Hi Guys this is my first fanfic. I don't like long A/N's so I'll make this short. Please review, criticize all you want I need it. Hope you enjoy! it's a plot line which has been kicking around in my head for years and I finally find myself with the the time to give it a go. Oh and I forgot to mention. I'm not Rowling, Bloomsbury or WarnerBros so if you recognize something which might have a patent/trademark I definitely don't own it so please no suing.
Prologue:
The rain, which fell almost horizontally in the howling gale, failed in its futile attempt to soak the dark figure striding purposefully along the pavement. Stopping beneath a flickering street lamp on the corner of a typical London close he, for the shrouded figure looked masculine, appeared to the casual observer to be staring intently at the gap between two Victorian red-brick houses. Pulling out a scrap of old yellowy paper from his dark cloak the figure then proceeded to step forward at the brick wall between the two properties, and vanish. The casual observer, had there been one, would have rubbed their eyes, scratched their heads or perhaps rub the wall where the figure had disappeared, before feeling self-conscious have continued on their way resolving to forget the strange occurrence. However at midnight in a howling storm there was no one to either see his passing or guess at his task. Had there been an observer with the eye to see and knowledge to understand what they saw may have been far more concerned by the disappearance of the figure. The manner of his garb and exit from the street would have sent alarm bells ringing in the mind of a law authority that and the confusing jump between number 23 and 24 on the street. A seemingly minor detail which had tripped up new post men in the last few years was never noticed by locals. The presence of a fidelius charm on a street, which to all intents and purposes appeared to be no different from any other in Muggle London, while strange was not unheard of in these dangerous and turbulent times. No rather the hood and mask of the dark figure entering the hidden domain would have marked the man as a member of a dangerous terrorist organisation known as the death eaters. The Magical Government of Great Britain had levelled a substantial bounty upon the capture or death of a member of this organisation and with good reason. The Death Eaters upon orders of their dark lord had terrorized the magical population of Britain for nearly a decade. The first war over blood purity was in full swing and many dark and desperate acts were committed on both sides in a struggle that seemed to have no visible end in sight.
This death eater in question was not, unlike many of his brethren, engaged in anything particularly nefarious this night. Instead as an expert in the art and subtle science of potion making he was called to this residence in the dead of night as a delivery boy. Severus Snape was a pool of conflicting emotions as he shrugged off his bone dry cloak upon passing through the entrance way. Internally he was seething with anger at the menial nature of his task. However the origin of his instructions was fearsome enough that such anger was held in check by very real fear of pain or even death. The simple Impervius charm had kept the rain and wind from affecting his greasy black hair or clothing but the biting wind had still taken its toll on his patience for such a seemingly insignificant reason to rouse himself from his warm bed on such a night. Schooling his emotions and expression Snape knocked twice on the first door he came to and entered when called.
"Ah Severus I must thank you for coming with such haste on such a night as this." The cold high voice emanated from a high wing backed armchair turned towards the fire. It was the only adornment to the room other than a stuffed snake on the mantle.
"My Lord I have brought the required draft." His cool and considered response was completely at odds to the shudder he barely suppressed at the harsh quality of his masters voice. The chill it roused in Snape was not dissimilar to the effect of a sharp object dragged on a blackboard.
"Ah excellent, thank-you Severus, come closer, do not linger in the shadows." Snape walked as steadily as he could round the chair into the fire light. It took all his control and not inconsiderable Occlumency to hide his emotions and innermost thoughts at the sight of the blood-red eyes that appeared to glow from the twisted pale face before him.
"As I expect you have guessed already Severus I did not drag you all the way out here to merely deliver a potion. My reasoning was three-fold in fact. While I do require the potion I have a question and a task I must ask of you. A progress report in acquiring what we discussed last time?" Lord Voldemort smiled with a lipless slit in his pale face in what he no doubt thought was a calming gesture to one of his most promising young death eaters.
"Unfortunately my lord, despite tireless work on my part I have as yet failed to find any information as to the whereabouts of either the potters or their secret keeper." Snape cringed slightly in fear of punishment for his failure.
"I am not unsurprised, what Dumbledore wishes to hide will be no doubt difficult to discover. I can be patient on this matter, he will however not remain a baby forever so he must be found soon Severus. What of your other task hm? Has Dumbledore accepted your offer to spy on me yet?"
"I am meeting with him tomorrow morning where he will attempt to read my mind to test my loyalty."
"Well then I shall read you first. I hope I am not required to erase any incriminating memories beforehand" the dark lord locked eyes with Snape before with a lazy flick of his wand he entered the mind of his servant. Several moments past, with the only noise in the room the crackle of the fire and the shallow breathing of the two wizards. Eventually Voldemort released the connection and Snape swayed from the exertion. "You have done well Severus I could not find evidence of my own knowledge in this plot. The old fool will most likely similarly fail. I have one final task for you tonight and then you may go."
"I am yours to command my lord." Severus inclined his head silently thanking God, Merlin and anyone else listening that he had kept Voldemort from his hidden memories.
"Lucius is upstairs and requires your assistance in the disposal of some rubbish. That will be all thank you Severus."
Snape left the room as quickly as he dared without outright fleeing. He leaned heavily on the door once it was closed and took several long deep breaths allowing the tension that had built from his fear to melt from his muscles. Taking the stairs to the first floor Snape was shocked at the sight that greeted him. A pentacle drawn in dark blood covered most of the floor, candles burning low at the five points revealed the dreadful spectacle in the middle. A young woman lay sprawled like the star on the ground. Her white skin was marred by countless runes and symbols either burned or carved into her skin. Staring out of the sash window deliberately not looking at the scene behind him stood another young man although this one would have been nearer thirty than the twenty year old Snape. Lucius Malfoy's long platinum hair cascaded down his shoulders reflecting the streetlamp outside but appearing to have its own innate luminescence. Upon hearing Snape clear his throat he turned with a grimace towards the scene of the ritual he had prepared hours before.
"Ah Severus you're here at last. I have no desire to linger here longer so I'll make this quick." His voice normally an aristocratic drawl was instead clipped and harried. "She is a Veela, you are a potion master harvest from her what ingredients you want and dispose of the remains, goodnight." Stalking past the younger dark-haired man he patted his old school friend on the shoulder and hurried down stairs.
Turning to the naked woman, more a girl than a woman, Snape felt a little nauseous at the thought of harvesting the corpse for the more lucrative Veela based potion ingredients. Struggling with himself for a moment he instead decided to only take her hair which would be useful at any rate and maybe some blood if it was not to congealed already. Any other ingredients that he may need in the future he would be far happier to buy than take them from the poor dead creature in front of him. Snape was not a coward nor was he particularly squeamish but ever since the night of his marking as a death eater he found the thought of acts such as murder and the desiccation of a corpse repulsive. Not for the first or thousandth time did he lament his decision to join the death eaters.
Stepping forward Snape turned to observe properly the latest victim of his master's cruelty. The Veela appeared to be fully blooded for even marred as she was by the runes, her beauty was too profound and other worldly to have human ancestry. Crouching down to grasp the blood streaked silver of her hair he was shocked by a slight wisp of air on his eyelashes. Stiffening he observed a slight rise and fall to her naked breast. To his utter shock and surprise a pulse confirmed the poor girl was still alive after her ordeal. Removing his cloak and draping it over her prostrate form Snape made the bravest mistake of his life he thought.
Summoning his power he cast a field of invisibility around the girl and began to levitate her down the stairs. Slowly and painstakingly he edged his way past the door which led to his master and left the house as quickly and as quietly as possible. Upon leaving the field of the Fidelius and appearing once more into the muggle world. In the harsh light of the still flickering streetlamp the invisibility charm began to fade. Quickly wrapping the hovering bundle of girl and cloak in his arms he turned and disappeared with a sharp crack. If you asked Snape why he did it upon his death he would probably give a sarcastic answer saying he shouldn't have but in all honesty saving her from the fate his master had planned for her was one of the proudest moments of his short and ignominious life. It saddened Snape that this was the only moment in which he ever risked something he didn't need to for the sake of another with no thought to reciprocation or gain. The thought that perhaps he'd grown a conscience was an unsettling one as he apparated outside the ornate iron gates. Whipping out his wand he sent a large silver conjuration running across the lawns behind the gates up to the dark shape on the hill side. A few moments later the gates opened with a shrill creak. Another flick of his wand summoned a broomstick to his side. Carefully arranged with the barely alive female clutched to his chest he flew low and fast above the path leading to the castle.
Despite the late hour light shone like golden lanterns in the walls of Hogwarts reflecting out over the lake. Albus Dumbledore unlike most of the occupants of Hogwarts was not yet asleep. Instead the aged wizard resplendent in blue star embroidered robes was poring over a reports of muggle deaths. This morbid task served two purposes to his mind. It helped remind him the cost of failure and what they were fighting against. Secondly he hoped with increasing desperation that by observing the attacks a pattern could be established or a clue to Voldemort's whereabouts could be discerned from the seemingly random violence that the war had degenerated into. Nearly a year had passed since last Dumbledore had met Voldemort in a duel. He had bested Voldemort that day and nearly every day since Dumbledore wished he had not. Since his public defeat all though by no means was it an easy victory for his opponent, Voldemort had changed to fighting a war from the shadow's attacking muggles in particular forcing the aurors to waste resources on obliviating the victims instead of hunting death eaters and guarding targets. His musings on the seeming hopelessness of the situation was interrupted by the appearance of a silver doe which came bounding through the wood of the door. The voice of Severus Snape begged for entrance to the wards of Hogwarts and explained that he had a severely wounded girl who needed urgent medical attention. Dumbledore examined a device on a side table which told him that there were indeed two people at the gates. Dumbledore did as requested but with a great deal of suspicion. After what Severus had done to the Potters it was not surprising that he was cautious to trust his new ally. Upon apparating to the front doors of the castle to arrive in time to intercept Snape, Dumbledore was treated to the worrying sight of Snape clutching a figure wrapped in a black cloak. With a flick of his wand Dumbledore scanned her vitals and ushered Snape towards the hospital wing. Dumbledore rapped on the door to the nurse's office while Snape lay the girl on an available bed and conjured a privacy screen around it. Madame Pomfrey was a light sleeper after nearly ten years as Hogwarts' in house medical expert and thought she was prepared for anything that the magical world could throw at her but what she saw when Dumbledore had ushered her to the patient turned even her experienced stomach. A girl naked but for literally hundreds of runes carved and branded into every inch of her body. Clearly the poor teenager had been used for some dark ritual. Madame Pomfrey set to work while Dumbledore turned to Snape.
"Who is she Severus?"
"I do not know further than she is a full-blooded Veela" Snape replied his voice grave and his face grey in the low light.
"You told me the dark lord was studying rituals, do you know what purpose she has served him?"
"By the runes I observed I would assume an attempt to strengthen his magical core. After his defeat to you and now the prophecy he is determined make himself more powerful."
"Professor Dumbledore," Pomfrey interrupted. "The girl is in a seriously bad way. She will not last the night." Dumbledore could plainly see the seriousness of her statement in the mournful look on her face. "Perhaps more could be done if I understood what exactly I'm attempting to heal here?" Hands on hips and eyebrow raised, the school nurse questioned the two men across the room. "The lacerations and burns while painful should not be sufficient to cause the rapid deterioration in her condition!"
"Have you tested her magical reserves Poppy?"
"No headmaster… one moment." Turning to her patient she murmured incantations with precise wand movements. "Merlin's beard, there's nothing left in her. Her core has been drained, all that's left to measure is the trace of dark magic and what I must assume was her own innate magic."
"It is as I feared. Severus, I know of two rituals which fit these circumstances, however they would leave the victim of the sacrifice in very different states upon their completion. Either the Dark Lord had not completed the ritual or as I suspect is more likely this young lady has suffered far worse than her appearance suggests."
"I think headmaster if the Dark Lord was not finished with her she would not be here now. "Snape's normally pallid features appeared even greyer in the pre-dawn light. "Headmaster is there more to this than I am seeing?"
"I fear it will be a few weeks at least before I can know for certain what has occurred tonight. Until then she must be kept alive at all costs Poppy." With that somewhat enigmatic statement Albus consumed by worry and no small feelings of guilt swept from the hospital wing leaving a grim nurse and a bewildered and exhausted death eater trailing in his wake.
"Severus…what I must know with some immediacy is who called you tonight was it the dark lord himself?"
"It was Albus, and yes he read my mind in preparation for the planned meeting with you."
"so you were successful? He does not suspect that you have left his service?"
"He has no idea that I have betrayed him, nor that we have ever exchanged a glance so much as words or schemes."
"I am proud of you Severus, it takes true courage to stay at his side but be on mine. All though perhaps if you had found that courage a little earlier in life such gestures would not be necessary."
Gritting his teeth at the admonishment from the ancient wizard walking beside him Severus allowed his thoughts to stray to the reason for his desertion from the dark lord's cause.
"Is she safe?" His question was barely more than a whisper. Glancing at the dark robed young man to his right Dumbledore sighed and placed a hand on his shoulders.
"Yes Severus she, her husband and her son are under the fidelius charm. Even I do not know their location. Voldemort will not find them."
"You give me your word on that Dumbledore?"
"Yes Severus Snape you have my word. Unless their secret keeper betrays them, they will be safe."
Lucius Malfoy could not believe his luck. He had merely stepped into the Harpies Nest, one of the seediest pubs in Knockturn Alley or anywhere for that matter, and he had literally walked slap bang into one of the very men he most hoped to meet. The short young man with watery eyes and thinning hair squealed at the sight of the man who had just blocked his exit. Turning desperately in an attempt to find a new means of exit he felt two the hard tip of a wand at the base of his skull as the cold voice of the Malfoy heir chilled his bones.
"Well if it isn't Potter's little rat." Malfoy sneered. "Happy Halloween to you, Peter wasn't it? Actually your name doesn't matter, what matters is what you can tell me, and my master."
"Lucius," Pettigrew whispered and attempted to force a smile through the terror that currently grasped his features. "It's been a long time, who can believe it's over two years since we graduated."
"Ah yes our wonderful school days, those golden years walking the hallowed halls hexing any innocent Slytherin I pleased because I had big friends to protect me from my victim's revenge, oh wait hang on a moment, that wasn't me. That was you Rat! You spent seven years hiding behind Potter, Black and the Wolf. Where are they now Peter, oh what's that they aren't here to protect you this time? I always thought Gryffindor was the home of the 'bold of heart' and yet you Peter are an abject coward to the core. Come Peter my master and I have some questions about those same big friends you used to hide behind." All of this was delivered in the high aristocratic drawl which Pettigrew remembered Potter mocking in school. It didn't seem so funny right now as the cold sweat pooled on Peter's brow.
"Now Lucius let us be sensible we our both reasonable men aren't we? There's no need to do anything rash!" Pettigrew was terrified and was glancing around the pub desperately hoping someone would come to his aid as the marauders had always done at Hogwarts. But all who had observed the scene turned back to their drinks.
"Rash? Oh I wouldn't do anything rash you snivelling rat. I am simply going to introduce you to some friends and acquaintances of mine who are just killing to know some information that I suspect you possess." With that the blonde death eater seized the cowering diminutive figure before him and dragged him kicking and howling through the door and had disapparated with his prize before anyone could do anything to help the poor young man. The barkeep in the Harpies Nest was disappointed that he would not be seeing Pettigrew again, on account of his habit of spending too much on drink, however when he thought about it for a second it was an easy decision to ignore the altercation and return to polishing the smeared glass he had been polishing on and off for the last three weeks.
A sharp knock on the door to Madame Pomfrey's office roused her from inventory of her flu potion stock. The unseasonably cold weather at Hogwarts this November had led to several proclaimed cases of flu although the mid-year exams may have had as much to do with it as the chilly north wind in the Scottish highlands. As it was upon opening the door to her office instead of seeing, as she had expected, a student with a suspiciously fake sounding cough; she was instead confronted by the appearance of the headmaster and the unknown dark-haired man who had brought in her long-term patient.
"Ah Poppy I was hoping now would be a good time for me to see our guest again." Despite the apparent levity in Dumbledore's words there was no evidence of the normal twinkle in his blue eyes.
"Of course headmaster" replied the nurse leading the two wizards into a private room off the main hospital wing. "As you can see she is still alive but alas not responding to treatment or stimulus it is all I could do to place her on magical life support charms and potions as you asked of me. Dumbledore as much as it pains me to, I must ask, why we must continue this poor girls suffering? She will not recover from this."
"My dear Poppy continuing her suffering is the very last thing I wish, however we will know in the next few minutes whether we must sustain her tenuous grasp upon this life or allow her to continue on to the next great adventure."
"Headmaster what do you expect to learn from her if she will not wake?" Asked Snape from the corner of the small room, where he leant on the wall with a sullen expression.
"We shall see what we shall see…" He muttered almost inaudibly. Waving his want the old wizard spoke an incantation "Graviditate revelio".
"A pregnancy test headmaster! Merlin's beard you don't think?" Madame Pomfrey exclaimed as she turned to see the result of the headmasters charm. For nearly five seconds all three occupants of the room watched with bated breath as the white glow which had settled around the girl from the end of Dumbledore's wand converged over her abdomen. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness as they waited. Snape was dreading to think what it could mean if it was positive, yet if it was not then the girl would be dead within the hour and for a man who had joined the death eaters the thought appalled him.
Dumbledore let out a sigh as after the required ten seconds the glow had not changed and was about to turn to Severus when a gasp from the school nurse drew his eyes back to girl on the bed and saw with a heavy heart that the spell had changed colour. Pulsating, a soft blue the glow settled over her abdomen before fading away and with it all noise in the room,
"What happens now Dumbledore?" Snape finally spoke after what seemed an age.
"I do not rightly know Severus. Poppy, hypothetically would it even be possible to keep the girl alive full term?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
With a worried frown and an agitated tap of her foot Poppy thought about the implications of the question. "A simple stasis spell would certainly be sufficient to keep her alive for another 32 weeks but I have no idea whether the foetus would even develop when the mother is stalled. More dangerous for the mother but safer for the child, would perhaps be the draught of living death. It has been used before for the purpose of keeping a mother alive to deliver her baby, so at least we know it would work. But that kind of exposure to the potion for that long would make her very unstable and she would need constant supervision. I am not sure if we can accomplish this here headmaster." She finished her assessment with hands wrung together and a drop of her shoulders in defeat.
Dumbledore turned to regard the girl on the bed before waving his wand in a complicated pattern. When he was finished with a satisfied nod, the girl on the bed was no longer the abused and tortured veela that Snape had brought in six weeks ago. Instead a normal young brunette lay on the bed with no sign of the scars from the runes which had covered every square inch of her body.
"That should be sufficient to keep her safe from notice by those we would not want to know of her survival." Sucking in a breath he turned to the nurse. "Madame Pomfrey I must ask you to leave us here at Hogwarts." Holding up a hand to forestall her question, he continued. "As a member of the order you have my utmost faith and trust. Your assistant nurse Wainscott will have to manage the hospital wing for the remainder of the year. I am sorry Poppy but there is no one else I can trust with ensuring the safety of the two lives on this bed. As you said we cannot care for her here so we will need to transfer her to St Mungo's but I need you to be her attending healer for the sake of her life and secret. Staring deep into the eyes of the distressed staff member in front of him the ancient wizard attempted to convey the importance of the mission he assigned her. "Please do this Poppy, I am not yet sure but this could be vital for the survival of our world. What we do now could change the course of the war."
Turning to leave the room with Snape at his heel Dumbledore answered the question that was no doubt plaguing the mind of his young spy. "Severus we can keep her safe long enough to have the child."
"That's not what worries me Albus, I would not speak in front of Madame Pomfrey but I have information of a most distressing development relating to the deal we made when I changed sides."
"What has happened Severus surely he has not found them?"
"The exact details of what has transpired are being kept to the inner circle only but what I was able to discover was this. A marauder has taken the mark."
What Lucius Malfoy had said to him in the entrance to the pub in Knockturn Alley was unfortunately true. Peter Pettigrew or Wormtail as his friends called him was a coward. Those friends who gave him the nickname, the only friends he ever had were proved to mean less to him than even the fear of pain. Voldemort had merely raised his wand, the Cruciatus curse on his lips unspoken when Wormtail had spilled his greatest secrets. Order operations, names, numbers and plans all came spilling from the rodent's mouth unaided by curse or serum. While delighted to have such a well placed spy, the dark lord quickly found himself frustrated as the two locations he cared about most for in the world were unknown to Pettigrew. The Cruciatus curse nor veritaserum proved any more effective in gleaning the location of the either the Order of the Phoenix or the Potter's hiding place. Still faced with the fear of his own demise Pettigrew proved more than willing to take the dark mark and swear allegiance to the dark lord on the promise of the continued survival of his miserable hide.
Weeks turned into months and there was no word of either the Potters or the Order's locations. Voldemort considered himself a patient man, however even his infinite patience was tested. In poor Pettigrew's defence the bounds of the fidelius charm only allowed him access to the two locations he was unable to divulge their locations. The order would have to wait but Voldemort had hatched a plan that was elegant in its simplicity. Very soon he would be able to fulfil the prophecy that spoke of the one with the power to defeat him. Soon very soon.
Duh Duh Duhhhh. R&R Plz. No seriously someone review and tell me if I should give up or if you are enjoying it. The suspense is killing me.