Escape ↣ Harmione

Chapter Thirty

Chapter 30 - Summer Plans

24th May 1997

Severus stood at the large window on the fourth floor looking out over the grounds, seeing nothing. The Dark Lord had called him tonight to discuss his summer plans. He was going to Europe not to hunt Potter, but for the solution to his wand problem. Whilst Potter had snapped his wand and presumably had a new one, the Dark Lord wanted the unbeatable wand. The wand where it wouldn't matter who it was wielded against, it would overpower them all. Severus thought too much torture had addled Ollivander's brain and he was now spouting nonsense. Ollivander had told the Dark Lord the story of the three brothers, substantiated it with tales of a wand that had bested others, and the Dark Lord had swallowed it hook line and sinker.

Severus made a mental note to tweak the potions he was sneaking Ollivander when he visited next. It was, on the one hand, cruel to keep the man alive, and as healthy as possible while he was still subject to occasional torture, but by doing so, it increased the chances of the wand smith surviving his ordeal.

His meeting with Albus following his meeting with the Dark Lord had been another of those meetings where he wondered how many times he would pay for his mistakes in life. Unconcerned about the consequences Albus had laid down the law for the coming months. Albus would not relinquish Severus to the Dark Lord in the summer as he would usually, in the weird time share they had somehow agreed without ever discussing it. Albus would be travelling over the summer and required Severus to brew for him should he need it. Severus had argued for leaving Poppy suitably supplied with potions, but Albus had stood firm. Severus hoped that having not been commanded to follow the Dark Lord into Europe, he would not have to find a way out of it to satisfy Albus. If he were commanded, he would have to refuse and refusing the Dark Lord made one's life expectancy considerably shorter.

Severus hadn't known about the plan. The news, when it hit the papers, sent ripples of shock through the castle at breakfast as the student body and staff read the headlines. The mass outbreak was hard to cover up. Mass outbreak of loyal Death Eaters was never going to be covered up. The Daily Prophet made money, lots of money, out of their scaremongering and time had proven yet again that Azkaban wasn't the Alcatraz of the wizarding world. Although he mused to himself, it was hardly as if that prison had a clean sheet when it came to prisoner breakouts.

In four more days the school would be emptied of its student population, they would be loose and unprotected in a world full of mad men and women freshly released from hell. He hoped that the Dark Lord had a plan for the newly released Death Eaters, and he wasn't going to leave them to run rampant.

On the last day of term, he got to find out. He was called after dinner; the students were gone, he was tidying his rooms, making lists of potions Poppy needed him to brew for her in the first couple of weeks as was his habit. It didn't have to be done at the school, he could brew at Spinners End or in the Malfoy dungeon lab as he preferred, or was ordered.

Arriving at Malfoy Manor, he strode into the room the Dark Lord was using as his Audience chamber. The room was a testament to how far the Malfoys had fallen. Narcissa was excellent at interior decorating, the manor was full of beautiful rooms richly appointed declaring superior taste and elegance. The room the Dark Lord had taken over had some stains on the carpets, stains that he wasn't sure were just blood, and the elves hadn't been able to clean out. The curtains were drawn but not against the night, just to enhance the gloomy mood of a large room lit by too few candles, Minerva's words about creepy decorating floated back to him, and he ruthlessly squashed them.

He knelt and bowed his head to the Dark Lord, sat upon his throne like chair. He was high enough up the rankings he no longer had to kiss his robes but did have to wait to be dismissed. Draco, who followed behind was not so fortunate, he kissed the robes and scuttled away like a frightened crab. Retreating to the illusion of safety provided by his parents, while Severus retook his feet and stood to wait.