Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 8—Round 3: What's Your Name, Man?
Team: Falmouth Falcons
Position: Chaser 1—You'll Be Back: write about someone missing the "good old days"
Prompts: (quote) "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." -Wicked, (action) arguing
Word Count: 1698
The lyric I used is "You'll be back. Soon you'll see. You'll remember you belong to me."
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."
The room is dark and quiet. Severus kneels at the Dark Lord's feet, not daring to look up.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord," Voldemort says. "Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... do you know who it is, Severus?"
"No, my Lord," Severus murmurs. "Dumbledore does not know, either. He has not told the Order to place any extra protections."
Voldemort seems to take no notice. "Born to those who have thrice defied me. Avery!" he snaps. A masked Death Eater steps forward. "Who could this refer to?"
Avery hesitates. Nagini slithers forward, and he jumps. "Th—the Longbottoms, my Lord. They had a child at the end of July. A son, I believe." He steps back when Voldemort makes no response.
"The Longbottoms. Pureblood, then. Who else?"
Lucius Malfoy steps forward, and Severus silently curses him. He knows what he will say.
"My Lord, the Potters are another possibility."
Voldemort looks thoughtful. Out of the corner of his eye, Severus sees Lucius retreat as Nagini moves past. She circles the room and curls onto Voldemort's shoulders.
"Bella," Voldemort says softly. To his right, Bellatrix steps forward eagerly. "You can... take care of the Longbottoms." She nods, her eyes glittering. Voldemort gazes around the room. "You may leave."
The Death Eaters all bow and turn to leave. As Severus rises, he hears a voice asking, "But my Lord, what about the Potters?"
The others show no interest except in the way they linger. They know better than to stop and listen, but no one leaves.
Voldemort smiles. It threatens torture and worse for questioning him, but he answers anyway. "The Potter child is a half-blood, is he not? Nothing born of dirty blood has power enough to challenge me."
The one who spoke bows and leaves. With no reason to remain, the others follow him. Severus is the last out the door, glancing back at the Dark Lord. His eyes meet bloodred slits, and he turns away quickly.
After that meeting, the Dark Lord does not mention the prophecy for a long time. Bellatrix takes care of the Longbottoms, as she was told. Severus notes their disappearance from Order meetings, and hears what happens to them. They are sent to Saint Mungo's and their son, Neville, is left with his grandmother. July passes, and in August the Dark Lord calls another meeting.
He has plans for the Potters.
They have put their house under a Fidelius Charm, and, like fools, they have entrusted their safety to Pettigrew. Pettigrew caved under the first bit of pressure and agreed to give away the Secret.
A rat is placed on the table. Nagini is coiled next to it, ready to bite if it tries to run. The Death Eaters watch as the rat becomes a man and Voldemort presses his wand to Pettigrew's forearm, hissing, "Morsmordre." A skull forms, and a snake from its mouth. "Welcome, Wormtail."
After the meeting, Voldemort does not attack the Potters just yet. He says he is preparing something. Based on what Dumbledore has said, Severus thinks he is planning to make a Horcrux. It sickens him to think of Lily dying for such a twisted purpose.
In September, Voldemort announces his plans to attack the Potters. Severus waits behind and, though he knows the danger, approaches the Dark Lord.
"My Lord?"
"Severus," Voldemort whispers. "Do you have something to ask of me?"
"When you attack the Potters, there is no need to kill them all. It would be a waste to spill so much magical blood." Severus is using Voldemort's own words. If there is any way to convince him, this would be it.
"There is one you wish to spare?" His tone is a warning. Severus is one wrong word away from a Crucio.
"The woman. Lily—Lily Potter." Voldemort waits. "Please. Kill the boy. Kill James Potter. But do not harm her."
"So. You care for the Mudblood, then?"
You care for the Mudblood?
Severus has heard those words before.
When he started to make friends within his own house. When he was Slytherin and had to fit in, and Lily was Gryffindor and couldn't understand.
"You care for the Mudblood?"
Severus did not respond.
"I'm asking you a question," Rosier said threateningly. "Do you care about the Mudblood?"
"No, of course not." He knew Lily would never forgive him, but this was more important than hurt feelings. It would determine whether he could be one of the Slytherins, or if he would be shunned and bullied for the rest of his seven years at Hogwarts.
Rosier smirked. "We'll see."
Summer was a different world. He liked being away from all the Slytherins and especially Potter and Black, but it was difficult to leave the magic of Hogwarts for the Muggle world. He stayed away from home as much as possible, going to the park with Lily.
She always hated the friends he had chosen. "Why do you spend time with them, Severus?" she asked. "They're dangerous. It's not good for you. I don't want you to become one of them."
Severus told her she worried too much. "It's important that I do this," he said, "but I'll never be like them."
But back at Hogwarts, things were different. Lily had her own friends to turn to, and Severus had no choice but to do the same. The Slytherins didn't like him spending time with her, so they mostly just studied together. They stopped talking about much other than classwork. One day, Lily agreed to go out with James Potter, and that was the final straw.
Severus saw no use in trying to continue their friendship. Potter would ruin it. He turned to the only other option he knew: the Slytherins.
On the day he took the Mark, all he could think of was the promise he made to Lily.
"I'll never be like them."
But there he was, joining the ranks of the Death Eaters. Lily had tried to stop him. She had been his closest friend, the only one he trusted. And he had been foolish enough to let that go.
She made him question the pureblood ideology Rosier and the others had told him. Without her, Severus would be a loyal Death Eater, not questioning the Dark Lord's decisions.
'Because I knew you,' he thought, 'I have been changed for good.'
"Please," he says, though he hates begging. "Please. Spare her. Her life is nothing to you. Let her live."
"Why should I kill a pureblood and leave a Mudblood alive?" Voldemort asks. He is toying with him. He has already made his decision, and Severus fears the worst.
"She will do nothing to you! I will hide her, take her away from the Order. I will keep her away until the war is over and you have won."
"And she would agree to this?"
"It doesn't matter. I will take her anyway."
"No," Voldemort says. "Leave, Severus."
Severus turns. When he reaches the doorway, he looks back. "I'm leaving. And I will not be back."
Voldemort laughs. "You'll be back. Soon you'll see. You'll remember—" he flicks his wand, causing pain to spark through Severus's Dark Mark "—you belong to me."
Severus leaves.
For the next month, he ignores the steadily growing pain in the Mark. He misses a meeting the Dark Lord calls. But the second one, in late October, causes him so much pain that he Apparates without thought.
He's back. He should have known there was no renouncing the Dark Mark. He sighs, looks up, and sees the empty room. The other Death Eaters are not there. But Voldemort is.
"Severus," he says. "Back so soon? I must admit, I am… disappointed."
"My Lord, my actions were a mistake." Severus cannot fix his error, but he can do his best. "You know best, of course. I only got—carried away. Forgive me."
"Crucio!" Pain attacks him. It feels like fire in his veins. He understands now how the Longbottoms went mad. The Dark Lord holds the curse for a few seconds, but each one feels like an eternity, and when he lets go, Severus falls to the floor. "You are forgiven."
Severus can only lie there.
"In fact," Voldemort continues, "I have decided to grant your request. Lily Potter will live. I expect you to take care of her. Remember, if she causes trouble, you will be held responsible."
"Thank you, my Lord." Severus gets up carefully. "I will."
The next night, the Dark Lord goes to Godric's Hollow. He attacks the Potters, as planned, but something goes wrong. There is a blast of magic, and the house is destroyed. The child is still alive.
Severus goes to the house. He passes James's body in front of the stairs. And there is Lily, collapsed next to Harry's crib.
'Oh, Lily,' he thinks. 'You couldn't save yourself? You had to sacrifice your life, for what? So he could kill all of you?'
But he didn't. Harry was still alive. Placed with Muggle relatives, Dumbledore says. Severus is outraged. Petunia? Petunia Evans, of all people, raising the Boy-Who-Lived? But no matter how he tries, he cannot find her. Dumbledore keeps her well hidden.
Then a boy comes to Hogwarts. Severus recognizes him immediately. He's the exact image of James Potter, something he can't stand. But a part of him sees Lily in him too. He's got her eyes.
Lily's eyes.