The mere tone of his voice was frightening.
Snape was summoned to the Dark Lord's presence once more by Draco, who could not, it seemed, look him in the eye.
"I have already informed you," he began, "of how pleased I am with the general outcome of the mission. However, I find I am unable to think of a suitable reward, and this is unacceptable, for as you well know," his horrible snake face spread wider into what one could assume was a sinister smile, "Lord Voldemort always rewards his helpers"
"The greatest reward is to serve you, my Lord"
"A noble answer," the Dark Lord said, "but not entirely to be believed, I'm afraid. All men have dreams, ambitions. Needs"
He was beginning to look rather more menacing, though the smile remained.
Snape thought hard. He wanted nothing the Dark Lord was prepared to readily offer, and he had no desire to mangle his form with silver limbs, powerful though they may be. But if he didn't want to be mangled period, he had to think of something. Something that not likely to arouse suspicion. Something a Death Eater would dream of.
"Well, Master, I have always dreamed of working as a sort of general for you. Perhaps being given a small legion of lower-level Death Eaters to command, as per your wishes, of course"
The Dark Lord's smile broadened. His expression remained enigmatic, however, so Snape could not tell if he found this request amusing or satisfying.
"We shall see"
After Snape had left, Voldemort was once more alone in the clearing. He called in Parseltongue to Nagini, and she appeared, slithering lithely along the forest floor.
"Show your form," the Dark Lord hissed.
The snake changed and stretched, and soon a woman stood before Lord Voldemort. She had a small nose, pointed in shape but rounded at the tip. It was not as flat as one might have expected from a snake-lady, but there was something about the way the sharpness of the point was dulled into a curve that brought to mind the shape of a snake's face. Her brown hair was wild and tangly like the thick branches of the underbrush. Her eyes were hazel, evocative of the forest. She was quite pale, and there was a strange greenish undertone to her skin quite different from that which comes to people in ill health. She was slender and curvy, her shape reminiscent of a snake's undulating movement and thin body.
Her appearance made one wonder if perhaps she'd been a snake first and had become some sort of Homomagus. But such a thing was impossible...