Chapter ten the call
Severus was jolted awake by the burning in his forearm, he glanced down with a sigh to see the ugly black skull staring back at him. "Damn it. Already?" he muttered throwing back his blanket and gingerly putting his feet on the ground, discovering that they would support his weight, he crept silently along the ward and out down the stairs. He had reached the castle doors undetected, when he whispered the spell to retrieve his robes from his chambers and once again departed to meet the Dark Lord.
Severus entered the dungeon like chamber, noting the smell of fresh blood, "never a good sign," he thought.
"Snape, my dark snake, you have nothing to tell me?" the Dark Lord's voice carried menacingly across the cold room.
"No my Lord" replied Severus.
"Why have I surrounded myself with incompetent servants?" Voldemort continued.
Severus, knowing there was no answer to this question that would leave him unpunished stayed silent and bowed before his master.
"Wise man! You display your respect for your master, yet you are never humble, would you like me to humble you?" Voldemort asked.
"I am your servant Lord," Severus relied tonelessly.
"Yes a little humility would do you good I think" laughed Voldemort, as he cast the cruciatus curse on Severus."
Severus gasped and then screamed at the top of his voice, unable to contain it for once, suddenly the pain was gone and he was lying on the ground, someone pulled him roughly on to his knee's leaving him to stare up at the Dark Lord's eyes.
"What is your solution to this problem? How will you find Potter for me? My patience grows short." Voldemort hissed. "One small boy, and yet even my best servants can not find him! We cannot afford to wait until he returns to school; I want him dead before the assault on the school begins"
"How much time do we have Lord?" gasped Severus through his pain, in his minds eye he had his hands round Potters throat, and he was squeezing hard.
"Not long now, dark snake, I can feel your desire to kill him, but I believe I have earned that privilege, don't you?"
As Severus looked up he saw his masters eyes change from bright red to green, he blinked and looked again but the eyes were red as always and Severus thought he had imagined it.
"If we cannot find him then you will take him from school on September 1st, I don't care how you manage it, but he must be gone before Halloween, for the rest of my plan to work!" Voldemort waved his hand at whoever was behind Severus, he felt himself lifted from under the arms and taken from the chamber.
Severus' mind was struggling to process the new information, as he limped out and apperated back to Hogwarts. To his surprise he had a welcome committee, Dumbledore, Pomfrey and Hagrid stood waiting to catch him before he could collapse, "how did you know?" he muttered.
"Harry warned us," replied Dumbledore.
Severus woke up once again in the hospital and groaned, "This is getting to be a habit," he complained.
"You should not have gone!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, "I warned you that I would tell Professor Dumbledore the truth if you left before you could heal!"
"What truth Poppy?" snapped Dumbledore.
"That his body can no longer heal itself, even with the best medical potions in the world, his immune system has collapsed, if he was to catch the cold now, it could kill him! He has been taking restoring potions for months, hoping to ward off any infections," Madam Pomfrey was almost shrieking by the time she finished her sentence.
"Severus, why did you not tell me, how could you put your life at risk that way?" Dumbledore asked.
Severus laughed humourlessly "I have been risking my life ever since I came to you 18 years ago. I am merely paying the price of my youthful arrogance!"
"Severus you have paid for that many times over, I forbid you to go back to him again, you are too useful to the order, I will not risk your life again," Dumbledore's voice had finality to its tone.
"My usefulness ceases the day my spying does! And we both know that is the only reason many of the order tolerate my presence." Severus said bitterly.
"You have little concept of your own value Severus, had Harry not connected with Voldemort tonight, you could well have died before Madam Pomfrey was able to reach you."
Severus looked over to see Potter lying in bed no doubt pretending to be asleep. He spoke in an almost whisper to Dumbledore "did he tell you the plan? The Dark Lord will attack Hogwarts before Halloween, he will kidnap Potter in broad daylight if necessary, you have enough to worry about, without adding me to the list, I will survive because I am too stubborn to die, and now if you please I think I will sleep!" that said Severus closed his eyes, blocking out the sympathetic gaze from Dumbledore.
Severus was jolted awake by the burning in his forearm, he glanced down with a sigh to see the ugly black skull staring back at him. "Damn it. Already?" he muttered throwing back his blanket and gingerly putting his feet on the ground, discovering that they would support his weight, he crept silently along the ward and out down the stairs. He had reached the castle doors undetected, when he whispered the spell to retrieve his robes from his chambers and once again departed to meet the Dark Lord.
Severus entered the dungeon like chamber, noting the smell of fresh blood, "never a good sign," he thought.
"Snape, my dark snake, you have nothing to tell me?" the Dark Lord's voice carried menacingly across the cold room.
"No my Lord" replied Severus.
"Why have I surrounded myself with incompetent servants?" Voldemort continued.
Severus, knowing there was no answer to this question that would leave him unpunished stayed silent and bowed before his master.
"Wise man! You display your respect for your master, yet you are never humble, would you like me to humble you?" Voldemort asked.
"I am your servant Lord," Severus relied tonelessly.
"Yes a little humility would do you good I think" laughed Voldemort, as he cast the cruciatus curse on Severus."
Severus gasped and then screamed at the top of his voice, unable to contain it for once, suddenly the pain was gone and he was lying on the ground, someone pulled him roughly on to his knee's leaving him to stare up at the Dark Lord's eyes.
"What is your solution to this problem? How will you find Potter for me? My patience grows short." Voldemort hissed. "One small boy, and yet even my best servants can not find him! We cannot afford to wait until he returns to school; I want him dead before the assault on the school begins"
"How much time do we have Lord?" gasped Severus through his pain, in his minds eye he had his hands round Potters throat, and he was squeezing hard.
"Not long now, dark snake, I can feel your desire to kill him, but I believe I have earned that privilege, don't you?"
As Severus looked up he saw his masters eyes change from bright red to green, he blinked and looked again but the eyes were red as always and Severus thought he had imagined it.
"If we cannot find him then you will take him from school on September 1st, I don't care how you manage it, but he must be gone before Halloween, for the rest of my plan to work!" Voldemort waved his hand at whoever was behind Severus, he felt himself lifted from under the arms and taken from the chamber.
Severus' mind was struggling to process the new information, as he limped out and apperated back to Hogwarts. To his surprise he had a welcome committee, Dumbledore, Pomfrey and Hagrid stood waiting to catch him before he could collapse, "how did you know?" he muttered.
"Harry warned us," replied Dumbledore.
Severus woke up once again in the hospital and groaned, "This is getting to be a habit," he complained.
"You should not have gone!" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey, "I warned you that I would tell Professor Dumbledore the truth if you left before you could heal!"
"What truth Poppy?" snapped Dumbledore.
"That his body can no longer heal itself, even with the best medical potions in the world, his immune system has collapsed, if he was to catch the cold now, it could kill him! He has been taking restoring potions for months, hoping to ward off any infections," Madam Pomfrey was almost shrieking by the time she finished her sentence.
"Severus, why did you not tell me, how could you put your life at risk that way?" Dumbledore asked.
Severus laughed humourlessly "I have been risking my life ever since I came to you 18 years ago. I am merely paying the price of my youthful arrogance!"
"Severus you have paid for that many times over, I forbid you to go back to him again, you are too useful to the order, I will not risk your life again," Dumbledore's voice had finality to its tone.
"My usefulness ceases the day my spying does! And we both know that is the only reason many of the order tolerate my presence." Severus said bitterly.
"You have little concept of your own value Severus, had Harry not connected with Voldemort tonight, you could well have died before Madam Pomfrey was able to reach you."
Severus looked over to see Potter lying in bed no doubt pretending to be asleep. He spoke in an almost whisper to Dumbledore "did he tell you the plan? The Dark Lord will attack Hogwarts before Halloween, he will kidnap Potter in broad daylight if necessary, you have enough to worry about, without adding me to the list, I will survive because I am too stubborn to die, and now if you please I think I will sleep!" that said Severus closed his eyes, blocking out the sympathetic gaze from Dumbledore.