Cruciatus

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potterverse, and the characters, of course, unless I end up coming up with any original ones. And I'm not making any money on this.

That summer, Lucius Malfoy took the Dark Mark. From then on, everyone in or allied to Lucius' patronage network stopped using the name Voldemort, and called him the "Dark Lord" instead. Rodolphus Lestrange and his wife, Bellatrix, were also rewarded with the Mark for bringing Malfoy in.

Now that Lord Voldemort had gotten his hands on the Malfoy fortune, he began to set more of his plans in motion. The Daily Prophet stopped using his name and started referring to him as "You-Know-Who."

It was his fifth year, and once again, Severus dreaded leaving home and dreaded going to Hogwarts. Last year when he had left, it had been the last time he had seen his mother alive. And this time, he had no illusions whatsoever about what it would be like under Avery.

He had also made potions for the Apothecary over the summer, as his mum had done. This was now the only Wizarding money the Snapes had, and Severus used it for potions ingredients for his father's medicines. The money from the sale of the house was reserved for his Hogwarts tuition and expenses. His formal robe was three inches too short in length and in the sleeves, but he was damned if he'd spend a single Knut on it. If Malfoy cared what he looked like at The Party, he could bloody well spring for the robe or the alterations himself. He didn't, of course.

Now that Damocles had left Hogwarts, Severus spoke with no one but Lily Evans and Evan Rosier. And sometimes, once a month, in the Infirmary, with Remus Lupin.

Severus entered the seventh year boys' dorm. Avery sat in an armchair by the wall. A square cage containing a squirrel sat on a small round table on his left.

"Welcome, Severus," Avery said, and waved him to a straight backed chair.

Severus sat, and waited for Avery to speak.

"You haven't been quite honest with me," the pure-blood chided.

Severus remained calm, and patiently waited for Avery to continue. There were quite a few things this could refer to, and he wasn't about to blurt anything out into Avery's obvious attempt to entrap him.

"You've been telling me you hadn't mastered the Cruciatus yet," Avery finally continued, his tone still gently chiding, but his eyes gone hard.

So that was it. He knew Avery would eventually hear of his little sojourn in the Infirmary. He had long ago prepared a lie for this situation.

"Forgive me. You know my perfectionism. I do not believe I have mastered the curse, but perhaps I am proficient enough for your purposes."

"Ahh, yes, you are quite the perfectionist," Avery said. His eyes were still hard, telling Severus he wasn't buying it, but that he was willing to let it pass. "Let's see how proficient you are, then." He waved at the squirrel.

Severus brought up a picture of Regulus Black, remembering how he had burned his research. It had taken him weeks to reconstruct it. He pointed his wand at the squirrel. Crucio!

The squirrel gave out an unearthly scream, and then began shaking so violently that the cage moved on the small table. Severus fought back nausea.

Avery smiled broadly. "Quite proficient enough," he said approvingly. "Again!"

Five times Severus pulled up the will to torture the helpless creature, until it no longer moved at all. Each time became easier, until by the fifth time, he no longer felt sick.

Finally, Avery dismissed him, and Severus returned to his books in the common room. Everyone went suddenly silent as he entered, and he realized that there had been no Silencing Charm on the dormitory. They must all have heard the squirrel's screams. He felt a not unpleasant thrill at realizing that he had crossed some line, and they were all afraid of him.

After that, the Cruciatus became a common part of his meetings with Avery. Although from then on, they used a Silencing Charm.

Severus was sitting alone at a table in the corner of the Three Broomsticks. It was a Hogsmeade weekend in late November, and the place was full of students from Hogwarts, so he had had to clear some third years from the table first. All it had taken was a glare, and a soft "I believe this is my table," and the three boys had practically tripped over themselves to get out of his way.

Now he sat with his hand on the single mug of butterbeer he had allowed himself to spend money on, leaning his chair on two legs back against the wall, his legs straight out in front of him under the table. He let his eyes roam around the room, coming back to the door every time someone came in or left. He smiled to himself as he saw people turn their heads away from his casual gaze.

The Slytherin had been intimidating from his first day of school, and by his fifth year only the Marauders still stood up to him. Up until now, he had seen it as a necessary part of the role he had fallen into with the powers that be, sometimes useful, often an annoyance. Now, he was beginning to enjoy the feeling of power it gave him.

Lily came in with a gaggle of girls. She hadn't seen Severus except for Slug Club meetings since the beginning of the year, and she hardly seemed to talk to him even then. They weren't avoiding each other - Lily had gotten caught up in the social whirl, and found herself popular with the boys. Severus, on the other hand, seemed always to be at Avery's side. And then it had gotten too cold to go walking about the grounds and leaning against trees. Seeing Severus alone, with Avery nowhere in sight, Lily thought it might be a good time to catch up.

She promised the other girls to meet up with them at Honeydukes and went over to the Slytherin's table. She turned a chair around, and straddled it, resting her head on her arms on the back of the chair. "Long time, no see," she said glibly.

Severus raised his hand to flag the waitress, and she came over. Lily ordered a butterbeer, then considered her companion. There had been an arrogance about the gesture that she associated more with James Potter or Sirius Black than the Slytherin enforcer.

"So, working on any love potions lately?" she asked.

Severus smirked. "Avery is quite happy with Jones, and isn't inclined to share my skills with anyone else. Speaking of which, I was surprised to see you here. I figured you'd be over at Puddifoot's with your latest admirer."

Lily blushed. "I'm meeting Liam there at three. And how about you? Anybody catch your fancy?" she teased.

This was normally good for a barely perceptible blush from him, since he felt awkward around girls, but instead, he just regarded her thoughtfully. "Florence Anderson, Ravenclaw, I think. Not this weekend, but I think I want her. She's pretty enough, smart, and Muggle-born. She's also supposed to be a good snog."

Lily laughed. This was more like her Severus. "How romantic! It sounds like you're specifying potions ingredients, not thinking about a girlfriend."

"Precisely," he said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly in amusement. "Girlfriends are much more complicated and much more likely to go wrong than a potion. Hence the importance of specifying one's requirements carefully."

They continued to talk, while Lily sipped her butterbeer. Then she got up, and left to meet her girlfriends at Honeydukes. A few minutes later, Severus also got up and left. He forgot to feel the thrill of intimidation as he walked back to Hogwarts.

Remus gritted his teeth while Snape applied the modified Murtlap Essence to his post transformation wounds after the January moon. Back in November, he could tell that Snape was less careful than usual, and it had only gotten worse month by month.

Severus watched Lupin's face out of the corner of his eye. He saw the tension and the grimace, and knew that he was hurting the other boy. He liked the feeling it gave him.

"Careful, Snape!" Remus finally called out. "Are you trying to hurt me?"

Severus started curling his upper lip in a sneer, and almost answered, "Of course I am." But then his face went blank to cover the confusion it caused to consciously admit this to himself. What was he thinking? Lupin was neither an enemy nor a target!

Remus saw the beginning of the sneer, and felt the same fear he had felt the very first time the Slytherin had helped him in the Infirmary after a transformation.

Severus said nothing, but picked up the salve again. This time, he worked with his usual care, but now he was fully conscious of a pull not to be careful, a desire to see Lupin's gritted teeth and feel that sense of power. When he was finished, he checked out with Madam Pomfrey, and returned to his dormitory. It was some time before he returned to the Infirmary again.

Author's note:

I just made up Liam as one of Lily's boyfriends, and gave the infamous Florence the last name of Anderson and the house of Ravenclaw.