Post by SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE on Jan 8, 2013 8:35:50 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] [style=text-align: center]  To the rhythm of the war drums [style=font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px; padding: 25px; margin-top: -10px; color: 999999;] They had enough warning to come running into the pits of hell like madmen eager for their own demise. Once again, Severus had not been informed of the pending attack on Hogsmeade, but this time he was not so alarmed by it. He knew the Dark Lord had full faith in him; his demonstration of loyalty after Avery’s death had made sure of that. When he saw precisely what manner of evil had been unleashed, Severus understood why the Dark Lord had not wanted him involved in this particular attack. [/style]It was, in the Dark Lord’s way, a reward for his good behaviour, his loyalty. The Dark Lord knew that Severus had never been fond of werewolves, that his hatred for Remus Lupin was fierce and biting. After Fenrir’s display, it stood to reason that the last thing Severus would want to do would be hold and heard the beasts in a mounted attack against the small wizarding village. The Dark Lord knew he would do it, his position as a spy on Dumbledore be damned in the face of an order from his Lord, and that was all that truly mattered. That Severus would do anything and everything that was requested of him was enough, this time, for the small reward of not having to bother himself with the beasts personally. So Severus was not afraid for his position in the Dark Lord’s ranks when he arrived upon the scene, urged by Albus to join the fray as every able bodied man and woman was absolutely imperative. He knew that he would have to explain it to the Dark Lord – and he knew the Dark Lord would understand, so long as he played his cards right. Looking at the carnage in the village, Severus felt his lip curl before he could stop it. He was ordered into position, but was stopped by Lucas on his way. Wordlessly, his friend pressed the handle of a silver dagger into his palm, before he was gone. Lucas was in his element, Severus knew. He wished the Order good fucking luck in keeping that man from killing as many of the beasts as possible. He had more than just cause, and with the state of affairs with the Werewolf Registry being what it was, the likelihood of a trail even making it to court for the slaughters about to unfold was slim to none. There would be too much legislation, too much red tape, and far too many well paid lawyers to make the effort worth it on the Ministry’s end. Taking his mind from Lucas, Severus took position and was having little difficulty herding horrified citizens when the world went slightly colder. Considering how close he was standing to open flames, Severus snarled and immediately checked the surrounding area, noting the Dementors almost immediately. Breaking from position, Severus intended to go back to Albus, to demand what those creatures were doing in the village, and make it bloody well clear that as long as they were here, he had very little interest in being exposed. He could feel it already, the tug on his mind, the cold understanding of a soul they had met before, a soul they had known and wanted. A soul taken from them, before they had chance to enjoy it. It had been hell for Severus, having those creatures loitering on the outskirts of Hogwarts, their hunger for him abysmally clear. He’d been forced to deal with it then, but this he did not have to face. It was as he made his way down a path toward the others that he heard an all too familiar voice shout and, without even stopping to think about it, without even allowing his analytical mind to come to the fore, Severus broke into a run. He followed the sound of Lucius’ voice as the man cast rapid spells, and came onto the scene in time to see him fall on his knees before an Auror. There was a Dementor – a Dementor on fire – and it was bowing over Lucius – Again without pause for thought, Severus aimed his wand and focused on a memory of Lily, one of his less favorite memories, and promptly cast his patronus incorporeal. It was enough to send the Dementor back, enough to make the Auror look at him, but Severus was already taking his leave. He’d spared Lucius’ soul – for now. That thought was what clawed at him as he made his way back toward the others. The Dark Lord was already displeased with Lucius – there would be no reason to go after him this time. He was well and truly disgraced… It was then that he came across something else, something unexpected that finally settled into Severus what he needed to do about this. A werewolf was attacking Minerva – and Minerva was using herself as a human shield, to defend a young child. Using a tackle Lucas had trained into him brutally in their fifth year, Severus didn’t give the animal time to swipe before he rammed the silver knife directly through its skull. The body snapped taught and shifted back to human as Severus pulled the blade out and turned his gaze on Minerva. His oaths to Lily were absolute. He would ensure that Harry survived this war. He would remain true to Albus Dumbledore. But he would no longer allow the people he did love to die in front of his eyes, simply so that he could prove his loyalty to both sides. Turning on his heel, Severus abandoned Minerva before she could stop him, before she could confront him on killing the wolf that could have easily been Remus, and ran. He Disillusioned himself and then he flew, a faster form of travel. He knew what he had to do, and he did not hesitate to do it. There was a holding pen, guarded by two Aurors – Lucius was the only one there, which was for the best. Without hesitating, Severus knocked out one of the guards with a spell, and as the other went to raise the alarm, Severus ran him through with the blade. Hot blood poured onto his hand as he drove the silver knife deep into the man’s stomach, before pulling back and knocking him out as well. Left on its own, a gut wound took roughly four hours to kill someone. The Aurors would be found before then. The man would survive and he would never know who stabbed him. Severus did not Disillusion himself even after he’d cast a featherlight charm on Lucius and grabbed him firmly to his chest, granting the man no opportunity to struggle before he flew them out of the pen and away from the village. Severus did not have practice flying in this manner with others, and even with the featherlight charm, Lucius was cumbersome. He’d the wisdom not to struggle, which was good. When they reached the forest, Severus finally set them both down once they had the cover of the trees, and Disillusioned himself before unbinding Lucius from his chains. He stood there for a moment, looking at his friend, before doing something he had never done to Lucius before so long as they had known each other. He punched him. Square across the jaw with as much force as he could muster, Severus used every ounce of skill Lucas had ever taught him to make sure that his strike made Lucius’ head spin. Only once Lucius was looking at him again did he speak, his hands shaking in the fists they formed. One hand still clutched Lucas’ silver dagger, and the other, which had been used to clock Lucius a good one, was trembling with the urge to do it again. ”Have you lost your mind, Lucius?” Severus snarled, aware, in some part of his mind, that it wasn’t Lucius fault the Dementors were here, or even his fault that he’d been out-matched in a duel. He was never particularly rational when he was frightened, and resolution or not he had just done something that put him in a very, very dangerous position. ”What did you think you were doing out there, practicing for the ballet?! You were in Azkaban for three months, that’s no excuse to be that off your game in a duel! What would you have done,” Severus snarled, taking a step toward Lucius as though he just might punch him again, ”If the Dark Lord decided that a secondary failure on your end was simply…too much? He associates failure to those closest to us, you do realize?” Rather than strike the man again, Severus chose to stab him with the truth. Hard. ”Everything you do, Lucius, reflects not only on you, but on Narcissa and Draco as well!” Severus did not mention that it would reflect on himself, as well, because he simply did not consider himself to be important enough to Lucius for that to matter to him. His wife and child on the other hand, was a completely different matter. ”He will take his anger at you out on them – he already has! You think setting Draco to kill Albus Dumbledore will be the only thing he does if you get yourself sent to Azkaban again?! For blood’s sake Lucius, think before you go running into battle!” Severus hissed, somehow seeming to scream without ever raising his voice. tagged; Luciuswords; 1567. notes; It is our choices, that reflect who and what we truly are. ORIGINAL TEMPLATE BY LITTLE BITTY PRETTY ONE @ CAUTION 2.0 |
