "You've been here before?" she questioned him fiercely. The left wing of Riddle Manor was out of bounds to everyone with the exception of Voldemort's most trusted advisors. Snape, though valued as Voldemort's Potions Master, wasn't one of them.

"No." He tried to keep his cool as long as possible.

"How do you know then?"

Snape nodded towards the doors. "I took an educated guess." he answered in a patronizing tone. It didn't seem to convince her. "It's quite obvious really." he said, nodding at the serpent on the door. "That and the fact I've been escorted to the only place in this building that is off-limits for everyone except you and a few others."

She let go of him and nodded at the guards. They put away their wands and opened the doors for them.

Snape would've never expected to see what he saw behind those doors.

Several Death Eaters were gathered around a big and heavy stone table at the center of the room. There is someone laying on it. Snape realized. He could make out a pair of pale feet sticking out from one end of the table. They were trembling uncontrollably. The Death Eaters working on him screamed orders to each other as they replaced blood soaked towels by fresh untainted ones. The hem of their black robes, Snape saw, shone, soaked with blood from the pool that was quickly forming at their feet.

"Come on!" Bellatrix urged him. She dragged him towards the table. Snape looked around the chamber, looking for Voldemort. Where is he?

When Bellatrix and Snape arrived to the table the Death Eaters parted, allowing a clear view of the wounded man. Snape's eyes widened in shock as he realized it wasn't just any man who was lying in the table.

It was Voldemort.

He could only stare at him disbelievingly. His feet started to feel wet. Looking down he saw he had stepped onto the blood beneath the table. His gaze drifted back up to Voldemort. The Dark Lord was barely conscious. His lips moved with effort but no clear words came out. Snape looked for the source of his suffering.

There were three deep holes in his chest. Dark crimson blood streamed out profusely, running along his sides into the table, and dripping into the floor. Snape recognized the type of wound at once. No wizard had done this. It was the work of a Muggle, for sure. The Dark Lord would die if he didn't receive the proper medical attention in the next few minutes.

He is dying, Snape allowed himself to think again. It would be so easy... The Potter twins bought fifteen years of peace by destroying him. I could buy another fifteen right now, maybe more. All I need to do is do nothing, and allow him to die.

"What are you waiting for?" Bellatrix shrieked at him. "Do something!"

"And what do you propose I do, exactly? I'm not a Healer, Bellatrix." Snape stalled, still deciding if letting him die would be such a good idea. If he dies, I'm a dead man. Aren't I, Bellatrix? There were a total of eight Death Eaters in the room. There was no doubt who they would side with in a confrontation between him and Bellatrix Lestrange.

"You are a Potions Master. Potions heal people!"

"Potions heal sick people. They do not, however, heal wounded people. When have you ever seen a potion seal an open wound? What you need is a Healer, and the proper medical equipment."

"You!" she hollered at one of the Death Eaters. "Fetch me a Healer. Now!" The Death Eater left in a hurry.

"There must be something you can do." another Death Eater across the table told him.

"Perhaps." he said. "Tell me, who, or what, did this to him?"

"I don't know." Snape could tell she was lying.

"Has this something to do with why your plan was cancelled?"

"No." More lies. He lost his patience and his voice rose.

"Lestrange, I can't possibly help him if I don't know what did this to him." he argued.

"I can't tell you!" she spat angrily. "I was sworn to secrecy."

"What did he make you swear on?"

"What do you think?!"

Your magic? Possibly even your life? "Is this why your masterplan was put on hold?" he asked, trying to get an angle. Please, tell me I haven't been discovered.

"Cancelled, more like it." she spat angrily. "A chance like that may never present itself again."

"No, I guess not." he said. "Bellatrix, I need to know. There might be something I can do, but I need to know where he was, what he was doing, what could have done that..."

"I've told you I can't." she hissed at him. "Say, what do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to make a decision."

"Which is?"

"Which is to decide how committed you are to our cause."

That seemed to hit a nerve. "I am fully committed." she growled.

"Not enough to give your life for your Lord's, it seems to me."

"You're asking me to commit suicide?" So it is life you swore on.

"I'm telling you I need to know what happened regardless of what you may lose. He is dying! Right here, right now! It may take a while to get hold of a Healer. The Dark Lord could die while you wait around and do nothing."

"Get out!" she said angrily. Then she turned to the other Death Eaters. "Where's my Healer?!" she shrieked at them.

Just then Bellatrix's request arrived. Bad timing, even worse luck. Oh, well. I had to try. Snape thought. It had been a good try to have Bellatrix break a vow.

The Death Eater she had sent had been fast, and in his haste he had grabbed the first mediwitch he had come across. The young woman was unconscious, probably under the effect of a Stunning spell.

As soon as she was woken up she freaked out. The fight in her only lasted until Bellatrix threatened to torture and kill her if she didn't comply with her wishes. Her anguished sobs were nothing compared to her panicked expression when she saw she had been brought in to heal none other than You-Know-Who. Snape felt sorry for her. He knew she wouldn't make it out of there alive. It didn't matter if she managed to save the Dark Lord or not.

With trembling hands she leaned over his agonizing body. For a minute she inspected the wounds thoroughly, and after a few moments she took to gather herself, she put Voldemort to sleep. Then she proceeded to seal the wounds. Snape smiled. He probably has the bullets still inside him. As soon as she claimed she was done and that Voldemort should be okay Bellatrix took out her wand and killed her in the spot.

"Braddock, get this out of my sight." she said, and looking hatefully at Snape, she added: "And escort Snape back to his kitchen. Don't ever try that stunt again."

Snape nodded and headed to the door, the Death Eater following closely behind. He opened it for the Death Eater and allowed him to pass. That way he knew he wouldn't be attacked from behind. Bellatrix was insane enough to have him killed for questioning her allegiance.

Two corridors later when they reached the stairs, a loud explosion-like noise was heard and a tremor shook the ground. Instantly, a wave of heat came up the stairs and slammed against them, throwing Snape and Death Eater Braddock across the corridor.

There goes my lab. Snape thought when he regained his senses. The stupid Slytherin lad had managed to mess up his potion after all, and Snape's guess was that at least a third of Riddle Manor was up in flames.

Ok, so this is my first shot at a story. Been toying with the idea for a while and finally decided to publish this first chapter. I have a few more in various stages of development, and the first portion of the story outlined, so please tell me what you think. Should I keep working on it, or do I suck at this writing thing? (BTW, English is not my first language).

Thanks for reading.