A/N: New chapter! Yay! And I hope you appreciate Snape having an attempt at humour in this chapter. I just needed to do this at the meeting. Here are the results of the poll thus far:
Vote one:
1) Severitus' Challenge- 11
2) Harry/Snape slash- 4
3) Just plain friendship- 11
Vote 2
1) To be hunted down by Snape and killed. - 7
2) To be hunted down by Snape and turned over to the proper authorities. - 5
3) To be hunted down by members of the wizarding community and killed. -6
4) To be caught by the muggle authorities and charged with murder. - 4
5) To get away clean free.
Also, there was still that choice where Vernon becomes a Death Eater. 'Me' chose that one. And there has just been a suggestion by 'Miss Elizabeth' who thinks Harry and Vernon should fight and Harry should win somehow, and Miss Aurelia wants Harry to get his own revenge.
By the time the next chapter is up, unless there is a draw, I will announce the final results.
Chapter 7 - The Death Eaters are Meeting
Not long after my encounter with my inner-demons I was sitting beside Harry's bed, the one I had put him in not long after he had passed out out front. I was worried about him, though I was unlikely to let him know about it, and I wanted to stay and make sure he was okay. Little did I know for the next few hours I wouldn't have been able to.
I felt a searing pain on my forearm, and instantly knew what was about to happen. This was just great, just bloody brilliant timing. Had the By-Who-Lived in my manor, and now the Dark Lord had to call a meeting. Just bloody brilliant.
Quickly, I left Harry's bedside and went to get my Death Eater cloak and mask. Tardiness for a meeting usually resulted in a cruciatus or two, so I was anxious not to be late, even more anxious than I was about going.
I always hated these meetings. I always had. The previous year when the Dark Lord had called his first meeting besides the one at his rebirth, the first one I had shown up to. I had been unable to move around fully for a week, though the Dark Lord had seemed to buy my excuses, after giving me a few cruccio's of course. He wouldn't have let me leave without a few of them.
I shook my head to clear it of those memories, and, after putting on the cloak and mask, apparated to where the Dark Lord was.
"My lord," I said bowing, after crawling forwards to kiss the hem of his robes in the customary manor of Death Eaters arriving at a meeting. Quickly I crawled backwards and into my usually place in the circle.
As I looked around, I was relieved to see I wasn't the last to arrive, as they usually got a little, ah, present from the Dark Lord for arriving last. Just thinking about it is enough to make any man shudder.
Finally, the last couple of people arrived, and I was shocked to see the Dark Lord didn't give any cruccio's. He must have been in a good mood.
"Severus," said the Dark Lord. "What news do you have to report from Dumbledore's school?"
"My Lord," I started. "As of yet, there is very little to report. Dumbledore does not seem to trust me much at this moment in time."
That was a lie right there, though it was about the only full lie I told. When spying, I almost always only ever told half-lies, you know, editing the truth. All Slytherin's do it, and it was something that had stuck around since my school days.
"But I have heard that Dumbledore has a spy in your inner-circle, My Lord," I said, continuing. That was true. The spy was me. "The spy seems to give Dumbledore information on all of your attacks Master." Yes, that was true. I did.
"Snape!" he hissed. "Do you have any idea of who this spy is?"
"No My lord. Dumbledore seems to feel a need to keep his spies secret, to protect them," I said, glad Dumbledore felt this way.
"You will find out by the next meeting Severus," the Dark Lord ordered. I really hate him at times. No, scratch that. I really hate him all the time.
"Yes, My Lord," I replied, bowing to the man, glad that he didn't show any suspicions of me at that moment.
"Lucius," the Dark Lord said, moving onto the next person in the circle. It carried on like this, for a while, until he had questioned all of the Death Eaters there, before finally telling us what he had put him in a good mood. It was the normal order for a meeting.
"My Death Eaters!" he said, some joy evidence in his voice for one of the first times since I joined his circle. "I have received some interesting information concerning one Boy-Who-Lived."
"What is it, My Lord?" asked Avery foolishly.
"Cruccio!" hissed the Dark Lord. "Avery, you do not interrupt me."
The Dark lord lifted the curse and Avery got up and resumed his place in the circle, still shivering from the effects of the cruciatus.
"It appears that the wards around his house have fall. We attack privet Drive tonight!"
My eyes went wide with that as I realised what it meant. The Dark Lord obviously didn't know that Harry had left, or much else of what had happened since I took the boy from that house, which surprised me since he usually knew all of the information about something.
Knowing better than to stay behind after the meeting, I apparated away with the rest of the Death Eaters, back to Snape Manor.
(A/N: Do you know how tempted I was to leave it there?) As soon as I got out of the Death Eater robes and mask I immediately went to see how Harry was doing. By the time I got to his room he was conscious, though it surprised me that he had stayed in bed, knowing how much he hated staying bed when he was at the hospital wing at Hogwarts.
He was staring blankly up at the ceiling, his arms underneath his head.
"You're awake then," I said, trying to make conversation.
"Yes," he said politely, too politely for any 16 year old boy.
"Are you okay?" I asked, wanting to keep him talking for some reason.
"I'm fine, Professor."
"Call me Severus during the summer, please."
I don't know what made me ask him to call him that, I really don't. Normally I would never have let any student call me by my given name, but here I was, asking one to call me by it. Had no idea what had come over me at that moment, though I supposed it could have been pity.
A/N: Yeah! Another chapter finished! Sorry it took so long for me to update. I managed to rite this ages ago, but couldn't be arsed to put it up. And I think it's started to develop something! And do you know what that something is? It's a plot! Oh my! Betcha didn't think I'd have one of them!
Oh, and thanks to all my reviewers. I would normally thank everyone individually, but I'd basically be thanking everyone for their vote, and for reading the fic, so it's easier like this.