Chapter One: Chance Meeting, or Lucky Meeting?

Disclaimer: see prologue.

Chapter reread by the very efficient Somigliana. She's a real support for authors.

Severus entered the room where the Dark Lord spent most of his time with his usual silent and gliding gait. He didn't feel particularly happy about being summoned, but it was a reprieve from his dull, everyday life. Perhaps his Lord would tell him something, or give him an assignment that would pull him out of his stupor, that would prevent him from thinking too much about his state of mind.

"My Lord." He bowed to the scarlet-eyed man who was standing near a velvety armchair. "Bellatrix." He nodded to a dark-haired woman standing on the other side of the armchair.

"Severus," the other man greeted him.

"How may I be of service to you, my Lord?"

This was the clichéd question a Death Eater was expected to ask his master when summoned, especially when summoned before such a thin audience.

"Severus, I have a task for you. I need you to retrieve an object, an object that is very precious to me."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Bellatrix glaring daggers at him. It meant that the mission was important, and that she was jealous. It also meant failure would be sanctioned by death. Well, he wasn't depressed enough to serenely consider his own demise, so he paid close attention to what the Dark Lord told him next.

"I suppose that you do remember, Severus, what I have told you about the steps that I have taken to guard myself against mortal death? You and Bellatrix are the only ones who know what it was that I did to ensure my survival, whatever happened." He waited for a sign of acknowledgment from his servant and then resumed. "One of Potter's friends, a Mudblood girl, was spotted near the place where I have hidden one of my Horcruxes. I have therefore checked every location where I put them. I found, to my greatest displeasure, that two of them were missing. Bellatrix guards Helga Hufflepuff's cup, Nagini is quite safe at my side. I need you to retrieve Rowena Ravenclaw's codex from the orphanage where I grew up. It is concealed by a charm amongst the rafters, so that it looks like wood and a part of the roof structure."

The Dark Lord headed towards the hearth, interrupting his speech for a few minutes to answer Nagini's hisses, then took back his place near the armchair and resumed speaking in human fashion.

"The building itself looks abandoned and is protected by Muggle-Repelling Charms. Once inside, do not let yourself be distracted by the female singing that you will hear; it emanates from the paintings of sirens hanging all over the place. If you ever follow their song, you will touch the paintings and be absorbed into them. Climb up the stairs until you reach the door of the attic. You must cut your palm and let it bleed, and only with your hand bleeding will you be able open the door, or else you will be glued to the handle until you die from starvation. Be careful in the attic; I have placed several Runespoors there, and they might have reproduced. Do not kill them, but do not let yourself be bitten either. The codex is hidden near the second rafter on the right. With your still bleeding hand, you will be able to touch the rafter until you find the codex. It will regain its normal appearance then, and you will be able to pick it up. Do not dally and bring it back to me straightaway."

"I'll do as you ask, my Lord," was Severus' answer. Then the Dark Lord turned to Bellatrix; it seemed to be the cue she was waiting for.

"I believe, as I have already suggested to you, my Lord, that it would be more efficient if Severus didn't go alone. What if he's caught in a trap in spite of all your warnings, my Lord? If I were with him, I could help him to get out of it."

His master's eyes were on him. "I believe, Severus, that she has made a good point. What say you? Do you think that you need support to fulfil your mission?"

Severus pondered what his answer would be. He didn't want Bellatrix with him; he was sure that she was plotting to get some harm come his way. She may even be plotting a way to get rid of him permanently; she wouldn't have any more rivals for the Dark Lord's right hand job if that were the case.

"My Lord, those traps that you set are clever, but you know that I am very proficient at this sort of thing. And too much attention could be drawn to us if we both went. Let's not forget that I know the Muggle world rather well, and I have the ability to blend in that Bellatrix, however gifted she is, doesn't have."

"I agree, Severus," the Dark Lord answered. "You will go alone no later than tomorrow."

"As you wish, my Lord." Severus bowed and withdrew. He wanted to smirk at Bellatrix, but the way his master was placed, he would catch his silent taunting.

So Potter was after the Dark Lord's Horcruxes? He would never have thought the boy would be clever enough to be able to find and destroy them and remain alive. Or more probably it was Dumbledore who had found the two which had been destroyed. That would explain that strange black hand of his. He had wondered at the time what had led the Headmaster to come across such a powerful jinx. It had obviously been the Dark Lord's work; only he had the power and knowledge to use such magic. Severus had just never made the connection between his master's Horcruxes and Dumbledore's injury until now.

He sighed inwardly. He didn't like this mission one bit. It would be only too easy to get caught either by the Dark Lord's traps – even for someone forewarned – or by the Order, if indeed Potter was interested in the old orphanage. Not to mention that those pieces of Dark Magic were responsible, in a way, for his current state. If you thought about it logically, if the Dark Lord had contented himself with being mortal, he would have died when he'd tried to kill the brat Potter, and he, Severus, would still be a respected Hogwarts teacher. He'd even begun to miss the dunderheads; they'd be better than the wall of his house! And his fellow Death Eaters were too preoccupied with their own ambitions to be reliable acquaintances. At least he had been able to converse with McGonagall – not to say quarrel – and in all honesty, she would never have used what he let her see of himself against him. That was it, he needed a Gryffindor in his life, but currently there was only Wormtail.

With a mental jerk, he straightened his thoughts and got prepared for his foray in the Muggle world.

In the chilly air of the March evening, dressed in black trousers, jumper and jacket, and looking just like an ordinary Muggle, Severus was treading to the orphanage. The outside door was easily opened. He slipped in the dark and damp corridor and shut it behind him. As soon as it was done, he heard the sirens' chant. He put his hands on his ears and reached the end of the corridor as quickly as possible. Once in the next room, he breathed with relief. For a short while. The outside door was being opened, and he could hear voices, young voices. Potter and his friends. He dashed into a closet nearby and stood still.

Hermione just had time to grab the boys by their collars and to shove them forwards to the door at the end of the corridor. The trio came into the room where the closet hiding Severus was situated.

"What was that for, Hermione?" whined Ron. He was rubbing the nape of his neck. Harry was doing the same in silence.

"I saved your necks, Ron. Those paintings were enchanted to attract people. Had you touched them, you'd probably have died."

"And you were miraculously immune to them, of course?" Irony was dripping from Ron's words.

Hermione rolled her eyes with annoyance. When had her very attractive best friend turned into an irritating boyfriend? He had taken to contesting everything she said. If that went on, he would soon go back to his place as her best friend, and no more. Well, now wasn't the moment to ponder her love life.

"That enchantment was a very usual one in Antiquity. It was used in wizarding households to distract strange men from the gynaecium, or if you prefer, the harem. That's why only men are sensitive to it."

This time, it was Ron who rolled his eyes, wondering why his girlfriend felt the need to be such the show-off. He didn't realise that, had he held his tongue a bit more, he would have escaped the lecture. In the meantime, Harry had already reached the staircase and was calling for them. Ron joined him at once, but Hermione claimed that she wanted to have a closer look at the enchantment of the paintings, and that she would join them later. She soon found herself alone on the ground floor, but she didn't make it to the sirens' corridor, for a flash of red light had struck her.

A/N:

"I suppose that you do remember, Severus, what I have told you about the steps that I have taken to guard myself against mortal death?" Adapted from Chapter 33, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

A codex is an ancient text in the form of a book (Oxford OAD).

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