Chapter 7: Hello, Darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.
Late that night, Rowena awoke to hear movements in the office, followed by a string of soft curses. Drawing on her night-coat, she opened her door to see Severus rummaging around in the drawers of his desk. "What is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes in the bright candlelight; Sevi had lit every candle in the small room.
The elder Snape straightened "Where is my wand, sister?" He was very calm, voice detached.
Rowena started to answer, then froze as Severus moved his left arm slightly, as though it where paining him. "No…." she breathed.
"Where is my wand, Rowena?" Severus repeated, coming around the desk to stand in front of her.
"You can't, they'll--" She broke off, fighting back tears. "Why?" she whispered.
"Must I answer that?" His eyes were reflecting all the lights, glittering in the shadows.
"Talk to Albus first. If he…" She trailed off, shoulders slumped as he whispered, "Get him."
Albus brushed himself off, looking about the dungeon office. He noticed that both Snapes were in attendance. "You wished to speak with me, Severus?" He watched the two siblings stare at one another until Rowena finally broke the exchange.
"He's summoning me," Severus said, not taking his eyes off his sister.
"Do you think that this will be any different than the last few attempts?" Dumbledore voice was gentle; he knew that the Potions Master was still sore over his apparent lack of success.
"Do we have a choice? This could be an invitation to return--"
Rowena barked a laugh. "You think that he's going to welcome you back with open arms? Then you'd better check his sleeves for the knife he'll stick in your back."
"Think of the lives that could be saved if I was in his confidence again."
"Think of the part of you that dies every time you crawl to his feet!" She moved away, trying to compose herself. She flung up a hand abruptly. "If you want to go get yourself killed, that's fine! Who am I to stop you? I failed when you were 17, why did I think it would be any different now?" The candles were reflecting in the tears on her cheeks.
"You understand why he must do this," Albus murmured to her, stepping closer. "But no one said that any of us liked what we must do."
"Of course I understand!" Rowena snapped. "I just love the outcome." She grabbed her cloak off its peg. "I'd better see to the infirmary, make sure we have enough glue." She turned to Severus. "Under the skull."
Snape was quiet after she had left.
"You knew that she wouldn't take that nicely, didn't you?"
A nod.
"You believe that you've been tested, and are now fit to go back? This is your choice, Severus. I nor anyone else can make you return to him."
Severus stood and took the Death Eater's cloak off the other hook. "I will return as soon as I am able." Lifting the skull behind his desk, he found his wand laid out on top of the lesson plans.
"Be careful, Severus." Albus watched the man disappear up the corridor. It was some time before he rose and followed the trial of the remaining Snape.
Rowena sat on one of the infirmary beds, rolling a long bandage, tearing it apart and rewrapping it even tighter. She didn't notice anyone come in to stand at the end of the long room. All she could see was all the times that her Sevi had come home so broken that it was a wonder that she could put him together again.
"If you don't like that particular roll, I can get you another, more well-behaved one from the cupboard."
She looked down at the roll, which by that point was fraying heavily around the edges. "No, I think that I'll just beat this one up a bit more, before I put it out of its misery." She sniffed loudly.
"Is there something that you're not telling me, Rowena?" The Headmaster sat on the bed next to her. "Something about your brother?"
"Just nerves." She laughed a little. "Why I'm the one to get them is beyond me. You'd think that I'd be the steady one, patiently waiting for the next blow--" She stopped, choking on a sob.
"Child you have every right to be worried. He is all the family you have left. You don't wish to see him hurt."
"I don't wish to see him squashed like some bug on a rug!" She stood up and began to pace, nervous energy needing an outlet. "My proud, arrogant Slytherin brother would do it, too, you know. Sevi has no problem in his mind about dying for your cause."
Albus remained seated, watching her from under his bushy eyebrows. "He's also one not to back down. Something is finished because he says it is."
Rowena barked a laugh. "Nothing like a Snape for cold-blooded obsessions. Runs in the blood."
Albus nodded, eyes dimming slightly. "I don't want either of you to choke on your tasks."
"We do what needs doing. Slytherins and Gryffindors always do." She slipped past the open door of the infirmary, not noticing the shadow hiding in the corner.
The shadow moved up the corridor, stopping by a lone portrait many floors up. It whispered the password and climbed through the hole into the common room. A shimmer, a cloak on the floor, and Harry Potter stood looking into the empty room, perplexed. He understood the part about Snape not backing off; he was, after all, in Voldemort's inner circle as a yet-undiscovered spy.
But hadn't Dumbledore said that he didn't want to see either of them hurt? And hadn't Rowena Snape replied that they do what needs to be done? She couldn't be a Death Eater, she was much too young.
Unless, he realized, she was a new recruit.
Severus Snape paused before Apparating. Perhaps, he thought, his sister was right. He would, in all probability, end up somewhere else, face first in the mud, and perhaps another black eye for his 'loyalty'. Another thought intruded upon him, one of sightless eyes staring up at him, of someone lying too still on a carpet, hand still reaching—
Angrily he banished the memories. What was it that he had said to Potter? Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily…they stand no chance. He was certainly not going to turn into a fool at this late stage in the war.
But he couldn't help but shiver slightly as he finally Disapparated from the forest.
He reappeared at another clearing, standing, and unharmed. He drew himself up, noticing a few other Death Eaters who were also late for the summons. He instantly began to settle his memories into the correct order as stepped forward into the circle, crawled ahead, kissed the hem of the robes as was required and take his place in the circle.
Perhaps, he mused, my banishment is over. A more cynical voice and sounded much too like his sisters asked: So what's the door prize?
As the last of the stragglers took their place, Lord Voldemort surveyed his followers through narrowed eyes. "It comes to my attention," he said, turning slightly now and again, "that there is a traitor in our midst."
The Dark Lord started to pace slowly around the circle, weaving in and out of those gathered. "He has been with us since before my disembodiment. A quiet little mole, scurrying information to his new owner." A low hiss escaped him. "Like some trained pet."
Nott stepped forward. "Master, tell us who this worthless bit of flesh is, so that we may be rid of the stain upon your honour."
Snape sneered beneath his mask. Anymore flowery terms and Nott might as well be a weak poet.
The Dark Lord chuckled; a high, unpleasant sound when it came from his flat face. "No, the spy will be dealt with in a more useful fashion. We need to know how much he has told and what he has kept to himself." He turned, eyes glowing ever brighter.
"Don't you agree, Severus?"
Snape's heart stopped. He dipped his head to cover his swallowing the bile that rose in his throat, and managed a "Of course, master."
Voldemort glided forward. "For the good of his fellow Death Eaters, this canker must be removed."
"You are wise, master."
"The spy must have been very good, to hide so long in plain sight. As if…waiting to be found, I suppose?" The words were a soft caress, whispered near Snape's ear, almost hypnotic in their rhythm.
"They were very foolish, master, to go against you."
"Indeed." Voldemort hissed, hand removing Snape's wand form its place, pressing it lightly against its owner's throat. "You were. Surely you didn't think that you'd get away with it." With his free hand, he ripped the mask off Snape's face. "Crucio!"
Snape dropped to his knees, body wracked with pain. He refused to cry out, though. He wouldn't give the snake that much from him. Something solid came down against the back of his head, and he fell the rest of the way down into the mud, unconscious.