Disclaimer: The HP world belongs to J. K. Rowling. It is a pleasure to experiment with her characters.
A Forest Tale
Chapter 25
Stronger than Magic
"Hand over your wand. Now."
Mulciber was standing in the Great Chamber gripping Mary's wand. He was holding Mary at wandpoint in front of himself, a shield and a hostage, and he was glaring at Snape, who was glaring back at Mulciber and cursing inwardly. Instead of being careful, he had stormed into the chamber like a tornado (quite as mindlessly at any rate), and this was the result. He was unable to attack Mulciber, and the Death Eater was threatening Mary.
"Hand over your wand," Mulciber repeated. "Or else ..."
Mary was shaking her head frantically. Her hand and legs were bound and she had obviously been Silenced by Mulciber, and the wordless gesture was all she could manage.
"... watch what I can do to her."
Snape did not wait for Mulciber to elaborate. He dropped his wand.
"Coward! Leave her alone!"
Mulciber was quick, and Snape was instantly bound by strong ropes. Mulciber let go of Mary, and a minute later he was holding his own wand, while Snape's wand and Mary's wand were in his belt.
"Let's talk," he said.
He removed the Silencing Charm from Mary.
"How did you come into the cave?"
Neither of them answered. Mulciber did not seem to mind.
"Do you know the way out? Can you go out as you came?"
"We might," Snape replied warily. "But I don't see why that interests you."
Mulciber laughed.
"You know exactly what I mean, Snape. This may not be the reason why you have come, but you are the ones who will take me out of here. It's a rather boring place, you know. Or at least it has been boring so far..."
He traced his wand along Snape's body. Snape was staring at him without blinking.
"I will show you the way out," Snape said, "on one condition."
Mulciber put his wand under Snape's chin, and pushed his head up.
"I can't hear you properly. For a moment I thought you used the word condition."
"You will be much better off," Snape hissed, "if I help you willingly. You can walk free. Release Mary. Let her leave unharmed, and I will help you get away from this cave."
He knew that unless he managed to arrive in Azkaban before the magic he had left there wore off, he would officially become an escaped prisoner. Without being able to hand over Mulciber, he saw little chance of convincing the Wizengamot of the truth - if he ever got to see the council, which would be a near miracle now. But perhaps Mary could still escape if he was clever enough.
But Mulciber laughed again.
"I'm not such a fool! If I let her go, she would bring the aurors on me; no, thank you very much! I don't want them to wait for me at the mouth of the cave."
"How do you know they are not there already?" Snape snapped.
Mulciber seemed startled at first, but then he sneered.
"If they were there, they would be inside as well!"
"Perhaps they are inside," said Snape.
"That's a bluff. If they were here, they would not have sent the two of you ahead! No one is here to help you, and you will just have to follow my orders. My contentment or displeasure will decide your fate. What happened to Avery?"
"I'm afraid you will just have to go and find it out."
Mulciber shrugged.
"It is not so important. What counts is that I want to leave this hole and you will help me."
"While bound and wandless, we will hardly be able to oblige," Snape said. "The cave is rather tricky."
Mulciber nodded.
"Fair enough. Don't worry; you will get back your wand when it becomes necessary.... Of course, you must earn my trust first. You must be very ... obedient."
He pointed his wand at Snape.
"Imperio!"
Snape saw the curse coming, but the ropes were tight and he had no chance to duck. All he had time for was a desperate effort to close down his mind just as the curse hit him. Immediately it seemed that all his thoughts were wiped away, and nothing could bother him any more. It was a relief to be rid of all his worries. He felt empty and open and cool and indifferent. There was nothing to think about, perhaps nothing to think with...
Mulciber flicked his wand, and the ropes fell off Snape.
"Come closer, Snape," he heard the Death Eater's rough voice. "This way."
Mulciber's words were echoed in his head by a soft, persuasive, almost seductive voice.
He took a few steps, just barely aware of his surroundings, when he found himself face-to-face with Mary. She was pale and looked at him with a very peculiar expression, which Snape could not explain.
"Very well," said Mulciber, "and now - you will punch her. In the face. As hard as you can."
The soft, persuasive voice in his head - the voice of the curse - repeated the instructions.
"Punch her in the face ... as hard as you can ... it is easy ... you will feel fine, you will feel happy if you obey."
"I know you don't want to do it," Mary whispered. "I am not blaming you. Afterwards ... remember that."
He was staring at her neither wanting, nor being able to determine what she was communicating.
"Do as you are told," Mulciber commanded behind his back. " Now!"
The voice of the curse kept chattering in his head, but he could hear another voice, a clear, stern and familiar voice coming from the depth of his mind, coming from behind the voice of the curse, from behind the seductive void.
"This is Dark Magic, Sev... Evil ..."
The clear, stern voice became louder, and Snape's head began aching. The blissful emptiness was over, only the soft, coaxing voice reminded him of it.
"Hit her..." it said, and Snape slowly raised his arm.
"Resist..." warned the stern voice. "Be yourself ... Do the right thing."
He saw Mary close her eyes, and his brain seemed to be about to burst into flames. The clear voice was getting painfully loud, whilst the other voice was getting ever softer. He tried to concentrate ... Then he turned around, and his fist came down with such force that he had never thought he possessed.
Mulciber fell on the ground, and both voices disappeared from Snape's head, leaving nothing but blind fury and a mad desire to kill...
He was not a wrestler though, and Mulciber was rather strong for his lanky figure. The wrath clouding Snape's mind did not help in the long run. But worst of all, Mulciber still had all the wands. As a result, a few minutes later Snape was bound again, and Mulciber, quite forgetting his wizard dignity, gave him a couple of non-magical, nevertheless painful kicks, which could have made any Muggle bully-boy proud.
The Death Eater was livid. He was not used to such spectacular failures of his favourite curse. He unbound Mary and dragged her to Snape. Snape's countenance was blank and unreadable. He did not want Mary to see his feelings, although he was being tormented by the thought that Mary would also have to pay for what had happened.
"Both of you must learn obedience," Mulciber snarled. "Otherwise I cannot trust you with the services that I am expecting from you."
He glowered at Mary, his wand directed firmly at her.
"Your friend attacked me, therefore he must be punished. The question is what exactly I will do to him."
Mary was staring at Snape. Contrary to his, her pale cheeks were an easily readable picture of fear and despair.
"The decision is in your hands," Mulciber continued. "If you are obedient, his punishment will be light. If you resist my wishes and my orders, you will make life really difficult for him. It all depends on you."
Mary was chalk-white, and Snape's stomach became a tiny, tight knot. Then Mary cast a pleading look at Mulciber, who responded with a triumphant sneer.
"Empty words," Snape said, glancing up at her. His voice did not tremble at all. "You can't do anything for me, Mary. Don't even think about it. I don't want you to think about it."
He did not like the expression of desperate determination in her eyes. He needed a stronger word.
"I forbid you to think about it!"
Grabbing Mary's arm, Mulciber waved his wand, and Snape felt as though he had been lashed with a whip - but the real torture was to see Mulciber touch Mary, whose gaze - now cold and glassy - was steadily fixed on him.
"How do you imagine you can motivate us to help you," Snape snapped as soon as he was able to speak, "if we both are tortured anyway and you don't even promise to spare either of us in return? What would we gain by showing you the way?"
Mary freed herself from the wizard's grip and started towards Snape suddenly, but she could not reach him. The Death Eater, his features distorted by anger, raised his wand.
"Serpensortia!"
A huge snake shot out of the wand, landing between Mary and Snape. She backed away and remained petrified, watching the animal. Snape knew that Mulciber was not going to kill them. Not yet. Mulciber was not Avery; he would be smart enough to keep them alive while he needed them. But the look of terror on Mary's countenance made it clear that she was not thinking along such practical lines. Mulciber was apparently enjoying the spectacle. Mulciber was aware that Mary was afraid of snakes ... Snape was almost piercing the beast with his glare, hoping that it would sense the intensity of the stare.
It did. It turned away from Mary and was now undulating towards Snape, who did not take his gaze off it. Mulciber would wait until the last moment, naturally, but then the snake would disappear. One more second and it would vanish...
But what did happen a second later was something that neither Snape nor Mulciber had anticipated. With a scream that must have shaken the rocky walls of the cave, Mary dashed forward and seized the snake with her bare hands; then, still within the same scream, she wheeled round and flung it into Mulciber's face. The Death Eater yelled.
Mary fell down next to Snape, who thought she was going to faint. But she did not faint. Instead, she began undoing the knots of the rope binding him. Her hands were shaking.
"Run," Snape whispered to her. "Go through the narrow opening. If you are quick, he will not find you afterwards."
In the meantime, Mulciber managed to get rid of the snake, which did not succeed in biting him. He was standing motionless, perhaps wondering which of his captives he should curse first. Mary, unable to free Snape, obeyed his instructions at last, and ran away. Snape, in vain struggling with the ropes, glanced after her. She was not running towards the exit at all. What was she doing then?
Mulciber made up his mind finally, and sprinted after Mary. Snape could not see them any more, but he heard Mary throwing things - maybe pieces of stone - at Mulciber, who was firing spells.
So she had missed her chance to escape ... Stones against a wand did not seem like a hopeful business, unless one was really lucky. Mary was distracting Mulciber's attention from him - but what was the point? Had she sacrificed herself only to temporarily relieve his physical suffering, or was she hoping that he might be able to do something if he was left alone?
Well, she was mistaken then. No matter how he tried, the ropes remained tight. There was nothing he could do ... Unless ... He drew in a deep breath. There was something that he could still do...
"Crucio!" bellowed Mulciber.
"Zippy," breathed Snape.
"Be quiet," he added immediately as the elf arrived, a mute exclamation between his rounded lips. "Unbind me quickly."
By the time he pronounced the order, he had already been freed.
"Go," he said under his breath, as he leapt to his rather numb feet.
Zippy was gone, and Snape ran towards Mulciber, who had noticed nothing. Mary was standing by the wall, cornered, Mulciber's wand pointed at her.
"So," Mulciber was saying slowly, "let the fun begin... Imperio!"
Mary covered her head with her arms. The Unforgivable Curse burst out of the wand, but it did not reach her. It bumped into a rock instead, because a hand, attacking from behind, had unexpectedly twisted the Death Eater's wrist. Mulciber successfully shook off the attacker, but this time Snape did not allow himself to lose control. He knew exactly what he had to do, and although he did not manage to disarm the Death Eater, his own wand all but sprang into his hand, when he snatched it from Mulciber's belt.
Now each of them had a wand ... They were both practised in the art of wizard duel; and for a brief moment, Snape remembered the Potter gang with something close to gratitude - they had forced him to become good at fighting spells already at school. But Mulciber was a serious opponent, and shortly the walls themselves seemed to take part in the fight as the various magically conjured weapons from daggers to wreaths of flames flew around, interspersed with further Unforgivable Curses fired by Mulciber.
Snape did not waste time on Shield Charms: He jumped and ran and ducked and dived, but all the time he kept sending attacking spells towards Mulciber, whose defence strategy, however, was also quite effective.
Mary could not take part in the fight, since her wand was still in Mulciber's belt. She withdrew from the duellists to avoid the possibility of being used as a hostage again, and she collected more stones. She watched out for an opportunity to join the fight, but the two wizards were moving about so swiftly and unpredictably and very often so close to each other that she would have been as likely to hit the one as the other.
She was watching the duel therefore, ready for action, but her attention soon turned towards a burning sensation below her neck. She had been aware of the searing pain for a while, but she had not had time to pay attention to it. She realized that the source of the pain was the pendant on the chain around her neck. It was fiery hot, fluttering like a terrified bird, as though in agitation and pain. Mary's fingers locked around it. The heat burned the palm of her hand but she did not care. She kept gripping the pendant, ardently willing the curses to avoid Severus...
It was Mulciber who made a strategic mistake first, and he was instantly knocked unconscious by an ordinary Stunning Spell. Snape bound him, and took his wand.
He very nearly collapsed himself, due to tension and fatigue, but he heard Mary call out his name, and when he turned, he found that he could not let himself collapse. Not yet at least - not when she came running to him, not when she was looking at him with teary-eyed admiration, not when she broke into sobbing in front of him...
There was no way he could start thinking about how to respond. Once more his mind might have been wiped empty, this time with exhaustion. But his arms opened on their own, enfolding her into a comforting embrace, and it felt the right thing to do.
"It is over," he murmured. "He cannot hurt you... It is all over."
Mary stopped sobbing and stood still, resting her forehead against his shoulder for a minute. Then she raised her head.
"I'm so sorry," she said. "I behaved horridly, I was so unreasonable..."
Snape was taken aback.
"What are you talking about?"
"I said to you horrible things about ... Legilimency ... I should not have. I'm sorry. I did not mean to ... to offend you. Of course you were right, and I don't even know ... why I told you those things."
The fight with Mulciber had made Snape completely forget their disagreement about Legilimency, and at the moment all he could feel was relief that she was safe, that he had succeeded in protecting her. Making peace was therefore easy and sweet.
"When you left," Mary continued, "I kept thinking about it, and I began to regret what I had said and that I had let you go alone. I tried to find you, but you were already far away. Then I thought I might lose my way, so I came back. By that time Mulciber had somehow got free and his attack took me completely by surprise. He seized my wand and Silenced my voice, and I was unable to warn you. I have no idea how he had been able to get rid of the ropes."
She glanced worriedly at the unconscious dark wizard as though afraid that he might free himself any minute.
"It was Zippy," Snape explained. "Avery's elf ... He had to fetch some Firewhisky for Avery when he found Mulciber. Even though Mulciber was not his master, he had been serving both these wizards for weeks, so, naturally, he thought it his duty to help."
"But he can do it again!" Mary cried.
"He will not," said Snape. "He is helping me now. I'll tell you later. It is time we left this place at last."
Getting out of the cave with the two captives was a difficult job. There were two of them, because Snape did not leave the bound Avery imprisoned alone, and he took a tedious detour just to pick him up. The two Death Eaters were levitating in an enchanted sleep before Mary and Snape, but navigating them through the various passages was time-consuming and tiresome.
"Could we use that pendant?" Snape asked with a sudden idea. "We all might get out more easily."
"That would be very difficult," said Mary, frowning. "And we could never use the pendant with them."
She indicated the Death Eaters.
"Why not?"
"Because its magic would be spoiled if it got into contact with them."
Snape had to be satisfied with this explanation, and they continued their slow climb through the cave. At least they did not get lost, and finally they reached the mouth of the cave. To Snape's surprise, it was not as late as he had supposed - the sun was just past the zenith. It was a glorious, balmy summer day. They crossed the rope bridge from the tiny island to the shore, and Mary stopped to admire the scenery from the very edge of the forest pool.
In the blink of an eye, she was in the deep, cool water. Snape saw her disappear under the surface. Without any hesitation, he jumped after her, drawing his wand and ready to rescue her. But she came up just as he plunged into the water, and laughed.
"Isn't it wonderful?"
Snape's mouth and nose were filled with water. The pool was crystal clear and indeed deep. It seemed Mary was the better swimmer of the two of them.
"I'm so glad you jumped in, too," she said. "I didn't dare to suggest ... but it is refreshing, isn't it?"
And Snape remained wisely silent, allowing her to believe that he had rushed into the pool to swim rather than admit that he had thought she needed to be rescued.
When they climbed to the shore, they sat down, panting slightly, and he had no idea how he would be able to go on. The fight, the long climb in the cave and the swimming drained all his energy. Their robes were soaking wet and heavy, but at least this latter problem was easy to solve. A few lazy wand movements; and both of them were instantly dry. Then, at the tinkling sound of a silver bell, the horses appeared and took them to the wreck of the Silvana.
"Zippy!" Snape called.
The elf came running.
"Master!" he enthused. He bowed to Mary.
Snape found that Zippy was a dab hand at repairs. The Silvana was in a surprisingly good condition, equipped with running water and with several tolerably furnished cabins. Zippy had even repaired the damage done by Pettigrew, which no one had been able to mend before. Snape locked Avery and Mulciber into two separate cabins, which he fortified with a series of spells preventing the possibility of a breakout. Each of the two Death Eaters received a sleeping bag (Zippy apparently had an inexhaustible supply of them) and something to eat and drink, before Snape left them alone in their respective cabins.
After that, he allowed himself to sit down by a table on the open deck, where Zippy had served food and drinks. (The house-elf must have brought them from the Death Eaters' cave larder.) Mary was already sitting there, waiting for Snape, who, for all the previous physical exercise, had little appetite. He watched the green of the forest around them with a heavy heart.
"What shall we do next?" Mary asked at last, realizing that Snape was not going to start a conversation.
What he answered was very difficult to say; but he knew that he had only one way towards freedom.
"I must go back to Azkaban," he said.
"Already?" she asked quietly.
"As soon as possible," Snape answered. "The Dementors might discover my absence if I am late."
"Are you sure it is not late yet?"
Snape carefully pulled up his sleeve for a moment. The wound was still open on his arm.
"Quite sure."
"What was that?" Mary asked sharply. "You have been injured!"
"It is nothing to worry about," Snape replied. "Nothing at all."
Mary was eyeing him silently for a while, as though she could not fully believe that the open wound on his arm was "nothing". Snape pretended to be suddenly very interested in the bottle of Worcestershire sauce on the table.
"We can leave any time you want," she said finally. "If you need anything -"
"I need your help," said Snape. "I don't need anything else."
Mary's lips curled into a sad and twisted smile.
"What are your instructions then?"
Snape leaned closer to her, his expression grim.
"Mary, I don't want you to deal with these villains directly."
"You don't trust me," she said. "I should not be surprised. I failed to guard Mulciber."
"It is not a question of trust. But I don't like the idea. These two should be taken to a safer place, preferably to Dumbledore."
"I'll do my best to find him."
"It may take time," said Snape. "You need help. Someone you can trust."
"Moody? The Potters? Sirius? They are Order members."
Snape sighed.
"I wish Dumbledore came. In any case, we have someone we can depend on. Zippy!"
The elf was instantly there.
"Yes, Master."
"We are going to leave."
"Zippy goes with Master!"
"No," said Snape quickly. "That would not be a good idea. You must not look for me until I get back to the main island and call you there. This is an order. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master," Zippy answered with little enthusiasm.
"But you will have a very important task. You must do everything in your power to help us take care of Avery and Mulciber. You will see to it that they remain safely captured. This is very important."
"Yes, Master!" Zippy said. "Zippy helps."
"Do you think you are up to this job?"
The elf squared his shoulders.
"Master will see!"
"Fine," said Snape. "And be careful. Don't go nearer to them than necessary."
Zippy bowed and hurried away.
"I like this elf," said Mary, smiling. "He is quite fond of you."
The warm summer weather did not extend to the vicinity of Azkaban. Snape and Mary felt colder and colder as they were approaching the fortress. Castor and Pollux were flying high up in the air, faster than any broomstick ever could. Once during their flight, Snape actually glimpsed a solitary broomstick flying way below them at a much slower speed than the horses.
They descended towards the prison, wearing Disillusionment Charms. Mary easily found the window of Snape's cell. She took off the chain and put it around Snape's neck. He closed his eyes without waiting for her instructions, and soon he could feel the already familiar warmth encasing him. He could hear again the music full of that strange beauty; and he experienced the magnetic attraction, too...
It was all quite relaxing until he heard Mary cry out, and he opened his eyes.
"I can't do it, Severus, I don't succeed!"
He glanced around. He was still on horseback, outside the window of the well-known Azkaban cell, a very worried Mary by his side. The wall was solid and impenetrable, the window likewise.
"I don't know what happened," Mary whispered. "Did you feel anything?"
"It was exactly the same as this morning," Snape answered. "Let's try again."
It suddenly occurred to him that Mary had said the magic could work only if he wanted it as well. He certainly wanted to feel the magic - but really and truly wanting to go back to the Azakaban cell was not at all easy. So that was what he had to focus on.
The Dementors would not be interested in his reasons. If one of them caught him outside, it would kiss him without asking any questions. But the magic of the blood drops was still working; the open wound on his arm assured him of that. Through the window, he had also seen the Dementor barrier, its blue light still visible. To become free one day, he had to go back while he could do it safely, and he had to want it now.
He summoned all the willpower he had, and yet, when the magic started anew, it still failed to yield the expected results - and this time Snape realized that despite all his efforts, the magnetic attraction was drawing him away from the prison, not into it.
Mary gasped, and Snape opened his eyes once more. The warmth was abruptly replaced by chilling cold, emitted by the shapeless darkness beneath, at the foot of the fortress, gliding slowly towards them. The guards of Azkaban had discovered the intrusion.