Chapter 4: Murder
"Please, no, don't!" screamed the terrified man.
"But, why, shouldn't I. c'mon, give me one good reason!" said a man with a cold voice.
His face was like a snake, as it hissed out every word, then to top it off, he let out a cold, malicious, laugh.
"Please, Lord Voldemort! I beg of you. I never did anything wrong!" the voice begged.
"Didn't do anything wrong! Why, you betrayed your master! Didn't you?" Lord Voldemort hissed, and when he got no answer, he turned to the two people standing right beside him.
"Well, what do you think, my death eaters?"
"Give him the curse!" said the first.
"Yes, I agree!" said the other.
`"Well, well, well… Snape! Karkaroff! I'm so glad to see that you can finally agree on something! I guess I must then, seeing that this is a once in a life-time opportunity."
One, two, three, and bam! A flash of green light lit the village as bone-chilling screams pierced the air. It ceased for a moment, just a moment, then it continued on its vicious rampaged. Slowly, but surely sucking the very soul out of this man, as he twisted and turned with agony. This went on for some time, then all of a sudden, there was silence.
A smile crept across Lord Voldemort's face, then he said,
"Well, I think that's enough for today, I'm tired, let's go!" then in a flash, he was gone. Another flash and the hooded figures that had accompanied the Dark Lord where gone, leaving a pile of rubble, ash, and the dead bodies of innocent men.
Across the country just beyond the mountain's reach, stood an old castle. It had tall towers, and a peaceful air around it. Men stood outside the doorway, and on the stroke of twelve one flash appeared, followed by a second. Where the first flash had hit, there stood a man, so evil that even the spiders cowered at his feet. Where the second one hit, there stood two men in hooded cloaks who were looking at the first, with some what intensity, and respect.
Their presence tore the peace from the air as if it had been stabbed by a thick, dark knife. They were the type of people that make men begging for their very lives, but surprisingly the people outside were not one bit scared. No, they welcomed their master with praises and service.
"Master, master, we welcome you home to your castle!" they all shouted, in respect and honor.
He was a skinny man with a white, snake-like face, eyes and mouth.
He stepped forward,
"On to lunch, all of you… except you two," he looked at Snape and Karkaroff,
"I want to speak with you two now!" he hissed.
They followed him through the corridors and into his room. They had been there many times before, but they felt that somehow, in someway, this was different.
"I called you both in here to praise you. You know that my praise is seldom won, but you two have earned it. I know that you two do not… well, let's say 'get along' shall we. Anyways, you both realized that this assignment was bigger than either of you, and you put aside all your differences in the name of all that is evil. I know all too, well how hard it is to kill a friend, but you put that aside to kill Fredrick. I think that you two are finally beginning to see and understand that there is no 'good and evil'. There is only power, and toughs to weak to see it. Fredrick was not strong enough to stay with us, but you…" he turned so that they were staring directly at him.
"You will be there 'till the end, and even then, you'll stay strong, and you'll be one of the few who will carry on my legacy, my name, and my glory!"
They sat there in silence for awhile, letting it all sink in. Thoughts of,
'He's praising us! I've worked so hard…" ran through their minds. But, in the back of their consciences, there stood a thought, a thought of guilt, and it said:
'Why did you kill your friend, All for a little praise?…'
This little, but critical thought was not the one listen to, however. They just pushed it aside as they basked in the glory of their work.
"Thank you master," was all they said as they left the room.
Later that day, and through he rest of the week they were valued high amongst the rest of the Death Eaters, making the others jealous wherever they went. This was Lord Voldemort's was of praising the Death Eaters that he call 'exceptionally loyal.'
While Snape and Karkaroff enjoyed the pissed off attitudes of their fellow Death Eaters, that thought in the back of their minds was stepping forward. They began to feel a cringe of guilt every time someone mentioned it.
They let no one no, of course, not even they knew the other felt it, until about a week later, when they were both called on for another assignment. And of course, they both got ready as normal, but each felt a heaviness of heart that only the other could relate to.
As they made their way out unto the hall Snape felt a sudden premonition that he should not go. It was odd at first, for he had never felt one before, so he turned to Karkaroff, and asked,
"Did you feel it?"
"Feel what?" Karkaroff countered, trying to shrug off the sudden feeling that he should turn back.
"I know you felt it, you bastard!" Snape whispered, trying to keep his voice low.
"Yeah, it felt it alright, but we can't back out now! He's counting on us!" Karkaroff answered. They walked in silence as they found the door to their master's chambers.
They opened the door, and listened closely to Lord Voldemort list all the normal reasons why these people deserved to die. When he had finished, he said,
"There also is one more reason… They owed a lot of money, to uhh… To a double- crossing friend of theirs. I don't want these people dead, not yet anyways. I want to torture them as much as it can first." As he said this, many people look at him with sudden wonderment, he simple answered this by saying,
"My reason's are my own, not let's get to work!"
With this, they set out. When they reached a small, little village, Snape realized that he had been here before. 'But when?' he asked himself. He did not remember until he saw the two adults, the adults who were trying to hide from them. The two adults who look as if they were about to faint.
'I remember now, This is the village where the Logbottom's live, but what are we doing here? He stood there wondering for a moment, then understood. He remembered that they had been working with Fredrick in the ministry, and had owed him a large amount of money. He also remembered that it was he who had sentenced Fredrick to death. Therefore he was responsible for whatever was about to happen. The very thought of this made him sick. He realized it, all too late, that this was the same sick game that Voldemort had been playing from the beginning. Getting other people to do the dirty work, and therefore take the blame…
He had the urge to walk up to his master and ask him if he could leave, but he knew his master would just laugh and walk away. This was his sick game, and he controlled all the pieces. Even myself, he mused as he stood there in silence.
No sooner had these thoughts flown through Snape's head, when he heard the piercing screams of the couple he had grown up with. His heart wrenched in silence, as he heard the couple being tortured. As he turned to stare at, his master, his heart gave way, and he had to leave. He wanted to go somewhere, where it was quiet. He rounded the nearest cottage, and stood in silence, looking out into the forest.
His heart had just begun to ease when he heard the cry of a small child. Why the hell would there be a small child here? He asked himself as he looked down to see the child at his feet.
"How are you there?" he said, his blood running cold, knowing that it was his job to kill this child. Slowly, he looked up to see an old woman watching him eagerly.
"Please!" she begged, recognizing him by his appearance.
"He's all we have left! He'll never talk to his parents or even really know them, you know. Oh they're alive alright, but barely. And it's all because of you!" The old
woman gasped at her sudden outburst, knowing that this could mean death.
Snape, feeling sicker by the moment, did the only thing that he knew would
comfort the woman. He walked over and handed the woman her grandson. They woman
only could mutter,
"Thank you," for she was stricken with shock. And she watched the not-so-bad-
after-all Death Eater disappear into the horizon.