-Severus Snape-
It was one bad thing after the next; a horrible chain of events, my own luck crashing to dust. As if Voldemort's lack of trust in me, and getting out in pretty bad shape isn't enough; but it had seemed as if he had replaced me! It was selfish of me to think that Voldemort would pay special attention to me in particular, but the day after my 'minor' slip-up, he had taken a girl home with him!

He said nothing about her, and we expected no explanation form him. Whatever he says, goes, no question. But the girl, who liked to be called Jack (although I called her Jacklyn mostly just to irritate her), stayed with us ever since. Every raid, every different hideaway we take under our control, she's there.

She's got a problem, too, with knowing her place. She believes herself to be higher than the Death Eaters, and mostly tags along at Voldemort's heels wherever he goes. She's like his dog, as I had told her countless times before. She never joins the raids, but watches them calmly at Voldemort's side, and if ever he decides to apparate away and kill somebody important, she grabs hold if his hand and goes with him. It's a sickening thing to watch.

It's terrible, the way Voldemort let's the girl walk all over him. In letting her do whatever she wants, he shows weakness that he had never shown before. It sickens me, as I said, and I've asked the girl, many times shouted at her, why she decided to join us, why she thinks she's so great, why she thinks she's so important, and what gives her the RIGHT? Why in hell would Voldemort take such a girl?

I would wonder... Does he care about her? And if he does, why HER? In fact, WHY in general? I don't even care for any silly girls; no doubt Voldemort should have more power to keep himself from their temptation?

All these questions! Mainly, why was she so important!? I had to find this out! And if Voldemort had no more than the reason that he's fond of her, (I shudder), then there's absolutely NO hope for us. The Aurors would have no trouble using the girl as bait. She's probably dim-witted and not very strong, and the Aurors could catch and hold her until Voldemort gave himself up to them. What a frightening thought; and how embarrassing! I hope Voldemort didn't have feelings for that child! That would be the end of us all.

Malfoy wasn't too keen about the girl around, either, I could tell. He had liked to think of himself as second in command before the girl showed up... That selfish fool. There was one good thing from the arrival of the girl; it sure shut Lucius Malfoy up for a while. He had been murderous and in a bad mood ever since she showed up. I bet if I offered, he would team up with me and kill her in the night. We could throw her body in a lake and tell Voldemort that she had run away. If he ever found the body, he would think that she had been killed in battle against Aurors, or the followers of Dumbledore, or the Ministry of Magic; or all of them. They're all connected, anyway.

I really did want her dead. You could call it jealousy, but I wouldn't say it was that. We just wanted our master back.

* * * * * * * * * *

"-And it was saying how the family was found buried among the rubble of the destroyed village, but the girl was nowhere to be found," Jack mused. "They suspect I've been kidnapped, or held for questioning, or taken and tortured and killed! They also suggested that I had been disintegrated somehow, but even THEY figured it was highly unlikely. Odd assumption for idiots."

There was a round of laughter from most the Death Eaters other than Lucious Malfoy and myself. They found the girl charming. Weak men, and their uncontrollable, disgusting desires. She sat next to Voldemort, of course, at the head of the table as we ate our dinner, fancy; one thing we did every few months if raids went well.

"Not only are the people who work for the Daily Prophet and Evening Prophet, imbeciles, but so is the Ministry of Magic for believing them!" she snorted. Not only am I glad, but grateful and, by God, am I relived that Voldemort allowed me to-"

"You should refer to your master as Lord Voldemort," I interrupted quietly, harshly to the girl who sat only two chairs away, though one of those chairs was not Voldemort's.

"Severus," Voldemort addressed me from his high post, grinning icily and seeming to be in good humor, "A small slip with her formalities; please, let the girl continue."

I slunk back in my seat, and I was willing to bet that my look had considerably darkened.

"As I was saying," Jack blabbered, "It was the best choice I'd ever made in my entire life..."

She continued in this manner for so long that I decided that I had had enough. I abruptly stood from the table, unable to take any more of this, and stormed out of the room. Nobody saw me leave; they were too busy paying attention to the dog. Nobody noticed but Voldemort, who cleared his throat, stood, gave a waving gesture to carry on, and followed after me. I didn't realize that he was following me until he decided to make himself noticed with a few hard steps on the floor behind me.

I turned around to see him in a bright mood, a chilling state for one who looked as he did; as if he should never have been able to be very happy in the first place.

"Is there something wrong, Severus?" Voldemort asked, giving me the impression that he was on the verge of cold laughter. "You have been acting in the STRANGEST way since I don't know when!"

"It's that GIRL!" I hissed, momentarily forgetting how my master might take my words. "She shouldn't even BE here!"

Voldemort merely lifted his eyebrows calmly. "She is an important part to our little clan!" he said, seeming to laugh now, though he did not even smile.

"Why? WHY is she so important? You ALWAYS say she's important, and you let her go wherever she pleases, whenever she pleases, and you don't even mind! It's as if you have complete trust in the girl!" I replied.

"I DO have complete trust in her," Voldemort answered quickly. "Is there any reason why I should not?"

I hesitated. "Why do you not trust any of US?" I asked.

"Us? You? The Death Eaters?" Voldemort glanced towards the table again just as another wave of laughter flowed into the hall we stood in.

"Yes!" I cried, trying to keep my temper down.

"You don't see the trust in that girl? It is as if I am her father! The good father that she never had! She has trust in me to die for, don't you see? Why shouldn't I trust such a pitiful creature as that?" he said coolly.

"So you do not think of her as one of us?" I asked softly.

"Never," Voldemort said.

"Then why is she so important to you?" I asked.

"She's quite a lovely girl, isn't she?" Voldemort retorted.

"I don't think there's anything special about her," I said more harshly than I wanted to. "You're avoiding my question."

Voldemort seemed to be taken aback, but only in an amused way. "And when DID we get the privilege of talking to our master so?" he laughed.

"She's such a painful distraction to the others! She helps us with nothing, and only holds us back!" I said.

"No," Voldemort replied with force that frightened me. He took a breath. "No. She doesn't set us back, but pulls us further to a world under MY rule! She has the most interesting things to say to me when you and the others are gone! I cannot tell you yet."

"You don't trust me!" I cried, disbelieving.

He shrugged. "No. I don't. Is there something wrong?"

"So you haven't forgiven that incident so many weeks ago!" I shot.

"I don't forgive," he shot back. "And I don't forget. I remember what you did even if you decide to disremember it. You are such a damnable person, Severus. And that is why I keep you!"

And he burst into the fit of wild laughter that had been threatening to escape him throughout our whole conversation.

I couldn't take much more, and with a stiff bow, spinning on my heel, I strode off down the hall to a solitary room. Anywhere but there.

Anywhere but near him.