The Return Of Snape [Voldemort X Severus Snape]

chapter 12

Severus entered the Dark Lords manor for the first time in over a month. He was surprised at how quiet and empty it seemed, his footsteps were echoing softly around him. He made his way to the Dark Lord's rooms, surprised when he saw the two snakes curved around the door handle in their ceremonial way. They were the protection on these rooms. If the snakes didn't have permission to let someone in, they wouldn't. When the Dark Lord was in the room, the snakes were in there with him, and then no one could get in unless they were let in from the inside. It was a clever piece of Slytherin magic, as the family had been secretive and private for most of their history.

There was the sound of hissing, both snakes were staring up suspiciously at him, before one of the gazes lessoned, and the door opened. Severus took it as an invite, and walked in, shutting the door behind him. Awkwardly, he sat down on the sofa. This room was creepy at the best of times, but with no Dark Lord in there it was even weirder. Severus sat back and waited. It wouldn't be long before his Master noticed a presence in his private rooms and came to investigate.

A few moment later, the door burst open, followed by the Dark Lord, with his wand drawn out in front of him. "Oh, it's you," he snapped, lowering his wand as soon as he noticed Severus. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"The snakes…" Severus started, noticing the two small creatures slithering into the room, behind the Dark Lord. Voldemort looked down at them, eyes narrowed, and there was suddenly a lot of Parseltongue being spoken in the room. Severus swallowed, and then watched as the snakes removed themselves into the bedroom. "Why did they let me in?" Severus asked softly, as the Dark Lord came and sat next to him.

"They insist you should be allowed in whenever you want as you will be living here in the future."

"How did they know that?" Severus asked, perplexed.

"I have no idea. Those two little buggers know more then they let on." Voldemort narrowed his eyes in the direction they had gone, and then turned back to Severus. There was a small smile on his lips, as he bent closer to Severus, kissing him lightly on the lips. "It has been strange not having you around," he murmured.

"It has been awful not to be here," Severus responded. "I have something funny that will cheer you up though."

Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Funny?" he asked. "What do you mean?"

Severus smirked. "Potter was not in the Great Hall for the start of term feast. They had members of the Order at the station, so Nymphadora Tonks searched the train for him just before it left." Severus laughed softly to himself, before continuing. "I went down to the gates to let him in, and his face was covered in blood. Naturally, I removed points from Gryffindor-" Severus noticed the Dark Lord's smile at that. He never liked it when Slytherin house lost, it was his family after all. –"And sent him into the feast in full muggle attire."

Voldemort nodded. "And? How did his face get covered in blood?"

Severus grinned. "This is the best part. Malfoy was miming nose breaking all through the feast in the direction of Potter and his friends, so of course, I asked him about it. He said that Potter had managed to get into his compartment on the train, covered in his invisibility cloak to eavesdrop, but Draco had noticed, stunned him, and then stamped on his nose."

The Dark Lord laughed, coldly, but Severus could tell he found that funny. "I hope Draco was not stupid enough to talk about anything of importance on the train, of all places."

"I doubt it. He is a Malfoy, we must remember."

Voldemort made a slight noise of contempt in the back of his throat. "That is what worries me, Severus. The whole family has an air of arrogance about them, you cannot possibly have missed it."