Chapter 1: The Indulgence of Spirits

Disclaimer: I do not claim any characters that are connected to the Harry Potter series. They are not mine in any way, shape or form. They belong to the highly talented J.K. Rowling. She gets the cash and credit.

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The sun had settled behind the dingy little row houses, their shadows casting long irregular forms across the ground before them. Dirty little Muggle children were still playing along the black river that ran through the field nearby. One of the boys yelled out to the others as he found something lying in the grass. The children quickly gathered by his side to observe the object. The young urchin poked at some bones with a stick until he fished out a skull.

"Look at this! It's a head of some animal!"

All wide eyed, the kids closed in for a closer inspection.

One of the girls whispered, "What do you think it is?"

"Looks like a dog or something," replied one of the older ones.

"Eeew!" cried out a few of the older girls.

A small girl, by the name of Lucy, put her hand up to her mouth and backed away as if the bones would suddenly spring to life. She was considered a bit odd by normal standards, but the children of this raggedy gang considered her useful. Lucy saw and sensed things that they did not. She often warned them of certain dangers, and many times it saved their bums from impending whippings. Hence, when Lucy spoke, which wasn't much, they listened.

"It's not a dog." The little girl's eyes were catatonic as she viewed the mass in the weeds. "It was a fox."

The children became very quiet as Lucy's voice had become almost inaudible.

"Something very evil happened here...The evil is still here."

Her eyes traveled across the field as if she were following some invisible footsteps. The evening fog was settling in, wrapping the dingy little neighborhood in a blanket of white and grey. The children's eyes followed Lucy's until they were all staring at the same dark house at the end of the row.

The anxiety and fear of the moment got the best of some, and they let out a collective scream. Most of the children scattered, heading to the safety of their homes. The older boys only shrugged, trying to cover their nervousness. Lucy continued to stand still, looking strangely in the direction of the ominous dwelling.

"Come on, Lucy." A taller, dark- haired boy grasped her shoulders. "It's getting on supper time. Just put it out of your head."

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Wormtail scuttled around the kitchen floor, wringing his hands. He felt anxious and a bit frightened. His housemate, the owner of these shabby quarters, was in an unusually bad mood. If it weren't for official orders that he stay put, Wormtail would have fled this place months ago. Since then, Severus Snape had managed to make him quite miserable, insulting him at every turn, ordering him about like some kind of servant and hexing him daily without real cause.

"I feel like one of Malfoy's house-elves," he whimpered.

"Wormtail!"

The dark voice made Peter Pettigrew cringe. Ever since the death of Albus Dumbledore, Peter didn't know whether he was more afraid of Voldemort or Severus Snape. In the weeks after the attack on Hogwarts, Pettigrew noticed that the Potions master had become increasingly short-tempered, only to turn around and fall into bouts of melancholy. He didn't mind the bouts of melancholy as Snape would just sit and stare into the fire. It was, however, the increasingly long periods of irritability and malicious behavior that bothered Wormtail. Especially since Snape's nastiness would center on him.

"Ye... Yes, Severus?" The chubby little man cursed himself for sounding weak, as he knew it would only annoy the wizard in the next room. Snape, he had felt, was prone to being a bit delusional after drinking a few bottles of elf-made wine. The last time, when Severus was in that condition, he started referring to Peter as Neville Longbottom and took pleasure in hanging him up, mid-air, by his ankle and throwing spoonfuls of Bubotuber pus at his body. It was a most painful experience, and he had to seek the help of a back alley mediwitch to alleviate the boils that formed.

"Wormtail!! Get in here! I order you!"

Wormtail ducked his head instinctively and shuffled into the living room.

"Yes, Severus? What do you need?"

The former Hogwarts professor sat in the worn out armchair with a rickety old table and a half empty bottle set next to him. Behind him, a fire in the fireplace cast a flickering light about his form giving the illusion that he was the devil himself perched upon his throne. His dark eyes peered out at Peter, studying him for just a moment.

"I believe," Snape said, "that tonight is a night for debauchery." A wicked smile appeared as he continued to stare at Pettigrew.

Peter grew cold and swallowed hard. The thought of fleeing for his life came quickly. He's planning to torture me; I just know it!

"But... I don't want to be Neville Longbottom again!" Peter immediately clamped his hand over his mouth as the words escaped.

"What?" Severus sat up in his chair and looked at Wormtail as if the Animagus had gone mad.

"You don't remember?" The man's voice shook as he asked the question.

"Remember what?" Snape stared intently at the man before him. A few seconds passed before Severus acknowledged his past treatment of Pettigrew with a sardonic laugh. "Well, I take it, Wormtail, you're not in the mood for a little role playing game tonight? Pity!"

Snape looked at the sniveling wizard with disdain. How he hated this man and blamed him as much as he blamed himself for the events that started some past 18 years ago. Foolish boys obsessed with the need for acknowledgement, acceptance and power. Look where it's gotten us. We're accused murderers living together in this dank, smelly, putrid part of town in this horrid little hovel. Teaching insipid brats at Hogwarts was no prize, but at least he had had his own quarters, had the use of a rather well equipped potions lab, and there were at least a couple of intelligent bodies to converse with, on occasion. What I wouldn't do to have a heated Quidditch debate with Minerva at this moment. Feeling more frustration and anger grow inside of him, Severus reached for his wand and flicked it at Wormtail.

"OUCH! What was that for?!?" Peter cried out as he rubbed his backside.

"For merely existing."

Severus had realized for some time that he was getting quite bored with tormenting Wormtail. It didn't have the same satisfaction as it had in the past. He knew that as each day passed, and he had to sit and wait for the Dark Lord to make his move; he had also become progressively more antagonistic towards Pettigrew. It was as if pushing the limits with Peter would fulfill some need. The Bubotuber episode was bordering extreme; of this, he was well aware. If he wasn't careful, he might end up killing Voldemort's little pet rat. That would not be good for his health or well-being. He needed something else to break up the monotony of his days. He needed to channel his energies into something more pleasurable and gratifying.

Reaching into the pocket of his cloak, Snape withdrew a letter.

"I would like you to run a small errand for me, Peter."

Still smarting from the hex Severus hit him with, Pettigrew was not sure he wanted to do the abysmal wizard any more favors today. In his anger he spat out, "I don't think I should like to!"

Snape leaned towards his housemate and looked at him threateningly. "Then perhaps you would like a repeat of the other night's performance." A cold smile crept at the corners of his mouth.

Wormtail quickly held out his hand to receive the letter.

"I want you deliver this letter to Madame Morbida's in Knockturn Alley," Severus said smoothly. "Inside are complete instructions as to what I require of her." The Potions master stopped briefly, making sure that the little rodent was truly listening. How many times had he given explicit instructions to incompetent dunderheads, only to be half followed or ignored completely? Visions of Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Harry Potter began surfacing. Severus shook his head slightly, as if that would dispel the intruders, and continued. "She will be giving you two items to be delivered to me safely and intact. You..." he emphasized, "will not tamper with them in any way. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Wormtail nodded, took the letter and stuffed it inside his shirt. Hesitantly, he walked past Snape to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo powder from a rusty canister and yelled out, "Knockturn Alley." In a green flash, Wormtail was gone.

Severus waited for a few moments after Peter disappeared before getting up and heading for the bookcase that surrounded the room. He pressed against a section of shelving that sprung open and vanished behind the secret compartment.

Behind the concealed door were a stairway and several rooms. To view it from the outside, one would never guess that the small, shabby dwelling encased the additional living space. In order to add a needed work area and sleeping quarters, the present owner had magically enchanted it. Snape entered the room that he had set up as a small potions lab. It certainly didn't have all the equipment and capabilities of his old lab at Hogwarts, but it was functional. There was enough room and table space to have several caldrons brewing at once if needed. A wall-sized cupboard acted as storage for large specimen jars or containers holding ingredients such as dead cockroaches, porcupine quills, and tubeworms. Natural light would filter through two dirty windowpanes during the daytime, but in the evening, the makeshift lab was lit with various-sized beeswax candles.

Adjusting the candlelight with little flicks of his wand, Severus walked up to a small caldron simmering on a stand in the corner of the room; the dark contents of the pot hissed and bubbled lazily. The wizard leaned over and examined the potion with his keen senses. Satisfied with the creation, he extinguished the flame and ladled the liquid into two earthenware cups. From a nearby table, he picked up a black leather case that held various small, odd shaped bottles and vials. Each one contained individual ingredients, small dosages of prepared potions, and specimen samples. Snape had meticulously labeled the glass containers and arranged them into several categories. He quickly surveyed the array until he found the two vials that he needed. The Potions master gently removed them from the case and walked over to where the cups sat. He examined the glass tubes once more before he took out the stoppers and carefully extracted a fiber from each, placing one strand in one cup and the other strand in the second cup. The contents of the cups bubbled and frothed before changing color.

"The first process is complete," Snape said as he smirked with satisfaction. "Now we just have to wait for the rest."

Severus closed up the vials and put them back in their respective places. Then he took each cup, placed them on a small serving tray and proceeded to carry the items to the main sitting room of the house.

Once he was in the main room, he removed the bottle of elf wine from the rickety table and set the tray and its contents down on it. He settled himself back in his chair and waited for the return of Wormtail. The anticipation of what he perceived as a potentially entertaining evening grew, and he found himself grasping the arms of the chair more intensely than normal. Soon, something else signaled his eagerness for this evening's event to unfold. Annoyingly, at times, it was the one thing that he was never able to physically control or conceal... the one thing that made him as equal to any man on the face of the earth... and it was pressing against the buttons of his trousers.

A series of green flashes filled the small room as Wormtail and two witches exited the fireplace. The Animagus' watery eyes sparkled with excitement as he presented the young ladies to Snape.

"I've brought you the items you requested, Severus." He could barely contain himself while he lightly played with the yellow hair of the one standing nearest him. His hands shook as if he were touching something utterly taboo but could not resist the temptation. "If you don't have a preference, Severus, I would like this one for myself." Peter grinned like an idiot and salivated like a dog as he leered at the witch of his choice.

The blonde-haired witch looked at Peter and then at Snape before sighing disappointedly. The brunette witch batted her eyes at the wizard sitting in the chair and smiled seductively.

"Oh, good Merlin, Wormtail, don't wet yourself." Snape looked at him with distaste. "These delightful treats are for my entertainment only."

Peter's face crumbled as he realized he would not reap any rewards for completing his task. The blonde witch's face brightened as she realized that she wouldn't be stuck all evening with such a disgusting little toad.

Severus reached into his pocket, dug out some wizard coins and promptly threw them at Wormtail. "These are to show you some sense of gratitude for obeying my orders." The coins bounced off the Animagus and rolled about his feet. "Go get yourself your own street tart."

Wormtail stood still as he stared at the whores before him, his hope of sinful pleasures vanishing as quickly as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water in his face.

Snape cleared his throat and smoothly said, "Don't you have something else to do, Wormtail, like spreading some death and pestilence, perhaps? It certainly seems that the Black Plague is quite overdue, don't you think?"

Pettigrew glanced over to his roommate only to see the dark wizard smirking, dark eyes laughing with amusement at making him such a fool. He angrily bent over and snatched up the few miserable coins.

"What street walker would take this pittance!?"

"A desperate one, I suppose." Severus smiled slightly at Wormtail's agitation. "It's time for you to leave, Peter. If you can't find a woman you can afford, there are at least enough coins for a couple of Firewhiskeys and a few tugs with that silver appendage of yours."

The chubby little wizard glared at Snape before he shoved the money into his tattered trousers, transformed into a rat and scurried into a hole in the wall that led to the outside.

Severus rose from his chair only to peer out through the curtains, making sure that his furry rodent companion had indeed run off down the street. He certainly didn't need the nosy little spy to watch his every move tonight. A despicable thought crossed his mind as he watched Pettigrew scamper down the alley. How easy it would be to set out a nice little trap in front of Peter's escape hole. One quick snap of the spring, and I would be rid of the annoying rat boy forever. Ah, but then I would have to answer to the Dark Lord. That man has no sense of humor.

Removing himself from the window, Snape pulled himself up to his full height and turned to face the two whores standing in his home.

"Shall we continue?"