Chapter 51

When Severus' Mark burned on Friday night, he expected Harry to come see him afterward. His mark burning meant Voldemort was calling for everyone, which meant something big, and Severus could guess it was related to Harry's order to kill Dumbledore before the end of the school year.

When Harry didn't turn up, he figured something was wrong. He didn't know what, nor what to do about it. Harry wasn't dead, the emerald pendant told him that much; if Harry died, it would instantly lose any heat or chill, warmed only by Severus' own body, just a useless bit of jewellery.

But Harry wasn't at Hogwarts; the emerald was too warm for that, or for being at home in Coleford, or in London. It didn't leave a lot of options.

Severus spent a while pacing the house and steadily working his way through a bottle of vodka as he tried to figure out what to do. Was Harry captured? Severus had expected Voldemort to turn on Harry once Dumbledore was dead and he no longer needed the boy. Or had Harry refused to kill Dumbledore? What about the Word of Death Curse—had that been enacted? Were Harry's friends dead and Harry was now hiding somewhere, stewing in his misery?

It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when Severus decided to find out, drunk enough to think it was a good idea even with the possibility of Harry being captured by Voldemort. He was still sober enough to take a dose of Polyjuice Potion, using hairs from some lad in the neighbouring village; after what happened last October, Severus decided not to use hairs from people in Cokeworth anymore.

He was also sober enough not to do anything stupid when he followed the emerald pendant and it led him straight to the hospital where Voldemort was based. He wanted to—he wanted to rush in there and pull Harry out, to get his son away from whatever torture he was suffering. It was a stupid, rash impulse born of protective paternal desires, the kind of impulse that, even half-drunk, he knew not to indulge. He had no plan, he didn't know what he was facing if he went in there—he didn't even know if he could get in there—and chances were he would end up either dead or captured as well, and then he'd be no good to Harry.

He was also more terrified than he'd admit at the thought of ending up in Voldemort's 'care' again. One week had been more than enough torture for him. He much preferred a quick death.

There was a lot of traffic at the hospital and Severus left, not wanting to get noticed by the Death Eaters coming and going. That kind of activity was unusual, he knew; it couldn't bode well for Harry.

It was when he got home that he suddenly wondered if Harry was even in trouble. If… something… was happening with the Death Eaters, Harry might be free, but still unable to leave. Severus could have just risked his life and freedom for absolutely no reason.

That thought sent him back to the kitchen for the rest of the vodka, but by the time two mouthfuls had burned their way down his throat, he was doubting it again. Harry really could have been in trouble, and Severus had just left him there. There was nothing he could have done, of course, but he still felt the guilt of potentially abandoning his son to the mercy of the Death Eaters.

The rest of the vodka eased that guilt, at least enough for him to sleep.

The next morning, his pendant was still too warm and there was no sign Harry had been by. He was certain, now, that Harry was a prisoner.

Which left Severus wondering what the fuck he was supposed to do. He wanted to rescue Harry, but how? It would be a lot easier if he knew what had happened; it almost made him regret that Harry was almost his sole contact with the outside world.

But there were other ways to get information. Severus went through the familiar motions of brewing some more hangover reliever, remembering this time to bottle it up instead of leaving it to go off in the cauldron, as he had with the last batch. Once his head was clear, he washed, dressed, took some Polyjuice, and headed for London.

He wasn't comfortable in Diagon Alley or even Knockturn Alley, but the Muggle world was no place for the information he needed. He arrived at the Leaky Cauldron's Apparition room, hood pulled up even over his Polyjuiced form, and was surprised at how busy the place was at nearly eleven o'clock in the morning. It was too late for the breakfast crowd and too early for lunch, but more than half the tables were full, people sitting with their heads close and talking urgently.

As he passed through to the Alley, he caught snatches of conversation, and all his dark suspicions were confirmed.

"… Dumbledore's dead … Evans a murderer … He Who Must Not Be Named at Hogwarts …"

Once he was outside, Severus went straight to the newspaper stand, hexing a witch to start coughing so that he could snatch up the last paper for himself, although he'd already seen the headline on the display board.

HARRY EVANS MURDERS DUMBLEDORE
YOU KNOW WHO TAKES OVER

According to the accompanying article, Voldemort claimed Harry came to him as a false envoy, pretending that Dumbledore wanted to parley. Voldemort arrived at Hogwarts in good faith only for Harry to murder Dumbledore and bind Voldemort, intending to take over the school. Voldemort had escaped and restrained Harry, protecting the students and teachers. The article repeatedly mentioned Harry's insanity, even saying that he heard voices, and claimed he was now imprisoned in a secure location.

It was obviously complete bollocks, but Severus had seen people drink up whatever the news revealed. The general public might have doubts about Voldemort and the real events of the night before, but they probably believed what they read about Harry being an insane murderer.

Aside from Dumbledore, the only other deaths were Sirius Black and two students—Ed Coleman, and Euan Abercrombie. The Muggleborn students had been sent home, but the rest would remain for the last two weeks of term

Severus stalked down the alley, turning into Knockturn, hand clenching around the newspaper. He forced it all to the back of his mind as he went to the apothecary, getting more ingredients for the Polyjuice and picking up some other ingredients. He wasn't actively planning anything yet, but his mind was already working on ideas and considering what might be useful.

When he got home, he paced, now definitely working on a plan to rescue Harry. He had to. He'd failed Harry too many time before to let him down again.

He was tempted to go for the vodka again, to drink while he thought, but it suddenly occurred to him just how much he'd been drinking recently. He hadn't really noticed it before, but reaching for the bottle when he needed to think, to focus, when his son's life was at risk—that struck a cord in him. He couldn't let his mind be dulled by drink right now, yet the fact that he wanted to drink anyway concerned him.

But now wasn't the time to ruminate on his drinking habits.

He drank coffee instead, and paced the house or sat motionless for hours. His house was so dark he hardly noticed the passing hours and didn't realise night had fallen until there was a crack and Draco Malfoy appeared in his living room. Severus was leaving the kitchen and dropped his fresh mug of coffee as he whipped his wand up.

Draco hardly glanced at him, giving a cry of pain and staring down at his hand, which was missing three fingernails. Severus didn't lower his wand. With Harry captured, he had no idea what it would do to the protections on the house. He'd tested them earlier and all the charms he could detect were still in place, but he didn't know about Harry's own Wish Magic protections.

"What was the last thing I said to you while I was still a teacher?" Severus demanded.

Draco looked up at him. He was starkly pale, which could have been from his injury, but his bloodshot eyes and the dark shadows beneath them didn't come from a Splinching. "What?"

Severus repeated himself.

"I don't know, you were lecturing me on prefect duties or something. What does it matter?"

"I need to know that you're you."

"I thought no one else could get in here except you, me, and Harry."

"Prove yourself, Draco."

"I wouldn't have bloody Splinched myself if I was someone else, would I?" Draco snapped, and when Severus' wand didn't lower he sighed irritably. "Look, I don't remember the last thing you said to me as a teacher, but when I was eight you came around the manor for dinner and caught me stuffing dung bombs in Mrs Parkinson's purse, but you never told anyone it was me even when Pansy got blamed. Is that enough?"

Severus lowered his wand. "It'll do. What are you doing here, Draco? I thought all the students were to remain at Hogwarts for the rest of term."

Draco looked up sharply. Severus gestured to the newspaper dumped on the sofa.

"I don't believe you managed to sneak past the Death Eaters undoubtedly guarding the school now."

"I went home," Draco admitted. "Father convinced the Dark Lord to let me go. He agreed as long as Aunt Bellatrix came with me. She's living at the manor now."

"And you still snuck out? Are you trying to get yourself killed? And your mother? She'll pay for your misbehaviour, Draco."

Draco went ashen, but didn't leave. "I had to talk to you. Besides, Aunt Bella won't know. I had the house elf drug her drink with a sleeping potion."

Severus sighed and shook his head, but he was too glad to get information to send him away now he'd come. "Tell me what really happened last night."

"I don't know all the details," Draco admitted. "Only what Father told me, but Harry really did kill Dumbledore."

Severus wasn't surprised.

"Sir, can you do anything about this?" Draco asked, looking down at his hand again.

"I can give you a painkiller for it, but I can't heal it."

He fetched a vial and sat down opposite Draco once the boy had downed it, getting as much information as Draco had about the night before. Draco had found a brief message from Harry on his bed when he returned to his dorm at curfew. All it said was that Harry would be in contact with him 'whatever happened'.

Then an announcement went through the school ordering all students to their houses immediately, and soon after the Bloody Baron and another of the school ghosts arrived, escorting the thoroughly disgruntled (and in some cases half-drunk) OWL and NEWT students whose post-exam party had been rudely interrupted. Cid Villiers and Tyler Lyle were the last two students to arrive, but neither had come from the party.

"Bill Weasley broke the Word of Death Curse," Draco told Severus. "Lyle and Villiers were in Dumbledore's office, and they were there when the report came that the Dark Lord was coming. The teachers were going to fight, but the students couldn't escape because he was already at the gate—and Harry was with him." Draco looked down at his hand, cheeks reddening whether with embarrassment or shame as he said, "I used some Instant Darkness Powder—that's—"

"I know what it is," Severus interrupted. He'd indulged a curiosity and visited Weasley Wizard Wheezes under disguise. He was reluctantly impressed by some of their inventions, but mostly he was just glad not to be a teacher anymore. "You shouldn't have done it."

"I had to see Harry, I had to tell him—"

"It was not your job!" Severus snapped. "Don't you think Dumbledore—or Black and Potter—would have made him aware of the curse being broken? You could have been killed, Draco."

"I know." His undamaged hand clenched in a fist, grinding against his thigh. "I don't care. I'd have deserved it. At least then…"

"What are you talking about? Since when were you suicidal?"

"It was my fault," Draco spat. "It's my fault Harry got caught. I deserve to die for that."

"Explain."

"When I reached the Entrance Hall, I couldn't get the doors open at first, but I saw through the window. I saw Harry kill Dumbledore and then tie up the Dark Lord and all the Death Eaters. Harry spoke to Professor McGonagall afterwards, but then he turned to leave and I couldn't—I didn't want him to go without saying something." He paused, swallowing thickly. "Professor Flitwick unlocked the front door and I ran out and called Harry's name…"

"And?" Severus demanded when Draco trailed off.

"Harry turned to look at me, and the Dark Lord broke free. I don't know how, but he threw a knife at Harry and then he freed all the Death Eaters as well. There was a fight—I tried to reach Harry, but I couldn't get through, and then Harry was chained up and hanging in the air. His wrists were…" He hunched over suddenly, burying his face in his hands, and his voice cracked. "I-it was my f-fault," he said, and Severus was horrified to realise he was crying, shoulders shaking. "I distracted him. If I hadn't gone out there, if I hadn't been so selfish, he'd be safe and free."

"Sobbing about it won't help anything," Severus said, uncaring of how harsh it came out. Draco's self-blame was fully justified and the boy was too old and the situation too serious for Severus to treat with kid gloves. "What happened afterwards?"

Draco sniffed and pressed the balls of his hand into his eyes. "Father reached me. He told me Harry was a traitor and wasn't worthy of whatever feelings I have for him, and warned me not to do anything stupid. He had James Potter unconscious and he made me come with him while he did that Animancupium spell while everyone else went to the Great Hall."

That explained why there was no news of Potter dying when Black had.

Draco went on to explain everything that happened in the Great Hall and how Harry was now being held in some unknown location while Voldemort performed 'experiments', whatever that meant. When he finished talking, Severus took a moment to rub his temples, slumped in his armchair and wishing he'd drunk that vodka earlier.

"What do we do now?"

Severus dropped his hands and looked across at Draco. "You will go home. If your absence is noted, you'll come under suspicion. They'll be watching you closely right now; you shouldn't have come."

"I had to tell you!" Draco objected. "Harry's captured, there has to be some way to get him free!"

"There may be, but—"

"There may be? That's not good enough! Do you know what he's going through right now?"

"Better than you," Severus snapped, his tone sharp enough to make Draco snap his mouth shut with a click of his teeth. Severus forced himself to calm down, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "I will do what I can to save him, but you have to return home and not draw attention. If the Dark Lord thinks you're acting against him, you'll get to see Harry when you're locked in a cage with him. If he finds out you know I'm alive, he'll kill your whole family."

Draco went even paler. "But he doesn't know you're alive," he croaked.

"For now. Harry's Occlumency might not withstand extreme torture. You should be extremely careful with your own."

"But I can help."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Sir, please—"

"Draco, anything you try to do for Harry will only get you killed."

"I have to help!" Draco cried, sitting so far forward on the sofa he was at serious risk of falling off. "It was my fault, I can't abandon him."

Severus sighed irritably. "Draco, we do not have the time for you to insist on self-sacrificial attempts to help. I will do what I can for Harry; you will go home and not draw attention to yourself."

Draco opened his mouth, looking offended at Severus' words, but whatever argument he planned to give faltered under Severus' glare. His offended look turned sulky.

"What if I find something out?"

Severus doubted Draco could learn anything worthwhile, but he did have a high ranking Death Eater for a father, and the world was about to change a hell of a lot, so it was possible. It would ease the boy's guilt a little, too, which would make him less likely to do something stupid.

"Do you know what happened to Harry's belongings?"

"I've got them," Draco admitted. "I packed them up and took them with me, but I don't know what he might have left at his home."

"Nothing important, I imagine. You should find a Muggle notebook among his things. It's thin and will appear empty, but it's charmed to duplicate everything written in it to a twin that I have. You can use that to contact me, but only if it's absolutely necessary."

Draco nodded.

"Now go. And focus when you Apparate; calm yourself, or you'll Splinch worse than a few nails."

Draco stood up, closed his eyes, took a steadying breath, then furrowed his brow with concentration before twisting and disappearing. He left behind a few stray blond hairs which fluttered to the threadbare carpet.


Severus' first rescue attempt was done solo, and it took him a month to prepare. He was out of Poyjuice Potion (another sign that he'd been drinking too much; he should never have let his stock get so low) and it was crucial to the plan he formulated. As well as that, he had to find out what protections were on Harry.

Draco provided a little more information than Severus thought he might; as well as Bellatrix living in Malfoy Manor, other Death Eaters visited regularly, particularly Antonin Dolohiv and Merrick Mulciber. Narcissa was none too happy about it, but you didn't say no to Voldemort, and she had to know her son, and herself by connection, was under watch because of sympathies towards Harry.

Draco had seen his father a few times, but he was more disenchanted by Lucius these days, and Narcissa was still angry at him, an anger not eased by Lucius taking Potter as a Slave again. As such, Lucius had been around far less than Antonin or Mulciber.

Severus got other information from newspapers and eavesdropping. He'd become apt at disguising himself—Polyjuice was preferable, but transfiguration was sufficient when he had to—and merging into the background of a crowd to listen was a skill he'd honed during his teenage years. The only people it'd never worked against were Potter and Black, much to his dismay.

Harry was vilified for weeks, several scattered reports revealing his various crimes as a Death Eater over the past year, all clearly intended to give people a target other than Voldemort for their fear and hatred. Even so, for a short while there was rebellion. Voldemort's takeover had not be quiet; everyone knew that Pius Thicknesse, the new Minister for Magic, was utterly under Voldemort's control. The members of the Order and brave civilians fought back, at first, but then people disappeared in far larger numbers than before or were outright murdered, with no pretence made over why. Once the public executions started, the fighting all but stopped.

Amelia Bones, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Marcus Fleetwood were dead. Tyler Lyle was missing, but it was unclear whether this was Death Eater activity or not. Draco reported that he'd written to Cid Villiers, who said Tyler had been living with him and the Swifts at the time he'd gone missing, two days after Marcus' murder.

All the while Muggleborns were being rounded up, their wands snapped before they were thrown out on the streets. Severus disapproved, but he knew that he might have agreed with it if the law had been about taking Muggleborns from their families and raising them as wizards, erasing the Muggle parents' memories.

He knew his opinion wasn't shared by those he used to be in the Order with, but he suspected it was one held by more of wizarding Britain than his colleagues would like. Muggleborns could be just as strong at magic as any pureblood, but their families could also cause a lot of trouble. Just look at the Evans family—how much better would Lily have been without having to deal with Petunia's hate?

How much better would Harry have been?

Not that any of it mattered. Severus' opinions on the laws and politics of the country were utterly irrelevant; right then, the only thing that mattered was saving Harry and getting them both as far away from Britain as possible. Life in Australia would probably do them both the world of good.

Severus' plan was, theoretically, fairly simple. He would kidnap a Death Eater and use Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the hospital, taking the Death Eater with him, transfigured into something he could easily carry. It wouldn't work for most people; the protections on the hospital were tailored to only allow entry to people bearing the Dark Mark, or those under personal escort by a Death Eater, and Polyjuice couldn't fake that. Once inside, Severus would find Harry, transfigure the kidnapped Death Eater back to human, and force feed them Polyjuice with Harry's hair in. By the time anyone realised what happened, Severus and Harry would be long gone.

Assuming nothing went wrong, anyway.

Severus' target Death Eater was Walden Macnair. Although he'd been arrested in February 1995 and escaped Azkaban that follow October, he was back at the Ministry working as an executioner, albeit for humans rather than animals now. He wasn't the only former convict back there, either; several Death Eaters had retaken positions they'd lost after Voldemort's resurrection.

Macnair was suitable for Severus' purposes not because of that, however, but because he was vicious and weak-willed, but not stupid. His job didn't quite satisfy his violent urges, so he tended to go to the hospital and assault Harry in his free time. It meant he knew about the protections on Harry, the circumstances surrounding him, and who tended to visit often.

He was also utterly unable to resist the Imperius Curse, which meant it was easy for Severus to subdue him and walk him off somewhere quiet to learn all this information.

The new batch of Polyjuice was finally ready by mid-July. Severus interrogated Macnair again a few days beforehand, just to make sure there weren't any new developments regarding Harry that he needed to know. There weren't, but when Friday came, the day of Severus' plan, Macnair never showed up to work. Severus planned to grab him afterwards, when Macnair went for his usual after-work drink at the Leaky Cauldron, but Severus stayed in the late-night cafe opposite the entrance to the Ministry and Macnair never appeared.

Had something happened with Harry and the Death Eaters, or did Macnair just decide to take a day off?

Severus tried the Leaky Cauldron in case Macnair decided to start a weekend bender early, but he wasn't there, nor the Hogs Head or Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Severus returned home furious and frustrated enough to storm for the kitchen and reach for his vodka. He cracked it open, but stopped short of drinking any.

Why hadn't Macnair been at work today?

The answer came from Draco. Severus checked the charmed notebook regularly and this evening found a message from Draco.

Harry tried to escape. Aunt Bella says he stabbed Walden Macnair.

Severus summoned a quill so fast it stabbed his palm. He yanked it out, swearing, and scribbled a reply, not even hesitating to use his blood for ink.

Macnair dead?

Draco must have been watching the book, because a reply came almost instantly.

No. Stabbed in the eye. Bella says the Dark Lord has forbidden him from getting it healed or replaced, as punishment for letting Harry get the upper hand on him.

News on Harry?

Still captured.

Severus threw down his quill, summoned the vodka, but stopped short of drinking it. He slammed the bottle down on the side table and buried his face in his hands, rubbing his temples. He could all too easily imagine the punishment Harry was suffering for an attempted escape.

When he lowered his hands, there was more writing in the book.

You have to get him out.

Severus flipped it shut, grabbed the vodka, and threw the whole bottle at the wall. He didn't need Draco to tell him that.


On Saturday, Macnair was back at work. Severus saw him at the execution of Dedalus Diggle, who'd been caught giving wands to Muggleborns. They took place on the main road of Hogsmeade, the public were strongly encouraged to attend and a certain number of Ministry employees were forced to. The victims were decapitated and afterwards the heads were piked in Diagon Alley.

Macnair had a bandage wrapped around half his face, covering his right eye, but the injury hadn't done his enthusiasm for murder any harm. He seemed, to Severus, to have a particularly vicious swing to his wand as he cast the Decapitation Curse. Severus suspected he would prefer to be wielding an axe like he did for killing animals, but beheading was a messy business and apparently the new system didn't want that. The Decapitation Curse cauterised as it cut.

As Macnair lifted Diggle's head by the hair and swung it about for everyone to see, Severus knew he couldn't use Macnair for his plan anymore. If Draco was right and Macnair wouldn't be getting his sight repaired, Severus couldn't pretend to be him. He would need all his senses to infiltrate the hospital and save Harry; limited vision was a handicap he couldn't go in with.

Fortunately—for Severus—there were others who liked to torture Harry. Bellatrix was an obvious first, but Severus had never used Polyjuice with a female hair and he'd heard it could be disorientating. He didn't need that distraction when he was trying to save Harry.

Merrick Mulciber was a second, better choice. Severus had gone to school with him, though they'd fallen apart after Hogwarts. Among the Death Eaters, Severus became disenchanted with what they actually did and stood for whilst Mulciber found himself. He excelled at the Imperius Curse, but he had mean streak in him which led to him getting arrested shortly before Voldemort's downfall. In school, Severus had excused it as teenage machismo, so eager to have a friend that he'd dismissed Mulciber's behaviour, even when Lily pointed it out to him. But it meant Severus would be able to emulate Mulciber, and he would be able get to Harry just as well as if he pretended to be Macnair.

All he had to do was find him. Mulciber had been living in a safehouse after the Azkaban breakout, but when Severus went there now he found the house completely abandoned. He wasn't really surprised; it was the only one he'd been permitted to know the location of, and it had probably been abandoned after Potter told Voldemort about Severus' disloyalty.

Mulciber also wasn't amongst those to take gainful employment under the new regime. He was still acting as part of the Death Eater raids, breaking into the homes of blood traitors and Muggleborns, torturing and killing those that the Ministry couldn't make even a semi-plausible case against for public execution. The attacks were doing as much, if not more, as the executions to scare people into keeping quiet about the changes going on.

So, reluctantly, Severus enlisted Draco's help. Mulciber was one of those who regularly visited Malfoy Manor—it seemed Dolohov was no longer enough to satisfy Bellatrix. Severus had initially been annoyed with Draco's page long description of the fight between Bellatrix and Dolohov when the latter learned of Bellatrix's unfaithfulness (which he really should have expected, and which hadn't stopped him coming around, preferring to share her than lose her entirely), but it was useful information now.

He sent word to Draco asking that he tell Severus the next time Mulciber visited Bellatrix at the manor, intending to ambush him when he left. Unfortunately this plan meant he was once again spending a lot of time in his house with nothing to do, which left him thinking of vodka more often than he liked. He promised himself he wouldn't drink a drop until Harry was rescued, a promise he'd kept to so far, but it wasn't like he'd suffered any withdrawal from going dry in the past month—not that he'd expected to, not really—so would it really be so bad if he had a few shots?

He forced himself to refrain. Harry needed him. He couldn't compromise that even slightly.

He flicked through the demon books once or twice, but he'd been through them all before and knew they were all worthless. No book was going to help him save his son's soul from a hell dimension. As far as he could tell, nothing would save Harry from that.

It did occur to him that he could save Harry from his current predicament with a demon deal. He quickly dismissed the idea for now—he had a plan of his own, one that didn't involve damning himself to hell—but he kept it in mind for later, if his own plans failed.

When word came from Draco that Mulciber was in house, it was late evening a week before Harry's birthday. Severus cursed, in the middle of brewing a poison; it gave him something to do and he was thinking of finding a way to dispatch it among the Death Eaters. He could do some damage to Voldemort's ranks and the new system before he disappeared to Australia with Harry.

It was a waste of ingredients, but he had no choice but to vanish the potion now; leaving it unfinished only meant he'd come back to find his house on fire. He put out the fire beneath the cauldron, hurriedly changed into some bigger robes, pocketed a few small vials of Polyjuice Potion, and cast some hasty transfigurations on his face. He'd gotten better at them over the last month, at least when it came to transfiguring his own face.

He Disapparated, reappearing in the village that was less than a mile from Malfoy Manor. He didn't want to risk appearing directly on the road outside the manor itself, preferring to walk so he could see anyone that might be on it. He contemplated putting a Disillusionment Charm on himself, but they were more obvious on a moving figure and someone hiding under the charm would draw more attention than someone just taking a walk.

He put one on once he reached the manor, after walking past the gates and finding a tree to hide himself behind. It wasn't ideal—it was the only tree on the road that wasn't on the Malfoys' property—but it was enough, hopefully. Then all he had to do was wait.

It didn't take long. Either Bellatrix only wanted Mulciber for a quickie (which the old rumours certainly suggested, although if she took a man to her actual bed it was usually for longer—or so Severus had heard) or Mulciber didn't satisfy. The latter, Severus thought, if Mulciber's expression was anything to go by when he came out. Dolohov might be lucky enough to get a second chance.

None of that mattered to Severus, however. He straightened up from the tree, carefully aimed his wand as Mulciber turned out of the driveway and moved a short distance down the street, away from the anti-apparition charms that stretched a little beyond the Malfoy's property.

The moment Mulciber stopped and readjusted his robes, Severus conjured ropes to bind him, wrapping around wrists, ankles, and mouth. He couldn't use the Imperius Curse like he had on Macnair; Mulciber could resist it. Binding him was quieter than a Stunning Spell, and even before Mulciber toppled over Severus darted forwards, grabbed him, and Apparated away.

He didn't take him to Spinner's End—he wasn't sure he could take him to Spinner's End—but in the past month Severus had discovered that Black Stag House was abandoned, empty of any personal belongings but still furnished. The dust inside it was completely undisturbed; no one had been there since Harry, Black, and Potter left for Hogwarts last September. It made it a good temporary location to use.

Severus threw Mulciber down on the living room floor, and broke both his knees with a quick hex when Mulciber tried to kick him. As Mulciber lay groaning, Severus bent over him, caught his eyes, and cast Legilimency. He knew what he needed to about Harry and the protections on him, but it was good to get an idea of Mulciber's life now if he planned to imitate him.

It wasn't much different to Mulciber's life as a young man—he partied late, went on raids, and slept all morning, apparently trying to make up for those lost years in Azkaban despite the fact no self-respecting thirty-seven year old should be behaving like that. He made his living by stealing from those he raided, or putting innocent people under the Imperius and getting them to clear out their Gringotts' accounts. He was still close friends with Wilson Avery, who'd they'd also gone to school with; estranged from his wife Siobhán, the girl he'd married right out of school; and, as Severus thought, he distinctly underwhelmed Bellatrix in the bedroom, a fact she'd been very blunt about, much to the dismay of Mulciber's ego. Aside from her, his only romantic entanglements were with young women under the Imperius Curse.

Severus withdrew from his mind and Stunned him, then yanked a few hairs from his head and transfigured him into a small wooden doll. It still mostly looked like Mulciber; Severus had never transfigured a whole person before and he was only interested in making something easily portable, not creating anything elaborate.

He took a potion vial from his pocket, added the hair to it, and swirled it briefly, watching the potion turn the grey colour of wet concrete. He didn't hesitate to drink it; he'd taken enough Polyjuice in the past year that the taste barely made him grimace now. He was already dressed for Mulciber's larger size, so once the transformation was done he just shrugged himself to settle in, tucked the doll into his pocket, and then Disapparated.

He reappeared at the hospital and had to force revulsion and fear down beneath his Occlumency shields. He'd always disliked the place, uncomfortable in the dead remains of a place which used to house insane Muggles who were tortured in the name of healing them. The fear was a new sensation, though, brought with memories of his week locked up there. He didn't want to end up like that again.

But he would risk it, for Harry.

He strolled into the building, working to keep his pace steady and slow. Nerves and fear made him want to move quickly, and his usual pace was fairly fast anyway, but Mulciber moved at a confident amble. It would draw attention if Severus didn't move the same.

The protective spells let him by, detecting his Dark Mark, and he paused just inside the entrance, inhaling the stink of mould they'd never managed to get rid of, and desperately wishing he had a shot of vodka to burn the scent from his throat.

"Merrick!"

A woman in frumpy robes and with a face that looked as if it'd been slammed into a brick wall several times leapt up from a chair beside the door, dropping a copy of Witch Weekly on the floor so she could tug at her robes and pat down her wispy hair. She smiled at Severus, the expression as crooked as her teeth but sincere, and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Or at least attempted to; it looked more like a butterfly having a seizure, especially as her eyelids were heavily coloured in pink and blue.

Alecto Carrow. A guard on the door was new, but Severus had learned of it in Macnair's mind. Severus just wished it'd been someone else.

"How are you today, Merrick?" Alecto asked sweetly.

"Busy," Severus replied curtly, stepping away from her.

Alecto pouted, looking rather like a duck. "I thought we could go for a walk through the field."

Severus stared at her. Mulciber was not the sort who took walks though fields. Not even the far-from-romantic, overgrown mess of a field next to the hospital.

Alecto reached out and placed a hand on Severus' arm, squeezing the solid muscle beneath his taut robes. "Maybe you've got time after you're done here?"

Severus jerked away from her. "Carrow," he began, then stopped short, realising just soon enough that he couldn't tear her down with a polysyllabic insult. Even if she understood it, it wouldn't be in character for Mulciber, who, while not stupid, was generally vulgar and to the point. Severus sought for a suitable put-down, and eventually settled for saying crudely, "I'd rather fuck a hippogriff. It'd be more attractive."

She stepped back, mouth dropping open, and Severus felt the smug pleasure of outraging someone, even if it wasn't as satisfying as truly tearing into someone with a sharply-placed insult. Then Alecto's hand swung up and Severus barely jerked back in time to avoid getting slapped.

"You… you… cad!" She fumbled in her pocket for her wand. Severus didn't give her the chance, whipping up his own and fixing the point between her eyes before she could even get a grip on hers.

"Don't try me, Carrow."

Alecto's eyes were fixed on his wand. "That's not yours."

Severus' eyes flickered briefly to his wand, confused, then realised—it was his wand, not Mulciber's. Alecto's crush on him must be serious if she'd been watching him enough to recognise his wand.

He thought quickly. "I misplaced mine. This is a spare. Don't you have guard duty to get on with?"

Her lip curled, an ugly expression of anger twisting her already unattractive face, but she backed up a step, dropping into her chair. Severus lowered his wand and backed up a couple of steps before turning and moving down the hall. He kept his footsteps as gentle as he could manage under Mulciber's weight, listening carefully in case Alecto tried to curse him in the back. Whether afraid and uncaring, she didn't, and he turned the corner to safety.

He darted into an empty room where, heart pounding, he briefly returned Mulciber to normal so he could take his wand. He transfigured the man back to a doll before using Mulciber's wand to charm his own to look like Mulciber's. Mulciber's was resistant to Severus, but it worked well enough, and Severus pocketed it before carrying on in search of Harry.

The same room he'd been held in last time seemed the best place to start so Severus headed for it, satisfied to feel the pendant growing warmer against his chest as he went. That satisfaction died a quick death when he reached the open door and finally saw Harry.

He hovered in mid-air, naked and half-starved, his wrists locked in shackles and a thick metal collar around his throat, a taut chain connecting it to the back wall. Unfamiliar runes were carved into his chest, arms, legs, back, and cheeks, most of them still trickling blood down his skin, and he hung stiffly, his muscles tense, back perfectly straight.

His wrists were marked with viciously healed scars, intersected in places with black marks that Severus didn't understand, and all his fingers were broken, his hands purple and swollen. His left eyelid sagged over an empty socket and the right was a mutilated mess, a vicious half-healed cut tearing down below it, reaching almost to his mouth.

"Merrick."

Severus' gaze snapped aside and cold terror coiled around his spine as he laid eyes on Voldemort, but old habits kicked in, and he bowed deeply, murmuring, "My lord."

Voldemort twitched his hand and Harry spun slightly to face Severus directly. "Quite the mess Walden made of young Harry's face, don't you think?"

Severus wondered if it would be safe to take the time to find and murder Macnair before he left the country with Harry.

But he answered, wishing he could choke on the words. "It's nothing more than he deserves."

Voldemort hummed a soft noise, whether agreement or something else it was impossible to tell.

He made a sharp gesture with his hand and Harry dropped, hitting the floor with a soft cry that wasn't quite drowned out by the rattle of the chain. He turned onto his side, pressing his cheek to the tiled floor, and breathed like he was trying not to scream. Severus saw recent burns on the soles of his feet.

"Harry has been most unhelpful to me today, as always. You know what that means, Harry?"

Harry whimpered.

"Crucio."

Staying where he was was the hardest thing Severus had ever done. He trembled with the effort of remaining in place, of not leaping in to defend Harry from the curse. His scream pierced Severus' ears and rattled through his head..

If it went on much longer, he wasn't sure he could stand it.

Voldemort stopped the curse after the longest thirty seconds of Severus' life. Harry's screams faded to gasping whimpers, but they continued to echo in Severus' mind even as Harry fell into a seizure.

"Try not to break him," Voldemort said, then swept out the room. Severus closed his eyes, listening to the fading footsteps, and only when he heard the distant sound of a door open and close did he open his eyes and drop to his knees beside Harry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, the words like ash in his mouth. What good were apologies after he'd just stood by and watched his son get tortured. "I'm sorry, Harry."

He conjured a pillow under Harry's thrashing head, waiting anxiously for the seizure to stop. When it did, he cleared the vomit from Harry's mouth and healed the cuts across his skin as Harry drifted back to consciousness. He cast a few spells on Harry's hands, trying to reduce the swelling and restore circulation. They needed a healer's touch, he knew, but he thought he could do enough to at least save his hands for now.

He could do nothing for the burns across the soles of Harry's feet; this was evidently his punishment for attempting to escape, something to ensure he couldn't do it again.

When he'd done as much as he felt safe doing, he cautiously laid a hand gently against Harry's dark hair, only to jerk back when Harry flinched, letting out a terrified, "No!"

Severus had dealt with a broken heart before. He'd felt the pain of a lost friendship, of seeing the girl he loved married to a boy he hated. He'd felt the agony of guilt at knowing his own actions had led to Lily's death and Harry's miraculous survival, of learning that his self-pitying behaviour had left Harry in an abusive home, of over and over again making mistakes that hurt the people he wanted to protect.

None of it hurt as much as what he felt right then. He didn't know anything could hurt that badly, and he didn't think anything could ever feel worse.

But then he tried to release Harry and found charms on the chain, collar, and shackles—Magic Locked charms that meant only one person could undo them. The metal was even charmed against curses to destroy it, and even the point where the chain was stuck to the wall was charmed so Severus couldn't pull it out and take Harry with him, chains and all.

He'd snuck his way in here, he'd watched his son tortured with the most painful curse known to man, and now there was absolutely nothing he could do to help him.