A/N: All right, here's where things get heady. The next chapter, and those following will contain violence, so please be prepared. If you don't like violence. . . Well, you can skim through as best you can, but the violence is part of the story.
"Jane, if you cannot find your shoes, you will not be going," Severus snapped. She was already giving him a headache. What was she doing in her room?
"Sorry," Jane murmured. He now realized why it had taken her so long. Her clothes had been changed, and her hair brushed.
"The next time I tell you to hurry, I expect you to do so. Now come." Severus gestured for her to follow him.
Why had he agreed to talk her out? He knew why. Dumbledore had insisted that Jane should see more than just Hogwarts. So he foolishly decided to take her to Hogsmeade. And now she was falling behind again. With a snarl, he turned and waited for her.
Jane shrank under his gaze. He was always so angry with her, even when it was not her fault. Her own legs were small, nothing like his own long legs. Chewing on her lower lip, she tried to walk faster.
He thrust out a hand for her to take, and she grasped it gratefully. Mostly because if he held her hand, they would both have to find a median. Another, more secret reason was that she always felt safer when she was close to him. If only he would hold her close. . . Jane almost tripped over a stair. She hated stairs.
Irritated at how slowly she was taking the stairs, Severus reached over and hauled Jane up. She gasped in surprise. Frowning, he set her back down at the top of the stairs. He glared down at her.
"We are going into Hogsmeade, and I do not want you to dawdle on the stairs."
"But they're scary," Jane protested before she could shut her mouth. He raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"I don't know," Jane said softly. "I just feel unbalanced."
"You simply need more practice. Then I am certain you will be racing up and down the stairs, daring yourself to break your neck," he told her sarcastically. Jane shivered at the idea of doing something so foolish as racing up stairs.
He took her hand again, and they managed to get to Hogsmeade without any more upsets. It was early summer, and the walk was pleasant. There were no dunderhead students to watch over, and no one causing mayhem along the way. As they made their way through the town, there was some sort of commotion in front of the tavern. Severus turned to see, and went paler than normal. Jane was at his side, looking up at his face.
"Jane, you need to run," he instructed her, letting go of her hand, and reaching for his wand. Jane looked to see men all in black, wearing masks, coming towards them.
"Severus," drawled one voice, "I see you are keeping interesting company. Of course, we will have to take her as well. We want no witnesses."
Jane took a step back, preparing to run away as she had been instructed. Instead, she bumped into someone else. Startled she looked up into the mask of another one of these people in black. The hand that came down on her shoulder was terribly familiar.
"You will not escape me this time, bitch," MacNair said, and Jane froze.
It took only moments to disarm Severus, with the threat to Jane's life. He cursed himself for being so weak. MacNair had a deathgrip on Jane, and she stayed silent, pale skin growing paler by the minute. Lucius Malfoy had one hand on Severus's arm, and then they disapparated.
Jane kept her eyes open the entire time. They had come to an open field. She stared from MacNair to the other men gathered. They had removed their masks, and were talking heatedly about what to do with Severus and Jane. If Jane could only get close enough to Severus, she could get them out of here.
Finally, the tall, blonde-haired man made an impatient gesture. There was a nod of agreement from several others. He returned to the group and announced,
"We are taking them to the Master. Don't worry, Severus. I'm sure he will have a suitable punishment for you."
"The Master?" Jane wondered. Severus shot her a glance. He was scared, she realized.
"Shut up!" MacNair growled, but Jane had gotten over her intial shock. She had never been very respectful, and she fixed him with a cool stare.
Once again, they Apparated. This time there was a house in the distance. The men shoved Severus forward, and he began to walk. Jane walked behind him, with MacNair at her back, every so often kicking her, as if that would encourage her to walk faster.
At the door, the blonde-haired man gestured for them to preceed him. Jane heard it shut behind them, and her nervousness began to overtake her. They were being pushed towards a set of stairs, and Jane winced. If there was one reason she did not want to die, it was for not climbing the stairs fast enough.
The first flight went well enough, because Jane closed her eyes and pretended she was being helped by Fred and George. The second flight took longer because MacNair tried to trip her and got into an argument with the blonde-haired man. Jane waited patiently, watching for a chance to get close to Severus. When MacNair finally agreed to leave Jane alone physically until they had shown her to the Master, they kept going.
The room they were shown into was dark. At the end of the room sat a single chair. Jane remembered this being similar to the King's throne room in Lady's memories. Was this Master pretending to be king?
"Severus, at last you are brought before me," the man hissed. Severus stayed silent, and Jane kept her mouth shut as well.
"You are a traitor, and we all know how we deal with traitors. Your death will be slow and painful." Jane's eyes widened. She did not want Severus to be hurt.
"Who is this?" the man continued, stepping forward to examine Jane. She studied him in turn, curious about his white flaky skin and red eyes.
"Master, she was with Severus when we found him. We thought she might be used for a little entertainment," the blonde-haired man offered.
"Did you bother to check if she might be magic?" The Master demanded. He turned on Severus. "Well, is she, Severus? It might save her life, you know."
"I will not send her to your arms, even if it might save her life," Severus stated coldly. Watching with a cool stare, Jane pretended not to be sizing up the room.
"Then we shall simply have to test her, won't we?" MacNair asked eagerly.
"You can go suck eggs," Jane informed him rudely. She put a mask of cold superiority, one which Lady had taught her.
"I see you have spunk, child. What is your name?"
"Who are you to be asking?" Jane questioned. She saw Severus wince, and knew she might be playing this game a little too dangerously.
"I am Lord Voldemort, little girl. I suggest you pay me respect," the man before her hissed.
"I am Jane, and I pay respect to those who earn it," Jane snapped. She had always had a bit of a loose temper when it came to bullies.
"Well spoken," Voldemort said, after considering her answer. He turned away from them, and ordered, "Malfoy, earn her respect."
"Crucio," the blonde-haired man intoned, and Jane felt a familiar tingle of pain working its way alone her spine. She felt it spread along her limbs, down to her fingers and toes, and up to her scalp.
It was odd, how she never screamed, even though she hurt. Strange that she could pull her consciousness away from the pain, and keep a neutral expression on her face. Even though Jane truly did hurt, she never showed even the vaguest impression. She saw the looks of surprise from those gathered. Voldemort smiled then, a horrible smile that frightened Jane to her very soul.
"She's perfect," he murmured, coming up and cupping her chin roughly. "You, my little girl, you will be the end of Harry Potter."
"You mean that I am to murder him?" Jane asked, arching an eyebrow in a near perfect impression of her guardian. Voldemort merely smiled his horrible smile, and gestured to someone behind her. She saw Severus crumple over in pain.
"If you don't, I will kill your precious guardian. Until you agree to do as I say, I will torture him until he begs for you to say yes. Think about it, little one." Voldemort turned to address Malfoy. "Throw her into a cell next to where you will torture Severus. Feed her small amounts, just enough to keep her from starving. She is not to sleep or rest until she has decided to join us."
"Jane, if you cannot find your shoes, you will not be going," Severus snapped. She was already giving him a headache. What was she doing in her room?
"Sorry," Jane murmured. He now realized why it had taken her so long. Her clothes had been changed, and her hair brushed.
"The next time I tell you to hurry, I expect you to do so. Now come." Severus gestured for her to follow him.
Why had he agreed to talk her out? He knew why. Dumbledore had insisted that Jane should see more than just Hogwarts. So he foolishly decided to take her to Hogsmeade. And now she was falling behind again. With a snarl, he turned and waited for her.
Jane shrank under his gaze. He was always so angry with her, even when it was not her fault. Her own legs were small, nothing like his own long legs. Chewing on her lower lip, she tried to walk faster.
He thrust out a hand for her to take, and she grasped it gratefully. Mostly because if he held her hand, they would both have to find a median. Another, more secret reason was that she always felt safer when she was close to him. If only he would hold her close. . . Jane almost tripped over a stair. She hated stairs.
Irritated at how slowly she was taking the stairs, Severus reached over and hauled Jane up. She gasped in surprise. Frowning, he set her back down at the top of the stairs. He glared down at her.
"We are going into Hogsmeade, and I do not want you to dawdle on the stairs."
"But they're scary," Jane protested before she could shut her mouth. He raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"I don't know," Jane said softly. "I just feel unbalanced."
"You simply need more practice. Then I am certain you will be racing up and down the stairs, daring yourself to break your neck," he told her sarcastically. Jane shivered at the idea of doing something so foolish as racing up stairs.
He took her hand again, and they managed to get to Hogsmeade without any more upsets. It was early summer, and the walk was pleasant. There were no dunderhead students to watch over, and no one causing mayhem along the way. As they made their way through the town, there was some sort of commotion in front of the tavern. Severus turned to see, and went paler than normal. Jane was at his side, looking up at his face.
"Jane, you need to run," he instructed her, letting go of her hand, and reaching for his wand. Jane looked to see men all in black, wearing masks, coming towards them.
"Severus," drawled one voice, "I see you are keeping interesting company. Of course, we will have to take her as well. We want no witnesses."
Jane took a step back, preparing to run away as she had been instructed. Instead, she bumped into someone else. Startled she looked up into the mask of another one of these people in black. The hand that came down on her shoulder was terribly familiar.
"You will not escape me this time, bitch," MacNair said, and Jane froze.
It took only moments to disarm Severus, with the threat to Jane's life. He cursed himself for being so weak. MacNair had a deathgrip on Jane, and she stayed silent, pale skin growing paler by the minute. Lucius Malfoy had one hand on Severus's arm, and then they disapparated.
Jane kept her eyes open the entire time. They had come to an open field. She stared from MacNair to the other men gathered. They had removed their masks, and were talking heatedly about what to do with Severus and Jane. If Jane could only get close enough to Severus, she could get them out of here.
Finally, the tall, blonde-haired man made an impatient gesture. There was a nod of agreement from several others. He returned to the group and announced,
"We are taking them to the Master. Don't worry, Severus. I'm sure he will have a suitable punishment for you."
"The Master?" Jane wondered. Severus shot her a glance. He was scared, she realized.
"Shut up!" MacNair growled, but Jane had gotten over her intial shock. She had never been very respectful, and she fixed him with a cool stare.
Once again, they Apparated. This time there was a house in the distance. The men shoved Severus forward, and he began to walk. Jane walked behind him, with MacNair at her back, every so often kicking her, as if that would encourage her to walk faster.
At the door, the blonde-haired man gestured for them to preceed him. Jane heard it shut behind them, and her nervousness began to overtake her. They were being pushed towards a set of stairs, and Jane winced. If there was one reason she did not want to die, it was for not climbing the stairs fast enough.
The first flight went well enough, because Jane closed her eyes and pretended she was being helped by Fred and George. The second flight took longer because MacNair tried to trip her and got into an argument with the blonde-haired man. Jane waited patiently, watching for a chance to get close to Severus. When MacNair finally agreed to leave Jane alone physically until they had shown her to the Master, they kept going.
The room they were shown into was dark. At the end of the room sat a single chair. Jane remembered this being similar to the King's throne room in Lady's memories. Was this Master pretending to be king?
"Severus, at last you are brought before me," the man hissed. Severus stayed silent, and Jane kept her mouth shut as well.
"You are a traitor, and we all know how we deal with traitors. Your death will be slow and painful." Jane's eyes widened. She did not want Severus to be hurt.
"Who is this?" the man continued, stepping forward to examine Jane. She studied him in turn, curious about his white flaky skin and red eyes.
"Master, she was with Severus when we found him. We thought she might be used for a little entertainment," the blonde-haired man offered.
"Did you bother to check if she might be magic?" The Master demanded. He turned on Severus. "Well, is she, Severus? It might save her life, you know."
"I will not send her to your arms, even if it might save her life," Severus stated coldly. Watching with a cool stare, Jane pretended not to be sizing up the room.
"Then we shall simply have to test her, won't we?" MacNair asked eagerly.
"You can go suck eggs," Jane informed him rudely. She put a mask of cold superiority, one which Lady had taught her.
"I see you have spunk, child. What is your name?"
"Who are you to be asking?" Jane questioned. She saw Severus wince, and knew she might be playing this game a little too dangerously.
"I am Lord Voldemort, little girl. I suggest you pay me respect," the man before her hissed.
"I am Jane, and I pay respect to those who earn it," Jane snapped. She had always had a bit of a loose temper when it came to bullies.
"Well spoken," Voldemort said, after considering her answer. He turned away from them, and ordered, "Malfoy, earn her respect."
"Crucio," the blonde-haired man intoned, and Jane felt a familiar tingle of pain working its way alone her spine. She felt it spread along her limbs, down to her fingers and toes, and up to her scalp.
It was odd, how she never screamed, even though she hurt. Strange that she could pull her consciousness away from the pain, and keep a neutral expression on her face. Even though Jane truly did hurt, she never showed even the vaguest impression. She saw the looks of surprise from those gathered. Voldemort smiled then, a horrible smile that frightened Jane to her very soul.
"She's perfect," he murmured, coming up and cupping her chin roughly. "You, my little girl, you will be the end of Harry Potter."
"You mean that I am to murder him?" Jane asked, arching an eyebrow in a near perfect impression of her guardian. Voldemort merely smiled his horrible smile, and gestured to someone behind her. She saw Severus crumple over in pain.
"If you don't, I will kill your precious guardian. Until you agree to do as I say, I will torture him until he begs for you to say yes. Think about it, little one." Voldemort turned to address Malfoy. "Throw her into a cell next to where you will torture Severus. Feed her small amounts, just enough to keep her from starving. She is not to sleep or rest until she has decided to join us."