A/N: I know, it's short. And I know I said the next chapter was going to take a little while, but I wasn't planning for this to be the 3rd chapter, I was going to stick it in later...but here it is, it's short but necessary. Read and review: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Chapter 3

Consequences

Severus Snape stood with his hands folded in front of him, his head bowed and black hood up, looking exactly like every other person in the circle in which he was standing. The Dark Mark on his left forearm had burned white-hot as soon as he had left the Malfoys' manor, for which he was deeply grateful. If he had been summoned any time sooner, he would not have made it on time.

Just then there was a loud crack in the middle of the circle, and every head snapped up automatically to set his or her eyes upon the man that had just materialized in front of them. An unnaturally tall man, the tips of Lord Voldemort's long fingers were just barely visible past the ends of the sleeves of his flowing black robes. The Dark Lord lowered his hood. The whole circle seemed to recoil.

"Ahhh," he said softly, a high pitched hiss that seemed to penetrate Severus's very heart. He had to stop a shiver from running down his spine. "My faithful followers...My Death Eaters."

Voldemort's red slits of eyes stared around the circle as he rotated slowly to look at them all. The look on his flat, pale face was one of supreme power; a slight smirk, even. He began to speak again, very slowly.

"There are a few things that need to be...dealt with...before I move on to what I mean to say to you all tonight. First..." He suddenly turned around very quickly and faced a particularly short and lumpy-looking Death Eater who immediately stood very erect as Voldemort walked toward him.

"As you know, Alecto, I ultimately entrusted you with the murders of Amelia Bones and Emmaline Vance...two who had gained rather too much knowledge than I felt comfortable with." He paused for a moment and Alecto began to tremble. "Yes, the murders did happen, but not quite how I expected them to. As you know, there were several...errors...on your part..." Voldemort's voice dropped to a menacing whisper as he pulled out his wand. "I should have dealth with you much earlier...but I think it is time you need a small...reminder...of what will happen in greater measure if you get carried away again...Crucio."

Alecto immediately crumpled to the ground and began to scream, a childish cry that reverberated around the circle and into the abandoned barn that stood some thirty yards away from them. Severus felt a cold shiver run through his body, wishing he could stuff his fingers in his ears. Voldemort held his wand on the twitching Death Eater for a considerable amount of time until he pointed his wand away from the heap on the ground, and the screaming stopped. Twitching horribly, Alecto scrambled to his feet and pulled his hood back over his head, swaying slightly in the circle.

"I think I have made my point..." said Voldemort, turning away from Alecto with a look of disgust on his snake-like face.

"Yes, my Lord," whispered the short Death Eater in a pained voice. "Never again my Lord, never again will I fail to carry out your plans as instructed..."

"Now...on to why I have called you here tonight." Voldemort made his way slowly back to the center of the circle. "As you all know, if you are standing here right now, you are one lucky enough to have been included in my most recent plan that was carried out this very night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

He stopped again, surveying them all with that same blazing look.

"Of course," he continued, in his cold, high-pitched inflection, "there are certain things that happened during that night that need to be assessed. My plan, as you are certainly already informed, was for the old fool who was Albus Dumbledore to be murdered at the hand of one young Mr. Draco Malfoy, and be out of my way, for his interference with my plans was starting to become quite bothersome indeed."

There were numerous murmurs of assent through the circle at this point, and several people nodded their heads vigorously in agreement. Voldemort waited for the noises to pass before continuing.

"Yes, there was no question, Dumbledore needed to go. I had been putting it off for far too long. And ignorant as the Malfoy boy sometimes appears to be, I trusted that he would efficiently complete the task that I had bequeathed to him. But he did not."

Here, Voldemort paused, walking every so slowly around the circle. It seemed he was inching along; Severus kept his eyes locked on the Dark Lord, thinking that he knew what was coming next. Nearer and nearer Voldemort grew to the place where Severus stood, until he was only a few feet away from him.

"No, it was taken care of. By one Severus Snape, as the result of a certain secret Unbreakable Vow..."

A sort of restless movement went through the circle at these words. Severus felt every eye upon him as he kept his own gaze fixed on the Dark Lord, who had now come near enough to stare him straight in the face.

"Tell me, Severus...where are Narcissa and Draco Malfoy this night? Surely they both felt the Dark Mark burn on their skin...?"

Severus felt the Dark Lord's red eyes burning hard into his own. His mind was racing, his heart hammering loudly in his chest, so loudly that he was sure every person standing in the circle could hear it. He weighed his options, his head reeling. He was an extremely accomplished Occlumens, but he knew that Voldemort also had marvelous power as a Legilimens. He could lie or he could tell the truth, but if he told the truth he would not only put himself in danger, but the Malfoys, too.

"I do not know, my Lord," he said finally, managing to sound cool and composed. "The last I saw of Draco was at Hogwarts. After I was forced to murder Dumbledore, the boy fled. I was right behind him, but he Disapparated before I could catch up with him."

Lord Voldemort's red eyes flashed dangerously as they bore into Severus's. He put up that brick wall in his head immediately, fiercely trying to keep his mind blank. After what seemed like a long while, Voldemort's gaze lessened. Severus fought the urge to exhale a sigh of relief. His heart, it felt, was trying to make its way up his throat. He felt weak from trying so hard to keep his mind closed.

But as soon as it had stopped, Voldemort's eyes flashed again suddenly, this time forcing entry into Severus's thoughts. To his helpless horror, memories of the last few hours spun rapidly in his head, including the ones of bringing Draco back to the Malfoy manor and talking with Narcissa. As soon as Voldemort had seen all that he needed to see, he relented. Severus immediately tried to compose himself from the attack on his mind, hoping desperately that he looked unruffled on the outside.

"Liar," whispered Voldemort in his most alarming voice. Severus tried greatly to keep his face blank. "Do you know what happens to liars in my circle, Snape?"

The circle seemed to go rigid. Severus felt he might collapse at any moment. He was feeling like an ignorant child. How could he have let the Dark Lord overpower him like that? He knew he had Occlumency powers that greatly rivaled Voldemort's, but he had let them go to waste. How could he have been so stupid?

He took a deep breath, which he hoped was unnoticeable. He chose not to answer Voldemort's question.

"I am not going to kill you, if that is what you are thinking...though I do not know what you are thinking, since you are so intent on closing your mind to me. You were always insufferably fickle, Severus. I thought you had left me forever when I fell...but you returned to me three years ago, claiming your allegiance had never wavered. And even if I can't see into your mind, I know it is not true. Do you think you can run around behind my back, doing things in secret, without my knowledge? Did you think you could help the two Malfoys escape, and I would remain I the dark? No, Severus...you should have told me the truth, for your lies have helped no one. The Malfoys will be captured and killed...and your ignorance will be punished..."

Voldemort reached into the pocket of his robes once more. Severus knew his long, thin fingers were grasping his wand. He thought of Alecto, screaming and thrashing and twitching on the ground; he knew he would get worse than that. Voldemort's torture of Alecto had been halfhearted, but necessary. Severus knew that the Dark Lord would take great pleasure in torturing him. He braced himself...knowing that he just might end up like the Longbottoms...

"Crucio."

A/N: How deliciously evil...I loved writing it. I hope you loved reading it! Next chapter definitely will take a bit longer...but it's going to be a lot longer in length, so I think it will be worth the wait, don't give up on me!