Chapter 38
"And you remember how to trigger the dispersal?"
"Yes," Severus hissed at the curly-haired witch in exasperation.
"And you have your protective charm?" He opened his mouth to answer when she thought of something else with a jolt. "And your galleon?"
He made a frustrated sound halfway between a groan and a sigh. "Yes, YES! For fuck's sake, Hermione. I have everything. We've been over this a hundred times. Calm down, you're getting hysterical."
The look she gave him told him he had stuck his toe over the line. Thankfully, before she could scream at him anymore, her husband came to the rescue. George put his hands on her shoulders from where he'd come up behind her and frowned at Severus.
"Rude. You should never call a woman hysterical, mate. Fastest way to get hexed in the bollocks." He smiled and looked down at his wife. "But you do need to relax, love. We trust Snape, remember? He's incredibly competent and everything is going to be fine."
The red-head's tone was bordering on jovial, but when he met Severus's eyes again over her head, the worry she'd expressed was mirrored in his.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Severus."
Severus nodded once at her before turning to the approaching foreigner. The thin bespectacled man approached him with the small, lead-lined case. Despite George's reassurances, Severus could not help the thread of dread that coiled around his gut at the sight. Taking a steadying breath, he reinforced his mental shields and finally felt ready.
"Here. Now, remember. The ward on this case only lasts so long. When the case is opened…"
"It will trigger the dispersal, yes, yes. I remember." Severus nodded along and accepted the elaborately decorated case and slid it into his robes.
"Hmm." Ambrosi eyed him with something that looked like tempered approval and nodded once. "Remember, from the moment the ward falls, it will begin emitting radiation, and once the dispersal is triggered your protection will only last fifteen minutes. You will need to get out as fast as you can. No sticking around to gloat."
Severus clicked his tongue and straightened. As if he would be so senseless. "Of course."
With a final nod to the twins who stood off to the side, he turned and faced the manor. The six of them had apparated to a wooded area approximately a hundred meters from the edge of the Malfoy wards. He watched as two of his fellow Death Eaters appeared and went through the gates. Prepared, he moved.
Everyone was there. This was the largest gathering of the Dark Lord's followers Severus had ever seen. Marked, unmarked, people he didn't even know supported the cause filled the grand ballroom.
The Dark Lord, sitting at the head of it all in a ludicrously lavish—the only word for it Severus could think of was throne. If he was honest with himself, the great crowd of people almost gave him pause. They hadn't planned to kill so many Ministry toadies.
Then, a man he'd never seen before guffawed loudly behind him. "Of course we should do something about the muggles. They don't even have magic, how difficult could it possibly be to subdue them?"
The small group of people he was speaking to all chuckled as if he'd told a hilarious joke and Severus felt sick. Of course, these people were all here for a reason. The sheer irony, that they thought so little of the muggles and yet they were all about to die from modified muggle technology.
Leaving the doomed arsehole, Severus made his way through the crowd. Glancing around, he was satisfied to not see Regulus. He'd visited the Black heir before meeting the Prewetts. Sympathetic, George had given him some kind of candy and promised it would make him ill. At that moment, Regulus was likely lying on the floor of his bathroom in a puddle of his own fluids. If he wasn't saving his life, Severus might have felt guilty.
"Oh, good evening my dear Severus." Severus barely suppressed a chill at the sound of Bellatrix's voice. "I'm ever so glad you made it tonight, and I know our Lord will be pleased to see you too. I stopped by my dear ickle cousin's place to see what was keeping him. The poor bastard is positively wretched." Her nose wrinkled delicately. "I've never seen such a sick wizard. Our Lord was upset of course, but understanding of his absence."
"Hmm." Severus allowed a slight frown of disappointment. "Our Lord is fair. I was looking forward to having someone tolerable to endure this evening with."
She chuckled and it sounded like nails on a blackboard. "I know these stuffy parties can be a bit dull. Lucy and my precious sister are off vacationing in France." She clicked her tongue with clear disgust. "Opening their home to our Lord was generous. Still, they should be here."
Nodding in agreement, Severus glanced around desperately for an escape. "Oh look, there's that pink bint from the Ministry. You know I heard she's sleeping her way up to the Minister. That's how she's got such a cushy job already."
"Really?" She gave him an absolutely delighted grin. "Who would have thought Severus Snape the busy-body gossip."
"Yes, well, one does hear things."
Once she was gone, off to harass the women he had vaguely recognized as someone truly twisted from Hermione's memory, Severus relaxed. Now to wait his turn to approach the Dark Lord.
It was not unusual for followers to bring gifts at larger, formal gatherings. Even though this was much grander than any before, he knew Voldemort would be pleased to receive something. He was nothing if not vain.
Taking a flute of champagne from a levitating tray, Severus gradually made his way closer to the throne. As he walked, he allowed his eyes to wander around the room. With neither Regulus or Lucius there, Severus didn't have the desire to engage anyone in conversation. The fact that he was shortly going to kill everyone in the room didn't help.
Finishing his drink and setting the empty glass on another tray as it drifted past, he discreetly checked the time. He was running out of time. With a final glance around, he started to head toward the dais—until his eyes landed on something he definitely shouldn't have seen there.
The disembodied head of James Fucking Potter floated in the shadows along the edge of the ballroom not twenty feet to his left. Doing his absolute best to keep the furious panic off of his face, Severus looked quickly away. When he looked back, the plan-ruining bastard was glaring straight at him.
Oh, of course!
The absolute imbecile.
Allowing the slightest hint of his anger to flash momentarily on his face, he thought quickly. Reaching into his pocket for his charmed galleon, he sent a message and gestured with his eyes for the rear staircase that led to the upper terrace. When the head disappeared, Severus hoped he'd gotten the point and turned back to his task, waiting for the coin to burn.
Fuck
Where?
Praying to God no one was watching him, he answered.
Ballroom terrace
Invisibility cloak?
Checking his wristwatch again, he felt true panic begin to well up. The ward was going to wear off in minutes. It had been a failsafe in case the Dark Lord didn't open it right away. If he kept it close, he'd still die, just much slower, the lead not thick enough to totally protect against the extremely radioactive "device."
If anyone came to rescue the Gryffindor idiot, they would have a protective charm. And James could get fucked. If he was fucking stupid enough to enter a Death Eater party alone that was on him.
At least he hoped he was alone.
Slamming his mental shields into place and pasting a vaguely entertained smile on his face, he approached the Dark Lord.
"Ah. Severus. "
He knelt. "My Lord."
Voldemort gave a bored flick of his fingers for Severus to rise, and he did so. "It is an excellent party, is it not?"
"As you say, only the best sorts of people."
A smug smile twisted his lips. "Indeed. It is a shame our hosts could not be present, but alas. I was so pleased to be welcomed, I felt like granting a simple request."
"You are most gracious, my Lord. In fact…" He drew the case from his robes and eyed it in his hands as if it were extremely precious. "I have been filled with self loathing for my idiotic mistake, for which I was justly punished. However, it has been eating away at me, My Lord, and I wanted to apologize, properly."
Voldemort raised a slender brow and sat up straighter, visibly intrigued by the ancient looking and intricately carved case. "It is unnecessary, Severus." Affecting a hurt expression, Severus slightly retracted his offering. The vain man held up a hand and smiled almost coyly. "But as you've already gone to the effort, dear Severus. How could I not accept?"
Restraining his grin, Severus extended the gift, nearly sighing with relief when it was lifted from his hands. He bloody well hoped they had managed to rescue that idiot Potter. It was far too late to go back.
"Mmmmm, exquisite craftsmanship…" He gave Severus a quizzical glance. "How did you afford such a thing, Severus?"
He shrugged slightly. "I'm not sure the seller knew what they had. If I am honest, my Lord, I'm not entirely sure what it is. But the case is ancient. The carvings matched several runes not used since Merlin himself walked the earth. I thought perhaps you might enjoy the puzzle of an artifact from the age of Camelot."
With a near feral grin, Voldemort's thumb brushed the latch and Severus swallowed hard. Everything around him was suddenly quiet, as if the world itself focused on what was about to happen. The latch clicked. He licked his lips. Slender fingers pried the lid open and then…
There was a gentle rush of magic. The Dark Lord smiled wider at the feel of it, and then a blinding flash of blue light emitted from inside the case. Staggering backwards, Severus pressed his fists to his eyes to ease the sudden pain. For one heartstopping moment, he thought the protective charm had failed.
Then, a sound unlike anything he had ever heard hit his ears. It was a hellish cacophony of confused groans, vomiting and wails of agony. Blinking, adjusting to the now normal light, what he saw was so much worse than he could have ever imagined.
The Dark Lord, Tom Riddle. The case long since toppled to the ground, he stood with his arms extended to his sides, horrifying gasping breaths rattling from his chest. His hair was gone, singed away along with what looked like almost all of his skin. Red, burned eyes stared at Severus, and at nothing. The horcrux, visible now that most of his clothes had evaporated, looked twisted and melted into his chest.
Horrified, and yet mesmerized, he stared back at his once terrible master until he convulsed. Severus barely had time to take a step back before vomit covered the floor between them. The motion broke the spell and with a choked gasp, he turned, intending to run.
Only to hit a wall of terrified, burned and vomiting people. Frantically, he tried to breathe, pushing his way through the heaving mass. More than once, he slipped on foul fluids, only avoiding crashing to the floor by falling against those still managing to stand.
When he at last breached the French doors, he gulped the fresh air but did not stop running. He could not stop. Not until he'd passed through the wards.
GH
They stood, waiting on tenterhooks for word from Snape. The sun was setting and the proverbial clock was ticking. Each passing minute felt like an eternity.
He had told his brother not to worry. He had told himself not to worry. But the longer time wore on, the more he began to feel as though something was wrong.
"Shit. Shit! Shit, FUCK!"
Hermione stared down at the galleon in her hand, frantically reading the messages. They were all surrounding her before she'd finished cursing. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"
Wide, terrified brown eyes looked up at him. "Harry's dad is in there!"
"Shit!"
"Who?"
"Where is he?"
Hermione was waiting again, already having asked. Practically jumping out of her skin, she nearly screamed when the coin burned again. "The ballroom, on the terrace. Fuck, he's got his invisibility cloak!"
He knew exactly where that was. Lucius had given them a tour just in case when they'd come to set the wards. "I'll go, I'll grab him and be back!" And before anyone could protest, he'd disillusioned himself and disapparated to the other side of the wards, racing for the ballroom entrance.
Slipping in through the massive French doors, he was pulled up short by the crowd. The ballroom was filled with nearly three times the number of people they had expected. "Oh fuck…" This was too far. This was too much. They had intended to eliminate the marked Death Eaters, but this… There were at least a hundred people.
Brushing a hand over his mouth, guilt tore through him as he climbed the stairs to the mezzanine, searching the crowd for Snape as he went. He saw him, approaching a raised dais on the other end of the room where Moldy Voldy himself sat.
He had mere minutes. The balcony empty, he looked around for some sign of Potter, and seeing none, he swore again. "Accio, invisibility cloak."
Nothing happened. "James. James!" He dropped the disillusionment spell and backed away from the edge of the balcony to keep hidden. When the younger man appeared five feet to his left, an angry look on his face, he grabbed him, disillusioned them both and began dragging him down the stairs.
"What the fuck? Why are you here with Snape?"
He was struggling against him. Shit! They did not have time for this! He whisper shouted in what he thought was his face as he pushed past some meandering party goer and through the doors. "I'll tell you as soon as we get out of here. Stop, STOP fighting me!"
Potter did not stop. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw with horror that Voldemort was standing, the small case held in his hands. "Fuck!" Giving James one final push out onto the lawn, he clawed through his jacket, freeing his protective charm and yanking it over his head. "Here! You damn, daft twat! You better marry Lilly and have your little bastard on time, Potter!"
He only just managed to pull it down over James's head when a blinding blue light flashed from inside the ballroom. All the way out on the lawn, both he and James had to turn their eyes away.
For a long moment, nothing happened. He felt fine. They were too far away after all. And then, with a violent twist of pain, he vomited.
GH
"Help! Snape, oh Merlin, Snape! Please!"
Severus slid to a stop on the damp grass and spun in place. After the flash, the starlight was not nearly bright enough to see by. When a lumos beckoned from his right, he tore over to meet it, wand out.
James Potter stood, horror-stricken, half carrying, half dragging one of the Prewett twins away from the manor. It was too dark to see how badly he had been hit, but the sound of retching was unmistakable.
"Oh God… where were you?" When James only looked at him, shell shocked, Severus slapped him across the face, taking the weight of the dying man onto himself.
"What happened? What did… what did you do?"
"There's no time for that now, Potter." Awkwardly casting a levitation charm on the twin, he grabbed Potter by the collar and got him moving. "Where were you when the light flashed, answer me!"
"Uh… by… we were just by the doors. On the lawn but still close… Snape, what was that? What's wrong with him?"
Finally crossing the wards, a violent shiver wracked Severus's body as he threw Potter against a tree. "A controlled radioactive burst." Ignoring the rest of his questions, he sent a patronus, weak and hardly formed, for the others.
In seconds, they apparated to where he was. Whichever twin in the care of the others, he turned away and was sick until there was nothing left to be sick with.
A/N **Evil Laughter**