Dumbledore had been correct-- the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries had put Lucius in Azkaban and Bellatrix quite firmly out of favour. It was easy enough for Severus to step into the void.
Severus had gone at the first summons, explained that he'd tried to give the Death Eaters enough time to capture Potter-- retrieve the prophecy. No, of course he'd had no difficulty discerning the plan. Severus claimed he'd deliberately delayed the orider-- he'd had no choice but to summon them in the end, of course, but had Lucius and Bellatrix not been so hopelessly incompetent...
The words fell on fertile ears.
Severus had no delusions that Voldemort trusted him. Voldemort trusted no one.
Sick at the thought of what he was doing, he did it all the same. See what I gave you? Black's dead. Potter is losing everything. He'll be too grief-stricken to do anything-- presuming he could accomplish anything anyway. And Dumbledore-- Dumbledore has so few allies he cannot affort the loss of someone so worthless as Black.
And Voldemort listened. He listened very carefully, mind sliding against Severus' mind.
Severus knew Potter blamed him for Black's death. Potter's rage was almost palpable the last few days of school.
Staring at Narcissa and her sister standing on the doorstep of his mother's house, he realised he knew exactly who to blame. For all they could debate whose fault it had been that Black had left Grimmauld Place, Severus knew very well who had done the killing. He gave a slight smile to Narcissa; he knew why she'd come. He gave a faint nod to Bellatrix.
He sent Pettigrew away to fetch wine. Pettigrew was Voldemort's spy, for all he supposedly assisted Severus.
Pettigrew. There was another. Without Pettigrew, Black would not have spent twelve years in Azkaban.
Severus had an overwhelming desire to repay a few of Black's debts. Black deserved better.
Severus listened to Narcissa's desperate pleas, told his own set of lies and half-truths.
And Bellatrix watched him. She did not trust him.
You killed him. You shouldn't trust me.
When Narcissa asked him to take the Unbreakable Vow, he agreed. Whether the sisters knew it or not, they were present as Voldemort's agents.
Another loyalty test. Voldemort planned to make Severus kill Dumbledore-- he thought it the ultimate proof of Severus' allegiance. The Dark Lord understands nothing about oaths or loyalty. He only understands fear and pain. I have nothing left to lose.
Severus took in Bellatrix's look of wonder as he took the final oath-- the oath that would lead to Dumbledore's death.
He watched them walk away.
He had his own vows, and he did not need magic to ensure they were unbreakable.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.
Author's Note:
Quoted poetry this time is Thomas Gray's "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College." Quoted lines, in order, are 11-14, 51-54, and 95-100. The poem was written in 1742 and first published (anonymously) in 1747. The reference to "Selima" is to the poem quoted in "Nor All, That Glisters, Gold"-- Gray's "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes."
One must make a choice in writing Snape. After Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the need to make that choice is simply much clearer than once it was. I'm not saying my choice here is correct, though the foe-glass in GoF supports it. However, for this series of stories, this is the way it's going to go.
I am indebted to the Harry Potter Lexicon; I have made extensive use of its calendars for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.