Chapter 14: Rewarded Above All

Chapter Fourteen: Rewarded Above All

Author’s Note: Chapter title is derived from Narcissa’s line on page 34 of American HBP. This also happens to be my favorite chapter so far. I apologize for not responding to the most recent reviews, I have been (and still am) very sick so I got very far behind with them. Sorry!

My anger had calmed slightly as Draco and I came in sight of the Dark Lord’s clearing in the woods. A bright fire blazed in the center of a perfectly circular clearing. When I stepped into the light, the entire gathering quieted. The Dark Lord caught sight of Draco and I, and he stepped quickly over to us. The blond-haired teen showed a great deal of fear in his eyes at the sight of the bald, red-eyed figure towering over him.

“Malfoy,” hissed The Dark Lord at the sight of the boy, “move away.”

He was on thin ice. I recalled that this meant I was as well, considering my Unbreakable Vow to his mother. My Lord turned his scarlet eyes towards me.

“Severus,” he said, a smile crossing his features for a moment as he looked into my eyes. I stood erect, knowing if I showed weakness he would be most dismayed.

“Yes, My Lord?”

“You have proven yourself above all others tonight.”

I merely inclined my head. I kept my face configured into what I knew to be a stoic, unreadable mask.

“You have therefore received my highest praise.” He looked at me, and in an instant, I knew to kneel and draw up the sleeve of my left arm.

He took his wand and touched it to his right forefinger. I was astounded to see blood ooze forth. I faced my Dark Mark up to him and focused my eyes intently on the tattoo. He ran his blood over the length of the Mark. My skin hissed, and a searing pain hit me. I bit the inside of my cheek in an attempt to stifle a scream.

My eyes widened as I looked down at my arm. The tattoo was gone. The skull, the snake, the burned ink—it all was gone. All that remained was a long, thin scar where The Dark Lord’s blood still remained. I stood on his cue. Before the significance of the act could sink in, a disbelieving shriek came from the darkness. Bellatrix Lestrange ran forward with livid eyes.

Sweet Merlin, I rolled my eyes, the woman has to interfere every god-damned time…

“My Lord,” she whimpered hysterically, “he should be proud to wear your Mark! He should be proud to follow you!”

“Bella,” the Dark Lord said dangerously, “nothing has indicated to me that Severus is unfaithful. Do you claim to know better than your master?”

She fell to the ground before him, sobbing. She kissed his feet, and he kicked her away with disdain. She lay in a heap on the ground, dangerously close to the fire. Sobs racked her body, and I heard a disapproving grumble resonate from where she had been standing. Her family was ashamed.

“He made an Unbreakable Vow!” she cried. A gasp resonated through the crowd; the Death Eaters were not fond of leaving their lives (and service of the Dark Lord) in such a vulnerable state.

“Bella, no!” cried Narcissa, pushing her way into the clearing.

“He made an Unbreakable Vow!” Bellatrix cried again, crawling forward to grab the hem of the Dark Lord’s robes.

“What is this foolishness, Narcissa?” he said, turning his attention to the saner sister.

“I have done something horrible, My Lord,” she said, hanging her head.

“What is it you have done, Narcissa?” he asked her, his patience growing short. He was not one to be swayed by female antics.

“I was so scared, what with Lucius in Azkaban, that I made Severus promise to carry out Draco’s assignment should he fail.” She paused and looked into her master’s eyes. “And I made him promise to protect Draco from harm.”

The Dark Lord looked down at her coldly. But before acting, he turned back to me. I was still holding my arm stupidly.

“So you were not acting of your own accord when you killed Dumbledore?” White-hot fury flared in his eyes.

“You know I value your respect above all else, My Lord,” I responded. He swept over to me and looked directly into my eyes. When we were both at our full height, he looked down at me still.

“Do I?”

“My Lord, I knew we were running out of time. I had to kill him lest I lose my own life.”

“I suppose so, Snape. It would not do to have my most faithful servant dead.” He turned to the shadows where Draco was lurking. There was silence in which Bellatrix’s whimpers could be heard plainly. The Dark Lord barked Draco’s surname, and the boy stepped out of the shadows.

“Yes, My Lord?” he asked as he bowed on one knee before his master.

“Under any other circumstances, you would be dead right now, boy. But I know that by harming you, I would force Severus to break his vow. I will not have two men fall from my ranks tonight. And so you shall live. I expect you to make up for your father’s shortcomings in the future, Draco.

“Do not get me wrong—you have served me well tonight. Were not for you, Dumbledore would not have died.” Our Lord turned to the crowd watching and spread his arms wide with a smile on his face. “Welcome to the winning side, Gentlemen.”

A hearty “Huzzah!” erupted through the ranks, and a series of pops met our ears as all the men Disapparated, leaving me in the clearing with Narcissa, Bellatrix, Draco and the Dark Lord. He turned to face the four of us, and he conjured three pieces of parchment as he did so.

“These are the coordinates for where you all will be hiding.”

“But—” began Bellatrix.

“You shall come with me, Bella. In light of your performance tonight, I will not have you marring the privacy of my chosen few.”

She immediately became submissive and shut her mouth. He Disapparated, and she followed eagerly without a word to her nephew and sister. The three of us looked at each other and all disappeared at once.

I felt an unexpected torrent of rain on my few inches of exposed skin. I stood on a cliff, looking out over a verdant, pine-carpeted valley. Behind me was a cave with ominous stalagmites along the edges. I looked at my comrades for a moment before stepping into the shelter. Draco immediately set to work building a fire, and Narcissa busied herself with conjuring sleeping bags. I, however, ran my hands along the walls slowly. When I saw a single rune carved into the wall, I whipped around. A strange sensation crept over me. My palms were sweaty, and my heart was pounding like a stampede of stallions. Feelings I hadn’t felt since I was a teenager were sinking into my body like poison.

“We can’t Disapparate,” I said frantically, running my hands over the stone again and again. “We can’t Disapparate.”

“Calm down, Severus—” Narcissa began, but I cut her off, threading my fingers through my sweat-drenched hair.

“We’re trapped. We can’t leave until the Dark Lord lifts the magic!” My voice traveled up nearly an octave. I realized that this sudden poison was fear.

“Surely this isn’t the first time you’ve—” Draco began.

“TRAPPED!” I yelled. They both withdrew.

I sank to the ground, my face into my hands. Long-held tears slipped down my face. The sensation of my own hot fluid against my face broke me. I had killed him, the only man who had ever trusted me. I had killed him, thus diminishing my chances of ever returning from the Dark Side. My hands had killed the closest thing to a father I had ever had. I had murdered one of Hermione’s few sources of protection, thus taking the life of one of the few sources of protection for my unborn child. I had killed him.