Chapter Six ; It Begins.
"P...Professor ?" Neville's shaky voice sounded out hesitantly once more.
He had just witnessed alien expressions of pain, confusion and worry animate the normally stoic features of his potions professor and it unnerved him greatly.
Just then a pair of black eyes returned to him once more and began studying him unabashedly. Neville was about to look away, keen to avoid such intense scrutiny, when the stare suddenly softened and he thought caught a glimpse of regret in those dark depths.
"Are you injured Mr. Longbottom ?" Snape abruptly enquired, while shifting into a slightly more comfortable position.
"N..no Sir, just feel a bit light headed, that's all," Neville supplied.
Snape nodded unalarmed, it was a perfectly normal side effect of the 'stupefy' hex.
"Anything else ?" he asked clinically.
"No Sir, well...," the student began nervously.
"Yes ? Well what ? Spit it out," Snape instructed, then grimaced as the hammer in his head resumed its pounding once more.
Neville's eyes began nervously studying the uneven floor.
"It's just that I'm feeling a bit cold Sir and slightly stiff," he answered quietly, then risked a quick glimpse at his teacher, but again he was taken by surprise.
There was no reproachful glare, just silent understanding.
"Well that's to be expected I suppose, you are wet through and our 'accommodations' do appear to be lacking in certain creature comforts," the Professor growled, while gesturing about the sparse stone room.
Since the subject of their 'accommodations' had just been broached, Neville felt vaguely confident about questioning his teacher on the matter, after all, his ignorance of their where abouts and other worrying matters had plagued him while Snape had lain unconscious.
"Sir ?" Longbottom whispered.
Snape replied with a look that gave the student leave to continue.
"Where are we Sir ?" Neville finished.
"No where you want to be Longbottom," Snape answered darkly.
Neville swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly dry upon hearing such an ominous reply, he'd expected that their situation was dire but hearing it voiced aloud and having his suspicions confirmed still shook him.
Unfortunately Snape was never one to sugar coat things and such brutal honesty could be hard to take at times.
Severus observed as Longbottom's feelings of dread escalated. The child appeared to shrink back into the corner, almost as if he wished to disappear amidst the tangled mess of webs just above him. Small shivers wracked his frame while his glassy eyes darted around the confines of their quarters.
Sighing, Severus supposed he had better offer some form of reassurance to the boy, it was hardly his forte and he was very much out of practice but he guessed it was what Albus or Minerva would do, no matter how tedious it seemed to him. Their precious Gryffindors were, after all, accustomed to being mollycoddled.
"Stop fretting Longbottom, I intend to have you out of here as soon as possible," he stated frankly.
It was a valiant attempt, the words were uttered in a tone less harsh than normal and seemed to have the desired effect, for when child's eyes finally focused on the Potions Master, Severus could see a glimmer of hope there.
"H..how are you going to do that Sir ?" Neville asked hesitantly, for he knew they were both wandless.
"That will depend on one minor detail," he replied cryptically.
Neville's brow furrowed from a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
"Your hands Longbottom, are they magically bound," Snape suddenly demanded.
Neville looked to his manacled wrists, the old iron bands were rusted and filthy and had already left their mark on his pale skin. A crude but sturdy chain linked them to a large ring bolted to the wall. He first tried to twist the restraints about……. nothing happened but when he tried to pull his hands apart, an unpleasant shock reverberated up his arms.
"Ouch !" Neville complained, "That hurt!"
While Neville gently rubbed his arms to remove the remaining tingling sensation, Severus grumbled to himself, annoyance clearly evident on his face. His distain for his capturers just went up another notch, it looked as though he wouldn't be able to free Longbottom as soon as he had hoped.
He moved again in a vain attempt at easing the pressure from his left side, as he did so another hiss of pain escaped his stretched lips.
Neville felt his heart rate increase at the sound and fear fluttered in his stomach once more. He knew his concerns were motivated by predominately selfish reasons. The Professor represented his only real hope of escape at the moment and he didn't want anything to jeopardise that hope, plus he couldn't bare the thought of being alone again should Snape slip into oblivion once more. He wasn't proud of these thoughts but right now he wasn't feeling terribly brave.
He could always be the lion hearted Gryffindor the next time he was kidnapped, he thought wryly.
Thinking of brave Gryffindors……………….
"Do you think………… Harry got away Sir ?" Neville asked.
"It would seem so," Snape replied abruptly.
Unless of course Malfoy was holding the esteemed Mr. Potter in more private quarters, he thought, though he didn't think it wise to voice this notion to Longbottom at the moment.
Neville felt a little bit better knowing that Harry had escaped capture, his fellow classmate was bound to seek out help, with any luck a rescue party was already on its way. Unfortunately in his distracted state, Neville had forgotten that no one had the slightest idea where they were. He tentatively eased himself up and away from the damp wall, the soreness and stiffness in his body was getting worse and so he spent a few moments rubbing some feeling back into his legs.
He was just about to risk asking his teacher how he was, when the only doorway into the room, noisily swung open.
The short, stocky man that had chased after him, entered the bleak confines, wand raised, ready for trouble. As soon as he had crossed the threshold, Lucius Malfoy made his entrance.
The blond pure-blood had a look of sheer contempt spread across his elegant features as his eyes observed the injured professor.
With a slow deliberate turn of his head, his harsh glare focused on young Longbottom and Neville felt his legs turn to jelly.
"Comfortable, boy ?" Lucius asked politely, feigning concern.
Neville was dumb struck and he could feel the trembling in his body increase.
"Answer me boy!" the wizard shouted, demanding an immediate answer.
The sudden outburst took the child by surprise and frightened tears began to well up in his eyes.
"N..n…no Sir," he finally managed to reply.
"Pity," Lucius countered coldly.
Neville hung his head, attempting to hide his tears, sadly he was fooling no one.
"Oh stop whinging, you pathetic lump,' Malfoy ordered.
Annoyed now, he advanced on the boy, poking him in the chest with the end of his cane with enough force to cause Neville to stumble back.
The student's head shot up, eyes wide with fear as he backed as far away from Malfoy as he could, his traitorous tears seemingly frozen in their tracks.
"Leave the boy alone Lucius, this is between you and me," Severus demanded quietly.
Malfoy turned and began walking slowly, yet purposefully to where Severus Snape was half sitting, half lying on the floor.
He hunched down before his victim and calmly removed a black leather glove. Without deliberation he viciously back handed the professor across the cheek, his large family signet ring tearing into the soft flesh.
Neville flinched at the sound.
Severus looked up defiantly at his persecutor then tentatively began moving his soon to be bruised jaw.
"You lost the right to ask anything of me when you betrayed me," Malfoy spat angrily as he stood up.
"Funny," Severus flashed a sardonic smile, "and I thought I was here because you believe I've betrayed Voldemort!"
Snape's boldness earned him a savage kick in the ribs from Perkins and he was sure this time that he'd felt one crack as he was plagued by nausea once more. He swallowed back a vile mixture of blood and bile then stared challengingly at the Death Eaters once more.
"You are not fit to mention his name !" Malfoy growled.
Once again Severus was subjected to a series of violent blows from Perkins, the oaf had limited uses but inflicting pain on others was one of his few talents.
This time Severus couldn't stifle the groan of pain and was forced to spew a mixture of spittle and blood onto the stones beneath him.
Longbotttom looked on helplessly as all blood drained from his face, he allowed his body to sink slowly to the floor then wrapped his arms around his shaking frame. The mentioning of the Dark Lord had stolen the last of his resolve and he was convinced he was going to die here. The whole scenario had left him feeling terrified and very confused, was the professor in league with 'He Who Shall Not Be Named'? or had he really betrayed him ? Could he be trusted ?
Despite his agony, Snape was relentless in his taunting and goaded Malfoy once more.
"You know I can't say I'm surprised at your actions Lucius, it always has to be about you, your vanity knows no bounds, even now you pretend to defend 'his' honour , punishing me for crimes against 'him' but it's all just smoke and mirrors my friend………..it's you that seeks vengeance, I've made you look bad and it makes you sick………and yet you hope that by doing all this, it will some how keep you in your precious Dark Lord's good favour."
Pain filled black eyes glared accusingly into cold blue ones.
"Tell me I' wrong," Severus challenged.
When the searing pain of the 'crucio' hit, threatening to fry every nerve ending in his body, Severus Snape had his answer.
Wave after wave of curses pummelled his broken body. He lost track of time and it was getting hard to tell when one curse ended and another began. His muscles contracted violently sending shooting painful spasms down his long limbs, his wrists struggled to free themselves from the grip of their iron confines but to no avail, the crude bindings simply ate into the slender joints.
He tried to hold on for as long as he could, refusing to call out or reach out for leniency………he would rather die first but as the agony prolonged, he felt his grip slipping. First one small whimper escaped his parched lips, then a strangled cry and soon the flood gates opened and he lost control.
Lucius and Perkins looked on, leering gleefully at their captive while he thrashed about compulsively on the floor.
Their morbid entertainment was soon interrupted by a child's cries.
"Stop it ! Stop it ! Stop it !" Neville pleaded.
His eyes were clamped tightly shut and his hands were held over his ears in a vain attempt at blocking out the potion master's screams.
Malfoy looked dispassionately at the boy and then at the crumpled heap before him. He decided he would pause his lesson for the moment, no sense in killing his star pupil just yet………there was plenty of time for that later and besides Severus still had much to learn.
He signalled Perkins to open the door for him then they both wordlessly left the room without a further care or thought for the remaining occupants.
As a certain amount of lucidity slowly returned to Severus' mind, he felt as though his skin was still on fire, any attempt at moving caused him to wince in pain, his limbs still shuddered involuntarily and his breaths were laboured and uneven. Grinding his teeth, he tried to ease himself slowly up off the ground, his vision blurred and the room began to sway in a disturbing manner.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew there was something important he had to do but despite his stubborn struggles, he was helpless to prevent the veil of darkness from completely enveloping him once more.
Severus Snape's limp body hit the floor accompanied by the sound of a child's weeping.
oOo
Author's Note; Hi folks ! Well I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter of this little fic...and of course you know I'm anxiously waiting to hear what you think of it, so hit that little old review button ! LoL ! It took a while to get this one out, I found it a little bit more difficult to write, possibly due to the nature of the content, anyway do let me know how you feel it's going, good or bad and if angst is your thing then stay tuned, but be warned, things are going to get a whole lot nastier before they get better !
Bye for now !
Lai.