Areas of Expertise

--I wrote the opening paragraph this morning before work as it was buzzing round my head. Hope you like it, and the rest of the chapter. Not so much of a cliffhanger in this one - so hopefully I won't get lynched (which DarklessVasion kindly warned me about!)SP



Chapter Thirty –



"Bravery despite defeat is praiseworthy." Mason Cooley



***



Harry felt a wonderful sense of ease and well-being flood through him. It was so simple. All he had to do was tell Voldemort what he wanted to know. Why had he fought this? Oh, yes, for the child. But that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Even the baby seemed completely unimportant now. All that mattered was telling Voldemort what he wanted to know. Harry smiled softly. He opened his mouth to frame a word.



Severus swallowed.



Voldemort’s cruel face leaned closer to the boy. “Tell me,” he hissed, in his eagerness sounding more snake-like than ever, tell me who is responsible.”



“Dumbledore.” Harry said, eyes slightly out of focus.



Voldemort’s mouth actually fell open. Behind him there was a murmur of noise from the Death Eaters. Snape was sure he’d heard a muffled “Eww!” from one of them.



Voldemort turned sharply to the teacher. “Severus: Could he be faking? Did he drink the potion?”



“My Lord,” Snape began, “he did indeed drink it down. It is impossible for him to be lying. What he tells you is true. Shocking. But true.”



“And you had no knowledge of this, my Severus?”



“None, my Lord. I tried most strenuously to discern this information from Dumbledore. Clearly this horrifying fact is the reason for his reticence.”



Voldemort paced the room whilst his followers shifted uneasily. He glared at the shackled youth, red eyes gleaming. “And,” he said meditatively, “so the great Dumbledore has a plan for my downfall using this boy and his child.” He sneered. “Such nonsense. What can he hope to achieve with this abomination?”



“You were to attack the child, but Love Magic would defeat you.” Harry answered the question, voice a little slurred with the effects of the potion.



“Ah, yes,” Voldemort jeered, “Love, that force that the old fool thinks is so powerful, more powerful than my magic. Idiotic, romantic nonsense.”



Severus’ coal black eyes just flicked across to Harry, he sagged awkwardly in his bonds.



“Will he rescue the boy, I wonder.”



Voldemort’s mouth shifted into an approximation of a smile. The sight of it made the potions master shudder. “Well, until he arrives to rescue the Golden Boy, I can have some fun with him.”



The Death Eaters relaxed slightly, aware of the change in mood from their master. They moved about for better views of Harry.



Voldemort prowled closer to Harry, his wand held lightly in his hand. “This is the boy who it was said defeated me. This is the boy who last year dared to face me, and who is still alive. This is the boy who is now completely in my power.” His snake-like nostrils flared. “I wonder if this boy feels confident enough to face the Killing Curse.” He jabbed his wand into Harry’s back. “Do you, boy? Do you feel safe from Avada Kedavra?”



“No.” Harry’s voice sounded very sure; a forceful response.



“Ahh, he does well to fear me. Do you fear me, Harry Potter?”



“No.” Harry’s answer rang out in the suddenly still room.



The Death Eaters froze.



“You do not fear me?” Voldemort’s voice was angry, cold, harsh with suppressed violence.



“No.” Harry repeated.



Voldemort span on his heels. “Get out!” he roared at his followers. “Get out!”



They got out.



Severus stayed beside the Dark Lord, as a hand had roughly grabbed his neck as he had begun to move. “Not you, Severus, you need to remain. The boy needs to understand why he should fear me.”



“Imperio.”



The word was said calmly, but that made no difference to Snape. His mind blanked and he awaited his master’s commands.



Voldemort conjured a whip and placed it into the other’s unresisting hands. “Whip him, Severus. Whip him until I tell you to stop.”



“NO!” Harry shrieked. “God, no! No! Please, no!”



Snape swung his arm back, face expressionless and cracked the leather across his lover’s back.



“Count, Harry Potter. Count how many times he whips you.”



“No!” Harry yelled, trying to arch away from the next lash.



“Count, Harry Potter.” Voldemort repeated, voice gleeful.



Severus flogged the student, his face showing no sign that it recognised the youth before it.



After nearly eighty strokes, Harry trembled silently, head bowed, defeated.



“Stop, Severus.”



“Do you fear me, Harry Potter?”



It took every ounce of strength and bravery that Harry possessed to pull his head up and respond.



“No. I hate you, I loathe you, I detest you and all that you stand for. I hate what you did to my parents and countless other witches and wizards. I despise you for preying on helpless Muggles. But I don’t fear you. You don’t have that much power over me.” Harry spat out the last sentence, aware he was likely to be killed for challenging Voldemort so openly.



The Dark Lord gave a scream of rage and wrenched the lash from Severus’ grip. With a wave of his hand he ended the curse on the other. “I shall beat you. Perhaps I can inspire some fear myself.”



“What will you prove with that?” Harry asked, tone mocking, “That you need to tie up a sixteen year old to beat him? Tat doesn’t make you a powerful leader to be feared, it makes you a pathetic little man who has never learnt to stop being a bully.”



“Argh!” Voldemort’s explosion of noise brought the Death Eaters running.



Harry managed to turn his throbbing neck to glance at them out of the corner of his eye. “And now there are witnesses, Tom, that you have to tie a boy up to defeat him.”



“No more!” shrieked Voldemort and brought the lash back.



“My Lord,” it was Severus, voice quite steady and calm. “This boy seeks to goad you into still remaining here until a rescue can be made. That is all. He is merely following Dumbledore’s edicts.” He turned his dark eyes full on the Dark Lord. “He wishes to keep you here to ensure you are captured and held up as an example to others who would attempt to reach your greatness. My Lord, he is but a child, facing the greatest wizard known. He cannot begin to comprehend your powers.”



Voldemort’s expression shifted from rage to concern to smug pride as Snape spoke. He lowered the wand.



“You are, of course, correct, my Severus. I will not allow myself to be tricked by this child. I have much to attend to now that I know the truth.” He pointed at the two Death Eaters who had captured Harry. “You two, remain here and guard him. Severus, come with me. The rest of you return to your lives.”



With a tight glance at his partner, Snape left the room, leaving his child and its parent with two Death Eaters.



-- Poor Harry! And Poor Sev. Don't worry, SP has got a plan. All is not as it seems. SP

Harry: Quit tormenting your poor readers!

Sev: Yes, you idiotic female, stop it!

SP *grumbles* But where's the fun in that?