32 – The Dark Mark (Part II)
In the basement of the brown house, all was dark, save a single light shining over a yew table. Voldemort and Snape sat across from one another, both intently looking at Snape's outstretched left arm, as Voldemort appeared to be writing on it. As Harry moved closer, he could see that Voldemort wasn't writing at all; he was holding a black piece of wood with a glowing red end, tattooing into Snape's skin the very image he saw in the infirmary—the skull with the serpent slithering out of its mouth.
Voldemort twisted the wood, and Snape winced. His skin sounded like frying bacon as the details of the tattoo took form. Sweat poured down his face, and he was biting a block of wood to stifle screams of pain.
"There, there," said Voldemort. "Almost done." He twisted it one more time, really digging in, and Harry flinched from the skin's crackle and sizzle.
"That wasn't so bad now, was it? When the Dark Mark turns to a deep black, it means I am summoning you. No excuses." Voldemort stuck the piece of wood into a tin jar filled with water, and the liquid vaporized immediately. "Let me repeat. No excuses, no Lily, no—"
"I got it, okay?" Snape examined his arm. Given that the room still had the distinct smell of burning flesh, his arm looked rather normal, except now with a tattoo. "So what's next?"
"What's next is you'll be spending the next two days replenishing my stash of doppelganger root. As you know, the Christmas Challenge is in two days."
"Are you going to judge?"
"What do you think?" Voldemort looked at him coolly. "Let's see, Dumbledore knows I've planted surveillance in Hogwarts and I'm sure he guessed that I put you up to giving him the Dark Tourist. Hmmm, let me see. No, I will not be judging the contest. This is where you come in."
"I don't understand what you want me to do."
"I will be creating your ornament for the contest. Whatever whimsical fantasy you had in mind to impress Lily is over. This is an opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
Voldemort's skin turned a paler shade of white. "Yes. Dumbledore may have protected himself from the Dark Tourist, but I doubt he suspects I'll be using it on students. At least not this early."
"So…"
"So, your ornament will be shown to your fellow students, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, it's an opportunity to give them the Dark Tourist from your ornament. That is, so long as you're up to the challenge."
Snape didn't say anything right away. His mind was running through all of the possibilities. Everything that had and could still go wrong. And of course there was Lily. Did he need to give the Dark Tourist to Lily?
"Severus!" Voldemort snapped his fingers in front of Snape's face. "Are you up to the challenge?"
"Yes, but what about Lily?"
"What do you mean, what about Lily?"
"Does she need to get the Dark Tourist?"
Voldemort sighed. "I see. We're still on her, are we? When you committed to our path, when you committed to this"—he pointed to the Dark Mark on Snape's arm—"there were things you gave up."
"But does she really need it?"
"You spoke so highly of her, I thought. Would she not be a worthy ally? Because if she's not—"
"Yes, she is, but does she really—"
"Then, yes, she needs the Dark Tourist. Severus, do not question this again. Now, this is how it will happen…"
Voldemort went into an explanation about creating a Christmas ornament that was a winter scene with a frozen lake, surrounded by trees covered in snow, and children ice skating everywhere. The frozen lake would be made of the blue wafers from the doppelganger root, and as they did pirouettes and twists, it would look like shavings of ice shot into the air, when really, the shavings would be the powder giving students the Fourth Deadly Curse.
"But how will it go into their ears?" asked Snape. "You had me break the wafer inches from Dumbledore's ear."
"A good question. Finally," added Voldemort under his breath. "There will be music, and you will need to tell them that you have to hold the ear to the ornament, and it will play a song specifically for them. A little magic I learned in Albania."
Snape took this all in. "That's genius."
"It's not genius if you can't pull it off. The skaters will pirouette right as they pull the winter scene close to their ear. You need to pay attention to this. As the castor, you have to focus on what you want the Dark Tourist to influence, otherwise it's a waste."
Snape stood from the yew table and took a step out of the light. There was a long pause in the room, and Harry moved closer to Snape so that he could see his face. He was surprised to see a tear running down his cheek, but Snape didn't let it rest for long, and whisked it away. But it was really the look in Snape's eyes that Harry would remember from that point forward. It was the same old Snape that he'd always known, but he'd never seen him look so defeated, as if he knew that he was destined to have a life where happily ever after would never be a possibility. Snape would never be the winner of Henrietta Harrison's Everlasting Passion. "I understand completely, my Lord. I won't fail you this time, but I have one more question."
"Come into the light, so I can see your face."
Snape stepped forward, and the transformation in a split second was remarkable. He'd gone from looking the bluest of blue to a confident brand of stoicism.
"What is it?" asked Voldemort.
"You said that you need me the next two days to increase your supplies of doppelganger root. And then, you need me to bring the Dark Tourist to the students in Slughorn's class. But as you know the Yule Ball is that night, and if my duties are done, I'd like to go to the Yule Ball. I would only go if I were successful." Snape waited for an answer and when Voldemort didn't give one right away, he added, "It would mean a lot to me."
"That's an interesting request, Severus, but unfortunately your duties don't stop with Slughorn's class. When you are successful, I need you to bring a few select students back here. There's planning I want to begin immediately."
"My Lord, but they'll be going to the Yule Ball—"
"Not after you do the Dark Tourist. If done properly, helping our cause will suddenly ascend to the front of their minds."
Snape said, "Yes, My Lord," and took as step out of the light. Harry saw the look of dejection return and genuinely felt sorry for the potions master. How had he gotten so mixed up in this?
"And Severus, one more thing," said Voldemort. "When you return to Hogwarts, you best tell Lily the Yule Ball news right away."
And with that, Voldemort, himself, stepped back from the yew table. In the darkness, Harry could see a large smile spread across his face, the devil's red in his eyes.
