Something is Stolen
"In the darkness I will meet my creators
They will all agree, I'm a Suffocator," – Daughter
Severus had taken a deep breath, aware that he was watching the Dark Lord's cape trail over the floor, its edges had become tattered and faded, the Dark Lord was also bare foot. The Dark Lord had started paying less attention to his appearance, it had become a back burner compared to his grander plans. The tattered cape's owner seemed to be making his way around the cavernous dining-room as though he was stalking his prey.
He looks as if he is a snake preparing itself for its meal. I do wonder who will be unlucky enough to be on the receiving end?
"I shall need to borrow one of your wands before I kill Potter," Voldmort announced to the room full of Death Eaters. Several faces began to cower at such a preposterous idea. No witch or wizard sacrificed their wand for anyone; it was the direct link to the source of their magic. Not
even Albus Dumbledore would request this of a member of The Order; hell, he would not even have requested Severus' wand.
Another way in which you can punish one of us in a sadistic manner… you really could sink no lower. It would not surprise me in the least if you decided to select one of the Malfoys, just in spite of Draco's failing to murder Dumbledore at his own hand, or Lucius' failing to obtain the prophecy.
Bellatrix, his devoted follower, his 'most precious' followerstayed quiet. The whole room had descended into a deep silence. All faces were lit by the low light of the fire, all were pale, solum and tight-lipped, unsure of how to reply to the Dark Lord's outlandish request.
The silence was broken by a snivelling voice stuttering, "M-m-my lord… I will offer you mine. I know it is not the most powerful or—"
A loud cackle was drawn from Voldemort's thin lips, he turned sharply to eye Wormtail, the man who had stuttered out the offering of his wand. With a flick of the Dark Lord's wrist, he sent the small man flying out of his chair and onto the cold flooring. Clearly, Wormtail was already in pain from his fall as he whimpered under his master's glare.
"Never insult me in such a way. Crucio!"
The rat-like man's body spread across the stone flooring, his body withering, jerking all over. Crucio, in Severus' opinion, had to be one of the worst torture curses. He had been subjected to it quite often in the first war, when he was much younger and did not sit so highly within Voldemort's ranks. Severus closed his eyes, he did not wish to see the rat being uncontrollably tortured, as he found his muscles were responding to the trigger with a deep ache that felt as if all of his nerves were being electrocuted at once. It had little to do with whom was being tortured, Severus did not care greatly for the ex-marauder Wormtail. Severus used Occlumency to block out the renewed pain he was experiencing; he soon felt as though he was bathed in calmness, his eyes no-longer showing an ounce of emotion.
Bellatrix had found her voice once again, her curls bouncing as she shook with glee. She was cheering and laughing loudly that could be akin to mania.
"My Lord, punish the little squealing pig!" She screeched in encouragement.
The Dark Lord soon found himself getting bored of Wormtail's screams.
"My dear Bella, he is all yours,"
Bellatrix Lestrange gushed with pride, she leaped over to where Wormtail lay and began to do as she pleased with him. Bellatrix's favourite part of the meeting was always this, after so many years in Azkaban she had seemed to have – as the Muggles say – 'lost her marbles'. Wormtail really was in for some true suffering at the hands of Bellatrix.
The Dark Lord had continued his original trail, he slithered back down to directly opposite where Severus was sat. He had come behind the three Malfoys, just as Severus thought. Severus looked towards them all in sympathy.
"Now, Lucius, I think you can spare your wand. I see no reason for you to have it," Voldemort whispered menacingly.
Lucius Malfoy, Severus' oldest friend, really had fallen from grace in the Dark Lord's opinion. Even Lucius' appearance had sunk; he was a man whom had always taken pride in his appearance, dressed in the most immaculate clothing, hair straight and vibrant. Oh, how his appearance was a stark contrast to his former self; his hair had become lank and lifeless (incredibly similar to Severus' own hair), his eyes had become sunken and bloodshot. Lucius' skin had become pallid and yellow, a clear indication to Severus that the man's dependency on alcoholic substances was returning. His wife, Narcissa Malfoy, had begun to lose some of her natural elegance. She was still exquisitely beautiful, although it seemed lost on her pallid complexion; her dark green eyes seemed to hold the weight of the world within them. Their son –his Godson – reflected his father's complexion, all traces of his youthful arrogance had disappeared, Severus watched as the poor boy shook involuntary.
"M-my Lord?" Lucius had managed to whimper in protest of the Dark Lord's request.
Severus gulped quietly; his Adam's apple bobbed as he fixed his eyes back onto Lucius. Severus knew that losing his wand at the hand of the Dark Lord would be a lot easier for him than Lucius. With Severus being a half-blood, he knew how to function in the Muggle world, where magic was not used. Magic in the Muggle world simply consisted of pathetic sleight of hand card tricks or pretending to saw a woman in half. When, in fact, the woman had folded her legs behind her back and the other part contained prosthetic legs. Whereas Lucius knew nothing of the Muggle world; he did not know how to function without using his magic. He was a typical wealthy pureblood in that respect. Severus really did feel empathy for him.
"Your wand, Lucius. I require your wand!" Voldemort had begun to grow impatient.
Lucius had stilled, his body frozen except for his eyes. His eyes, once again, had made contact with Severus' ebony eyes, just before fleeting to stare at his wife. Narcissa felt as though she was being watched, she knew instantly that she needed to respond to her husband, she kept her eyes forward not allowing her body to betray her. She slipped her slender hand on top of his, her ring finger darting out to caress his gold wedding band. She hoped that he would catch on to what she had tried to imply with her simple action; she had wanted to signify that their union should bring him strength and that she supported him no matter what.
Lucius managed to lift his finger to touch his wife's hand, telling her he understood. His free hand dipped into his robes to search for his wand. He no-longer kept his want inside his cane, as he saw no need to encapsulate his wand when he spent the majority of his time indoors.
A cascade of blonde hair fell forward, covering Lucius' shameful expression that was written all over his face as he handed the Dark Lord his wand.
Grey fingers snatched away the onyx-coloured wand, red eyes roamed the full existence of the wand, examining it closely. His magic flowed into the wand, but it felt wrong. The wand was already rejecting him, and he was fully aware of this fact, although chose to ignore it.
"What is it?" Voldemort snapped.
"Elm, my Lord."
Severus began to cringe at the embarrassment and humiliation Lucius was being subjected to.
"The core?" Voldemort said lazily.
"Dragon—dragon heartstring."
"Good. Very different to Potter's." Voldemort said as he walked away from Lucius. His focus had diverted on how best to test the wand.
Wormtail had recovered himself enough to have sat himself back into his original seat; he was snivelling quietly, which would not go amiss to Voldemort, his hearing incredibly sharp when he used an Enhancing Hearing spell. He had found the perfect target to test the wand, another Crucio was roared towards Wormtail as he aimed his newly required wand at him.
Wormtail's small hands flayed frantically in front of his body trying to protect himself, strangely enough there was not a flinch or grimace from him. Severus raised an eyebrow in confusion, Hell would freeze over before Wormtail could handle pain without squealing like a boiled lobster, there must be something strange going on for this reaction.
Severus now started at the Elm wand in confusion, he began to flick through his knowledge of wand lore.
Merlin it really has been some time since I have researched this, he thought. Elm: elm has a powerful lineage, usually a strong pure-blood connection is affiliated with it. Often, it is said that only purebloods can produce magic from said wood.
Severus could not quite believe what he had discovered – did that mean that their leader was not a pureblood? How the tables have turned, hey? Severus had to hold in an ironic laugh as he decided to think about this later, there were more important factors to focus on now.
Voldemort had been, at first, as surprised as the whole room, although he had managed to not demonstrate that he was. Severus had seen the flicker of anger in his eyes and waited for his reaction. Which took no time at all, Voldemort thread the wand through both of his hands and simply snapped Lucius' wand in half before throwing towards Lucius.
"Pathetic, just as you are, Lucius!"
Severus kept his eyes from falling on Lucius' direction, as he wished not to see the pain that lay there. A small scoff of displeasure was heard, which he assumed was Lucius.
"Draco, my dear boy," a slither of seduction from Voldemort as he tried to manipulate the younger Malfoy. "May you step-up and lend me your wand?"
Draco looked as though he had paled, all eyes had fallen on him, his mother had a pleading look about her. One which Severus had seen a year prior, when Narcissa had eagerly sought out his address and visited him with her deranged sister to ensure Draco had a protector. Afterall, Lucius had not been there, and she had no one else to turn to.
Draco acted on Voldemort's command, handing the wand over with no hesitation or fuss. Severus could see that he had deployed his mother's tactics by using his initiative and intelligence to get by rather than cowering away like his father. Voldemort thanked the boy by bowing his head a centimetre or so. Severus was shocked at the Dark Lord's ability to be humble and display a genuine gesture of thanks and respect; it seemed to him that Draco Malfoy was viewed in much higher standing than his father. Voldemort often used tactics like this to draw his younger followers in, he demonstrated a small amount of humility and sense of respect, just before he would snatch it away.
Bellatrix had gazed at Draco with admiration just as she spoke, "He always has been a good boy; he knows what is best, my lord." She switched her gaze to Lord Voldemort, where she would have given a lovesick puppy a good run for its money with the way she was looking at Voldemort. "There is no higher honour than having you within our family home and you using the boy's wand."
"No higher honour," repeated Voldemort "this truly means a great deal when coming from you, Bellatrix."
Bellatrix's eyes grew heavy with emotion, she was incredibly close to tears. "It is true, My Lord, I thank you."
"Do we believe this when discussing the happy event that occurred earlier this week?" Voldemort questioned the table.
Severus watched as Bellatrix's lips parted with confusion, she had clearly no knowledge of the nuptials that had occurred earlier that week. Severus had to hold back a small laugh, he loved to see Bellatrix completely clueless.
"Your niece, my dear Bella, she is also yours Narcissa and Lucius!" Voldemort hissed. "She has just wed werewolf, Remus Lupin, you must be so very proud."
The room became full of Death Eaters jeering and laughing loudly, Severus allowed himself the small pleasure of letting go of his emotions and laughing faintly. The Death Eaters around him exchanged gleeful looks, some even thumping their fists on the table, whilst a few remained silent. Lucius had donned a look of pure hatred, his eyes full of embarrassment, whereas Narcissa wore the same look of elegancy as before.
Bella had paled. She wore her emotions on her face, she had become full of anger. "She is no niece of ours – Narcissa and I have never set eyes on the half-breed!" She bellowed to the crowd. Bella turned to face Lord Voldemort where she addressed him. "My Lord, if I may?" She paused and waited for the Dark Lord's encouragement; he waved his hand for her to continue.
"The disgrace is our sister's to carry, Andromeda, she married the dirty mudblood and birthed the brat that dare marry a beast!"
"We often find that the older family trees become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy?" Voldemort replied.
"Yes, my Lord, at first chance I will."
"We all must follow Bellatrix's lead and cut away the canker until only true blood remains." Voldemort look away from Bellatrix and raised Draco Malfoy's wand up to the suspended revolving figure, he flicked the wand as in turn, the figure came to life, able to speak a little.
"Severus, do you recognise our guest?"
Severus had not taken much notice of the figure above; he was well aware that Voldemort often stalked his prey and brought his loyal, inner circle something to tantalise their senses. Severus sat calmly; he lifted his eyes up in the direction of the helpless victim that was above him. He recognised her at once, Severus did not often forget a face.
"Ah, yes," Severus said.
Voldemort had raised Draco's wand and flicked it; the captive had suddenly come alive. A slow groan began to admit into the room, whilst a cracked, broken voice began to plea, "Severus! Help me!"
Severus avoided looking at her eyes, instead he focused back on his master who had found his voice once again.
"And you, Draco?" Voldemort hissed. Nagini had made her way to wrap around Voldemort's throne-like chair, her head resting on his shoulder. Voldemort placed a hand on top of Nagini's head and stroked her, he whispered something to her prior to looking towards Draco's eyes. Draco responded by shaking his head in a jerky fashion, he was the only person in the room that seemed unable to look at the suspended women.
"But you would not have taken any of her classes, so there is little surprise in you not knowing who she is," Voldemort announced. "On the other hand, Severus, you have had the pleasure of being her colleague – have you not?"
Severus gave the Dark Lord a nod. "Yes, of course. For those of you unaware of whom our guest is, she works at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry alongside Severus. This is Charity Burbage. Professor Burbage taught some of your children and other children that are magically descendant from wizards and witches all about muggles. This was until recently. She believes that muggles are not so different from us all…" Voldemort paused for affect, he stared all around to ensure that everyone had their eyes on him. Most of the Death Eaters had hideous looks over their faces, mostly displaying disgust or horror, whereas Severus simply wore his indifferent scowl. Severus likened Voldemort's behaviour to a ring master at present; he had visions of Snakeface sporting a top hat and swirly moustache. He really did have a flare for the dramatic.
"If it was down to Professor Burbage, she would have us mate with the Mudbloods. She stated so in a recent article in the Daily Prophet, she believes it would be a 'most desirable circumstance' for pure-blood wizards to mate with Muggles… or werewolves!" Voldemort said with such distain that the room stayed silent.
Charity Burbage continued to rotate above Severus, her shadow casting an uneasy feeling within him, he knew it would not be long before Professor Burbage would no longer be with them, and he would have to report her demise to Dumbledore. Just another baton for Dumbledore to beat him with.
Snape knew not to get attached to anyone, especially from his experience in the first war, but he was feeling a little uneasy with another loss on his conscience. Burbage had been someone whom he had worked with for several years, she was a quiet, mousy sort of woman that never raised her voice and was polite to all around her. Although, she did not know what it was like to actually be a Muggle, Severus had often explained how things worked in the Muggle world to her.
One particular incident that had amused Snape was when he had to explain how a credit card worked to Miss Burbage, it seemed beyond her capabilities to grasp.
A few years earlier, Snape had finished a double potions lesson with his fifth year Slytherin and Gryffindors, the class had contained blasted Potter, the whining Weasley and Know-it-All Granger. Because of this he was feeling particularly grouchy and was finding everyone intolerable. He had positioned himself in the corner of the staffroom where is back was to wall and he could still see the comings and goings of the room without having to lift his eyes up from the newspaper that he was reading. Thankfully the staffroom was empty at present so he could enjoy a little peace and quiet.
Moments passed and staff slowly began to filter in. Breaktime had commenced and every one of the professors seemed desperate for a brief respite and cup of coffee. Snape sighed as his few moments of peace were now over, it would only take for the Grand Toad (Severus' endearment for Professor Umbridge) to walk in really make his mood completely miserable. Fortunately for him, she did not enter the staffroom.
A pale hand outstretched in front of him, it had a green cup in its grasp. Severus closed his newspaper to stare at whom it was.
"I-I am sorry to disturb you, Severus, I noticed you were the only one without coffee. It is black with some sugar in it." Charity Burbage announced in a soft voice. Severus was not used to anyone getting his preference for coffee right, let alone someone being kind enough to make him a cup of coffee. He looked at it suspiciously. His hand extended and took the coffee from Burbage.
"Thank you…" Severus replied stiffly.
Charity smiled at Severus and took the thank you as an invitation to sit down, she left a chair between them and sat herself down. She was wearing a rather ugly ensemble: a long dress that was honey-coloured and had some kind of cartoon animal on it, she even had a matching cardigan; the outfit was a little small for her. Her shoes were horrific, bright blue wedges with tassels on.
If only I could set fire to the dreaded thing!
"How are you, Severus? Her soft voice cooed.
Woman, I am not one of your helpless students and I do wish you would refer to me not using my first name! Severus thought and sighed, he always hated being asked how he was, he knew that when asked no one truly meant it.
"Fine, Professor Burbage, how are you?" He replied pleasantly.
"Oh, very well. I just had a lovely lesson. I did learn something that I do not quite understand, though. One of my students mentioned something called a… oh – what was it? – a… 'credit card'?" Charity laughed softly. "Apparently these plastic cards have a small Gringotts vault in them and you just press them against a machine, fascinating!"
Severus stared at Charity in complete astonishment, his usual scowl dropped from his facial features and morphed into complete surprise: his eyebrows became raised, high and perfectly curved, his mouth became taut. Severus allowed himself to express a small chuckle before he spoke.
"How interesting!" He paused and looked around the staffroom. He briefly engaged in eye contact with Minerva McGonagall, she seemed to have a sparkle of laughter held in her eyes.
Even though Minerva was not Muggle-born; she was a half-blood, a rather intelligent one at that. Severus would not be surprised if she owned a debit card, alongside using it frequently in the Muggle world. Severus focused on Professor Burbage once again, he was not one to talk about his private life and his blood status, but he believed it was relevant to the conversation, so began to divulge this information.
"Believe it or not, I actually have a credit card, it is almost essential to Muggle-living. They use them as frequently as we use our wands," Severus began to explain. "The small bit of plastic has unique numbers engraved on it and a computer chip with all the information on it – it is very different from a Gringotts vault."
Professor Burbage's facial expression became dazed, she scratched the back of her head and her eyebrows knitted together. "Oh?" she questioned him. "So, it is not like a Gringotts vault? Does the money not live in the credit card?"
Severus held back his laughter, how could Purebloods be so ignorant? She was perfectly capable of comprehending the concept, her intelligence was just above average.
"Correct. It is all connected via computer systems."
Severus was pulled away from his retrospective thoughts by a soft hiss that originated from the Dark Lord. "Severus!"
"Yes, my lord?"
"I believe it would be fitting for you to claim your prize, would it not?" Voldemort said alluringly.
Severus masked his true feelings using Occlumancy, his eyes glazed over and became exactly like obsidian.
"My lord, I am incredibly honoured to be given this opportunity." He said as he bowed his head and stood up. Severus raised his onyx wand, pointed it at Professor Burbage's body and whispered the killing curse.
Her body became lifeless and dropped onto the large dining table with a thud.