A Crown of Thorns

**DISCLAIMER** All characters etc. belong to J.K. Rowling and I am making no money from this. Don’t sue because I’m sure that I don’t have anything that you’d want anyway. The basic plot for the story was a challenge presented by ArienAstera.





Chapter Four – Just Another Casualty of War?



For the next few months, Severus spent the better part of his evenings perched outside of Malfoy Manor, watching the comings and goings of Lucius Malfoy. Almost every other evening Lucius would disappear, not returning until early the next morning. Sometimes Severus was able to follow him by casting a simple tracking charm but that was usually when Lucius went to visit one of his several whores. On the other nights, Severus found that even the strongest tracking charms became ineffective when they reached a certain point. His instincts had been correct for he knew that only a very powerful wizard such as Voldemort could cast such strong protective wards.



That evening at dinner, Severus felt a familiar burning sensation creeping up his forearm and he glanced down the Head Table, catching Dumbledore’s eye. He nodded to the Headmaster and immediately a look of concern passed over Albus’ face. Albus knew that he was being summoned by Voldemort and although Severus had been doing this for years, it didn’t mean that he worried any less each time his Potions Master left. Watching him sweep out of the door Albus said a silent prayer for his safe return.



Severus pulled the heavy Death Eater robes over his head and slid on the hood that would conceal his face. Tucking his wand up his sleeve, he made his way out of a seldom used entranceway that led him to an apparition point just outside of the school’s wards. He concentrated on the pain that was now searing within his arm and felt the familiar swirling sensation of apparating. Within seconds he reappeared in a small dark room that was lit only by a few candles. He immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head.



A cold voice came from the corner of the room, “Severus, how nice of you to join us, please stand.”



Severus stood up, but kept his eyes on the floor. Although it was too dark to tell how many others were in the room along with him, he could sense their presence.
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“Take your place.” The cold voice hissed. Relieved, Severus backed up and fell in line with the others.



Voldemort stepped forward into the circle, “My most loyal servants, it has been quite a while since I have called on you…”



Severus listened to Voldemort drone on for nearly forty-five minutes about loyalty and preserving the bloodlines. He had to fight from openly yawning in the Dark Lord’s face. If he had a galleon for every time he had heard this speech, he would be one of the wealthiest wizards in a century. It had been a trying day for Severus and he was exhausted, his last class had been double advanced potions with the Slytherins and the Gryffindors. Now that Miss Granger wasn’t present to coach Neville Longbottom it seemed as though every class ended with a near death disaster.



Miss Granger. Severus let his thoughts wander to the little bushy haired know-it-all. As much as the thought pained him, class just wasn’t the same without her. Severus found himself, dare he say, missing the sight of her eager little hand flying into the air before he even had a chance to finish speaking. He hated to admit it, and he never would, not to another soul, but Hermione Granger was without a doubt the brightest witch Hogwarts had seen in over two decades.



“-and when this traitor is caught, their end will not come swiftly. They should expect a suitably long punishment followed by a painful death that will serve as an example to any others who would dare to entertain the thought of betraying me.” Voldemort slowly surveyed the surrounding Death Eaters, his eyes stopping on Severus.



Severus held his breath as he felt Voldemort’s gaze bore into him. Damn, he had been so busy thinking about that stupid girl that he hadn’t heard what was said.



“Severus,” Voldemort said in an icy voice that sent chills down his spine.



“Yes my lord?”



“I know that there were at least two members of the Order who were unregistered Animagi, am I correct?”



Severus’ stomach lurched and he nodded, “Yes my lord, Sirius Black and James Potter, before their deaths, both had the ability to transfigure themselves. Sirius took the form of a dog, and James a stag.”



“Are there any others in the Order that you know of?” Voldemort moved closer so that he was only inches away.



“No, my lord. None that I am aware of.”



“Severus, we have a problem. Someone or something has been watching Lucius for the past few weeks. I can only assume that it is one of the members of the Order sent to spy on my most faithful servant. And if it is not a member of the Order, than I can only assume that we have a traitor amongst us. Find out for me.”



“Yes, my lord.”



“Lucius, describe the creature again to Severus so that he knows exactly what to look for as I believe that the Professor’s thought were elsewhere when I was speaking earlier.”



Lucius stepped forward out of the shadowd pud pulled his hood back just enough so that Severus could see the smirk on his face as he spoke.



“A large black bird.”



~~~~



Later that night Severus returned to his chambers and slipped into his private laboratory. Skimming the contents of his shelves, he spotted what he was looking for, a small blue vial containing a very powerful painkilling potion. He uncorked the bottle and drained it of its contents before making his way to the bathtub.



This was his routine wher her he returned from one of Voldemort’s gatherings. Relaxing into the hot water, Severus closed his eyes and let the potion do its work. Slowly, he felt the pain begin to subside. He had known that he would pay dearly for letting his mind wander while he should have been paying attention. Although Voldemort enjoyed punishing those who were disobedient, he took a certain personal pleasure in torturing Severus, and Lucius took a personal pleasure in watching Severus be punished.



It was hard to imagine that the two were once friends since they were complete opposites, like night and day. Even their appearances reflected the stark differences between the two men. There was Lucius, tall and broad with long white-blonde hair, radiating an air of confidence combined with arrogance, and then there was Severus. The same height as Lucius, but leaner, more compact, with black hair, black eyes and even black clothing, and although he was confident, he made a concerted effort to remain out of the limelight. Severus knew his place was in the shadows.



At first their personalities had complimented one another, however as time went by the distance between the two men grew farther and farther apart. When Severus had agreed to take the teaching job at Hogwarts to “spy” on Dumbledore, Lucius knew that something wasn’t right. He had been bold enough to alert Voldemort of his concerns and suggested that they would need to keep a close watch on Severus, and much to his surprise, Voldemort had agreed with him. That was when the unprovoked punishments began, soon followed by brutal torture. It was Voldemort’s way of letting Severus know whas tas to come if he ever found himself toying with the idea of changing his loyalties. Severus knew that it had been Lucius who had planted the seed of doubt in Voldemort’s mind, and from that day forward the two were bitter rivals although they struggled to maintain a cordial “working” relationship.



Stepping out of the bath, Severus dried off, put on his pajamas, poured himself a gens fis firewhiskey and settled himself into the chair in front of the fireplace. He always had trouble sleeping on the nights he returned from one of Voldemort’s gatherings.



He thought about the way Lucius had smirked at him earlier this evening. He had immediately known that Lucius knew that the traitor was him. He also knew that Lucius wasn’t going to tell Voldemort straight away because he would want to watch Severus squirm. Severus hadn’t anticipated this glitch in his plan, but now he would need to act quickly for it would only be a matter of time before Lucius ran out of patience and exposed him to Voldemort.



Perhaps the time had come to let himself be exposed. He was tired, so tired of living a lie. Once the war was over, where would his place in this world be? He knew that he could continue to teach, but in all reality, he hated teaching, and the only reason he had stuck with it this long was to maintain his cover. He had never really let himself think about the future before because he was certain that there would never be one for him. Severus had always fancied himself being killed during the final battle, that way he would be just another casualty of the war. He had no family, no friends, and his death d mod most certainly be an answer to the student’s prayers.



Severus tried hard to push these thoughts out of his mind as he slipped in to bed, but the stark loneliness of his life stung as though someone had slapped him in the face.





A/N - Thanks for the wonderful reviews so far! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!