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Draco was fairly sure he had fallen asleep on his soft mattress with silk covers to keep him relatively warm. He was also fairly sure he had been within the confines of his tent where a mass of wards and misdirecting spells were placed along the perimeter to ensure his safety during his slumber.

Yet, for reasons Draco had yet to fathom, he woke up to the uncomfortable sensation of sitting awkwardly on a stone-cold floor with his hands restrained in front of him and a single piece of thick cloth covering his eyes.

At first, he had panicked. He had thought his eyesight had somehow deteriorated due to lack of sleep or some wizard had managed to break his wards and blind him with a spell. When he had reached for his wand hidden within his sleeves, he was even more mortified to discover that he didn't have his wand in place. Or his sleeves, for that matter. All he felt when groping for the familiar grip of his wand was bare skin and as his hands traveled further and further up his arms in hopes of finding something to grip, he was absolutely terrified to realize that there was actually nothing to reach for.

And upon further inspection, he found that the only thing he had on to protect his modesty was his boxers.

If there was one thing purebloods of noble Dark lineage had a problem with aside from anything remotely related to Light magic, it was a lack of modesty. When Draco had once stumbled upon Crabbe and Goyle staring transfixed at a booklet he later learned was called "porn" while they were passing by a Muggle village, he had almost gone and died right there. What in Merlin's name did these Muggles do in their free time? Didn't they have anything better to do than look at things like that? And what sort of immodest woman dared to show that much skin? It was ridiculous. If anything, the experience had only assured Draco of the Muggles' inferiority. Only animals were interested in such vulgar things. (Which, of course, made Crabbe and Goyle practically animals themselves but Draco had known that from the start. They were possibly the dullest people he had yet to meet.)

Draco could only sit in absolute mortification, his cheeks flaming red. He was wandless, virtually blind, tied, and almost completely bare. It was the worst situation he had ever found himself in; there was no doubt about that.

Who were his captors? What did they intend to do with him? How had they discovered his identity? Were they wizards? They had to be! Who else could have gotten past his wards? He was by no means weak. He could defeat almost everybody part of the Dark Lord's order with the exception of the Inner Circle and he had fifteen years of intense magical training and knowledge under his belt. He had been trained to get out of situations like this with his wand.

But now that Draco sat alone and helpless, he was suddenly struck by how much he actually relied on that one object. It was virtually a piece of wood with some magical ingredients within it but it had become so much more than that to him over the years. It had become a part of himself, a part that he couldn't even fathom being without. He did everything with it from summoning a cup of tea from across the room or striking down a troll that had wandered into his path. It was his access to magic and now that he was without it, Draco realized just how weak he was without it.

Weak.

He had never applied the word to himself before. Never. While he was certainly not the strongest, he was far from weak. Draco was born nobility with a strong affinity for his magic. Of course he wasn't weak. But that thought had come while he was holding his wand, when all he had ever really known was his wand in hand. And now that he was without it, he was struck with a sort of stunned amazement.

And panic. Of course there was panic.

Draco didn't know for how long he sat there alone. He had a feeling it was only a few minutes but he was feeling oddly detached by the horror of his predicament. For all he really knew, it could have been an hour or longer.

When a soft creaking slightly to his left indicated an opening door, Draco immediately whipped his head towards the direction of the noise and hastily shifted on the spot, awkwardly aware of his lack of clothing again. The person who had entered laughed at his movement and Draco was startled by how light it sounded. He had the vague impression that the laughter of a captor would me much more oppressive.

"Shy?" the voice chuckled.

Draco summoned all the dignity he had left to summon and schooled his face into a sneer. "Hardly. Just revolted by the presence of filth."

"I'd watch it," the voice said now devoid of humor. "I'm not the one sitting tied up, am I?"

Draco scowled but he refused to stand down. "Who are you? Where am I? Why have you captured me like this?"

A hand harshly grabbed Draco's hair and forced his head backwards against the stone. He grit his teeth at the sudden pain but managed to keep a grimace off his face. "Don't act like you do not know," the voice snarled. "You have done a high offense, a great crime and you know it."

If anything, this was one of the last things Draco had expected to hear. Maybe something along the lines of his being a Malfoy or being the Dark Lord's follower but he had no idea what this "great crime" could be. What had he done the last few weeks that remotely resembled a crime? Perhaps he had fought off a few cumbersome thieves and thugs along the way but that was hardly anything anybody else wouldn't do.

"What are you talking about?" he spat. "I haven't done anything!"

There was a resounding crack throughout the room as stars suddenly dotted Draco's vision despite the blindfold and a white pain besieged his right cheek. He fell with a gasp to the floor and the right side of his face throbbed.

"Insolent child. We found you with it. You cannot deny your crime."

"Maybe if you told me what 'it' was, I would actually know what you're talking about!" Draco snapped. He had dealt with pain before. He had grown up in a world that ensured you went through such an experience. This he could deal with. It was nothing compared to the Cruciatus Curse.

Draco was pulled upright by his hair and shoved forward with his face to the wall. He instinctively placed his hands in front of him to lessen the impact but this time he did grimace. Whoever was speaking to him was strong.

"Hands above your head and against the wall," the voice commanded.

Draco wanted nothing more than to retaliate but he had been taught to obey such demands when captured. It made things easier for him until the actual questioning began. So he brought his arms up and leaned his weight against the wall. The grooves of the stones cut into his skin but he didn't react. He only waited for the voice to speak again.

"Stay put and don't move." It was all the voice said before it walked away, its footsteps eventually dying into silence.

Draco hadn't heard the door close but he didn't dare move from the spot he was commanded to stay at. He was blindfolded and his hands were literally tied. Even if he did attempt an escape, he wouldn't get very far with his lack of vision. Draco was surprised that his captor had only hit him once before leaving but perhaps the torture would come later. He anticipated it. How else was the voice going to get information from him?

And what was this about a crime? No matter how he tried to remember, Draco couldn't recall anything he had done that could be labeled as such. Maybe his captor had mistaken him for another person. Maybe this was all a misunderstanding. Maybe Draco had actually done something that could be labeled a great crime in these areas. Maybe he could convince his captor that he had the wrong person, that this was just an accident. Maybe he could find an opening later, sometime when he was free of his blindfold and escape.

But all he could do now, really, was wait.

~0~

Voldemort brooded as the darkening sky matched his mood. He wasn't plotting or planning, as strange as it was for him. No, he was just sitting for once and aimlessly fingering the silver bangle his charge had given him a few years ago. His blood red eyes tore themselves away from the window and settled upon the gift with a hint of irritation. He had been tempted to destroy it, turn it into ashes and stomp it beneath his feet when he had first discovered Harry's disappearance. It was a gross, sentimental reminder of the boy, a sick symbol of weakness he had allowed himself to succumb to.

But the action would have been childish and further testimony to his weakness. He, the Dark Lord Voldemort, couldn't allow himself to brood over a child. So he had kept it but he had kept it well hidden and out of sight. Only recently he had pulled it back out, hoping to find some way to further trace his ward with it. He hadn't found the bangle's counterpart when scouring Harry's quarters, which meant the boy, had hidden it or taken it with him while finding some way to mute the tracking charms on it. Either way, Voldemort couldn't trace the boy's location and he was currently wondering why. Harry was strong, but he still had quite a ways to go. There was no reason Voldemort couldn't locate his charge through this trinket.

But just a moment ago, he had succeeded. He still had to research why he couldn't access it easier but the success had been a sort of fluke as much as he hated to admit it. By pure chance, Harry had come into close quarters with another of Voldemort's spells or objects that contained his lingering magical signature at the same time he had been trying to track the child through the bangle. The end result was a brief, but strong connection. He had actually been able to feel his Horcrux back in the quarter of his mind where they were always tied again and hear the child's thoughts before something got in the way again.

But that was little deterrent for the Dark Lord. He would figure it out before long.

~0~

Severus did his utmost to openly glare at one Harry Evans while stalking about his classroom. He had avoided the boy for the past few days, glad that the boy didn't have Potions until today. The separation had given him time to organize his thoughts and come up with a plan of action. It had been quite a shock to feel the Dark Lord's presence again after so many years and almost a greater shock to see a squib student of his speaking of matters that he shouldn't have known anything about at all.

Severus had planned on speaking to the headmaster immediately. Even if he couldn't speak of the specifics, he could always drop subtle hints that he had no doubt the Light Lord would catch. But for some unexplainable reason, he had been unable to do even that. Apparently, when the boy had said keeping everything that happened in that room to themselves, he had meant even thoughts and suspicions. He could barely utter the name Harry Evans without having chills crawling up his spine and a pressure from the ambient magic around him as a reminder of his vow. So he had finally given up and concluded that the only way to deal with the problem was to face it.

Still, watching the boy made him apprehensive. Now that he was aware of what the child was truly like, he was always searching for hints of that strong personality. But it never surfaced. And when he had tried Legilimency on Evans, all he got was an annoyingly blank white landscape.

As the class was dismissed, Severus irritably noted that Greengrass and Evans had, yet again, brewed a perfect potion before saying, "Mr. Evans, please remain behind. I must speak with you."

Several other students gave the squib a sidelong glance of brief curiosity before they lost interest and the boy left in his bubble of invisibility again. Only the Greengrass girl gave him a parting word before the room was devoid of anybody else but the two of them.

It annoyed Severus to no end to watch Evans calmly packing his things in the silence as if being alone with his professor was a common occurrence. The Potions Master flicked his wand once to shut the door as the boy finished his mundane duty before returning his glare back on the child.

They stared at each other for a few moments before a slight smirk touched the boy's lips and he sweetly asked, "What were you going to speak to me about, professor?"

"Don't take that tone with me, brat," Severus snapped. "You know full well why you are here."

"I certainly hope it is going to be quick," said Evans with laughter in his eyes. "I have dinner to attend."

"Well you're going to miss it if you have to. We need to speak of our little…incident and the vow that came with it."

All pretense of a quiet, sweet student evaporated as the boy crossed his arms. "What is there to speak about? We made a vow and we're both going to keep it. What more is there to it?"

"What more is there to it?" asked Severus incredulously. "You cannot seriously think that spouting all information about the Dark Lord and his workings like that in front of me does not warrant a talk between us?"

"I did not say much at all," the boy drawled. "I only commented that you have the Mark, which is physically obvious."

No, there was far much more to it than that. The squib had spoken as if he knew as if he understood what it meant to be under the Dark Lord's rule. Given, the child had been in the Dark domain for the majority of his life, but that was far different from actually being a follower of the Dark Lord and carrying out his commands. The boy spoke as if he knew what it entailed to betray Voldemort and Severus knew for a fact that only those who truly did serve the Dark Lord could possibly understand the harsh ramifications of such betrayal. Not even Dumbledore could comprehend what a complete slap to the face it was to turn away and leave.

"Who are you?" Severus asked, his voice softer. "You know, do you not? I could hear it from our last exchange. You know what it means to have the Dark Lord's Mark."

Evan was silent for a while. His face was blank, devoid of emotion. But Severus knew that the boy was calculating the chances, calculating whether it would be worth it to reveal anything to his professor. That was what he and any other Slytherin would have done in the squib's place. Calculate and act accordingly.

"Did you join the Dark Lord because you wished to?" the boy finally asked. The way he asked revealed the question to be one of great importance, one that would decide the child's course of action afterwards.

Severus briefly contemplated lying, saying that he joined because of the Dark Lord's magnificence and his desire for power. But something told the Potions Master it was no use lying to this boy. He would know and that would be that.

"I joined the Dark Lord because he showed promise," he replied. "He had the power to carry out his claims and I believed in his reformations outside of his Muggle views. I thought it worth it. But certain events showed me otherwise and I am where I am now." It was simplistic but he wasn't about to share any more information.

Evans nodded at the reply and he said, "Swear to me upon your magic that you will not speak of anything I am about to show you or tell you. Swear to me that you will do me one favor in exchange for my information."

Severus certainly did not want to engage in any more binding vows. He didn't like being restrained any more than necessary. And he couldn't pledge himself to a favor that he wasn't so sure he would be willing to carry out. What if the child asked the impossible of him?

But then again, if he refused, he would get nothing and live in the constant worry of an unknown factor walking in Hogwarts' halls. He would always be wary of the child, never knowing the truth until it was too late.

"I swear upon my magic that I shall not speak of anything you are about to show me or tell me and I shall answer your call should you need a favor."

Evans nodded once again and he swiftly turned to sling his bag over his shoulder. "I need you to follow me unseen."

Severus complied and placed a Disillusionment charm over himself without another word. The boy glanced back once to ensure that his professor had done as he asked before striding to the door and opening it.

Almost immediately, the boy who had been speaking and negotiating like he had been a born gift to the world disappeared and the quiet squib who dared to take magical classes took his place. The clump of Ravenclaw students who had been passing by didn't even glance his direction as he shut the door behind him. Most craned a neck to see how badly the dreaded Potions Master had reprimanded another student but it was as if Evans didn't exist.

It was apparently what the child wanted and it was eerie how perfectly the squib managed to do it.

Severus trailed the Slytherin student up stairs, past students, and around other professors before he realized that they were walking into the Third Floor girl's bathroom. Just as he was about to step in, he froze and reached out a hand to grip the boy's shoulder. Evans stilled and tensed as if to attack before relaxing and saying, "Yes, it is a girl's bathroom. Whatever I wish to show you is in here."

Severus wasn't so sure about this anymore. Was the boy trying to prank him? Unhappy memories of James Potter and his little clan rose to the surface before he ruthlessly shoved them back. Yet the memories lingered and as he uncomfortably walked inside the bathroom, he couldn't help but think that Evans looked a lot like his old school-time bully. There was the same ruffled black hair, the same pale skin. But that was impossible. It was just coincidence.

The Potions Master was sharply pulled out of his thoughts as a familiar hissing escaped the boy's lips and he stared in shock as the center faucets rearranged themselves to reveal a sort of open pipeline in its place.

"You – You're a Parseltongue," he said dully, too startled to actually put any surprise into his voice.

The squib didn't comment on that but deigned to say, "Remove the disillusion. Nobody is going to see us now."

It was true. Nobody came in here with Moaning Myrtle on the loose. It was actually rather strange not to see the sobbing wraith here now. So he complied once again and removed his spell.

"Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets?" Evans asked as he began pacing slowly before the gaping entrance hole.

Severus paled. "I have. You cannot be saying…"

"Oh, of course I'm saying it," grinned the boy. Severus warily watched the child and he realized with an unsettled prickle down his arms that the squib had maneuvered himself so that he was at Severus's back. "You see, this castle has so much to offer and I stumbled across this nice surprise just a few weeks ago. It was quite a monumental find on my part but I was even more surprised to find it to be the legendary Chamber of Secrets. Slytherin really found the strangest of places to put his hideouts didn't he?" The confident persona was back now. "And the best part of it all is that the only way to get in…" Without warning, the boy lunged forward and shoved his professor and Severus was so startled by the action that he lost his balance and fell down the gaping hole in front of him. "…is to jump!"

For a terrifying and embarrassing moment, Severus thought that the boy had killed him. He had no way of judging how far down this entrance fell and the way he was falling, he would fall on his face and die from the impact. He groped for his wand within his robes and just as his fingers grasped the handle, his back collided with the smooth walls of the pipe and he realized that it was less of a direct fall and more of a slide. Just behind him, he could hear the boy laughing and sliding as well.

They fell in a heap at the bottom of the slide and Severus furiously brought himself back to his feet. "You impertinent child! What were you thinking pushing me down like that – "

"Calm down," smirked Evans. "I wasn't planning on killing you, if that was what you were thinking. I knew it was a slide down. I have been down here before. This was what I wanted to show you."

Severus glanced down and winced as he realized that they were standing on a large pile of bones both human and animal. "You wished to show me this?"

"No, no," waved the boy dismissively. "Follow me. This isn't quite it yet."

The Potions Master kept his hand on his wand this time, more wary of the squib. The boy seemed harmless but he had proven to be anything but. What sort of sick child pushed somebody down like that? It might have been a slide, but he could have just as easily hit his head on the pipe and caused damage. He had been lucky to fall on his back but if he had fallen on anything else, he most likely would have broken it. What worried him was that maybe the boy had taken that into account and hadn't cared.

They walked through a long passageway of crude cave walls and bones beneath their feet for a few minutes before they came to a stop before a circular doorway with six snakes molded to it. Again, the child hissed to it and the door promptly opened.

Severus could only gape as he stepped inside. It was as large and almost as grand as the Great Hall was. The gigantic snakes carved to line the pathway in were done in beautifully detailed precision and the black flames lighting the hall were an impressive feat of magic. After all, how could you get light from a black flame? He observed the chamber for a few moments before he was finally hit with the taste he had almost forgotten.

"There's Dark magic here!" he said in disbelief. "That is not possible!"

"But it is, professor," smiled Evans. "This was Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets. Did you think he wouldn't have Dark magic constantly allowable down here?"

It made sense, actually. Severus didn't reply in favor of finally feeling the Darker magic seep into his skin. It had been years since he had last had contact and he had to admit that he had missed it. Leaving the Dark Lord's service had been the right choice, but he had felt sorely incomplete without the Dark magic he had dabbled in for years.

He had always been stronger with Dark magic. There was just something about it that welcomed him more than Light magic did, as if it knew his mistakes and faults but accepted him all the more for it. Severus eyed the boy and realized that now they were alone and he finally able to access Dark magic again, there was nothing holding him back from forcing the boy to speak. He didn't have to keep his promise from earlier; he had learned long ago a way to work around such promises. It was the Unbreakable he couldn't avoid but this, this he could defy and made up his mind.

"Stupefy!" he shouted, wand pointed at the squib.

Evans whirled around at the shout and Severus watched in horror as a large shield erected itself around the boy and the spell redirected. It was so completely unexpected he barely managed move out of the rebounding spell's way.

"Going back on our word already?" teased the boy as he stepped closer with an open smile dripping venom. "But I am hardly surprised. What I am surprised by is that despite the Dark magic around you, you still use nothing more than a Stunning spell. I am rather disappointed, Severus Snape."

"I did not wish to hurt you – "

The boy actually burst into laughter at that. "Hurt me? Here? You are a fool, Snape, if you thought I would not lead you somewhere where I have the advantage."

"Do not speak so insolently to me," Severus snarled. "Watch your mouth, child, I still have my wand and we are alone."

"Are you blind?" Evans chuckled. "Did you just completely miss the fact that I just rebounded your pathetic excuse of a spell?"

Severus struggled for something to say, but for once, he had nothing to say. What could he do? The boy had actually cast a spell. Wandlessly and wordlessly. Was he not a squib at all? Severus tightened his grip on his wand as Evans neared and he opened his mouth to cast another spell but the boy moved like a snake striking. A burst of magic came from the child again and this time, it threw his wand away from his grip.

"Look, I only wished to speak to you. Negotiate. Information for a favor," the boy relented. "I wasn't the one to start attacking."

Severus was silent before he finally asked, "What do you want from me?"

Evans didn't answer but walked up to his professor, reaching out. Severus instinctively stepped back but the boy gripped his left arm before he could move any more. The Slytherin student sharply drew back the sleeve like he had done a few days ago to reveal the Mark and this time placed a hand over it.

Severus stiffened as a sharp pain attacked his Mark and he immediately thought the Dark Lord's presence was acting up again. But as the pain continued, he realized that it was not so much the insistent summons he had always felt and instead the pain he had felt when first receiving his ties to the Dark.

When the boy finally pulled away, Severus stared in shock at the new silver snake entwining itself around the larger, black one already there.

"Dumbledore," Evans promptly replied in reply to Severus's previous question. "More precisely, I want you to keep him away from me, divert his attention. I have no doubt that he will pick up on me eventually. Make sure he doesn't find anything about me."

"What is this? What do you have to hide?" Severus asked, panic beginning to bloom in his mind.

Evans's mouth twisted into a bittersweet smile. "Think, Snape. That addition to your Mark only ensures that you keep your word to our previous promises. But surely you can reason why, in this wonderfully Light world, I need to keep my magic a secret?"

Ah, it was painfully obvious now. The boy had not performed magic until they went into the Chamber of Secrets. Never before. It would have suited the child's purposes better to use such magic earlier but seeing as how they had to walk all the way down here, it was now clear that the boy hadn't been able to use magic before they had arrived. And this was the only place in the Light barrier that allowed Dark magic.

Evans was a Dark wizard. As if that hadn't been apparent from the moment he had changed the Mark already.

"How?" Severus managed past his dry lips. "How are you not gone? How are you not like every other Dark wizard who had tried to enter?"

"I am not a pile of ash because I am not completely under the Dark Lord's jurisdiction," the boy replied promptly. "I do not necessarily support his cause, in other words."

The tense sense of apprehension loosened its hold on Severus's chest at the statement. So the Dark Lord hadn't found a way to sneak in spies. This boy wasn't loyal to Voldemort and that was something he could work with. Maybe he could convince the child to sympathize with the Light instead, turn him away from the Dark like they had the other Dark families.

"Who are you then?" Severus asked. "You have living in the Dark Lord's domain your life, haven't you? He does not allow just anybody to practice magic. And few can alter his Mark. I have tried to be rid of it for years but I could not free myself of it."

The boy smiled and smirked, "Information for another time. It would be suspicious should we not return soon." He paused and then grinned viciously. "But, Snape, I think it would do you well to know that the Mark only clings so insistently to those who do not want it to be gone."

Wow, three chapters in one week. You could say I was oddly struck with inspiration this week :)

Anyway, you must be wondering why Harry is revealing the Chamber and things so early on after discovering Snape's Mark. Well, you'll hear his reasoning in the next chapter via his thoughts but hey he really had nothing to lose. Only to gain. Snape was stuck under the Unbreakable Vow while he was not. And getting him to keep Dumbledore away earlier was just a nice bonus.

If you guys got confused by how Harry managed to use his magic while making the Unbreakable with Snape, it wasn't that he brought his magic to the surface. He couldn't. It was Snape's magic that pulled it forward as the Vow demanded. Once it was back to the surface, Harry could manipulate it as he wanted until the Vow was done.

And I really have trouble writing out Voldemort's view, you know? I'm not a psychopath myself so I don't really know how they think or how Voldemort should be. I have a feeling I made him WAY too human.

Poor Draco. I love writing his sections. It's just hilarious.

Till next time :D