Chapter Fifteen
She falls back in her chair, breathing audibly. The Dark Lord, seemingly unmoved by the images he just viewed, is observing her, as though interested in her behaviour. When she doesn't start talking quickly enough for his tastes, he pointedly raises non-existent eyebrows.
"That—," she swallows to regain her voice, which has gone scratchy, "That was the first time I used Dark Magic. It was many years ago."
"What spells were those?" He continues the interrogation.
She answers honestly, "I truthfully have no idea, to this day. It was instinctual magic, which is only triggered when I am at my limit. There is no other name for it, really. I'm certain I couldn't reproduce it right now if I wanted to. Its use is subconscious."
Without pause he moves on to his next question, "You said you used magic to do good. Explain."
"For years I healed people. Those who were hurt knew to ask for me. I travelled around Europe, Asia, Africa and sometimes, in later years, America and Australia for these people. Before you ask, yes: they were muggles. They called me 'the healer', some called me a witch – which, as you know, is a bad thing in their eyes." She can again sense disgust as she speaks of muggles; apparently his hate for their species is profound.
"Who is he?"
She knows of whom he speaks, and she's sure he won't like her answer. "He is descended from Louhi also; he's a descendent of Louhi's daughter's son, I of her daughter's daughter – which makes us very, very distantly related – a bit like pureblood families in the wizarding world are all somehow related, though he and I are even more distant than them, I suspect."
"So he harbours the same powers?" His eyes narrow, "I thought you told me you were the last one."
"I did, because you won't find him anyway; this knowledge was and is useless to you."
"Do not presume things you are unsure of," he threatens.
She takes her submissive stance again, to avoid further angering him, "Yes, My Lord."
"Why would I not be able to find him, do you think my powers lacking?" he baits her.
"No, of course not," she is quick to reply, "I simply mean no one has ever been able to find him unless he wants to be found. My Lord."
The Dark Lord processes this new information for a minute. She hates being so submissive to a man like him, but since it helps her cover of being on his side, she keeps it up anyway. He mustn't find out about her charade, of course, otherwise all will be ruined – including the times she can indulge in the darker sides of her magic during his meetings.
Unwillingly, a thought occurs to her: What would Thane say if he saw her now, enjoying her darkness once more, under the guise of saving the wizarding world of this man? He would undoubtedly be pleased; at least about the part concerning her magic, the wizarding world he couldn't care less about, as it has nothing to do with him, nor does it benefit him in any way. She finds, having seen the memory, it might have been better to just tell the Dark Lord about it, instead of showing it. She wouldn't have been able to explain it as accurately – a 'picture', or memory in this case, is worth a thousand words, after all – but at least she wouldn't have been reminded of Thane's appearance and power. She hopes he won't find her where she is now, as she isn't entirely sure she will be able to resist him anymore, after falling back – hard – into the Dark Arts.
"That is enough for today," he speaks up again, "Now. Can you apparate, or do you have a similar kind of magic that allows for quick travel?"
She shakes her head, "No, My Lord."
"I thought so."
The man takes out a small box from his robes. Once he holds it in his hand, he points his wand at it, enlarging it with a wordless spell. The box returns to its original size. Curiously, Sasha watches him as he opens the box and puts it before her. She is puzzled by the contents, and questioningly looks at the Dark Lord.
"It is a Portkey, one which you can use more than once. You'll put your hand tightly around the pendant when I summon you, and when you'll say 'Porta' it will bring you here. To return, you put your hand on it again and say, 'Porta' followed by your destination."
She nods in understanding, and asks, to be certain, "So if I want to return to Hogwarts, I say 'Porta Hogwarts'?"
"Yes. The Portkey will bring you to the front gates of the school, just outside the wards."
She takes out the long necklace from its box. The pendant is a medium-sized emerald in the form of a teardrop, though she has no idea whether the stone is a real emerald. It is long enough to be concealed under robes or a shirt, and the silver chain is thin enough it won't be noticed from afar.
"Thank you, My Lord."
He gives a stern nod, and watches her put the chain around her neck. Before taking it out of its box, and a second time just before putting it on, Sasha has let her magic flow over the necklace, checking for malignant magic, but as she only found the spell he told her is on it, she puts it on, not fearing any repercussions from wearing it. Either the Dark Lord didn't notice what she did, or he doesn't care she doesn't trust him entirely, since he doesn't say a thing about it.
"You are dismissed," the man tells her.
She nods respectfully, and stands. She walks downstairs and outside, until she reaches the front gates, outside which the wards end.
Sasha is glad to see the Dark Lord's pendant did its job, when she arrives at Hogwarts' front gates. Standing there, immobile, waiting for her return, is Severus.
They march at a swift pace to the castle, in order to soon reach the immense building's warmth.
"Are you alright?" Severus questions her as they walk.
"Yes, he didn't harm me," she replies absently, her thoughts returning to the memory she viewed, earlier.
He brings her to his office, where he offers her a drink. He calls for a house elf, who soon brings them deliciously warm, strong coffee.
"What did he want?" is his next question.
"He gave me a pendant: it works as a portkey which can be used multiple times," is the first thing she tells him.
Severus wasn't anticipating that answer, and frowns.
Knowing he will want to see it, Sasha takes out the pendant, and leans forward a bit, so he can look at it. He takes it from her after he has cast a few detecting charms on it while it rests in her hand. He closely examines it.
"Curious magic," he mumbles, "Very useful. You did check for curses before putting it on?"
She tilts her head, "Of course I did, Severus, I'm not stupid. I checked twice."
He hands the pendant back to her, and she conceals it under her robes again.
"What else?" Severus asks.
"He questioned me about my magic."
"What did you tell him, exactly?"
"Everything he asked."
"Everything?" His anger slips into his voice, "You foolish girl! What did you do? Why, for heaven's sake, did you—"
"I am not a mere girl, nor am I foolish," she responds, nearly spitting the words out, "And I taught him about my magic. It's not like I had much of a choice, as you well know: he used Legilimency on me; he would have found out anyway."
Severus hides his face with his hand, "Legilimency," he mumbles, "Of course." His ire has abated as soon as he heard this, "What did he find out?"
"He doesn't know you're a spy on our side," she assures him, "Nor did he find out about any Order meetings." She then explains about the questioning and the fact he only viewed a single memory, to see her Dark Magic, as the others he 'saw' were mere glimpses.
"Good," he is relieved, "We'll have to begin with the Occlumency sessions immediately, then. Anything else?"
She once again thinks about Thanatos, since she glossed over the specifics of the viewed memory, but she really doesn't want to begin explaining that again, never mind reliving it a second time. "No, nothing."
He tells her then to go to sleep, to rest well, for they'll start on the Occlumency lessons first thing tomorrow.
She heads to the Slytherin dormitories. As it is very late – she isn't certain, but it must be around four a.m. – no one is patrolling the halls anymore. Dead on her feet, she unceremoniously falls into her bed, not bothering to change out of her plain black robes.
[To be continued]