Shade (A Severus Snape Fanfiction)

|chapter thirteen|

I walked with a false confidence through Diagon Alley. I had spent a little longer than planned in Severus' house, practicing my "bad ass" side. I had never really been a bad ass in my life, aside from the times my powers got the best of me, but it would have to do.

I knew it wouldn't take long to be spotted in such a public place, but I was surprised as a man almost immediately fell into step behind me. Ignored him and looked straight ahead until we reached Knockturn Alley. I spun on my heel suddenly, forcing the man to come to a sudden halt.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, raising a brow.

"You can make this easy and just come with me," he replied with a tight grip on his wand.

I feigned amusement and leaned in toward the wizard. "Hmm, you must be one of Lord Voldemort's followers."

"My master is most eager to meet you," he said with a slimy smile that turned my stomach. I hid my discomfort with a smirk and clapped my hands together, causing the man to flinch rather hard.

Ha, he must have heard about Lucius Malfoy. I didn't have to pretend to be amused by that. "Excellent. I'm eager to meet him as well. I trust you can apparate us to him?"

"You're going willingly?" He asked, obviously not buying it.

"Let's just say I've had a change of loyalty as of late," I grinned. I raised my hand up slightly, willing a black tendril to snake out of my palm and slowly inch toward him. He took a quick step back and I laughed and closed my palm, the tendril immediately disappearing from sight.

"Come on now, we haven't got all night. Let's go," I ordered and grabbed his hand with a look of impatience. He opened his mouth, as if to question me again but seemed to think better of it. Instead, with a loud pop, we apparated.

We stood outside the gates of a rather large mansion. The yard around it was adorned with neat hedges and fountains. It would have been rather breathtaking had it not been for the perpetual gloominess that was cast over the manor itself. Everything about it was grey and dull, and something told me the inside would be too.

"Come along," the Death Eater ordered, waving his wand momentarily before the gate opened wide. My heart was beating so hard that I feared the slimy man next to me could hear it. I feared that it would give me away, that Voldemort would sense it and know how full of shit I was.

I thought back to the times I lost control of my powers, how confident and fearless I had been. I tried to channel those feelings now as I slowly grew nearer to the man responsible for the death of my parents. A man who I would have to pretend to worship and adore. And obey. Shit. What was I thinking when I agreed to this?

I half considered turning tail, but we had already reached the front door of the manor while I had zoned out. My stomach flipped violently. This was it. The Death Eater opened the door and ushered me inside, rather smugly. I was sure he was feeling rather good about himself for being the one to bring me in.

The inside of the manor, though seriously lacking in color, was jaw dropping. Everything was so extravagant and expensive that I immediately felt out of place as I followed my escort. The place seemed fit for royalty. Was this Voldemort's house?

I didn't have time to ponder on that, though. The man lead me into a ridiculously nice dining room containing a very long table. It wasn't the table that had so suddenly caused my mind to go blank. It was the man, or what looked to be a man, that sat at the end of it.

He was obviously very tall, even as he sat, as well as incredibly thin. His skin was ghostly white, like something out of a nightmare, and in lieu of regular eyeballs, he had a scarlet set of feline-like slits instead. But what got me the most was the fact that he didn't have fucking nose. Just two disturbing slits where his nostrils should have been. I tried not to gape at him, but I feared I was doing a terrible job.