THE INFORMER
The moment I Apparated back in my father's house, I mentally slapped myself for my rash words to Evans – or, rather, to Potter. I was surprised that I had made it out without any curses being thrown; when the infamous Potter and Black were together, they weren't known for their restraint. If it had come to that, I would have had their heads on a silver stake with Dark Magic.
I spent a few minutes dreaming about winning a long duel with that bastard, Black. As I was thinking about sticking Black's and Potter's heads on a silver stake, I remembered another Marauder, who had almost killed me--Remus Lupin. The werewolf had given me a horrible time too. Thinking about the horrible life I had had in Hogwarts brought back memories of my childhood. The way that I had suffered at the hands of my father had at least taught me how to survive being tormented by the Marauders.
My mother Eileen Prince was a pureblood witch who had gone to Hogwarts. She had fallen in love with a Muggle called Tobias Snape and married him without revealing her Magic heritage. After thirteen years of marriage, my mother thought it safe to confide in her husband; she told him the truth. Though my father did not leave his wife and his seven-year-old son, he started to torture us every single day. What began as taunts and insults soon became physical blows, and my mother did not do anything to stop him. She loved him too much.
The day I received my Hogwarts letter, my father left us for good, and I left home knowing that my mother was dying. I had no way of knowing that school life would not be much different than home. After I came home, I found out that mother had died three days earlier. There was nothing I could do but weep. That was the first time I had cried, the first time I had shown weakness. I had learned quite a lot from the books in the Hogwarts library. I had learned a great deal about Potions, and I had found that I was quite good at it. I swore revenge on my father and, in my second year, I committed murder. After my father's death, I named myself "The Half-Blood Prince" but did not tell any of my friends about it. (He didn't tell his friends about the nickname, or the murder?)
Memories of my past flew through my mind and brought with them a jumble of emotions. I hated myself for going to Hogwarts. Part of me wanted to kill everyone I knew. Part of me wanted to kill myself. I got up slowly and started to walk around the room, trying desperately to forget. I paused before the fireplace, and abruptly remembered Lucius mentioning a meeting today. Cursing, I grabbed my cloak and mask, hoping against hope that I wasn't late.
"Ah, I see that Severus has decided to join us. You're late. I do not tolerate lateness. Crucio".
I screamed, even though I was prepared for this very situation, and kept screaming until, finally, the Dark Lord lifted the curse. I rolled on to my knees, kissed the Dark Lord's robes with hatred and took my place. I knew I was getting Crucio'd too many times, but it was not my fault! I looked at Lucius and was not surprised to see that he was sneering. But before I could make a comment, a clocked figure stepped forward said in a low, cool voice said, "My lord, shall I give my report?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, Master. I have gathered a lot of information about quite a number of the trainee Aurors and their mentors. There is talk about James Potter, who is being taught by the legendary 'Mad Eye' Moody. He is exceptional, master. He fights the Imperius Curse off like it's nothing. His curses and his reflexes are the best I have ever seen. He can fight like Alastor Moody himself, and he can learn new spells so fast, it's as if he knew them already. But Master, he is not the only one. A certain Sirius Black, who happens to be his best friend, is also fast gaining a reputation as a formidable and brilliant trainee. But he, unlike Potter, is not above using Dark Magic against his enemies. I intend to monitor these two closely.
"Well done, Rookwood. Your information is unfaultable. Your narration, however, leaves something to be desired. You praise the young Aurors entirely too much. Are you a spy or a secret admirer?" At this, a ripple of laughter ran through the Death Eater ranks, and Voldemort allowed himself a small smile.
"On to the matter at hand: Potter and Black, our rising stars. Regulus, it's a pity your brother has chosen the losing side. How I hate to see talent and power wasted. Your attempts to convert him to our cause have been futile, I believe?"
I looked to my right as the tall, slender figure of Regulus Black stepped forward. "Yes, Master, but if you give me more time, I believe that he will join our side. I have sent many letters to the werewolf, but he refused, for which he has paid. Now, I reckon, he is reconsidering. I believe that if he turns, my blood traitor brother may join us too. Gryffindors have a tendency to follow suit.
"Very well, Regulus. I want him on our side, if possible, but on no account is the Ministry to have him. If he does not turn, you will kill him. Is that clear?" The Dark Lord looked around, gave me a look that said 'follow me' and walked out of the circle hissing, "Dismissed". As my colleagues Disapparated, I followed Voldemort, all my nerves on edge as I didn't have a clue what the Dark Lord might do.
"Severus, I see that you can't complete a proper mission, so I am going to appoint you to a 'desk position,' as the Muggles put it".
"Master, I do not understand." I had no idea what the Dark Lord meant.
"Don't you, Severus?" Voldemort sneered. "Well, I'll put it into simpler words. You will no be participating in future missions. Instead, I want you to find more about this James Potter and Sirius Black. I do not trust Regulus with his brother.
"Thank you. Master, you are too kind," was all I could manage to say. But the Dark Lord was not finished with me.
"I also want you to create some potions for me, which will earn you a higher standing in my eyes if you succeed".
"What are the potions, my lord?"
"The Draught of Darkness and the Memory Enhancer Potion. I want them by next month."
"Yes, Master, I will not disappoint you," I gulped.
I Disapparated to my Muggle house in Spinner's end to start on the potions straight away. Several of the ingredients would very hard to find legally in Diagon Alley and I was reluctant to risk as trip to Knockturn Alley, if I could help it. I searched around my mother's room and was surprised to find quite a lot of potions ingredients, some of which were exactly what I needed.
Seven hours later, I stirred the potion clockwise seven times and left it to settle. Now the cauldron was the perfect shade of dark green with silver streaks. I left the cauldron in its place as the Memory Enhancer takes three days to settle and then must be taken on a full moon. I lay down on my bed and started to drift off. I dreamt that I was standing behind Lily in Diagon Alley while an ugly Potter stood in front of us with a sneer quite like the one I usually wore on my face. The odd thing was, I was defending Lily, and Potter was the one who was making the snide comments. I watched as I stepped forward with my wand drawn, but before I could tear that sneer off Potter's face, Lily stepped forward and stopped me just as Potter said— I never found out what Potter really said, as I woke up with a start. My Dark Mark was burning. I thought, what the hell? He's calling us already? I looked up at the clock to find to my shock that two whole hours had passed during my seemingly short dream. I got up, put on my Death Eater robes and Dissaparated to the graveyard yet again.
When I took my place, I could see that all the Death Eaters were present and that, just like me, everyone was curious to know why the Dark Lord had called us so soon. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Voldemort appeared in the middle of the circle of Death Eaters. He took no time to explain the reason for this meeting but got immediately to business.
"My loyal Death Eaters, I have found a very good lead, a lead which will allow us to capture some very important Aurors and extract valuable information from them. A certain spy has told me that the Aurors are going to a place called Hidden Grove in order to train the new recruits." Voldemort gave Regulus and me a very sharp look and continued. "They will not take the direct route. In order to show trainees a perfect spot to duel, they will go to the Drakken Forest in Scotland, which also happens to be a perfect spot for an ambush."
Lucius stepped forward and said, "But Master, surely we don't know how many Aurors will be there?"
Voldemort smiled, which I thought was very bad, as he rarely smiled. I was wrong; he seemed to be in a good mood because he said, "Ah…Lucius, you have forgotten our spy. He told me the exact number of people who will come to the forest and how many will follow them to Hidden Grove." Suddenly he became serious and said, "I want all of you to go to Drakken Forest at eleven thirty today and capture as many Aurors as you can, but don't get caught, as I will not save you. If you find that there are too many Aurors, get out with the people you have captured. On this mission of vital importance, I will come with you." The Dark Lord waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal and Dissaparated. I waited for the others to leave before walking to Lucius and saying "If we fail, which is very likely, we are all going to die."
"Ah now, don't be so pessimistic, Snape!" Lucius drawled.
"I bet three Galleons that we will fail this mission."
"You're on!"
"Let's get ready, Lucius."