Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter


"Severus…? Severus, are you awake?" a silvery voice floated into Severus's bedroom at Malfoy Manor, pulling him from his work. Glancing at the clock on his desk, he guessed that he had been working for nearly four hours now.

After seeing firsthand just how talented Severus was at brewing, the Dark Lord wanted a whole slew of new potions, ranging from improved healing potions to… "inventive poisons", as he put it. Severus wasn't entirely certain he wanted to use his talent this way, but it didn't take him long to become lost in the beautifully complicated web of potion theories.

Altering the temperature even a degree would set off a chain reaction and could either result in disaster or discovery. Just as dicing ingredients instead of slicing could. Grinding them instead of crushing, adding them in the North-East side of the cauldron instead of the South-West. Brewing on the new moon opposed to the full moon, waxing versus waning, day versus night – the possibilities were endless and took his mind off of the horrors of what his potions would do.

Severus opened his door with a lazy wave of his wand, giving his visitor a pointed glare as they walked in. "Why are you visiting me at this late hour, Miss Black?"

"Lovely to see you too, Severus," she quipped back, a slight smirk gracing her lips. "You've been here for three days now and not once graced me with your presence. What sort of friend does that make you?"

"One that has been rather busy," Severus answered, his rumbling voice washing over her. They locked eyes for a brief moment before he returned his attention to the pieces of parchment strewn across his desk. As an afterthought, he gestured to the armchairs by the fireplace with a careless hand and said, "Sit, if you must."

Anyone else would have been affronted by his less than polite attitude, but Narcissa Black was used to it. She and Severus had been Prefects together since Fifth year, growing closer still after his falling out with the Mudblood Evans.

In fact, it was the falling out that led to their friendship – genuine friendship, which was rather uncommon amongst Slytherins.

Seeing him walk into the common room, vulnerable as a Flitterby, had moved something in her, made her icy heart stir. She was still unsure of what it was exactly that prompted her to follow him down to his dorm and offer comfort, especially with no ulterior motives in mind.

She pieced him back together in a way some might call lovingly. She had been patient with him and his volatile temper because she knew he was hurting deeply and wanted to lick his wounds in solitude.

She had, however, been relentless in caring for him, especially after she saw the multitude of thin white scars crisscrossing over his wrists.

Her heart still tugged painfully at the thought of what he might've done had she left him alone the way he so viciously demanded at first.

She waited quietly, watching him write whatever it was that he was doing, knowing full well he wouldn't speak until he was done. Waiting on Severus to fully acknowledge her presence had been irksome at the beginning of their friendship, as he was nothing more than a lowly Half-Blood and she a member of the Noble and Most Ancient house of Black. But it was nothing now. She enjoyed his company, and the year's progression had led her to see that he was anything but lowly.

Many wondered how it was that he was top of their year; he seemed to only shine in Potions class, and regularly got his ass kicked by those idiotic boys who called themselves the Marauders.

Narcissa had wondered that as well, until she spent more time with him.

He was terrifyingly smart – truly a wealth of knowledge – whatever didn't come naturally to him, he worked himself to almost a comatose state during the nights down in the Slytherin Dueling Chambers until he could perform the piece of magic effortlessly and with flair.

When it was just the two of them, he relaxed his walls and absolutely radiated power. Without meaning to. It was… intoxicating, to say the least. Narcissa would bet her dowry that he could take anyone in a formal duel – probably within the first ten seconds, too.

He had shown her a few of his spells he created, confessing that he hadn't even shared them with the Mudblood, which, strangely, made Narcissa's heart flutter. He was unbelievably talented and ruthlessly dedicated to maintaining his position as top student.

She turned her attention to the titles of the books on the bookcase to her right as she recalled the point when she had gotten fed up with his timid and self-depreciating demeanor. She refused to speak to him, refused to look at him, until he said aloud that he was "Not a waste of space" and that he "Intrinsically had a higher value than Phoenix Tears, Basilisk venom, and Peryton blood together." He hadn't actually believed it at the time, but it had been a step in the right direction that led to the quiet confidence he now carried himself with.

But despite her finally making him see his own worth, he still insisted on keeping to the shadows. She didn't understand it. In the Slytherin Dungeons, he never retaliated when attacked, and never said a word unless spoken to. Those were the guidelines set for those of less than pure blood in Slytherin, but they didn't apply to Severus, not in her eyes. It established the hierarchy, drawing clear lines between who mattered and who didn't, between who had power and those that never would.

Power was everything in Slytherin. But not to Severus; despite the good it would do him, his obvious lack of interest in the value of displaying his power never failed to leave her baffled. Without a doubt, he could have the entirety of Slytherin House on their knees, if he so desired.

But he didn't.

Admittedly, nearly everyone in Slytherin hid the entirety of their full strength, it was common sense. But none did so to the same extent of her friend. There was no advantage that she could see in him keeping his head down the way he did.

As Narcissa's mind followed a familiar path of trying to understand the motives of her dear friend, Severus finished revising a potion formula he brewed yesterday that he was certain could be improved. He put his quill away and placed his scraps and scrolls of parchment neatly in a pile. He took his time in doing so, when a simple spell would have done it in less than a second, to thoroughly empty his mind of all thoughts and emotions.

He gazed over at Narcissa curled up in his armchair, who appeared to be lost in thought. She was now the fiancée of Lucius Malfoy, he couldn't be certain why she was there. To spy on him? Or there simply as his friend? Whatever the reason, he wasn't about to let something as stupid as emotions ruin his chances of survival in this war that he had been involved in for a staggering four days.

Severus stalked over to the low armchair adjacent to Narcissa. He asked again, "Why are you visiting my rooms at this late hour?"

She rolled her eyes as he sat down stiffly. She could tell he was Occluding, much to her annoyance, "You know you don't have to employ Occlumency around me, Severus. Mind Magic is one of the few things I don't excel in – I couldn't read your mind even if I wanted to."

He arched an eyebrow at her. "You can't read a mind, it is not a book to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing… it is true, however, that those who have master Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. But you cannot read a mind."*

"I didn't ask for a lecture, Professor Snape," Narcissa said, her eyes dancing with mischief.

He fixed her with a look. Professor Snape. "I would take a run-in with a nundu – without my wand – over becoming a professor."

Narcissa let out a lilting laugh, "My, my, I had no idea you felt so strongly about that… Professor Snape." She collapsed into a fit of giggles at the withering glare he sent her way.

"You are insufferable," he groused, albeit somewhat fondly.

"I'm the youngest of three, of course I'm insufferable," she retorted smugly. "Now do me a favor and stop with that Occlumency nonsense. You know how I hate not being able to know what you're thinking," she demanded, a playful smile on her lips.

It was his turn to roll his eyes at her, "Very well."

Much like with Lily when they had been friends, Severus found himself unable to deny Narcissa what she wanted. He slowly allowed his mind to resume what others would deem natural activity. He despised the noise of it, after years of unconsciously Occluding to some extent. In simpler words, his own thoughts annoyed him.

"Much better," she soothed when she saw his entire body relax. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"I will have a splitting headache later," he shot back, his deep voice lacking its usual bite.

A short laugh escaped her lips, "There's my Severus! Grumpy as ever!"

He fixed her with a droll look, choosing to not comment on her teasing. He then tried for a third time. "Why are you here, Narcissa?"

She smiled pleasantly at him while reaching to grab his hand. After staring at her outstretched hand for a moment, he took it and she answered softly, "I've missed our talks."

He studied their joined hands, and then lifted his gaze to her face, determining just how truthful that statement was before he confessed in a whisper, "I have as well."

The smile on her face brightened, giving his hand a squeeze before releasing it. "Good. I do hope you aren't supposed to do anything important tomorrow."

"And why might that be, Narcissa?" Severus asked somewhat cautiously. The mischief dancing in her eyes could only mean one thing: trouble.

"I plan on being selfish by keeping you up all night. It feels like it's been years since we've actually spoken," she said with no small amount of melodrama.

Ah. That, he would gladly do. He would, however, make her work a little harder for it.

"It's hardly proper for you to spend the entire night in my room, Narcissa. You are, after all, engaged to Malfoy now."

She gave him her best pouting face. "It isn't like anyone knows I'm here, Severus. And I have yet to be caught going back to my dorm at Hogwarts. It won't be any different here."

"You were nearly caught more often than not," he pointed out in a helpful tone, smirking.

She glowered at him. "Because you're an awful look out."

He shrugged. "I can't see through walls. How was I to know your cousin was around the corner? However, if it is your wish to waste your night speaking to me, I won't stop you. I'll merely place all the blame on you if you get caught sneaking back to your room in the morning."

The pleasant smile was back. "You couldn't stop me if you tried, my dear Severus."

"I'm well aware of that," he snorted.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence when a sudden wave of curiosity overtook Narcissa, and before she could stop herself she voiced the root of her curiosity. "Severus, there is something that I have been wondering for a while now…" he arched his eyebrow in a silent question, so she continued. "You could have fooled us all. Told us you were from some unknown Pureblood family. We would've been none the wiser. Why didn't you?"

He snorted again. "And spend my entire life lying? No thank you. Never mind the fact I was an idiot at eleven – I couldn't have come up with that complex of a lie if I wanted to."

"I would rather lie about who I was than be seen as half human. You do know that's all these people see you as, Severus." There was no malice in her voice. Her tone was something that sounded akin to concern.

"I know how they view me, Narcissa, but that will change in time. Just as how you saw me changed."

She merely inclined her head at that. It was true, she no longer saw him as half human, as she did before they became friends. She had long viewed him as her equal, and that realization was somewhat shocking for her.

Initially, she had thought him to merely be above the other half-bloods in the school, but her equal? When had she stopped seeing him from his blood status and started seeing him for him and all his talents?

And why didn't she feel more disturbed by this?

"Narcissa?" Severus questioned when the silence stretched on for several moments.

She blinked at him and smiled. "Shall we have the house elves bring hot cocoa?"

"If you'd like."

{Furius Draconis}

Unfortunately for Severus, he did have important things to do the next day. Narcissa was a dear friend, though, and he would do anything for her, including forgoing a night of sleep before a prearranged meeting with the Dark Lord.

Severus was making his way to said meeting, a bottomless cup of coffee in his hand. He only had a sliver of an idea about what the Dark Lord would want with him now.

He reached the private rooms of Lord Voldemort and raised a hand to knock on the door as he took a sip from his coffee. He waited just a moment before a voice from within called for him to enter, and he did so without any hesitation.

As he turned to shut the door, the hair on this back of his neck stood on end. Time slowed as it only did when the Marauders were closing in on him - the energy in the room compressed to a singular point before exploding violently outward, screeching black and purple flames of magic.

He barely managed to call his wand to his hand and slam up a shield before he could be burned and mutilated beyond recognition.

Merlin, what had he done?

His mind flashed back to last night before he pushed it from his mind as he tossed his coffee mug aside. He needed to be entirely focused on the present if he had any hope of surviving.

The room was plunged into darkness causing Severus to fall into a defensive crouch. The brief moment of stillness remained suspended, before the room was lit up sporadically in terrifying flashes from the spells they were hurling at each other.

Momentarily swapping his wand to his right hand, he drew a runic sequence with his left in the air with the Flagrate charm to strengthen his shield while firing off the nastiest spells he knew, throwing some of his own creations into the mix as well. His attacker, who he knew to be the Dark Lord, didn't appear to be holding back either. More than once, Severus recognized a torturous spell whizzing past that would have had him wishing for death instead.

They engaged in a deadly dance around the room. The air sizzled with their magic, and Severus felt himself draining. He didn't dare slow in his constant onslaught of dark spells though, even though they were far more costly than light spells.

He entertained no notions that he could hold out against the greatest Dark Lord in history for much longer, especially when he hardly seemed fazed despite the large amount of Dark Magic he'd been hurling Severus's way. He knew that sooner or later he would get hit by one of the spells; it was getting harder to dodge them. He no longer had the strength in him to maintain a shield, which made him curse himself for not getting at least an hour or two of sleep.

The thunderous crashes of their spells missing their marks surely woke the whole manor. However, if it didn't, the way they shook the very foundation of the building would. Severus was in and out of his defensive crouch, rolling out of the way of the Dark Lord's spells that sizzled and crackled menacingly through the air, sweat dripping down his face and off his chin. With each passing moment, Severus realized that the next could be his last –

The room was flooded with light, and the Dark Lord purred, "Very good, Severus, very good." The older of the two put his wand away. But Severus didn't allow himself to relax just yet, keeping his eyes trained on Voldemort.

"My lord?" he asked, suspicion laced heavily into his voice.

The chuckle that slipped past Voldemort's lips grated on Severus's ears like nails on a chalkboard. "I know how you present yourself to your peers is a façade - there is no way you could achieve the scores you did if this were not so. I wanted to see just how extensive your cover was, and I must say, I am impressed, Severus. Not many can claim to have survived a one-on-one duel with me."

He looked down at the student who was still tense, sharp eyes tracing his every move, searching for any sign of hostility.

"Enlighten me, Severus. Why do you allow the whole school to trod on you as if you were a common Mudblood?"

Severus's hands were trembling. "The headmaster favors the Gryffindors – there is nothing to be done there," he answered simply, breathing deeply and drying his face with a swipe of his hand. "As for the rest of the school… I am a half-blooded Slytherin."

Voldemort gave a slight nod, accepting that answer, knowing how Slytherin House treated half-bloods, and how the other houses treated Slytherins.

Severus continued, "I also thought it best for them to underestimate me, my lord. They will be easier to overtake in later years." This, of course, hadn't been his original reason for keeping his head down, but it certainly would be now.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed in thought. "You are wise, Severus. A great asset to my legion."

Severus bowed his head and murmured his thanks.

"I will teach you what I know," Voldemort stated. "You have potential to be the greatest duelist in history, Severus. I want to cultivate this in you."

Severus looked at the Dark Lord in surprise, his eyes alight. "I am flattered you think so highly of me, my lord. I look forward to learning from you."

A gruesome smile spread across Voldemort's handsome features, one that was uncomfortably out of place and caused shivers to go down Severus's spine. "Obviously I cannot achieve all that I want to with you before you are due back at Hogwarts, so you shall devote your Hogsmeade days to learning from me."

"Yes, my lord," Severus said without hesitation. He never enjoyed going to Hogsmeade anyways. It was too loud and crowded for his tastes, and the Marauders almost always pranked him when he did go. No, it was far more enjoyable to stay behind in the practically empty castle.

{Furius Draconis}

Approximately two weeks after Severus had received a summons to Malfoy Manor, he returned home, unsure what to think about the path his life was now following. For one, he now had a proper Wizard's wardrobe, and it all fit. He had the respect of the Knights of Walpurgis because the Dark Lord demanded it for him. He had never been respected a day in his life. Fake or not, it was… nice.

But did he truly want the respect of murderers?

No. He didn't. But he had it and couldn't do a thing about it. In fact, they might genuinely respect him once he also became a murderer; another inevitability. So, he might as well embrace it. He had to, if he wanted to survive.

These thoughts left his mind the moment he stepped out of his fireplace and saw his mother standing in the middle of the den with pride shining in her eyes.

"Severus," she greeted him warmly. Before his stay at Malfoy Manor, she looked as if a strong wind could've blown her over, but now, she practically exemplified strength. She still appeared sickly, but ridding herself of his oaf of a father had gone a long way in helping her recover.

"Mother," he responded with a nod, hitting himself with a nonverbal cleaning charm to remove the ash that clung to his robes. "How have you been?"

She gave him a small smile, "Very well, very well. I found the letter on your bed – how was it?

A gleam entered her eyes that made Severus vaguely uncomfortable, but he brushed it off. He could no more change her zealous views than he could defy Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. She believed she had done him an enormous favor by forcing him to accept Malfoy's invitation.

"It was… good," he answered, walking further into their home to find she had made drastic changes in the time he was gone. It was clean for one, absolutely clean - no stains of shed blood or spilled alcohol marred the floors or walls. And everything that had been broken had been repaired to its former glory.

He turned to look at her. "The Dark Lord has taken a special interest in me – one of his 'chosen', as he put it. I am… untouchable."

Eileen's heart swelled at those words; the Dark Lord was offering her son what she had been unable to for so many years - safety.

"I see you've received new robes, too. Appropriate for a man of your status." She brushed off his shoulders despite there being nothing there. Severus didn't think he had ever seen his mother smile this much.

She then placed a kiss on his cheek, as she could no longer reach his forehead, even up on her toes, and whispered, "My little Prince." She relinquished her hold on him and walked into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Have you eaten?"

"Of course, Heir Malfoy wouldn't allow a guest to go home hungry," Severus answered lightly, taking another look around their home. "Besides, a house elf of his took a special liking to me, he brought me plenty to eat in his spare time, of which he had an abundance."

His mother laughed at that, something Severus couldn't ever remember hearing, "Would you like a cup of tea, then? I've a pot ready."

He walked through to the kitchen and immediately noticed that it was larger than it had been - the wonders of magic never ceased to amaze him. "Of course."

"Good, I want to hear all about your visit - everything," Eileen said as she poured them each a cup and carried both mugs over to the kitchen table.

"Everything?" Severus asked, pausing. There were some things he witnessed during his stay in the Dark Lord's presence that he did not wish to share with his ailing mother, such as the punishments doled out to those that disrespected him, or the nature of the potions he had been requested to brew.

"Everything," she confirmed, the gleam returned, making Severus shift in his seat. She added a spoonful of sugar to each cup; they took their tea the same way.

He sighed, raking a hand down his face, and he began relating the tale of his stay at Malfoy Manor haltingly. He kept a close eye on his mother, making sure what he was telling her wasn't too upsetting, but she seemed to thrive off of it.

He wasn't sure what to make of that.

Once he finished telling his mother of the past two weeks, he dropped his gaze and stared into his untouched cup of tea, succumbing to his troubling thoughts.

As much as he would deny it, all of the quips from his fellow students about being a budding dark wizard who would join the latest Dark Lord's forces as soon as possible bothered him. And it wasn't just the students, his professors had looked at him with a harsher eye each passing year. Sure, he had delved into the Dark Arts, but only because he was morbidly curious and had a burning desire to master all forms of magic. That didn't mean he bought in with the common beliefs of dark wizards.

Severus had wanted to prove them all wrong by becoming the youngest Potioneer in England's history and by staying utterly neutral in whatever conflicts were sure to come in the following years.

He probably could have defied his mother in this, but after the time spent with the Dark Lord, he came to realize that nothing short of his own death would have made the man give up on recruiting him as a follower. Malfoy had told him with badly concealed jealousy that the Dark Lord was uncharacteristically warm towards him, even as one of his Chosen. Severus had no trouble picking up on what went unspoken by the Malfoy Heir: if the Dark Lord couldn't have Severus, no one would.

He never had a choice in this.

His mother took his silence to mean that he was done talking. She cleared the table and left him to think, knowing he wouldn't notice her there anyways. Eileen was more than happy with the turn their lives were taking. Her little Prince was safe. He was bettering himself; it would be wasted potential for him not to.

Thank Merlin for this rising Dark Lord.


Edited by Chrysanthemum247!

*From the Order of the Phoenix

A Flitterby is a magical species of moth and a nundu is a massive leopard thing that breathes death and disease - it's taken out entire villages - and it takes no fewer than one hundred wizards to subdue it. So, Severus is really opposed to teaching if he'd rather face one of these things without his wand. But we knew that anyways.

And also, this story was going to end up with Snape and Lily together, but I've kinda changed my mind. I'm feeling Snape and Narcissa now, but my mind changes every other day so who knows what'll happen.

Feedback is always welcome!