Jailbird
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 7 (uploaded 11/20/03)
Snape wasn't sure how he was going to get into the Mansion. As soon as he apparated in front of the house, he put Moody down at his feet. He tried the door. It was locked. Malfoy started squirming, "Shhh, I've got you Lucius. I'll turn you back as soon as I know it's safe." Still dressed as a Death Eater, he held the small furry creature to the door to examine the lock. But the rodent put its little hands on the door. CLICK. He was in. Moody scampered past the threshold before the door closed behind the black clad wizard.
"Stay here, Moody. I'm going to look around first. Squeal if Bella comes." The potions master walked quickly through the first floor, satisfying himself that nobody was around. Up on the second floor, he found Draco in his room sleeping quietly. "No doubt the same sleeping potion Lucius gave me," the potions expert concluded.
Snape tried the same procedure to get into Lucius's study. He held the golden brown ferret up to the door. CLICK. He was in. The spy went through the cupboards before going through the desk drawers. He was looking for an antidote to wake up his Slytherin students and perhaps any other clue that might tell him who was in Azkaban in his place, and how it was being done. As he rifled through the desk drawers, Malfoy started fighting out of the potion master's grip. He scratched with sharp claws into his captor's hands and tried to bite the fingers.
Taking a quick inventory, there was nothing available to hold the ferret. So he picked up the waste basket and put it on the desk. Pulling out his wand, he transfigured the waste basket into a brass cage, just big enough for the ferret. "There you are, Lucius, I can't allow you to hurt yourself, can I now?" He moved the cage from the top of the desk to the floor behind the desk.
Moody ran over and seemed to taunt the other ferret in the cage. Snape looked down amusingly, "Can you two understand each other?" If ferrets could sneer, Moody gave one heck of a look as if to say 'enough already, turn me back, you dolt.' Finding nothing of interest in the study, Snape swept out of the room, stopping in the foyer to grab Lucius's walking stick from the umbrella stand. He went into the drawing room and started thumping on the marble tiles with the stick. Moody followed and scrambled along the perimeter of the room. The ferret then crawled under the rug in front of the couch and gave a squeal.
Snape pushed the rug aside and touched the head of the walking stick to the slab of marble. Slowly, it creaked open, revealing a wood staircase that lead to the basement level. Moody chattered unintelligibly, standing on his hind legs. "Not yet, Moody. Trust me." He lifted Moody and put him over his shoulder.
Snape drew his wand, "Lumos." The command lit the candelabras along the chamber walls. On the work bench several hip flasks were lined up, as if it were a precious collection on display. They were each unique in their own way but they were labeled. The one of pure silver was labeled 'Draco,' the one with a brown leather case was labeled 'V. Crabbe,' there were also flasks labeled for Snape, Bella, Narcissa, and Lucius. Snape took the one labeled after himself and emptied it into a vial. He sealed it with a cork and pocketed it and the lock of hair that was tucked into it.
He moved over to the shelves and Moody started squeaking and clicking excitedly. Right next to a couple unmarked tubes of blood sat the antidote he was looking for. He took two bottles of antidote and put them in a different pocket. "We're done here unless you see anything else," Snape said to the ferret. The rodent was quiet. "I'll take that as an agreement."
As he reached the top step of the staircase, he quietly said, "Nox" which turned the lights out downstairs. Like the good spy that he was, he covered the trap door and replaced the rug to look as he had found it. Pacing the room, he tugged on his chin and talked quietly to himself with Moody on his shoulder. "Okay, we know Lucius is caged in the study. We know Draco is asleep upstairs. Bella was at the meeting. That only leaves- "
"Severus, how did you get in?" Narcissa asked silkily.
"Lucius let me in," Snape forced himself to stroke the ferret's head and smile about it. "Where have you been?"
"I was with friends." She slithered up to the potions master and traced the buttons on his robes. "How about you lose the furball? It's getting nasty hair all over your black robes." She pushed him backwards until he was stopped by the couch, then she pushed on his chest get him to sit down. Moody scrambled off his neck and ran into the study. She sat in his lap but jumped when she hit something hard, opening her eyes wide.
"Sorry," Snape reached into his pocket and removed his Death Eater mask, grinning with a gleam in his eyes. "We really shouldn't. I just came to check on you."
"Come now, Sev, you seemed to enjoy yourself well enough the other night. Lucius used to come back from meetings so mean and excited, he'd take me wherever he found me. And not so gently, I might add."
"Was that you?" He barely got the question out before his mouth was covered and invaded by the blonde seductress. He broke the kiss and took a breath. "There was someone else in the bed."
"I don't kiss and tell," she winked and rubbed his chest through his clothes. He grabbed her hands, that's when he noticed the large ruby ring on the middle finger of her right hand. He kissed her fingers and studied the ring more closely.
"That's new, isn't it?" He placed her palm on his cheek.
"Lucius gave it to me before he was caught at the Ministry. Mmm, I miss having a man in my bed. Here or in the bedroom?" She started slowly unbuttoning her robes as she looked hungrily into his eyes.
"Really Narcissa, we should expect Bellatrix from the meeting any time now." His argument was muffled by yet another kiss, as he laid back on the couch.
She slithered on top of him as he returned the kiss. "Ow! Severus, what else have you in your robes? It's hard. I do hope it's you this time." She pushed off his chest.
He licked his lips and pulled her back. "It's nothing, just potions."
Resisting his pull, she sat up on his lap and rocked a bit to excite him. "Didn't you say Lucius let you in? Where is he?"
"He was that furball rodent you so cleverly chased away. The Dark Lord was disappointed with Lucius's present. I was waiting for Bella to help me turn him back." Snape pulled her down to his chest and said softly, "You know how bad I am at transfigurations."
"Bad?" she giggled into his chest, "I thought you overcame that after you started teaching."
He stroked her hair, "Well, yes. But I don't maintain my transfiguration skills like I used to. I've been so busy since Harry 'fucking' Potter started at Hogwarts." He spat out Harry's name like it was a bad taste in his mouth.
"Easy, Severus, you've got your heart racing now." She drew shapes on his chest with a neatly manicured finger.
He sat up abruptly on the couch, "I'm sorry Narcissa, I've lost the mood," lifting her slightly and dumping her on the padding next to him. "Perhaps I'll try the transfiguration without Bella." He stood up, but Narcissa held his hand and kept him from walking away.
"Wait, Severus. I just wanted to find out where your loyalties were," Narcissa stood between her would-be-lover and the couch. Snape looked past her shoulder into the hallway, where Moody paced impatiently. Every few turns, the ferret would stand on its hind legs, wave its short furry arms and make clicking sounds.
Snape's face remained unreadable, as did his eyes. "Have you come to a conclusion yet?"
"Yes, love. Draco is lucky to have his godfather, potions professor, and Head of Slytherin House looking out for him. Narcissa has a wonderful, though reluctant secret lover. So gentle and comforting, especially when Lucius gets into one of his moods."
Snape's eyes narrowed, "Bella. You're Bella. Narcissa has confided in her dear sister, how touching. And it's not so secret. Years ago, when Lucius started losing interest in Narcissa, she had him have me keep her satisfied. He's never admitted it to me, but I know he sometimes watches from the shadows."
"How are you doing this, Bella?" Snape asked softly.
"You do realize the Dark Lord wanted to punish Lucius further. His Lordship will be upset with you when he finds out it was you who took him away tonight. Lucius is fortunate to have such a loyal friend." It might have been Narcissa's voice, but the tone of Bella's harshness sounded through.
"Don't you mean IF the He finds out?" Snape spoke with a velvety voice. Moody had stopped pacing the hallway and was once again on his hind legs twitching his nose and ears. "Lucius, come here," he looked directly at the ferret. The witch turned around and watched the ferret run to Snape's boots. He was picked up in such a way that the clawed foot was kept hidden under the furry body and placed on the seat of the yellow armchair.
As Snape backed away from the armchair, the disguised female Death Eater already had her wand out and pointed at the ferret. She said coldly, "Together shall we? On the count of three."
He pulled out his wand, "One. Two. Three." Two bright beams hit the ferret and it started to stretch. Limbs grew longer, the body grew taller. The robes were not black, but purple. His head was down and covered by the hat.
"You idiot," she screamed, "you picked up the wrong ferret!"
He looked at her with a blank expression, and an equally bland tone, "Oops."
Before she could rant further, Moody lifted his head and pulled out his wand, "Expelliarmus!" His spell was so powerful, it knocked her out where she stood. Snape summoned the wand which flew out of her hand. "Give me that," Moody demanded.
"I'll return it to its rightful owner, Narcissa," Snape said, coolly. "How is she disguised?"
Moody performed several spells and counter curses, including the total body bind to prepare her for transport. He picked the ring off of her finger and handed it to Snape. "That's how," the ex-auror said. They looked down to watch the pretty blonde Narcissa turn into the gaunt-faced Bellatrix.
Snape turned it around in his hand and looked at it from every angle. Moody reached over with his wand and gave it a tap. The jewel sprung open to one side, revealing a well with a drop of blood in it. Moody held out his hand, "Close it now and give it to me."
The Death Eater spy was about to drop the ring into the outstretched hand when there was a knock on the door. Snape swooped out of the room and came back as quickly, "It's Crabbe and more of Lucius's goons. I'll take care of them, you get out of here." He ran back to the couch and picked up his mask, putting it back in his pocket. Then Snape slipped the ring onto his little finger.
"Then I'll just take the ferret," Moody said impatiently.
But the visitors knocked again. Snape, now disguised as Narcissa said in her voice, "I'll bring the Malfoys back to Hogwarts with me. Get going." He turned on his heel and had just reached the doorway, when Moody called him back.
"Hey, you're walking like a wizard," Moody's face cracked into a smile. "You need lessons in impersonating a witch. Perhaps you could take a lesson from Mundungus." Snape attempted a sneer with Narcissa's face but Moody blew a kiss in return. Snape left Moody laughing in the drawing room as he turned to open the front door, but not before waving a glamour spell to change his black robes into something more appropriate.
~ ~ ~
Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews. It is encouraging to know when you are reading and hopefully enjoying. I don't know if just wrote Moody too far OOC, but I imagine he has a mischievous streak.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling (JKR), various publishers of the Harry Potter (HP) series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter 7 (uploaded 11/20/03)
Snape wasn't sure how he was going to get into the Mansion. As soon as he apparated in front of the house, he put Moody down at his feet. He tried the door. It was locked. Malfoy started squirming, "Shhh, I've got you Lucius. I'll turn you back as soon as I know it's safe." Still dressed as a Death Eater, he held the small furry creature to the door to examine the lock. But the rodent put its little hands on the door. CLICK. He was in. Moody scampered past the threshold before the door closed behind the black clad wizard.
"Stay here, Moody. I'm going to look around first. Squeal if Bella comes." The potions master walked quickly through the first floor, satisfying himself that nobody was around. Up on the second floor, he found Draco in his room sleeping quietly. "No doubt the same sleeping potion Lucius gave me," the potions expert concluded.
Snape tried the same procedure to get into Lucius's study. He held the golden brown ferret up to the door. CLICK. He was in. The spy went through the cupboards before going through the desk drawers. He was looking for an antidote to wake up his Slytherin students and perhaps any other clue that might tell him who was in Azkaban in his place, and how it was being done. As he rifled through the desk drawers, Malfoy started fighting out of the potion master's grip. He scratched with sharp claws into his captor's hands and tried to bite the fingers.
Taking a quick inventory, there was nothing available to hold the ferret. So he picked up the waste basket and put it on the desk. Pulling out his wand, he transfigured the waste basket into a brass cage, just big enough for the ferret. "There you are, Lucius, I can't allow you to hurt yourself, can I now?" He moved the cage from the top of the desk to the floor behind the desk.
Moody ran over and seemed to taunt the other ferret in the cage. Snape looked down amusingly, "Can you two understand each other?" If ferrets could sneer, Moody gave one heck of a look as if to say 'enough already, turn me back, you dolt.' Finding nothing of interest in the study, Snape swept out of the room, stopping in the foyer to grab Lucius's walking stick from the umbrella stand. He went into the drawing room and started thumping on the marble tiles with the stick. Moody followed and scrambled along the perimeter of the room. The ferret then crawled under the rug in front of the couch and gave a squeal.
Snape pushed the rug aside and touched the head of the walking stick to the slab of marble. Slowly, it creaked open, revealing a wood staircase that lead to the basement level. Moody chattered unintelligibly, standing on his hind legs. "Not yet, Moody. Trust me." He lifted Moody and put him over his shoulder.
Snape drew his wand, "Lumos." The command lit the candelabras along the chamber walls. On the work bench several hip flasks were lined up, as if it were a precious collection on display. They were each unique in their own way but they were labeled. The one of pure silver was labeled 'Draco,' the one with a brown leather case was labeled 'V. Crabbe,' there were also flasks labeled for Snape, Bella, Narcissa, and Lucius. Snape took the one labeled after himself and emptied it into a vial. He sealed it with a cork and pocketed it and the lock of hair that was tucked into it.
He moved over to the shelves and Moody started squeaking and clicking excitedly. Right next to a couple unmarked tubes of blood sat the antidote he was looking for. He took two bottles of antidote and put them in a different pocket. "We're done here unless you see anything else," Snape said to the ferret. The rodent was quiet. "I'll take that as an agreement."
As he reached the top step of the staircase, he quietly said, "Nox" which turned the lights out downstairs. Like the good spy that he was, he covered the trap door and replaced the rug to look as he had found it. Pacing the room, he tugged on his chin and talked quietly to himself with Moody on his shoulder. "Okay, we know Lucius is caged in the study. We know Draco is asleep upstairs. Bella was at the meeting. That only leaves- "
"Severus, how did you get in?" Narcissa asked silkily.
"Lucius let me in," Snape forced himself to stroke the ferret's head and smile about it. "Where have you been?"
"I was with friends." She slithered up to the potions master and traced the buttons on his robes. "How about you lose the furball? It's getting nasty hair all over your black robes." She pushed him backwards until he was stopped by the couch, then she pushed on his chest get him to sit down. Moody scrambled off his neck and ran into the study. She sat in his lap but jumped when she hit something hard, opening her eyes wide.
"Sorry," Snape reached into his pocket and removed his Death Eater mask, grinning with a gleam in his eyes. "We really shouldn't. I just came to check on you."
"Come now, Sev, you seemed to enjoy yourself well enough the other night. Lucius used to come back from meetings so mean and excited, he'd take me wherever he found me. And not so gently, I might add."
"Was that you?" He barely got the question out before his mouth was covered and invaded by the blonde seductress. He broke the kiss and took a breath. "There was someone else in the bed."
"I don't kiss and tell," she winked and rubbed his chest through his clothes. He grabbed her hands, that's when he noticed the large ruby ring on the middle finger of her right hand. He kissed her fingers and studied the ring more closely.
"That's new, isn't it?" He placed her palm on his cheek.
"Lucius gave it to me before he was caught at the Ministry. Mmm, I miss having a man in my bed. Here or in the bedroom?" She started slowly unbuttoning her robes as she looked hungrily into his eyes.
"Really Narcissa, we should expect Bellatrix from the meeting any time now." His argument was muffled by yet another kiss, as he laid back on the couch.
She slithered on top of him as he returned the kiss. "Ow! Severus, what else have you in your robes? It's hard. I do hope it's you this time." She pushed off his chest.
He licked his lips and pulled her back. "It's nothing, just potions."
Resisting his pull, she sat up on his lap and rocked a bit to excite him. "Didn't you say Lucius let you in? Where is he?"
"He was that furball rodent you so cleverly chased away. The Dark Lord was disappointed with Lucius's present. I was waiting for Bella to help me turn him back." Snape pulled her down to his chest and said softly, "You know how bad I am at transfigurations."
"Bad?" she giggled into his chest, "I thought you overcame that after you started teaching."
He stroked her hair, "Well, yes. But I don't maintain my transfiguration skills like I used to. I've been so busy since Harry 'fucking' Potter started at Hogwarts." He spat out Harry's name like it was a bad taste in his mouth.
"Easy, Severus, you've got your heart racing now." She drew shapes on his chest with a neatly manicured finger.
He sat up abruptly on the couch, "I'm sorry Narcissa, I've lost the mood," lifting her slightly and dumping her on the padding next to him. "Perhaps I'll try the transfiguration without Bella." He stood up, but Narcissa held his hand and kept him from walking away.
"Wait, Severus. I just wanted to find out where your loyalties were," Narcissa stood between her would-be-lover and the couch. Snape looked past her shoulder into the hallway, where Moody paced impatiently. Every few turns, the ferret would stand on its hind legs, wave its short furry arms and make clicking sounds.
Snape's face remained unreadable, as did his eyes. "Have you come to a conclusion yet?"
"Yes, love. Draco is lucky to have his godfather, potions professor, and Head of Slytherin House looking out for him. Narcissa has a wonderful, though reluctant secret lover. So gentle and comforting, especially when Lucius gets into one of his moods."
Snape's eyes narrowed, "Bella. You're Bella. Narcissa has confided in her dear sister, how touching. And it's not so secret. Years ago, when Lucius started losing interest in Narcissa, she had him have me keep her satisfied. He's never admitted it to me, but I know he sometimes watches from the shadows."
"How are you doing this, Bella?" Snape asked softly.
"You do realize the Dark Lord wanted to punish Lucius further. His Lordship will be upset with you when he finds out it was you who took him away tonight. Lucius is fortunate to have such a loyal friend." It might have been Narcissa's voice, but the tone of Bella's harshness sounded through.
"Don't you mean IF the He finds out?" Snape spoke with a velvety voice. Moody had stopped pacing the hallway and was once again on his hind legs twitching his nose and ears. "Lucius, come here," he looked directly at the ferret. The witch turned around and watched the ferret run to Snape's boots. He was picked up in such a way that the clawed foot was kept hidden under the furry body and placed on the seat of the yellow armchair.
As Snape backed away from the armchair, the disguised female Death Eater already had her wand out and pointed at the ferret. She said coldly, "Together shall we? On the count of three."
He pulled out his wand, "One. Two. Three." Two bright beams hit the ferret and it started to stretch. Limbs grew longer, the body grew taller. The robes were not black, but purple. His head was down and covered by the hat.
"You idiot," she screamed, "you picked up the wrong ferret!"
He looked at her with a blank expression, and an equally bland tone, "Oops."
Before she could rant further, Moody lifted his head and pulled out his wand, "Expelliarmus!" His spell was so powerful, it knocked her out where she stood. Snape summoned the wand which flew out of her hand. "Give me that," Moody demanded.
"I'll return it to its rightful owner, Narcissa," Snape said, coolly. "How is she disguised?"
Moody performed several spells and counter curses, including the total body bind to prepare her for transport. He picked the ring off of her finger and handed it to Snape. "That's how," the ex-auror said. They looked down to watch the pretty blonde Narcissa turn into the gaunt-faced Bellatrix.
Snape turned it around in his hand and looked at it from every angle. Moody reached over with his wand and gave it a tap. The jewel sprung open to one side, revealing a well with a drop of blood in it. Moody held out his hand, "Close it now and give it to me."
The Death Eater spy was about to drop the ring into the outstretched hand when there was a knock on the door. Snape swooped out of the room and came back as quickly, "It's Crabbe and more of Lucius's goons. I'll take care of them, you get out of here." He ran back to the couch and picked up his mask, putting it back in his pocket. Then Snape slipped the ring onto his little finger.
"Then I'll just take the ferret," Moody said impatiently.
But the visitors knocked again. Snape, now disguised as Narcissa said in her voice, "I'll bring the Malfoys back to Hogwarts with me. Get going." He turned on his heel and had just reached the doorway, when Moody called him back.
"Hey, you're walking like a wizard," Moody's face cracked into a smile. "You need lessons in impersonating a witch. Perhaps you could take a lesson from Mundungus." Snape attempted a sneer with Narcissa's face but Moody blew a kiss in return. Snape left Moody laughing in the drawing room as he turned to open the front door, but not before waving a glamour spell to change his black robes into something more appropriate.
~ ~ ~
Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews. It is encouraging to know when you are reading and hopefully enjoying. I don't know if just wrote Moody too far OOC, but I imagine he has a mischievous streak.