tampered | Log: Complete

Log: Complete

When; Night of August 30th
Rating; R, just to be safe.
Characters; Severus Snape

halfblooded_git and Lord Voldemort

serpentheir
Summary; Needing time to mull over his death and other thoughts in private, Snape takes the opportunity of a Curse-less night to go wandering for someplace quiet. Lord Voldemort lurks nearby.
Log;

Stepping out of Building 8, Severus Snape gripped his wand under his sleeve and gritted his teeth. His arrival in the City so far had been filled with nothing but unpleasant surprises and vexing curse days. Whereas in life he'd only had to worry about keeping his cover and following the late Dumbledore's orders, now he concerned himself with what form, age, or mindset he'd be in every single day he woke up.

Dumbledore. He was here. He seemed to take this sort of thing in stride. Found it almost amusing. Assured him the afterlife was far more boring than this. Snape at this point would clearly have picked boring over being endlessly bothered by Potter, Weasely, and for some reason, a vast number of strangers.

Vexing. He walked on, out of the City proper, needing to have a peaceful moment to himself.

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He was here. Voldemort knew this, because the Dark Lord knows everything....or at least keeps tabs on his Death Eaters, dead or alive. The City had lost its mystique, and was now a place to be reckoned with, toyed with, manipulated...just like a weak-willed person.

Denial was something that Voldemort could never conquer. Even in the last few moments before he died, denial ate at him like a disease, like a cancer that tears apart your lungs and blood cells. He believed, 'till the moment he died, that Severus had been one of his most faithful. He believed it. But now...now, he knew better. Now, he wanted revenge, revenge against the traitor. For no one ever betrayed Voldemort and lived to talk about it. Not even in the City.

There he was. Strolling away from the City, towards the forest, unknowingly towards death's opening arms. He would have to act quick. Side-along apparition seemed best, combined with the hot pain of the Dark Lord's finger against the Dark Mark. That should render him incapacitated for a few moments, at least, Voldemort thought to himself as he moved silently through the trees, keeping his mind closed and red eyes alert on his quarry.

He was bitter. Life had always taken such a delight in tormenting him: why should death grant him a reprieve? Surely his personal Hell was this: an eternity with the very people he'd been glad to get away from. Dumbledore was a comfort, but even now, Snape felt himself stewing in anger at the task he'd been forced to perform. "Killing" Albus had landed him in far more trouble than he could have ever conceived at the time. Not to mention it was a haunting, nightmarish deed to perform.

Stopping at the forest's edge, Snape paused for a moment, thinking now of Draco. It would figure for the boy to essentially take on his very role as secret informant. But it was too dangerous a job for a sixteen-year-old boy, especially given the Dark Lord's penchant for torturing his minions. Although he'd been assured that Draco was under the protective and watchful eye of a witch named Tia Dalma, he still felt uneasy. The sooner they were made aware of Voldemort's plans and took actions against them, the better. Snape refused to let Draco fall to the same poor planning that resulted in his own demise.

He glanced up at the moon, and turned his thoughts to the only person that made him happy.

Lily. He hadn't failed her after all.

Now.

He moved as fast and as silently as a cobra, striking at its prey. He came out of the shadows, not even a word to announce his presence as he reached out and grabbed the wizard's left forearm, his hand wrenching Severus' sleeve upwards. A cruel grin twisted his lips as his hand closed around the Dark Mark, his magic willing the tattoo to burn into the younger man's arm, to remind him that he was still a Death Eater, no matter how far or how long he would try to run and hide.

Without a word, he turned on his heel, and they were immediately sucked into the darkness. Voldemort kept his grip on Severus, determined to not let the traitor slip from his ice cold fingers. The pressure was rising, and at last, they apparated, some distance from where Voldemort and Merope stayed when they were not with Millenium.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Voldemort cried, casting the spell as fast as he could, so as to prevent Severus from making an escape.

Snape turned angrily to snarl at whoever dared to touch him in such a way, opening his mouth to direct a curse. Instead he found himself meeting blood-red eyes and a snake-like face, twisted in hatred and manic glee. Pain suddenly shot up his arm as his Dark Mark was viciously seized, just as painful as the day so many years ago when he was first given it.

The background spun around them as they Apparated, and despite the pain lancing up his arm he knew once they landed wherever they were headed, he'd have one chance, just a split second before the Dark Lord took advantage.

He struggled to break Voldemort's hold on him, and with his right hand seized his wand as they came to a stop, raising it..

"AVADA-"

And he hit the ground, rigid and petrified, his wand still locked in his fist.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk....Severus, you know better than that," Voldemort scolded in his eerie high, cold voice. "It was only a matter of time before I found you...I believe you owe me an explanation, not to mention several other things..."

His dark cloak swished behind him as he approached Severus, his red eyes meeting black ones. "...you didn't think that I wouldn't find you? That you wouldn't be punished for your betrayal? Such a pity, Severus, I thought you cleverer than that..."

A pale foot slipped out from underneath his robes, pressing down on Severus' hand. He reached down and managed to tug the wand from his petrified fingers, pocketing it safely away where Severus could not possibly reach it. "Now, then...which would you prefer? Torture and then talk, or talk and then torture...? Either way, it will end the same: with your death."

Shit.

Shit!!

His jaw locked along with the rest of his body, Snape could only stare back at the Dark Lord, his teeth gritted in hatred and loathing. Just as foolish and idiotic as Potter! What was he thinking, walking out to the forest like he had? Was it because of the fact that he was dead that he thought himself invulnerable?

Idiot Potter! He thought furiously. Over fifteen years he protected his secret of which side he was truly playing for, and the boy probably announced it to the whole wizarding community minutes after his demise. They were both the fools, and now he'd finally face payment for all those years of deception.

Well. At least this time he didn't have a bloody snake

The Dark Lord began to pace, his cloak swishing behind him. "The boy said some things, Severus. I need to know if they are true. If they are, do you understand what that means? It means, that because of you, all of my plans were ruined! RUINED!"

There was a moment's pause as Voldemort's nostrils flared in fury and he struggled to regain some sense of control. The man was no good to him if he couldn't say anything, but he did not wish to risk Severus' escape. What to do, what to do...?

With a quick wave of his wand, a muttered counter-curse for the hex, and another quick jab of his wand, ropes came flying out from the end of Voldemort's wand, wrapping themselves tight around the Potions' Master. "Much better..." He murmured.

The boy said some things. Why was he not surprised? Was this some sort of long-awaited revenge of Potter's for all the torment he'd experienced at Snape's hand? Most likely. Either that, or the heavens had long ago decided that Severus' life was to be one cruel joke after another.

He squirmed and sat up as the binding curse was lifted, his arms pinned to his sides by the lengths of rope. Silently, he found himself both wishing that Albus would notice his disappearance and cursing his previous sentiments to be left absolutely alone. All those hours of being holed up in his apartment were turning against him, and he knew with a sinking feeling that it'd be quite a while before anyone noticed he wasn't in the building.

Snape could practically feel the soft, constant waves of fury resonating from the Dark Lord, and stared up at him through his long, greasy black hair. He would not shake and tremble as Lucius had done in the past, nor beg for mercy. He'd receive none: his crimes were irrevokable.

"My Lord.." Severus murmured with a dark, mocking smile.

Voldemort froze, turning slowly to face him. At last, the traitor speaks, he thought, regarding Severus quietly. "...But I am not 'your Lord', am I...? Rather, it is a champion of filthy blood and ingrate swine who is 'your Lord'!"

Once again he began to pace, wanting nothing more than to kill Severus right here and now, but he had to know - he had to know the truth. "The boy said you were Dumbledore's right-hand man...that you followed his orders, a double-agent, foiling my great flawless plan..."

It was almost with a laziness that Voldemort pointed the wand at Severus and murmured, "Crucio."

Snape opened his mouth to answer back, before the Cruciatus curse caught him in the chest. Excruciating pain shot through him as he was knocked backward, twisting frantically on the ground. A few seconds longer and he was screaming, his low, sullen tone screeching in agony as he fought to get loose.

His eyes closed, Severus' mind screamed too, but to a different tone. Lilylilylilylilylilylilylilylilylily.... He begged her name to give him strength to see this out until the end.

Voldemort hissed in satisfaction as he lifted the curse. How long had he wanted to hear the screams of the one who betrayed him...? He didn't know, but now, at long last, he would have his revenge.

"Get up. GET UP! Get up now, unless you want some more...?" He inquired, more than ready to cast the curse again.

"...Explain. Now."

Severus gasped as the curse was lifted, black eyes opening suddenly to stare forward into the trees. He was lying on the ground still, on his side. The effects of the Cruciatus Curse were ebbing away, and at last he was able to struggle upwards again, panting, and with an undisguised hatred as he glared at Voldemort.

He wasn't a coward. He wouldn't die like one, betraying his most precious of secrets and memories to the disfigured creature in front of him.

"I've nothing to explain to you, my lord. Your attentions should have been focused towards furthering your Legilimancy skills. They've left a lot to be desired."

"And while we're still talking," Severus continued, talking quickly. All was lost, he knew. Best to go out in a blaze of unrepentant glory.

"Yes, your snake? Even when you believed me to follow you, you refused to allow me a clean death"

There was no mistaking the hatred in those black eyes. Voldemort did not feel remorse or regret over it. He did not feel much of anything except rage these days...

With no trace of emotion whatsoever, Voldemort twirled his wand in his fingers, silent. Death Eaters knew, as a rule, that silence in Voldemort's presence was generally not a good thing. It seemed that Severus had forgotten that unspoken rule, not to mention a good many other things, such as insulting the Dark Lord to his face. Yes, Severus was a very talented Legilimens and Occlumens, but even his mind could be worn down with enough patience and time. And if the Dark Lord could wait for Harry Potter for thirteen years, he certainly could wait for Severus' mind to crack.

He just needs a little push is all... Voldemort thought. "....You need more persuasion, I see.

CRUCIO!!!"

This time, it was a loud cry, and a decent amount of his rage was put into the curse; his eyes gleamed as he heard the man's screams, and a cruel manic smile grew on his face.

Snape began to scream again, his fists clenching up as he doubled over, jerking violently. All thoughts of Potter, of Draco, of his own death, of Dumbledore and of Lily vanished from his mind and were replaced by searing pain throughout the whole of his body. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think: fresh tears were making their way down his pale face and still he screamed.

He knelt now in the dirt, the back of his neck now covered in grime and sweat. Severus couldn't even remember what he was being asked anymore. Finally, an intelligible word passed through his lips as he shrieked out,

"PLEASE-!!!"

Smirking, Voldemort waved his wand, lifting the curse once more. "I will not stop until you tell me what I need to know. And what I need to know is the truth. From the very beginning. What arrangements were made, what really happened on that tower, and..."

He couldn't bring himself to say it. The "L" word. "Love". He hated that word, hated the concept, hated, hated, hated it. But the boy had said it, the boy had claimed it was so...

"....whether or not it was merely only lust that you felt for the Potter woman," he spat out in disgust.

Bent over on the ground, Snape turned to stare up at the Dark Lord, pale and silent. His heart thudded painfully against his chest, fearful at the thought of enduring the terrible curse again. Arrangements? The tower? It felt so long ago, ages..

Was he to come this far, after all he'd been through, only to give up his most closely guarded secrets now? Severus cast his eyes to the ground, struggling to come up with something, anything, to say, not so proud and rightfully angry as he had a few moments ago..

Suddenly he spoke, his tone tinged with incredulous accusation and morbid wonder. "You killed her.."

His head lifted, and he repeated it with far more force, "You killed her-!!"

A high, cruel laugh erupted from the Dark Lord, a gleam of madness entering his eyes. "Oh yes, I killed her. I didn't have to - it was her choice - but I killed her. I saw the last breath of life leave her filthy Mudblood body!!!"

The sight of Severus on the ground was pathetic, and disgusted him. Once, years ago, he remembered this youth who had come to him in subservience. He remembered the spells and secrets the young Severus had been more than willing to share with his Lord, remembered how devoted he had been on that day when Voldemort deemed him worthy to receive the Dark Mark. Those days were gone now. Instead, he was left with a pathetic man whose mind was growing weaker and weaker.

"....CRUCIO!!!!" He cast the spell again, knowing that this last push would be enough to allow him just the leverage he needed to get at least some sort of information from the Potion Master's mind.

He couldn't manage it. He couldn't keep his mind closed any longer.

Severus lay screaming on the forest floor, twisting and crying, a broken man. The scorching pain raced through his body as he tried to wrench his arms free, still crying out.

And all of a sudden his concentration broke, and his will gave in. His mind lay bare, unprotected, all his defenses gone.

And all his most precious, hidden secrets were on full display.

It was broken, and now was the time. Willing his power in one concentrated wave, Voldemort broke through Severus' mind. Images came swarming in on him:

The Potter woman, when she was younger, much younger, swinging in a park, Severus arguing with her in front of the Gryffindor House portrait hole, Severus overhearing the Prophecy, and then...that was when things began to turn horribly wrong.

He saw Severus' secret meeting with Dumbledore, saw the grief-stricken man promise to protect the Potter woman's son, saw him agree to kill Dumbledore, that it was, in fact, just as the boy said, that it was all planned out...how Severus assisted the boy in finding the Horcrux, how everything he did foiled every step the Dark Lord had made!!! All in the name of that filthy, weakening, disgusting emotion of love!

Voldemort wrenched himself from Severus' mind, fury and hatred burning deep inside of him. "HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME!!!" He screamed at the man. "HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THE MARK ON YOUR ARM, THE OATH YOU SWORE WHEN YOU BECAME ONE OF MY FOLLOWERS??? HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME FOR THE BOY!!! HOW DARE YOU BETRAY ME FOR SOMETHING LESSER THAN HUMAN, A DISGUSTING CANCER AND BLEMISH IN OUR GREAT SOCIETY????"

His shoulders heaved, and he trembled in anger all over. Severus Snape was going to die this night, in a matter of minutes - no, less than that. Mere seconds. And this time, he was going to have the very, very real pleasure of doing it himself.

Severus lay gasping on the floor, cringing and staring up at the infuriated Dark Lord. He knew it was over: they both knew. It was just a matter of how he would die, and how soon.

It took him a moment to speak, and when he finally did, his voice was broken with his strained throat and his intermixed sobs.

"S-she's not...she's not!" he yelled back, coughing. "She was NEVER!!"

He prayed for forgiveness, and for death. He prayed for mercy and for this agony, worse than the Cruciatus curse, to at last be over.

"THEY ALL ARE, YOU FOOL!!!! AND NOW YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR BETRAYAL!!!" He screamed. With a flourish, he pointed his wand straight at the man's chest and cried out the words he had wanted to say for so long.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" Green light burst from the end of Voldemort's wand and sped towards Severus.

He saw the green flash coming for him and sucked in a breath of the night air. There wasn't time to do anything else.

Snape's body hit the ground on his side, his empty, dark eyes staring up at the sky, hollow and quiet. His face was stained with dried tears and dirt but otherwise he didn't have a visible scratch on him. With his black robes wrapped around him in the shadow of the trees, he was barely visible to passerby in the dark.

Only in his face was there the pained expression of a tortured man.

Finally. Finally. He had wanted to kill Severus himself ever since he had known he had arrived in the City, and he was finally able to do so.

He approached the corpse slowly, examining the life-less face with one bare foot, smudging his face with some dirt. Once satisfied that yes, Severus was indeed dead, Voldemort kicked him so he lay face-down in the grass.

"....You knew better than to defy me," he murmured. His red eyes gazed down at the corpse coldly. He reached into his robes, taking out the wand that had belonged to Severus. It would be far too troublesome to have two wands. With so many enemies, he couldn't risk it. Besides...it would be even more humiliating for him, and he deserved it, most definitely...

SNAP! The wooden wand broke in half far too easily. Voldemort tossed the remnants off to the side; he could care less where they landed or if anyone found them. As a last gift to Severus from his Dark Lord, Voldemort spit on the corpse and merged with the shadows, becoming one with the night, feeling nothing...no remorse, no regret, nothing.

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Log: Complete

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