'Harry Potter' © 1997 to Joanne Kathleen Rowling, all rights reserved. Infringement of copyright acknowledged.
Oderint, dum metuant
Prologue
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He was not quite sure where his legs were carrying him, all he was certain of, was that he was in the dark labyrinth under the towers. He paused for a moment, taking long deep breaths.
Was he safe? Well, of course he was not, but he could afford to rest for a minute… Or could he?
Strong footsteps and a clank of metal from the direction he had run from was enough to convince him that he was not safe taking a rest. Carefully, he started to run again. He was running for his life.
Suddenly a hand seized his throat and he was slammed forcibly backwards into the hard stone wall. He felt the impact. He felt the stone through his thin shirt. He was going to die.
The man who had hold of him let go and stepped back slowly. He looked up and down the corridors before taking out a wand.
"This will teach you to run from me."
No. This was not going to happen, he was not going to let it happen!
The wand pointed at the fallen man, and then was raised. "Good bye, Severus!"
A blinding light filled the dark tunnel. All that could be heard was the painful screaming of a man dying.