The Deceit of Man

A Lord's Demise

Severus Snape was a man that prided himself on being able to maintain of mask of cool indifference at all times. Indeed, there had many times when others would have faltered or questioned his loyalties if he hadn't. Nothing ever prepared him for the way that the Mark on his arm burned and sent fire racing through his veins. There was no potion he could take, no salve he could use, nothing that would stop the pain so he couldn't understand why he had agreed to be bound to yet another Lord. This one infinitely more powerful than Voldemort had ever been. Then again his godson, a boy who had never been able to hide his thoughts from Severus, looked content in a way the man hadn't seen in years. Draco's Occulamancy shields were getting better as though he'd had a power boost and Severus had no doubt that it was due to Harrison's willingness to share his power. Severus didn't think there had ever been a Dark Lord like Harrison which was probably why the boy had been Chosen.

The brief amount of time that Severus had spent in the young Lord's presence was like coming home. The way Harrison's power could soothe every ache and pain that the dour Potions Master had incurred over his lifetime. He would give just about anything to feel that much potent Dark Magic again though he doubted that Harrison would force him to. For someone who had been abused and unloved as a child, Harrison was incredibly selfless and kind hearted to those who belonged to him.

He knew that once Dumbledore found out what happened in the WIzengamot, he would be called to undergo taking up his family mantle of Prince. Harrison and the others hadn't discussed all their plans with him, not that he blamed them as his arm began burning. If Voldemort got too much information on what was going on, things could go south quickly.

By the amount of pain that Voldemort was passing through the Mark, odds were high that Lucius had told him about losing his seat to his supposed son. Resigning himself to a night of torture thanks to Lucius' big mouth, he laid out several potions he would need when he returned to his home and apparated to Voldemort.

The second he landed in the rundown foyer of the Lestrange mansion, he could tell that the man he'd bound himself to was in a bad mood. It wasn't just the shrieking from the parlor that gave it away though. The air itself had a more oppressive feeling to it and Severus already knew that this meeting would in end with him being tortured two or three times. He silently congratulated himself on pulling out so many potions though he had just thought it to be paranoia at first. Now, he was glad for the foresight as he was going to run through the first few very quickly.

Steeling his mind and his spine, he made his way into the room and pushed his way to the front to see exactly who it was that was being tortured. Not surprising, it was the recently deposed Malfoy Lord. It wasn't hard to understand just why Voldemort was so furious, and he was furious, as Lucius had been his biggest advocate in the Ministry and had held the Minister's attention for many years. To lose that much influence was a major blow but Voldemort's focus shifted to Severus once the creature saw him. He couldn't call him a man as that term was no longer applicable.

"Severusssss....why did you not tell me that the Potter brat had convinced Dumbledore to not only take on hissss seatsss but mine ass well? Why does the Malfoy brat now hold Luciuss' seat? Why wasss I not informed?" Voldemort spat, his anger causing him to slip into Parseltongue on certain words. He didn't even have a chance to brace himself before Voldemort's wand was turned on him and he was screaming in agony. If there was one spell that the self-proclaimed Dark Lord had mastered, it was the Cruciatus. He seemed to apply the right amount of force to keep his victim from losing their mind but still cause serious amounts of pain.

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Voldemort grinned maliciously as he watched his spy writhe in absolute pain. The man hadn't been doing his job and needed to be punished. He heard Bellatrix' cackle from somewhere on his left but he wasn't concerned. She always got overly excited at any amount of torture, whether it was focused on her or someone else. It was why she was his favorite follower. She took the Cruciatus like no one else he had tried it on. He focused back on Snape though as the man had displeased him as much as the blonde weakling Lucius had. Thinking of the blonde had him turning from his spy to his now useless Death Eater.