For all Joy wants Eternity

For All Joy wants Eternity

Chapter 12

The strange tingling up his left leg was about to convert to the first
hints of a cramp, which was the very last thing that the spy needed
right now.

Struggling to focus on the report about the latest developments
at the Ministry of Magic that Walden Macnair had already been holding
forth upon for several minutes now, Severus was extremely awake to
the presence of a soft, long, lithe body at his feet. Keeping him from
being able to at least shift his weight from time to time. Forcing him to
stand even more motionless than he and all the other Death Eaters
usually did anyway. The need to move, to relieve his left leg of the
weight of his body, which it had been forced to carry alone for more
than an hour, had become more urgent than anything else - but
still, he didn\'t dare to give even the slightest twitch of one itching toe
inside his boots.

Nagini had appeared from nowhere right after the meeting had begun,
and from the moment he caught sight of Voldemort\'s snake,
Severus had not been able tke hke his eyes from her again. He had
watched with dim foreboding how her serpentine path through the dim
room had led the giant snake around the perfectly silent ring of
Death Eaters twice - before she obviously made her choice and
stopped right behind him on her third circuit, only to gently,
gracefully wrap herself around his ankles and curl up right at his
feet.

Severus was sure that if she had been able to purr, she would have
done so.

It wasn\'t a tight hold Nagini that had on him, not at all. Her body
exerted just enough pressure not to let him forget about her
disturbing presence even for a second. Anyway, it wasn\'t the
serpent\'s grip that had caused the increasing pain in Severus\'s
leg or the unbearable twitching of his muscles in their compelling
urge to move. But the fact that the spy knew all too well, as every
Death Eater did, that disrespecting Voldemort\'s pet\'s wishes
wasn\'t something the Dark Lord would approve of at all, and
disturbing Nagini\'s rest now would prove equal to offending
Voldemort himself...which meant that the subsequent punishment
would be an extremely dicey and thus exceptionally painful one.
Quite aware of what the night was still holding for him, Severus
therefore preferred to keep as still and unmoving as he possibly
could, doing his best not to wake the serpent from her apparently
peaceful slumber at his feet, even though a million tiny needles
were now painfully stabbing every square-inch of every single
muscle in his left leg.

Being taken by the Dark Lord after having been weakened by a
Cruciatus perhaps, or maybe even something worse, something
like another of Lucius\'s touches, for example...Compared to that,
the physical consequences of Nagini\'s dubious evidence of
affection proved to be the much lesser of two evils. By far.

And since the silence that had just descended on the circle of
hooded and masked women and men told Severus that Macnair\'s
pompous sermon had finally ended, he knew that he would be freed
of the detested creature on the floor before him very soon anyway.
He was also quite aware that only shortly after that, he would once
more be physically reminded of the fact that there was someone he
hated even more, with all of his heart. Someone who would not curl
up at his feet like a content cat, but who would make the Slytherin
himself go down to the floor instead.

Severus flinched as this someone suddenly spoke, the strange
voice piercing through the tense quietness that stretched in the
scarcely lit room seemed to echo from the cold, bare stone walls,
which only intensified its menacing sound.

\"Everything goes as planned, my Death Eaters. Time is working for
us, as I have told you. Only a bit more patience, and there will be
nothing to prevent our triumph anymore. Nothing, I repeat *nothing*,
will stop us this time.\"

A very contented smile, the one that Severus had learned to fear so
very much during the past months, spread over the Dark Lord\'s
face as he slowly turned in the middle of the circle, fixing every single
one of his servants before a single graceful gesture of his left hand
ended the meeting and dismissed them all.

All, except for one of them.

\"Severus.\"

As much and hard as he tried each time to mentally prepare for that
particular moment, Severus still didn\'t quite manage not to inwardly
wince at the suggestive undertone that always resonated in the way
the Dark Lord used his name to hold him back from leaving.

\"Yes, my Lord.\"

With his long, black robes rustling over the stone floor, Voldemort
turned with an elegant, graceful spin and drew nearer towards the
spy until Severus was facing the snake-like, but still clearly defined,
features of his former master. Who was smiling at him indulgently.

\"There are some things about that report of yours concerning the
situation at Hogwarts that I would *love* to discuss in a little
more...detail. Now. My faithful Severus.\"

It was nothing more than another part of the mental torment the spy
had to endure - apart from the physical one. Every single Death Eater
knew perfectly well that the reasons why Severus always had to
stay after their meetings were totally different from those their
Master publicly offered them. But Voldemort seemed to find extreme
pleasure in pretending not to be aware of that at alld cod coming up
with new excuses for holding Severus back after every single one of
their gatherings had become something like a highly entertaining
game to the Dark Lord.

Severus had not yet learned to completely ignore those subtle
side-swipes, was still not able to avoid wasting any of the precious
energy that was still left in his weakening body in pointless rage
and frustration. Instead, he was actually struggling with both
emotions right now, and the amused spark in the glittering red eyes
of his former Master, who still stood in front of him waiting for a
confirmation of his last order, didn\'t make things any better. Neither
did the sounds of hurried stirring, or the soft sound of Disapparating
witches and wizards that the previously totally silent circle had just
burst into. Feeling furious warmth spreading inside him, the spy
fought the vicious tightness in his throat to finally utter his
obedience.

The automatic, obsequious \"Yes, my Lord\" had not quite left his lips
when Severus more sensed than saw an interruption in the swift swirl
of retreating and Disapparating Death Eaters around him, a sudden
and unexpected element of disturbance in the smooth rush of
movement that had erupted in the room.

The almost delighted twitching of the Dark Lord\'s lips told him that
Voldemort had noticed this as well.

If anything, the amusement in those gleaming eyes deepened.
Regarding Severus for one more moment, giving him the cruel parody
of a conspiratorial smile, the Dark Lord slowly turned to the calm, tall
figure that had caught Severus\'s attention when it had not left with the
others but was now silently waiting to Voldemort\'s left.

\"Yes, Lucius, my friend, is there anything I can do for you?\"

The blond Death Eater made a graceful bow before he spoke to
announce his submissiveness in the face of the fact that he had
just ignored the clear and direct, albeit non-verbal, order to
leave immediately.

\"My Lord, thank you for your gracious willingness to hear me out.\"

Another fond smile played around the Dark Lord\'s mouth.

\"But of course, Lucius. Don’t I know after all that you\'d never display
disobedience like that without very good reasons in mind and the best
intentions at heart? I cannot wait to learn what was important enough
for you to decide to keep your master from his business at hand.\"

A small moment of silence followed. Severus could well imagine how
his former housemate was struggling with a tight, dry throat himself
right now, how he was moistening his lips behind his mask, struggling
for the courage to go on. The spy had no idea what it was that had
kept Lucius from escaping this place and the Dark Lord\'s presence
as quickly as possible, but he knew that the softness that had lain in
Voldemort\'s voice when he had addressed Malfoy, as well as the
patient leniency that the Dark Lord was presently displaying was
enough of a warning that Lucius was on the verge of getting himself
into very deep trouble indeed.

And Severus could tell from the tension that had started to emanate
from the other Death Eater, that Lucius was also quite aware of that.

Still, Malfoy went on speaking.

\"My Lord, I was...I was thinking that since we...I mean since Severus
and I are both working on the Hogwarts issue, that e...e...it might be
possible that you need me as well when you want to...rediscuss the
information that we gave you today.\"

Voldemort had turned back to Severus on the last words, every sign
of a smile wiped off his face. The spy felt a hot, corrosive glance drill
deeply into his own eyes, and fighting with the unbearable weight of
that glance his brain refused to comprehend the meaning of what
Lucius had just said. Caught and frozen in the Dark Lord\'s stare,
unable to think, unable to move, unable to breath, he merely managed
to observe how his former Master\'s lips parted, only half-listened to
Voldemort\'s voice, now low, cold and interwoven with a more than
palpable threat. Clearly answering Lucius, though the red, sparkling
slits remained mercilessly, unblinkingly fixed upon Severus.

\"Eagerness has always been one of your most outstanding features,
my dear Lucius, and I promise you, it will continue to serve you well in
the future - as long as you remember to devote it to matters in the
area of your responsibility. Now, pay close attention, my Death Eater,
because I assure you I won\'t tell you twice. In particular: racking your
precious brains over how I should best deal with the task of getting the
information that I need on that mudblood-nest Dumbledore is running is
*not* your concern. In general: the very last thing I need for you to do
is to take over thinking for me, my loyal servant. So here is what applies
without exception from now on: there won\'t be anything like this
surely well-meant advice you just offered me ever again; you will do as
you are told when you receive a direct order *immediately*, and you will
never so much as *think* about questioning my decisions ever again. I
hope that I have made myself clear.\"

In a distant corner of his head, Severus became aware of a strangled,
rasping whisper from his left.

An even more dangerous tone had crept into the Dark Lord\'s voice
now.

\"Iafraafraid I didn\'t quite hear what you just said, my dear Lucius.\"

The blond Death Eater seemed to have regained control of his speech.

\"Yes, my Lord, I\'m sorry, my Lord. You\'ve made yourself perfectly
clear, my Lord.\"

\"I\'m very glad to hear that, Lucius. It would have been a shame had it
been necessary to employ other means to make you see...reason.\" With
those words, Voldemort\'s eyes suddenly let go of Severus, and as the
Dark Lord turned to Malfoy again, he went on in the same lenient,
cheerful way in which he had begun the conversation. \"Severus\'s
presence will be absolutely sufficient, rest assured Lucius. There\'s no
need to hold you back from your family any longer than this meeting
already has. You have Narcissa waiting for you to come home, and
since there\'s nobody waiting for Severus, then I\'m sure he\'s more than
willing to spend a little more time with me for the sake of the cause.\"

Not waiting for a reply from er oer of the two men in front of him, the
Dark Lord whispered a few syllables in Parseltongue, which made
Nagini finally uncurl and abandon her position at Severus\'s feet.
Only when his serpent had passed him on her way into the darkness
that seemed to flood from the walls of the room did Voldemort address
his Death Eaters again, who were both still silently waiting for more
instructions, both trembling inside with fear of what was to happen
next.

\"Severus, would you please join me next door. Lucius, my regards to
your beautiful wife.\"

With those words, Voldemort turned on his heels and, following
Nagini, disappeared swiftly into the darkness as well.

Very slowly, Severus looked to his left where Lucius had to be
standing. A strange heat was burning right behind his solar plexus,
and he was absolutely positive that, for once, this sensation had
nothing to do with his fear of the events that were still waiting for
him tonight. Instead, the spy felt his lips tremble with the unfamiliar
urge to express his emotions - and what he feltht nht now, the glowing,
profound gratefulness for Lucius\'s desperate and futile attempt to do
*something* to spare Severus another horrible night with Voldemort,
wasn\'t exactly what he was used to either. Even though the rage he
had been able to read in the Dark Lord\'s eyes when they had just
faced each other had been a clear sign that Voldemort had *not*
been delighted with what had just happened at all, all of Severus\'s
soul was screaming with the need to somehow show the gratitude
he felt. He was bursting with the longing to say *anything* to his still
slightly shaken former housemate, he simply had to let Lucius know
how very much he appreciated the risk he had just taken, even though
doing so had been unbelievably stupid as well. Still, the spy was keenly
aware that the last thing either of them must do right now was hesitate
in the least to obey the Dark Lord\'s orders. The other Death Eater had
tried the Dark Lord\'s patience more than could have been good for him,
and if he didn\'t want to fuel Voldemort\'s anger even more, Lucius had
to Disapparate as soon as possible. Not to mention that he, Severus,
should get himself moving, should follow his former Master to the next
room, should ignore whatever it was that still tried to force him to
address Lucius...

Just as Severus had managed to persuade his feet to haltingly take
him towards where Voldemort had disappeared, Lucius lifted
his face and their masked eyes met.

Severus knew that communication was impossible. He knew they didn\'t
have the time for it, neither of them, not to speak of their not daring risk
the Dark Lord\'s disapproval should he find them talking to each other
now of all times. Still, while the spy was gingerly moving towards the
shadows and Lucius hesitantly prepared to Disapparate, their glances
seemed to be glued to each other, one not leaving the other for even
the smallest moment, and Severus couldn\'t help but whisper a bearly
audible \"Thank you\" when he passed the other Death Eater. The equally
low \"I\'m sorry\" he was answered with vibrated with a degree of honesty
usually lacking in the man who spoke those words.

And then Disapparated.

Painfully aware of being alone with his violently raging heart, and the
emotional turmoil inside of him, Severus carefully continued making his
way towards where Voldemort had disappeared only a moment ago.
Ignoring the protesting muscles of his left leg, limping forward with a
hot prickling running from his toes up to his hip with every second step,
the spy soon reached the completely dark regions of the surprisingly
large room. Only when his groping hands held up in front him collided
with a moist wooden frame did Severus know that he had finally
reached the door his former Master had to be waiting behind. And even
though he was perfectly aware that delaying the inevitable would only
make things worse in the end, it took him much longer to feel for the
handle and finally open the door than he knew he was allowed.

Severus was greeted by the soft light of two giant candles that were
burning in a corner, standing on a stone pillar as high as a man, that
was already covered with thick layers of filigreed wax-formations. A
comfortable looking armchair was standing diagoy toy to the right of
that pillar, and...

\"About time, my dear Severus.\" ot tot the slightest rush of air, nor any sound of human movement
had warned him when Voldemort suddenly seemed to emerge out of
nowhere right behind him.

Not paying any more attention to the terror-stricken spy, the Dark Lord
slowly moved past him, leaving it up to Severus whether to recover
from his shock in time or not.

\"This tendency of yours to unpardonably neglect the aspect of
*instant* obedience is actually becoming worse again.\"

One red glance over the Dark Lord\'s shoulder caught Severus
totally off-guard again.

\"And I had thought that we had managed to weed that out...\"

Forcing his hands to finally stop shaking, Severus hurried to show
the servility he knew Voldemort was expecting.

\"I hope you can forgive me that I disappointed you once again,
my...\"

\"We will see, Severus.\"

Overwhelming fear turned Severus\'s heart to ice, sending cold,
violent shivers over his entire body. If the Dark Lord didn\'t even
care to listen to his demonstrations of submissiveness...

\"Yes, my Lord.\"

Not daring to take his eyes from his former Master, lest he should
miss any sign of a change in the Dark Lord\'s capricious moods,
Severus abandoned attention to the still forcefully burning pain in
his left leg and forced himself to concentrate. hinghing Voldemort
make himself comfortable in the armchair beside the candles with
one fluid movement, he saw how the Dark Lord was languidly leaning
back, apparently having found an acceptable position, while the
dancing light of the flickering flames was modelling his sharp,
clear-cut features in a horribly eerie way. With his eyes half-closed,
so only the slightest trace of red was visible, and the slothful play of
light and shadow on his face, it was impossible for Severus to judge
the mood his former master was in, to tell whether Lucius\'s well-meant
manoeuvre, though having been doomed to failure from the beginning,
had actually caused more damage instead of helping him at all...

The hated voice was cutting through his musings.

\"I don\'t remember ever having experienced you shy like this, my
lovely Snow White. Come closer. Yes, right here. Don’t be afraid...\"

Severus\'s heart was jerking wildly up into his throat, and his
Insides, which had begun to clench slightly while the Dark Lord
had spoken, cramped more with each limping step he took towards
the only source of light in the room. The darkest premonitions
of what was to come his way tonight were racing through his head.
Having learned the hard way that ironic verbal games like this were
not a good sign at all, his fear of what his former master had in mind
for him grew more unbearable with every moment of perfect silence
that passed.

Until the Dark Lord spoke again.

\"Sit down, my sweet Severus, here beside me.\" A bony finger was
pointing to a spot on the stone floor, just to the left of Voldemort\'s
feet. Severus silently obeyed, knowing that his fiercely trembling
knees and still more or less useless left leg would make sitting down
absolutely impossible. It was a most ungraceful fall that finally
brought him down to the floor beside the Dark Lord, and the
forbearing chuckle of amused disapproval that this earned him
made the spy\'s face glow with shame and fury as hurt pride
momentarily eclipsed the wild fear that had strangled him just
moments ago...but only an instant later, at the very moment that
Severus felt the Dark Lord\'s fingers gently brushing back the hood
he was still wearing, blinding dread immediately gripped all of his
being again. A very steady hand had begun to casually comb
through his hair now.

\"I was wondering, Severus...you\'re not saying anything, not moving at
all...is there a reason for your unusual passiveness tonight?\"

Determined not to get caught in Voldemort\'s psychological trap of
provocation too easily this time, the spy composed himself, reached
deep into his mind to summon control of his voice.

\"No, my Lord, no particular reason...I was only waiting for your
Lord\'s instructions.\"

Another low and gentle laugh rang down from above him, and the
hand that had been stroking Severus\'s hair stopped at his temple
to follow the outline of his mask, until the spy could feel five fingers
slowly gliding underneath the magically attached piece of wood and
closing in a firm grip around his jaw where it connected to his neck.
Knowing there was no point in trying to resist, the younger Slytherin
gave in to the pull that gradually forced his head around, wrenching
his neck in a very painful way, until he felt the Dark Lord\'s eyes
burning into his own once more.

\"Waiting for my instructions...how very touching *and* sensible of
you, my sweet Snow White.\"

Another small tug on his chin and Severus\'s neck was twisted
even more towards his former master, with every sinew and muscle
seeming to be on the verge of being torn any second now. Bending
forward slightly, Voldemort made sure Severus had to realize
that there was not a trace of the playful ease from the last
minutes left anymore, that things were getting dead-serious now.
The Dark Lord\'s features were cold and hard, the dangerously
flickering fire in those red eyes told a clear story about the
fierce rage waiting for Severus at that very moment, and the furious
hiss of Voldmort\'s voice was vibrating with menace and cruelty.

\"Then listen closely and better not miss a single word of my
*instructions*, Severus! You will take your cloths off, one
by one, and *very* slowly, starting with that mask and your
gloves, because I want to see your shaking hands and the cold
sweat running down your face and neck while you undress for
me. As soon as you\'ve finished, you\'ll get on your knees and
elbows right in front of this chair - and Severus, make sure to
not waste any time assuming your position. As for what is to come
after that, don\'t worry, there won\'t be anything that will demand
any further contribution from your side. You can confidently
leave arranging the rest of this night up to me.\"

The Dark Lord\'s face came even closer.

\"I assume you understood, Severus?\"

Speaking and thus moving his jaw which was still in Voldemort\'s
bone-crashing grip only added to the pain that was already blazing
in his head and neck, but the old reflex to answer each of the Dark
Lord\'s direct questions obediently overrode the shrill protest of the
spy\'s aching muscles.

\"I understand, my Lord.\"

It was only a few moments later when his former master\'s violent
thrusts seemed to split his body in two. He tried hard, though, brought
all of his Slytherin determination to bear, but after Voldemort had
driven himself up Severus\'s arse for the sixth time, the merciless
force of the Dark Lord\'s movements broke through the spy\'s pride at
last. Making him helplessly scream with pain and horror, while long
fingernails left their bleeding marks on his back and waist as
Voldemort grabbed the trembling body in front of him, pulling it
closer with every fierce push of his hips, making sure he went
deeper each time he buried his cock in the other man.


----------------------------------------------------------------------


Severus was not sure for how long it had already been over. The
gradually subsiding pain told him that at least some hours must have
gone by since Voldemort had finally left him, but one look at his
still heavily trembling hands was enough to make him instantly
dismiss any thought of Disapparating back to Hogwarts yet. He
wasn\'t in a hurry to get back to his other life anyway. Thinking of
arriving at the Shrieking Shack did not hold the soothing comfort
anymore that it had during the last few months.

With a sigh, the spy let his head fall against the wall he was
leaning against, still sitting on the floor, but already half dressed,
with his naked torso wrapped in the warmth of his Death Eater’s
cloak. The painful memory of the last time he and Remus had seen
each other was much too fresh to be dismissed to one of the dark
parts of his brain, in the same way that Severus usually suppressed
disturbing reminiscences. And even though it hurt every single time,
the evening in his quarters following the very day he had revealed the
details and reasons concerning his condition kept creeping back
before his inner eye as if it had been yesterday. But then, it had only
been five days ago after all.

Five days in which they had not met, had not communicated via floo
powder, nor exchanged a single owl. Severus knew that after what
had happened that evening, it most probably would be his turn to
take the first step in trying to resume their friendship. It had been
him, after all, who had openly broken their mutual, silent agreement
to keep themselves in check for the sake of their strange relationship...
and even though he still didn\'t know whether he was supposed to
regret it or not, he had not been able to hold back that evening.
Had let himself be carried away by the force of the furious
disappointment and immense hurt Lupin\'s suggestion had aroused in
him. The total lack of sensitivity the werewolf had displayed in
Severus\'s eyes that night had more or less completely crushed the
trust the spy had been building in Remus so very hesitantly. Led by
rage, diointointment and pain, Severus had given vent to all the
emotions he had kept under tight control as far as his friendship with
Remus had been concerned.

He was still surprised at the ease with which the acid coldness had
suddenly been flowing from his mouth, when he had most successfully
avoided exactly that for so many weeks. It had been so frighteningly
easy to fall back into the habitual demeanor that he saved for certain
people...even though he had not descended to screaming that particular
evening, Severus was perfectly aware that the corrosive sarcasm with
which he had thrown out Remus\'s plan had been just as bad, if not even
worse, and he clearly remembered the traces of raw pain that had
flashed across the werewolf\'s features at some of his, Severus\'s, words.
Words that had been meant to hurt.

It had all culminated in his demand that Remus leave his quarters
immediately, which the werewolf had silently and quickly complied
with, almost leaving without putting on the Invisibility Cloak...

No. It had *not* been a pleasant evening.

Nor had the following days been pleasant. A little surprised at himself,
Severus had witnessed how his boiling rage of that evening had
started to ebb away with the very next morning, until by the evening
of the following day, there had been nothing more left than a bitter,
painful feeling of letdown. And the profound sense of having suffered
one of the greatest losses of his life.

The spy had not been sure whether the werewolf\'s absence in his days
or the deep disappointment and abuse of trust that he still felt had been
the worst part of it, and to be honest, he still was not clear about that.
His incapacity to get past the most hurtful fact that apparently all
Remus had been able to come up with in the face of the truth about the
ritual was to suggest another encounter with the wolf he was, an even
closer encounter than the first had been, the first that had almost killed
him, had most effectively kept Severus from pondering on whether he
wanted to save whatever was left of the connection he and Remus had
shared. Mentally going back to the Shrieking Shack of his youth wasometomething that Severus had carefully avoided for most of his adult life.
The events that had taken place then belonged to those memories that
he had buried so very deeply inside that it almost hurt to even search
for them. So far, Severus had not been able to forgive Remus for
forcing him to go there when he had not been ready to do so yet - and
probably would never be. The very old pain and horror from his school
days had come to raise its ugly head again. This time keeping him
from making the first move towards reconciliation with one of the very
few persons he had ever regarded as a friend...

Until the Skull and Serpent on his left forearm had erupted with fire
very late last evening.

It had been one of the extremely few spontaneous actions of his life,
one that he couldn\'t explain, one that he didn\'t even understand. Even
now, hours later, after he had spent quite some time thinking about it
while waiting to recover enough to be able to Apparate back to the
Shrieking Shack, Severus still had not been able to find rational
grounds for having sent Remus the usual owl to inform him of
Voldemort\'s call. He had done it despite all that had happened,
despite five days of complete silence and the most painful emotions
that were still, undampedly, swirling inside of him.

The lack of reason behind his sending this owl was almost frightening.

With a slight shake of his head, Severus pushed himself away from the
wall and with more than a little effort, very slowly, deliberately, got to
his feet. He had learned to accept his acts, thoughts and feelings being
rather strange and inexplicable these days, but this latest evidence of
how uncontrolled emotionality had overrun his brains was really
disturbing him. The facts were speaking for themselves, though, and
they told a clear and alarming story of how extraordinarily significant
the werewolf\'s presence had become for him by now, as well as of the
impact this had on the spy\'s inner life. Severus had never been
someone who had listened to the treacherous whispers of hope, and
even now that he had finished dressing, put on the mask again and
slipped on his leather gloves he tried to fight the absurd wishful thinking
that perhaps he would not arrive at the Shack only to find it empty.

Though with every fibre of his heart and soul, he still hoped to be
greeted with another of those warm smiles that had become lifelines
for him during the past months.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath and closing his eyes against the
sinister scenery that had witnessed another stopover on his long
way to doom, the spy pulled himself together and finally Disapparated
from the Dark Lord\'s headquarters.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


When he broke out of the swirling tightness of Apparation some
moments later, when his eyes adjusted to the sparsely lit Shrieking
Shack, when his heart seemed to suddenly explode with glorious,
overwhelming joy and relief at the sight of Remus Lupin, who was
fast asleep in his chair with the upper part of his body resting on his
folded arms on the table top in front of him, another surge of wild
and unrestrained hope passed through Severus with a triumphant
shout.

He didn\'t even try to fight it.

Because the Dark Lord had been proven wrong earlier.

As improbable, as unbelievable, as incomprehensible as it might have
seemed, there was still someone who was actually waiting for him.




Author’s notes:

Heyho, everybody!
I just wanted to apologize for how very long it took me until chapter12 was finally
posted – and to make a little note about how the events of OotP will influence FaJwE.
I intend to continue and finish it as it was planned from the beginning – most
fortunately, none of my main characters had to die, or else I would haven been in
trouble. As for the one who *did* have to die, I decided to not refer to Sirius’s death
in FaJwE, he will simply not make an appearance again.
I hope you will enjoy chapter 12, as well as keep me informed if you have doo ;oo ;o)!

Cheers and salve,
Kat


@ @_@: Um…no, I’m not really into bestiality – but you would have found out in the next
chapters anyway *grin*. I really hope this is not too much of an disappointment for you…;o)
As for ‘emphatise’…I *did* scan every single dictionary I came across for this word, but I
couldn’t find it…*grin* maybe you could send one of your imps to finally enlighten me
*bigpuppyeys*??

@ Lunatic: I happy whenever you are happy, Lunatic, so I hope that my timing *this* time
has been equally ‘brilliant’ as it’s been with chapter11…I kind of doubt it, though, part12
has simply taken me too long *sheepishgrin*…
Well, hopefully you’re not crest-fallen that we have not found out yet about how a joint full
moon night for the two of them would look like. We *will* though, so please stay with me ;o)!