Chapter 32
In the morning Hermione emerged from her room to find Severus busy steeping tea in the kitchen. In profile, his expression was hard and distant, but softened a few degrees when he turned his head to look at her as she drew near.
"You're thinking about Remus, aren't you?" she asked softly.
"Yes," he said, his tone flat.
"You're worried that he won't be able to keep up appearances," she told him. It was in no way a question.
Severus looked down at the Gryffindor in front of him, his incredibly dark eyes revealed his concern.
"I'd be lying if I said no," he told her frankly. "You must know that it is not my intention to scare you, . . ."
"But you want me to be aware that there's a possibility things won't go as planned." Hermione finished for him, her voice unexpectedly calm.
Severus did not immediately speak.
"I can't control Remus's actions," he said softly. "Even if, . . .Even if I put him under the Imperius Curse Hermione, Voldemort would detect the spell."
Hermione stared at him appalled that Severus would even think of such a thing, but at the same time understanding why he would want to use the spell.
Both of their lives were riding on Remus's ability to pretend he was Fenrir's heartless servant.
Hermione swallowed. She suddenly felt weak in the knees, she gripped the side of the countertop for extra support.
"You don't think he can do it?" she whispered.
"His life is certainly at stake as much as ours are," he told her seriously. "Remus is well aware of that. I'm sure he'll try his damndest to make his act convincing. But with Bellatrix factored into the equation, I'm not entirely confident that it will be good enough."
"Can't you do something to prevent Bellatrix's involvement?"
"What would I do?"
"Slip her some sort of potion that makes her fall violently ill,"
"If only it were that easy, Hermione. Don't you think I've already thought about this? I did not sleep for a single minute last night. I know Bellatrix Lestrange and if I were to somehow incapacitate her, she would immediately suspect that I was responsible for her illness. And now, after what's happened, she wouldn't be afraid to tell as much to Voldemort."
Hermione poured some tea, needing it to steady her nerves.
"We'll just have to trust Remus then," she said as resolutely as she could.
But even in her mind, she acknowledged the truth of Severus's concern.
It's not exactly easy to trust the man to have sexual intercourse with the woman who killed the man he loved, is it Hermione?
She took a sip of tea, savoring its rich flavor.
"Do you want something to eat?" Severus inquired.
Hermione shook her head.
The two of them moved to sit at the table.
For several minutes the pair just sat in silence.
"Remus has children on the way," Hermione said aloud, causing Severus to look up from staring into the depths of his teacup. "He's going to do whatever he has to in order to be around to see them. That has got to keep him focused when nothing else will,"
"For all of our sakes I hope you're right," Severus told her.
At ten minutes to three, Severus stepped out of the mansion to wait for Remus to arrive. He walked to the designated spot in the forest, not far from the mansion's main entrance.
The trees were old and the untouched wood would have been very beautiful had the almost tangible presence of evil that was Voldemort been absent.
Severus had not failed to notice that as time wore on, more and more wildlife had fled the forest surrounding the mansion. When Voldemort had first come to this property, the forest had been alive with life.
Now, only a small percentage of the forest's population of animals remained.
If Severus continued with his dark spells to locate Fawkes, he was either going to have to do so very conservatively as it would be increasingly harder to capture a rabbit or other mammal anywhere near Voldemort, or else he was going to have to find another way to locate the phoenix. Severus decided that he would to pursue the latter option.
At the moment, he didn't have any ideas readily in mind so it appeared he'd have to do some more research.
The distinct sound of Remus Apparating brought Severus from his thoughts.
Severus met the werewolf's gaze. He'd never seen Remus's eyes look so cold.
"Give me one week and this will be over," Severus told him.
Remus gave him a suspicious look.
"What the devil do you mean?"
"I can't explain. Please, Remus, trust me."
For a second, Severus expected Remus to scoff in his face, but instead he merely nodded.
Severus led the way back to the mansion. The two men walked in perfect silence, save for the crunching sound of branches and leaves being crushed underfoot.
Voldemort had assembled the whole of his forces at the mansion, including Fenrir and three scores of werewolves in the anticipation of Remus's arrival, or in the event that Severus was unable to produce him before nightfall, the commencement of Severus's very long and very painful death.
Severus saw that Remus walked resolutely, seemingly having already resigned himself to his fate.
The two men now ascended the steps that led to the grand building's heavy oak paneled front doors. The doors opened with an unspoken spell from Severus.
Severus escorted Remus down the mansion's main hallway, past Voldemort's private meeting room, to the back of the building where the corridor opened up into a huge high-ceilinged banquet room. The room was large enough to hold several hundred people comfortably and all of the Dark Lord's servants were currently engaged in eating a feast. Voldemort presided over the crowd in a throne-like chair raised upon an onyx dais.
All conversation abruptly ceased when Severus and Remus entered the room.
Voldemort's expression became particularly smug.
"Well, Bella, the proof that you and your sister were quite wrong about Severus now stands before your eyes," he announced in satisfaction.
His lips broke into a twisted parody of a smile.
"Please, come and join us, Severus, . . .Remus."
Bellatrix was struck speechless. It was obvious that she'd clearly expected him to come out empty handed in this latest endeavor.
Severus turned to her with a cool smile, the look in his eyes as frigid as ice.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Bella," Severus told her, his voice laced with intensely sarcastic venom. "You know, shock really doesn't become you."
Fenrir Greyback stepped out of the crowd of werewolves at the far end of the room and grinned savagely at Remus.
"So you come to me at last," he said to Remus.
"Better now than never, isn't that right Fenrir?" Remus asked flippantly.
"Indeed," Fenrir replied. "I always knew you had great potential Lupin. You are strong in body as well as in mind. I'm sure you will do much to strengthen our Dark Lord's power."
Remus let out a low half laugh, his green eyes sparkling with a malicious glint.
"Sounds like fun, Fenrir. Where do I start?"
Voldemort sat watching the verbal exchange with rapt interest.
"I daresay Fenrir, Remus may prove to be one of my most valuable allies yet. I can sense his power and it's much stronger than even yours."
Bellatrix stood up and approached Remus.
"Mmm, you're certainly quite a specimen, aren't you?" she purred. She reached up and put her hand along his jaw. To his credit, he did not flinch.
Severus breathed an inward sigh of relief.
"Very handsome," Bellatrix murmured. "But are you really as powerful as your appearance would suggest?"
Remus snorted derisively.
"I think I'll let you be the judge of that," he told her. He then pulled her against him and claimed her lips in a brutal kiss. Bellatrix responded eagerly.
"The werewolf is ours!" Voldemort shouted triumphantly.
A raucous cheer erupted in the chamber, filling the air.
After a moment the cheering died down and Remus and Bellatrix broke apart. Bellatrix was more than pleased.
"You must tell me Severus, how you managed to accomplish this task on such short notice," Voldemort said, one thin black brow raised in question.
"It was easier then you might think, My Lord. I broke into his flat in London and switched out his wolfsbane for a potion I made that would destroy his humanity. It was the same color and I was able to give it the illusion of tasting the same as the wolfsbane. The main component in the serum was demon's blood, and with your . . . shall I say, . . . connections to the Evil Ones it wasn't hard for me to call on one of the females and obtain some."
It was a legend among Dark Wizarding communities that if a wizard called on a succubus and was then able to sexually satisfy her thoroughly enough, the demon would then grant him a reward.
Demon's blood had scores of different uses ranging from being a potent completely undetectable poison if brewed in combination with specific ingredients, to being one of the world's most powerful aphrodisiacs which had a black market value of about five thousand galleons.
And if brewed in a potion by a particularly skilled potions master, demon's blood could be used to create a potion that permanently stripped a person of their humanity.
Voldemort smiled in approval.
"You've done well, Severus. Bellatrix should never have doubted you. Though wasn't his place of residence well warded against our kind? The entire Order of the Phoenix is obsessively paranoid about taking extra precautions to ensure their safety from us attacking them. As you're unable to do magic outside of this property, however did you succeed in getting past the security spells?"
"The wards were there and they surely would have prevented all but the most forceful magical intrusion, but when using Muggle means to gain access to the inside, the magical wards might as well not have been there at all. It's amazing that something as simple as a common lock pick can accomplish what magic cannot."
It was now Severus's turn to look smug.
"I see. It's certainly in my favor to have as resourceful a man as you among my loyal Death Eaters."
Severus held Voldemort's crimson brown gaze with calm composure.
"I am truly pleased to be of service, My Lord," said Severus reverently.
The look in Voldemort's eyes was not one entirely without suspicion. It was as if Voldemort wasn't certain that he wanted to trust Severus and he wanted Severus to know it.
He'd said his words as if he now trusted Severus implicitly, but the cold shadow of Voldemort's eyes told Severus that he was still perceived as a possible threat.
Though this time, it was not due to misplaced loyalty. No, this time, it was because Voldemort was beginning to feel threatened by Severus's power.
When Severus left the banquet hall an hour later, he had an unusually vicious headache. His head was spinning and the edges of his vision were blurred.
Sharp intense pain sliced through his skull. Severus guessed that he was essentially having two headaches in one since he like any other mortal man was prone to the common headache, and there was nothing to prevent a normal headache from occurring at the same time as one of the incapacitating headaches from his severed Soul Bond with Lily.
Hermione was reading the last couple pages of The Feminine Spirit when Severus came through the door. As soon as he saw her she turned her attention to him, quickly setting the book down on the floor.
The first thing she noticed was that he was in great pain.
Hermione immediately went to him and walked him to the sitting area.
"You're muscles are much too tense," she told him softly, respectful of the fact that even a normal speaking voice might magnify his pain. "Let me give you a massage,"
"That really isn't necessary," he told her in a strained tone.
"I guarantee it will make you feel better," she told him honestly. "Sit on the carpet in front of the sofa."
Severus didn't argue any further. Gingerly, he sank to the floor and leaned his back against the leather sofa. Hermione sat on the sofa directly behind his neck, crossing her legs comfortably before reaching forward to knead Severus's shoulders with her hands.
Severus leaned into her touch. Amazingly enough, Hermione was beginning to work some of the pain from his body. She obviously knew what she was doing, taking care to relieve the tension in just the right spot, working methodically in precise movements and patterns, applying steady soothing pressure.
"My mum says that I could make a fortune being a massage therapist," she told him. "But I want to work in a Magical Community and told her that I didn't know if the Wizarding World had day spas."
"It does," was all that Severus said as he leaned his head back, his eyes closed.
"Really? I think I might have to look into it then,"
There was a minute or two of calm silence until Hermione spoke again.
"Severus?"
"Yes?"
"How did everything go today?"
"You were right about Remus," Severus told her. "He's taking great pains to ensure that Voldemort believes him to be a truly loyal servant."
Hermione responded after a moment of silence and when she did, she didn't press the topic any further.
"Did you tell him anything about your plan?"
"No. But I did tell him that a week from now things would be different."
"And what did he say to that?"
"Not much. He's going to trust my word."
"I think you should have told him what you're going to do," Hermione said very quietly.
Severus let out an audible exhalation.
"Maybe I should have, but it's too late now and I have too much on my mind right now to worry about it."
"I haven't asked you yet, but I'll do so now, how exactly are you planning to attract Fawkes here?"
There was a stretch of silence that Hermione didn't like.
"That is the one thing I need to work out as soon as possible. For whatever reason, my Dark Spells aren't enough to let me see where the bird is now."
"Can you make at least a good guess as to the reason?"
"First I thought that the phoenix was purposefully concealing himself, but that doesn't seem likely because most magical creatures don't think like we do. It's almost as if the phoenix is trapped and concealed by an opposing Dark Spell. Quite frankly, I'd like to think that that isn't the case. But it's next to impossible to capture a phoenix against its will so that appears to be the least likely possibility. When the time comes I'm going to use the same Calling Spell that Dumbledore used to summon Fawkes and essentially hope that it will be enough. I honestly don't know what else to do."
"Professor McGonagall told me about Familiar Calling once when she saw that I'd checked a book out of the library about it during fourth year. We had tea in her office and she told me that if two people combined their power in the Calling of a specific creature, the Call would get to the creature faster. I think she told me that ordinarily, if the creature was a great distance away, the Call could take hours, maybe even days to reach the familiar. But if a Call came from a source of combined power it would take almost no time at all and the familiar would then appear nearly immediately."
After Hermione had spoken, Severus turned to face her. The look on his face told Hermione that this was one of the few pieces of magical information that he didn't already know.
"Is the spell the same as it would be for a normal Calling?" he asked her steadily.
"Yes."
"Then, Hermione, this is our answer. We will combine our power and cast the spell together."
"What, no objections that it might be too dangerous for me to participate?"
"No. In this, I need your help. To refuse it in the current situation could cost us our lives. Time is not on our side."
Severus did not tell Hermione that Voldemort now weighing the pros and cons of eliminating him. Severus had seen it in his eyes.
No, time was certainly not on their side. They needed to end this as soon as possible.
A/N: Only about six more chapters left. But don't cry, I'm most definitely writing a sequel. Next chapter will have more of Severus and Hermione and also Draco and his mother make their first appearance! And Draco has a secret or two! Get ready for a wild ride, because these next few chapters will be full of surprises and twists.