Severus did not go back to the Dark Lord until half way through the first week of the summer holidays. In all honesty, he did not want to face Bellatrix again, knowing that she was there all of the time with Voldemort when he could not be. He had been putting it off for two weeks, but when his mark burned, he knew he had little choice but to go.
When Severus arrived, Voldemort was waiting outside the front doors impatiently for him. "Where have you been?" he snapped icily as a greeting, before turning and heading back inside. Severus sighed lightly and followed.
"I am sure you have not missed me that much, my Lord," Severus said smoothly, as they walked up the stone steps to the next level.
"I have not heard from you in two weeks Snape, you know I expect at least a letter once a week." Voldemort opened a door and pushed Severus roughly through it.
"Forgive me, I simply assumed you would be busy with other things, my Lord," Severus replied, trying to keep calm.
"Do not assume anything," Voldemort hissed, sitting down in his armchair, looking up at Severus. "I have been waiting for news and ordering people where to go next, I hardly call that busy." The Dark Lord glared at Severus. "You are lying to me, Severus," he said softly, though Severus could still hear his anger.
"Perhaps," Severus said shortly, sitting down even though he had not been invited to. He was not in the mood to be messing with Voldemort. "And maybe you are just paranoid."
Severus was deeply surprised when Voldemort hardly reacted, but sat back in his chair, staring at the Potions Master for what seemed like an eternity. Then he broke into high, cold laughter. "You are angry because I have not summoned you sooner, are you not?" he said after a long while of laughing. "You did not come because you, as usual, assumed that I would not be interested in seeing you if you did not have news." Severus half nodded and half shook his head, turning slightly pink that Voldemort had guessed. "Come here."
Grudgingly, Severus walked towards where the Dark Lord was seated, and started to kneel in front of his Master's chair, until he was stopped. "Not tonight Sev," Voldemort said quietly. "Tonight, you are simply my lover. Now tell me what is wrong." He slowly took Severus's hand, and guided him into his lap, kissing the side of his face lightly.
Lips pressed against Voldemort's ear, Severus murmured something incoherent, and then pulled back to snap; "Isn't it obvious?"
"No," Voldemort replied, his tone touching on icy once again.
"I am crazy about you!" Severus replied, his tone just as icy. "And you have not noticed anything, how I hang around waiting for you all the time, how you insist upon getting distracted by unimportant things when I try to talk to you, and how you thoughtlessly favour others over even me!"
The Dark Lord was silent for a long moment, staring at Severus. "It means that much to you; does it not?" he said softly, so quietly it was almost a whisper.
"I know you well enough to be quite sure you have never waited for me. When we have not met for months at a time, you have not spent your nights alone." Severus stood up, and moved as far away from the Dark Lord as he possibly could.
"And if I have?" Voldemort asked coldly, still watching the Potions Master carefully. "Does it bother you that much when you know that my affections lie only with you? She means nothing to me at all, Severus."
She. Severus knew exactly who that 'she' was. He hated the fact that the Dark Lord had just said that, hardly caring, hardly bothered that he was sleeping with someone else. "It is Bellatrix then. I was quite correct."
Voldemort's eyes grew colder, boring into Severus's. "You were. Your jealously astounds me. I have given you everything you could ever want and yet it is not enough for you. Why should it matter what happens when you are not here?" He made a gesture of impatience and stood up, walking slowly towards Severus. "I am happy to spend the rest of my life with you. Out of all of my followers, you-"
"But that is just it," Severus cut in, walking towards the door. "You will never see me as anything other then one of your followers." He made a slight bow, unwilling to stay in the presence of the Dark Lord for any more time. He was angry, and most importantly, hurt, by his Master's blatant show of uncaring. "I shall return next week, my Lord, if there is any more news on the subject of Slughorn."
As soon as he was outside of the door, Severus leant against the wall, breathing heavily. Perhaps now the Dark Lord would rethink about how he treated his followers in case they forgot to pass on information, or much worse, pass it on to the wrong people.
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True to his word, Severus returned the next week with news of Horace Slughorn. "Dumbledore is looking for him as well," he said softly to the Dark Lord. He'd come early in the day, in the hope that Voldemort would be busy, and would not have time for idle chit-chat. They were walking along the corridors together so that the laboratory door could be unlocked by the Dark Lord, and so Severus could add the final touch to the newest batch of Strengthening potion; the blood.
"I had anticipated that." There was a forced silence between the two men. "Where is he looking?"
"In the same places you have, my Lord, and then I suspect he will move onto some others you have not. I cannot ask too many questions, I may not find out where he is going to look." Severus was not looking at Voldemort as he spoke. He did not want to fall foul to the Dark Lord's looks and forgive him in a hurry. Perhaps if the person he had chosen to bed had been a different one, Severus would be more forgiving after a week. But not Bellatrix; never Bellatrix.
They entered the laboratory and Severus pulled out a vial and a small knife, after stirring the lightly bubbling potion a few times in each direction. He turned to the Dark Lord, who was staring into the flames, and seemingly in his own world. "My Lord," Severus prompted, looking cautiously at his Master. Voldemort nodded, and stepped forwards, handing Severus his wrist.
The Potions Master gripped it lightly, picking up the knife. "I have not spoken to Bellatrix in a week if it makes you feel better," Voldemort said, and for Severus, the moment was badly timed. His grip on the wrist tightened threefold and he made the cut rather too soon, hardly being ready with the vial. "Shit!" he muttered, grabbing the glass and putting it under Voldemorts' bleeding wrist to collect the blood. When there was enough, he let go and tapped the wound with his wand, hardly caring to watch as the skin laced back together and healed, with no traces of it ever being there. He added it to the potion and put the lid on. "It will be ready in a few hours, my Lord," Severus said softly.
He turned, and walked away to the back of the room where he started to wash the knife and the vial in the sink. He always liked to do it by hand to make sure everything was spotless, though magic would take a split second, he wanted to be sure.
"I do not care for her at all, Severus."
Severus jumped slightly, but did not turn around; he'd been so engrossed in the cleaning process he'd forgotten about Voldemort even being there.
"It is not my business, my Lord," Severus replied coolly.
He heard an impatient sign from behind him, and then footsteps approaching him. He made himself put the knife down before he turned to face the inevitable; talking. Severus was not going to give in easily though. He turned his gaze defiantly towards the ground.
"You care. Do not lie to me. I can tell you are lying and I do not even have to see your face." Severus felt cold fingers under his chin, and realised if this was to be the end between them, how much he was going to miss the Dark Lord's cold yet loving enthusiasm towards him. He forced his gaze towards Voldemorts'.
"Why Bellatrix." Severus was not going to say anything else until he had heard why Voldemort had chosen the woman whom he hated so much to be his fill in.
"Because she was there, available, more then willing as you can imagine. I told her that she would always be a lowly follower to me and nothing more, and she was quite happy to serve me." There was just silence after Voldemort finished talking, so he continued to explain. "You are the only person in this world that means anything to me, and you could not be with me to entertain me and keep me going through each day, so I took the alternative, and it was certainly the weaker of the two."
Severus knew the Dark Lord was telling him things that he never told anyone and hated to admit, his harsh cold exterior was true to what was inside of him, but there was just a tiny little bit of his soul still in tact, and that part was what Voldemort felt for Severus.
"And that is supposed to make me feel better." Severus really was bluffing now. He wanted Voldemort back to being his more then ever, but his pride would not let him. At the same time, Severus also understood. Lonely nights were the worst thing, especially when it was well known to him that he had a man who cared for him and wanted him just as badly.
"If it does not, there is nothing more for me to say except that…" There was a pause. Voldemort glanced at Severus, as if unable to form the words he wanted to say. Severus was not going to help him out and stop him from saying it. "Except that I…" He slowly reached into the pocket inside of his robes, and pulled out a small, square brown box with a gold pattern on it. When Severus looked closer, he could see a letter V entwined with a letter S was making the pattern. "I want you to have this. It is a promise, Severus." Voldemort raised an eyebrow, as Severus did not open it. "Go on."
As if all the time around him had stopped, Severus opened the box. Inside, there was a ring. It was solid silver, and when light hit it, it shone brightly with different shades of green, like there were tiny emeralds on it. Impatiently, Voldemort picked the ring out of the box and slowly slid it onto Severus's finger. Severus had the sensation of heat spreading up and down his body, stemming from that one finger on his left hand. "I have one too." Voldemort held out his hand, the ring on his was glowing completely green, and when Severus looked, he noticed his was too.
"A true promise of all time love," Severus whispered in awe. The rings signified loyalty and trust, and that they were now an engaged bond couple.
"If that had not worked I would have let you go now to find your own happiness… But I now know the truth." Voldemort leant forward, and kissed the stunned Severus tenderly and lightly on the lips. "Come," he said, suddenly back to his officious self. "We will go to my rooms for a drink before the potion needs to cool."
Severus paused at the door. "I have not told you I forgive you yet, Voldemort," he called after. All he heard was a soft laugh.
"I never forgive; I should not expect you to. Hurry up, Severus."
Severus understood the meaning, and ran to catch up with his Master. For the first time in a while, he was completely happy with life, though he still could not help himself from wondering how long it was going to last for.
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It was now nearly the end of the holidays, and Severus had some more news for the Dark Lord. As soon as he opened the double doors at the front of the Manor, Severus frowned. There were Death Eaters in black cloaks and masks everywhere, walking up and down the marble staircase, perhaps all waiting to see the Dark Lord. Severus hid a smirk as the men recognised him as an important Death Eater, and moved out of his way as he walked.
Little did those men know what the ring he was twirling absently around his finger now meant. During the war, Severus had taken the role of chief advisor to Voldemort. After the war, he was promised a whole lifetime with the one man he loved. His Lord, his Master and his commander would be officially his lover. He could not wait for the day when the world was theirs.
"Where is the Dark Lord?" Severus called to a group of men who were assembled at the top of the stairs.
"He is in the library, but he said no one is to enter unless the whole Ministry of Magic is outside the manor," one of the men said.
From this information, Severus guessed Voldemort was clearly in no mood for bad news. He turned sharply on his heel and headed for the library, ignoring the words of protest from behind him. He gently pushed the library door opened, stepped in, and quietly closed it, before turning to notice that the whole room was in pitch darkness with no light from outside allowed in through the windows, except for a tiny flicked of a flame in the distance.
He walked slowly forwards, and found something solid in front of him, then a wand tip pushed into his stomach. "Can you imbeciles never follow orders?" he heard a voice say.
"That is a charming way to greet your lover," Severus murmured, pushing the wand away. "I had been hoping for a kiss." The Potions Master felt as though he could now speak to the Dark Lord with as little respect as that and get away with it. Voldemort was not going to kill him now.
"Go away Severus." The voice was harsh, and Severus felt Voldemort move away from him.
"I have some bad news for you, my Lord," Severus responded quickly. "I know you might not be in the mood for it but it is my duty to inform you, is it not?"
There was silence for a while. "Very well. Come and sit down." As Severus approached the candle lit area, he could see Voldemort had piles of books on the table, open on various pages. Some of the writing did not even look English to Severus. He sat on the chair next to Voldemort, and gently ran a finger over the Dark Lord's hand. "I take it Dumbledore has found Slughorn then, Severus."
Severus did not respond for a while, except for leaning forwards and kissing the side of Voldemort's neck. He could not help himself. He was glad when he felt a cold hand in his hair, gently massaging his scalp. "Yes. It is as you predicted. I will only be at Hogwarts for one more year, unless it is I that breaks the curse."
Voldemort chuckled coldly. "You will not break that curse. No one will." There was silence, Severus had no idea what he meant by that, and how much he really knew about that curse. "He has made you the Dark Arts Professor then. Congratulations." Severus did not know what to say.
"My Lord…" He started, but the hand in his hair tightened slightly and he was silent.
"You deserve to be happy, and if Slughorn cannot be found then this is what I want for you."
Severus bowed his head. "Thank you, Master," he murmured.
"I have other things I wish to discuss with you; I suppose it might as well be now." Voldemort stood up a little stiffly, as if he had been sitting there for some time.
"As do I." Voldemort picked up the candle he was holding and held it up high, illuminating the whole room. Severus saw stacks of books on and off shelves; the whole place looked as if it could do with a clean up. As they reached the exit, Voldemort blew out the candle and left it by the door. Severus stepped a little behind him respectfully as they started to walk in the direction of his rooms. The Death Eaters seemed to be watching the pair with a little shock. "How long have you been in there for, my Lord?" Severus asked softly.
"Since you left the other morning." Severus suddenly understood why the others were shocked; they hadn't seen their Master in a little under three days. They reached Voldemort's rooms, and headed for the seats by the fire.
"Dumbledore is weakening, my Lord. He has seriously hurt his hand, his reactions are slower then they once were," Severus started.
"It is time that old man died, any how," Voldemort said, his bad mood still obviously showing. "Someone within Hogwarts can do it." His gaze was on Severus, and the newly appointed Defence teacher swallowed hard.
"I will," Severus said, his tone firm.
"And then who will be spying on them? I do not think you are the right candidate, you are too important for that. Perhaps if my idea fails then you can do it…" Voldemort stood up, and poured himself a glass of amber liquid from a jug, and then one for Severus. "No. A student must do it." Voldemort handed Severus the glass. "And I have the right one in mind. His family have to repay me, do they not?" He downed his glass, and looked back to Severus. "Drink it," he ordered.
Hardly thinking, Severus swallowed the drink which he later realised was brandy, and gave Voldemort back the glass, who put it on the tray and sat back down. "Surely not Draco Malfoy… Master, he is a child still…"
Voldemort glared at Severus. "You came to me at the age of seventeen, Severus, if you remember. Draco Malfoy is not far off that age, though I am sure he will not be as much of an interested to me as you were…" He smirked. "What is your opinion on the matter?" Voldemort inquired coolly.
"If you believe that the boy is up to it then I have no objections…" Severus said. "But I do not think he will manage it."
"I shall give him a chance to pull his family name out of the dirt, and if he cannot do it then I will leave it entirely to you." Severus nodded slowly.
"Shall I write to him for you and invite him here to receive the mark?" Severus asked after a moment of silence between them.
Voldemort shook his head. "I will. It will make more impact on the boy." He stood up and sat in his desk, Severus could hear the quill scratching on the parchment. He leant his head back on the chair and shut his eyes. His potions were not going so well, he needed someone around to do all the cutting and slicing, so as a result he had been up for two nights until at least four in the morning, getting up at eight to resume. "Here."
He was handed a folded piece of parchment. Slowly, Severus opened it up to read it. The script was familiar to him, Voldemort's handwriting never changed and was always perfect, something he could never achieve.
Malfoy,
I have a task for you. Report to my manor at midnight this Thursday to be initiated, do not be late.
Lord Voldemort.
"Straight to the point, as ever," Severus smirked. "It will do fine." Voldemort took it back from him, and sealed it with his own stamp, the Dark Mark glowing in the sky. He held out his arm to the eagle owl that was perched on her rail in the corner, and quickly attached it to her leg. "Malfoy Manor," Voldemort said, stroking her feathers fondly. He held her too the window, and watched as she flew off into the sunlight.
"I will make sure every Death Eater is here to see Lucius Malfoy's son be initiated. I doubt many would want to miss that." Voldemort smirked cruelly, and Severus felt a small pang of discomfort for the boy. "You as well, Severus."
Severus rose an eyebrow. "You have never bothered with wasting my time with such ceremonies in the past, my Lord…" He trailed off when he noticed the look he was receiving.
"This is the moment I start. Midnight on Thursday." Severus nodded, and yawned slightly. "Tired?" Voldemort asked.
"A little. I have been having problems with a potion, I seem to need an extra arm or two," Severus replied.
"I can offer you some help if you need it… I have no need for Wormtail at the moment." Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Entirely up to you, of course, but if you want to get a little revenge on Wormtail I will be happy to oblige."
Severus smiled. "Only if you are certain you do not need him."
Voldemort returned the smile a little, and reached out to stroke Severus's face. "I am certain of it." They looked at each other for a few moments. "Stay with me tonight. I miss you."
Severus nodded. "I always miss you."
