Disclaimer: See Ch.1
Ch. 3 – Morning Has Broken
Severus sat silently in his dorm room, the heavy green velvet curtains drawn shut tightly around his four-poster bed. He sat, his legs pulled tightly against his chest, his arms resting on his knees, his head resting on his arms. His young mind was spinning with all that had occurred in the recent past.
His parents, Meela and Dimitri Snape, had been killed by Aurors, leaving him an orphan. His temper had grown short with his girlfriend, while he became closer to someone he still had troubles fully trusting, Lucius Malfoy.
The teenager hissed as the fresh branding on his left forearm stung, a fresh wave of pain coursing through his lithe body. His mind blanked, thinking about his first meeting with the one called Voldemort.
The encounter had been painful to say the least. Voldemort had seemed like an odd choice to play the role of 'dark lord.' He was oddly handsome, with a thick main of shoulder length black hair, high cheekbones, and thin lips, which were nearly always in a macabre smile or an angry scowl. His eyes stood out starkly from his pale skin, a severe crimson hue.
Lucius' parents, Milan and Andréa Malfoy, had taken them to meet Voldemort, apparating them to a place that Severus still had no clue as to where it was.
Voldemort had asked him questions, pushing and pulling at Severus' thoughts and emotions. After what seemed like hours of questioning and torture ("To assure you're not one of Dumbledore's…" Lucius had said.) with the Cruciatus Curse and various lashings from the other Death Eaters, another round of torture began. This time, it involved Severus being bound to a seemingly ancient block of stone, his arms and legs held in place by silver manacles, his clothing removed by some unheard spell.
Milan Malfoy (Severus could only assume his identity; all of the Death Eaters were covered in white masks and heavy black cloaks.) had approached Severus, pulling an obsidian blade from the folds of his cloak. He'd held it over the nude boy for a moment, the dull light shining on the blade of the knife. The glinting on the blade was matched equally by the light in the eyes of the man holding it, the cold steel gray of Malfoy's eyes showing through the eyeholes in his mask.
The blade was brought down to Severus' left forearm, the cool stone meeting his warm body. It had been the worst pain he'd ever felt; the blade plowed through layers of flesh and muscle, down to the bone, snapping through ligaments on the way. After what could only be described as an eternity, the blade was lifted, though the pain in Severus' arm had yet to leave him.
He'd felt nauseous, seeing the ebony blade covered in his thick, crimson blood, and could have sworn he'd seen chips of bones intermixed with the now congealing blood. That feeling hadn't been reduced when Voldemort strode up to him, next to him. He waved his hand, and the manacles that held Severus fell away.
"Andréa. Take our young Mr. Snape and your son back to Hogwarts." He nodded to yet another cloaked figure standing in the circle of Death Eaters surrounding them. Andréa stepped forward, pulling Severus up to his feet roughly. She leaned in and whispered into his ear: "Don't worry, boy. The pain will go away eventually… I promise."
Severus could only nod.
The woman apparated Severus and Lucius back to Hogwarts quickly, into the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
That had been nearly twelve hours ago.
Severus had been sitting ("No… hiding." Severus' inner voice told him. He'd promptly told it off.) on his bed ever since, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Severus? Are you in here?" A smooth, feminine voice called his name.
"You're not supposed to be up here, Sage. This is the boy's dormitory. Kindly leave." He mumbled from inside the curtains on his bed. He heard irritated footsteps walk over to his bed before the curtains were ripped open, a very angry looking Sage standing there.
"No. What the hell is going on with you, Snape?" She hissed, standing over Severus, who still sat curled up into a ball.
"J-just leave, alright?"
Severus fell backwards onto his pillows as a hard blow landed on his face. He looked up at Sage crossly, until he saw her face. Her blue eyes were red, blood shot, her skin paler than usual. Her light blonde hair was pulled back in a sloppy braid. She looked as if she hadn't slept in three days.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on with you, Severus." She stated, her voice now much more soft, filled with sorrow. She placed a hand gingerly on Severus' cheek as she sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have done that."
"Don't worry about it." Severus shrugged. "Look, I'm tired. Do you mind if we discuss this some other time?"
"Fine. But we will be talking about this."
"Agreed."