The Taste of Revenge

Pairing: Overall - L. Malfoy/S. Snape
Summary: Sirius doesn\'t like it when Lucius spends more time with Severus than with him... Hurt feelings can lead to bitterness, in some people that in turn leads to revenge. And a scorned lover is sure to harbour some vengeful thoughts.
Warnings: Overall - Rough sex, some chapters contains coersion, and some kink. Angst.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling, no copyright infringement is intended. I play with them in my head and for fun; not earning money from sharing it with fanfic readers.


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The Taste of Revenge – Chapter 11: Epilogue


Lucius took up the newspaper as he sipped his tea. He unfolded it and looked at the front page. There was a big article about how a certain Sirius Black had been seen and later apprehended by the proper authorities after having caused an enormous blast of magic, killing and injuring people. One of these were Peter Pettigrew... His mutilated body had not been found so that the man could have a proper burial; it actually looked as if he has been completely vaporised by the power of the blast. Apart from a finger... His family had to bury a finger.

The article stated further that Peter had been an old friend of Black\'s, and that he confronted him after the horrible demise of their mutual friends, James and Lily Potter. The only survival in that incident was their son, the one-year-old Harry. The Potters\' home had been completely destroyed, but a few eye-witnesses were claiming that they had seen green blasts of magic before the house had crumbled, and the Potters were apparently killed by the dreaded Death-curse...

Lucius snorted and put down The Daily Prophet. When Narcissa looked up at him from across the table, asking what had caused this reaction, he just sneered. This was not good news. Something had gone terribly wrong; Pettigrew was now either dead or suspiciously missing, and Lord Voldemort had somehow been unsuccessful in his quest to kill the boy. Young Potter had survived, with nothing more than a scar, and where was the Lord? Gone! If he was injured or killed, Lucius didn\'t know yet. That was something he and the others would have to try to find out. The Dark Mark had faded considerably though. That the Dark Lord hadn\'t been willing to let anyone else go there and do the deed had proved to be a mistake, and a fatal one at that.

There was one good thing in this disaster – James Potter was dead, and Sirius Black was to be thrown into Azkaban prison. There would be no trial. The man had practically confessed to all murders, ranted and raved about betraying his friends, laughing and acting like a madman. How convenient that Black felt so guilt-ridden as to take full responsibility for everything. The Ministry called him criminally insane, and Lucius wondered if perhaps this hadn\'t pushed him over the edge; he had after all been quite delusional for years.

Lucius knew that he now had to keep the ranks together, it was his task until they knew what had happened to Voldemort. Some of the weaker Wizards might feel lost and scared, so he would have to be a bit rough on those. There would be no panicking. If Voldemort was gone, then they would all probably go back to their normal lives, and forget about trying to take over the Wizarding World, for now at least. Lucius would concentrate on the family business, and Severus would probably teach at Hogwarts and continue with his research regardless.

Severus... Lucius sighed and left the breakfast table. The food suddenly didn\'t look at all appetizing. Yes, he had had his revenge on Black. Both of them had. Severus was rid of his tormentors from his school days, and Black was properly punished for coming between them, for destroying their relationship. Curse the man for the lies he had told – there had been enough truth in them to fool Severus of his sincerity, enough of the old manipulation of Severus\' insecurities to plant the doubt and suspicions that grew out of hand. But in the end, did Black wasting away in Azkaban change anything at all? Was there really any punishment that was severe enough for his crime? And the crime was not what everyone believed it to be, no, the crime was that he had destroyed Lucius\' happiness. For that he deserved nothing less than the Dementor\'s Kiss!

And yet, not even that would bring Severus back. Between them were now so many walls, so many words of distrust and accusation, that Lucius doubted they could ever find their way through that maze, back to each other. To see his plan perfectly executed didn\'t give any satisfaction either. The goal of making Black suffer had given him something to focus on, and with that over and done there was only emptiness left. All he could do now was to pick up the pieces and go on...

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The coldness of the stone wall was creeping into Sirius\' body, into his very bones and mind. No, the coldness in his mind came not mainly from his physical surroundings; it had great help from the sinister guards that floated through the corridors, the Dementors.

Somehow, every time Sirius had found something in his mind to comfort him, some tiny memory of a moment in the sun or of his friends, one of the Dementors was there, like a vulture, ready to tear the comfort and warmth from him, until there was nothing left but the bare framework of his mind. It was uncanny, and added to the feeling of hopelessness. There was no comfort to be found, and in the end, Sirius stopped trying to find one, knowing that as long as he didn\'t feel it, experience it, he could keep it hidden inside him. It would still be his, even though he couldn\'t touch it and know it was there.

Most of the time though, Sirius felt guilt. He was convinced that he had in fact betrayed James and Lily, but not in the way that everyone thought he had. He had said and done things that had made the betrayal possible. The more he dwelled upon it, the more he hated Peter. His friend Wormtail. James\' friend too... The rat had been leashed by Voldemort, and they hadn\'t known, never suspected him, the careful and easily scared one. But anger was such a draining emotion, and the longer Sirius was curled up in the faint light that sifted in through the bars the more apathetic he became.

Once in a while he remembered to wonder how he had ended up within the dreary walls of Azkaban. Who had set him up? He knew that it had been a set up, that he had been framed, but by whom? It was Voldemort who had killed the Potters, but would he really go to all this trouble on the side, to set Sirius Black up to take the blame? Someone close to him then... Sirius remembered the look on Peter\'s face as the wizard cast the spell that caused so much mayhem. It had been odd, not as he remembered Peter at all.

Had Sirius known this would happen he would have enjoyed life more, accepted that Lucius wasn\'t interested in him and focused on other things instead. He had heard that Snape had indeed broken it off with Lucius, but that victory had been small after all. He had thought that he would feel some satisfaction from that, but it had not arrived. And now, were the two wizards back together again?

It didn\'t matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Sirius watched the little spider in the corner weave its web, doing what was in its nature even though the chances of catching any flies inside the cell were small. How long had he been in Azkaban? Sirius didn\'t know that either.

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Severus sighed as he sat down behind his desk, looking at the pile of essays that he had to correct. Without doubt, they would be full of errors, some of the students clearly too stupid to be able to follow even the simplest instructions or thread of thought. He disliked having to go through the homework he had assigned to the students, but there was some small satisfaction in knowing that while he disliked it, most of them had hated doing it.

Following the night of the Potters\' death, there had been many crisis meetings in the Order. Dumbledore had been especially suspicious of Black\'s involvement in the happenings, but since the man had proclaimed himself to be guilty, he\'d had to accept the fact. Personally, Severus doubted that Black could have done it. He and Potter were too close friends for anything like this to happen. Severus had seen them interact over the years, had studied them intensely during his school years. Their friendship had survived the attempt on Severus\' life, with the betrayal of Lupin\'s condition, hadn\'t it? There must be another explanation.

Someone was behind it all, and he thought he knew who it was – Lucius Malfoy. Severus still remembered the hissed words of hate, proclaiming that Sirius Black would pay for everything. However, he was not going to let Dumbledore know that. If he did, the old wizard would most likely do anything in his power to get Black freed, and Severus preferred him to stay in Azkaban.

For long years, he had imagined various painful ways to hurt and punish Sirius Black and James Potter. Now, Potter was dead, and Black was suffering. They both deserved it, but Severus wasn\'t feeling even the slightest bit of happiness or joy over their fate. His happiness had ended with Blacks visit to his home, with the words that had so easily rolled off a tongue that he now suspected had been forked. In retrospect, Lucius\' had been right. Severus had only listened to Black, and his own fears and insecurities, not even contemplating asking Lucius if it was true.

The way Lucius had reacted upon learning about Black\'s words had forced another wedge of doubt into Severus\' mind. Perhaps Black had been lying, and Lucius had never intended to leave him? Then it was he, Severus Snape, who had destroyed their relationship. The proud Malfoy heir would most likely never forgive him for that. Black might have been manipulating him, controlling him like a puppet... And like a puppet, Severus had been talked into serving two masters – Dumbledore on one hand, and Voldemort on the other. Would he ever be free again?

Black was in Azkaban prison, for whatever and every crime that he had ever committed in his life. Severus was in a prison as well, but one that he had wrought himself, not of stone and metal bars and wards that prohibited the use of magic. It was a different prison, of anger, self-loathing, and bitterness. Severus had been happy once, but being close to another person in that fashion had opened him up to such pain. Better then to never again suffer such a fate, better to not give anyone that kind of power over him. Lucius had been the last person he had trusted to share his emotions and his mind with, and when that trust had been tested, it was Severus who had been found wanting. He was better off without letting people come close to him. He would be lonely, but that was preferable compared to the risk of being betrayed by his emotions again.

For a short while in his life, Severus had had Lucius. Now that part of life was over, and should be buried, along with his heart.


~Fin~