The Nightmare Man

Summary: In the depths of the Ministry, there is a cell for the world's most dangerous man… and he wants out.

Pairing/s: None.

Warnings: Time travel, OOC-characters, Light!bashing, Twisted!Harry, Evil!Harry, violence, mention of gore. Yeah, stuff like that.

Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money writing this.

-o-

Edited 2020

-o-

Chapter Nine

Warm autumn began to change, into the beginning of a bitter, hard winter. Hail fell from the sky every other day, and if not, cold rain washed over them. The wind was strong and harsh. Hogwarts ran smoothly while the rest of magical England started becoming more and more unstable.

The Ministry of Magic was conducting hunts for an ill omen, a creature of the old ages, described as a nightmare, a plague. Cornelius Fudge provided a sketch of the man since there were no photos of him. There was not even a name to go with the man, only a title. The Nightmare Lord.

So people saw the face every day. It was in Diagon Alley, the Ministry, the magical villages and even a few in Knockturn Alley. The sketch was good, showing the details, enough so that he would be easily recognized.

Still, Voldemort, the Dark Lord who sort of got pushed to the side for the moment, disagreed with the sketch. Harrison had far more… well, power, if he used the first word that came into his mind. Harrison's presence bore more power and madness, a great fear and a lot of respect. A mere sketch did not do the man justice, Voldemort concluded.

And the eyes were wrong. They were lifeless in this sketch, not like Harrison's real ones. At first, when they first met, Voldemort had seen nothing but a deep hatred and a brilliant but insane man in those eyes. But as time went on, they softened. Harrison became more human, free of that cell he had spent hundreds of years inside. He didn't lose his insanity, or his hatred, but he was, well… he was more kind to those who mattered.

Voldemort knew exactly what he was in Harrison's eyes. A child. An eager one, but still a child nonetheless. He found himself not minding it that much.

Most people were children in Harrison's eyes. Inexperienced, annoying children.

Voldemort glanced over at one of the sketches again. They had started to show up a few days ago so Harrison should know about it already. He himself had been busy and wasn't aware that they were up until Lucius Malfoy notified him earlier today. He had gone out to see for himself and found them everywhere.

He himself apparently wasn't as important. No one, not even Albus Dumbledore had ever bothered trying to show Voldemort's face. Maybe because they didn't know which face was his real one? Voldemort did like to confuse them.

He finished his drink and left Diagon Alley, walking leisurely through the alley. Voldemort moved past Sirius and Remus who had stopped at the Quidditch shop. Voldemort didn't turn around much, just enough to grin at the sight of them completely unaware who had just walked past them.

-o-

James and Sirius had started to come to Hogwarts every other day, using their positions as Aurors to patrol the area. The Ministry followed this by actually posting a few more Aurors in addition to them, and Albus began have his Order patrol the grounds as well as Hogsmeade.

Albus also began to hold more meetings, and despite Severus not being part of the Order, he was allowed to sit in on them. James would have protested, if he knew it would actually help. As he was sure it wouldn't help, he kept his silence reluctantly.

Snape rarely had information about Voldemort and his plans nowadays, much less if Voldemort and the Nightmare Lord were working together like Albus was beginning to fear. In James' eyes, Snape was barely a spy anymore. Yet Albus kept him at their side!

The potions master also had the support of some Order members, Lily included, and thus complaining about it would just lead to arguments.

But James also had other reasons to keep Severus away. Ever since he returned, uninjured, from the battle at Hogsmeade, James felt like he was walking on needles. Any day the truth would come out; one of his spells hit Snape by mistake and he didn't try to help Snape.

James had mentally calm himself down every time Snape spoke, and his hands were twitching. He just wanted to make sure Snape couldn't tell anyone. It was an accident! And he was fine in the end!

"James, are you alright?" Lily asked.

"What? Yes, Lils, I'm fine."

He looked around the room. Snape had the nerve to sit and correct essays in the corner of Albus' office, looking more interested in his students' papers than what the Order was discussing.

Sirius' wand creaked in his grip, and James lightly hit his leg.

"Put it away," he said. "Before we have an accident."

"Why is Snape here?" he said. "He's not even listening."

Albus' theory that Voldemort and the Nightmare Lord had joined forces interrupted them, and they paid more attention to it.

"They probably have; why wouldn't they?" one said.

"Maybe they're raising Inferi armies together."

"They'll probably attack a Muggle town any day now!"

"I doubt that," Snape suddenly said, startling them.

"Why is that?" James said.

Snape looked at him, and James controlled the flinch that wanted to come out whenever he met Snape's eyes nowadays. Did the man really not remember that night? He had looked right at James. Even with the injuries, James knew Snape had seen it was him, had known the spell came from James' wand.

"I doubt that if they team up, they will attack any Muggle towns," the potions master said.

"What makes you say that, Severus?" Albus asked.

"Both the Dark Lord as well as this Nightmare Lord has, in the past, attacked Muggle settlements as well as Muggles by themselves," Snape said. "But it's stopped. The only places the Dark Lord has attacked lately are magical places."

"So?" Sirius said.

"Does that not suggest that he's separating the magical world from the Muggle one?" Snape said to them. "As I have always told you, headmaster, the Dark Lord doesn't believe that Muggles knowing about magic is necessarily a good thing. So why expose magic by attacking Muggles places?"

"You have a good point there," Albus said, and James had to mentally agree with it. "His past actions have stopped as of late. Neither have we heard of the Nightmare Lord attacking Muggles, despite it being quite the sport of his before his capture."

"Strange sport," Snape muttered and returned to his grading.

He was too casual, James decided as Albus merely nodded and moved on. Snape had never been the kindest person around, but not this… shallow? Like this discussion didn't matter. Like the war didn't matter.

Snape had been vocal about the Muggle hunting, hating the activity. He wasn't fond of Muggles, but he also didn't find it necessary to hunt them, or torture them. Now it was like… not even that mattered.

James vowed to himself to keep a closer eye on Snape to figure out what was going on with him.

-o-

Somewhere quite far away from Harrison's manor, Albus had concerns about future plans of Voldemort as well as Harrison and well… his concerns were justified. Whatever Harrison did, it never made people like Albus happy.

Like what he was planning now; a garden. Not a garden with flowers, or bushes, or even herbs. His gardens tended to be a bit… peculiar.

Or as his servants put it, terrifying.

He didn't have everything he needed for his garden so for now he was tearing up the earth, turning it over and preparing it. He had sought out a large spot on his grounds for it, and kept going for half a day until there was a mess of earth and grass all around him. The cold weather was just fine; Harrison had found out in the past that his type of gardens like the cold more than the warmth anyway.

However, he needed soil, something to plant the seeds it, and it couldn't be earthen soil. The seeds were easy to get, Harrison created them himself, but the soil was something he had to acquire. Well, the part that the seeds would rest in at least.

He used to have another garden, several, but they weren't indestructible. Fire could burn them down to ashes, and had burned them down. Burned by those who hunted him, and those who simply hated what he did.

Or rather, hated what he created fro the gardens.

Harrison stopped and had a look around, grinning. He would need bodies for this, Muggles would do fine, and if he went about it the right way, no one would suspect magic or magical people. The Muggle world, as full as it was with science, still had its mysteries. People vanished without a trace every day.

He just had to make a whole lot of them vanish.

Eventually he brushed some dirt off his robe and sauntered back inside. Elise stopped and stared at him, then down at his clothes.

"At least it's not blood," she said.

"Rude, Elise. Very rude. I don't always come back covered in blood."

"Correct, master. One time out of ten you don't."

"Fair point." Harrison was about to brush some more off, but thought better of it. "The manor is very clean now. Absurdly clean."

"Yes," Elise said.

"Like, too clean."

"One's home can never be too clean."

"Yes it can," Harrison snapped. "Aunt liked hers too clean. Point is, you've cleaned it over and over again. Are you bored, Elise?"

"I believe I am," Elise replied. "Before, there was things to do. But now… the routines are changed."

"Yes, you do like routines," he said. "I'd like for you to capture some people for me. Alive for now."

"How many?"

Harrison thought about the area he had just dug up and prepared, tapping his chin.

"Around thirty should be enough for now."

"Does age matter?" she wondered, already looking a little bit excited.

"No children," he said. "Male and females, that doesn't matter. Take Christian with you; it'll be a good learning experience for him."

"May I ask what you are planning to do?"

"I'm recreating the gardens," Harrison said.

Elise took a second look at him. Then she went outside to have a look at the ground he had prepared.

"Why is it so close to the manor?" she asked.

"It's not that close."

"Too close."

"Not too close, I make the rules. It's not like it's that violent."

Elise just looked at him.

"Alright, it's fairly violent," Harrison admitted. "But it's still going up. So go and get my live humans."

-o-

October turned into November, when James and Sirius were on their almost daily visits to Hogwarts. They didn't always go together though; most of the time James went alone, both to patrol and also to speak to his son some.

And spy on Snape, but he didn't tell anyone that part.

What James had found out about Snape was adding up to the man hiding something from them. Several times James had seen a two-way mirror in Snape's palm, quickly hidden as he was leaving a classroom, and as far as James knew, Snape had never before owned one.

So why did he have one now, and who did he talk to? He could be using it to talk to Malfoy and strengthen his position as a spy, James knew that was a possibility, but why hadn't Albus mentioned that then? Because surely if Snape used the mirror for that purpose, he would at the very least inform Albus of this.

Snape also disappeared at times. It wasn't that unusual, Voldemort could sometimes call on him in the middle of the day, but as of late, he didn't have much to share in the meetings. He also didn't seem to have mentioned his trips to anyone.

James had caught him in conversation through the two-way mirror a few times, but Snape had closed the connection down before James could get to the other side of the corridor, and while he would like to have pushed, Snape also had the incident at Hogsmeade on his side. He had the leverage, even if he was keeping it a secret now.

This day, with Sirius, James didn't intend to spy on Snape, when they both happened to see the potions master make his way through the sea of students filling up the corridors.

"Doesn't he have class?" Sirius wondered.

"Maybe he has a break," James replied. "We were going his way today, weren't we?"

"Yeah, I think so."

They usually had a routine patrol. Today did happen to be down the path Snape seemed to take. So they followed at a distance, stopping sometimes when students wanted to ask questions.

Sirius high-fived several, laughing with them while James spoke about Auror training with a seventh year from Hufflepuff. They moved on, at a leisurely pace, and accidentally stumbled over Snape a half-hour later. He seemed absorbed in a parchment, standing by one of the windows. They passed him and he only nodded absently in greetings, and they were almost at the end of the corridor when Sirius glanced back.

"Hey, what's that?"

James looked and Snape was taking out the two-way mirror. It was glowing, indicating the one on the other side wanted contact?

"Since when did Snape have a two-way mirror?" Sirius asked.

"No clue," James said. "Maybe an attempt to get more information about Voldemort."

Snape put the parchment away, and seemed to answer. They were too far away to hear him properly, much less the person on the other end, but they weren't pranksters and trouble-makers for nothing. They knew how to eavesdrop.

They walked away, hid around the corner and cast a spell.

"Make it quick," came Snape's somewhat distorted voice through the spell. "I'm in the open."

It sure sounded like Death Eater-business.

But then a voice they both recognized answered:

"I would just like a quick update."

It wasn't Voldemort, or Malfoy. No, they'd only heard the man once, but once was enough. The raspy undertones were gone, but James looked at Sirius, and Sirius nodded. It was definitely him.

It was the voice of the Nightmare Lord. How the hell did Snape come in contact with the Nightmare Lord?

James saw Sirius move and fumbled to stop him; it was their chance to listen in and get more information! But Sirius had already moved so Snape could see him, and James scrambled to follow.

"Black," Snape said. "Potter. Done patrolling?"

He closed the two-way mirror without looking at it, and put it away.

"Who were you talking to?" Sirius asked.

"A recent acquaintance," Snape replied. "He's abysmal at potions and likes to hear my advice."

It could be true, who knows? But did Snape know who he was really talking to?

"Someone we know?" Sirius asked.

"Hardly, Black. He's not the social, or political type."

"Just the violent one, right?" Sirius said. "We heard his voice. We know who he is."

Snape looked at them both.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Black," he said. "I met him in Hogsmeade—"

"It was the Nightmare Lord!" Sirius interrupted. "What the hell are you playing at, Snape? Update? What kind of updates do you give him?"

Sirius began to advance at him, and for a moment James thought Snape would let him. But then Snape let the parchment drift to the floor, and for a moment he appeared to have vanished. Then he appeared at the end of the corridor, running.

"Shit!"

Sirius took after him, and James followed. The corridors were empty now; classes must have begun. James' mind was a mess. Why was Snape running? Did he know he had met the Nightmare Lord, and willingly gave up information about them? Or was it unwillingly? The lord knew how to manipulate people's mind, maybe Snape was under some type of influence.

With that in mind, putting aside his own feelings for Snape, James tried to stun him, but Snape dodged with the grace of an experienced dueller. Sirius went for another stun, but Snape deflected it with a shield without looking at them.

"Snape, stop!" Sirius screamed.

Snape was flying down the corridors, going for the Entrance doors. Once outside, he would still have some ground to cover before he could escape the wards, but it would be harder to stop him.

Sirius sent off a cutting curse, and it tore at Snape's back. While stumbling for a moment, it didn't bring him down. Instead he began to send spells back, dodging and reflecting their spells.

A cutting curse tore open Sirius' left arm, and another one caught James in the side. That didn't stop them.

Why didn't Snape stop? Did he think he could outrun them, truly? Did he think he could escape them? He moved like a man possessed, despite losing a lot of blood.

Sirius finally got him in the neck. Blood sprayed through the air and Snape was thrown to the floor, tumbling several times before coming to a stop. He didn't get up again.

James and Sirius hurried over, and James turned him over. Snape's artery in the neck must have been severed, because he was bleeding heavily. His eyes appeared vacant, but as James began to look for the two-way mirror they snapped to him. Snape stared straight at him, like he had done that night in Hogsmeade.

"Did you find it?" Sirius said.

Snape's lips moved, but all that came out was blood. Then the eyes lost their sheen and Snape breathed out. His chest stopped moving. James swallowed, and then resumed looking. He found it, but there was a deep crack across the entire mirror.

"Fuck," Sirius said. "Fuck!"

"What on earth is going on here, what are you two… oh my god!"

McGonagall came running up to them, wand out but her eyes were on Snape's corpse.

"He was talking to the Nightmare Lord, we were sure of it!" Sirius said, holding onto his bleeding arm. "But when we confronted him about it, he ran for it. He wouldn't stop."

"Severus, what… the Nightmare Lord? Why?"

"It's too late to ask him now," James said. "He spoke through this."

He handed over the mirror.

"But since it's broken, I doubt it will be of any use," he said.

"Oh god…" McGonagall looked down at Snape. "Oh, Severus… what were you thinking?"

It surprised both Sirius and James how much she had cared for Snape, even when they were students. She always had a soft spot for him, and even know, hearing what he had done, she kneeled down by his side and pushed away some of the hair that had fallen across his face.

"I'll take him to the Infirmary," she said. "Go and get Albus."

"The blood?" James asked.

"The house-elves will take care of it," she said as she levitated the body before looking at them. "Don't tell anyone else until you've told Albus, alright?"

They nodded and left, Sirius still holding his wounded arm and James' hand going to his side.

-o-

McGonagall looked after the two men for a bit before turning back to Snape. His eyes were still open, so she reached out to gently close them.

"You're not a bad child," she whispered. "Not truly… so what on earth were you doing, Severus?"

Talking to bodies wouldn't give her any satisfying answers, so she went on her way, summoning two house-elves to get them started on the cleanup. She covered Snape's body and cursed under her breath when she came into the Infirmary.

Pansy Parkinson was in one of the beds, and Draco stood next to Madam Pomfrey as she gave the girl a potion.

"Minerva!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, staring at the covered body.

"Poppy… a word? And a private room perhaps?"

McGonagall didn't notice the two children staring at the arm that had slipped free of the sheet. Most students wouldn't notice it, but Pansy and Draco were Slytherins. They knew their Head of House very well.

-o-

Draco had been disturbed by the body even when it was fully covered, because he saw the blood saturating the sheet, but once the arm slipped free his entire body froze, eyes wide.

Not only did he know Severus as Head of House, but Severus was Draco's godfather. He knew that potion-stained hand and glancing over at Pansy, Draco knew she knew as well. The two women moved towards the private rooms, body floating behind them, and Draco took out his wand.

The sheet flipped over at the top without McGonagall or Madam Pomfrey noticing. Pansy's gasp was cut off as she put her hand over her mouth, and they were both left staring at the pale, blood-splattered face of their professor and Head of House.

-o-

Voldemort hadn't expected Lucius, and once he turned to look at the man he knew something was wrong. Lucius looked haunted, paler than normal, and rushed forward once he saw Voldemort.

Harrison, who was visiting, tilted his head as Lucius came closer. The Nightmare Lord was toying with something, had been doing it ever since he arrived, but Voldemort had yet to catch a look of what it was.

"My lord," Lucius said, nodding.

Other Death Eaters entered the throne room, looking at Lucius. They rarely, if ever, saw Lucius Malfoy anything less than perfect.

"Lucius," Voldemort asked.

"My son, he contacted me," Lucius said. "From Hogwarts. He had some… disturbing news."

More than disturbing. The man looked positively stricken.

"What is it?" Voldemort asked.

"It seems like… Severus… he's dead."

Silence reigned in the room for a few moments. Voldemort took a moment to process that. The potions master's face flashed before his eyes. Severus had never really shown people what he felt or thought, nor had he really made clear whose side he truly was on.

But there was something about the potions master Voldemort had always, well, liked, and hearing he was dead was not very comforting. Voldemort cleared his throat and said:

"How did that happen?"

"Draco didn't know. Minerva McGonagall came to the Infirmary with the body. From what Draco could tell, there was a severe injury to Severus' neck."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, James Potter arrived along with Sirius Black and Dumbledore shortly after that. They spoke quietly, but Draco got the impression Black thought Severus was betraying them to someone."

"To who?" Voldemort asked.

"My lord?"

"I haven't spoken to Severus for days," Voldemort said. "So it couldn't be me."

"Ah, so that's what happened. Probably shouldn't have contacted him in the middle of the day."

They both turned. Harrison smiled and held up a two-way mirror.

"He spoke to you?" Voldemort said.

"Why would he betray our lord?" Bellatrix said.

"Not now, Bellatrix," Voldemort said. "Harrison?"

"Yes, he spoke to me," Harrison said. "Which, I really shouldn't have contacted him in the middle of the day. I suppose I must apologize to him for that."

"Why would he be speaking to you?" Lucius asked. "Where did he even meet you… my lord?"

"I was going to tell you, Voldemort, I really was, it just kept slipping my mind but to be absolutely fair, I only noticed your mark when I was almost done with him."

"You?" Voldemort began, but then trailed off.

"Well, no one's fault but mine for not taking it up earlier," Harrison said. "Also, that night I had to do a bit of a rush-job if I was getting him back to Hogwarts within a reasonable time-frame…"

They all stared at him.

"He's… yours?" Voldemort asked.

"Yes, he's mine now," Harrison replied.

"You mean you stole our lord's servant from him?!" Bellatrix said, taking out her wand.

"Shut up, if I wanted to hear a banshee I would have asked Elise to capture one for me," Harrison told her. "As compensation, I'll tell you what Severus told me. All of it. Plus a little extra I found out on my own."

"But he's…" Lucius looked at him. "He's dead."

"Dead?" Harrison said. "You're a funny one. Severus isn't dead. As long as he belongs to me, he's never dead."

-o-

Cornelius Fudge himself had come to Hogwarts once Albus had informed him of James' and Sirius' suspicions concerning Severus' allegiance. Albus now tried to keep the resulting chaos under control, as Fudge had brought several Aurors with him and they weren't allowed inside the Infirmary, due to a Slytherin student still recovering inside.

They could have gone to Albus' office, but it would be a bit cramped, so he had sealed off the corridor and hoped that would be enough. He was informed by Madam Pomfrey that Draco Malfoy was with the Slytherin girl inside the Infirmary, so he also sealed the doors and muffled the sounds. The two teens wouldn't be able to hear their conversation, as Albus suspected at the very least that Draco would try to find a way to contact his father and relay information to him.

Severus' corpse was locked up in one of the private rooms, and James' and Sirius' story held up against the injuries inflicted on Severus as well as them.

"I can't believe this is happening," Lily said. "Why would Severus betray us? He cares for Harry, for Harry's safety!"

"He could've been put under the Nightmare Lord's influence," James said. "You know, controlled."

"Or he was just a traitor all along," Sirius countered with.

"We both have problems with Snape, I'll admit to that," James replied. "But Lily's right; he cared about Harry. I've been checking in on him as of late. He's been acting odd. Surely you've noticed Albus; the nonchalance during meetings. He didn't seem to care at all."

"You have a point, James," Albus said. "Severus has always kept to himself, but lately he has become even more secretive."

"There's nothing we can do with the corpse to confirm he was actually passing on information to the Nightmare Lord?" Fudge interrupted them.

"What could a corpse possible tell you?" Madam Pomfrey said.

"Did you find any evidence he was manipulated?"

"I'd need to see the man's mind for that, and Severus is too dead for that to happen, Minister."

They continued arguing, unaware of what was happening inside the Infirmary.

-o-

Draco had opted to stay with Pansy, who had been told by Madam Pomfrey that she was to remain until at least after dinner, so she could see the potion had worked. Both of them knew better than to argue with the healer, who could be very intimidating despite her calm nature.

But he didn't just stay for Pansy's sake. His legs felt weak, and he still couldn't believe what he had seen. He had reported it to his father, but even as he told Lucius that Severus was dead, Draco kept hoping it wasn't real.

It was foolish. He had seen Severus. Seen the blood, and the paleness of the skin. He wasn't alive. He wouldn't get out of the room they put him in.

Or had they faked it? Why would they? Did they want it reported to Lucius, who would tell the Dark Lord?

He glanced over at one of the beds, where McGonagall had put Severus' belongings. A few bottles with some sort of potion in them, and his wand. Draco wanted to take the wand and stash it away safely but how could he explain it away to the professors and the headmaster? Or to Potter and Black, both Aurors?

In the end, Draco put his head down at the end of Pansy's bed, breathing deeply. He had to stay calm. There was no point in panicking. Even if Severus was dead. Even if his godfather was gone. Even if the only professor truly protecting the Slytherins was gone for good…

"Professor Snape…"

"Pansy, not now, please," Draco said.

"But, professor Snape is…"

"Pansy, not now."

He looked up at her but Pansy wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were wide and to Draco's shock, a little wet. He had never seen her cry. Her hands were clenched around the sheets, but she freed one and pointed over Draco's shoulder, towards the bed where Severus' wand was.

"There, professor Snape. Your wand's over there."

Draco turned his head. Severus was standing at the door of the private room he had been placed in. His head was bent strangely, and his eyes were… cold. Or perhaps just empty. His neck snapped and cracked as he turned his head towards where Pansy was pointing. His body moved stiffly, slow, and it took Draco only a moment to realize what he moved like.

Lucius had shown Draco an Inferius a long time ago. Back then the corpse's movements had seemed even a little bit funny, but there was nothing funny about the way Severus moved. Because Severus looked dead. He was dead?

"Professor Snape?" Pansy said.

"I'm not sure he can understand us…"

"But I told him where his wand was, and he saw it!" Pansy was partly out of the bed, pulling at Draco's robe.

"Yeah, I don't… I don't know…"

Severus' neck twisted around again and they saw the full damage. The wound on his neck was gaping wide open, splitting now a bit so that some blood began to trickle down. There was an odd sound coming out of Severus' mouth, not quite a groan, but perhaps an attempted breath.

Then his eyes snapped at them, and he began to move towards them, wand in hand.

Pansy screamed, and didn't stop. She kept on screaming and Draco scrambled away from the bed, Pansy behind him, as Severus continued to advance.

But then the Infirmary doors burst open, and several people spilled in.

-o-

Once Pansy was screaming, there was no holding back any of them. Albus was amongst the first inside, and held back others as Severus turned to look at them. A few drops of blood clung onto his lips.

"Severus," Lily began.

"No, Mrs Potter," Cornelius replied. "Look at his eyes. Look carefully, and remember my warning. The Nightmare Lord's servants, their eyes are silver."

Instead of Severus' usual black eyes, they were now edged with silver. Severus straightened up. Bones cracked and moved inside the body.

"He's dead," Cornelius continued, "and made into a servant under that lord's will."

"Not willingly?" Sirius said.

"Who would willingly become a servant for that monster?"

"The lord took me under his wings as I lay dying on the streets," Severus said.

His voice was rough, scratchy, most likely due to the damaged neck.

"He could have let me die. He could have made me into his puppet. Instead he saved me."

"That doesn't make him into a saint," Cornelius said. "Albus, we have no choice… we must put this man down once and for all."

"There is no saving him?" Lily said.

"He's too far gone," Albus replied. "His body has already passed, Lily, I do not know what the Nightmare Lord did to make his corpse still act and talk."

Severus tilted his head, and shuddered. His eyes rolled up, and when they looked at them again, they were bright green. The bloodless lips split into a wide, and for some, quite familiar grin.

"Well hello there, little Cornelius."

It wasn't even Severus' voice. The hand that had gripped the wand so fiercely now loosened and twirled it around instead. The other hand pushed bloodied hair out of his face, his stance relaxed.

"The Nightmare Lord," Cornelius said, hand gripping his wand tighter. "So you can possess your… slaves as well?"

"Slaves?" the Nightmare Lord said. "Ah, servants. There's a difference. I wonder why you people never learn that. What's wrong with Severus' neck?"

The wand vanished up Severus' sleeve as the Nightmare Lord felt around the throat.

"He's broken again," the Nightmare Lord said. "Oh dear, I didn't know keeping a potions master would be this difficult."

Everyone was pointing their wand at him at this point. Those bright eyes flickered over them.

"Am I supposed to be nervous?" the Nightmare Lord asked. "I don't tend to be when people point their wands at me."

"Release Severus!" Lily demanded.

"Why? I took him, fair and square."

"He can't have consented, he can't be yours willingly!"

"You'd be surprised what people will do to remain alive," he replied. "Then again, did he really have a future here with you lot?"

With that he grinned and moved Severus' arm down in a diagonal slash towards one of the walls of the Infirmary. The wall cracked. As if the Nightmare Lord's magic overpowered that of Hogwarts. Another slash broke the wall completely.

Albus, as well as several others, sent out spells. Stunning spell, a fire spell, a cutting curse… they all went towards the Nightmare Lord. He held out a hand, and blocked them all, sending them flying back towards them. Everyone dodged or sent up a shield of their own. The Nightmare Lord tilted his head.

"Goodbye for now," he said.

With that, the Nightmare Lord sprinted over to the hole and jumped out. Shadows exploded around Severus' body, and pulled him in.

"There are anti-Apparition wards up, correct?!" Cornelius screamed.

"Yes, of course!" Albus replied.

But that didn't seem to matter to the Nightmare Lord. Instead Severus' body vanished into thin air with a sharp crack.

-o-

Harrison blinked a few times, catching himself against a nearby wall. Voldemort was standing nearby, but even a few Death Eaters had dared to venture closer to him. Taking possession of his servants was not something he did frequently, and not over such long distances either.

A trickle of blood came out of his nose, and Harrison wiped it away. Perhaps he overdid it with the wall, but it was done now and most importantly Severus was on his way to him.

Still, it would be a hassle to heal him again. Severus couldn't die from the injuries, Harrison had made sure of that, but they were quite severe.

Looking around, he spotted Bellatrix glaring at him. Harrison wasn't sure how to deal with her. He had hated her at first, back when he was Harry Potter. Back when he was a… nice person. Such an embarrassing past.

But then again, she had hated him too back then. He wasn't that surprised she hated him now too, even though Harrison suspected many from the good side would be surprised. Since he was evil, and she was evil, they should get along. Because to some, it was probably that easy.

However, Voldemort had put himself below Harrison in terms of strength, by calling him 'lord' while Harrison didn't address him the same way. Considering Bellatrix worshipped the ground Voldemort walked on, it was no wonder she was pissed off.

Because Harrison had come out of nowhere and demanded respect from her lord, who she saw as the strongest wizard alive. He knew this because her mind was ridiculously easy to read. She was insane, and powerful, but to him she was nothing more but a nuisance. She didn't like Severus either, yet made a fuss about it only because Harrison accidentally stole him from Voldemort.

Would she try to hurt Severus once he arrived? As Severus had been in a school, Harrison hadn't ordered him to be on high alert. He wouldn't have answered Harrison's call then, at least not in the open where others could see him.

Harrison didn't want his servants to be… well, weak. Or reckless. It was enough that he was far too reckless with his own life; he didn't need to look after servants who were equally reckless.

"When exactly did you intend to tell me about Severus?" Voldemort asked.

"I probably should've mentioned it from the start," Harrison confessed. "But since you said you weren't in contact with him I kept putting it off."

"Why?"

"Why indeed… I have no good reason for that. I'm just very good at dragging things out. I do hope you'll forgive me for this whole mess."

"I'm not angry," Voldemort said. "But it's probably a good thing if you mention things like that a bit earlier."

"My lord, you should be angry! He's been hiding the truth from you, my lord!"

Oh, and there was the banshee again. Bellatrix had a talent with screaming, at least. Her magic was somewhat impressive too, as it was reacting with her anger. Harrison hid his smile behind his hand as he watched her hair float in the air, the magic forcing it up.

"Bellatrix, do calm down," Voldemort said.

"I won't!" she replied, which was a bit of a surprise.

Since when did she disobey her master?

"He insults you, my lord. He belittles you, and stole Snape from you! We should kill Snape once he arrives for his treachery!"

"Well, that's one thing you won't do," Harrison said. "Cornelius' side has done enough. Severus, come here and let me have a look."

They all turned towards the door.

Severus walked towards the Nightmare Lord, the gaping wound in his neck in full view. The robe was ripped in places, and the blood had dried on somewhat ashen skin. He shouldn't be standing up. Normal people didn't survive wounds like that.

"How did you make him survive that?" Voldemort asked.

"I don't like servants dying on me," Harrison replied. "Or have them incapacitated while in enemy hands."

Severus came to a stop in front of him. Harrison saw Bellatrix move, her wand in her hand.

"If you try to attack Severus, I'll rip off your arms," Harrison warned her, and smiled. "Starting a conflict within your own group is really immature."

"He's not part of my group!" Bellatrix countered with.

"It's true he's not a Death Eater anymore, but we have the same goals," Harrison said. "Thus, somewhat in the same group. Now, I'm going to go and heal Severus. Would you like to come with us, Voldemort?"

"You said you'd share information?"

"Of course. Whatever I may know, you may know. It's only fair since I took Severus from you."

"That's fine with me. The rest of you, don't do anything stupid. Lucius, Draco perhaps already knows that Severus escaped but do try to tell him the man's fine."

"Of course, my lord," Lucius said. "Severus?"

He sounded hesitant. Perhaps they thought him a mindless follower. Harrison decided to not bother reading their minds on the matter, as Severus turned to Lucius and said:

"I'm fine, considering the circumstances."

His voice was a bit rough.

"The Nightmare Lord's power flows through me," he continued. "Making sure I stay alive."

"Well, perhaps it wouldn't have had to do that if I told you do be more alert."

"I worked in a school; by normal standards, it's not a dangerous place to be."

"Hogwarts not dangerous? Perish the thought." He had another look at the injury to the neck. "It's not unfixable, but I usually make my servants to be more cautious. That just looks like it was me in that school."

"You mean you are reckless?" Severus asked.

"Reckless is just the start of what I am."

He grabbed onto Severus.

"You'll follow us then?" he said to Voldemort, who nodded.

With that, he Apparated with Severus. They landed outside of his manor and he let go of the potions master as Severus felt at the wound. Voldemort appeared a moment later, just as the doors opened and Lucian came out.

"Oh, that looks bad," he said, looking at Severus. "I thought you sent him to a school, master."

"Hogwarts is dangerous, and the one who says it's a lie is a liar themselves," Harrison replied. "Let's go inside."

He led the way inside, and figured they might as well have it done in the dungeons. So he went downstairs, and as he waited for Severus to come down he said:

"What's wrong with the leg?"

"Some tendons might be torn," Severus replied, coughing a bit.

The neck wound was impairing on his speech and Harrison placed his hand over the wound. Magic surged, and shone beneath his hand and once he removed it, the blood remained while the wound itself was gone. Severus touched the unbroken skin.

"How did you do that so fast?" he said.

"You weren't paying attention the first time I healed you?"

"Terribly sorry, master, but I was rather busy thinking I was dying thanks to Potter's idiotically misplaced spell."

Sarcasm intact, that was good. Harrison had been the subject of that sarcasm in his youth, but it was refreshing all the same. Still, he pinched Severus' cheek and said:

"I was being very thorough you know. There was no way you were dying."

"Well, it felt that way." Severus swatted his hand away.

"Course it did."

"How could I feel that way if I wasn't dying?"

"Because that's nature, and fate. They both like to screw with people. Now, let's see to the other wounds."

"I can't believe Black managed to take me down. Well, with the help of Potter."

"So it was a joint effort?" Harrison said, walking around Severus. "Ah, yes, there is a lot more damage that I didn't feel back when I possessed you for a moment."

"Do you know about the Black family, Harrison?" Voldemort asked. "You're not surprised one of their members are with the Order?"

"They are Purebloods, I know that much," Harrison replied. "I've heard… the notion of dark and light, but magic doesn't work that way. However, the Blacks are considered more… dark?"

"More inclined to do Dark Arts," Voldemort said. "Sirius Black is not the only Black to rebel against that, but he's done it very blatantly."

"He's also an idiot," Severus added.

"You don't like him very much, do you?" Harrison said as he prodded at a shallow cut on Severus' cheek.

"I don't like many people, master."

Hearing Severus call him master probably would've made his younger self laugh. Like, his teenage self. But this wasn't the Severus he had known. This wasn't quite the same, miserable man that his Severus Snape had been.

He hummed absently, and saw both Severus and Voldemort look at him.

"Just thinking," Harrison said. "I do believe the wounds on your back are quite deep, Severus."

"There is damage to my spine," Severus said. "Also, several of my organs are possibly on the brink of shutting down."

"Well, they didn't hold back now did they?"

He saw Voldemort tilt his head, looking at Severus' back, and said:

"Something wrong, Voldemort?"

"I do believe I see the damage to the spine," Voldemort replied. "I'm surprised he even can walk."

"Well, a normal person wouldn't have been able to. But a servant of mine wouldn't fall because of a small spinal injury."

He snapped his fingers and the room turned brighter. The dungeons were big, having several hallways, and cells, but the room they were in now had bookshelves crammed full with books and jars as well as several stone slabs acting like tables or places to put bodies on.

"I can stand," Severus said as Harrison led him to one.

"Yes, you know, I can see you can stand, but your leg will heal quicker and better if you're off your feet."

"How come I can't feel any of the pain?" Severus asked.

"Oh, I did that as a precaution. Would you like me to remove it?"

"Yes. I'd prefer to feel it."

"Fine, I'll do it later."

Voldemort came to a stop beside Harrison and said:

"How do you heal him? I'm guessing your way is faster than the normal way."

"I've had time to practice. It only works on my servants though; healing someone I haven't handled, or taken apart personally, it's a lot harder."

Harrison rolled up his sleeves and peeled off Severus' outer robe.

"I can undress myself."

"What a temper."

"I was attacked," Severus said. "Pardon me for being pissed off about it."

"No need for apologies; I also tend to get angry when I get attacked. You'll have your chance at revenge I suppose, unless they do something stupid and get themselves killed ahead of time."

"So you can leave their whole personalities intact?" Voldemort wondered. "This Severus is exactly the Severus I know."

"This Severus, if you pardon me my lord, is hearing you. He can still hear things."

"Don't be rude, Severus. And yes, I can. Some I didn't, but I didn't care about them. I found it slightly entertaining to send them home completely blank. The families looked so distressed; it was funny just watching them."

"Oh god, you're a sadist," Severus said. "That's just great."

"Yes, and you know what? I'm very good at sewing mouths shut and make it excruciatingly painful at the same time."

Both Severus and Voldemort glanced over at him. Harrison poked at a wound in Severus' abdomen and said:

"What? The person was getting a bit too noisy for my part. I could've ripped the tongue out instead, but I used to do that a lot when I was younger so the mouth stitching was a nice change of pace."

He was allowed to continue working in peace and soon had all of the wounds closed up, the skin knitted back together with barely any scar tissue visible.

"The organs will take some more time to recover," he said as Severus sat up again, "so no heavy activities for the next few days."

"What am I supposed to do now?" Severus asked.

"I'll have a chat with Voldemort about what you've told me about the Order, and you'll meet the others. Properly this time, last time you merely caught glimpses of them right? Elise is the oldest, so do try not to aggravate her. She has a few tricks up her sleeve she wouldn't mind using against rude people."

"I'm not rude."

"She has different standards on rude people, and it can change every now and then. Just be polite and we won't be having any problems."

As if being summoned by her own name said aloud, Elise entered the dungeons.

"Well, there you have him," Harrison told her and showed her Severus. "Our very own potions master. Be nice to him, Elise."

"I'm always nice," she replied.

"Well, of course you'd say that. Off you trot then, Severus. Elise will make sure you get settled in, and have your own room of course."

"I am not a child," Severus said.

"To me you are," Harrison said.

"Why did you save me?" Severus asked.

"I didn't have a potions master," Harrison replied. "What, you didn't want to be saved?"

"That's not it. I just wondered what kind of motive that could drive a person like you."

"You assume I have a motive at all?"

Perhaps not an answer Severus would like to hear, but there was no point in lying about it. Harrison didn't have a cause, or something he strove for. Being feared was one thing, but he didn't have plans like Voldemort did. Politics wasn't his thing, and never really had been.

Severus seemed to realize no more information was forthcoming, because he followed Elise and Harrison turned to Voldemort.

"Shall we go upstairs then?" he asked.

To be continued…


I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter ten: More on Harrison's gardens. He also decides to make one more Muggle disappear, at least for a while, but to find that Muggle he needs to kidnap someone from the Order who can give him the information he needs.

See you later,

Tiro