BYRON WHITE | The most faithful

UNEXPECTED VISIT

A series of townhouses blackened by the thick smoke of a distant factory lined a wide river. in the last house on the street a dim light shone through the curtains of a room on the ground floor. Severus Snape sat in a dark worn looking armchair, the walls around him were completely covered with large wooden bookcases, the man was holding a large brown leather bound book in his hand, he looked up from the page when he heard a quick knock on the front door. He walked down the small corridor to the entrance, gripping his wand in his right pant pocket. A visit at this hour of the evening could not bode well. He opened the door a few inches, through the small crack he saw a pale-faced blond woman, her long blond hair flowing behind her, giving her the look of a drowned person.
"Narcissa!" Said the man, opening the door of legal age. Beside her he also recognized Bellatrix, still with the large hood over her head. "What a pleasant surprise!"
"Severus" Narcissa said in a tight whisper. "can I talk to you? It's urgent."
"Naturally." he dodged allowing her into the house. Her sister followed uninvited.
"Snape." she said as she passed him.
"Bellatrix." He answered, curling his mouth into a mocking smile when he slammed the door shut.
He led them into the small living room, pointed to the sofa for Narcissa. She took off her cloak, threw it aside and sat down, staring down at her white hands. Bellatrix very slowly lowered her hood. Frowning
like her sister, with heavy hooded eyes and a set jaw, she didn't take her gaze from Snape.
"What can I do for you?" he asked sitting down in the armchair facing the two sisters.
"We are... we are alone, aren't we?" Narcissa asked cautiously.
"Yes obviously. Well, Pettigrew is here, but we're not counting the parasite, are we?"
He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him, and with a bang a hidden hatch opened, revealing a narrow stairway upon which a small man stood motionless.
"As you clearly guessed, Pettigrew, we have guests." Snape said lazily.
The hunchbacked man crawled to the bottom steps and entered the room. He had small watery eyes, a sharp nose and a nasty grin on his face. His left hand stroked his right, which seemed wrapped in a silver glove.
"Narcissa!" He said she in his squeaky voice. "And Bellatrix! What a lovely..."
"Pettigrew will bring us drinks, if you please. Snape said "after which he'll go back to his room." Pettigrew winced as if Snape had thrown something at him.
"I am not your servant." he shrieked, avoiding meeting Snape's eyes.
"Really? I had that impression when The Dark Lord sent you here to help."
"Helping, yes, but not making your own drinks or cleaning your house!"
"I had no idea Pettigrew that you craved more dangerous missions." Snape said gently. "But that can be fixed. I will speak to the Dark Lord..."
"I can speak to him myself if I wish!"
"Naturally." Snape said mockingly. "But in the meantime, bring us the drinks. A little elven wine will do."
Pettigrew hesitated a moment, looked around considering whether or not he should reply and argue, then he turned and disappeared into another hidden window. He heard the knock and clash of glasses. Seconds later he returned, carrying a dusty bottle and three glasses on a tray. He placed everything on the rickety table, and took his leave, slamming the hidden door covered with books behind him.
Snape poured blood-red wine into the glasses, setting two to the sisters.
Narcissa muttered a thank you, while Bellatrix didn't say anything, but she continued to stare at Snape. This didn't seem to upset him, but rather to amuse him.
"To the Dark Lord" he said, raising her glass and draining it. The two sisters followed suit.
Snape refilled the glasses. Since Narcissa was on her second drink, she said firmly.
"Severus, I'm sorry I came like this but I had to see you. I shouldn't tell anyone about it, but..."
"Indeed, you should shut up!" growled Bellatrix. "Especially with certain people"
"Certain people" Snape repeated sarcastically. "And what, hum, am I supposed to mean by that, Bellatrix?" "That I don't trust you, Snape, and you know it very well."
Narcissa let out a moan, and she covered her face with her hands. Snape set his glass down on the table, and sat down more comfortably with his arms resting on the armrests of the chair, grinning at Bellatrix's menacing face. "Narcissa, I think we should listen to what Bellatrix has to say, to save ourselves from tedious interruptions. Well go on, Bellatrix" Snape said "Why don't you trust me?"
"For a hundred reasons!" Bellatrix said walking around her sister and slamming the glass on the table. "Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to look for him when he was missing? What have you been doing all these years you've been living behind Dumbledore's skirts? Why did you stop the Dark Lord from getting hold of the Philosopher's Stone? Why didn't you come immediately when the Dark Lord was reborn? Where were you a few weeks ago when we fought to get hold of the prophecy for the Dark Lord? And why, Snape, is Harry Potter still alive when you've had him at your mercy for a full five years? Why didn't you bring Byron back to our ranks?"
She paused, chest rising and falling quickly, cheeks flushing. Behind her, Narcissa sat motionless, her face still hidden by her hands. Snape smiled. "Before I answers you, oh, yes, Bellatrix, I'm going to give you some answers! You can also carry my words back to others who whisper behind my back, telling false stories about my teaching to the Dark Lord! Before I answer, let me ask you a question. Thought what if the Dark Lord never asked me each of those questions? And do you really think I'd be sitting here, talking to you, if I couldn't come up with satisfactory answers to each of them?" Bellatrix hesitated. "I know he trusts you but..."
"Do you think he's wrong? Oh do you think he cheated him somehow? Deceived the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most perfect Legilimens the world has ever seen?"
Bellatrix said nothing, but she felt, for the first time, a small defeat. Snape didn't go any further, however he took his glass again, drank a little, and continued on. "You ask me where I was when the Dark Lord fell. I was exactly where he ordered me to be, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because he wanted me to spy on Albus Dumbledore. I assume you know that I took up the position of teacher at the Dark Lord's behest, right?"
Bellatrix nodded slightly, after which she opened her mouth to argue, but Snape anticipated her.
"Ask why I didn't try to find him when he disappeared. For the same reason that Avery, Yaxley, the Carrows, Greyback, Lucius" he cocked his head in Narcissa's direction "and so many others didn't. I thought he was dead. I'm not proud of that, I was wrong, but it was... if he hadn't forgiven those who lost their faith that night, he'd have very few followers on his side."
"It would be me" Said Bellatrix passionately "I, who spent many years in Azkaban for him!"
"Yes, it's true." Snape said in a measured tone of voice "But you weren't very helpful in prison, an admirable gesture, no doubt..."
"Admirable!" she shrieked. Glimpses of madness could be seen in her fury. "While I was resisting the Dementors, you were at Hogwarts, comforting yourself by playing Dumbledore's pet!"
"Not completely" Snape said quietly, "He wouldn't let me teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, as you know. He seemed to think he might, ah, cause a relapse... tempting me to retrace my old ways."
"Was this your sacrifice for the Dark Lord, not to be a teacher of your favorite subject?" she scoffed. "Why have you been there all this time, Snape? Still spying on Dumbledore for a master you thought was dead?" "Not exactly." Snape said. "Though the Dark Lord was pleased to hear I didn't quit my job. I had sixteen years of information about Dumbledore to bring to him when he returned. A rather useful welcome home gift, instead of the endless re-enactments of how nasty Azkaban is..."
"But you stayed..."
"Yes, Bellatrix, I stayed" Snape said, displaying some impatience for the first time. "I had a comfortable job that I preferred to an incarceration in Azkaban. They were investigating the Death Eaters. Dumbledore's protection was much cheaper, and I used it. Again, the Dark Lord hasn't complained about this, and I don't see why you should. I think next thing you want to know..." he said a little louder, seeing that Bellatrix was about to interrupt him. "Because I came between the Philosopher's Stone and the Dark Lord. It's easy to answer. He didn't know whether to trust me. He assumed, like you, that you had gone from loyal Death Eater to Dumbledore's minion. He was in pitiful shape, really weak, using the body of a mediocre wizard. He didn't dare reveal himself to an old ally, especially if one could lead him to Dumbledore or the Ministry. I deeply regret that he didn't trust me. He would have been reborn three years ago. At the time, I had only seen one greedy and unworthy Quirrell attempting to steal the Stone and, I admit, I did everything to thwart him." Bellatrix's mouth twisted into a grimace as if she'd taken a dose of medicine unpleasant. "But you didn't come back when he reappeared, you didn't immediately fly to him when you felt the Dark Mark burn..."
"Correct. I came back two hours later. I returned on Dumbledore's orders."
"On order?" she began in a tone of outrage.
"Thinks!" Snape said, impatient again. "Thinks! By waiting two hours, barely two hours, I managed to keep my job as a spy at Hogwarts! Assuming that Dumbledore only thinks I returned to the Dark Lord because he ordered me to, I've been able to pass on information about Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix ever since! Consider, Bellatrix: the Dark Mark was becoming more and more evident as the months passed, I knew it was coming back, all the Death Eaters knew it! I've had a lot of time to think about what to do, plan my next move, run away like Karkaroff, did I? The Dark Lord's initial annoyance at my delay disappeared entirely, I can assure you, when I explained to him that I remained faithful to him, even though he assumed I was Dumbledore's man. Yes, the Dark Lord thought I'd left him forever, but he was wrong."
"But of what use have you been?" sneered Bellatrix. "What useful information did we get from you?"
"My information went directly to the Dark Lord," Snape said. "If he chose not to share it with you..."
"He Shares everything with me!" Bellatrix said, getting excited immediately. "He calls me there more faithful than him, the most loyal of him. »
"He Does?" Snape said, cracking her voice softly to show her disappointment. "Does He still do it, after the Ministry?"
"It was not my fault!" Bellatrix said, blushing "If Lucius hadn't..."
"Oh no, don't you dare, don't try to blame it on my husband!" Narcissa said in a low, deadly voice, staring at her sister.
"What's done is done." Snape said. "But not by you!" Bellatrix said furiously. "No, you were once again absent while the rest of us faced danger, you weren't there, were you Snape?"
"Byron has come," Snape said dryly.
"Yes and he has us... he has us..."
"Betrayed?" Snape's eyebrow arched "Do you really believe that? He tried to help you, he rushed to the ministry as soon as he knew Potter was there, but from what he told me you got six kids in trouble."
"It hit Lucius," objected Bellatrix
"How many seconds before the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived?" Bellatrix's mouth snapped shut. "After everything he's been through, should he have put himself in danger?"
"We could have won" growled Bellatrix.
"Even against Dumbledore? Byron is an intelligent man, with a little stunner at Lucius he convinced all the members of the Order that he had changed» he waved his hand theatrically «Dumbledore loves heartbreaking stories, now he is his favorite, certainly second only to Potter»
"You could..."
"What? Trying to get him back to the Dark Lord? The boundaries of Hogwarts are not so easy to cross, especially not with Byron under surveillance around the clock. I won't risk my position just to get your toy back."
"He... he has... fought against me" that point she seemed to offend her to the core.
"He didn't kill you." she noted. "You know how he fights, if he wanted you wouldn't be here to delight me with your presence." He raised her goblet in a silent toast. «Cheer up, you got rid of Sirius Black»
"Why haven't you killed Harry Potter in these five years?" "Have you discussed this with the Dark Lord?" Snape asked.
"He... lately, he... I've been asking you, Snape!"
"If I had murdered Harry Potter, our Lord could not have used his blood to regenerate himself" "Are you leading me to believe that you had already foreseen his intentions towards the boy?" she scoffed. "I'm not saying that. I had no idea what his plans were. I have already confessed that I believed that he had disappeared for good. I'm just trying to explain why the Dark Lord isn't sorry Potter survived, at least up until a year ago..."
"But why did you let him live?" "Didn't you understand that? It was only Dumbledore's protection that kept me out of Azkaban! Don't you think killing his favorite pupil would backfire on me? But it's not just this. I want to remind you that when Potter first arrived at Hogwarts there were still many stories going around about him, rumors that he was a great dark wizard himself, considering he managed to survive the attack of the Dark One Gentleman. Indeed, many of his old followers saw Potter's power as a banner under which we would unite once more.
I was curious, I admit it. Of course, it was immediately clear to me that he didn't have the extraordinary talent that everyone was talking about. He's managed to get out of a number of tricky situations thanks to a simple combination of luck and the help of talented friends. He's pretty average. But if I killed him, I would destroy Dumbledore's trust." "And with all this, are we supposed to believe that Dumbledore never had any suspicions about you?" Bellatrix asked. "That he has no idea of your true loyalty, that he still believes you?"
"I played my part well." Snape said. "And you overlook Dumbledore's greatest weakness: he has to believe the best in people." she snorted loudly "If he has forgiven Byron, he can practically forgive anyone."
Bellatrix still didn't look pleased, though she seemed unsure how best to attack Snape. Taking advantage of her silence, Snape turned to his sister. "Now... have you come to ask me for help, Narcissa?"
The blonde woman looked at him, her face contorted in an eloquent expression of despair. "Yes Severus, I... I think you're the only one who can help me, otherwise I don't know where to go. Lucius is in prison and..." She closed her eyes and two big tears seeped from under her lids. "The Dark Lord has forbidden me to speak of this." continued Narcissa, with her eyes still closed "He wants no one to know about the plan. It's really...secret. But..."
"If he forbade it, you must not speak." Snape said immediately "The word of the Dark Lord is law." Narcissa gasped as if she had been thrown on a bucket of cold water. Bellatrix looked satisfied for the first time since she'd set foot in her house.
"See!" She said triumphantly to her sister, "Snape says that too: if he told you not to talk, he demands your silence!"
But Snape got to his feet and walked over to the small window, peering through the curtain at the deserted street, snapped them shut. He turned to Narcissa frowning. "Maybe I know about the plan." he said in a low voice. "I am one of the few the Dark Lord has spoken to. However, having implicated me in the secret, Narcissa, you would be guilty of high treason against the Dark Lord."
"I thought you must know about this!" Narcissa said, breathing more freely "He trusts you so much, Severus..."
"Do you know about the plan?" Bellatrix said, her pleased expression now replaced by a look of outrage "You know?"
"Certainly." Snape said. "But what help do you require, Narcissa? If you're guessing I can persuade the Dark Lord to change his mind, I'm sorry, but there's no hope, not a single one."
"Severus." she whispered, tears trickling down her pale cheeks. "My son... my only son..."
"Draco should be proud of that." Bellatrix said indifferently. "The Dark Lord has given him a great honor. And I'll say this for Draco: he doesn't want to shirk his duty, he seems happy to be able to try, excited at the prospect..."
Narcissa began to weep seriously, her pleading gaze fixed on Snape. "That's because he's sixteen, and he has no idea what circumstances he is! Why, Severus? Why my son? It is too dangerous! This is revenge for Lucius' mistakes, I know!"
Snape said nothing. He looked past her at her tears as if they were indecent, but he couldn't pretend not to hear them. "That's why Draco was chosen, isn't it?" persisted "To punish Lucius?"
"If Draco succeeds." Snape said, shifting her gaze away from hers. "He will be honored more than anyone else."
"But that can never happen!" sobbed Narcissa. "How can he do that, when the Dark Lord himself?" Bellatrix gasped, Narcissa seemed to lose her nerve.
"I just meant... if no one has yet... Severus... please... you've always been Draco's favorite teacher... you're an old friend of Lucius'... please. .. you are the Dark Lord's favourite, his trusted adviser... can you talk to him, persuade him?» "The Dark Lord can't be persuaded, and I'm not stupid enough to try." Snape said softly. "I can't pretend the Dark Lord isn't angry with Lucius. Lucius was supposed to be in charge. He got caught, along with many others, and failed to grasp the prophecy. Yes, the Dark Lord is angry, Narcissa, really angry."
"Then I was right, he chose Draco to take his revenge!" sobbed Narcissa. "He doesn't want Draco to succeed in the mission, he sent because he hopes Draco dies trying!"
When Snape said nothing, Narcissa seemed to lose whatever self-control she had left. She got to her feet and staggered closer to Snape, clutching at her clothes. "You can do it. You can do it for Draco, Severus. You could, of course you could, and he'd reward you more than any of us."
Snape grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away. He looked at her tear-soaked face, and said slowly. "He wants me to, eventually, I think. But he's determined that Draco will go first. You see, that way, in the unlikely event that he succeeds, I can continue to stay at Hogwarts a little longer, doing my spy job." "In other words, he doesn't care if Draco gets killed!" "The Dark Lord is truly angry." Snape repeated quietly. "He failed to hear the prophecy. You know like me, Narcissa, who doesn't forgive easily." She crumpled at his feet, sobbing and moaning on the floor.
"My only son... my only son..."
"You should be proud of it!" Bellatrix said ruthlessly. "If I had children, I would gladly offer them to the Dark Lord's service!"
Narcissa let out a short cry of despair, and she clutched her long blonde hair. Snape helped her up, taking her arms and sitting her on her sofa. He poured more wine and forced the glass into her hand. "Narcissa, that's enough. Drink this. Listen to me." She seemed a little calmer; she downed the wine in a long drink. "It might be possible...for me to help Draco." She stood up, her face white, her eyes wide. "Severus... oh, Severus... can you really help him? Can you take care of him, save him any harm?" "I can try." She pushed the glass away; it swung across the table as she slid off the sofa to kneel at Snape's feet, taking his hand between hers and pressing her lips to it. "Would you protect him... Severus, will you swear to it? Would you be ready to take an Unbreakable Vow?"
"The Unbreakable Vow?" Snape's expression was unreadable, but Bellatrix let out a cackle and a triumphant laugh. "Aren't you listening, Narcissa? Oh, he will try, I'm sure... the empty words of circumstance, the usual Slytherin actions... oh, on the orders of the Dark Lord, of course!"
Snape didn't look at Bellatrix. His black eyes were fixed on Narcissa's teary blue ones as she continued to clutch at her hand.
"Of course, Narcissa, I will make the Unbreakable Vow." he said quietly. "Perhaps your sister will agree to be our Enforcer."
Bellatrix's mouth dropped open. Snape crouched down so that he was facing Narcissa, as Bellatrix watched in amazement, they grabbed each other's right hand. "You need your wand, Bellatrix." Snape said coldly. She drew it, looking at them in amazement. "And you need to come a little closer," he said. She stepped forward so that she stood above them, placing the tip of her wand over their joined hands.
Narcissa spoke. "Will you, Severus, watch over my son Draco while he prepares to do the Dark Lord's will?"
"I will." Snape said.
A small tongue of brilliant fire shot up from the wand to wrap itself around her hands as if to bind them. "And you want to use your skills to the fullest, to protect him from harm?"
"I will." Snape said.
A second tongue of fire shot out of the wand, and connected with the first, creating a thin, glowing chain. "And, if it proves necessary... in case my son fails..." Narcissa whispered. Snape's hand twitched between hers, but she didn't lift it. "Will you do the deed the Dark Lord has commanded Draco to execute?"
There was silence at that moment.
Bellatrix watched them, wand over their hands, eyes wide.
"I I will." Snape said.
Bellatrix's face lit up.