Confusion
Rating: pg 13 (because I don't know how naughty/violent It'll get. Might even become R)
Summary: Voldemort is tired of his followers many failures. He creates his own spell, with which to destroy Hogwarts. This is the chaos that ensues and how it all begins. (Spoilers for all five books)
Disclaimer: This Will Not Be Listed In Any Other Chapter, As I Believe You Are Intelligent Enough To Realize That I Don't Own Harry Potter. (But I sure wish I could get my paws on Snape!) Every canon idea and all characters (other than the O.C. ones) belong to J. K. Rowling. Any and all non original chapters/ quotes belong to fan fiction authors on ff.net. Well used themes (like Veela's) are not accredited to any one author as there are tons of stories using those ideas.
Chap. 1 A Brilliant Idea
The room was dark. There were a few areas which seem darker. If one listened hard enough they might hear a low hissing sound. In fact if one were paying proper attention they would notice the room smelled musty. The room had a scent much like a snakes den. However the scent of snakes was threaded with a darker scent. It was the scent of death. Anyone who valued there life would be running away in sheer terror, of course, anyone who possessed the slightest bit of intelligence would have not been there at all.
The hissing sound came from an ornate chair placed in what was the darkest corner. Seated within the chair was a living nightmare. No it was not a nightmare, more like the essence of evil. It was an evil that was well beyond the scope of any mere human. Its body was shrunken, with parchment like skin. The skins color was the same as old bones. The color was a yellowed ivory. But it was the eyes which were terrifying, eyes which burned, eyes that would destroy your soul with a mere glance. They were the color of old blood, and slit similar to snake eyes. His eyes showed the death of a world, but strangely they also showed weariness and defeat.
Lord Voldemort was angry, and disappointed. He raised his wand and murmured a short phrase. At once the room was bathed in the dim light cast by two candles, in the corners behind his chair. The door swung open, and three silent figures entered, dropping to their knees in front of him. He gazed at the smallest of the three.
"Bellatrix," He hissed in a high cold voice, "tell me what happened."
"M-master," A female voice stuttered. "I-I'm not sure. There was no record in the Ministry about Lily Potter, not even under her maiden name. Someone must have removed it before we arrived." She spoke in a quavering voice. Her shoulders were trembling in fear.
"I see. What about your mission Lucius? Tell me why you have come without the woman." Voldemort leaned back in his chair to listen. He wondered what would be the excuse used this time.
"My Lord, the woman and her family have disappeared." He kept his eyes focused on the floor. "I even used Polyjuice and spoke to their neighbors. I told them I was doing a story on orphans and the families that raise them. Every muggle told me that they had left in their car about three days before I came to see them. Apparently they did not tell anyone why they were leaving or even where they were going too."
Voldemort looked down at the cowering man. He had been expecting their failures. However since very few of his plans actually succeeded, he was not disappointed. He looked at the last figure.
"What about you, my dear Severus. How did you fair in your mission?" Voldemort did not expect him to have very much information.
The man in question rose to his feet, and walked to his Lord. Kneeling down, he brought his lips to the hem of Voldemort's robe. He raised his head so it was level with his Lord's knee.
"I checked the records at Hogwarts, and nothing unusual was listed. According to the records, Lily was an extremely intelligent witch, with an aptitude for charm work. Despite the records, I kept looking for information. In class I goaded Potter by insulting her, and when he tried to defend her, I simply told him to prove me wrong." He took a deep breath.
"As I expected, Potter went whining to Dumbledore. Dumbledore summoned me to his office. Remus Lupin was waiting with the Headmaster for me. Dumbledore thought it was amusing to give Lupin Veritaserum and then he asked him to tell me everything he knew about her." At this he looked straight into Voldemort's eyes. "If there was anything special about her, it was kept a secret. Lupin did not know anything useful about her, and he was never told of any abilities she had."
Snape returned to kneel with the others. All three braced themselves. They knew they would be punished, after all they had failed.
Voldemort sighed, and looked at his servants. He remained silent knowing that it would cause them to believe that there punishment would be worse than normal.
"Despite sending three of you to look for information, no new information has been discovered." He grinned manically as he spoke. "Even worse is the fact that only one of you actually found anything about her." He paused.
"Severus come stand beside me, my loyal servant."
Snape moved to stand beside the chair containing Voldemort knowing that he might still be punished. He looked down at Lucius and Bellatrix. At least he had done more work then the two others.
Voldemort's eyes seemed glow as he spoke one word, "Crucio!"
The two began to writhe on the floor, screaming at the top of there lungs. Nothing was more amusing to the two wizards, one standing, one sitting, then watching two bodies writhe in unimaginable agony. Voldemort enjoyed it simply because he loved causing pain, and for Severus the enjoyment was caused by his dislike for the two on the floor. Finally, after what seemed like hours to those being punished, but in reality was only a few minutes, the curse was lifted. Voldemort looked at each person in turn.
"Bellatrix, Lucius you will not fail me again, for you will not survive the punishment. The two of you may leave." He dismissed them in a condescending tone of voice.
They bowed and quickly left the room. Voldemort looked over at Snape.
"At least you put some effort into your mission. I am pleased to see you work so hard on my behalf, but that is the only reason you have not been punished. I am disappointed at the lack of information, but I really didn't expect you to find anything. I want you to return to Hogwarts and observe the students and staff until I call you again. Now you may leave."
Snape again kneeled in front of his Lord and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robe. He then murmured his allegiance and exited the room, leaving Voldemort alone once more.
Voldemort sat in silence for a few moments longer, pondering his next move. Then he abruptly began to maniacally laugh. Anyone looking upon him at that moment would have been driven insane by the expression upon his face.
"I have an idea." He grinned and then swept out of the room to set his new plan in motion. "They will never know what hit them." He snickered as he walked down the hall, and in a small room located at number four Privet Drive, a boy woke up terrified, knowing that his enemy had just changed the rules of their war.
A.N: I will be aiming to make this story very strange in future chapters. Anyone who has an idea/ plot bunny that they believe is strange (pairings other than the usual, characters with strange bloodlines – ex: Snape related to Dementors), plot bunnies that are already out there, and even OC'S with backgrounds and a rough history, are more than welcome to e-mail them to me. I am also not worried about keeping the characters canon, as this is set after book five and people can change fairly quickly or even little by little. Flames are more than welcome as I get a kick out of people who think they know better. If you don't like it, then don't read. If you like it, I suggest putting it on Author Alert as I have a bad habit of writing slowly. Writers block seems to be my best friend. If I decide to abandon the story, I will be willing to let others finish. In fact if I get a well written chapter that fits with the story, I will include it and give credit to the author. So include your FF.net account name if you have one or a e-mail address and I'll give credit. Have fun.