Ophiuchus Ascending

From the Astronomy Tower, Severus stared at the night sky, noting how clear and brightly filled it was with a wealth of stars. He felt keenly the life force and magic of the universe entwined with its presence through nature and magical creatures on earth. And Hogwarts is one small vortex in the grand scheme of things...

His thoughts shifted to an even more immediate matter. But a Pandora's Box of emotion and memory has been unleashed incongruously within Nagini... He breathed in slowly and deeply, waiting for her to appear.

Nagini... Her magic has become more volatile inside and out of the remaining classes; she is being perplexed by increasingly disjointed memories. But her strength and agility are admirable; her endurance of dynamic contraries seem for now conjoined within her.

His mind began to race from what he had discovered from Lucretia's diary. Synocorp... Adolphus Rohn was Rolph Lestrange's pseudonym... Rolph the Squib, the Lestrange's estranged, banished son... working in genetic research with Muggles in Basel... With the help of Dymphna, they procured Gellert's semen after a clandestine visitation with him, impregnated Lucretia via testing phials... Muggles call it in vitro fertilization, but it has caused a deep schism within the Ministries of Magic throughout Britain and Europe, sentencing it a forbidden collaboration of Muggle Dark practices, contrary to what nature in all her magic and wonder offers... a heresy of unknown proportion or result... Biologically, Nagini is the offspring of Grindewald and Lucretia Malfoy. But what is the connection with Riddle that she feared and alluded to repetitively in her diary?

He pulled the well-worn journal out of his pocket. Must give this back to Nagini tonight!

Severus continued to reflect further on the risks and history of being involved with her just as he had days ago when he lingered outside Nagini and Narcissa's dormitory door. So much information to process from this wretched yet brilliant diary... So many questions I want to ask her directly about it, but...

He inhaled sharply, remembering how he had made his way directly up to the Headmaster's office that morning after Nagini had barely managed to escape Lucius' full wrath and announced bluntly to the elderly wizard that he accepted the Potions apprenticeship for the summer.

Dumbledore had looked up, pleased.

"Excellent, Severus. However, there is one other matter I wish you to contribute to, as a true test of your skills and... control."

"Sir?"

"Nagini Malfoy." Dumbledore paused for a moment, as if considering how exactly to say what he had to say. "I need you to help assess her Occlumency skills."

"Sir?"

"I fear my time with and any possible influence on her shall soon run out," he pointed out, peering over his half-moon spectacles. "Sooner than later, in fact. You may know quite well that I share supervision of her whilst she is in Hogwarts, that is to say, custodial care of Nagini?" Albus gave a deep sigh. "I recall insisting on the terms myself; however, she shall soon be returned to her uncle's care at Malfoy Manor." He gestured to a few scrolls in front of him. "Both Bartemius Crouch and Lester Qualmsick have sent me reminders...but with Abraxas being terminably ill, I fear the responsibility of her supervision and well-being falls to Lucius. In other words, a very precarious situation."

Severus frowned. He knew Lucius had left even earlier than expected, being called home abruptly. He had heard him snarl something about Abraxas' illness, Dragon Pox, but had not known the true stage and severity of it. "What exactly are you asking of me, sir?"

"Merely to drill her several times, assessing her ability to block and shield her thoughts. Perhaps let her test her Legilimency skills as well, though more emphasis must be on her strengthening her ability to block a Legilimens attack."

Severus felt a slight tremble thrum through him. "I don't believe I'm qualified for that, sir. I doubt she would feel comfortable with me..."

"On the contrary," interrupted Dumbledore in a normal voice, "Of anyone she knows, she will be most comfortable with you and therefore able to trust you."

"How so?"

"Your past together, brief as it has been, should be enough. Aren't you curious to know?"

"I told you she seems to not remember anything that...that transpired between us."

"Perhaps and perhaps not, Severus. Emotions can be stronger than mental recollection."

"Sir?"

"A fragrance, a sound, a touch... such things can evoke even the deepest buried memories."

"And those that have been meddled with? Obliviated?"

"It is not a fixed field of magic, Severus, but fluid and mercurial, like the heavens. The strength or weakness of an individual to the spell innately varies...we shall see what and how much, if all or selective parts of her consciousness has been tampered with." Dumbledore gave him a hard look. "Will you do this for me, Severus?"

Severus still hesitated to fully agree.

Dumbledore challenged him with, "Aren't you curious to how strong you are, Severus? You swore last time we met that you were now in full control of your mind and... emotions. This would be a chance to exercise and test those claims... if you are not afraid of them. A chance to prove to me that my doubts about your level of control is..." the Headmaster searched for the right word, "mistaken." He peered hard and steady at Severus. "Am I mistaken about you?"

"When to begin, sir?"

"No time better than the present. This evening will do. I'll have Miss Malfoy informed...is there a preferable space?"

"The Astronomy Tower," offered Severus coolly and evenly. "N.E.W.Ts are over; no one should need it, unlike Professor Slughorn's Potions lab...he lets me use it often for extra projects."

"The Astronomy Tower it is...just put a ward on the staircase before you begin your exercises. Shall we say nine o'clock?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. I'll tell Slughorn to relay all information; needless to say, it is to be kept amongst yourselves."

"Yes, sir." He nodded curtly and left.

* S *

And so he waited in the Astronomy Tower for Nagini; it would be their third meeting for Occlumency, and he felt a restless anticipation. The first time had been almost unbearable for him; she had seemed both defiant yet vulnerable at first, but then, she had compliantly allowed him to guide her through step by step. Severus realized immediately she had had some previous training, for she knew to void her thoughts though not consistently.

He had been gentle but precise, and due to his knowledge of her mother's ascertaining diary, he could skillfully maneuver what to attempt to tap into and what to avoid. He had allowed and encouraged her to use Legilimency on him; and though she made skilful effort, he was pleased she could neither penetrate nor access anything from him. He prided himself on his unerring ability to conceal his thoughts and feelings from her external penetration attempts.

He, on the other hand, had time to time opened a chronological stream of images and experiences from her childhood on up to more recent and very stringent episodes of her and an older witch, Dymphna, her caretaker, fleeing and hiding in various places. Fleeing from what or whom, he could not yet find. For as he established her boundaries and accessed parts of information and experiences, there were disturbingly murky gaps in her memories, blockages; blotches of a pulsating force barricaded him several times when attempting to retrieve a memory in between them.

It's as if her memories have been selectively Obliviated and selectively blocked... To what depth have any been altered intentionally?

It had then become increasingly difficult to navigate around in her mind, but by their second time, he had methodically chartered out which areas he would continue and build upon with her, constantly checking her endurance and concentration level by repetition and attempting to catch her both on and off guard to assess her range and level.

This brought him to another issue: Nagini's emotive surges of magical force and energy. He could feel her waves of magical energy surging and decreasing, only to swell again. He could feel and see that something had overall changed about her; it wasn't necessarily that she was more aggressive, but she had a distinctly constant magical force about her than before, very fluid and assertive...he detected a vitality that flowed and pulsated, an underlying strength and uncanny sharp focus. Matching my own, equal to mine...

And then, there were her discrete looks to him, kindling feelings he knew should stay in stasis. A smoldering yearning or searching... Why does she smile at me like that? Does she remember us before...? No matter. I must prove my control and ability to distance myself... at all times, regardless of... He blinked hard and mentally shoved that train of thought aside. Yet he found himself using extra energy to do so, having to doubly restrain any impulses to respond to her when he perceived her giving him a particular questioning, yearning look. As if...

"Am I very late?"

Severus turned to her voice, snapping him out of his reflections. Nagini's arrived finally! "No. Not at all."

Nagini was flushed with an excitable energy emanating from her. "I've just finished my Defence Against the Dark Arts' final examination, the last of them. Now I'm caught up on everything!"

He could see she was eager to share with him. "It must have gone well..."

"Yes, it did. Oh, I also had a brief consultation with Professor Slughorn; he was very encouraging. He says... I have exceptional skills, and perhaps I should think of..." She stopped herself abruptly. "Well, even the Headmaster..."

"What?"

Her eyes were shining. "I meet all the requirements to apply to be a Hit Witch for the Magical Law Enforcement Squad."

Some sound emitted from Severus as he huffed in disbelief. He blinked at her, slowly registering what she had just said, even as his mind raced to decide how to tactfully respond. "You do know what Aurors...Hit Wizards, rather, actually are expected to do? Their function in the order of things? To hunt Dark Wizards?"

There was a brazen defiance about her as she replied, "They are tasked with arresting dangerous criminals."

"With seizing, stopping Dark Wizards, Nagini. Dark Wizards..." He stopped, exasperated at the preposterous idea. What the fuck are Dumbledore and Slughorn up to?

She actually smiled, clarifying, "Dark and duplicitous wizards, yes? Takes one to know one... I could be a true asset to the Ministry if they could trust me enough to use me to their advantage. What say you?"

"Do you think of yourself as purely Dark, Nagini?"

"Not purely, no, but I was created..." She broke off, seeming to struggle with something, asking again, "What say you?"

Severus knew he was treading on thin ice. "I think... you can take and draw from all of your experiences, the good and the bad, and all of your vast knowledge, and this will help influence what and how you make your choices."

"Lucius told me I was conceived solely...predispositioned from conceivement to be a Dark witch, a sorceress... He and Abraxas believe this absolutely...what do you believe?"

"There is magic, neither absolute Dark nor Light, rather the complexity of existence, of life, and there is you, a part of one complexity, out of multiple, infinite others." She needs to read her mother's account for her actions! He slowly held out Lucretia Malfoy's tattered journal. "Pandora and Xenophilius asked me to give this back to you."

"My mother's diary?"

As he handed it to her, he thought, It's expected Slughorn would desire to take some credit for her considerable talents, her well-connected family name on the superficial side of things, but... Dumbledore? It would be as good as suicide for her to even consider anything as ridiculous as...

"You've read it?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

He gave her a curt nod in response.

In a singsong voice, Nagini listed off, "Ancient runes, Muggle and wizard alike, calligraphy and transcriptions of ancient hieroglyphics... My mother had mastered the Elder Futwark... And the spells? Did you enjoy them? Runic spells, rare and precious ingredients... Her travel notes... Her personal notes..." Nagini opened the diary and skimmed through a few random pages. "Ah, yes. 'I will push magic beyond its limits'." She closed the diary with a snap. "That sums my mother up entirely."

There was silence, and then she looked up at him, suddenly woeful and conflicted, asking, "Did she record the other parts of her duplicitous life here? The heretical ones?"

"You must read it. Everything. You must read and label and judge for yourself." Severus' eyes narrowed in thought. So Nagini is aware of everything?

"Who else knows of its content?"

"No one, at least, no one knows of the hidden, spelled content."

"Hidden?"

"Your mother had throughout the diary certain sections concealed."

"And you discovered them?"

Severus nodded curtly again.

"Did Pandora and Xenophilius?"

"No, they seem to be blissfully ignorant, merely enthralled by Lucretia's Runic notations and original spells... Perhaps they shared this information with some of the other Ravenclaws..."

"But the Slytherins? You didn't share anything..."

"No, nor would I ever." Severus needed her to be rational about the obviously vexing diary. He pointed out, "When you read this, it will reveal the complexity of Lucretia's dilemmas with..."

"Does this tell how she abandoned me? Why she did?"

"No." He took a deep breath and smoothly observed, "However, one could deduce it would have been for a very good reason. Perhaps she felt you were safer without her than with her. "

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps she had tired of me, bored, as she was prone to be quickly with people. A very impatient woman. And she simply moved on."

"She was murdered, Nagini. Only her bones were found. Obviously, she was in some kind of danger. I don't think..." He had to be pedantic with her, for he could feel himself becoming distracted by her abrupt pacing and mercurial reactions. "Again, in light of that, one must deduce that she decided you were safer not knowing anything further of her whereabouts."

Nagini didn't answer, but in a flash threw the diary down simultaneously hexing it with an Incendio spell.

"No!" Severus looked aghast as the book burned and flicked his wand, throwing an Auguamenti spell to extinguish the flames.

But Nagini blocked it with a counter-spell and jumped in front of the burning and hissing journal. "It must be destroyed."

"Why?"

"It ends here. My past. I will reinvent myself." She gave him a defiant stare and seemed to be crackling with nervous energy.

"You must read her content, vital content..."

"I don't need to read it...I'm living proof of it!"

There was further crepitation from the cindered diary, as if the little compact book had been alive and yet still struggled against the flames.

"Nagini, it should not be destroyed. You could, perhaps, receive some comfort, some understanding of other things... Of why your mother was considered a practitioner of forbidden, unorthodox practices..."

They both stared and watched as the diary finally burned into a large lump, reduced to thick ash. As the cinders darkened, extinguished, in the second, Nagini's energy seemed to abruptly crash; she swayed as if about to collapse and asked in a small voice, "What do you believe, Severus? Am I an abomination? Was I created, pre-wired to be a Dark sorceress or can I be re-conditioned? Could I reinvent myself?"

She leaned against the Tower's wall as if sapped completely of energy, and Severus grew gravely concerned, unwilling to keep up pretences further and no longer caring to control and hide his thoughts and feelings from her. "You have been through so much. I believe... you need rest and time..."

"I haven't much time... Dumbledore hasn't told you? I must return to Malfoy Manor. Time is running out." She slunk down to the floor sitting up against the stone wall, all of her former bravado gone. "Decisions need to be made."

"It would be reckless..."

"Not a wise choice? But you see, I have so few before me."

"To choose to become a Hit Witch would be tantamount to..." he faltered, only able to finish his sentence silently, thinking, Suicide!

"At Durmstrang, they heckled me constantly with 'all will know you for what you are...an abomination created by that heretic hag who you called your mother...' Even my uncle, dear Abraxas, called me an abomination. But Dymphna believed I was special, strong...that I could overcome anything; she didn't want to leave me at Durmstrang. But she said she had no choice..." Nagini's brow furrowed, apparently having conflicting thoughts.

Severus silently resigned himself to Nagini's apparent need to speak and have someone listen, and so he slowly sat down beside her, casting a warming spell on the cold floor and wall under and around them, as the open chill of the space seemed to be cloaking them with yet another level of dampened spirits.

"Gunther Von Sturmberg, the father of the Durmstrang wizard who branded Grindewald's symbol on my flesh," Nagini's facial muscles clenched in remembrance, "he was the Head Hit Wizard who hunted down Dymphna after she put me in Durmstrang. Perhaps we will meet again, one day, but this time, I will be his equal, not his inferior."

Severus asked carefully, "You wish to avenge... matters?"

"I wish to understand why my mother left me with Dymphna in the first place!" exclaimed Nagini. "Though I will be eternally grateful to Dymphna. She cared for me, further trained me; she was masterful and a powerful sorceress in her own right."

"Of course she was." He gently reminded her, "And she was your aunt. Grindewald's sister, yes?"

Nagini gave him a glum look. "She never referred to our biological connection... relationship; our entire time together, as far back as I can remember, she insisted I call her Dymphna, only that. We were always fleeing from an unknown menace, never in the same spot long, even living with Muggles, living as Muggles...but that never lasted long. Dymphna had to silence a few of them... permanently."

"Bagshot murdered them?"

"They would overhear us discussing magic or see us using magic and become hysterical. She tried Obliviating them, succeeded most of the times, but a few times, she lost her patience and became violent. Like Gellert, Dymphna said Muggles were stupid beasts, primitive and fated to forever be non-evolved..."

Nagini gave him an odd, bittersweet smile. "Her true surname being Grindewald, she took her British relatives' name for a level of anonymity... though that did not last for long. Von Sturmberg and his squad tracked Dymphna down right after she put me in Durmstrang. Everything was then known...the truth of who she was, who I was, and Gunther shared it with his son." She huffed. "The pathetic irony of it all is that they're all bloody hypocrites...in their esoteric circles they liked to boast and brag and put the image of the great Dark wizard Grindewald on a pedestal... But when faced with his actual flesh and blood, it was only to exert their fear of the unknown and cruelty over that which was representative of the non-ordinary, something suddenly blasphemous to their false, exalted ideas... In the end, I represented heresy in all its unbearable forms to them."

"You seem to remember things... clearly from your distant past."

"Yes, these past few days, I've been consumed with overwhelming flashbacks, feelings, volatile and erratic. Some clear... some not."

"Since our Occlumency exercises together?"

"Yes, but even before. In the hospital wing, I had these visions... these nightmares...I was helpless in an infirmary bed, and yet in the dreams, I felt all-powerful yet frustrated and full of anger and hatred... But when I awakened, I just felt depleted of energy, weak, and more forgetful. But since my first day returning to classes and having my wand, I've felt renewed, stronger than ever, but volatile, so very, very volatile. "

Severus swallowed hard and pointed out, "When you return to Malfoy Manor, you must not allow your emotions to come too near the surface, regardless of traumatic past experiences."

"I won't. I know my feelings; I know what's happened to me."

Not everything! thought Severus bitterly. How to help her with so little time? "I think you're repressed. And as time goes by, from what you're sharing with me, you will find it particularly difficult to suppress certain emotions forcing themselves forward, certain recalled memories."

"I won't. I will detach and control my emotions."

"You have seemed very capable of compartmentalising your life and your emotions. But now..."

"I have always done so. I learned at a very young age the method of loci, to create a mind palace, as well as to detach myself from... reality."

"Yesss..." Severus inhaled sharply, frowning. He felt himself growing impatient with her, with the situation, but mostly with himself for not taking action. "I understand."

"Yes, you do."

Decisively, Severus moved to sit directly in front of her so that they were face to face.

Waiting for and willing her to look him eye to eye, he then said, "As you know, more advanced Occlumency involves suppressing not only thoughts, but emotions as well, in order to prevent a Legilimens from perceiving them. Memories can be formed that would contradict whatever it is an Occlumens wishes a Legilimens to believe." His heart began to beat harder. "It is not obvious that Occlumency is being used even if the person is lying. I remind you of these points because this will be vital for you to survive with Lucius and his inner circle. Bellatrix, Narcissa...most importantly, the Dark Lord himself are..." Severus heaved a heavy sigh. "Nagini, it requires a great deal of will power, a high degree of mental and emotional discipline."

She gave him a puzzled look as if to say she was aware of all this. "You judge that I lack this level?"

"The mind is complex..." He moved a long strand of hair that had fallen away from her face and tucked it behind one of her ears. "Well, you are complex and many-layered... However, a highly skilled Legilimens could delve into your mind and not only discover what they want but... hurt you irreparably. I need you to further shield your mind from me attempting to invade and influence you. Not only your thoughts, but any feelings, emotions and memories that are repressed deep within you. Deeper than I have probed before." He felt a thrum of intensity go through him and asked, "Do you trust me? Can we attempt another round of exercises?"

"Yes," she whispered, fully mesmerized by him.

"You must try to block my attempts with all of your willpower. I'm going to do it nonverbally, so I will be very forceful. More forceful than times before, do you understand?"

She nodded.

He swallowed hard, asking in a low voice, "Do you trust me? That I do this out of... care and concern for you?"

She nodded again, her golden orbs gleamed.

Severus bore into her eyes, casting the incantation Legilimens nonverbally. He was plunged inside her mind, and at first it seemed to be in complete disarray, but then blotches of colour appeared interspersed with images of Nagini's past: Durmstrang, Dymphna, a dirty, drunken Muggle cursed dead in a gutter, dark splotches of purple, black forests, a crisp, pious Muggle offering food, bright splotches of green, a quaint cottage in a forest; a dark, cramped hovel, a sterile chamber, black fiery bursts, a witch with long whitish blonde hair snarling, blackness...

Severus pulled out, and they both were breathing heavily. Nagini's eyes were dilated and he felt inspired, whispering intensely, "And your memory from the more recent past, from your accident in the Forbidden Forest?" His heart was racing, and he suddenly felt vexed, asking, "Will you allow me to try deeper?"

"I'm ready. Do it!" she whispered back fiercely. "Continue..." Her voice trailed off, but she was staring intensely into his eyes, waiting for him to penetrate her mind further.

He swiftly complied, delving into her deeper buried thoughts, into her lower depths: Dark Hawthorne trees, a golden Horklump, Peter Pettigrew holding it, Nagini and him holding it together, darkness... He demanded, No, I want your memories, your emotions! He launched the incantation again into her with even more force, unrelenting. I can't penetrate this darkness! Just then, figures and faces were becoming clearer in a blur of forms: Black, green, red blotches, bursts and swirls of wisps and kaleidoscope visions flowing with a sense of violent energy. Severus gasped sharply. He demanded again in her mind, What were you feeling? What were the memories? Reveal them to me!

Suddenly, some force of energy seemed to possess Severus, something extremely painful and all-consuming. He was Nagini: being kicked, hexed, forced to transform into her Animagus, a foot on her serpentine throat, black spots, green blotches, Voldemort's face jeering. He groaned as a tingling pain singed through him; he was still Nagini: being strangled, choking, gasping for air. He could see Rodolphus leering, his distorted features, feel his weight, feel the impact of his fists, his hands squeezing and bruising her, feel him entering her...feel her being... There were images of Lestrange's face as he released himself inside her...

Noooo! Blotches of purple, black, green barricaded his vision, simultaneously sapping him of energy. He struggled and pulled back, breaking free, stumbling out of her mind.

Impulsively, he grabbed and held Nagini close to him. She was panting heavily, and oddly, she had a look of torpidity, asking him sluggishly, "What's wrong, Severus? What's..." She fell back in a state of listlessness.

Nagini! Ah, fuck! What's happened to her? What have I done? With his mind reeling, he hoisted her up into his arms and whispered a Levitation charm around her body and then carried her down the stairs as fast as possible, frantically thinking, What the fuck has just happened? As they neared Slytherin, he further whispered a Concealment charm around them and was doubly thankful that term had ended with most of the student body gone.

He searched desperately through his own detailed mental inventory of knowledge and experiences for an explanation of what had just occurred. Something clicked inside Severus; something deep and precise. A ricochet shield of sorts placed inside her mind... Only a powerful sorcerer, one cunning and skilled enough as a Legilimens to manipulate and plant something in her mind like that against others... Voldemort!

Ah, fucking Voldemort! Fucking Rodolphus! This would never had even happened if that swine hadn't...

Nagini made a sound; she was coming to as they passed through the Slytherin common room. Severus stopped as they entered the corridor to the bedchambers and placed her on her feet, though she still seemed like she was numb with shock.

"What...what's happened?" she asked him groggily.

"Let me take you to your room. Rest there. There's something I must do. Then I'll come back and explain." Even though his heart was racing with a deep seated rage pulsating through him, he managed to escort her calmly, repeating in a low, hushed voice, "It's all right. It's all going to be all right."

But as they neared her room, his eyes narrowed seeing Bartemius Crouch Jr lolling about outside the doorway. Hearing Bellatrix's specific shrieking coming from within, they halted momentarily as Bartemius gave them an odd, toothy grin, greeting, "Hullo, there! Severus... Miss Malfoy."

"Arranged marriages are arranged marriages, and everything that goes with it...accept it, Cissy!" screamed Bellatrix.

They entered slowly, and Severus had to hold Nagini up beside him as she led him towards her bed, her body growing heavy with a lethargic weight. Severus noted that Narcissa apparently was in the middle of packing, not just clothing, but all of her belongings into several trunks of various sizes.

"Ah, it's Severussss... and our Nagini," hissed Bellatrix. "What's wrong with you, girly?"

"Nothing. She just needs to lie down," answered Severus for her, helping Nagini recline onto her bed.

Nagini immediately turned away from them all, onto her side, curling up.

Bellatrix grinned an evil grin, sashaying up to him, waggling her finger. "What did you do to her, Sevy?"

"Nothing to concern oneself with. I was merely helping her drill some spells for her Dark Arts exams and used a little too much force. She merely needs to rest."

Bellatrix cackled wildly, throwing her head back and then glowered at him, "Liar, liar, liar! She had her final exam today." She inhaled deeply, glaring at him. "Unlike Cissy, here, I don't trust you, Snape. Something about you that's a tad iffy. But for some unfathomable reason, the Dark Lord likes you, so being a very patient witch, I'll wait and see if you prove yourself truly worthy." Letting out an amused cackle again, she jibed, "Thought you'd play around with her a bit with Lucius gone, eh?"

Making a great effort to control himself, Snape regarded Bellatrix coolly, saying, "Speaking of Lucius, where is your fiancé, Bella? He has also left, as well?"

She leered at him menacingly. "No, he and I are leaving early in the morning with Cissy...her marriage ceremony has been moved up, for invited witnesses only."

"There'll be a celebration dinner for others at a later date," said Narcissa quietly. "Lucius' father is... Abraxas is on his deathbed, so it's not a time to celebrate... But he demands...requests that the marriage take place immediately before he dies... The mediwizard says he has maybe only days to live."

Bellatrix gave an exasperated moan, saying, "Speaking of doing something that needs to be done...let's go, Barty!"

"Are you meeting up with Rodolphus?" asked Severus as calmly as he could, though he could feel his blood pounding in his veins.

"You are soooo boring, Sevy," hissed Bellatrix. "No, he's out and about in the castle, probably sniffing around the kitchens or Hufflepuff basement, searching for something to nosh on or have someone nosh him." She laughed wildly again, grabbing and tucking Bartemius with her, calling out, "We'll be using the Astronomy Tower, Sevy, now that you and Miss hoity-toity are finished!"

Severus immediately went to Nagini and consoled, "I will return." He looked at Narcissa, saying in a low voice, "There's something I must do. Then, I'll be back. She's had... a bit of a shock. Watch over until I return?"

Narcissa sat beside Nagini, observing as she touch Nagini's arm gently, "She's sleeping."

Severus noted Narcissa's serpentine ring on her finger; the sight of it causing his pulse to flare. "You're still wearing yours?" He spat out, "Rodolphus and the Dark Lord's gift? You still can't take the cursed object off?"

Solemnly, Narcissa slowly moved it up and off her finger, and then she slowly placed it back on.

Severus' eyes narrowed. "You can remove yours?"

Ashamed, she nodded.

"How? You have given yourself...?"

"It was either me or... Nagini." Narcissa shook her head, as if still in disbelief or denial, forcing herself to reveal the truth. "It started out as a game. I think, just between Bella and Rodolphus and Lucius. You see, Lucius 'won' Bella in some hedonistic game they participated in with each other... That's neither here nor there now... But then, Rodolphus somehow included the Dark Lord, who at first seemed amused by their antics. But it turned into something else." Narcissa confessed bitterly, "I was included, and then Nagini. The rings were given to...forced upon us. Lucius had to choose between us."

Trembling with rage, Severus rasped, "Why do you still wear yours, Narcissa?"

"Lucius asked me to do so, out of loyalty. He said it would please the Dark Lord to know I wear a trinket given by him, even one given in sport. "

Severus needed to release the rage within. Fucking Rodolphus! Bellatrix! He stalked out, repeating, "I must go, but I'll be back."

Burning to avenge Nagini, Severus headed directly for the Hufflepuff Basement area of the castle, and going down the staircase, leading directly under the Great Hall, he passed the kitchens area, giving a glare at the still life painting of a bowl of fruit entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. He halted just right of a nook on the side of the kitchen corridor. He sneered at the rounded doorways leading back towards the kitchen, thinking, Where would that snake of a Slytherin be? Nice and cozy with his zoftig Hufflepuff he has on the side to occasionally hook up with?

He inhaled deeply remembering his own favourite secret nooks that the castle's unique architecture offered students desperate to snog or other intimacies, neatly and conveniently tucked away. Stealthily going towards the shadows of the staircase's underbelly, he passed a stack of barrels which lined the wall four-levels up. Non-verbally, he cast a Revelio and smiled grimly as a passageway revealed itself, concealed within the thickest and darkest area of the stacked barrels.

Severus cast a Muffliato around himself and the space as he crept forward into it. A side storage room of sorts! He glowered as he heard the characteristic huffs and puffs of coupling going on and gripped his wand tighter as he slunk back against the wall watching the pair finish their carnal business. He breathed slowly and steadily as Rodolphus released a full-figured witch, grunting for her to hurry up with putting her knickers back on, and watched her swank away and pass him, tucking her skirt further down, merely giggling and throwing him a coquettish smile as she whispered, "Excuse me!"

She left in a clumsy hurry; Rodolphus turned to watch her exiting and only then did he realize that he was not alone.

"Oh, it's just you," sneered Lestrange, tucking his shirttail into his trousers. "Enjoyed the show, did you?"

There was no verbal answer, but a subtle flick of Snape's wand along with the burning intensity in his eyes made Lestrange freeze in place as if he'd been Petrified. His facial muscles twitched and then his entire body convulsed as Severus waved him up against the wall. As he slid downwards, Rodolphus ever so slowly grimaced into a moue of excruciating pain as Severus nonverbally cast further a spell of his own concoction.

Scalpere Interius Scrotum!

As Rodolphus' eyes welled up with tears of insufferable pain, Severus came closer, watching him convulse with repeated spasms, begging hoarsely, "Snape!"

"As you should well know by now, Lestrange, I have a particular passion for the Dark Arts, especially curses," said Severus in a low and dangerously even voice. "I take deep pleasure in inventing spells, truly, but the curses, the hexes one can create if not rutting like a pig, Rodolphus, the possibilities thoroughly intrigue me... I've found I can be quite inventive."

Taking a step closer, Severus stood above Rodolphus, staring down at his squirming, agonized form, as Lestrange gagged out, "The Dark Lord will know of this... The Dark Lord will..."

Like lightening, Severus swept down and crouched, grabbing Lestrange's hair, twisting it back in his fist, forcing him to stare in his eyes, snarling, "Good!"

Rodolphus' eyes grew even wider in their pain with surprise.

"Yes, Lestrange. I want you to crawl to the Dark Lord, and you tell him exactly what I have done to you. Describe to him how your testicles feel as if they're being scraped and sliced from within. Let him know who is the superior wizard amongst us...you spineless piece of shite." Severus smiled a cruel, empowered smile at him. "It will only reinforce what he already knows about you; your only interests are in a rut or a wank...in other words, you're a sniveling, worthless parasite for him. Whereas I, on the other hand, push magic beyond the comprehension of privileged peons as yourself; I am truly worthy of a great Dark Lord such as Voldemort. So do it, you fuck. Run to the Dark Lord and squeal like the swine you are!"

Severus sent the nonverbal curse yet again, causing Rodolphus to shake and cry out in a howl, grabbing and clawing his own groin in agony. "No, no, no! Stop it, Snape! Stop it...what do you want?"

"I want you to feel what it's like to have your insides burning and bleeding... and I want you to remember it..."

Rodolphus garbled out some expletives before managing to cry out, "Make it stop! Tell me what you want!"

"Do you beg me, Lestrange? Beg me to stop?"

He grunted deeply and wailed, blubbering out, "Yes, yes, yes... Please, stop!"

Severus stood and shoved Lestrange's form over on his back, Imperioing him to stare directly into his eyes. "You will never, ever, touch or bother Nagini again in any manner during your miserable life. You will cease as of now. If I detect...if I perceive any whiff of intention on your part towards her, you will beg me for death." He swooped down and grabbed Lestrange by the collars and gave him a violent shake. "But I will not be merciful...just like you were not merciful to Nagini."

Snot was running down his nose into his mouth as Rodolphus' teary eyes darted back and forth at Severus'. Gasping for breath, he nodded in spastic movements, groaning, "All right, then. Yes, Snape."

Rising to his full height, Severus released him with a shove, causing Lestrange's head to pop against the stone, and stared down at him for several seconds before turning and walking away.

"Snape!" cried out Lestrange, straining through his agony. "When will your fucking hex cease completely...this bloody pain subside?"

Severus looked at him coolly, considering, I have no idea. Well, it should wear off within the hour... or perhaps not. It is the first time I've applied it, but it seems to work brilliantly...

"That's for me to know and you to find out. I don't trust you, Lestrange, so be a good prick, don't piss me off, and I may remove it sooner than later."

* S *

Severus left Rodolphus wallowing and returned to Nagini and Narcissa's room.

Only a few sconces were lit, giving the room a somber but calming feel. Narcissa had changed into her nightgown and was combing her long blonde hair as she sat at her vanity table. She looked up at Severus and motioned towards Nagini's bed.

He crossed over and gently sat beside her covered form; she was also in a nightdress but was turned away from him on her side. He saw that she was sleeping heavily, though with a fretful expression as if having night terrors.

He looked over to Narcissa with a questioning look.

"She's been making frightful cries, waking momentarily, only to fall back into a restless slumber." Narcissa crossed over, coming up beside him, saying softly, "She doesn't seem to need the hospital wing, but... Stay with us, Severus. It'd be comforting... for both of us."

Severus gave her a look, and Narcissa returned it with a serene, knowing stare as she said, "You are one of the few within Voldemort's circle who is capable of nurturing, of healing, of feeling... unconditional love. She needs you."

Severus froze. A thrumming energy still coursed through him from having used such force on Rodolphus, and he still felt as if his revved adrenaline needed to be channeled through further forceful, if not violent, means. He burned to pummel the stone walls like a Muggle pummeling a punch bag, not cuddle and snuggle with a fragile witch, who needed to rest and be left alone to heal in his opinion.

"You are mistaken, Narcissa." He retorted, "About everything."

"No, I'm not," she countered with her utmost haughty air.

He jumped up as he felt the touch of her hand on his arm. Suddenly, he was aware of another kind of adrenaline...given a choice between fight or flight, he made a split-second choice to flee.

"If you need me, Narcissa, if Nagini needs me..." He looked back to the blonde witch and saw that Narcissa locked eyes with him, boring into him with her piercing blue eyes.

"Don't even try!" he whispered fiercely at her, thoroughly nettled that she would attempt Legilimens on him.

"I am not mistaken about you, Severus!" exclaimed Narcissa ardently. "You who have been my true friend all these years, like a brother; you who are capable of devotion and loyalty as none other... Nagini needs you now! You have a way of handling her, of calming her, comforting her that I haven't. And there is nothing to stop you but..."

Severus felt his shoulders slump from the tension he was holding as he watched Narcissa regain control of herself, and with a huff and her eyes shining at him, she actually then teased, "Nothing but to take off your shoes and lie down and hold her if she needs you to do so."

She sashayed slowly to him and tilted her head slightly as she admonished him, "It will save me from sending a Patronus or coming myself to fetch you in the middle of the night, which I will surely do."

Giving the Black witch a shrewd and calculating look, Severus asked wryly, "May I be permitted to Accio my toothbrush?"

As perspicacious as always, Narcissa gave him a smug smile, waving her hand towards the room's inner lavatory. "I've already done that for you."

* S *