Hibernaculum

A dark robed man lay prostrate before a hooded figure red eyes gleaming from inside the dark cowl. Several black robed figures stood watching from the shadows, silvery masks covering their faces.

Writhing on the floor the man pleaded for his torment to end.

\"Fool!\" hissed the cloaked figure,

He sat back watching the pathetic display silently and without humor. He gazed around the room; others flinched back in the shadows, trying to avoid notice. They were foolish in their hopes. He was a patient man and all would receive his attentions eventually. He muttered the incantation that would end the curse and the man shook briefly before slowly making his way to his knees. He crawled to the hooded man knelt before him and kissed his robes in benediction.

\"Thank you my lord, you are merciful my lord.\"

He waved him away wordlessly.

His eyes wandered around the half circle that surrounded him. The twenty hooded figures in silvery masks stared back at him.

\"It has been some time my loyal followers. Soon we will no longer have to skulk in shadows and creep about in moonlight. I have spent the past several months gathering allies in far away lands, allies that will prove very useful to us in the upcoming months.\"

\"But it appears we have some confusion the needs to be cleared up before we begin. I have been told that during my absence the Dupries home was attacked. It is said that Deatheaters were responsible. The Dark Mark, shown in the papers hovering above their home.\" His voice suddenly light and questioning, \"But how could this be? Why would Deatheaters be attacking the home of a pure blood wizard and his family?\" Several masks shook in denial, \"Especially, when Robert Dupries was one of our backers!\" he shouted and the masks stopped shaking their heads.

\"Lucius, you will explain how this occurred.\"

One of the figures stepped forward from the darkness, \"My Lord,\" his melodic voice cajoling, \"it was Avery, he was pressuring Mr. Dupries to go forward with the marriage to his daughter. Mr. Dupries would not hearit. it. He said that you were making other arrangements and had given him permission to break the betrothal. He completely lost control.\"

\"Where is Mr. Avery now?\"

\"I do not know my lord.\"

\"I had spoken with Mr. Avery, I was clear that the marriage was off and he would have to find another bride. He has disobeyed me and displeased me greatly. Who else was with him when this occurred?\"

\"Mr. Knott, Wormtail, Mr. Starr and couple of new recruits who you have not yet met.\"

\"Where are they now?\"

\"I do not know my lord, they have been in hiding ever since.\"

\"Give me your arm Lucius.\" The man pulled back his long sleeve revealing a black skull with a serpent protruding from its mouth tattooed on his arm. It stood out dark and ugly against the paleness of his skin.

A thin skeletal hand reached out from the deep recesses of his robes, long pale fingers encircling the exposed forearm. The hooded figure sat quietly for a moment, seeming to concentrate and a brief moment later a ripple of a shudder went through the figures in the room.

\"They will not return. You must hunt them down. Who else is missing?\"

The robed figures looked at each other tensing suddenly. \"Has Severus been traveling with you my lord?\"

\"What? Of course not, he is supposed to be staying at Hogwarts. You know that! When did you see him last?\"

\"He went missing in January, no one has heard from him since. Hogwarts has been searching for him everywhere, his mother is frantic with worry.\"

\"They do not believe him dead?\"

\"I can only assume Dumbledore placed some sort of charm on him. Ms. Dupries has been hired on only as a substitute.\"

\"You will all begin searching for Mr. Avery and the others. I believe if we find them we will find Severus.\"

\"My lord, Severus would never--\"

\"Do not be ridiculous Lucius! If I believed Severus was to betray me it would not be for that ragtag group of idiots and he certainly wouldn\'t lead such a hopeless lot!\"

\"Of course my lord, what do you wish us to do with them when we find them?\"

\"You will bring them to me, if you cannot bring them alive kill them. I will not allow ambitious fools to destroy everything we have worked for and you had better find them soon. Severus is a strong willed man but he cannot last forever.\"

\"And what should we do with Severus?\"

\"Leave him at his home or at Hogwarts, whichever is closer, you cannot be seen.\"

*****************************************************

Severus Snape was bored. His captors rarely visited him now, not after he had poisoned a good deal of them. They hadn\'t allowed him some of his preferred tools so he only had been able to give them severe cases of diarrhea but it had been enough to make them more wary of him. They had said he was to be working on a potion for Voldemort, a potion that would break through the block all wizards had of only being able to case so many spells before exhausting themselves. If Severus weren\'t aware of the previous attempts on such a potion and the catastrophic results to their makers he would have been more interested. Many of them had died in their attempts, some had merely gone mad devastating their labs and anyone nearby before being locked away for the rest of their days wandless and alone.

He might still have worked on the potion if he actually thought Voldemort had asked it of him. \"Not bloody likely,\" he rolled his eyes. Voldemort would have told him to do so and he would have worked on it in the confines of the dungeons of Hogwarts or at least would have pretended to do so. He certainly wouldn\'t have removed his spy from Hogwarts leaving him blind to the activities of Dumbledore.

While it might have been entertaining the first three times he poisoned the stupid men holding him captive, he was quickly tiring of their company. They were the dregs of Death Eater society and they bored him very much. They had attempted torture but it had amused him too much to be screeched at by furious men ripping off his toenails. They had learned nothing from working with their colleges. He would have been far less amused had Lucius had been there, or Mulciber they were far more skilled at the subtle art of extracting information. He might have been in a good deal of trouble. As it was he was bored.

He was working on an aerosol version of the previous poison so he could do it again. It had been weeks since he poisoned them the last time and they were becoming careless, but not too careless. He was still held in a room with iron gates, only his potion ingredients keeping him company. Had he actually been free to walk about the place he would have killed them all by now. As it was he had to be satisfied with leaving contact poisons about, and he didn\'t have the ingredients for the really his favorites. He would have been much less bored without his wand, but then of course they had taken it not being powerful enough to create an anti-apparition ward they knew he could leave easily had he had it.

At the sound of footsteps he perked up a bit, he snatched up the atomizer and hid it within his robes. The footfalls were heavy and hurried, announcing Mr. Avery before he arrived.

He gaze at the masked man before him, he was highly amused they had bothered with masks all this time. It had only taken him moments to discern those involved, his perception and sense of smell highly attuned. He played along, it might not bode well for him should they realize he could identify them with little difficulty. He wondered if he should go ahead and spray him or find out what he had to say first. If he made him wait he would just spray him, he was far more interested in the results of the aerosol version of his potion than more ramblings of the dire consequences should he not cooperate.

The man had chosen not to make him wait, \"Hello Professor,\" he sneered. Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. \"It seems Hogwarts has given you up for dead. They have hired a new Potions Professor.\"

That was actually kind of interesting, he wondered who they had hired, Potions Masters were few and many of them were even less tolerant then he was.

\"My fiancé has been hired in your place.\"

Although he wasn\'t aware Ms. Dupries was a Potion Master he kept silent, not wishing to let him know of his ignorance.

Snape smiled, \"I wasn\'t aware the wedding was back on with Ms. Dupries.\"

Avery waved his hand dismissively, \"It was a mere quarrel, we have since made up and the wedding is back on.\"

Snape was bored again, faced with utter bullshit he often had little tolerance. He was well aware Avery had never met his betrothed and was also aware Mr. Dupries would never consider Avery again.

After spraying Avery in the eye with the potion he laid down, deciding to get some rest before he was punished.

***************************************************

It was a very swollen Avery who sat at the table with the other men. They had a visitor and he was not at all happy.

\"You IDIOTS!\" he hissed, \"Our lord is well aware of your actions. He has ordered that you be found. He is furious you took his Potions expert. He wants you all brought to him, immediately.\"

They glanced at each other worriedly, their master had been injured in an attack on Hogsmead and they hadn\'t been certain he would recover. They had thought it safe to grasp what power they could in his absence.

\"I suggest you all practice your begging and pleading and screeching in pain. Our lord thinks you have gone rouge, he has given us leave to kill all of you.\"

They stared at the blonde man before them. They knew he could kill a good deal of them easily, and would do so without a qualm. His normally cool, sneering demeanor was replaced with one of fury, his deep eloquent voice harsh in its anger. They were going to spend years making this up to the powerful Lucius Malfoy.

\"You will take Snape and leave him a Hogwarts where he WILL be found, you will not be seen. You will then return to our lord. I am wearing a tracking device, should you even consider harming me Death Eaters will be swarming this place before you can escape.\"

They nodded dumbly.

\"You are lucky Snape didn\'t poison you all. If our lord doesn\'t kill you I cannot promise that he will not.\"

The pained glances told him all.

\"He DID poison you didn\'t he?\" he smiled, \"I am sure our lord will highly amused to hear his version of things.\"

\"You have less than an hour to return Snape. Should you think of escaping I have already cast a tracking charm, on you. I will let our lord know you are on your way.\" and with that last warning he apparated away.

They stared at each other in fear.

Avery glared at the empty seat. \"Knott, did you get the potion?\"

The terror stricken manped ped at hearing his name, \"Yes, of course, got it from a witch in Knockturn Alley.\"

He looked at him levelly. \"Go and get it.\"

It was his least favorite poison. The Madness, a vile concoction the rendered the victim into a severe drunken state while their body twisted and melted from the inside. The ugliness of it revolted him and he never used it. He preferred quiet insidious mixtures causing little pain, often appearing a terrible illness from the victim never recovered..

It wouldn\'t be exceptionally painful, the drunken state stole away much of that but it wasn\'t the pain that bothered him it was the drunken idiocy that he knew was soon to come, stealing away the dignity he strived to maintain only to lose it in such an ugly death. As he was dragged through the forest he wondered dimly how well the Potions Professor knew her poisons. It was a fairly easy one to detect, the bitterness of wormwood, the muskiness of the small mushrooms, the fresh greenness of the dracaena warneckei but one must know what to look for and few Potions Masters delved into mastery of poisons. The antidote was simple. He must get back soon. He had very little time.

Avery\'s voice rang out from the silent dark. \"We will wait for another thirty minutes or so then you can Apparate with him back to Hogwarts, just leave him near the wards, they can find him in the morning. \"

\"Err.this doesn\'t sound like the best idea.\" Wormtail muttered.

\"We can tell them we had already poisoned him before Lucius arrived, I am sure my bride will be a suitable consolation prize to our lord.\"

The others glanced at each other nervously, Nott shook her head, \"How can you be certain? Severus spent years perfecting his trade. She will never dor lor lord will be furious when he discovers he has been killed!\"

Severus nodded calmly in agreement, \"I agree. I think this is your worst idea yet, although that wouldn\'t be saying much. It was very sloppily done.\"

Avery glared at him.

\"If you had asked I would have chosen a much better poison, the one that will soon take its effects on you for example\" He supplied happily.

They stared at him in shock.

He shrugged in question, \"What?\"

\"You poisoned me?\"

\"Of course\" he said innocently.

At this the others jumped on Avery and pinned him down, Nott shouted to Wormtail, \"Get him to Hogwarts! NOW!\"

Severus laughed merrily as he and Worm App Apparated away.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Elizabeth was just climbing into bed when a head appeared in her fireplace.

\"Elizabeth?\"

She turned quickly, startled. \"Um, hello\"

\"Elizabeth, I need your help.\" the woman wrung her hands worriedly.

\"How can I help you Madame Rosmerta?\"

Madame Rosmerta, the well-liked proprietor of the Three Broomsticks, was in her late thirties. She was usually light hearted and kind but her face seemed strained with exhaustion.

\"I am sorry it is so late, I have a problem and I was wondering if you could assist me. Fudge is here, with his wife and she is feeling ill. I was wondering if you could send a potion down for her.\"

\"Of course, Madame I would be glad to, what is it that ails her?\"

The pretty witch waved her hand in annoyance, \"She has a dreadful headache, she has been moaning for over an hour!\"

Elizabeth shook her head, \"I will owl something down immediately.\"

\"If you could include something for women\'s complaints I would be very grateful, one of my serving girls is in a state.\"

\"Of course, Madame Rosmerta I have already prepared some for the term.\" She said.

\"I truly appreciate this Elizabeth, you come see us again soon.\"

\"Of course Madame Rosmerta, goodnight.\"

\"Goodnight Elizabeth.\" And with that she was gone.

Elizabeth frowned down at her nightdress and slippers. She would have to dress before heading to the owlery. Suddenly the thought of donning a corset and petticoat seemed immensely tiring. That wasn\'t even considering all the buttons on her clothing. She eyed her knee length plait and then glanced at her slippers again. It would be much easier to just deliver the potions in her animagus form. She could drop them off and be back in minutes.

With that decided she donned her long black flowing cloak. It was in the style of medi-wizards with deep concealing pockets and charms to prevent bottles from breaking while inside. She slipped through thesagesage that gave her access to the Potions laboratory, quickly penning instructions for the potions she tied them and the bottles to long cord and returned to her rooms. She tossed a note to Dumbledore of her whereabouts and with a soft sigh transformed and flew out the window towards Hogsmead.

The lights of Hogsmead gleamed from across the forest echoing the starlit sky. Thankful for a clear night she felt a little less tired in the cool cleansing breeze. Her predatory eyes suddenly caught a flicker of movement across the trees of the Forbidden Forest and changed courses to investigate.

As she flew closer she could see two men stumbling about, one hampered in his movements from dragging the other, singing from what bits she could hear a very inappropriate song about dryads and poorly fitting undergarments which she didn\'t get at all. Curious, she flew in closer and watched their progression.

\"Could you please be a bit quieter?\" The hampered one hissed, \"You\'ll have half the town as well as Hogwarts on us!\"

\"Of course, I do apologize.\" Mumbled the other, abashed. He was silent for a few moments before he began singing again just as loudly.

\"Snape! Shut it!!\"

Tensing suddenly at hearing the name she hovered for a brief moment and landed on a nearby branch, watching them frantically.

\"I will just leave you here and you can make your own way back.\" The hampered man muttered.

\"Of course, Wormtail, I will just lie down here for a moment.\"

\"GAH! No! Get up! You have to go back to the Castle!\"

\"Which one was that again?\" the drunken voice groaned.

\"Hogwarts!\" his voice becoming frantic.

\"No, I mean there seems to be three of them and I was wondering if you could point me to the correct one.\"

\"GAH!!!\" He screeched in frustration.

\"Oh do stop whining, besides I am sure Dumbledore would be very pleased to see you. He has been looking for you, you know. Why did they send you again?\"

\"Snape,\" he hissed, \"The only reason I haven\'t left you here in the dirt is our lord will kill us all if you die!\"

\"He probably will anyways you know,\"

\"That\'s IT!! You can make your own way to the castle!\" and with that let go of the other man and turned to head back across the anti-apparition wards. The other man followed him drunkenly.

She made her decision and flew closer quickly dropping to the ground and transforming. She grabbed her wand quickly before the startled men had a chance to react.

\"STUPIFY!!\"

And both men crumpled to the ground. She raced over to the tangled heap of arms and legs and shoved the stunned man aside.

\"Entangela!\"

Vines weaved out from the forest and wrapped tightly around hime pue pulled at the vines ensuring he couldn\'t escape and turned her attention over to the other man.

He was awake; his dark eyes gazed at her in annoyance one eyebrow cocked.

\"That,\" he said slowly, \"was not very sportsmanlike.\"

\"Sir, are you injured?\"

\"Probably\"

\"Sir, I am very unskilled in medicine, if we could get you to the school-\"

He nodded tried to get up and collapsed onto her, she shoved at him trying to sit up again until he was nestled into her lap. \"Err, I don\'t think I can.\" Glancing at her attire he grinned, \"Do you often wonder about in your nightdress preying on unsuspecting persons under the influence of hallucinogens?\" His voice was deep and seductive in its questioning. Like gentle questing fingers manipulating their way down her spine.

She shuddered and tried to glare at him, \"No sir, um could you get off of me please?\"

\"Why?\"

She stared at him in fury and pushed at him futilely. She couldn\'t displace him.

\'Sir, I must insist you move. You are intoxicated-\"

\"What?\" he glared offended, \"Of course I am not! I never imbibe heavily.\"

\"Then what are these hallucinogens you were speaking of?\"

\"Oh, that. They poisoned me you see.\" He stated helpfully.

\"What!\" she grasped his shirt demanding, \"Do you know what kind? What is the antidote?\"

\"Err, I am trying to remember.\"

\"Sir, I will move you a bit and try and smell it on you.\"

\"Excellent notion.\"

As she leaned towards him his hands grasped her face and he pulled her closer until their lips met. He kissed her hungrily, devouring her despite her protests.

\"AGH!\" she cried pushing him away.

\"Agh! Cruel temptress! Vile seductress!\"

She shoved the ranting wizard until he fell back onto the ground with a thud. She stood suddenly and began pacing frantically. She pressed her fingers to her lips deep in thought ignoring the man still flinging accusations. She desperately racked her memory for such a potion then suddenly it came to her. She ran back to the tree where she had dropped the bottles for Madame Rosmerta she chose one and broke the seal rushing back to him.

\"Sir, you must drink this.\"

He nodded, glaring at her. She gently put the bottle to his lips and spilled the contents into his mouth. She watched quietly concern on her face. His brows furrowed in sudden pain and she pulled him back into her arms stroking his hair trying to comfort him through the spasms racking his body.

His face slowly relaxed as the spasm passed and he looked up at her, grinned suddenly and dragged her back down for another scorching kiss. She struggled furiously beating her hands against him. His lips moved over hers hungrily and her struggles grew weaker and weaker until they ceased. She sagged against him bewildered at what she could do to get out of this mess. This was the single most bizarre uncomfortable situation she had ever been in and she couldn\'t help but wonder if her time at Hogwarts would be filled with bizarre situations.

\"Probably\" she thought, dazed, remembering some of the stories Remus and Sirius had been telling her.

He suddenly opened his eyes. His arms moved from her face and grasped her shoulders pushing her up and away from him.

\"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!!\'\"

Her brain having lost function moments ago she could only shake her head in confusion.