Up To No Good

Chapter Thirty-One

"My Lord."

The hooded figure stepped beside the chair where Lord Voldemort sat, taking care not to tread on the great snake's tail. He wasn't exactly sure what the serpent's purpose was, only that she and Voldemort were able to communicate, and that Nagini was the only creature Voldemort ever showed any sort of affection towards.

"Severus. Step into the light."

Snape obliged, removing his hood. In his dark house at Spinner's End, there was very little light to speak of, but he stepped toward the window regardless.

Snape sensed the Legilimency that the Dark Lord was using to try to probe his mind just then, but he blocked it with some Occlumency of his own. He knew that he seemed to be the only Death Eater aware of this magic, but he also knew that many of the others were fools.

If Voldemort noticed Snape's invisible resistance, he did not acknowledge it. Instead, he inclined his head slightly to where his eyes met Snape's directly, a gaze that Severus himself fought to keep.

"I have valuable news," he explained.

Voldemort did not smile, although his expression conveyed some degree of interest. "Please, Severus, have a seat," he gestured across from him.

Nagini never seemed to rest, instead slithering around in great green coils around her master's feet. Voldemort stroked her head.

"While investigating Hogsmeade, my Lord, I ran into Dumbledore himself," he went on. "It appears he was interviewing a potential teacher. The woman provided a prophecy regarding your potential defeat."

Voldemort leaned forward ever so slightly. It was ever-so-difficult to decipher any emotion in that subhuman face, corrupted from some kind of Dark magic that Snape was unaware of. Once he was satisfied that he was listening, he went on.

"The prophecy told of a boy, born at the end of July, that would possess power the Dark Lord knows not," Snape curled his lip. "That the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal."

Voldemort was quiet for several seconds, and for an instant Snape feared that he might be struck down in rage. But he fought to keep himself calm, hands interlocked neatly behind his back.

"Did you learn the name of this Seer?" Voldemort asked him.

"I did not. My position was discovered and I was forced to leave." There was a bitter edge to that line. "I am afraid I did not hear the full prophecy."

Voldemort murmured something to Nagini in Parseltongue, and the great creature slithered away out of the room. Voldemort rose to his feet, and Snape followed, careful not to step in front of him.

"Of course," Voldemort crooned. "That would be no fault of yours, Severus. You have done well by informing me of this prophecy."

Snape dipped his head. "Of course, my Lord."

"You may leave, Severus. You have my thanks."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Snape turned on his heel, sweeping out of the room with his black robes flowing behind him.

And Voldemort screamed in anger.

Fabian and Gideon Prewett had been surrounded by Death Eaters; not murdered by the Killing Curse, but tortured until their bodies had given out. Through the jets of green and red light swirling around him, James pulled himself away from their corpses.

"Lily!"

Lily dodged the hex that had been flung at her, shooting back with one of her own.

James's stomach filled with dread. He knew... there was no other reason he'd be here, would he? He found it difficult to pull his gaze from the Prewett brothers. They were all so young... the entire Order was... and yet here they were, risking their lives for the better of the world.