{Disclaimer: The Harry Potter World was created by J.K. Rowling and rights are owned by, but not limited to Warner Brothers and Scholastic Books. I, therefore, own no parts of this, save for the characters that are parts of my own imagination, mostly including Andromeda McGee and Wyvern}
Chapter 16
The Past Can Kill
**"Hey, this is terrific!" he said. "Someone down there is trying to kill us!" Zaphod Beeblebrox when their ship is about to be hit by a pair of fully armed nuclear warheads in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams**
Snape had stepped outside once Sirius Black had been proven innocent. That had ruined his day. He would have been much happier if the cursed Gryffindor had been locked away. Black completely deserved it, in his opinion. Then again, he also believed that all Gryffindors were scum of the universe so that held some weight in his decision. Snape gave a swift kick to an alley cat lurking nearby.
"Calm yourself, Severus," a man stepped out of the shadows just as Snape felt his left forearm begin to burn. "The Master still has plans for you." Severus apparated immediately to his Master's fortress.
"Severus Snape," Voldemort hissed his name, sending a chill up Snape's back. "Once again, the Aurors have wrecked my plans." He pointed his wand at the Death Eater. "Crucio."
He fell to the floor, writhing in pain. He made no sound though he wished he could scream. Screaming would show weakness. Jolts of energy shot through his body, shaking him like lightening. It stopped. Snape slowly stood up, shaking.
"I have a job for you. I want you to find the woman named Andromeda McGee and bring her to me."
"Yes, Master," Severus spoke humbly.
"After I let Crutch finish with you. He was enjoying himself immensely until you left."
Snape swallowed. So that had been who was torturing him at Sade. He knew David "Crutch" Illingworth from when he had been in Hogwarts. He had been a Slytherin as well, two years behind him and known to be ruthless. The nickname "Crutch" was a result of his permanent limp from a Quidditch accident.
A droll voice from behind Snape spoke. "Thank you, Master. I shall make him suffer. Incendio."
Snape burst into flames. He fell to the floor, rolling to put them out, but they kept relighting. They were magical and nothing ordinary would remove them except a counter spell. He did the only thing that he could at a time like this: pass out.
Crutch dragged him into a small room off of Voldemort's throne room and waited for Severus to wake up. He knew it wouldn't take long. "Snape, Snape, Snape, you aren't a wimp, even I know that. Don't pass out. It doesn't suit you very well. I have to finish what I have begun." Crutch pointed his wand at Snape. "I have more interesting things planned for you. Petrificus Totalus!"
Snape was promptly frozen. He could only move his eyes, not that it helped him much.
"This will make everything much easier, especially since I know you would not do this voluntarily." Crutch elevated Snape's stiff form with a flick of his wand. Severus could see nothing but the endless tiled ceilings. "Welcome to the Pit of Doom. It isn't really a pit, but it serves the same purpose as one. Room of Doom just wouldn't hold the same ominous feeling that pit does. I will be back to collect your remains in half an hour." Crutch closed the thick barred gate behind his prisoner and freed him from the body bind.
Snape dropped to the soft ground. There was a palpable stench to everything. It was a damp rotting tinged with the overpowering tropical flowers and a hint of smoke from burnt wood. The air was filled with humidity. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he pulled himself up on his feet. His hand crept down to his wand pocket. What he pulled out was not a mere stick of wood, but a sharp, shiny dagger. Snape flipped it casually for a moment, thinking about what to do. A half hour in the rain forest, he could survive that. If he could survive hours in a harsh Siberian waste land then he could survive a bit of heat. All he had to do was wait.
A low pitched moaning roar echoed over the tree tops. Snape froze against the stone wall of the entrance; still grasping the blade he was given. The knife wouldn't be of any assistance against the creature that made a sound such as that. He was not completely certain, but there were only a few creatures in the world that could create a sound like that which he was hearing. The air began to beat with a furious pounding. Brimstone permeated the air. It only served to make Snape more nervous. His guess had been correct yet he almost wished he was wrong. If it was as he believed it to be, his chances of survival were cut to slim to none, especially if the beast had been trained by Lord Voldemort for the specific purpose of killing people. He knew it to be true. Lord Voldemort would have trained it as a deadly assassin. He was better off dead.
The creature came into full view, casting a shadow over Snape. Cruel serpentine eyes gazed out of horned black sockets. The head itself was at least twice the length of a man. The body was gigantic, making him think of a cruise ship with its immensity. A long tail whipped back and forth like an oversized pendulum. Snape shrunk back against the cold wall near the gate. The beast moved its head to look at him out of its yellow eye.
"This is the part where you run," it spoke with a minute hissing quality. Snape decided to listen for once and ran for his life into the dense trees. "You can run, little man, but you can never hide from me."
Up ahead, he noticed a dark cavernous opening and dived inside.
"The caves will do you no good. I have friends in them."
Snape glanced around furtively, hoping to prove the dragon wrong. A pack of moon eyed wolves emerged from the shadows. Voldemort had thought of everything. He sprinted back out of the cave and kept running. He was pleased with himself for managing to keep fit and not let himself go to seed. He would have been dead long before this if he had. Trees seemed to reach out their branches to grab a hold of his cape. He let it go and never looked back. It could be replaced. He couldn't.
The dragon soared over head, watching his every move. He knew eventually his prey would tire and then it would be his chance. Snape took a quick glance skyward. It was still there and would stay there above him until he stooped. The dragon inhaled. He could feel the pull of the air being sucked toward it. Snape inwardly cringed, knowing what was about to happen.
'Wait for it,' he told himself, still racing his airborne foe. 'Wait…Now!' He threw himself sideway out of the path of the flame. Dragon fire clipped him slightly, though not as bad as it would have had it taken him full force. The dragon let out a wail of frustration. Missing had not made it very happy. Snape rolled back to his feet, balancing in a crouch. His cape was gone, along with most of his left sleeve. The Dark Mark still glowed on his forearm. He stayed in the underbrush, keeping as still as possible. Any movement would make him able to be detected. As long as he stayed hidden, he was safe.
Snape felt his nose begin to itch. He rubbed at it with his hand, attempting to calm it. It didn't help much. It never did. A lone sneeze echoed through the jungle. 'Damn pollen! There goes the hiding approach,' he used a few more choice adjectives to describe his situation as he began to sprint once more. The dragon was still flying overhead, tirelessly. Snape cursed the beast for its immortality. It shot another burst of flames at him. Again he dove away from it.
To his side, a low voice growled. Snape turned his head, coming nose to nose with a snarling wolf. "Shit." He scuttled backwards, colliding with a tree. His head made a hollow thunking noise as it made impact. The wolves closed their circle around him. A long claw reached out of the sky, grabbing him by the back of his shoulders.
"Thank you, my friends," the gigantic creature hissed. It flew, Snape attached to its clawed limb, to a clearing large enough to fit its massive body. Skeletons of past meals were littered in over flowing heaps. Obviously some remains were not taken care of.
Snape flew through the air until the talons holding him opened. He fell to the ground, feeling the air empty from his lungs. He wheezed for breath as the dragon shot a fresh burst of its internal furnace. Snape could not move this time and took the blast straight on. There was no way to avoid it. It was inevitable that he would be struck. The warm flash of light and heat caressed his skin like a summer breeze. His skin was seared, hair singed in some places, others still slightly flaming. Snape opened his eyes. Everything was a black void. He held out his hand in front of him and waved it around. Nothing could be seen. No images could be found. He had been blinded by fire.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The dragon let out a deep rumbling chuckle. "Did I deprive you of your vision, little man? I apologize for doing so, but it makes everything so much easier for me." It picked him up and threw him against the nearest tree. Snape could feel his arms crumble beneath him, shattering into tiny pieces. He crashed to the forest floor with a moan.
"Did I hurt you, little man?" There was a pause as if the creature had expected Snape to answer its query. "I shall take that as a yes." It sighed deeply. "I am doing this in your best interest. It is only my occupation to provide a marvelous torture experience so you will not screw up in the future."
Another painful moan escaped Snape's lips as he shifted his weight to his legs, trying to stand up. He had landed wrong on his ankle, twisting it. Not being able to see made everything so much more difficult, especially in an unknown location such as this one.
He felt the cold talons seize him once again. A weightless sensation passed through his entire body as he soared through the air. 'Flying wasn't all it was worth,' he decided almost ironically as he collapsed back to the soft ground. Things were getting too agonizing for his liking, even for him with a natural high tolerance for pain and its likes. His mind was beginning to slip away.
The dragon grinned toothily at its prey. It lifted him up to its mouth and crunched down lightly on Snape's unbroken arm. A high pitched scream escaped through his burnt jaws. The arm was now at least fractured and injected with the highly corrosive poison that dragon teeth were known to have. The beast swung him around and released it victim over the tree tops. Snape took wing over the leafy boughs. He rammed into another tree with his shoulder. He could hear the audible crunch of bones snapping. Things were not looking up. Severus slid downward, smashing into every branch on the tree.
Snape sighed, almost glad to be at the bottom for a moment of rest before he was lifted up and thrown again. His peace would not last. That was the truth. A brief thought passed through his mind, wondering how much longer he could last. He had survived so many things in the past. Would he live now? Would he die at the hands of Voldemort's dragon, blind and broken? When was the half hour to be finished?
Strong, human hands lifted him from the leaf covered ground. "I'm surprised you survived the encounter with Remiel. Most have died before their time is completely." Snape didn't need to see to know who the voice belonged to. "I suppose I shall have to deliver you back to the world. Oh, well. I was looking forward to a good execution. Just remember what the Master ordered you to do and you will stay alive."
The thought echoed through Snape's mind. Find Andromeda McGee and bring her to him.
{Author's Note: Remiel is the angel of souls, for those of you who were wondering about the name and where it came from. I thought that it fitted quite well. I had way too much fun with this chapter. Cursed sadism! Oh, well…I'm not a Slytherin for nothing.
Anna Black: I actually like to write fight scenes. They are one of the few things I can write easily. I think it has something to do with my Martial Arts background. I do appreciate the reviews even though you already read the chapter. Thanks!
Jess: Yes, I know you knew what happens next.
Carpe Carpem, Nataly Ravenlock}
