Needfire

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.


hide,poor dishonoured mind
who thought yourself so wise
and much could understand
concerning no and yes:
if they\'ve become the same
it\'s time you unbecame

where climbing was and bright
is darkness and to fall
(now wrong\'s the only right
since brave are cowards all)
therefore despair,my heart
and die into the dirt

-- from\"now does our world descend \"

-- e.e.cummings


Chapter 32 - Breaking the Rules

Snape wakened in Angharad\'s double bed, thrashing, snorting, feeling as if he were choking. His hands flew to his throat and found something heavy and hairy there. His fingers clenched on the thing and he was rewarded by a fearsome yowling, and a set of claws raking his hand, followed by two clawed back feet launching Crookshank\'s orange body from his chest.

\"Merlin! \" Snape gasped, bringing his hand to his mouth. \"Damnable kneazle.\" He rolled over and glared at the cat, who sat in a puddle of early morning sun in the middle of the bedroom floor. Crookshanks glared right back and then lifted his back leg over his head and proceeded to clean his rear end. \"I\'ll have no \'git\' comments from you, either,\" Snape informed the cat. \"You needn\'t expect to sleep on me, now that your mistress is elsewhere.\"

But Snape knew that Crookshanks had been doing exactly that, or at least sleeping curled next to him, since Hermione left. He\'d also been allowing the cat to curl in his lap in the evening while he read his Potions journals. It was oddly comforting to have something of Hermione\'s still here with him. Soon enough there would be nothing of hers left in Angharad\'s cottage, except the few letters he\'d had from her since she was admitted to St. Mungo\'s. Letters that he devoured anew, all three of them, each morning with his stewed black tea and porridge and fruit, and the occasional bacon or kipper he ate because he knew she expected him to increase his protein intake. He recalled her mentioning to him how different -- healthier -- his skin tasted to her, after the week at Malfoy Manor, eating properly balanced meals at Narcissa\'s table. He didn\'t notice a difference, but he continued to try and make an effort, and thought perhaps he felt better, except for the hole in that chamber of his heart and the loss of Hermione, his oxygen.

Minerva had agreed to tend to Crookshanks until Hermione was released from St. Mungo\'s. Snape was simply being called too often to Voldemort\'s side as the planning proceeded at a more and more rapid pace. The last summons had seen him gone for almost three days, and by the time he returned, Crookshanks had eaten what food Snape had left out for him, then moved on to hunt the garden for mice and other small animals, and eaten them all on the hearth in the kitchen, leaving a mess of hair, ears, and bloody tails on the bricks.

Two weeks ago, after convincing Minerva to meet him at the Hogs Head Inn, he had also convinced her to go with him to the Circle, and together they raised the Needfire. He had used her brooch to draw blood from his finger, and the Needfire had come to burn the bluebells he\'d picked in the edge of the Forbidden Forest as they walked to the Circle. Minerva had been astounded by the vortex, pressing against it, learning its strength, turning wide eyes to him in the semi-darkness lit by the bluish Needfire on the altar. She had hurled spell after spell at the barrier, never able to break it. Snape had her fire breaking spells into the dome of the Circle as well, to prove to her that the vortex enclosed the space inside.

Afterwards, they stood near the altar stone, watching as the Needfire finished consuming the offering, and Snape told her all he knew about Voldemort\'s plans.

\"You should be telling Headmaster Dumbledore these things,\" Minerva chided him.

\"He endangers the students to further his own agenda. I\'ll not support that any longer.\"

\"Because it endangers Hermione -- your lover -- specifically?\" Minerva gave him a sharp, ugly look.

\"Yes, if you must know, that was the final blow to the wedge, but I also care that he\'s endangering Malfoy, Weasley and Potter. And all the other students and teachers here. Minerva, I need you to do something for me.\"

\"What now?\" Her voice was cold; though she had been impressed by the display the Circle made, she was still very angry at Snape.

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a roll of parchment. \"Get this to Potter for me. I need to explain some things to him; and I need to teach him about this Circle. It will protect him. I want them -- all of them, and you, as well -- here again in three days\' time. We will raise the Needfire again, and the force will protect the boys from Voldemort\'s depredations and surveillance.\"

\"I will read this before I decide whether or not I will give it to Potter.\"

Snape bowed his head and sighed. \"As I expected.\" He looked over his shoulder; the Needfire had all but consumed the bluebells, and he could feel the whirling vortex dying down. He rose and walked to the Stones, pressing his hand through the force there. \"Come, Minerva. I will see you safely back to Hogwarts.\"

They walked through the cold darkness without speaking until the light from a high castle window fell yellow onto their path. Minerva halted him in its glow with a hand on his arm. \"You say Voldemort is aware of the force, the \'white noise\' around you. Once you raise that protective shield around the boys, he will know you\'re a traitor, Severus.\"

\"I am aware of that,\" he said tensely. \"You let me worry about that, Minerva. Just bring me the boys three evenings from now.\"

She turned to leave, and he called her back. \"There is one last thing.\"

She did not turn, but she paused. \"Yes?\"

\"I want to bring you Hermione\'s familiar. I can\'t care for him properly with Voldemort summoning me so frequently.\"

\"Bring him with you when you come back. He can stay with me, if he will.\"

\"Thank you. Hermione will be pleased.\"

~*~

Well before the three days had passed, Snape received a message carried by a snowy owl. The scrawl was familiar. Feet upon feet of punishment essays and Snape\'s personal resentment of Lily\'s boy ensured that he would always recognize Potter\'s handwriting. Potter confirmed they would all meet at the Circle at the agreed-upon time.

And...there was news of Hermione. Potter had been to see her and take her some of her things from Hogwarts. Snape sank into a chair, absently holding out a kipper to the white owl. He read the simple statements over and over.

\"Hermione asked me, if I got the opportunity, to mention that she\'s doing better, fitting in, getting along with her roommate, and missing you. I\'ve done as she asked.\"

Snape stared out the kitchen window for a long time before he remembered to send the owl away, no reply required.

~*~

Only Snape could tell how angry Minerva was about having brought the three students out of Hogwarts so close to curfew on a school night, especially to bring them to a monster like Snape. The three youths trailed her curiously. When they arrived at the Circle, Snape was already dressed in his druid robes and feathered cloak.

Malfoy snickered, but stopped when Snape fixed him with an unblinking stare, more than apparent in Minerva\'s Lumos light. \"Mr Malfoy. I may no longer be your professor or your Head of House, but as a superior wizard I require your respect. Your father would not approve of your lack of manners.\"

\"Professor,\" began Weasley, but then stopped.

Snape waited, watching. In the red-head\'s eyes was a new confidence, and a new look of distaste and disrespect. Of course -- Snape was no longer in a position of unassailable authority.

Weasley\'s head swung toward Minerva. \"Professor McGonagall, why have you brought us here?\" His chin jutted towards Malfoy. \"And why is he here?\"

\"Bugger off, Weasel,\" said Malfoy, from the corner of his mouth. He was standing far from Potter, where he could watch his lover; Weasley stood immediately next to Potter.

Minerva\'s lips thinned. \"Draco. Ron. Immaturity ill becomes you. Three points from each house. Ron, you\'ll have to ask Professor Snape why he asked me to bring you here.\"

Reluctantly Weasley looked back at Snape. \"Sir?\" he said, slowly, grudgingly, almost a sneer curling his lip. I see you are remembering a certain evening in autumn when I caught you snogging my apprentice, thought Snape.

\"You are all here because I asked Professor McGonagall to bring you here. Now, no more talking until the ritual is complete. It is foolishly dangerous to speak at this time.\"

\"Why?\" demanded Ron. \"Why should we trust you, of all people? I know what you did to Hermione, you bastard. I know why she\'s in St. Mungo\'s -- it\'s because of you! Why you\'re not in Azkaban right now, I\'ll never know, and --\"

\"Ronald Weasley!\" expostulated Minerva. \"Silence!\" The red-head glared at her, but her pointing finger did not waver, and he subsided; Snape was still well aware of the young giant\'s fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. A moment later Weasley crossed his arms over his chest and thrust his hands into his armpits, and looked away from Snape.

Snape\'s gaze slid to Potter, who in all this time had said nothing. The youth knew more than he was telling. Snape swung the cloak off his shoulders and held it out to Potter. \"Miss Granger told me she taught you the ritual this past winter. Come and demonstrate with Professor McGonagall so that your classmates may learn by your example.\"

Potter looked at Snape warily, but came forward, pushing his glasses up his nose. Weasley came with him, standing on his right. Snape stood by with his sickle; he would not require Potter to wound himself; Snape\'s blood would suffice. And since the more blood that was spilled, the greater the protection afforded, Snape had in mind to supply more than four small drops this time.

Potter motioned to Malfoy to join them. He stepped aside to make room for the blond on his left, who moved instead to stand between Snape and Minerva. Snape was not the only one to observe Potter\'s hurt look; it didn\'t last long, but Weasley had seen it, and looked sharply at the youth standing next to him. \"You don\'t need him,\" hissed Weasley, prodding Potter in the ribs with his elbow. Potter looked first startled, and then annoyed; his green eyes glared at Malfoy, who, for the first time in Snape\'s recent memory, shifted his weight uneasily. The boy\'s grey eyes slid to Weasley and narrowed into slits of displeasure.

So Weasley does not know about your lover, Potter, thought Snape. Malfoy wishes to be at your right hand, to displace your best friend. How much longer can you keep your relationship a secret?

Potter began the ritual, with Minerva standing on the opposite side of the altar stone, rigid with disapproval but participating nonetheless. At the proper time, Snape sliced open the heel of his hand and let a thin stream of blood splash over the small pile of apple wood and bluebells he had placed there.

\"Sir -- \" began Potter, aghast, at the same time as Minerva gasped Snape\'s name.

\"So much blood?\" she demanded.

\"More blood, more protection,\" Snape spat harshly. \"Get on with it, Mr Potter.\"

\"Let him bleed to death,\" sneered Weasley. \"We\'d all be better off. It\'s not like the wizard world needs Slytherins running everything --\"

Potter turned towards him. \"Shut up, Ron. You don\'t know what you\'re talking about. And unfortunately, I do. And so does Hermione. And so does Snape, greasy git or not.\" Dumbfounded and confused, as uneasy as Malfoy, Weasley blinked and quieted.

And moments later, Potter flung his arms skyward and down came the Needfire, bursting, sparking, shimmering through the offering of fresh grass and newly-budded twigs. The feathered cape lifted at Potter\'s shoulders and began to lash ferociously. Snape put the heel of his hand to his mouth to stanch the blood. Weasley and Malfoy stood staring at the blue flames on the altar, stunned.

\"All of you. Go to the Stones, and feel the vortex of force that we have created. Try to escape the Circle. You need to know what it feels like, and you should also know the force rings meet overhead, forming a cage of sorts.\" He looked directly at Potter. \"Open the clasp of that cape and you\'ll see what I mean.\"

Potter\'s thin hand slipped the toggle free and the cape swirled higher and higher, until at last it circled overhead like a trapped tiger, unable to escape.

\"Oi,\" said Weasley. \"Look at that. It\'s flying. And it can\'t get out!\"

Snape\'s lip curled at this uncreative assessment. \"Yes, Mr Weasley. Now do as I bade you.\"

Minerva grabbed for Snape\'s hand and began passing her wand over it to heal the cut. \"Stupid man...don\'t you think a few drops would have sufficed, as they did last time?\"

\"Never forget who we\'re dealing with, Minerva,\" he muttered. \"That\'s the mistake too many have made. He\'s no tame wizard. He\'s far from stupid, and he\'s the most motivated and charismatic individual I have ever met, except perhaps for Lucius Malfoy.\" He flexed his hand; the cut was sealed. He went himself to the Stones to test the difference in the force, and was astonished at how it threw him back; there was almost no flex to the humming wall that had risen. More blood, more force, more protection...Angharad, I wish you were here. What else have I forgotten?

As the Needfire began to die down, Snape returned to the altar. His small crowd gathered round. \"What we have done here is raise a veil between all of us and Voldemort. It means that you are protected from his sight, but it does not make you invincible, or even stronger. It just prevents him from reaching your mind, from finding you.\" Snape looked at each boy in turn, holding their gazes. \"He has targeted each of you. You, Weasley, because you are a friend of Potter\'s, and mean much to him. You are a weakness of Potter\'s. Be conscious of that. Above all, be vigilant.\" He stared hard at Hermione\'s young Thor, who, surprisingly, met his gaze and nodded back before taking a step closer to Potter. It was clear to Snape: Weasley would do whatever Potter needed him to do, and take his cues from the green-eyed boy. Good, thought Snape. Potter will need your strength.

His gaze moved to Malfoy. \"You, Malfoy, because you are your father\'s son, and Voldemort hopes to learn Dumbledore\'s secrets through you now that I am no longer a professor here. You would do well to remember that there is nothing glamorous about becoming a Death Eater, regardless of what you may have heard. You would simply be the tool of the Dark Lord, to do his dirty work. It is beneath you, Draco Malfoy, and your father wishes you not to follow him in this one thing.\" Malfoy stood very still, meeting Snape\'s gaze seriously while he spoke.

And finally, Lily\'s boy. James\' son. Dumbledore\'s not-so-secret weapon against Voldemort. Snape\'s lip curled faintly, but after the boy\'s skill at the ritual, he had to admit a grudging respect. Hermione would not have had time to teach the ritual more than once before she left Hogwarts to find Snape, yet he had not faltered over the words or the timing.

\"Potter. Take what you have learned here and use it well,\" Snape said, simply. He looked very hard at Potter. \"Because you love, and love strongly, you are weakened, you are vulnerable.\" His gaze flicked to Malfoy, and back to Potter, aware that Weasley\'s sharp eyes followed that telling glance. \"Remember that. But remember too, that Voldemort loves nothing.\"

The feathered cloak descended to earth slowly. Weasley waited for it to get within his tall reach, then caught it and returned it to Snape. \"You are all free to go,\" said Snape. The boys began to leave the Circle. Snape called Malfoy back. \"Malfoy. A moment, if you please.\"

The white-blond boy paused at the edge of the Circle. His stance told Snape that he was uneasy how much of his relationship with Potter Snape had shared. It was clear Weasley had not been told that Potter was sleeping with Malfoy. And Snape had all but told.

\"Here, please,\" said Snape. Malfoy approached with apparent confidence. Snape, after all, was his former Head of House. What had he to fear? Snape had been sacked for shagging a student, not injuring one. And a Gryffindor at that. Snape caught him above the elbow in a firm grip.

\"Here now, Professor --\" began Malfoy hotly. \"Just because --\"

Snape\'s wand whipped out before the boys or Minerva could react, and touched Malfoy in the center of his forehead. \"Obliviate,\" he intoned. An instant later Potter\'s hand shot between them and knocked Snape\'s wand away from Malfoy.

\"What do you think you\'re doing?\" Potter hissed, green eyes glittering in fury in his wandlight.

\"Touch my wand again, boy, and you\'ll no longer be the Boy-who-lived. Your lover tells his father too much. You would do well to remember that. And in turn, Lucius must tell Voldemort what he knows when the Dark Lord asks. It\'s best if Malfoy doesn\'t remember what went on here tonight. Do you understand me, boy?\"

Potter stared him down. Neither flinched away, but at last Snape saw a grudging realization emerge in Potter\'s eyes. \"Good,\" said Snape. Then he lowered his voice. \"Allow me to suggest that an intense...embrace...might provide an adequate replacement memory.\" He wrapped his feathered cape close and stalked out of the Circle, leaving Potter staring after him, astonished. It amused him to have shocked Potter by knowing about his relationship with Malfoy. As he passed Minerva on his way to the edge of Hogwarts grounds to Apparate home, he said, \"Bring them back in two weeks.\"

\"Was that really necessary, using Obliviate against Draco?\"

\"When will you learn we\'re not dealing with Dumbledore here? Voldemort is never twinkly, Minerva. He\'ll do what he pleases, what he thinks will serve him best. If that means going through Malfoy to get to Potter, that will be done. It\'s best that Malfoy not remember what happened here tonight.\"

\"How long do you think you can manage this, Severus?\" she asked, her voice harsh.

\"For as long as I must,\" he said. He paused outside the Circle long enough to give her Crookshanks\' carrier, with the angry cat inside.

~*~

\"Snape -- you will stay. The rest of you -- leave us.\" Voldemort\'s voice was like ice, ringing high and thin as crystal. Snape waited at the Dark Lord\'s side while the rest of the Death Eaters donned their masks and filed out of the meeting place.

Severus, an afternoon in bed, not so long ago: \"What are you doing? What magic is this?\"

Hermione moved slowly beneath him, her eyes clouded with the strength of the magic she was working. \"Warding you. Someone must watch your arse, if you won\'t do it.\"

Only now there was no one to ward him. He must watch his own arse. Voldemort\'s eyes were maddened and red, like a bull\'s. Better to get it over with, whatever was to come. \"My lord.\" He stood with his head down, eyes on the serpent wizard\'s feet, allowing his peripheral vision to show him what was happening.

\"Snape, Snape, my...loyal...follower.\"

\"My lord,\" said Snape again.

\"Not only have you not rid yourself of that white noise, that shield around your mind, but it has apparently been spreading like a plague at Hogwarts.\"

Snape waited, his heart in his throat, beating hard and frantically like the wings of a trapped dove. It did not do to interrupt Voldemort when he was setting the stage for a dramatic cursing or two. Snape was sure this summons would end in Cruciatus for him.

\"I am unable to see through the eyes of Malfoy\'s son. I am unable to connect with Potter\'s mind. There is another there, a friend of Potter\'s, someone close to him. And again I am locked out. What do you know about this, Snape?\"

Snape kept his eyes on the floor. \"My lord, you know well that Dumbledore is a strong wizard --\"

Voldemort hissed. \"Do not play word games with me, Snape. Crucio...Finite Incantatem.\"

It was brief, but horrifically painful nonetheless. Snape bent at his waist, gasping. His Death Eater mask fell from his hand and rocked on the floor of the meeting room. \"I\'m sorry, my lord,\" he rasped.

\"Yeessss, I see you are sorry. You\'re sorry I cursed you. You\'re not sorry I cannot find you to summon you. Snape, your utility has reached an end. You\'re no longer at Hogwarts. You haven\'t managed to return there, though you promised you would. You\'ve not been able to rid yourself of that shield. And --\" and here Voldemort\'s yew wand moved under his chin, the tip of it pressing into a tender spot near his Adam\'s apple. \"And, my follower, you\'ve been putting that shield around the very students I wished most to observe. What have you to say to this, before I kill you? Is there anything you could add that might make me reconsider?\"

Snape\'s eyes lifted. The wild grey blazed into the redness before him. \"Yes, my lord, there is.\"

Voldemort\'s eyes narrowed. \"Out with it, then. My patience is wearing thin.\"

\"Apparo Hogwarts front gate!\"

Voldemort\'s nearly lipless mouth stretched in a movement that was more a rictus reminiscent of a poisoning than a smile. \"You forget, Snape. I do not permit Apparation within my personal perimeter.\"

Fuck. And now I\'ve given away my fear to this beast. He thought fast, but not fast enough. Voldemort began to smile again.

\"I see there is nothing you can offer me.\"

\"There is one thing,\" said Snape desperately. \"A small thing only...\"

\"I\'m waiting.\"

\"Potter has taken a lover.\" Merlin, Merlin...think faster...I cannot hand him Draco...

\"Really.\" Voldemort was bored. \"Tell me something I don\'t know. Lucius has already told me this.\"

\"Lucius told you who Potter\'s lover is?\"

\"No -- he didn\'t know that. Why should it matter? If I cannot see Potter, I cannot see who his lover is, therefore I cannot find the link to that one\'s mind. Again you fail me.\"

\"But if I can learn who it is...I will be meeting with Potter again soon; what if I could bring you this knowledge?\"

The wand tip moved ever so slightly away from Snape\'s throat. \"It might be useful.\" Voldemort appeared to be considering the idea. Then his eyes slitted and he shook his head. \"No. This is only more delaying, Snape.\" His wand flicked towards Snape, who fell, still conscious, but rigid and powerless in the full body bind of Petrificus Totalus. \"Do you suppose Malfoy has arrived home already? A shame to call him back so soon, but...I think it will anger him to hear of your betrayal. And it should please him to watch you die, Snape.\" The wizard closed his eyes briefly, his hand over his Dark Mark; then he spoke Lucius\' name. Afterward, he retired to his chair and sat, looking at Snape, and drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair.

It wasn\'t long before Lucius appeared, looking harried and disturbed. His gaze went first to Voldemort, and he bowed. Then his head turned to Snape, still sprawled on the floor, absolutely motionless. \"My lord called?\" said Lucius to Voldemort.

\"I have decided to reward you, Lucius. You may kill Snape. He is no longer useful; in fact, I believe him to be dangerous to our cause.\" The serpent wizard looked idly at his long, broken nails. \"Snape has turned traitor, Lucius...he has hidden Potter from my view. As he has hidden himself.\" The red eyes turned their full glare on Lucius. \"That same white veil he has placed about himself, he has also placed about Potter and your son. He... obstructs me.\"

Lucius stared at Voldemort, and then at Snape. Snape watched the blond draw himself up proudly. \"I would be honored, my lord. Yet --\" he broke off, and shook his head.

\"You have a doubt, Lucius?\" said Voldemort casually, one brow rising.

\"No, my lord. A fleeting thought, but I believe I am not correct in my thinking.\"

Yes, Lucius...yes! Just break the Bind and I might have a chance.... You, though -- you will be punished yourself....

\"Nevertheless. You will tell me your thoughts.\"

Lucius paused, frowning slightly. Voldemort moved impatiently in his chair. \"Lucius.\"

\"My lord...I was...merely thinking that...we might make an object lesson of this traitor; send him to Dumbledore a broken man, powerless, yet living still, and show your strength. Snape is a powerful wizard; for you to so publicly break him...yet, my lord, I think it a poor idea of mine.\"

Voldemort\'s eyes slid to Snape, lingered on his face, and then returned to Lucius. \"Tell me more. How would you break such a wizard as Snape?\"

Lucius\' eyes narrowed. \"I would use Transfundo potentia and send him back to Hogwarts, my lord. With a broken wand.\"

No. Not that. Kill me instead, don\'t take my magic, don\'t take my magic from me!

Voldemort\'s lipless mouth stretched once more into its parody of a smile. \"It is a powerful spell, Lucius. Only one wizard has ever cast it successfully: Dumbledore\'s former partner, Nicholas Flamel.\"

\"I am aware of that, my lord,\" said Lucius. \"I, of course, would never be powerful enough, which is why I thought better of the idea.\"

\"It has merit. It would speak directly to Dumbledore\'s foolish ear and unfounded pride.\" Voldemort looked directly into Snape\'s wide eyes. \"And -- Lucius. Look. He is finally afraid.\" Voldemort leaned closer to Snape. \"It\'s truly sad that it has come to this, Snape. I had such plans for you after the war.\"

There was a long pause while Voldemort appeared to consider Lucius\' suggestion. Lucius was rigidly still, watching the dark wizard. Finally he spoke. \"You are the most powerful wizard of our age, my lord. Surely...surely even this spell is not beyond your capabilities. And I believe Flamel was in direct contact with the subject witch -- both by hand and by wand.\"

No. No, no, no!

The yew wand lowered slowly toward Snape\'s chest and a murmured spell created a void in Snape\'s clothing, just above his heart. The cold tip of that wand touched his skin. Voldemort\'s claw of a hand shot out and gripped Snape\'s wrist. Voldemort saw the startlement in Snape\'s eyes. \"I will surely drain you, traitor,\" Voldemort hissed.

Hermione, I\'m sorry...thought Snape, feeling disconnected from reality. This simply could not be happening. Damn you, Lucius...you couldn\'t have chosen anything worse to do to me. Torture and kill me, but don\'t take my magic! Don\'t take my magic. Don\'t... He knew that he would be stammering if he could speak. If he could move, he would be on his knees, or prostrate at their feet. He would abase himself, he would humiliate himself. He would grovel and beg. He would weep and plead.

The red eyes closed and Voldemort\'s reedy voice intoned the incantation. \"Transfundo potentia! Transfundo potentia!\" The words repeated over and over in the room, and as they echoed, Snape felt something enormous inside him loosening, squirming, breaking free with the sensation of a rupturing blister; a bursting, the way the last breath exhaled from a drowning man\'s lungs rose for the surface of the water far, far above, silver in the dark gloom of the sea.

His magic, leaving him. And under the full body bind of Petrificus, he could not even cry out, could not mourn, could not protest. There was a brilliant flash in the room and Voldemort\'s greedy wand appeared to swallow it.

The evil wizard looked down at Snape triumphantly. Snape himself felt hollow and void, and cold, standing at the edge of an emptiness such as he had never known. It was almost the worst experience of his life, second only to the moment when he had found Hermione still and cold on their bed, lying on the blood-soaked sheets, and no pulse beneath his fingertips, with the certainty of her death like a stone in his heart. It\'s been such a terrible spring, he thought inanely. I cannot even weep. Let me die, let me die...

In Lucius\' diamond eyes Snape could see something new; something immensely strong. A strange smile curved Lucius\' beautifully cut mouth.

And in the red eyes of Voldemort shone triumph and glee. The evil wizard turned to Lucius. \"The spell completed successfully, Lucius! I feel his strength in me -- I have Snape\'s magic! I have added to my own power. \" He began to laugh and very nearly dance around the room. Coming close to Snape, he summoned the Potions master\'s wand and snapped it easily in his fingers. Boyishly he tossed the pieces to Lucius and said, \"Take him back to his master Dumbledore, and make sure you pass along my condolences for the loss of his spy. Finite Incantatem. Apparo! \" With a sudden pop, the insane man vanished, leaving Snape and Lucius alone.

Released from the binding, Snape struggled to his feet. \"Why didn\'t you simply kill me as he asked, Lucius,\" he whispered.

Lucius\' head snapped around. \"Speak no more, traitor.\" He stepped close to Snape, took firm hold of him, and apparated them both to the front gates of Hogwarts.

~~@~~@~~
A/N: Rough Latin translation:
transfundo - [to pour over from one vessel into another , to transfer].
potentia - [power , might, ability; efficacy, potency]