Chapter Sixteen: Waters and the Wild





The small city was unimportant and could easily overlook but there was something friendly about it. It was one of those cities you could fall in love with and one day retire to. Severus couldn't believe that this peaceful Mecca could possibly double as the headquarters of a Dark gathering. Jacqueline took him to a narrow plaza that allowed the "good" city merged with the red-light District. He thought it was a nice little aside that there was a Catholic cathedral across from their destination. The building looked unimposing and forgotten by time. There was a sign overhead said in chipped paint that the name of the place was Looking Glass and he smirked a little a Jackie.

She gave him another deep grin, "Told you."

He entered and was floored by the sudden changed. Looking Glass was a bar, or more to the point, a Cabaret. The room was large but sparsely populated. It had a high vaulted ceiling and an old restored stage. There was an open door near the left hand corner of the stage and the faint threads of music could be heard. Plush, velvety couches and cushioned chairs and deep mahogany tables adorned the room. There was a group of three: two women and a man sleeping on the floor. A man at the bar welcomed them in and smirked at Jackie.

"Bloody Mary, Jack?" He asked before turning towards Severus. "What's your poison?"

"Coffee."

The bartender made a face. "Irish Coffee?"

"Give him coffee, Val. He's new. One for me too." Jacqueline laughed. The bartender leaned over and pecked her one the cheek. She hit his arm. "Not this time. Severus Snape meet Everyone-calls-me-Valentine."

Valentine offered his hand, "Pleasure. Everyone calls me Valentine, you are?"

Severus stared at the hand distastefully then looked up. "Pleasure's all mine."

"Oh Tom's going to love you." The bartender remarked.

"He's here?" Jacqueline asked as she added bits of Vodka to her coffee.

Valentine nodded. "He's in the back with the rest. Silas is coming later; he had to stop over in London."

"Who's the rest?" She asked.

"McKenna, Raine, Malone, Lucius; he and Alistair are at it again. The Valkyries are here of course and I think I saw Tadeusz stumble in."

"Any word on Imre?"

Valentine became serious and shook his head. "Not a thing, Tom seems to think the Navy robes got him."

"Unlikely." She said. "See ya around, Val."

"Love ya Jack."

Inside the inner room, the actor's lounge was crowded with plain clothed demons. Sitting on and around the main couch in various poses of comfort and playfulness, were eight of the most entrancing women he had ever seen. There was one who immediately caught his attention. She was elegant, stately and tall. She was a siren of ebony colored skin and haunting gold eyes. Her hair was done in tight braids all down her scalp only to fall over her shoulders. Her eyes met his with a cool watchfulness, nodded and then turned away. He called her the lioness.

The woman next to the lioness was a woman, the only woman, who had her face covered in a Muslim style shawl. The cloth was of deepest blue and gold and complimented her soft brown tone. He wondered what she looked like under that shawl. A dirty thought crossed his mind and caused him to smile.

"Best to forget her, Severus." Said a voice from behind him. It was Silas.

Silas Malfoy was by default the lord of a powerful estate. The Malfoy were unparallel in business and easily one of the richest names in the Magical world. They made up for their lack of proud history with shrewd business sense. The eldest son, Gideon, was viewed as a prodigal child and never referred to as family. Lucius, the youngest, was beginning a promising career in the Ministry under an old family alliance and was rumored to be dating a belle. But Silas was the prince of his family.

He was called an emperor of industry and would one day become the master of hundreds because of his savvy. The fact he lent himself too much to parties and drink meant nothing once you met his cool, charming smile. Silas made you want to like him and frankly Severus did. They had always been friends, the princes of the time, and paragons in their own way. At Hogwarts, they had been friends.

Soon they'd become brothers. The vengeance of a Dark Lord, angels of sinister god and the archangels embraced. Severus pulled away first. He turned and regarded the room.

"So," He asked Silas softly. "Which one is this new lord?"

"Now what would be the fun of just me telling you?" Silas asked. "Want to take a gamble?"

"Yeah Auror!" Shouted a man from the corner of the room. Severus didn't need turn to recognize the voice. It was Isaac Iverson, the man he had sent through a window. "Tell us if you can sense the man that will kill you."

"You first Iverson." Severus promised. He began to circle the room, watching the faces of men he could have glanced over and gone on with life. But one of these men was the most powerful man in the world. Could that fact be written on the face? Could power, prestige, ambition and to a certain extent, wisdom; be craved on the features of the man? Instantly the image of a tall, strapping figure came into his mind. A man with a strong jaw and piercing blue eyes dressed regally so.

There was a man sitting backwards, with Jackie's arms around his broad shoulder that matched that image. He was strong and awe-inspiring with torn hard hands that knew work. He looked Severus in the eye and smiled.

Severus shook his head and turned his attention to the man's opposite. Slender, lean and graceful, this man made sitting up look painful. He met Severus' gaze proudly. Not him either, no leader could be so smug.

"Five says he misses." Iverson said loudly.

"Ten!"

"Twenty!"

"Forty-five says he nails it." Jacqueline said with a smug grin.

The betting quieted. Then a man near the back spoke. "I'll take that bet."

Severus turned his attention to the man who had spoken. There was nothing special about him. A lean, practical frame for a man who didn't do manual labor but had known it. Sharp but simple green eyes that met Severus' gaze for a moment then pulled away, smiling friendly. Severus nodded. He then took a knee. "Milord."

Tom Riddle laughed. He looked over to Jacqueline. "Smart boy, looks like I owe you forty five Galleons. Take a check?" He turned back to Severus. "On your feet man." He touched Severus' shoulder and rose from his seat to allow Severus to sit.

"Oh no sir." He began to interject.

Tom wouldn't have it. "Take a seat boy. I think we need to talk…"



Although the first conversation with the elusive Riddle had been amiable enough, Severus was not quite sure he trusted or even liked him. The people in the room that night, with the exception of Iverson and Everyone Calls Me Valentine, proved to be the inner circle of the his followers. To everyone outside that room, he was Lord Voldemort.

The people inside the actors lounge were demigods in their own rights. Most of them, like Tadeusz and the mentioned Imre had been leaders of Dark Arts cells in their respective countries, Germany and Hungry. They had formed alliances with Voldemort through the women known as the Valkyries. The Valkyries were distinct and deadly to look at. Those eight formed, to put it crudely, Lord Voldemort's harem. To think of touching one let alone do anything else with one was not only suicide but also torture. Jacqueline who was the unofficial leader was not a Valkyrie although she had taught them everything- including some rather painful means of death for any undersexed persons who thought they could have their way with them.

Also important were the families involved in the underground kingdom. There was an alarming number of old families. Names like Galen McKenna, son of the influential Charms Master, Erskine Raine, the man who practically ran Diagon Alley, and his strongest ally Alistair.

There was even a Hecate man in the mix; a former Kaga Companion named Eoin Malone. Severus had to admit, Tom Riddle impressed him. Kaga Companions were elusive, dangerous and enigmatic but renowned for their loyalty to the Ministry. The fact that Voldemort had swayed one to his side, attested to the Dark Lord's prowess.

The couple Severus had seen asleep in the main room had been Natalie and Adrien Lestrange, who apparently had been recruited by the brothers Silas and Lucius Malfoy.

Together those eleven (not including the Valkyries) made up the heart of Lord Voldemort's army. Severus felt an urge to liken them to the twelve judges of the apocalypse or the heads of the dragon. He remembered Reiner reading him those stories from the Muggles, Snape had always thought such men of power didn't exist. That was, until he looked into the eyes of each man and knew the face of evil. In their faces he could see darkness and a lust for evil and havoc. They were gluttons for destruction and hell. Death Eaters. That phase coined by some Auror Severus faintly remembered was brought to mind. Yes, he thought to himself. These people did feast on death.

But in Tom Riddle, he saw none of that. In Riddle he saw a cool, calculating mind that saw death as just another means to an end. If another way could prove itself more effective then terror, Riddle could easily change tactics. He was almost passive in every regard but there was no mistaking his prowess or the respect he commanded from the Death Eaters. So Severus was confused on how to play Riddle. He also got the distinct impression it was he that was being played. That thought didn't sit well with him.

Severus' best guess about the time was it was either early morning or late night when Riddle had called him aside for yet another meeting with Riddle. After Silas had moved the party to his home, the Looking Glass was abandoned expect for the two men. Severus lingered, taking a seat on stage with his back pressed against the curtain. Tom was pacing and his steps echoed eerily through the air. For a long time there was just silence between them as man measured man and plotted his tactics.

Then Voldemort spoke. "You were an Auror."

It wasn't a question and the tone was matter-of-factly, even inviting. Severus licked his lips. "I was."

"Whom did you work under?"

"Malachi Smith."

"The great Unspeakable?" Another inviting question that didn't need an answer. "Did you answer directly to him?"

"I did."

"Where you his protégé?"

"Some called me that."

The tone changed from matter-of-factly to playfully curious. "Your name is Snape." Severus waited. "Your father and mother were Kaiser and Sabine, both Aurors."

"So was my brother if we are tracing the family tree."

"Ah yes, Joachim. How was he killed again?"

"A man named Black killed him in a vendetta against my family."

"What happened to him?"

"My father killed him."

"He had a younger brother too, didn't he? Sirius?"

"Yes, we aren't exactly the best of friends."

"Why so?"

"With respect, milord, is this all you asked me to stay for? My life story?" Severus asked. He was annoyed but tried with all his might to remain calm.

The other man smiled. "I wanted to see how far I could push you."

"And?"

"I learned." He turned and began to pace again. "But I don't understand something about you Snape. You are obviously highly intelligent, patient and collected. So why are you here?"

"To protect my blood." He countered, deciding to toy.

"You are not a zealot, Severus." Voldemort rebuked. "You know, even if no one else does, that wizard blood and Muggle blood are the same color. So why?"

"What do you want to hear?" Severus asked.

"Why a promising Auror, from an established family with no delusions of racial purity and what appears to be a sane mind would chose to ally with me." He prompted. "How do I know you aren't just spying on me fore the Ministry?"

"You don't."

"See my dilemma here." He turned. "Go back home to your family Snape."

"My family's dead."

Voldemort turned. He narrowed his eyes and waited.

Severus lifted up his chin. "My parents were murdered by vampires because their superior officer gave them bad information about the nest they were sent to clean out. A renegade that should never have released murdered my brother. My wife, and child, partner and friend were all murdered by you, milord, but also because the Ministry that we worked for didn't want to cause panic in the populace so they tied Aurors' hands every chance they got." Severus could feel something begin to choke him but he continued. "Had it not been for a Ministry that is impotent and corrupt and so concerned with appearance and legacies, my family would still be alive and I'd be hunting you but that is not the caste. I am after one thing."

"That is?"

"Revenge." He said softly. "Revenge against the world that allowed people like you to survive past infancy."

"I don't trust you, Severus. You know that right?"

"Beyond a doubt."

"But I believe you when you say you want revenge. So I'll give you that chance." Voldemort took a measured breath and released it. Severus waited, wondering if this was his end. Then Voldemort nodded. "Let's see how I can help you with that."

"Against the Aurors?"

"Good place as any to start."

"And if I fail?"

"You die."

Severus shrugged lazily. "Fair enough."

The Dark Lord smiled. "I knew I'd liked you."

"Valentine said you would too."