A little bit of revenge
Severus Snape, potion master, greasy git, death eater and spy, slowly came back to consciousness after what, to him, was an undetermined amount of time but was in reality about four days. Cautiously, he tried to assess his situation, first by taking stock of his own state (chained to a wall quite firmly by iron manacles, who were probably suppressing his magic too, as he couldn't seem to be able to access it, but was otherwise unarmed), then by looking around.
Apparently, he was being held in what appeared a big room or warehouse, and he wasn't alone: beside him, the two youngest Weasleys and their mother were in the same predicament as him; they too were showing signs of waking up. He didn't really care about those three, but their presence meant his situation was not about some of his Death Eater comrades wanting revenge for his spying.
As he regained his senses fully, he became aware of the fact that two other people were in the room: since those were not chained to the walls but actually free, it was a safe assumption they were his jailers. An hypothesis that was confirmed moments later when the two approached the four captives and revealed their identities.
"See Harry? I told you they would be waking about now."
"Yes, you did, Hermione. I think I made good on my promise never to doubt you ever again up to this moment, didn't I?"
The two young Griffindors grinned at each other before turning their attention to their prisoners.
"Potter, Granger! What is the meaning of this? Release me!" came the loud yell from the male Weasley, Ron.
"And why would we want to do such a thing, Ron? You and the others are exactly where we want you: bound and with your magic suppressed so you can't retaliate, far from the mess upstairs and, more importantly, unable to do anything to change the situation." the bushy-haired witch replied.
"Why are you doing this to us? Snape I can understand, but I'm you girlfriend, Harry, Ron is with Hermione, and Mum has always treated you like one of her sons."
"Yeah, why would we want to keep you prisoners, uh? Maybe it has something to do with the potions you have been feeding us, what do you think?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Snape is here because of what he did to me, to us, for the last seven years and to my parents sixteen years ago... it hasn't got really anything to do with you, but Hermione and I decided to deal with all of you in one go."
The three redheads paled considerably at the mention of potions, and after a few seconds, Ginny convinced herself to ask the question that was on all of the captives' minds. Snape just kept silent.
"W... What do you mean potions, Harry?" she inquired in a small voice.
"Oh, come on, Ginny, you know very well what I'm talking about: the love potions your family, or at least you three, has been feeding both of us since we came to the Burrow before our sixth year."
Any color still present on the three Weasleys left their faces, they had been caught red-handed!
Hermione resumed the explanation: "Do you want to know how we found out? It was a bit of a fluke, really, because we never suspected anything up to that point: lucky us, eh? Anyway, it was just before Bill and Fleur wedding: you all were busy with the preparations for the ceremony while Harry and I were just passing the time. I remember talking to him quite often and in one of those chats we had the idea to find out if there were potions that could help us in our search for the horcruxes: you know, to have more stamina, mental sharpness, maybe increased resistance to some hexes, that sort of thing. We thought we would find out and then tell you, Ron, afterward, when the wedding frenzy was over. In the meantime, we went to Madam Pomfrey to ask her; she told us that that sort of potions existed, but had a few nasty effects beside their intended purpose, like causing dependence or magical exhaustion once the effect was over; still, in a pinch, they could help us, so she accepted to give us some. Before that, however, she wanted to check us because many wizards and witches are actually allergic to those potions, so she gave us a thorough exam. I don't think I have ever seen her so shocked as the results were displayed, but maybe the two of us matched her surprise when she told us what she found. I don't need to tell you all the details, do I?" The young witch asked looking the three redheads directly in the eyes.
Harry seamlessly took over the narration: "So, we took a quick flushing draft and immediately more than a year of our actions towards each other came back at us. We just couldn't believe the way we had been treating the best friend we ever had, and rest assured, Ron, that is not you and never has been for either of us, because of some lousy potions and a couple of spoiled children and their mother that just would not accept that we weren't reacting to her spawns the way she wanted! Hermione and I lost more than a year of the best thing that ever happened to us, that is our wonderful friendship to each other! I think we hugged and cried for at least a hour, mourning what could have been but hadn't and the awful things that instead happened to us. That is a year we will never get back, but more than that, we were the victims of rape by the three of you, you bastards!"
Both Weasleys children gasped at Harry's declaration and turned to look fearfully at their mother for any kind of help; if truly they could be charged with rape it would become very bad very quickly for them.
Molly was still gearing up for the mother of all yellings at Hermione and Harry when she was cut off by Hermione resuming her tirade: "Yes, Molly, I know the wizarding world and the purebloods do not consider what you did rape, but we certainly do! And since you are at our mercy, I think our opinion is, at the moment, the one you should be concerned about. You three forced us to bend to your will, without consideration for our opinions or desires; you just decided we were yours to do as you pleased and proceeded to screw all over us!"
Seeing that Hermione was on the verge of loosing her patience, Harry approached her and put his hands on her shoulders, whispering in her ears to try and calm her down. After a few moments, the young brunette managed to recompose herself; with a nod to Harry and a squeeze of his hand, Hermione turned once again to the Weasleys to continue their 'chat': "We were lucky to find out when we did. I'm sure the potion treatment we were receiving would have never ended, meaning you would have robbed us of our free will, of our ability to decide for ourselves and I'm sure of our muggle heritage as well. I would have never been able to see my parents again, wouldn't I?"
Without waiting for an answer they both knew wasn't coming, Harry continued: "We decided we had to do something, not only to get out of your control, but also to punish you, so here we are."
"You are not going to get away with this: when the other in the Order of the Phoenix notice we aren't turning up for a few meetings, they will start searching for us." Molly declared with a smug grin.
"Ah, yes, that would be the case if you were missing, but the fact is... you aren't. Everybody knows where you are, so no searches for you are being organized." Harry replied.
"What! You mean the Order knows you are keeping us here and aren't doing anything about it? I don't believe it!"
"Of course not, silly woman; not even they are that stupid. No, what I mean is that you aren't missing because all four of you... died in the final battle against Moldishorts." Hermione then turned to Harry whispering: "You know, calling that bastard that way is actually therapeutic... I should have done it before..."
"See? Even I am right on occasion." Harry answered grinning.
The young witch huffed putting her fists on her hips in mock annoyance, but could not say anything to respond to his joke: when the boy was right, he was right.
"Hey, we're still here! What the hell do you mean we died in the battle, what battle?" Ron shot back at his, apparently, former friends.
"A bit behind the news, eh? Understandable, considering you have been under the effects of the Draught of Living Death for the last four days and the battle was just two days ago." Harry said.
"Well, you see, after we discovered the potions we began thinking about getting our revenge on you all. Oh, don't be so shocked, we may be on the side of Light, but even we aren't above such things, especially for what you did to us. And, didn't you know, they say revenge is justice when visited on the unjust." Hermione gushed.
"Anyway, after a bit of research courtesy of the Library Queen here... " and Hermione blushed at Harry's description of her, "… we decided that to have our revenge we should find a way to make it seems you were killed by the enemy, while in reality we would be the ones executing you. You see, we stumbled upon the idea we later adopted by chance: these last few years the muggle world has been focusing on biotechnologies and from time to time the papers and the television report about a successful attempt to clone this or that animal. One of those news caught our attention and it went rolling from there."
Harry paused and let Hermione start with her lecture: "Magic is really centuries ahead of technology in some areas and this is one of those cases: the concept of a golem has been around for a long time, we just made a few adjustments to better suite our needs: our golems had to look, behave, feel and in essence be human to pass for you, but it wasn't such a big problem... it's not like we are the first to use this method to deal with enemies, so... in any case, a single hair from each of you took care of the physical aspects of the golems, while our mental image of you gave them a very good approximation of your personalities. Effectively, what we got were four golems with human bodies, vulnerable in the same way humans are, with enough brain so as to not raise suspicions, who didn't know they were golems and acted exactly like you."
"We included Snape here because we thought it was high time he paid for his past crimes against my family and what he did the night Dumbledore died, among other things. It was a bit trickier to have his clone behave like him, given that we don't know his as well as we do you three, but we managed. When we captured you four days ago we even copied all of your memories to the clones, so they were even more realistic, practically indistinguishable from... the originals." Harry finished smirking.
After a pause to let everything sink, he continued: "Soooo, anybody wants to know how the battle went? We got all day, so don't be shy!"
Snape, who had been silent up until that moment, decided at least this new discussion was something useful and asked: "Potter! It's clear you can't wait to talk about the battle, at least get on with it quickly!"
"Charming as usual, eh Snivellus? But, OK, let's see: as we said, you all 'died' during the battle, and I think the fact Hermione and I are here a few days later should cotton you on which side won and what happened to the Dark Idiot. Two of you made things easy for us, but the other not so much. 'Greasy Git' got his due when he decided he should have told Voldemort about not being the master of the Elder Wand a long time earlier and proceeded to spill his guts about it. To say Tom was not happy about it would be the understatement of the century, and the asphyxiation curse he used to kill that clone lasted at least five minutes. As you know I was in a privileged position to witness it, so I can say with authority 'you' did not die well."
Harry then let Hermione recount the next bit: "The other easy one was Molly: 'Mother Hen' got it in her head she could tackle Bellatrix and come out on top of the fight. Quite stupid of course, a housewife against a hardened killer with more than twenty years of experience was no match and she got a killing curse between her eyes in less than a minute. It go me nearly ten minutes to dispatch that psycho-bitch and it wasn't easy, let me tell you." Even with the visible evidence that she hadn't left the battle unscathed, although what was visible were just scratches and bruises, Hermione was inordinately pleased that she had defeated Voldemort's most trusted lieutenant.
"Ron and Ginny, however, presented a problem: they survived the battle, because it seemed that... I don't know... every Death Eater out there simply ignored them; granted, they are not something to be feared in a fight, but for two easy targets to be left alone like that... it was only stray curses from other duels that went their way. So we had to switch to plan 'B' for them." Harry mused ending almost with a chirp.
"Plan 'B' came into play after the battle. We activated a remote command on the two remaining golems and just waited for what we knew would happen. We were still on the battlefield together catching our breath when the two clones acted: they sent an Aveda Kedavra each towards our backs, of course aiming a bit off; we didn't want to be killed by our creations, after all. We still had our wands ready and made a show to react on pure instinct: we rolled away, then I let loose a Reducto, Hermione a Diffindo, both quite overpowered. Our aims were a lot better than the clones', of course: 'Orange Stomach's' head exploded, while 'Bloody Stalker' was caught nearly vertically by the Diffindo and cut in half from her neck to her crotch. I think her right leg went flying too.
"Obviously, both were quite dead after the brief exchange, just as we had planned. The Order members still alive at the site were quite shocked by this turn of events and began trying to find an explanation for our supposed best friends and 'significant others' to act that way. They considered us completely justified in our reactions, what with the adrenalin high from the battle and the vicious attack we just avoided. They found the reason after a closer examination of the two bodies: on their left forearms, concealed by glamor charms, they found the Dark Mark. Of course it hadn't been Voldemort that put it there, we did."
"So you made my children pass for Death Eaters? How could those marks pass for ones that he-who-must-not-be-named cast?" Molly screeched.
"Well, you see, all the hype about the Mark notwithstanding, it's just a variation of the Protean Charm, as Hermione could tell you, and it's not like who casts it makes any difference. It was simply a case of knowing what to change from the standard charm and, presto!, a trio of dark marks to use to our content. Thanks to the link with Voldie's mind due to the horcrux in my scar, I had witnessed him putting the mark on quite a number of his new Death Eaters, so knowing how to cast it was not a problem. It's funny to think it was one of the few good things that came from that bloody scar..."
"Harry, language!"
"Ah, well, I'm sorry, Hermione, but sometimes it just needs to be said..."
Hermione then turned to Molly and resumed the explanation: "In case you are wondering why Harry said we made three marks, it's because we put one on your clone too, Molly, just in case 'you' survived the battle. Since you were so gracious to die, we didn't have to make it appear. The glamors on 'your children's' arms were just to make it seem real, what we used to mask the marks prior to that moment would make it impossible even for Dumbledore or Moody to discover them, so 'Molly' is not believed to have been a Death Eater, and neither are the rest of the Weasleys, although they were checked all the same. It gave us the opportunity to sever ties with them, even if publicly we do not blame them for anything."
"So, to recap, you are dead, we are heroes, the Dark Wanker is pushing up, or will be in a few months, daisies and all is well with the world." Harry summed up.
"Not quite, Harry. There is still the matter of our revenge on these four to consider."
"Yes, of course, Hermione. I couldn't forget that, don't worry: after all, all this charade was actually for us to have a chance to deal out our special brand of justice."
"We thought long and hard about it, and decided that simply killing you off would be too easy, so we came up with punishments for each of you. You four have one thing in common: you only think about yourselves without regards for others and that is what we took into consideration when devising your deaths. I think I'll start with you Ron, what do you say? Ok, here is the deal: you have always been a jealous, greedy bastard, to say nothing of what you did and planned to do to me for the rest of my life, so you will die with nothing: no big vault filled with money, no fancy clothes, no fame or recognition, no hot girls wyving for your attention, nothing at all. And to make it more acute, we will place a few of those items just out of your reach while letting you free to walk around with only a collar chained to the wall." The horrified face of Ron lost all of its color when he realized what Hermione meant, then became even paler when she added: "We also thought about giving you illusions about a number of supermodel-quality witches that would play in a loop in your mind, just to taunt you, but why give any pleasure at all? So the only thing we will allow you to have is a bit of water every day to keep you from dieing too soon, otherwise anything else will always be an inch too far from you hand: the fresh, delicious food as well as the big pile of galleons we will leave here, I'm sure Dobby won't mind making sure of it."
"What do you mean Dobby? The bloody house elf died when we escaped from Malfoy Manor!"
"Oh, Ron, you really think that happened? That we would be so stupid to make such a blunder? I'm sorry to say it only happened in your head... Hermione here has no problem with memory charms and I'm not bad either. It was all a ruse to keep you busy while we were in the tent traipsing around the country. We kept the charade up until you left us, but afterward decided it was too much for us, so we came up with those situations we fed to your mind. Luna was never captured by the Snatchers and her father never sold us out to try and protect her, they simply left Britain when things got too dangerous, on our advice, and have yet to return. We know, though, that they are both safe and well, because we have kept sending mails back and forth: they will come back in a few weeks, after they enjoy their time ad father and daughter together. But, enough of this, we are getting sidetracked, this is about what we want to happen to you and your fellow prisoners."
"And what we both want is for you to die of hunger with the certainty that everything you always wanted will never be yours. A fitting punishment for you, if I may say so myself." Harry concluded.
"Next, our dear Potions professor... I'm curious, though, you haven't said much since you regained consciousness. What is it, kneazle got your tongue?" Hermione asked cheekily.
"I have nothing to say to you. Since you seem to want to prolong our suffering, my godson Draco will have more than enough time to find and rescue me."
"Well, aren't you putting a lot of faith in that slimy bastard? Aside from the fact he doesn't have a single trustworthy bone in him, the ferret would never be able to find you here. In case you don't know, we are in the Chamber of Secrets, and that means only two creatures can come in here now that Tom is dead, and those are me and Fawkes. I will never take Draco down here and I'm sure you know that, aside from a brief visit a few months ago, the phoenix hasn't been seen for quite some time. I'm sure he is enjoying a much-deserver holiday in phoenix-vacationland surrounded by, literally, hot chicks, after all the crap Dumbledore put him through." Harry paused smirking, while thinking of his avian friend.
"Aside from that, there is also the small problem that Draco did not survive the battle, much to our pleasure. He tried to do something that was really hazardous for is health and paid the price for it. You see, I had just retrieved the Sword of Gryffindor from Neville because I thought it could help me with Tom, when the blond ponce attempted to curse Hermione from behind. I don't know if I simply got lucky or if my magic directed its flight, I suspect I will never be able to find the truth, but I did the only thing I could and threw the sword at him with all the strength I could muster. I have to say that the result was spectacular, although your godson's opinion may be quite different: he got thirty inches of goblin steel through his skull... I think it's safe to say he will never attempt to curse anyone else ever again. It also solved the problem about the Malfoys claiming they were under the Imperious curse this time around."
"But, enough about others, let's continue with what we are trying to do here, we still have to talk about your crimes and your punishment. First of all, we lay the death of Harry's parents directly at your feet and that alone would be enough to condemn you. However, we can't overlook what you did to others since then: you destroyed many lives with your hatred while teaching at Hogwarts, to say nothing of what you did to Harry and of your activities as a Death Eater and double spy ultimately loyal only to yourself. You played both side to maximize your chances of surviving the war, regardless of the outcome. While we can understand your predicament, you sent others to their deaths and never really helped anyone to end the war sooner. You always thought you were superior to anyone else regardless of real abilities and knowledge. You wanted to be recognized for the genius you think you are... well, we decided you will get the opposite: you will soon be forgotten and even the potion research you published under your name will be amended and properly credited to the person that really made the discoveries, Harry's mother Lily. In the meanwhile, you will waste away here, your memories and knowledge fading slowly in the course of a year or more, until you will be nothing more than an idiot drooling on the floor. I think at that moment we could even put you out of your misery and kill you directly. Any questions?"
"Since you have already decided, there isn't much to say, is there? Answer this one, you insufferable know-it-all: are you sure this is the way the Gryffindor Golden Boy should behave? What would Dumbledore say about all this?"
Surprisingly, instead of Hermione, Harry was the one to answer: "Oh, I know perfectly well what he would say, since he did say it all when I explained our plans in detail to him during the battle."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Albus has been dead for a year, you bloody idiot!"
"I know that, Snivellus. However, during the battle I had to let Tom hit me with an A-K to be rid of the horcrux in my scar: if you were aware of Dumbledore's plans you should already know that. In that moment I was 'almost killed' and, because the horcrux was along for the ride, we ended up in a sort of waiting room instead of directly in whatever definition of the realm of the dead you want to believe in. I don't know how he managed to do that, but Dumbledore was able to meet me there to explain why certain things had to happen the way they did and that I had a choice to make on whether to go on to 'the Next Great Adventure' or to come back and end things with Riddle. I obviously chose the latter option, but then I also proceeded to inform him of the plan Hermione and I wanted to implement after the battle... I have to say his tirade was really amusing, so yes, I know very well what the old fool would say. You'll note I'm still here and our plan went ahead regardless of his opinion. Now, be silent, we still have to handle the other two gingers."
Harry and Hermione turned to Ginny ignoring any further interactions with Snape; "Ginny, the bloody stalker, the fangirl that has been out to bag me since she was six. You are very much like your brother, although luckily you have better table manners... but I digress; the reasons you are greedy are different from Ron: he always felt inferior to your older brothers, a feeling that was reinforced by the fact he is inferior to his brothers, and wanted do have something that was only his, while you, being the only female child in the family, have always been spoiled rotten and are used to have things your way. Not terribly unusual, mind you, but when you simply walk all over other people to get what you want without any consideration for their dreams and desires, you have to expect a bit of retaliation to come your way. Plus, you always flaunted your beauty and your Quidditch skills and that doesn't endear you to others. However, in my opinion, your worst crime was trying to separate me from Hermione, the best friend I ever had and yet you tried to have me dump our friendship because you all but said so. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that; had you been patient and refrained to use those potions, maybe we would have hooked up naturally and built our life together. After all, you are far from ugly and we have a few things in common; I doubt you would have been able to get to know me as well as Hermione does, but we could have been happy. But no, you wanted me and wanted me immediately, so out with the potions and sod what I felt! And it didn't matter you and your brother were raping our minds and planned to do the same for our bodies for the rest of our lives, so long as you got your prize! Well, it seems the tables have been turned on your heads, doesn't it?"
Harry paused to try and recompose himself, so Hermione picked up the thread: "So we decided to take away the things you pride yourself with: your beauty and your skills. From now on, your face will be that of a flat cartoon, here you can check for yourself. I'll also let you have this mirror and a few others all around you, so you can use them whenever you want." She indicated a tall mirror she had conjured for just that purpose. The moment Ginny caught a glimpse of her face looking back at her, she let out a keening wail that went on until she had no more air in her lungs.
"While not visible, we also took your quidditch skills, and you are now unable to even fly on a broom anymore without injuring yourself quite badly in the process. Not that you will ever have the opportunity to try ever again, what with you being confined down here and all. Of course those are not life threatening punishments, so we had to come up with something else, so we will cast a charm on you that will allow you to see all the public occasions and social events Harry and I will go, exactly the thing you would have loved more than anything. The catch is that if you feel jealousy or envy for whoever date Harry takes to those events, it will cause a physical wound for you. Do it often enough and you won't last long. We don't think you are able to change, so sooner or later you will die in quite a painful way. Any questions?"
Ginny simply shook her head in a negative manner, while angry tears ran down her cheeks. Things like this were not supposed to happen to her!
"Well, Hermione, it seems these four had a marked increase of their smarts, we haven't had to repeat a concept since the beginning of this meeting and they still have no questions! Will wonders never cease?" drawled Harry.
"Oh, Harry, don't be silly, we still aren't finished here and I want to do that as soon as possible so we can go rest for the night. I'm still quite tired and would like to be completely recovered before we go join my parents."
"Yeah, me too, I have really missed Hedwig this last year, but she was not safe here, leaving her with your parents was the right decision to make."
"What, I thought the bloody bird died when we retrieved you from your wretched relatives." Ron inquired.
"I really don't believe you, Ron, we just told you you are going to die and you still ask these inane questions. Ah, well, since you are so curious, though, I'll tell you what really happened. I learned long before that night that Hedwig didn't like being kept in her cage, and when Moody explained his escape plan, the first thing I did was free my owl and tell her to go to the Grangers'. Moody still insisted on the cage being attached to Sirius' flying motorbike and the replicas to the other brooms, but it's not like I didn't know how to transfigure the first thing I could get my hand on to a snowy owl – after all, we have been doing similar exercises since our first year. With the danger looming over my head, getting a warning from the Underage Magic Use Office at the Ministry was the last thing I cared about. When Hermione's parents moved to Australia for their safety, they took both Hedwig and Crookshanks with them, so we will see them when the two of us go there. Happy now?"
"Ok, Harry, let's deal with Molly and go, we spent enough time down here already." Hermione reiterated.
"Right. So, the quintessential-mother-wannabe; what else could be your punishment if not the thing you fear the most? You will see the fate of all of your children, over and over again, of course aside of the two that are here and George, who is already dead. Nothing to do with us, that one, he simply found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time during the battle." Harry paused remembering the redheaded twins, some of the few real friends he had made at Hogwarts.
Then he continued: "Sorry, I was thinking about better times. So, the fate of your children. It doesn't mean just their deaths, although those will be included as well, but also all the failures they will experience during their life: Bill, unable to cope with his disfigurement and incapable of accepting Fleur's help; how he will at first try to put it past him, but as, in time, his marriage will fail without children and with Fleur finally leaving him. Charlie, alone with his dragons and a growing collection of scars, both physical and mental, that will never heal because any women he meets would be treated the same way Ron would have treated Hermione, like objects and trophies. Percy, a nameless Ministry toad struggling to start a career, but with social skills even worse than mine, a strong suspicion of collaborating with the Death Eaters dangling above his head, ending up relegated in a small office now that Fudge and Scrimgeor no longer protect him, and the only good thing that brought light to his life, that is, Penelope, leaving him when he preferred his job to her. Lastly, Fred, now just a half person without his twin, and incapable of amounting to anything that is not prank-related, with a deep depression just around the corner and a bottle already in his hand. And all of this because, instead of teaching them how to cope with problems, you smothered them and kept them from the ugliness that is life. That is your legacy, the complete failure of a family that could have been great and full of love and happiness."
Harry fell silent and looked at his last target with sadness in his eyes. Sadness for what could have been where it not for the Weasleys' pride and stubbornness and Molly's extreme need to control and keep her children protected. For a family that could have been his own. Yet, there was a little hope for the green-eyed teenager, a hope represented by the only person that had always been at his side and only struggled when external and overwhelming influence came into play, but that was back faithfully the moment such influence was no more: Hermione was this person. He didn't know what the future had in store for them, but with her he was sure he could finally build a life without the pain and strife he had had to endure up to that point. Ignoring the four prisoners, he turned to Hermione, extended his hand to her and said: "Our job is done here, Hermione. Let's go and begin to live our life like it was meant to be."
Hermione smiled, reached for her best friend's hand and together they moved to the stairs that would take them out of the Chamber of Secrets and into the open air above. As a parting remark, she paused and half-turning her head said: "Enjoy your new life without freedom or magic while you are still alive and think that all of this is completely your fault and is exactly what you would have done to us. We won't cry for you, you don't deserve it, but we will always remember what it means to think only for yourselves and we will do whatever it takes to never make the same mistake." Slowly, the two friends resumed their trek while the fading sound of their footsteps echoed in the Chamber until, at last, only silence could be heard. The four prisoners did not try to protest ad they knew it would be useless: nobody could hear or find them and set them free, they could only hope that death would come swiftly to end their suffering.