Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Severus struggled as he was brought into the small antechamber of the courtroom. He tried to wrestle free from his captors as he was brought in front of a desk where the Minister sat. Dolores Umbridge stood to his left, and a tall man with dark, slicked-back hair stood on his right. The guards shook Severus to still him. Kingsley smiled at Severus.

"Finally, we get some justice, eh, Severus?"

Severus glared at Shacklebolt.

"Dolores, is everything ready?" Kingsley asked.

Dolores turned to her partner, who was the other man in the room. He nodded.

"Yes, Minister, we may begin when you are ready," Umbridge urged.

"Go ahead," Kingsley instructed.

The man with the slicked-back hair raised his wand. He grinned evilly before uttering the curse.

"Inservio!" he cried as an orange light shot from his wand.

Fear filled Severus' heart and he stiffened. He stared as the light came toward him in slow motion. He felt the bolt hit him. A strange sensation came over him as he felt himself diminish. He was literally pulled into himself. All went black, but not for long. When things began to clear, he felt very small and very weak. His magic seemed to be bound. Unable to feel the usual simmering magic that surrounded him, he began to panic. Even his panicking felt small. His psyche had shriveled somehow. He felt empty, bereft of his usual powerfulness.

He seemed to be in a tunnel. He could still see and hear, but the sounds came from far away, and his sight was altered. It was as if he was looking through a tube at his surroundings. He tried to blink, but nothing happened. Trying to raise his hand, panic gripped him as he realized he couldn't. A deep terror coursed through his consciousness as he realized he couldn't move any part of his body. It was as if he was totally cut off from his bodily functions. He tried desperately to gain access to his body again, but to no avail. He was helpless.

He was trapped inside himself with no way to communicate with anyone... unable to be released. It was a cruel punishment indeed. A lifetime watching everything around him was no way whatsoever to exist. How long would it take him before he went insane? It probably wouldn't take a long time at all.

His attention was drawn to Umbridge, who had crept up to him and was leaning into him, looking at him strangely.

"It's done then?" she asked.

"It seems to have worked perfectly." The spell-caster's voice came from far away. "Command him to do something."

Umbridge got a cruel grin on her face. "Slap yourself in the face."

Severus felt his hand move and hit his face. The pain from the slap was intense, and if he'd had any control, he'd have taken in a sharp breath. But he could only suffer silently.

"Hah! He did it!" Umbridge rejoiced.

The man who cast the spell wandered over to him and glared into his face. "Not so haughty now, are you, Snape?" he remarked caustically. "May you rot in hell with all your secrets!" The man sneered and turned away from Severus, positioning himself to the side of Umbridge.

"Can I have him?" Dolores asked Shacklebolt with an evil glint in her eye.

"I beg your pardon?" Kingsley's voice asked from a distance.

"Can I keep him? I'll punish him every day. It will be glorious!"

Severus cringed at the horrid woman and hoped beyond all reason that her wish would not be granted.

At that moment, Hermione Granger burst through the door. She took one look at Severus, and her face fell. Moving quickly up to him, she stood next to Umbridge and gawked at him.

"What possessed you to do such a thing?" she cried.

"Hermione," Kingsley said. "It was the only way."

Hermione turned, her shoulders tensely set. "What happened to life in Azkaban? Certainly that would be punishment enough!"

"This was better in the long run," Kingsley explained.

"Can I have him?" Umbridge interrupted.

Hermione glanced over at Umbridge and saw the look on her face. It was carnivorous, as if she was about to devour Severus Snape right then and there.

This isn't good, Hermione thought to herself. She mustn't get him. She will do horrible things to him. Kingsley, however, seems to be on her side. Something has influenced him, and he doesn't care what happens to Severus. Her quick mind fashioned a plan. Maybe I can turn this to my favor. I'll have to convince them that I'm as ruthless as Umbridge, though, or it'll never work.

"What do you mean, Madam Umbridge? Why do you want him?" Hermione asked finally.

"Why, think, Miss Granger. He needs to be punished, who better than me to enforce that?"

Hermione glanced at Severus. Her face turned cold. "I would think that one of his ex-students would be able to do that much better than you, Madam Umbridge."

Dolores sputtered as Hermione turned to Kingsley. "Let me have him!"

"But... but... She was just defending him!" Dolores screeched.

Hermione's head snapped back to Umbridge. "That is my job, isn't it?" She didn't wait for a response. "I was employed to defend the defenseless. I did my job, but I have no love for Severus Snape." She began circling his still body. "He was horrid to me as a teacher. I was Harry Potter's friend. To him, that was unforgivable. He berated me at every turn. Don't you think I've privately dreamed of seeing him reduced to such a fate? How I would love to be the one to direct punishment for him!" She faced Kingsley now. "Please, Minister. I deserve this. It's only fair. After all, she's never been insulted by this git."

"Minister, she may be right, but the girl is inexperienced. She wouldn't know the first thing to do to punish him!"

Hermione turned to Severus. "Get on your knees!" Her conscience screamed at her, but she continued as she watched Severus lower himself to his knees. "Bow before me."

Severus lowered himself to the ground. Hermione felt as if she were about to throw up. She steeled her face to show none of it. "Rise."

Severus jerked to a standing position again.

Hermione conjured a knife. It floated in front of him. "Take the knife," she directed. Severus grasped it. "Slice through your Dark Mark."

Severus lowered the knife to his forearm.

"No!" Shacklebolt screamed. "Hermione, that's enough! You will not kill him."

Severus paused, the blade-tip pointing into his flesh. His face held no emotion whatsoever. He gazed down blandly at the blade that was jabbing into the remnants of his Dark Mark, awaiting instructions.

Hermione turned to Kingsley. "As you wish, Minister." Turning back to Severus she commanded he drop the knife. It clattered to the floor as Severus straightened up and stared forward blankly.

"You have proven your point," Kingsley declared. "I order you to refrain from killing him. His punishment is to remain in this state for life, and you will not shorten that life, is that understood?"

"Yes, Minister."

Umbridge bristled beside her. Hermione wanted to smirk, but she was still disgusted with her display.

"You may have him. Be sure to punish him daily."

Hermione's eyes glimmered evilly. "That will be a pleasure, Minister."

"You may take your new acquisition."

"Thank you, Minister," Hermione said with a slight bow of her head. She turned to Severus. "Come, Snape," she ordered.

Severus turned jerkily and followed her out of the antechamber. Hermione led him to the main lobby in silence and brought him to one of the Floo's. She refrained from making eye contact with him.

"Step into the Floo. When you appear at my house, step out of the Floo to make room for me."

Severus jerked into the fireplace. Hermione threw in some Floo powder and called out her home. Severus disappeared, and Hermione replaced him in the fireplace. Soon, she was standing in her home, looking up at the man she'd fought so hard to set free.

Her face fell as she really looked at him. She had avoided taking in his appearance too closely in the antechamber for fear that she would break down. Now, it mattered little whether she broke down or not. She came close to him and really looked at him. His face was empty. She gazed into his eyes, the most expressive part of him. They were empty. Bereft of emotion and awareness, they were simply void.

Hermione searched his face, looking for something. There was nothing. He was simply not there anymore. Except for his physical appearance, there was no sign of Severus Snape. Gone was the glint in his eye when he was being sarcastic. Gone was the smirk on his face when he found something humorous. He just wasn't there. Severus stared ahead blankly, not moving at all.

"Oh!" Hermione cried. "What did they do to you?" The tears she'd been holding back fell down her face. She took her hand and stroked his cheek. "Are you even in there? Is there any hope?"

She crashed against him. He made no move whatsoever. His arms sat limply by his side as she grasped him and crushed him in an embrace. "Severus, I'm sorry! This is my fault. I'm sorry I had to be so harsh with you in the antechamber. I knew that if they suspected that I would treat you well, Umbridge would take you. I couldn't let that wench have you. She would have destroyed you."

Hermione pulled back and looked at Severus. His face remained a stone. He stared forward, not acknowledging her at all. He wasn't there. He was just... empty.

"You're gone, aren't you?" Hermione squeaked. "They've totally destroyed you! There's nothing there! Oh, Severus!" she pulled herself into him again. "I will find a way to fix this."

When Hermione had said all that she had to Shacklebolt, Severus had believed every word. Who knew the woman could act so well? He actually feared that she would go through with making him cut himself. He'd questioned whether his placement with Hermione would be better than Umbridge in the long run.

When she had thrown herself at him, it had been like a balm. Relief flooded him that she hadn't meant a word she'd said to Shacklebolt. He longed to put his arms around her and scream that he was there. In the long run, though, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

"Hermione!" he tried to shout, but his mouth would not cooperate. He tried to lift his arms to touch her, but they were limp by his side. He was immobile. He couldn't even direct his eyes towards her. He only stared off into the distance, blinking occasionally.

He was unable to communicate with anyone or anything, and he would remain that way forever. Even Hermione's impassioned vow to fix everything didn't make him believe that he would ever escape this personal hell he found himself in. He had been sentenced to a torture worse than death. He would never again be able to do anything for himself. He was trapped in the body that had now become a prison cell. There was no escape for him. There never would be.

Despair filled him as the reality of his situation crashed down around him. He was lost... forever. He withdrew into himself, not even paying attention to what his vacant eyes could see or what his useless ears could hear. Darkness filled his soul.