Okay folks! A new lil' chapter-poo just for you! … and Severus too; I must congratulate my muse. I find it hard to type with one hand, seeing as my snake, Scipio is monopolizing my left hand; using it as a playground… oh well… only one mouse for him next week… Anywho… I'm sorry it's been taking me longer to update, but chapter six took a while to get from my mind to my computer. I have chapter seven written and ready to go, however, I like to keep on top of myself and only release a chapter once I've finished the next one. This also helps to clear up plot-referencing mistakes, as I recently discovered… LOL I have no idea where chapter 8 will begin, but I'm sure our dear Sevvy-poo will assist me… if only I'd stop calling him that… Don't forget to review, kiddies! Enjoy!
Chapter Six: The Great BelowStaring at the sea
Will she come?
Is there hope for me?
After all is said and done
Anything at any price
All of this for you
All the spoils of a wasted life
All of this for you
All the world has closed her eyes
Tired faith all worn and thin
For all we could have done
And all that could have been
I descend from grace
In arms of undertow
I will take my place
In the great below
— The Great Below by Nine Inch Nails
As Severus glided soundlessly over miles and miles of forest, his dastardly mind decided to muse and stew about precisely the same matters that Hermione had discussed with the boys in the Hogwarts library. He glanced over at the figure adrift upon the air beside him. Why had she decided to offer this opportunity to him? He of all people probably deserved it the least… he had done so many awful and terrible things. This was the kind of thing that was supposed to be presented to great heroes and upholders of justice; people like Albus Dumbledore and (shudder) Harry Potter. But the fact remained that Mavet had chosen him, a person with such a dark past… he made a mental run-through of all the things he'd ever done in the Dark Lord's service. A sickly shudder crawled up his spine.
"We're heading too far east." Severus suddenly spoke up, as the wind caused his cloak to whip violently behind him.
"Are we?" The Angel asked, yet she tilted her wings slightly to the right, and resumed her powerful wing beats. Her tail thrashed to the left, acting as a rudder, and she followed Severus southward.
Some several hours later, a large fortress-like keep appeared in the distance, and Severus felt a new sensation grip him; a sensation of dread deep in his gut that signaled the presence of more than one hundred Dementors. The Potions Master reigned in his steed, following the Angel to a nearby cliff, overlooking the Dark Lord's fortress. She flared her wings, feathers sweeping the ground, as her talons stretched forward to grasp the rocky edge of the cliff. Severus dismounted, and proceeded to crouch beside her, attempting a better vantage point.
Surveying the fortress, Severus noted that there were Dementors posted every hundred meters or so, around the castle's base, and atop it's many turrets. The windows were tall and narrow, too narrow for even the smallest child to squeeze through; they could not enter that way. Even if they managed to slip past the gate, they would be facing nearly twenty Death Eaters, fully capable of murder, mutilation, and armed to their teeth with the Dark Lord's power. Severus supposed that the pair of them could simply barge into the dark Lord's throne room unscathed; he was in the company of the Angel of Death, was he not? But Mavet had made it clear that this was to be more of a reconnaissance mission, and Severus supposed that the sword he'd been given was strictly 'just in case'.
"Can I ask you a question, before we attempt the impossible?"
Mavet nodded, seeing his doubtful expression.
"Why did you ask me to be this Lieutenant of yours? Why not ask someone with a more… honorable… past? Someone who hasn't done the things I've done; made the mistakes that I've made." He shook his head to clear his mind of the disastrous images. "It just doesn't make sense…"
Mavet laid a hand on his arm. "I've seen worse," she said.
Severus laughed. "That's not very comforting."
"Very well then, I'll tell you why I chose you." She sighed, and sat down, her legs dangling over the edge. "Do you think I'm evil?"
"No…" he answered slowly. "Should I?"
"I don't know," she answered enigmatically. "I kill people. I murder people. I am the cause of suffering, and plagues, and natural disasters… I am, in many ways, like your Dark Lord." She looked up at the solemn expression in his eyes. "Yet you don't think me evil?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Severus took a deep breath. "Death in and of itself is not evil. Death is a part of life. It is necessary for death to exist because without it, matter would never be recycled. People would keep populating everywhere, out of control… like a disease. We need death to balance life, to keep the population of living things at bay. As to the way in which people die… some have earned it, I'm sure. The ones who haven't… well… pain and loss are also necessary experiences, and without them we could never appreciate joy."
"Yet Voldemort does many of the same things I have just mentioned." Mavet said provocatively.
"Yes," Severus agreed, "but not indiscriminately. He is using his power for his gain and his gain alone. There must be a force which purges in a completely random fashion, and which punishes in a completely fair manner."
Mavet grinned like a proud parent marveling at a child's accomplishments. "And that, my friend, is why I chose you. You completely understand the concept of the necessity of death, and do not question my existence. You'd be surprised at how few people there are who do understand and appreciate this. Although," she added, maliciously, "I'd have thought you'd have questioned the whole 'punishment of the wicked' part." She finished, and Severus saw the sad gleam in her eye, though he said nothing. "Cat got your tongue?"
"I – I had wondered about that, yes." Severus admitted, as he cast his gaze to the floor. "I suppose that you will now tell me what is to become of me?" If Severus was nervous, he hid it well, though Mavet was first to wrench her gaze away.
"No." She stared out towards the castle, at the many Dementors who littered it's landscape.
"No?" asked the wizard, somewhat confused.
"You are right, Severus, you have done some very terrible things in your past. And though I cannot save you from your sins, believe me I wish it were not so. But now is not the time. You will know when you are ready to bear the full weight of the consequences. Now. Have you any idea as to how we can get inside?" she asked, flicking her tail towards the great fortress.
Severus shook his head, focusing on the task at hand. "There does not appear to be any way in; it is too heavily guarded. Unless, you were planning to force our way in, then, which, I would have the utmost faith in your abilities."
"No," she laughed. "Fortunately, Dementors are blind."
"Yes, but they can sense emotions," Severus pointed out. "We won't be able to slip past them."
"No, but we won't need to." She raised her hands and examined the rings she wore closely. "We can fly over to one of the windows as animals. It shouldn't be too hard to find one that overlooks the throne room. We should be able to eavesdrop from there."
Severus nodded. He still felt a stab of foreboding at the prospect that he would, indeed, be paying for his sins later on.
"Would you rather be a bat, or have me carry you over as a scorpion?"
"A bat, please; I would prefer to remain a mammal, than be turned into an insect." Severus's grumpy disposition was evident in his tone.
"Actually, scorpions are arachnids." Mavet pointed out, but nevertheless, she handed him the bat ring, and he slipped it over his fourth finger; Mavet's hands were smaller than his, and it would not fit anywhere else. "Just concentrate on the bat's form," she instructed.
Severus complied, and, moments later, there was a large, fuzzy black bat on the ground, just by the Angel's leg.
Mavet soon joined him, though, as the raven, she was much larger than he was; he was just smaller than a crow. Which side of the castle would you recommend we explore first?
Severus visibly jumped at the echoing sound of Mavet's voice in his head.
Just think at me, Severus. It's not that hard.
To your right then, I suppose. Severus said telepathically, once he got over the shock of someone actually speaking in his head.
Mavet nodded, an odd mannerism for a bird, spread her lofty wings, and leapt from the cliff, gliding around to the right side of the castle, and coming to land on the sill of one of the narrow windows. Severus wasn't far behind, as he latched onto the stone walls with his little bat claws. They stuck their furry and feathered heads (respectfully) through the narrow slit in the stone, and peered down into a small, yet dusty room, where two men were talking in hushed tones.
"Are you so sure that this is a good idea?" the first one said, a solidly built man with short brown hair.
"Of course, you idiot," the second one continued. Tall, blonde, and mocking, this was the unmistakable figure of Lucius Malfoy. "Who knows what sort of power the Dark Prince can offer us? Surely this is a limitless opportunity. And with the weapon he has presented to our lord, we will be unstoppable. We shall surely march on the Ministry within the year."
Okay, I know where we are now. We simply have to go three windows over, and we'll get a decent view of the Dark Lord's throne room. Severus said, as he ruffled his leathery wings, smoothing the fur on his nape.
I'll follow you, then. Mavet concluded and Severus sprung from the ledge, his little bat wings flapping like mad, no more than a blur akin to that of a hummingbird. Mavet pumped her powerful wings slowly, gliding coolly after him. As they landed at the next window, Mavet craned her long neck through the slat, with Severus peering down, his tall ears brushing her chin.
I smell blood. Severus noted, flaring his nostrils. Indeed, there was a wounded woman – a muggle – lying on the black marble floor below. She was bleeding from a gash in her arm, and a dark, cloaked figure was standing over her. She was crying.
"Who are you?" she sobbed uselessly. "Why are you doing this?"
The figure, presumably the Dark Lord himself, said nothing. Instead, he raised a long, glittering blade to her throat, the tip at her jugular.
"God, help me." The woman sobbed again, shutting her eyes for what was to come.
As the Dark Lord slid the blade through her neck, there was a shrill, piercing scream that was instantly silenced. Strangely enough, there was no blood. Any red drops that covered the sword, evaporated instantly, or was the sword itself absorbing the woman's blood? Severus couldn't be sure; his eyesight wasn't so great in this form. The blade, still impaling the dying corpse, began to glow dimly, and the woman's body began to change. The soft, smooth skin began to blacken, and her flesh began to wither and deteriorate, her hands becoming leathery and somewhat similar to Severus's wings. Her face became a hollowed-out skull, and the nails of her toes hardened, becoming claw-like, as her feet shriveled.
Severus's small form gave a startled squeak; if he were still human, he would have retched. The sight was horrible and sickening, and he began to experience the same feeling of dread that he sometimes got from being near Mavet, only a thousand times worse.
The figure that had stood to the left of the Dark Lord's throne emerged from the shadows, drawing closer to the shriveled and blackened corpse. As he reached the woman's side, he reached down to touch her forehead, mumbled an incantation, and the body disappeared in a flash of fire and a swirl of smoke. Mavet suddenly fluffed her feathers and clawed at the stone in protest, unknowingly alerting one dark figure to their presence. He stood up, and turned around, his face hidden in shadow, but he stared up at the crevice-like window with two blazing eyes; one red, one green. Mavet shook again with anger, and flared her wings.
Damn! We have to go. NOW! She hissed, and threw herself from the window with Severus right beside her.
"We are being watched." They heard the menacing voice echo from the chamber, and Severus beat his wings wildly to keep up with Mavet. As the bat made to get back to the cliff, the raven cawed in protest.
Leave the Thestral, Severus! It will only slow us down.
We are slower in these forms! Severus protested. But the raven's form was already slowly disintegrating, being replaced with a more human form. Mavet fell blindly through the air for the few seconds that she was without wings, but she soon spread her Angel's wings again, giant, black and feathered. She rose, circling back to grab the bat that was Severus, flapping madly in the onslaught of spells that were being thrown by the Death Eater guards. Mavet clutched the furry bundle in her arms, and sped off into the dark maze of canyons and gorges, wings pumping furiously. She swerved suddenly and flung herself into a narrow groove in the rock, a small cave, well hidden, or so she hoped. Severus climbed up to her shoulder, and four eyes peered cautiously out of the fissure, watching the dark shadows that pursued them flit quickly by.
Whether the Death eaters were on broomstick, or rode Thestrals of their own, neither bat nor Angel could be sure, but none of that mattered right now, Mavet decided. All that mattered now was that they had bore witness to the terrible crime that had been carried out by the most evil of evils. All that mattered now was not whether or not they could stop this demon of Hell, but rather, how they did it, for if they failed, the whole world, magic and not, would quite literally go up in flames.
C'mon people! Review! Or I'll cook up something dastardly for you all!
P.S. I think Scipio has a little too much interest in my computer screen…