Part Five – Revelations

"Severus," Lord Voldemort greeted him. "How are you recovering from the tragedy?"

Severus shrugged and looked away. He knew that the Dark Lord had not summoned him to check on his health and wellbeing. He looked about the darkened room as though searching for some clue as to why he had been called.

"I'm afraid I am the bearer or more ill tidings," Lord Voldemort announced quietly. "I have discovered I have been betrayed."

"By who?" Severus asked, shocked that anyone would dare to risk the wrath of the man before him.

"That is precisely why I have summoned you here. Can't you guess?"

"Me?" Severus asked. "I've never...I wouldn't..."

"But I suspect you have," Voldemort continued. He waved a hand towards the chair opposite him and Severus walked blindly towards it and sat down. "Tell me Severus, what do you know about your grandparents?"

"Well my grandfather works for the Ministry of Magic..." Severus began.

"Not Mortimer," Voldemort interrupted. "Your mother's parents."

"They died abroad a couple of years ago." Severus could not see where this was leading. "They were missing for a long time and eventually declared dead. They were researching native magical practices in the jungles of Africa."

"Yes, their research was well publicised, as was their disappearance. What else do you know about them?"

"Well, they taught me lessons before I attended Hogwart's." Severus frowned in concentration. His grandparents had been a huge part of his life until he had begun school and they had moved abroad to work. But suddenly he realised that he actually knew very little about them.

"Do you know anything about their parents?" Voldemort prompted.

Severus frowned again as he tried to think if they had ever mentioned their parents. He recalled a nugget of information about his grandma Lucinda's father being a Quidditch player and told Voldemort of that.

"What about your grandfather's parents?" Voldemort asked.

Severus continued to frown. "I don't recall them being mentioned," he finally admitted.

"Never?"

"Not once," Severus replied.

"So you're telling me that you didn't know that your Grandfather Jack's parents were muggles?"

"No," Severus gasped. He could not hide is shock.

"I believe you, Severus," Voldemort said. "But let me ask you another question. Did you know that your grandparents were alive and well this very evening?"

Severus shook his head. The shock of the previous bombshell had not yet sunk in.

"And that your own mother is with them at this very moment..." Voldemort's voice trailed off as Severus sat back as a second wave of shock washed over him.

"She has lied to you, along with the rest of the world."

Severus stood up and moved towards the window. Opening it he leaned out and gulped in breaths of the cold night air. Finally he found his voice. "What if I don't believe you?" he asked.

"Then ask them for yourself," Voldemort suggested "They're on their way here now."

A knock sounded on the door and Severus watched as Bellatrix Black entered the room.

"They came quietly?" Voldemort asked.

"The widow and the mudblood are here," she answered. "The other..."

"Understood. Thank you. Give us another minute and we'll be right down."

"The other?" Severus asked Voldemort as the door closed.

"Your grandmother is dead."

Severus remembered his Grandmother Lucinda and the hours he had spent being taught by her before attending Hogwart's. She and his Grandpa Jack had been his favourite family members and sometimes the only escape from his father's temper. The two of them had adored Severus and spoiled him as much as his mother would let them. Somehow he just could not make himself believe that she was dead, even though he had believed her dead for two years now.

"Severus?"

He turned to Voldemort and realised that he had completely missed the question. "I'm sorry master. What did you ask?"

"I asked that you speak with your mother and her father. I believe they will tell you the truth now. Then you must do as I did when my own muggle heritage stood in my way. You know what to do?"

Severus nodded. He knew what was being asked of him. He just didn't know if he could follow it through. As a Death Eater he had not been a pillar of society. He had done a great many things over the last few years that he was not proud of. But never had he been asked to do something as horrific as murdering a member of his own family, and a beloved member at that.

Shaking slightly he followed Voldemort out of the door. It was time to find out the truth.