Jade and Pearls
Chapter 2: Escape
Blinding pain shot through him as he writhed on the ground. The cruciatus curse ripped through his body like fire. It felt like it had been hours when in actuality it had only been a few minutes. When it finally stopped, he lay on the cold earth panting; he felt as if he was laying in a puddle, probably my blood…Ugh he thought.
Voldemort gazed at him with a hint of amusement, "My dear Severus, I shall truly enjoy killing you, but first, I shall watch you experience pain of seven hells, and have you stripped of all dignity you possess," he hissed. The sun was starting to set, and a red moon was on the rise. "Move him to the water house," he snapped at the death eaters. At his command, two masked figures heaved Severus to his feet and dragged him to a small stone building.
After flinging him through the door, so that he slammed into the opposite wall with a sickening crunch, the two death eaters turned to the dark lord for further instructions. As Severus lay in a heap on the stone floor, the Dark Lord dismissed all of the death eaters except for Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange. They entered the stone structure and then stepped aside to allow Voldemort entrance.
"Now my dear Severus, I will very much enjoy our next few hours together. I very much doubt you will feel the same… Crucio!" he hissed and Severus was washed away by another wave of pain.
ooO0Ooo
Dumbledore had started to pace his office, it was 11 o'clock pm and Severus was still not back and had sent no word of his well-being. He had no way to contact Severus or to locate him without Severus making contact in some form first. Having things set up like this was risky and until now, luck had been with them. Suddenly an idea struck the headmaster and a slight twinkle returned to his eyes. He threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace and called to the kitchens a request for an audience with Dobby the house elf. Dumbledore smiled as he gazed over his half-moon spectacles at the exuberant house elf standing in front of him. "Dobby I need you to do me a special favor," Dumbledore began.
If it were possible, the already ecstatic Dobby became an absolute molecule of energy. "Oh Headmaster, Dobby would do anything to help; Dobby would especially help the most wonderful headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen who has been so kind to Dobby," the adoring house elf squeaked, his huge eyes starting to fill with tears.
"Now now," Dumbledore said in an attempt to calm the House elf, "What I need you to do is of the utmost importance and secrecy." At these words, Dobby straitened up and stuck his chest out. "I am greatly concerned about Severus' absence and fear for his safety. I do not know if he is even alive," he paused, "I need you to perform a Tai Pan, I have a feeling that wherever Lucius is, we will find Severus."
At the mention of Tai Pan, Dobby began to absolutely quake with fear. It was an ancient Chinese bond between servant and master, which enabled any servant to appear immediately at the side of any master to which they were magically bonded at any point in time. Dobby greatly feared his former master and had hoped to avoid coming into his presence. However, he wanted to help the kind Headmaster even if it put himself in danger.
"Headmaster Dumbledore Sir, Dobby would be most honored to serve you in any way possible, even risking of life is a small repayment for all Headmaster has done for Dobby." the house elf squeaked out. Dumbledore smiled kindly at the little rescuer as he disappeared, and then summoned Professor McGonagall.
ooO0Ooo
I am going to die he thought to himself. He was much calmer about it then he thought he would be in the final moment. He was in so much pain, all he wanted was relief and death would be the quickest salve. He saw more then felt Lucius kick him in the head. He was starting to go numb. He saw the dark lord's mouth moving, he knew he was being spoken to but the words ran together creating a buzzing effect Like a bumblebee he thought, trying to picture Voldemort in yellow and black stripes with little wings. He would have laughed but was too tired and knew it was not worth the repercussion he would receive.
Abruptly the buzzing jerked into harsh words as Severus' mind was brought into focus, "… admired Florence very much, She died in service for me (why is he talking about my wife? Snape wondered) it is not enough to blot out your treachery. I will have them brought here. They will convert or die. I'll even let you watch" Voldemort hissed maliciously with a sick smile.
What the hell is he talking about? Who is coming? Severus wondered irritably then suddenly it clicked HIS CHILDREN! VOLDEMORT WAS GOING TO HURT HIS CHILDREN! As Severus saw Lucius' blurred form through his eyes that were starting to swell shut he realized that Lucius must have told the Dark Lord where they were, since Lucius was the only person who he had told about where he was keeping his children. He started to panic. He could not die; he could not let Voldemort take his children.
Suddenly, he saw Lucius scrambling backwards and waving his arms. Something was attacking him. Something that was small and had arms and legs. Severus suddenly realized it was a house elf. Am I hallucinating? He wondered as he watched the scene unfold with astonishment.
Dobby had appeared in the room with a crack. He saw the Dark Lord and Lucius Malfoy standing over Professor Snape's badly beaten form on the ground. In a split second decision, Dobby launched himself at Malfoy scratching and biting. Malfoy reacted immediately trying to fend off the creature while pulling out his wand. Voldemort got over his initial shock of something apparating into a warded area and pointed his wand at the struggling pair, aimed for Dobby and hissed out a killing curse. It missed Dobby and hit Lucius, killing him instantly. The Dark Lord let out a shriek of rage at losing one of his best death eaters. He lifted his wand and aimed again but Dobby just snapped his fingers and disappeared. Voldemort whirled around and unleashed his rage on…a wall. Severus had disappeared.
As he saw Lucius fall, he instantly realized his window of escape. Lucius had been the one who had set the antapparition wards around the area and they had died with him. He used the last of his energy and quickly apparated to the Forbidden Forest just outside the Hogwarts antiapparition boundary, stumbled over the edge and collapsed.
"He's here." Dumbledore stated as the blue orb labeled Severus Snape on the rack next to his desk glowed white. He stood up quickly and motioned for a bewildered Professor McGonagall to follow him.
ooO0Ooo
She thought she saw something. It was hard to see due to the pouring rain, and a Lumous spell did little to penetrate the inky blackness of midnight. It looked like a pile of dirty rags, but she knew it was Severus. "Albus I found him" she called out as she knelt down by his side to assess the damage. His face was bloody and bruised, he had a nasty gash on his cheek that was deep enough to show the bone, and his eyes were all swollen up. She could not identify any other injuries due to his robes, which clung to his emaciated form. Dumbledore appeared by her side instantly and reached a hand out, placing it on the injured professor's forehead. A slight glow flowed from Dumbledore's fingers and after a moment Severus's eyes fluttered open. The expression of agony McGonagall saw in those black eyes was one she knew she would never be able to forget.
"My babies Albus! He's going to hurt my babies," Severus croaked frantically out as he tried to move. The pain, however, was too much for him and he slipped back into unconsciousness. Dumbledore immediately conjured up a stretcher and levitated the unconscious potions master onto it.
"Minerva, take him to Poppy immediately, then come to my office and wait for me. I have to check on something," Dumbledore said gravely, the usual twinkle absent from his eyes. She nodded quickly, despite her confusion, and hurried off to the castle stretcher in tow, as the headmaster stepped outside the antiapparition ward and disappeared.
"Poppy!" McGonagall yelled as she swept into the hospital wing, with Severus's prone form floating behind her. Poppy poked her head out of her office, looking slightly irritated, but when her eyes fell on the limp, bloody form of the potions master, she immediately went into emergency nurse mode. She quickly levitated him onto one of the hospital beds and began peeling away the blood-soaked robes.
(End of Chapter)
