Disclaimer: Not JKR, not making any money.
Chapter Warnings: Language, violence
Severus waited for the Dark Lord in the room that had once belonged to the Minister. The windows were hung with opulent curtains, the desk was a deep, rich mahogany. There were dark spots on the walls where the paintings of former Ministers had been removed.
The door swung open. Severus stood up without thinking, and when he saw the Dark Lord, he bowed low, his hair hanging in his face.
"So glad you did not have a delay," the Dark Lord said, putting one hand on Severus's shoulder. His voice didn't sound dangerous or cold; it sounded delighted. Severus lifted his head.
"Anything for you, my lord," he said.
The Dark Lord smiled. "Happy Halloween, Severus."
Severus blinked. Was that what this was all about? Holiday wishes? Severus remembered Christmas Eve, nearly two years ago, Lily in his arms, the Dark Lord so lonely he called Severus away from the only happiness Severus had ever known.
"You too, my lord."
"It isn't customary to exchange gifts on Halloween, but you gave me one anyway." The Dark Lord's smile deepened. His teeth flashed in the firelight. "I'd like to be honest with you. I had my doubts. The information you brought us from Dumbledore was always useless, useless - but I should have known better."
Hanley, Severus thought. "It took considerable effort to convince Dumbledore of my - loyalties," he said. "But it seems I've finally managed to sway him."
"You certainly have." The Dark Lord flicked his wand. Magic sparked out of its tip and disappeared out into the hallway. "The Concealment Charm has always been the strongest of the Opposition's magics. There are some among my ranks, even among my Inner Circle, who whisper that it can't be broken."
It can't, thank Christ. The thought existed for only a half a second before the shields slammed into place and erased it. "It's a strong spell, certainly," Severus said. "But if any wizard could break it, you would be the one."
The Dark Lord laughed. "The Concealment Charm is emblematic of the Opposition's greatest weakness." He looked at Severus expectantly.
"And what weakness is that?"
Another slow, dangerous smile. "Trust."
The office doors opened again. A pair of masked Death Eaters stepped inside, leading behind them a wizard with shaggy red hair and pale grey eyes. He did not have the drawn-out look of someone who'd been Crucio'd, Severus noted. His skin was bright with color, his movements smooth and unbroken.
He did look frightened, but in the presence of the Dark Lord, that meant nothing.
"Severus," the Dark Lord said, "I would like you to meet Jason Hanley."
Severus stepped forward. Hanley gazed at him for a few seconds before his eyes widened with recognition - with surprise.
"You didn't know?" the Dark Lord said to him. "That the new Potions Master worked for me? Show him, Severus."
Severus pushed his robe up his arm. The Mark coiled in its usual place, black and grey against the white of his skin.
"How did you -" Hanley spat out. "Dumbledore trusted you. Even after we all begged him to explain himself - He fucking defended you, you sneaking bast - "
"Enough," the Dark Lord said sharply. It reminded Severus, stupidly, of McGonagall barking at students in the Great Hall.
Hanley fell silent, his face angry and defiant.
"I've almost won," the Dark Lord said. "I hold the Ministry, as you can see, and I hold Hogwarts."
"One fucking spy -" Hanley said.
"One fucking spy is all I need," the Dark Lord replied. "One fucking spy brought you to me."
Hanley turned toward Severus and Severus stared back, calm and empty as his mind.
"What do you want?" Hanley asked.
"I want wizarding England," the Dark Lord said. "And for all intents and purposes, I have it. I know you and your little army still think there's a fight left, but if I can infiltrate Hogwarts - " and here he gestured toward Severus "-what makes you think you have any chance of winning? Any chance at all?"
Hanley's expression flickered for a moment, and Severus saw immediately what the Dark Lord was doing. You couldn't torture a secret out of a Secret-Keeper. But you could ask for one.
Something like dread wormed its way through the shields, and Severus thought about about the Dark protection spell Dumbledore would never allow to be cast.
Good thing I never asked for permission.
"When I win," the Dark Lord was saying to Hanley. "And I will, make no mistake about that - I will not look too kindly upon the Opposition. It's true you weren't much of a threat to me, but one still sprays for insects, doesn't one?"
Hanley said nothing, but his expression didn't look quite so defiant anymore.
"I know the Opposition fancies the Avada Kedavra to be the worst of the killing curses, to be, in fact, the only killing curse, but I'm afraid that's not the case. Why, Severus alone has developed several killing curses, all of them works of art, exquisite in the pain they cause." The Dark Lord ran his fingers along the side of Hanley's face, and Severus could see him shivering beneath the Dark Lord's touch. "When I execute the members of the Order of the Phoenix, I will not be using the Avada Kedavra."
For the first time, Hanley spoke.
"We knew about the killing curses," he said. "And we knew that death was always a possibility."
Spoken like a true Gryffindor, but unlike a true Gryffindor, there was no belief behind the words. They were empty as glass.
"Is that so?" the Dark Lord said.
Hanley didn't answer.
"There's no reason for you to die, Jason. And perhaps more importantly, there's no reason for you to live as you've been living, in that rundown little cottage my Death Eaters pulled you from. Is that a home for that lovely wife of yours - she's quite safe," the Dark Lord added, when Hanley's face turned red. "You'll recall my Death Eaters didn't touch her, didn't touch the baby sleeping in his crib."
From the expression on Hanley's face, Severus knew this was true.
"I can give you a house," the Dark Lord said, "when my time has come. I can give you a stipend to ensure you and your family are well cared for during the transition. I can find you work in one of the alley shops - something stable and safe. I'm not requiring you to become a Death Eater. You don't have serve me in the coming years, at least not in the sense that Severus does."
"You're lying," Hanley said.
"No," the Dark Lord said. "I'm negotiating." And he conjured up a scroll and a set of black feather quills. "Are you aware of how Dark magic works, Jason?"
Hanley hesitated before answering. "Sacrifice," he said.
"Ah, I see you're capable of sifting through Dumbledore's propaganda! Excellent work, young man. Yes, the Dark Arts are merely sacrificial magic. No more, no less." The Dark Lord spread out the scroll against the mahogany desk. "A contract signed in blood is blessed with Dark magic. It can not be broken."
Hanley stared at the scroll. Severus couldn't read his face; he didn't bother to try and read his mind.
"I know what you want." Hanley looked up at the Dark Lord. "And if I don't tell you, then you won't win. I heard the prophecy."
"Did you?" the Dark Lord asked. "Did you hear it word for word?"
Hanley blinked. No, Severus thought. He doubted any of the Order members had.
"I have," the Dark Lord said. "And it says only that the boy is capable of defeating me. That if I live he must die, and vice versa." The Dark Lord shook his head. "It's a shame prophecies can't be more direct, isn't it?"
"Sounds pretty direct to me," Hanley said.
"The Longbottoms can't stay in hiding indefinitely," the Dark Lord said. "And an infant can not defeat me. Nor can a little boy. If you don't tell me how to find them now, I will still win, but you won't get your house, your stipend, your steady job. And I'm afraid your wife will most certainly become a widow. If not by my hands, then -" the Dark Lord let his voice trail off. "Of course, she won't stay a widow for long. We don't spare the wives of the Opposition." He shrugged. "It is, of course, your choice. I can't force you to tell me. I simply can offer you a better life than Dumbledore can, than Dumbledore wants to."
There was a long silence. The air in the room felt heavy. Severus felt nothing. He didn't know what emotions were roiling beneath the shields. He'd built the walls too tight and too thick to tell.
"Let me see the contract."
"Of course." The Dark Lord drifted the contract up on the air with his wand. It came to rest in Hanley's hands. Hanley read over it. He glanced at the Dark Lord, reached into his cloak, pulled out his wand. The Dark Lord didn't even blink.
Severus had to admit that was clever, letting Hanley keep his wand.
Hanley touched his wand to the contract. The parchment glowed golden for a few seconds and then faded. Hanley glanced up the Dark Lord in surprise.
"This is Binding," he said. "By death."
"That surprises you?"
"You have much more to lose if I don't sign it."
The Dark Lord smiled wide enough to show his teeth. "I have everything to gain if you do."
"You won't ever be able to kill me," Hanley said. "Or my family."
"I'm aware of the terms."
"And all I have to do is tell you their location?"
Severus noticed how Hanley didn't say the Longbottoms' name.
"You have to give up their secret, yes. But that's all I ask of you."
Hanley stared at the Dark Lord for a moment or two longer. Then he turned back to the contract. Tapped it with his wand again. It lit up like Christmas.
The shields trembled. Severus knitted them tighter, willed them to stay in place. He was numb. Lily, he thought. Harriet.
Please don't sign.
And then the Occlumency swallowed even that.
"Give me a quill," Hanley said.
Severus remained motionless even though his insides felt as if they were being ripped into a thousand pieces. The quill sailed through the air, coming to rest beside Hanley's head. He took it distractedly, still looking down at the contract.
Dumbledore, you fucking fool. The Dark Lord's right, your biggest weakness is trust. Then the shields locked down on those treacherous thoughts, and Severus trembled.
Hanley ran the quill along the inside of his arm. Blood beaded at the tip.
Severus reached back deep into his thoughts, past the shields, past Lily, past his memory of the photograph of Harriet. Buried amidst all that happiness was his plan, his Dark spell, tucked away from not only the Dark Lord but Dumbledore as well.
Hanley scrawled his name across the bottom of the contract, straightened, handed it to the Dark Lord, who signed as well, with his own dark blood.
"You made the right decision," the Dark Lord told Hanley. Then: "Where are they?"
"23 Leonas Circle," Hanley said, his voice flat. "In Godric's Hollow."
The air in the room was electrified.
"Can I go home to my wife now?" Hanley asked.
"Of course," the Dark Lord said. "But if the information you gave me was wrong -"
"It's not." Still completely emotionless. Hanley stared at the Dark Lord for a few seconds, then turned to Severus. Severus wanted to lunge across the room and strangle him for giving the information to the Dark Lord, for putting Lily in danger, Lily and Harriet, his only chance at happiness -
Hanley walked out of the room.
"That went much more smoothly than I expected," the Dark Lord said. He rolled up the contract and tucked it inside his robes. "In an hour Jason Hanley will receive a owl carrying a rather large sum of money, and the Longbottoms will all be dead." The Dark Lord paused, looked closely at Severus's face. "Severus," he said softly. "Don't you share my happiness?"
Here it comes, Severus thought, and he filled his head with false memories.
The Dark Lord seemed colder than usual, cold and sharp. The false memories were of Lily, only doctored so that Lily resembled Alice Longbottom. Her red hair was brown, her face was softer, rounder, darker complected. In the false memory they were walking through the Forbidden Forest, to their secret place. They were studying together beneath the oak tree in the courtyard. They were kissing as children, lips brushing together beside the river that ran through Spinner's End.
Severus ripped his gaze away from the Dark Lord's, an attempt at verisimilitude. Hopefully it didn't get him killed. "Forgive me, my lord," he murmured. "I - I've loved her for a long time."
"Severus," the Dark Lord said, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Severus shook his head, hair hanging lank and greasy in his eyes. "I was ashamed, my lord."
The Dark Lord pressed his finger underneath Severus's chin and lifted his head. Their gazes met, but the Dark Lord did not seep into Severus's thoughts. "I wish you had told me," he said. "I would've liked to have had this explanation for your peculiar behavior much earlier."
Severus didn't say anything.
"You brought me Hanley," the Dark Lord said, "despite knowing that it would harm her. From what I understand of love -"
"My loyalties are to you, my lord," Severus said. "Always. But it was - it was painful, to know that I would be the one -"
The Dark Lord held up one hand. "The prophecy is not about her," he said. "It's about her child."
"I could care less about the brat." Severus sneered, thinking of James Potter, transformed in his mind to look like Frank Longbottom.
The Dark Lord smiled, stroked Severus's cheek with the back of his hand. "I will spare her," he said.
Severus let out a deep sigh of relief. Hopefully Alice Longbottom would fulfill her own role in all of this. Putting your trust in her, he thought with a twist of disdain. Just like Dumbledore.
He tucked all his thoughts away.
"Thank you, my lord," he said, his gratitude as real as the pain coiling around inside his chest, pain that had nothing to do with Alice Longbottom.
The Dark Lord dropped his hand. "Go back to Hogwarts," he said. "Make yourself seen by the staff. You must have an alibi for the time of the death, in case anything goes wrong."
"Nothing will go wrong," Severus said. His shields quaked.
The Dark Lord smiled as if he agreed. "Still," he said. "We must play things safe until the boy is dead."
Severus nodded. His shields were barely containing his emotion, the panic and fear, the memories of an undisguised Lily. But the Dark Lord didn't bother to look inside his head. Lucky.
"I'll send word," the Dark Lord said, "when we are successful. I'm entrusting you to secure Hogwarts in those twilight hours." His eyes glowed red and green. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord." Severus bowed, and when he lifted his head the Dark Lord was already striding out of the room, his robes streaming out behind him like swirls of ink.
Severus's arm ached. He rubbed at the Mark, massaging it. His touch felt alien, as if it were someone else touching him.
He flung Floo powder into the fireplace and disappeared back to Hogwarts.
