𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐒

XXVI

Act XXVI.

Casus belli.

The occasion calls for war.

Severus bit back a hiss of pain as Lucius shouldered him into his cell, the brusque movement jostling the open wound on his back. He glared at the blonde before slumping forward and collapsing onto the floor. The long march back to his dingy cell had sapped the last vestiges of his strength.

“Don’t worry, Snape. I’m pretty sure your torment is nearing its end.” Lucius sneered. “By nightfall you’ll be food for the worms.”

“You won’t break him!” Severus snarled with more conviction than he was currently feeling. “He loves the boy too much.”

“Oh you poor deluded bastard! You’ve spent too many years scheming with that werewolf that you have clearly forgotten. He is a dark creature, Snape. His nature is to kill and maim. Bloodlust sings in his veins no matter what form he inhibits. He is susceptible to the wolf’s power at all times but today more so than at any other day.” Lucius inched forward. “And he knows that. You can see it in the terror in his eyes, in the way he flinched at the mere sight of that bottle. He fears and hates the wolf inside him more than anything.”

“He will break, Severus.” He smiled coldly. “You know he will and it will be beautiful. For he might have been a Gryffindor once but he was a werewolf first. You should know by now that fear is the strongest of all motivations.”

And with that devastating shot, Lucius swept out of the room, the iron bars banging shut behind him.

---------------------------------

“They’re in Llangollen, Denbighshire, in the North East of Wales. Up the hill and behind the northern curtain wall of the ruins that used to be the Dinas Bran Castle. Severus is there or at least someone who can tell us where he is. I’m sure of it,” Draco stated clearly, his hand still shaking from where he’d held his godfather’s small note.

“Are you certain, Draco?” Albus asked gently.

He merely nodded his head, his eyes still retaining their distant look. “He said something odd in his letter when he signed off. Something about the grass having grown and the fairies dancing.” He shook his head wryly. “Hardly his usual style, you see. And when I was little, I remember visiting the ruins which was really one of Uncle Rodolphus’ hidden summer homes and there would always be a large population of fairies visiting the glades. I was always fascinated with the way they danced. It was amazing.” He shook his head inwardly, trying to free himself from the memory of those carefree summers.

“Severus always did love to talk to me in riddles. He always said they’d make me smarter although that didn’t turn out to be the case.” He turned to the Headmaster. “I should have listened to you. He was faithful. I knew that in my heart.” He closed his eyes painfully. He could feel guilt welling up inside of him and adding to the deep regret he already felt because of his mother’s passing, but he willed it down again, refusing to relinquish his careful control over his emotions now that he finally had a tenuous grasp on them.

“But no matter. We shall get him back and I shall atone for my appalling lack of faith.” He shook his head. “Now what shall we do about this? You have your coordinates, Headmaster. Shall we launch a rescue mission at sundown?” he asked, his face carefully blank and his manner rigidly professional.

Albus smiled kindly and nodded. “I shall convene a meeting with the Order at once. And might I add, regardless of what you might think, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the fierce loyalty you’re showing him now. After all, your faith in him couldn’t have been too badly shattered if it could be restored so quickly.”