Juggernaut

Juhg-er-nawt -not | noun

2: anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice

He certainly tried to block out the screaming. The Dark Lord had always had a fondness for the dramatic, however, and tonight's venue was acoustically perfect for the event. The girl's screams reverberated from every corner of the room and pierced his skull. He leaned against the wall at the back of the room, his face carefully blank as he watched the proceedings. Avery was an absolutely disgusting man. Supposing for a moment that forcing himself on a woman was not already the basest, most inhuman act imaginable, doing so in front of an audience was worse. He wondered in an abstract kind of way how the man even managed to get it up. An exhibitionist, perhaps.

He knew it was finished when the screaming lowered to a pained whimper. Avery must have either not broken much tonight or broken so much that the girl was no longer entirely mentally present. The man did like to play with his victims. He hoped the night would be a quick one. The Dark Lord did not seem to be in a particularly foul mood this evening so perhaps he would just put the poor girl out of her misery and be done with it.

"Severuss," called the Dark Lord quietly.

He pulled himself away from the wall and strode toward what had once been a man. He was careful not to let his gaze stray to the girl next to him. "My lord," he murmured as he fell to his knees.

"Severus, it has been quite some time since you joined in our festivities."

He allowed himself a grimace beneath his mask while he stared at the floor from his knees. "Yes, my lord."

"I do not think this Mudblood has yet been taught her proper place. You will be next to… inform her."

His stomach contracted painfully, protesting the thought. He hesitated on the floor. "My lord, the girl is… distasteful to me." He injected his voice with a proper amount of disgust. "She is used goods, my lord."

His arms nearly buckled under the force of the crucio that was cast in his direction. He clenched his jaw, refusing to make a sound. Rape was the lowest of the low. He would do it if the Dark Lord insisted, but he prayed that it would not be asked of him tonight. He would make any excuse he could. If it made the others think him pretentious, well frankly he didn't give a shit.

"So picky, Severus. You require a virgin then?"

He swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat and managed to bow his head further. "If I may, my lord." Anything to get out of this tonight.

The man laughed, a high, cold sound that echoed in the chamber. "Very well, then. We shall acquire one for you in the future. For now, there are other ways to teach a lesson. Rise, Severus, and do so."

He let out the breath he had been holding. Getting quickly to his feet, he pulled his wand from his pocket and turned to the girl on the floor beside him. He didn't know how much Avery had broken her physically, but the man had certainly broken her spirit. She lay on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, staring up blankly at the ceiling. She hadn't bothered to fix her skirt and Severus felt a bubble of anger in his chest.

"Crucio," he intoned calmly, feeling his insides twist when the screaming started up again. He let her stay under the curse longer than he normally would, hoping that her mind would abandon her. She would never survive the night. The least he could do was to attempt to make the essence of her absent for the torture. He was at least grateful that he didn't know the girl. She had been on holiday from Beauxbatons with her parents when she had been taken for tonight's entertainment. He had a sudden flash of himself holding Hermione Granger beneath his wand and felt the urge to be sick all over the floor. Granger would never allow herself to break under torture. She would be present and fighting until the moment he killed her.

When he broke the curse, she lay silent and panting. He stepped over her body and met her gaze, diving into her mind. The scene in her mind was a beach, the calm contrasting starkly against the turmoil outside. Waves broke gently on the sand, a serene sound. Some feet away was the girl, sitting quietly as she stared out to the sea.

"Are you still here?" he asked, almost gently.

She nodded. "I only feel the pain distantly though. I'm safe here." She turned to look at him in her mind and he was struck by the bright blue of her eyes. "I don't want to die."

"I can't save you." There was regret there. She would never have seen it if there was any chance that she could have lived.

"I know." She returned her gaze to the sea.

"I'll make it quick."

"Thank you."

He withdrew from her mind, knowing that only a fraction of a second had passed outside the sanctuary of her mind. "Avada kedavra."

oOo

He had known that the Dark Lord would not be pleased that he had ended the fun so quickly, but even as his limbs trembled from the after effects of the cruciatus he could not bring himself to regret ending it for her. He made his way silently through the doorway into the entryway of the castle and turned to descend into the blessed darkness of his dungeon.

"Professor?"

He sighed, knowing exactly who the voice belonged to. He paused but did not turn. "What, Granger?"

"Are you alright?"

He did turn his head then, taking in the sight of her. She was staring at the mask he held in his hand and he cursed himself for not shrinking the thing down into his pocket before entering the castle. He hesitated before answering. He found that tonight he had no desire to lie to her, belittle her, or deceive her. "I have had better nights, Miss Granger, but rest assured that I will survive."

She bit her lip, meeting his eyes. "I know it isn't my place, but… what happened, sir? You look out of sorts…"

He could never tell her what he had done that night. "Return to your dormitory," he said instead. "It's curfew soon." Looking into her face, he once again saw her on that floor instead. A shiver passed through his body and he turned away quickly. "Good evening, Miss Granger." As he strode quickly away from her toward his own rooms he knew that a dreamless sleep potion would be required that night.