Duel in the Dark
By Matthew W. Quinn
August 16th, 1978
9:30 PM
Although Dumbledore had told Severus Snape, Lily Evans, and the Marauders that they were on-call for combat against the Death Eaters, it was nearly a month before Snape found himself called to war.
He had been sitting in the old reclining chair in Spinner's End, studying the copy of The Book of Infernal Things, when Frank Longbottom's tiger Patronus had crossed his threshold.
"You're on tonight, boy," the Patronus said in the Auror's gruff voice. "We've got a mission for you."
Snape set the book aside. "What sort of mission?" The thing can't respond to you, he reproached himself, but he tended to answer questions out of habit.
"A training mission, to start you out."
I've killed a Death Eater, jackass. Not sure if Potter or Black can claim that honor, even if they've been in the Order longer.
The Patronus kept talking. "There's been a Muggle-killing in Oxford. We shut down the Death Eater operations there last month, but we don't have the manpower to garrison the place, so the bastards have been creeping back in. Meet me in front of the Muggle Natural History Museum."
Oxford. Lovely. Snape had not gotten all the N.E.W.T.s he needed to train as a Healer, but he had found a position in the Oxford Apothecary. He didn't want to potentially clue in the Death Eaters to where he was during the day.
But on the other hand, he didn't want Death Eaters in the same city he was during the day.
He rose and wrapped himself in his cloak, then snatched up the goblin-made Gurkha blade his father had given him.
Time to make it clear that Oxford belongs to the Half-Blood Prince.
August 16th, 1978
9:32 PM
Snape Apparated behind the museum — hopefully out of sight of any Muggles — and made his way around to the front of the building.
Longbottom waited for him there, standing amidst the concrete casts of dinosaur tracks that littered the front lawn.
"The Death Eater was one of three. One of them's been apprehended, while the other managed to get away. The bastard's hiding out in the Parks. We've managed to cast Anti-Disapparition wards, but the last two members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who went in to get the bastard didn't come out."
"Bloody lovely," Snape said. "So you're going to send a part-timer in after him."
Longbottom snorted. "A part-timer who's killed a Death Eater. That puts you ahead of the bobbies, who mostly chase after the likes of Mundungus Fletcher. The Death Eater's been wounded, so he shouldn't be too much of a problem for someone like you. Go in there and get him — we prefer them alive, for the intelligence value — then send me a Patronus and I'll come fetch him."
"You won't be here?"
Longbottom snorted again. "The Death Eaters are active tonight. There's a suspected Muggle-killing in Leeds and another in Durham, plus a squad of the bastards've been cornered in Bristol. I've got my work cut out for me."
Without a goodbye, Longbottom Disapparated.
He's in the Parks. Snape drew a breath. Time to roust the bastard.
August 16th, 1978
9:45 PM
Snape found the Death Eater's handiwork before he found the Death Eater himself.
A dead man wearing the uniform of a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement lay splayed out on a path leading into a thicket. He looked peaceful.
The Death Eater must've ambushed him, used the Killing Curse.
Snape eyed the thicket ahead of him. I'm not going to make the same mistake as that poor sod did. Incendio!
Flames leaped from his wand lit the bushes ahead of him on fire.
Okay. Flush the bastard out and then Petrify him. Weaken him with blood loss if needed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Snape instinctively threw himself to the ground at the sound of the incantation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw bright-green death missing him by less than a foot.
Sectumsempra! Snape slashed at the source of the attack — the thicket on the opposite side of the path from the flames — but cut only branches.
Somewhere in the dark, the Death Eater cackled.
"I've seen that spell before. You Jewell, the medic? They don't use him in battle much, but when he does come out to play, damn! He cut up Avery pretty bad, the last time."
Ian's been using Sectumsempra? He thought for a moment. Makes sense — Sarah learned it from me and he is her brother.
Snape considered openly announcing his identity, perhaps as a means of goading the Death Eater to attack the "blood traitor," but decided against it. Should the Death Eater escape, he could tell the others that Snape was a full-blown member of the Order of the Phoenix and not a mere Slytherin dissident and that could have nasty consequences.
Not just for you, but for Lily too. The Death Eaters like to go after friends and family, after all.
Snape cast Incendio again, igniting the other portions of the thicket. The Death Eater would have to come out and face him, or die.
That the Death Eater did.
"Avada Kedavra! Avada Kedavra!" the Death Eater roared, casting two Killing Curses in quick succession. The first one flew over Snape's head, but the first one slammed into the ground mere inches away.
Snape retaliated with a barrage of Petrification spells as the Death Eater emerged from the thicket. The Death Eater easily deflected them.
"They want you to take me alive, eh?" He snorted. "You'll be just as dead as those two."
While the Death Eater grandstanded, Snape got a good look at him.
The Death Eater was short and stocky and wore the typical black robes and mask. However, Snape could tell he'd been in battle and come out on the short end. The man dragged his left leg behind him and Snape could see large patches of blood on his dark trousers.
Looks like a compound fracture. Perhaps several of them.
Obviously he could not use the Cruciatus curse to disable him with pain and Petrify him, but he had other options.
Expelliarmus!
The wand leaped from the Death Eater's hand and Snape took the opportunity to rise to his feet.
Petrificus Totalis!
Despite his injured leg, the Death Eater was able to get out of the way. He landed on the injured leg and his cry of pain managed to stab even Snape's desensitized heart.
Snape had no time to pity him — he'd gotten his wand back.
The Death Eater stabbed his wand at corpse behind Snape. Snape heard scraping and saw, out of the corner of his eye, the dead man rising to his feet.
An Inferius!
The Death Eater cackled.
"Let's see how you can do three-on-one!"
He stabbed with his wand into a darkened region of the path and Snape heard more scraping.
Two Inferi and a Death Eater. Bad odds. He'd faced the Marauders four-on-one before, but they were only interested in humiliating him, not seriously killing him.
Snape slashed at the nearest Inferius, opening a gash from the hip to the opposite shoulder. The creature kept coming and Snape realized his error.
Sectumsempra's real damage comes from shock and blood loss. That won't work with them.
He thought back to Defense against the Dark Arts. Fire works well against Inferi. Incendio!
Fire leaped from his wand and enveloped the undead officer.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Snape leaped and felt something hot rip through his cloak. Shit!
He cast an array of Stunning and Blasting spells in the direction of the Death Eater. He heard another cry of pain and grinned. That ought to keep the wanker busy.
Another Inferius, a Magical Law Enforcement officer whose head hung at an unnatural angle, emerged from the thicket.
Incendio! The second creature ignited.
Then Snape felt heat behind him. The first Inferius, though injured, was still attacking.
A pair of too-strong dead arms wrapped around him, trapping his wand arm against him, and he felt teeth sinking into his shoulder and flames eating into his clothing.
He instinctively kicked at the Inferius's groin but realized that wouldn't work. However, he had other options.
His free arm leaped his belt and he drew the goblin-blade. He hacked at the creature's arm and the blade parted flesh like bread. The arm dropped away and Snape spun out of the creature's grasp.
Reducto! Snape put all his anger into the spell and quite literally blew the first Inferius to pieces.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Snape dropped to one knee, death missing him by a foot.
Him again.
Expelliarmus! Depulso!
The Death Eater's wand leaped from his hand and the second spell sent it spinning into the darkness.
That ought to keep him busy.
Snape turned his attentions to the second Inferius. Owing to the creature's damaged head, it was less coordinated than its counterpart and that probably explained why it hadn't double-teamed him with the other.
No more time for games. Reducto!
The Inferius went down, but Snape heard a cry of triumph from the Death Eater.
Shit. He's gotten his wand back.
The Death Eater limped out of the thicket.
"Avada K…
Sectumsempra!
Snape's spell slashed through skin, muscle, and tendon and the wand fell limply from the Death Eater's hand.
Petrificus Totalis!
The Death Eater fell, rigid as a board. Snape stepped over and pocketed his wand.
Mission accomplished.
August 16th, 1978
9:56 PM
"Good job," Longbottom said after the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had taken custody of the Death Eater. "One down, 295 or so to go, assuming the Dark Lord doesn't mark 20 more tonight."
That would certainly be a bad thing, now wouldn't it?
"You said earlier tonight the Death Eaters were coming back, since the Ministry doesn't have the manpower to watch the city. Have wards been laid? That might help make up for our lack of numbers."
"Been there, done that," Longbottom said. "It was the wards that warned us the sods were coming back."
Ah. Nice to know the Ministry's on its toes.
"Will I be needed to give a statement or anything? The last time…"
Longbottom shook his head. "Nope. This is Order business, so we're not subject to the usual rules. We'll debrief you tomorrow. Go home and get some rest. You've earned it."
You're darn right. The Apothecary expected him to be in at eight in the morning and although he'd been informed that Snape had obligations to the Ministry — the old man hadn't been told about the Order of the Phoenix but Snape figured he was shrewd enough to guess — he would still give Snape hell if he were late.
"Thanks."
Snape Disapparated, headed back to his home and a well-deserved sleep.