Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Lucius had been correct.
Eight days after their conversation, Severus woke one night to the searing pain that emanated from his burning, writhing Dark Mark tattoo.
As quickly as he could, he fled from the castle, raced across the grounds, and scrambled across the hillside next to Hogsmeade where he immediately apparated to answer the Dark Lord's call.
His brief journey ended on the outskirts of some dark valley, the location of which he could not immediately determine.
All he could focus on was the pair of red eyes that gazed at him from the darkness of the scenery.
"Ah, Severus….." Voldemort's eerily smooth voice echoed, "How kind of you to answer me so promptly! I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you tonight."
Despite his youth, Severus understood how to play the game of earning Voldemort's favour.
"It is always a pleasure to serve you, my lord." He said as he bowed respectfully.
Voldemort let out a wicked chuckle as he accepted Severus's praise with a smirk.
"Yes, well, Lucius told me you wish to seek my assistance….." Voldemort revealed as he stepped out of the shadows.
A part of Severus wished Voldemort would have stayed hidden as his dark eyes fell upon his evil master's grotesquely scarred face.
The Dark Lord's black robes thankfully covered his seared skin as Severus nodded and said, "Forgive me, my lord. I spoke my request in passing, nothing more. There are far greater matters you have to tend to, I am no fool."
"Do not be so callous, Severus….." Voldemort
chuckled as he grinned down at the young man already enslaved to him, "If you will take on a single mission for me, I, the greatest wizard of all time, will gladly grant whatever your heart desires. A small price to pay, don't you agree?"
"Of course, my lord." Severus nodded.
"Excellent." Voldemort smirked, "Now then, there is something…..I will not tell you what…..the crew already knows….that I require which can only be retrieved by a short voyage north of the highlands. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord." Severus nodded.
Voldemort's grin fell away, "The ship leaves in one week. I expect its journey will be brief, but those on board must be watched closely to ensure they do not take my spoils for themselves. I need you, as an upcoming elite member of our ranks, to bring what I require to me……Do you understand, Severus?"
"Yes, my lord." Severus lied.
How could he understand when he didn't even know what exactly it was he had been assigned to protect?
"Wonderful, all you'll have to do is watch and tell me what happens…..Should you see anything questionable, simply relay that information to me." Voldemort grinned, "You are capable of flotation charms and simple healing spells, aren't you, Severus?"
"Yes." Severus nodded, "And of brewing potions with similar uses as well."
"Potions, ah, of course!" Voldemort cackled, "Perhaps it would be wise if you brought a few vials along with you…….Now then, Severus, what is it that you want? Wealth?...Women?...Fame?"
Severus watched an eerie grin crack across Voldemort's dry lips before he nodded and replied, "Gillyweed, my lord."
"...What?" Voldemort asked as he narrowed his eyes.
His ominous grin vanished as his horrible face twisted into an incredulous scowl.
"A……A bit of Gillyweed, my lord. I cannot find any and I do not have time to grow the herb before the summer term is over. Lucius informed me you may be able to assist." Severus nodded.
"HA!...Of course I can procure Gillyweed!" Voldemort scoffed, "But Severus, may I ask why you want….that….? A herb? A meaningless herb?"
"I wish to swim in the Black Lake, my lord." Severus nodded, "While everyone else is sleeping……I enjoy the privacy of the night."
Voldemort laughed as he gazed at his loyal servant in amusement, "Severus, you are a strange man of simple tastes, aren't you?! Very well! Be on that ship one week from today and I will fill your hand with what you desire!"
Severus prided himself on only telling half a falsehood.
He did want to swim in the Black Lake, however, he had declined to mention his desire had ultimately been borne out of the true love he held for his darling flower.
Voldemort didn't think or care to pry any deeper.
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One week later, Severus didn't know whether to laugh or cry on Saturday morning as he stood on the tattered ship with the handful of Gillyweed given to him by his dark master.
Voldemort had promised the quest would take no longer than the weekend to complete.
That didn't lessen Severus's irritation with knowing he would have to wait two more days before he could possibly help Lily.
Two days may as well have been a lifetime.
Two days meant an entire forty-eight more hours for his beloved to suffer!
Regardless, careful not to rouse suspicion about his true feelings for Lily as the war heated up, Severus stood on the boat that morning while he nodded at each witch and wizard who boarded the ship, every one prepared to complete the mission Voldemort had assigned them.
Severus knew no one.
He silently lamented the fact that Lucius couldn't at least accompany him on his travels.
While he was not a social person by nature, he would have preferred to have someone familiar to chat with and pass the hours of the ship's solemn voyage.
Most of the Dark Witches and Wizards on board were seedy-looking, scarred, and missing teeth.
The awful scowls and grimaces on their weathered faces kept Severus at bay, save for one foreigner who boarded in colourful robes and a large hat with an expansive feather, not all that different from the ones women in wizarding Britain often wore.
"Careful with that! Careful!" Severus heard the mysterious wizard call in a thick accent as he directed two others while they carried a large chest onto the ship.
Once the strange wizard noticed Severus watching him, he laughed and walked over.
"Good morning, my boy!" The mysterious wizard said in his thick accent as he extended his hand to Severus, "I am Ronaldo Serrano…….Spain's finest Dark Wizard and purveyor of fine goods to the Dark Lord!"
"...And I am Severus Snape." Severus said slowly as he cautiously accepted the man's hand and gave it a cordial shake before he quickly withdrew, "How very odd……. I am well-acquainted with the Dark Lord, but I've never heard mention of you."
"Probably because I have just recently come into his service!" Ronaldo laughed, "When my friends here….." He spoke as he gestured to the two wizards carrying the trunk, "...Described to me this great wizard, there was little I could do to restrain myself from offering my assistance to him immediately!"
Severus's black eyes moved past the man and narrowed as he watched the two wizards grunt under the bulk of the heavy trunk.
"Would it not be easier for them to use magic instead?" He asked as his gaze moved back to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo glanced back at his….friends….before he turned to face Severus again with another jovial laugh, "Magic! As if the contents held by that container can be lifted with magic! You have a lot to learn, my friend…..though you do look quite young…," He mused as he squinted at Severus, "...Are you a man yet?"
"I'm nearly seventeen." Severus nodded.
"Ah, so you are not yet a man……" Ronaldo smirked.
The cocky expression on his face irritated Severus as he furrowed his brow and retorted, "I'll be of age in less than six months, I hardly think-"
"-Years of life have nothing to do with it, my son." Ronaldo interrupted with an arrogant chuckle, "When you know a woman, my young friend, then you will be a man. I became a man myself at the age of twelve!"
Severus bristled as their conversation quickly became uncomfortable.
Ronaldo laughed again at the visible look of shock on Severus's pale face as he held up his hands, "Do not blame me, my boy! It is the Spanish blood, whether muggle or wizard, our men can-"
A sudden shout from the captain of Voldemort's ship mercifully ended their chat.
Ronaldo nodded at Severus before he turned and walked over to supervise the movement of the trunk.
As the ship set sail on the frothy sea, Severus sighed to himself.
He didn't understand why he had been asked to serve on such an austere mission with so many low-ranked Death Eaters he had never met before, nor did he envy his own position.
All Severus wanted to do was take the Gillyweed in his hand that evening and follow Lily.
Regardless of what had happened between them, Severus knew she needed him more than ever.
As the ship crashed through the rolling waves, the spray of the sea landed on his pallid cheeks as he thought back to the conversation they had shared years ago.
"We'll always be us, right, Sev?"
"Of course, Lily. We'll always be us."
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The duration of the trip seemed to be of little matter to its crew.
As the hours dragged on, the witches and wizards on board went about their business.
Every once in a while, Severus walked around a bit and observed the various magical sailors while they performed their various tasks.
Once they approached a narrow path of disturbingly still water laden with sharp rocks and high cliffs, he turned his concern to the outside of the vessel.
Sunset began as an eerie silence settled over all those on deck.
The captain steered the ship while the crew took care to painstakingly follow each of his instructions.
What bothered Severus the most about the uneasiness of the situation was that despite the combined magical talent of those on board shared, not a single spell was cast.
"What's the purpose of having magical aptitude if you can't use it?" Severus whispered to Ronaldo after he caught the strange wizard smirking at his frown of disapproval while they stood next to one another.
"Do you see the scratches on those rocks, my friend?" Ronaldo asked Severus as he pointed at one of the jagged sediments protruding from the water.
"Yes……." Severus answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Those scratches tell you that magic will be of little help in these waters!" Ronaldo laughed as he playfully slapped Severus on the back.
Severus failed to join in his mirth as he frowned and asked, "I……beg your pardon?"
Ronaldo ended his laughter as he wiped his eyes and nodded, "My young friend, you and I and everyone else on this ship would be doomed had we not been wise enough to bring that lovely chest with us." He said as he nodded at the heavy object his men had wrestled on board.
Severus narrowed his eyes as Ronaldo explained, "These waters belong to the sirens, my boy. They'll certainly be with us soon to collect payment for our passage!"
Passage.
As Severus listened to Ronaldo's statement, he recalled what he had read about sirens in Hogwarts' library…….
With little regard for human life, a great disdain for man, and an appetite for golden blood, this predator of the seas is extremely volatile in emotional disposition and more than equipped physically to deal with any threat. In possession of magic that far surpasses most ordinary witches or wizards' abilities, the siren can dominate both sea and air with little effort and a great resistance to most weapons of iron or curse.
Would he see Lily before the weekend ended after all?
…….Or would he meet his demise?
While Severus stood on the ship in the unsettling calm of the beautiful sunset, he couldn't fight off the chill that ran down his spine in a mixture of hope and frightened apprehension.