This chapter is dedicated to Jaderook for being my first reviewer and beta
and LillyAngel for being my beta thanks guys
Chapter two Searching
It had been a month since Hermione had left.
Severus had been slowly gaining his strength back. As his body adjusted to the strengthened magic running though his veins, he had relived the memories of their time together. After postponing the start of his search, it had taken him weeks to learn to control this new magic. It had taken all of Madam Pomfrey's efforts to help with his transition, dosing him with the necessary potions or just being there to listen as he came to terms with Hermione's sudden absence.
Albus had been to see Severus, mostly when the younger man was asleep, as Severus would never understand why he was helping Hermione until Hermione came back. During Albus's visits, Severus had a range of emotions anywhere from perfect calm to slight anger. With his power surge came certain extra powers, Telepathy being one. It allowed Severus to feel the anguish that Albus felt about the situation he had been put in.
So as Severus slowly got stronger, he started his search with simple location charms. He knew such simple measures wouldn't work as Albus had hidden Hermione, but until he had gained his full strength, simple charms were all he could manage without passing out.
"Severus, you may rise." The red slits of Voldemort's eyes looked down upon the man kneeling on the ground.
Willing his body to cooperate just for one night, Severus stood and moved next to Lucius Malfoy. "Yes my lord."
Emptying his mind further and selecting enough images to satisfy any doubts, Severus's eyes met those of Voldemort.
Severus looked into the grey eyes of Draco. "You did well tonight." Laying a hand on the younger man's shoulder, Severus led him to his private study. "Nobody should suspect anything."
Sitting in Albus's office, giving off the feeling of loathing to give more effect, Severus continued the vision "Severus child, any news?"
The tearful eyes of the first year Gryffindor as a cauldron melted to the floor. The venom laced tone as Severus took off points.
Sitting in a darkened corner as passer bys entered the small pub.
"Severus, what news do you bring me tonight" Voldemort spoke, breaking the connection.
As he dared to look around, Severus noticed that the upper level of Death Eaters were present. Voldemort must be unhappy, he thought as he became suddenly tense at the fear of being discovered.
Severus spoke. "The old man expects the battle won't come for years. He still believes you to be weak, and your servants to be lacking in numbers".
"Good work my servant." Nodding, Voldemort turned and pointed his wand to a Death Eater opposite the circle to Severus.
"Godwin, You have failed me." Raising his wand, Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse
"No, my lord, I-" Godwin tried to beg as his body hit the ground. Torrents of pain racked his body, causing it to convulse violently.
As Godwin's body lay shaking, Severus took time to assess Voldemort. His skin seemed to be losing more colour, looking more and more transparent. He could tell Voldemort was losing more of his human instincts and emotions and had started to display more of his animal-like qualities, choosing to strike whenever danger as especially failure presented itself.
Concentrating more, Severus could see cracks in his aura. If Potter were to hit them, it could bring the inevitable downfall of the Dark Lord. Storing this information into the deepest part of his mind, Severus wondered if the other Death Eaters could see or feel any difference. Taking a quick glance around, he could see no outward signs of a change in the atmosphere.
Using his new skill of telepathy, Severus felt Voldemort was getting extremely tired. He had been holding the Cruciatus Curse for ten minutes now. Surely that would have taken a lot of energy, and he appeared to be using a great amount. If Severus's assumptions were right, Voldemort would take the backseat to build his energy right before the final battle.
Severus was quite impressed that Godwin had managed to fight off, screaming as long as he had. Sitting in his bed, Severus tried the location charm once again before passing out.
"How is he, Albus?" an unheard voice asked.
"He is better. I am guessing you felt his power surge." He moved his mouth to answer but no sound came out.
Sighing the voice answered. "Yes I did, though it took all of my strength not to come to him."
"I'm glad you didn't, dear. I fear it could have turned out a lot worse." Picking his wand up, Albus began to twirl it in his fingers.
"Yes Albus, I understand now." Sighing again, the voice continued. "It's so difficult. I can feel his need to find me, for his love is so strong I can feel it pulling, willing me to come to him."
Albus took a few minutes to answer. Maybe it was going to be harder to keep Hermione hidden. "Stay strong Hermione. That is all I can say." And with his parting words the connection was lost.
Striding through the hallways of Hogwarts, Severus felt more like himself than he had for two months. Turning right, he came to a stop in front of a bare wall. Concentrating on the Order headquarters, he paced left to right. At the appearance of a door, he stopped and walked into a room occupied by the most select members of the Order sitting around an oval table. Albus was there, Minerva by his side. Then Remus, Tonks, Mungdungus Fletcher, and the Boy Wonder himself, Potter. There were two seats left: his and Hermione's. Allowing himself a moment to control the onslaught of emotions, he took the seat furthest from Potter.
Looking around the room, Albus also noticed Hermione's empty seat. Suddenly remembering, he opened the link to Hermione, allowing her to listen on in the meeting.
As he gestured around the room, Albus began the meeting. "Welcome my friends,"
Minerva stood to address the group. "As you can see, there is one member of our group missing." Sweeping her hand at the empty seat between Harry and Severus, Minerva continued. "Hermione has undertaken a private mission, and will no longer be involved with our meetings, but will meet with the Headmaster privately. As the matter of this mission is so discreet, I ask of you not to question or comment in any manner on the subject." Looking over to Harry to make sure he understood the underlying message, Minerva sat down.
The rest of the meeting continued in half hopes as each member told of the progress of their individual tasks.
As Potter began to talk, Severus tuned into his emotions. He could tell Potter was angry about Hermione not forewarning him about her decision. Wasn't everyone Potter, he thought angrily.
As Harry finished, Severus brought to the front of his mind all he had found at the last Death Eater's gathering.
Standing to speak, Severus started. "Voldemort." Waiting for the chill to run through the room, he continued. "Voldemort." Again the chill swept through the room. He chuckled, enjoying the reaction. "Voldemort is starting to change. His basic instincts are beginning to take on those of an animal."
Assessing the reaction of the group, Severus continued. "I believe I found a weakness in this change." Waiting for and relishing the gasps, Severus looked around at each person. "His aura is breaking. There are a few crucial points, and if we concentrate our armoury on these points-" Choosing to end at that point, Severus sat and waited for the realisation to hit home.
A/n: So how do you like it? Thanks for all the reviews you sent, you are my inspiration.
Chapter two Searching
It had been a month since Hermione had left.
Severus had been slowly gaining his strength back. As his body adjusted to the strengthened magic running though his veins, he had relived the memories of their time together. After postponing the start of his search, it had taken him weeks to learn to control this new magic. It had taken all of Madam Pomfrey's efforts to help with his transition, dosing him with the necessary potions or just being there to listen as he came to terms with Hermione's sudden absence.
Albus had been to see Severus, mostly when the younger man was asleep, as Severus would never understand why he was helping Hermione until Hermione came back. During Albus's visits, Severus had a range of emotions anywhere from perfect calm to slight anger. With his power surge came certain extra powers, Telepathy being one. It allowed Severus to feel the anguish that Albus felt about the situation he had been put in.
So as Severus slowly got stronger, he started his search with simple location charms. He knew such simple measures wouldn't work as Albus had hidden Hermione, but until he had gained his full strength, simple charms were all he could manage without passing out.
"Severus, you may rise." The red slits of Voldemort's eyes looked down upon the man kneeling on the ground.
Willing his body to cooperate just for one night, Severus stood and moved next to Lucius Malfoy. "Yes my lord."
Emptying his mind further and selecting enough images to satisfy any doubts, Severus's eyes met those of Voldemort.
Severus looked into the grey eyes of Draco. "You did well tonight." Laying a hand on the younger man's shoulder, Severus led him to his private study. "Nobody should suspect anything."
Sitting in Albus's office, giving off the feeling of loathing to give more effect, Severus continued the vision "Severus child, any news?"
The tearful eyes of the first year Gryffindor as a cauldron melted to the floor. The venom laced tone as Severus took off points.
Sitting in a darkened corner as passer bys entered the small pub.
"Severus, what news do you bring me tonight" Voldemort spoke, breaking the connection.
As he dared to look around, Severus noticed that the upper level of Death Eaters were present. Voldemort must be unhappy, he thought as he became suddenly tense at the fear of being discovered.
Severus spoke. "The old man expects the battle won't come for years. He still believes you to be weak, and your servants to be lacking in numbers".
"Good work my servant." Nodding, Voldemort turned and pointed his wand to a Death Eater opposite the circle to Severus.
"Godwin, You have failed me." Raising his wand, Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse
"No, my lord, I-" Godwin tried to beg as his body hit the ground. Torrents of pain racked his body, causing it to convulse violently.
As Godwin's body lay shaking, Severus took time to assess Voldemort. His skin seemed to be losing more colour, looking more and more transparent. He could tell Voldemort was losing more of his human instincts and emotions and had started to display more of his animal-like qualities, choosing to strike whenever danger as especially failure presented itself.
Concentrating more, Severus could see cracks in his aura. If Potter were to hit them, it could bring the inevitable downfall of the Dark Lord. Storing this information into the deepest part of his mind, Severus wondered if the other Death Eaters could see or feel any difference. Taking a quick glance around, he could see no outward signs of a change in the atmosphere.
Using his new skill of telepathy, Severus felt Voldemort was getting extremely tired. He had been holding the Cruciatus Curse for ten minutes now. Surely that would have taken a lot of energy, and he appeared to be using a great amount. If Severus's assumptions were right, Voldemort would take the backseat to build his energy right before the final battle.
Severus was quite impressed that Godwin had managed to fight off, screaming as long as he had. Sitting in his bed, Severus tried the location charm once again before passing out.
"How is he, Albus?" an unheard voice asked.
"He is better. I am guessing you felt his power surge." He moved his mouth to answer but no sound came out.
Sighing the voice answered. "Yes I did, though it took all of my strength not to come to him."
"I'm glad you didn't, dear. I fear it could have turned out a lot worse." Picking his wand up, Albus began to twirl it in his fingers.
"Yes Albus, I understand now." Sighing again, the voice continued. "It's so difficult. I can feel his need to find me, for his love is so strong I can feel it pulling, willing me to come to him."
Albus took a few minutes to answer. Maybe it was going to be harder to keep Hermione hidden. "Stay strong Hermione. That is all I can say." And with his parting words the connection was lost.
Striding through the hallways of Hogwarts, Severus felt more like himself than he had for two months. Turning right, he came to a stop in front of a bare wall. Concentrating on the Order headquarters, he paced left to right. At the appearance of a door, he stopped and walked into a room occupied by the most select members of the Order sitting around an oval table. Albus was there, Minerva by his side. Then Remus, Tonks, Mungdungus Fletcher, and the Boy Wonder himself, Potter. There were two seats left: his and Hermione's. Allowing himself a moment to control the onslaught of emotions, he took the seat furthest from Potter.
Looking around the room, Albus also noticed Hermione's empty seat. Suddenly remembering, he opened the link to Hermione, allowing her to listen on in the meeting.
As he gestured around the room, Albus began the meeting. "Welcome my friends,"
Minerva stood to address the group. "As you can see, there is one member of our group missing." Sweeping her hand at the empty seat between Harry and Severus, Minerva continued. "Hermione has undertaken a private mission, and will no longer be involved with our meetings, but will meet with the Headmaster privately. As the matter of this mission is so discreet, I ask of you not to question or comment in any manner on the subject." Looking over to Harry to make sure he understood the underlying message, Minerva sat down.
The rest of the meeting continued in half hopes as each member told of the progress of their individual tasks.
As Potter began to talk, Severus tuned into his emotions. He could tell Potter was angry about Hermione not forewarning him about her decision. Wasn't everyone Potter, he thought angrily.
As Harry finished, Severus brought to the front of his mind all he had found at the last Death Eater's gathering.
Standing to speak, Severus started. "Voldemort." Waiting for the chill to run through the room, he continued. "Voldemort." Again the chill swept through the room. He chuckled, enjoying the reaction. "Voldemort is starting to change. His basic instincts are beginning to take on those of an animal."
Assessing the reaction of the group, Severus continued. "I believe I found a weakness in this change." Waiting for and relishing the gasps, Severus looked around at each person. "His aura is breaking. There are a few crucial points, and if we concentrate our armoury on these points-" Choosing to end at that point, Severus sat and waited for the realisation to hit home.
A/n: So how do you like it? Thanks for all the reviews you sent, you are my inspiration.