Last chapter was the most per-chapter reviews I have ever gotten. Thanks, I'm so proud! I HAVE OFFICUALLY PASSED THE 400 REVIEW MARK! I AM SOOOO PROUD! THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING!
Thanks! to: The Gryffindor Drummer, TheWatcherandReader, okicantthinkofastupidpenname, NohbdyThere, Sakura Riddle (thanks!), ginny's dragon, kagsir, Samantha Wood, iluvdeath, Himaru Arashi, Danni, nandhp, and to everyone who read it! thank you!
Queen Asinoe – all will be explained, have no fear!
Mary-De-Silva – sorry about the cliffie, really I am. But here is what you've been waiting for! LOL hope it doesn't disappoint!
Professor Rose - Yeah, I like the pranks you sent me. I think I might use one of them in the squeal, because I don't think there will be any more pranks in this one. Thanks!
Scott - there will be more Hermione/Harry coming…you know when they wake up and realize Harry's missing and the reunion and all. Promise. Draco is going to drop back for a bit. K? Thanks for the review!
Last Chapter…
He transformed into a panther, needing the speed and disguise though knowing it would drain his strength. He quickly made his way down to the dungeons. Transforming back into himself, he threw open the door of Snape's old, abandoned quarters and found them not as abandoned as they should be.
The greasy-haired, ex-potions master sat staring blindly into the blazing fire. Harry stalked into the room and slammed the door, causing the hook-nosed man to leap to his feet, wand drawn. Once he saw whom he was facing and the wand already residing in Harry's hand, his gaunt face lost something. Maybe it was the slight glimmer of hope that had previously resided in his eyes, or maybe it was the superior air he usually had, or maybe it was faith in the mark that he bore openly on his sleeveless forearm, Harry wasn't sure. Perhaps, he thought, it was all three.
They stood, in complete silence, just staring each other down for several minutes, until Harry spoke. "You know why I am here." It was a statement, not a question.
"To kill me."
Chapter 32 – Torture, Disgust, and Pain
"That's right, 10 points to Slytherin." Harry sneered at the former Potion's master. "I knew I should have check the Map sooner. Of Course, Hogwarts is the only place you'd go. This is the only place you can go."
Snape was silent. He simply stood and glared at the raven-haired man in front of him.
"Well, Snivellus. How does it feel? To know that you are about to die?"
"Quite confident, aren't we?" Snape hissed with a poor reflection of his old self.
"Well…yes." Harry smirked. "You see, I am more powerful the you could ever imagine. To drain me fully, it would take at least another month and, by that time, I'd be gone from Hogwarts. You'd have to follow and risk exposing yourself."
Snape's eye narrowed. He waved his wand quickly and muttered, "Revelio!"
Harry glowed green for a moment. Snape's lip curled in disgust. "Halfway! There is no possible way your only Halfway drained!"
"Oh, but there is. I have more power at my command then you could imagine. Now, I am sick of this conversation. Let's get on with this."
Harry entered the room fully and, with a wave of his empty hand, the lights came on and the furniture vanished. He took dueling stance and Snape did the same, worry clearly visible on his face no matter how hard he tried to conceal it. They bowed to one another briefly and moved apart. Facing each other again, Harry smirked. "Unforgivables are obviously permitted."
Snape nodded, "Avada Kedavra!"
Harry dodged it easily. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Snape froze, his arms and legs snapping to his sides. A condescending smirk frozen on his face. Harry quickly removed the first vial from his pocket. Snape's eyes followed it, confused. Harry removed the spell on Snape's face and threw up a powerful Silencing Spell. "Is that the best you could do, Potter? A full-body bind?" The convict scoffed.
Harry smiled grimly. "No, Snivellus. I simply had to make sure you could move or try to break this vial when I fed you this potion. Now, Potion's Master, let's test your knowledge of obscure, banned potions. This is called Liquid Agony. What does it do?"
The greasy-haired man's eyes went wide, in terror. His fear was evident in his voice when he said. "You can't possibly have the ingredients for that potion."
Harry sneered. "It is very helpful to have a friend with a Death Eater for a father. They have the most interesting books in their libraries, you know." He said in a mockingly cheerful voice. "Draco's library was amazingly helpful."
"Draco? Draco Malfoy? He would never—" Fear most prominent in his voice now.
"Be friends with me? Let me use his father's library? Oh, I beg to differ, but he did and he has. Lovers do generally help one another." He said, maliciously. Snape looked ill. Whether from terror or revulsion, Harry couldn't tell. "Now, we are going to see if Draco and I brewed this potion correctly and you, my dear Snivellus, are going to be my tester."
The ex-teacher immediately shut his jaws tightly. Harry shook his head, sadly. "Don't make me Imperio you to make you open your mouth…I could always Crucio you to make you scream. You do remember the last time I put you under that Curse, don't you?"
Despite the Full-body bind, Snape shuddered, but his mouth remained closed. Harry sighed. "Crucio!"
Snape managed to keep his mouth closed for a full minute, before he screamed. As soon as his mouth was open, Harry emptied the vial into it and removed to Curse. However, Snape's earsplitting agony-filled screams didn't cease. They echoed off the stones and bounced back until Harry was forced to cover his ears.
After about ten or fifteen minutes, the screams tapered off. Harry looked up. "Ah, It wore off. Now, I have some questions for you."
Once again, Snape's mouth was tightly closed.
"Now, now. That will never do." The raven-haired Gryffindor pulled another vial out of his robes. Snape's eye followed his hand. "I have two more of these. The one you just took was a small dose, as is this one. The two in my pocket are mid-sized and large. If you don't talk, I will force-feed you the mid-sized dose, which is said to cause the sensation of all you skin being torn from your body. Now, I don't really care whether if I have to feed it to you or not, so it's your call. Answer or not."
Snape swallowed hard and nodded. "What?" He said in a raspy, disgusted voice.
Harry's lip turned up in a smug, evil smile. "Good, boy. Now, where is the fucking traitor, Wormtail, hiding?"
"Who?"
"Peter Pettigrew! Where is he?" Harry snarled.
"H-He's…he's in Godric's Hallow. In your house…" The gaunt man faltered.
Harry's emerald eyes, already darker then normal from his anger at Snape, turned black with rage. In an admirable feat, he managed to keep his control. He could not afford to lose it, now. Not if he wanted to be alive tomorrow. "Alright, "He said quietly. "Why are you draining me? Oh, and if you lie, I will know and I'll give you all three vials at once. If you know this potion well enough, you'll know that it does not have the ability to kill."
"I-I…You! I hate you! You ruined everything! I was my Lord right Hand and you ruined everything! I knew you had power so I drained you, so My Master could attack when you were weakest! You're a filthy Mudblood-loving child! You should not have been able to beat the Mighty Dark Lord!"
Harry had figured as much, though he hadn't realized Snape was still working for Voldemort. "Why is Wormtail in Godric's Hallow?"
"He's hiding from the Dark Lord. I am his secret keeper. How…how did you know he was still alive?"
That was news. Well, he'd have to take care of Wormtail later. "It was the only way. He had to have helped you. Now, traitor, where is your master? Where is that sorry excuse for a wizard…no sorry excuse for a human being, hiding?"
Snape looked reluctant. His lips were set in a thin line. Harry sighed and shook his head. "No? All right then. Patefacio!"
Snape's jaw snapped open. Harry slipped the vial into his pocket and removed a different one. It contained more liquid then the previous vial. The greasy-haired man shuddered. Harry uncorked the vial and poured the contents down Snape's throat, muttering the counter curse for the Ajar Charm.
The agony became clearly visible one the tortured man's face. His screams reverberated off the walls and cut into Harry's very bones. The pain was so intense, it cause his body to throw off the Full-Body Bind. He writhed in agonizing pain. Harry turned away, suddenly not able to watch the horror he was inflicting on his former Potion's teacher. He cringed slightly as the screams grew raspy and horse. He hazarded a glance back at the black-haired man in front of him to see the Snape's eyes were glazed with the pain he could no longer feel. His body was rejecting conscious thought now. The mid-sized dose combine with the former dose and the usage of the Crusiatus Curse was having the same effect as a large dose of the potion would. The intelligence, no matter how warped, was gone from his eyes.
Harry swallowed hard, disgusted with himself. He braced himself for what he would have to do next and raised his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
The gaunt figure slumped to the floor as life fled his body.
Harry gasped at the feeling of taking another's life. It was revolting. He felt if not dirty then evil. Hermione would hate him after this, so would Ron and Draco. Despair and guilt settled like a lead weight on his heart. He muttered a harmless spell to clear his wand, should it be checked. He felt himself loosing consciousness and managed to call back a chair to faint into. He had drained his remaining magic and strength using the Unforgivable, He thought before the world went black.
